his
mother.

"Look, Mama! A little boy!"

"Hello!" cried the woman in her hearty, kind voice, stopping the team.
"What are you doing here, little lad?"

She did not recognize Gigi at once in his long traveling cloak. But
suddenly he threw back the folds of it and showed the green tights
underneath.

"Do you remember?" he said. "You told me to run away. Well, I have
done it!"

"It is, the little tumbler! The tumbler, Mama!" cried the boys in one
breath, clapping their hands with pleasure.

But the woman stared blankly. "My faith!" she said at last. "You lost
no time in taking the hint. How did you get here so soon? We were
homeward bound when you had scarcely finished tumbling. Now here you
are before us, on foot!"

"I ran," said Gigi simply. "I came not by the highway, which is long
and winding, but down steep streets like stairs, which brought me here
very quickly."

"See the bruise on his cheek, mother!" cried Beppo, the littlest boy,
pointing. The good woman saw it, and her eyes flashed.

"Oh! Oh!" she clucked. "The wicked men! Did they do that to you?"

"Yes. And they will do more if they catch me now," said Gigi. "I
know. They have beaten me many times till I could not move. But if
they catch me this time, they will kill me because I ran away. Will
you help me?"

"Why, what can I do?" asked the woman uneasily, looking up and down the
road. "If they should come now! You belong to them. I shall get
myself into trouble."

Gigi's face fell. "Very well," he said. "Good-by. You were kind to
me to-day, and I thought--perhaps--" He turned away, with his lips
quivering.

"Stay!" cried the woman. "Where is the silver piece which I gave you?
You can at least buy food and a night's lodging with that."

"They took it from me," said Gigi. "I had to give it up because there
was so little money in the tambourine,--only coppers. They said people
would not pay because I fell; and so they would beat me again."

"They took it from you! The thieves!" cried the woman angrily. "Nay,
then I will indeed help you to escape. Climb in here, boy, among my
youngsters. We have still an hour's ride down the road, and you shall
go so far at least."

Gigi climbed into the cart and nestled down among the children. The
woman clucked to the oxen, and forthwith they moved on down the
highroad. The shadows were beginning to darken, and the birds had
ceased to sing.

"Hiew! Hiew! Come up! C