in Utah, with 40 wives, and several
hundred children, and long whiskers. I am a changed man, Hennery, and
afraid of my shadow."

CHAPTER XVI.

A Senator's Son Bets the Bad Boy That Elephants Are Cowards--They
Let a Bag of Rats Loose at the Afternoon Performance--The Elephants
Stampede, Pa Fractures a Rib and General Pandemonium Reigns.

Gee, but I must be an easy mark. I have got so I bet on a sure thing,
and when a fellow bets on a sure thing he is bound to lose.

It was this way. The show arrived in Washington, D. C., on a Sunday
morning, and, as usual, all the boys in town came to the lot to see us
put up the tents. I was around with pa and the boss canvasman, and the
town boys could see I belonged to the show, and they envied me and
wanted to get acquainted with me so I would let them walk around with
me, and go into the tents Sunday afternoon and see the animals.

There was one boy with a sort of rough rider hat on, and buckskin fringe
on his pants, and everybody said he was a senator's son, but the other
boys had rather be acquainted with me, because I belonged to the show,
and I took pity on the senator's son and let him talk to me, without
looking cross at him, or snubbing him, as I do most boys who try to butt
in on me. I got to liking the senator's son and had him come in the
tent, and we put in the afternoon looking at the animals.

The elephants were chewing hay and looking fierce, and the senator's boy
said elephants were the greatest cowards on earth, and I said, "Not on
your life; the giant in our show is the greatest coward, and the
behemoth of holy writ is next." The senator's son said elephants were
such cowards they were afraid of mice, and we could take a trap full of
mice and turn them loose in the ring and the elephants would stampede,
and he would bet five dollars on it. I excused myself for a moment and
told pa what the senator's son offered to bet, and pa said: "Here's $50,
and you can take all the bets you can get. Why, this herd of elephants
would walk on mice, and rats, too. You bet with him and tell him to
bring along all the rats and mice he can find in the white house, and
you can turn them into the ring Monday afternoon when the elephants do
their turn, and if an elephant bats an eye I will eat his ears for
mushrooms."

I went back to young Mr. Senator and took his bet, and told him I had
plenty more money to bet the same way, and he said the next afternoon he