play cinch on the trunks, leaving pa hanging there. Just then
the boss canvasman came along and he said: "Hello, old man, what you
doing up there?" And pa said some of the pirates in the show had
kidnaped him, and seemed to be holding him up for a ransom, and he said
he would give ten dollars if some one would let him down.

The boss canvasman said he could fix it for ten, all right, and he blew
a whistle, and the gang came back, and the boss said: "Bring a blanket
and help this gentleman down;" so they brought a big piece of canvas,
with handles all around it, and about a dozen fellows held it, and the
rope man let pa down on the canvas, and unhitched the ring, and when pa
was in the canvas he laughed and said: "Thanks, gentlemen, I guess I am
mot much of a horseback rider," and then the fellows pulled on the
handles of the canvas, and by gosh, pa shot up into the air half-way to
the top of the tent, and when he came down they caught him in the canvas
and tossed him up a whole lot of times until pa said: "O, let up, and
make it $20." Just then the proprietor who had introduced pa to the men
came in and saw what was going on, and he said: "Here, you heathen, you
quit this hazing right here," and they let pa down on the floor of the
ring, and he got up and pulled his pants down, that had got up above his
knees, and shook himself and took out his roll, and peeled off a $20
bill and gave it to the canvasman, and he shook hands with them all, and
said he liked a joke as well as anybody, and for them to spend the money
to have a good time, and they all laughed and patted pa on the back, and
said he was a dead game sport, and would be an honor to the profession,
and that now that he has taken the first degree as a circus man he could
call on them for any sacrifice, or any work, and he would find that they
would be Johnny on the spot.

Then he went out to the dining tent and took dinner with the crowd and
had a jolly time. There was a woman trapeze performer on one side of pa
at dinner, and she began to kick at once about the meals, and when the
waiter brought a piece of meat to us all--a great big piece, that looked
like corned beef, she said: "For heaven's sake, ain't that elephant that
died all been eaten up yet?" and then she told pa that they had been fed
on that deceased elephant, until they all felt like they had trunks
growing out of their heads, and pa poked the meat with his fork, and
thought it was elephant, and he