ctly on
business lines. There was a board of directors who looked after all
business matters, and Joe was soon in consultation with them, laying
before them Mr. Waldon's letter and the two marked tickets.

"It would take an expert to tell them apart," said Mr. Moyne, as he
examined the coupons closely. "Well, what are we to do?"

"In the first place," declared Joe, "we must change our form of general
admission tickets at once. That will stop the fraud, graft, or whatever
you want to call it. Then we must do as Mr. Waldon says--look for the
guilty parties. We'll have to hire some detectives, I think."

This plan was voted a good one, and steps were at once taken to change
the form and style of the general admission tickets. Joe also wired for
a man from a well known detective agency to meet the show at the next
town. Then the printing shop which made the circus tickets was
communicated with.

That was all that could be done at present, and Joe gave his attention
to perfecting his new fire-eating act.

He did not give up his mystery box trick, and he still presented the
vanishing lady illusion, Helen assisting in both of these. Joe also did
the big swing, which always caused a thrill on account of the danger
involved. Careful watch was kept over the trapeze and other apparatus so
that no more dangerous tampering could he attempted, and Joe always
looked over everything with sharp eyes before trusting himself high in
the air.

"Some one evidently has a grudge against me as well as against the
circus in general," he said to Jim Tracy.

"Maybe it's the same person," suggested the ringmaster.

"Perhaps. Well, as soon as we get some word from the detectives we can
start on the trail."

The circus had arrived at a large city, where it was to show three days
and nights, and preparations were made for big crowds, as the city was
the center of a large number of industries, where many thousands of men
were employed at good wages.

"We'll play to 'Straw Room Only' at every performance," said Mr. Moyne,
rubbing his hands with glee as he thought of the dollars that would be
taken in. "And I'm glad we discovered the bogus tickets in time. We'd be
out a lot of money if the counterfeits were to be used here."

"Yes," agreed Joe. "But we aren't out of the woods yet. The same man who
imitated the light green tickets may have the bright blue ones which we
now use for general admission duplicated and sell them."

"We'll have t