the suceeding years, and that was the reason for Dad's feeling toward me, and his anger the day of the circus.

The

All I could do was to work as fast as I could, and by noon I was done with the yard. I bolted a lunch and ran for my bike to go to the county fair grounds where the circus was all ready to go. bike was gone: Brother Bob had taken it because his was broken, and of course this was the last straw. I was fit to be tied. Off I went to the circus on foot, and arrived just in time to hear the band swing into the "Thunder and Blazes" entry march. The circus was wonderful, and I was most impressed with the beautiful gowns the girls wore as they rode around the rings on the floats. Then the performance began, and it seemed that each girl had a gown pret- tier than the last. When they removed the gowns to

do their acts, the sequined and spangled tights were thrilling to see!! All I saw that afternoon was girls and more girls. I didn't seem to see the men in the acts at all. I reached a decision. I was going to join the circus!!! After much searching, I located the manager and asked him for a job. Any job at all. (Just so I could be near the beautiful girls in silks and spangles.) The upshot of it all was that I could work for him as an errand boy and general helper, at the magnificent salary of ten dollars a week and board, IF I could get my parents permission.

At home at the supper table, I broached the question. To my surprise it seemed to raise no furor at all. In fact, they seemed to relish the idea of getting rid of me for a summer. I guess I really was the black sheep of the Evans family. The next morning I was at the circus with my Dad, bright and early. He and Marcus, the BOSS, had a long talk, and after a rather stiff handshake goodbye, I was on my own! At first it was a glorious life. The glamor hadn't worn off, and I was still on top of the world after the first week. The work wasn't