The Circus Comes to Town

The Circus Comes to Town, by Lebbeus Mitchell

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Title: The Circus Comes to Town
Author: Lebbeus Mitchell
Illustrator: Rhoda Chase
Release Date: November 3, 2005 [EBook #16991]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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[Illustration: This is my Book]
[Illustration: "JERRY KEPT FASCINATED EYES ON THAT CHALKY WHITE FACE."
"The Circus Comes to Town." (See Page 128)]

The Circus Comes to Town
BY LEBBEUS MITCHELL
AUTHOR OF "One Boy Too Many" and "Here, Tricks, Here!"
[Illustration]
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY PUBLISHERS --- NEW YORK
OTHER LEBBEUS MITCHELL BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY ARE
ONE BOY TOO MANY
&
HERE, TRICKS, HERE!
THE CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY
PRINTED IN U.S.A.
[Illustration: Contents]

Contents
CHAPTER PAGE
I. "ASK YOUR MOTHER FOR FIFTY CENTS" 1
II. THE BLACK HALF-DOLLAR 18
III. THE WIDTH OF AN ELEPHANT'S TAIL 37
IV. JERRY LEARNS THAT O-U-T SPELLS OUT 49
V. THE GREEN ELEPHANT BUYS AN AUDIENCE 65
VI. THE CHILDREN THAT CRIED IN THE LANE 80
VII. TICKETS TO PARADISE 97
VIII. THE CROCODILE TEARS OF CELIA JANE 112
IX. CLOWN OF CLOWNS 127
X. "GREAT SULT ANNA O'QUEEN" 142
XI. A BOY NAMED GARY 157
XII. THE DIZZY SEAT OF GLORY 171
XIII. "--AND ELEPHANTS TO RIDE UPON" 188

THE CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN
CHAPTER I
"ASK YOUR MOTHER FOR FIFTY CENTS"
The apple seemed to Jerry Elbow too big to be true.
He held it out at arm's length to get a good squint at its bigness and its redness. Then he turned to look wonderingly after the disappearing automobile with the lady who had tossed him the apple for directing her to the post office. A long trail of dust rose from the unpaved street behind the motor car.
Next he addressed himself to the business of eating the apple. He rubbed it shiny against his patched trousers, carefully hunted out the reddest spot on it, and took a big, luscious bite. Instead of chewing the morsel at once, he crushed it against his palate just to feel the mellowness of it and to get the full flavor of the first taste of juice. Then he chewed vigorously.
He started on to Mother 'Larkey's where he had made his home for nearly three years, ever since Mr. Mullarkey, dead this year now, had found him by the roadside one dark night. He had just started to take a second bite when a shout stopped him.
"Hi, Jerry! What you got?"
Instinctively Jerry hid the apple behind him, for it was Danny Mullarkey's voice that he had heard.
"Jerry's got something to eat!" Danny called over his shoulder to some one out of sight. "Come on, kids!"
Jerry hastily swallowed the piece of apple in his mouth and bit off the very largest chunk he could. He knew by long and bitter experience how little would be left for him after the Mullarkey brood had all nibbled at it.
Danny, who was past nine, reached him before Jerry could gulp down that mouthful and take another bite, as he had intended to do. Chris and Nora followed at Danny's heels, with Celia Jane, as usual, far in the rear.
"Save me a bite, Jerry!" called Celia Jane.
"Give me a bite of your apple, Jerry," coaxed Danny.
"Me, too," echoed Chris.
"It looks awful nice," observed Nora. "Where'd you get it?"
Jerry explained and handed her the apple first because she had not asked for a bite. Nora bit off a small piece and was passing it on to Celia Jane, who ran panting up to them, when Jerry stopped her by urging:
"Take a bigger bite than that, Nora. I want you to."
"Not till after you've had your turn again," replied Nora, who was nearly eight and was celebrated in the Mullarkey household for a finer sense of fair play than any of the others possessed.
Celia Jane was greedy and bit off so big a chunk that she could not cram it into her mouth, despite her heroic efforts to accomplish that feat.
"That ain't fair, Celia Jane," reproved Nora. "Mother told you never to do that again."
"That's two bites!" cried Danny. "Take it out and bite it in two."
Celia Jane's mouth was too full for utterance. She held out the apple to Danny, then freed her mouth of its embarrassment of riches and proceeded to bite it in two.
"Here, Chris," invited Danny, "take your bite next."
Jerry became immediately suspicious at such unaccustomed politeness on Danny's part and he was not at all surprised when Danny, once the remainder of the apple was again in his hands, took to his heels.
"Save me