started for the biggest tiger.  He hesitated a moment, and then he jumped on the machine, and the other followed, and they raced around, and then pa made them get off and jump hurdles.  Finally he motioned to a shelf for them to jump up onto, and when they hesitated he kicked one in the slats, and hit the other with the club, and they went up on that shelf too quick, but they stayed there and snarled at pa, and I was afraid they would jump on him when his back was turned.

Then they brought in the blind horse and the lion, and the lion was onto pa, and he struck right off.  He got up on the pedestal from which he was to jump onto the horse’s back, but when the horse came around the lion wouldn’t jump, and pa said:  “I’ll give you one more chance,” and the horse went under the lion, and he wouldn’t jump.  So pa stopped the horse and took an iron bar and knocked the lion off onto the floor, and he growled at pa, but pa kept mauling him, and finally the lion jumped up on the pedestal and seemed to say:  “Bring on your horse,” and pa started the horse, and Mr. Lion made his jumps all right, and the audience cheered pa.

[Illustration:  Pa Kept Mauling the Lion.]

All the animals went through their stunts all right, but I thought I could see they were laying for pa, and I wished he was out of the cage.  The wind-up came when the lions were seated on benches, and the elephant was between them, and the tigers and leopards made a pyramid, and the monkey was clawing around pa’s legs.  The signal was about to be given for the animals to return through the chute, when the monkey tackled pa’s legs like a football player, the elephant pushed pa over, and the lions pawed him and snarled, and the tigers took a mouthful out of pa’s pants, and the leopards snatched his red coat off, and the signal was given for them to get out of the cage, and they went out like boys at recess, leaving pa in the cage with the blind horse, with not clothes enough left on him to wad a gun.  He was not even scratched, however, the animals having just combined to humiliate pa.

The audience cheered.  Pa said “Well, wouldn’t that skin you.”  They threw him an overcoat to put on, and he bowed like a hero, and quit the ring cage, and was met outside by the whole show management, and congratulated on having more nerve than any man alive.

Pa said:  “If you will give me a shotgun loaded with bird shot, I will make those animals get on their knees at the next performance, and beg my pardon.  You can discharge your trainer, and I will teach them a lot of new stunts.”

Say, pa is a wonder, and he has already got old Barnum beat a block.

CHAPTER XV.

    The Bad Boy Feeds the Menagerie Scotch Snuff—­Pa Gets Mauled by the
    Sneezing Animals—­Pa Takes a Midnight Ride on a Mule to Escape
    Punishment.