"You must have money in the bank," put in Sid, coming up just then.
"Well, suppose I have?" asked Joe, with a tinge of anger in the words, "I earn what I get, don"t I?"
"Oh, you may," replied Tonzo, with a shrug of his shoulders. "You certainly keep what you get--that is sure."
"Of a certainty, yes!" chimed in Sid. "Not once have you treated the crowd on the strength of your increases in salary."
"No," returned Joe slowly, "I haven"t, that"s a fact. And now I want to say one thing. I know you fellows have been calling me a "tight-wad"
and all that. I stood for it because----"
At that moment a dusty youth came pushing his way up to Joe, the Lascallas and some others of the circus folk who had formed a group about the boy fish. The youth was in the uniform of a telegraph messenger, and he pushed a dusty wheel, chewing gum the while.
"Say, where"s Joe Strong?" he asked of no one in particular. "I"ve got a wire for him. Is he de guy what does dat tank act? Say! dat"s swell, all right. I"d like to see dat, I would!"
He took off his cap, and from the top extracted a telegram and a receipt sheet.
"I"m Joe Strong," said our hero quietly.
"G"wan!" answered the messenger. "Why, he must be a big guy to do all de bills says he does--rescuin" a diver an" all dat! G"wan!"
There was a laugh, but others a.s.sured the boy that Joe could make good his claim to ident.i.ty.
"Sign dis," the messenger said, extending the telegram and receipt blank to Joe. The boy fish hurriedly scribbled his name, and then tore open the envelope. As he read a look of surprise and joy showed on his face.
"Hurrah!" he cried. "This is good news! Now, fellows, I"ll tell you why I wouldn"t spend my money treating you. I wanted to, badly enough, but I had other ways for my cash. Now I can tell you, since it"s all over and a success. But first let me read you this."
He held up the message and read:
"Operation an entire success. Benny will both hear and speak. He can rejoin circus by next season and do tank work if he likes."
"Who"s that from?" asked Helen, coming up in time to hear the message.
"From the celebrated surgeon--a friend of Dr. Wertz," said Joe. "I hired him to operate on Benny Turton to save him from becoming deaf and dumb. It took a lot of money, but I"m glad I had it saved. And that"s why I had to pose as--a "tight-wad," fellows."
Joe"s voice faltered, but there was a happy look on his face.
Tonzo Lascalla stepped forward. He held out his hand and said:
"I want to beg your pardon, Joe Strong. I have misjudged you!"
"So have I!" exclaimed Sid.
They were both very much in earnest, and as they shook hands there were tears in Joe"s eyes. But they were happy tears. Others of the circus folk who had not understood Joe made haste to make amends, and, for a time, there was a happy group.
"And I didn"t understand, either," said Helen softly as she and Joe walked away, together. "I thought you might be wasting your money foolishly. Oh, Joe, I am so happy!"
The news of Benny"s recovery soon spread, and there was rejoicing among the circus folk, for the "human fish" had many friends.
"What does it all mean?" asked Jim Tracy.
"It just means that when I knew Benny needed an operation I began saving my salary to pay for it, since I knew he couldn"t," said Joe. "I made him that promise, and I also promised to send to his mother each week what he had been in the habit of sending her. So, in spite of earning a big salary, I didn"t have much of it for myself."
"I see," murmured the ringmaster.
"When the first doctor said there was no chance, even with an operation, for Benny"s recovery, I was discouraged. But when the diver"s physician talked to me I had more hope, and I got him to engage the specialist for Benny. He took charge of all the arrangements, and now the good news comes. Benny will recover and can again be the tank actor."
Jim Tracy scratched his head.
"I don"t know about that," he said. "Of course, we"ll take Benny back, but he may have to get a new act. We don"t want to give you up--you and your seal. The circus needs you."
"To tell you the truth," said Joe, "I am thinking of giving it up."
"Giving it up!" cried the ring-master.
"Yes. I don"t want what happened to Benny to happen to me. I"ll finish out the season with you, of course, but after that----"
"What are you going to do?" asked Tracy.
"I"m planning some new turns," Joe said. And those of you who are interested in them and in Joe Strong are invited to follow his fortunes in the next volume of this series, to be called: "Joe Strong on the High Wire; Or, Motor-Cycle Perils of the Air."
"Well, we sure will hate to lose you," said Jim Tracy, "but I"m glad Benny will get well and come back to us."
"So am I," said Joe softly.
Somewhere in the circus tent a bugle blew. At once all over the circus grounds there were signs of activity.
"Pretty nearly time to start," observed the ring-master.
"Yes," agreed Joe. "And I"m going to try for the long record this afternoon--as long as when I was in the reservoir with diver Tom Rand."
"Good!" exclaimed Jim Tracy. "I hope you do it."
A little later Joe, in his red, scaly suit, was in the gla.s.s tank with the goldfish and the trained seal, while all about were throngs of wondering persons marveling at the endurance powers of the boy fish.
And so, for a time, we will take leave of Joe Strong.
The End.