That, too, had been Joe’s thought.

“No,” he answered, as he took an observation.  “Your cat has only changed his position a little.  I suppose the crowd thought it was going to fall, but it’s all right.  I’ll soon have it back to you.  Is it a vicious cat?”

“Oh, no indeed.  He’s as gentle as can be.  But perhaps he might be so scared now that he wouldn’t know what he was doing.  I see what you mean.  Here, I’ll give you an old pair of gloves for your hands.”

“That’s what I want,” said Joe.  “I can’t afford to have my hands scratched, as I do some legerdemain tricks.  But I need some soft-soled slippers more than I need gloves.”

“Here is a pair,” said the woman.  “They’re mine.  I wear large ones, for I like to be comfortable.”

“They’ll fit me,” decided Joe, after an inspection.  “Just what I want, too!”

He began to take off his shoes.

“Do you really mean you are going to walk out on that wire and get my cat?” asked the woman, comprehending his intention as she saw Joe putting on the slippers and drawing on the old gloves she had given him.  They were a man’s size, and he judged she must have used them in rough work about the house.

“I’m going out on the wire to get your cat,” he said.

“Oh, but I ought not to let you!  You may fall and be killed!  When I said I’d give a hundred dollars to whoever would save Peter, I did not mean that any one should risk his life.  Much as I love my cat, I couldn’t allow that.”

“I’ll be all right,” said Joe easily.  “Walking wires is part of my business.  Now don’t worry.  And please don’t scream if you are going to watch me.”

She looked at him curiously.

“I am not in the habit of screaming,” she said quietly.

“Well, I thought it best to mention it,” said Joe.

He was now ready for his most novel form of walking the wire.  He moved toward the window from which the woman had leaned.  It was the same casement whence the cat had started on its perilous journey.  Joe felt sure of himself.  The slippers were just what he needed, with soft, pliable soles, worn thin.  They were the best substitute he could have found for his circus shoes.

The wire from which the banner was suspended was fast to an eye-bolt set in the brick wall of the building a little below the sill of the window.  It had been easy for the cat to step out and get on the cable.

Joe appeared at the window.  He had taken off his coat and, in his white shirt, blue tie, and black trousers, he made a striking figure in the brilliant sunset light.

Instantly the crowd in the street saw him and divined his intention.  Joe doubted not that Helen was looking up at him.

It was an easy step for him from the window sill to the wire from which was suspended the banner.  He knew it would support his weight in addition to the big net affair.  The size of the cable and the manner in which it was fastened told him that.  Still he cautiously tried it with one foot before trusting all his weight to it.  The spring of the wire told him all he needed to know.