“But I heard you tell Jim it was all arranged.”

“I did that so the crowd wouldn’t get into a panic.  However I am going to work the trick at each performance after this, only I’m going to wear a different suit.”

And Joe did.  He had a garment partly made of asbestos, though outwardly it did not resemble that fire-resisting material any more than do the asbestos curtains in theaters.  And at the conclusion of his fire-eating act Joe would seemingly burst into fire and run blazing across the stage to leap into the tank of water.

This finish to the act never failed to win great applause.  And once in the tank Joe did some of the under-water tricks that had brought him fame.  He was careful, however, not to duplicate anything that Benny Turton did, for he did not want to “crab” the act of his friend.

But Joe’s fire and water act was one of the big features on the circus bill.

“Is this the sensation you were speaking of?” asked Helen one day, when they had concluded an afternoon’s performance.

“No,” answered Joe.  “This only came about by accident.  I’m working on something more sensational yet, and I am going to ask you to help me.”

“I’m sure I’ll do anything I can,” said she.

“You won’t be in any danger,” the young magician went on.  “I’m beginning to understand fire better the more I study it.  I’m not getting too familiar, either, let me tell you.  Even a little scorch is very painful.”

“I glanced through one of your books the other day,” remarked Helen.  “Do you really suppose some of those old magicians actually handled fire in the way it is stated?”

“Well, at least they pretended to,” said her friend.  “There are tricks in all trades, you know.”

As the circus went on its way business kept up well, and it was seen that the season was going to be an excellent one from a financial standpoint.

“Any more bogus tickets coming in?” asked Joe one day of the treasurer.

“Not since we adopted the new style,” was the answer.

“Have the detectives gotten on the trail of the man, or the men, who cheated us?” asked Helen.

“Not yet,” reported Mr. Moyne.  “The last report I had from them was that they were getting nearer and nearer to a certain person whom they suspected.  They promise an arrest soon.”

“That’s the usual story,” remarked Joe.  “However, we don’t so much care about an arrest now if we have stopped the counterfeit tickets from being worked off on us.”

“Well, there’s always a chance that the same thing will happen again,” returned Mr. Moyne.  “It’s too easy money for the criminals to give up, I’m afraid.  I’m on the lookout every day for more counterfeits.”

“Well, I’ll leave it to you,” remarked Joe.  “Whenever anything happens let me know and we’ll take some action.”

Joe Strong was now kept very busy in the circus.  In fact he was what would be called a “star.”  He did his mystery box trick, and, with Helen, worked the “vanishing lady” trick so neatly that no one guessed how it was done.  The ten thousand dollars was not claimed, successfully, though several tried it, with the result that several local Red Cross organizations were enriched by the hundred dollar forfeit.