“I don’t know.  But as the admission is only twenty-five cents we might take it in—–­if we get the chance.”

“Oh, let us take it in, by all means,” pleaded Whopper.  “Why, I’m dying to see the elephants and acrobats and all that!”

“Seems to me you’re dying pretty often lately,” answered Snap with a smile.  “You ought to become a dyer by trade!” And then he ducked as Whopper made a playful pass at his head.

When the train came along the lads found it well filled, mostly with country folks going to Railings to see the circus.  They had to stand up part of the distance to the city.

“Maybe the photographer will be so busy he won’t want to bother giving us lessons,” said Snap.

“Maybe,” answered the doctor’s son.  “We’ll have to take our chances.”

Reaching Rallings, the boys hurried at once to the studio of the photographer.  They found Mr. Jally taking a family group of father, mother and three sons, and had to wait until the sitting was over.  While they waited they watched the crowds on the street.

“Going to be plenty of folks here to see the circus,” was Snap’s comment, and his words proved true, folks flocking in from every quarter of the surrounding districts.

When Mr. Jally was at liberty he read Dr. Reed’s letter with interest.

“The doctor mentioned this to me when he was in Rallings last Saturday,” said the photographer.  “I said I’d do what I could for you lads.  I am sorry it is circus day, as I am likely to be busy.  But I’ll give you all the time I can spare.”

“We can come to-morrow, too,” said Shep.  “We are going to stay in Rallings over night.”

“Good!  I think I can give you quite a few pointers in that time.  I believe you all know something about photographs already.”

“Yes; here are some of our snapshots,” said the doctor’s son, and he brought forth the pictures the boys had taken on their various outings.

“These are not bad,” pronounced the photographer after an examination.  “Some of them are very good.  They indicate that you have it in you to take some good pictures.”  And then he went over the prints carefully one by one, telling them which seemed to be under exposed and which over, and which had not been properly developed and printed.  Then he went into the question of grouping and centering and focusing, and told them how best to time their exposures.  He was interrupted twice by girls who wanted their pictures taken, and then he told them a great deal about the values of lights and shades, and about suitable backgrounds.  Then he brought forth an album of outdoor views and told them to study what was written under each picture.

“There is the time of day and the day of the month,” he said, “and also the condition of the weather.  These figures show the ‘stop’ of the shutter, and these the length of the exposure.  Have you a timecard for exposures?”