“Well, I never!” cried Snap suddenly as one of the empty cars came into view, under the rays of an electric light.  “Look there!”

He pointed to the open doorway of a car.  A figure stood there, wrapped in a coat several sizes too large for it—–­the figure of a slender boy with a whitish face,

“Was that that boy acrobat?” gasped Whopper as the freight train gathered headway and cleared the crossing.

“I think it was,” answered Snap.

“So do I,” put in the doctor’s son.

“If it was, he is losing no time in getting out of town,” was Giant’s comment.  “And I don’t blame him.”

“He had on a coat big enough for a man, and his trousers were rolled up around his feet,” observed Snap.  “Most likely he grabbed up the first suit he could find when he left the dressing-tent.”

“If it really was the boy,” said Whopper.  “It looked like him, but we may be mistaken.”

It did not take the four youths long to reach Mrs. Carson’s home.  They went in softly, and each got a cookie and a drink of milk.  Then they went to bed and slept soundly until morning.

Promptly on time they presented themselves at Mr. Jally’s studio, and found not only the photographer but also an assistant present.

“I am going to leave my assistant in charge,” said Mr. Jally.  “I’ll go out with you, and we’ll have a practical lesson in getting outdoor views.”

Taking two cameras with them, the photographer and the boys started off, to be gone until noon.  They walked across the city and along the river, and at the latter locality took half a dozen pictures, Mr. Jally instructing them all the while.

“Now I’ll show you how a commonplace bit of scenery can be made to look quite romantic,” said Mr. Jally presently.  “Let us walk over to the railroad embankment.  Such an embankment is not pretty in itself, but I think we can get quite a pretty view of it.”

After many instructions they took a view of the embankment.  Their walk had tired the photographer, who was rather stout, and he proposed that they rest.  Near at hand was a section shed with some lumber piles, and there they took it easy.

During a lull in the conversation the boys noticed three men approaching.  They were rather tough-looking characters, and at first the lads took them to be tramps.  The men walked behind the lumber piles without noticing our friends.

“Some fellows that followed up the circus, I suppose,” said Snap.

“Yes; the kind my aunt was afraid of,” added the doctor’s son.

“We can do it jest as well as not,” they heard one of the men say.  “An’ we got a right, too.”

“Sure we got a right,” said another of the trio in a heavy, rasp-like voice.  “We’ll show Casso what it means to do a feller out o’ his lawful wages.”

“Yes; but you look out you ain’t caught,” added the third man.  “He’s got all hands watching to spot us.”