“No, I ain’t, mister,” said Jerry eagerly.  “I’m awful strong for my age.”

“How old are you?” asked the man.

“I don’t know,” Jerry confessed.  Then, fearful of losing this opportunity to see the circus, he continued, “I guess I’m almost seven or mebbe eight.”

“You don’t know how old you are!” exclaimed the man.  “You look much younger than seven or eight.”

“He’s not my brother,” Chris explained.  “He’s a orfum my father found when he was alive.  My brother’s at home with mother and my sisters.  We couldn’t wake him up.  But Jerry’s awful strong.”

“A orfum, hey?  And awful strong?” said the man and seemed to be studying over something in his mind.  “Have you ever seen a circus?” he asked.

“No, sir,” they both assured him and Chris continued:  “Mother did once, just after she was married to father.  She wished she could bring us all to the circus but she didn’t have money enough.”

“H’m,” said the man.  “I used to be a orfum myself and I know how you feel.”

“Did you?” asked Jerry, and he smiled up at the man, unafraid, with a sort of fellow feeling.

“I sure did,” the man smiled down at Jerry.  “I got to see my first circus through carrying water for the elephants.”

At this moment Sam returned with four other boys, all older than either Jerry or Chris.

“I never saw boys so shy of a circus before, Mr. Burrows,” he said.  “They’ve melted away as though the circus were a plague.  But I guess we can get along with these.”

“All right, Sam,” replied Mr. Burrows, “but I want you to pump the water and let the boys do the carrying.  These two boys,” and he put a hand on Jerry’s head and one on Chris’s shoulder, “have never seen a circus.  They’ll help carry water and be sure that they get a matinee ticket apiece.”

“All right, sir,” replied Sam.  “Come on, boys.”

“Let these two carry a pail between them,” continued Mr. Burrows, “I don’t want them breaking their backs.”

Jerry felt an unusual warmth go surging through him.  He was going to carry water for the elephants and get a ticket to the circus, after all!  He was gladder than ever that he had bought the cough medicine for Kathleen with the black half-dollar.  He looked up at Mr. Burrows, and it was such a look as a friendless dog might give to a man who had just petted it and given it something to eat.

“Thank you, mister, for lettin’ me carry water for the el’funts,” said Jerry.

“That’s all right,” replied the man.  “Here, there’s a dime for peanuts.  Have a good time.”

Jerry was too surprised to take the dime and Mr. Burrows pressed it into his hand and went back into the tent before Jerry had recovered.

“The boss must have taken a fancy to you!” said Sam to Jerry.  “Well, them elephants is awful thirsty and we’ve got to get to work.  Come on.”

Jerry, envied of all the boys, put the dime in his blouse pocket.  He seemed to be treading on air instead of the solid earth as he followed Sam to another part of the ground where the boys were given large pails.