The men were very tired and very thirsty by the time they reached Hole Manor, and their clothes were dusty white from the substance, and though they kept their weapons about them they could not use them for the carnies always had them under watch. The carnies were well organised and moved with easy purpose, and there was a practical viciousness in their eyes and in their casual contempt for the three travellers. This was their claim, they seemed to say, and they ran it as they saw fit. It could not have been easy enslaving the clowns, for clowns are not naturally given to obedience or order.

There is nothing funny about a clown, but there is perhaps something funny about seeing a clown fall, or so some say. Be that as it may, the men came to the doors of the mansion and there they paused, as the head carnie disappeared nervously inside. On his return he was accompanied by three young girls, in summer dresses, and these apparitions descended on the travellers with cries of delight.

“Look, Constance, he has a top hat! Oh, mister, mister, can you do magic? Show us a trick, make a ducat disappear!”

“With pleasure,” the Conjurer said, for he was a man not so much given to vanity as with rightful pride in his skills, and he charmed the girls with all manner of card flourishes and coin vanishes until they clapped in delight.

“Oh, look, Florence, look how handsome he is!” and the Kid blushed as the girls pulled at his shirt and admired his necklace with the silver thumb-tip, which they pronounced “Divine!”—and took out his pistols with not a care in the world and spun their chambers round and ooohed and aahhed, “But where did you find them, Charlie?”—with delighted amazement.

“On the perimeter, miss. Intruders, miss.”

“Oh,bishbosh, Charlie! Look at them, Boo, real men. I bet they’ve been to the city, and know all the latest songs!”

The Stranger watched them warily.

“Oh, stranger, what a frown!” said Florence. Boo and Constance held his arms and pushed their trigger fingers at his cheeks, lifting the corners of his lips—“Turn that frown upside down!”cried Constance in delight, and Boo squealed as the Stranger smiled, for all that he itched to lift up his pistol and shoot them. The carnies watched but kept their distance, and seemed relieved to be dismissed, though the head carnie, Charlie, did put up token resistance—“But the General . . .”—to which Constance said “But of course Daddy must see them at once!” and that was that.