But Tess had struck a new line of thought and she wanted to follow it up. "Please, sir," she asked, "is that your business?"
"That's it. I'm a lion tamer, I am. And that's what I wanted to bring my nevvy up to, only his mother kicked over the traces and wouldn't have it."
"My!" murmured Tess. "It must be a very int'resting business. Do--do the lions ever bite?"
"They chews their food reg'lar," said Mr. Sorber gravely, but his eyes twinkled. "But none of 'em's ever tried to chew me. I reckon I look purty tough to 'em."
"And Neale's been in a den of lions and never told us about it?" gasped Agnes, in spite of herself carried away with the romantic side of the show business again.
"He never told us he was with a circus at all," confessed Agnes. "He was afraid of being sent back, I suppose."
"And ain't he ever blowed about it to the boys?"
"Oh, no! He hasn't even told the school principal--or the man he lives with--or Ruth--or _anybody_," declared Agnes.
Mr. Sorber looked really amazed. He mopped his bald crown again and the color in his face deepened.
"Why, whizzle take me!" ejaculated the showman, in surprise, "he's ashamed of us!"
Tess's kindly little heart came to the rescue immediately. "Oh, he couldn't be ashamed of his uncle, sir," she said. "And Neale is, really, a very nice boy. He would not be ashamed of any of his relations. No, sir."
"Well, mebbe not," grumbled Mr. Sorber; "but it looks mightily like it."
Despite the roughness and uncouth manner of the man, the children "got under his skin" as the saying is. Soon Tess and Dot bore the old showman off to the summer-house to introduce him to their entire family.
At that moment Ruth arrived--to Agnes' vast relief.
"Oh, Ruthie!" the second Corner House girl gasped. "It's come!"
"What Mr. Con Murphy said would happen some day. It's all out about Neale----Poor Neale! The dam's busted!"
It was several minutes before Ruth could get any clear account from her sister of what had happened. But when she _did_ finally get into the story, Agnes told it lucidly--and she held Ruth's undivided attention, the reader may be sure.
"I don't know. But surely, there must be some way out. I--I'll telephone to Mr. Howbridge."
"Oh, Ruthie! I never thought of that," squealed Agnes. "But suppose Neale comes before you can get Mr. Howbridge here?"