The Bill-Toppers

e room where Lily was having fun with Trampy, she fixed a fiery glance upon them, even ventured on a smile, for Trampy in particular, whose lively stories reached her through the partition behind which she dressed. Oh, how she envied Lily! But she passed very quickly, because of her brother.

And this time it was Pa! Lily jumped on to the saddle like mad, played her part to perfection, puffed and panted, as if the last drop of strength were oozing out of her, and Trampy joined in the little comedy of fibbing and dissembling:

"There, like that, Lily, or I'll smack you!"

"That's right," said Pa. "Make her work!"

And, just to show Lily what work meant and that her Pa was not so unkind after all--"It's for your good, Lily! You'll thank me one of these days!"--he took her to the stage, where Ave Maria was practising. Now, of course, in the circuses, Lily, occasionally, had seen children knocked and cut about with blows and trained to say, "It was the cat," when any one asked them about t