"I'm going to become a fire-eater!" was the unexpected, reply.




CHAPTER VII

THE PAPER EXPERT


For a moment Helen Morton stared at Joe Strong as though not quite sure
whether or not he was in his proper mind. Then, seeing plainly that he
was in earnest, she seemed to shrink away from him, as he had noticed
her shrink away, for a moment, from the burned man suffering there in
the hospital.

"What's the matter, Helen?" asked Joe, trying to speak lightly. "Don't
you want to see some more sensational acts in the show?"

"Yes, but not that kind," she answered with a shudder she could not
conceal. "Oh, Joe, if you were to--" She could not go on. Her breast
heaved painfully.

"Now look here, Helen!" he exclaimed with good-natured roughness, "that
isn't any way to look at matters; especially when we both depend on
sensations for making our living.

"You know, as well as I do, that in this business we have to take risks.
That's what makes our acts go. You take a risk every time you perform