just as they was passing Gill's farm, a steam-ingine they 'ad to draw
some o' the vans broke down, and they 'ad to stop while the blacksmith
mended it. That being so, they put up a big tent and 'ad the circus
'ere.

"I was one o' them as went, and I must say it was worth the money, though
Henry Walker was disappointed at the man who put 'is 'ead in the lion's
mouth. He said that the man frightened the lion first, before 'e did it.

"It was a great night for Claybury, and for about a week nothing else was
talked of. All the children was playing at being lions and tigers and
such-like, and young Roberts pretty near broke 'is back trying to see if
he could ride horseback standing up.

"It was about two weeks after the circus 'ad gone when a strange thing
'appened: the big tiger broke loose. Bill Chambers brought the news
first, 'aving read it in the newspaper while 'e was 'aving his tea. He
brought out the paper and showed us, and soon after we 'eard all sorts o'
tales of its doings.

"At first we thought the tiger was a long way off, and we was rather
amused at it. Frederick Scott laughed 'imself silly a'most up 'ere one
night thinking 'ow surprised a man would be if 'e come 'ome one night and
found the tiger sitting in his armchair eating the baby. It didn't seem
much of a laughing matter to me, and I said so; none of us liked it, and
even Sam Jones, as 'ad got twins for the second time, said 'Shame!'
But Frederick Scott was a man as would laugh at anything.

"When we 'eard that the tiger 'ad been seen within three miles of
Claybury things began to look serious, and Peter Gubbins said that