He ran with it quickly into the tent occupied by the thin man and fat woman, and handed it to her, with a profusion of thanks for her kindness. “Did you eat it all?” she asked. “Well,” hesitated Toby, “there was two doughnuts an' a piece of pie left over, an' I put them in my pocket. If you don't care, I'll eat them some time tonight.” “You shall eat it whenever you want to; an' any time that you get hungry again you come right to me.” “Thank you, marm. I must go now, for I left the store all alone.” “Run, then; an' if Job abuses you, just let me know it, an' I'll keep him from cuttin' up any monkeyshines.” Toby hardly heard the end of her sentence, so great was his haste to get back to the booth; and just as he emerged from the tent, on a quick run, he received a blow on the ear which sent him sprawling in the dust, and he heard Mr. Job Lord's angry voice as it said, “So, just the moment my back is turned you leave the stand to take care of itself, do you, an' run around tryin' to plot some mischief against me, eh?” And the brute kicked the prostrate boy twice with his heavy boot. “Please don't kick me again!” pleaded Toby. “I wasn't gone but a minute, an' I wasn't doing anything bad.” “You're lying now, an' you know it, you young cub!” exclaimed the angry man as he advanced to kick the boy again. “I'll let you know who you've got to deal with when you get hold of me!” “And I'll let you know who you've got to deal with when you get hold of me!” said a woman's voice; and just as Mr. Lord raised his foot to kick the boy again the fat woman seized him by the collar, jerked him back over one of the tent ropes, and left him quite as prostrate as he had left Toby. “Now, Job Lord,” said the angry woman, as she towered above the thoroughly enraged but thoroughly frightened man, “I want you to understand that you can't knock and beat this boy while I'm around. I've seen enough of your capers, an' I'm going to put a stop to them. That boy wasn't in this tent more than two minutes, an' he attends to his work better than anyone you have ever had; so see that you treat him decent. Get up,” she said to Toby, who had not dared to rise from the ground; “and if he offers to strike you again, come to me.” Toby scrambled to his feet, and ran to the booth in time to attend to one or two customers who had just come up. He could see from out the corner of his eye that Mr. Lord had arisen to his feet also, and was engaged in an angry conversation with Mrs. Treat, the result of which he very much feared would be another and a worse whipping for him. But in this he was mistaken, for Mr. Lord, after the conversation was ended, came toward the booth, and began to attend to his business without speaking one word to Toby. When Mr. Jacobs returned from his supper, Mr. Lord took him by the arm and walked him out toward the rear of the tents; and Toby was very positive that he was to be the subject of their conversation, which made him not a little uneasy.