He was not certain about it, but the mere doubt made his blood run chill.

He listened for a minute anxiously.

There was no chance now, however, for testing the correctness of his suspicion.
The band had struck up a noisy jig tune, and the clown was capering and tumbling wonderfully, amid roars of laughter.
"This may be my fault," thought Valentine.

_"This!_ What ?" He was afraid to pursue that inquiry.

His ruddy face suddenly turned pale; and he left the circus, determined to find out what was really going on behind the red curtain.
He walked round the outside of the building, wasting some time before he found a door to apply at for admission.