Diamond, make your bow."
Whereupon Diamond--with some difficulty--bent his knees, and thrust his
head down to the ground.
The twins were enchanted.
But this was by no means the best of Diamond's accomplishments. By
looking at a watch he could tell the time, and explained to the audience
that it was now seventeen minutes past three, by pawing on a plank of
wood with his hoof three times, and then, after a moment's pause,
seventeen times. He could shake his head wisely to mean "yes" or "no";
he could find the lady's pocket-handkerchief amongst the audience, and,
finally, he refused to leave the ring without his mistress, and when she
showed no sign of accompanying him, he trotted behind her, and pushed
her out with his soft white nose.
Next an acrobat came somersaulting in. He did all sorts of strange
things, such as balancing himself upside down on the broad shoulders of
Mr. Brooks, and tying himself into a kind of knot and so entangling his
limbs that it became impossible to tell the legs from the arms.
After he had gone there was a long pause, and then came tottering in,
with slow and painful footsteps, an old, old man. He was dressed in a
dirty black suit, and wore an old battered bowler. His clothes were
almost in rags, and he had muffled up his face with a long black
comforter.
A strange hush came over the audience as he sat down in the ring to
rest, only Humpty and Dumpty leaned forward eagerly to watch.
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