two o'clock
Then , on this day before the circus , all the boys in town were most anxious to know just where Toby proposed meeting the cavalcade , at what time he was to start , and other details which showed quite plainly it was their intention to accompany him if possible . When Toby went to bed , it was with the express understanding with Uncle Daniel that he was to be called at daylight , in order that he might start out to meet the circus when it stopped to prepare for its entrance into the town . The place where the procession was usually formed was fully two miles from town , and as Abner could hardly walk that distance , and certainly could not walk so fast as Toby would want to go , he had agreed to drive the cows to pasture , after which he was to go to the tenting-ground , where his friend would introduce him to all the celebrities . Uncle Daniel seemed quite as anxious as Toby that he should leave the house in time to meet his circus friends before the entrée was made , and Aunt Olive afterwards said he did n't sleep a wink after two o'clock for fear he might not waken in time to rouse the anxious boy . It was fully an hour before sunrise when Uncle Daniel awakened Toby , and cautioned him to eat as much of the lunch Aunt Olive had set out as possible , insisting that what he could not eat he should put into his pocket , as it would be a long while before he would get his dinner . The two miles Toby was obliged to walk seemed very short ones , and at nearly every house on the road one or more boys were watching for him quite as eagerly as for the show itself , so that by the time he arrived at the place where two or three of the wagons had drawn up by the side of the road , he had as many as a hundred boys for an escort , all of whom were urging him to get the manager to take out a few lions and tigers for their inspection before starting for the village . Toby could hold out no promise to them ; on the contrary , he insisted that he hardly knew the manager , save by sight , and explained to them that they were unwise to come with him on any such errand , since none of the curiosities could be seen there , and if old Ben were still with the company he should ride back with him .