The Man Who Was Magic (14 page)

“Will it help me to become a magician?” asked practical Jane. “Better than my brother Peter, or even Daddy?”

“Yes,” said Adam.

“How?”

“There are compartments just for that called, ‘I Can,’ and ‘I Will.’ When you have learned to unlock them, the strong magic will help you to move mountains.”

“But Daddy says I can’t, that I’m stupid. And I’m always dropping things.”

“That’s because you’ve never used all the wonders you have packed away inside there,” and he gently tapped her brow once more. “No one really ever has.”

Jane murmured to herself, “I can and I will.”

“Abracadabra!” said Adam. “Now close your eyes again and tell me what you see.”

Jane gasped.
“Me!
Doing the trick with the little red balls, but better than Peter or Daddy ever did it and they’re watching me and clapping their hands.”

“It’s the imagining magic beginning to work. Now all you have to do is make it come true.”

“Oh, Adam,” Jane cried, opening her eyes and throwing her arms about his neck, “I love you! I do believe you. You are an honest-to-goodness, real magician, aren’t you?”

Then, as though frightened by her own temerity, she drew back, looking up into the face of the red-haired stranger which, for an instant, was filled with a kind of faraway mystery and at the same time, an unusual tenderness.

But before he could reply there was a disturbance. Mopsy’s little body began to twitch and shake and squeaky, unhappy noises came from him, even though he was still asleep.

“I’m afraid he’s probably having a bad dream,” Adam said. “We’d better wake him.”

Jane went over and stroked him gently.

Mopsy stopped shaking, awoke with a start and cried, “Help! They’re chasing me! A whole lot of men.” Then seeing Jane close to him, he leaped straight into her arms and began to squirm and lick her face frantically.

“It
was
a bad dream,” Adam declared. “He said he was being chased.”

Holding Mopsy close to her, Jane felt happier than she had ever before in her life. That moment of mystery had passed when she had looked up into Adam’s face and he had appeared like someone not of the world she knew. But something of it still remained—something unspoken between them that she felt, and a new trust In him. Although she was a child, she was aware of a change that had taken place in her life, that somehow thereafter nothing would ever be quite the same again.

And poor, muddled Ninian, still feigning sleep, too felt that something odd had happened and it brought a little, green-eyed monster to sit upon his shoulder and whisper into his ear, “They’re in league together, the two of them. They’ve left you out of it. She’s learned something while you weren’t looking, that you don’t know, and probably never will.”

For the truth was that for all his gentleness, Ninian wasn’t very bright or he would have been a better magician. And being human, too, he was prey to jealousy. He now made a great show of waking up with an, “Ah . . . Ho . . . Oof . . . Hmmmmmm! I must have been asleep. Well, well!” He stretched his creaking joints upon the ground, sat up and looked fuzzily about him.

Jane ran to him, crying, “Oh, Ninian, what do you think? While you’ve been asleep, Adam’s been teaching me to be magic.”

And Ninian, of course, misunderstanding, felt even more out of it, but had to pretend to be pleased, saying, “How splendid!” and, “What a lucky girl you are,” and other remarks of the same nature, which were not entirely sincere.

Thereafter a silence fell upon the three, as though something had gone out of the gay party that had been and even Mopsy had nothing to say for the moment, but sat looking up at Adam with his head cocked to one side.

Adam arose to all his lanky height and gazed towards the westering sun and the far horizon. His gay spirit seemed to have fallen prey to some momentary sadness. He said, “I think perhaps we’d best go home. The picnic is over.”

Only Jane noticed that the dishes, the tablecloth and the napkins were not there on the ground and when she picked up the basket, it was empty of whatever had been in it. But the fact no longer disturbed her, so thrilled and bemused was she by the new kind of magic Adam had shown her. It wasn’t until they descended the hill and were already some distance from the farm that Jane cried, “Adam, you’ve forgotten your staff. You left it under the tree.”

“Why, so I have,” the magician said, smiling. The shadow that had fallen upon him fleetingly appeared to have lifted. “Oh well, if I succeed tonight perhaps I shan’t be needing it any more.”

The return of his buoyancy lifted Jane’s heart too. For his remark seemed to promise that he might be remaining in Mageia and there was so much more she hoped to learn from him. Confidently she took Adam’s hand and skipped happily beside him in the direction of home.

XIV

T
HE
G
ATHERING
S
TORM

“W
hat trick will you perform tonight, Ninian?” Adam inquired on the way.

The tall magician did not dare reply that he had been hoping to find something to match his mysterious production of the goldfish bowl by spying upon Jane and Adam. Instead he said, “I’ve a little routine which is very amusing. That is, when it works. I begin with the flag and handkerchiefs, then do the billiard balls and the flowerpots. I may try the Chinese rings, and I finish up by taking a live rabbit out of my silk hat. I had a spot of trouble with it the last time. He was such a vicious little blighter, I couldn’t hold him. He scratched my hands and wrists and got away onto the stage and then into the orchestra pit. They had to ring down the curtain. I’ve got some very young rabbits for tonight.”

Jane thought:
Poor Ninian. Those are all such old-fashioned numbers. Nobody does them any more.

“I’m sure this time it will be a great success,” said Adam.

“I’m not,” replied Ninian, gloomily. “I get so nervous and upset.”

“Use your magic box,” Jane said.

Once more Ninian found himself shot through with a pang of jealousy. Then Adam had given Jane some special kind of equipment, sometime during the picnic.

At the doorstep of The Great Robert’s house Ninian said good-by and thanked them once more for the day. He stood there for yet another moment, first on one leg and then on the other, as though wishing to say something further, which indeed he did. And it would have been: “I did a rotten thing, Adam. I pretended I was asleep and instead I was watching you and Jane and listening to what you were saying, hoping to find out something. You see, I’m such a terrible magician and I do so want to become a member of the Guild. And now I’m worried and frightened because I know I won’t pass. Please help me!”

But instead, he just looked miserable and then mumbling his thanks again, went shambling off up the street. Jane, Adam and Mopsy watched him go until he turned a corner out of sight.

But what they didn’t see, since it was around the bend, was that as he arrived there, four large, brawny magicians stepped out from a doorway, two ranging themselves on either side of Ninian, grasping his arms and his coat collar. One of them said, “All right now, Ninian the Nonpareil, just don’t make a fuss and you won’t get hurt. You’re coming along with us.” And with that they frog-marched him off between them.

But now after Ninian had gone and they were standing in front of her home, Jane’s own troubles returned to worry her and she said, “I’m frightened to go in. Peter will blame me for what happened and Daddy will be furious. There’ll be another row and he won’t let me be your assistant.”

Adam smiled his crinkly smile. “Do you know two things that just never go together?”

Jane asked, “What?”

“Fear and magic. Can’t you see why Ninian’s tricks don’t work? Because he’s afraid they won’t. Remember your magic box and never be frightened of anything.”

“You wouldn’t like me to handle this, would you?” whispered Mopsy.

Adam was about to reply, “No, I would not,” but then remembering that his little dog had been pretty clever several times that day, said, “Why, what do you suggest?”

“Do the silly egg trick for him again, if that’s all that phony magician needs to keep him happy. He’s certain to think that the second time around he’ll be able to catch on.

“By Jove! I think you’ve got something, Mopsy.”

“There you are,” said the dog delightedly, “my brains and your magic—what a team!”

Jane asked, “What’s going to happen?”

“Our friend here has come through with an idea,” said Adam. “Just leave everything to me.”

They went inside and sure enough the reception committee was awaiting them, very stiff and grim-looking, Mrs. Robert wearing a sour expression and The Great One, his public face laid aside, equally unpleasant. As for Peter, he was a mess. One eye was shut, his lips were swollen twice their size and a bandage had been wound around and around his head.

“I must say,” snapped Mrs. Robert, “you’ve been long enough getting back, Jane, while your poor brother here has been suffering.”

“I’m sorry, madam,” Adam said, “but it was so lovely where you told us to go. Why, whatever has happened to your son?”

The Great Robert looked as though he was about to burst with anger, but was compelled to control himself. For of course, he couldn’t let on that it was his fault Peter had been concealed in those bushes and he said finally, “Ah—er—he went berrying and had the misfortune to step on a hornet’s nest.”

Peter held his head and moaned with pain.

Mopsy yelped, “Went berrying! Ha, ha, ha! That’s a good one! I was wondering how the old fraud was going to get out of that. Serves him right!”

But Jane was genuinely grieved to see her brother in such a state and went to him saying, “Oh, poor Peter, I am sorry,” only to be told, “Get away from me, you nasty girl! It’s all your fault, anyway.”

“Precisely!” put in Mrs. Robert. “How many times have I warned you, Jane, not to talk to or take up with strangers? If you hadn’t . . .”

“Oh, be still,” interrupted The Great Robert, for he saw all chances of what he was after going glimmering and besides which, he had another worry on his mind. Word of Malvolio’s mischief-making and the rumors around town about the new magician had reached his ears. “Our guest can hardly be blamed if Peter is such an idiot as to sit on a hornet’s nest.” For by now he was also thoroughly put out with his son for having made such a mess of things.

“Ha-ha!” chortled Mopsy. “That’s what you think!”

“Mopsy, for heaven’s sake keep quiet!”

“What? What?” The Great Robert inquired sharply. “I didn’t quite catch that.”

“It was only my dog, Mopsy, asking whether you’d tried ammonia.”

“Yes, yes, of course and witchhazel and anti-sting as well,” growled Robert. And then addressing himself to his daughter, he said, “Well, Jane, and did you have a nice picnic?” in a voice significant with double meaning, namely, “Did or didn’t you get what you were sent after?”

Jane looked tremulously at Adam, and he could see that she was really trying her very best not to be frightened. Unseen by the family he gave her arm a little squeeze of encouragement and it was he, then, who replied.

“Oh lovely,” he said. “Quite the most wonderful I’ve ever had. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your hospitality and I feel I ought to show my gratitude in some tangible fashion, perhaps.”

At these words The Great Robert suddenly became quite a different person. “Tangible fashion?” he repeated.

“Exactly,” replied Adam. “Until Jane pointed it out during a chat we had, I didn’t realize possibly how interested you might be in my ridiculous piece of showing off with the egg. But she’s asked me so prettily whether I’d mind doing it again for you . . .”

“Ha!” Robert exploded, unable to contain himself or believe in his luck. “You would?”

“After the performance tonight?”

If Robert was disappointed at having to wait, he had the good sense not to show it. Mopsy had been quite right about him. Almost every magician is certain that if he can see a trick repeated a second time and particularly at close quarters, he will be able either to analyze it or spot how it is done.

“Splendid, my boy! Splendid!” he cried, “That will be just fine. We’ll have a little private collation here after the finals of the trials, which I know you’ll pass with flying colors, particularly with our dear Jane to assist you. Jane, come here and kiss your daddy. I’m very proud that my little girl has been chosen to help such an up-and-coming magician.”

Mopsy said, “Oh, pfui! Make it a wet one,” as Jane, no little relieved at the sudden turn events had taken, obeyed.

Mrs. Robert melted somewhat and said, “I do hope you had enough to eat. I’m afraid I packed it up in rather a hurry.”

“We had a most delicious lunch,” Adam replied gravely.

“Mmmm,” murmured Mopsy, “the old hypocrite. I can still smell those antique sardines.”

“What’d he say?”

“He said he adores sardines,” Adam replied.

“How fortunate I had some,” said Mrs. Robert. “I suppose I’d better be bathing this poor child’s face again. Come along then, Peter.”