Something Wicked This Way Comes (Green Town 2)

g off the dank stone walls of his body until it fell out his mouth:

"... welcome ... mmmmmm ..."

The word fell back in.

"well ... cummm ... mmmm ..."

The policemen nudged each other with identical smiles.

"No!" cried Will, suddenly. "That's no act! He was dead! He'd die again if you cut the power--!"

Will slapped his own hand to his mouth.

Oh Lord, he thought, what am I doing? I want him alive, so he'll forgive us, let us be! But, oh Lord, even more I want him dead, I want them all dead, they scare me so much I got hairballs big as cats in my stomach!

"I'm sorry...." he whispered.

"Don't be!" cried Mr. Dark.

The freaks made a commotion of blinks and glares. What next from the statue in the cold sizzling chair? The old old man's one eye gummed itself. The mouth collapsed, a bubble of yellow mud in a sulphur bath.

The Illustrated Man banged the switch a notch, grinning wildly at no one. He thrust a steel sword in the old man's empty glove-like hand.

A drench of electricity prickled from the sere music-box tines of the ancient stubbled cheeks. That deep eye showed swift as a bullet hole. Hungry for Will, it found and ate of his image. The lips steamed:

"I ... sssaw ... the ... boysssssss ... ssssneak into ... thee ... tent ... tttttt...."

The desiccated bellows refilled, then pin-punctured the swamp air out in faint wails:

"... We ... rehearsing ... sssso I thought ... play ... thissss trick ... pretend to be ... dead."

Again the pause to drink oxygen like ale, electricity like wine.

"... let myself fall ... like ... I ... wasssss ... dying.... The ... boysssssssss ... ssscreaming ...ran!"

The old man husked out syllable on syllable.

"Ha." Pause. "Ha." Pause. "Ha."

Electricity hemstitched the whistling lips.

The Illustrated Man coughed gently. "This act, it tires Mr. Electrico...."

"Oh, sure." One of the policemen started. "Sorry." He touched his cap. "Fine show."

"Fine," said one of the internes.

Will glanced swiftly to see the interne's mouth, what it looked like saying this, but Jim stood in the way.

"Boys! A dozen free passes!" Mr. Dark held them out. "Here!"

Jim and Will didn't move.

"Well?" said one policeman.

Sheepishly, Will reached up for the flame-colored tickets, but stopped as Mr. Dark said, "Your names?"

The officers winked at each other.