He let the subsequent silence hang in the air a moment, and then he dropped his jacket and walked down the steps and into the crowd. Some moved back, but Mrs. Delaney and her shrouded companion stayed put.
“No, I’m not heartless, as you see. I give them sustenance and shelter, and a job to do. All these medical curiosities are here today for your education and edification. Yiss. All these marvels are waiting for you to step inside so they may show you the wonders of the world. Look around you.” As he said the word “around,” he turned his head until it faced completely in the opposite direction. The audience muttered, and one of the girls squeaked. He didn’t turn his head in a complete circle, of course, he brought it back the same way, but I would bet there were those there who would later swear he did.
“Yiss, there are wonders in your very midst,” he continued, and he swooped the cloak from Apollo’s shoulders. My hairy friend stood there clad in nothing but his underdrawers and personal hirsute glory.
Men cried out, and women screamed, even though they knew the boy.
“Arf, arf, arf,” barked Apollo, in obvious delight at performing once more.
I choked back a curse. What was that stupid boy playing at? Was he asking to be carried off? Then it hit me. He was. He wanted to join this show. I couldn’t let that happen.
As I tried to work my way through the crowd to get to Apollo, Dr. Mink ran up the wooden stairs to the bally platform again. He silenced his babbling audience with an upheld bony hand. “Tonight, and tonight only, this is a free show for the ladies. Step up, step up, my dears.” The girls came forward in a rustle of summer petticoats, further hindering my progress. “But, ladies,” warned Dr. Mink, “do not venture inside without your smelling salts. I would not wish you to swoon and hurt yourselves.”
“Excuse me, excuse me,” I repeated as I maneuvered by two of the upstairs maids, enjoying a holiday.
Dr. Mink turned his attention to the men. “The admission for gentlemen will be a mere two bits if you wish to lend the ladies an arm to lean on.”
A big man came out with a starry cash box, and Dr. Mink entered the tent. The gentlemen pressed forward, money in hand, pulling me with them. Apollo ran behind the banners and followed Mink into the tent. I fumbled in my pockets. I couldn’t let Apollo go in by himself, but I had no money. As I reached the entrance, Apollo ran out to me and tugged my arm. “It’s all right, Abel,” he said proudly. “You’re with me.” I took Apollo’s arm, ready to pull him away, but the man with the cash box moved in behind me, and the only way to go without a fuss was in.
I was irked. Apollo had made a target of himself, and already he claimed privileges with a show that I had wanted to join.
“Let me go,” squeaked Apollo, and I released my grip on his arm with a snort of irritation.
The audience entered one end of the tent and traveled the length, while a wiry roustabout watched for improprieties. The exhibits were lined up on the other side of a velvet cord. I didn’t see a dark-haired dancing girl. So much for Lady Adventure kidnapped by a man of bones. I was actually disappointed. What a fool I was. At least there were no children on display. That was one less thing to worry about.
The first of the human exhibits was the alligator girl—more of a woman, actually. She hadn’t the face of that beast, but indeed, as attested by her low-cut gown and shortened skirt, her body was covered by a rough, corrugated growth that mimicked the scales of an alligator. Some of the girls stroked their own fair skin nervously, and more than one of the gentlemen appeared a little ill. The alligator girl herself smiled and nodded at all, though no one spoke to her.
They have no acts, I realized. They just sit there like museum pieces or—I swallowed hard—animals at a zoo. My heart went out to them.
“Good evening, ma’am,” I said as we filed by. “I hope it finds you well.”
“Why, honey pie,” she answered in a pleasing voice. “How kind of you to ask, and indeed it does.” She tilted her head as she noticed Apollo at my side. “Are you here to join us, sugarplum?”
“I hope so,” said Apollo.
“No,” I said, and put my hand firmly on his shoulder. She didn’t ask if I was here to join them, I thought glumly, but why should she? I wasn’t covered in fur.
“Well, lookit that,” said a gruff alto voice. “I ain’t seen one a them before.” The speaker was the next exhibit, a lady dwarf with a large head, a protruding forehead, a broad, saddle-shaped nose—and a beard. The joke took me by surprise, and I laughed. I hadn’t listened closely to Dr. Mink—the smallest woman and the most unusual bearded lady were one and the same. Not only that, she was the driver I had mistaken for a man. Trust a showman to make it sound like you were getting twice as much for your money, and still make you feel like you’d received a bonus when you found out the truth.
“What you laughing at?” growled the bearded lady, and she tugged at the sleeve of her flounced satin gown. Her arms were short and brawny and looked odd emerging from that confection. I couldn’t help but notice the dirt under her fingernails.
“My apologies, ma’am,” I said. “I merely laughed with delight at the economy of your design.”
“Well, don’t he talk like a book?” she said, rolling her eyes. “You could take lessons,” she called over to her left.
There lay the caterpillar man in his striped tube of a shirt, the difference from the banner being the lumps on the sides of his trunk where his arms should have been. He was bald and swarthy, with a scowling face that belonged on a man in his thirties. His lips were pressed closed as if he rarely spoke at all, so perhaps she joked.
“Well, doesn’t that beat the devil?” Lillie said. She slid in beside me. “He makes me feel all-overish.” She shivered.
“Hello, gorgeous,” the caterpillar man rasped, and gave me a start. “I’d feel you all over for sure.” He undulated in a most disgusting parody.
“Ewwww!” Lillie stepped back.
“What’s he doing, Abel?” Apollo asked.
“Scratching an itch, I believe,” I answered. I was beginning to have second thoughts about my joining this show, let alone Apollo.
“Stop that!” The bearded lady smacked the culprit on the head.