Free The Man Who Was Magic by Paul Gallico Page A

permissible for them to include it in their acts. Thus, they quite expected the newcomer to guard his method closely.
    True, a number of them felt slightly put out that their Mayor, The Great Robert, had rather swept Adam into his orbit and out of theirs, for there was always the chance that the stranger might be willing to reveal his trick, in which case the Chief Magician would have the monopoly.
    In the meantime, furtively, Mephisto was circulating among those he thought might lend an ear, whispering, “Meeting in the basement in an hour. Malvolio says matter of life and death. Better come, if you know what’s good for you.”
    In the dark and devious mind of Malvolio, a new plot against The Great Robert was hatching. He was not at all satisfied with what old Professor Alexander had said about the trick with the egg. He saw himself as the only one there awake to the possibility that the stranger was far more than what he seemed—an apprentice, journeyman magician who had wandered to Mageia as had so many others. If he could prove it and alert all Mageia to the danger, he would soon enough be able to supplant The Great Robert as Chief of all the Magicians and Head of the Guild.
    There were two more persons in the gathering who were feeling most uncomfortable, worried and ill at ease as the result of Adam’s performance. One was Fussmer. Try as he would, he could find no natural or mechanical means either for the manner in which his false teeth had been stripped from inside his mouth to land in Adam’s cap, some ten feet away.
    And the other, of course, was Ninian who, although he was still filled with gratitude to Adam, wasn’t all that happy over the way in which he had passed his test.
    For he was already terrified at the prospect of what would happen to him when called upon to perform the following night. He certainly would not be able to repeat the trick of bird cage into goldfish bowl and he was quite well aware that he had not done it by himself. But if he had not done it, then it must have been Adam. And if it was Adam—how? And what could it all mean?
    His discomfort was not lessened when suddenly The Great Robert who had never even deigned to notice him in the past, came over, threw an arm about his shoulder and said jovially, “And I’m sure we’d like to have our old friend join us at dinner tonight, where we can all discuss in peace and quiet some of the wonderful routines we’ve seen today. Now, now, Ninian, you mustn’t say no. My wife will be delighted to have you. Plenty of room—eight o’clock. Come as you are.”

X

    F EAR C OMES TO M AGEIA
    “F augh! I don’t like this place one bit,” Mopsy was saying. “I wish we were out of it. This house gives me the willies. And as for the conjurers, I haven’t seen a real good trick since we’ve come here. Paper flowers, cards, making coins disappear up their sleeves, billiard balls, colored handkerchiefs and pulling rabbits out of silk hats! What kind of magic do you call that? And what a silly place to keep rabbits.”
    “Mopsy, you mustn’t talk like that,” Adam admonished. “These are some of the greatest magicians on earth and they are loved and admired all over the world, especially by children.”
    “Huh,” said Mopsy, quite unabashed. “If I were a child, I’d be scared to death by creeps like Malvolio and Mephisto. Jane said that oily fellow, Hamid what’s-his-name, gave her the shivers.”
    “Oh now, Mopsy, come on, be sensible,” Adam said. “They’re not really like that. It’s just part of their act, to seem more mysterious and excite people. For instance, those two magicians, one dressed up as a Chinaman and the other as an Indian, it’s all showmanship.”
    This conversation took place in the bathroom which had been assigned to Adam and which was really quite extraordinary. It had, among other conveniences, an all-purpose chair with a whole panel of push buttons from which to choose, listing, “H ANDS . F ACE . T