Like it was a funeral instead of a show.
'Then it hit me.'
'Wait a minute,' Safar said, 'last I heard your ass was still on fire.'
Biner laughed. 'It sure was,' he said. 'And maybe that's what got me unstuck, because the first thing that hits me is that my behind feels like it's being grilled for supper. So I put it out. Stuck my butt in a bucket of water like I always do. And there's a hiss and the steam's risin' up around me and I start laughin' at myself. For the first time in ages I could see myself as a clown again, see in my head what a silly figure I was, squattin' in the bucket. Which, when you think about, is what most of us are doin' in real life-squattin' over our troubles without much of a clue that anythin' else is happenin' 'cause our attention is fixed on our sore asses.
'Then I think, well, we're all fools goin' to a fools' hell, so godsdamn it all!
'Damn everything but the circus!
'So I come up out of my bucket and I see that I'm no lonesome genius, because Arlain and the boys are thinkin' the same thing. We all smile at each other and I give the high sign and boom! Elgy and Rabix strike up the band and boom! we start all over again. Right from the top. The whole show. But this time we're playin' right to the kid.
'Every trick, every laugh-getter aimed for the kid, who's still cryin', still callin' for his momma, but after awhile his cries get quieter, tears goin' from a river to a trickle, until just when me and Arlain did the pants on fire number again the kid gets to laughin.' Startin' with a giggle, then a snicker, then an all out belly laugh that wouldn't quit.
'The whole audience is with us now, laughin' along with the kid. Havin' the time of their lives. Don't matter what waits for them outside, how bad it might be, how bad it might get, this is the circus. And when you are at the circus you are free and nothin' can get to you long as the music's playin' and the clown's are clownin' and Arlain is flyin' high over your heads, beautiful and makin' dreams come true in the air.'
Biner's eyes misted over at the memory. Then he coughed, coming back. 'Jump to the chase. We put on one hells of a show. Sent the folks home happy, especially that kid. Just like the old days. Afterwards, we sat up all night and gave each other hells for forgettin' we were circus people. It's not a trade, it's a callin'. Like a holy mission. And the harder the times the more folks need us.
'But most of all we talked about how ashamed Methyida would of been for forgettin' all that. So the next day we packed up the tents and hit the road again. Playin' the fairs and festivals like before. But this time we had purpose. This time we had heart. We were a real circus and it made all the difference in the world.'
There was a respectful silence as both men contemplated circus mystique, passing the wineskin back and forth.
Then Biner winked, humor a bright splinter in his eye. 'Guess I've given you enough of a buildup,' he said. 'Maybe I ought to get on to the feature act.'
'I wish you would,' Safar said, dry. 'I bought the ticket for the big tease. Which was that Methydia sent you. If that's not the case, I want my money back.'
'Never fear, my lad,' Biner said. 'This is an honest circus. The sucker-I mean, the honored customer-always gets what he pays for.'
He lumbered to his feet, saying in his ringmaster's voice, 'Ladies and Gentleman, lads and lasses of all ages…' hauling the trunk around until it stood out clear in the light, '…I now present to you-'
He stopped in mid cry, hand flourish indicating the trunk. Then he winked again and said, abruptly normal voiced, 'Recognize it, lad?'
Light dawned and Safar nodded, excited, 'It's Methydia's,' he said.
'That's right, lad,' Biner said, throwing back the top, revealing a bright jumble of costumes and small boxes and jars and packets and glittering bits of this and that. 'It's Methydia's Amazing Trunk of Tricks.'
'That's what she called it,' Safar said, smiling at the memory. 'Her Trunk of Tricks. If you needed to fix your costume, or your act, or even if you were sick, she could always find something in the trunk that did the job.'
Biner started rummaging, tossing things aside, 'Arlain came on this about a year or so ago,' he said, talking as he worked. 'We'd forgotten all about the thing and it got lost in all our gear. But then one day Arlain had a new idea for her act and she was lookin' for somethin' to help her out and while she was diggin' around she found Methydia's trunk.
'Well, she figured she was saved, because whatever it was she needed just had to be in this trunk. So she started going through it, just like I'm doing now.'
Biner was near the bottom, sweeping out the last things. Then he turned, gesturing for Safar to come closer, saying, 'And then she saw this…'
Safar looked inside. At first he was puzzled: the trunk was empty. Then in the center he saw a scrap of white lace, no bigger than a thumbnail and he automatically reached to brush it aside, but it stuck there, stubborn. He plucked at it, but it remained fast.
'Just give it a bit of a tug, lad,' Biner advised.
So he did, pulling gently, feeling some resistance, then it started to give and he was lifting up a rectangular lid! He goggled at it, realizing it was dangling from the lace, then, wide-eyed, he looked down and saw the hidden compartment he'd revealed. It was about six inches wide and a foot long and lined with thick black velvet. Sitting inside, cushioned by the velvet, was a glass case.
Safar looked up at Biner, hesitant. 'Go ahead, lad,' the dwarf said. 'Take her out.'
Gently, Safar lifted out the case. As it emerged into the light it glittered and shimmered with color.
Begging the eye to look closer and be amazed, so Safar did, heart tap-tapping like a cobbler's hammers, palms moist with excitement.
When he saw it he gasped like a boy.
'It's the Airship!' he cried, holding the case out to Biner as if he didn't know already. 'Methydia's Airship!'
'Sure it is, lad,' Biner said, a big grin lighting his ugly face. 'A perfect replica from stem to stern.'
And indeed it was, a wondrous ship with graceful decks dangling beneath two marvelous balloons that made it a creature of the air, rather than the sea. All in perfect scale down to the copper burners that in real life provided the lifting power.
The lead balloon bore Methydia's beauteous face, with huge exotic eyes and sensuous lips. Beneath it was the legend: 'Methydia's Flying Circus of Miracles!'
'It's so real,' Safar breathed, 'I feel as if I'm on it.'
'There's more, lad,' Biner said. 'You still ain't seen the whole show. Not by half!'
He pointed at the chest. 'There's somethin' else in that compartment. Somethin' you missed.'
Safar glanced where he was pointing and saw a small roll of white parchment with a blue ribbon tied around the middle and creased where the edge of the case had rested. He handed Biner the glass case and lifted out the scroll.
He slid the ribbon off and as he unrolled the message he could smell Methydia's perfume floating up from the parchment. It made it seem as if she had suddenly entered the room and all he had to do was turn around and see her warm smile.
Then the scroll was fully open, revealing a simple message written in Methydia's elegant, flowing hand:
'To Safar
My heart, my love
My life
Methydia '
'When we saw that,' Biner said, 'we knew the ship wasn't just a pretty model.'
Safar raised his head, dazed. 'What?'
'The airship, lad,' Biner said. 'It's not a toy! It's real, lad! It's real!'
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
THE JESTER'S LAUGH
Safar goggled at the model of the airship, then at Biner, saying, 'What do you mean, it's
The dwarf shook his big head, laughing. 'You're lookin' at me,' he said, 'like you think I just cut the last sandbag loose and now there's no tellin' when I'll ever come to ground again.'
