"I ain't said I'm coming with you yet!" Kim said crossly
"And you haven't said you're not, either," Mairelon replied.
"Come, now, make your decision I have things to do if you
aren't "
18
"Huh " Kim was unimpressed "I ain't wishful to get into no
trouble with the nabbing culls What's your tay^"
Mairelon smiled "I'm a traveling magician I play the mar-
kets and fairs "
"Give oven I told you, I ain't no flat Folks that can do real
magic don't waste time flashing tricks at the markets And you
ain't got yourself no wagon done up like a gentry ken that
way, neither "
"That's my affair I'll give you my word that we're doing
nothing illegal, if you've other questions, you'll have to wait
for answers After all, we don't know you very well yet"
"No, nor want to," Hunch said under his breath
Kim frowned at him automatically, but her mind was busy
elsewhere She'd never get a chance like this again, she was
certain Risking Mairelon's unknown objectives was a small
price to pay for the promise of a few days' worth of regular
meats and a safe place to sleep, even without the promise of
tutoring Add in the possibility of learning something that
would free her from the perilous hand-to-mouth world of the
London slums and Mairelon's proposal was well-nigh irresist-
ible, especially since she'd probably never find out what the
magician was really doing or what was so important about
that bowl if she didn't go along And if she didn't like it, she
could always tip them the double and come back to London
She'd be no worse off than she was now
"Well?" Mairelon asked
"All right, then," Kim said "I'll do it"
Hunch groaned
"Good!" Mairelon said, ignoring Hunch "We'll see the tai-
lor tomorrow about getting you some clothes We won't be
long in London, so I'm afraid there won't be many of them "
"Sounds bang-up to me," Kim said It took most of her will
19
to sound moderately pleased instead of all but stunned
speechless Clothes from a tailor? For her?
"She'll run off as soon as she's got everything she can off
you," Hunch prophesied gloomily.
Kim started to protest, but Mairelon's voice overrode her-
"Hunch, if you don't stop trying to pick out a quarrel with
Kim, I shall be forced to leave you in London."
"You wouldn't never'" Hunch said.
"No?"
Hunch muttered something under his breath and stomped
to the far end of the wagon. Mairelon looked after him and
shook his head- "He'll come around, never fear. You've noth-
ing to worry about,"
"Ain't you forgetting something?" Kim said.
"What?"
"That skinny toff down at the Dog and Bull, that sent me
in here lookin'. What're you going to do about him?"
"I think he ought to get what he's paying for," Mairelon
said after due consideration. "Don't you agree?"
Kim thought of the underhanded way the skinny toff had
held back information to keep the price down "No,"
"Yes, he certainly should," Mairelon said, as though he
hadn't heard Kim. "I think you should go back to that place
you mentioned—what was the name again?"
"The Dog and Bull "
"Of course- I think you should go back and collect your
five pounds." He paused and smiled at Kim, "What do you
say?"
20
THREE
Kim darted across a street directly in front of
a hackney, causing the horses to shy. The
drivers curses followed her as she slipped into
the pedestrian traffic on the other side, but she paid no atten-
tion. She was late for her appointment, and she didn't know
how long the skinny toff would wait.
Not that she was particularly anxious to see him again, five
pounds or not. She still wasn't sure how she'd been talked
into this. Maybe it was because Hunch had been so set
against it; knowing how much he disliked the idea, she
couldn't resist going ahead with it. Or maybe it was Mair-
elon's persuasiveness. The man made it all sound so reasonable,
and he knew just how to appeal to Kirn's curiosity -
That, of course, was the root of the problem. Kirn dodged
a lamplighter, ducking under the end of his ladder. Sorneday
she was going to get into real trouble if she didn't stop poking
her nose into things just to find out what they looked like
Still castigating herself, Kim turned down the crooked lane
that led to the Dog and Bull, Here the traffic was less, and
she made better time. When she saw the cracked sign with its
21
garish painting, she broke into a run, and a moment later she
was inside. She stepped to one side of the door and paused,
panting, to survey the room
it was a moment before her eyes adjusted to the gloom
Though the single window was large, half or more of its
panes had been broken and stuffed with paper, and those that
remained were dark with dirt What light there was came
from the fire in the huge, blackened hearth, and it did not
penetrate far into the smoke and steam that filled the air.
Three long, bare tables occupied the center of the room-
The backless benches on either side were half full of large
men in well-worn clothes. Most were hunched over mugs of
beer; some were eating with single-minded intensity from an
assortment of battered bowls. There was no sign of the toff
anywhere.
Kirn frowned. Had she missed him, then? There was no
way of telling She decided to take the chance that he, too,
was late, and made her way to one of the tables. She
squeezed herself into a corner where she could watch the
door, ordered a half-pint of ale, and settled in to wait.
The procession of customers entering the room was not
exactly encouraging Most were working-class men identifia-
ble by their clothes—carters, bricklayers, a butcher, one or
two costennongers, a sawyer A nondescript man in a shabby
coat slouched in and crept to the far corner of the table as if
he expected to be thrown out. Kim sipped at her ale, won-
dering unhappily whether she should risk attracting attention
by asking questions.
The door opened again, and another collection of solid
men in rough-spun wool and grimy linen entered. In their
wake came a tall man made even taller by his top hat. He
wore a voluminous cape that made it impossible to tell
whether he was fat or slim, but the white-gloved hand press-
ing a handkerchief to his lips was impossible to mistake. Fam-
22
ble-cheats and a top hat, Kim thought disgustedly, in a place
like this. He was the one she was waiting for, all right. She
straightened, trying to look taller so that he would see her.
The toff surveyed the room disdainfully, then made his
way among the tables and stopped beside Kim. "I trust your
presence means you have succeeded, boy," he said.
"I done what you asked
," Kim said.
"Good. I suggest we conduct the remainder of our business
in one of the private rooms in back."
"You want everyone here knowin' you got business with
me?" Kim asked without moving.
The toff's face darkened in anger, but after a moment he
shook his head- "No, I suppose not."
"Then you'd better set down afore everyone here ends up
lookin' at you," Kim advised-
The man's lips pressed together, but he recognized the
wisdom of Kirn's statement. He seated himself on the bench
across from her, setting his hat carefully on the table. The
publican, a fat man in a dirty apron, came over at once, and
the toff accepted, with some reluctance, a mug of beer. As ^
the publican left, the toff leaned forward. "You said you'd
done as I asked. You found the bowl, then? You have a list of
what is in Mairelon's wagon?"
"What would the likes of me be doing makin' lists?" Kim
said sarcastically.
The man looked startled. "I had anticipated—"
"You wanted a list, you should of hired a schoolmaster,"
Kim informed him. "I can tell you what I saw in that magic-
cove's wagon, but that's all-"
The man's eyes narrowed "In that case, perhaps five
pounds is more than the information is worth to me."
"In that case, you ain't getting no information at all," Kim
said, mimicking his tone.
23
"Come, now, ! think you are unreasonable Shall we say,
three pounds?"
Kim spat, "I done what you said, and you never said noth-
ing about no list. Five pounds and that's flat."
"Oh, very well. Did you find the bowl?"
"I ain't saying nothin' until I get what you promised."
The toff argued, but Kim remained firm. Eventually he
agreed, and unwillingly counted out the five pounds in notes
and coin, Kim made a show of re-counting it, her fingers
lingering over each coin in spite of herself. She had never had
so much money at once in all her life, and every silver shill-
ing and half crown meant another day or week of food and
possible safety. She stowed the money safely in the inner
pockets of her Jacket, feeling highly pleased with both herself
and Mairelon. If it hadn't been for the magician's urging, she
might have passed up an easy mark
"Satisfied?" the man said angrily. "All right, then, tell me
what you found."
Kim smiled inwardly and launched into a detailed and ex-
haustive description of the interior of the magician's wagon.
She noticed the anticipation on her listeners face when she
talked of the pots and pans in Mairelon's cupboard, and care-
fully saved the information that they were all made of iron for
the end of the sentence. She got a perverse satisfaction out of
seeing the flash of disappointment on the toff's face.
The man got more and more impatient as she went along.
Finally she mentioned the locked chest. The toff sat up.
"Locked?"
"Yes." Kim paused- "But I got in "
The man leaned forward eagerly, "And?"
"It looked like that's where the cove kept his magics- There
were a whole bunch of little paper lanterns, and a couple of
them little wooden boxes, and a stack of silk—"
"Yes, yes, boy, but the bowl!"
—24—
"Bowl?" Kim said, feigning innocence,
"The silver bowl I described to you' Did you find it?"
"I didn't see nothin' like that in Mairelon's wagon," Kim
said with perfect truth.
"What!" The toff's voice was loud enough to make heads
turn all along the table- He controlled himself with effort,
and when the other customers had turned away, he glared at
Kim. "You said you'd do as I asked!"
"And so I have," Kim retorted, unperturbed- "Ain't nobody
could of found somethin' that ain't never been there."
"Not there?" The man sounded stupefied-
"Use your head, cully," Kim advised. "If this Mairelon swell
had something tike that, I would of seen it, wouldn't I? And I
ain't. So it ain't there."
"You're certain?"
Kim nodded.
The toff glared as though it were her fault. "Not there," he
muttered. "All this time, wasted on the wrong man. Amelia
will never let me hear the end of it Merrill could be any-
where in England by now, anywhere!"
"That ain't my lookout," Kim pointed out. "You want to
"And you," the toff went on in a venomous whisper, "you
knew. That's why you made me give you your money in ad-
vance, isn't it? You little cheat!"
On the last word, he lunged across the table. The sudden
movement took Kim completely by surprise. He would have
had his hands at her throat if a grimy, disreputable-looking
man had not half lurched, half fallen against the toff's back at
that moment.
The unexpected shove knocked the toff heavily into the
edge of the table; Kim heard his grunt of pain plainly She
stood and backed away a little, watching with interest She
25
recognized the grimy man now, he had come into the public
house }ust before the toff's arrival
The gnmy man was the first to recover "Sh-shorry. very
shorry," he said "The floor )usht, Jusht shook me over, thash
all " He waved a hand to demonstrate, and lost his balance
again
"Get away from me, you idiot'" the toff snarled
"Right Very shorry " The drunk made ineffectual apolo-
getic motions in the toff's direction Since he was still draped
halfway over the toff's shoulder, this succeeded only in
knocking over the almost untouched mug of beer in front of
them A wave of brown foam surged across the table, picking
up dirt and grease as it went
The toff made a valiant effort to spring back out of the
way, but with the drunk still leaning helpfully across his
shoulder, he didn't have a chance The pool of cool, dirty
beer swished into his lap, thoroughly drenching his pre-
viously immaculate attire The taproom exploded in laughter
The drunk began a tearful apology, which was more a la-
ment for the wasted beer than anything else Cursing, the
toff shoved him aside He began wiping vainly at his clothes
with a pocket handkerchief white the publican escorted the
drunk firmly to the door Kim judged it a good moment for
her own departure and slipped quietly out in the drunk's
wake Her last sight was of the toff, gingerly picking his dnp-
pmg top hat out of the pool of beer
Still chuckling, Kim paused in the lane outside it was now
fully dark, and a yellow fog was rising Not the best time for
running about the London streets, even for as ragged a waif as
Kim looked Still, she hadn't much choice She swallowed
hard, thinking of the coins in her pockets If she lost them,
she'd have nothing to fall back on if her arrangement with
Mairelon fell apart She started off, hugging the edge of the
lane
26
As she passed the corner of the D
og and Bull, a pair of
dirty, beer-scented hands grabbed her One clamped itself
over her mouth, the other pinned her arms Kim threw her
self forward, but the man was too strong She was dragged
quickly and quietly into a filthy alley beside the public house
She kicked backward, hard, and connected The man made
no sound, but his grip loosened, and Kim wrenched one arm
free She bit down on the hand covering her mouth and felt
her captor jerk Then she heard a whisper almost directly in
her ear "Kim' Stop iti It's Mairelon "
Without thinking, Kim struck at the voice with her free
hand Then the words penetrated, and she hesitated She
couldn't imagine what Mairelon might be doing in this part of
town, but magicians were a queer lot, and she'd already de
cided that Mairelon was one of the queerest of them all And
who else would expect that name to have any weight with
her?
"It really is me, unlikely as it seems," the whisper said "If I
let go, you won't make a sound until you're sure, will you?
Nod if you agree "
Kim nodded, and the hands released their hold She turned
and found herself confronting the drunk who had caused so