last of the bread and cheese She scrambled to her feet so
that he could get the full effect of her new finery, and he
nodded thoughtfully
"You make a very pretty boy," he said. "But I don't think
youll want to hike the roads in those Try this "
Kim caught the bundle he tossed her and looked at him in
bewilderment "Hike"^"
"I told you the wagon wasn't meant for riding in, re-
member'3 Unless we're in a hurry, we walk It's less work for
the horses "
Kim nodded and went back inside The bundle was yet
another set of clothes, plain and much-mended, but clean
They looked like farmers' wear; Mairelon must have gotten
them from one of the stable hands She frowned suddenly.
She was glad she wouldn't have to wear the rags she'd had on
earlier, but she was rapidly becoming uncomfortable with the
number of things Mairelon was giving her. She didn't like
owing him so much; it gave him a claim on her, and she still
didn't know what he expected in return Well, she hadn't
asked him for any of it It was his own lookout if she shemed
off with everything She shrugged and reached for the
clothes
When she emerged, she found that Mairelon had changed
his full-dress London evening garb for something very like a
laborer's smock Kim had to suppress a laugh; in the patched,
brown homespun he bore a strong resemblance to a not-very-
reputable tinker's helper As soon as he was ready, they left
the yard Hunch led the horses instead of driving from the
van, and Mairelon and Kim walked along behind the wagon
Mairelon showed Kim some of his simpler magic tricks as
55
they walked He claimed that doing them on the move was
more difficult than working them on stage, and therefore it
was good practice Kim was particularly fascinated by the
various ways of tying knots that slid apart tike oiled snakes if
the right loop were pulled She made Mairelon show her how
they were tied, going slowly through the process several
times Then she practiced until she could manage a creditable
performance
She was disappointed to find that Mairelon's tricks owed
more to his deft fingers than to real magic But she hadn't
expected him to teach her any real magic, she told herself
sternly And the things he showed her were certainly fas-
cinating She swallowed her regrets and concentrated on
making a hair-crown appear to vanish from one hand and re-
appear in the other
Her language lessons continued as we!) Mairelon had a
way of looking at her and raising hfs eyebrows whenever she
used a cant phrase or misplaced a word It was far more effec-
tive than the scoldings and blows Mother Tibb had dispensed
whenever her students were slow, Kim found herself learning
more quickly than she would have dreamed
They were well out into the country now, and Kim found
the open fields and hedges very strange after the close con-
fines of the London streets Near noon they stopped to let the
horses rest and graze on the verge Kim helped Hunch unhar-
ness them, then Mairelon called her over to begin her first
lesson in reading She spent most of the two-hour stop scowl-
ing ferociously at the little brown book of letters Mairelon
had produced She emerged with a profound respect for any-
one who had mastered this difficult art, and an even more
profound determination to join their number
The afternoon was occupied by more lessons, but this time
Mairelon was the pupil He asked Kim to teach him how to
pick locks Relieved to find that there was something he
56
didn't know how to do, Kim readily agreed She scornfully
rejected, however, the notion of beginning with the lock on
the chest inside the wagon "You ain't—you aren't gotn' to get
nowhere—anywhere?—if you start in on a fancy Job like that
one," she told him.
Mairelon accepted the rebuke and brought out a smaller
padlock from somewhere in the depths of the wagon "Do we
need anything else?" he asked
"You mean, special keys and sucrp"
Mairelon nodded apologetically "I've heard that they're
useful."
"Maybe, but I just use a bit of wire If you lose a key, you
got to get a new one, and that takes time A bit of wire's
always easy to come by "
Mairelon nodded Kim spent much of the afternoon dem-
onstrating the twists and pulls that Mother Tibb had shown
her so long ago She was not as patient a teacher as Mairelon
had been, but her student had the benefit of years of experi-
ence with sleight of hand, and he learned very quickly By
the end of the afternoon, she was ready to let him try his
hand at the rusty-looking lock that held the rear doors of the
wagon
'Tomorrow, perhaps," Maireton said "I think I've had
enough for one day "
Kim rather agreed with him- She was tired and very dusty
from the long trek in the wagon's wake, and her brain whirled
in an attempt to assimilate all the new things she had learned
When they reached the edge of a little village and pulled off
the road to make camp at last, her main emotion was relief
Hunch tended the horses while Mairelon and Kim gathered
wood When the fire was well started, Mairelon hung a pot
above it on a wobbly tripod affair that he had cobbled
together out of green branches and twine Hunch went mut-
tering through the grass and weeds along the road He re-
57
turned with several lanky plants, which he threw into the pot
along with a little meat and some vegetables from the wagon
K-im was not sure whether it was Hunch's seasoning or the
long walk, but the stew was the best she had ever tasted
There was plenty of it, too; Kirn ate until she was stuffed,
and there was still some left in the pot
When the meal was over, Mairelon and Hunch began a
low-voiced conversation on the other side of the fire Kirn
quickly grew frustrated with her inability to hear what they
were saying, and Hunch's occasional fierce glares made it
quite clear that she had better not move any closer Kim
glared back at him, which accomplished nothing beyond
providing her with some emotional satisfaction, then rose and
wandered back to the wagon She glanced at the rusty lock
holding the rear doors, shook her head, and went on around
to the steps.
Inside the wagon, she gave the chest a speculative look
She decided against it; Mairelon knew she could open it, and
had undoubtedly taken precautions More precautions, she
amended, remembering the purple explosion that had thrown
her across the wagon Instead, she went to the rear of the
van She hadn't been able to investigate that area before, be-
cause Mairelon had been performing just outside, and she was
curious about how the folding stage worked
The curtain was heavier than its faded, threadbare appear-
ance had led her to expect S
he examined it more closely and
found a series of lead weights sewn into the hem Her sur-
prise lasted only a moment Mairelon wouldn't want a stray
breeze to reveal the luxurious interior of his wagon while he
was performing Kim frowned, wondering why he hadn't put
a folding panel behind the curtain for added security She'd
have to remember to ask him later; she was certain he had
some good reason She lifted one end of the curtain and
peered behind it
58
There was a foot-wide space between the curtain and the
back wall Kim slipped into it and let the curtain fall shut
behind her A little light filtered in around the edges, provid-
ing a gloomy reddish illumination As she waited for her eyes
to adjust, Kim ran her fingertips lightly across the rear wall
There was no break in the surface, this must be the floor of
the stage, then. She crouched to study the base of the wall
Yes, there were hinges, carefully sunk into notches in the
wood They hardly showed at all, and when the stage was
lowered, they would tie flush with the floor, providing no
inconvenient lumps for a performer to trip over
She completed her inspection and straightened, just as the
sound of hoofbeats came clearly from just outside Old habits
took over; Kim froze, half crouched behind the curtain She
heard a shout and the muffled sounds of conversation, but she
paid little attention She was too busy reminding herself that
she was doing nothing the nabbing culls could nick her for
She hadn't nicked anything for nearly two years, not since
she'd been on her own She had just managed to convince
herself that it would be perfectly safe to go outside and see
what was happening when steps sounded on the stairs and she
heard the wagon's door open
"—and you can take a look at it," Mairelon's voice said.
"Well, that's good news," an unfamiliar voice replied
"What's this Hunch says about you picking up another stray?"
Curiosity kept Kim motionless "I would hardly call Kim a
stray," Mairelon said "And Heaven only knows what would
have happened to her if I'd left her in the streets of London "
"Um Still trying to make up forJamie? No, no, 1 shouldn't
have mentioned it But you're certain she has nothing to do
with the robbery?"
"Quite sure Now, Edward, do you want to look at the
bowl or not?"
"Yes, of course; let's have it "
59
Sundry clicks and thumps followed, the sounds of Mairelon
unlocking the chest and throwing back the lid Then light
flashed brightly around the edges of the curtain, and the
strange voice exclaimed, "My word'"
"Impressive, isn't it?" Mairelon replied "Will you take it
with you""
"Not unless you want me to The consensus is that it may
help you find the rest of the pieces, but it may also make
things more dangerous for you "
"How?" Maireton asked sharply
"Magic cuts in both directions If you can use the bowl to
find the platter and the spheres, they can be used to find the
bowl And you "
"Of course But I thought you had more in mind than that "
"Marchmont thinks someone at the Ministry has been talk-
ing too freely," Mairelon's companion said reluctantly "It may
be deliberate "
"I see And there's still the tittle matter of finding out which
one of our colleagues at the Royal College planned the theft
in the first place, isn't there?"
"You've no proof that anyone—"
"Don't be a fool, Shorehami Someone arranged things very
cleverly to make it look as if I were the one behind that theft
Someone very well informed it was sheerest luck that 1 ran
into you that night, or you'd be as sure I'm guilty as the rest
of them "
"All right, all nght But i stilt wish you'd let me clear your
name."
"And give whoever it is a reason to try again^ No, thank
you Besides, as long as no one knows who is really responsi-
ble, there will still be those who believe I was behind it"
"I should think the word of the Earl of Shoreham will be
enough to put an end to such gossip," Shoreham said stiffly
Kirn swallowed an exclamation and pressed herself against
60
the rear wall of the wagon, wishing fervently that she had
come out from behind the curtain as soon as Mairelon opened
the wagon door Robbery and intrigue were things she em-
phatically did not want to get mixed up in, particularly if
there were Earls involved, too The gentry were even more
trouble than toffs
Mairelon's laugh had little humor to it "Nothing stops gos-
sip, Edward, you ought to know that "
"If you would just—"
"Let it lie, Edward What else do you have to tell me? I
assume you didn't come all this way just to look at the Saltash
Bowl and warn me that someone in the Ministry is too free
with information "
"You're still determined to go through with this?"
"Would I be here, like this, if i weren't?"
"Oh, very well, then We've finally traced the platter "
"And?" Mairelon's tone was eager
"It's in the hands of one of those new druid cults "
"Druid cults?"
"There's been a sort of half-baked revival going on for the
past year or two It's all very fashionable—mistletoe and
white robes under the new moon, with little golden sickles
for everyone " Lord Shoreham snorted "Quackery, alt of it;
no science at all It's the sort of thing that gives magicians a
bad name "
"Then why did it take you this long to find the platter?"
This group has one or two members who dabble a bit in
real magic "
"I see "
"They call themselves Sons of the New Dawn, I believe,"
Lord Shoreham went on "They're located in Essex, near Suf-
folk, at a place called Ranton Hill "
"I'm familiar with the area Edward, if I'm going to Essex,
61
why in Heaven's name have you dragged me a day's trip in
the opposite direction?" Mairelon demanded
'To try and keep unwelcome attention centered in this
area The platter's been there for at least two years, there's no
reason to hurry "
"Mmmm It'll take me at least two days to get there now—"
"Three," Lord Shoreham said blandly "I'd rather you went
around London instead of through it"
"If you insist "
"Under the circumstances, I most certainly do "
'Very well Tell me about these druids, then."
Kim heard a sound like a sigh of resignation, then Lord
Shoreham's voice said, "There are only about ten members,
mostly young men in it for a lark The three most likely to
have the platter are Frederick Meredith, Robert Chomiet, and
Jonathan Aberford I've brought a list of the others "
There was a rustling noise as the paper changed hands
"That will do, I think," Mairelon said with some satisfaction
"'I'll leave in the morning "
Lord Shoreham clear
ed his throat "Ah, there is one other
thing How well do you know the Viscount Granleigh?"
"I don't believe we've met "
"And St Clair?"
"The Baron and I have met Where is this leading,
Edward?"
Shoreham sighed "I wanted to know whether you were
likely to meet anyone who would recognize you "
Then why didn't you just ask"?" Mairelon's tone was infu-
riating m its innocence
"Richard' The Runners are still looking for you in connec-
tion with the original robbery, you know "
"It's half the reason I left England I take it Granteigh and
St Clair are likely to be in Essex?"
"Possibly Charles Bramingham is married to St Clair's sis-
62
ter, and his son is St Clair's heir His wife is a bosom bow of
Amelia Cranleigh, the Viscountess, and is addicted to house
parties it's not beyond the bounds of probability that you'll
run into them "
"I know I've stayed at Bramingham Place a time or two
Don't go ruffling your feathers about it, it was years ago, and
they're not likely to remember me What is their connection
with the Ministry?"
There was a moment's silence, then Lord Shoreham said
ruefully, "Richard, you are uncanny How did you know?"
Mairelon the Magician Page 7
