"It wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that the Blue Man scares the shit out of your lion, would it?" said Thaddeus.

"That's another reason," said Monk, looking uncomfortable.

"Then move the lion," said Thaddeus. "It's less work."

Monk shook his head. "They go, or I'm taking my bus and leaving." I thought Thaddeus was going to hit him, but Monk just backed up a step and laughed. "You lay a finger on me, bossman, and you're going to wake up with a lion in your trailer. He ain't scared of you."

Thaddeus unclenched his fist, shrugged, and walked away. A moment later he told Treetop and Big Alvin to put up another tent and connect it to the one he had earmarked for the freaks.

"Once we move them in there," he told them, "you two guys are riding shotgun on them. If even one of them gets away, I'll see to it that you never work again."

It was an empty threat—Thaddeus had no connections out of the carny business, and not that many in it—but they believed him, and an hour later they had the tent up and were moving the freaks, one at a time, into it.

"My God, they stink!" said Thaddeus, inspecting the premises when the last of them had been moved. "See to it that they all shower before tonight, Tojo. Especially the Elephant Woman and the Lizard." He took a deep breath. "Jesus! I don't know how they can stand themselves!"

"We'll need a portable shower stall," I pointed out.

"We've only got one, and it's for the girls."

"Can't you find another?" I asked.

"You think I'm made of money?" he demanded. "These freaks have already set me back twelve thousand dollars, and I haven't made a penny off them yet. Get some soap and water and sponge 'em down."

"All but him."

"Him too!" snapped Thaddeus. "If they still stink when you're done, borrow some perfume from Alma or Gloria and spray them with it."

"It's cold in there, Thaddeus," I said.

"It's cold everywhere," he said disgustedly. "That's why we call it winter."

"They could catch pneumonia if I wash them down in here," I said. "Can't we trade heaters with the strip show?"

He shook his head. "They work naked. You want them to catch pneumonia?"

"Can't we just borrow it long enough to get the baths done?" I persisted.

He thought about it for a moment, then nodded to Treetop. "Bring it in," he said. "But make sure you take it back as soon as he's done."

Treetop nodded, and rolled in a huge blower unit a couple of minutes later.

And, two minutes after that, Gloria stormed into the tent.

"What's the big idea?" she demanded.

"Thaddeus said we could borrow it for a while," I told her.

"Yeah? Well, you tell that son of a bitch that I'm not working until we get it back. Hell, I've got some goosebumps that are bigger than my nipples!"

I was afraid she was going to back up her statement with a presentation of the evidence, but she just glared at the freaks for a minute and then stalked off in search of Thaddeus. He sent for Treetop a few minutes later, and shortly thereafter we lost our blower.

So I filled up a bucket with warm water and soap, and began sponging off the Human Lizard. I apologized to him as I was working, but he looked neither right nor left, never said a word, never even acknowledged my presence.

I went over to the Elephant Woman next. When she saw me approaching she backed away.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I said gently.

I walked toward her again, and again she moved away.

"Don't," said a very hoarse, odd-sounding voice.

I jumped, because I knew the direction it had come from.

"Leave her alone," said the Blue Man, leaning against one of the tent's support posts.

"But—"

"She doesn't like water," he said.

"Boy, I'll tell the world she doesn't!" said Big Alvin, wrinkling his nose. "Pheww!"

"How about the others?" I managed to ask.

"If they want to wash, they will bathe themselves," said the Blue Man.

"Can they?" I asked, my eyes scanning the aggregation of oddities and monsters.

"Yes," said the Blue Man. He paused and looked at me, and suddenly seemed a little less satanic. "They cannot produce food for themselves, however."

It occurred to me that they probably hadn't eaten in more than twenty-four hours. Treetop was just returning from setting the blower back up in the girls' tent, and I sent him over to one of the stands for three dozen hot dogs and a dozen cups of coffee.

"Thank you," said the Blue Man.

"You're welcome," I said.

I tried to send Big Alvin out for cots and chairs, but he refused to leave his post, and even Treetop, who had been waiting to spend a couple of minutes picking up the food, was afraid Thaddeus would find out if he left long enough to get what I wanted. So I left the tent by myself, and started rounding up such chairs and bedding as I could find. I'm not very strong, and I had to bring them back one chair and one cot at a time. Then I hunted up a batch of blankets. The whole operation took me almost two hours.

"You're very kind," said the Blue Man when I was finished. "I wish there was some way we could thank you."

He stretched out a grotesquely deformed hand, with fingers jointed in all the wrong places. My first inclination was to draw back, but then I remembered how many people in my life had drawn back from me, so I clenched my teeth together just in case I felt an urge to scream when we made contact, and shook his hand. It felt warm and dry, and very strong.

"What does Flint intend to do with us?" asked the Blue Man after a moment's silence.

"The same thing Mr. Ahasuerus did," I said. "He'll display you."

"For how long?"

"Until you stop making money for him."

"I see," said the Blue Man. I thought he tried to frown, but his skin was stretched so tightly over his lean, angular head that he couldn't really change his expression much. Still, he looked satanic again, and I backed away.

"Have no fear, little one," he said as gently as his fierce voice would permit. "I won't harm you."

I told him that that was very comforting to hear, but that I still had work to do. I moved as far away from him as I could and started setting up the cots.

Big Alvin figured it would be okay to help me, as long as he didn't have to leave the tent, and we finished in about ten minutes. Then we opened up the chairs. None of the freaks paid us any attention, and none sat or lay down when we were through.

Jupiter Monk came in a moment later, hauling a bale of hay on his back. "I don't suppose Thaddeus supplied them with a toilet?" he said

"No," I answered.

"I figured. Well, this'll be better than nothing. He tossed the hay onto the floor and pulled a wire cutter out of his belt. The Blue Man walked over, curious to see what we were doing, and Monk straightened up.

"You keep away from me if you know what's good for you!" he snarled, pointing a scarred and calloused finger at him. The Blue Man backed away.

"Just keep clear of me," continued Monk. "You scared my lion half to death, you damned freak!"

He went back to cutting the wire that held the bale together, then took about a third of the pile and placed it against the far end of the tent. He came back, got the rest of it, and carried it to a spot about five feet away from the first pile. Then he got Treetop to help him and strung some rope around the two piles.