"I thought rest was more important than nourishment," said the blue man.

"Nobody's paying you to think!" snapped Thaddeus. "Hell, it's freezing in here! He needs calories more than he needs sleep!"

He stomped around the tent, full of impotent rage. Finally he wound up back at Dapper Dan's cot.

"You!" he said sharply. "If I move you to my trailer, will you give me your word that you won't try to kill yourself or try to escape?"

"No," said Dapper Dan, staring weakly but unblinking at Thaddeus.

Thaddeus stared back at him for a long moment, then turned to the guards again. "Alvin, you and Treetop rig up a stretcher out of one of the cots and move him to the trailer. Then tell Swede to set up housekeeping there and keep an eye on him."

"Thank you," said Mr. Ahasuerus.

Thaddeus' eyes fell on Rainbow, whose color was once again pale blue.

"This one too," he said, gesturing to the Man of Many Colors.

"Do you want us to bring them back at show time?" asked Big Alvin.

"No. They stay there until they're healthy. And Pumpkin and Snoopy stay in the tent today. Four-Eyes too, unless Gloria gets back with his pills in time."

"I could go on in their place," suggested Mr. Ahasuerus.

Thaddeus uttered a dry laugh. "I can't figure you out," he admitted. "Why the hell would you want to do me a favor?"

"I don't," replied Mr. Ahasuerus. "I simply want to make sure that you don't lose so much money that you must force any of my sick companions back into the sideshow before they are ready ."

"Don't worry about it," said Thaddeus. "They're not worth anything to me if they're dead."

"Very well," said Mr. Ahasuerus. "I withdraw my offer."

"Your withdrawal is accepted."

"May I ask a question?"

"Go right ahead," said Thaddeus, lighting up a cigarette and offering one to the blue man, who refused it.

"Since you . . . ah . . . took over the management of the sideshow, you have never once displayed me to the public."

"Are you feeling slighted?" asked Thaddeus.

"Merely curious."

"Good. It'll give you food for thought," replied Thaddeus.

"That is the only answer I am to be given?" asked Mr. Ahasuerus.

"It is."

The blue man looked at him, puzzled. Then he shrugged and walked away.

"I've been wondering about that myself, Thaddeus," I said.

He lowered his voice until none of the others could hear it. "Simple. You give their leader special privileges, even if he doesn't ask for them, or want them, and you get them to thinking about it, and they may be a little less likely to follow him when he tries to take over."

"You think he's going to try something, then?"

"Of course."

"But he's been more cordial and cooperative than just about anyone else would be in the same circumstances," I protested.

"Tojo, the man works for a corporation, just like anyone else. And he must be pretty high up the ladder to have a spaceship and a bunch of tourists from other worlds entrusted to him. What does that imply to you?"

"What should it imply?" I asked.

"Nobody reaches a position of authority without the ability to be a backstabbing bastard when the chips are down. I don't know why he's trying to soften me up, but it doesn't make any difference. If he's the leader, then he's got to be the toughest of them."

"But he's not a human being," I said, not even remarking on the fact that Thaddeus had, for the first time, referred to him as a man. "Maybe things are different on his world."

"As near as I can tell, there's one basic law anywhere you go in the universe: the strong eat the weak."

"I think you're wrong," I said. "I hope you are."

"What if I am? There's no harm done, and at least he doesn't have to put up with all the hicks staring at him. And if I'm right . . ." He let his voice trail off and flashed a smile at me.

The replacements for Treetop and Big Alvin showed up just then, and Thaddeus broke away to start directing the removal of Dapper Dan and Rainbow to the trailer. Then it was show time, and he marched the six healthy aliens—Gloria hadn't come back with Four-Eyes' pills yet—onto their platforms.

Since it was even colder in the sideshow tent than the dormitory tent, I decided to fill a number of cups with coffee and carry them around to the exhibits on a tray. I had just handed one to Bullseye and was about to offer a cup to 3-D when I saw a tall, well-dressed man with piercing eyes and an aquiline nose standing at the back of the crowd. I had only seen him once before in my life, but Mr. Romany wasn't the kind of man one could forget in a dozen lifetimes.

Thaddeus had just finished describing Stretch and his totally fictional origin to the crowd, and while they were all busy gaping at him, I walked up and tugged at Thaddeus' sleeve.

"What's up?" he asked.

"He's here!" I whispered. "He's found us!"

"Are you surprised?" he said with a smile.

"What are you going to do?" I asked.

"Finish showing off the exhibits," he replied easily. "Don't worry about Romany—he's not going to make a scene in front of a crowd."

Thaddeus went right back into his patter, and it was another fifteen minutes before he finally ushered the crowd out. Mr. Romany was last in line, and after everyone else had left he stopped just short of the doorway and turned to Thaddeus.

"You have done a very foolish thing, Mr. Flint," he said.

"Foolishness is in the eye of the beholder," replied Thaddeus with a grin. "Now, if it was me, I'd say that walking alone into the enemy's camp was pretty damned foolish."

"Are you trying to frighten me?" asked Mr. Romany, cocking an eyebrow and looking mildly amused.

"Perish the thought," said Thaddeus. "Just making an observation. What are you doing here?"

"You know perfectly well what I'm doing here," said Mr. Romany. "I want them back."

"I don't doubt it," replied Thaddeus with a chuckle.

"Well?"

"This is neither the time nor the place to talk about it."

"This is precisely the time and the place," said Mr. Romany.

"Use your brain," said Thaddeus. "It's in both of our interests to keep what's going on a secret. There are too many people passing through here."

"How about your office?"

"Out of the question. There's a bar in town called Lucy's Tavern. Meet me there in an hour."

"How do I know you'll show up?" asked Mr. Romany suspiciously.

"You don't," answered Thaddeus. "But you do know I can't move the show in less than a day, so you can always come back here and find me."

Mr. Romany seemed to be considering it. "Why must we go into town? Why not speak here, on the grounds?"

"Because I don't want your telepathic friend anywhere around when we talk."

"Then you know about him?"

"Of course I know about him," said Thaddeus. "Who the hell do you think you're dealing with?"

Mr. Romany consulted his wristwatch. "One hour," he said, and walked out of the sideshow tent.

"See?" Thaddeus said to me. "Nothing to it."

"It's not over," I replied.