could lose the whole sounding smart thing, and he's kind of a scaredy-cat, but otherwise he's cool."
"Do you think he'd fit in if he did join the show?" I asked.
Evra snorted sarcastically. "Like a mouse in a house full of cats!"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"This life isn't for everyone. A few weeks away from his family, having to clean toilets and cook for thirty or forty people... He'd be running for the hills."
"We do all right," I said.
"We're different," Evra said. "We're not like other people. This is what we're cut out for.
Everybody has a place where they belong. This is ours. We're meant to..."
He stopped and began to frown. He was looking over my head at something in the distance. I turned to see what was bothering him. For a few seconds I couldn't make out anything, but then, somewhere far off, coming through the trees to the east, I saw the flickering light of a burning torch.
"What is that?" I asked.
"I'm not sure," Evra said.
We watched for a few minutes as the torch came closer. I saw figures moving beneath the
branches of the trees. I couldn't tell how many there were, but it had to be at least six or seven.
Then, as they came out from under the trees, I saw who they were, and goose-bumps sprang to life all over my neck and arms.
They were the small, blue-hooded people that Steve and I had seen the night of the show, the ones who helped sell sweets and toys to the crowd and assisted with the acts. I'd forgotten about those strange blue-hooded helpers. It had been a few months since that night, and I'd had so many other things on my mind.
They came out of the woods in pairs, one set after the other. I counted twelve in all, though there was a thirteenth member, a taller person walking behind the rest. He was the one carrying the torch.
"Where did they come from?" I asked Evra quietly.
"I don't know," he answered. "They left the show a few weeks ago. I have no idea where they went. They kept to themselves mostly."
"Who are they?" I asked.
"They're -," he began to answer, but stopped all of a sudden. His eyes widened with fear.
It was the man bringing up the rear, the thirteenth, taller member of the group - visible now that he was closer - who scared Evra.
The blue-hooded people passed by silently. As the mysterious thirteenth person approached, I noticed he was dressed differently from the others. He wasn't very tall; he just looked big in comparison to the blue-hoods. He had short white hair, a thick pair of glasses, a sharp yellow suit, and long green rubber boots. He was pretty fat and walked with a weird waddle.
He smiled pleasantly at us as he passed. I smiled back, but Evra looked paralyzed, unable to move the muscles in his mouth.
The blue-hoods and the man with the torch walked farther into the campsite, all the way to the back, where they found a large clear spot. Then the blue-hoods began putting up a tent - they must have been carrying the equipment underneath their capes - while the larger man headed for Mr. Tall's van.
I studied Evra. He was shaking all over, and even though his face could never turn white -
because of its natural color - it was paler than it had ever been before.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
He shook his head silently, unable to reply.
"What is it? Why are you so scared? Who was that man?"
"He... It..." Evra cleared his throat and took a deep breath. When he spoke, it was in a low, trembling voice, filled with sheer terror.
"That was Mr. Tiny," he said, and I couldn't get any more out of him for a long time after that.
CHAPTER 13
Evra's fear went away as the evening wore on, but he was slow to return to normal and was really edgy the whole night. I had to take his knife from him and do his share when he was peeling potatoes for dinner; I was afraid he might slice one of his fingers off.
After we'd eaten and helped clean the dishes, I asked Evra about the mysterious Mr. Tiny. We were in the tent, and Evra was playing with his
"Do you think he'd fit in if he did join the show?" I asked.
Evra snorted sarcastically. "Like a mouse in a house full of cats!"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"This life isn't for everyone. A few weeks away from his family, having to clean toilets and cook for thirty or forty people... He'd be running for the hills."
"We do all right," I said.
"We're different," Evra said. "We're not like other people. This is what we're cut out for.
Everybody has a place where they belong. This is ours. We're meant to..."
He stopped and began to frown. He was looking over my head at something in the distance. I turned to see what was bothering him. For a few seconds I couldn't make out anything, but then, somewhere far off, coming through the trees to the east, I saw the flickering light of a burning torch.
"What is that?" I asked.
"I'm not sure," Evra said.
We watched for a few minutes as the torch came closer. I saw figures moving beneath the
branches of the trees. I couldn't tell how many there were, but it had to be at least six or seven.
Then, as they came out from under the trees, I saw who they were, and goose-bumps sprang to life all over my neck and arms.
They were the small, blue-hooded people that Steve and I had seen the night of the show, the ones who helped sell sweets and toys to the crowd and assisted with the acts. I'd forgotten about those strange blue-hooded helpers. It had been a few months since that night, and I'd had so many other things on my mind.
They came out of the woods in pairs, one set after the other. I counted twelve in all, though there was a thirteenth member, a taller person walking behind the rest. He was the one carrying the torch.
"Where did they come from?" I asked Evra quietly.
"I don't know," he answered. "They left the show a few weeks ago. I have no idea where they went. They kept to themselves mostly."
"Who are they?" I asked.
"They're -," he began to answer, but stopped all of a sudden. His eyes widened with fear.
It was the man bringing up the rear, the thirteenth, taller member of the group - visible now that he was closer - who scared Evra.
The blue-hooded people passed by silently. As the mysterious thirteenth person approached, I noticed he was dressed differently from the others. He wasn't very tall; he just looked big in comparison to the blue-hoods. He had short white hair, a thick pair of glasses, a sharp yellow suit, and long green rubber boots. He was pretty fat and walked with a weird waddle.
He smiled pleasantly at us as he passed. I smiled back, but Evra looked paralyzed, unable to move the muscles in his mouth.
The blue-hoods and the man with the torch walked farther into the campsite, all the way to the back, where they found a large clear spot. Then the blue-hoods began putting up a tent - they must have been carrying the equipment underneath their capes - while the larger man headed for Mr. Tall's van.
I studied Evra. He was shaking all over, and even though his face could never turn white -
because of its natural color - it was paler than it had ever been before.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
He shook his head silently, unable to reply.
"What is it? Why are you so scared? Who was that man?"
"He... It..." Evra cleared his throat and took a deep breath. When he spoke, it was in a low, trembling voice, filled with sheer terror.
"That was Mr. Tiny," he said, and I couldn't get any more out of him for a long time after that.
CHAPTER 13
Evra's fear went away as the evening wore on, but he was slow to return to normal and was really edgy the whole night. I had to take his knife from him and do his share when he was peeling potatoes for dinner; I was afraid he might slice one of his fingers off.
After we'd eaten and helped clean the dishes, I asked Evra about the mysterious Mr. Tiny. We were in the tent, and Evra was playing with his
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