The Man Who Was Magic by Paul Gallico Read Free Book Online Page A

what can’t he do, when he starts making magic.”
    Adam said quietly, “Don’t boast, Mopsy.”
    Jane cried, “He made Mr. Fussmer’s teeth disappear from his mouth and I caught them in Adam’s cap. And he gave me a real, honest-to-goodness rose, with smell and everything, that came out of the nowhere—at least, I couldn’t find out how he did it.”
    Ninian stared at them both for a moment and then repeated, “Mr. Fussmer’s teeth? And a rose with real smell, out of the nowhere?” Then he smiled his sad smile at Jane and said, “Of course, of course,” but it was plain to see he believed that this was something she was making up out of her head, as children often do. To Adam he said, “That’s very kind of you to offer, I’m sure, but you see it all depends upon the string.”
    On the floor the magician had finished his complicated trick which ended with a pistol shot, the ringing of a bell, a box collapsing and a pigeon flying out of it with an envelope in its beak.
    The Judges all put their heads together and conferred in whispers, then wrote things down on sheets of paper and passed them to Fussmer who studied them for a moment and rapped on the table for attention with the end of his pencil.
    He piped, “Flippo, failed! Judges’ consensus: Act dull; trick too long; patter stupid; The Great Robert’s son saw a bit of the pigeon before it was introduced into the box. Malvolio saw him palm a ring and Professor Alexander notes the envelope switch was downright clumsy. Next candidate!”
    “There, you see?” groaned Ninian. “That’s how it is all the time.”
    Magician after magician appeared before the grim-visaged board of Judges. Few succeeded. One after another failed.
    At last Fussmer called, “Next candidate! Ninian the Nonpareil.”
    “Oh dear,” said Ninian, “that’s me,” and arose. His long, thin face was pale and great drops of perspiration stood out upon his brow. As he towered over Adam his knees could be heard kocking together. “Oh dear,” he repeated. “They’re calling for me. Something’s bound to go wrong. I know I’ll fail.”
    “You won’t,” Adam said firmly.
    “Oh, poor Mr. Ninian,” cried Jane. “Good luck!”
    Ninian shambled forth to the center of the floor and stood there holding his bird cage, quaking, with Albert quite frantic, hopping about inside.
    Jane looked up at Adam, her brown eyes wide. “Can you really help him?” she asked.
    “We’ll try,” Adam said.

VII

    M OPSY A SSISTS
    T here stood Ninian then, the hands that clutched the so-called cage shaking so that Albert was put into an even greater flutter. Thirteen pairs of judgment eyes were trained upon him.
    The Great Robert removed his gold-rimmed glasses, polished them for an instant and in returning them to his nose, looked down that feature and said, “Oh, so you’re back. Well, Ninian the Nonpareil, you’d better make it good this time.” While his son Peter sniggered, “Ha! I can do that one with my eyes shut.”
    The eyebrows of the magician called Mephisto were raised right up to the brim of his hat as he cried, “Great heavens! Not the disappearing bird cage again! That’s as old as the hills.”
    But Dante the Dazzling, whom Jane had characterized as “nice”—he was young and handsome, as well—said, “Oh, come on fellows, let’s give him a chance.”
    Malvolio the Mighty (he was one of those little, insignificant, pushing men which, of course, was why he called himself “the Mighty”) shoved his hands into his pockets, leaning backwards in his chair, his top hat cocked farther onto the side of his head, his small mouth parted in a most unpleasant expression as he said, “Nobody’s forcing him to come here. Third and last time, Ninian.”
    All of this put the unhappy performer into even more of a state of stagefright, and the hearts of both Jane and Adam went out to him. For although they had only just met, it seemed as if they had known him all their lives and