Gene was not sure why this should be so, but he said nothing. Irma, the sword swallower, walked over to the end of the row and stood waiting.
Wilcox cleared his throat. "Now, ladies and gentlemen," he said, "the act you are about to witness is one of the most amazing, the most incredible, in the history of entertainment. I introduce to you Irma LeFever, the only woman fire eater and sword swallower in the world?"
Irma bowed, then pretended to pick up something in both hands. She held these invisible objects up for inspection, then put one of them down and raised the other. Leaning backward until her face was turned to the sky, she raised her hand and slowly brought the invisible thing she was holding nearer to her face. Gene, watching curiously, suddenly realized that the invisible thing was a metal rod with a ball of rags at the end. The ball of rags was blazing, and now she was lowering it to her open mouth. She closed her lips over it, then opened them and withdrew it. She bowed, then picked up something else invisible and appeared to drink. Now she raised the rod again and blew her breath over the end of it while Wilcox stepped out of the way. The illusion had become so vivid that Gene could see the blast of flame as she sprayed some inflammable liquid over the end of the torch.
She bowed again, set the torch down, and picked up something else, equally invisible. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, you are about to see an act of death-defying courage and skill. This sword is twenty-seven inches long, ladies and gentlemen; it is razor sharp and made of the finest Toledo steel. The slightest miscalculation, and Mademoiselle LeFever will die an agonizing death."
Irma, with a bored expression, leaned backward again, opened her mouth wide, and appeared to lower something into it very carefully and slowly. Now Gene could see the bright sword, which she was holding by the blade; it slipped down into her throat little by little until at last the hilt touched her mouth. Then she drew it out with a flourish, took another bow. Gene applauded; she gave him an ironic glance.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, if you will be kind enough to follow me into the next room -- " Wilcox moved a few feet, down the row, turned, and faced them. "I suppose you know how hard money is to come by these days, but if you happen to know a little magic, it's very easy." He removed a coin from his ear, dropped it into a cup which had appeared in his other hand. Next he took coins from his nose, his other ear, and dropped them into the cup. He reached forward and got another one, apparently from an invisible member of the audience. Wilcox seemed to be enjoying himself, and he was very good.
When he had filled the cup with coins, he dropped them, cup and all, into his pocket and began to produce fans of cards out of nowhere. Gene applauded again when he was through.
Wilcox bowed. "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, thank you. Now because you have been so very kind, in order to show my appreciation, I am about to make a special offer, for this day only, it will not be repeated, ladies and gentlemen: I am going to offer you the secrets of three astounding tricks with cards, each one of which will mystify your friends; they require no training, a child can perform them, and I am offering them to you not for twenty dollars, not for ten, not for five, no, ladies and gentlemen, not even for one dollar, but all three tricks for the insignificant sum of fifty cents, a half a dollar. Step right up, if you please -- who will be first? You, sir? There you are, thank you. And you, madame?" He pretended to sell several other packets of card tricks, then led his audience through an invisible curtain to the Fat Lady.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, it is unbelievable but true, the woman you see before you weighs the astounding total of six hundred and thirty-five pounds, enough solid human flesh to make four large men and have enough left over for a small boy. Betty Ann was born thirty-five years ago in a remote hamlet of Queensland, Australia. She was a normal infant, [ ladies and gentlemen, but when she was five years old she weighed eighty-five pounds, and she has continued to grow in weight and girth every year to this day, until, as you see her before you, she is the largest human being ever to live on earth, a model -- what do I want to say? Oh, damn. -- A miracle of nature, ladies and gentlemen, before your very eyes."
He moved on to the chair in which the Lizard Man had taken his position quietly.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, for your edification and amazement, I present the one and only Lizard Man. Ladies and gentlemen, it is unbelievable but true. Born in the dark bayou country of Louisiana, his mother was attacked by alligators in the swamp and lingered for two months between life and death. She recovered from her horrible ordeal, but when her child was born -- you see the result before you."
The Lizard Man removed his robe; he was wearing white boxing shorts. His arms, legs, and chest were covered with gray, peeling scales. Between the patches of scales, his skin was red and chafed.
"Was that okay, Ed?" Wilcox asked.
"Last year you said, 'Born in the mysterious swamps of Louisiana.' I thought that was better."
"Right. The mysterious swamps of Louisiana, thanks for reminding me."
The next space was empty except for a wooden table. Wilcox gestured at it. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, a true freak of nature, one of the mysteries of the age, the Two-Headed Calf. As you can plainly see, the calf has two complete heads, two noses, four eyes, four ears -- "
"Is it an invisible calf?" Gene said to Irma, who was standing near him.
She looked up and smiled with amusement. "It's pickled, in a glass tank. No use bringing it out for the run-through."
"Oh."
He saw Wilcox looking at him, and realized that it was his turn next. He walked to his chair and sat down.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, for your amazement and delight I proudly present Big John Kimberley, nine feet three and one-half inches tall, the tallest man who ever lived. Stand up, if you will, Big John, and let them see you. Isn't that amazing, ladies and gentlemen? Big John was born on a cattle ranch in the wide-open spaces of Wyoming in nineteen forty-four; he is twenty years of age, ladies and gentlemen, and he is still growing! Every article of his clothing has to be specially made for him. His shoes are hand-made in London, England; they are fourteen and one-half inches long. There is enough cloth in his coat and trousers to make suits for three men of normal size. The ring which you see on his finger contains four ounces of fourteen-carat gold, and it is one and three-quarters inches across. If you will, Big John, let me borrow your ring for a moment -- I'll be careful of it."
He held up the ring, showed that it would fit over two of his fingers. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, Big John has made replicas of this unique and valuable ring for distribution to the public as souvenirs. These rings are hand-crafted of genuine gold-filled metal, each and every one is an exact duplicate of the ring you see before you, and Big John has consented to sell a limited quantity of these unique and valuable rings for the amazing price of only seventy-five cents each! Take them home, show them to your family and friends, they won't believe you unless they see it with their own eyes. And for an additional proof, ladies and gentlemen, you may purchase for just a dollar one of these large autographed photographs of Big John. Get them now, because this offer may never be repeated! That concludes our performance, ladies and gentlemen, and I hope we have entertained and surprised you. If you can't believe your eyes, if you want to see it again, the next performance will begin in five minutes."