sure."
He threw one potato in the air and caught it. Then, shifting it to
his other hand, he threw the second into the air and caught it. "Is
this what you mean?" he asked as he did the same with the third potato.
"No!" screamed all the children. "All together !"
"Oh," Jack said again. He tossed all three potatoes upward, making
sure one of them went higher than the others. "Like this ?"
"No!" they screamed again.
"Well, gee, then." Jack caught the two lowest potatoes as they
came down, one in each hand, and sent them back into the air. "In that
case—" he caught the third, tossed it up through the center of the
pattern "—I don't know—" the two potatoes came down again, and he sent
them back up "—what else to do."
He waited until the smattering of applause had faded, then
switched to a more standard three-ball rotation. "My uncle taught me
that one," he said, shifting this time to a circle pattern. "I had
another uncle who was cross-eyed. Let me show you how he juggled."
He went through his juggling routine, then switched to some
sleight-of-hand tricks. The last time he'd done this, back when he and
Draycos had stumbled into a Wistawki bonding ceremony on the Vagran
Colony, he'd had the dragon there to help with the performance.
Now, of course, Draycos had to stay out of sight across his back.
And much as it hurt to admit it, the act wasn't nearly as good without
him.
But the audience didn't care. So starved for entertainment were
these people that practically anything he did would have been greeted
with the same excitement. He could have spent a whole hour doing
cross-eyed juggler jokes, and gotten just as much applause. Even Fleck
was watching from the back of the crowd, an odd look on his face.
He went through the card tricks, and the coin tricks, and the
pea-under-the-cups tricks that Uncle Virge had taught him all those
years ago. The slaves were loving it; but to Jack's increasingly
worried annoyance, the audience he'd really hoped for was nowhere in
sight. If they didn't show soon, all this would have been for nothing.
Mostly for nothing, anyway. Greb and Grib, at least, would
probably never forget it.
He kept the show going for over an hour before privately giving
up, and was on his last few lines of patter when he felt the warning
touch of dragon claws on the back of his arm. Turning casually back to
the table, he spotted what Draycos's sharp K'da ears had already picked
up: an approaching car.
And in it were Crampatch and his spoiled daughter. Here to pick up
a new toy.
"But as my cousin Fred on my Aunt Louise's side would say, when
you need a cross-eyed juggler, there's never one around," he said,
revving back up to full speed again. Scooping up the potatoes, he
launched into an extra-complex juggling routine he'd saved just for
this moment. After that came two more card tricks, one more rope trick,
and finally another short juggling routine. Out of the corner of his
eye, he could see the two Brummgas watching, as fascinated as everyone
else.
Finally, he judged it was time to end the show. If Crampatch and
his daughter weren't hooked by now, they never would be. "And that,
ladies and gentlemen and honored Jantri guests, completes the
afternoon's entertainment," he said, bowing deeply three times. "I hope
you enjoyed the show; and I really hope someone knows where my
laundry is. Thank you again."
The audience exploded into a wild racket of applause, cries,
hoots, grunts, whistles, and squawks. Jack bowed again and again, all
the time keeping an eye on the two Brummgas. The daughter seemed very
insistent about something . . .
Eventually, he stopped bowing, and the audience broke up. Sort of
broke up, anyway. While most of the slaves headed back to their other
activities, several of them came up to thank Jack personally for the
show.
Naturally, Greb, Grib, and Noy were right there in front. The
Jantri twins were in the middle of their third round of thank-yous when
Fleck bulled his way through
He threw one potato in the air and caught it. Then, shifting it to
his other hand, he threw the second into the air and caught it. "Is
this what you mean?" he asked as he did the same with the third potato.
"No!" screamed all the children. "All together !"
"Oh," Jack said again. He tossed all three potatoes upward, making
sure one of them went higher than the others. "Like this ?"
"No!" they screamed again.
"Well, gee, then." Jack caught the two lowest potatoes as they
came down, one in each hand, and sent them back into the air. "In that
case—" he caught the third, tossed it up through the center of the
pattern "—I don't know—" the two potatoes came down again, and he sent
them back up "—what else to do."
He waited until the smattering of applause had faded, then
switched to a more standard three-ball rotation. "My uncle taught me
that one," he said, shifting this time to a circle pattern. "I had
another uncle who was cross-eyed. Let me show you how he juggled."
He went through his juggling routine, then switched to some
sleight-of-hand tricks. The last time he'd done this, back when he and
Draycos had stumbled into a Wistawki bonding ceremony on the Vagran
Colony, he'd had the dragon there to help with the performance.
Now, of course, Draycos had to stay out of sight across his back.
And much as it hurt to admit it, the act wasn't nearly as good without
him.
But the audience didn't care. So starved for entertainment were
these people that practically anything he did would have been greeted
with the same excitement. He could have spent a whole hour doing
cross-eyed juggler jokes, and gotten just as much applause. Even Fleck
was watching from the back of the crowd, an odd look on his face.
He went through the card tricks, and the coin tricks, and the
pea-under-the-cups tricks that Uncle Virge had taught him all those
years ago. The slaves were loving it; but to Jack's increasingly
worried annoyance, the audience he'd really hoped for was nowhere in
sight. If they didn't show soon, all this would have been for nothing.
Mostly for nothing, anyway. Greb and Grib, at least, would
probably never forget it.
He kept the show going for over an hour before privately giving
up, and was on his last few lines of patter when he felt the warning
touch of dragon claws on the back of his arm. Turning casually back to
the table, he spotted what Draycos's sharp K'da ears had already picked
up: an approaching car.
And in it were Crampatch and his spoiled daughter. Here to pick up
a new toy.
"But as my cousin Fred on my Aunt Louise's side would say, when
you need a cross-eyed juggler, there's never one around," he said,
revving back up to full speed again. Scooping up the potatoes, he
launched into an extra-complex juggling routine he'd saved just for
this moment. After that came two more card tricks, one more rope trick,
and finally another short juggling routine. Out of the corner of his
eye, he could see the two Brummgas watching, as fascinated as everyone
else.
Finally, he judged it was time to end the show. If Crampatch and
his daughter weren't hooked by now, they never would be. "And that,
ladies and gentlemen and honored Jantri guests, completes the
afternoon's entertainment," he said, bowing deeply three times. "I hope
you enjoyed the show; and I really hope someone knows where my
laundry is. Thank you again."
The audience exploded into a wild racket of applause, cries,
hoots, grunts, whistles, and squawks. Jack bowed again and again, all
the time keeping an eye on the two Brummgas. The daughter seemed very
insistent about something . . .
Eventually, he stopped bowing, and the audience broke up. Sort of
broke up, anyway. While most of the slaves headed back to their other
activities, several of them came up to thank Jack personally for the
show.
Naturally, Greb, Grib, and Noy were right there in front. The
Jantri twins were in the middle of their third round of thank-yous when
Fleck bulled his way through
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