"Anthony, Piers - Incarnations 04 - Wielding A Red Sword" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anthony Piers)

He unwound the bandage. His face was clear and hand-

Piers Anthony 5

some, almost aristocratic. "But I must not show it
openly," he said.

"I think we might help you, but I am not sure you would
like the manner," Orb said. "We always have need of
inexpensive labor, tending the animals, cleaning the
cages, menial chores. I think you are of higher birth than
that."

"I am. I will do the work."

"Perhaps we can improve upon your camouflage," she
said. "Let me fetch you a mask."

She set him up with a clown-mask. She assured him
that it would not seem unusual, as long as he remained
with the group, as most of the members had more than
one task, doubling as entertainers and workers.

And so he joined the group and shoveled dragon manure
and cleaned the harpy cage and fed fish to the mermaid.
He was paid only with food, a bunk in a wagon, and his
right to be anonymous.

The group moved slowly from village to village, on wa-
gons hauled by rented elephants, and put on its show at
every stop.

After several days, the man approached Orb again. "I
think I could perform," he explained haltingly.

"But everybody laughs at the clowns!" she protested.

"They laugh with the clowns," he clarified. "And I
could do other things that don't require speaking. I could
be a mime, a juggler, an acrobat."

"These things are not as easy as they may appear,"
she protested.

"But I have some natural ability and some training,"
he said. "My mouth may be handicapped, but not my
body."

"Well, if you're sure, I can take you to the tour mas-
ter," she said doubtfully. "But he is an exacting man."