When we left our story Jancy Hall became aware that the added explanation of the Major Raithburn's death would involve her lover, Tonio.
* * * *
Professor Jordan set off for his meeting with Sir Richard. For most of the carriage trip, the Professor examined Tonio's sketches while Chester slept, and Jancy pretended to sleep but kept one eye on the notebook.
Their carriage came to a stop at a safe distance from the scorched ruins of Major Raithburn's mansion. In the shadows of the charred structure, the trio could see Commodore Whitehead's long, dark carriage.
Standing next to the coach was the slight frame of a five-foot, one-hundred-pound man whom the Professor identified as Sir Richard Bumgardner. Chester commented. "He's not big enough for that name."
The Professor prepared to leave the carriage. "He is, however, big enough to be the number one producer of Shakespearean plays in England and, now, here, in 'the Colonies', including next month's Hamlet in New York City."
Jancy and Chester remained out of sight as the Professor slipped closer to Sir Richard in hopes of listening to his conversation with the Commodore.
Before leaving, the Professor had secured the binds to Tonio's workbook, but no sooner had he departed than Jancy's fingers began untying the knots and she turned to the back of the book and the section that she had not seen. There she found herself portrayed there in thin washes of Italian red, white and green, clad only in Indian beads with feathers in her hair and a naked baby in her arms, depicted as "Mio Madonna con il bambino." In subsequent pages, the bambino was no longer present, and Jancy's Madonna image became more flesh-colored, more detailed and more provocative, until she decided not to risk looking further and slammed the book shut beside Chester's nose.
Of course, Chester had something to say about that. "Jancy, a guy that good-looking has probably squandered away his capacity to love. He'll probably cheat on you with all the girlfriends you're closest to."
Jancy smiled. "I don't have any girl friends."
Chester shot back, "That won't stop him!"
Meanwhile, the Professor had found a spot behind a heap of debris to hide and yet be within hearing range of what the Commodore was saying to Sir Richard. "I assume there is some point to this meeting?"
Sir Richard stood ready to answer, as he drew his body to its full five-foot height and spoke in his overly precise diction. "There are many unanswered questions about the death of Major Raithburn."
"There are many unanswered questions about death, itself." The Commodore replied. "If you seek instant answers, perhaps you should join one of Mrs. Lincoln's seances."
Sir Richard spoke quickly. "But Commodore, it was you who created The California Seven. It was you who brought us together. Therefore, I feel that you owe the remainder of us some direction in the matter at hand."
"Must I remind you that The Seven split by their own choice, or maybe it was as Shakespeare said, 'There's a divinity that shapes our ends.' As far as Major Raithburn is concerned, his end came about because he used a parlor game to increase his wealth, and in doing so, became an embarrassment. A little blood has been spilled. Whoever did the spilling rendered us all a favor."
A tap of the Commodore's cane sent the carriage speeding away, leaving Sir Richard standing alone in the ruins. He turned when he heard a voice cry out.
The Professor, who had decided it was time to make his presence known, "Sir Richard, Professor Jordan at your service. I received an order from the War Office that you came to Washington to look over my report so as to obtain a clearer explanation of the events that led to the death of Major Raithburn."
Sir Richard responded, "There was no mention of a half-breed's involvement. Do you know a mixed-blood skilled enough to attempt something this daring, Professor?"
"I know many people of color to be specially skilled. Perhaps skilled enough to someday be our president."
"You speak nonsense."
"Not so. Everything is not just black and white. For instance, let me bring your attention to someone in particular, a magician artistic enough to make the impossible look possible. In fact, he is someone who could portray the ghost of Hamlet's father in a truly ghostly fashion.
Sir Richard cast a suspicious eye toward the Professor. "I came here to solve a mystery, and you offer me casting advice."
"Having played my share of character parts in Shakespearean plays, I have acquired an immense admiration for the theatre. In fact, I shall this moment give you my personal check for one thousand dollars as an investment in your production. But I do insist on my Indian friend playing the part of Hamlet's father."
Sir Richard was quick to pocket the check and in doing so buried whatever suspicions he had about Major Raithburn's death. Then to save face, the impresario added, "While I have no aversion to tricks being brought forward on the stage to liven up a classic, I do have a firm aversion to inferior-breed magicians inhabiting the roles of trained actors."
"Sir Richard, what interests me is the method, not the actor. The mixed blood of my magician's thinking will divide your firm belief into two."
As the Professor had hoped, Sir Richard was too fascinated by the riddle to resist. "Perhaps such a man with mixed blood deserves closer scrutiny. And just how will this suspect, ah, this magician, divide my belief?"
The Professor's smile revealed his pleasure in having successfully lured Sir Richard. "He will cut a man in half."
"An old trick."
"Not when the man he divides stays divided-permanently."
"An illusion that is lasting, I believe even Shakespeare would approve of that. Let me preview this illusion at tomorrow's matinee."
-
The Saturday matinee at the 14th Street Theatre was about to begin as Jancy and Chester made their way through the stage door and back to Tonio's dressing room. There, they found him showing a most disturbing sketch to the Professor. It was of a man whose legs were running off in one direction while his torso was left to pull itself by its arms back to the stage.
Tonio closed the book, leaving a small photograph as a bookmark. Turning, he saw Jancy and took her into his arms, while his hand reached out to shake Chester's. But the visit was shortened. They heard Sir Richard's voice in the hallway. The Professor had to take Tonio out to meet the impresario, so Jancy was told to hide. There was no need to avail her to questioning by Sir Richard.
Now alone, Chester checked out the bookmark Tonio had left and found it to be an old photograph of a once beautiful Indian woman. Jancy explained. "She is his mother. His father was an Italian officer who joined the U.S. cavalry."
As Chester replaced the photograph, Jancy closed the book with a dreamy look on her face. "Chester, now even you must be convinced that my recurring image in Tonio's sketchbook means I have a place deep in his soul."
"You may think that but what I'm saying is that there could be a lot of sexual meaning hidden in there. Have you ever thought that sex is what he really thinks about?"
Jancy smiled. "I hope so."
-
On stage, the curtain went up. There was applause and a request for a volunteer, which was answered by a gentleman sitting in the same row as Sir Richard. The fellow made his way past the impresario and climbed up onto the stage, where he was placed in the magician's wooden box.
With appropriate drama, Tonio waved his blade in the air and then sawed the man in half. The two halves of the box, each theoretically containing half of the man, were separated, much to the delight of the audience. As the halves were pushed together again, a tumultuous reception welcomed the sight of the volunteer's figure being restored as one. The audience cheered wildly as the curtain came down.
When the curtain went up again, there was more cheering as the man prepared to leave the stage. Sir Richard was unimpressed as he stood up to make way for the volunteer to shuffle back to his seat. But then the magic really began. An impossible thing happened!
When the man left the stage, he left in two parts, split at the waist.
The audience went into a burst of gasps and screams. They could not believe what they were seeing. The man's torso separated at the waist, with the top half beginning to climb back on the stage while his legs scurried up the theater aisle.
As astounded as the rest of the crowd, Sir Richard rushed to the foot of the stage, trying to question the upper half of the volunteer as he began crawling under the curtain.
Sir Richard cried out. "I think the appropriate question would come from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night: 'How have you made a division of yourself?'"
There was no answer as the torso pulled away. To cause the necessary distraction, the Professor appeared and immediately brought Sir Richard up on stage, announcing that the audience was in for another treat. "Sir Richard will shoot a rifle and the great magician, Tonio de Aldo, will catch the bullet with his teeth."
An old fashioned muzzle-loading rifle, the type one fired by a percussion cap, was produced, and while Sir Richard began his thorough inspection, Tonio slipped backstage, where Jancy implored him to stop the act.
On stage, Sir Richard began pouring a charge of powder into the muzzle of the rifle, following it with a supply of paper wadding.
Backstage, Chester was more interested in how that fellow was split in half.
The Professor explained. "A recent import from Italy, not known yet in this country. Its illusion is based on a switch. The original volunteer was, of course, a plant in the audience. As the curtain went down after he was reassembled, that 'volunteer,' who was physically normal, switched places with his identical twin brother, who was born with no thighs or legs. That shorter twin had been mounted on the shoulders of a midget who was totally covered by the pair of trousers. At the appropriate moment, the twin brother fell forward, landed on the floor and used his exceptionally strong arms to pull himself back on stage. The midget, meanwhile, ran up the aisle. A unique trick."
Chester agreed, "I would say so."
On stage, Tonio took a wooden ramrod with a brass tip and stamped the wad down the barrel of the rifle. Sir Richard observed carefully and then took his knife to carve two irregular strokes to mark the bullet. The lead shot was now identifiably inscribed with two jagged lines that formed the number seven. Sir Richard dropped the bullet into the rifle, and his thick eyebrows began dancing in delight. Tonio reached again for the ramrod and tapped the bullet into the wadding. Satisfied, Sir Richard took the rifle to the other side of the stage and, caught up in the drama of the moment, raised it slowly to take aim. The audience grew tense as the weapon aimed directly at Tonio.
The magician, himself, seemed to reflect that nervousness. He raised his hand to his face as he cleared his throat. Then he reached down for a clay plate that had a target painted on it. He held the plate in front of his face. The theater grew as silent as a church. Then suddenly the silence was shattered as Sir Richard squeezed the trigger. The blast hit its mark, shattering the plate in front of Tonio's face and sending him hurling backwards and collapsing on the stage.
The audience held its collective breath until the smoke cleared and then Tonio rose dramatically to his feet. The bullet was clenched between his front teeth. Tonio waved it for all to see. Sir Richard examined it and confirmed that it, indeed, bore his numerical marking. His rich gurgle of appreciation was drowned out by the audience's thunderous applause. The impresario gave a small bow toward Tonio. "You fooled the hell out of me again."
The applause remained deafening as the two men left the stage. The Professor waited for a commitment from Sir Richard, who soon nodded yes. "Just as Shakespeare has written. 'By heaven, I'll make a ghost of him.'"