When we left our story, Jancy had been warned that women are always being deceived and that men move on, while women stay behind-so it seems almost fitting that Jancy has a chance to deepen her powers.
* * * * *
The Professor laid a calming hand on Tonio's arm and spoke to him in Italian. "It makes no sense to destroy the mansion until it is completed. Besides, we need the delay to have time to copy O'Halloran's papers and to investigate his business practices."
Tonio didn't want logic. He wanted action. Jancy wondered out loud. "Isn't there a faster way?"
Chester had a suggestion. "How about lynching? It's a popular sport down south, and if we gave it a chance, it could catch on here."
The Professor tried to make Tonio understand and reverted back to speaking to him in Italian. "Remember this, O'Halloran owns many buildings, but none is as valuable as his good name. We must attack his reputation, his social standing, the very worthiness of his life. By the time we have done that, the mansion will be ready to be destroyed."
Lady Green lit a cigarette and blew the smoke out of her nostrils as she said, "The mansion must be completed by July 4th. It is his birthday present to himself."
The Professor thought the date over. "Then we are three holidays away. We must orchestrate our actions in three parts: Saint Patrick's Day for the Parade, Easter for the annual regatta, and July 4th for the completion of the O'Halloran mansion.
The Professor reached for Tonio's sketchbook and began to page through it. "First we must give O'Halloran enough faith in Jancy's powers to deepen his confidence in her. We need an illusion attractive enough to lure him into wondering how her powers will eventually help him."
The Professor found what he was looking for in the sketchbook and presented Tonio with the illusion he had singled out. Tonio looked puzzled. Then he smiled and put his arm around Jancy and startled her when he said, "You become Buffalo."
- - - - -
Saint Patrick's Day came on Tuesday, the seventeenth of March 1863, and with it came the greetings of Tommy O'Halloran to every noisy Irishman who waved something green.
One bleak block away from the holiday grandstand, Jancy and Tonio found the closest bald spot in the grass large enough to use as a staging area to set up an empty animal cage.
Nearby was the gentle presence of a large, live buffalo, which Tonio had wagoned into the city from its home on the leafy edges of the city. The zoo was happy to lease the large animal for the day, considering that the fee offered was large enough to feed the animal for the rest of the year.
Lady Green crossed the street to join O'Halloran as he prepared to address the crowd. Looking every inch the emperor of his estate, the Irishman delivered a speech that went from the Irish building a hundred new factories in the city to the Irish building up their population throughout the Union.
"Aye! You can see by our numbers that we Irish have learned to come together in this city. And there is a lot more we can teach the Irish in our neighboring states."
As everyone else applauded, Chester nudged the Professor. "Yeah, like how to start bar fights and spend weekends drunk in New Jersey."
In the crowd was a familiar face from Washington. Sergeant Pokorski was shaking hands and writing the names of volunteers down on his paper. Fearing that Pokorski could spot Jancy and could suspect something, the Professor sent Chester to ward him off.
As Pokorski came closer, Chester pointed him in the opposite direction. "Pokorski, if you're in Philadelphia to con some men into going west with you, you'll find plenty of sons of Erin up the street."
Pokorski gave Chester the once over. "As long as they're not like you, Chester. I'm looking for real men who aren't afraid of saddling some responsibilities."
Pokorski turned back in Jancy's direction. Chester had to think quickly. He regained the Sergeant's attention by suggesting. "We've all got our favorites, but if you want somebody to saddle up, I'd go for General Grant. He's got boils the size of Italian tomatoes on his ass, but he still rides his horse every day."
"Chester you're an idiot. No if ands or buts."
Chester was so relieved that Jancy had escaped Pokorski's attention he mumbled, "Maybe we'll see each other at the parade next year."
Pokorski shook his head. "Chester, a year from now I'll be in Utah Territory. You've heard of Utah, haven't you?
"Sure, I've heard of Utah. That's where men are men and the sheep are scared."
Pokorski had had enough and melted into the crowd. "Goodbye, Chester-forever, I hope."
From the distance, the Professor motioned to Lady Green in hopes of having her speed up O'Halloran's bragging. She placed a green bowler on the Irishman's head as if to crown him with a final gesture.
He adjusted his hat and his remarks. "So in closing, let me say that we Irish have helped Philadelphia to manufacture more in this one city than all of the eleven Confederate states we're fighting put together."
Then with a wave of his green hat, O'Halloran started the parade, leading the way down the street. From the sidewalks, the doorways and the roofs, people shouted, "Tommy! Tommy! Tommy!"
As Chester took his position behind the animal cage, the Professor explained the name-calling. "The Irish like to first-name their politicians and heroes."
"Some hero. The man's a crook."
"You must not forget, Chester. Today's crook is tomorrow's politician."
As a sea of Irish linen-stamped with the words Erin-Go-Bragh-went by them, O'Halloran turned to Lady Green. "When I arrived this morning, there were no messages awaiting me from the Commodore regarding my share of the money that was robbed from Sir Richard's safe."
Lady Green stepped timidly forward, her eyes on the ground. There was flatness to her tone. "Oh, yes, the Commodore did have something to say before he departed."
O'Halloran turned on her. "You deserve a kicking for not telling me sooner."
Lady Green kept her composure. "I have been busily engaged in running your household affairs. However, the Commodore said that in order to help you reclaim your money, he has made arrangements for you to meet a young lady who can communicate with the Buffalo Spirit."
For a moment, she thought her answer would suffice, but O'Halloran's features tightened as he spoke. "I expect more from you than choosing my carpets, my drapes and my curtains. You should have kept your eye on the Commodore. You know that I have never trusted what he may do next. In fact, I have always questioned his sanity. Now a buffalo spirit! Craziness!"
As they resumed their walk in the parade, Lady Green's eyes lowered as if to accept his rebuke, but she spoke again. "The girl awaits you. She has been paid by the Commodore to use her magic to lead you to your missing funds."
O'Halloran looked disturbed. "Have you forgotten that for a lady to talk about the possibility of magic is a breach of good breeding?"
Lady Green pretended to hesitate between her duty of being a lady and an equal desire to serve him. "If you please, it will take but a moment."
As her hand went to his sleeve to lead him away, O'Halloran signaled to one of his tobacco-chewing henchmen with a badly shaved chin to follow them.
On reaching the staging area by the river, O'Halloran studied the empty animal cage before resting his disbelieving eyes on Jancy's face. "Am I to believe that a carnival trickster like you can be of help to me?"
Jancy returned his look, and they studied each other like adversaries trying for an advantage. Jancy broke the contest by moving into the empty cage, closing the door, and placing herself in the middle. O'Halloran turned to his henchman.
"If she plans to disappear "magically", she has certainly picked the wrong adversary."
The tobacco spitter listened with a grave face, shifting from one foot to the other, as O'Halloran spoke. "Search around the back of the cage. Catch her as she "vanishes"."
From his position, the Professor became aware of the henchman's movements but had no time to react to them. His only hope was that the contingency, which Tonio had planned, would protect Jancy.
As O'Halloran looked on, Tonio appeared, disguised as a roustabout in rough clothing, and locked the cage door on Jancy.
Then, as she stood alone within the bars of her empty cell, Tonio pulled a cord, which dropped an overhead cloth to completely cover the cage.
Then, with a sudden gesture, he whisked the cloth away and where Jancy had stood, now stood alone the massive live buffalo.
For a moment O'Halloran froze to his spot, struck by what he had seen. Then suddenly he drew up the corner of his mouth and let out a laugh to cover his amazement.
"Perhaps the buffalo swallowed her."
His laughter disappeared. "If not, there's no need to worry. I have someone there to pull her out of her hiding place."
But neither O'Halloran nor his lackey knew where Jancy was hiding. When the cloth had covered the cage, she had quickly dropped to her knees and pulled the wallboard down to seal herself into the cramped space in the false bottom of the cage. The buffalo, which had been hidden by the back wall, then stood alone in the cage. The next step was for Jancy to crawl out of the false bottom and slip under the densely massed shrubbery to join Chester in her escape.
A few feet away, the tobacco-spitting henchman appeared from behind a line of twisted trees. There in front of him was the outline of someone hiding in the shrubs. A smile came to his face as he recognized a female form. He raised his rifle and sent the butt of the gun crashing down into the figure, collapsing it to the ground. Then with his thick, hairy hand he pulled his victim up by the scalp, only to find out that he was holding a manikin dressed to look like Jancy.
Out front, Tonio walked the buffalo out of the cage. It was then that O'Halloran saw a note hooked to one of the huge horns of the animal.
Seeing his name on the note, O'Halloran moved closer to rip the paper from the buffalo's horn. The note read simply: "Easter Sunday."
Meanwhile, Jancy was creeping along the bushes with Chester. But suddenly they heard the henchman again coming to nose them out.
They scrambled down a steep path from the riverbank and ended on a paved road and without knowing where they were going, they suddenly found themselves in the Chinatown section of Philadelphia.