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rope. She tied the rope to the haft of the spear, then stood at the ready with it.
    "Many have tried over the centuries to duplicate the miracle that occurred that night in Khan's court, but none have succeeded—until now. In our extensive traveling we have learned the necessary black art, and are pleased to present it to you now."
    Mystery handed over the spear.
    Faye turned and threw the spear upward. It disappeared into the darkness. The rope followed behind, uncoiling from the box, then hung, clearly suspended in midair.
    The crowd gasped.
    The soldiers elbowed their way through the crowd in a slow and deliberate search pattern that would soon pin Indy against the stage. Faye noted the uniforms moving through the audience, but pressed on with her act.
    "There is an ogre living in the clouds," Faye announced. "He guards an immense treasure. He has vowed to rip anyone to shreds who attempts to steal it. But you, my lithe assistant, are up to the challenge."
    Mystery's head swiveled from side to side.
    "Up!" she commanded and pointed at the rope.
    Mystery was having none of it.
    Faye shook her head and looked at the audience. She again pointed at the rope and commanded Mystery to climb it.
    The assistant backed away.
    Faye produced a wand from her robes and aimed it at the assistant. She mumbled some words that sounded like pig Latin, and the assistant pretended to be irresistibly drawn toward the rope. She stepped into the box, then grasped the rope with both hands. Slowly, she began to climb the rope hand-over-hand, and the sight of her ascending the rope was made even more dramatic because she did not use her legs to propel herself upward.
    "That's one athletic assistant," Indy mumbled as he turned up his collar and slouched against one of the wagon wheels. Two of the soldiers were now almost close enough to touch him.
    Faye aimed her wand again.
    In a puff of smoke, the assistant disappeared into the darkness. At the same instant, Indy ducked beneath the wagon and, in a running crouch, made for the other side. When he emerged, another soldier was waiting for him.
    Indy ducked back beneath the wagon.
    Above, Faye was calling elaborately to her assistant, and Mystery was answering in a far-off voice. Then there was the sound of a terrible fight, screaming and the ripping of cloth, and a few bits of tattered yellow silk floated down. Many of the pieces had conspicuously large drops of "blood" on them, and Faye picked one of these up and regarded it sadly. Then she drew her wand and began to recite a string of mumbo jumbo that grew in intensity as she made lazy circles with the wand.
    It was dark beneath the wagon. Indy was crouching, waiting to see what the soldiers would do, when someone butted against him.
    They both recoiled in surprise.
    "Who are you?" a female voice asked.
    "Who are you?" Indy asked.
    "I'm the assistant," Mystery said as she crawled past. "You're not supposed to be under here. Go away."
    "I'm hiding from those goons out there," Indy said.
    "Saw 'em," Mystery said as she moved to a trapdoor that was hanging open. It was beneath the oversized box that the rope had come from. "Sorry, mister, but I've got a show to finish."
    The mumbo jumbo above them stopped.
    "That's my cue," she said as she climbed into place. "Good luck."
    There was an explosion, the usual smoke, and Mystery jumped from the box, restored.
    "Good luck," Indy snorted as the soldiers began crawling beneath the wagon.
    The Maskelynes were a hit in Manchuria. The crowd yelled, clapped, and stamped its collective feet. Faye clasped Mystery's hand and together they took a long, dramatic bow.
    Then, the crowd began to ooh and aah again as Indy climbed out of the magic box, followed by the heads of a pair of bewildered-looking soldiers.
    "Sorry," Indy said over his shoulder as he slammed down the lid and sat on the box.
    "Don't mention it," Faye said over the audience's laughter. "They seem to like broad comedy. And you seem to be bleeding. Are