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beginning to form in his head.
    â€œI thought it might be,” said Cortado. He leaned forward in his seat. “Let me show you something that might change your mind.” He unbuttoned his shirt, and opened it to reveal a long white scar that stretched diagonally across his chest and abdomen, from collarbone to hip. The skin around the scar was puckered and bore the traces of large clumsy stitches. “This,” he said, “is the mark of a tiger, a tiger that I adopted from another circus and cared for as though he were my own. This is how he repaid me.” He buttoned his shirt again. “The circus is a dangerous place, my boy, and if it is the life you choose, you had better be strong enough to stay on top. What would your parents have to say about this idea, I wonder?”
    â€œI wouldn’t know,” said Miles. “I’ve never met them. I live by myself, and I make my own decisions.”
    â€œI see. And in the absence of a tiger to tame, what do you feel you could bring to a show as spectacular as the Circus Oscuro?”
    â€œOh I wouldn’t want to tame any tigers. I wasthinking more of a disappearing act.”
    â€œA disappearing act? Is that it? Every nickel and dime show has a disappearing act, Selim.”
    â€œNot one like mine. Mine is different.”
    The Great Cortado raised one eyebrow.
    â€œMine is completely unexpected,” said Miles.
    The Great Cortado leaned forward again in his seat, and fixed Miles with his unwavering stare. The smile had returned to his face, but it did not reach his eyes. “Would this act simply consist of you disappearing from my trailer, by any chance?”
    â€œThat wouldn’t be very spectacular, would it, Mr. Cortado?”
    â€œNo it wouldn’t,” said the Great Cortado. He sat back. “In that case, when will I have the pleasure of seeing this fabulous act?”
    â€œI can show you now, but I will need to go outside and make some preparations.”
    The ringmaster considered this for a moment, then he said, “You look tired and hungry to me, Selim. So this is what we will do. I will fix you a drink from an old recipe that we circus people guard jealously. I guarantee you it will take care of all your hunger and fatigue. While I do this, you will have a minute or two to make your preparations. But I warn you, I am the Great Cortado, andpeople who waste my time end up very sorry indeed. This trick of yours had better surprise me.”
    â€œI think I can promise that,” said Miles.
    He stood up and went to the door. A glance in the ebony mirror showed him that the Great Cortado had turned his back and was fixing his special drink at the marble bar in the end of the trailer. Miles lifted the heavy key ring gingerly from the hook and slipped it inside his jacket. His heart was beating so loudly that he was sure the ringmaster would hear it. He went quickly down the steps and ran across the grass to the trailer where Little was being held. The keys clinked together as he took them from his jacket.
    â€œIs that you, Miles?” whispered Little through the keyhole.
    â€œIt’s me,” said Miles. “But I don’t know which is the right key. There are a lot of them to try.”
    â€œCome to the window and show them to me,” said Little. Her face appeared over the sill again. Miles climbed onto the wheel rim and held them up for her to see. She examined them for a moment. “That one,” she said. “The one with the twisted stem and the curly end.”
    Miles put the key in the lock and it turned with ease. Little slipped out through the door. Her wristswere tied behind her back by a long rope, wrapped several times around her waist for good measure, and Miles had left his pocketknife in his barrel. She held a thin blanket behind her back. Miles wrapped it around her to hide her bound wrists and sparkly suit, and she stood on tiptoe on the wooden step to whisper in