THE MAGICIANS TRAP by The Magician's Trap (epub)

Author:The Magician's Trap (epub)
Format: epub

CHAPTER 7

The crowd burst out laughing when they saw the strange looking man who came striding along between the guards.

He was tall, very tall. And very skinny. He was dressed in a rich suit of brown velvet, trimmed with ruffles and lace. But the jacket of the suit was so short that it did not reach the top of his elbows. His green hat, with a long curled feather at the top, was too big and kept sliding over one eye. His shoes were of soft gold leather but there was a hole cut in the end of each one to make room for his big toe.

The stranger plucked off his hat, and clasping it over his ribs, bowed before King Justin. But before he could speak, one of the guards whispered in the king’s ear, “Your Majesty, this man is a thief. The suit he wears was stolen from one of your nobles. The hat belongs to the Lord of the Treasury, and the shoes – “

The king was staring at the gold shoes with amazement.

“And the shoes are mine!” he thundered. “What is this robber doing here? Why is he not locked up in jail?”

“Your Majesty, I am not in jail because the jailors could not keep me in. I am a slippery fellow, you see. The reason I am here is to beg your permission to try to win the twelve barrels of gold by restoring you son.”

“You?” sputtered the king. “A thief?”

“Why not?” asked the thief. “What you want is a man who can steal a pearl from an oyster without waking it. Who could do that better than I?”

As he was speaking he pulled out of his pockets two golden dog collars, one marked Bruno and the other Juno. He swung them around on the tip of his finger.

“Oh!” cried the king. “How did you get those collars? Have you killed my faithful watchdogs!”

“Certainly not,” said the thief. “Look.” He put two fingers between his lips and whistled.

In a moment Bruno and Juno came bounding into the ring, jumping up on the thief and licking his hands.

“Just a little sample of my skill,” said the thief, laying the dog collars in the king’s hand. “Your Majesty, you couldn’t find a better man than I for his task. I pray you, let me try to win this fortune. I should like to restore your son to you and become an honest man myself at the same time.”

The king rubbed his chin and looked thoughtful. “And why not?” he said to himself. “Not many men want to risk their lives for the prince, after all.”

The crowd waited without moving until the king spoke. “If the knight and the lion tamer fail, you shall have your chance,” he decided. “But you must promise to go to prison and stay there until I send for you.”

“Fair enough,” said the thief, sweeping the Lord of the Treasury’s plumed hat in a deep bow and then clapping it down over his ears as the guards came to lead him away.

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