When he was ready, he stood in front of the air-shaft window and looked at his reflection in the dark glass. General Henrico Dargero steadied himself for the struggles ahead. Only his brave young companion knew of the risks they would soon meet. An evil man, perhaps some bad generals. Maybe death!

But not for him. That would make a bad story. He knelt beside his bed and said one Our Father and two Hail Marys, one Glory Be to the Father, and the prayer to Saint Dymphna. He withdrew the scapular with Saint Dymphna’s picture and kissed it, tucked it back inside his shirt. Time to face the evil generals.

Chapter 91

Chapter 91

SHE HAD MISSED the moment when Riverview’s thousands of electrical bulbs blazed on. Now the lights looked harsh and garish, the shadows they cast longer and blacker. Pin stood at the edge of the midway, feeling small and unprotected. Her disguise was not a disguise. It revealed her for what she really was: a girl, alone at night.

She forced herself to step out onto the Pike. Immediately she was buffeted by the passing crowd. People knocked into her without even noticing. If someone did notice, their eyes looked right through her. When she was a boy, they’d have reacted with anger or annoyance. But as a girl, she was too skinny and plain to look at twice, too young for any man to take an interest in her.

She prayed Max would be different. He was different. She prayed he would notice her, without recognizing her.

She longed to run, but she knew better. Girls didn’t run unless they were being chased. Her instinct was to keep her head down, but she was afraid the wig might slip off. So she walked and stared straight ahead, trying to look like a girl who knew where she was going. She wasn’t so young as to appear lost, the way a seven- or eight-year-old would. Still, as she passed the line for the Shoot-the-Chutes, a grey-haired woman reached out to grasp her sleeve.

“Are you on your own, young lady?”

Pin started to yank her arm away. But the woman’s face was kind, and two girls about Pin’s age flanked her in the line. Her granddaughters. Pin shook her head.

“No. My family’s waiting for me over by the Wild West Show. I was just getting a drink of water.”

The woman smiled. “All right, then. Have a nice time.”

The photograph of the doll grew limp between her fingers as she walked. She switched it to her other hand, wiping her sweaty palm on her dress. The thought of running into Ikie or Mugsy made her stomach hurt. She scanned the crowd but never saw them.