Horace dropped his cigarette in the canal, turned, and used his boat hook to snag the empty vessel and pull it toward him. He glanced inside, set his foot against the stern, and pushed, watching as the boat floated on to join the others that awaited passengers at the opposite end of the pavilion.

Pin turned toward the Pike. Now that the sky had begun to darken, with the promise of cooler air, a line had formed in front of Hell Gate. Nearly every man she saw wore the same straw hat and white shirt and ice-cream suit, the exact color of its pastel stripes impossible to discern at a distance. She saw no sign of the girl in the yellow dress and matching hair bow. Like Abriana, she had disappeared. It was like she’d never been there at all.

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

PIN SPENT THE next ten minutes searching the park, looking for any sign of the girl. Finally reaching the Grand Lagoon, she gave up. She stood and stared at the Hippodrome reflected in the shimmering water. It was supposed to be a marvel, its angel figurehead even taller than Riverview’s Eye-Full Tower and supposedly visible beyond the city itself.

Sighing, Pin turned and walked back toward Hell Gate. She’d borrow that magazine from Larry and go find a quiet place to read. As she drew near the pavilion, she glanced reflexively up at the knoll where she’d sat earlier.

Someone stood there, watching her. A man, short, wearing a boater, his head tilted to one side. Was he really looking at her? After a moment he raised his hand, like a cigar-store Indian. Pin looked over her shoulder but saw no one. Tentatively she raised her hand, squinting to get a better look.

Now she recognized him: the dingbatty little guy she’d seen at the Infant Incubators that morning, with his straw boater and mustache that looked like it’d been stuck on with spit. Did the man at Hell Gate with the girl have a mustache? She couldn’t remember.

Then he was pointing to a grassy spot a short distance from the Pike, protected from view by a stand of poplars. He nodded at her, turned, and hurried down the little knoll toward the grass. Pin hesitated, then ran to meet him.

Chapter 20

Chapter 20