Dark clouds gathered as Eubie wended his way home. He had traveled this way many times during the day, but it looked ominous now that a gray mist started to form. A sudden crack of thunder followed by galvanized lightning caused him to quicken his pace. He didn’t stop until he saw the Spectorium parked on the side of the road. The light from the threatening sky cast eerie shadows on the “Exotics” making them seemingly come to life. However, Eubie believed that the safety of the wagon was preferable to leaving footprints in the mud to be stalked by Slavers.
Because sideshows often relied upon tricks and the bizarre to lure paying customers, they were never meant to be part of mainstream entertainment unless a required fee was paid. The man with the flyaway moustache resented having to pay such an exorbitant amount. In order to maintain a livelihood, he parked the Spectorium just close enough to catch those who wanted one last bit of excitement before they went home. A knock on the door meant a paying customer and he was only too eager to open it. “Two bits,” he barked from the other side in a Cockney accent. The pronunciation sounded strange to Eubie who was used to the way people spoke on the plantation. But when the door opened, neither was prepared for what they saw.
When Eubie first saw the man seated in the wagon, he appeared to be of average size. But to his surprise, the man turned out to bean ugly dwarf whose welcoming smile belied a wicked nature. Hecould not have been much taller than Eubie. If he hadn’t a moustache, at a distance the man might have been mistaken for a child.
Equally astonished, the moment the dwarf laid eyes on Eubie’s head he immediately started to scheme on how to use the boy to his advantage. Each marveled at the rarity of the other until a spark of lightening broke the spell.
“Welcome laddie.” The dwarf thrust out a hand that seemed too big for his body. “Name’s Speck.” He waited for a handshake, but Eubie was so taken aback at the sight of the ill-formed little man that he forgot his manners.
“Eubie,” he finally managed to stammer before pulling out the coins that were saved for the carnival. Speck frowned when he saw that there was barely enough for the price of admission. Ordinarily he wouldn’t have accepted such a paltry sum, but the scarcity of customers had him snatching up any amount he could. Besides, he knew that once Eubie stepped inside, riches could be had.
The unusual little wagon truly lived up to its name. No imagination could rival its contents. “Do this stuff come from Africa?” Eubie asked eyeing the many shields, masks and stuffed animal heads that covered walls. Even though Speck had never stepped foot on the African continent, most items were either stolen or conned from some poor unsuspecting soul who didn’t realize the value of his treasure; he assured Eubie that everything was genuine.
A necklace made from human ears hung from an elephant’s tusk. A shrunken head with a gold hoop dangling from its lobe sat askew on a curio thathoused a six-digit finger, a tiny human skeleton, and various pickled curiosities. In one corner, a pair of eyeballs floated in yellowish liquid. Speck was quick to observe Eubie’s fascination. “Those, my friend belonged to the vilest, cutthroat, and dastardly pirate that ever sailed the seven seas.”
“How’d he die?” Eubie asked while wondering how a man gets separated from his own eyeballs.
“A sea-hag enchanted him to his death.” Eubie imagined a gnarly encounter with an odious creature that smelled of all things rotten and moldy.
“How’d’you get ‘em?”
“I traded for whatever she wanted,” Speck said dangling a two-headed snake in Eubie’s face to test his mettle. “Or needed.” He looked for a hint of alarm in the boy’s face, but Eubie wasn’t fazed. He once found such a snake in his mother’s garden patch. He kept it in a box, and charged everyone a half-bit to see it. His mother told him that God was so busy thinking about all the evil in the world that he had forgotten that he had already given the snake a head and mistakenly gave it two. When Eubie wondered if God had forgotten to make him like everybody else, he felt sorry for the snake and let it go.
Every inch of the Spectorium held something Eubie had never seen or heard before. There were gold tipped animal horns so curved that when blown just the right way, Speck informed him that it was a call to war. Seashells as big as Eubie’s head coiled into the infinity of distant oceans. There were glass marbles of every design and hue. Eubie was only used to clay marbles and held each one up to admire its exquisite color and symmetry of design. Spinning wooden tops and whirly-gigs abound. He tooted horns, banged on drums, examined weapons, but what really caught his eye were the bizarre photos that hung on the wall.
The pictures painted on the outside of the wagon couldn’t rival those of Siamese Twins standing with their wives. A photo of a young boy whose every bit of skin was covered with a thick coat of hair was labeled, Dog-faced Boy. Another whose fingers were fused together was simply known as the Lobster man. While both posed as if they were royalty, Eubie thought he noted a certain sadness in their eyes. There were pygmies, giants - people with extra limbs and some with no limbs at all celebrating what appeared to be a party. Right in the middle stood a smiling Speck blowing out birthday candles on a lavish cake. Eubie wondered how such a motley group could still smile when like him, were given characteristics so unlike the rest of the human race. In some way it made his differences seem not so remarkable. “Friends?” Eubie asked.
“Family,” Speck said as he wiped a single tear from his eye.
The summer storm had stopped and now that his curiositywas sated, Eubie figured that the soil was too soggy to leave any footprints for the Slavers to track.
“Guess I’ll be going.”
“But you haven’t seen what you paid for,” Speck said nervously twirling his mustache. “I’ve saved the best for last.” He reassured Eubie that the real treasure lie within a huge chest that was pushed up against the wall. Eubie was thrilled to know that there was something yet to be discovered. The trunk with its intricate carvings certainly looked like it held something worthy of his investigation.
“Is it from Africa?”
“Oh yes. From the thickest of jungles,” Speck said unlocking the chest. “A creature so rare that I lock it up at night for its own protection.” He opened the lid ever so slightly. “And for the protection of others.”
Whenever Eubie went against his better judgment, which was most of the time, his head would pound in pain and his heart would flutter faster than a hummingbird’s wings making his brown skin a robust shade of coffee tinged with red. Most often this sensation brought on excitement, but at other times like now made him flush with fear. Speck, a master at manipulating emotions, sensed Eubie’s reticence. “Tip-toe, and don’t breathe.” Eubie didn’t mind holding his breath, but he was sure that the creature could hear his heart beating loudly. Slowly he sidled up to the edge as Speck opened the lid a bit further. Not wanting to get too close, Eubie strained his neck for a peek, yet saw nothing but darkness.
“I don’t see anything,” Eubie’s voice quivered. Speck opened the lid wider and motioned for Eubie to come closer.
“Don’t be afraid,” Speck whispered. Eubie inched his way forward, but stopped when the floorboards of the wagon started to creak. By now the hairs on the back of his neck and the hair on his arms were standing straight up. He dare not go further. This time Speck opened the lid wider and Eubie thought he saw something hidden in the corner, but little did he know that it was his own shadow. Two more steps brought him closer to edge and before he knew it, Speck had pushed him in and promptly sat on the closed lid.
