Circus of Brass and Bone, Episode 20: Hostages to Fortune

Episode 20

Hostages to Fortune

Isaac, the Animal Handler
Port Rumsey, New York City

"We need Ginger. Right. Right!" Given an order, Isaac's mind began to work. To get to Ginger in time, he needed a fast horse.

He ducked out of the doctor's tent, took a deep breath of fresh air, and walked briskly toward where Lacey kept her horses corralled. He wanted to run, but there were policemen everywhere. More emerged every minute. Years of being a disreputable outsider in every small town the circus passed through had taught Isaac that policemen were like big cats: either running or freezing in place would provoke an attack. The best plan was to keep moving normally.

As he passed one pair of patrolmen, he overheard, "Find the commissioner's wife and get her out of here."

Make that two fast horses he needed, Isaac thought. Ginger and Mrs. Guirard both needed to be here to keep things from going bad, if it wasn't already too late.

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