"The Steinenfrank Circus appointed me as its agent for looking after the animals while on this voyage," Hemlock the Magician pulled a document out of his cloak pocket, "seeing as how Vittoria and I have been hired to perform for the Steinenfrank Circus over the next few months."
"May I see that document?" the lawyers Morrison and Dodd asked in unison but it was Dodd who grabbed it first.
While Morrison and Dodd read and salivated over the legal jargon in the document which named Hemlock the Magician as the agent and legal representative of the Steinenfrank Circus Company on the voyage of the Matilda Briggs from the East Indies back to England, the rest of the group walked down the stairs to the lower decks where the caged animals were kept.
Vittoria Donna Gina held her long beautiful red dress high above her ankles so as not to get it dirty on the floor.
Both the eyes of Hemlock and Holmes seemed to be gazing appreciatively at the black silk nylon stockings legs of Vittoria.
Captain Heelander seemed to be the last of the group to come down the stairs.
He skipped and jumped merrily down the stairs singing a song of his own invention, "Oh, I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay, I skip and jump, I like to press wild flowers..."
"Please for the reputation of the crew of the Matilda Briggs," First Mate Leonard Spock begged, "please do not finish the rest of the song, Captain."
Hemlock finally took his eyes off the sexy nylon legs of Vittoria and introduced the animals.
"This," Hemlock said, "is a Sumatran tiger."
The tiger emitted a loud thunderous roar.
"We call him Krakatoa," Hemlock explained.
The magician then walked over to the next cage and said, "This is a Sumatran orangutan."
The orangutan bellowed and thumped his chest.
"We call him Darwin," smiled Hemlock underneath his mask.
Hemlock walked over to the next cage, "These are Sumatran elephants, a mother and her calf. The mother we call Lady Godiva and the calf we call Goliath."
Lady Godiva ate some grasses that lined the floor of the cage while Goliath stared at the on-lookers and yawned.
"And this," Hemlock went over to the next cage, "is the Sumatran Striped Rabbit also called the Sumatran short-eared rabbit because its ears aren't very big."
"Indeed his ears aren't very big," Mr. Spock commented as he viewed the rabbit through the bars.
"We call this rabbit Ides of March," Hemlock said.
"That rabbit seems to be eating romaine lettuce and bread croutons topped with parmesan cheese," Holmes remarked.
"And this," Hemlock walked over to the smallest cage of them all- what looked to be little bigger than a bird cage, "is a Dayak Fruit Bat."
"I'm batty about fruit too," Captain Heelander did a small pirouette and giggled like a schoolgirl.
"We call this old bat Brassy Maggy," Hemlock said, "it was caught by an English roof thatcher on holidays in Sumatra."
"The animals look to be all healthy," Fred Clegg remarked, "and what animal is in this largest cage of all? Even bigger than the elephant cage? And seems to be covered with a black cloth all around?".
"The animal in that cage won't be seen by anyone until the spring opening night of Steinenfrank's Circus one week away," Hemlock replied.
"Well, then how can I tell if it's healthy or not?" Fred Clegg asked.
"You'll have to take my word for it," Hemlock answered.
Vittoria spoke, "Let's go up on deck now and look at the moonlight."
Holmes meanwhile appeared to have dropped his pipe on the floor and seemed to be looking up Vittoria's dress as he picked it up.
"And what are you looking at, Mr. Holmes?" Hemlock asked as he adjusted his golden mask.
To be continued.
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