“Hurry!” said Tyler. “Before he disappears!”

The boys dashed around the row of boilers.

A young man turned abruptly, a surprised look on his face.

He was surrounded by nine bowling pins. A heap of metal spoons and rings was lying at his feet. Beyond him lay a neatly folded shower curtain.

“Mr. Thursday! You’re the ghost!” accused Tyler angrily.

“Ghost?” repeated the man. “What are you talking about?”

“He’s not a ghost,” said Charlie. “He’s a juggler.”

“Juggler?” repeated Tyler.

The man bowed toward them. “Thursday the Master Thrower,” said the juggler. “And I’m sorry about taking these things. But I had to practice.”

“And your luggage was lost by the airlines,” said Charlie. “Along with your usual props, like bowling pins, juggling rings, and metal rods.”

“Exactly,” said Mr. Thursday. “I just borrowed these items to use until mine turned up. I always planned to return them. I even folded the shower curtain!”

He pointed at the shower curtain, which was indeed folded up.

“Your luggage just got here,” said Charlie. “We saw it up in the lobby.”

“Slow down, you two,” Tyler said. “What’s going on?”

“He’s another performer,” explained Charlie. “Like the magicians who live here. And just like any performer, he has to practice every single day.”

“But why do you practice down here?” asked Tyler.

“Because the ceiling’s high enough,” said Mr. Thursday.

“So we were hearing you practice through the vents,” said Tyler. “Who is this Mister Ken guy?”

“Mister Ken?” Thursday said. “Who’s that?”

Charlie smiled. “He wasn’t saying Mister Ken,” he said. “We just thought he was. I finally figured it out when I realized what all three objects had in common.”

“What do you mean?” Tyler asked. “What do they have in common?”

Charlie explained, “I was thinking, ‘What would someone use rings, spoons, and bowling pins for?’ Then I thought, ‘Of course! Juggling!’ Then I realized that what we were hearing was Mr. Thursday rehearsing his act.”

“I still don’t get it. What does that have to do with Mister Ken?” Tyler asked.

Charlie smiled again. “There is no Mister Ken,” he said. “Whenever he dropped a spoon or ring or pin, he would say to himself, ‘Missed again, missed again.’”

“I don’t get it,” Ty said.

“That’s what we were hearing. We just thought he was saying Mister Ken, but he was giving himself a hard time for screwing up while practicing.”

Mr. Thursday blushed. “It’s a bad habit of mine,” he said.

“It just sounded like ‘Mister Ken,’” said Charlie.

“I have to practice every day, or otherwise I get rusty,” said Mr. Thursday. “I would have asked to use these things, but it was supposed to be a surprise.”

“A surprise for what?” asked Tyler.

“For the magic show,” said Mr. Thursday. “Of course.”