Audie was envious of Bimmy’s apparent ease despite the fact they’d just been given their call. The words “Pomegrantos, five minutes!” caused her stomach to perform several loop-de-loops and her knees to turn to gelatin.

“All right there, chum?” Bimmy ran through a series of backcross throws.

Audie daren’t watch the balls as they went behind Bimmy’s back and over her shoulder, around and around without a fumble. The motion made her feel seasick. “I’m hunky-dory.” She swallowed hard. “Remember?” Then she busied herself with tightening the lacing on her costume, so as not to let Bimmy see what a wreck she was. Stopping kidnappers was a far sight easier than acting onstage!

“Two minutes,” Bert whispered.

Audie couldn’t be certain, but she thought she might have heard Cypher gulp. Could his nerves be frazzled, too? Cypher?

“It seems everything will go according to plan.” Theo bounced up and down on her toes.

“At this moment,” Audie confessed, “I am more worried about our performance than Mr. Houdini’s.”

“We can’t let down our guard,” Cypher cautioned. “Not until the elephant has vanished.”

“Yes,” agreed Theo.

Audie bent to tie her slipper, hiding her face. “Of course,” she said.

“And on!” Bert pointed to the foursome.

“Break a nose!” Theo called gaily.

“Leg!” Bimmy cried in panic. “It’s break a leg!”

Their musical cue pulled them through the curtain. Once out front, the stage lights froze Audie in place.

“Chum,” Bimmy urged. “Juggle!”

After the initial shock, Audie realized the bright lights were her friends, preventing her from seeing any one of the five-thousand-odd spectators. She could pretend it was just her, Bimmy, Theo, and Cypher. At this realization, she threw herself into the performance. Cypher and Bimmy had the trickier moves of the foursome, but Bimmy had choreographed some bits for Theo and Audie that were flashy enough to look challenging.

All four wore ebullient smiles as balls sailed up and around, back and forth, to and fro. Cypher garnered grand applause for the routine where he juggled three heavy wooden clubs. Bimmy added some acrobatics to her portion, and Audie and Theo did their utmost not to bobble anything. Then, “Zut!” called Cypher, and he and Bimmy performed a most complex double juggling routine, which began with Cypher appearing to throw a club smack at Bimmy’s head. She caught it and cartwheeled, and the crowd cheered. It was a stunning finale.

Bert couldn’t have been more surprised at it, well deserving of its one curtain call. Miracles did happen, it seemed. Maybe he’d stay in the theater business after all. At least for another week.

“Bravo!” Bert patted them each on the back as they ran offstage, panting and glowing with exertion.

“Not bad.” The Great Oberon pulled a bouquet of paper flowers from his sleeve, which he presented to Theo. “But soon you will see the best.”

“Yes,” agreed Bimmy. “Mr. Houdini.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Oberon smiled mysteriously. He swirled his cape around his shoulder. “Step this way. We’ll have the best view from here.”

Everyone backstage quieted, vying for prime viewing spots as the orchestra played the dramatic first notes of the musical introduction for Mr. Houdini. Even Herring the seal quieted his barking to observe a master at work.

Houdini strode to the center of the stage. His beeswaxed hair glistened in the spotlights. He wore no cape, but was simply and elegantly attired in a crisp white collared shirt under a black morning coat with velvet lapels.

Audie’s breath caught as he began to speak.

“Laadies and gintlemen!” Houdini somehow cast the words out over the crowd so that every single one of the five thousand in attendance could hear plain as day. “Laadies and gintlemen!”

As she watched, he transformed himself from a short man with a shy smile and soft eyes into a force to be reckoned with. He seemed to have grown several feet taller and those eyes burned from within, fueled by some incredible passion. It was beyond remarkable. No matter what happened with the illusion, Mr. Houdini convinced Audie of one fact: Nothing was as magical as the human imagination.

“Ah.” Houdini waved his arm. “My friend has arrived.”

An enormous collective breath was held as Jennie, all seven thousand pounds of her, soldiered onto the stage. She wore an enormous bow around her neck, a feature that only served to accentuate her size. Compared to the master magician, she seemed like Jack’s giant. He remained poised in the spotlight, unflinching as the elephant lumbered closer. When she was nearly upon the compact man, she paused. Swayed.

“Well, hello, Jennie!” Mr. Houdini reached into his pocket and produced lumps of sugar. The elephant inhaled them and the crowd roared its appreciation. Mr. Houdini continued. “Gracious friends, allow me to introduce Jennie, the world’s only vanishing elephant.”

Jennie raised her trunk to greet those who had come to watch her disappear. That trunk then lowered, feeling around the magician, searching for more treats.

“Oh, dear Jennie.” Houdini turned out his pockets. “That’s all the sugar I have.”

The enormous elephant trumpeted. The tremendous sound reverberated through Audie, nearly knocking her off balance. Then Jennie rose up on her hind legs, and three and a half tons of elephant towered over the magician. A woman in the audience screamed.

“Now, now, Jennie.” Houdini winked, a gesture that should only have been visible to those audience members in the first few rows but was somehow seen even in the cheap seats. “You must watch your girlish figure.”

The crowd roared again. Houdini had them in his complete power. It was as if he had cast a spell. He had cast a spell, Audie realized. It was called showmanship.

Still, Audie held her breath. The elephant was so large and the magician so small. Finally, Jennie lowered to all fours.

Houdini gestured to the wings and eight stagehands appeared, pulling with them an enormous, garishly painted box, sitting atop a flat wagon propelled by four equally enormous wheels. The music rumbled and roared, setting hearts racing throughout the theater.

Audie grabbed Bimmy’s hand. “This is so exciting!” She glanced over to where Theo had been standing. That young English acrobat stood in her place. Surely she wasn’t going to miss this?

“Where’s Theo?” Audie whispered.

Bimmy looked around. “She was here just a moment ago.”

“Maybe Mr. Houdini needed her help with something during the act.”

“That must be it.” Bimmy turned her attention back to the stage. “Yes, there she is.”

Theo, still clad in her Pomegranto costume, had made her way to one group of the stagehands. The men seemed confused, murmuring among themselves.

Houdini, hearing the noise, turned. Spied Theo. If he was shocked to see her there, he gave no sign of it.

“Ah, my associate felt the need to show you good folks that there is nothing suspicious about this illusion.” He waved grandly at Theo, indicating for her to enter the box.

Theo climbed the ramp, pointing her toes daintily with each step.

“I don’t think this was part of the plan.” Cypher nervously tapped a juggling club against his palm.

“But Houdini doesn’t seem surprised,” Audie observed.

Bimmy arched an eyebrow. “The show must go on, whether he’s surprised or not.”

“I’m having a grand time.” The Great Oberon chuckled. “Quite the performance.”

Audie nodded uneasily. Why was the Great Oberon in such good spirits? He didn’t seem the type to wish others well.

Theo had reached the end of the ramp, and now, with much gesturing and curtsying, was showing off the inside of the painted box.

“No false bottom,” Houdini called out. “No back door. No trickery!”

Thunderous applause ricocheted off the Hippodrome’s walls.

Audie wasn’t certain, but she thought she heard Oberon say, “No trickery indeed.”

Theo performed a pirouette as she skipped down the ramp, then took a deep bow before dance-walking offstage into the wings. The audience, bursting with anticipation, stamped their feet.

Houdini clapped three times, the signal for the trainer to send Jennie up the ramp into the very box Theo had just vacated. As music thrummed throughout the theater, the elephant was situated inside.

Doors at the front of the box were closed. Locked. The crowd cheered. The stagehands slowly, slowly rotated the box to reconfirm there was no rear exit.

“Bid farewell, ladies and gentleman, to our darling Jennie!” Houdini raised his hand. A drumroll tattooed a pounding rhythm. The theater grew quiet as a tomb. An eternity passed and yet it was only moments.

Houdini signaled again, and the stagehands flung open the front door of the box.

It was completely empty.

“NOOOOO!” cried Oberon.

Houdini basked in the spotlight’s glow, revolving in a triumphant and slow circle. The crowd flew to its feet, chanting, “Hoo-di-ni! Hoo-di-ni! Hoo-di-ni!”

Backstage, Bert was attempting to restrain Oberon, who was flinging himself this way and that, shouting out words that, quite honestly, dear reader, should not reach young ladies’ ears.

Houdini was now speaking to the audience, but Audie couldn’t hear, not over the Great Oberon’s tantrum. She edged away from the wings, confused about her course of action. In the moment of Houdini’s triumph, she was to have been making her way to the back alley.

“You!” Oberon, fairly foaming at the mouth, pointed at Theo. “You, you!”

Theo approached the imposter magician and removed another string from her finger. “There’s a job well done,” she said.

“I don’t understand,” Oberon sputtered. “You were supposed to shift the mirrors.”

Theo smiled. “Oh, surely, Mr. Wylie Wurme, as a master hypnotist, you of all people would know that a person cannot be hypnotized into doing something she wouldn’t ordinarily do.” She adjusted her spectacles on her nose. “And I certainly wouldn’t sabotage Mr. Houdini’s act.”

Enraged, the phony Oberon broke free from Bert. He lunged at Theo, grabbed her, and, in a shocking instant, drew out a knife. Audie cried out as he placed it at Theo’s throat. “No! No!”

Houdini stepped backstage, preparing for his first curtain call, completely oblivious to the danger Theo was in. He parted the curtains to accept another round of applause.

Wurme dragged Theo toward the rear door. “Don’t any of you move,” he threatened. “Not if you want to see her alive again.”

At that moment, Min appeared, along with a pickle peddler, both come looking for Audie, who was late for a certain rendezvous. “Mer-row,” she said.

“If you think that’s wise, Min,” Audie replied. “Cypher, Bimmy! Zut!” She motioned for Daisy to snatch up Herring’s ball and throw it to Bimmy, which she did at the exact moment Cypher let fly his heavy club.

Wurme released Theo to protect his head from the wooden missile. He scrambled away, screaming in pain as Min latched on to his back, her claws digging deeper and deeper.

In one smooth motion, Bimmy caught and then swung Herring’s ball, bowling Wurme off his feet.

Still oblivious, Houdini took his fourth curtain call, exhilarated by the illusion’s success. Everything had gone so smoothly. Perfectly according to plan. He truly was the greatest magician in the world.

Bert and Cypher pulled Wurme to his feet. “Call the police,” Bert said. “And let’s get this phony behind bars where he belongs.”

Wurme started to struggle but gave it up when he saw Billy Bottle approach from stage left, waving a bounced check that was to have been in payment for certain information. Billy looked most perturbed. From stage right approached two thugs, looking equally unhappy. They’d been sent by their boss to collect on a rather large bet Wurme had placed, certain that Houdini’s Vanishing Elephant illusion would be a bust. Given the turn of events, Wurme was more than content to go with the police.

Faces flushed, Cypher and Bimmy congratulated each other on their role in Wurme’s arrest. Houdini approached them after his tenth, and final, curtain call, nearly floating with the thrill of success.

“Oh, I must thank Theo,” he said. “Where is she?”

“Right over—” Bimmy pointed to the spot where just a moment ago Theo had undergone questioning by the police. “I don’t see her.”

“And where’s Audie?” Cypher’s heart sank. Saving Theo meant little if harm had come to his charge. His friend.

“Mr. Cypher?” Archibald Leach, one of the English acrobats, came running up. He handed Cypher a sealed note, which was quickly opened. Bits of string, like confetti, fell out. “It’s from Theo,” Cypher said, and he began to read aloud. “ ‘I won’t need these anymore as I have found the perfect assistant. When things settle down, I will send an address should you care to come visit.’ ”

“Oh!” A dreadful realization came over Bimmy. This explained why Audie had been so secretive. She had accepted the position as Theo’s assistant! Bimmy explained her theory to Cypher, doing her best to hide her double disappointment that Audie would leave her and that she herself had lost the opportunity to be Theo’s right-hand girl.

“Your reasoning is sound,” Cypher agreed. “But I do not concur with your conclusion. Audie would never leave the Waywards. She is far too loyal.”

“You two look as if you’ve lost your best friends and some cash,” Houdini said. “Cheer up! The Vanishing Elephant illusion was a huge success.” The Brothers Shubert had already approached him with quite a lucrative contract to perform it weekly over the next few months.

“I regret to inform you that Theo is gone.” Cypher showed Houdini the note.

“I will miss the odd thing,” said the great magician. “But she held up her end of the bargain and I wish her well.” He frowned when he saw that his words did not lift their spirits. “Perhaps I can help.” He whistled for Bobby, who flew to his master. “Fetch my wand!”

“Oh, you don’t need to do any more magic for us,” Bimmy said. There was no trick that could fix what was wrong. How was she going to manage without her dearest chum?

“We’d best be going.” Cypher began unlacing his costume. He had to find Audie! Beatrice would never forgive him if he returned to Miss Maisie’s without her.

Bobby trotted back, a black wand in his mouth. Houdini took it from the terrier. “Humor me,” he said.

“A trick would be very nice,” Bimmy answered politely.

Cypher sighed.

Houdini waved his wand toward a portion of the heavy burgundy stage curtain. “Abracadabra! Bees and bonnets!”

A flash of light. Then white smoke.

“Audie!” Bimmy ran to her friend. “You didn’t leave.”

Cypher wanted to swoop the Wayward orphan up in his arms, he was that overjoyed to see her. But he managed to control himself. “Bimmy thought you’d gone off to be Theo’s assistant,” he said.

“Bees and bonnets,” Audie replied. “Why would you think that? I’ve already got the best job in the whole wide world.” She returned Bimmy’s enthusiastic hug.

“Well, where were you?” Bimmy asked. “Did you miss all the excitement?”

Audie’s smile was an apt imitation of the Mona Lisa’s. Small and mysterious. “Oh, I don’t think I missed it all,” she assured her best friend.

“And here’s Min!” Bimmy cheered. “Now our party’s complete.”

Cypher rubbed his forehead. Despite all of his efforts, he had ended up in charge of two children and a cat. He smiled. C’est la vie!

Min carried something in her mouth. “Where did you get that blue ribbon, you silly cat?” Bimmy asked.

Min wisely chose not to answer.

From the depths of the Hippodrome stormed Helmut, shouting for Bert. He slid to a halt when he saw Houdini. “I don’t know what you’re up to,” he said, fairly spitting nails. “But your illusion really did vanish an elephant.”

“Of course it did.” Houdini’s chest went out. “It was rather a good trick, too. Jennie was a trouper. I’ll give her an extra handful of sugar cubes tomorrow.”

Helmut stomped his foot like a spoiled child. “I’m not talking about Jennie!” Now his hands formed fists at his sides. “I’m talking about Baby. The darned punk has disappeared.”

“My goodness,” Audie exclaimed, eyes wide, hiding the blue ribbon behind her back. “That seems impossible.” Then she acknowledged Mr. Houdini. “Impossible except for someone as talented as you.”

Houdini accepted the compliment with a bow.

Cypher’s appraising look was caught by Helmut. He glared at Audie. “If you know anything—” His voice carried a threat. Cypher moved in to protect Audie, but Helmut was interrupted by a grip, holding out an envelope.

“I found this pinned to a rope back there,” he said. “Addressed to you.”

Helmut ripped the envelope open and pulled out a bill of sale for one male baby elephant. It had been stamped “Paid in Full.” But in front of the word Paid, someone had written in Re. He read it aloud: “ ‘Re-Paid in Full.’ What does that mean?”

“That looks like quite a lot of money,” Audie observed.

Helmut counted it out. “Fifteen hundred dollars.”

“Astonishing,” said Audie.

“I wonder—” Houdini began.

“What?” Helmut snapped. “Do you know something more about this?”

Audie cleared her throat, attempting to send a mental message to the world-famous magician.

“I meant, I wonder,” Houdini continued, “if the young ladies would do me the honor of their presence at my home. Mrs. Houdini promises a lovely tea.”

Audie slipped her arm through Bimmy’s and then addressed Cypher. “Shall we go? All this commotion has me absolutely famished.”