The Elephant Vanishes Part 21

"I don't get it," I said. "Before, you said that you weren't supposed to talk about the dwarf. Why is that? Is there some connection between the dwarf and the revolution?"

"Ya got me there. One thing's sure, though. The revolutionary guard wanted to bring that dwarf in somethin' terrible. Still do. The revolution's an old story already, but they're still lookin' for the dancing dwarf. Even so, I don't know what the connection is between the dwarf and the revolution. All you hear is rumors."

"What kind of rumors?"

I could see that he was having trouble deciding whether to tell me any more. "Rumors are just rumors," he said finally. "You never know what's true. But some folks say the dwarf used a kind of evil power on the palace, and that's what caused the revolution. Anyhow, that's all I know about the dwarf. Nothin' else."

The old man let out one long hiss of a sigh, and then he drained his gla.s.s in a single gulp. The pink liquid oozed out at the corners of his mouth, dripping down into the sagging collar of his unders.h.i.+rt.

I DIDN'T DREAM DIDN'T DREAM about the dwarf again. I went to the elephant factory every day as usual and continued making ears, first softening an ear with steam, then flattening it with a press hammer, cutting out five ear shapes, adding the ingredients to make five full-size ears, drying them, and finally, adding wrinkles. At noon, my partner and I would break to eat our pack lunches and talk about the new girl in Stage 8. about the dwarf again. I went to the elephant factory every day as usual and continued making ears, first softening an ear with steam, then flattening it with a press hammer, cutting out five ear shapes, adding the ingredients to make five full-size ears, drying them, and finally, adding wrinkles. At noon, my partner and I would break to eat our pack lunches and talk about the new girl in Stage 8.

There were lots of girls working at the elephant factory, most of them a.s.signed to splicing nervous systems or machine st.i.tching or cleanup. We'd talk about them whenever we had free time. And whenever they had free time, they'd talk about us.

"Great-looking girl," my partner said. "All the guys've got their eye on her. But n.o.body's nailed her yet."

"Can she really be that good-looking?" I asked. I had my doubts. Any number of times I had made a point of going to see the latest "knockout," who turned out to be nothing much. This was one kind of rumor you could never trust.

"No lie," he said. "Check her out yourself. If you don't think she's a beauty, go to Stage Six and get a new pair of eyes. Wish I didn't have a wife. I'd get her. Or die tryin'."

Lunch break was almost over, but as usual my section had almost no work left for the afternoon so I cooked up an excuse to go to Stage 8. To get there, you had to go through a long underground tunnel. There was a guard at the tunnel entrance, but he knew me from way back, so I had no trouble getting in.

The far end of the tunnel opened on a riverbank, and the Stage 8 building was a little ways downstream. Both the roof and the smokestack were pink. Stage 8 made elephant legs. Having worked there just four months earlier, I knew the layout well. The young guard at the entrance was a newcomer I had never seen before, though.

"What's your business?" he demanded. In his crisp uniform, he looked like a typical new-broom type, determined to enforce the rules.

"We ran out of nerve cable," I said, clearing my throat. "I'm here to borrow some."

"That's weird," he said, glaring at my uniform. "You're in the ear section. Cable from the ear and leg sections shouldn't be interchangeable."

"Well, let me try to make a long story short. I was originally planning to borrow cable from the trunk section, but they didn't have any extra. And they they were out of leg cable, so they said if I could get them a reel of that, they'd let me have a reel of the fine stuff. When I called here, they said they have extra leg cable, so that's why I'm here." were out of leg cable, so they said if I could get them a reel of that, they'd let me have a reel of the fine stuff. When I called here, they said they have extra leg cable, so that's why I'm here."

The guard flipped through the pages of his clipboard. "I haven't heard anything about this," he said. "These things are supposed to be arranged beforehand."

"That's strange. It has been. Somebody goofed. I'll tell the guys inside to straighten it out."

The guard just stood there whining. I warned him that he was slowing down production and that I would hold him responsible if somebody from upstairs got on my back. Finally, still grumbling, he let me in.

Stage 8-the leg shop-was housed in a low-set, s.p.a.cious building, a long, narrow place with a partially sunken sandy floor. Inside, your eyes were at ground level, and narrow gla.s.s windows were the only source of illumination. Suspended from the ceiling were movable rails from which hung dozens of elephant legs. If you squinted up at them, it looked as if a huge herd of elephants was winging down from the sky.

The whole shop had no more than thirty workers altogether, both men and women. Everybody had on hats and masks and goggles, so in the gloom it was impossible to tell which one was the new girl. I recognized one guy I used to work with and asked him where I could find her.

"She's the girl at Bench Fifteen attaching toenails," he said. "But if you're planning to put the make on her, forget it. She's hard as nails. You haven't got a chance."

"Thanks for the advice," I said.

The girl at Bench 15 was a slim little thing. She looked like a boy in a medieval painting.

"Excuse me," I said. She looked at me, at my uniform, at my shoes, and then up again. Then she took her hat off, and her goggles. She was incredibly beautiful. Her hair was long and curly; her eyes were as deep as the ocean.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to go out dancing with me tomorrow night. Sat.u.r.day. If you're free."

"Well, I am am free tomorrow night, and I free tomorrow night, and I am am going to go dancing, but not with you." going to go dancing, but not with you."

"Have you got a date with someone else?"

"Not at all," she said. Then she put her goggles and hat back on, picked up an elephant toenail from her bench, and held it against a foot, checking the fit. The nail was just a little too wide, so she filed it down with a few quick strokes.

"C'mon," I said. "If you haven't got a date, go with me. It's more fun than going alone. And I know a good restaurant we could go to."

"That's all right. I want to dance by myself. If you want to dance, too, there's nothing stopping you from coming."

"I will," I said.

"It's up to you," she said.

Ignoring me, she continued to work. Now she pressed the filed nail into the hollow at the front of the foot. This time, it fit perfectly.

"Pretty good for a beginner," I said.

She didn't answer me.

THAT NIGHT, the dwarf came into my dream again, and again I knew it was a dream. He was sitting on a log in the middle of the clearing in the forest, smoking a cigarette. This time he had neither record player nor records. There were signs of weariness in his face that made him look a little more advanced in years than he had when I first saw him-though in no way could he be taken for someone who had been born before the revolution. He looked perhaps two or three years older than me, but it was hard to tell. That's the way it is with dwarfs.

For lack of anything better to do, I strolled around the dwarf, looked up at the sky, and finally sat down beside him. The sky was gray and overcast, and black clouds were drifting westward. It might have begun to rain at any time. The dwarf had probably put away the records and player to keep them from being rained on.

"Hi," I said to the dwarf.

"Hi," he answered.

"Not dancing today?" I asked.

"No, not today," he said.

When he wasn't dancing, the dwarf was a feeble, sad-looking creature. You would never guess that he had once been a proud figure of authority in the royal palace.

"You look a little sick," I said.

"I am," he replied. "It can be very cold in the forest. When you live alone for a long time, different things start to affect your health."

"That's terrible," I said.

"I need energy. I need a new source of energy flowing in my veins-energy that will enable me to dance and dance, to get wet in the rain without catching cold, to run through the fields and hills. That's what I need."

"Gosh," I said.

We sat on the log for a long time, saying nothing. From far overhead, I heard the wind in the branches. Flitting among the trunks of the trees, a huge b.u.t.terfly would appear and disappear.

"Anyhow," he said, "you wanted me to do something for you."

"I did?" I had no idea what he was talking about.

The dwarf picked up a branch and drew a star on the ground. "The girl," he said. "You want the girl, don't you?"

He meant the pretty new girl in Stage 8. I was amazed that he knew so much. Of course, this was a dream, so anything could happen.

"Sure, I want her. But I can't ask you to help me get her. I'll have to do it myself."

"You can't."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I know," he said. "Go ahead and get angry, but the fact is you can't do it yourself."

He might be right, I thought. I was so ordinary. I had nothing to be proud of-no money, no good looks, no special way with words, even-nothing special at all. True, I wasn't a bad guy, and I worked hard. The people at the factory liked me. I was strong and healthy. But I wasn't the type that girls go crazy over at first sight. How could a guy like me ever hope to get his hands on a beauty like that?

"You know," the dwarf whispered, "if you let me help you, it just might work out."

"Help me? How?" He had aroused my curiosity.

"By dancing. She likes dancing. Show her you're a good dancer and she's yours. Then you just stand beneath the tree and wait for the fruit to fall into your hands."

"You mean you'll teach me to dance?"

"I don't mind," he said. "But a day or two of practice won't do you any good. It takes six months at least, and then only if you work at it all day, every day. That's what it takes to capture someone's heart by dancing."

I shook my head. "It's no use, then," I said. "If I have to wait six months, some other guy will get her for sure."

"When do you go dancing?"

"Tomorrow night. Sat.u.r.day. She'll be going to the dance hall, and I will, too. I'll ask her to dance with me."

The dwarf used the branch to draw a number of vertical lines in the dirt. Then he bridged them with a horizontal line to make a strange diagram. Silent, I followed the movement of his hand. The dwarf spit the b.u.t.t of his cigarette on the ground and crushed it with his foot.

"There's a way to do it-if you really want her," he said. "You want her, don't you?"

"Sure I do."

"Want me to tell you how it can be done?"

"Please. I'd like to know."

"It's simple, really. I just get inside you. I use your body to dance. You're healthy and strong: You should be able to manage a little dancing."

"I am am in good shape. n.o.body better," I said. "But can you really do such a thing-get inside me and dance?" in good shape. n.o.body better," I said. "But can you really do such a thing-get inside me and dance?"

"Absolutely. And then she's yours. I guarantee it. And not just her. You can have any girl."

I licked my lips. It sounded too good to be true. If I let the dwarf get inside me, he might never come out. My body could be taken over by this dwarf. As much as I wanted the girl, I was not willing to let that happen.

"You're scared," he said, as if reading my mind. "You think I'll take possession of your body."

"I've heard things about you," I said.

"Bad things, I suppose."

"Yes, bad things."

He gave me a sly smile. "Don't worry. I may have power, but I can't just take over a person's body once and for all. An agreement is required for that. I can't do it unless both parties agree. You You don't want your body permanently taken over, do you?" don't want your body permanently taken over, do you?"

"No, of course not," I said with a s.h.i.+ver.

"And I don't want to help you get your girl without any kind of compensation." The dwarf raised a finger. "But I'll do it on one condition. It's not such a difficult condition, but it is a condition nonetheless."

"What is it?"

"I get into your body. We go to the dance hall. You ask her to join you and you captivate her with your dancing. Then you take her. But you're not allowed to say a word from beginning to end. You can't make a sound until you've gone all the way with her. That's the one condition."

"How am I supposed to seduce her if I can't say a word to her?" I protested.

"Don't worry," said the dwarf, shaking his head. "As long as you have me dancing for you, you can get any woman without opening your mouth. So, from the time you set foot in the dance hall to the moment you make her yours, you are absolutely forbidden to use your voice."

"And if I do?"

"Then your body is mine," he said, as if stating the obvious.

"And if I do the whole thing without making a sound?"

"Then the girl is yours, and I leave your body and go back to the forest."

I released a deep, deep sigh. What was I to do? While I wrestled with the question, the dwarf scratched another strange diagram into the earth. A b.u.t.terfly came and rested on it, exactly in the center. I confess I was afraid. I could not say for certain that I would be able to keep silent from beginning to end. But I knew it was the only way for me to hold that gorgeous girl in my arms. I pictured her in Stage 8, filing the elephant toenail. I had to have her.

"All right," I said. "I'll do it."

"That's it," said the dwarf. "We've got our agreement."

THE DANCE HALL STOOD by the main factory gate, its floor always packed on a Sat.u.r.day night with the young men and women who worked at the elephant factory. Virtually all of us unattached workers, both male and female, would come here every week to dance and drink and talk with our friends. Couples would eventually slip out to make love in the woods. by the main factory gate, its floor always packed on a Sat.u.r.day night with the young men and women who worked at the elephant factory. Virtually all of us unattached workers, both male and female, would come here every week to dance and drink and talk with our friends. Couples would eventually slip out to make love in the woods.

How I've missed this! the dwarf sighed within me. the dwarf sighed within me. This is what dancing is all about-the crowd, the drinks, the lights, the smell of sweat, the girls' perfume. Oh, it takes me back! This is what dancing is all about-the crowd, the drinks, the lights, the smell of sweat, the girls' perfume. Oh, it takes me back!

I cut through the crowd, searching for her. Friends who noticed me would clap me on the shoulder and call out to me. I responded to each with a big, friendly smile but said nothing. Before long, the band started playing, but still there was no sign of her.

Take it slow, said the dwarf. The night is young. You've got plenty to look forward to The night is young. You've got plenty to look forward to.

The dance floor was a large, motorized circle that rotated very slowly. Chairs and tables were set in rows around its outer edge. Over it, a large chandelier hung from the high ceiling, the immaculately polished wood of the floor reflecting its brilliance like a sheet of ice. Beyond the circle rose the bandstand, like bleachers in an arena. On it were arranged two full orchestras that would alternate playing every thirty minutes, providing lush dance music all evening without a break. The one on the right featured two complete drum sets, and all the musicians wore the same red elephant logo on their blazers. The main attraction of the left-hand orchestra was a ten-member trombone section, and this troupe wore green elephant masks.

I found a seat and ordered a beer, loosening my tie and lighting a cigarette. The dance-hall girls, who danced for a fee, would approach my table now and then and invite me to dance, but I ignored them. Chin in hand, and taking an occasional sip of beer, I waited for the girl to come.