A Fair To Remember
Part Three: Big Wheel Keeps On Turnin'
Author's Comments: My thanks to those who read Chapter Two and offered comments,
listed this tale as a Favorite Story or put it on Story Alert: Cajun Bear73, Jimmy 1281,
Joe Stoppingham, Scott Simerlein, Stormchaser 90 and Anonymous.
Read on, people, and enjoy . . .
Ahead and to the left a man clutching a lady's purse was running full-tilt toward them,
weaving through the crowd like a broken-field runner. Kim promptly snapped into her 'mission
mode' and moved to intercept the man. She dropped into a crouch and lunged at the runner
with her parasol.
The thief practically impaled himself on the parasol, and the breath went out of him in a
combined gasp and scream. He doubled over and dropped to his knees while Kim pulled
clear of him. The Doctor stepped forward, and sharply tapped the man's shoulder with two
fingers. The thief promptly went limp and collapsed in an untidy heap.
"You okay there, KP?" Ron glanced at the thief as he spoke, but the man was
obviously no further threat to anyone. Moments later two uniformed men, followed by a
neatly-dressed couple and two young boys, came running up to them.
"Ah, the Columbian Guard, I believe? Good to see you, gentlemen." The Doctor
gestured at the unconscious thief. "This chap was in so much of a hurry he forgot to return
that lady's purse, so we relieved him of the task."
"I think this is yours, ma'am." Kim picked up the purse and held it out to the woman,
who gasped in relief. The man who was with her glared down at the thief.
"That crook snatched Maud's purse right out of her hands! Thank you for stopping
him, sir." He held out his hand to the Doctor, who gravely shook it.
"Fellow had no manners at all," the Doctor replied, conversationally. "He rudely
knocked my niece Kimberly down, but fortunately he tripped on her parasol, and I was
able to subdue him. I'm glad we could be of service, sir."
Annoyed at the way the Doctor seemed to be taking the credit, Ron was about object
when Kim nudged him firmly and gave a brief shake of her head. With a vexed expression
on his face, Ron subsided.
"Thanks for nabbin' 'im, mister," one of the guards said. "We'll see this one don't
snatch any more purses for a couple o' months." The two guards jerked the groggy thief to
his feet, saluted the Doctor and the couple, and frogmarched their prisoner away.
"Miss, I believe that your parasol was damaged in the collision," the man remarked.
Kim picked up the parasol, and they could all see that the wooden shaft was badly
cracked, and had a definite bend in it.
"It looks totaled to me, Kim," Ron observed.
"Frank, we must compensate this young lady," said the woman. She opened her purse
and dug into it. "I believe this will help to replace it." The woman handed Kim two large, silver
coins.
"Oh, really, I couldn't . . . "
"No arguments, now!" The woman smiled. "Your parasol was wrecked in saving my
purse, and I insist on helping you replace it."
Kim smiled in return and said, "All right, and thank you very much."
"Well, perhaps I should complete the introductions," said the Doctor. "You are Frank
and Maud, I believe? This is Kimberly, my niece, and her good friend Ronald. I'm generally
referred to as 'The Doctor.' I'm not a physician," he added. "It's for the physical sciences."
"We're glad to make your acquantaince," said Frank, with a pleasant smile. "These two
fellows are our sons, Frank Joslyn, and Robert." He indicated the two boys, who appeared to
Kim to be about ten and eight years old, respectively.
"We were about to take a ride on the Ferris Wheel." The Doctor waved at the gigantic
collection of girders that was slowly rotating above the Midway. "Would you care to join us?"
"I think Maud just gave your niece the money set aside for our tickets," Frank replied,
with a twinkle in his eye. Kim noticed that when he smiled the man seemed to grow younger
for a moment. He was neatly dressed, much as Ron was, but the man had a fine mustache
that looked right at home on his handsome face.
"Oh, that's no problem," said the Doctor. "This lad of yours has money coming out of
his ears. Look here!" He reached over to Robert's head and seemed to pull a small coin out
of the boy's left ear. His older brother gave a whistle of amazement.
"Is there one in my ear, too?"
"Well, now, let's see . . . " The Doctor checked the boy's right ear, shook his head, then
tried the left ear. "Nothing there . . . Ah! Here it is!" He seemed to pull another coin from
Frank Josyln's nose.
As the wide-eyed boys looked at the coins they now held, the lady laughed softly and
shook her head. "How do you do that, Doctor?"
"It's very simple, Madam; I was trained by Maskelyne." The Doctor smiled at the couple
and their two sons. "A wonderful wizard of mystical magic and breath-taking illusions." He
leaned down and spoke to the two boys in a confidential tone.
"You know, he can make a lady rise up from the stage and float through the air! I saw
him do it at the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly."
"Frank, he sounds like you!" the lady laughed. She turned to the Doctor and explained,
"Frank's always thinking up stories to tell the boys." As they all headed toward the Ferris
Wheel, she added, "Not only our four sons, but all their neighborhood friends as well."
"Four children?" Kim asked, glancing around. "Are the others here, too?"
"No," Maud answered. "Harry and Kenneth are a bit too young for a whole day at the
fair. We left them at home, and my mother is keeping an eye on them."
A short walk brought them to the base of the great wheel, where the Doctor bought
tickets for them all. There was a brief wait in line, but in a few minutes they boarded one of
the thirty-six cars. The floor of the car was covered by a red carpet decorated with green and
pink roses, and a double row of tufted plush seats ran down the center. Glass-shaded electric
lights encircled the ceiling, while polished brass handrails were mounted below the windows.
To Kim it seemed to be a room in a wealthy lady's mansion, instead of a car on a ferris wheel.
A uniformed guard ushered the passengers in, closed and locked the door, and
signaled that his car was ready. The great wheel began turning, but after rising about one-
third of the way up the car stopped.
"Is something wrong?" Ron asked, nervously.
"Not a bit, sir," said Frank. "Every one-sixth of a turn it stops to change passengers in
some of the cars, that's all. Once all the cars are loaded it makes a full circle without stopping.
I read an article about this great wheel, and it gave a number of details on its operation," he
explained.
Ron nodded his thanks and turned to talk to the two boys, who wanted to know where
he came from. While they conversed, Maud asked Kim if she was enjoying the fair.
"It's really something to see," Kim answered. "I think people will talk about it for a long
time after it's over."
"Yes, there will be other fairs and expositions," the Doctor remarked, "but this one sets
the standard." He flashed his broad grin. "And it's right here in the middle of the country, easy
to reach, visit and enjoy."
As the car rose the view became more spectacular with every foot of height they
gained. Carefully consulting the guide book, the Doctor pointed out buildings and mentioned
details in a way that kept everyone listening closely. When they reached the top he gave a
broad wave to the east where the main exposition grounds lay.
"Just look at it! Three years ago it was nothing but marsh and swamp land, and now
there's an entire city there, gleaming in the sun."
Ron shaded his eyes. "Yeah, but with the sun on all those white buildings it's a little
hard to look at. We should've brought sunglasses, Doc."
"Oh, I forgot. Here." The Doctor reached into an inside coat pocket and brought out
several metal-framed sunglasses with green-tinted lenses. As he passed them out , Kim
briefly wondered how the Doctor had 'just happened' to have seven pairs of sun glasses in
his pocket.
Frank gazed at the white buildings in the distance and then remarked, "These make
those buildings appear as if they were made of green marble and decorated with emeralds."
Kim was about to agree when Ron chuckled.
"Say, Kim, these make you look something like Shego."
"What?" She frowned for a moment, and then realized that viewed through the glasses
her skin would appear green.
"You know someone who has green skin, my dear?" Maud asked.
"Yes . . . her skin color was changed in an accident," Kim carefully replied. "It doesn't
hurt her, and everyone she knows is used to it."
"It sure makes you notice her, though," Ron remarked to the two boys.
"A city where everybody wears green glasses, so the buildings look like emeralds and
the people seem to have green skin . . . now that sounds like something for a story," Frank
observed, as the wheel continued rotating and the car they were in began to descend.
"I can think of another one," said Kim. At the quizzical looks from the others, she
explained. "Just think how America has changed over the last hundred years, and imagine
what it will be like in another hundred."
"Yes, I think we may have a woman as President by then," Maud replied with a smile.
"It wouldn't surprise me if we did." Frank winked as he spoke to his two sons. "What
do you think, boys; how about Grandmother Gage as President of the United States, eh?"
"Could we visit her in the White House?" Frank Joslyn asked eagerly.
"Oh, she'd have us as guests!" Frank laughed. "You could sleep in a fine, big bed, and
a butler would bring your breakfast in on a tray. And I'm sure that Grandma would let you
slide down the longest banister in the place . . . "
As her husband spun out his description for his sons, Maud chuckled softly and spoke
to Kim and Ron. "You see what I mean? Frank just loves to create stories to amuse children."
"Is that what he does for a living?" As she asked her question, Kim noticed that the
Doctor was listening with the two boys, and offering a comment every so often.
"No," Maud answered, "he's a travelling salesman for Pitkin and Brooks, who deal in
fine china and glassware." She gave a sigh. "Frank's on the road a lot, but it's wonderful
when he's home, between trips. Still, I know he has a desire to write, too."
Kim nodded. "If he can write as well as he tells a story," she said softly to Maud, "he
might write a book that would be a best-seller."
As soon as she said it, Kim realized that she'd made a slip, for Maud looked slightly
puzzled.
"A 'best-seller?' What do you mean?" the woman asked.
"Oh, a really popular book that everybody wants to buy," Kim replied. "I've heard 'my
uncle,'" she pointed at the Doctor, "say that once or twice."
Maud nodded in understanding.
Just then the wheel came to a stop again. The guard unlocked the door on the far end
of the car and called out in a firm, pleasant voice, "All out, please. Those wishing another ride
will please purchase tickets at the ticket booth."
After leaving the Ferris Wheel, Frank and Maud thanked the Doctor both for saving
Maud's purse and for treating the family to the Ferris Wheel. Frank shook hands with the
Doctor and Ron, tipped his hat to Kim, and the family went on their way. As soon as Kim, Ron
and the Doctor were in a place where they could talk privately, Ron voiced a complaint he'd
been considering for some time.
"Say, Doc, why didn't you tell those people that it was Kim who stopped that crook?"
"Come on, Ron, the guy was caught, the lady got her purse back, and that's what
matters," Kim remarked. "It's no big."
"We know who stopped him, Ronald," the Doctor explained. "But in 1893 young ladies
aren't expected to be as athletic and effective at crime-fighting as Kimberly is." He gave Kim
a speculative look. "Your speed and agility is most impressive, young lady."
Kim shrugged, and grinned sheepishly. "Well . . . it's what I do, Doctor."
"And may I say that you do it very well," the Doctor replied. "I think that you and Leela
would get along nicely. But now, let's take a look at Cairo Street. It's been several years since
I was in nineteenth-century Egypt," he added, as they started off. "My Arabic will get rusty if I
don't use it more often."
TBC . . .
Author's Disclaimer and Notes:
The Disney Company owns the Kim Possible concept and characters.
The British Broadcasting Corporation owns the Doctor Who concept.
The term TARDIS is also copyright by the BBC.
The plot of this story is my responsibility.
John Nevil Maskelyne (December 1839 - May 1917) is one of those 19th-century Englishmen who seem to have been capable of doing many things successfully. He wrote a book on gambling in 1894 that was the first really detailed revelation of how card sharps cheated. He and a close friend, George Alfred Cooke, became professional magicians and together created many stage illusions that are still used today. And from 1873 to 1904 Maskelyne and Cooke were the permanent show at the Egyptian Hall, a theatre in Piccadilly, London.
The Ferris Wheel at the Chicago World's Fair was the first of its kind, and the largest ever built (so far). The wheel itself was 250 feet in diameter, and the top edge stood 264 feet high. A ride cost fifty cents and lasted for twenty minutes.
The descriptions and locations in this story of buildings and exhibits at the 1893 World's Fair are as accurate as possible.
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