“Why should I be?”
“I interrupted you during your concert without permission. I’m very sorry.”
“There’s no need to be. You don’t have to apologize for performing a beautiful act.”
“Well, quite. So now please explain to me, gentlemen, what happened, who were those people, and why was I kidnapped? Where am I?”
“You’re in a millionaire’s mansion.”
Now Kaytek’s neighbor from the box at the concert speaks up in a quiet voice.
“Yes, I’m a millionaire. Here on the wall you can see two paintings: this is a portrait of my wife, and this is a portrait of my son. They’re not alive any more. On the same day, at the same hour, they were both killed in the same car crash. Ever since, I’ve been living alone among strangers and people who aren’t friendly. I am rich, but I’m very unhappy.”
“I think I understand. Is that why you had me kidnapped?”
“Yes. I want you to stay with me. I’ll buy you whatever you want, I’ll give you whatever you desire. I’ll obey your every wish. You can give the orders. I’ll show you your rooms – my son used to live in them, but I can change anything, just as you demand. If you want to travel, we’ll travel; I have my own railroad car and my own yacht. We can live in the mountains or by the sea, in America or in Europe. I just want you to stay with me.”
There’s a long silence. The only sound is the clock ticking.
“So who were those people, those four . . . er, gentlemen?”
“Those are my detectives, my bodyguards. They make sure no one attacks me and no one shoots at me.”
“Do you have enemies?”
The rich man smiles painfully.
“There are plenty of people who wish me ill. Hungry, unemployed people think it’s my fault, and rich people are jealous of me, because I have more money than them – they’d like to have even more, but I get in their way.”
“So don’t get in their way, and give bread and work to those who haven’t any.”
“If I tried not to get in their way I’d have to close down all my mines, factories, and warehouses. That’s because anyone who buys from me isn’t buying from them. And if I did that, there’d be even more poor families with no work, thousands more unemployed.”
“So do the thousands of people who work in your mines, offices, and factories like you?”
“No, they don’t like me either.”
“Perhaps you don’t pay them enough?”
“If I paid them more, I’d have to sell my coal and iron at a higher price, and the price of my cloth, my coffee, and rubber would go up too. No one would buy them from me. I’d lose everything at once.”
“So why . . . ?” Kaytek begins, but he doesn’t finish the question, because although his eyes are open, although he can see and hear and feel, his weary mind is asleep.
Grey glances at his watch.
“It’s late already . . . You see, my boy, people think, give advice, and try to do things in various ways. Some do it slowly and laboriously, others rapidly, with inspiration. It’s late now, but if you stay here, you’ll have plenty more conversations with your guardian. He is very eager for you to stay with him. Now it’s entirely up to you.”
The millionaire shifts nervously in his armchair.
“Yes, it’s entirely up to you. I see there’s no phone on my desk. The footman must have removed it. No, I don’t want to keep you prisoner, and I have no right to do that. You can call anyone you like, you can write letters and put them in the mail box yourself. You can lock yourself in your room or go into the city on foot. Don’t give me your answer today. Or even tomorrow. Have a good think about whether you want to be my adopted son. And now just one question: will you be afraid to sleep alone in your room?”
“No, I won’t,” replies Kaytek.
The millionaire rings for the footman.
Chapter Sixteen
The return journey home – Kaytek recognizes an enemy – A railroad crash – The confession and death of the detective
The mind! – Strong, young, clear, and ardent.
The mind! – Independent, generous, wild, and daring.
The mind of a wizard! – A weak, sleepy, idle mind.
An idle, helpless, defenseless mind . . .
Kaytek can see and hear, and his eyes are open, but his mind is asleep. He doesn’t care about a thing. He isn’t happy and he isn’t sad. It’s all the same to him.
Kaytek’s playroom is a huge hall with a glass roof. There are several smaller rooms inside it. One of them contains a fortress with soldiers and cannons, some small cars and railroad cars that work on electricity. There are tanks, infantry soldiers, and cavalry. Kaytek has spent two days playing happily in this room.
The second room is a dwarves’ cottage, but he doesn’t like playing with dolls.
The third room is like Robinson Crusoe’s island. There are real talking parrots and funny little monkeys. There are trees which can be moved from one spot to another like Christmas trees. There’s everything for building a tent, and various animal hides.
Kaytek has spent two days playing a great game in there.
In the fourth playroom there’s a pond with real water. There are small boats, ships, motorboats, sailing and fishing boats. There are live fish in the water, which you can catch with a rod or in a net.
And so? So he switched on the fountain, caught a fish, and threw it back in the water. Then he threw some gingerbread to a swan, but there was nothing much to do here.
He spent a whole week in the workshop, but he broke more things than he made. Everything was all ready, all cut to fit together, and he never hurt himself once.
In the library there are too many books, so you don’t know where to start or what to read first. None of it seems interesting enough.
As for the boys and girls invited by the millionaire to play with Kaytek, none of them are interesting either. The boys pretend to be tough, but they’d rather play with dolls than play at war, and they want nothing to do with bandits – they’re such a bunch of scaredy-cats.
“What else can I buy you? Who else should I invite?” asks the millionaire.
“I don’t want you to invite anyone. There’s everything here already – don’t buy or bring me anything – I don’t want you to, that’s enough!”
Kaytek feels like a bird caught in a snare, or like a swallow before it flies away to a distant country – because he has decided to go home to Warsaw.
They must have forgotten about him by now, they can’t be looking for him anymore. They flooded his island in the River Vistula, and they’re sure they shot him.
“Why don’t you play the violin?” asks the millionaire.
“Why should I?” answers Kaytek.
“Why don’t you read a book?”
“Reading ruins your eyesight.”
“Why don’t you play a game?”
“All right, I will. Later on. Tomorrow.”
Kaytek plans to go home to Warsaw and get rid of the lookalike who has taken his place and is hanging around there for no good reason.
Even if he has lost his magic powers, he’ll go home the regular way. His old, small spells are working, but something has gone wrong. Either he needs to rest, or start over again from the beginning.
I want a bag of chocolates under my pillow, he thinks. One time it’s there, another time it’s not.
I want a zloty in my pocket. And he’s pleased when he finds one there. He kisses the small, silver coin.
He tries outside in the street. I want that man’s briefcase to fall from under his arm . . . I want that lady to sneeze . . . I want that dog to bark at the girl. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t – that’s how it was at the start.
He’ll just have to be patient . . .
Finally his moment has come
.
The millionaire has gone away because the workers in a faraway mine are threatening to go on strike.
Kaytek manages to leave the park on his own. He quickly mixes in with the crowd of people and boards a tram. And once he feels sure there’s no one watching him, he makes his face look different, changes his clothes, and heads for the port.
The days and times when the ships leave for Europe are posted on a big white board. As Kaytek is reading it, a young man accosts him: “Hey, pal. What do you want?”
“I want a job.”
“Give me a dollar and I’ll take you to the right place.”
Kaytek hands him five dollars, but he doesn’t get any change.
“Come along then, you scamps.”
Only now does Kaytek notice about ten other boys; the man leads them into an office in a dirty wooden barracks.
“Wait here, you urchins.”
They’re called inside by turn for an examination.
“What’s your name? How old are you? Where do you live? Have you been to school?” asks a man with a pipe between his teeth, but he asks in different languages: “What’s your name? Wie alt bist du? Où demeures tu? Andato a scuola?”
So Kaytek replies in English, German, French, and Italian. He tells fibs in four different languages. Never mind: they write it all down in a register.
“Show us your hands. Show us your teeth. Hmm, hmm! Read that.”
They hand him a greasy, dirty piece of paper on which there are two phrases: “Don’t steal. Do as you’re told.”
“Got it?”
“Yes.”
The young man whispers something to the man with the pipe, who picks up a stick in his left hand, taps Kaytek on the nose with his index finger, and threateningly repeats in his four different languages: “Be obedient! Gehorsam sein! Sois obéissant! Sii ubbidiente! Got that?”
“Yes.”
“Sign your first name and surname. Just don’t make a mistake. You must write the same name as in your fake ID.”
“My ID isn’t in the least bit fake.”
“Silence! A fine one, you are.”
That was how Kaytek ended up on the ship – the same one that brought him to America, but now he wasn’t going home as a movie star, accompanied by a secretary, a doctor, or a teacher, or as a first-class passenger, or as a spoiled, sulky little lord, the darling of beautiful ladies and elegant gentlemen.
The other boys, his shipmates, give him a cool reception.
“Well then, what have you got with you?”
“Nothing. I didn’t have time to bring anything.”
“How much of a bribe did you pay them?”
“I didn’t pay them any bribe,” says Kaytek.
“Tell that to the dopes, not us. We could get along fine without you. Knows four languages, but his boots are full of holes. Hands like a little lady, but he’s sure to have lice in his hair.”
The cabin is cramped and dark. Kaytek sits down on a storage chest because there’s no spare chair.
“Who gave you permission to sit on my chest? Get up and wait until we find room for you. Where’s he going to sleep? It’s stuffy in our cabin as it is – you take him in yours.”
“But there are already five of us in there too.”
“Are you trying to be clever?”
“They took him instead of Mike, so he’s going to sleep where Mike slept. You’re the smartass.”
“Shut your trap! Two months he’s been in service, and look how sure of himself he is. Just wait till you’ve sailed a whole year like I have, then you’ll have the right to gab. I make the rules here.”
“And the world stands in wonder! He’s sailed a whole year. What a pro! My dad’s been a sailor for twenty years – he was on the Poseidon under the late captain. He won two medals for saving people from drowning.”
They’re just about to grab each other by the hair, when in comes the Redhead, the senior butler from the scullery. It’s his job to supervise the boys.
And he gives Kaytek a bad reception. Fairly drunk before the voyage, he’s mad that someone has wangled a boy onto the ship without involving him.
“Where’s the new boy? Stand up straight, you freak. What a wimp! He’s sure to get seasick right away. He sure will. He’ll mess up the cabin. Have him sleep in the vestibule. Silence! You’ll sleep where I tell you. Show me your teeth – are they clean? Show me your hands. OK. Stand by the door. Feet together. Make a bow.”
Kaytek bows.
“Do it again. Who taught you to bow like that? Think you’re bowing to an equal? Head down, don’t raise your mug! Lower, lower than that.”
He grabs Kaytek by the arms and squeezes, shakes, and pushes him.
“Serve me a glass of water. Get a move on! Not like that! Not from this side. Smile, you sourpuss. That’s no good! Do it again. Take the matches. Put the box in your pocket.”
The Redhead sits down, puts a cigarette in his mouth, and shouts: “Give me a light, boy!”
Kaytek doesn’t move.
“A light, you dope! Give me a lighted match.”
Kaytek’s hands are shaking. The boys are laughing. The matches scatter on the ground. Kaytek starts picking them up, with tears trickling from his eyes.
“That’s enough, you gimp. Don’t come within my sight until they’ve taught you the ropes.”
So they started to train Kaytek. They gave him a green tail coat with gold buttons, and his service began.
They test Kaytek to see if he’s obedient, if he’s hard working, if he’s a big-mouth, and if he’s going to snitch on them.
“Hey, sourpuss! Take my place in the kitchen, I have a headache.”
“Hey, go to the reading room, I’ll be at the club.”
“All right,” agrees Kaytek.
The club is where the passengers play cards; it’s easier to get a tip there, it’s more fun, you can find money on the floor, and even very carefully sweep a banknote off the table while you’re serving drinks.
He mustn’t say he was asked to swap places.
“Why are you in the reading room?”
“I made a mistake. I didn’t hear the order properly.”
“Penalty shift, all night on restroom duty.”
Kaytek’s a good pal! But he seems a bit weird or sad – he says yes to everything. He never makes a joke or laughs. The boys don’t know how chirpy Kaytek used to be – too chirpy even!
How good they are at smelling out money whenever Kaytek gets a tip. At once they say: “Wanna play cards?”
“All right,” he agrees.
He knows they use marked cards. He soon loses a dollar and goes to lie down in the vestibule. He knows he’ll be hit by the door three times when the boys on night shift come back to their cabin. But it’s all the same to him – not long to go. Just as long as the ship reaches port.
After his shift, Kaytek comes out on deck, stares at the sea, and thinks: “Poor Mike. He’s lying in the hospital, he may even have died by now. He was already sick then.”
Kaytek has taken Mike’s place. He remembers the pale boy who smiled so sadly. Because Kaytek knows them all, these mates of his – they’re the boys the doctor wouldn’t let him play with on the outward journey. He gave them ten dollars each as they stood and bowed low to him – when Kaytek was “King of the Ocean” and victor over the African – as he left the ship with the movie starlet.
One time Mike was on shift at the swimming pool. He was handing Kaytek a towel when he’d started coughing. He’d gone so red, it was clear he was trying to stop coughing as hard as he could. At once the gymnastics teacher had wrenched the towel away from Mike, and Kaytek had only seen him once after that, as he held out his hand for the tip and whispered: “Thank you.”
Kaytek stares at the sea and thinks: “Are these boys bad or good? Ar
e they really bad, or just ruined?”
Today he can hear them quarreling.
“Just wait, you thief. If you don’t give me back those twenty cents, I’ll tell the Redhead where you got that pencil. You think I didn’t see? Don’t you worry – I can see well in the dark too. That actor brat was writing something in the movie theater and he put it down on the table. You served him lemonade and you lifted it.”
“All right, go ahead and tell, and I’ll tell about the bottle of wine you took from the pantry. I gave that pencil to the Redhead, but you swigged the wine yourself.”
Only now does Kaytek understand why he hadn’t been able to find his pencil in the silver holder that time. And he’s amazed that you can smile so nicely at someone and steal from him at the same time, or bow double to someone while calling him a brat behind his back.
There’s here and there, there’s then and now. Why are there rich people and poor people anyway, and why do they dislike each other so? After all, the sun shines the same way for everyone.
One evening, Kaytek is gazing at the sea and the sky and the setting sun. He can hear a first-class passenger singing in Italian; it’s the Italian diplomat to whom the Redhead told him to be extra polite.
“You know how to ‘parlo italianno’, so do it. You’ll earn something, and you’ll be giving the ship a good advertisement.” But the Italian only examines Kaytek carefully from a distance, and never once addresses him.
Whereas there’s another passenger who has often spoken to Kaytek and smiled at him. The boys call him Grandpa because he’s always carelessly dressed, or “the blind man” because he wears dark glasses.
And he’s in those glasses now.
“Ah, cabin boy, aren’t you asleep?” he says.
“No, I’m not, sir,” answers Kaytek.
“And you’re looking at the sea?”
“Yes, I am, sir.”
“And are you having a think?”
“Yes, sir, I am.”
Kaytek the Wizard Page 19