“Is the magician Mr. Dran?” Judy wondered.
Then the thought came to her that the boys’ mother might have married a second time. Before she could explore this possibility the magician himself appeared at the door. A moment later he entered the car like anyone else, without tricks. The door stuck a little and Peter had to help him open it. He was not introduced. Judy thought he seemed a little uncomfortable at first, but the children’s enthusiasm was contagious. Soon he was answering all sorts of questions.
It developed that he had studied magic in India and had learned some of the tricks discovered by ancient Hindu fakirs. He was telling the children that he could place a living head on a table and make it talk to them, when Judy interrupted.
“Magic is all right in its place,” she said, “but don’t you think you’re carrying things a little too far? You’ve made the children believe you can do practically anything.”
“Aha!” he said. “Is that what they told you? I must be like the many-headed demon Ravana in the story. Is that what you think, you young rajah?”
Paul grinned as if he liked being called a rajah and said, “Mom knows that story, too. She told it to me because my name is Paul Riker for my uncle Paul, not the old uncle that built the tomb, but the young uncle she used to play with. She didn’t tell Penny about young Uncle Paul, because Penny can’t keep secrets.”
“Was it a secret?” the magician asked.
“Oh, yes, Mom never told anyone but me. When you love two people and can only marry one of them you have to keep it a secret that you still love the other. Besides, Mom meant to give back the statue of Sita, because it belonged in the collection. But now she can’t, because those bad men stole it.”
“Where did she get it? Do you know?”
“My father gave it to her when she was just a little girl,” Paul replied. “I can tell it now, because I heard her telling Judy. I still don’t get it, though. In the story Ravana told Sita he could change himself into Rama at will. But he wouldn’t do it, because he wanted her to love him for himself. Sita knew that would mean loving evil instead of good, and so she kept repeating, ‘Rama! Rama! Rama! I seek thee within me and my senses are sealed.’”