'Well, if that's your job,' says Slutter, 'what are you doing here?'
'Oh, I got a message that all of you were heading this way,' Sir Lumpalot replies with a grin so wide it adds two more loops in his mustache and they curl up so tight that the tips disappear back into the helmet. 'Kick- Pow and I just thought we'd startle you, just for the fun of it. It worked, didn't it?'
Sir Lumpalot laughs and pats Kick-Pow's silky smooth neck. Kick-Pow snorts and paws the ground.
'Hmph. OK, Sir Lumpalot,' says Stobey, 'now that you're here, would you and Kick-Pow like to join us in our visit to the Midway?'
Sir Lumpalot gives a whoop. Kick-Pow bucks. A short one, so as not to jolt his rider.
'We sure would.'
'Then let's go!'
Through the gate they all troop.
The Midway is spread out before them. Bright and blinking lights, twisting and colored streamers, rainbow colored balls, all flashing, floating and bouncing hither and yon. Slutter dashes to a little stall and picks up three darts. One at a time, he aims them carefully at a red balloon on the far wall. He throws the darts. The third dart strikes and breaks the balloon. A robot pops up from behind the counter and hands Slutter a tiny toy space ship.
'What's this,' Slutter laughs. 'I don't need a toy spaceship. I have a real one, all my own.'