Summary

This chapter introduces the reader to some of the members of the Imperial Circus: The Princess of Abyssinia, Lamarck and his Educated Apes (with their leader, The Professor), Lamarck’s wife, Mignon, and Samson the Strong Man. The Colonel uses all his charm to have the Tsar’s flag at the Imperial Circus replaced with Old Glory. The Imperial Circus is constructed as a permanent structure, with a cloakroom for the patrons’ furs, a foyer serving champagne, and a marble staircase. The seats are plush and red, some even gilded with the Imperial Eagle.

Under the ring, the cellarage holds the circus animals. A tunnel leads to the courtyard out back, near the servants’ entrance. Walser lets himself in by the gate and notices that the courtyard is empty. A thin brown-skinned woman with dreadlocks to her waist and a bloody apron over her chemise...