9. The Smuggler

It's early morning. A cold gust of wind slaps me in the face and I awaken. The house has shattered and my Beast is gone! I don't know what to think! I don't know what to do! But one has to do something . . .

I decide to move to Ruby City. I rent a room with a kitchenette on Jackson St. and get a job shoveling dung. I arrive at work at 8am and the manager tells me, "Here, take this shovel and wait here."

"Okay," I say, and I take the shovel and I wait. In time a package arrives. The wrappings are removed by the clerk and it is seen to contain a large caged ape. Curiously, the ape keeps its limbs completely within the cage. Not even a finger or toe protrudes. I ponder this, "Perhaps the toes have been trod upon and the fingers burned somewhere along the line."

"Okay," says the manager, snapping me out of my reverie, "your job is to shovel the dung into this here box."

"What dung?" I say.

"Wait," he says.

"Okay," I say, and I wait. In time, the dung arrives and I shovel it into the box.

"Okay," says the manager, handing me my check, "you can go home now."

"What sort of job is this?" I say.

"It's a spot-job," says the manager. "We'll call you when we need you"

"Okay," I say.

Then, as I'm leaving, I hear the manager say to the clerk, "This ape's finished his business with us. Have him shipped back where he came from."

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