Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac

this?’ asked Catweazle handing him the timetable.
    ‘I knew
you’d be interested,’ said Cedric, with gloomy sarcasm. He glanced at the
yellowing paper. ‘It’s only an old timetable,’ he said, and gave it back.
    ‘Time?...
tables... of time?’
    ‘All I
got was socks and ties,’ said Cedric, returning to the subject of his
birthday.“ Not a present I really wanted.’
    ‘Nor I,
my brother,’ muttered Catweazle, looking round at the twentieth century.
    ‘When’s
your birthday?’ asked Cedric.
    ‘I know
not,’ said Catweazle, intent on dividing the circle on the floor into the
twelve houses of the Zodiac.
    ‘You
must have some idea,’ Cedric persisted. ‘How old are you?’
    Catweazle
looked up briefly and glared at him.
    ‘Oh
yes, of course,’ said Cedric, rather embarrassed, ‘the Normans — 1 keep
forgetting.’
    Catweazle
drew the twelve signs round the outside of the circle. When he had finished he
placed the ram’s horns on the House of Aries and the inn sign on the House of
Taurus. ‘Today I seek Gemini,’ he said. ‘The Heavenly Twins.’
    ‘The
Rossington girls are coming to my party,’ said Cedric. ‘They’re twins, but
they’re not very heavenly.’
    Catweazle
picked up a primitive fishing rod. ‘Wilt thou come fishing?’ he asked.
    ‘You
never listen to anything I say,’ said Cedric. ‘I can’t come fishing. I can’t do
anything today.’ They went out on to the platform and Catweazle marched off
into the woods. Cedric sighed gloomily and began making his way back to Kings
Farthing.
    His
mother met him in the main hall. ‘Where have you been?’ she asked. ‘The film
show’s off, I’m afraid. The projector’s broken down. Your father’s playing
croquet over at Banden. And the magician’s gone fishing.’
    Cedric
was thunderstruck.
    ‘What
did you say?’ he gasped.
    ‘The
magician’s gone fishing,’ repeated his mother.
    ‘How
did you find out about him?’ said Cedric after a long pause.
    ‘Mrs
Gowdie gave me his phone number.’
    ‘His
what!’
    ‘And I
spoke to his wife.’
    ‘His
wife!!’
    ‘He’ll
be back soon and she is sure he will be able to come.’
    ‘But...
but,’ stammered Cedric.
    ‘Vadanti,
darling,’ explained Lady Collingford. ‘The magician. He’s coming instead of the
film show.’
    Cedric
breathed a sigh of relief.
    ‘Perhaps
you could help Groome blow up some balloons,’ said Lady Collingford, as she
hurried away busily.
    Catweazle
was walking towards the river. As he drew near the bank he could hear a strange
voice. ‘Rain in the south-east will soon spread to all districts,’ it said
knowingly. Catweazle peered out of the bushes. The voice was coming from a
small black box which had a fine silver wand sticking out at the top. Beside
the box, and with his back to Catweazle, a thin man sat fishing.
    ‘And
now back to the cricket,’ said the box.
    Catweazle
looked down at the grass but there was no cricket to be seen, and after a
moment the box began to talk again, this time in a different voice. Clearly it
was possessed of many demons.
    ‘It’s
Villiers again,’ it said in a hushed tone, ‘from the gas-works end. Slow left
arm round the wicket.’
    Catweazle
began to advance.
    ‘He’s
out!!’ shouted the box.
    Catweazle
fell over backwards in terror. The angler turned round sharply and looked a
little worried when he saw Catweazle sprawled on the grass.
    ‘Er...
afternoon,’ he said cautiously.
    ‘Fraser
came out to that one and misjudged it completely,’ said the box smugly.
    Catweazle
picked himself up and came closer, fascinated by the box. The man put down his
fishing rod and picked up the radio. Obviously the old tramp had never seen one
before. ‘It’s a transistor,’ he explained, and turned off the cricket
commentary.
    ‘Thy
sister?’ Catweazle was horrified.
    ‘Transistor,’
said the man loudly.
    ‘Thou
has entranced thy sister?’ said Catweazle, sitting down beside him, ‘ ’tis the
magic of the electrickery?’
    ‘Well,
you could put it like that, I suppose,’ said the man with a nervous laugh.
    ‘Thou
art a magician,’ said Catweazle knowingly.
    ‘Well
I’m blowed!’ said the man with astonishment. ‘How on earth did you recognize
me? You’re right, though. I’m Vadanti. Where did you see me work?’
    ‘Wilt
show me thy magic?’ asked Catweazle.
    Vadanti,
who could never resist any sort of audience, took a coin from his pocket, made
it vanish and then produced it from