soul. His body was a travesty and his entire being spoiled and irretrievable. The Lord had seen to that.
The midget opened his eyes again but remained cowering, still waiting for the blow. The Reverend stared into the frightened and frightening pink eyes. The man's features resembled those of other Mongols, but his skin lacked color to the point of virtual transparency. Blue veins rose up the thick neck and coursed behind fragile temples. The slick, tear-soaked cheeks resembled pulp more than flesh. He was made only of the most base of human matter and nothing divine.
Then the Reverend noticed the most hideous sight of all: red slashes cut across the backs of the fellow's hands and on his shins below the polka-dotted bloomers.
"Turn around," the Reverend shouted.
The crowd inched forward, curious what cruel thing was about to happen next to the midget. The Reverend recognized the sickening look of prurient curiosity on their faces.
"I said," the Reverend repeated, "turn around."
The midget did as he was told, his large head bowing lower on his stump of a neck. The Reverend pulled up the brightly colored tunic. Across the pale skin of the man's child-sized back appeared long scars and welts. Beside them were fresh red cuts that oozed fine beads of blood. The Reverend dropped the shirt. A fury rose up inside him that he did not recognize. A low and fearsome growl issued from his lips. The midget dropped to the ground and covered his head with his arms.
"Stand," the Reverend said through gritted teeth at the shaking creature. "Tell me who did this to you."
The midget stood and swayed before him, his eyes shut and his whole body trembling.
"Open your eyes!" the Reverend shouted.
The eyelids quivered slowly open. The Reverend looked into those unearthly portals and thought he had never before seen such fear and misery in a man. How could the Lord do this to one of His creatures? How could He so punish an innocent soul?
The Reverend reared back his head, raised up his arms, and let out a piercing cry that echoed down the cliffs and into the ravine below.
"I will smite whoever has harmed this man. He must not be hurt again!" the Reverend shouted at the crowd. Then he swung his arms around and swooped toward them. The claws of the wolf slapped the ground and stirred up the dust. The people scuffled back frantically to keep out of his reach. "If you lay a finger upon him, I will fly at you in the night and I will swallow your soul. I will suck it out of you and spit it into the valley below. If you do not treat him with respect, you and your children and your children's children will suffer a hideous punishment for all time."
The Reverend returned to the midget's side and took his pudgy, damp hand into his own and raised it up. "This is a man of consequence," the Reverend said, his voice breaking with sorrow. "This is a man."
He let the midget's hand drop. The Reverend's own head bowed as well. "The Lord Jesus," he said more softly, "and I, the great Ghost Man, will watch over him from now on, forever and ever."
The crowd remained frozen and unspeaking. The albino midget
fell to his knees, and the Reverend ran a hand over his hair. Blond to the point of whiteness, it was as fine as dear Wesley's and surprisingly soft. As he touched it, the Reverend felt tears roll down his own cheeks.
The wind kicked up at that moment in a sudden gust. Black clouds gathered overhead. The tents began to shudder, their flaps making a cracking sound in the rushing air. Rain came in an instant, hard and furious. The updraft from the ravine next caused hail to fall. Large pellets struck the crowd, and they covered their heads with their arms and fled. People screamed and shouted as they ran in all directions, seeking shelter.
Still on his knees, the midget looked up at the Reverend. His face flinched against the sudden ice that fell from the sky. "Take me with you," he begged and threw himself around the Reverend's legs. "Please, dear Ghost Man, take me!"
The Reverend kicked him off. "No, man, they won't harm you any longer. Rise up and find your place amongst them. No one here is better than you."
The man stared at the Reverend with disbelieving eyes. The Reverend would have liked to say more, to quote the Lord about