erged from the utilidor beside George's booth, wearing clown
makeup and baggy pants. Two of them tranquilised the boys and the third fitted
the donkey out with a halter and bit. The clown slapped the donkey's haunch
appreciatively. "He's a healthy one."

The security team disappeared down the utilidor with the Mitchell brothers: two
boys and a donkey. Joe smacked George on the back. "Did you see me catch them?
Like greased lightning! Bounty, here I come!"

George didn't mind sharing his bounty with Joe, so he just smiled and nodded and
went back around to his booth.

#

Bill named his son Tom. Names weren't very important to their people, but the
soft ones' world demanded them. Within a week, Tom was eagerly toddling through
their cabin, tasting everything, exploring everything. His eyes shone with
curious brilliance. The clever son of a clever son.

George loved Bill's son. He loved to watch Tom as he gnawed at their bedding, as
he dug at the floor in search of grubs. Tom was clearly delighted with his
surroundings, and George basked in Tom's delight. Bill could barely restrain
himself from picking Tom up and hugging him every moment. The only time he left
George alone with Tom was a few precious moments after each evening's meal, when
he would duck into the woods to find some new toy for Tom: a crippled chipmunk;
a handful of pretty rocks; a discarded beer can. The son built bizarre towers
out of them, then knocked them down in a fit of giggles. Tom ate all day long,
and spoke a steady stream of adorable nonsense.

Bill hardly spoke to George. Their evening meals were given over to watching the
son eat. George didn't mind. Talking to the Guests all day wore him out.

When Tom was two months old, Joe came by George's booth.

"Well, it's final. Tomorrow, we shut down the midway. Too old-fashioned -- it's
only stood this long because some of the older Imagineers had an emotional
attachment to it. I told 'em: 'That's _your_ demographic, not the _target_
demographic.' So we're knocking it down. HorrorZone's gonna be _huge_." He
skipped off before George could say anything. His ears were long and pointed. It
wasn't the first time George noticed it, but now, he could see that Joe's
hunched-over gait wasn't just because of his belly.

George built a dozen cones for the Guests, but his heart wasn't in it. Besides,
most of the Guests already had their hands full of gummi spiders and snakes,
from the Actionland Jungle Tre