Chapter 13

The next few days went by in a blur for Maggie.

She swore Jason to secrecy about Minacou’s speech (both of them were quickly coming to think of the dolphins by their real names now, instead of Emily and Toby).

“Look, we need to do this really rigorous. In marine biology this is going to be a sensation, and I expect it’s going to make even the popular news. But we can’t go off at half cock. Think about Piltdown Man and the Loch Ness monster and the Abominable Snowman and all,” she added, mentioning some famous scientific hoaxes and fiascos. “I want to be able to prove this to the worst skeptic, I mean the worst, and there’ll be a lot of them, before we start talking.”

He agreed reluctantly, but balked at keeping the news from Morris. “Maggie, he’s your backer, right? I mean, he’s putting up the bucks, even if it’s not a lot. And he’s putting up the dolphin, dolphins now, which is a lot. Really, you gotta tell him he’s backing a winner.”

“Jason, I need to make sure about my grant first,” she protested. “If this gets out prematurely—”

“Maggie, that’s not even paranoia,” he chided. “It’s just plain old ordinary noia. And you’re getting ‘noying with it. Come on, give it up.”

She laughed and conceded, albeit still somewhat reluctantly. But she needn’t have worried; when they brought Morris out for a demonstration he simply shrugged it off. “Neat, talking fishies,” he said dismissively. “But what’s new? You had them talking before, this is just a little more, huh?”

“Morris... ,” Jason began, looking helplessly at Maggie.

“Never mind, Jason,” she interrupted hastily. She’d given in to telling Morris, but driving the point home was more than she could take. “It’s a lot more, Morris, but you’re right, they were talking before. Now it’s more.”

“Good about the more,” the innkeeper said. “But when are we getting back to showing off the more? Can’t we do some shows with just this one?”

“Uh, Jason and I think we need to wait until Kitik’s back,” Maggie said. In fact it wasn’t their decision; Minacou, who was displaying the same feisty attitude with which she’d scolded Maggie about their choice of names, had flatly refused to perform until Kitik returned.

Early on in their talks Minacou had asked why others came only a certain times. Maggie explained about the concept of shows, which the dolphin seemed to understand generally, and then went on to how the shows generated revenue, which she didn’t understand at all. Maggie tried to explain about money, but the concept was completely alien to the animal until she equated it with food.

“Give food see Kitik, me?” Minacou asked. In fact Morris didn’t charge for the shows, figuring the exposure was worth far more for both the motel and the restaurant, but it was close enough; Maggie confirmed. “Why? I not give food see human play.”

For a moment Maggie had a ludicrous mental picture of men and women cavorting on the apron while an audience of dolphins filed through turnstiles to watch them, and giggled. But then she thought of circuses, athletic competitions, theatrical and musical performances and the like. “Humans will give food to see special things, things they can’t do themselves. I think maybe even a dolphin”—one of the earliest lessons had been what Minacou’s species was named— “might give food for that.”

“No,” the dolphin replied. “Other dolphin see me jump sometimes, I go high. But not give food. All share food.”

Maggie didn’t pursue the point, but when the issue of resuming the shows came up Minacou had balked. “Not right,” she’d told them. “Human hurt Kitik. No play for human until Kitik here.” It was a stance from which she’d refused to budge.