博客來Ten years before this book began, two small children, twins, were left at an inn by they uncle, while he ran an errand. But he never returned. Only a few clues were found in the box left with the twins - four exquisite puppets, part of a letter, a ticket to an actor’s benefit, and some gold.
Barnabas Hormsby, a local printer, and his wife Susan, took them in, and raised them as their own children. But when Susan died, the Hormsbys took the the road, where Barney returned to his earlier trade of juggling and rope-walking, and they gave performances with the puppets. Then they travel to Virginia, but disaster strikes when Barney falls and breaks his leg. Fearing for his life, he tells the twins, now twelve, the truth. Polly accepts it without difficulties, but Rom is devastated at losing his identity, as well as by his interpretation of the partial letter. He gets a job working as a candle snuffer at the local theater, while Polly helps the wardrobe mistress. How Rom eventually conquers his fears of cowardice, and discovers his true self, make for a fascinating story, in an interesting setting.
