The Smell of the Grease Paint

Arthur Morgan enters the saloon at Van Horn Trading Post and finds Miss Marjorie trying to manage Bertram, the powerful but simple-minded member of her travelling sideshow. When the bartender takes Bertram's liquor, Bertram grabs him by the throat and then turns on Arthur. Arthur knocks sense into him, and Bertram apologises. Miss Marjorie explains that Magnifico, the magician who completes the act, has run away. She asks Arthur to bring him back before the troupe's next performance.

Arthur finds Magnifico beside a campfire southwest of Van Horn. The magician recognises why Arthur has come and vanishes in smoke. Arthur follows the bursts of smoke through the woods as Magnifico keeps reappearing ahead of him, briefly hiding among the trees before crossing the railway. Magnifico's escape ends when he runs into Miss Marjorie and Bertram. The performers take him with them to Saint Denis and invite Arthur to see their show at the Theatre Râleur.

At the Theatre Râleur, Arthur tells the ticket-taker that Miss Marjorie invited him. Onstage, Miss Marjorie presents Bertram's strength, but he attacks a volunteer after being punched. Magnifico appears and orders Bertram to release the man, then begins his own magic act. He produces a chicken, makes it disappear, and brings it back cooked on a plate. Magnifico also makes Miss Marjorie's top vanish. Furious, she drives him from the stage with her whip and follows with Bertram. Arthur collects Miss Marjorie's letter and payment from the ticket-taker.