As soon as John began to transform, a puff of white smoke enveloped the area where he stood. No one in the crowd could see what was actually happening. They didn't realize that John had actually transformed. When they saw the tiger that had replaced John, they burst out into applause. From their point of view, it looked like a simple magician's trick. No one was actually sure how he had done it, but they assumed that John had safely vanished into some sort of trap door.
Susan breathed a sigh of relief once she saw the "trick." John wasn't going to be embarrassed any more than he already had. She relaxed and watched as Mesmero had her transformed husband perform some tricks. He had the tiger stand up on its back paws, and prance around a little. He pulled out a hula-hoop, and had the tiger jump through it several times. Finally, he had the tiger put his jaws around his head. That earned a lot of applause.
He bowed as some assistants wheeled out a cage. "Ladies and gentlemen, the amazing Shasta!" he cried. The audience gave him some more applause as Shasta let out a proud roar. The tiger willingly entered the cage, and was wheeled off.
The ringmaster entered back on stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, let's give a big hand to Mesmero, master of both beast and man!" Mesmero bowed deeply, then quickly exited the stage.
Susan was a little concerned about finding her husband. Mesmero should stick to his deal, but where on earth was she supposed to find her husband at?