apparatus (noun)  -a set of materials or equipment designed for a particular use

I found his definition at https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apparatus

i found this word in the Hunge Artist “ A large circus with its enormous traffic in replacing and recruiting men, animals, and apparatus can always find a use for people at any time, even for a hunger artist, provided of course that he does not ask too much, and in this particular case anyhow it was not only the artist who was taken on but his famous and long- known name as well”

now knwoing the definition definitely helped because he’s gathering things together but you wouldn’t know what those things are unless you knew the definition  he was getting his materials ready for something he needs