In Search of Goliathus Hercules (14 page)

“You know what?” said Robin. “I think we should start spying on her. See what the old hag is really up to. We didn’t tell you, Billy, but this morning Henri and I found hundreds of butterfly wings all torn and thrown to the ground. Henri thinks Madame

Noir did it!”

“Really?”

“I think the butterfly wings are a warning—a warning for us to stay away,” Henri replied. “Last night I’m pretty sure Madame Noir knew we were watching her. We seem to have caught her at something, although exactly what, I have no idea. If we start following her, there’ll be trouble…guaranteed.”

“Well, I’m not going to be put off so easily,” declared Robin. “I think we should start by seeing what’s in her tent.”

“What are you going to do? Go and have your tea leaves read?” said Billy with a laugh.

“No, I mean investigate when she’s not there.”

“That’ll be hard,” said Henri. “She always seems to be in her tent.”

“Well, we’ll just have to wait for our opportunity and be ready,” Robin declared.

They sat in silence, each considering what kind of opportunity was required and when that might possibly happen. At last Robin announced she should be getting back to her family. Billy looked disappointed. “Want to play some cards, Henri?” he asked.

“Sure. I’ll play a couple of hands, but then I’ll have to get back. I have a letter to write tonight.”

When Henri returned to his seat, the maestro and Andre were still playing cards. Henri took out a piece of paper and began to write.

Dear Professor Young,

Let me introduce myself. My name is Henri Bell. I recently came across your book
Insect Communication, or My Life with Talking Beetles.
I found it fascinating. I am an amateur entomologist with an interest in insect communication …

Henri had done his best to write the most formal letter he could in the hope that the professor would reply that he was willing to meet. He had decided not to mention outright that he could speak to insects. Nor had he told the professor that he was just ten years old.

Sometime in the middle of the night, the circus stopped at its destination. In the morning, Henri disembarked from the train and noted how warm and humid the air was. The roustabouts had been up for hours, and the tent city was already half up. Henri walked into the town and mailed his letter. The circus flyers had been posted all over town, but he noticed other posters advertising a completely different kind of show:

Henri ripped down one of these posters, folded it, and put it in his pocket. Robin had wished for another fireworks display. It wasn’t exactly the kind she had in mind, but it might work as a diversion to get Madame Noir away from her tent.

Back at the flea-circus tent, the fleas had been familiarizing the new recruits with the act and the equipment.

“All right. I’m back now,” Henri said as he walked over to the glass case. “Shall we start the audition?”

“Ready!” called Sophia. She had worked out a kind of obstacle course in which the fleas would demonstrate balance, strength, speed, jumping ability, and grace. Sophia, Maria, and Henri would be the judges evaluating each flea out of a possible ten points. As they came up one by one, Sophia announced their names.

“First up is Martha,” said Sophia. “Any time you’re ready, Martha, go ahead.”

Martha started the course and completed it in a mere ten seconds. Henri was impressed. She had balanced well and he liked her style. Henri awarded her a nine out of ten. Next up was Lucy. She was a great jumper, almost as good as Maria. Again Henri awarded her nine points. Lucy was followed by Elizabeth, Myrtle, Ethel, Louise, Susan, and Bertha, who was certainly the largest of all the fleas. As far as Henri was concerned, every one of them had been excellent. He put his hand down into the case, and Sophia and Maria jumped on. They had agreed to consult privately and pool their scores before announcing the results.

“Good job, girls!” Henri told Sophia and Maria. “You chose well. I thought everyone was fantastic! I’d like to keep them all.”

“Yes, they all did very well,” agreed Sophia.

“Did you notice something they all had in common, Henri?” asked Maria

“Hmm…What?”

“They’re all girls! I told you so. Girls are better performers.”

“Yes, you told me,” admitted Henri. “What about Bertha? She’s huge!”

The two fleas laughed. “Henri, she’s pregnant!” giggled Sophia. “When we spoke to her, she said she wanted to give her children a better life, more opportunities.”

“Well, I think that’s great. We’ll find something not too demanding for her in the beginning. We don’t want her to get hurt.” Henri rejoiced to himself. He would have no shortage of performers for quite some time.

Henri was happy that the circus had now traveled to a warmer place. He could hear the crickets singing in the field, and he was excited about the firefly show that night. It gave him another idea—maybe he could add sound and light to the show! He walked over to Robin’s tent to tell her about the fireflies. Since there was no circus performance that night, they would all be free to go and watch.

Perhaps Madame Noir would go too. This could be Henri’s opportunity to learn more about the mysterious fortune-teller.

R
obin and her sisters had taken on the task of telling everyone about the firefly show that evening. “What are synchronous fireflies?” asked Olive, Robin’s youngest sister.

“I looked it up in a book I have,” responded Henri, “and it means the fireflies flash their lights in unison. You know, at the same time. Actually they aren’t even flies, they’re in the beetle family. Some people call them lightning bugs.”
Ugh! I sound like a teacher
, he thought.

“But why do they flash at the same time?” asked Olive.

“Scientists aren’t sure why, but they think that it might have to do with a mating ritual. Basically, the boys are trying to impress the girls and be the first to flash their lights. Regular fireflies just light up whenever they want. There are only two places in the whole world where these synchronous kinds are found, here and in British Malaya.”

Despite being in a tent surrounded by Robin’s family, he felt a sudden pang of loneliness. He wondered if his father or his mother had ever seen synchronous fireflies.

Word of the evening’s entertainment passed quickly among the circus folk. To make sure Madame Noir would be in attendance, Robin told her mother that she had noticed that the fortune-teller wasn’t looking well lately. Perhaps she needed a little cheering up. While not very fond of Madame Noir, Robin’s mother was a compassionate woman. She took it upon herself to personally invite her.

“Imagine if she sits with my family! Ugh! That would be terrible,” exclaimed Robin.

Billy chortled. “I don’t know why you went to the trouble, Robin. If she really is an insect eater, she’ll be there!”

He’s right, thought Henri, and he suddenly felt terrible. What if she gobbled up all the lightning bugs? It would be like stealing Christmas.

Dusk approached. Henri arrived at the reserve ahead of time with Robin and Billy. Twilight is a wonderful time when the daytime insects are heading for bed and the nocturnal ones are just beginning to rise. Henri thought he might be able to find some insects that would be willing to join the flea circus and ask them to come by the tent tomorrow if they were interested.

Luckily, the buzzing of locusts kept Billy from overhearing Henri’s conversations with passing butterflies and bounding crickets. Henri was thrilled when a passing luna moth said that he would be honored to work with
the
Henri Bell. In fact, every insect Henri greeted responded to him by name. He couldn’t help but marvel at how quickly he had become known in their world. By the time they reached the Green River Nature Reserve, Henri was a little worried that he might have invited too many to join the flea circus.

The plan was for Henri, Robin, and Billy to make sure that Madame Noir was there. When the fireflies began flashing and the crowd was caught up in the sparkling magic of the moment, the three of them would sneak away to investigate her tent. It was difficult to know how much time they would have. Someone would have to stand guard and be ready to warn the other two.

At about seven the first light flashed. The crowd suddenly became quiet. Slowly, more and more tiny lights appeared at each flash. The fireflies were in the air and in the trees. Sometimes they all flashed together, but on occasion the fireflies appeared as a wave of light, beginning at the top of the forest canopy and cascading to the earthen floor. When this happened, it was if they were one entity rather than millions of tiny shining beetles. Each wave of light brought sighs from the gathered spectators.

“Oh, it’s so beautiful. If I were a princess, I would ask the prince to have the fireflies perform for me every night,” gushed Robin.

“Sorry, you’d have to be a queen to make that happen,” said Billy. “Girls! Can’t you just enjoy it for what it is and not get all romantic about it?”

Henri laughed. Billy was right. Robin was mostly a tomboy, but every once in a while she got all dreamy and started talking about fairy princesses and enchanted lands.

Henri was just as entranced by the fireflies. He could have stood in the forest all night long watching them, but he felt a tug at his sleeve.

“Come on,” whispered Robin. “It’s time to go.”

Slowly, they edged away from the crowd. A handful of stray fireflies were just arriving at the scene, and impulsively, Henri invited them to join the circus. Billy heard his strange whispers and looked at him, but Henri just acted like he was clearing his throat. “Little nervous,” he said.

Once they were away from the reserve, they broke into a run until they had made some distance. As they slowed to a walk, Billy said, “You know, if Madame Noir is a fortune-teller, maybe she knows we’re about to break into her tent.”

“She might if she thought about it,” agreed Robin. “But she’s a greedy old witch and there’s not any profit in reading her own future!”

Henri and Billy chuckled. “Well, just in case, we need to make this quick. Who’s going in and who’s standing guard? I’d like to go in,” said Henri.

“Me too,” said Robin.

“OK, I’ll stand guard,” said Billy. “I just had an idea. What if I stop and get Licorice, you know…the black panther? He enjoys a walk and I could just pretend we were out strolling if anyone comes around. You’d hear me talking and know you had to get going. Just slip under one of the tent’s sides.”

Henri and Robin looked horrified at this suggestion. “Oh, come on!” exclaimed Billy. “He wouldn’t hurt a flea—no offense intended, Henri!”

“Are you sure he’s that tame, Billy?” asked Robin in a quavering voice.

“Tell you what, I’ll put him on a leash if you like.”

“Oh, why would you want to do that? He’s just a harmless pussycat,” said Robin sarcastically. “Of course you’ll put him on a leash!”

“Great. I’m glad we’re agreed that it’s a good plan.”

They were now at the field where the circus tents were pitched. As they entered the menagerie tent, one of the lions let out a roar. This set the elephants trumpeting, the horses whinnying, and the dogs barking. “Just shut up, all of you! It’s only me,” yelled Billy. When they heard Billy’s familiar voice, the noise died down. “Thank you,” said Billy. Grabbing a collar and leash hanging from one of the tent posts, he went to Licorice’s cage. “Hey boy, we’re going for a walk.”