The Ringmaster's Secret (2 page)

“To tell you the truth, Miss Drew, Hitch is beside himself. He has declared he won’t go near it, but I wonder if he can resist. Anyway, I’m going. I want to see what acts they have now and say hello to my old friends.”

As Roberto finished speaking, Hitch led Nancy’s mare into the ring. The beautiful gray horse nuzzled the girl as she stroked the animal’s velvety nose. Nancy swung into the saddle and walked her horse counterclockwise several times around the ring.

Then Senor Roberto called out, “Trot!”

Nancy automatically sat still for a few strides, then started posting, remembering to take the up motion when the mare’s left foreleg was forward in order to get the correct diagonal. The riding master smiled in satisfaction at the rhythm and grace of Nancy’s performance.

Next came the canter. Half an hour later, Nancy was ready for stunt riding. First Hitch removed the saddle, looking darkly at Nancy as he carried it away.

Once more she mounted the horse, this time with only the blanket between herself and the mare. Nancy slapped her gently on the flank and the horse began to canter slowly. Being an ex-circus horse, Belgian Star was considerate of her rider.

She seemed to know just the right speed to use, too, as Nancy stood up on the mare’s back. Keeping her balance, Nancy went twice around the enclosure. On the third lap she caught a fleeting glimpse of a figure crouching on the ground outside the split-rail fence.

The next moment, a large stone sailed through the air directly at Belgian Star’s head. The horse reared almost straight up, and Nancy was thrown off.

ON THE far side of the ring Senor Roberto had witnessed the accident in alarm and dismay. He rushed toward Nancy, who lay still on the turf where she had fallen. As he reached her, the girl’s eyelids flickered open.

“Miss Drew!” the riding master cried.

He kneeled beside her, hoping that she had broken no bones and had not hit her head.

“Miss Drew!” he murmured over and over. “Are you all right?”

Nancy nodded slowly and struggled to a sitting position. Then, with Senor Roberto’s assistance, she got to her feet. To the man’s amazement, her first words were, “Is Belgian Star all right?”

It was typical of Nancy not to think of herself. She had been in many tight spots while solving the various mysteries that had come her way, but the safety of innocent persons involved had always been her chief concern. Starting with
The Secret of the Old Clock,
she had proved herself adept in handling difficult situations and bringing many criminals to justice. This had been particularly true in her most recent case, which had come to be known as
The Clue of The Velvet Mask.

“Miss Drew,” said Senor Roberto, “you look very pale. We’ll go into my office and I’ll fix you some tea.”

Nancy was not to be sidetracked in her concern for Belgian Star. The horse had left the ring and was now out of sight.

“Where did Star go?” she asked. “Is she all right?”

“Well,” said Senor Roberto, raising his eyebrows high, “my first concern is for you. But if you insist upon knowing about the horse, I’ll find out.”

Nancy managed a wan smile. “I didn’t mean to seem ungrateful,” she said, “but someone hurled a stone at Star’s head. It may have injured her.”

The riding master stared in amazement. “You say someone threw a stone at the horse?” he asked.

Nancy nodded. “A man who was lying on the ground outside the fence tossed it. There’s the stone over on the grass.” She pointed.

Senor Roberto looked worried. “I understand now why you were anxious about the mare,” he said. “We’ll look into this at once. Have you any idea who the person was?”

“No, I haven’t,” Nancy replied. “I didn’t see his face.”

Suddenly the riding master bellowed, “Hitch! Hitch! Come here at once!”

The stableman did not appear instantly. But after the third summons he ran from the building.

“Were you out here when Miss Drew fell?” the riding master asked him.

“Why, no, sir,” the groom replied. “I didn’t even know there’d been any trouble.”

“Did you see anyone outside the fence?”

“No, sir.”

“Did Belgian Star run into her stall?” Roberto questioned him.

“Yes, she did. Star seemed pretty excited. I’ve been tryin’ to calm her down.”

While the riding master told his hostler about the accident, Nancy noticed that Hitch was wearing the same kind of clothes and old soft hat as the figure she had seen on the ground. And his suit had fresh dirt on it! Her suspicions were instantly aroused. She looked beyond the fence to determine whether the man might have had time to take a circuitous route back to the stable.

“He could have done it easily,” she told herself, staring at the thick woods that came up almost to the fence of the riding ring. “And Hitch is out of breath from running.”

Nancy turned to Senor Roberto, “How long was I unconscious?” she asked.

“Oh, twenty or thirty seconds—that’s all,” the riding master replied.

Then Nancy turned to Hitch. “How did you get all that fresh dirt on the front of your clothes?”

Hitch suddenly looked uncomfortable. He did not reply for a few seconds. Instead he countered, “I’ve heard you’re a detective. Is it true?”

Nancy, somewhat taken aback by his question, acknowledged that she was known as an amateur sleuth.

“Then I guess I’d better tell the truth—seein as how you’ll find it out in the end,” Hitch said. “I walked around through the woods to watch you do the circus stunts. While I was lookin’, I seen a feller lyin’ on the ground by the fence. The next thing I knew he threw somethin’ at your horse. Then when I seen you fall off I got so scared I beat it. That’s when I tripped and fell down in the dirt.”

“Have you any idea who the man was?” Señor Roberto inquired in a cold voice.

Hitch said he had not seen the man’s face and was sorry now he had not waited to find out.

“I’m mighty glad you’re all right, Miss Drew,” he added, and then he walked back to the stable.

There was nothing more Nancy could do. Despite the groom’s story, she felt sure he had thrown the stone. But why had he tried to harm her and Belgian Star?

“I’ll watch him from now on,” Nancy decided.

She told Señor Roberto that she felt fully recovered from her spill, and if Belgian Star was all right, she wanted to continue her riding lesson.

The riding master was about to demur, then changed his mind. He believed a rider who had fallen off should immediately remount his horse if he had not been injured.

Hitch brought Belgian Star from the stable. Nancy and the riding master carefully examined the mare’s nose, and though there was a bruise on it, the horse did not seem to be suffering any pain.

“Are you game to go on with your lesson?” Nancy asked the mare, putting her arms around the animal’s gracefully arched neck.

For answer, Belgian Star went into the ring and waited for Nancy to mount. This time the girl circled the enclosure several times before attempting to stand up on the horse’s back.

“Am I imagining it, or is someone peering at me from among those trees?” she asked herself, trying to shrug off a distrustful mood.

As she rounded the curve on the next lap, Nancy was sure she was not wrong—someone
was
watching. A feeling of uneasiness came over her.

She had just about decided to practice stunt riding when she heard a voice call her. She turned abruptly to see two girls running from the woods. They climbed onto the fence, laughing.

“Bess! George!” Nancy cried. “Where did you come from?”

She immediately rode Belgian Star over to them. She noticed that blond, blue-eyed and slightly plump Bess Marvin had a sketching pad and pencil in her hands.

“Hold it!” Bess ordered.

Nancy obediently sat still while her friend quickly sketched. Meanwhile, Bess’s cousin, George Fayne, leaned over the fence and patted Belgian Star. She was slim and athletic looking. Her dark-brown hair was cut very short.

“Pretty nice horse,” she remarked. “Is your dad going to let you buy her?”

“Oh, Señor Roberto wouldn’t part with this mare for anything,” Nancy replied. “She’s a darling. I wouldn’t ride any other horse out here.”

“Let’s see you do some stunts,” George urged.

“Yes, please do,” said Bess. “I want to make several sketches.”

“All right,” Nancy agreed. “But, Bess, first tell me, when did you take up sketching?”

“Just this afternoon.” Bess giggled. “You might say I was inspired by reports of your fine riding.”

Nancy told the girls what had happened to her a short time before and asked if they had seen a man running as they came through the woods. Neither of them had, but George offered to stand guard while Nancy did her trick riding.

Bess and George were amazed at their friend’s proficiency as an equestrienne. Nancy somersaulted from Belgian Star to the ground and then leaped onto the mare’s back as the horse cantered around the ring.

“You’re a whiz!” George said admiringly. “And you sure kept all this a secret.”

“How did you find out about my taking these lessons?” Nancy asked as the girls walked toward the stable.

“From Hannah Gruen,” George replied. “She’s worried about you and this trick riding, Nancy.”

“I know Hannah is concerned,” the pretty sleuth answered. “But I’ve promised not to break any bones.”

Nancy introduced her friends to Senor Roberto. Then she told them about the bracelet she had received from Aunt Eloise. She asked the riding master if he had ever seen or heard about a horse-charm bracelet that had been presented to a circus performer by a queen.

“Why do you ask?” Senor Roberto wrinkled his brow as if trying to remember something.

Nancy related the story connected with the bracelet. Then Senor Roberto said he had heard such a tale but could not recall who had told it.

“I seem to remember, though,” he added slowly, “that the story involved a strange disappearance. Whether it was the bracelet or the owner or the giver, I don’t know.”

He called Hitch and asked him whether he had ever heard about a horse-charm bracelet. The riding master briefly repeated the story Nancy had told him. The stableman looked first at Nancy and then at his employer.

Finally, in a gruff tone, he replied, “Yes, I heard about a bracelet like that pony one when I was workin’ for Sims’ Circus.”

“Do you remember who told you?” Nancy asked.

The groom thought for several seconds, then said he could not recall. Shrugging, he added, “You know how it is in the circus. All kinds o’ stories get around.”

Although Nancy was disappointed not to learn more, she hoped to be able to question members of Sims’ Circus the next day. By the following evening she might know the history of the bracelet.

For this reason getting up at four thirty the next morning did not seem like such a chore. Teddy was sitting on the doorstep when Nancy arrived at the Browns’. The two set off for the circus grounds in Nancy’s convertible.

It seemed as if all the children in River Heights had gathered to watch the big tents being put up. Boys and girls were running in every direction in order not to miss anything. The good-natured workmen did not seem to mind the excitement and confusion.

Nancy had a hard time keeping track of Teddy. For a while she held onto his hand, running along with him as he darted from place to place.

A short respite came as he paused to watch the elephants being watered in a large tent. It was a thrill for the small boy when a man handed him a bucket and asked if he would like to let Old Jumbo, the biggest elephant, drink out of it.

“Can I really!” Teddy asked gleefully.

Just then a girl’s voice called, “Hi, Nancy!”

It was George. She had her little neighbor in tow. The two girls chatted for a few seconds; then Nancy turned back to watch Teddy. He was not in sight!

“Oh, my goodness!” Nancy said, worried. “I thought he was giving the elephant a drink.”

She looked around the tent. Not seeing Teddy there, Nancy dashed outside. Her eyes scanned the crowd. Finally she spotted the red-haired boy and hurried toward him.

But before she could reach him, Nancy was horror-struck to see a large pole on a truck next to the boy begin to slide. If he did not get out of the way, it would strike him!

“Teddy!” Nancy screamed. “Run!”

THE little boy looked puzzled by Nancy’s cry. For a harrowing second she thought he would not obey. Butt he jumped out of the way in the nick of time. The pole landed on the ground with a tremendous crash.

Nancy dashed up to the boy and threw her arms around him. Her heart was pounding wildly. “Oh, Teddy,” she cried, “you gave me such a fright!”

“I’m sorry, Nancy,” the little boy said. “I won’t leave you again.”

Nancy and Teddy walked about, enjoying the excitement. They paused to look at a long row of portable stoves on which the circus chefs were cooking breakfast.

“Mm!” Teddy exclaimed. “That smells good!”

At that moment a man brushed rudely by them, pushing the little boy out of his way. The man Was tall and wore a long mustache. His black hair stood straight up, and his eyes flashed. On one arm was a large tattoo.

“Is he one of the freaks?” Teddy asked loudly enough for the man to hear. The little boy had never seen a tattoo.

The man stopped short. He turned and glared at Teddy. Then, pointing a menacing finger, he exclaimed, “Get out of here!”

Teddy clung to Nancy, who tried to apologize for the boy.

The man would not listen. “I said, get out of here!” he repeated. “Visitors aren’t supposed to be near the cafeteria.”

As Nancy led Teddy away, a pleasant-looking woman carrying costumes over her arm passed by. Nancy stopped her and asked about the man with the mustache.