A Strange Attack

NANCY looked pleadingly at the ticket seller. Something about her expression made him ask:

«Why is it so necessary that you see the performance? Some friend of yours in it?»

«In a way, yes,» Nancy replied. She did not want to tell him about the mystery, but she did want to get inside the grounds. Suddenly Nancy had an idea and said, «Couldn't we go in just to see the animals and the side shows?»

The ticket seller thought a moment. «I'd like to let you into the performance under the big top, but it's against the fire rules to exceed the seating capacity.»

«We understand,» said Nancy, «but you haven't answered my question. There's nothing in the fire rules that forbids people from walking around to look at the animals and the side shows, is there?»

The man had to admit there was not. He called to the guard who was taking tickets at the gate and told him to let in the young lady and her escort.

Nancy and Ned thanked him and hurried inside. Ned inquired what the next move was to be.

«Pretty soon all the animals and the freaks will be going in the parade,» he reminded her. «Then what?»

Nancy smiled. She told him that her plan was to accomplish almost everything that she wanted to do before the performance began.

«First of all, I want to locate Lolita and have a talk with her.»

She walked up to one of the midgets who had just finished entertaining the crowd with a card trick. «Will you please tell me where Lolita's tent is?» she asked him.

He replied in a squeaky, thin voice, «I ain't allowed to tell.»

Nancy was taken aback. She wondered whether the little man was just trying to be funny or whether this really was a rule of the circus. Nancy moved on to the fat lady who was seated on a platform next to the midget and repeated her question.

«Sorry, miss,» the four-hundred-pound woman answered, «but we're not allowed to give out any information. Mr. Kroon's rule.»

Nancy decided that she would have to find Lolita's tent by herself!

She left Ned watching the fire-eater and hurried off. Up one aisle of tents and down another she went. But there was nothing to indicate that Lolita occupied one of the tents.

«Maybe she's not in this area at all,» the young detective told herself. «Being a star, perhaps she's off by herself.»

Walking to the outer fringe of the tent colony, Nancy saw several trailers. Perhaps Lolita lived in one of these!

«I'll just wander around among them and see what I can find out,» Nancy decided.

Luck was with her. As she approached the first trailer, Nancy could hear two persons arguing heatedly.

«But, Father, I don't feel well enough to perform.» It was the young aerialist speaking!

«You'll perform tonight and put on a good act, too!» the harsh voice of the ringmaster came to Nancy's ears.

«But I'm so afraid I'll fall again,» Lolita said.

For the next two minutes, Kroon gave the aerialist a severe tongue-lashing. Nancy decided that the man was completely without reason. She was so incensed at him and so sorry for Lolita that she wanted to rush in at once and help the poor girl.

Suddenly the man thundered, «I'll give you exactly fifteen minutes to make up your mind, Lolita! Then I'll be back. You'd better decide to perform. If you don't, you'll be sorry. I'll discharge every single friend of yours in this circus!»

With that, he rushed out of the trailer and strode off. His face was livid and Nancy again wondered whether the man could be in his right mind.

When he was out of sight, she went to the door of the trailer. About to knock, she heard crying within. Nancy hesitated for several moments, wondering whether she should disturb the unhappy aerialist or not.

Her sympathy and desire to help got the better of Nancy. She tapped on the door. At first there was no response, then a tearful voice said:

«Come in.»

Lolita was startled at seeing Nancy in the doorway and did not look pleased about it. Almost at once, though, she smiled, because Nancy's warm expression revealed that she wanted to be friendly. Without mentioning the fact that she knew Lolita had been crying or that she had overheard Kroon's threat, Nancy held up the beautiful charm bracelet.

«Pietro told me you have a gold charm that matches these little horses,» she said. «I just couldn't resist the temptation to come and see if by chance it might be the one which is missing from this bracelet.»

Lolita misunderstood. Frowning, she said, «Oh, my goodness! You don't think I stole it?»

Nancy was aghast. «No, no,» she said quickly. «I'm sorry. I'm just interested in knowing whether you've ever seen my bracelet or heard anything about its history.»

Lolita shook her head, but she fingered the exquisite little horses. Then, going to a bureau drawer, she brought out a dainty gold chain. Attached was a golden horse. The miniature animal, wrought exactly like those on Nancy's bracelet, was a duplicate of the cantering horse.

«Your bracelet may have belonged to my lovely mother,» said Lolita sadly. «She died when I was only eight years old, but I remember very well how she looked.»

«Perhaps she sold the bracelet,» Nancy suggested.

Lolita agreed this was possible, but it would be difficult to determine the fact definitely. Whenever she asked Mr. or Mrs. Kroon about her parents, the couple changed the subject. The reason they gave was that they did not like to talk about the Flanders' terrible accident. Leaning close to Nancy, she whispered:

«Sometimes I wonder if it's true that my parents are dead.»

«Would you like me to help you find out?» Nancy asked on the spur of the moment.

«Oh, could you?» Lolita exclaimed, giving Nancy an impetuous hug.

Nancy told the girl that she had solved a few mysteries and would be glad to find out what she could. She asked if Lolita could give her any clues at all, but the young aerialist shook her head.

«As I told you before, my foster parents are very closemouthed. Sometimes I think there must be a reason back of why they won't tell me anything.»

Suddenly Lolita looked at a clock on the wall. The fifteen minutes were up!

«You'd better go now,» she said abruptly. «Mr. Kroon will be here any moment and he mustn't see you.» Suddenly Lolita again put her arms around Nancy. «I never saw you until a few minutes ago,» she said, «but already you are my friend. I feel much better than I did a few minutes ago. Doing my high-wire act seemed impossible then, but now I'll be able to put on a good show.»

As they stepped outside, Lolita asked where Nancy would be sitting and said she would wave to her. Learning that the girl and her escort had been unable to obtain tickets, Lolita declared that she would get two for her.

The aerialist called to a man who was walking past the trailer.

«Oh, Dan,» she said. «Come here quickly, please.»

As the man hurried over, Lolita introduced him to Nancy as Dan Webster, one of the horse trainers. Suddenly Lolita laughed, then remarked that she had failed to ask her caller's name. When Nancy told her, Lolita said to Dan Webster:

«Please get Nancy two of the special seats and hurry. Bring them back here.»

As Dan hurried off, Nancy saw Kroon approaching. Quickly she ducked around the corner out of sight.

Reaching the trailer, Kroon glared at Lolita. «Well, what's your answer?» he stormed.

«I feel better, Father. I'll do my act,» Lolita said quietly.

The man gave a raucous laugh, took her by the hand, and led her away. «Get into your costume,» he ordered.

As Nancy waited for Dan Webster to return with the tickets, her dislike for Kroon mounted. She decided to make every effort to find out for Lolita more about her real parents. The fact that the aerialist herself had doubts of their death was a further incentive to the young sleuth.

The horse trainer returned in a few minutes and walked with Nancy as far as the side shows. On the way she told him of her endeavors to learn trick riding from Señ or Roberto who used to be with Sims' Circus.

«So this is where Roberto has been hiding!» Dan Webster exclaimed. «Everybody wondered where he'd gone. I'll certainly have to run out to see him tomorrow morning. Where is his riding academy?»

Nancy gave him directions and then left the trainer. She had a difficult time finding Ned in the thronged side shows. But finally she located him munching an ice-cream sandwich.

«I couldn't watch that fire-eater any longer,» he said. «I began to feel as if my own tongue were half-cooked.»

Nancy chuckled and told him that she had obtained seats.

Ned shook his head in amazement. «I might have known that you would accomplish the impossible.»

The seats were in the front row of a box directly along the tanbark. As the performance was about to start, Nancy noticed that the other seats in the box were empty. With the house sold out, why had no one claimed them, she wondered.

When the parade ended, Nancy watched eagerly for the clowns to appear. Every one of them came out except Pietro.

«I wonder what happened to him?» she asked herself.

Nancy was so worried that she hardly saw the funny antics going on near her. Finally she leaned out and asked one of the clowns where Pietro was.

«I haven't seen him,» the clown replied, and went on with his stunts.

The act ended and still Pietro did not appear.

«Maybe Kroon is responsible,» Nancy thought.

What if the ringmaster had begun to carry out his threat of dismissing all of Lolita's friends!

A few moments later Kroon stepped to the center of the ring and announced that the next performance would be a horse act.

«This is the world's smartest horse!» the ringmaster proclaimed. «He thinks like a human being.»

All the lights went out except the spotlight on the ring. A beautiful pure-white horse trotted in from the wings.

Nancy was vaguely aware that a man had slid into the seat directly behind her. But she was too intrigued by what was going on in the ring to pay particular attention to the latecomer.

Suddenly she felt something tight against her throat. The next moment, Nancy realized that she was being choked!