Nancy Drew #31. The Ringmaster’s Secret. Carolyn Keene

“Well, it’s hard to say, Miss Drew. Kroon is one of those people who seems to hypnotize everybody around him. He orders them to do impossible things and somehow or other they do them. Take Lolita for instance. I know that girl well. Actually she’s scared to death to get up where it’s high, but every time her father insists, she goes ahead and does it. Of course, Lolita is plucky and skilled in her own right, too. Poor girl—she’s not very happy these days.”

Dan Webster went on to say that Sims, who owned the circus, was like a piece of putty in Kroon’s hands. Actually the owner took orders from the ringmaster!

“I can’t figure it out,” the horse trainer said. “It almost seems as if the ringmaster has an evil, uncanny hold over Sims and Lolita, and even Mrs. Kroon.”

Nancy asked if Mrs. Kroon were one of the performers.

“She used to be a bareback rider,” Dan Webster replied. “But she got too heavy and had to give it up. Now she just helps her husband and her daughter. Once in a while she speaks up as if she were about to get something off her mind—and man alive! you ought to see the looks her husband gives her. She shuts up like a clam.”

Nancy brought the subject around to Lolita and Pietro.

Webster told her that he thought they were romantically interested in each other, but that Kroon would never let his adopted daughter out of his sight.

“So these two young folks don’t have a chance to be alone at all,” he said. “Between you and me, I’m afraid Kroon and the circus would fold up if Lolita should ever leave.”

After a pause, Dan Webster turned to Nancy and asked her if she was game to try another stunt. Just in case he should have to call on her at some time he wanted to make sure that she could do the trick.

“A somersault across the horse’s back while it’s moving,” Webster told her. “Like to give it a try?”

Nancy hesitated for a moment. Then she decided that actually the stunt might not be as difficult as it sounded. The stunt would depend completely on a matter of correct timing. She asked Dan Webster about it.

“You’re absolutely right,” he said. “Watch the rhythm of the horse’s gait. Hum a tune to Belgian Star’s slow, rhythmical canter. Then decide exactly from which point you should start to run. When you’re sure of your timing, take a few steps toward the horse, put your head and shoulders on the mare’s back, and over you go.”

Roberto was not sure that even his star pupil should attempt such a trick. Before permitting Nancy to try it, he insisted that she put on a padded jacket and hat in case of a fall. But with precision timing, Nancy did the somersault perfectly.

“Splendid! Splendid!” Webster cried jubilantly.

Just as Nancy was turning a second somersault, Bess and George arrived. George gasped at seeing the stunt, and Bess shrieked. The cry almost made Nancy lose her balance, and Bess apologized profusely for her outburst.

“Oh, don’t do that any more,” she pleaded with her friend. “Why, Nancy, you could break your neck!”

“Now, Bess,” said George, “let Nancy alone. If she wants to try these things, more power to her. Hypers, I’d like to do that stunt myself!”

George was an excellent rider and jumper. The day before, Señor Roberto had begun to teach her a few of the simpler tricks. She was not ready yet, he said, for the more complicated ones, but, with perseverance, she should be able to do them in a short time.

“I wish you’d both give up this stunt riding,” Bess pleaded fearfully. “You can have just as much fun trotting along.”

The others were amused by Bess’s remark. Dan Webster did admit, though, that certain people have a natural talent for managing a horse.

“Miss Drew is definitely one of those people,” he said, and then announced that he must get back to the circus.

From his pocket Webster pulled out a ticket to the afternoon performance. He handed it to Nancy, suggesting that she come to the show and watch the bareback riding very intently.

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