“You bet! I’ll be seeing you at five tomorrow morning.”
The youngster ran off as quickly as he had appeared. As the back screen door slammed behind him, Nancy removed the bracelet and handed it to Hannah Gruen.
“Please put this away for me,” she requested. “I shan’t be gone long.”
“And promise me you’ll be careful,” the housekeeper pleaded. “I wouldn’t want your father to come home from his trip and find that you—”
“Don’t say it, Hannah!”
Nancy kissed her and promised to be careful. Seated in her blue convertible, her blond hair blowing in the soft summer breeze as she drove along, Nancy made a charming picture. But her expression was serious and her thoughts were on the circus performer. The young detective wondered what kind of misfortune she had met.
Ten minutes later Nancy parked the car in the driveway of the riding academy and walked to Señor Roberto’s office. Hitch, the stableman, greeted her in his usual glum manner. The groom, whom Nancy knew only by his nickname, never changed his dour expression.
“The boss ain’t here,” he muttered.
“When will Señor Roberto return?”
“How should I know?” the unpleasant man grumbled. He suddenly shook his finger at Nancy. “If you know what’s good for you, Miss Drew, you’ll stay away from circus ridin’.”
“Circus riding?” Nancy asked, puzzled. “I haven’t been doing any circus riding.”
“Yes, you have, too.” Hitch’s voice was rising angrily. “That’s what Roberto tries on everybody who shows a leanin’ for it. But I’m tellin’ you, quit it! Stop now! Right now!”
Nancy stared in amazement at Hitch, whose eyes were blazing. What could be back of his outburst, she wondered. A hatred of Roberto?
“Nobody what ain’t been brought up in a circus has got any right to try imitatin’ circus folks!” Hitch shouted. “I tell you—”
The tirade ended abruptly when the stableman saw Señor Roberto walking across the outdoor riding ring toward his office. The irate helper ambled off, saying he would bring her mare. Nancy stepped outside.
“Good afternoon, Miss Drew,” the riding master said with a smile. “Sorry to be late.”
“I didn’t mind waiting,” Nancy replied. “Hitch and I were talking. He—er—seemed a bit upset.”
“About the circus, no doubt,” Roberto commented. “Hitch will never get over his dismissal from Sims’. He doesn’t talk about much else.”
“I presume he’s rather keyed up because the circus is coming here tomorrow,” Nancy remarked.
“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 and murmured:
“Belgian Star, you sweet old thing! We’re going to have a good lesson today.”
Nancy swung into the saddle and walked her horse counterclockwise several times around the ring. Then Señor Roberto called out:
“Trot!”
Automatically, Nancy 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 her 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 rock sailed through the air directly at Belgian Star’s head. The horse reared almost straight up, and Nancy was thrown off.