“I’m interested in circus riding,” Nancy said. “I understand that you used to perform in the circus yourself.”
“That’s right,” Mrs. Kroon said, but offered no further information.
“Did your daughter Lolita inherit her talent from you?” Nancy asked.
Instantly Mrs. Kroon’s expression changed from one of pleasantness to fear, then anger. Instead of replying, she said:
“How did you get in here? Visitors aren’t allowed in this section. Our private lives are our own business. I shan’t answer any questions and I’ll thank you to leave at once!”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Nancy said. “Perhaps I am a little too curious. Please forgive me.”
“You’re more than that,” Mrs. Kroon fairly screamed. “You’re a nuisance.”
Nancy decided not to press the irate woman further and backed out of the trailer. She noticed that several circus performers were standing around, listening. At first she was embarrassed, but a remark one of the onlookers made put her at ease.
“Don’t mind Mrs. Kroon,” a woman said in a low voice. “Her bark is worse than her bite. Lolita’s her adopted daughter and she’s awful touchy on the subject.”
“I see,” said Nancy.
She started off but changed her mind. Coming back, she asked the woman:
“Are Lolita’s own parents living?”
The woman exchanged glances with the other performers standing close by. Finally she said:
“I may as well tell you. There’s a story going around that Lolita’s real mother is alive and that the Kroons don’t want anybody to know this. Personally, we think there’s something very strange about the whole thing.”
Nancy asked if the woman could give her any further details. But at this moment the group of performers saw the ringmaster approaching and hurried out of sight.
Nancy herself turned the corner rather abruptly to avoid meeting the man. She hurried off to the big top and found her seat. It was alongside one of the entrance aisles.
As she waited for the show to begin, Nancy mulled over the various angles of the mystery. Had Lola Flanders pawned the bracelet? And why? Was she the person who needed help? Were the Kroons back of her trouble?
Nancy was brought out of her reverie by the band striking up. Presently the parade started. This and the act of the clowns interested her as much as it had at the first performance. Pietro waved to her. Many of the actors seemed to recognize her and nodded. She felt as if they were all becoming friends of hers.
Nancy paid particular attention to the first bareback riding act. As Dan Webster had suggested, she counted the rhythm of the horses’ motions and found that the riders were experts at timing themselves to the movements whether they were standing on the animals’ backs, running, or somersaulting. One of the attractive girl riders seemed very young. But she was more proficient than the others and did a great deal of solo work while the older ones stood by.
The young rider had just completed a mid-air double somersault and landed on the horse’s back, amid tumultuous applause, when an object came whizzing through the air and hit the horse on the nose. The mare reared and bucked, throwing the young rider.
At once there was great confusion among the riders and their frightened horses. In the midst of it, Nancy spotted something familiar lying on the tanbark—the object which had struck the horse.
Nancy gasped. It was a whip exactly like the one which her assailant had used!
CHAPTER IX
Meeting a Challenge
The injured bareback rider tried to stand, but it was evident at once that her ankle was either badly sprained or broken. Her face was creased with pain as she put an arm around the shoulders of two men riders who helped her from the ring. Meanwhile, her horse had run to the exit.
The remaining performers carried on, doing their best, but it was evident that the mishap had made them nervous. At a signal from the band, evidently inspired by Kroon, the act came to an abrupt end.
The whip which had caused the accident had been kicked out of the way and seemed to have been forgotten by everyone but Nancy. She assumed that the performers thought some child had thrown it. The young sleuth herself was becoming confused.