After Kroon had left the tent, Bess came out of hiding. She heaved a big sigh and said to Nancy:
“Well, I’m glad that’s over! I suppose there’s no talking you out of the performance, but I certainly am worried.”
Nancy put an arm around her friend. “This may surprise you, Bess,” she said, “but the trick riding is almost getting to be automatic with me. Really, it doesn’t seem hard at all.”
Bess stared at her, not sure whether Nancy really meant it or whether she was just trying to make her feel better. She said no more about it, however, and asked if Nancy were coming home now.
“No, I’m staying here for supper,” she said.
After telling Bess there would be seats for her and George in Box AA, Nancy said good-by.
Lolita had asked Nancy to meet her at the cafeteria. The aerialist had told her that suppertime was the only period when she was permitted to be with her friends in the circus.
Nancy hoped Pietro might join their little group. But when she mentioned this, Lolita told her that Kroon had someone watching her.
“I understand he asked one of the midgets to keep an eye on me. Oh, Nancy,” Lolita wailed, “it’s dreadful to have your father set spies on you.”
The young detective thought how wonderful it would be if either or both of Lolita’s own parents were alive, and she could find them and give Lolita a happy life. What a wonderful reunion it would be!
Then suddenly it occurred to Nancy that Kroon might have a good reason for keeping the Flanders hidden. To Lolita she said presently:
“Did your own parents leave any money in trust for you?”
“Oh, I don’t think so. Mr. Kroon never mentioned it and I’m sure he would have told me.”
Nancy was not so sure of this, in view of what Pietro had overheard Mrs. Kroon say to her husband.
“In fact,” Lolita went on, “my father—Mr. Kroon, I mean—once told me that I was a poor, penniless child, completely dependent on him. The least I could do in return for his kindnesses was to become the best aerialist in the world.”
“Well, you’ve done that,” Nancy said, smiling.
At this moment she saw Dan Webster making his way toward her, a worried look on his face. He reported to Nancy that the circus grounds had been thoroughly searched but no one had found any sign of Hitch.
“I have a feeling he’s hiding around here and is going to play another of his diabolic tricks,” the horse trainer said.
Lolita grabbed Nancy’s hand. “What’s all this about?” she demanded. After hearing the story, the aerialist leaned toward Dan Webster and said, “Oh, nothing must happen to Nancy! I’d never forgive myself!”
“I agree with you a hundred percent, Lolita,” Dan replied. “This whole thing has me very much upset.”
As he finished speaking, a gong sounded in the cafeteria tent. Dan said that it was a signal for all the performers to leave and return to their quarters to get ready for the evening performance.
Nancy’s heart began to thump wildly. Up to this moment she had not fully realized that she was actually part of the circus. Soon she would be under the floodlights performing for hundreds of people!
“I must hurry and try on my costume,” Nancy told herself.
She walked toward the trailer where earlier she had made a date with Mrs. Kelly, the wardrobe mistress.”
“I’m all ready for you,” the woman said pleasantly. “This is poor Rosa’s costume. Suppose you try on the dress and we’ll see how it fits.”
Nancy removed her riding habit and stepped into the white satin, ballerina-skirted costume. It fit perfectly!
A few minutes later Nancy was completely outfitted. Carrying the costume and accessories over her arm, she set off for Erika’s tent, where the two girls would dress and then go to the make-up artist.
The young bareback rider was just turning a corner past the supply tent when she remembered that she had no cream to remove her make-up. She went inside to purchase a jar. Laying the costume on a chair near the open doorway, Nancy looked around for someone to wait on her. No one was there.