The man was tall and wore a rather long mustache. His black hair stood straight up and his eyes flashed. On one arm was a large blue-and-red tattoo mark.
“Is he one of the freaks?” Teddy asked loud enough for the man to hear. The little boy had never seen a tattoo.
The man stopped short, turned, and glared at the youngster. Then, pointing a menacing finger at him, he exclaimed:
“Get out of here!”
Teddy leaned against Nancy, who tried to excuse the boy, but the man would not listen.
“I said, get out of here! Visitors aren’t supposed to be in the cafeteria. Strangers are a nuisance, anyhow. If I had my way, there wouldn’t be one inside these grounds until performance time.”
“I’m sorry,” Teddy said tearfully.
Nancy led Teddy away. He was clinging to her and shaking like a leaf. She patted his shoulder and told him that he must not be frightened. As a pleasant-looking woman, carrying costumes over her arm, passed them, Nancy stopped her and asked about the man with the mustache.
“That’s our ringmaster. His name is Kroon—Reinhold Kroon.”
“You mean he’s the one who snaps the whip and makes the horses go?” Teddy asked, his eyes wide with interest. He had already forgotten that the man had been unkind to him.
“Oh, he does more than that,” the woman replied, smiling. “He announces all the acts. He used to be a horseman, but now he’s practically in charge of this whole circus.”
“Why doesn’t he like people?” Teddy asked her.
“I don’t know very much about him,” the woman answered. “I help with the sewing. Mr. Kroon doesn’t seem to be happy, though.”
After a few minutes of further conversation, Nancy asked the woman if she had been with the circus long.
“Several years.”
Nancy then inquired if the seamstress had ever known anyone who owned a horse-charm bracelet.
“No, I haven’t,” she replied. “Why? Does it have something to do with this circus?”
“It might,” Nancy replied. “Where can I find Mr. Sims?”
The seamstress said that Mr. Sims was rarely at the circus. In fact, he had not traveled with them for several weeks. Mr. Kroon was apparently in charge now. She suggested that Nancy ask him about the bracelet.
“Oh, please don’t go back to him,” Teddy begged.
Since Nancy did not wish to upset the boy, she decided to question the ringmaster later. She thanked the seamstress for her information, then she and Teddy walked away.
“We’d better go home now,” Nancy told him, “I’m ready for breakfast myself. Suppose I pick you up at nine o’clock and we’ll go watch the parade together.”
“That’ll be swell,” Teddy agreed eagerly.
When Nancy reached home, she found Hannah Gruen preparing breakfast and asked whether her father had returned. The housekeeper shook her head.
“Your father did telephone, though,” Hannah reported. “He was disappointed that you weren’t here.”
“Did he have anything special to tell me?” Nancy asked.
“No, except to say that he would have to be away for a while—he didn’t know just how long.”
Nancy looked wistful. She missed her father very much when his legal work took him out of town. She enjoyed discussing his cases with him and also getting his advice on any mysteries which she happened to be working on at the moment.
“Well, I guess we’re ready to sit down,” said Mrs. Gruen. “Did you find out anything about your bracelet at the circus, Nancy?”
“No, I didn’t. But I’ll talk to more of the people later. The circus will be here for two or three days, I believe.”
At nine o’clock Nancy and Teddy were on their way to the main street of River Heights along which the circus parade would come. Although the parade was not due to arrive for another half-hour, the street already was lined with hundreds of people. Nancy and Teddy had to walk four blocks from the center of town before they could find a place on the curb.
A few minutes later they heard a band. The music grew louder and louder, and presently they could see the marching players. Teddy clapped his hands and jumped up and down gleefully.