The Ringmaster's Secret Read Online Free Page A

temporarily! If you want to see how he found her by matching the glass slipper she wore, come to this evening’s performance. Reserve your seats on the way out.”
    The last act was a clever bareback-riding performance and then came a final pageant, which included the clowns. As soon as it was over, Nancy asked George to take Teddy home; then she started for King Kat’s cage to meet Pietro.
    The shaggy lion was stalking back and forth restlessly. “How handsome, but how cruel he looks!” Nancy thought. “Just like the ringmaster.”
    Pietro, who was waiting for her, motioned Nancy to follow him a short distance away from the cage. The clown seemed almost frightened as he said, “I’ll talk fast. Visitors aren’t allowed here. If Kroon saw me talking to you, he might discharge me, and that mustn’t happen.”
    “Can’t we go some place where he won’t see us?” Nancy asked. She wanted to hear everything the clown might have to tell her.
    “No, no,” he said quickly. “This is the story. Lolita wears a horse charm on a necklace. It is like those on your bracelet and I noticed one is missing. Lolita once said she thought hers came from another piece of jewelry.”
    “Oh, I must see the necklace!” Nancy said. “Please take me to Lolita.”
    The clown shook his head. He said that the aerialist was resting for the evening performance and must not be disturbed.
    “I understand,” Nancy said. “But please go on with your story.”
    Pietro said that Lolita was Mr. and Mrs. Kroon’s adopted daughter. She had lived with them since she was eight years old.
    “Have the Kroons and Lolita always been in the circus?” Nancy asked.
    The clown nodded and said that Lolita’s own parents had been American trapeze artists known as The Flying Flanders.
    “What were their names?” Nancy queried.
    “John and Lola Flanders.” Pietro went on, “The story is that Lolita’s parents were killed while performing their act on an extended tour of Europe. It was then that the Kroons brought Lolita to the United States.”
    “Did Lolita’s parents teach her to be an aerialist?” Nancy asked.
    “Oh yes,” Pietro replied, “but after they died she was trained by other artists as well.”
    “She is an excellent performer,” Nancy said.
    “Yes,” the clown agreed, “but Kroon makes her work too hard. He doesn’t care about anything but money.”
    “He does seem dictatorial,” Nancy remarked.
    The clown looked at her. “That’s putting it mildly. Kroon is cruel, and I don’t trust him!”
    Nancy wondered why Pietro distrusted his employer, but the young man did not explain. Instead he changed the subject and said, “About the horse charm. The one Lolita wears was given to her by her mother when she was only five years old. That was thirteen years ago. I suppose it’s only coincidence that the charm looks like those on your bracelet.”
    “I’m not so sure of that,” Nancy remarked.
    Quickly she related what she knew of the charm bracelet’s history: that the shopkeeper in New York from whom her Aunt Eloise had bought the jewelry had hinted at a mystery. The original owner, supposedly a circus performer, had sold the bracelet because she needed money.
    Pietro stared at Nancy in amazement. “That’s very interesting,” he said. “I’ve suspected for a long time that there’s some secret in connection with the Kroons and Lolita. But whenever I suggest this to her, she becomes frightened and asks me not to talk about it.”
    Suddenly a look of alarm came over Pietro’s face. “Here comes Kroon now. Run!” he advised. Like a shot he was off, dodging among the various animal cages and trucks until he was out of sight.
    Nancy decided not to avoid the ringmaster. She wanted to find out about Lolita’s condition. But she had no opportunity to speak to him. He turned abruptly into a nearby tent.
    The young detective wondered whether to question any other circus people about Lolita’s real parents. She