Secret Seven - Secret Seven Adventure Part 3

"Ah, bad boy!" he said, and shook the little creature. The bear whimpered.

"Oh, don't!" said Janet in distress. "He's so sweet. He only came over to see us."

The youth was dressed rather peculiarly. He had on a woman's bodice, spangled with sequins, a bonnet with flowers in-and dirty flannel trousers!

Peter glanced at him curiously as he led the little bear away. "Was he in the circus?" he asked. "I don't remember him."

"Yes-he was one of the stilt-walkers," said the acrobat, still busily writing autographs. "His name's Louis. He helps with all the animals. Do you want to come and see the bears in their cage some time?-they're very tame-and old Jumbo would love to have a bun or two if you like to bring him some. He's as gentle as a big dog."

"Oh yes-we'd love to!" said Janet, at once thinking how much she would love to make friends with the dear little bear. "Can we come tomorrow?"

"Yes-come tomorrow morning," said the acrobat. "Ask for Trinculo-that's me. I'll be about somewhere.

The children thanked him and left the field. They said nothing till they were well out of hearing of any of the circus folk.

"I'm glad it wasn't that acrobat," said Janet. "He's nice. I like his funny face too. I did get a shock when he took off his black hair!"

"So did I," said Peter. "I felt an idiot, too. I thought I had remembered how the thief had looked-when I saw Trinculo's face, I really did think he looked like the thief. But he doesn't, of course. For one thing, the man I saw was much younger."

"We'd better not go by faces, it seems to me," said Colin. "Better try to find someone who wears a blue pullover with a red thread running through it!"

"We can't go all over the district looking for that," said Pam. "Honestly, that's silly."

"Well, have you got a better idea?" asked Colin.

She hadn't, of course. Nor had anyone else. "We're stuck," said Peter, gloomily. "This is a silly sort of mystery. We keep thinking we've got somewhere-and then we find we haven't."

"Shall we go to the circus field tomorrow?" asked Pam. "Not to try to find the thief, of course, because we know now that he isn't any of the acrobats. But should we go just to see the animals?"

"Yes. I did like that little bear," said Janet. "And I'd like to see old Jumbo close to, as well. I love elephants."

"I don't think I'll come," said Barbara.

"I'm a bit scared of elephants, they're so enormous."

"I won't come, either," said Jack. "What about you, George? We said we'd swop stamps tomorrow, you know."

"Yes-well, we won't go either," said George. "You don't mind, do you, Peter? I mean, it's nothing to do with the Society, going to make friends with bears and elephants."

"Well, Janet and Pam and Colin and I will go," said Peter. "And mind-everyone is to watch out for a blue pullover with a little red line running through it. You simply never know what you'll see if you keep your eyes open!"

Peter was right-but he would have been surprised to know what he and Janet were going to spot the very next day!

Eleven.

Pam's discovery.

NEXT morning Janet, Peter, Colin and Pam met to go to the circus field. They didn't take Scamper, because they didn't think Jumbo the elephant would like him sniffing round his ankles.

He was very angry at being left, and they could hear his miserable howls all the way up the lane. "Poor Scamper!" said Janet. "I wish we could have taken him-but he might get into the lions' cage or something. He's so very inquisitive."

They soon came to the field. They walked across it, eyeing the circus folk curiously. How different they looked in their ordinary clothes-not nearly so nice, thought Janet. But then, how exciting and magnificent they looked in the ring.

One or two of them had built little fires in the field and were cooking something in black pots over the flames. Whatever it was that was cooking smelt most delicious. It made Peter feel very hungry.

They found Trinculo, and he was as good as his word. He took them to make friends with Jumbo, who trumpeted gently at them, and then, with one swing of his strong trunk, he set Janet high up on his great head. She squealed with surprise and delight.

They went to find the little bear. He was delighted to see them, and put his paws through the bars to reach their hands. Trinculo unlocked the cage and let him out. He lumbered over to them and clasped his arms round Trinculo's leg, peeping-at the rest of them with a roguish look on his funny bear-face.

"If only he wasn't so heavy," said Janet, who always loved to pick up any animal she liked and hug it. "I wish I could buy him."

"Goodness-whatever would Scamper say if we took him home?" said Peter.

Trinculo took them to see the great lions in their cages. The sulky youth called Louis was there with someone else, cleaning out the cages. The other man in the cage grinned at the staring children. One of the lions growled.

Janet backed away. "It's all right," said the trainer. "They're all harmless so long as they are well fed, and don't get quarrelsome. But don't come too near, Missy, just in case. Here you, Louis. Fill the water-trough again-the water's filthy."

Louis did as he was told. The children watched him tip up the big water-trough and empty out the dirty water. Then he filled it again. He didn't seem in the least afraid of the lions. Janet didn't like him, but she couldn't help thinking how brave he was!

They were all sorry when it was time to go. They said good-bye to Trinculo, went to pat the little bear once more, and then wandered across the field to Jumbo. They patted as far as they could reach up his pillar-like leg, and then went along by the row of gay caravans to the gate at the end of the field.

Some of the caravanners had been doing their was.h.i.+ng. They had spread a good deal of it out on the gra.s.s to dry. Others had rigged up a rough clothes-line, and had pegged up all kinds of things to flap in the wind.

The children wandered by, idly looking at everything they pa.s.sed. And then Pam suddenly stopped short. She gazed closely at something hanging on one of the lines. When she turned her face towards them, she looked so excited that the others hurried over to her.

"What is it?" asked Peter. "You look quite red! What's up?"

"Is anybody looking at us?" asked Pam in a low voice. "Well, Peter-hurry up and look at these socks hanging on this line. What do they remind you of?"

The others looked at the things on the line - torn handkerchiefs, little frocks belonging to children, stockings and socks. For a moment Peter felt sure that Pam had spotted a blue pullover!

But there was no pullover flapping in the wind. He wondered what had attracted Pam's attention. Then he saw what she was gazing at.

She was looking very hard indeed at a pair of blue wool socks-and down each side of them ran a pattern in red! Peter's mind at once flew to the sc.r.a.p of wool he had in his pocket-book-did it match?

In a trice he had it out and was comparing it with the sock. The blue was the same. The red was the same. The wool appeared to be exactly the same, too.

"And see here," whispered Pam, urgently. "There's a little snag in this sock-just here-a tiny hole where a bit of the wool has gone. I'm pretty certain, Peter, that that's where your bit of blue wool came from-this sock!"

Peter was sure of it, too. An old woman came up and shooed them away. "Don't you dare touch those clothes!" she said.

Peter didn't dare to ask who the socks belonged to. But if only, only he could find out, he would know who the thief was at once!

Twelve.

One-leg William.

THE old circus woman gave Pam a little push. "Didn't you hear me say go away!" she scolded. They all decided to go at once. Pam thought the old woman looked really rather like a witch!

They walked quickly out of the field, silent but very excited. Once they were in the lane they all talked at once.

"We never thought of socks! We thought we had to look for a pullover!"

"But it's socks all right-that pair is made of exactly the same wool as this bit we found caught on to that wall!"

"Gracious! To think we didn't dare to ask whose socks they were!"

"If only we had, we'd know who the thief was."

They raced back to the farmhouse, long-to discuss what to do next. And down in the shed, patiently waiting for them, were Jack, George and Barbara! They didn't give the others a chance to tell about the socks - they immediately began to relate something of their own.

"Peter! Janet! You know those queer round marks we saw on the inside of the wall! Well, we've found some more, exactly like them!" said Jack.

"Where?" asked Peter.

"In a muddy patch near old Chimney Cottage," said Jack. "George and I saw them and went to fetch Barbara. Then we came to tell you. And what's more, Barbara knows what made the marks!"

"You'll never guess!" said Barbara.

"Go on-tell us!" said Janet, forgetting all about the socks.

"Well, when I saw the marks-round and regular, just like the ones we saw-I couldn't think what they were at first," said Barbara. "But then, when I remembered who lived in the nearby cottage, I knew."

"What were they?" asked Peter, eagerly.

"Do vou know who lives at Chimney Cottage?" asked Barbara. "You don't. Well, I'll tell you-it's One-leg William! He had a leg bitten off once by a shark, and he's got a wooden leg-and when he walks in the mud with it, it leaves round marks-just like the marks we saw on the other side of the wall. It must be One-leg William who was the thief."

The others sat and thought about this for a few moments. Then Peter shook his head.

"No. One-leg William couldn't possibly be the thief. He couldn't have climbed over the wall with one leg-and besides-the thief wore a pair of socks-and that means two legs!"

"How do you know he wore socks?" asked Barbara, astonished.

They told her about the socks on the line away in the circus field. Barbara thought hard.

"Well-I expect the thief was a two-legged man with socks-but I don't see why One-leg William couldn't have been with him to help in some way-give him a leg-up, or something. The marks are exactly the same! What was One-leg William doing there, anyway?"

"That's what we must find out," said Peter, getting up. "Come on-we'll go and ask him a few questions-and see those marks. Fancy them being made by a one-legged man-I never, never thought of that!"

They made their way to Chimney Cottage.

just outside was a very muddy patch-and sure enough, it was studded with the same round, regular marks that the children had seen over Milton Manor wall. Peter bent down to study them.

He got out his notebook and took from it the bit of string that George had cut when he measured the width of the other round marks. He looked up in surprise.

"No-these marks aren't the same-they're nearly an inch smaller-you look!" He set the string over one of the marks, and the others saw at once that it was longer than the width of the marks.

"Well! Isn't that queer!" said George. "It couldn't have been One-leg William, then. Is there another man with a wooden leg in the district? One whose leg might be a bit wider and fit the marks?"

Everyone thought hard-but n.o.body could think of a man with a wooden leg. It was really exasperating! "We keep on thinking we're solving things, and we aren't," said Peter. "There's no doubt in my mind that a man with a wooden peg-leg was there with the thief, though goodness knows why-but it wasn't One-leg William. And we do know that the thief can't have only one leg because he definitely wears two socks!"

"We know his socks-but we don't know him!" said Janet. "This mystery is getting more mysterious than ever. We keep finding out things that lead us nowhere!"

"We shall have to go back to the circus field tomorrow and try to trace those socks," said Peter. "We can't ask straight out whose they are - but we could watch and see who's wearing them!"

"Right," said Colin. "Meet there again at ten-and we'll have a squint at every sock on every foot in that field!"

Thirteen.

A coat to match the cap.

AT ten o'clock all the Secret Seven were in the circus field. They decided to go and see Trinculo the acrobat again, as an excuse for being there. But he was nowhere to be found.

"He's gone off to the town," said one of the other acrobats. "What do you want him for?"

"Oh-just to ask him if we can mess around a bit," said Jack. "You know-have a squint at the animals and so on."

"Carry on," said the acrobat, and went off to his caravan, turning cart-wheels all the way. The children watched him in admiration. "How do they turn themselves over and over their hands and feet like that?" asked Pam. "Just exactly like wheels turning round and round!"

"Have a shot at it," said George, with a grin. But when Pam tried to fling herself over on her hands, she crumpled up at once, and lay stretched out on the ground, laughing.

A small circus-girl came by, her tangled hair hanging over her eyes. She laughed at Pam, and immediately cart-wheeled round the field, turning over and over on her hands and feet just as cleverly as the acrobat.

"Look at that," said George, enviously. "Even the kids can do it. We shall have to practise at home."

They went to look at the little bear, who, however, was fast asleep. Then they wandered cautiously over to the clothes-line. The socks were gone! Aha! Now perhaps someone was wearing them. Whoever it was would be the thief.

The children strolled round the field again, looking at the ankles of every man they saw. But to their great annoyance all they could see had bare ankles! n.o.body seemed to wear any socks at all. How maddening!

Louis came up to the lions' cage and unlocked it. He went inside and began to do the usual cleaning. He took no notice of the lions at all, and they took no notice of him. Janet thought it must be marvellous to go and sweep all round the feet of lions and not mind at all!

He had his dirty flannel trousers rolled up to his knees. His legs, also dirty, were quite bare. On his feet were dirty old rubber shoes.

The children watched him for a little while, and then turned to go. Another man came up as they left, and they glanced casually down at his ankles, to see what kind of socks he wore, if any. He was bare-legged, too, of course!

But something caught Jack's eyes, and he stopped and stared at the man intently. The fellow frowned. "Anything wrong with me?" he said, annoyed. "Stare away!"