Carolyn Keene - The Ringmasters Secret

"Oh, she's wonderful!" Bess exclaimed.

" Sh-h! " her cousin George warned her.

Nancy outdid herself. She made no mistakes and her performance was the best she had ever given. When Rancoco jumped up behind her on the mare and they cantered around the ring, he whispered enthusiastically:

"Superb, Miss Drew, superb!"

Pleased, Nancy smiled. The show went on without interruption. But just as one of the men riders began his solo number, there was a wild scream in the audience.

Turning, the equestrians saw a hard-thrown baseball whizzing from one of the exits directly at them!

The warning cry saved them from injury. Like lightning, each performer pulled his horse to the tanbark and lay down himself. The speeding ball sailed over their heads and landed beyond the ring.

The audience was divided in its reaction. Some were stunned. But many people thought it was part of the act and clapped loudly.

Their attitude helped to steady the nerves of the performers whose knees were shaking. They recovered themselves instantly and the performance went on.

Out of the corner of her eye, Nancy could see a commotion in the exit. Men were running after someone. Without being told, she was sure that the ball-throwing incident had been another of Hitch's unwarranted acts of malicious mischief.

As soon as she and Erika reached their dressing room, Nancy announced that she was changing to street clothes.

"Where are you going?" her roommate asked.

"I'm not sure," Nancy said, "but first, I'm going to the box where my father is."

Erika warned her that she must be back for the finale because Kroon was always on hand for the closing pageant. Though he did not particularly notice the faces of each individual performer, he never failed to take a count of the number. If anyone were missing, his wrath was aroused.

"Please don't let anything go wrong that might endanger our troupe," she begged.

"I won't," Nancy promised. "Just how much time will there be before the final number?"

Erika glanced at the clock. "Two and a half hours."

"I'll be back in time," said Nancy, and left the dressing room.

She asked Dan Webster whether the ball thrower had been captured and was told that he had escaped.

"It probably was Hitch," the horse trainer said ruefully. "He's still at large."

Waiting until the ringmaster was busy making an announcement, Nancy made her way to Box AA. Mr. Drew and the others greeted her with open arms and whispered that she had been a sensation.

Nancy slid into an empty seat beside Ned. She whispered that she would like him to accompany her on a little sleuthing expedition.

"Of course," Ned replied. "Where to?"

"Roberto's stables," she said, and told him about the missing stableman. "Hitch's clothes are still at the place. He may be hiding there."

Nancy whispered to her father that she and Ned would be gone for a short time and not to worry about them. She borrowed Mr. Drew's ticket so that she might re-enter the circus grounds without any questions being asked.

She and Ned set off. He had brought his car and it took only a few minutes to reach the riding academy.

"This place is as dark as a tomb," Ned remarked, "and just about as cheerful."

"I'm hoping to see a ghost," Nancy remarked.

She did not mean to be facetious, but Ned laughed softly. "The ghost," she continued, "probably will be wearing a stableman's uniform."

She asked Ned to park a short distance away from the stable so that they might approach without being seen or heard. The couple were halfway to the rear entrance when Nancy suddenly grabbed her escort's arm.

"Listen!" she said. "Did you hear a door squeak?"

"Yes, I did. Maybe it was only the wind."

The next moment, they heard hoofbeats and frightened whinnies. Nancy became tense.

"That sounds like Belgian Star!" she said excitedly. "Ned, I'm afraid someone is trying to steal her!"

CHAPTER XIII A Whirlwind Chase

Nancy and Ned raced across the field at the rear of the riding academy. But the mysterious rider already had a good start. In the dim light of evening they caught a brief glimpse of horse and rider disappearing down the road.

"Oh, I'm sure that was Belgian Star!" Nancy cried.

"But what makes you think she was being stolen?" Ned questioned. "Someone from here may just have been riding off on her."

Nancy shook her head. She explained that if the horse had felt friendly to her rider she would not have whinnied.

"No, Ned," Nancy insisted. "Belgian Star was frightened and didn't want to leave here. She was being whipped, I'm sure."

Ned suggested that they investigate to see if the mare was really gone. Nancy consented and led the way to the stable. The door squeaked protestingly as she opened it and turned on a light. From where they stood, the two could see that Belgian Star's stall was empty.

"I guess you're right," said Ned. "What say we take off after that fellow in the car?"

"Yes, let's do," Nancy agreed. "Come on!"

They hurried back to the car. Before stepping in, Nancy knelt and put her ear to the ground. She could hear the rhythmic beat of a horse's hoofs some distance down the road.

"He's still on this road," she said.

"Okay. Hop in and let's go," Ned said.

He turned the car around and started down the road. They rode nearly a mile before they began to hear the pounding hoofbeats.

The rider must have guessed that he was being pursued. Reaching an open field, he veered abruptly and raced along the edge of it.

"We'd better stop and go the rest of the way on foot," Nancy suggested.

She put her hand on the door handle, but Ned cried, "Wait!" He made a sharp turn into the field and took off after the rider.

Apparently there was no longer any doubt in the mind of the fleeing rider that he was being trailed, for he made another sharp turn and raced directly across the field.

Ned did the same. But the ground, having been plowed recently, was soft and rutted.

"Oh, you'll ruin your car!" Nancy exclaimed. "Let's stop here."

But Ned drove on doggedly until he came to a brook with thick woods on the other side.

"Now we can't go any farther," Nancy said, as Ned turned off the engine. She climbed out of the car and called at the top of her voice:

"Star! Whoa! Belgian Star! Whoa! Come back!"

The mare must have heard Nancy, for the hoofbeats and crashing of underbrush stopped. The next moment, Nancy and Ned heard a frantic "Giddap! Giddap!"

Still no sound from the horse.

"Ned, have you a flashlight?" Nancy asked.

"Yes, in the glove compartment."

She ran back to the car and reached into the compartment. At that moment the horse whinnied. Again Nancy cried out:

"Star! Come back!"

Grabbing the flashlight, Nancy turned it on and held the light high in the air. She waved it back and forth, and kept calling to the horse. Suddenly there was a sound of hoofbeats and a frantic trampling of undergrowth. A moment later the car's headlights picked up the oncoming horse. It was Belgian Star with Hitch, the groom, astride her!

At the bank of the brook, the mare stopped. Hitch was straining on the bridle so tightly that the horse's head, with mouth wide open and teeth bared, was lifted toward the sky.

"I'll get this guy!" Ned yelled, and waded into the stream.

In desperation, Hitch jumped from Belgian Star and started off through the woods. Ned was only a few feet behind. Reaching the opposite shore, he plunged into the woods after his quarry.

Belgian Star slowly crossed the stream and came to stand at Nancy's side. The mare nuzzled the girl's neck, as if looking for sympathy. Nancy was stroking the horse when she heard a scream.

"Oh, one of the men has been injured!" she thought fearfully.