Ten Thumb Sam

by Rachel Muller

  “Hey, Sam?” said Harriet.

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s showtime—break a leg!”

  Sam grinned. “You too!”

  Chapter Nineteen

  As Sam peered through the hole in the supply tent, he heard Mr. Pigatto’s voice come over the circus loudspeaker. “Attention, this is not a drill. Would all performers please report to the performers’ tent for an emergency meeting. I repeat, all performers to the performers’ tent.”

  Sam watched his father and Mr. Poponopolis pretend to argue at the entrance to the fireworks tent. They left a moment later, looking back over their shoulders a few times before they were out of sight.

  Sam held his breath as he continued to watch the tent. A minute passed, and then a minute more, but there was no activity. At the five-minute mark, Sam punched Annabel’s number into his cell phone.

  “Hello?” said Annabel.

  “Have you seen anyone yet?” Sam asked.

  “Not yet. I’m squished in here!”

  “You haven’t taken your eyes off the tent, not even for a second, have you?” Sam checked.

  “No,” said Annabel. “I’m not stupid, you know.”

  Sam rolled his eyes. “All right,” he said. “Don’t forget, you have to call Mr. Pigatto the second you see something.”

  “I know, I know,” said Annabel. “Bye.”

  Sam checked his watch. It was almost eight o’clock. “C’mon,” he whispered. “Where are the bad guys? They’ve got to take the bait!”

  The circus loudspeaker crackled to life outside the tent. Sam’s heart skipped a beat as he waited for the signal to jump out and help catch the fireworks thief. Instead he heard Mr. Pigatto announce that the evening’s show was about to begin.

  “No,” Sam groaned. “We’re running out of time!”

  He punched his little sister’s number into his phone a second time. “Where are you, Annabel?” he asked when the phone kept ringing. “Pick up!” He hung up and tried again. When Annabel still didn’t answer on the third try, he called his dad.

  “Sam? Is everything all right?” his father asked.

  Sam had already left the supply tent. “It’s Annabel,” he whispered as he edged around the fireworks tent. “She’s not answering her cell. I’m on my way to look for her.” He let out a yelp when he spied the open crate a few yards away. “The crate is empty—she’s gone!”

  “Hang on,” said his father. “I’m on my way.”

  As the news of Annabel’s disappearance spread, all the performers who’d been waiting to catch Beaverwick’s men came out of hiding.

  Tony Zuccato was the first on the scene. “Maybe she left to use the washroom,” he suggested.

  “Annabel wouldn’t abandon her post,” said Sam. “Even she would know better than that. And look, I found her phone inside the crate!”

  Mr. Poponopolis arrived, out of breath. “Any sign of her?”

  “Just her cell phone,” Tony said as more performers appeared.

  “Oh dear,” said Erma Fritzi, wringing her hands. “They must have kidnapped her. This is terrible!”

  “Hold on,” Sam heard his father call behind him. “Look who I found on my way here.”

  “Annabel!” everyone cried as they turned and saw the little girl holding Max’s hand. Sam’s sister was crying. Her ringlets were tangled, and there was a grass stain on her knee.

  “Oh my goodness. What happened, dear?” asked Erma Fritzi.

  “I saw someone sneaking in under the back of the tent,” Annabel said through her tears. “A man in a gray suit with a big mustache.”

  “That’s him—Beaverwick’s man!” Sam interrupted. “Why didn’t you call Mr. Pigatto?”

  “I tried!” Annabel sobbed. “But it was dark and I pushed the wrong buttons, and a lady answered.”

  “There, there,” said Erma Fritzi.

  “And then the man came out again with a box under his arm,” said Annabel. “I got confused, and I couldn’t make the phone work. So I followed him. But I tripped, and now I don’t know where he went. I’m sorry!” she wailed.

  Sam was about to tell Annabel off for letting the bad guy get away, but then he saw the misery in her eyes. She knew she’d let everyone down. Sam knew what that felt like. “It’s all right,” he said. He gave his sister an awkward pat on the shoulder. “You tried your best.”

  Max released Annabel’s hand. “Do you think you can you find your way back to Mom?”

  Annabel wiped her eyes and nodded.

  “Good,” said Max. “The rest of us need to get moving. We’ve got to recover those fireworks. If Beaverwick’s man tries to sabotage the show, there’s no telling what could happen. He could burn the big top down. People could be trampled or burned.”

  “We’ve got to tell Mr. Pigatto,” said Erma Fritzi. “We’ve got to stop the show before it’s too late!”

  “No,” said Max, shaking his head. “If we stop the show now, he could set off the fireworks while we’re getting the audience out of the big top. People could still get hurt. We have no choice. We have to find him as quickly as possible, before he lights the first fuse.”

  “Oh dear,” said Erma Fritzi. “What if we’re too late?”

  “That’s not an option,” said Max. “There are lives at stake!”

  Chapter Twenty

  The performers split up to search the circus grounds for the man in the gray suit. Sam called Harriet to let her know what was happening.

  “Where are you?” he asked.

  “I’m in the crowd of people outside waiting for the fireworks to start,” she told him. “I’m keeping an eye on Beaverwick. He’s giving an interview to a television crew near one of the side entrances of the big top.”

  “Beaverwick’s still here? That’s good news,” said Sam. “He’ll want to be miles away when the first firework goes off. If he’s hanging around, it means we still have time.”

  “He could take off any minute, though,” said Harriet. “I’ll warn you if he makes a move to leave.”

  “All right,” Sam said. “Talk to you later.”

  Robbie and Herbie were standing guard just inside the main entrance of the circus.

  “Did you hear the news?” Sam asked quietly.

  “Beaverwick’s man stole the fireworks, but he got past us.”

  The brothers nodded. “Your dad called us,” Herbie said. “We’re on the lookout.”

  “You haven’t seen anything suspicious yet?” asked Sam.

  Sam’s cousins exchanged embarrassed glances. “There was a commotion outside a few minutes ago,” Robbie admitted. “Some little kid wandered off in the crowd, and the mother was freaking out. We went to help look for him. Someone could have slipped through then.”

  Sam forced himself to sound calm. “Well, if he did get in, we’ll just have to find him.”

  “Good luck,” his cousins called as Sam went into the main tent.

  Every face in the audience was turned up. Sam looked toward the roof of the big top and saw his brother Andrew balancing up above on the high wire. He lowered his head again to scan the crowd.

  “Any sign of our man?” Harriet phoned to ask.

  “Not yet,” said Sam. “What about Beaverwick? Is he still out there?”

  “He’s still here,” said Harriet. “Don’t worry, I’m not letting him out of my sight.”

  A sudden motion under the bleachers on the far side of the tent caught Sam’s attention. “Hold on a minute. I think I see something.”

  “What is it?” said Harriet.

  “Someone’s dragging something behind one of the bleachers. Wait—I think it’s just a baby carriage. I’ll move in and get a closer look.”

  Sam edged behind the nearest bleacher and along the outside of the tent. He’d traveled about a third of the way around before he was able to get a good look at the person he was tracking. Sam’s heart skipped a beat. It was the man in the gray suit!

  “I’ve found him!” Sam whispered
excitedly into his cell phone.

  “Be careful, Sam!” Harriet’s voice cautioned. “He may be getting ready to make his move. Beaverwick just checked his watch, and he looks like he wants to leave.”

  “Call my dad,” Sam whispered. “Tell him I’m behind one of the bleachers on the north side of the big top. Section P, I think.”

  “All right,” said Harriet. “Keep our suspect in sight, but don’t get too close while you’re waiting for backup. In the meantime, I’ll do my best to keep Beaverwick around.”

  Sam hid behind the nearest post while he waited for the others. The man in the gray suit was crouched with his back to Sam. As Sam watched anxiously, the man withdrew half a dozen bulky objects from the baby carriage and put them on the ground. Sam gulped as the first firework was unwrapped.

  “C’mon, people!” Sam whispered. “Where are you?”

  The man selected two fireworks from the pile and carried them both to an open space between two bleachers. No one seemed to notice the man with the fireworks in his hands—the audience was still spellbound by Andrew’s performance on the high wire.

  Sam couldn’t wait any longer. He crept forward on his hands and knees, from post to post. When he was only a few yards away, the man reached into one of his pockets and withdrew a lighter.

  “Stop!” Sam yelled as the man lit the first fuse.

  The next events were a blur: Tony and Max and half a dozen other performers arrived together, rushing into the space between the bleachers. The man in the gray suit dropped the lit firework and began to sprint away. Sam tripped as he was chasing him and fell against Mr. Poponopolis. Mr. Poponopolis knocked over Max, who fell on top of Robbie, who in turn tripped Tony. Tony landed on top of several people, including the man who was trying to get away.

  As they lay sprawled on the ground, Harriet suddenly appeared, dragging Mr. Beaverwick with one arm and a television reporter with the other. “See?” Sam heard his cousin say. “I just knew you’d want to see this firsthand. What goes on behind the scenes of a circus is even more interesting than what happens in the center ring!”

  In the first few seconds of chaos, the lit firework was temporarily forgotten. The flame had burned its way through most of the fuse when Sam heard his father yell, “Everybody get down!”

  There were some shrieks from above as several people lunged for the lit firework at the same time.

  “It’s going to go off!” someone screamed as the flame traveled down the last few inches of the fuse.

  Just then, something dark hurtled past them through the air.

  “Loki!” Harriet shouted.

  The magpie grabbed the lit firework in its claws and flew swiftly toward a gap in the tent wall. The bird had just cleared the gap when a tremendous boom shook the tent.

  “No,” Harriet sobbed, lifting her hands to her mouth in horror. “Loki! Come back!”

  As requested by Sam and Harriet, Mr. Pigatto had sent free invitations to several police officers and their families for Sunday evening’s performance. The officers made their way to the scene of the commotion immediately. With eyewitnesses all around, it didn’t take them long to sort things out. Once the man in the gray suit was safely in custody and the remaining fireworks were accounted for, Harriet presented the police with a copy of the photograph linking the man to Mr. Beaverwick. She and Sam took turns describing how the circus had been repeatedly sabotaged.

  “He’s trying to get away!” Annabel exclaimed suddenly. She pointed toward Mr. Beaverwick, who was making for one of the side exits. The circus tycoon didn’t get far. Martin stuck his leg out to trip him, and Herbie and Robbie leapt on top of him.

  “Any statement for the press, Mr. Beaverwick?” a television reporter asked as the owner of Circus Enormicus was led away for questioning.

  “Get that microphone out of my face!” Mr. Beaverwick thundered. “I’m not talking until I see my lawyer!”

  Mr. Pigatto had to shout into his own microphone several times before he could reclaim the audience’s attention. “LADIES and GENTLEMEN! We APOLOGIZE for the disturbance. We’re going to take a brief intermission to give the police officers time to wrap up their investigation. We’ll be back as SOON as we can with the second half of our show. And be sure to stay around afterward for our FIREWORKS DISPLAY. We promise it will be well worth the wait!”

  “We did it!” Sam crowed to Harriet when he finally found her in the crowd of people jammed in around them. “We saved the Triple Top!”

  “But I lost Loki,” said Harriet. There were tears streaming down her face.

  Sam lifted his hand to pat his cousin’s shoulder, and then he caught sight of something that made him smile. “Look over there!”

  Harriet turned in the direction Sam was pointing. Mrs. Pigatto had just entered the big top through the performers’ entrance, with a slightly ruffled-looking black and white bird perched on her shoulder. “Loki!” Harriet cried, her hands flying to her mouth. “But how—?”

  “He must have dropped the firework just before it went off,” said Sam. “That’s one smart bird!”

  “Happy endings all around,” said Max, who’d come to stand beside his son. “Well done, you two! Well done!”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  It took the circus performers several days to recover from the excitement of the weekend’s events. Just when it seemed that things were returning to normal, Uncle Albert asked Mr. Pigatto to call a meeting in the center ring.

  “Well, my friends,” Albert began, “I can’t begin to thank you enough for the hospitality you’ve shown my family. It’s been quite an adventure.”

  There were some laughs and groans from the other performers.

  “Still,” Albert continued, “I know it’s been a strain squeezing another family into the circus, not to mention the Stringbini bus.”

  “It’s been a bit of an adjustment,” Max admitted with a smile. “But we’ve managed.”

  Albert tipped his head at his brother-in-law. “Thank you, Max. You’ve been more than generous, but I have good news. With Beaverwick and his men facing charges, the Leaping Lizard was put back up for sale. The previous owners have raised enough money to buy it back, and they’ve asked us to return.”

  “That’s wonderful news for you, Albert,” Mrs. Pigatto beamed.

  “But sad news for us, of course.” Max spoke sincerely. “I was just starting to get used to the extra company. You’ll be missed around here.”

  The others nodded, murmuring their agreement.

  Sam alone remained silent. He felt all his recent happiness escaping, like air from a deflating balloon. Just when life in the circus had finally become bearable, Harriet was going away.

  Max cleared his throat. “The Goldfingers and the Stringbinis have one more announcement to make. But first, I know you’ll all agree when I say that we owe Sam and Harriet a huge thank-you for coming up with a plan to save the Triple Top. Beaverwick met his match when he took you two on!”

  Sam felt his cheeks flush as the performers cheered. “Way to go—well done!”

  Max waited for the applause to die down before continuing. “I think a few of us also owe Sam an apology for the accusations we made against him.”

  “I’m sorry,” Annabel mumbled as her mother nudged her forward.

  “Me too,” said Louise.

  “Me too,” said Elizabeth.

  Max put his hand on Sam’s shoulder. “And I’m sorry for ever doubting you, Sam. You swore you were innocent, and that should have been enough.”

  “It’s all right,” Sam said, staring intently at his sneakers.

  “Good,” said Max. “And now for our announcement. We’ve been talking, and we’ve agreed that it isn’t fair to continue dragging Sam and Harriet from town to town. They’re both bright kids with bright futures, but their futures aren’t in the circus.” Max turned to face the two puzzled cousins. “If you’re interested, we’re willing to enrol you at St. Michael’s Academy in Ottawa. It’s one of the best s
chools in the country. You can stay with your Aunt Katrina.”

  “My sister Katrina left the circus years ago to become a dentist,” Irene explained to the group. “Her kids are grown up and her husband died a while back. She still lives in Ottawa, though, just a stone’s throw away from St. Michael’s. Remember her big house, Sam? We spent Christmas with Katrina a few years ago. What do you say, you two?”

  It took Sam a moment to find his voice. “Both of us? We could both go?”

  “What about Loki?” Harriet asked.

  “Katrina has invited Loki too,” said Irene. “You know how she loves animals.”

  Martin punched his brother lightly on the arm. “I’d take the offer and run if I were you, Sammy.”

  “But what about you guys?” Sam asked, feeling a lump form in his throat at the thought of leaving his family.

  “Oh, I think we’ll manage to hold down the fort somehow,” Irene said.

  “And you won’t be away from us forever,” Max assured him. “We’ll call you at least once a week, and you can catch up with us on the road at the beginning of every holiday. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, summer vacation—you’ll be so sick of us, you’ll be counting down the days until you’re back in Ottawa.”

  “Well?” asked Uncle Albert. “What do you think?”

  Sam looked over at Harriet. Her eyes were suspiciously shiny, but she was smiling and nodding her head.

  “Well,” Sam said, taking a deep breath, “I guess I could give it a try. When do we leave?”

  Rachel Dunstan Muller was born in California and immigrated to Canada when she was two. With the exception of a year in Northern Ireland, she has lived on the west coast of British Columbia since childhood. Rachel has been an English tutor, a ferry worker, a newspaper columnist and a training consultant, but writing fiction is her favorite occupation. Her first book with Orca was When the Curtain Rises. She currently lives on the edge of a small Vancouver Island community with her husband, four daughters, and an ever-changing assortment of cats, rabbits, birds, rodents, amphibians and fish.