August Acrobat

by Ron Roy

  August Acrobat

  A figure appeared from the back of the tent and climbed one of the poles. Whoever it was wore silver tights that shimmered under the lights. A silver hood covered the figure’s head and eyes. Only the nose and mouth could be seen.

  At the top of the pole, the silver person unhooked a trapeze swing that had been tied to the pole. With a leap, the figure was sitting on the trapeze bar. Then he or she stood and began swinging back and forth.

  Down below, the kids stood with their mouths open, watching.

  Bradley could hardly swallow. Even with the net under the trapeze, it would be a long way to fall.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2012 by Ron Roy

  Cover art, map, and interior illustrations copyright © 2012 by John Steven Gurney

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks and A Stepping Stone Book and the colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  Visit us on the Web!

  ronroy.com

  randomhouse.com/kids

  Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools,

  visit us at randomhouse.com/teachers

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Roy, Ron.

  August acrobat / by Ron Roy; illustrated by John Steven Gurney.

  p. cm. — (Calendar mysteries)

  “A Stepping Stone Book.”

  Summary: Bradley, Brian, Nate, and Lucy try to help out the Flying Fortunatos, an acrobatic troupe with a very shabby traveling circus, by identifying the marvelous, hooded trapeze artist they spied rehearsing.

  eISBN: 978-0-375-89969-0

  [1. Mystery and detective stories. 2. Acrobats—Fiction. 3. Circus—Fiction. 4. Twins— Fiction. 5. Brothers and sisters—Fiction. 6. Cousins—Fiction.] I. Gurney, John Steven,

  ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.R8139Aug 2012 [Fic]—dc23 2011037689

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  v3.1

  This book is dedicated to parents

  who read to and with their children.

  —R.R.

  To Mark, Julia, and Maxi

  —J.S.G.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Map

  1. The Flying Fortunatos

  2. The Strange Note

  3. The Mystery Acrobat

  4. The Lousy Acrobat

  5. Four Little Spies

  6. The Hairy Clue

  7. Meet Pete

  8. Lucy’s Idea

  9. I Can Fly!

  Bradley Pinto pushed open the door of the Shangri-la Hotel. Inside, the lobby was quiet and cool. Comfortable furniture was placed around a big red carpet. A ceiling fan hummed, blowing air through the room.

  Behind the hotel counter stood Mr. Linkletter. He calmly watched as Bradley walked toward him.

  “Hi, Mr. Linkletter,” Bradley said. He flashed his best smile.

  Everyone in Green Lawn liked Mr. Linkletter, even though he almost never smiled. His mustache did wrinkle a little now and then, however.

  Bradley noticed that the mustache was wrinkling now. That was almost a smile!

  “Good morning, young Mr. Pinto,” Mr. Linkletter said. “Are you Bradley or Brian?”

  “I’m Bradley,” Bradley said.

  “How does your family tell you two apart?”

  Bradley grinned. “Our freckles are different,” he said.

  Mr. Linkletter blinked once, then nodded. He shoved the hotel register book in front of Bradley. “Checking in?” he asked. “How long will you be staying?”

  Bradley laughed. “You’re joking with me, right?”

  “I never joke,” Mr. Linkletter said. But the mustache moved upward, and his kind eyes gleamed. “Why are you here, Mr. Bradley?”

  Bradley pulled a pile of tickets from his pocket. They were held together with a rubber band. He removed one ticket and showed it to Mr. Linkletter. “Would you like to buy a ticket?” he asked. “They’re two dollars each.”

  Mr. Linkletter took the ticket and read what was printed on the blue paper. “Who are the Flying Fortunatos?” he asked.

  “It’s like a circus,” Bradley explained. “They’re acrobats … I think. Anyway, they’re coming to town Monday. Brian, Nate, Lucy, and I are selling tickets!”

  Mr. Linkletter’s eyebrows moved up toward his hair, like two jumping caterpillars. “Why?” he asked Bradley.

  “Why what?” Bradley asked right back.

  “Why are you selling tickets for the Flying Fortunatos?”

  “Oh. See, Brian read in one of his comics that the circus was looking for kids to sell tickets, so he signed us up for one hundred,” Bradley explained.

  He held up his stack. “We each have to sell twenty-five,” he added. “If we sell them all, we get in free! Plus we get free popcorn and hot dogs. I really like hot dogs!”

  Mr. Linkletter gazed down at Bradley for a moment. Finally, the mustache twitched. “I’ll take four,” Mr. Linkletter said, reaching for his wallet. “My three nephews will be my guests.”

  “Awesome, thank you!” Bradley shouted. He pulled three more tickets out and slid them toward Mr. Linkletter.

  Mr. Linkletter handed Bradley eight crisp dollar bills. “You’re very welcome,” he said, slipping the tickets into his suit jacket pocket. “Where will you go next?”

  Bradley glanced out the window. “The town hall, I guess,” he said. “I have this whole section of town.”

  “The town hall is closed on Saturday,” Mr. Linkletter said. He leaned over the counter. “Try the senior center. I have a feeling those folks would like to see flying acrobats.” His mustache wrinkled. “And they really like hot dogs, too.”

  “Thanks again, Mr. Linkletter,” Bradley said. He took his twenty-one tickets and flew out the door.

  Bradley sold the rest of his tickets at the senior center. His friend Mr. Neater lived there, and he introduced Bradley to each guest. Almost everyone said, “I haven’t seen a circus in years!” And just like that, Bradley’s pockets were stuffed with dollar bills.

  He was the first one home, too. He found a note on the kitchen table.

  Hi, boys. Dad’s running errands.

  I’ve taken Josh to buy new sneakers.

  Be back in a jiffy.

  Love,

  Mom

  Bradley smiled. He liked the word jiffy. He ran upstairs, almost stumbling over pal, who was sleeping outside Bradley’s bedroom door.

  In his room, Bradley dropped fifty crumpled dollar bills all over his neatly made bed.

  That’s a lot of money! Bradley told himself. I’d better hide it. Bradley’s brother Josh had told him about the burglar in Green Lawn a few years ago. Josh and his friends Ruth Rose and Dink had helped catch him.

  Ruth Rose was Nate’s big sister, and Dink was Lucy’s cousin.

  Bradley knew he shouldn’t hide the money in his piggy bank. That was the first place a burglar would look!

  Then he spied the empty shoe box that the one hundred tickets had come in. It’s perfect for all these dollar bills, he thought. He grabbed the box off Brian’s bed.

  When Bradley took the lid off, he saw a crumpled paper on the bottom. He took the paper out and put his money into the box.

  Flopping on his be
d, Bradley smoothed out the paper. He smiled. It was a drawing of a circus elephant standing on its hind legs. Monkeys were hanging on the elephant’s ears, trunk, and tail. A parrot sat on top of the elephant’s head.

  In the four corners of the picture were small drawings of acrobats. They were swinging, tumbling, and walking on high wires. Two of the acrobats were older people, a man and a woman with white hair. There were two drawings of a third acrobat, a younger one with short, dark hair.

  Bradley noticed small rips in the paper, near the elephant’s hind legs. He turned the picture over. On the back, someone had written a note in pencil. Bradley read it:

  Dear Mr. Wood,

  I hope you like this picture.

  Can you help me?

  I hate being an acrobat!!!

  I want to

  Bradley couldn’t read the rest of the note. The words had been blackened out by dark pencil scribbles. Whoever did the scribbling must have been pushing the pencil down hard. In places, it had poked through the paper.

  I wonder who wrote this note, Bradley thought. And who’s Mr. Wood?

  And who scribbled out those final words?

  Bradley crossed the room and tacked the picture to his bulletin board.

  Pal shuffled into the room and put his paws up on Bradley’s bed. He sniffed the shoe box.

  “Where should I hide this money?” Bradley asked Pal.

  Pal flopped down on the floor and closed his eyes.

  “You’re no help,” Bradley muttered, looking around his room. Maybe in the closet? He stepped inside just as the bedroom door swung open. Brian burst into the room, chased by Lucy and Nate.

  “I’m first!” Brian cried.

  “You cheated!” Nate yelled.

  “Did not. You’re just slow,” Brian retorted. “I’m fast and I’m first!”

  Bradley stepped out of the closet. “No, bro. You’re slow and you’re second,” he announced. “I’m fast and I’m first!”

  “What’re you doing here?” Brian demanded. “You’re supposed to be selling tickets.”

  “Sold them all,” Bradley said. He opened the shoe box and showed them the stack of dollar bills.

  “No way!” Brian yelled.

  “Yes way,” Bradley said.

  He dropped the box of money on his bed. “How’d you guys do?”

  “I sold all mine!” Lucy said. She pulled a wad of bills out of her shorts pocket. “The people in Green Lawn sure are nice!”

  “Me too,” Nate said. “When I got to Howard’s Barbershop, a bunch of guys were waiting to get their hair cut. Everyone wanted tickets. I could have sold a million more!”

  The three kids turned and looked at Brian. “I still have two left,” he said. “Plus the three I’m selling to Josh, Mom, and Dad.”

  “That’s okay,” Bradley said. “We can sell those other two in a jiffy. You guys want to stick your money in this box with mine?”

  Brian, Nate, and Lucy added their money to Bradley’s fifty dollars.

  “Wow, that’s a lot of money,” Brian whispered. “Almost …”

  “It’s exactly one hundred and ninety dollars,” Lucy said.

  “Right,” Brian said. “I was just going to say that.”

  Bradley shoved the box under his bed. “The Green Lawn burglar will never look there!” he said.

  “Who’s the Green Lawn burglar?” Lucy asked.

  The three boys began telling her what happened the last time a circus came to Green Lawn.

  Brian sold the rest of his tickets the next day. Josh and his parents each gave him two dollars, and he sold the last two tickets to Ellie when the kids were having ice cream at her diner.

  Brian added his ten dollars to the money in the box, then slid it back under Bradley’s bed. Now the box held two hundred dollars.

  “When do we have to give the money to the acrobats?” Lucy asked.

  “I don’t know,” Bradley said. He looked at his calendar. “Um, Bri, when does the circus open?”

  “Tomorrow. Why? Oh my gosh!” Brian said. “They’re supposed to set up their tent tonight! Maybe they’re already here!”

  “All right,” Nate said, rubbing his stomach. “Let’s bring them the money and get our free popcorn and hot dogs!”

  “I don’t want to walk around town carrying all that money,” Bradley said. “Let’s just go see if the Flying Fortunatos are here yet. We can give them the money later.”

  The others agreed, and they took off toward the high school, where the circus was going to be. When they passed Nate’s house on Woody Street, they waved to his sister. She was in the backyard with Dink and Josh. They cut across Pleasant Street and headed toward the high school playing fields.

  When they came out of the trees, they stopped.

  A hundred feet in front of them stood a giant tent. The tent leaned to one side, as if it wanted to go to sleep. A canvas flap was tied open. It was dim inside, but Bradley could see seats and some kind of pole with wires on it.

  Across the lawn from the tent, they saw a long trailer with a door and four small windows. Narrow steps were under the door. The words THE FLYING FORTUNATOS were painted under the row of windows. The paint was so faded that they could hardly read it.

  Parked near the trailer was an old Volkswagen bus that needed to be washed.

  The kids didn’t see any elephants or tigers.

  Or men being shot out of cannons.

  Or any Flying Fortunatos.

  Bradley felt his stomach drop like a water balloon. We sold a hundred tickets for this? he thought.

  “It’s a pretty small circus,” Lucy said.

  “It’s not a circus,” Bradley said. “It’s a disaster!”

  “At least they have a tent,” Nate said. “Let’s look inside.”

  The kids walked around the tent to the open flap. They stepped inside and looked around. Without the sunlight, it was dark. They saw tall poles with a net stretched between them. They heard soft music, the kind that made you dream about faraway places.

  “There’s nobody—” Nate started to say.

  Suddenly bright lights lit up the space.

  A figure appeared from the back of the tent and climbed one of the poles. Whoever it was wore silver tights that shimmered under the lights. A silver hood covered the figure’s head and eyes. Only the nose and mouth could be seen.

  At the top of the pole, the silver person unhooked a trapeze swing that had been tied to the pole. With a leap, the figure was sitting on the trapeze bar. Then he or she stood and began swinging back and forth.

  Down below, the kids stood with their mouths open, watching.

  Bradley could hardly swallow. Even with the net under the trapeze, it would be a long way to fall.

  But the figure in silver tights didn’t fall. He or she swung, turned flips, and did a hundred other tricks on the trapeze.

  “That’s amazing!” Nate whispered. “He’s like Spider-Man!”

  “How do you know it’s a man?” Lucy asked. She gazed up at the trapeze artist.

  “Sorry, you’re right, Lucy,” Nate said. “It could be a girl.”

  “She’s like a silver waterfall,” Lucy said. “Wouldn’t you love to be able to do that?”

  “I don’t know,” Brian said. “It gives my stomach goose bumps just watching!”

  Suddenly the figure was off the trapeze and down the pole. Without even glancing toward the kids, the acrobat dashed toward the back of the tent. The lights went off, and the kids were standing in the dark again.

  The kids stepped out of the tent and sat under a big maple tree. They looked at the trailer and old bus. The only things moving were the leaves on the tree.

  “Shouldn’t there be clowns running around?” Nate asked. “Shouldn’t there be—”

  Just then the trailer door opened. A man came out, carrying a folding table. He had white hair and a round belly. He set up the table under a tree near the trailer.

  Then he went back and held the door open. A tee
nage boy wearing gym shorts and a T-shirt stepped down. He was lugging some lawn chairs, which he placed around the table. Behind him, a woman with gray hair came out with a tray of food.

  “You think those are the Flying Fortunatos?” Nate whispered.

  Brian giggled.

  Bradley remembered the picture he’d found in the shoe box. In the corners, there had been little drawings of acrobats doing stunts. Were these the same people?

  “Should we go meet them?” Lucy asked.

  “No!” Brian said. “Let’s watch them a little. I want to make sure this circus is for real before they ask us for that money!”

  The couple sat down. The man said something to the boy, but he shook his head. The door of the old bus opened, and a teenage girl came out. Her spiky, dark hair made her look as if she’d just gotten out of bed. She ran over to the others and sat down. The boy turned and marched away.

  “He’s headed for the tent,” Nate said.

  The boy had his head down. He seemed to be talking to himself, and he didn’t look happy. And he never noticed the kids sitting under the tree. They watched the boy stomp through the open flap and disappear inside the tent.

  “Now what?” Nate asked. “This is very weird.”

  A few seconds later, the boy appeared back outside the tent. He looked around, as if he thought someone was spying on him. Then he unhitched a cord on the tent, stepped inside, and tugged the flap over the opening.

  “That kid looked kind of sneaky,” Bradley said. “Like he didn’t want anyone to see him.”

  “I like sneaky!” Nate said. “Let’s go see what he’s doing.”

  “Yeah,” Brian agreed. The kids moved toward the tent.

  “I don’t know,” Lucy said. “It feels like we’re doing something wrong.”

  “We sold their tickets, remember?” Brian said. “We need to know what’s going on around here.”

  They crouched down and scurried toward the closed flap. Bradley felt as if he was in a spy movie. He glanced over his shoulder toward the trailer. He couldn’t see the Fortunatos—if that was who they were—so he figured they couldn’t see him.