by Ron Roy
Bradley knelt where the flap closed, and raised the canvas until he could see inside. The lights came on, making Bradley jump backward.
Brian, Nate, and Lucy wriggled around Bradley so they could see through the tent flap.
This time Bradley noticed two big cages. One of them had a sign that said DANGER—FEROCIOUS LION.
The other one was longer and flatter than the lion cage. Its sign said ANNIE—THE WORLD’S LONGEST ANACONDA.
“There’s a lion in there?” Nate squeaked in Bradley’s ear.
“Why isn’t it roaring or something?” Brian asked in Bradley’s other ear.
Just then the teenage boy stepped out from behind the lion cage. He shinnied up one of the poles, and before Bradley could even blink, the kid was walking across the high wire.
Bradley thought the kid looked scared up there. The boy took a step, then began waving his arms. He lost his balance and fell into the net.
Then he went to a mat and started doing backflips. At least he tried to do backflips, but he kept falling onto the mat.
Next he went to the trapeze rings and pulled himself up. But his legs were kicking and he couldn’t do a single stunt. He dropped from the rings and stood there with a sad look on his face. He bent over, picked up a fistful of sawdust, and threw it at the rings. Then he ran for the exit. Straight toward the four kids!
They jumped away from the flap, but the boy didn’t notice them as he bolted out of the tent.
Bradley saw the boy’s face clearly as he dashed past. The teenager’s mouth was set in a grimace, and tears were streaming down his cheeks.
The kids watched the boy run to the old bus. He yanked open the door, jumped inside, and slammed the door behind him.
“What’s going on?” Nate asked. “He looks mad at somebody.”
“He was crying,” Bradley said.
“Yeah, because he’s a lousy acrobat,” Brian said. “That other one in the silver costume was awesome!”
“Maybe the kid is just jealous,” Nate suggested.
“FOUR LITTLE SPIES!” a deep voice growled from behind the kids. “Maude, let’s throw them in the lion’s cage!”
The four kids jumped like kangaroos!
“No, Basilio, let’s feed them to the snake,” a woman’s voice said. “Our anaconda hasn’t eaten a child in weeks!”
Bradley nearly swallowed his tongue. Brian, Nate, and Lucy froze and stared at the man and woman.
“We … we … we …” Bradley couldn’t make his mouth say anything.
“Well, speak up,” the man barked. “Lion or snake? Your choice.”
“I have a better idea, Papa,” another voice said. It was the girl. She appeared from behind the woman.
“Do you guys like cookies?” the teenager asked the kids. She was smiling, and her hair was neatly brushed into place.
“We … love cookies!” Nate said, finally finding his voice.
“Oh heck, Maude,” the man said to his wife. “I never get to have any fun.”
Then he grinned at the kids. “Just teasing,” he said. “Since Hannah won’t let me feed you to the wild animals, we might as well feed you some of Mama Maude’s outstanding cookies. Come along!”
The couple turned and walked toward the trailer. They were laughing as they strolled away, arm in arm.
“I’m Hannah Fortunato,” the girl said, shaking the kids’ hands. “Don’t mind my folks. They love joking around. Most of the time they act younger than Adam and me.”
The kids and Hannah headed toward the table, where her parents were waiting.
“Is Adam your brother?” Lucy asked. “We were watching him inside the tent.”
“He’s good,” Hannah said.
Good? Bradley thought. He’s terrible!
“My parents taught him,” Hannah said. “They were the best once.”
Bradley remembered the picture he’d hung on his bulletin board. “Do you do acrobatics, too?” he asked Hannah.
“Me? Oh, no,” she said. “My job is mostly in the office, taking care of ticket sales and other stuff.”
When they reached the table, Hannah’s father stood up. He reached out a hand the size of a catcher’s mitt. “I am Basilio Fortunato,” he boomed. “And who are you?”
The kids all shook Basilio Fortunato’s big hand.
“We’re Brian and Bradley Pinto,” Brian piped up. “We sold tickets for you!”
“Are you twins?” Maude asked the boys.
“Yep,” Brian said. “I’m two minutes older than Bradley!”
“Hannah and Adam are twins, too,” Maude said.
“And I’m Nate Hathaway, and this is Lucy Armstrong,” Nate added. “We sold tickets, too!”
“Wonderful!” Maude said. “Sit and have cookies. They have nuts. Are you allergic?”
The kids all shook their heads and reached for the plate of cookies. They sat on the grass as Hannah poured glasses of lemonade.
“Do you really have a lion and an anaconda?” Nate asked.
Basilio sighed and rubbed his forehead. “We used to,” he said. “And a horse named Roger. We had a real circus a few years ago, but now—”
“Now we have Adam, our son, who is the world’s greatest acrobat,” Maude interrupted.
Bradley thought about Adam in the tent a few minutes ago. If he was their acrobat, this circus was worse off than he’d thought! Adam couldn’t be the amazing acrobat in the silver costume!
“You guys talking about me?” a new voice asked.
Adam Fortunato joined the group. His hair was combed and he wore a fresh T-shirt. “Hope you left me some cookies, Mom.”
Bradley looked at Adam. He seemed happy as he gobbled half a cookie in one gulp.
Then why was he crying ten minutes ago?
“What happened to the lion and anaconda?” Brian said. “We saw the cages in the tent.”
“Had to sell ’em,” Basilio muttered.
“You were in the tent?” Adam asked. His smile disappeared. Red spots appeared on his cheeks.
“We, um, sort of peeked,” Bradley said.
“We didn’t mean to be sneaky,” Lucy said.
Adam looked as if he’d just swallowed a bug.
“Lighten up, Adam,” Hannah said. “These kids sold a whole bunch of tickets for us.”
“Great,” Adam said. He lurched away toward the old bus.
Hannah looked at the kids. “Don’t mind Adam,” she said. “He’s just not …” Then she shook her head and smiled at the kids. “So did you sell all one hundred?”
“Yep!” Nate said. “It was a snap. We could have sold more!”
“Super,” Hannah said. “Can you come back after dinner tonight? We’re going to have a quick rehearsal before we open tomorrow.”
“Sure, we can come,” Brian said.
“Come around seven, okay?” Hannah said. “You can see Adam perform, and Peter, too.”
“Who’s Peter?” Bradley asked.
“Peter is our parrot,” Hannah’s father said proudly. “He talks, he dances, he does tricks!”
“Peter is very cute,” Maude said. “And we have Clumsy, the world’s funniest clown!”
“I love clowns!” Lucy said.
Maude gave Hannah a hug. “We love her, too,” she said. “Hannah is a wonderful clown!”
“Who else is in your show?” Bradley asked, thinking of the silver acrobat.
“No one else,” said Hannah.
“Now we must excuse ourselves,” Basilio said. “See you at seven.”
The couple walked toward the tent.
“See you kids later,” Hannah said as she headed toward the bus.
The kids started walking away from the high school grounds.
“Boy, we messed up,” Brian said. “This isn’t a circus at all!”
“Yeah, and we sold all those tickets,” Nate said. “Everyone in town is going to be mad at us.”
“Maybe we can help them,” Lucy said.
“They need a
lot more than our help,” Bradley said. “All they have is a parrot and Hannah pretending to be a clown. How can they call themselves the Flying Fortunatos when they don’t even have an acrobat? Adam is lousy!”
“But the person in the silver costume wasn’t lousy!” Lucy said.
“So why didn’t anyone mention that acrobat? Who was it?” Brian asked.
“Maybe it was Adam,” Nate said.
“Dude, we saw Adam, and he stinks as an acrobat,” Brian said.
Nate giggled. “Maybe it was Peter the parrot!”
Everyone just looked at Nate.
“I wonder where the silver acrobat went,” Bradley said.
“And what was he doing in the Fortunatos’ tent if he isn’t a Fortunato?” Brian said.
“We can help the Fortunatos if we can find that acrobat!” Lucy said.
“But we don’t know who it is,” Nate said. “He just disappeared out the back of the tent. And most of his face was covered.”
“People can’t disappear,” Lucy said. “We have to find the mystery acrobat by tomorrow!”
“How are we going to find him?” Brian asked. “He could be anywhere!”
“I have one idea.” Lucy turned and pointed at the tent. “The silver acrobat left through the back of the tent, right?”
“Right,” Bradley said.
Lucy turned again and pointed toward Main Street. “So maybe he went to town,” she added.
“Yeah!” Bradley said. “We can ask if anyone saw him.”
“So we’re supposed to just ask everyone if they’ve seen some dude in silver tights?” Brian asked with a big grin.
“Why not?” asked Bradley.
“Yeah, why not?” repeated Nate.
“We have to try,” Lucy said. “He or she could save the circus!”
“Ha!” Brian said.
“Lucy is right,” Bradley said. “Where should we start?”
They cut through Center Park and walked past Swan Pond. Two minutes later they were on Main Street.
“Where would you go if you were an acrobat in silver tights?” Lucy asked.
“I’d go home and change,” Nate said.
“I’d go to the fitness center and hide,” Brian said.
Bradley laughed. “I’d go to Ellie’s Diner for ice cream!” he said.
“Me too,” Lucy said. The kids headed for Ellie’s and crowded through the glass door.
Ellie was making banana splits for four teenagers sitting in a booth.
Bradley, Brian, and Nate sat at the counter and watched Ellie squirt whipped cream on top of the sundaes.
Lucy marched up to the booth. “Have you guys seen someone in silver tights?” she asked the four teenagers.
“Boy or girl?” one of the boys asked Lucy.
“We don’t know,” Lucy said.
The teenagers looked at each other. “Nope, we haven’t seen anyone in tights since we saw the Spider-Man movie!”
Lucy joined the boys at the counter.
“I haven’t, either,” Ellie said. “Who is it?”
“That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Bradley said. He and the other kids explained about the circus and the masked acrobat.
“Wow,” said Ellie. “I hope you find him or her. And if they need help tomorrow, let me know. I have a popcorn maker in my basement!”
The kids thanked Ellie and headed next door to the fitness center.
Bradley stopped at the desk. “Excuse me,” he said to the man working there. “We’re looking for someone in silver tights who might have come in a little while ago.”
“Did you look in the gym?” the man asked. “Lots of people wearing tights in there.” He pointed to a large window.
Inside the gym, the kids saw people lifting weights, doing stretches, and walking on treadmills. Some of them wore workout tights. A couple of the outfits were silver. But none looked like the costume the acrobat was wearing.
The kids left the fitness center and walked down Main Street. They asked Mrs. Wong in the pet shop.
They stopped in the bookstore.
They questioned an attendant at the gas station.
“No one saw a silver acrobat,” Bradley said in front of the bookstore.
“Maybe the acrobat turned himself invisible!” Nate said.
Brian poked Nate. “Maybe I’ll turn you invisible!” he said.
Bradley noticed Howard standing outside the window of his barbershop. Next to him was a sign that said SPECIAL SUNDAY HOURS 3–5.
“Let’s go ask Howard,” Bradley said.
The other kids followed Bradley to the barbershop.
“Did you four sell all your tickets?” Howard asked.
“Yes, we did,” Brian said. “But we have a problem.”
“Tell me,” Howard said. “I love to listen to people’s problems.”
Just then a man wearing a baseball cap rushed up to Howard. “Got time to cut my hair?” the man asked.
Howard looked through his window at the wall clock. “It’s almost five, so it’ll have to be a fast one,” he said. “Take off your hat.”
The man yanked off his cap. His bushy hair was standing up in all directions.
Howard laughed. “You have a bad case of hat hair,” he said, “but I’ll take care of that. Go inside and have a seat.”
The man walked into Howard’s shop. Bradley noticed Lucy watching him. He was trying to smooth down his spiky hair.
“Sorry,” Howard said to the kids. “I’m all ears!”
The kids explained about the circus and the acrobat who had vanished.
“We don’t know who it is,” Nate said. “But all the people who bought tickets would love the act!”
“Gee, I wish I could help,” Howard said. “Say, maybe I can! My wife is a great face painter. I’ll ask if she wants to join in.” Then he rushed into his barbershop to his customer.
“I just had an idea!” Brian said. “Ellie said she’d make popcorn. Howard’s wife can paint faces. Maybe we can get other people in town to do stuff for the circus. Maybe we don’t even need to find the masked acrobat!”
“Or maybe we’ve already found her,” Bradley said. He turned to Lucy. “You know who it is, don’t you?”
Lucy grinned.
Nate and Brian stared.
“You do? Who is it?” Nate asked.
Bradley looked through Howard’s window at the clock. “We have to go!” he said. “If we don’t get home and eat dinner, we won’t be able to go back and see the rehearsal!”
The kids hurried up Main Street. They took Silver Circle to Woody Street, where both Nate and Lucy lived. They stopped in front of Nate’s house.
“Let’s meet here at ten to seven,” Bradley said.
“But you didn’t tell us who the acrobat is!” Nate said.
“We’ll tell you then!” Bradley said. “Come on, Brian. I’ll race you home!”
The twins dashed through Nate’s yard and ran to their house on Farm Lane.
An hour and a half later, Bradley, Brian, and Lucy were standing in front of Nate’s house. Nate burst through his front door, eating a cookie.
He carried more cookies in a paper napkin.
“Are you planning to share?” Brian asked, eyeing the cookies.
“Duh, that’s why I brought three,” Nate said. “One for each of you. Ruth Rose and I made them, but they’re good anyway.”
“Thanks, Nate, you’re great!” Lucy said.
“I know I am,” Nate said. “Okay, you two, spill the beans. Tell us who you think the acrobat is.”
“Let’s get going,” Bradley said. “I’ll tell you on the way.”
The kids walked and munched.
“Remember that guy who asked Howard for a haircut?” Bradley asked as they reached the high school grounds.
“Yeah, he had serious hat hair!” Nate said.
“Right,” Bradley said. “His hair reminded me—”
Bradley stopped when he saw Adam and Hannah sitting on
the bus’s bumper. It looked as if something was wrong.
“Hi,” Lucy said.
“Hi yourself,” Hannah said. She wiped some tears off her cheeks. Then she smiled. “We’re the crying Fortunatos today.”
Adam giggled. “Better than the dying Fortunatos,” he said. Both teenagers laughed.
“Um, what’s going on?” Brian asked.
“Should we tell them?” Adam asked his sister.
“Sure, why not?” she said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. “They sold tickets for us.”
Adam stood up and opened the sliding door of the bus. “Come on in,” he said.
The kids climbed inside the bus and looked around the cozy apartment. There was a bed, a small table with a lamp on it, and a rug on the floor.
In one corner, an old gray parrot sat on a perch. He tilted his head and stared at the newcomers with his shiny black eyes. “Peter the parrot!” he croaked.
Bradley laughed. “Does he say anything else?” he asked.
Adam scratched the parrot’s chest with his finger. “He used to, but now it’s just those three words,” he said. “We’ve tried to teach him more, but he pretends he doesn’t hear us. Right, Pete?”
“Peter the parrot!” Peter squawked.
Bradley noticed that every inch of wall space held a painting or drawing. Some of them showed circus stuff, like clowns and lions and elephants doing tricks. Bradley realized that the picture he’d found in the shoe box was done by the same artist. He looked at the signature on the bottom of each picture: Adam.
One whole wall held pictures of a trapeze artist. An acrobat in silver tights was flying through the air, or swinging from a trapeze bar, or doing flips. Like the others, these pictures were signed by Adam.
Lucy put her finger on the figure wearing the silver costume. “This is you, right?” she asked Hannah.
Hannah blushed. “How did you know?” she asked.
“We saw you yesterday on the trapeze,” Lucy said. “I thought you were wonderful!”
“Why, thank you, Lucy!” Hannah said. “But I was in my costume, so how did you know it was me?”
“That’s what I want to know!” Brian said.
Bradley told Hannah and Adam about the man at Howard’s Barbershop—the one with the messy hair.