Part 8 (1/2)

Timmy suddenly sat up and gave a deep growl again. Charlie the Chimp patted him as if to say, 'What's wrong, old boy?' but Timmy took no notice and went on growling. He suddenly shot out of the tent, and there was a shout from someone outside. 'Get off! Get down! GET DOWN!'

George swung back the tent opening. Mr Wooh was there, looking extremely frightened, as Timmy growled menacingly round his ankles. Charlie the chimp ran up to him on all fours, and, angry because Timmy was snarling at his friend, showed his teeth suddenly at the big dog. George was terrified. 'Don't let them fight!' she cried, afraid that Timmy would get decidedly the worst of it. Charlie was jumping up and down in a most alarming way.

'Charleee!' said Mr Wooh in his deep voice. 'Charleee!'

And Charlie stopped jumping up and down and making horrible noises, and leapt straight on to Mr Wooh's back, putting his arms round his neck.

Mr Wooh bowed courteously to them all. 'I trust I have not disturbed you, my friends,' he said, in his foreign-sounding voice. 'I now take a little walk with my friend Charleee. You come again to see our show, I hope. Yes? No?'

'Probably,' said d.i.c.k, noticing that the magician had taken a quick and interested look at Julian's figures and diagrams. Julian covered them up immediately, as if he didn't want the magician to see them. He had seen something in the man's eyes that puzzled him. Could Mr Wooh possibly have had anything to do with the theft of the papers the night before? After all, he was a wizard at figures himself - he might be able to read the Professor's figures and diagrams and understand them perfectly. Well - he wouldn't gather much from the ones Julian was now doing - they were more or less nonsense made up by Julian himself to deceive anyone interested in the real ones.

'I interrupt you? Pardon me!' said Mr Wooh, and bowed himself politely away from the group in the tent. Charlie the Chimp followed him, hoping that Mischief would too, so that they could have a game. But Mischief didn't want to. He didn't like Mr Wooh.

'Well, I didn't realize that anyone from the circus would walk down the field so quietly, and be able to hear what we were saying inside the tent,' said Julian, worried. 'I didn't like the look in his eyes. d.i.c.k - you don't suppose he heard anything we were saying, do you?'

'Would it matter?' said d.i.c.k.

'It might,' said Julian. 'Do you think he heard what George said about going over to Kirrin Island with the other papers - the valuable ones that the thieves didn't see in the tower room last night? I wouldn't let George go if I thought he had heard. In fact, I think she'd better not go. She might run into danger.'

'Don't be silly, Ju,' said George. 'I am going. And Timmy will be with me.'

'You heard what I said, George. You are not to go!' said Julian. 'I'll take the papers and hide them on the island. I'll get them when it's dark, fairly late. I'll cycle over to Kirrin and untie the boat you keep there, and row over to the island.'

'All right, Julian,' said George, astonis.h.i.+ngly meekly. 'Shall we have a meal now? We've only to open the tins, and empty the tomatoes and lettuces out of the basket there. And the drinks are in that cool corner over there.'

'Right,' said Julian, glad that George had given way to him so easily. He would go across in George's boat and find a good hiding-place. If danger was about, he could deal with it better than George could. After all, she was only a girl!

Yes, Julian, she is - but, as you've often said, she's just as brave as a boy. Don't be too sure about tonight!

Chapter Fourteen

LADDERS - AND A LOT OF FUN!

The children stared after Mr Wooh and the chimpanzee. They saw Charlie pick up two empty buckets, one in each strong paw, and race off to the right with them.

'Where's he going?' said Anne, astonished at the rate he was running along.

'I bet he's going to get some water from the stream in those pails, and take them to whoever washes down the horses,' said George. She was right! Charlie soon came back again, walking this time, holding a heavy pail of water in each hand!

'Well, I must say that chimpanzee is jolly useful!' said d.i.c.k. 'Look - there's Madelon who trains those beautiful horses that paraded round the ring last night - she's wearing old trousers this morning, she looks quite different. There - Charlie has set the pails of water down beside her. I bet that as soon as she wants any more water, he'll be off again to the stream!'

'I rather like old Charlie,' said Anne. 'I didn't at first - but now I do. I wish he didn't belong to Mr Wooh.'

Julian stood up, looking down at the paper on which he had so carefully written lines of small figures and drawn many peculiar diagrams. 'I somehow feel this isn't much good now,' he said. 'I think Mr Wooh must have guessed it was all a make-up as soon as he saw it. He gave himself away a bit, though-I saw him looking at the paper in a rather startled way, as if he'd seen something very like it very recently indeed!'

'So he had, the wretch, if he'd sent someone up to get my Dad's papers out of the tower room!' said Tinker. 'I say - what about having a look round the circus, to see if we can spot a ladder anywhere - one tall enough to reach the tower room!'

'Good idea!' said d.i.c.k. 'Come on - we'll go now. Chuck that drawing-board and diagram paper over our fence, Ju. I hardly think it's worth your while to finish it.'

The Five, with Tinker and Mischief, wandered down the field to where the circus was encamped. d.i.c.k spotted a ladder, lying in the gra.s.s, and nudged Julian.

'Julian! See that? Would it reach the tower?' Julian walked over to it. It certainly was very, very long - but would it be long enough? No - he didn't think it would. Still - he might as well find out who owned it. At that moment up came the Boneless Man, walking perfectly. He grinned at the children - and then suddenly put all his double-joints to work, bent his knees into peculiar positions, twisted his head round so that he was looking over his own back, and then bent his double-jointed arms the wrong way, so that he looked very peculiar indeed!

'Don't! I don't like it!' said Anne. 'You look so queer and strange! Why are you called the Boneless Wonder? You aren't boneless - you just make yourself look as if you were, with all those queer double-joints of yours!'

The Boneless Man seemed suddenly to lose all his bones, and crumpled up on the gra.s.s in a funny heap. The children couldn't help laughing. He didn't look as if he had any bones at all then!

'Er - can you climb ladders if you're double-jointed?' asked Julian, suddenly.

'Of course!' said the Boneless Man. 'Run up them backwards, forwards, sideways - any way you like.'

'Is that your ladder, then?' asked d.i.c.k, nodding his head towards the ladder in the gra.s.s.

'Well - I use it, but so does everyone else!' said the Boneless Man, turning his head the wrong way round, so that it seemed as if it was put on back to front. It was odd to speak to someone whose head did that - one minute they were talking to his face, the next to the back of his head!

'I wish you wouldn't do that,' said Anne. 'It makes me feel giddy.'

'Do you use that ladder to put the flag on the top of the circus tent?' asked d.i.c.k. 'It doesn't look long enough for that.'

'It isn't,' said the Boneless Man, turning his head the right way round, much to Anne's relief. 'There's a much longer one over there - it takes three men to carry it, it's so heavy - but the centre circus pole is very tall, as you see. One man couldn't possibly carry the long ladder.'

The children looked at one another. That ruled out the very long ladder too, then. If it needed three men to carry it, Jenny would certainly have heard a lot more noise last night!

'Are there any more ladders in the circus camp?'

'No - just the two. Why? Thinking of buying one?' said the Boneless Man. 'I must go. The Boss is beckoning to me.' Off he went, walking in a most peculiar fas.h.i.+on, using his double joints for all he was worth!

'What about the acrobats?' said Julian. 'They must be used to climbing and clambering everywhere. I wonder if any of them could have climbed the wall?'

'I don't think so,' said Tinker. 'I had a good look at it this morning - and although there is a kind of creeper climbing up the wall, it stops half-way - and above that there's just the stone wall. Even an acrobat would have to have some help up the tower wall!'

'Could the clowns have found a way?' said George. 'No - I suppose they're not as good even as the acrobats at climbing. I don't believe the thief could have been anyone from the circus after all. Look - what's that on the ground over there - outside that tent?'

They all went over to see. It looked like a pile of dark-grey fur. George touched it with her toe. 'Oh - I know what it is - the donkey-skin!'

'Golly - so it is!' cried Tinker in delight, and picked it up - or tried to. It was much too heavy for him to hold up all of it.

In a trice d.i.c.k and George were inside that donkey-skin! d.i.c.k had the head, and found that he could see quite well where he was going, for the donkey-neck had neat eye-holes in it - the head itself was stuffed with paper. George was the back legs, and kicked up her feet and made the donkey look extremely lively. The others roared with laughter.