"Dixon, Franklin W - Hardy Boys 111 - Three-Ring Terror" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dixon Franklin W)

Joe pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and showed Turner the coded message. "This was inside the ball," he explained, handing over the slip of paper.
After Turner scanned the paper, he glanced up at Joe with a questioning look in his eyes. "Do you have any idea what this means?" he asked.
Before Joe could answer, Frank spoke up. "Actually, we don't."
From the dean's expression, Joe could tell Turner had an idea. "Why, do you?" Joe asked.
"These letters popped out at me right away," Turner explained. "Of course they mean more to me than to you, since I know these people."
"What do you mean?" Joe asked, frustrated at Turner for taking so long to get to the point. "What people?"
Turner pointed to the paper. "CM, JL, and GU are all initials of people at the circus."
"They are?" Joe grabbed the paper from Turner and looked at it again.
"Carl Nash, Justine Leone—" Turner said.
"And Georgianne Unger," Frank finished. "Boy, are we dense."
"Not really. We only just met these people," Joe reminded his brother. "But I have to admit, I do feel pretty stupid for not noticing the connection before." He stared at the numbers that went along with the letters. "The question is, what do these numbers mean?"
"And why are these initials on this list?" Frank added, looking over his brother's shoulder.
"Well, you boys are the detectives," Turner said, shrugging.
Joe pocketed the slip of paper and headed for the door. "We'll take it from here," he told Turner. "If you think of anything else that might be helpful—"
"I'll let you know," Turner said. He crossed the room and held the door open for them. "Good luck to you two, and thanks again for what you're doing. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."
"No problem," Frank said.
"We'll keep you posted," Joe added, closing the door behind them. He followed Frank into the hallway.
"So now we know that Ralph Rosen once attended Circus U.," Frank said.
"And he was kicked out," Joe added. "Think he has a grudge against Turner? Enough of a grudge to have caused the problems at Circus U. and the circus here?"
"It's a possibility," Frank admitted. "But how does that tie in to the coded message he passed to Chet?" He bit his lip in frustration. "We need to find out more about Ralph Rosen."
"Let's ask Costello. Maybe he can help us out." Joe waited while a student walked down the hall past them before going on. "So we're back to where we started. We know who Rosen is, but we don't know how to find him. We think the code may refer to people here at the circus, but we don't know why." Joe tried to sort out all the details in his mind. "Hey," he said. "I just thought of something."
"What?" Frank said. "I recognize that look. You're about to make a flying leap at deduction."
"That's what makes me such a good detective," Joe said, pointing his finger at Frank's chest. "Let's say the code is somehow related to the sabotage."
"We don't know that for sure," Frank warned.
"No, we don't," Joe admitted. "But let's just say it is."
"Okay," Frank said slowly. "What then?"
Joe searched for a connection he just knew had to be there. "Say Rosen is connected to the sabotage," he said. "He gets kicked out of Circus U. and decides to get even with Turner, out of revenge," Joe explained in a rush. "Maybe the code was some kind of note he was passing to an accomplice, someone on the inside who was helping him for their own reasons. They could be working together."
Joe waited for his brother to respond. "Well?" Joe asked finally, when Frank had kept quiet for too long.
"I see your point," Frank said slowly. "But why would Rosen need to pass information to his accomplice? Why not just make phone calls? Remember, the sabotage started before Circus U. and the Montero Circus ever got to Bayport. Also, why would his accomplice take instructions from Rosen?"
"I don't know," Joe said in exasperation. "That's what we have to find out. You got a better idea?" Joe raised his eyebrows and waited for his brother's response.
"Hey, don't be so defensive," Frank said.
"I'm not defensive," Joe said. "It's just that when you don't have any ideas, you want to shoot down mine."
"I'm not shooting them down," Frank explained. "I'm just trying to see if they make sense. Let's go meet Chet and get some lunch. We can grab a burger and go over what we know."
"Sure," Joe said, still feeling that Frank wasn't taking his idea seriously. He decided to find some proof to back up his deduction.
"You know," Joe said as he and Frank started walking down the hall toward the elevators, "Rosen could be working with Carl Nash. Remember last night when Carl showed up? He was wearing the same costume as Chet. What if Rosen meant to pass the message to Nash?"
Frank turned to his brother. "Now you're onto something. Why didn't we think of that before?"
"What if Nash is Rosen's accomplice?" Joe pressed.
"Why would his initials be on the list then?" Frank asked. "It doesn't make sense."
"It could be a smoke screen," Joe said, knowing he was searching for reasons again. "To divert suspicion from Nash."
"That would only work if Rosen and Nash knew they'd be caught," Frank pointed out. "Otherwise, there's no reason to throw us off the track."
Joe had to admit that Frank had a point. "All this is starting to give me a headache," he said finally. "Maybe the theories will come together after we eat."
"A burger certainly wouldn't hurt," Frank said. "And then we can talk to Bo Costello."
"Right," Joe said. They were at the end of the hallway now. Frank pressed the elevator button. "I hope Chet's class is over and he's waiting for us. Now that you've mentioned it, I'm starving."
When they got to the arena, they saw Bo Costello teaching a trapeze class. Joe quickly spotted Chet standing by the seats with the other Bayport High students. Their friend had his neck craned and was watching two trapeze students perform acrobatics. Joe and Frank stood beside Chet.
"It's incredible!" Chet exclaimed, his mouth open. "I'd be scared to death, but they're just flying back and forth as though it were second nature or something. Good thing there's a safety net."
Joe had to agree with his friend. The students were really skilled. Joe recognized the man who had jumped from the trapeze swing to stand on a platform thirty feet above their heads. "Isn't that Nash up there?" he asked. Chet nodded. Nash's partner swung back and forth on the trapeze as Nash leaned forward on the platform, timing his move.
"Yep," Chet said. "And that's Justine Leone on the trapeze. They're both really good."
"I can tell," Frank said, watching intently.
"You can do the move now, Carl," Joe heard a voice yell up to Nash. He turned to his right to see Bo Costello, his hands around his mouth, hollering up to Nash. "Watch your timing," Costello said. "And don't forget to keep your eyes on Justine."
Joe craned his neck to watch Nash. The student seemed to take Costello's advice to heart. As soon as Justine made her next pass, with her legs hooked around the bar and her arms outstretched, Nash jumped from the platform and went sailing toward her. Joe sucked in his breath as Justine and Carl reached each other. Carl let go of the bar and grabbed Justine's arms.