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

"All right!" Chet cried out, watching Justine and Carl swing through the air.
"Nice move, Carl," Costello yelled. The students around him clapped politely.
On the next pass, Nash let go of Justine's arms as she grabbed hold of another swing. He then landed back on the platform. Justine swung back to a platform across from Nash, jumping from the trapeze and landing squarely on the platform. She threw the swing toward Nash, who caught it and held it tightly as he stood on the platform.
"Ready when you are, Carl," Costello told his student. "Upside-down swing and reverse twist."
"Huh?" Joe said aloud.
"Circus lingo," Frank said with a wink. "They're famous for it, remember?"
"Right," Joe said, turning back to watch Nash.
The trapeze student grabbed the swing, laced his legs onto it, and let go. As he went sailing from his platform to the one Justine was on, Nash picked up speed. He was flying fast between the two platforms, his arms swinging free. Then, in a flash, Joe saw him unhook his legs from the trapeze.
A few seconds later, Nash had done a midair somersault and was reaching out with his hands for the trapeze swing. The move was solid and sure, and after the somersault, Nash's hands reached familiarly for the swing. He grabbed hold of it and kept swinging, not missing a beat.
"Bravo!" Costello called out.
"Wow," Chet said breathlessly.
Joe couldn't take his eyes off Nash. "The guy's incredible," he said, mesmerized by the sight of Nash swinging back arid forth with ease.
All of a sudden, Joe saw the trapeze student lose his grip. The trapeze started to swing crazily. Nash wrestled with it, fighting to hold on. One end of the swing came unhooked from the chain that supported it. Nash dangled in midair, barely holding on to the wooden rod that until a minute ago had been attached to chains at both ends.
Even from where Joe stood below, he could see the look of horror and fear on Nash's face. Several students around the net gasped in fear.
"Nash!" Joe heard Costello cry out. "Hold on!"
But Joe could tell it was too late. Before his eyes, Carl Nash lost his grip and began to plummet through the air.
"Oh, no!" Costello shouted. "He's going to miss the safety net!"
Chapter 8
The Airborne Acrobat
Joe saw that Costello was right. Nash was falling so that he was a few inches outside the net. Several students held their hands over their eyes, afraid to look.
Joe stood by, helpless. Then, before his eyes, he saw Nash twist his body around. A second later, he had fallen backward into the net. Nash's acrobat's costume flashed red as he bounced up and down, up and down in the net.
"I can't believe he did that," Joe found himself saying in a hoarse whisper.
"Incredible," Frank said. "That was some trick."
"Truly awesome," Chet said, shaking his head slowly. "I was convinced Carl was a goner."
"I think he's okay," Joe said, pointing toward the net. "See? Bo Costello's with him."
Frank saw Costello help Nash over the net and give him a hand to the ground. Justine had dashed down the ladder from the platform and was standing by them. Costello put his arm around Nash and led him and Justine through the group of students to a nearby seat.
"I'm going to find out what happened to that trapeze," Frank told Chet and his brother. He headed off to the seats where Bo and Nash were sitting.
"We're coming with you," Joe called out.
As Frank got nearer to Nash and Costello, he heard Carl say to his teacher, "I'm telling you the truth. It just fell apart. Right in my hands. Just like that."
Costello's expression was one of shock, and Justine hid her face in her hands. One look at the trio told Frank that this wasn't the time to talk to them—they were much too upset. Instead, he pulled Joe and Chet aside and told them what he had overheard. "Isn't CN the first set of initials on the list?" Frank asked.
"You don't think this was an accident," Joe concluded. . ,
"Not after what Nash just said," Frank replied. "Come on, let's take a look at that trapeze."
He and Joe took off toward the net. Chet caught up with them at a run. "What do you mean about CN being the first initials on the list?" he asked.
Joe explained to Chet his hunch about the coded message being Rosen's list of accomplices at Circus U. "JL and GU might refer to Justine and Georgianne," Joe finished.
"But Justine was swinging on that trapeze, too," Chet answered. "She could have been the one to fall. Wouldn't Rosen's accomplices pick someone to fall who's not listed on that paper?"
"Chet’s right," Frank said. "Besides, your theory still has some other holes in it."
"Such as?" Joe asked.
"It doesn't explain what the numbers mean after the initials," Frank said. "And it doesn't explain why Rosen is passing information to his accomplices."
Joe let out a long sigh. "So there are holes. When you two figure out something better, let me know. Until then, I'm following my hunch. Which means that this incident was an accident. Let's see if I'm right."
Joe started climbing the ladder that led to the platform where Nash had been standing. When he reached the platform, he stepped off the ladder onto it. The broken trapeze was still hanging from high above the platform. He reached out to grab at the trapeze's dangling bar and heard Chet’s voice from below, warning him to be careful.
"We don't want another accident!" he shouted up to Joe.
"Thanks, Chet," Joe muttered to himself. Not daring to look down, he grabbed for the trapeze. He managed to keep his balance as he pulled the trapeze in close. He examined the broken end of the wooden bar. The metal hook that the rope was tied to was broken. Someone had obviously bent the metal several times, weakening it until it could break easily.
"So much for my theory," Joe said as he untied the other end of the wooden rod from the rope. He stuck it in his back pocket and made his way down the ladder.
"What did you find?" Frank asked when his brother was on the floor again. When Joe showed him the rod, Frank nodded in understanding. "It looks like Circus Ex.’s been struck again," he agreed.
"And it looks like the people on the list are victims, not accomplices," Joe added. "Unless Nash is Rosen's accomplice, and his plan to make Justine fall backfired."
"But then why are Nash's initials on the list?" Frank asked.
"And Georgianne, too," Joe said. He looked over at where Justine and Nash had been sitting with Costello, but the three of them were gone. Apparently Costello had dismissed the class, because the other students were walking toward the backstage area.
"We should tell Dean Turner about this incident," Frank said.
"That's a good idea, except that Dean Turner had an appointment, remember?" Joe pointed out.
"True," Frank said, running his hands through his hair. "What's our plan, then?"