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

"Easy, now," Frank warned his brother. "Don't catch up to him too quickly."
"Don't worry," Joe muttered, reaching up to straighten his wig. "At the rate I'm going, I won't be able to catch up with you!"
As they got closer, Frank felt his heart beating triple-time. They were about to nab the mysterious juggler once and for all.
Rosen turned around and looked toward them. Frank held his breath. He hoped Rosen wouldn't recognize them.
The juggler did a double take, looking puzzled. Then he turned back to the woman he was talking to and handed her something. Frank was still too far away to see what it was.
"We've got to get him," Joe hissed under his breath. "I'm not letting that guy get away again."
"Keep cool," Frank urged, watching Rosen talk to the woman. The Hardys moved a bit closer and heard Rosen say, "Get out of here." Then he turned so that his back was to Frank and Joe.
Joe grabbed his brother's arm. "What's he doing?", he asked.
"I don't know," Frank said under his breath. Then, before Frank could say another word, Rosen took off at a brisk pace down the hall.
"Get him!" Frank cried out.
Joe surged ahead, with Frank not far behind. Rosen was still a good twenty feet away. He looked over his shoulder at the Hardys and broke into a run.
Frank and Joe came up quickly on the short, blond woman who had been talking to Rosen. What they saw shocked them—and stopped them both dead in their tracks.
The woman was Justine Leone. And in her hands was one of Rosen's gem-studded balls!
Chapter 12
The Plot Thickens
"Justine!" Joe and Frank cried in unison.
The girl stared at them, a look of confusion in her blue eyes. "Do I know you guys?" she asked.
To his left, Joe saw Rosen disappear into an elevator. "Go after him, Frank," he urged his brother. "I'll stay here and find out what this is all about."
"Right," Frank shouted. "Good luck!"
Joe turned back to face Justine, realizing the girl didn't recognize him in his costume. "It's Joe Hardy. I'm Chet Morton's friend. And a part-time student at Circus U.," he added hastily.
Justine leaned in to get a better look at Joe. "Oh, right," she said with a shrug. "I've seen you guys around. What are you doing dressed up like a clown?" she asked.
"I don't really have time to explain," Joe said. "What's more important is how well you know that guy who was just here."
Justine frowned. "Which guy?" she asked in a defensive tone.
"The one who gave you this," Joe said, taking the green, gem-studded ball from her hands.
"I never met him before in my life," Justine said, tossing back her long blond hair.
"So how did he know you well enough to hand this ball over to you?" Joe demanded, holding it up for her to see.
The trapeze student stood there, her arms crossed over her red, white, and blue Circus U. warm-up suit. She bit her lower lip as she thought about what to say. Finally she spoke up. "I don't know."
"That's no answer," Joe said. "He talked to you. He told you to get out of here. He must have known you pretty well to say that."
"I don't know what the fuss is all about," Justine insisted. "I was just doing a friend a favor, that's all."
Joe was about to ask Justine who her friend was when Frank came running back. "He got away," Frank said breathlessly. He wiped the sweat off his face with the sleeve of his clown costume and smudged the makeup. "I got to the parking lot and saw someone tearing out of here in one of the Montero vans. I didn't get a good look at the driver, but I'll bet you anything it was Rosen."
Joe nodded grimly. Rosen had gotten away yet again. "Justine says she was doing a friend a favor by taking the ball from Rosen."
Frank shot the trapeze student a suspicious look. "Oh, really?" he asked. "And who's your friend?"
Justine swallowed a few times and reached for the ball in Joe's hands. "I don't have time to stand around here gabbing."
Joe held the ball out of her reach. "Not so fast," he said. "You have a few questions to answer first."
"Look," Justine said, her voice rising in anger, "I don't have to answer any of your questions. I told you I was doing a favor for a friend. I really don't know what your problem is."
"I think you're the one with the problem," Joe began in an angry voice.
Frank put a hand on Joe's arm. "Go easy, Joe," he said.
"Why should I?" Joe asked, turning to his brother. "Her initials are on Rosen's list, too. She's in on it, Frank. She's got to be."
"In on what?" Justine asked. "What do you mean about my initials being on some list?"
Frank leaned toward Joe and whispered in his ear, "We still don't know what that list means, brother," he warned. "Don't blow it. If she's involved somehow, you're not going to get anywhere by threatening her."
Justine watched them with a wide-eyed look. "Would you mind telling me what's going on here?"
Joe took a deep breath and smiled at Justine. "Urn, actually," he said, "we don't really know what's going on here, to tell you the truth. So why don't you tell us who your friend is?"
Justine rolled her eyes. "You guys are too much. Okay. Carl asked me to meet this guy here. He said the guy had something for him, but Carl couldn't meet him. He had something to do for Bo Costello. I told him I'd do it."
Frank raised an eyebrow at Joe.
"Carl Nash," Joe said.
"Our acrobatic friend strikes again," Frank said.
"What are you talking about?" Justine asked, her eyes moving back and forth between Frank and Joe.
Joe ignored her question and asked, "Did the guy who gave you this know who you were?"
Justine shrugged. "He seemed to. I mean, he didn't ask me my name or anything. I guess Carl told him I'd be here."
"Something's not right here," Frank said, shaking his head. "If this ball is so important, why didn't Nash come for it himself?"