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

He glanced down and saw that his brother and Chet were holding the ladder securely. Frank leaned into the barrel and pulled Dean Turner's hand—hard.
Frank coughed at the trails of smoke that kept coming out of the barrel. "On three," he said. "One. Two. Three." Frank put all his strength into his grip and pulled. He felt Turner come sliding toward him. Frank stepped down two rungs and pulled the dean out of the cannon. Turner was shaking, but he slowly made his way down the ladder with Frank behind him.
When they reached the floor, Frank led Dean Turner over to a seat in the first row. A tall man hurried over to them, carrying a portable oxygen tank.
"I'm the circus doctor," he told Frank. "I'll take over now. Do you need some oxygen?"
Frank shook his head and stepped away. He took a few deep breaths and began to feel better.
"Nice work," Joe said, coming up to him. "Maybe the circus could feature you in one of their acts—'Frank Hardy, the daredevil rescuer.'" Then he looked at his brother and added in a serious tone, "You sure you're okay, Frank?"
"I'm fine," Frank replied. "I just hope Dean Turner's okay."
The Hardys walked over to where Dean Turner was sitting. He was holding an oxygen mask over his face. When the dean saw Frank, he removed the mask and smiled. "Thank you, young man," he said. "You saved my life."
"I'm just glad you're all right," Frank said. The dean nodded, then sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. Frank turned to Joe. "Let's find out what happened to that cannon." ' As soon as Frank and Joe reached the cannon, Chet came up to them. He was carrying a fire extinguisher. "I found it backstage," he told them, handing the extinguisher to Frank.
"Good work," Frank said. "Hold the ladder again." He took the extinguisher from Chet and climbed up the ladder. When he got to the top, Frank squirted the foam inside the cannon at what was left of the smoke. Frank leaned into the cannon's mouth and sniffed. He was sure he smelled oil. That would have caused the blue haze that had formed out of the smoke, he thought. He climbed down and told Joe what he had discovered.
"Oil, sure," Joe said, after he had made the climb up to the cannon. "I feel it, too," he added, showing Frank a greasy finger. "But there's more," he added. "I smell gasoline, and unless I'm wrong, there are traces of gunpowder inside here, too."
"Someone wanted this thing to blow," Frank said as Joe climbed back down. "They must have known that with the fuse lit, the gasoline would ignite, blowing up the gunpowder."
"And the oil was probably thrown in to make the fire more smoky," Joe finished.
"We've got to tell Dean Turner about this," Chet said, a worried expression on his face.
"Let's wait until he's recovered," Frank suggested. The crowd that had gathered around the dean was starting to thin out. Bo Costello was telling the audience that refreshments were being served in the foyer.
As the crowd left, Frank noticed that the tall, brown-haired woman was sitting next to Turner and speaking to him in a loud voice. He inched closer to hear what she was saying.
"Now are you going to listen to me?" she was asking in a high voice. "What more is it going to take before you do something?"
"Georgianne," Turner said, wiping his grimy face with a large white handkerchief, "please don't start in on me again. It was an accident."
"Like the one last week in Atlanta, when the tiger got out of his cage? Or two days ago when the prop room caught on fire? It's a miracle nobody's been hurt. When are you going to realize that these aren't just accidents?" she demanded.
Frank motioned to Joe and Chet and whispered to them what he had just overheard. "It looks like Circus U. has had more than its share of accidents lately," he said.
Chet’s eyes widened. "Whew," he said, letting out a long breath. "You think it's sabotage?"
"Hard to say," Joe said with a shrug. "But we should definitely tell Dean Turner about the gasoline. Especially if this isn't the first time something's gone wrong at Circus U."
The three of them walked up to Dean Turner. "Feeling better?" Frank asked, taking in the man's sooty face and dirty clothes.
"I'm fine now," Dean Turner said, smiling. "Thanks to you."
Frank paused for a moment. "There's something you should know," he said finally. He told the dean about finding traces of oil and gasoline in the barrel. "It looks like someone wanted you to go up in smoke," Frank finished.
The brown-haired woman stared at Frank, then turned and faced Dean Turner. "See. I told you so. If this so-called accident doesn't make you take action, then I will!" With that, she got up from her seat and stormed off.
"You'll have to excuse my assistant," Turner said as he watched her leave. "She can be temperamental."
"What did she mean by 'so-called’ accident?" Joe asked.
Turner sighed. "Georgianne Unger—that's my assistant's name—thinks that some recent mishaps during the circus's tour are more than just accidents."
"Like what just happened in the cannon?" Chet offered.
"Exactly." Turner reached for his jacket, took his glasses out of the pocket, and put them on. "That's better. Now at least I can see you boys. Paul Turner," he said, reaching out his hand.
"Frank Hardy," Frank said, shaking Turner's hand. "This is my brother, Joe, and our friend Chet Morton. Chet’s taking classes at Circus U."
A big smile appeared on Turner's face. "That's great," he said to Chet. "I just hope this little event hasn't spoiled your love for the circus."
Chet shook his head vigorously. "Not a chance."
"Good," Turner said. "I'm glad to hear it."
At that moment, Bo Costello came over with a younger man and a woman in tow. The man had short brown hair and was dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt. The woman was blond and short, and she wore a red, white, and blue Circus U. warm-up suit. Both looked to be in their early twenties. "Turner, we've got to talk," Costello said. "These students are very concerned about this latest incident, as you might guess. Some of the circus performers have spoken to me, too."
"You've got to do something before someone gets seriously hurt," the woman urged.
"We're all getting nervous," the man added. The man's smooth drawl sounded familiar to Frank. Then he realized who the man was: Carl Nash. Without his clown makeup, Frank hadn't recognized Nash at first. The Circus U. student gave the Hardys and Chet a nod of recognition.
"Carl Nash and Justine Leone speak for all the students, I think," Costello went on, "when they express their worries about what has been happening. As dean of Circus U. and the manager of this tour of the Montero Brothers Circus, it is up to you to take action."
Turner sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Okay, Bo. I get the message."
Costello stood with his hands on his hips, his small, wiry frame obviously tense. "We can't keep having these accidents," he insisted.
"Okay, okay." Turner sighed in exasperation. "Relax, Bo. I'm sorry, Carl, Justine," he added, turning to the students with a concerned look. "We'll get to the bottom of this. I promise."
Frank saw Nash's eyes brighten a little and a smile appear on his face. But Justine gave Bo an insistent look.
Bo responded to the look by saying to Turner, "If anything else goes wrong, I'm going to be the first one to call the trustees of Circus U. and the board of directors of the circus. I'll even beat Georgianne to the punch. You can count on it."
With that, Costello walked off, followed closely by Justine and Nash.
"What did he mean by 'beat Georgianne to the punch'?" Frank asked Turner.
The dean smiled nervously. "Georgianne has been threatening to call the trustees and board members to tell them about the mishaps we've been having."
"And you don't want them to know," Joe concluded.
"I'd rather they didn't, until I know for certain that it's something serious," Turner admitted, gazing ahead at the three rings and the circus apparatus in them. He faced the Hardys and Chet with a look of concern and embarrassment. "I might get kicked off the board, and the trustees may decide I'm not competent enough to run Circus U."
"You think they might fire you as dean?" Frank asked.