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

Turner sighed. "They could." He paused, then went on. "You have to realize that the circus is my life. I've loved performing in it, and I love teaching young people who want to be performers." He shook his head. "I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't be part of the circus anymore."
"Maybe what you need are detectives to help you figure out why you've been having trouble here lately," Chet said. He smiled and pointed to Frank and Joe. "And I've got the perfect detectives for you."
"You two are detectives?" Turner asked, raising an eyebrow.
Frank nodded. "We've solved a few' cases around town," he said.
"Frank's just being modest," Chet said. "He and Joe have solved mysteries that even the police couldn't figure out."
Turner rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I'm not sure there's anything to investigate, really," he said. "But maybe if you keep your eyes open you might notice something."
"You want us to look around?" Joe asked.
Turner paused for a moment, then he said slowly, "Not officially. But if we gave you special admittance here, you could attend classes and be around just in case there is another accident."
"Special admittance?" Frank asked. "You mean we'd be students here?"
"That's right," Turner said with a nod.
"That's a great idea," Chet said with excitement. "You can come to my clowning class." He glanced at his watch. "It's in five minutes."
"Well, okay," Joe said. "But no way will I put on a clown costume."
Turner shook Frank's hand. "Good. I'm happy to have you boys admitted as special students of Circus U. Look around and tell me if you see anything suspicious."
"We will," Joe assured him.
"Now, if you'll excuse me," Turner said, "I have to change these clothes and get back to work." With that, Dean Turner gave the three boys a nod and headed across the arena.
"All right!" Chet cried, slapping Frank on the back. "Welcome aboard. Let's go. We don't want to be late for clowning class."
"Not so fast," Frank said. "We still need to find out about our mystery juggler."
"Sorry, Chet," Joe added. "We'll have to skip our first class."
"That's not very responsible of you," Chet said with a smile. "But okay. Come by later and pick me up. We can grab lunch."
"Sounds good," Frank said as Chet went off.
"Be careful," Joe called out after him. "Clowning's serious business."
Chet laughed and broke into a run. When he was gone, Frank faced his brother and said, "Ready to find our mystery juggler?"
Joe nodded. "Where should we start?"
Frank looked over at the rings. "Let's talk to some people with the Montero Brothers Circus. Chances are, the mystery juggler is a full-time performer with the circus."
"He could have been a Circus U. student," Joe pointed out.
"True," Frank agreed. "But we have to start somewhere."
Several minutes later, Frank and Joe had sneaked past a guard and taken the elevator down to the bottom floor. Even though it was still early, the floor was alive with activity. The double doors to the animal room were open, and the Hardys could see groomers feeding seals and washing a baby elephant. Performers were bustling in and out of the dressing rooms. Frank asked a circus performer wearing a leotard and sweatpants where he might find the clowns. The woman directed him to a rehearsal room down the hall. She called it "clown alley."
"Clown alley," Joe said, laughing. "That's funny."
"Chet told me that the circus clowns always stake out a room where they hang out together and rehearse," Frank said. "The clowns' room came to be known as clown alley." He led the way down the hall in the direction the woman had pointed. Soon they came to a large room that contained dressing tables and a rack hung with clown costumes. Several men and women, some in costumes and some in street clothes, were standing around the room, drinking cups of coffee and talking to each other.
"Excuse me," Frank said, stepping into the room. "Can I ask you a few questions?"
A red-haired man in jeans and a Montero Brothers Circus T-shirt looked Frank over. "About what?" he wanted to know.
Frank introduced himself and Joe to the man, who said his name was Jim Jacobs. Frank described the mystery juggler to Jacobs. "Does he sound familiar to you?" Frank asked. "Someone with the circus, maybe?"
Jacobs nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I know exactly who you're talking about. There's only one guy around here who wears baggy green-striped pants."
Frank felt his excitement growing. He exchanged a look with Joe. Now they were getting somewhere.
"Funny you should be searching for him, though," Jacobs went on, looking at the brothers curiously.
"Why's that?" Frank asked.
"Because I am, too," Jacobs explained. "I had an appointment with him after the performance last night, but he didn't show up. And nobody's seen him this morning. The guy you're looking for has totally disappeared!"
Chapter 5
Chet Takes a Giant Step
"He's disappeared?" Joe asked in disbelief.
"That's right," Jacobs said. "We've checked his motel room, and everyone's been looking for him for the past two hours. The guy's gone!"
Joe kicked the floor in frustration. "There goes our only lead."
"Not necessarily," Frank said. "The guy could turn up."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Jacobs said. "Ralph Rosen—that's the guy's name—pulls these disappearing acts a lot. And when he's gone, he's gone." Jacobs let out a whistle and made a sweeping gesture with his hand. "Adios, amigos. We're not gonna be seeing him around here again. I never should have hired him."
"If you knew about these disappearing acts, why did you hire him in the first place?" Frank asked.
Jacobs shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows? When you're head clown like I am, you take who's good, and he was good, that's for sure. I have to admit that before I hired him for this tour, I'd heard he was pretty unreliable about showing up for rehearsals and performances. But I needed a good juggling act, and Rosen needed the job." He paused and looked intently at the Hardys. "Why are you looking for him, anyway? What did you mean just now when you said he was your only lead? And who let you back here? This area is for circus personnel only."
Joe saw Frank's warning look and thought quickly. "We're part-time students at Circus U. He was doing a trick last night that my brother and I wanted to learn. That's all we wanted."
Jacobs laughed. Joe was relieved to see he believed their story. "Which trick?" Jacobs asked. "I bet I could show you."
"Umm . . . the one with the ..." Joe was stumped. He tried to remember something special about what the juggler had been doing the night before.
Frank came to the rescue. "What my brother meant to say was that we know how to juggle a little," he said, "but Rosen kept five balls in the air. Joe and I thought he might give us a lead on how to handle more than three."