The Clue in the Scrapbook

THE sight that met Nancy's eyes as she reached the second floor of the academy made her wince. On the floor lay Señ or Roberto, bound and gagged!

He wore no shirt and across his chest, as well as his face and neck, were a series of red, angry welts. Apparently he had been cruelly whipped!

By now, Ned had removed the gag. Nancy sprang forward to help untie the bonds that held the man's arms close to his side. Next, they cut the cords which bound his ankles together.

«I'll get some water,» Nancy offered, «and see if I can find the first-aid kit.»

«I think Roberto should go to a hospital,» Ned told her.

«The police will be here any minute. Perhaps they'll take him,» she suggested.

On the first floor of the stable Nancy found a first-aid kit. She carried it upstairs and used an antiseptic salve on the riding master's welts. Ned gave him a dose of aromatic spirits of ammonia.

But Roberto did not regain consciousness and both were relieved when Captain McGinnis and two policemen arrived. Since Hitch was well tied up, they turned their attention to Señ or Roberto.

«This man is in bad shape,» the chief remarked. «Clem,» he said, addressing one of his men, «drive Señ or Roberto to the hospital at once, and then return here.»

The two policemen carried the riding master to their car and drove off.

Chief McGinnis now turned his attention to Hitch. He asked Nancy and Ned if the man were responsible for Roberto's condition.

«We haven't had a chance to ask him,» said Nancy. «We just found Señ or Roberto a few minutes ago.»

The chief, with Ned's help, removed the straps from the groom and the officer began to interrogate him. Hitch insisted that he knew nothing about what had happened to Roberto. The officer tried a new tack:

«Suppose you tell your whole story and you'd better stick to the truth. It'll go easier with you in court.»

Hitch became sullen and for several minutes would say nothing. But after Chief McGinnis had shot questions and accusations at him for nearly ten minutes, Hitch finally broke down. Suddenly he screamed:

«I hate Sims' Circus and everybody in it!»

«Why?» the officer asked him.

«Circuses are evil things. Everybody who runs 'em is crazy! Now take Kroon,» he said.

As Hitch mentioned the ringmaster's name, Nancy leaned forward so that she would not miss a word.

«That ringmaster—he puts up a big front, but he's the biggest thief in the world.»

«How do you know?» McGinnis asked him.

Suddenly Hitch became sullen again. He said he could tell plenty about Kroon and everybody else at Sims' Circus, but why should he? What would it get him? They were the people who ought to be going to jail, not he.

The next moment, Hitch gave the most bloodcurdling yell Nancy had ever heard. It sent shivers down her spine. Just as the scream ended in a choked gurgle, Hitch made a dash for the door. But Ned and Chief McGinnis were on him, and the prisoner did not get far.

«Take it easy, Hitch,» the officer advised. «I guess I'll have to put bracelets on you.»

The chief pulled handcuffs from his pocket and snapped them on the stableman's wrists. He led the prisoner to a chair and ordered him to sit there quietly until the policemen returned.

Nancy heard a clock begin to strike. She counted the strokes and then cried out:

«Ned, the circus! I must get back at once or I'll be too late.»

She explained that she had only twenty minutes to reach the circus, change her clothes, and appear in the finale.

Before leaving, Nancy said to the chief, «I'd like to come to the jail and talk to Hitch in the morning if I may.»

«Good idea,» he told her. «I'll look for you.»

The young couple dashed off. As soon as they reached the highway, Ned gave the car full power and it sped along. They had gone only about a mile when a police motorcycle roared up alongside of them. Its rider signaled for them to stop.

Nancy's heart sank. She knew the car had been traveling beyond the legal speed limit. Now a delay would mean that she would miss the circus finale! If Kroon should notice her absence, the whole Vascon troupe might lose their jobs that night!

«Oh, Officer,» Nancy said quickly, leaning out of the window, «I'm one of the circus performers and I have to get back for the finale at once.»

The motorcycle policeman looked at the girl intently for a moment, then said, «If you hadn't told me that, I would have said you were Nancy Drew of River Heights.»

Both Nancy and Ned laughed. The girl admitted that she was Nancy Drew and quickly told the officer about her part in the circus and the reason for it.

«What's more,» Ned added, «Nancy has just captured that stableman the police were looking for.»

The officer asked for details of the capture. Nancy begrudged the time it took to tell the story, but it turned out to be time well spent. The officer said he would excuse Ned for speeding, and offered to lead the way directly to the circus.

It took only a few minutes for them to reach Sims' Circus. As Nancy hopped out of Ned's car she made arrangements to meet him at the main gate later. Then she thanked the officer for his help and dashed through the entrance stile.

Erika was nervously waiting for her. She literally peeled Nancy out of her street clothes and helped her put on her riding costume. There was no time to visit the make-up artist, so the girls did a quick job of retouching Nancy's make-up.

By the time they reached the starting point for the pageant, everyone had assembled. As Nancy's group rode around for their final bow, the applause was loud and genuine. Nancy stole a quick look at her father and friends. They were clapping and waving madly.

This was the last performance in River Heights. The next day Sims' Circus would show at a town called Danford. Nancy hoped it would have as warm a reception as it had had in River Heights.

When she and Erika reached their tent, the young detective began to put on her street clothes. Erika asked why she was doing this.

«I'm going home. I'll see you in Danford tomorrow.»

Erika looked worried. «It's against the rules for anyone to leave the circus overnight,» she said.

«But I'm not a regular member of the troupe,» Nancy replied. «I'm sure it won't make any difference if I return home for the night.»

Erika advised her to speak to Dan Webster. She went to his office and fortunately found him there.

He instantly agreed with Erika. «Kroon has an insidious way of checking up on folks around here,» the horse trainer told Nancy. «It would be much safer if you moved with the circus. We're leaving tonight, you know.»

«Tonight?» Nancy said. «You mean we don't sleep here?»

Dan Webster laughed. He said Nancy had a lot to learn about circus life. By the time she returned home with her clothes, the tents would be down and the performers and workmen in buses and trucks on their way to Danford.

«But I'll need extra clothes,» Nancy said. «How am I going to get them?»

Dan advised her to telephone her home at once and have someone bring a suitcase to her within the next fifteen minutes.

Nancy hurried from the office and went directly to the main gate where she had asked Ned Nickerson to wait for her. He was there, watching with fascination as the big top suddenly swooped to the ground.

«I see this place is packing up,» he remarked, as Nancy joined him.

«And I am too,» Nancy told him, quickly explaining what she had been told to do. «Ned, I'll telephone my house and have Hannah pack a suitcase. She should be home by now. Will you dash over there and bring it back to me? I'll meet you here in fifteen minutes.»

«It sounds like a big order, packing any girl's suitcase in that short a time.» He laughed. «But I'll be here.»

Ned kept his promise and was back with the suitcase in record time. He reluctantly said good-by to Nancy, and added that he would be very willing to drive to Danford if she needed him for further sleuthing.

«You're a dear,» she said, smiling. «If I need your services, I'll let you know.»

Nancy waved good-by to him and hurried back to Erika. The rider was wearing a long, attractive dressing gown and slippers. She said she preferred traveling this way since she would have to sleep all night in the bus.

A few moments later a truck came by and picked up their suitcases. Then the Vascon troupe hurried to board the bus which had been assigned to them.

Nancy hardly slept a wink during the trip. The ride was bumpy and the bus stuffy. At Kroon's insistence the circus group stayed together. This meant that they traveled slowly. Every once in a while one of the circus's wild animals would cry out and disturb Nancy. But the regular troupers did not seem to mind any of these disturbances and slept soundly.

The following morning at Danford, Nancy, left to herself, decided to do some detective work. She went from performer to performer asking diplomatically for information about the Kroons, the circus itself, and particularly about Lolita's parents. The young sleuth learned little that she did not already know until she came to the oldest of the clowns, a grizzled man named Leo Sanders.

He was sitting in front of his tent, looking through a scrapbook. Nancy seated herself on the ground beside him, smiled, and chattingly began to question him.

«Before I divulge anything I may know,» he said, «suppose you tell me why you want the information.»

Quickly Nancy revealed why she was trying to help Lolita and that she suspected there might be a secret in connection with the girl's early life.

Sanders began to turn the pages of the scrapbook. Reaching a section not far from the beginning of the book, he laid it face up on Nancy's lap.

«You may find part of the answers here,» he said.