4. The Lousy Acrobat

Chapter 4 The Lousy Acrobat The kids stepped out of the tent and sat under a big maple tree. They looked at the trailer and old bus. The only things moving were the leaves on the tree. "Shouldn't there be clowns running around?" Nate asked. "Shouldn't there be—" Just then the trailer door opened. A man came out, carrying a folding table. He had white hair and a round belly. He set up the table under a tree near the trailer. Then he went back and held the door open. A teenage boy wearing gym shorts and a T-shirt

stepped down. He was lugging some lawn chairs, which he placed around the table. Behind him, a woman with gray hair came out with a tray of food. "You think those are the Flying Fortunatos?" Nate whispered. Brian giggled. Bradley remembered the picture he'd found in the shoe box. In the corners, there had been little drawings of acrobats doing stunts. Were these the same people? "Should we go meet them?" Lucy asked. "No!" Brian said. "Let's watch them a little. I want to make sure this circus is for real before they ask us for that money!" The couple sat down. The man said something to the boy, but he shook his head. The door of the old bus opened, and a teenage girl came out. Her spiky, dark hair made her look as if she'd just gotten out of bed. She ran over to the others and sat down. The boy turned and marched away. "He's headed for the tent," Nate said. The boy had his head down. He seemed to be talking to himself, and he didn't look happy. And

he never noticed the kids sitting under the tree. They watched the boy stomp through the open flap and disappear inside the tent. "Now what?" Nate asked. "This is very weird." A few seconds later, the boy appeared back outside the tent. He looked around, as if he thought someone was spying on him. Then he unhitched a cord on the tent, stepped inside, and tugged the flap over the opening. "That kid looked kind of sneaky," Bradley said. "Like he didn't want anyone to see him." "I like sneaky!" Nate said. "Let's go see what he's doing." "Yeah," Brian agreed. The kids moved toward the tent. "I don't know," Lucy said. "It feels like we're doing something wrong." "We sold their tickets, remember?" Brian said. "We need to know what's going on around here." They crouched down and scurried toward the closed flap. Bradley felt as if he was in a spy movie. He glanced over his shoulder toward the trailer. He couldn't see the Fortunatos—if that was

who they were—so he figured they couldn't see him. Bradley knelt where the flap closed, and raised the canvas until he could see inside. The lights came on, making Bradley jump backward. Brian, Nate, and Lucy wriggled around Bradley so they could see through the tent flap. This time Bradley noticed two big cages. One of them had a sign that said DANGER—FEROCIOUS LION. The other one was longer and flatter than the lion cage. Its sign said ANNIE—THE WORLD'S LONGEST ANACONDA. "There's a lion in there?" Nate squeaked in Bradley's ear. "Why isn't it roaring or something?" Brian asked in Bradley's other ear. Just then the teenage boy stepped out from behind the lion cage. He shinnied up one of the poles, and before Bradley could even blink, the kid was walking across the high wire.

Bradley thought the kid looked scared up there. The boy took a step, then began waving his arms. He lost his balance and fell into the net. Then he went to a mat and started doing backflips. At least he tried to do backflips, but he kept falling onto the mat. Next he went to the trapeze rings and pulled himself up. But his legs were kicking and he couldn't do a single stunt. He dropped from the rings and stood there with a sad look on his face. He bent over, picked up a fistful of sawdust, and threw it at the rings. Then he ran for the exit. Straight toward the four kids! They jumped away from the flap, but the boy didn't notice them as he bolted out of the tent. Bradley saw the boy's face clearly as he dashed past. The teenager's mouth was set in a grimace, and tears were streaming down his cheeks.