Ten Thumb Sam (7 page)

Sam stomped away before his father could say anything more.

Sam saw Loki before he saw his cousin. The magpie flew into the grove of trees where Sam was sitting and perched on a branch a few feet above Sam's head.

“Everyone's looking for you,” Harriet said as she pushed aside the branches to get to Sam.

“So go tell them you found me,” Sam said sullenly.

“I'm not a snitch,” said Harriet. “I just thought you might be interested in my notes.”

“Notes?”

Harriet fished some loose papers out of the back pocket of her shorts and handed them to Sam. “I've been reviewing everything that's been happening around here lately,” she said as she sat down. “All the things that have gone wrong since my family arrived.”

“Circus Sabotage,” Sam read aloud. “I see you've got my name at the top of the list of possible suspects.”

“There have been four incidents since last Sunday,” Harriet said, ticking them off with her fingers. “Martin's juggling plates went missing, Snowball and Oliver were switched, the generator for the air conditioners died, and, finally, my father's sandcastle trick was sabotaged. You were sort of involved in the first incident, and circumstantial evidence links you to the animal switch.”

“What does that mean—circumstantial evidence?” Sam interrupted.

“It's a technical expression,” his cousin explained. “It means that there's no actual proof that you did it, but the evidence seems to point to you.”

“Oh, for Pete's sake,” said Sam. “I don't have to prove anything to you!”

“Just tell me—did you wreck my dad's trick? I won't tell if you did.”

Sam flung his arms out in exasperation. “No, I didn't wreck your father's trick! I didn't do anything to the stupid generator, I didn't plant Oliver in my dad's hat, and I didn't steal Martin's stupid plates!”

“I thought sabotaging a generator was a bit out of your league,” Harriet admitted.

Sam grunted. “Thanks, I think. So what about all the other people on your list? You've got my whole family and your whole family down here.”

“If it's just one person, it doesn't really make sense, does it?” said Harriet. “Members of both of our families have been targeted. And everyone suffered equally when the air conditioners wouldn't work.”

“So who do you think it is, then?” said Sam.

“I don't know. I thought we could keep our eyes open for anything suspicious when we sell cotton candy at the show tomorrow afternoon.”

Sam shrugged. “All right. I don't think anything's going to happen, though. Everyone's being too careful.”

“Maybe,” said Harriet. “I guess we'll see tomorrow.”

As usual, the trapeze acts opened the Saturday afternoon show. Herbie and Robbie performed their act first. When the boys were finished, Irene and her daughters climbed the ladder to take their turn in the spotlight. The second trapeze act began smoothly. But just as Elizabeth was turning a double somersault in the air and Louise was preparing to catch her, something small and dark hurtled toward them. Startled, Elizabeth missed her sister's outstretched arms. The audience gasped as Irene, hanging from a second trapeze, swung forward to catch Elizabeth. It wasn't graceful, but Irene
managed to grab her daughter by the ankle before she plummeted to the safety net. The crowd cheered in relief.

“That was Loki,” Sam said to himself in amazement as he started down the bleacher steps. “What on earth got into him?” With his eyes focused on the bird circling the top of the tent, Sam didn't see the man in the gray suit until it was too late.

“Hey, watch it, kid!” said the man as Sam crashed into his chest.

“Sorry,” Sam called over his shoulder.

Harriet ran past just as Sam reached the ground.

“Where did he go?” Sam asked. “I lost him.”

Harriet pointed. “Through that gap!”

Sam followed his cousin through a side exit. “Loki, Loki!” they both called once they were outside.

They finally found the magpie in the same grove of trees that had sheltered Sam the evening before.

“Who let you out of your cage?” Harriet asked as the bird flew onto her shoulder.

Loki spread his wings and flapped, then resettled himself.

“Look, he's missing one of his tail feathers,” said Sam.

“Someone deliberately hurt him,” Harriet said angrily. “He couldn't have gotten out of his cage by himself.
Someone must have taken him out and then yanked out one of his feathers!”

Sam shook his head. “No wonder he was in such a hurry to escape.”

That evening, Mary Ann's cats caused a disturbance. As Mr. Pigatto was announcing Mr. Poponopolis and his dog act, the two Siamese cats streaked in through the performers' entrance. They raced into the center ring before anyone could stop them, knocking over the obstacle course that Mr. Poponopolis had just set up and sending the terriers into a frenzy.

As suddenly as they had appeared, the cats were gone. Mr. Poponopolis lunged for his dogs, but they ran after the two cats. Poor Mr. Poponopolis could only stand and shake his fists as the animals disappeared under the bleachers on the far side of the tent.

During Sunday's matinee, Martin opened his unicycle act by juggling a set of dishes. While the dishes spun in his hands, Martin cycled around the center ring. He went faster and faster as the crowd cheered him on.

Without warning, Martin's unicycle suddenly collapsed. Martin was thrown to the ground. The dishes he'd been juggling followed him down, smashing to pieces around him. There were cries of horror from the audience as Irene and Max rushed into the ring.

Sam threw his tray of candy floss aside and raced down the bleacher stairs. He had to elbow his way past a crowd of spectators into the circle of performers that had gathered around his brother. Martin lay groaning on the ground between his parents.

“Is he okay?” Sam asked.

Max nodded curtly. “He's still conscious. Looks like he's going to need stitches, though. And he'll need a doctor to look at his arm.”

“I've called an ambulance,” a white-faced Mrs. Pigatto said. “It's on its way.”

“I'll make an announcement cancelling the rest of the show,” said Mr. Pigatto. “We'll need some crowd control too, or the ambulance attendants will never be able to get in here.”

“What can I do?” Sam asked his father.

Max shook his head. “Nothing right now. Go back to the bus and wait.”

When he returned from the emergency room that night, Martin had a cast on his left arm and twelve stitches in his forehead.

“Are you all right?” Annabel asked tearfully as he limped through the doorway of the bus.

Martin gave his sister a grin. “Hey—it would take more than a little tumble to hurt me.”

But Max was not smiling as he followed his son onto the bus. “Dad,” Sam began, but his father cut him off with a wave of his hand.

“I have just one thing to say tonight,” Max said, addressing everyone on the bus. “I've asked Mr. Pigatto to call a special meeting for the whole circus, nine o'clock sharp tomorrow morning, center ring. And I expect
everyone
,” he said, his eyes resting briefly on Sam, “to be there.”

Everyone had gathered in the big top by ten to nine the next morning. Mr. Pigatto climbed onto a pedestal and addressed the assembled group.

“I expect you all have a pretty good idea why Max wanted this meeting,” he began in an unusually subdued voice. “We've had a number of misadventures recently, and Max and I agreed it was time we all discussed the situation together.”

“Let's get right to the point,” Sam's father said, stepping up beside the ringmaster. “There's a practical joker among us. Someone who seems to think that endangering members of my family is funny.”

“Now hold on a minute, Max,” Uncle Albert interrupted. “What about the rest of us?”

“It's not just my family that's been targeted,” Max admitted. “But the other pranks were harmless compared
to what could have happened to Irene and the twins when that bird flew at them! Not to mention what happened to Martin yesterday. My son's arm is in a cast, and I want to know who's responsible!”