SECRET SEVEN ADVENTURE by Enid Blyton

CHAPTER 13 A COAT TO MATCH THE CAP

At ten o'clock all the Secret Seven were in the circus field. They decided to go and see Trinculo the acrobat again, as an excuse for being there. But he was nowhere to be found.

"He's gone off to the town," said one of the other acrobats. "What do you want him for?"

"Oh... just to ask him if we can mess around a bit," said Jack. "You know... have a squint at the animals and so on."

"Carry on," said the acrobat, and went off to his caravan, turning cart-wheels all the way. The children watched him in admiration. "How do they turn themselves over and over their hands and feet like that?" asked Pam. "Just exactly like wheels turning round and round!"

"Have a shot at it," said George, with a grin. But when Pam tried to fling herself over on her hands, she crumpled up at once, and lay stretched out on the ground, laughing.

A small circus-girl came by, her tangled hair hanging over her eyes. She laughed at Pam, and immediately cart-wheeled round the field, turning over and over on her hands and feet just as cleverly as the acrobat.

"Look at that," said George, enviously. "Even the kids can do it. We shall have to practise at home."

They went to look at the little bear, who, however, was fast asleep. Then they wandered cautiously over to the clothes-line. The socks were gone! Aha! Now perhaps someone was wearing them. Whoever it was would be the thief.

The children strolled round the field again, looking at the ankles of every man they saw. But to their great annoyance all they could see had bare ankles! Nobody seemed to wear any socks at all. How maddening!

Louis came up to the lions' cage and unlocked it. He went inside and began to do the usual cleaning. He took no notice of the lions at all, and they took no notice of him. Janet thought it must be marvellous to go and sweep all round the feet of lions and not mind at all!

He had his dirty flannel trousers rolled up to his knees. His legs, also dirty, were quite bare. On his feet were dirty old rubber shoes.

The children watched him for a little while, and then turned to go. Another man came up as they left, and they glanced casually down at his ankles, to see what kind of socks he wore, if any. He was bare-legged, too, of course!

But something caught Jack's eyes, and he stopped and stared at the man intently. The fellow frowned. "Anything wrong with me?" he said, annoyed. "Stare away!"

Jack turned to the others, his face red with excitement. He pushed them on a little, till he was out of the man's hearing.

"Did you see that coat he was wearing?" he asked. "It's like that cap we found up in the tree... only not quite so filthy dirty! I'm sure it is!"

All seven turned to look round at the man, who was by now painting the outside of the lions' cage, making it look a little smarter than before. He had taken off his coat and hung it on the handle of the lions' cage. How the Seven longed to go and compare the cap with the coat!

"Have you got the cap with you?" asked Pam in a whisper. Peter nodded, and patted his coat pocket. He had all the 'clues' with him, of course!

Their chance suddenly came. The man was called away by someone yelling for him, and went off, leaving his paint-pot, brush and coat. Immediately the children went over to the coat.

"Pretend to be peering into the lions' cage while I compare the cap with the coat," said Peter in a low voice. They all began to look into the cage and talk about the lions, while Peter pulled the cap out of his pocket and quickly put it against the coat.

He replaced the cap at once. There was no doubt about it; the cap and coat matched perfectly. Then was this fellow who was painting the lions' cage the thief? But how did it happen that he had thrown his cap high up in a tree? Why did he leave it behind? It just didn't make sense.

The man came back, whistling. He stooped down to pick up his paint-brush, and Colin got a splendid view of the top of his head. He gazed at it.

Then all the children moved off in a body longing to ask Peter about the cap.^ Once they were out of hearing, he nodded to them. "Yes," he said. "They match. That fellow may be the thief, then. We'll have to watch him."

"No good," said Colin, unexpectedly. "I just caught sight of the top of his head. He's got black hair... but no round bare patch at the crown, like the man who  had who sat below me in that tree. He's not the thief!"