17
borken at last!
kiki was a great success, not only with the circus folk, but with the people who came to visit it.
the boss kept his word, and allowed jack to show kiki. pedro helped him to make a little standwith a gilded perch set on a pole. kiki was thrilled!
‘i believe you think you’re on a throne or something!’ said jack, grinning. ‘princess kiki, thefinest talking parrot in the world! now – what about a song?’
kiki was always ready to do anything if she could get claps and cheers and laughter. she reallysurpassed herself, and made fank, the bear trainer, quite jealous because she drew such a lot ofpeople to her little sideshow!
she sang lustily, and although she mixed up the rhymes and words she knew in a mostridiculous manner, the tauri-hessian folk didn’t know that. they really thought she was singing aproper song.
then she would always answer them if they said anything to her, though as they didn’t speakenglish they had no idea what she was saying. still – she answered at once, and usually went offinto such a cackle of laughter afterwards that everyone roared too.
‘tikkopoolinwallyoo?’ somebody would ask kiki.
‘shut the door, fetch the doctor, polly’s got a cold!’ kiki would answer at once. even jack hadto grin at her, she enjoyed it all so much.
her noises were the biggest attraction of all. her sneezes and coughs and her sudden hiccupsmade the village people hold their sides and laugh till the tears fell down their cheeks. they wererather overawed by her express- train- roaring- through- a- tunnel imitation, and they didn’tunderstand the lawn mower noise because they did not use them; but they really loved the way sheclucked like a hen, grunted like fank’s bears, and barked like a dog.
yes – kiki was a great success. jack felt that she was getting very spoilt by all this fuss – butshe did bring in money to him, so that he could pay pedro’s mother for the food she gave him, andfor letting him share pedro’s little van.
the rest of the money he tied carefully up in his handkerchief, thinking that it might come invery useful if he needed any in borken. he kept his hand on it when feefo and fum thechimpanzees were anywhere about. they would pick his pocket if they could – and he would loseall his savings!
‘we shall be in borken tomorrow,’ pedro told him, as they got orders to pack up that evening.
‘the boss has got a pitch there – a good one too, at the bottom of the castle hill.’
jack’s heart leapt – ah, borken at last. a whole week had already gone by, and he had beengetting very worried indeed. now perhaps he could get some news of the others. if only he could!
was lucy-ann all right? she would so hate being a prisoner in a castle.
they arrived in borken the next evening. jack first saw the castle from a long way off. it stoodon a hill, and looked like something out of an old tale of king arthur and his knights. it wasimmensely strong, and had four sturdy towers, one at each corner.
‘borken castle,’ said pedro, seeing it suddenly, as they came out of a thick wood, throughwhich a rough road ran. he pointed to the great hill. ‘in that castle many a prisoner has been held– and never heard of again. the dungeons are . . .’
‘don’t,’ said jack, fearfully. ‘don’t tell me things like that.’
pedro looked at him in surprise. ‘what’s the matter? not scared of a castle, are you?’
‘no,’ said jack. ‘er – whereabouts were prisoners kept? in a tower? anywhere special?’
‘don’t know,’ said pedro. ‘we might have a stroll round it sometime – but we wouldn’t beallowed to go too near it, you know.’
the circus camp settled itself in a sloping field just at the bottom of the castle hill. thetownsfolk came streaming out to watch them set up camp. evidently it was a great thing for themto have a travelling circus visiting borken.
children darted in and out, shouting and laughing. one small girl came running up to pedro,calling out something excitedly. he swung her up into his arms, and she shrieked in delight,‘pedro, pedro, allapinotolyoota!’
pedro replied in the same language. then he turned to jack, grinning with pleasure. ‘my littlecousin hela,’ he said. ‘her father married my aunt. he is a soldier in the hessian army.’ he turnedand asked the excited hela a few questions.
‘hela says her mother is with her father here – she is working as a maid in the castle formadame tatiosa, who is living at the castle now. and hela lives in the castle too.’
this was news! grand news! now perhaps he would hear something about lucy-ann and theothers. he stared at the small, lively hela in excitement. but wait – wait – he mustn’t give himselfaway. he mustn’t blurt out questions without thinking. he frowned and tried to think what wouldbe the best thing to ask.
‘pedro – has madame tatiosa any children?’ he asked at last. ‘would she – er – would she likeus to give a little show in the castle for them, do you think?’
‘madame tatiosa has no children,’ said pedro. ‘i can tell you that. if she had, she would try tomake one of them king! she is a clever, dangerous woman, that one.’
hela wanted to know what jack had asked. she listened and then went right up to pedro andwhispered something in his ear, her eyes dancing. then she put her finger to her mouth as if tellinghim not to talk of what she had said.
‘silly child!’ said pedro. ‘you have been dreaming!’
‘what did she say?’ said jack, impatient to hear everything that hela said. to think she lived inthe castle. why – she might see the others every single day!
‘hela says that madame tatiosa must have adopted some children, because sometimes, whenshe goes with her mother to one of the towers, she hears children’s voices,’ said pedro, laughing.
‘and she says that no one but madame tatiosa and count paritolen go right into that tower. shesays it is very mysterious, but that no one must know, because when she told her mother what shehad heard, her mother threatened her with a sound whipping for making up stories.’
‘i see,’ said jack. ‘does she know which tower this is? could she show us from where we standnow?’
‘you don’t want to believe a word she says, jack!’ said pedro. ‘she is a babbler, a story-teller,our little hela!’
‘ask her, all the same,’ said jack, in such an insistent voice that pedro did what he asked. helagazed up at the great stone castle. she pointed to the tower on the south side.
‘that one,’ she said, in a half-whisper to pedro, and jack understood, although she used hessianwords. she put her finger on her lips again to make sure that jack and pedro understood that theymustn’t give her away.
jack took her to buy some sweets. he wished intensely that he could speak the language of thecountry, but although he had picked up quite a few words – though apparently not so many as kikihad! – it was impossible to hold any sensible kind of conversation with hela. he didn’t knowenough of her language.
she chattered away to him and he didn’t understand a word. he bought her the sweets and sheflung her arms round him and hugged him. then she ran off at top speed to show the sweets to herfriends.
the camp was soon ready. the circus was to open the following evening. jack had been verybusy indeed, and was tired. but he was determined, quite determined that he was going to prowlround the foot of the great castle that night. should he ask pedro to go with him? no – it might beawkward to have pedro there, if he did manage to get into touch with philip and the others. hewould have to explain everything to pedro, and he didn’t quite know how the circus boy wouldtake his news.
ma called out something to pedro as he and jack went to her van to get their evening meal.
pedro listened, and looked grave.
‘what’s up?’ asked jack.
‘it’s fank, the bear-trainer,’ said pedro. ‘he’s feeling ill again. the boss is very worried.’
‘why?’ asked jack. ‘it will only mean that the bears don’t perform, won’t it? anyway, fankmay be better by tomorrow.’
‘it’s a great loss to the circus when a big attraction like fank’s bears is taken off,’ said pedro.
‘but there’s worse to it than that. no one can manage those bears but fank. they get quite out ofhand when he’s ill – won’t let their cage be cleaned out – won’t eat – fight one another. once theyeven broke down their cage and got out. fank had to crawl out of his bed in his caravan andsomehow get them back. but it nearly killed him!’
‘poor fank,’ said jack. ‘well, let’s hope he is all right again by tomorrow. i don’t particularlywant great bears like that breaking down their cage and wandering about the camp, i must say.
fank’s a wonder with them – i’ve watched him. he teases them and plays with them – and theyfawn round him like dogs!’
‘not many people can manage animals as fank can,’ said pedro. ‘he had lions once – and twotigers – trained them all by himself. then he suddenly said they didn’t like performing and soldthem to a zoo. and yet they were the best trained lions and tigers in the world!’
‘and now he’s got bears,’ said jack. ‘he must love animals very much, and they must love him.
there are other people like that, pedro. i know a boy who can do anything with animals, too.’ hewas thinking of philip, of course.
‘ever tried his hand with lions, or tigers or bears?’ asked pedro. ‘no? i thought not! i bet theywouldn’t eat out of his hand. cats and dogs and rats and mice and other creatures are easy to dowhat you like with – but not the big animals – the bears and the great cats!’
‘no, i suppose not,’ said jack, thinking that philip had never had the chance to work his magicon great creatures like those. ‘well – i hope fank will be better tomorrow. i wouldn’t like the jobof cleaning out the bears’ cage, i must say. i’d be afraid of their claws in my back the whole time!’
jack did not go to sleep as quickly as he usually did, when he lay down on his mattress inpedro’s caravan. he didn’t mean to. he was going to explore all round the foot of borken castle.
he had bought a torch in the town that day. he didn’t quite know what good he would do,wandering round in the dark – but it was the only thing he could think of. he had to do something!
he slid off the mattress as soon as he heard pedro breathing deeply. he didn’t want to wakehim. he went out of the van, holding his clothes. he put them on in the darkness, and then, withthe surprised kiki on his shoulder, he set off to the castle hill.
if only he could speak to the others! if only he could make sure they were still all right!
