After melting the ice cage, Hohlbein led the much friendlier tiger back to his cage. Samba jumped in.
But when the ringmaster took a good look at the cage's lock...
"Someone broke the door open," he said in surprise. "Now who would do something like that?"
Luckily, they had a spare cage in which Samba could be contained.
Ami came back, together with Ranma. "Is everything all right?" she asked.
Akane nodded. "Yes, although the tiger didn't break free on his own... it was a saboteur."
Hohlbein locked the cage's door and returned. He grimly looked at Ranma, then at Akane. "Well, I don't really know what exactly happened, but what I know is that someone is sabotaging my circus."
"Perhaps it was just a distraction," Ami pondered. "A distraction from..." She blinked.
Then slapped herself hard. "I'm such a fool," she shouted and ran back to the costume trailer.
"Yo Ami, wait," Ranma shouted. They quickly followed her.
When they reached the wagon, Ami came out with a frown. "As I thought," she said. "The diary is gone."
Hohlbein sighed. "Oh verdammt..." he cursed in German. "Why would it be that important to someone?"
"There must be someone that is after the amulet as well," Akane suddenly realized. "And perhaps he has watched us."
"All that just because of some small amulet?" the ringmaster wondered.
Akane shrugged.
----
Their search for the culprit and the amulet continued, but they couldn't find a single trace... until suddenly, a girl's voice screamed.
"Hurry, it came from over there," Ranma shouted and ran ahead.
On the ground, a pretty girl with hair as red as that of Ranma was lying, rubbing a nasty bump on her head. She was dressed in some sort of skintight costume, one that almost made Ranma's nose bleed.
The girl shook her head. "What happened?" Ranma asked.
The circus girl stood up. "You don't speak German?" she asked. "Who are you?"
Then, the ringmaster came around the corner, followed by Akane and Ami. "Asuka," he shouted in surprise. The girl said something in German, and Hohlbein answered.
In English, he introduced her to the three other girls. "This is Asuka, our magician's assistant. Asuka, these are Ranma, Akane and Ami. They're from Japan."
Asuka smiled. "What a coincidence! I'm half Japanese myself. Well, perhaps you had already guessed it from my name..."
"What happened to you?" Ranma asked again and looked at Asuka's bump.
The red-head got angry. "I was just standing here, enjoying the fresh breeze, when suddenly some pervert began fondling my butt! And he didn't stop there!"
Akane and Ranma blinked. That sounded somehow familiar...
"Did you recognize who it was?" Hohlbein asked Asuka. She shook her head. "No, he was standing behind me. I only saw his feet... and let me tell you, those were enormous! That guy must have been a giant!"
Ranma sighed. Well, so much for his theory... The pervert he had in mind was many things, but not big.
"And after he fondled me, I quickly turned around to grab him. But I tripped over some rock, and fell down. I must have hit my head, because the next thing I remember is that girl standing next to me." She gestured towards Ranma.
"That must have been the same guy that released Samba and stole my uncle's diary," Hohlbein said. "He must still be around somewhere. We have to find him."
But even with Asuka's help, they didn't manage to find either the man nor the diary or the amulet.
----
When it was getting dark, they had to quit the search for the time being, as this evening's show was about to start. The ringmaster's brother had taken care of the preparations while they were searching for the culprit, and he would also stand in for him in the arena.
As he was somehow grateful for Ranma's, Akane's and Ami's help, the ringmaster gave them all free tickets for the show. They accepted gratefully.
Soo after he led them to their seats, his brother Hans entered the arena. He did a good job in Hagen's place, but as he was speaking in German, Hagen had to translate the most important parts.
Ranma, Akane and Ami were still thinking about the amulet and their other friends, but for now, they were trying to relax and enjoy the show.
When the first half of the show was over, several workers were starting to set up the cage for the tigers and lions.
While the workers were busy, two clowns were doing their silly jests around the cages.
Ami tried desperately to enjoy the funny spectacle, but she felt like she had overlooked something... something important...
Ranma chuckled. "Hey, Akane! Check out those giant shoes of that clown!"
Ami gasped. Suddenly, it all made sense to her. "Mr. Hohlbein," she said in a hurry. "Say, is it possible that there are fewer clowns in the arena than usually?"
"You're right," the ringmaster said in surprise. "I was wondering where he was... Pepe, we call him the dwarf... he's not there!"
"Then we have to go outside!" Ami stood up. "If we find a clown out there, he has to be the thief."
While Ami was wading through the protesting people, Akane and Ranma followed her. "What do you mean?" Ranma asked. "Why do you think that a clown was the thief?"
"Remember when Asuka said something about the really big feet of the culprit? Well, his feet only looked that big because he wore clown shoes... the same kind of shoes those clowns in the arena are wearing. Think about it: The best way to walk around the circus unsuspiciously is when everyone thinks you're one of the troupe. So he dressed himself as a clown, so no one would ever think he was the culprit. I'll bet that he has locked the real Pepe up somewhere and stole his costume..."
"If what you said is true, we have a chance of getting him," Akane replied. "Hurry up, Ranma!"
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(Posted Tue, 29 Aug 2006 13:16)
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