The Adventures of Stunt Boy and His Amazing Wonder Dog Blindfold Read Online Free PDF Page B

early night, especially on school nights.
    Chesterley’s looked as if it was an impenetrable fortress rather than a family circus. We followed the perimeter chain fence that was topped with barbed wire. There were even signs saying the fence was electrified! Wow, they really wanted to keep people out, or maybe it was to keep the wild animals in.
    There was another strange thing: the ground was as spongy as marshmallow.
    â€˜It feels like we’re walking on the moon,’ I said.
    â€˜Don’t be stupid, Stunt Boy,’ said Benny, who loved showing off his big brain. ‘The moon is made of rock not sponge.’
    Benny and I started jumping up and down because the ground felt like a trampoline, which was fun. Then I remembered why we were here and I stopped, but the soft springy ground had given me an idea. We followed the perimeter fence towards the back of the circus, where a huge grey building inside the fence gave us cover.
    I started digging with my hands, but although the ground was squashy, I could only dig up little clumps of earth.
    â€˜You’ll be here until midnight,’ said Benny, but I ignored him and turned to Blindfold.
    â€˜Blindfold, come on, come on, boy,’ I said, pretending to be a digging dog. ‘Show me how you dig.’
    Blindfold loves playing games, so he got down beside me in the same position. His paws worked like a doggy digging machine, clods of dirt flying behind him creating a small hole at the fence line. Benny and I helped make the hole a little bigger.
    Finally the hole was big enough and we all slipped underneath the fence and into Chesterley’s Circus. Blindfold barked with excitement and I had to tell him to shut up again. He looked at me with those big sorrowful puppy eyes and I had to say sorry and thank him for doing such a good job, then he looked a bit happier.
    I felt my heart beating against my ribcage as we snuck towards the back of a big concrete building. I put my finger to my lips to tell Blindfold to be quiet and he nodded.
    There was a small crack in the cement running right up the wall. In the middle, it created an eyeball-sized hole. I put my eye right up to it and counted twelve wrinkly grey legs, eight as thick and tall as telegraph poles. The other four were smaller, more like fence posts.
    â€˜Okay, doll face, keep up the good work,’ I heard a man’s voice say, as I caught sight of a pair of green sparkly shoes. ‘You’ve done a great job. Won’t be long now and we’ll all get what we deserve.’
    Then suddenly a sad eyeball that looked like a precious amber stone surrounded by folds upon folds of skin appeared at the hole and stared right back at me, its eyelashes poking through the hole and caressing my eyebrow.
    â€˜Sheeba, get here, you stupid elephant,’ yelled a voice that sounded like it had been drinking razor-blade milkshakes for breakfast. ‘I swear, get back here right now or you know what is coming to you.’
    Then there was a loud crack of a whip and the elephant trumpeted, retreating slowly away, as a man with a whip and a big silver hook came into view.
    â€˜Don’t defy me!’ he said frothy spit bubbles appearing at the corners of his mouth. ‘She’s dumber than Dumbo, this one.’
    That’s when I saw that the elephant was just a baby! A little baby elephant!
    â€˜You should have broken her by now, Biggsy, shown her who is boss. She thinks you’re a wimp! Wimp!’ said another voice as a stained pair of green trousers and a very big stomach that looked like a stuffed pillow encased in a yellow waistcoat that hadn’t been washed in years filled the frame.
    The man came into full view. It was Barry Chesterley! I recognised him from his posters.
    â€˜I don’t want excuses from you any more, Biggsy. I want acts that the public wants to see,’ said Chesterley. ‘Imagine Sheeba doing a one-handed handstand and the Stoked girl