Sapta Siaga - Rahasia Jejak Bundar

Warning, warning, warning: spoiler, spoiler, spoiler.

This is their second adventure, in which an exciting search for missing pearls leads the Secret Seven to a circus...

This book was one of my favs in the Secret Seven series, though I can't recall why. Then again, you don't always need a reason to love something or someone, do you? Ah, getting a bit philosophical, aren't we?

"The Secret Seven Society" is having its usual weekly meeting. Which shows that these kids manage their meetings better than people in my company, where you can have four different meetings in one day -- with the same set of people. Sorry. Peter and Janet are already inside their old shed, waiting for the other five. On the door are the letters SS, painted in green.

The rest of the Seven come together and Peter reminds us who they are, "Colin -- George -- Barbara -- Pam -- and Jack. And you and I make the Seven." This week's password is rabbits and everyone in turn whispers it, or else Peter won't unlock the door for them. Alas, password is not the only thing each member has to be ready with. Jack does not have his badge on! Peter immediately calls him for it.

Jack thinks his sister Susie has it; it was missing from his drawer this morning. Peter tells Jack that he should keep the badge on, even when sleeping. As a kid I found this suggestion a good one. Now I think pinning your badge on your pajamas may in fact increase the chances of it being lost. Not everyone pats their pajamas to check for badges -- or coins -- before tossing them into the laundry basket, you know.

This being the second book, Peter doesn't pursue the matter further. Were this the thirteenth, Jack would surely quit the Society there and then! Oops, I just spoiled it for you, didn't I?

Turns out it's the fourth week with no members having anything to report. So they decide to dress up as Red Indians and have some kind of game at Little Thicket: they will see who can capture Colin -- the only one having no Red Indian costume -- first. Naturally, Colin isn't exactly jumping with joy at the idea. I don't blame him.

Just then, Susie shows up, wearing the badge and shouting out loud, "Rabbits!" She demands that she be allowed into the meeting since she has the badge and knows the password. The meeting breaks off -- Peter quickly comes up with the new password: Indians -- and Jack runs after his sis.

A few hours later, the kids are back in Peter and Janet's shed, in their Red Indian dresses, not forgetting to paint their faces in war colors. I asked my mom if she would buy me an Indian outfit. She pointed out that I had a Navy uniform, complete with insignias, that I had only worn once. Moms are always right, aren't they? Anyway, the kids go to Little Thicket, a place with of a mixture of heather, bushes, and trees. They split into two teams: Peter, Janet, and Jack in one and George, Pam, and Barbara in the other. The teams will start at opposite ends of Little Thicket and Colin will start in the middle.

The game starts and Colin has this brilliant idea to climb a big tree. Heh. He sits on a broad bough in amusement, as his friends are crawling on the ground in search of him. Then something happens.

Colin briefly sees a man on top of the Milton Manor wall that borders Little Thicket. The man jumps down and soon comes face to face with Peter, in his Red Indian costume and war paint. Both are startled. The man reacts first and disappears in bushes. Seconds later, Peter stands up, unsure what to do. His fellow Indian warriors see him and quickly come to him, certain something is up. Noone else has seen the man. Peter decides that he must be up to no good and they'd better leave quickly. They shout Colin's name, but their friend does not show up. After a while, they leave for their headquarters.

Colin meanwhile finds himself in a bad fix. The man has climbed up the very same tree he's on, stopping barely a few branches down. The man didn't see Colin and the boy can only see the back of the man's head. Seeing the six Red Indians have abandoned the area, the man climbs down in relief and disappears. Colin waits in fear for a few minutes before deciding it's now safe to leave his hiding place. He runs as fast as he can to Peter and Janet's shed.

Together again, the Seven discuss this strange event but can't figure it out. They're of the agreement, however, that the mysterious man must've done something bad, hiding like he did. That night, their suspicion is confirmed by news on the radio: Lady Lucy Thomas' magnificent and unique pearl necklace was stolen from Milton Manor and nobody saw the thief!

The next morning, Secret Seven have another meeting. Now it's getting more like my company, careful there, kids. Colin and George have no idea what is so important, as they did not listen to "the wireless." Interesting how terminology evolves. Having brought them up to speed, Peter suggests that the Society try to find the thief and the pearls. What a good idea, Peter! There are problems, though. Only Peter and Colin saw the thief. Worse still, Peter can't say for sure he'll recognize the face again -- he only remembers that the man's clean-shaven -- while Colin will recognize only the back of the man's head -- he has a bald patch.

They decide to see the friendly inspector at the police station. The inspector is pleased to hear their report and the kids promise to keep their eyes and ears open. And that's basically it. Leaving the police station, Secret Seven visit Milton Manor. The gardener happily lets them in because he's a friend of Peter and Janet's cow-man, how 'bout that.

What follows next I'm not very comfortable with. The boys and girls effectively mess up the crime scene. And there's no mention whatsoever about the police having had or going to have their own investigation. The kids see curious-looking holes on the ground. They're round and about three inches in diameter. As Peter puts it, "as if someone had been pounding about with a large-sized broom handle." They also find a piece of wool stuck on the wall and a dirty cap on a tree nearby.

The wall itself is very high, about ten or eleven feet high. Janet thinks the burglar has to be an acrobat, to be able to climb such a steep, tall wall. The others think she may be on to something. George measures the diameter of the round marks on the ground with a string. Peter then keeps the string, along with the wool and the cap -- two very important pieces of physical evidence from the crime scene. Oh well. He puts the string and the wool in his notebook -- that's a book, mind you, not a PC -- and the cap in his pocket -- because one just doesn't put a cap that is a piece of clothing in one's notebook, book or PC.

BTW, how do you know you've spent too much time in front of puter? You come across the word "acrobat" and the first thing that comes to mind is PDF reader not circus. That's what happened to me.

Speaking of acrobat -- the kids are on their way back from Milton Manor when Janet again says that only an acrobat can climb up and over a wall that high. Then, what do you know, Colin spots a poster advertising a circus coming to town! They're very excited, but they can't have another meeting today, as Pam, Barbara, and George can't make it. The meeting has to wait until tomorrow morning. Oh, bummer! Why can't one have as many meetings as one wants in a day?!

Morning comes and they unanimously decide to go to the circus, coincidentally opening that afternoon. The children put all their money on the table. They need thirty pence each to go in. They have only a pound and twenty! But Janet has sixty pence in her money-box and Colin has twenty-nine at home. They need another penny! Jack says he'll borrow it from Susie. Blytonian kids are well known for their generosity for the cause. All right, looks like everyone can go, then!

Circus! With horses, lions, bears, clowns, conjurers, stilt-walkers -- and acrobats. The children are soon sitting around the arena, eyes peeled for a clean-shaven acrobat with dark hair thinning on top. Acrobats are third in the program and Secret Seven find a suspect! He's the only one without a mustache among the other acrobats. Well, OK. The acrobat is so good and the kids are convinced he could easily scale a 12-foot wall. Wait. Wasn't it only ten or eleven a while back? It's logical though, that if one can handle twelve, ten or eleven is not an issue.

After the show, they seek the clean-shaven acrobat and ask for his autographs. The illustration on page 47, however, shows Peter approaching a clown for autograph. Bad illustrator, confusing kid readers! In any case, it turns out the acrobat couldn't have been the man in the bushes, as he's much older and wearing a wig during his performance! He's completely bald without the wig. Colin even takes the wig and scrutinizes it. No love there, the nice acrobat's not their man. How disappointing!

Not all's bad, though. A little bear ambles toward them and Janet immediately puts her arms around him and tries to lift him up. She can't, the bear's unexpectedly heavy. A man comes and scolds the bear, taking him away. Hmm, a man being mean to a cute animal -- he must be one of the bad guys! The bald acrobat tells the kids the man's called Louis, one of the stilt-walkers, who also helps with animals. The friendly acrobat -- Trinculo's the name -- asks them if they would be interested in returning the next morning to see the animals. Of course they would!

Well, not all of them, it turns out. Barbara says she's scared of elephants. Jack and George have promised each other that they would swap -- swop is the British word -- stamps, so they can't come, either. Knowing Enid, we expect that it's all part of the plot, to have only some of them come back to the circus. All the same, it's rather nice to know they have things to do other than solving crimes. That said, don't the kids have to go to school? It's never mentioned that they're currently on holidays.

Morning again. Peter, Janet, Pam, and Colin are back on the circus ground. Trinculo the acrobat keeps his promise and shows them around. They befriend Jumbo the elephant, who promptly swoops Janet off her feet and puts her on his enormous head. I guess Barbara has a valid reason to be scared, then. They also see the little bear that Janet likes and the lions. Louis the stilt-walker who also helps with animals is inside the lion cage, feeding the great animals and changing their water.

When it's time to leave, they chance upon a row of caravans, where the circus people live. And guess what, Pam notices a pair of socks, hung on a clothesline to dry, that match the wool in Peter's notebook! What are the odds! Not only that, one of the sock has a snag -- the piece of wool they found in Milton Manor surely has come from this very pair of socks! Good thing the children are British. Were they Singaporeans, they'd immediately queue at the nearest Singapore Pool outlet to buy 4D.

At that moment, though, an old lady shouts at them to leave the laundry alone and they don't dare to ask who the socks belong to. Phew. Otherwise we would've known who stole the pearls with 39 pages to go. Now, that would be a spoiler. Oh well, at least now they know the wool has come from a sock, not a sweater. The four go back to their headquarters -- and find the other three waiting for them inside.

Jack and George have found similar-looking round marks on the muddy field near Chimney Cottage! They fetched Barbara to have a look and she realized she knew what made the marks! Wait, wait. That's, like, a clause within a clause within another clause! My English teacher won't like this. Anyway, One-Leg William lives in Chimney Cottage and he has -- wait for this -- only one leg! Well, like, duh. He has a wooden leg and it's this artificial leg that has made the round marks. Could One-Leg William be the thief? He can't climb the wall, for sure, but he could've somehow helped the other man to jump over the wall.

Not the best of logic because, well, what became of the one-legged man after his partner had jumped? If he could escape without climbing up the wall, why couldn't the other man? In any case, when the Seven go to Chimney Cottage and use the string in Pete's notebook -- damn, I just barely stand all these puns -- to measure the marks, it's obvious that One-Leg William's marks are smaller than those in Milton Manor.

So, now they're looking for a one-legged person in the circus, someone whose wooden leg is bigger than One-Leg William's. Imagine that -- my wooden leg is bigger and easily kicks your wooden leg's butt!

Back to the circus field again it is, then. Another morning has broken -- the fifth in the book so far, by my count -- and this time they're the complete Secret Seven. Trinculo is not around, Janet's little bear is asleep -- and the pair of socks are gone from the clothesline! The children now focus their attention on every man's ankles to see who's wearing the socks. They see Louis back in the lion cage and he wears no socks -- you think it's gonna be so easy, huh? But then, Jack sees a man wearing a coat that looks of the same material as the cap they found in Milton Manor! The man takes his coat off and leaves it hanging long enough for Peter to match it against the cap from his pocket -- it is a confirmed match! The man has got to be the thief, then!

Not so fast, Colin says. He has managed to gaze at the top of the man's head. Remember how four mornings ago Colin hid on a tree and so did the pearls' thief? It's not the same head, he's not the thief!

As the Seven sit dejectedly on the fence rails that run around the circus field, however, Janet sees the round marks again. And this time, they are the same as those on Milton Manor ground! The string from Peter's notebook confirms this. Peter offers some chocolate to a small girl that travels with the circus to tell them who the one-legged man in the circus is. She snatches the chocolate and says there's no such man. A lady then tells them the same thing.

Puzzled, the children follow the round marks to a caravan next to the one which Louis apparently lives in. It is a caravan used to store an assortment of circus stuff. Louis is surprised to see them and tells them to stop "peeping and prying" and to go away. He throws small rocks at them, one hitting George on his ankle. They go away but now become suspicious of Louis for not allowing them to snoop around the caravan. To me, Louis has every right to be upset and shoo them away -- they were peeping and prying.

Janet jokingly suggests that perhaps the thief has hidden the pearls in the caravan full of stuff. His brother -- that's Peter for you -- takes this idea seriously and arranges... something. Sorry, can't tell you because, worse than Banshee Towers, the book is missing pages 71 to 74. Suddenly, Peter and Colin are hiding inside a caravan. To be precise, they're hiding under bunks -- which currently seat two men talking about the stolen pearl necklace! One of the men has the now-familiar socks on. One man says, "The lion will see to that."

I tried to reconstruct what the missing pages had and here's my best guess. Peter and Colin came back to the circus in the evening to check on the caravan full of odds and ends. I can't figure out why Jack and George aren't with them -- maybe they also swap stamps after dark. The girls are surely at home. In Blytonian world, boys investigate at night and girls stay at home -- unless the girls are trying to be boys or looking like boys. Anyway. Seems like Enid was determined to make this book about Peter and Colin, who somehow got into the wrong caravan. My guess is Louis' caravan.

All right, back to the present. The two men stop talking, get out, and lock the door. Our boys are trapped inside! Then one man drives the caravan away -- pulled by a horse. The other stays behind. Out of their hiding places, Peter and Colin have a look at the fellow driving in front. He's wearing the coat that matches the cap! So there are two of them after all: the thief, who wears the pair of socks, and his associate, who wears the coat with a matching cap.

The boys try to open the door and in the process alerting the driver. He stops the caravan, goes round the back, and easily enough, finds the boys. Colin kicks the flashlight that the man is carrying -- the only source of light in the caravan -- and that results in the three of them being in the dark. Peter and Colin manage to wrestle their way out, while the horse panics and starts galloping, with the man inside!

Having escaped, the boys make their way back to the circus field. And there, the final puzzle piece drops into place. Peter sees a circus girl -- the same girl that told them there was no one-legged man -- walking on stilts, leaving the familiar round marks on the ground behind her. Oh, come on, as if you guys didn't know that already.

Another morning, another meeting. Peter tells the others what he and Colin went through the night before. He says he has solved the mystery but refuses to explain. Instead, he leads the other six and Scamper back to Milton Manor. Johns the gardener lets them in like before and they quickly go to the section of the wall where Colin saw a man centuries ago it seems now.

There, Peter explains the round marks. The rest follows fast. The thief was on stilts, of course, a clever idea to get over the tall wall. On his way out, his cap was caught on a tree and he didn't bother to retrieve it. His sock was likewise caught by a sharp piece of brick on the wall. Actually, it could've been on his way in as well as out, but that's minor stuff. Next, the thief flung the stilts into a bush and ran away.

The children walk outside the manor and approach the thief's escape spot on the other side of the wall. Sure enough, they find the stilts, hidden in a thick, prickly holly bush. At this very moment, the friendly inspector shows up and praises them for a job well done. Two things remain now: the thief and the pearls.

Circus field again. This time, though, Secret Seven have the inspector and his men along with them. They point out Louis to the inspector and the policeman duly asks the stilt-walker to bend over, since he has no socks on. Colin takes one look and proclaims, yes, Louis is our man!

But where's the pearl necklace?

Louis refuses to tell them. Peter remembers the conversation he and Colin heard in the caravan the night before. "The lion will see to that." So they all, policemen and children alike, make their way to the lion cage. Thankfully, Riccardo the lion keeper is on hand to search the cage. No loose floor boards, though. Where could Louis have hidden it?

Well, if it were up to me, I would ask the keeper to turn everything in the cage upside down. There can't be too many places in a cage where a necklace can be hidden. As it happens, Louis keeps looking at the lions' water-through -- what a giveaway! Riccardo empties it and, well, what do we have here... A false bottom. The pearls.

What's left now is to congratulate Secret Seven on another successful adventure. The inspector mentions Lady Lucy Thomas' intention to reward the children. Janet right away knows what she wants: a little bear! Much like the one now walking beside her, but lighter so that she can lift him. Pam also wants one. Girls!

Next, let's go back to the Famous Five: Five on a Hike Together -- Two Trees, Gloomy Water, Saucy Jane, Maggie knows...

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Current mood: happy