“I rather like old Charlie,” said Anne. “I didn’t at first — but now I do. I wish he didn’t belong to Mr Wooh.”

Julian stood up, looking down at the paper on which he had so carefully written lines of small figures and drawn many peculiar diagrams. “I somehow feel this isn’t much good now,” he said. “I think Mr Wooh must have guessed it was all a make-up as soon as he saw it. He gave himself away a bit, though — I saw him looking at the paper in a rather startled way, as if he’d seen something very like it very recently indeed!”

“So he had, the wretch, if he’d sent someone up to get my Dad’s papers out of the tower room!” said Tinker. “I say — what about having a look round the circus, to see if we can spot a ladder anywhere — one tall enough to reach the tower room!”

“Good idea!” said Dick. “Come on — we’ll go now. Chuck that drawing-board and diagram paper over our fence, Ju. I hardly think it’s worth your while to finish it.”

The Five, with Tinker and Mischief, wandered down the field to where the circus was encamped. Dick spotted a ladder, lying in the grass, and nudged Julian.

“Julian! See that? Would it reach the tower?” Julian walked over to it. It certainly was very, very long — but would it be long enough? No — he didn’t think it would. Still — he might as well find out who owned it. At that moment up came the Boneless Man, walking perfectly. He grinned at the children — and then suddenly put all his double-joints to work, bent his knees into peculiar positions, twisted his head round so that he was looking over his own back, and then bent his double-jointed arms the wrong way, so that he looked very peculiar indeed!

“Don’t! I don’t like it!” said Anne. “You look so queer and strange! Why are you called the Boneless Wonder? You aren’t boneless — you just make yourself look as if you were, with all those queer double-joints of yours!”

The Boneless Man seemed suddenly to lose all his bones, and crumpled up on the grass in a funny heap. The children couldn’t help laughing. He didn’t look as if he had any bones at all then!

“Er — can you climb ladders if you’re double-jointed?” asked Julian, suddenly.

“Of course!” said the Boneless Man. “Run up them backwards, forwards, sideways — any way you like.”

“Is that your ladder, then?” asked Dick, nodding his head towards the ladder in the grass.

“Well — I use it, but so does everyone else!” said the Boneless Man, turning his head the wrong way round, so that it seemed as if it was put on back to front. It was odd to speak to someone whose head did that — one minute they were talking to his face, the next to the back of his head!