And then, in a few seconds, he landed safely on his feet in a soft pile of hay, so he wasn’t hurt a bit.

“Oh!” exclaimed Sue.

“Oh my!” cried Bunny Brown.

“Say, that was fine!” shouted Bunker Blue.  “How did you do it?”

“Oh, I—­I just did it,” answered Ben, slowly, for he was a little out of breath.  “I slipped, and when I found I was going to fall, I began to turn somersaults to make it easier coming down.”

“I should think it would be harder,” said Bunny Brown.

“Not when you know how,” answered Ben, smiling.

“Where’d you learn how?” Bunker wanted to know.

“Oh, a man—­a man showed me how,” returned Ben.  “But never mind about that now.  I must fasten the rope to the beam, and then we’ll fix the trapeze so Bunny can do some circus acts on it.”

“But not high up!” cried Sue.  “You won’t go on a high trapeze, will you, Bunny?”

“Not very high,” he answered.  “But I would like to turn somersaults in the air like you, Ben.  Will you show me how?”

“Some day, when you get bigger.  You’re too small now.”

“I wouldn’t want to turn somersaults,” said Sue, shaking her head.

“They aren’t for girls, anyhow,” flung forth Bunny.

Bunker Blue looked at Ben sharply.

“I think I can guess where you learned to turn those somersaults in the air,” said the boat-boy.  “It was in a—­”

“Hush!  Don’t tell any one!” whispered Ben quickly.  “I’ll tell you all about it after a while.  Now help me put up the trapeze.”

Bunny heard what Ben and Bunker said, but he did not think much about it then.  The little boy was looking up to see from what a height Ben had fallen, and Bunny was wondering what he would ever do if he tumbled down so far.

Bunker and Ben climbed the ladder to the beam far above the hay pile, and soon they had fastened up the ropes of the trapeze.  They pulled hard on them to make sure they were strong enough, so Bunny would not have a fall.

Then the piece of broom handle was tied on the two lower ends of the ropes, and the trapeze was finished.

“Now you can try it, Bunny,” said Bunker, after he had swung on the trapeze for a few times to make sure it was safe.

Bunny walked across the barn floor where some hay had been spread to make a sort of cushion.

“We’ll use hay, instead of a net as they do in a circus,” Bunny said.

“Anyhow we haven’t got any net,” put in Sue.

“We can make believe the hay is a new kind,” said her brother.

Bunny hung by his hands from the wooden bar of the trapeze, just as he had seen the men do in the circus.  Then he began to swing slowly back and forth.

“Oh, Bunny!” cried Sue.  “That’s fine.  Now turn yourself inside out, like the circus man did.”

“No, Bunny can’t do that yet,” said Ben.  “He must first do easy things on the trapeze.  Turning yourself inside out is too hard.  Bunny is not strong enough for those tricks.”