"Oh, it's going to be a real circus all right, in real tents," said Bunker Blue.

As I have told you, Grandpa Brown let the boys take his old army tent, and they were to have another, and larger one, that had once been used at a county fair.

Leaving Bunker, Ben and the other big boys to put up their tent, Bunny and Sue, with Splash, their dog, went back to the farmhouse.

"What trick can we do, Bunny?" asked Sue. "What can we do in the circus?"

"Oh, we'll make up a surprise, so they'll all laugh," he said. "I wish I had another big lobster claw, so I could put it on my nose, and look funny."

"Maybe you could find something else to put on your nose," said the little girl. "Oh, Bunny, I know!" she suddenly cried. "I've just thought of something fine!"

"What?" asked Bunny.

Sue looked all around, to make sure no one was listening, and then she whispered to Bunny. And what it was she told him I'm not allowed to tell you just now, though I will when the right time comes.

Anyhow, Bunny and Sue were very busy the rest of the day. They were making something out in the barn, and they kept the doors closed so no one could see what they were doing.

It was the day after this that Bunny and Sue were asked by their grandma to go on a little errand for her. It was about half a mile down the safe country road, to a neighbor's house, and as the two children had been there before, they knew the way very well.

Hand in hand they set off, with Splash following after them. They walked slowly, for there was no hurry. Now and then they stopped to pick some pretty flowers, or get a drink at a wayside spring. Once in a while they saw a red, yellow or blue bird, and they stopped to watch the pretty creatures fly to their nests, where their little ones were waiting to be fed.

"Oh, isn't it just lovely in the country," said Sue. "Don't you just love it, Bunny?"

"Yes," he answered. "I do. And won't we have fun at our circus, Sue, when I dress up like a----"

"Hush!" exclaimed the little girl. "Don't tell anyone! It's a secret you know."

"Pooh! There's n.o.body here to tell!" laughed Bunny.

In a little while they were at the house of the neighbor to whom Grandma Brown had sent them. They gave in the little note grandma had written, and then Mrs. Wilson, to whom it was sent, after writing an answer, gave Bunny and Sue each a cookie, and a cool gla.s.s of milk.

"Sit down in the shade, on the porch, and eat and drink," said Mrs.

Wilson. "Then you will feel better when going home."

Bunny and Sue liked the cookies and milk very much. They were just eating the last crumbs of the cookies, and drinking the last drops of milk, when Bunny, looking out toward the road, saw, going past, a man with a large number of balloons, tied to strings, floating over his head. There were red balloons, and blue ones; green, yellow, purple, white and pink ones.

"Oh, look, Sue!" cried Bunny. "The balloons! That's just what we want for our circus."

"What do we want of balloons?" asked the little girl.

"I mean we ought to have somebody sell them outside the tents," Bunny went on. "It won't look like a real circus without toy balloons."

"That's so," agreed Sue. "But how can we get 'em?"

"We'll ask the balloon man," said Bunny. He was not a bit bashful about speaking to strangers.

Setting down his empty milk gla.s.s, Bunny ran down the front path toward the road, where the balloon man was walking along through the dust. Sue ran after her brother.

"Hey! Hi there!" called Bunny.

The man stopped and turned around. Seeing the two children, he smiled.

"You wanta de balloon?" he asked, for he was an Italian, just like the one who had a hand organ, and whose monkey ran away, as I have told you in the book before this one.

"We want lots of balloons," said Bunny.

"Oh, sure!" said the man, smiling more than ever.

"We want all the balloons for our circus," Bunny explained.

"Circus? Circus?" repeated the balloon man, and he did not seem to know what Bunny meant. "What is circus?" he asked.

"We're going to have a circus," Bunny explained. "My sister Sue says we must have toy balloons. You come to our circus and you can sell a lot.

You know--a show in a tent."

"Oh, sure! I know!" The Italian smiled again. He had often sold balloons at fairs and circuses. "Where your circus?" he asked.

"Come on, we'll show you," promised Bunny. Then he and Sue started back toward Grandpa Brown's house, followed by the man with the balloons floating over his head--red balloons, green, blue, purple, yellow, white and pink ones.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE STORM

"Bunny! Won't it be just grand!" whispered Sue to her brother, as they walked along ahead of the balloon man.

"Fine!" said Bunny. "We'll have him stand outside the tent, and sell his balloons. It'll look just like a real circus then. It wouldn't without the balloons; would it, Sue?"

"No. And, oh, Bunny! I've thought of something else."

"What is it?"

"Pink lemonade."

"Pink lemonade?"

"Yes, we'll have the balloon man sell that, and peanuts. Then it will be more than ever like a real circus."

"But how can he sell pink lemonade and peanuts and balloons?" Bunny wanted to know.

"Oh, he can do it," said Sue, who seemed to think it was very easy. "He can tie his bunch of balloons to the lemonade and peanut stand, and when anybody wants one they can take it and put down the five cents. Then the balloon man will have one hand to dish out the hot peanuts, and the other to pour out the pink lemonade."

"Yes, I guess he could do that," said Bunny. "We'll ask him, anyhow.

Maybe he won't want to."