e and Russ remained in the side yard, flying their balloons.

"I know what we can do!" suddenly exclaimed Russ.

"What?" asked his smaller brother.

"We can make a big balloon."

"How?"

"I'll show you. Come on."

"All right."

Russ, letting his toy balloon float over his head, while Laddie did the
same, went out to the barn back of the house. It was not really a barn
any longer, as Daddy Bunker kept his automobile in it, but it looked
like a barn, so I will call it that instead of a garage.

"How are you going to make a balloon?" asked Laddie as he saw Russ tie
his toy to a picket of the fence.

"You wait, I'll show you. First you go in and get the big clothes
basket. Don't let Norah see you, or she might stop you. Bring me out the
clothes basket."

Laddie did as he was told. As he came back with the basket, which was a
large, round one, Laddie said:

"Do you think we can fasten our two balloons to this and go up in it?"

"No, I'm not going to make my balloon that way," Russ answered. "You'll
see. Come on into the barn. We have to go upstairs."

Overhead in the barn was a place where hay had once been kept for the
horse. There was a little door in the peak of the second story, to which
the hay could be hoisted up from the wagon on the ground below. The hay
was hoisted by a rope running around a wheel, or pulley, and this rope
and pulley were still in place, though they had not been used in some
time.

Into the rather dark loft of the barn went Russ and Laddie. They had
climbed up the ladder, as they had done oftentimes before.

"It's dark!" Laddie exclaimed.

"I'll make it light," announced Russ.

He opened the little door in the front of the barn, and then he and
Laddie could look down to the ground below. Russ loosened the pulley
rope and let one end fall to the ground.

"That's how we'll make our balloon," he said. "We'll fasten the rope to
the clothes basket, and pull it up like a balloon. Won't that be fun?"

"Lots of fun!" agreed Laddie.

It was about half an hour after this that, as Mother Bunker was
beginning to think about supper, she heard, from the direction of the
barn, a shrill yell for help.

"Oh, I can't get him down! I can't get him down!" was the cry.

"Dear me! Something else has happened!" cried Mother Bunker. "Come on,
Norah. We must see what it is!"

CHAPTER V

THE BIG BANG NOISE

It did not take Mrs. Bunker long to see what the matter was this time.
As she