"Trapleased to meet you," murmured the owner of the trapeze, swinging up beside Peter. "Hang around a while. You'll like it. 'Tis an easy life we lead--trapeasy," he added with a sly wink. "Have you met the Queen?" "Yes! Yes!" shuddered Peter, moving as far from the tumbler as he could. "I'm looking for my friends." "Is that one of them?" inquired the acrobat, pointing off toward the left. "Ha! Ha! Ha! The tight rope walkers will never let that fellow go. They are great cut-ups, you know, great cut-ups. Why, look at his beard! It's growing longer every minute. They can cut rope after tight rope from it. Ha! Ha! Ha! Rope after rope!" "No they can't," shouted Peter angrily, "and you'd better be careful. We're wizards, and will destroy you like that." Letting go of the side rope with one hand, Peter snapped his fingers sharply. "Will you?" said the trapezist in an interested voice. "Then that means a battle, an acrobattle. Hello! It's begun already. Look at that old Nibblywog down there. Come on, we're missing all the fun!" Jerking Peter from the swing, the acrobat hurled him to the next trapeze and the next and the next, until everything turned topsy-turvy. Peter could no more have opened the pirate's sack than he could have counted the somersaults he took in the air. Jack had long since lost his head, and Peter could see the acrobats tossing it about like a ball. Below that a troupe of tight-rope walkers were dancing merrily on Belfaygor's beard, which had been stretched between two swings. The baron himself was held fast by a dozen swing citizens and Snif, trying to help first Peter then Belfaygor, was buffetted and banged with the hard fists of the aerialists. "How dare you hold us up in this high handed manner," roared the Iffin, nearly beside himself with rage and indignation. There is no telling how long Peter and his friends would have been tossed about had not a sudden shake dislodged Mogodore's sauce box from the little boy's pocket. Opening as it fell it immediately filled the air with such a thunder of screams, threats and brazen screeches, several swing citizens lost their hold upon the swings and fell trembling through space. "Magic," squealed Hi-Swinger, clutching his crown with both hands. "Drop them! Drop them at once!" So Peter and his companions were dropped as suddenly as they had been taken up by these fickle folk of the air, and with sickening speed went whizzing downward. Peter was too dizzy to realize he was falling again, and Snif, trying to catch all of them at once succeeded only in rescuing Jack's head as it whirled past. But he need not have worried, for under this strange city a great net was suspended and into this net they all landed with a bounce that promptly sent them skyward again. "Score one for the sauce box," panted Peter as he fell back. "Gee-whiz--I never want to see another swing as long as I live!"