Mr. Miaco, who had been called on and informed of the news,
accompanied them. It was he who hauled the boys up to the rings
far up toward the top of the tent.
"Get a net under there! We don't want to lose any more
performers this season," the clown commanded.
After some little delay the net was spread and the showman
motioned for the performance to proceed, walking over and taking
his seat on the boards so that he might watch the performance
from the viewpoint of the audience.
With the utmost confidence the boys went through the act without
a slip. They did everything that Signor Navaro had done in his
performance, adding some clever feats of their own that had been
devised with the help of Mr. Miaco. Mr. Sparling looked on with
twinkling eyes and frequent nods of approval.
"Fine! Fine! One of the best flying-ring acts I ever saw," he
shouted, when finally the lads rounded out their act by a series
of rapid evolutions commonly known as "skinning the cat." Even
in this their act was attended with variations.
The boys concluded by a graceful drop into the net, from which
they bounded into the air, swung themselves to the ground, each
throwing a kiss to the grinning manager.
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