"IT'S FIVE CENTS A RIDE. IT'S FOR THE RED CROSS.""IT'S FIVE CENTS A RIDE. IT'S FOR THE RED CROSS."
Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue and Their Shetland Pony.Page151.
"Five cents a ride!" cried Georgie in surprise. "Five cents!"
"Yes," said Bunny. "It's for the Red Cross you know. Sue and I are earning money that way."
"Oh, yes! For the Red Cross!" cried Georgie.
"I see. I'm going to earn some money for that, too. But I'm going to sell peanuts."
"That's a good way," said Bunny.
"We'll ask our mother to buy some peanuts of you," added Sue.
"Will you?" cried Georgie. "Then I'll ask my mother to give me five cents for a ride in your pony cart."
"That's dandy!" cried Bunny. "Say," he went on, "you get in our cart now, Georgie, and we'll take you down to the store to get the yeast cake."
"But I haven't five cents to pay you for the ride," Georgie replied. "I've only two cents for the yeast cake."
"That's all right," said Bunny, as he had heard his father say at the dock, when some man, wanting fish, did not have the money just ready to pay for it. "Get in, Georgie. It's all right. We'll drive you down to the store, and then we'll take you home. And you can ask your mother for five cents to pay for a Red Cross ride."
"I'll do it!" Georgie exclaimed.
Into the pony cart he scrambled, and sat down beside Bunny. They drove toward the store to get a yeast cake, and on the waytheymet Charlie Star.
"Hi!" cried Charlie. "Give us a ride, will you, Bunny?"
"Whoa!" said Bunny, and Toby came to a stop, switching his long tail.
"You want a ride?" Bunny asked of Charlie.
"Sure I do," answered Charlie.
"Got five cents?" Bunny went on.
"Five cents? No. What for?"
"To pay for the ride. It's for the Red Cross," went on Bunny.
Charlie shook his head.
"I've only a penny," he said, "and I was going to buy some gum with that."
"Well, give me the penny," said Bunny, "and then you can go up to your house and get four pennies more from your mother. Me and Sue—Sue and I—we're earning Red Cross money with our pony."
"Did Georgie pay you?" Charlie wanted to know.
"He's going to," said Bunny. "But he's only got two cents now for a yeast cake."
"A yeast cake!" cried Charlie. "You can't eat a yeast cake!"
"It's for my mother," explained Georgie. "I'mgoing home and get five cents for a Red Cross ride."
"All right. I won't get any gum," decided Charlie. "I'll ride up home and get four cents for a ride myself."
"Get in," said Bunny, and now, as the pony cart had four children in it, and was comfortably filled (though it would hold six) Bunny made Toby trot, and along they went to the store to get a yeast cake, not stopping again, though several other children begged for rides.
"You can ride after us!" said Charlie. "This is for the Red Cross, and it costs five cents."
Some of the other boys and girls said they'd try to get the money later and have a ride in the pony cart.
Toby stopped in front of the store, and Georgie got out and went in after his yeast cake. Then he came back and Bunny and Sue drove Toby, their Shetland pony, on again until they came to the house where Georgie lived.
"Oh, Ma!" he cried, running into the kitchen. "Here's your yeast cake, and I want five cents for a Red Cross ride!"
"A Red Cross ride?" exclaimed Mrs. Watson. "Is that anything like a hot cross bun?"
"Oh, no'm! It's a ride in a pony cart—Bunny Brown's pony Toby. And Charlie Star has a penny and he's got to get four cents more, and please hurry up and give me five cents—it's for the Red Cross!"
Mrs. Watson looked out of the window and saw the pony cart in front, with Bunny and his Sister Sue and Charlie Star in it. Then she began to understand, for she, too, was helping raise money for Red Cross work.
"Here's your five cents," she said to her little boy. "And wait a minute!" she cried, as Georgie was about to rush away.
"Wait? What for?" he asked.
"You can take your sister Mary with you. She's little and won't crowd you any, and that will be five cents more for Bunny's Red Cross. Come on, Mary, have a pony ride!" called Mrs. Watson, and down came a little girl, somewhat younger than Sue.
The time had been when Bunny and George were not such good friends, for George used to play tricks on Bunny and Sue. But he had gotten over that and was now very good, and the children played together and had good times.
Georgie and Mary, each with five cents, ran outto the pony cart. "Is there room for five in it?" asked Mrs. Watson.
"Oh, yes, lots of room," said Bunny.
"I'm glad you came, Mary," said Sue to the other little girl.
"Say, we'll make a lot of money!" went on Bunny, as he took the five cent pieces Georgie and Mary handed him. "When I get your five, cents, Charlie, I'll have fifteen."
"Here's my one cent now," said Charlie. "I'll get four more when I go home."
Then they drove to Mr. Star's house, and Mrs. Star gave her little boy a five-cent piece, so he got his penny back from Bunny, and could buy the gum after all.
"Now, I'll give you a long ride," said Bunny to his passengers, and he did, up and down the village streets. Several other boys and girls saw what was going on, and said they'd get five-cent pieces and have rides, too. And they did, later that day and the next day.
"We'll earn a lot of money for the Red Cross!" cried Bunny.
"It's lots of fun," said Sue.
The two Brown children with their Shetland pony took in almost a dollar during the week, andthey gave it to their father to keep for the Red Cross. The boys and girls had two weeks in which to make money to help the soldiers, and they must really earn the money—not beg it from their fathers, mothers, uncles or aunts.
Some sold cakes of chocolate, and others peanuts, while some of the larger boys ran errands or did other work to earn dimes and nickles.
One day Bunny and Sue got in the pony cart and started off.
"Where are you going?" asked their mother.
"To get more Red Cross money," Bunny answered.
"That will be nice," said Mrs. Brown.
Instead of going along the main street, as he had done before when he gave the children rides for money, Bunny soon turned Toby down a side street, that led to the woods.
"Where are we going?" asked Sue.
"I'll show you," Bunny answered.
"But this is the woods," went on Sue, when, in a little while, she saw trees all about them. "We're in the woods, Bunny."
"Yes, I know we are," he said. "And we're going to get some money here for the Red Cross."
Sue thought for a moment. Then she exclaimed:
"Oh, Bunny! You're not going to sell Toby to the gypsies, are you, and give that money to the Red Cross?"
"Course not!" exclaimed Bunny. "You just wait and see!"
I wonder what Bunny Brown was going to do?
Even though Bunny had said he was not going to sell Toby to the gypsies—who Sue knew were in the woods—the little girl could not be sure but what her brother was going to do something strange. He had a queer look on his face—as though he had been thinking up something to do quite different from anything he had done before, and was going to carry it through. Bunny was sometimes this way.
Sue looked around, up at the trees and down at the green moss, which was on both sides of the woodland path along which Bunny was driving Toby.
"How are you going to get any Red Cross money here, Bunny?" she asked. "There aren't any children to take five-cent rides."
"You just wait and see," said Bunny with a laugh.
Sue did not quite know what to make of it. Bunny was acting very strangely.
Suddenly, through the quiet forest, where, up to this time had only been heard the chirping of the birds, sounded another noise. It was the shouting and laughter of children.
"What's that, Bunny?" asked Sue in surprise.
"That's a Sunday-school picnic," answered her brother.
"What Sunday school?" Sue wanted to know.
"The Methodist Church," Bunny went on. "They're having their picnic to-day. Our picnic is next Saturday. Harry Bentley told me about this one—he goes to the Methodist Church—and he said if we came here with Toby we could maybe make a lot of money for the Red Cross, giving rides in the woods."
Then Sue knew what Bunny's plan was.
"Oh, that's fine!" she cried. "I guess we can make a lot of money. But is there a smooth place where you can drive Toby? It's kinder rough in the woods, if there's a lot of children in the cart."
"There's a smooth path around the place where you eat the picnic lunch," said Bunny. And then Sue remembered. The woods, in which she and her brother were now riding along in the pony cart, were the ones where all the Sunday-school picnics of Bellemere were held. In the middle ofthe woods was a little lake, and near the shore of it was a large open-sided building where there were tables and benches, and where the people ate the lunches they brought in boxes and baskets.
Around this building ran a smooth path, and it was on this path that Bunny was going to drive Toby, giving rides to the children so he could make Red Cross money.
As Bunny Brown and his Sister Sue drove along under the trees the shouting and laughter of the children sounded more plainly. Then some of them could be seen, running back and forth over the dried leaves and green moss.
Soon the pony cart was near the picnic ground, and some of the laughing, playing boys and girls saw it.
"Oh, look!" they cried.
"Give us a ride!" others shouted.
"Rides are five cents apiece!" said Bunny. "I'd give you all rides for nothing," he added, for Bunny was never stingy, "only I'm making money for the Red Cross, and so is Sue. Five cents apiece for a Red Cross ride!"
Some of the children turned away, on hearing that pony rides cost money, but others ran to findtheir fathers or mothers, or uncles or aunts, to beg the nickel from them.
"Well, you came, just as I told you to, didn't you, Bunny?" said Harry Bentley.
"Yep, we're here," said Bunny.
"Well, I'll take a ride with you," Harry went on. "I got five cents on purpose to have a pony ride."
He got into the basket cart, and so did another boy and a girl.
"That's all we can take now," said Bunny. "This road isn't as smooth as the one in town."
He did not want to tire his pony, you see.
"I'll get out," offered Sue. "That'll make room for one more, Bunny. I don't want a ride very much, and I see Sadie West. I can go over and play with her."
"All right," agreed Bunny. "You can get out and wait for me, Sue. That'll make room for one more."
And as Sue got out another girl got in, so there were four besides Bunny in the cart, and this meant twenty cents for the Red Cross.
Around the woodland path Bunny drove his Shetland pony, and the boys and girls, who had each paid five cents, had a good time. Theylaughed and shouted, and that made others inquire what was going on, so that soon quite a number were ready to take their turn riding.
Bunny Brown and his Sister Sue had done well to come to the Sunday-school picnic in the woods to make money. They made more than if they had gone up and down the streets, looking for passengers.
Toby did not seem to mind how many times he went around the pavilion where the picnic lunches were to be eaten. It was cool and shady in the woods, and though the path was not particularly smooth, it was not up hill. And Toby didn't mind anything so much as he did hills.
Bunny did not drive the pony too fast, and several times he let him rest and have a drink of water from the lake. Some of the boys and girls had bits of sweet crackers or cookies which they fed to Toby, and he liked them very much.
When noon-time came Bunny and Sue were going home to dinner, for they had not brought a lunch. But one of the Sunday-school teachers said:
"It will take you quite a while, Bunny, to go home and come back. And it will tire your pony, too. I like to see you and Sue earn money forthe Red Cross, so you stay and I'll give you part of my lunch. I have more than I need. My little nephew and niece were coming, but, at the last minute, they had to stay at home."
"Is there enough for Sue to have some lunch?" asked Bunny.
"Oh, of course," answered the Sunday-school teacher. "Tie Toby in a shady place, and come and have lunch with me."
There was grass for the pony to eat, and soon he was enjoying his meal, while Bunny Brown and his Sister Sue were having a nice one with the teacher.
"After dinner you can give our boys and girls more rides," she said, "and earn more money for the soldiers."
Bunny liked this very much. At first he was afraid his mother would be worried because he and Sue did not come back home. But the man who brought the ice-cream to the picnic said he would stop when he went back, and tell Mrs. Brown where her children were, and that Miss Seaman, the teacher, was looking out for them and seeing that they were well fed. So Mrs. Brown did not worry, knowing where they were.
The lunch was almost over, and Bunny wasthinking about putting the bridle back on Toby and starting his riding business again, when some boys and girls, who had gone over to a little spring in the woods, came running back, very much excited.
"Oh! Oh!" one of the girls cried. "We saw him! We saw him!"
"Whom did you see?" asked a teacher. "Be quiet and tell us what it was."
"Was it a snake?" asked one excited little girl.
"No, it wasn't a snake," said a boy somewhat older than Bunny. "It was a great big man—awful dark-looking—and he had a red handkerchief on his neck, and gold rings in his ears, and he was asleep by the spring."
I wonder who the man was?
Three or four of the Sunday-school teachers gathered around the boys and girls who had come back from the spring and were so excited about having seen a dark man asleep under a bush.
"What did he look like?" asked one teacher.
"Oh, he—he wasterrible!" said one little girl.
"He looked like an organ grinder only he was—was—sort of nicer," observed a little boy.
"And he had gold rings in his ears," added another.
"Maybe he was an organ grinder," suggested Miss Mason, who was the superintendent in charge of the infant class of the Sunday school.
"But he didn't have an organ or a monkey," objected a little girl.
"Maybe the monkey was up in a tree," said Bunny Brown. "That's where monkeys like to go. Mr. Winkler's monkey, named Wango, goes up in trees. Let's look and see if this monkey is climbing around while the man's asleep."
"Oh, yes, let's!" exclaimed Sue, always ready to do what her brother suggested.
"Oh, let's!" cried all the other boys and girls, who thought it a fine idea.
Miss Mason smiled at the other teachers, but, as Bunny, Sue and some of the boys and girls started toward the spring, they were called back by the superintendent.
"Better not go unless some of us are with you," she said. "You can't tell what sort of man that might be. Wait a minute, children."
The children turned back, and Bunny said:
"I guess I know who that man is."
"What makes you think so?" asked Miss Mason.
"I can't tell until I see him," went on Toby's little master.
"Well, we'll go and look," Miss Mason said. "But I think I'll call one of the men teachers. It might be better to have a man with us."
Some of the men who taught the Sunday-school classes came up at this moment, wanting to know what was going on, and Miss Mason told them:
"Some of the children saw a dark-complexioned man, with gold rings in his ears, asleep by the spring. We thought perhaps we had better seewho it is. Bunny Brown, who has been giving pony rides for the Red Cross, thinks he might know who he is."
"Oh, ho!" cried Mr. Baker, a very jolly teacher, "so it's a dark man, with gold rings in his ears, is it?"
"And a red handkerchief around his neck," said a little boy who had seen the sleeping person.
"Oh, ho! once again then I say!" cried the jolly teacher. "This man must be a pirate; don't you think so, Bunny Brown? Pirates always have gold rings in their ears and red handkerchiefs on their necks, or on their heads, don't they? Do you think you know this pirate, Bunny?"
"No, sir," answered the little boy, shaking his head. "But I don't guess he's a pirate, 'cause pirates are always on ships. Anyhow, in all the pictures I ever saw of them they were always on ships."
"I believe Bunny is right," said another man. "Pirates are only on ships. And though there may be some land-pirates, they are not regular ones, and can't be counted. And surely there can't be a ship in these woods."
"There are boats on the lake," said a little girl.
"Yes, my dear, but they're not regular pirate-boats," went on Mr. Baker. "No, I don't believe we can count this sleeping man as a regular pirate. But we'll go and see who it is."
"I wish you would," said Miss Mason. "You men are laughing, I know, but we don't want the children frightened by a tramp, and probably that's what this man is."
"Perhaps," said Mr. Baker. "Well, we will go and have a look at him. Come, gentlemen, we'll go and capture the man with the gold rings in his ears."
The men Sunday-school teachers walked on ahead, and after them came the women. Then marched Bunny Brown and his Sister Sue, and a number of other boys and girls. Toby, the Shetland pony was left tied to a tree.
In a little while the party came to the spring. Mr. Baker pushed aside the bushes and looked in. At first he could see nothing, but soon the sun came out from behind a cloud, making the little glen light, and then the Sunday-school teacher could see a big man, his face very dark, as though tanned by years of living at the seashore. In his ears were gold rings, and around his neck was a red handkerchief.
"Hello, there!" suddenly exclaimed Mr. Baker.
And, just as suddenly, the man awakened and sat up. For a moment he stared at the circle of men, women and children standing about him, and then, as he caught sight of Bunny and Sue, he smiled at them, showing his white teeth.
"Hello, pony-children!" he called to them, "Have you come to sell me your little horse?"
"We're never going to sell Toby! Are we, Bunny," asked Sue.
"No;" said Bunny, "we never are."
"Oh, then you children know this—this——" and Mr. Baker did not seem to know just what to call the dark man.
"He's a gypsy," said Bunny. "But I don't know him very well. His wagon stopped in front of our house one day, and he wanted to buy our pony. He's a gypsy."
"Ah, that's what makes him look so much like a pirate," said Mr. Baker in a low voice to one of his friends.
"Yes, I am a gypsy," said the man, as he shook the leaves out of his clothes and stood up. "My name is Jaki Kezar, and my camp is over near Springdale. We have permission to camp there, and have done so for a number of years. I was walking about the country, looking for horses tobuy, as that is our business, and when I reached here I felt tired. So I took a drink from the spring, sat down and must have fallen asleep before I knew it."
"Yes, you—you were asleep an'—an' yousnored," said one little girl, who felt quite brave, now that so many Sunday-school teachers were near her.
"Oh, I snored, did I?" asked Jaki Kezar with a smile, and some of the men smiled, too. This gypsy did not seem at all cross or ugly, and his face was pleasant when he smiled.
"I hope I didn't scare any of the little ones," the gypsy went on. "I wouldn't have done that for anything. I thought this was a quiet place to rest."
"Oh, you didn't scare them very much," said Mr. Baker. "They just saw you asleep and we didn't know who you might be. This part of the woods is not the picnic ground, and you have a perfect right here."
"But I must be walking on," said Jaki Kezar. "I must try to find some horses to buy. You are sure you will not sell me your pony?" he asked Bunny again.
"We will never sell Toby!" exclaimed the little boy.
"Never!" added Sue. "He is a trick pony."
"And he was in a circus," added Bunny, "but he is never going there again because they did not treat him nice, Mr. Tallman said."
"Well, if you won't sell me your pony I must go and see if I can find another to buy," said Jaki Kezar, the gypsy. "Good-bye, boys and girls, and ladies and gentlemen," he added, as he walked away. "I hope I didn't frighten any of you. And if ever you come to our camp at Springdale we will tell your fortunes."
Then, taking off his hat and making a bow to Miss Mason and the others, the gypsy walked off through the woods.
"There! I'm glad he's gone!" exclaimed one of the older children. "He made me nervous!"
"But he was a polite gypsy," said Mr. Baker. "I think he would have made a nice pirate, too. Don't you, Bunny?"
"I guess so," agreed the little boy. "But he can't have my pony."
"I should saynot!" cried Mr. Baker. "You want that pony for yourself, and to make money for the Red Cross."
This reminded Bunny that he ought to start in again giving rides to the picnic children. Toby had had his dinner and a good rest, and was once more ready to trot along the shady paths of the picnic lake.
Not so many took rides in the afternoon as did in the morning, for some of the children went home. But Bunny, who did most of the driving, though Sue did some also, took in a little over a dollar after lunch. And this, with the dollar and eighty-five cents which he had taken in during the morning, made almost three dollars for Red Cross.
"My, you did well," cried Miss Mason, when Bunny and Sue told her they were going, and showed her their money.
"I should say they did!" said Mr. Baker. "No wonder that gypsy wanted their pony. He could start in business for himself. Be careful you don't lose that money, Bunny."
"I will," promised the little boy.
Calling good-byes to their friends, the Sunday-school teachers and the children, Bunny Brown and his Sister Sue started off through the woods on their way home. They were a little tired, but happy.
"Did you think we'd make so much money forthe Red Cross, Bunny?" asked Sue, as they drove along.
"No," said Bunny, "I didn't. But I knew this Sunday-school picnic was in the woods. And it was a good place for us, wasn't it?"
"Fine," agreed Sue.
And when they got home they found their father and mother waiting for them, as it was late in the afternoon.
"And you made three dollars! That's fine!" said Daddy Brown.
During the rest of the week Bunny and Sue made another dollar by giving children rides in the pony cart. And they drove on an errand for Uncle Tad who gave them a quarter, so they had a nice sum to turn over to the Red Cross Society when the time was up.
It was about a week after the picnic, when one morning, Bunny, who was up first, ran out to the barn to see Toby, as he often did before breakfast. But, to the surprise of the little boy, the pony was not in his stall, though the barn door was locked, Bunny having to open it with a key before he could get in.
Greatly excited, when he did not see his pet in the box-stall, Bunny ran back to the house.
"Oh, Mother! Mother!" he cried. "Toby's gone!"
"What?"
"Toby's gone!" cried Bunny again. "He isn't in his stable! Oh, come out and look!"
And I wonder where the Shetland pony was?
Mrs. Brown hurried out of the house after Bunny, who ran back to the stable. Sue, looking out of the window of her room upstairs, saw her brother and called:
"What's the matter, Bunny?"
"Oh, Sue," he answered, not stopping even to look back, "Toby is gone! Our nice pony isn't in his stable!"
"Oh! Oh!" cried Sue, and she could think of nothing else to say just then. But you can guess that she very quickly finished dressing in order to go down and look for herself to see what had happened to Toby.
Meanwhile Mrs. Brown and Bunny reached the stable.
"Are you sure Toby isn't here?" asked Bunny's mother.
"I—I looked everywhere for him," answered the little boy, who was slightly out of breath fromrunning. "I looked all over and I can't see him anywhere."
Mrs. Brown looked, but no Toby was to be seen. The barn was not a large one, and there were not many places where a horse, or even a small pony, could be hidden. Bunny and his mother looked in all the places they could think of—in the harness room and wagon room, and they even went upstairs to the haymow.
"For Toby is a trick pony, and he might have walked upstairs," said Bunny. "I didn't look there."
"I hardly think he would climb up where the hay is, but still he might," said Mrs. Brown. But no Toby was to be seen. And, really, being a trick pony, hemighthave walked up the stairs, which were strong, and broad, and not very steep. I have seen a big horse, in a circus, go up a flight of steps, so why couldn't a pony go upstairs?
But, anyhow, Toby was not in the haymow.
"Was the barn door locked when you first came out to see Toby?" asked Mrs. Brown of Bunny.
"Yes, Mother, it was," he answered. "I took the key from off the nail in the kitchen, and I opened the lock and the door. But Toby wasn't there!"
"Are you sure you locked him in the stable last night?" went on Mrs. Brown.
"Oh, yes, of course, Mother!" said Bunny. "Don't you 'member Bunker Blue was up here and looked at Toby, and said he'd have to take him to the blacksmith shop to-day to have new shoes put on—I mean new shoes on Toby."
"Oh, yes, I do remember that!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown. "And that is just what has happened, I think."
"What has happened, Mother?"
"Why, Bunker Blue came up here early, and took Toby out of the stable and down to the blacksmith shop to have the new shoes nailed on. That must be it," said Mrs. Brown. "I'll telephone down to your father's office, and ask him if he didn't send Bunker up to get Toby. Daddy went down before breakfast this morning in order to get some letters off on the early mail."
"Oh, I hope Bunker has our pony!" exclaimed Bunny with a sigh, and, though he very much wanted to believe that this was what had happened, still he could hardly think that it was so. Bunker Blue, thought Bunny, would have said something before taking Toby away, even if it was early.
"Did you find Toby?" asked Sue, as she ran out, tying her hair ribbon on the way. She was in such a hurry that she had not waited to do that in her room.
"No, he isn't in the stable," answered Bunny.
"But Bunker must have taken him to the blacksmith's shop," said Mrs. Brown. "I'm going to telephone to find out."
And just what Bunny feared would happen did happen. Mr. Brown said Bunker had not been up to the house, and he had not taken Toby away.
"And is Toby really gone?" asked Mr. Brown over the telephone wire.
"He can't be found," answered Mrs. Brown.
"I'll come right up and see what I can do," said Bunny's father. And then the only thing to do was to wait.
Bunny and Sue, with tears in their eyes, looked again in the barn and all around the house.
"But where can Toby be?" asked Sue, over and over again.
"Maybe he ran away," said Tressa, the maid.
"He couldn't run away, 'cause the barn was locked," declared Bunny.
"Well, maybe he could open the lock, being atrick pony," went on Tressa, who wanted to say something so the children would not feel so bad.
"No, he couldn't do that," said Bunny. "Toby could do lots of tricks, but there wasn't any hole in the barn door so he could reach out and open the lock. Besides, the key was hanging in your kitchen all night, Tressa."
"Yes, that's so. Well, maybe he jumped out of a window," went on the kind-hearted maid. "I see one of the barn windows is open, and it is near Toby's stall."
"Oh, maybe he did get out that way, and he's off playing in the woods!" exclaimed Sue, who felt very sad about the pet pony's being gone.
"Oh, but he couldn't," said Bunny, after thinking it over a bit. "There's a mosquito wire screen over the window, and if Toby had jumped out the screen would be broken."
"Yes, that's so," admitted Tressa. "Well, I guess you'll find him somewhere. Maybe he'll come home, wagging his tail behind him, as Bo-Peep's sheep did."
Bunny shook his head.
"I guess somebody took our pony," he said.
"But how could they when the door was locked?" asked Sue.
Bunny did not know how to answer.
Mr. Brown came up from the fish and boat dock, and with him was Bunker Blue.
"Did you find him?" asked Mr. Brown, meaning Toby, of course.
"No, he isn't to be found around here," answered Mrs. Brown. "We have looked everywhere, but there is no Toby!"
"Oh, Daddy! do you think you can find him?" asked Sue, and there were tears in her eyes.
"Of course I'll find him!" said Daddy Brown, and, somehow, it did the children good just to hear their father say that. "Now, we'll begin at the beginning," went on the fish merchant, "and have a look at the barn door. You know there's an old saying not to lock the stable door after the horse is stolen, but this time the door was locked before Toby was taken away. We are sure of that. Now, I'll have a look at the lock and key."
Mr. Brown looked carefully at these and also at the door of the stable. There was nothing to show that any one had gotten in, and yet the lock must have been opened or the door could not have been swung back to let Toby out. And Toby was surely gone.
"He couldn't have gotten out, or been takenout, any way but through the door," said Mr. Brown, as he walked around the stable. "The window is too small, even if there wasn't any wire screen over it to keep out the flies and mosquitoes."
"What do you think happened?" asked Mrs. Brown.
"Well," answered her husband, "I think some one, with another key, must have opened the lock and have taken the pony away in the night."
"But who could it be?"
"Oh, some thief. Perhaps a tramp, though I don't believe tramps would do anything like that. They are generally too lazy to go to so much work. And whoever took Toby did it very quietly. They took him out of his stable without waking any of us up, and then they carefully locked the door again."
"I never heard a sound all night," declared Mrs. Brown.
"Nor did I," added her husband. "It's funny, though, that Splash didn't bark. He sometimes sleeps in the shed near the stable, and if strange men had come around one would think the dog would be sure to make a fuss."
"Unless it was some one he knew," added Mrs.Brown, "or some one that knew how to be friendly with a dog."
"Yes, some horse thieves might be like that," admitted Mr. Brown. "They could make friends with our dog, and he wouldn't bite them or growl at them to make a noise. Then they could walk off with Toby."
"I haven't seen Splash around this morning," said Tressa. "Generally he comes early to get his breakfast, but I haven't seen him this morning."
"Oh, Daddy!" cried Bunny, "do you s'pose they stole Splash, too?"
Mr. Brown hardly knew what to say. It was certainly strange that the dog should be missing as well as the pet pony. Certainly something out of the ordinary had been going on during the night.
"Maybe Splash has just run away for a little while, to play with some other dogs," said Mrs. Brown. "Bunny and Sue, take a look around and see. Call him, and perhaps he'll come."
So Bunny and Sue did this, walking up and down the road and calling for Splash. They went a little way into the meadow, and over toward a clump of trees where, sometimes, the dog played with others.
But there was no sign of Splash or Toby.
"Oh, dear!" sighed Sue. "I wonder where they can be?"
And then, suddenly, Bunny gave a loud cry.
"Oh, do you see him?" eagerly asked Sue. "Do you see Toby and Splash?"
"No," answered Bunny, his eyes shining with eagerness, "but I think I know who took him. Come on, we'll go and tell daddy!"
Sue did not quite understand what Bunny meant, but she trotted after him as fast as her little legs would take her. The children found their father and mother, with Bunker Blue, still looking in and around the stable, for any signs of the person who must have taken Toby away.
"Did you find Splash?" asked Mr. Brown.
"No, Daddy, we didn't," Bunny answered. "We couldn't find our dog anywhere. But I came to tell you I know where Toby is!"
"You do!" cried Mr. Brown, greatly excited. "Did you see Toby under the trees?"
"Oh, I didn't exactlyseehim," Bunny explained, "but I think I know who took him. I just thought of it."
"Who took him?" asked the little boy's father.
"That gypsy man!" exclaimed Bunny. "Don't you 'member—the one with the funny name? He liked Toby terrible much, and I guess maybe he took him."
"Say!" cried Mr. Brown, "I shouldn't be surprised but what you are right, Bunny. Maybe that gypsy man did come and take Toby, when hefound we wouldn't sell him the pony. Gypsies are great for horses and ponies! I must see about this right away."
"What are you going to do?" asked Mrs. Brown.
"I am going over to the gypsy camp, and see if they have Toby," answered Mr. Brown. "That would be just the very place where I'd expect to find him. I'm glad you thought of it, Bunny. How did you do it?"
"It—it just sort of came to me," explained the little boy. "I saw a red flower and a yellow one in the woods when we went to look for Splash, and then I thought red and yellow was the color of the gypsy wagon. And then I thought of the man with the funny name."
"Jaki Kezar was the name," said Mrs. Brown. "I remember, now, hearing the children speak of it. Well, it's too bad if he took the pony, but I'd be glad to find Toby even at the gypsy camp. There's one thing sure, if he did take the pony that man would treat him kindly, for gypsies are good to their horses."
"Well, Bunny," went on Mr. Brown, "we'll see how nearly you have guessed it. I'll go to the gypsy camp."
"May I come?" asked Bunny.
"And I want to come, too," begged Sue.
"Oh, no, I'm afraid you're too little," said the little girl's father. "I'll take Bunny and Bunker Blue. We'll go in the motor boat across the bay, as it's shorter than going around by land."
"We can't bring Toby home in the boat, though, can we?" asked Bunny.
"Well, hardly," answered his father with a smile. "I'm afraid he'd kick overboard. But don't count too much on finding Toby at the gypsy camp, Bunny. He may not be there at all."
"You mean they'll take him away to some other place?" asked the little boy.
"Well, maybe not that so much, as it is that we're not sure this Mr. Jaki Kezar really has taken your pet," answered Mr. Brown. "We'll justhopeToby is at the camp, Bunny, but we mustn't be too sure about it."
"No," said Bunny, "I s'pose not."
"Though perhaps if the pony isn't exactly with the gypsies they may know where he is," said Mrs. Brown. "Will you have that dark man arrested, Daddy, for taking the children's pony?"
"I don't know just what I will do, yet," answeredMr. Brown with a smile. "First I want to find out where Toby is."
"And I'm coming with you in the boat!" cried Bunny.
Sue wanted, very much, to go with her father and brother, but her mother told the little girl there might be a long walk to take in the woods to get to the gypsy camp, and that she would get tired.
"I wouldn't be tired if I could see Toby," she said, tears still in her eyes. "And, anyhow, if I did get tired I could ride on Toby's back."
"That is if they find him," remarked Mrs. Brown. "No, Sue, dear, I think you'd better stay with me. How will you get the pony back if you go in the boat?" she asked her husband.
"Oh, Bunker can walk him back, and Bunny can ride. I'll come back in the boat," said Mr. Brown. "They didn't take the pony cart, did they?"
"No, that's in the barn all right. It will be all ready for Toby when he comes back," said Bunny.
There was nothing more that could be done at the Brown home toward finding the lost or stolen pony, so Mr. Brown, with Bunker Blue and Bunny,after eating a very hasty breakfast, got ready to take a motor boat trip across the bay to Springdale.
This was a town, somewhat smaller than Bellemere, and it could be reached by going around a road that led along the shores of Sandport Bay. But a shorter journey was by water across the bay itself. And it was in this way that Mr. Brown had decided to go this time.
The fish merchant owned a number of boats, some of which had sails, others oars, and some were moved with gasolene engines.
"We'll go in theSpray," said Bunny's father, that being the name of the boat.
"We could go faster in theWave," said Bunker Blue, naming a smaller boat.
"Yes, but it wouldn't be quite so safe," said Mr. Brown, who was always very careful about the water, especially if any of the children were with him. "There is quite a sea on, and the wind is blowing hard."
"It looks a little like a storm," observed Bunker Blue.
"Yes, it does," agreed Mr. Brown. "And that's another reason we ought to take theSpray."
Bunny Brown did not care much in which boatthey went as long as he had a ride and was on the way to find Toby. He was almost sure the Shetland pony would be at the gypsy camp, and he had no doubt but that his father could easily take the little horse away from the bad men who had stolen him.
As they went down to the dock, leaving Sue at home with her mother, Bunny said:
"As soon as I saw the red and yellow flowers, which was just the color of the gypsy wagon, I thought the dark man might have taken Toby."
"And, very likely he did," said Mr. Brown. "Only we must not be too sure."
"Red and yellow are nice colors," said Bunker Blue. "Didn't you tell me, Bunny, that the box of papers Mr. Tallman lost was painted that way?"
"Yes, it was," said the little boy. "It had red and yellow stripes on it. But Mr. Tallman isn't a gypsy."
"Oh, I know that," replied Bunker Blue.
When they reached the dock and were getting ready to go aboard theSpray, Mr. Brown looked across the bay, and, noting the rather high waters and the way the wind blew, said:
"I wonder if, after all, we hadn't better go by land?"
"Oh, no, Daddy!" cried Bunny. "Let's go in the boat! It's nicer, and we'll get to the gypsy camp quicker to find Toby."
"Yes, we'll get there more quickly," said Mr. Brown. "But that isn't saying we'll find the pony, though I hope we shall. Anyhow, I guess we can go and come before the storm breaks. Get aboard, Bunny. Have we plenty of gasolene, Bunker?"
"The tank is full," answered the fish and boat boy.
"Well, then I guess we'll be all right. Ready, Bunny?"
"Yes, Daddy!" and the little boy looked eagerly across the bay toward Springdale, where, in the gypsy camp, he hoped to find Toby.
"All aboard, then!" announced Mr. Brown, and one of his men pushed theSprayaway from the dock. Bunker Blue started the gasolene motor, and the boat went out into the bay, with Mr. Brown at the steering wheel.
"Oh, I do hope we'll find Toby! I do hope we will!" said Bunny over and over again to himself.
As the motor boat went out beyond the dock the full force of the wind and waves was felt. TheSpraybobbed up and down, but Mr. Brown was a good sailor, and Bunker Blue had lived most of his life on and about salt-water, so he did not mind it. Nor did Bunny, for he, too, had often been on fishing trips with his father, and he did not get seasick even in rough weather.
"Like it, Bunny?" asked his father, as the little boy stood beside him in the cabin, while Mr. Brown turned the steering wheel this way and that.
"Lots, Daddy!" was the answer. "Shall we get there pretty soon?"
"Yes, if the storm doesn't hold us back."
But that is just what the storm seemed going to do. The wind began to blow harder and harder, and the waves, even in the sheltered bay, were quite high. But theSpraywas a fairly large boat, and stout; able to meet any weather except the very worst out on the open ocean.
On and on she chugged across the bay toward Springdale, and as they got farther and farther out in the middle, the storm grew much worse.
"I don't know about this, Bunker!" called Mr.Brown to the fish boy, who was looking after the motor. "I don't know whether we can get across or whether we hadn't better turn back forourdock."
"Oh, Daddy! don't go back! You're not going back before you get Toby, are you?" Bunny asked.
Anxiously Bunny Brown waited for his father's answer. The little boy looked out of the cabin windows at the storm which was roughing-up the waters of Sandport Bay. But Bunny was very much concerned about losing Toby, or not going on to find the pony.
"Well, I guess as long as we have come this far," said Mr. Brown, "we might as well keep on. You're not afraid, are you, Bunny?"
"Not a bit, Daddy! I like it!"
"You're a regular old sea-dog!" cried the fish merchant.
"And maybe we'll find our dog, Splash, at the gypsy camp, too," Bunny added.
"Maybe," agreed Mr. Brown. Then he asked Bunker Blue:
"What do you think of it?"
"Oh, I've seen it blow worse and rain harder," answered the boy who was attending to the motor. "I guess we can keep on."
It was raining very hard now, and the big drops, mixed with the salty spray blown up from the water of the bay, were being driven against the glass windows of the cabin.
"It's a good thing we brought the big boat," said Bunker Blue, as he put some oil on the motor.
"Yes," said Mr. Brown. "I'm glad we didn't try to come in the small one. We surely would have had to turn back."
Bunny Brown did not say anything for quite a while. He stood looking out of the cabin windows.
"What are you thinking of, Bunny?" asked his father, as he steered theSprayto one side to get out of the way of a fishing boat and was coming in, to get away from the storm.
"Oh, I was thinking of Toby," answered the little boy. "I hope he isn't out in the rain."
"Well, it won't hurt him very much," returned Mr. Brown. "The rain is warm, and Toby has a good thick coat of hair. All ponies have. But I guess the gypsies have some sort of barn for their horses—the ones they own and the ones they take from other people."
"I don't believe they have a barn," said Bunker. "They travel around so much they don't have timeto build barns. All I ever saw 'em have was some wagons that looked as if they had come from a circus and a few tents."
"Oh, well, maybe if they have Toby they'd let him stay in one of the tents," said Mr. Brown, for he did not want Bunny to feel bad about Toby being out in the storm.
"Yes, they could do that," agreed Bunny. "Toby isn't much bigger than a great big dog, and he could get in a tent. Anyhow, I hope the gypsies will be nice to him."
"I guess they will be," said Bunny's father. "Well, we'll soon know, for we'll be there shortly."
Though the storm was a hard one, the motor boat kept on making her way over, or through, the waves toward the landing on the other side of the bay, where Mr. Brown, Bunny, and Bunker were to get out and walk to the place where the gypsies were camped.
"Did you bring any umbrellas?" asked Bunny of his father.
"Yes, there are some in one of the lockers. Also rain coats and rubbers. I put them in when I saw that it was likely to rain."
Mr. Brown kept everything needed in stormy weather at his office on the dock, for often Mrs.Brown, or Bunny and Sue would go for a ride in one of the boats, and a storm would come up while they were out on the bay. Mr. Brown was always ready for all sorts of weather.
At last, after some hard work on the part of the gasolene motor, theSpraygot close to the other side of the bay. Here she was somewhat sheltered from the wind, and it was easier to get along.
Mr. Brown headed for a public dock, and, a little later, the boat was made fast and the fish merchant, Bunker, and Bunny got out, ready to go to the gypsy camp. It was well that umbrellas, coats and rubbers were in the boat, or the little party would have soon been wet through. As it was, the wind blew so hard that one umbrella was turned inside out.
"I guess we'd better leave them in the boat," said Mr. Brown. "I think if we wear our coats and sou'westers we'll be dry enough."
A southwester, which is usually pronounced and sometimes spelled "sou'wester," is a hat made from yellow oilskin, waterproof, and it can be tied on under the chin so it won't blow off.
And so, with yellow caps on their heads, with yellow coats which came almost to their feet, andwith rubber boots, Bunny Brown, his father and Bunker Blue set off through the rain to find the camp of the gypsies, and, if possible, to get Toby. Bunny had a special set of "oilskins," as they are called, for himself. Sue had a set also, but, of course, she was not along this time.
"And I'm glad we left her at home," said Mr. Brown. "She is a stout little girl, but this storm would have been too much for her. I'm afraid it is almost too much for you, Bunny."
"Oh, no, it isn't," said Sue's brother. "I like it!"
And I really believe he did.
TheSpraywas left tied to the dock, and a watchman there said he would look after her until Mr. Brown and the others came back. The boat was dry inside, though the outside, like everything else around her, was dripping wet, for the rain still came down hard.
"Hello!" exclaimed Mr. Brown, as he looked at his watch when they were walking up the dock. "It took us longer to come across the bay than I thought it would. It is almost noon. We had better stop in town and have some dinner. I don't believe the gypsies will feel like feeding us if we take Toby away from them."
"Do the gypsies eat in the rain?" asked Bunny.
"Of course," his father answered. "They have to eat then the same as a sailor does. And I suppose they know how to keep dry in their tents and wagons as well as we do in our boats. But we won't depend on them for our meal. We'll get it in the restaurant."
There was a small one on the shore, at the end of the dock, where fishermen and boatmen, many of whom Mr. Brown knew, took their meals.
There Bunny, his father and Bunker Blue had some hot clam chowder, with big crackers called "pilot biscuit," to eat with it. After they had eaten the chowder and the other good things the keeper of the restaurant set before them, they were ready to start out in the rain again.
"The gypsy camp; eh?" remarked a farmer of whom they asked how to get to the place. "Well, you go along this road about a mile, and then turn into the woods at your right. You can't miss it, for you'll see their tents and wagons. But take my advice, mister, and don't buy any horses of the gypsies. You can't trust 'em."
"I'm not going to buy any horses," said Mr. Brown with a smile. "We're only going to try toget back this little boy's pony which we think the gypsies may have taken."
"Oh, that's different. Well, I wish you luck!"
"Did you see my pony?" asked Bunny. "He was awful nice, and he could do tricks!"
"No, little man, I'm sorry to say I haven't seen your pony," answered the farmer of whom Mr. Brown inquired the way. "I haven't been to the gypsy camp, but a friend of mine bought a horse and it was no good. I don't like gypsies."
"Well, perhaps some of them are good," suggested Mr. Brown. "Did you happen to see, among them, one tall, dark man, who wears a red handkerchief around his neck, has gold rings in his ears and when he smiles he shows his white teeth."
"A lot of the men are like that, and some of the women," said the farmer.
"Is that so?" asked Mr. Brown. "I hoped you might know this particular man. He called himself Jaki Kezar, and he wanted to buy our pony."
"Only I wouldn't sell Toby to him," put in Bunny.
"And so," went on Mr. Brown, "we think this man may have come to our stable in the night and taken away the children's pet."
"Well, that's too bad," said the farmer. "Ihope you get the pony back. Just go on for about a mile, and then turn into the woods. You can't miss the place, but you'll find it terribly muddy and wet."
"Well, we're ready for that sort of thing," said Mr. Brown with a smile from under his yellow hat.
Bunny's father took hold of his little boy's hand on one side, and Bunker Blue on the other, and together the three plodded along through the storm, the mud, and the rain.
It was rather hard walking for little Bunny Brown, but he was a brave, sturdy chap, and he was not going to complain or find fault, especially after he had begged to be taken. But his legs did get tired, for the rubber boots were heavy, and, at last, with a sigh, he said:
"I'm glad we didn't bring Sue along."
"Why?" asked Mr. Brown, with a smile at Bunker Blue.
"Because she'd get awful tired, and she'd have to be carried," said Bunny. "I guess you or Bunker would have to carry Sue, if she was with us, Daddy."
"Maybe we would," said Mr. Brown with another smile. "Maybe you would like to be carried yourself, Bunny?"
"Me? Oh, no. I'm aboy!" said Bunny quickly.
But, all the same, his father noticed that the little fellow's legs were moving more and more slowly, and finally Mr. Brown said:
"I'll carry you a little way, Bunny boy! It will rest you!"
And how glad Bunny Brown was to hear his father say that! Though he never, never would haveaskedto be carried. But, of course, if daddy offered to do it that was different; wasn't it?
Picking his little boy up in his arms, Mr. Brown carried him along the road, perhaps for five minutes, and then Bunker Blue, peering through the mist, exclaimed:
"I see some tents and wagons over in a field near some woods!"
He pointed, and Mr. Brown said:
"I guess that's the gypsy camp all right! Yes, that's what it is!"
"Then please let me walk," said Bunny quickly. "I'm not tired now."
He did not want the gypsies to see him in his father's arms.
Mr. Brown, Bunker and Bunny turned into a field, and walked toward the tents. They could beseen more plainly now, with some wagons drawn up among them. As the three walked along they saw a tall man come from one of the tents toward them.
"That's the gypsy!" exclaimed Bunny in a whisper. "That's the man that wanted to buy our pony!"
It was, indeed, Jaki Kezar, and he smiled his pleasant smile.
"Ah, ha!" he said, as he caught sight of Bunny. "It is the little boy who owns the trick pony! Have you come to sell him to me?" he asked.
Bunny Brown did not know what to say. Was Toby in the gypsy camp?