Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Christmas Tree Cove | Page 3

her brother, in surprise.
"'Cause if you go in now mother will know we didn't go to the store,
and she might not like it. We'd better go now and let Charlie and Harry
and Sadie and Mary have the teeter-tauter until we come back,"
suggested Sue. "It'll hold four, our board will, but not six."
Bunny Brown thought this over a minute.
"Yes, I guess we had better do that," he said. Then, speaking to his
playmates, he added: "We have to go to the store, Charlie, Sue and I.
You can play on the seesaw until we come back. And then, maybe, we
can find another board, and make two teeters."
"I have a board over in my yard. I'll get that," offered Charlie, "if we
can get another sawhorse."
"We'll look when we come back," suggested Sue. "Come on, Bunny."
Sue got off the seesaw, as did her brother, and their places were taken
by Charlie, Harry, Mary and Sadie. Though Sue was a little younger
than Bunny, she often led him when there was something to do, either
in work or play. And just now there was work to do.
It was not hard work, only going to the store for their mother with the
pocketbook to pay a bill at the grocer's and get some things for supper.
And it was work Bunny Brown and his sister Sue liked, for often when
they went to the grocer's he gave each a sweet cracker to eat on the way
home.
Bunny, followed by Sue, started for the bench where the pocketbook
had been left. But, before they reached it, and all of a sudden, a big
yellow dog bounced into the yard from the street. It leaped the fence

and stood for a moment looking at the children.
"Oh, what a dandy dog!" cried Charlie.
"Is that your dog, Splash, come back?" asked Harry, for Bunny and his
sister had once owned a dog of that name. Splash had run away or been
stolen in the winter and had never come back.
"No, that isn't Splash," said Bunny. "He's a nice dog, though. Here,
boy!" he called.
The dog, that had come to a stop, turned suddenly on hearing himself
spoken to. He gave one bound over toward the bench, and a moment
later caught in his mouth the leather handle of Mrs. Brown's black
pocketbook and darted away.
Over the fence he jumped, out into the street, so quickly that the
children could hardly follow him with their eyes. But it was only an
instant that Bunny Brown remained still, watching the dog. Then he
gave a cry:
"Oh, Sue! The dog has mother's pocketbook and the money! Come on!
We've got to get it away from him!"
"Oh, yes!" echoed Sue.
Bunny ran out of the yard and into the street, following the dog. Sue
followed her brother. The four other children, being on the seesaw,
could not move so quickly, and by the time they did get off the board,
taking turns carefully, so no one would get bounced, Bunny Brown and
his sister Sue were out of sight, down the street and around a corner,
chasing after the dog that had snatched up their mother's pocketbook.
"We've got to get him!" cried Bunny, looking back at his sister. "Come
on!"
"I am a-comin' on!" she panted, half out of breath.
The big yellow dog was in plain sight, bounding along and still holding

in his mouth, as Bunny could see, the dangling pocketbook.
Suddenly the animal turned into some building, and was at once out of
sight.
"Where'd he go?" asked Sue.
"Into Mr. Foswick's carpenter shop," her brother answered. "I saw him
go in. We can get him easy now."
On they ran, Bunny Brown and his sister Sue. A few seconds later they
stood in front of the open door of a carpenter shop built near the
sidewalk. Within they could see piles of lumber and boards and heaps
of sawdust and shavings. The dog was not in sight, but Bunny and Sue
knew he must be somewhere in the shop. They scurried through the
piles of sawdust and shavings toward the back of the shop, looking
eagerly on all sides for a sight of the dog.
"Where is he?" asked Sue. "Oh, Bunny, if that pocketbook and the
money are lost!"
"We'll find it!" exclaimed Bunny. "We'll make the dog give it back!"
As he spoke there was a noise at the door by which the children had
entered the carpenter shop. The door was quickly slammed shut, and a
key was turned. Then a harsh voice cried:
"Now I've got you! You sha'n't play tricks on me any more! I've got
you locked up now!"
CHAPTER II
IN THE CARPENTER