Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue Part 13

"How?"

"Throw a stick in the water, and he'll chase after it."

"Fine!" cried Bunny, and he tossed a chip out into the river. With a bark the dog rushed after it. But I think you can guess what happened.

Instead of the dog's pulling the boat, the string broke, and, of course, that was the end of the harness.

"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Sue. "We'll never get home, Bunny!"

The little boy did not know what to do next. But, all at once, as he and his sister looked at each other, quite worried and anxious, they heard a voice shouting:

"Bunny! Sue! Are you there? Where are you? Bunny! Sue!"

CHAPTER X

A TROLLEY RIDE

"Who--who is that?" asked Sue of her brother in a whisper. "Oh, it's papa come for us!"

"That isn't papa," Bunny answered, for well he knew his father's voice.

"Well, it's SOMEBODY, anyhow," and Sue smiled now, through her tears.

"It's somebody, and I'm so glad!"

"Bunny! Sue!" called the voice again, and the big dog barked. Perhaps he was also glad that "somebody" had come for him, as glad as were the children. But, though Bunny Brown and his sister Sue looked all about, they could see no one. Then, all of a sudden, Sue thought of something.

"Oh, Bunny!" she cried. "Do you s'pose it could be him?"

"Be who?"

"Robinson Crusoe's man Friday. Here on the island, you know. Maybe he heard we were here, and came to help us catch fish, or make a fire. Oh, Bunny, if it should be Mr. Friday!"

"Pooh! It couldn't be," said Bunny. "Mr. Friday was only make-believe, and we were only pretending, anyhow. It couldn't be!"

"No, I 'spose not," and Sue sighed. "Anyhow, it's somebody, and they know us, and I'm glad!"

Bunny was also glad, and a few seconds later, while the dog kept on barking, and running here and there, Bunny and Sue raw, coming around the end of the island, a boat, and in it was Jed Winkler, the old sailor who owned w.a.n.go, the monkey. Only, of course, the old sailor did not have the monkey with him this time.

"Bunny! Sue! Oh, there you are!" called Mr. Winkler as he saw the two children.

"Oh, Mr. Winkler!" cried Bunny. "We're so glad to see you!"

"Yes, and I guess your folks will be glad to see YOU!" answered the old sailor. "They've been looking all over for you, and only a little while ago I noticed that your boat was gone. I thought maybe you had gone on a voyage down the river, so I said I'd come down and look, as far as the island, anyhow. And here you are!

"I wonder what you'll do next? But there's no telling, I reckon. What have you been doing, anyhow, and whose dog is that?"

"He's mine," said Sue quickly. "He pulled me out of the water."

"He's half mine, too," said Bunny. "I saw him before you did, Sue. You couldn't see him 'cause your head was under the water," he went on, "and when a feller sees a dog first, half of it is his, anyhow; isn't it, Mr.

Winkler?"

"Oh, you may have half of him," agreed Sue kindly. "Do you want the head half, or the tail hall, Bunny?"

"Well," said Bunny slowly, "I like the tail end, 'cause that wags when he's happy, but I like the head end too, because that barks, and he can wash our hands with his tongue."

Bunny did not seem to know which half of the dog to take. Then a new idea came to him.

"I'll tell you what we can do, Sue!" he exclaimed. "We can divide him down the middle the other way. Then you'll have half his head end, and half his tail end, and so will I."

"Oh, yes!" Sue agreed, "and we can take turns feeding him."

"Say, I never see two such youngsters as you!" declared the old sailor, laughing. "What happened to you, anyhow?"

"Well, we didn't mean to go off in the boat, but we did," Bunny explained. "Then we got wrecked on this island, just like Robinson Crusoe did."

"Only we didn't find Mr. Friday," put in Sue.

"But we found a cave--a make-believe one," Bunny said quickly.

"And I fell in, but we didn't get any fish," added the sister.

"And the dog did pull her out, and we're going to keep him," went on Bunny. "And will you take us home, Mr. Winkler? 'Cause we're hungry, and maybe our dog is, too, and it's getting dark, and we couldn't make our boat go, even if we did hitch the dog up to it."

"Bless your hearts, of course I'll take you home, and the dog, too!" the old sailor cried, "though I didn't expect to find a dog here. Come now, get in my boat, and I'll fasten yours to mine, and pull it along after me. Come along!"

Bunny Brown and his sister Sue were soon in the old sailor's boat, the dog following them, and, a little later, they were safely at their own dock, where their father and mother, as well as Aunt Lu and Bunker Blue, were waiting to greet them.

"Oh, Bunny! Oh, Sue!" cried Mrs. Brown, as she gathered them both into her arms. "Why did you do it? Oh, such a fright as you have given all of us!"

"We didn't mean to, Mother," said Bunny, himself a little frightened at what had happened. "The boat came untied, and floated off with us, and then we played Robinson Crusoe, just like you read to me out of the book, and--"

"But we didn't find Mr. Friday," interrupted Sue, who seemed to feel this was quite a disappointment.

"Never mind," remarked Aunt Lu, "you had plenty of other adventures, I should think. Why, Sue!" she exclaimed, "your dress is quite damp!"

"She fell in," explained Bunny, "and--"

"Mercy! Where did that dog come from?" cried Mrs. Brown, for the big s.h.a.ggy animal had been lying quietly in the bottom of Mr. Winkler's boat, and now, with a bark, he suddenly sprang up, and jumped out on the dock.

"It's our dog," said Sue. "He pulled me out."

"Pulled you out, child? Out of where?" Mrs. Brown wanted to know. "What happened? Tell me all about it!"

Which Bunny and Sue did, taking turns. Then they begged to be allowed to keep the dog, and Mr. Brown said they might, if no one came to claim it.