Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Christmas Tree Cove Part 25

"Here's a good place to dig," said Bunny, as he led Sue and Harry through little pools of water to the clam flats. "Sue, you hold the basket and Harry and I will dig."

"Well, this time I will, 'cause Harry's new," answered Sue. "But after this I'll dig, too."

Bunny had brought two shovels, and, giving the new boy one, Sue's brother used the other. He dug a hole in the mucky, black sand, and Harry did likewise.

"When you see something that looks like a black stone pick it up,"

advised Bunny. "'Cause that's a clam."

The two boys dug away for some time, and at last Harry cried:

"I got one!"

"Yes, that's a soft clam, and a nice big one," declared Bunny. "And I've got one myself!"

Soon the two little boys had found a number of clams, which they put in the basket Sue held. Bunny was just digging out an extra large one when, all of a sudden, Sue cried:

"Bunny, I'm stuck! I can't get my feet up! Oh, Oh!"

"Maybe a big clam has hold of her," said Harry. "What'll we do, Bunny?"

CHAPTER XIX

ANOTHER STORM

The two boys stopped their clam-digging and stood staring at Sue, who was holding the basket of sh.e.l.lfish and looking at her brother and Harry.

"I'm stuck fast!" cried Sue again. "I can't lift up either of my legs, Bunny! What shall I do?"

"Is it a clam that has hold of you?" asked Harry.

"Clams don't grab hold of you like crabs," declared Bunny. "Once a crab got hold of my toe, and it pinched like anything."

"Maybe it's a crab, then," said Harry.

"This isn't a crab or a clam," said Sue. "But my feet are all tight in the mud, and I can't lift 'em out! Look!"

She struggled hard, trying first to lift one foot and then the other.

But she only swayed in a little pool of water that collected around her bare legs.

"Oh, I know what the matter is!" exclaimed Bunny, as he looked again at his sister. "It's like getting into a muck hole in the swamp. There's a lot of soft sand and muck here on the flats, and you've stepped into one of the holes, Sue."

"Shall I--shall I sink down through the hole all the way to--to China?"

asked the little girl, and it looked as if she might be going to cry, as she had the time she and Bunny were lost in the Christmas Tree woods.

"We'll get you up," said Bunny. "Come on, Harry. You take hold of Sue on one side and I'll take hold of her on the other. Then maybe she can lift up her own legs."

The boys went toward her.

"Take the basket of clams," directed Sue. "I don't want to spill 'em!"

She handed Bunny the basket of soft clams which the two boys had dug, and Bunny set it on top of the pile of dirt that had been piled up as he and Harry dug holes to get at the sh.e.l.lfish. Then the two boys stood, one on either side of Sue, so she could put her hands on their shoulders.

"Maybe we'll get stuck in the mud, too," suggested Harry.

"Oh, I guess not," said Bunny. "Anyhow, if we do, it'll be fun."

Seeing Bunny and Harry about to help her, Sue felt better. She gave up the notion of crying, and began to pull up, first on one foot and then on the other.

At first it seemed that neither one would move, so sticky was the mud and muck. But at last Sue felt one giving, and she cried:

"Oh, I'm getting loose! I'm getting loose, Bunny!"

"Pull harder!" directed her brother. "Pull as hard as you can!"

Just about this time Mrs. Brown, who was sitting on the sand under the sun umbrella talking to Mrs. Slater, happened to look over toward the children who had gone clam-digging. She saw Bunny and Harry standing close to Sue, and she knew, by the way the children were acting, that something had happened.

Then Mrs. Slater, too, looked toward the three children.

"Is Harry in trouble again?" asked his mother.

"No, this time it seems to be Sue," said Mrs. Brown. "I think she is stuck in the mud."

"Is that serious?" asked Mrs. Slater, for she had not been to the seash.o.r.e enough to know anything about clam-digging.

"Oh, there is no danger," said Mrs. Brown. "They may get very muddy. But they have on their bathing suits, and can easily wash. However, we might walk over as near as we can go, so they may see us."

"Very well," agreed Mrs. Slater. "I don't want Harry frightened again to-day."

But she need not have worried. The children were laughing as Sue used the two boys like a pair of crutches to help her lift her feet from the muck. Soon she had pulled loose, and she held one foot out so she could see it.

"Oh, look!" cried the little girl. "There's so much mud on my foot I can't see my toes wiggle!"

And this was really so.

"It looks as if you had a black shoe on," added Bunny. "Come on now, you'd better step away from here if you don't want to get stuck again, Sue."

"And I'm getting stuck myself!" exclaimed Harry, as he felt one foot sinking. "Is it all like this on the clam flats?"

"No," answered Bunny, "only in some places. It was all right where you and I stood."

By this time Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Slater had reached the edge of the clam flats, and they saw that the three children were all right. Harry and Bunny again started to dig for the sh.e.l.lfish and Sue held the basket for them. But she took care to stand on a big flat stone, so there was no more danger of sinking down.

"Mother!" cried Harry, when he saw Mrs. Slater with Mrs. Brown, "digging clams is lots of fun, and Sue got stuck in the mud."

"So we saw," his mother answered. "The seash.o.r.e is a funny place. You don't seem to know what will happen on land or in the water."