Sunny Boy in the Big City Part 15

The round walls of the fort were set with what looked like gla.s.s plates, behind which great lazy fish were idly swimming. It looked as though one could go in back of them and see through, and perhaps touch the fish in the water.

After they had seen all the fish in all the tanks downstairs, they went upstairs and looked at the fish and the corals and anemones and funny crabs living and growing in other gla.s.s tanks. The anemones looked like beautiful, vivid flowers, and Mrs. Horton and Mrs. Kennedy both exclaimed over their beauty.

"I like the crab that walks crooked best," announced Sunny Boy, and d.i.c.k and Paul agreed with him.

When they came out of the aquarium they walked about the picturesque old park a little, and then found a small place where they had lunch.

"What does Sunny Boy know about the statue we're going to see?" asked Mrs. Kennedy, as they stepped on board the boat that was to take them to the Statue of Liberty that afternoon. "My children have been so often that it is an old story to them."

"I know," cried Sunny Boy eagerly. "Donald Joyce told me. I know, don't I, Mother?"

"Donald Joyce is a young neighbor of ours who went to war and came back safely," said Mrs. Horton.

"An' Donald said," recited Sunny Boy, slowly and carefully because he did not want to forget before he had told it all, "the Statue of Liberty was made by a man--you say it, Mother," he broke off. "It begins with 'B'."

"A man named Bartholdi," said Mrs. Horton smilingly.

"A man named Bartholdi," repeated Sunny Boy. "He came over from France to see us, and he saw all the im-im-immigrants acting glad when they first saw the United States. So he went home and asked the French to give some money so's he could build us a statue. And they did. And Bartholdi made the statue and it's a present from France. Donald Joyce said the soldiers were awful glad to see it when they came home from France and they were glad they'd helped fight for the country that made the Statue of Liberty, too."

"Isn't that nice?" said Alice Kennedy, with satisfaction. "I never heard that part about the soldiers being glad. The boat's moving, Sunny!"

The four children hung over the rail, pulled back now and then by an anxious mother, during the short sail. Alice had brought some crumbs of bread with her, and they amused themselves by throwing these into the water for the gulls.

"See the boats!" cried Sunny Boy, pointing to several large steamers plainly seen from their boat.

"That's Ellis Island we're pa.s.sing," explained Mrs. Kennedy. "All the immigrants are sent there from the s.h.i.+ps on which they arrive. They see the Statue of Liberty first, Sunny, as you said."

The beautiful bronze Statue of Liberty, familiar to all the boys and girls of our country through pictures if not by actual sight, loomed up before the pa.s.sengers on the boat now. It was so much larger than Sunny Boy had expected, that he stared at it silently.

"The torch isn't lit, but you can imagine how wonderful it must look then," said Mrs. Horton, as the boat docked and the people prepared to go ash.o.r.e. "Just think of the millions of people who have been glad to catch their first glimpse of 'Miss Liberty'."

"It's awful big," Sunny managed to gasp.

"Guess how high it is," said Alice. "You can't? Well, it's one hundred and fifty-one feet high. My father told me. And that's not counting the thing it stands on."

"Don't talk all the time, Alice," implored her mother. "Let Sunny Boy have time to collect his thoughts. Shall we walk around it first, dear, before we go in?"

They walked slowly around the statue, and then went inside.

"Now we'll go up," chattered Alice. "I just love going up and looking out over the bay when we get there."

Sunny Boy planted his feet firmly on the stone floor.

"I isn't going up," he announced quietly.

"Why, Sunny! Why not? Don't you want to?" several voices urged him at once.

Sunny Boy shook his head.

"I'll wait for you," he said politely.

"But we've been up," declared d.i.c.k and Paul. "n.o.body ever comes 'way out to the Island and not go up. What will people say?"

"You haven't seen the Statue of Liberty at all," cried Alice, greatly disappointed.

"I'd rather not," insisted Sunny Boy.

The two mothers looked at each other and laughed.

"I went up with Harry years ago," said Mrs. Horton. "Of course I should like Sunny Boy to have the experience, but he'll come to New York other times I hope. Anyway, I can't agree with Alice that he hasn't seen the statue. He can learn the dimensions when he studies arithmetic."

Sunny Boy wasn't quite sure in his own mind why he refused to take the elevator, as people all around him were doing, and go to the top of the statue. He only knew that he would be dreadfully unhappy if any one made him go.

He was very quiet on the trip back, but all the children were a little tired from their busy day and not so inclined to be hilarious as earlier in the afternoon. They all said good-bye to Sunny Boy at the ferry, for the Kennedys took a different way from Sunny Boy and his mother.

"We're going home in the subway," said Mrs. Kennedy, kissing Mrs.

Horton. "It's the quickest way to travel. I think you're foolish to drag Sunny around on the surface cars."

"I want to wait till his father can go with us," answered Mrs. Horton.

"Your noisy old subways make me nervous, Adele."

Sunny Boy, sleepily leaning against Mother's shoulder in the crowded street car, remembered this.

"What's a subway?" he asked drowsily. "Where is it, Mother?"

"You'll find out perhaps to-morrow, if Daddy isn't too busy," Mother a.s.sured him. "Oh, precious, see this poor old woman."

Sunny Boy sat up, wide awake instantly.

An old woman, bent and lame, had entered the car and stood swaying, trying to reach a hanger. She had a worn old shawl over her shoulders and carried a big basket.

Sunny Boy slipped out of his place.

"Here's a seat for you," he called clearly.

The woman sat down heavily, mumbling her thanks, and Sunny Boy had to stand the rest of the way home. Not that he minded. For one thing, it kept him wide awake, and for another, his father always gave every woman his seat in a crowded car, and Sunny Boy was sure he would be glad to hear that Sunny Boy had done the same.

"And what do we do to-morrow?" this same Daddy asked that night as he helped a very tired, sleepy little boy to get ready for bed. "I'm going to play with you and Mother all day, you know."

Sunny Boy was ready with his reply.

"To-morrow," he said indistinctly, in the midst of a big yawn, "we're going to travel quick on the subway!"

CHAPTER XI