Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home Part 14

"Yes, and there are some families who live higher than that."

They stepped out of the elevator into a little hall, and soon they were in Aunt Lu's nice city apartment, or house, if you like that word better.

"Now, Wopsie," said Aunt Lu, "you tell Jane to make Mrs. Brown a nice cup of tea."

"And can we go up on the roof?" asked Bunny.

"Not right away--but after a while," said his aunt.

"Let's go out into the elevator again," suggested Sue.

"No, dear, not now," said Mrs. Brown.

Bunny and Sue thought they had never been in such a nice place as Aunt Lu's city home. From the windows they could look down to the street, ten stories below.

"It's a good way to fall," said Bunny, in a whisper.

"But you musn't lean out of the windows, and then you won't fall," his mother told him.

The children were given their supper, and then Wopsie took them up on the roof. This was higher yet. It was a flat roof, with a broad, high railing all around it so no one could fall off. And from it Bunny and Sue could look all over New York, and see the twinkling lights far off, for it was now getting on toward evening, though it was not yet dark.

A little later Wopsie took them down in the elevator again, to the street. There they saw other children walking up and down, some of them playing; some babies being wheeled in carriages, and many men and women walking past.

"My! What a lot of people!" cried Bunny. "Is it always this way in a city, Wopsie?"

"Yes'm," answered the little colored girl, who seemed to mix up "Yes, ma'am," and "Yes, sir." But what of it? She meant all right. "It's bin dis way eber sence I come t' New York," she went on. "Allers a crowd laik dis. Everybuddy hurryin' an' hurryin'."

Wopsie stood still a moment to speak to another colored girl, who came out of the next house, and Bunny and Sue walked on ahead. Before they knew it they had turned a corner. Down at the end of the street they saw a man playing a hand-piano, or hurdy-gurdy, as they are called.

"Oh, Bunny!" cried Sue. "Let's go down and listen to the music."

"All right," Bunny agreed. "And maybe he has a monkey, like w.a.n.go."

Hand in hand the two children ran on. They saw other children about the hurdy-gurdy. Some of them were dancing. Bunny and Sue danced too. Then the music-man wheeled his music machine away, and Bunny and Sue turned to go back. They walked on and on, and finally Bunny, stopping in front of a big house said:

"This is where Aunt Lu lives."

"But where is Wopsie?" asked Sue. "Why isn't she here?"

"Oh, maybe she went inside," replied Bunny. "Come on, we'll go in the elevator and have a ride."

They went into the marble hall. It looked just like the one in Aunt Lu's apartment. And there was the same colored elevator boy in his queer little cage. Bunny and Sue went to the entrance.

"Where yo' want to go?" asked the elevator boy.

"To Aunt Lu's," answered Bunny.

"What floor she done lib on?" the boy asked.

"I--I don't know," Bunny said. "I--I forgot the number."

"What's her name?"

"Aunt Lu," said Sue.

"No, I mean her last name?"

"Oh, it's Baker," said Bunny. "Aunt Lu Baker."

The colored elevator boy shook his head.

"They don't no Miss Baker lib heah!" he said. "I done guess yo' chilluns done got in de wrong house!"

CHAPTER X

IN THE DUMB WAITER

Bunny Brown looked at his sister Sue, and his sister Sue looked at Bunny Brown. Then they both looked at the colored elevator boy. He was smiling at them, so Bunny and Sue were not as frightened as they might otherwise have been.

"Isn't this where Aunt Lu lives?" asked Bunny.

"Nope. Not if her name's Baker," answered the elevator lad. "We sure ain't got n.o.body named Baker in heah!" (He meant "here.")

"Oh, Bunny!" cried Sue. "Then we're losted again!"

"Where'd you come from?" asked the colored boy. "Now don't git skeered, 'cause yo' all ain't losted very much I guess. Maybe I kin find where yo' all belongs. What's de number of, de house where yo' auntie libs?"

"I--I don't know," said Bunny. He had not thought to ask the number of his aunt's house, nor had he looked to see what the number was over the door before he and Sue came out. In the country no one ever had numbers on their houses, and Bellemere was like the country in this way--no houses had numbers on them.

"Well, what street does your aunt done lib on?" asked the colored boy, in the funny way he talked.

"I don't know that, either," said Bunny.

"Huh! Den yo' suah _am_ lost!" cried the elevator lad. "But don't yo'

all git skeered!" he said quickly, as he saw tears coming in Sue's brown eyes. "I guess yo' all ain't losted so very much, yet. Maybe I kin find yo' aunt's house."

"If you could find Wopsie for us, she could take us there," said Bunny.

"Find who?"

"Wopsie. She's a little girl that lives with my aunt, and--"

But the elevator boy did not wait for Bunny to finish.

"Wopsie!" he cried. "Am she dat queer li'l colored gal, wif her hair all done up in rags?"