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Bunny Brown and his Sister Sue at Christmas Tree Cove

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<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2> <h3>A COLLISION</h3> Mr. Brown caught the little boy up in his arms. Somehow, Bunny seemed much smaller in his pajamas. "Wake up, Bunny! Wake up!" his father said, gently shaking him. "What's the matter?" "I've got to find it. I know where it is—on the end of the dog's tail. And Sue——" Bunny stopped suddenly. A change came over his face, and a different look flashed into his eyes. "What—what's the matter? What am I down here for?" he asked wonderingly. And then his parents knew he was fully awake. "You have been walking in your sleep, dear," said his mother. "That's something you haven't done for a long time. The day had too much excitement in it for you. Are you all right now?" and she patted his cheeks as he nestled in his father's arms. "Oh, yes. I'm all right now," Bunny said. "I had a funny dream. I thought the dog came to me and said the diamond ring was on the end of his tail, and I was going to get one of Mr. Foswick's hammers and knock it off. The dog was on a bed of shavings in the carpenter shop and—and——" "Yes, and then you got out of bed and walked in your sleep," finished his father, with a laugh. "I must see if Sue is all right." She was. In her little bed she was slumbering peacefully, and Bunny was soon back with his head on the pillow. "Poor little dears!" said their mother, as the lights were put out and the house locked for the night. "They are thinking too hard about the lost ring. I mustn't let them see that I care so much, or it will spoil their summer at Christmas Tree Cove." "Yes, forget your loss if you can," suggested her husband. There was much to do the next day—so much that only once in a while did Bunny and Sue think of the strange dog that had run away with their mother's pocketbook and diamond ring. Bunker Blue was busy, also, and so was Uncle Tad, helping to get ready for the trip. Bunny and Sue wanted to help pack, but their mother said they could best help by running on errands. One of these took them to the carpenter shop of Mr. Foswick for a piece of wood Bunker wanted to nail across certain shutters in the house, which was to be closed for the summer. "Well, have you come to take another look for the ring?" asked the carpenter. "It isn't here. Bunker Blue and I looked all over." "I don't see what that dog could have done with it," said Bunny, as he glanced around the newly-swept shop. "He surely came in here with the pocketbook." "Yes, I saw the dog running around my yard," admitted the carpenter. "But I didn't see him have anything. Well, it's one of those things that never will be found, I s'pose. Here's the wood you want, and I'll not lock you in this time," and he smiled at Bunny and Sue as he thought of what had happened the other night. Another errand took the children down to their father's dock, and there they saw Bunker Blue and Captain Ross working aboard the Fairy. "I'm getting her in good shape for you, messmates!" called the jolly sailor. "And it reminds me of a riddle. Do you see that barrel of water there?" he asked, pointing to one on deck. "Yes, I see it," admitted Bunny. "Well, here's a riddle about it," went on the captain. "That barrel, we'll say, weighs ten pounds when it is empty. Now, what could I fill it with so it would weigh only seven pounds?" "Why, Captain Ross, if that barrel weighs ten pounds when it hasn't got anything in it, you couldn't fill it with anything to make it weigh seven pounds. It would weigh more than ten pounds if you filled it with anything." "Oh, no, it wouldn't!" the sailor said. "If I filled it full of holes, boring 'em in with one of Mr. Foswick's augers, then the barrel wouldn't weigh so much, would it? I'd cut a lot of wood out of the sides when I made the holes. Ha! Ha!" Bunny thought it over for a minute. Then he laughed. "That's a pretty good riddle," he said. "I'm glad you like it," went on Captain Ross. "After this, when anybody asks what you can fill a barrel or a box with to make it weigh less, just tell 'em to fill it full of holes! Ha! Ha!" and he clapped his big hand down on his bigger leg and laughed heartily. Bunny and Sue laughed also, and they knew they were going to have a jolly time on the trip to Christmas Tree Cove with Captain Ross to sail the Fairy, or, if there was no wind, to send the craft through the water by her gasolene engine. This engine Bunker Blue was working on to mend, as it had been broken just before the two Bunker children went adrift from their father's dock. "Will it be ready to sail to-morrow?" asked Bunny, as he watched Bunker hammering away at the motor. "Oh, yes," was the answer. "There isn't much the matter with her. We'll be able to pull out in the morning." And by hard work everything was finished that night on board the Fairy. Uncle Tad, the jolly old soldier, announced that he had his "knapsack" packed and enough "rations" to last him for a week, anyhow. As they were to make an early morning start, Bunny and Sue had said good-bye to their boy and girl friends the evening before. As they walked past Mr. Foswick's carpenter shop with Uncle Tad, who went down the street with them at the last minute to buy something Mrs. Brown wanted, the children looked at the wood-working place. "Wouldn't it be funny if that dog should be hiding around here?" asked Sue of her brother. "Yes," he agreed, "it would be. But I don't see him." "I guess if he is here he's hiding," Sue went on. "Maybe there's a hole under the floor of the shop and he's there, just as once at Grandpa's farm in the country we found where a hen had her nest under the floor in the barn. And it had eggs in it!" "Dogs don't make nests like hens," said Bunny. "Oh, I know that!" retorted Sue. "But maybe this dog hid the pocketbook under the boards in the shop floor." "I hardly think so," put in Uncle Tad. "He probably dropped that pocketbook in the street, and either some one picked it up and kept it, or else it was dropped down a sewer." "But if anybody found it, wouldn't we have got it back?" asked Bunny. "Daddy put an advertisement in the paper." "Maybe we would and maybe we wouldn't," said Uncle Tad. "Anyhow, it's gone." Bright and early the next morning Bunny Brown and his sister Sue went aboard the Fairy, which was tied at their father's dock. The Brown home had been shut up, the things that were needed had been put on board the boat, Mrs. Brown was keeping an eye on the children to see that they did not stray away, and Uncle Tad was stowing away the baggage in the cabin. Soon Mr. Brown, Bunker Blue, and Captain Ross would come on board and the voyage would start. The Fairy was large enough for the whole family, as well as the "crew," to sleep on board. The crew generally was made up of Captain Ross and a man and a boy. But this time Mr. Brown was going to take the place of the man, and Bunker Blue would be the "boy," so that it was more of a family party. Mr. Brown had known Captain Ross for many years, and the children felt as though he were as nearly related to them as was Uncle Tad. "All aboard!" called the captain, as he came down the wharf from Mr. Brown's office, accompanied by Mr. Brown and Bunker Blue. "Are you all aboard?" and he smiled at Bunny and Sue. "Yes, we're here," Bunny answered. "Isn't he funny, Mother?" whispered Sue. "He can look right at us, and yet he wants to know if we're here!" "It's just his joking way," said Mrs. Brown. "I've got another good riddle for you, youngsters," called Captain Ross, as he made his way along the deck. "What kind of tree would scare a cat?" "There wouldn't any tree scare a cat," declared Bunny. "I've seen a cat climb up a tree lots of times. Cats aren't scared of trees!" "Well, wouldn't a dogwood tree scare a cat?" chuckled the sailor. "Ha! Ha! I'm sure it would. I don't believe you could get a cat to climb a dogwood tree!" he went on. "That is a funny riddle!" declared Bunny. "I'm going to tell it to Charlie Star when we come back from Christmas Tree Cove." "We'd better get there first," went on Captain Ross, still chuckling at his riddle. "Cast off, Bunker Blue!" Bunker loosed the ropes that held the Fairy to the wharf, and the boat slowly drifted away. "Oh, we've really started!" cried Sue, as she saw the open water between the rail and the string-piece of the wharf. "We'll go faster than this!" exclaimed Bunny. "Wait till Bunker Blue starts the motor." As there was not enough wind to allow the sails to be used, it was needful to start the motor, and soon it was chugging away, sending the Fairy swiftly along through the water. Bunny and Sue were delighted with the trip. They sat in camp-chairs on deck and watched the different sights. They expected to cruise about on the boat for perhaps three days before going to the Cove. They could sleep in the little bunks with which the boat was provided. "It's a funny way to go to bed," said Sue, after looking at the bunks for the tenth time. "Well, I guess you can sleep here just as well as at home," answered her brother. "You'd better not walk in your sleep, Bunny, 'cause you might walk overboard." "I ain't going to walk in my sleep any more," answered Bunny. "I told daddy I wasn't." "Maybe you can't help it." "Yes, I can. You wait and see." It was toward the close of the afternoon, and Bunny and Sue were beginning to wonder how much longer it would be before supper was ready, when, as they stood near Bunker, who was steering, the children saw a canoe with two young men and two young women in it being slowly paddled across the bay. "They'd better watch where they're going," said Bunker Blue. "They seem to be aiming to cross our bows, and if they do—— Look out there!" he suddenly cried, as the canoe turned. "Do you want to be run down?" The next moment there was a collision. The Fairy struck the small boat, upsetting it and spilling into the water the two young men and the young women. "Oh! Oh!" cried Sue. "We've run over 'em!" <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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