CHAPTER XXI
HOW SUE FOUND THE EGGS
"Oh, Bunny! Can't you make him stop?" cried Sue, as she clung with herarms about her brother's waist, while the wagon swayed from side toside.
"I--I'm trying to," answered Bunny, pulling as hard as he could on thereins. "But he won't stop. Whoa! Whoa!" and Bunny called as loudly as hecould.
Down the street Splash kept running. He was getting nearer to the littleyellow dog, for this dog had only short legs, and Splash had long ones,and, of course, anyone with long legs can run faster than anyone withshort legs.
"I--I'm going to fall out!" Sue cried. "I--I'm slipping, Bunny! I'mfalling!"
"Hold on! Hold on tight!" Bunny begged his sister, for the wagon wasgoing very fast, and he knew if she fell out on the hard sidewalk shewould get a hard bump.
Sue clasped her arms as tightly as she could about her brother's waist,but her arms were short, and Bunny was rather fat, so it was not easyfor her to hold fast. Still she did her best.
Several persons on the other side of the street saw Bunny and Sue havinga fast ride in the toy express wagon, drawn by the big dog, but they didnot think the Brown children were in a runaway, which is just what theywere.
"My! what fun Bunny Brown and his sister Sue are having!" said one man,as he watched the express wagon bump along.
"Yes, they always seem to be having good times," replied a lady.
If they had only known it was a runaway, they might have run across thestreet and stopped Splash from going so fast.
On and on went the big dog. He was almost up to the yellow one now, andthe yellow dog began to yelp. Perhaps he thought he was going to becaught and hurt. Or maybe he feared Bunny or Sue would try to make himpull the big wagon, with them in it.
But of course they wouldn't think of such a thing, and as for Splash, Ihave told you that all he wanted to do was to rub noses with his littleyellow friend.
As the wagon rumbled past the house where lived Mr. Jed Winkler, the oldsailor, who owned Wango, the monkey, came out to the front gate. I meanMr. Winkler came out, not Wango, for he had been tightly chained, afterthe fun he had had in Mrs. Redden's candy shop.
"My! What a fine ride you are having!" called Mr. Winkler.
"Oh! It's not a nice ride at all!" answered Sue. "We're being runnedaway with! Please stop Splash!"
"Goodness me!" exclaimed Mr. Winkler. "A runaway! Well, I must stop it,of course!"
Out he ran from his yard to race after Splash, but there was no need forthe old sailor to catch the big dog. For, just then, the little yellowdog stumbled, and turned a somersault. And before he could pick himselfup, and run on again, Splash had caught up to him.
Now, this was all that Splash wanted to do--catch up to the yellow dogand rub noses with him. And as soon as Splash saw that the little doghad stopped, Splash stopped also.
But he stopped so suddenly that the wagon almost ran up on his back. Itturned around, and then it went over on one side, so that Bunny and Suewere spilled out. But they fell on some soft grass, so they were nothurt a bit, though Sue's dress was stained.
And as soon as the little yellow dog found that he was not going to behurt, but that Splash was just going to be friends with him, why the twoanimals just sat down in the grass find rubbed noses and, I suppose,talked to each other in dog language, if there is any such thing.
Bunny helped Sue get up, and then Mr. Winkler came running along. Hecould not go very fast, for he was aged, and he was a little lame,because of rheumatism, from having been out so many cold and wet nightswhen he was a sailor on a ship.
"Well, well, youngsters!" exclaimed Mr. Winkler. "You had quite a spill;didn't you?"
"But we didn't get hurt," said Bunny, who was looking at the wagon andharness to see that it was not broken. Everything seemed to be allright. "We're not hurt a bit," Bunny laughed.
"Well, I'm glad of that," went on Mr. Winkler, as he helped Bunny putthe wagon right side up and straight once more. "How did it happen?"
"Splash just runned away," replied Sue, "He runned after the yellowdog."
"And he caught him all right," laughed Mr. Winkler. "But they seem to begreat friends now. Who made your harness, Bunny?"
"Bunker Blue did. He can make lots of things."
"Yes, I guess he can," agreed the old sailor. "But I hope, after this,that Splash won't run away with you when you go for a ride."
"Well, it didn't hurt much, to fall out," laughed Bunny. "Now we'll rideback again."
Splash went back very slowly. Perhaps he was tired, or he may have beensorry that he had run so fast at first, and had upset the wagon. Theyellow dog went off by himself, and he was glad, I guess, that he didnot have to pull a wagon with two children in it. But Splash seemed toenjoy it.
Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu had not seen the runaway, or they might not havewanted Bunny and Sue to take any more rides in the express wagon. Butthe two children had lots of fun the rest of the morning, riding up anddown, and Splash acted very nicely, stopping when Bunny called "Whoa!"and going on again when the little boy said, "Giddap!"
"Oh, it's just like a real horse!" exclaimed Sue, clapping her hands."Will you let me hold the lines, Bunny?"
"Yes," answered her brother, and soon Sue could drive Splash almost aswell as Bunny could.
For several days after that Bunny Brown and his sister Sue had many goodtimes with their dog and express wagon. They gave their playmates ridesup and down the sidewalk, and never once again did Splash run away. Butthen he did not see his friend, the little yellow dog, or he might haveraced after him just as at first.
When Bunny and Sue were eating breakfast one morning, Mrs. Gordon, whosehusband kept the grocery store, came in to see Mrs. Brown.
"I wonder if your children could not help me?" said Mrs. Gordon, as shesat down in a chair in the dining room, and fanned herself with herapron. She lived next door to the Brown home.
"Well, Bunny and Sue are always glad to help," said their mother,smiling at them. "What is it you want them to do?"
"Do you want a ride in our express wagon, Mrs. Gordon?" asked Bunny.
"Or maybe have us sell lemonade for you?" added Sue.
"Bless your hearts! It isn't either of those things," answered Mrs.Gordon, with a laugh. "I just want you to help me hunt for a hen's nest.That's all."
"Look for a hen's nest!" exclaimed Bunny.
"Yes," said Mrs. Gordon. "One of my hens has strayed off by herself andis laying her eggs in a nest I can't find. I've looked all over our yardfor it, but perhaps it is in your barn," she went on to Mrs. Brown. "Andif it is, maybe Bunny and Sue could find it."
"Oh, maybe we could!" Bunny cried.
"It will be fun to look!" said Sue. "Come on, Bunny."
"Be careful you don't fall," their mother cautioned them, as they ranout, hardly waiting to finish their breakfast.
Hens, you know, often like to go quietly off by themselves, and laytheir eggs in a nest that no one can find. And this is what one of Mrs.Gordon's hens had done.
Into the barn ran Bunny and Sue.
"We'll see who'll find the nest first!" Bunny shouted.
"I think I shall," cried Sue.
And now you wait and see what happens.
There were many places in the barn where a hen might lay her eggs. Therewere nooks under wagons, or under wheelbarrows, corners behind boxes,and any number of holes in the place where the hay for the horses waskept--the haymow, as it is called.
Bunny and Sue looked in all the places they could think of. But they didnot see a hen sitting in her hidden nest, nor did they find the whiteeggs she might have laid.
"I guess the nest isn't here," said Bunny after a while.
"No, I guess not, too," echoed Sue. "Let's slide down the hay."
The hay in the mow was quite high in one place, and low in another, likea little hill. Bunny and Sue could climb to the top, or high place ofthe hay, and slide down, for it was quite slippery.
Up they climbed, and down they
slid, quite fast. They had done this anumber of times, when finally Sue said:
"Oh, Bunny, I'm going to slide down in a new place!"
She went over to one side of the hay-hill, and down she slid. And thensomething funny happened.
There was a sort of crackling sound, and Sue called out:
"Oh, Bunny! Bunny! I've found the hen's nest, and I'm right in it!"