Laura Lee Hope

“ Just what made Bunny awaken he did not know. But, all at once the little fellow sat up on his cot, and looked with wide-open eyes toward the entrance. There was a lantern burning in the tent, and by the light of it Bunny Brown saw a big shaggy animal, standing on its hind legs, and sniffing with its black nose. At first Bunny could not make a sound, he was so frightened, but finally he screamed:
"Oh, Daddy! Daddy! Wake up! It's a bear! A bear! A big black bear in the tent!"
Then Bunny slipped down between the blankets and covered up his head with the bed clothes. ”

“ And that night was the grand marshmallow candy roast. Uncle Tad built a fire of wood in front of the big tent. When the smoke and the hottest flames had died away Bunny and Sue and the others, sitting on logs around the fire, toasted the candies, holding them over the fire on the pointed ends of the sticks Bunker Blue had made with his sharp knife.
"Oh, aren't they good!" cried Sue, as she began to eat a candy she had roasted.
"Look out! They're hot!" called Uncle Tad. But he was too late.
"Ouch!" cried Sue, as the hot candy burned her tongue, "Oh, it hurts!" she sobbed. "It hurts me!" ”

“ Tom said, in a whisper.
Bunny put the pail down on the ground, near a big stone, so he would know where to look for it again. Then, to hide, they all squeezed as far back in the bushes as they could, and waited.
"Is he coming after us?" asked Sue in a whisper.
"No, I guess he's only after me," answered Tom. "He won't touch you or Bunny."
"Is it a Gypsy man?" Bunny wanted to know.
"No, he isn't a Gypsy," replied Tom. "He's just a cross, bad man; and I don't want him to see me. Keep your heads down."
Bunny and Sue did so. Like frightened rabbits they crouched among the bushes. ”

“ Bunny cried. "You're Tom Vine who ran away from us! Why did you run away? Daddy has been looking for you. You are Tom Vine; aren't you?"
"Yes, Bunny, I am. Wait a minute and I'll light a lantern, and you can see me better. Look out, Splash, so I won't step on you."
So that was why Splash had made such good friends with the big boy who came down the cave chimney hole—Splash knew Tom Vine, of course, even in the darkness.
Tom walked over to one of the boxes, and brought out a lantern. This he lighted. Bunny and Sue blinked their eyes at the sudden light, but they were soon used to it. ”

“ There's the man! He's after me! Oh, please don't let him take me away!"
Tom turned to run back into the woods, but Mr. Brown called to him:
"Stay right where you are, Tom! This man won't hurt you. Stay where you are."
Though he was much frightened, Tom stood still.
"Now then, what do you want?" asked Mr. Brown of the man with the whip.
"I want that boy!" answered the man, pointing the whip at poor Tom. "I hired him to work for me, but he ran away. I want him back, and I'm going to have him!"
And oh, what a rough, cross voice the man had! He wasn't at all nice, Bunny and Sue thought. ”

“ Sue was pulling, as best she could, on her one oar. But boats are not meant to be rowed with one oar, though you can scull, or paddle, with one. If you row with one oar your boat swings around in a circle, instead of going straight ahead.
"I can't row this way, Bunny!" called Sue. She knew enough about boats for that. "You'll have to get your oar, Bunny."
"We won't need it, Sue," called her brother. "Take in your oar. We won't need that either. We're going to sail. Look! the umbrella is just like a sail." ”

“ Sue asked. "I've tried and tried, but I can't guess."
"Well, this is the surprise," replied Daddy Brown, "and I hope you'll like it. We are going off into the woods camping—that means living in a tent. We'll cook in a tent—that is when it rains so we can't have a campfire out of doors—we'll eat in the tent and we'll sleep in it."
"Oh, Daddy! Shall we—really?" cried Bunny, almost falling off his father's knee he was so excited.
"Yes, that's what we're going to do," said Mr. Brown. "We are going to spend the summer in camp, under a tent instead of in a cottage, as we sometimes do. ”

“ TOM IS GONE
"Daddy! Daddy!" cried Sue, from behind the curtain, in the part of the tent where she slept with her mother. "Daddy, do you think we'll blow away?"
"Oh, no," answered Mr. Brown. "Don't be afraid. Bunker and I fastened down the tent good and strong. It can't blow over."
"But I'm getting all wet!" cried Bunny. "The water's leaking all over my bed, Daddy!"
"Yes, I didn't know there was a hole in the tent. I'll fix it to-morrow," said Bunny's father. "You get in my bed, Bunny!"
"Oh, goodie!" Bunny cried. He always liked to get in his father's bed. ”

“ Brown, taking up a stick, ran toward the dog.
"Let it alone, Splash! Let it alone!" cried Daddy Brown. "That's a big muskrat, and if it bites you it will make a bad sore. Let it alone!"
Daddy Brown struck at something in the water, and Bunny and Sue, running down to the edge of the lake, saw a large, brown animal, with long hair, swimming out toward the middle. Splash started to follow but Mr. Brown caught the dog by the collar.
"No you don't!" cried Bunny's father, "You let that muskrat alone, Splash. He's so big, and such a good swimmer, that he might pull you under the water and drown you. ”

“ Soon the little party, including the new boy, Tom Vine, were seated around the table under the dining tent, eating pancakes that Mrs. Brown cooked over the oil stove.
Bunny and Sue said nothing for several minutes. They were too busy eating. Then Bunny, looking at Tom, asked:
"Can you jump over an elephant?"
"Jump over elephants? I guess not!" the new boy cried. "I never saw an elephant, except in a picture."
"We did," said Sue. "We saw a real elephant in a real circus, and we had a make-believe circus with a pretend elephant in it." ”

“ Bunny and Sue had often "played house," and they knew how to make the old blankets, and pieces of carpet they found in the cave, into a sort of bed. It was not so light now, for it was coming on toward night, and the sky was covered with clouds.
"If we shut our eyes and go to sleep we won't mind the dark," said Bunny.
"All right—let's," agreed Sue.
They cuddled up on the bags, their arms around one another, with Sue's doll held close in her hand, while Splash lay down not far from them. ”

“ I don't want to kill a bear, anyhow. I just want to scare 'em. And maybe when I scare a [Pg 52] little bear I can grab it and bring it home and tame it."
"Oh, if you only could!" cried Sue. "Then we could make it do tricks, and we could get a hand-organ and go around with a trained bear instead of a monkey."
"Yes," said Bunny. "We could until the bear got too big. I guess I wouldn't want a big bear, Sue."
"No, little ones is the nicest. Maybe we'd better get a monkey, anyhow, 'cause they never grow big."
"I don't believe any monkeys grow in the woods where we're going to camp," observed Bunny. ”

“ Leading Bunny and Sue by the hands, with Splash following after, Tom started for Camp Rest-a-While. He stopped for a moment on top of the cave, to show the children the chimney hole, and how he had slid down it by holding on to a long grapevine, that twined around a tree growing near the hole. The grapevine was like a long rope.
Through the woods went Bunny, Sue and Tom. As they came near the camp they saw lanterns flashing, and voices called:
"Bunny! Bunny Brown! Sue! Sue! Where are you?"
"Here we are. Daddy! Here we are!" cried Bunny and Sue together. "And Tom Vine is with us!" ”

“ Sue nodded her head, and clasped closer in her arms the doll she had brought with her.
"Wait until we see what's in the trap—under the box," said Bunny. "I'll lift it up and look under. If it's a fox I won't let him out." Bunny started toward the box that was still moving slowly about on the big flat rock where Bunny had set his trap.
"Don't you touch it!" cried Sue. "Don't lift up the box. Bunny!" ”

“ Sue asked.
"No, dear, not in this rain. Can't you wait until daddy comes home?"
"Yes, but I—I don't want to, Mother."
"Oh, well, we have to do many things in this world that we don't want to. Now go and play with your dolls, or something. I think daddy will be home early to-night, on account of the storm. Then he'll tell you what's in the bundle."
"Does Sam know?" asked Bunny, as he watched the express wagon drive away.
"Perhaps he does," answered Mrs. Brown.
"Then we can ask him!" exclaimed Sue. "Come on, Bunny!"
"No, dears, you mustn't go out to the barn in this rain. You'd get all wet." ”

“ Daddy Brown was used to being suddenly aroused in the night by either Bunny or Sue, At home the children often awakened, and called out. Sometimes they would be dreaming, or perhaps they would want a drink of water. So Daddy Brown and Mrs. Brown were used to answering when they heard the children call out.
But it was something new to hear Bunny calling about a big, black bear. He had never done that before, though one time, when he ate too much bread and jam for supper, he screamed that there was an elephant in his room, and there wasn't at all. ”

“ It was about a week after Tom's adventure in the drifting boat that one day, as he was walking through the woods with Bunny and Sue, on their way back from a farmhouse where they had gone after milk, that Tom suddenly came to a stop along the path.
"Wait a minute!" he said in a whisper, to Bunny and Sue.
"What's the matter?" Bunny wanted to know. "You look afraid, Tom. Are you?" ”

“ They were half way across the lake when Sue suddenly cried:
"Oh, there she goes! Oh, she's fallen in!"
"What is it?" asked Mr. Brown, turning around quickly, for he was seated with his back toward his little girl.
"It's my doll!" Sue cried. "She jumped right out of my arms, and fell in the lake." ”

“ Now I am stuck and I can't seem to get out."
"Perhaps I can help you," said Daddy Brown. "I have a very strong automobile here. I'll go on ahead, keeping to the road, and I'll tie a rope to your car, and fasten the other end to mine. Then I'll pull you out of the mud."
"I'd be very thankful to you if you would." said the man.
"Yes, we'd be ever so much obliged," echoed the two ladies, whose shoes were all muddy from having jumped out of the automobile down into the ditch.
It did not take Daddy Brown and Bunker Blue long to fasten a rope from their automobile to the one stuck in the mud. ”

“ You can steer a boat with one oar, if you can't row it with one, and Sue knew a little bit about steering. But the oar was too heavy for Sue's little hands, and it soon slipped over into the lake. She tried to grab it, but was too late. The second oar was lost overboard.
"Oh, dear!" Sue cried. "It's gone."
"Never mind," said Bunny. "We don't need oars with the umbrella for a sail. Only we can't sail back where we were unless the wind blows the other way. ”

“ Bunny begged. "Maybe I'll catch a fox pretty soon. Oh, look, Sue!" he cried, this time aloud, he was so excited. "There's a bird going into the box. I'll catch the bird, to show you how my trap works."
"You won't hurt the bird; will you, Bunny?" begged Sue. ”

“ Sue didn't mind going closer if her father carried her, and soon the two children, and Mr. Brown, were looking down into the hole at which Splash was barking.
All at once a light brown animal, covered with fur, and larger than the muskrat Splash had barked at in the lake, stuck its head out of the hole.
"Oh, look!" cried Bunny. "It's a little bear!"
"No, that's a ground-hog, or woodchuck," explained Mr. Brown. "They won't hurt you. This must be the old father or mother, and there may be little ones in the hole, or burrow, so the old folks want Splash to go away." ”

“ Splash!" cried Bunny. "Come back. The fox will bite you!"
"Don't worry," said Daddy Brown. "Splash can never catch that fox. The fox can run too fast, and he has a good head-start. Splash will soon get tired of running, and come back."
"The idea! The idea," exclaimed Mr. Trimble, "of a fox being in my smoke-house! That's what made your dog all excited."
"Yes, that was it," said Daddy Brown. "But I thought you might have Tom Vine shut up in there. I'm sorry I made the mistake."
"Oh, well, that's all right," said Mr. Trimble. He did not seem so cross now. He even smiled at Bunny and Sue. ”

“ Bunny thought for about half a minute.
"Are you going to make a trap to catch something?" the little boy asked. Ever since he had come to Camp Rest-a-While he had begged Bunker to make a trap to catch a fox, or a squirrel, or something like that. Bunny did not want to hurt the wild animals, but he thought he would like to catch one in a trap, and try to tame it.
"No, I'm not making a trap," answered Bunker. "I don't believe you children could guess what these sticks are for if you tried all day. ”

“ Soon it would be June, and that is the nicest month in all the year to go camping in the woods, for the days are so long that it doesn't get dark until after eight o'clock at night, and one has that much longer to have fun.
When breakfast was over Bunny and Sue went out to the barn to look at the big express bundle which held the tent. It was too heavy for them to lift, or they themselves might have tried to put it up out on the lawn. Bunny Brown was that kind of boy. And Sue would have helped him. ”

“ About the only thing I can do is wash and dry the dishes."
"Well, it's a good thing to be able to do even one thing well," said Mrs. Brown, "and I'm glad you're here to wash and dry the dishes. There are plenty of them."
"I know something else you can do," said Bunny, smiling at Tom.
"What is it?"
"You can eat."
"Yes," and Tom laughed. "I like to eat, and I'm hungry three times a day."
"Bunny and Sue are hungry oftener than that," said Uncle Tad. "At least they say they are, and they come in and get bread and jam."
Bunny and Sue looked at each other and laughed. ”

“ Splash was a regular water-dog. He could swim across the lake, he could jump in and bring back sticks that Bunny or Sue would toss in, and he liked to be in a boat. Splash knew that dogs, as well as boys and girls, must keep quiet in boats, especially small boats, so they would not tip over. And now Splash perched himself up in the bow, or front part of the boat, and quietly sat there, looking across at the other shore. ”

“ Bunny answered. "We'll bring our blankets out here and sleep in the tent tonight."
"Maybe daddy and mother won't let us, Bunny."
"They won't care," said the little boy. "'Sides, they won't know it. We won't tell 'em. We'll just come out at night, when they've gone to sleep. We can slip down, out of our rooms, with our blankets, and sleep in the tent on the ground, just as we'll have to do in camp. 'Cause we mayn't always have cot beds there. Will you do it, Sue?" ”

“ Tom shook his head.
"I don't believe I'll go, thank you," he said.
"Why not?" asked Mrs. Brown. "Don't you feel well? Don't you like to walk in the woods, Tom?"
"Oh, yes'm, I like the woods, and I feel fine. I never had such good things to eat as I've had in this camp." ”

“ No strange man came to camp that night, and Bunny and Sue soon forgot all about the little fright Tom had had. But two days later, just as dinner was finished, there came a man rowing in a boat to the little wooden camp-dock Bunker Blue had built out into the lake.
Out of the boat climbed a man with black whiskers. He had on big, heavy boots, and in one hand he carried a whip. He walked up the path from the lake, and when he saw Mr. Brown and his family at the table, under the tent, which was wide open, the man stood still. ”

“ Bunny exclaimed as he put these things under the raised-up box. "Foxes ought to like all that. Now we'll hide back here in the bushes, Sue, and I'll have hold of the long string. As soon as we see a fox, or any other animal, go under the box, I'll pull away the little stick, and we'll catch him!"
"All right," said Sue. So, the trap having been set, Bunny and Sue hid themselves in the hushes to wait. But for a long time no fox, or any other animal, came along. Bunny and Sue grew tired of sitting in the bushes and keeping quiet. ”

“ She had looked over Bunny's shoulder as he now opened the lunch basket. There did not seem very much left for two hungry children and a dog. Splash was now nosing about in the cave. He did not bark, and Bunny and Sue knew there could be no one in the hole but themselves—no wild animals or anything. [Pg 231]
"There isn't enough to give Splash much," said Bunny slowly. "But maybe he can dig himself up a bone in the woods. We can leave the crusts for him. Splash likes crusts." ”

“ You know how it is when you try to find anything in the dark, even if it's a drink of water in the chair at the head of our bed. You move your hand all over, and you think some one must have come in and taken the water away. And when you get a light you find that, all the while, your hand was about an inch away from the glass. It was that way with Mrs. Brown's other shoe.
But she threw one over the curtain, calling out again:
"Hit him with that, Walter! Hit the bear with my shoe!"
But there was no need for Mr. Brown to do anything. The shoe thrown by Bunny's mother sailed through the tent. ”