Laura Lee Hope

“ So Mart knew nothing of what was happening to Bunny.
"Mother! Daddy! Come and get me!" cried Bunny as he swung to and fro on the trapeze, head downward. "Come and get me! Mother! Daddy!"
Bunny might have called like this for some time, and neither his father nor his mother would have heard him. For Mr. Brown was down at his office on the dock, and Mrs. Brown was making a cake, beating up eggs with the egg beater.
An egg beater, you know, makes a lot of noise, and even if Bunny had been in the kitchen Mrs. Brown might not have heard him call out. ”

“ Please, Mother, couldn't Sue and I get up a show?"
"No, my dears, I don't believe you could," Mrs. Brown answered with another smile. "It is very good of you to want to help the Red Cross, but getting up a show is very hard work. I hardly think little boys and girls could do it."
"If ever we big folks get up another show we'll let you children have part in it," promised Mrs. Star.
"Oh, but we want to give a show of our own!" said Bunny. "And I guess we can, too. How much does it cost to buy the Opera House?" ”

“ Bunny and Sue, Lucile and Mart were to sit in the back, while Mr. Brown and Mr. Treadwell sat in front. They were going to the place where the theatrical scenery had been stored since the time the vaudeville troupe had got into trouble.
"I'm glad winter is coming, aren't you?" asked Bunny of Mart, as they rode along the roads which were still covered with snow from the first storm.
"Well, yes, I like winter," was the answer. "It's always the best time for the show business—'tisn't like a circus—that does best in the summer time." ”

“ One little white mouse, frightened and not knowing where to go, ran up the dress skirt and into the lap of the mother of Bunny Brown and his sister Sue.
"Come here, Will, and come quick," called Mrs. Brown to the owner of the white mice. "I do not like your sort of pet, come and take it away—and come quick, I say!"
"All right, I'll come," answered Will.
"Don't be frightened," called out Mr. Treadwell. "I'm sure Will's white mice are too well-trained to harm any one." ”

“ The man will hold the skylight in place until it can be fastened. And while he is doing that I wish those who are sitting under it would move quietly out into the aisles. Don't crowd or rush. You children can pretend it is like the fire drill you have at school."
"Oh, we do have fire drill at our school, don't we, Bunny?" cried Sue, in a rather loud voice. Her words carried to all parts of the theater and many laughed. This laugh was just what was needed to make the people forget their fright, and soon the place directly under the loosened skylight was clear. ”

“ Then they hear about some poor people who live in a hospital, or some place like that, and they decide to get up a show to make money to give to the poor folks who haven't had much joy in life. So they give a little show, make some money and all ends happily. How do you like that?"
No one spoke for a moment, and then Bunny cried:
"Why—why that's just like you and—and us, Mr. Treadwell! It's almost real—like it is here."
"Yes," agreed the actor, "I thought I'd make it as real as possible, and as natural. It will go better that way. Do you like it?"
"Oh, it's lovely!" said Sue. ”

“ He might crow when Lucile was singing, or when Bunny Brown was doing some of his tricks, or when Sue was making believe run away from me when I'm dressed up like a tramp."
"Yes," said George, "that's so. Peter crows a lot, and you can't tell when he's going to do it. But, Mr. Treadwell, he always crows when he flaps his wings, and if somebody could hold his wings so they couldn't flap then he couldn't crow. I wish we could have him in the play!" ”

“ But, as it also happened, Sue was the means by which Bunny's trouble was discovered, though Sue, too, had an accident. Soon after Mart came to the house to help his sister, Sue heard the doorbell ring, and when she went to see who was there she saw Helen Newton, one of her little playmates who was to act in the show with Sue.
"Oh, Sue!" exclaimed Helen, "have you got a doll you could lend me? I have to have one in the play, and the only one I had isn't any good any more."
"Is your doll sick?" Sue wanted to know.
"She's worse than sick," said Helen. ”

“ Harrison. "Our blind folks know their way around here just as you can walk around some parts of your house in the dark."
He led them toward the music room, for there was one where the blind inmates played and sang, and as Mr. Brown and the children went through the door Lucile uttered a low cry at the sight of a man who was just getting up from the piano.
"Uncle Bill!" cried Lucile. "Uncle Bill! Oh, we have found you at last!" ”

“ Now then, boys and girls, are you all going to be in the new play, 'Down on the Farm?'"
"Yes, I am! I am! So'm I!" came the answers, and Mart laughed and put his hands over his ears.
"I guess we'll have plenty of actors and actresses," he said. "Mr. Treadwell will be out here this afternoon and tell you something of the little play he is going to write for you—for all of us, in fact, for my sister and I are going to be in it with you. But now suppose I tell you a little about a stage, and how to come on and go off."
"Is Bunny going to get stuck again?" asked Sue. ”

“ It was still snowing, and the ground was now quite white, when the automobile drew up at the Opera House, which was where all sorts of shows and entertainments were given in Bellemere, the home of the Brown family.
"We can have a lot more fun in the snow to-morrow!" whispered Sue, as she and her brother passed in, Uncle Tad handing the tickets to Mrs. Gordon, who smiled at them. She was one of the committee of ladies who, like Mrs. Brown, were helping with the entertainment. ”

“ He wiggled and squirmed, but still he was held fast.
"Oh, if he has to stay stuck in there all the while Bunny can't be in the show!" said Sadie West.
"We'll get him out!" declared Charlie Star. "Come on, Harry, you and George each take hold of him on one side, and Bobby Boomer and I'll pull his legs."
"My legs aren't caught!" said Bunny. "It's my shoulders!"
"Well, if I pull on your legs it'll help get your shoulders loose, I guess," returned Charlie. "Come on now, fellows!"
"Can't we girls help too?" asked Sue.
"Well, maybe you could," Charlie agreed. "All pull." ”

“ Going to the show in the Opera House was part of this fun.
It did not take very long for the man who had gone up to the roof to fix the broken skylight. The children could see him away up above their heads as they sat in the theater, or stood there, for those who had places directly under the skylight would not use the seats until the roof-window was fixed.
"There! It's all right now," said the man on the stage. "There is no more danger. Take your seats and the show will begin." ”

“ The town hall is too small, and the Opera House is too big. I'm going to make mine in-between."
"Like the big bear and the little bear and the middle-sized bear!" laughed Sue.
"That's it," said Mr. Raymond. "I expect to make some money by renting out my hall [Pg 110] after I get it fixed up. But I'm going to let you folks have it for nothing this time," he was quick to say. "It will advertise the place, and people will know about it. So now if you'd like it I'll go ahead and fix up the stage and the seats, and as soon as it's ready you can move your scenery in and have your show, Bunny Brown." ”

“ Now what do you want to do—get back to New York, all three of you?"
"Well, New York is the place almost all show people start from," said Mr. Treadwell, "but I don't know that there's much use going back [Pg 77] there now. All the places in other shows will be taken. If I could get some sort of work here for the winter I'd stay."
"So would I!" declared Mart. "I like to stay in a place two or three weeks at a time, and not have to move to a new town every night, like a circus. Have you any work you could let me do?" ”

“ Treadwell, when the meadow scene had been set up on the stage, and it "looked as real as anything!" as Sue whispered to Sadie West.
"Take your places!" said the actor. "Remember now, Bunny and Sue are supposed to be picking daisies in the meadow, and you other children are picking buttercups. All at once an old tramp comes along the road—which is the front of the stage, as I've told you."
"Oh, I don't want to play if there's going to be an old twamp in it!" exclaimed little Belle Hanson. "I don't like twamps! They's awful dirty!" ”

“ We boys and girls can get up a show, and we can charge money to come in. We had a circus once, in a tent, didn't we, Mother?" and Bunny appealed to Mrs. Brown.
"Yes, they once gave a show in a tent at their Grandpa's farm," said Mrs. Brown. "And it was quite good, too, for children. But I'm afraid a show like that, given in town here, wouldn't bring in much money for the Red Cross, my dears," and she smiled at Bunny and Sue. ”

“ Meanwhile, they had as much fun as they could when they were not at school or practicing their parts in the new hall built over the hardware store.
"How happy we could be living here and going to take part in a nice play if we only knew where our people were," said Lucile to her brother Mart one day.
"Yes, that's all we need to make us quite happy," said he. "But I guess we'll never see our uncles or Aunt Sallie again. Why, we haven't even heard from Mr. Jackson since our vaudeville show busted up. ”

“ Brown, "that getting up a show in town will be harder, Bunny and Sue, than getting up a circus. In the circus you could use your dog Splash and some of the animals from Grandpa's farm. But a theater show, or one like it, hasn't many animals in it. You ought to do more acting than you do trapeze work." ”

“ Brown and the children.
"Now please don't think this is a sad place," said Mr. Harrison. "Though the men and women and the boys and girls here can not see, they get along very well, considering. So don't think it's too sad.
"Of course it is sad enough, but it might be worse. That's what all our blind folk have come to think—that it might be worse. They have ways of 'seeing,' even if they have eyes that are no longer any use to them. I just want you to go over our place, and then you will be more glad than ever, I hope, that you are going to help us with your little play. ”

“ They get all the pins they want. They need money—my mother said so. Now we could get up a regular acting play—like that one we saw at the Opera House. We could have some singing in it, and some jiggling and some of us could do tricks and stand on our heads."
"Going to have any animals in it?" one boy wanted to know.
"Yes, we could," answered Bunny. "They have animals on the stage just like in a circus, only it's different, of course. ”

“ I don't suppose they will make much money, but they'll have the fun of it, and it is good for children to try to help others, as Bunny, Sue, and their friends are hoping to help the Home for the Blind."
"It's too bad about Mart's blind uncle, isn't it? Do you think he'll ever be found?"
"Well, we can only hope," said Mr. Brown.
Though Bunny and Sue had fun in the snow and on the ice they did not forget to practice for the new play, nor did the other children. One afternoon all the little actors and actresses were assembled in the new hall over the hardware store. ”

“ Mrs. Brown. May I ask him in? It's Mr. Samuel Treadwell, and he's a good friend of ours."
"Certainly, ask him in," said Mrs. Brown, with a smile. "Perhaps he is hungry, too," she said to her friend Mrs. Newton, Mart having gone back to the front door. "I've heard that actors are often hungry."
"But he's General Washington, too, isn't he?" demanded Bunny, following Mart.
"Yes, he pretends to be all sorts of famous people—on the stage," kindly explained Mart to Bunny. "You'll like him, he can do lots of tricks."
"Can he jiggle—I mean juggle?"
"Yes, but not as good as the other man in the play." ”

“ I love a secret!" said Sue. "We won't tell anybody."
"Splash is a smart dog," said Bunny, as he patted his pet.
"Indeed he is!" declared Mr. Treadwell. "He learned this hanging on trick much sooner than [Pg 141] I thought he would. He likes to chase after me and let me drag him by my coat-tails."
After Splash had had a little rest the actor put him through the trick again, and Bunny and Sue laughed as they saw their dog swinging about the yard, making believe to chase a tramp. Of course, Mr. Treadwell was not dressed like a tramp now, though he would be in the first act of the play. ”

“ The automobile was going down a snowy hill into Wayville, and Mr. Brown had put on the brakes, for, once or twice, the machine had slid from side to side.
"I ought to have chains on the back wheels," said the fish merchant to Mr. Treadwell. "But if I go slowly I guess I'll be all right. Do you think we need any more scenery than the three [Pg 82] sets you spoke of—the barnyard, the orchard and the meadow?"
"No, I think that will be enough," said the actor. "The children only want something simple. You can tell when you see it."
"Can we pick apples in the orchard?" asked Sue. ”

“ I can play pretty well, even [Pg 184] if I am blind," he said, turning toward Mr. Brown, for he seemed to know just where the children's father sat. "And as I don't like to sit around doing nothing I've decided to go back on the stage again."
"We're going on the stage!" cried Bunny, who, with Sue, had been waiting for a chance to get in a word or two.
"We're going to have a real play on a farm," said Sue. "And you ought to see our dog Splash hang on to Mr. Treadwell."
"Treadwell? Is that the impersonator?" asked Mr. Clayton.
"Yes," answered Mart. "He is helping us with the little play." ”

“ Bunny and Sue did not know quite what to make of all the excitement over the lost wig which Mr. Treadwell wore on his head in certain parts of the play. So they stood to one side while the search went on. Sue looked in the sitting room, while Mr. Treadwell and Miss Winkler went into the parlor that was hardly ever opened.
Something that Bunny saw in a chair in front of the kitchen stove made him call out:
"Oh, Miss Winkler! there's a funny old man in your kitchen, and he's trying to open the cupboard door where you keep the cookies. Come and see the funny old man!" ”

“ But a look out the window of the barn showed the white flakes still swirling down, and Bunny and Sue laughed and clapped their hands in delight as Mart brought the pony from his stall.
Everything was just right. The pony backed in between the shafts, and soon drew the new [Pg 127] sled outside where the newly fallen snow let it slip easily along.
"It will look nicer when it's painted," said Mart.
"I think it's nice now!" said Bunny.
"Terrible nice!" agreed Sue.
"Well, get in, and we'll have a ride," suggested Lucile. "Can you drive, Bunny?" ”

“ Brown.
"I was going to speak of that," replied the father of Bunny and Sue. "One of the young men in my office is going on leave, and I could hire you in his place. The wages aren't very big," he said, "but it would be enough for you to live on and take care of your sister."
"I suppose I could board here in Bellemere," suggested Mart.
"You can stay right here—you and Lucile!" cried Mrs. Brown. "Our house is plenty large enough, and there's lots of room. Do stay here—at least until you locate your uncle and your aunt." ”

“ And there isn't any use in giving a play unless you have an audience. That's half the fun. What are you [Pg 100] going to do with all the money you make, Bunny Brown?" she asked the little chap.
"Oh, I—I guess we'll give it to mother's Red Cross," he answered. "But first we've got to find out what sort of acts we can give. Our dog Splash is a good actor—he was in our circus."
"I guess Mr. Treadwell can work Splash into the play in some way," said Mart. "We'll ask him." ”

“ Books are eagerly welcomed by the little folks from about five to ten years of age. Their eyes fairly dance with delight at the lively doings of inquisitive little Bunny Brown and his cunning, trustful sister Sue. ”

“ And among those in the audience were Mart and Lucile's Uncle Simon and Aunt Sallie. They had hurried their trip back to [Pg 247] this country to look after Lucile and Mart, and they were glad to find their niece and nephew in such good hands.
"And if it hadn't been for Bunny Brown, thinking of getting up a show, maybe you'd never have found us," said Mart to his Uncle Simon.
"Maybe," agreed Mr. Weatherby. "Bunny did a lot, and so did his sister Sue! They're just the kind of children to do things!" ”

“ Watson who had stopped in for a few minutes' talk. "The children will forget all about their play after they see the monkey. And I shall be just as well pleased. Their circus was fun, but it meant a lot of work, and if they give a show, as Bunny and Sue talk of doing, it will mean more work."
"I don't believe they'll do it," answered Mrs. Watson.
But she hardly knew Bunny Brown and his sister Sue.
On to the hardware store hurried the group of children. As soon as they turned the corner of the street leading to Mr. Raymond's place they saw a crowd in front of the store. ”