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Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue in the Big Woods

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<h2>CHAPTER XXIV</h2> <h3>THE NIGHT MEETING</h3> Bunny and Sue, as soon as they had finished their breakfast, went down to the edge of the lake to play. They wanted to go for a row, and Mrs. Brown had said they could if Tom was along, so there was no trouble this time. Out on the water, where the sun was shining on the waves, Tom rowed the children. Then Bunny brought out his fishing line and pole, baited the hook with some worms he had dug, and began to fish. "You won't get any fish here," said Tom. "There are too many boats around. I can take you to a place where there are some good perch and sunnies." "No, I want to fish here," said Bunny. "It's easy to catch fish where everybody else can. I want to try in a hard place." So Tom kept the boat in about the same [Pg 230]spot, rowing slowly about while Bunny fished, and fished, and fished again, without getting a single bite or nibble. "Oh dear, it's so hot here out in the middle of the lake!" said Sue. "Can't we go where it's cool and shady?" "I know such a place as that," said Tom. "And you can catch fish there, too." "Does everybody fish there?" Bunny asked. "No, hardly anybody. And you can't always catch fish there either, even if you know the best places." "Then we'll go," decided Bunny. "I want to go to a hard place." "Is there anything I can do where you are going?" asked Sue. "Well, you can gather pond lilies in the creek, which comes into the lake up above a piece. I'm going to take you there," said Tom. "It's a nice place." "Oh, goody!" cried Sue, clapping her hands. "Mother loves pond lilies." "Well, there's lots up where we're going," said Tom, as he began to row with strong, long strokes.[Pg 231] The creek, as Tom called it, was a lazy sort of stream flowing into one part of the lake through a dense part of the big woods. Up this creek very few persons went, as it was shallow for most boats, and they often ran aground and got stuck. "But our boat will be all right," said Tom, "for it has a flat bottom and it doesn't lie very deep in the water. It could almost be rowed in a good rain storm." Farther and farther up the creek Tom rowed the children. The trees met in a green arch overhead, and the only sounds were those of the dripping waters from Tom's oars, the call of woodland birds or the distant splash of a fish jumping up to get a fly that was close to the top of the water. "Shall I fish here?" asked Bunny. "Yes, you ought to get a few here." Bunny cast in, and it was not long before he had a bite. But when he pulled up there was no fish on his hook. "You must yank up quicker," said Tom. "They are only nibbling to fool you. Pull up quickly."[Pg 232] "Look out!" suddenly called Bunny. He yanked his pole up so suddenly that he pulled the fish out of the water, right over the heads of himself, his sister and Tom, and with a splash the fish came down in the water on the other side of the boat. There it wiggled off the hook. "You pulled too hard this time," said Tom with a laugh. "I'll do it just right next time," said Bunny. And he did. When he felt something pulling on his line he, too, pulled and this time he caught a sun fish, large enough to cook. It had very pretty colors on it. "It's too pretty to catch," said Sue. "But, oh! Look at the pretty pond lilies!" and she pointed to some farther up the creek. "Can we get some, Tom?" "Wait until I catch one more fish," begged Bunny. Bunny soon caught another fish, which had stripes around it "like a raccoon," Sue said. "That's a perch," Tom told the children. "They're good to eat, too. But now we'll row up for the lilies."[Pg 233] However, in spite of the fact that their boat did not take much water, it ran aground before it reached the lilies. "Oh, how are we going to get them?" asked Sue, in disappointment. "I'll wade after them," said Tom. "I can take off my shoes and socks. The water won't be much more than up to my knees after I get over the mud bar on which the boat has stuck." Tom was soon wading in the mud and water, his trousers well rolled up. He was just reaching for one very large lily when he gave a sudden call, threw up his hands and sank down out of sight. "Oh, Tom's gone! He's drowned!" cried Sue. "We've got to save him!" shouted Bunny, struggling with the oars. But the boat was fast in the mud, and he could not move it. "What shall we do?" gasped Sue. Before Bunny could answer, Tom's head appeared above the muddy water. He had hold of the pond lily. "I'm all right," he said. "I stepped on the [Pg 234]edge of a hole under the water, and it was so slippery I went down in before I knew it. But the deepest part is only over my waist, and now that I'm wet I might as well stay and get all the lilies you wish." "Oh, that's too bad!" cried Sue. "Not at all," said Tom. "I like it. Afterward I'll take a swim in the clean part of the lake and wash off." So, wet and muddy as he was, his clothes covered with slime from the bottom of the creek, Tom kept on gathering the lilies. Once he found a mud turtle which he tossed into the boat for Bunny. The turtle seemed to go to sleep in a corner. "There's a nice bunch for you," said Tom, coming back to the boat with the flowers for the little girl. "Oh, thank you, so much!" said Sue. "But I'm sorry you got wet." "I'm not. These clothes needed washing anyhow," laughed Tom. With that Tom pushed the boat off the mud bar, and down the creek into deeper water, the children sitting on the seats.[Pg 235] "Now I'll tie you to shore, go in swimming in this clean water, and row you home after I've dried out a bit," said Tom. So he went in swimming with all his clothes on, except his shoes and socks, and soon he was clean. "Mother will be so glad to get the pond lilies," said Sue. "And I guess she'll be glad to get my fish," said Bunny. "There's 'most enough for dinner." Tom was nearly dry when he reached home, and no one said anything about his wet clothes. "Oh, what lovely flowers!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown. "And what fine fish. Did you catch them all alone, Bunny?" "Yes'm, Momsie! Both of 'em. Where's Daddy?" "Oh, off seeing some men. I believe there's to be a meeting at our camp to-night to talk about your friend Tom and Mr. Bixby." "I hope they don't send Tom back," said Bunny. "He knows everything about this lake." After supper several men came to Camp Rest-a-While. They were some of the county [Pg 236]officers. Eagle Feather and some of the Indians were present, sitting by themselves, and Mr. Brown sat near Tom. "May we stay and see what happens, Mother?" asked Bunny. "I guess so. I don't know just what is going on, but I think your father is going to try to arrange matters so Tom will not have to go back to the hermit's to live." "Hurray!" cried Bunny. "And while daddy is talking, I hope he'll ask everybody if they've seen my electric train." "And my Sallie Malinda," added Sue. "My nice 'lectric-eyed Teddy bear." For all the inquiries that had been made had not brought forth any trace of either of the children's toys. The man in whose barn Bunny had found one car, said he had seen no one hiding it in the hay. "Daddy is going to say something!" whispered Sue. "Hush!" cautioned her mother. Just then Mr. Brown arose and looked at the men in front of him. <div class="figcenter"><ANTIMG src="./images/246.jpg" alt="TOM WADED IN THE MUD AND WATER TO GET THE LILIES." title="TOM WADED IN THE MUD AND WATER TO GET THE LILIES." /></div> <div class='center'>TOM WADED IN THE MUD AND WATER TO GET THE LILIES. Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue in the Big Woods.        Page 233.</div> [Pg 237] <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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