"When did you last see her?" asked Charlie. "Maybe she went downstairs."

"No, she didn't, for I saw her opening the big trunk and taking clothes out to dress up in. Besides she couldn't get downstairs, for you boys pulled two trunks in front of the stairs for a fort."

"So we did," said Charlie. "She couldn't have gone down without moving the trunks, and they haven't been moved."

"Well, then she must be up here somewhere," said Bunny. "Maybe she's shut up in the big trunk."

"That's dreadful! Call and let's see if she is in there," said Rose.

Bunny went close to the big trunk—the largest, in the attic—and then he called as loudly as he could:

"Are you in there, Sue?"

Back came the answer, very faintly:

"Yes, I'm here, Bunny! Please get me out! I'm locked in!"

"She's locked in!" cried Charlie. "We must open the trunk and get her out! Come on, Bunny!"

Both boys grasped the lid of the trunk.

"Why it's locked!" cried Rose. "You can't open it without unlocking it. Let's see if we can find some keys."

Eagerly the children ran about the attic, taking keys from all the trunks they saw. But either these keys did not fit in the locked one where Sue was shut up, or the fingers of Bunny, Rose and Charlie were too small to fit them properly in the locks.

"We'd better call Mrs. Preston," said Bunny, for he could hear Sue crying now, inside the trunk. And Sue was a brave little girl, who did not often cry.

"We'd better go down and tell her," suggested Rose. "She'll never hear us from up here."

"Let's go down then!" cried Bunny.

He and Charlie soon pulled away from the attic stairs the two trunks they had placed there to make a fort. Down to the kitchen, where Mrs. Preston was making pies, hurried the three children.

"What? Through playing so soon?" asked Mrs. Preston. "I thought you'd be much longer than this. I haven't your lunch for you ready yet. But where is Sue?" she asked, not seeing Bunny's sister.

"She—she's locked in a trunk in the attic—the big trunk," explained Charlie, "an' she's hollerin' like anything, but we can't get her out!"

"Locked in that trunk! Good gracious!" cried Mrs. Preston. "That trunk shuts with a spring lock. Now I wonder where the key to it is."

"Here's a lot of keys we found!" said Bunny, holding out those he and Charlie had gathered from the other trunks.

"I'll try those, but I'm afraid they won't fit," said Mrs. Preston, hurrying up to the attic, followed by Bunny, Charlie and Rose.

"You'll be all right now, Sue!" called Mrs. Preston through the sides of the trunk to Sue. "We'll soon have you out."

"Please hurry," said a muffled and far-off voice. "I can hardly breathe in here."

"I should say not!" exclaimed Mrs. Preston. "We'll get you out soon, though."

She tried other keys, none of which would fit, and then she brought up from her bedroom another bunch that locked the trunks she used when she went traveling.

"It's of no use," she cried, when she found she could not open the trunk. "We can't waste any more time. Charlie, you run and get Mr. Wright, the carpenter. He'll have to saw a hole in the end of the trunk to get Sue out."

"But he won't hurt her, will he?" asked Bunny.

"No indeed! He'll be very careful."

Mr. Wright came back with Charlie, carrying several tools in his hand. He soon set to work.

"Get as far back to the end of the trunk as you can," he called to Sue, tapping with his fingers on the end he wanted her to keep away from.

"I'm back as far as I can get," she said in a far-off voice.

"All right. Now I'm going to bore a little hole in this end, and then I'm going to put in a little saw and saw a door in the end of your trunk house so you can crawl out. Don't be afraid. I'll soon have you out," said the carpenter.

Very carefully Mr. Wright bored the hole. Then, with a small saw, he began cutting a hole in the side of the big trunk. In a little while the hole was big enough for Sue to crawl through. They had to help her, for she was weak and faint from having been shut up so long. But the fresh air and a glass of milk soon made her feel better, and she wanted to go on with the game.

"No, I think you had better be out in the air now on the big enclosed porch," said Mrs. Preston. "You have played in the attic long enough. I never thought of the spring lock on that trunk. It is the only one in the attic, but now we will leave the hole cut in the end, so, even with the lid closed, whoever goes in can get out."

"It would make a good kennel for our dog Splash," said Bunny.

"And you may have it for that, if you like," said Mrs. Preston. "I'll have the hired man take it over to your camp."

After thanking Mrs. Preston for the good time she had given them, the children, after a lunch, started for their homes. Bunny and Sue found something very strange going on in the camp when they reached there.

There was Mr. Bixby, the hermit, sitting on a box just outside the tent, talking very earnestly to Mr. Brown, who had just come from town in the small automobile. It had stopped raining.

"Well, I've decided not to let him go back to you," Mr. Brown was saying. "I don't think you have treated him right, and I am going to complain to the authorities about it."

"And I tell you, Mr. Brown, not meaning to be impolite, that I'm entitled to that boy an' I'm going to have him. He's bound out to me for the Summer."

"What does he want, Mother?" whispered Bunny.

"Hush, my dear. Daddy will attend to it all. Mr. Bixby came here a little while ago and he wants to take Tom back. Tom doesn't want to go on account of the 'needle pricks' as he calls them. But Mr. Bixby wants him, and your father is not going to let Tom go."

"Oh, I'm glad of that!" exclaimed Sue in a whisper. "I like Tom, and I don't care if I was locked in a trunk and 'most smothered if we can keep Tom."



CHAPTER XXIII

TRYING TO HELP TOM

"You were locked in a trunk and almost smothered!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown, looking first at Sue and then at Mr. Bixby, as though she thought he might have had some hand in the matter.

"Yes, it was over in Mrs. Preston's attic. But it was my own fault, I never should have got in the trunk, for it closed with a spring lock and they had to get a carpenter to saw me out."

"Oh! And spoil Mrs. Preston's trunk?"

"'Tisn't spoiled," said Bunny. "She's going to let us use it for a dog kennel."

"And it will make such a nice one for Splash," said Sue. "You see, we can put hinges on the little square place the carpenter cut out to make a hole for me to get through, and we can make something fast to it that Splash can get hold of with his teeth, like a knob, so he can pull the door shut when it rains. It will be awful nice. I don't mind having been shut up a bit when I think of Splash."

"But how did it all happen?" asked Mrs. Brown, while her husband and Mr. Bixby were talking together.

The children told of Sue's adventure and of Charlie and Rose, and of the big porch and of the lunch.

"But what does Mr. Bixby want, Mother? Is he really going to take Tom away from us?" asked Sue.

"I don't know, my little girl. I hope not. But he seems to have the law on his side."

"Well, you have your way of looking at it and I have mine," Mr. Bixby was saying to Mr. Brown. "I hired this boy from the poorhouse and agreed to pay him certain wages. Part he keeps for himself and the rest goes to the poorhouse managers for his board in the Winter when he can't work.

"Then this boy ups and leaves me and comes to you. It isn't fair, and I'm not getting the worth of the money I paid. For though he is a lazy chap I managed to get some chores out of him."

"Of course," said Mr. Brown, "you may be right in what you say about having the right to this boy's work because you paid for it. As for his being lazy, I don't agree with you there. He has certainly been a help to us about the camp."

"Oh, yes, where there's any fun in it Tom's right there! I s'pose he's a good fisherman?"

"I never saw a better one," said Mr. Brown earnestly, while Bunny Brown and Sue sat together on a big stump and wondered what it was all about.

"Yes, Tom'd rather fish than eat," said Mr. Bixby slowly, as he crossed one ragged-trousered leg over the other.

"Who wouldn't with what I got to eat at your cabin?" burst out Tom who had been standing back near the cook tent. "All I got was potatoes, and once in a while bacon; I got so hungry I just had to go out and fish."

"Well, we won't go into any argument about it," said Mr. Bixby. "I'm entitled to work from you and I'm goin' to have you. That's all there is about it."

"I'll never go back to you to be stung with them needles!" cried Tom.

At this Mr. Brown asked a question.

"What are these 'needles' Tom speaks of?" he asked. "I think I have a right to know, as he is in my charge now, and if I let him go to you, and he is hurt, I should feel I was to blame. I want to know about this needle business."

"There wasn't anything to it. He just imagined it. I used to grab hold of his arm, to shake him awake mornings, and I'd happen to hit his funny bone in his elbow. You know how it is when you hit your elbow in a certain place—it makes it feel as though pins and needles were sticking in you."

"I have felt that," said Mrs. Brown.

"And so have I," added Bunny. "It's funny!"

"Well, that's all there is to it," said Mr. Bixby. "But I want Tom back. I'm going to have him, too!"

"You shall have him if you have a right to him. But I shall look into this first," said Mr. Brown. "You can't take him to-night."

"Oh, well, we sha'n't quarrel over that, as long as I get him to-morrow to help dig potatoes. But you'll find I'm in the right, and that the boy belongs to me for the Summer," said the hermit. "I'll do just as I agreed to by him."

"Well, I'll look it up to make sure," said Mr. Brown. "It may be that you are right, and it may be you are wrong. If you are, I'll say to you now that you'll never get Tom away from me."

"That's right. Don't let him take me!" cried Tom, who seemed very much afraid. "I don't want any more of his funny needles stuck in me. Let me stay with you!"

"I will if I can, Tom my boy," said Mr. Brown.

"You'll find you can't keep him away from me," said Mr. Bixby, as he got up to go. "And I won't hurt him, as he and you folks seem to think. All I want are my rights."

The two men talked together a little longer, but Tom wanted to hear all about Sue's having been shut in the trunk, so Bunny and his sister took turns telling the story once more, while Tom listened eagerly.

"If I'd been there," he cried as Sue finished, "I'd a given that trunk one kick and busted her clean open, Sue! I wouldn't have waited for no carpenter."

One look at Tom's big feet seemed to indicate that he could easily have "busted the trunk clean open."

"But it was better to saw a little door, to make a kennel for Splash," said Sue. "Anyhow I wasn't in there very long, and I could breathe a little."

"Well, be careful about getting into trunks again," said her mother, and Sue said she would.

The children played in the woods about the camp with Tom after supper, while Mr. and Mrs. Brown sat off to one side talking earnestly.

"I guess they're talking about you," said Sue. "About your going away, Tom."

"Well, I'm not going back to Mr. Bixby!" declared the lad.

"And we're not going to let you!" cried Bunny. "If he comes after you we'll get in a boat and go down the lake and hide in that cave. We'll take something to eat with us, and some fish lines to catch fish, and we'll cook 'em over a campfire and we'll live in the big woods forever."

"What'll we do when Winter comes?" asked Sue.

"Oh, then daddy and mother will be back in the city and we can go and live with them," replied her brother.

Early the next morning, while the children and Tom were having breakfast, Mr. Brown was seen setting off toward the village.

"Where are you going, Daddy?" cried Sue.

"Can't you take us with you?" asked Bunny.

"No, I'm going off to see some of the townspeople—the authorities—the head of the poorhouse and others, to find out what right Mr. Bixby has to Tom."

"Oh, if you're going to help Tom that's all right!" said Sue. "We can have some games among ourselves, can't we Bunny?" she added, turning to her brother.

"Yes, but I wish I had my electric train."

"Well, you can play with the car you found in the hay," said Sue. "And then we've got to make that trunk-kennel for Splash."

"Oh, so we have!" exclaimed Bunny. "I forgot about that. We'll have some fun anyhow."

"And I'll help," said Tom. "Might as well have what fun I can if I have to go back to Mr. Bixby's."

"You won't have to go back," said Bunny. "My father will fix it so you can stay with us."



CHAPTER XXIV

THE NIGHT MEETING

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 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.

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."

"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."

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 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.

"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 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.



CHAPTER XXV

THE MISSING TOYS

"Gentlemen," began Mr. Brown, "I have asked you all to come to my camp to-night to settle some questions, and, if possible, to find out what has been going on around here.

"As I have told you, two rather costly toys, belonging to my children, have been stolen. Eagle Feather's horse has been taken away. I know my children's toys have not been found. And I think, Eagle Feather, your horse is still missing?"

"Him no come back long time," said the Indian. "Stable all ready for him—good bed straw, hay to eat. He no come home. Me t'ink somebody keep him for himself."

"That's what we think, too, Eagle Feather," said Mr. Brown.

"Now there is one person I asked to come here to-night who is absent," he went on.

"The hermit," said some.

"Bixby," said others.

"I think we all mean the same man," said Mr. Brown.

"Now I have told you about this boy Tom, who was found by my children in a cave near the lake shore," he continued. "He was found crying, saying he was being stuck full of needles. I have not been able to get more than that out of him. He says Bixby made him take hold of two shiny balls, and then the needles pricked him. I have my own opinion of that, but I'll speak of that later.

"I asked Bixby here to-night, that we might talk to him. I find that he has a right to hire this boy to work for him, and under the law to keep him all Summer. So it seems that unless we can show that Bixby has treated Tom harshly he will have to go back."

"Unless we can prove that this needle-business was queer," said one man.

"Yes, and that is what I hoped to prove to-night. But since Mr. Bixby is not here to talk to us——"

"Suppose we go and talk to him!" cried an officer.

"He may hear us coming, and run away," said another.

"Not if we go through the cave," suggested Tom. "I got into the cave, where Bunny and Sue found me, by going through a hole in Bixby's stable."

"Then you'd better lead us through the cave," said Mr. Brown. "We may surprise the man at his tricks."

The party was soon going along the lake shore toward the cave.

The cavern was dark and silent when they entered it, but their lights made it bright.

On they went, all the men, with Mrs. Brown, Uncle Tad and the children coming at the rear of the procession. After they had gone far into the cave the whinny of a horse was heard.

"Ha!" exclaimed Eagle Feather. "Him sound like my horse!"

They went on softly through the cave and were soon near the place where Tom had entered it from the stable.

"Be very quiet now, everybody," said Mr. Brown.

"Sh-h-h," said Bunny to his mother and Sue, putting his finger on his lips.

"I'll take a peep and see if any one's in sight," said Tom.

He went forward a little way and came back to whisper:

"There are two horses and a cow in there, and one horse looks like Eagle Feather's."

"Let Indian see!" exclaimed the red man, and when he had peeped through a hole between two stones in the stable wall, while Tom flashed a flashlight through another hole, Eagle Feather cried:

"That my horse! Me git him back now!"

"Go a bit slow," advised Mr. Brown. "We want to see what else this Bixby is up to. How can you get to the house from here, Tom?"

"Right through the stable, by the hole I got out of. His back door is near the stable front door. Come on!"

On they went through the stable, Eagle Feather pausing long enough to pat his horse and make sure that it was his own animal and grunting "Huh!" in pleasure.

"Softly now," whispered Tom. "We are coming to where we can look into one of the two rooms of Mr. Bixby's hut. It is there he sits at night and where he gave me the needles."

In silence the party made its way to where all could look through the window. Bunny's father held him up and Mrs. Brown took Sue in her arms.

What they saw caused them all great surprise. For there, on a table in front of Bixby, the hermit, was Bunny's toy engine, and Sue's Teddy bear. But the bear was partly torn apart, and from it ran wires that joined with other wires from Bunny's electric locomotive and batteries. At the other ends of the wires, were round, shiny balls, like those on the ends of curtain rods.

On the other side of the table sat an Indian, and at the sight of him Eagle Feather whispered:

"Him name Muskrat. Much good in canoe and water."

They saw the hermit put the two shiny knobs on the Indian's hands. Then Mr. Bixby turned a switch and the Indian let out a wild yell and sprang through the open door, crying:

"Thorns and thistles! He has stung me with bad medicine! Wow!"

"I think I begin to see the trick," said Mr. Brown.

"That's what he did to me," explained Tom, "but I didn't see a Teddy bear or a toy locomotive."

This time the hermit, disturbed by the sudden running away of the Indian, and by the voices outside his window, started toward the latter.

"Quick! Some of you get to the door so he can't get away," called Mr. Brown, but Bixby did not seem to want to run away. He stood in the middle of the room until Mr. Brown, Bunny, Sue and the others had entered.

"Oh, there's my toy engine!" cried Bunny making a grab for it.

"And my Teddy bear!" added Sue.

"Look out, don't touch them!" called Mr. Brown. "He has fixed the dry batteries in the toys to a spark coil, which makes the current stronger, and he's giving shocks that way. Aren't you?" he asked, turning to the hermit.

"Since you have found me out, I have," was the answer. "I admit I have been bad, but I am sorry. I will tell you everything. I used to be a man who went about the country with an electric machine, giving people electrical treatments for rheumatism and other pains. I made some money, but my wife died and her sickness and burial took all I had. Then my electrical machine broke and I could not buy another.

"However, I did manage to get a little one, run with dry batteries, and I began going about the country making cures.

"Then this place was left me by a relative. I thought I could make a living off it with the help of a hired boy, so I got Tom.

"I found some Indians lived here, and, learning how simple they were and that they thought everything strange was 'heap big medicine,' as they called it, I thought of trying my battery on them. First I tried it on Tom, and he yelled that I was sticking needles into him. He did not understand about the electricity, and I did not try to explain.

"I remembered what your children had told me about having a toy train of cars that ran by electricity, and a Teddy bear with two lamps for eyes. I knew these batteries, though small, would be strong, and just what I needed with what electrical things I had. So I stole the toy train of cars and the Teddy bear.

"I was sorry to do it, but I thought if I could make enough money from the Indians I could buy new batteries for myself and give the children back their toys.

"But most of the Indians were afraid of the electrical current which felt like needles, and I could not get many of them to come back after they had once tried it. So I made no money.

"Tom ran away, and then I stole Eagle Feather's horse. I thought maybe if I could sell the horse and get money enough to get a new machine that did not sting so hard, I could make money enough to buy the horse back.

"But everything went against me, and now I have nothing left. I am sorry I had to rip your Teddy bear apart, little girl, to get the wires on the batteries. And as for your cars, little boy, I hid them in farms and various places. I don't know where they are now, but the engine is all right and in running order."

He quickly loosened the wires, and the toy locomotive ran around the table on part of the stolen track.

"But my poor dear Sallie Malinda is dead!" cried Sue.

"No, I can sew her together again, if the batteries are all right," said Mrs. Brown.

"And the batteries are all right," said the hermit, who had heard what was said. "See, I'll make the eyes shine!"

He quickly did something to the wires and again the eyes of Sue's Teddy bear shone out bravely.

"I realize how wrong I was to take the children's things," went on the hermit, "but I knew no other way to get the batteries I needed. I only had my cow to sell, and I dared not part with her, for she gave me milk to live on. All the while I kept hoping my luck would be better.

"When Tom ran away I did not know what to do. I did not imagine the little electricity I gave him would hurt him. A few of the Indians seemed to like it."

"Yes, me hear um talk of heap big medicine that sting like bees," said Eagle Feather. "But me no think hermit did it, what has my horse."

"I'm sorry I took it," said Bixby. "I'll give up my cow to pay for all I took. Then I'll go away."

"Wait a minute," said Mr. Brown. "We'll decide about that later. You have done some wrong things, but you have tried to do what was right. We'll try to find a way out of your troubles. Stay here for a few days."

Bunny Brown and his Sister Sue took with them that night their toys so strangely found, and in a few days the playthings were as good as ever, for Mrs. Brown sewed up the ripped Teddy bear and Bunny had some new cars for his electric engine. The track the hermit had kept, so that was all right.

"Does electricity feel like pins and needles?" asked Bunny Brown one day.

"I'll show you," said his father, and he did by a little battery which he owned. This was after their return from camp.

"Is it like needles, or your foot being asleep," said Bunny.

But before this Mr. Brown had talked with some of his neighbors, and they decided to give the hermit another chance. Tom would go back to work for him on condition that no more electricity be used. The hermit had a good garden and he could sell things from that. Eagle Feather was given back his horse, and Mr. Bixby was not arrested for taking it. And the mystery of the electrical toys being solved, life at Camp Rest-a-While went on as before for a time.

Bunny and his sister had fine times, and once in a while Tom had a day's vacation, and came over to see them.

"But I s'pose we can't stay here forever," said Bunny to Sue, one day. "I wonder where we'll go next?"

"I heard father and mother talking something about a trip," said Sue.

And what that journey was may be learned by reading the next volume of this series to be called: "Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue on an Auto Tour."

"Say, we ought to have some fun on that!" cried Bunny.

"So we ought!" cried Sue. "I'm going to take my fixed-over Sallie Malinda."

"Well, I'll take my flashlight instead of my locomotive and cars," said Bunny. "We may have to travel at night."

And while the two children are thus planning good times together we will say good-bye to them.

THE END



THE BOBBSEY TWINS BOOKS

For Little Men and Women

By LAURA LEE HOPE

Author of "The Bunny Brown" Series, Etc.

* * * * *

12mo. BOUND IN CLOTH. ILLUSTRATED. UNIFORM STYLE OF BINDING.

* * * * *

Copyright publications which cannot be obtained elsewhere. Books that charm the hearts of the little ones, and of which they never tire. Many of the adventures are comical in the extreme, and all the accidents that ordinarily happen to youthful personages happened to these many-sided little mortals. Their haps and mishaps make decidedly entertaining reading.

THE BOBBSEY TWINS

THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY

THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE

THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL

Telling how they go home from the seashore; went to school and were promoted, and of their many trials and tribulations.

THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE

Telling of the winter holidays, and of the many fine times and adventures the twins had at a winter lodge in the big woods.

THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON A HOUSEBOAT

Mr. Bobbsey obtains a houseboat, and the whole family go off on a tour.

THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT MEADOW BROOK

The young folks visit the farm again and have plenty of good times and several adventures.

THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT HOME

The twins get into all sorts of trouble—and out again—also bring aid to a poor family.

* * * * *

GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK



THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL

HIGH SERIES

By GERTRUDE W. MORRISON

* * * * *

12mo. BOUND IN CLOTH. ILLUSTRATED. UNIFORM STYLE OF BINDING.

* * * * *

Here is a series full of the spirit of high school life of to-day. The girls are real flesh-and-blood characters, and we follow them with interest in school and out. There are many contested matches on track and field, and on the water, as well as doings in the classroom and on the school stage. There is plenty of fun and excitement, all clean, pure and wholesome.

THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH Or Rivals for all Honors.

A stirring tale of high school life, full of fun, with a touch of mystery and a strange initiation.

THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH ON LAKE LUNA Or The Crew That Won.

Telling of water sports and fun galore, and of fine times in camp.

THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH AT BASKETBALL Or The Great Gymnasium Mystery.

Here we have a number of thrilling contests at basketball and in addition, the solving of a mystery which had bothered the high school authorities for a long while.

THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH ON THE STAGE Or The Play That Took the Prize.

How the girls went in for theatricals and how one of them wrote a play which afterward was made over for the professional stage and brought in some much-needed money.

THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH ON TRACK AND FIELD Or The Girl Champions of the School League.

This story takes in high school athletics in their most approved and up-to-date fashion. Full of fun and excitement.

THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH IN CAMP Or The Old Professor's Secret.

The girls went camping on Acorn Island and had a delightful time at boating, swimming and picnic parties.

* * * * *

GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK



THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS

SERIES

By LAURA LEE HOPE

Author of "The Bobbsey Twins Series."

* * * * *

12mo. BOUND IN CLOTH. ILLUSTRATED. UNIFORM STYLE OF BINDING.

* * * * *

The adventures of Ruth and Alice DeVere. Their father, a widower, is an actor who has taken up work for the "movies." Both girls wish to aid him in his work and visit various localities to act in all sorts of pictures.

THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS Or First Appearance in Photo Dramas.

Having lost his voice, the father of the girls goes into the movies and the girls follow. Tells how many "parlor dramas" are filmed.

THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT OAK FARM Or Queer Happenings While Taking Rural Plays.

Full of fun in the country, the haps and mishaps of taking film plays, and giving an account of two unusual discoveries.

THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS SNOWBOUND Or The Proof on the Film.

A title of winter adventures in the wilderness, showing how the photo-play actors sometimes suffer.

THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS UNDER THE PALMS Or Lost in the Wilds of Florida.

How they went to the land of palms, played many parts in dramas before the camera; were lost, and aided others who were also lost.

THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT ROCKY RANCH Or Great Days Among the Cowboys.

All who have ever seen moving pictures of the great West will want to know just how they are made. This volume gives every detail end is full of clean fun and excitement.

THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA Or a Pictured Shipwreck that Became Real.

A thrilling account of the girls' experiences on the water.

THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS IN WAR PLAYS Or The Sham Battles at Oak Farm.

The girls play important parts in big battle scenes and have plenty of hard work along with considerable fun.

* * * * *

GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK



THE TOM SWIFT SERIES

By VICTOR APPLETON

* * * * *

12mo. CLOTH. UNIFORM STYLE OF BINDING. COLORED WRAPPERS.

* * * * *

These spirited tales convey in a realistic way the wonderful advances in land and sea locomotion. Stories like these are impressed upon the memory and their reading is productive only of good.

TOM SWIFT AND HIS MOTOR CYCLE Or Fun and Adventure on the Road

TOM SWIFT AND HIS MOTOR BOAT Or The Rivals of Lake Carlopa

TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIRSHIP Or The Stirring Cruise of the Red Cloud

TOM SWIFT AND HIS SUBMARINE BOAT Or Under the Ocean for Sunken Treasure

TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC RUNABOUT Or The Speediest Car on the Road

TOM SWIFT AND HIS WIRELESS MESSAGE Or The Castaways of Earthquake Island

TOM SWIFT AMONG THE DIAMOND MAKERS Or The Secret of Phantom Mountain

TOM SWIFT IN THE CAVES OF ICE Or The Wreck of the Airship

TOM SWIFT AND HIS SKY RACER Or The Quickest Flight on Record

TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC RIFLE Or Daring Adventures in Elephant Land

TOM SWIFT IN THE CITY OF GOLD Or Marvellous Adventures Underground

TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIR GLIDER Or Seeking the Platinum Treasure

TOM SWIFT IN CAPTIVITY Or A Daring Escape by Airship

TOM SWIFT AND HIS WIZARD CAMERA Or The Perils of Moving Picture Taking

TOM SWIFT AND HIS GREAT SEARCHLIGHT Or On the Border for Uncle Sam

TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT CANNON Or The Longest Shots on Record

TOM SWIFT AND HIS PHOTO TELEPHONE Or The Picture that Saved a Fortune

TOM SWIFT AND HIS AERIAL WARSHIP Or The Naval Terror of the Seas

TOM SWIFT AND HIS BIG TUNNEL Or The Hidden City of the Andes

* * * * *

GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK

* * * * *

Transcriber's Notes:

Punctuation normalized.

On page 168, "Slash" changed to "Splash."

On page 188, "At is" changed to "As it."

THE END