Sue began to kick her legs. She gasped and wiggled.

"Keep still!" cried Bunny. "Uncle Tad is giving you first aid." Bunny had often seen the lifeguards at the beach do this to swimmers who went too far out.

"I—I won't keep still, Bunny Brown!" gasped Sue. "And I—I don't need any first aid! I just helded my breath under water, I did, and I didn't swallow much anyhow. I was holding my breath when Uncle Tad began to raise up my legs, that's why I wiggled and couldn't speak. I'm all right now and I'm much obliged to you and Dix, Uncle Tad, and I hope my Sallie Malinda isn't in the lake."

Sue said this all at one time and then she had to stop for breath. But what she said was true. Her father had given her swimming lessons, and Sue was really a good little diver, and perfectly at home where the water was not too rough or deep. And, as she had said, as soon as she felt herself in the water she had taken a long breath and held it before her nose and mouth went under.

So while Sue was holding her breath, Dix had reached down and caught her, before she had really sunk to the bottom. For Sue had on a light and fluffy dress, and that really was a sort of life preserver. As it was, the dog had brought Sue to the boat before she had swallowed more than a few spoonfuls of water, which did her no harm. Of course she was all wet.

"You've gone in swimming, anyhow," said Bunny, as soon as he saw that his sister was all right.

"Yes, and we must get her to shore as soon as we can," said Uncle Tad. "Climb in, Dix, and don't scatter any more water on us than you can help, though we'll forgive you almost anything for the way you saved Sue."

The dog climbed in, over the stern where Uncle Tad told him to, and then gave himself a big shake.

All dogs do that when they come from the water, and Dix only acted naturally. He gave Bunny and Uncle Tad a shower bath but they did not mind. Sue could not be made any wetter than she already was.

"Now for a fast row to shore," said Uncle Tad. "I saw a farmhouse not far from where we got out of Mr. Jason's wagon, and I guess you can dry your clothes there, Sue."

As Uncle Tad started to row Sue cried:

"But where's Sallie Malinda? Where's my Teddy bear? I won't go without her!"

She spoke as if she meant it. Bunny and Uncle Tad looked on both sides of the boat, and there, on the white sandy bottom of the lake, in about four feet of water, lay the Teddy bear. It's eyes were lighted which made it the more easily seen, for Sue must have pressed the switch as she herself fell overboard. And, as it happened, the batteries and electric lighted eyes were not harmed by water.

"I'll get her for you," said Uncle Tad, and he reached for the Teddy bear with a boat hook, soon bringing up the toy.

"Oh, I hope she isn't spoiled!" cried Sue.

"She can dry out with you when you get to the farmhouse," said Bunny, and then Uncle Tad began to row toward shore.

Mr. and Mrs. Brown were surprised, and not a little worried, when they heard what had happened to Sue. But the little girl herself was quite calm about it.

"I just held my breath," she said. "I knew Bunny or somebody would get me out."

"I was going to," declared Bunny.

"Yes, I guess he'd have dived over in another second," remarked Uncle Tad. "But Dix was ahead of both of us."

"Well, I'm glad you're all right," said Mother Brown. "I do hope you won't take cold. We must get your wet clothes off."

Just then Mr. Jason came back with his horses and wagon, and he quickly drove the whole party to a near-by farmhouse where Sue, and all the others, were made welcome. Before the warm kitchen fire Sue was dressed in some dry clothes of a little girl who lived on the farm, while her own were put near the kitchen stove.

In a few hours the party was ready to go back to the "Ark," meanwhile having spent a good time at the farmhouse. Sue seemed all right, and really she had not been in much danger, for the water was not deep, and Uncle Tad was a good swimmer.

Bunny and Sue slept rather late the next morning, but when they did awaken they heard a queer rumbling on the road beside which their automobile was drawn up.

"Is that thunder?" asked Bunny.

"It sounds like it," answered Sue, who showed no signs of having caught cold from her bath in the lake.

The children peered from the little windows near their bunks. They saw going along the road a number of gaily painted wagons—great big wagons, drawn by eight or ten horses each, and with broad-tired wheels.

Together Bunny and Sue cried:

"It's a circus! It's a circus! Hurrah!"



CHAPTER XXII

A LION IS LOOSE

Bunny Brown and his Sister Sue lost no time in getting dressed that morning, and hurrying out to the tiny dining room where their mother was getting breakfast.

"Did you see it?" gasped Sue.

"Have the elephants gone past yet?" Bunny inquired, his eyes big with excitement.

"Oh, you mean the circus," said Mrs. Brown. "No, I haven't seen any elephants yet. The big wagons just started to go past."

"Then let's hurry up our breakfast and watch for the elephants and the tigers," cried Bunny, greatly worried lest he miss any of the animals.

"You have plenty of time," said Uncle Tad, who was out near the back steps of the automobile, sorting his fish lines and hooks. "The circus has just started to go past. Those wagons have in them the tent poles, the canvas for the tents, the things for the men to eat and the big stoves. These are always unloaded first—in fact, they are sent on ahead of the rest of the show.

"Not until later in the morning will the animals and the other wagons come along. The circus must have unloaded over at Kirkwell," and he pointed to a railroad station about a mile away. "The tents are going up on the other side of this town, I heard some of the circus drivers say."

"Oh, won't we have fun watching them go past?" cried Sue. "I wonder if they'll have a parade? If they do, and it goes past our house—I mean our automobile—we can see it better than anybody, can't we?"

"Yes. But the parade won't come this far out into the country," said Uncle Tad. "It will go through the streets of the town."

"Where are you going?" asked Bunny, suddenly looking at the old soldier.

"I thought I'd go fishing over to Blue Lake. Looked yesterday as if there were plenty of fish there. Want to go with me, Bunny Brown?"

"Huh? An' the circus comin' to town?" asked Bunny, clipping the end off his words. "Say, Mother, aren't we going to the circus?" he asked quickly.

"Well, I didn't hear anything about it," said Mrs. Brown slowly.

"Can't you take us, Uncle Tad?" pleaded Sue, for she, as much as did her brother, wanted to see the big show.

"Well, I suppose I could put off my fishing till another day," said Uncle Tad slowly. "Are you sure you two want to go?"

"Are we!" cried Bunny.

"Oh, I want to go—so much!" and Sue showed just how much by putting her arms around Uncle Tad's neck and hugging him as hard as she could. That was her way of showing "how much."

"Well, if it's as much as that I guess I'll have to take you," laughed Uncle Tad. "Mind you, I don't want to go myself," and he looked at Mrs. Brown in a queer way. "I don't care anything about a circus—never did in fact. But if an old man has to give up his fishing trip, just to take two children to one of the wild animal shows, why I guess it will have to be done, that's all. But really I don't want to go," and he shook his head very seriously.

"Oh, Uncle Tad!" cried Sue. "Don't you want to see the elephants?"

"Nope," and the old soldier kept on shaking his head "crossways," as Bunny said.

"And don't you want to see the lions?"

"Nope."

"Nor the tigers?"

"Nope."

"Not even the camels and the monkeys and the men jumping over horses' backs, nor the giraffes with their long necks—don't you want to see any of them?" Sue was talking faster and faster all the while.

Uncle Tad did not say anything, but a funny look came into his eyes, and Bunny was almost sure the old soldier was laughing on one side of his face at Mother Brown. Then Bunny cried:

"Oh, Sue! He's just fooling! He wants to go as much as we do!"

"Oh, Uncle Tad, I'm so glad!" cried Sue. "I love you—so—much!" and again she hugged him as hard as she could, and kissed him too.

"Now I'll surely have to go," he chuckled.

Breakfast was soon over, and by that time Bunny and Sue were so excited that they did not know what to do. Somehow they managed to get properly dressed, and by that time other circus wagons came along.

These wagons were gilded and painted more gaily than the first that had gone past. And from some of them came low growls or roars.

"Oh, they've got lions inside," said Sue, opening her eyes wide.

"And tigers, too," added Bunny in a wondering voice. "But I want to see the elephants," he added.

Pretty soon the big elephants came along, and behind them came camels and troops of horses. There were also a number of small boys and some girls who were following the circus to the lot where the big tents were already being put up.

"Say, I just like to see them!" cried Bunny as the elephants swung past the "Ark," which some of the country boys took to be one of the circus wagons broken down. "Elephants are great! I guess I'm going to be an elephant rider when I grow up, instead of a policeman," he said, as he saw men sitting on the heads of the big elephants while they lumbered heavily along.

"It would be fun to ride on one of them," said Sue. "But come on, Uncle Tad. Take us to the circus. We want to see the parade."

"We want to see everything," added Bunny.

"The side shows and everything, and, please, Mother, may we have some peanuts and popcorn?"

"Oh, I don't want you eating a lot of things that will make you ill," said Mrs. Brown.

"I mean to feed to the elephants," said Bunny. "Elephants love popcorn and peanuts a lot. Of course Sue and I could eat a little," he added.

"Well, a very little," agreed his mother. "Elephants are not made ill so easily as little boys. But get ready, if you are going."

It did not take the children and Uncle Tad long to get ready. As it was quite a distance from where the "Ark" was stationed beside the road to the circus ground, Uncle Tad hired Mr. Jason to drive him and the children over in the wagon.

"Oh, I see the tents!" cried Bunny, as they neared the ground.

"And I hear the music!" added Sue. "But we mustn't miss the parade."

The children were just in time for this, and when they had seen the procession wind its way about the streets they went back to the big white tents. Then the circus began.

What Bunny and Sue saw you can well imagine, for I think most of you have been to a circus, once at least. There were the wild animals—the lions and the tigers in their cages, the funny monkeys, the long-necked giraffes—and then came the performance. The clowns did funny tricks, the acrobats leaped high in the air, or fell into the springy nets. All this the children saw, and they ate some popcorn and peanuts, but fed more than they ate to the elephants.

Uncle Tad seemed to enjoy himself, too, though, every once in a while he would lean over and say to Bunny and Sue:

"Aren't you tired? Let's go home!"

And the performance was not half through! Bunny and Sue just looked at him and smiled. They knew he was joking.

But the circus came to an end at last, and though they were sorry they had to leave, Bunny and Sue were, late in the afternoon, well on their way to their automobile camp again. They talked of nothing but what they had seen, and every time they spoke of the show they liked it more and more.

"I wish we could go again to-night," said Bunny.

"It isn't good for little children to go to a circus at night," said Uncle Tad. "You've seen enough."

Of course Daddy Brown and Mother Brown had to hear all about it over the supper table, and they were glad the children had had such a good time. At night when they sat around a little campfire on the ground near the automobile, they could hear, in the distance, the music of the circus.

In the middle of the night Mr. and Mrs. Brown were awakened by hearing the noise of many persons rushing past on the road alongside of which their automobile was drawn up. Also the chugging of automobiles and the patter of horses' feet could be heard.

"I wonder what it can be," said Mrs. Brown. "Is it the circus coming back again?"

"No, they would be going the other way. I'll see if I can find out what it is."

Slipping on a bath robe, Mr. Brown went to the back door of the automobile. He saw a crowd of people rushing along.

"What's the matter?" he called.

"One of the circus lions is loose," was the answer, "and we're chasing it!"



CHAPTER XXIII

THE SCRATCHED BOY

"What's that? What's the matter?" asked Mrs. Brown. In the darkness she had slipped to her husband's side. She, too, looked out on the crowd of men and boys rushing past in the moonlight. "What has happened?" she asked again, as Mr. Brown did not appear to have heard what she said.

"As nearly as I could understand," he said slowly, speaking in a low voice, "one of the men who ran past said a lion had broken loose from the circus."

"Oh, how dreadful!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown. "What shall we do? Did Uncle Tad bring his gun with him?"

"Hush! Don't wake the children," said Mr. Brown. "They might be frightened if they heard that a lion was loose."

"Frightened? I should think any one would be frightened!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown. "A savage lion raging around at night, trying to get something to eat——"

"Now please don't get excited," begged Mr. Brown. "There is no danger—at least I believe there isn't."

"No danger? And with a lion loose—a hungry lion!"

"That's where I think you're wrong," said her husband. "The circus people usually keep their lions and other wild animals well fed. They know the danger a hungry beast might be if he should get loose. And I dare say they often do get loose, for all sorts of things may happen when the cages are taken to so many different places.

"But though this lion has broken loose, I don't believe it would bite even a rooster if it crowed at him. I mean he won't be hungry, because he'll have been well fed before the circus started away."

"Then you don't believe there is any danger?"

"Well, not enough to worry about. Another thing is that usually circus lions are so tame, having been caged so long, that they are fairly gentle."

"I read of one that bit his keeper," said Mrs. Brown.

"Oh, of course there are some dangerous lions in circuses. But we won't believe this one that got away is that kind until we are sure. There's a man who seems tired of running. I think he's going to stop and I'll ask him how it happened."

One of the crowd of men and boys, racing past the "Ark," had slowed his pace, being tired it seemed. Mr. Brown leaned out of the back door and called to him:

"What is the matter? Did a lion really get loose from the circus?"

"That's what really did happen, sir. Are you one of the circus folks?"

"No, we are just travelers. We are stopping here because one of the springs of our automobile is broken."

"Oh, excuse me. I thought this was one of the circus wagons. Yes, as they were loading the lion's cage on the train a few hours ago, it slipped, fell on its side and broke. The biggest lion in the circus got away before they could catch him, and they say he headed down this way. The circus men started after him with nets and ropes, and they offered a reward of twenty-five dollars to whoever caught him. So a lot of us started out, but I guess I'll go back. I'm tired out. I didn't have an automobile like some."

"Then the lion didn't get loose while the circus performance was going on?" asked Mrs. Brown.

"Oh, no. And it's a good thing it didn't, or there'd have been a terrible scare and maybe lots of folks hurt in the rush. The show was over, and most of the animal tent stuff was loaded on the flat cars when the lion's cage broke."

"Aren't you afraid to try to catch him?" asked Mrs. Brown.

"Well, I didn't stop to think of that. I don't know though that I am. I just started off with a rush—the same as lots of others did who were watching the circus load—when the lion got loose. I thought maybe I could earn that twenty-five dollars. You see that's given to whoever finds where the lion is hiding. The circus men just want to know that and then they'll do the catching. There really isn't much danger."

"Well, I shouldn't like to try it," murmured Mrs. Brown.

"I guess I'll give up, too," said the man.

He called a "good-night!" to Mr. and Mrs. Brown and went back along the road. There were no more people to be seen, those who had gone lion-hunting being now out of sight.

"Well, I'm glad the children didn't wake up," said Mrs. Brown, for, strange as it may seem, Bunny and Sue had slept all through the noise. But then they were tired because of having gone to the circus. "Shall you tell them about the lion being loose?"

"Oh, yes, to-morrow, of course. While I think there is little danger I would not want them to stray too far away, for the poor old lion may be hiding in the woods or among the rocks, and he might spring out on whoever passed his hiding place."

"Why do you call him a 'poor old lion'? I think he must be a very savage fellow."

"Oh, I think he'll turn out to be a gentle one," said her husband with a laugh.

Then Mr. and Mrs. Brown went to bed, after Uncle Tad had heard the story, and the rest of the night passed quietly. At the breakfast table Bunny and Sue were told of what had happened.

Bunny wanted to go right out with Uncle Tad, who was to take his gun.

"We'll hunt him and get the twenty-five dollars," said the little fellow.

"No. You'd better play around here for a while," ordered his father. "It will be safer."

"I wouldn't let him out of my sight for a million dollars!" cried Mrs. Brown.

"But we could take the two dogs, Dix and Splash, with us, and they could bite the lion if he chased us," said Bunny.

His mother shook her head, and Bunny knew there was no use teasing any more.

"I wouldn't go after any lion!" declared Sue. "And I want to find a good place to hide Sallie Malinda."

"What for?" asked Bunny.

"So the lion can't find her," said the little girl. "Lions don't like bears and this one might bite Sallie Malinda. Then maybe she couldn't flash her eyes any more." The Teddy bear had dried out after the fall into the lake, and was as good as ever.

So Bunny and Sue had to stay and play around the automobile, not going far away. Though at first they missed the long tramps in the fields and through the woods, they were good children and did as they were bid. Besides, deep down in his heart, Bunny was just a little bit afraid of the lion, even though he had said he wanted to go hunting for him with Uncle Tad.

Two days passed, and the lion had not been found. The circus had gone on, leaving two men in the town near which the automobile was stranded. These men, with a spare cage which had been left with them, were ready to go out with nets and ropes and capture the lion as soon as any one should bring in word as to where it was hiding.

The countrymen and the boys, who had no other work to do, still kept up the lion hunt, some with dogs, but the big circus animal was well hidden.

"If he was playing hide-and-go-seek," said Bunny, "I'd holler 'Givie-up! Givie-up! Come on in free!' For I never could find him, he has hidden himself so good."

"Well, I wish he would go and hide himself far, far away," almost snapped Sue. "Then we could go around like we used to, and go on the lake."

"I wish so too," agreed Bunny.

It was getting rather tiresome for the children to stay so close to "home," as they called the automobile, but Mr. Brown said the new spring would arrive in a few days, and then they would travel on again, far from where the lion was hiding.

"And we can keep on looking for Fred Ward," said Bunny. In the excitement over the circus the runaway boy had been almost forgotten.

It was three days after the lion had broken loose, and evening was approaching, when Mrs. Jason, wife of the farmer who had been so kind to the Browns, came hurrying down to the automobile beside the road. She was out of breath and seemed much excited.

"Oh, Mr. Brown!" she exclaimed. "Do you know anything about doctoring?"

"About doctoring! Why? Is Mr. Jason ill?"

"No, but I've got a badly hurt boy up at my house. He's all scratched up."

"Has he been picking berries?" asked Bunny.

"No. They're worse scratches than that. Big, deep ones on his face, hands and shoulders. I've bandaged him as best I could, and sent Mr. Jason for the doctor; but I was wondering if you could do anything until Dr. Fandon came."

"A scratched boy?" repeated Mr. Brown slowly. "What scratched him?"

"A great big lion, he says!" exclaimed Mrs. Jason. "I declare I'm so excited I don't know what to do!" and she sat down on a stool Mrs. Brown placed for her near the back steps of the automobile.



CHAPTER XXIV

THE BARKING DOG

Mr. and Mrs. Brown, not to say Bunny, Sue and Uncle Tad, were very, very much surprised when Mrs. Jason said the boy had been scratched by a lion.

"Are you sure about it?" asked the children's father.

"That's what he says," replied the farmer's wife. "He is certainly badly scratched, as I could see for myself. Whether it was by a lion or something else I can't say, never having seen a lion's scratches. The boy might be making up some story, but he certainly is scratched."

"The circus lion!" cried Mrs. Brown. "Oh, that must be the one that did it! The lion must be roaming around here! We must lock the automobile and stay inside!"

"Now please don't get excited," begged Mr. Brown. "In the first place this boy may not be telling the truth. He is scratched, for Mrs. Jason has seen the marks and bandaged them up, she says. But it may be the boy fell down in the bushes, or among the rocks and got scratched that way. Or it may have been some other wild animal in the woods that attacked him. There are some animals around here, aren't there?" he asked the farmer's wife.

"Well, skunks, groundhogs and the like of that, with maybe a fox or two. Of course foxes or groundhogs will bite if any one tries to catch them, but I don't know that they'd scratch, though they might if they were put to it. I never saw such scratches as these. And, as you say, Mrs. Brown, it may have been the circus lion which is hiding around here."

"You don't seem very frightened over it," said Mrs. Brown.

"Well, what's the use of being frightened until I see it?" asked Mrs. Jason. "I'm more worried about that poor boy. I wish I could do something for him to ease his pain until Dr. Fandon comes. He may be a long while."

"I'll come up with you and see what I can do," promised Mr. Brown. "Uncle Tad knows something about soldiers' wounds, and perhaps he could——"

"Oh, don't take Uncle Tad with you!" pleaded Mrs. Brown. "We need one man around here if there's a lion loose in the woods. Come back as soon as you can," she begged her husband as he walked toward the farmhouse with Mrs. Jason.

"How did you happen to see the boy?" asked Mr. Brown.

"I was out gathering the eggs near the henhouse," said Mrs. Jason, "and I heard a sort of groaning noise. Then I saw somebody coming toward me.

"At first I thought it was a tramp, and I was just going to call my husband or one of the men, when I heard crying, and then I saw it was only a boy, and that he was bleeding."

"How long ago was it that you found the scratched boy?" asked Mr. Brown.

"Nearly an hour now. As soon as I saw what the matter was I hurried him into the house and got him on a couch. Mr. Jason and I did what bandaging we could, and then I made him go for the doctor."

"Did you know the boy, and did he say where the lion attacked him?" asked Mr. Brown.

"I never saw him before, that I know of. But he just managed to say the beast jumped out of the bushes at him when he was coming through our rocky glen, then all of a sudden he fainted."

"Where is this rocky glen of yours where you say the lion jumped out at the boy?"

"About two miles from here, back in the hills. Waste land, mostly. You aren't thinking of going there, are you?"

"Not now, though I think I'd better send word to the circus people that their lion is around here."

"Yes, it would be a good thing."

By this time Mr. Brown and Mrs. Jason were at the house.

"I'll take a look at him," said Mr. Brown.

He saw, lying on a couch, a tall lad, whose face and hands were covered with bandages. The youth was tossing to and fro and murmuring, but what he said could not well be understood, except that now and then he spoke of a lion.

"I didn't dare take his coat off to get at the scratches on his shoulders," said Mrs. Jason. "I thought I'd let the doctor do that."

"Yes, I guess it will be best. But if you have any sweet spirits of nitre in the house I'll give him that to quiet him and keep down the fever."

"Oh, we always keep nitre on hand," and Mrs. Jason helped Mr. Brown give some to the lad. In a little while he grew quieter, and then Dr. Fandon came in with Mr. Jason.

The two men helped the physician get the youth undressed and into a spare bed, and then the doctor, with Mrs. Jason's help, dressed the wounds on the boy's face and shoulders, while the men waited outside.

Then, having done what he could for the boy, and promising to call in the morning, when he could tell more about the boy's condition, the doctor went home, while Mr. Brown and Mr. Jason planned to get word of the lion to the two circus men who were still at the hotel in the village.

"I'll drive over with you," said the farmer. This they did, though it was late to drive to town, being after nine o'clock, stopping at the "Ark" on the way to tell what had taken place at the farmhouse.

"Poor fellow!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown. "We must try to help him."

"I'll let him play with my Teddy bear when he gets well," said Sue, and all the others laughed.

"The circus men will get after the lion in the morning," said the farmer when he and Mr. Brown were back at the "Ark" on their return from town.

Though they were excited, and not a little afraid, Bunny and Sue were at last in bed, but only after Uncle Tad had promised to sit up all night, as he used to do when a sentry in the war, and, with his gun, watch for any sign of the lion.

"And if you have to shoot him, which I hope you don't," said Bunny, "call me first so I can look at him. But I don't want to see him shot. Just make him go back to the circus."

"I will," promised Uncle Tad.

Bunny and Sue were up early the next morning, and even before breakfast they wanted their father to go up to the farmhouse to find out about the scratched boy, and also whether or not the lion had been caught.

"We'll see about the boy first," said Mr. Brown. "I guess it won't do any harm for me to take the children up," he said to his wife.

"You will be careful, won't you?" she begged.

"Indeed I will," he promised.

So Bunny, with his sister and his father, walked up to Mr. Jason's home. Dix and Splash went along, of course, and stood expectant at the door as Mr. Brown rang.

"Oh, good morning!" cried Mrs. Jason as she answered the bell. "Our scratched boy is much better this morning. He is not as badly hurt as we feared. Come in."

Mr. Brown and the children entered, and of course the dogs followed.

"Go back, Dix and Splash," ordered Mr. Brown. Splash turned and went out on the stoop, but Dix kept on. The dog was acting in a strange manner. The door to a downstairs bedroom, where the wounded boy was lying, was open. Dix ran in and the next moment he began to bark wildly, getting on the bed with his forefeet.

"Down, Dix! Down!" cried Mr. Brown. "What do you mean, sir?"

But Dix kept on barking and whining. He tried to lick the hands of the scratched boy.

"Oh, drive him away!" cried Mrs. Jason. "He'll hurt the boy."

But the boy, who seemed much better indeed, rose up in bed and cried:

"Don't send him away! That's Dix, my dog! Oh, Dix, you found me, didn't you?"



CHAPTER XXV

FOUND AT LAST

What with the barking of Dix, in which Splash, out on the porch, joined, the manner in which the scratched boy hugged the half-wild animal on his bed, the astonishment of Bunny Brown, his sister, his father and Mrs. Jason—well, there was enough excitement for a few minutes to satisfy even the children.

Sue did not know what to make of the strange actions of Dix on the bed where the injured boy had been sleeping, and she whispered to Bunny:

"Maybe Dix wants to bite him!"

But Bunny shook his head. He understood what had happened.

"Don't you see, Sue!" he said. "He's been found."

"O-o-oh!" gasped the little girl.

"Yes, sir, Fred Ward, the boy who ran away from next door to us, has been found. That's his dog, Dix. And Dix knows him, just as we thought he would, even though his face is pretty well bandaged up. That's Fred Ward!"

"Is that your name?" asked Mr. Brown, who also understood what had happened.

"Well, I guess it is," was the slow answer. "But it isn't the name I've been going by lately. I called myself Professor Rombodno Prosondo, but now——"

"Then, it was you all blacked up like a minstrel!" cried Bunny.

"Yes, I was playing on the banjo for Dr. Perry's medicine show, but when I saw you in the crowd I managed to get away. Then I joined the circus and now——"

"Don't talk and excite yourself," said Mrs. Jason. "The doctor will be here in a little while and perhaps he can take the bandages off your face, so your friends will know you."

"Dix knows him all right," said Mr. Brown, and indeed the dog was half wild with joy at having found his master.

Dr. Fandon came in a few minutes later and said Fred was much better. When the face bandages were taken off, so new ones could be put on, Bunny and Sue at once recognized Fred, though his face was badly scratched.

Dix tried to lick his master's face, but had to be stopped for fear he might do Fred harm. So the dog had to show his joy by thumping his tail and whining softly.

Then Fred told his story. As has been said, he ran away from home because he felt his father should not have punished him.

"But I've had a good deal worse punishment since," the lad said, "and I'm sorry I ever ran away. I'd have gone home long ago only I was ashamed."

"Well, you needn't be," said Mr. Brown. "Your father and your mother both want you back. We have been looking for you as well as we could on our auto tour. But it was Dix who knew you first."

"I wish he had seen me before the lion did," said Fred, smiling a little. "I wonder where he went to after clawing me?"

At that moment there was a noise out in the yard back of the farmhouse. The crowing of roosters and the squawking of hens could be heard, mingled with a woman's voice.

"That's my wife!" cried Mr. Jason, jumping up, but at that moment his wife came into the room.

"I've caught it," she said coolly, though her face was flushed.

"Caught what?" they all cried.

"The circus lion," she answered. "I went out to the henhouse, and there he was crouching down in a corner, and looking as if he intended to have his choice of my fat pullets."

"What did you do?" asked Mr. Brown and Mr. Jason together.

"Well, I happened to have a broom stick in my hand so I hit him a smart blow over the nose to teach him to let my hens alone, and then I drove the chickens outside and locked the lion in the henhouse. He's there now. You'd better send for the circus folks to take him away. I don't want him around the place scaring the fowls."

"Didn't he scare you?" asked Mr. Brown.

"I never stopped to think whether he did or not," was the cool answer. "I just whacked him over the nose and he whined and cuddled up in a corner like a whipped dog."

"Oh, let's go out and look at the lion in the chicken coop!" cried Bunny.

"No, indeed," said his father. "Wait until the circus men come and put him in the cage."

A neighboring farmer had a telephone, and word was sent to one of the circus men who had stayed at the village hotel, while his companion had gone to the rocky glen with a crowd of men and boys to try to find the lion there, after the alarm given by Mr. Jason.

The circus man, who had remained in the hotel, came with a light cage, drawn by horses, and the lion was easily driven from the henhouse into the cage and was soon safe behind locks and bars.

"Mrs. Jason caught the lion!" cried the crowd that gathered to watch what happened.

"Did he bite you?" she was asked.

"Never a bite," she answered smiling.

"What! Poor old Tobyhanna bite?" cried one of the circus men. "Why, he hasn't but two teeth in his head and we have to feed him on boiled meat. He's no more dangerous than a tame dog, and when you hit him over the nose with your broom, lady, you must have hurt his feelin's dreadful."

"Well, I didn't mean to be rough," said Mrs. Jason with a smile, "but it's the first time I ever caught a lion."

"Yes, and you get the reward, too," added the circus man, as he paid the farmer's wife.

Then he started away with the lion in the cage to ship him back to the circus. And poor, old, almost toothless Tobyhanna, curled up in the corner of his cage and ate some bread and milk the farmer's wife gave him. He was happy he had been caught.

Fred Ward's story was soon told. After running away from home he joined the medicine show, because it gave him a chance to play the banjo he liked so well. He left Dr. Perry because he saw the Browns and feared they might have him sent home.

Then he joined the circus, the very one from which the lion had escaped. In that show Fred had been one of a group who blacked up and played on mandolins and guitars and banjos, and though he had played in front of Bunny, Sue and Uncle Tad, none of them knew him, nor did Fred see them.

The night the show left the town, and just before the lion escaped, Fred had a quarrel with one of the managers and left. He was not paid his money and, quite miserable, he wandered away, not knowing what to do. He became lost in the woods, and finally he reached the rocky gulch where the lion attacked him.

"It was just an accident. Tobyhanna didn't mean to hurt me," said Fred. "I'd often fed him and scratched his nose for him in the circus. But I walked right over him as he was asleep in between some rocks, and when he jumped out, as much scared as I was he happened to scratch me. Then I managed to get to this house and I guess I must have gone out of my head or fainted or something."

"You did," said Dr. Fandon, "but you are all right now."

"We must send word to your father that you are safe," said Mr. Brown, and this was done.

Fred was not quite well enough to be moved, but his father came for him the next day, and he made a great fuss over his boy. They understood each other better after that.

Mr. Ward thanked everybody who had done anything to help his son, and a few days later took Fred and Dix home, for the dog would not leave his master, much as he liked Splash, Bunny and Sue.

In due time Tobyhanna, the lion, was taken back to the circus, and he never got out of his cage again, as far as I ever heard.

"Well, I think we can keep on with our tour now," said Mr. Brown, a few days after the new spring had arrived.

"It seems almost like leaving home to go away from here," said Mother Brown, as they prepared to leave.

"We've had such fun camping here," added Sue.

"And lots of things have happened, too!" added Bunny. "I never was near where a lion was locked up in a chicken coop before."

"And I don't want to be again," said his mother.

"All aboard!" cried Uncle Tad.

And once more the "Ark," was traveling along the country road back toward Bellemere. The auto trip had been a great success, and Bunny and Sue talked of it many times, and of how Fred Ward had been found, and of the escaped lion that had scratched him.

But now it is time to say good-bye, though you must not think this is the last of the adventures of Bunny and Sue, even though there are no more in this book. There were more ahead of them, but, for the present, we will leave them.

THE END



THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES

By LAURA LEE HOPE

Author of the Popular "Bobbsey Twins" Books

* * * * *

Wrapper and text illustrations drawn by

FLORENCE ENGLAND NOSWORTHY

* * * * *

12mo. DURABLY BOUND. ILLUSTRATED. UNIFORM STYLE OF BINDING

* * * * *

These stories by the author of the "Bobbsey Twins" 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.

Bunny was a lively little boy, very inquisitive. When he did anything, Sue followed his leadership. They had many adventures, some comical in the extreme.

BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON GRANDPA'S FARM BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE PLAYING CIRCUS BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CAMP REST-A-WHILE BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE BIG WOODS BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON AN AUTO TOUR BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR SHETLAND PONY BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE GIVING A SHOW BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CHRISTMAS TREE COVE

* * * * *

GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK



THE BOBBSEY TWINS BOOKS

For Little Men and Women

By LAURA LEE HOPE

Author of "The Bunny Brown" Series, Etc.

* * * * *

12mo. DURABLY BOUND. ILLUSTRATED. UNIFORM STYLE OF BINDING

* * * * *

Copyright publications which cannot be obtained else-where. Books that charm the hearts of the little ones, and of which they never tire.

THE BOBBSEY TWINS THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON A HOUSEBOAT THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT MEADOW BROOK THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT HOME THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN A GREAT CITY THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON BLUEBERRY ISLAND THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON THE DEEP BLUE SEA THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE GREAT WEST

* * * * *

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 tale 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 and 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 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 OUTDOOR CHUMS SERIES

By CAPTAIN QUINCY ALLEN

The outdoor chums are four wide-awake lads, sons of wealthy men of a small city located on a lake. The boys love outdoor life, and are greatly interested in hunting, fishing, and picture taking. They have motor cycles, motor boats, canoes, etc., and during their vacations go everywhere and have all sorts of thrilling adventures. The stories give full directions for camping out, how to fish, how to hunt wild animals and prepare the skins for stuffing, how to manage a canoe, how to swim, etc. Full of the spirit of outdoor life.

THE OUTDOOR CHUMS Or The First Tour of the Rod, Gun and Camera Club.

THE OUTDOOR CHUMS ON THE LAKE Or Lively Adventures on Wildcat Island.

THE OUTDOOR CHUMS IN THE FOREST Or Laying the Ghost of Oak Ridge.

THE OUTDOOR CHUMS ON THE GULF Or Rescuing the Lost Balloonists.

THE OUTDOOR CHUMS AFTER BIG GAME Or Perilous Adventures in the Wilderness.

THE OUTDOOR CHUMS ON A HOUSEBOAT Or The Rivals of the Mississippi.

THE OUTDOOR CHUMS IN THE BIG WOODS Or The Rival Hunters at Lumber Run.

THE OUTDOOR CHUMS AT CABIN POINT Or The Golden Cup Mystery.

12mo. Averaging 240 pages. Illustrated. Handsomely bound in Cloth.

* * * * *

GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK



THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS

SERIES

By VICTOR APPLETON

* * * * *

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

* * * * *

Moving pictures and photo plays are famous the world over, and in this line of books the reader is given a full description of how the films are made—the scenes of little dramas, indoors and out, trick pictures to satisfy the curious, soul-stirring pictures of city affairs, life in the Wild West, among the cowboys and Indians, thrilling rescues along the seacoast, the daring of picture hunters in the jungle among savage beasts, and the great risks run in picturing conditions in a land of earthquakes. The volumes teem with adventures and will be found interesting from first chapter to last.

THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS Or Perils of a Great City Depicted.

THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS IN THE WEST Or Taking Scenes Among the Cowboys and Indians.

THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS ON THE COAST Or Showing the Perils of the Deep.

THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS IN THE JUNGLE Or Stirring Times Among the Wild Animals.

THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS IN EARTHQUAKE LAND Or Working Amid Many Perils.

THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS AND THE FLOOD Or Perilous Days on the Mississippi.

THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS AT PANAMA Or Stirring Adventures Along the Great Canal.

THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS UNDER THE SEA Or The Treasure of the Lost Ship.

* * * * *

GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK

* * * * *

Transcriber's note:

Punctuation normalized.

Page 13, the word "the" was inserted into "and of the fun".

Page 108, "That's what we we're trying to find out." Changed to "That's what we're trying to find out."

THE END