Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Christmas Tree Cove

L >> Laura Lee Hope >> Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Christmas Tree Cove

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"Of course it is possible," admitted Mr. Brown, when there had been more
talk and it was discovered that the Sandy dog was lost the very same day
that Mrs. Brown's pocketbook was picked up off the bench and carried
away by a strange yellow animal that then ran into Mr. Foswick's
carpenter shop.

"Yes, Sandy could very easily have run down the street on which your
house is located," said Harry's mother. "As I told the children, he had
a habit of taking things in his mouth and running away with them. And he
might have picked up the pocketbook. Of course it seems a very strange
thing to have happened, but it is possible."

"How did Mr. Ravenwood get the dog which he says in his letter he has?"
asked Mr. Brown, while Bunny and the others listened carefully.

"It is not certain this is our dog," went on Mrs. Slater. "We shall know
that when he comes here after his box. I see how it may have happened.
After Sandy disappeared my husband put advertisements about him in many
seashore papers. He asked that word of finding of the dog be sent to him
at his city office or to me here at Christmas Tree Cove. The
advertisements spoke of how fond Harry was of Sandy. I hope Harry is not
disappointed, and that this will prove to be his dog. And I hope your
wife will find her pocketbook and diamond ring."

"Oh, she will now!" exclaimed Harry.

"That is too much," said Bunny's mother. "I have given up hope of ever
seeing my beautiful ring again. Even if it was your dog that ran in and
picked up the pocketbook, he must have dropped it in some out-of-the-way
place, and there is no telling where it is."

"No, unfortunately, Sandy can not talk," said Mrs. Slater.

"But he can sit up on his hind legs and beg!" exclaimed Harry. "Oh, I
do hope I get him back!"

"So do I!" echoed Bunny and Sue.

The next day was such an anxious one for the children, who were waiting
for the appearance of Mr. Ravenwood in his motor boat with the dog he
had found, that Mrs. Brown finally said:

"Come, kiddies, we'll go for a little picnic down on the beach."

"May Harry come?" asked Bunny, for Harry was over at the bungalow
playing with Bunny and Sue.

"Yes. And we'll invite Harry's mother and Bunker Blue and Uncle Tad,"
said Mrs. Brown. "We'll spend the afternoon on the beach. It will make
the time pass more quickly."

Indeed the time did seem to drag for Bunny, Sue, and Harry. They did not
know just what time to expect Mr. Ravenwood in his boat, to claim his
box and to bring the strange dog. Every now and again the children would
ask:

"When do you think he'll come?"

Then, at last, Mrs. Brown had decided on the picnic as a means of
keeping them quiet.

Picnics were often held at Christmas Tree Cove, and could be quickly got
up. All that was necessary to do was to put up a lunch and go down to
one of the many nice places on the beach.

Harry was sent over to the hotel to ask his mother if he might go, and
also to invite her to be one of the party, and soon Mrs. Slater was on
her way back to Bark Lodge with her little son.

"It is very nice of you, Mrs. Brown, to ask us," said Mrs. Slater.

"I shall have just as much fun as the children," replied the mother of
Bunny and Sue Brown.

Uncle Tad and Bunker Blue were also delighted to go, and Bunny wanted to
take his shovel and dig for soft clams and have a clambake on the beach.

"Not now, dear," said his mother. "It is quite a lot of work, and you
get so muddy digging clams. After a while, when daddy can be with us, we
may have a big bake on the beach some night."

"And maybe Mr. Ravenwood will come!" exclaimed Sue.

"Maybe he will," agreed her mother.

A little later they were all seated on the sands, the older folk in the
shade of some sun umbrellas that Bunker Blue and Uncle Tad put up, while
Bunny, Sue, and Harry played out in the sunshine. They were tanned as
brown as autumn leaves and no longer sunburned.

The children dug holes in the sand, made miniature cities and railroads,
built tunnels which caved in, and finally started to make a cabin of
driftwood.

Uncle Tad and Bunker Blue were helping at this, and they planned to make
a regular thatched roof of seaweed. The little shack on the sand was
half done when the puffing of a motor boat was heard near shore and a
voice hailed the little party.

"Can you tell me where Christmas Tree Cove is?" asked a young man in the
boat.

"It is right here," answered Mrs. Brown, waving her hand toward the
groups of evergreens on the shore.

Bunny, Sue, and Harry looked at the man in the boat, and then at
something else. And the something else was a big, yellow dog that stood
on one of the seats. At the sight of this animal Mrs. Slater stood up
and Harry cried:

"There's Sandy! That's my Sandy all right!"

Instantly, at the sound of the little boy's voice, the dog gave a loud
bark and leaped into the bay to swim to shore. He reached the sand and
ran at full speed toward the party of picnickers. As he ran, Bunny Brown
cried:

"That's the dog! That's the dog that took my mother's pocketbook and
diamond ring!"

CHAPTER XXIV

IN THE BOAT

Nearer and nearer to the picnic party on the beach raced the big, yellow
dog. He was barking in delight and his tail was wagging from side to
side.

"He'll get us wet!" exclaimed Mrs. Slater. "Down, Sandy! Down!" she
commanded.

Instantly the dog stopped and began to shake himself vigorously, sending
the water in a shower from his shaggy coat.

"Oh, he minded you! He's your dog all right, isn't he?" cried Bunny.

"Yes, he's my Sandy," answered Harry. "He always minds sometimes."

At the sound of his young master's voice the dog, with another joyful
bark, again leaped forward. He had stopped to get rid of as much of the
water as possible, but a moment later he was jumping and tumbling about
Harry and Mrs. Slater, while the little boy, caring not at all about the
dog's damp coat, was hugging his pet.

"Oh, Sandy! Sandy! I'm so glad you came back!" cried Harry.

"Is it really your dog?" asked Mrs. Brown of her friend.

"Yes," answered Mrs. Slater. "Oh, do be quiet, you crazy animal," she
said, as he leaped up and tried to put his tongue on her face.

"He wants to kiss you," said Sue.

Then the dog turned to Sue, and he really did "kiss" her, for Sue was
sitting down and the dog easily reached her tanned cheeks with his red
tongue.

"Be careful," warned Mrs. Brown.

"Oh, Sandy is gentle and loves children," said Harry's mother. "But I
fancy that young man in the boat wants some explanation," she went on.
"Though, since we have told him this is Christmas Tree Cove, he must
have guessed that we are the people to whom the dog belongs."

The man in the boat had stopped his engine, and the craft was now
grounded in the sand not far from where the picnic was being held. A
four-pronged anchor was tossed out to prevent the motor boat from
drifting away, and then the young man came up the beach. He was smiling
pleasantly, and as he took off his cap and bowed to the ladies he said:

"Davy Jones seems to have found out where he belongs all right. I
presume this is Harry Slater," he went on, looking at the boy around
whom the dog was leaping.

"Yes," answered Mrs. Slater. "And this is Mr. Ravenwood?"

"Yes," was the reply. "I called the dog Davy Jones, for he seemed to
love the sea, and I didn't know what his right name was. He is evidently
yours."

"Sandy belongs to us," returned Mrs. Slater. "It is all rather a strange
story from the time Sandy ran away from us until we found your box and
learned that you had our dog. But there is a stranger part to it still,
it seems, if what Bunny and Sue think proves to be true."

"What is that?" asked Mr. Ravenwood.

Then he was told about the missing pocketbook and ring.

"Are you sure, children, that this is the same dog that ran into the
yard that day and made off with my pocketbook?" asked Mrs. Brown of
Bunny and Sue.

"Oh, yes!" declared Bunny. "He runs just the same, and he barks just the
same, and he looks just the same."

Sue agreed with this, and when Mrs. Slater told again what a habit Sandy
had of carrying things off in his mouth it was decided that this was the
animal that had caused Bunny and Sue so much trouble, including the
locking in at Mr. Foswick's carpenter shop.

"How did you get Sandy?" asked Mrs. Slater of Mr. Ravenwood.

"He came to me," was the answer. "I am a sort of carpenter myself," he
went on. "I make things of wood, called patterns. They are for the use
of foundries in casting objects in metal. The box you found is full of
wooden patterns, and that is why it floated away up here after I lost
it."

"How did you lose it?" asked Sue.

"And isn't there _any_ pirate gold in the box?" asked Bunny, much
disappointed.

"No, not a bit of pirate gold, or any other kind," laughed Mr.
Ravenwood. "I wish there might be some real, good gold in it, but such
things don't happen outside of books, I'm afraid," he added. "Perhaps I
had better tell you the whole story," he suggested.

"I should like to hear it," said Mrs. Brown. "That is, unless you want
to go up to our woodshed and make sure it is your box we have found."

"No," was the reply. "I am pretty certain, from your description of it
and from the fact that it has my name on it, that it is mine. Now I will
tell you how Davy Jones, as I called him, or Sandy, as you call him,
came to me.

"I was in my motor boat one day at a dock in Bellemere, getting some
wood to take to my shop in Sea Gate to make into patterns. I was just
about to start off when this big, yellow dog came running along the
pier. He jumped into my boat and made himself at home. I tried to make
him go ashore, but he wouldn't. As I had no time to get out myself and
tie him up, I took him with me back to Sea Gate. He proved to be very
friendly, and though I was sure he was a valuable animal and that some
one would want him back, I had no time then to make inquiries. I just
kept him and took him home with me."

"Did he have a pocketbook when he jumped into your boat?" asked Bunny.

"No, I don't believe he did," answered Mr. Ravenwood. "He had nothing in
his mouth that I recall; though, to tell you the truth, my back was
turned when he leaped aboard."

"He couldn't have had my pocketbook," said Mrs. Brown. "If this is the
same dog that was in our yard, and he seems to be, he either dropped my
purse in the carpenter shop or else in some other place which we shall
never know. The shop has been searched, but where else to look no one
knows."

"Well, as I said," went on Mr. Ravenwood, "Sandy came aboard my boat and
I kept him. It was not until the other day that I noticed an
advertisement about him, and then I knew what to do with him. That was
the day after I lost my box."

"How did you lose that?" asked Uncle Tad.

"I lost it overboard out of my boat in the fierce storm of the other
night," was the answer. "I had packed the box full of wooden patterns,
put it in my boat, and I had lettered my name and address on it in
readiness for sending it away by express. I was also going to put the
name of the place where the box was to go, but I was called away just
then to the telephone at the dock in Sea Gate, and when I came back I
was thinking so much about something else that I forgot all about
putting the other name on the box. I started out in my boat to take the
box across the bay to the express office, and I was caught in the storm.
I was nearly capsized and had to put back to shore, the box tipping
overboard and floating off. I was glad enough to let it go and get
safely back myself."

"And did Sandy go overboard, too?" asked Harry, his arms about his dog's
neck.

"No, I had left Sandy on shore," answered Mr. Ravenwood. "Though he
always wanted to go with me; didn't you, old fellow?" he asked, and the
dog wagged his tail to show how happy he was.

"Well, that's about all there is to my story," said Mr. Ravenwood.
"After the storm was over I set out in search of my box of patterns, for
I knew they would float, but I could not find them. Sandy went with me
on these trips. Then I got Mr. Brown's letter, telling me that the box
with my name on was here in Christmas Tree Cove, and, at the same time,
I noticed the advertisement in one of the papers about the lost dog.

"I connected the two names, and then I thought the best thing to do was
to bring Sandy here and see if he belonged to you folks. And I am glad
to know that he does," he went on. "And now, if I may get my box and pay
any expenses there may be attached to it----"

"There aren't any expenses," interrupted Mrs. Brown, with a smile. "The
box is in our shed, and you are welcome to it at any time. But won't you
have lunch with us? The children were so anxious for you to come that I
thought this would make the time pass more quickly. We did not dream of
your coming to us here."

"I'm glad I did," said the young man, as he took a sandwich which Sue
passed him.

Then there was a happy time on the beach, different parts of the strange
stories being told over and over again. Sandy seemed to be thoroughly
enjoying himself, and he eagerly ate the pieces of bread and meat the
children tossed to him.

At last, however, the time came to go home. Mr. Brown was expected up
from Bellemere and Mr. Ravenwood said he would wait over and meet him.

"We can all get in my boat, and ride to the dock," proposed the young
pattern-maker.

"Oh, that will be fun!" cried Bunny. "Come on!"

The lunch baskets were gathered up, and as they went down the beach to
Mr. Ravenwood's boat Sue put her arms around Sandy's neck, looked into
the brown eyes of the dog, and said very seriously:

"Can't you tell what you did with my mother's pocketbook and diamond
ring?"

Sandy only wagged his tail, gave a little bark, and raced off after
Harry and Bunny, who were getting into the boat.

"All aboard!" called Mr. Ravenwood, as he helped in Mrs. Brown and Mrs.
Slater. "All aboard!"

"I'll push off and you can start the engine," offered Bunker Blue. "I'm
used to it and I can hop on after she gets started."

"All right," said Mr. Ravenwood, and he went back to the stern of the
craft where the gasolene motor was placed under a cover made of wood, to
keep out the rain and the salty spray.

Bunker pushed the bow of the boat free from the sand and then leaped on
board himself.

"Start her up!" he cried to Mr. Ravenwood.

CHAPTER XXV

WHAT STOPPED THE ENGINE

With a chug-chug the motor boat started down along the sandy shore of
Christmas Tree Cove. The children sat up in front, at the bow, as it is
called, and Harry's recently recovered dog was with them, being petted
first by one and then the other of the three little friends. Mrs. Brown
and Mrs. Slater sat behind the children, and in the back, or stern, near
the engine, were Mr. Ravenwood and Uncle Tad and Bunker Blue.

"Which dock shall I steer for?" asked Mr. Ravenwood, as the boat moved
out from shore.

"Right there," and Uncle Tad pointed to the one nearest Bark Lodge.

"It certainly is strange how things happen in this world," said Uncle
Tad, as he and Mr. Ravenwood were talking about the finding of the
floating box and the recovery of Sandy. "If we could only find the lost
pocketbook and the diamond ring now, I would say it might be almost like
a fairy story."

"Yes," agreed Mr. Ravenwood, "it certainly might be called that." He was
listening to the noise of the engine as he sat with one hand on the
steering wheel.

"What's the matter?" asked Bunker Blue. "Anything wrong?"

"The motor sounds rather strange," answered the pattern-maker. "I was
just wondering----"

He did not finish the sentence before the engine suddenly stopped with a
sort of wheeze and groan which showed something was wrong.

"Something's caught in the flywheel," declared Bunker Blue.

"That's what it sounds like to me," added Uncle Tad.

"We'll have a look," stated Mr. Ravenwood, as he shut off the gasolene
supply and opened the electric switch. Then he proceeded to lift the
wooden covering of the engine.

"What's the matter?" asked Bunny Brown, looking back.

"The engine has stopped," his mother told him.

"What made it?" Sue wanted to know.

"That's what Mr. Ravenwood is trying to find out," said Uncle Tad.

Idly the boat floated on the water while Mr. Ravenwood looked in the
covering case and around the flywheel.

"There's something jammed down under the flywheel, between it and the
keel of the boat," he said. "I can just feel it. Seems to be a bit of
rag or cotton waste that I use to wipe off the oil and grease from my
hands and to polish the machinery. Wait, I can get it out," he went on,
as he thrust his arm down deeper. "I have my hand on it, but it is
jammed in pretty tight and----"

He gave a grunt and a pull, and then up came his arm, and in his hand he
held something black, which dripped with water and oil.

"There it is," said the young man. "It must have been in the pit for
some time to get so soaked as that. I don't remember dropping anything
in there. In fact, I'm very careful, for there isn't much room between
the rim of the flywheel and the keel, and even a small bit of waste will
stop the wheel, just as this did."

"Is it waste?" asked Uncle Tad.

"No, it doesn't seem to be," was Mr. Ravenwood's answer. "Why--why----"
he went on in surprise, as he laid the object down on top of the engine
cover and examined it. "Why, it's an old leather pocketbook!"

"A pocketbook!" cried Bunny Brown and his sister Sue, and they looked at
one another with startled eyes.

"Yes, that's what it is--an old pocketbook," went on Mr. Ravenwood. "How
in the world it ever came here I can't imagine, unless----"

"Is it really a pocketbook?" asked Mrs. Brown in a strange voice, and
her face was slightly pale as she turned to look at what had been taken
out from under the engine. "Let me see it."

"Don't touch it!" cautioned Mr. Ravenwood. "It's soaked with oil and
grease."

"What is in it--if anything?" went on Bunny's mother, in that same
strange voice.

"I'll look," offered Mr. Ravenwood. "My hands can't get much more oily."

While the others eagerly watched, he opened the object, which really was
a water and oil-soaked pocketbook, and he thrust his fingers down in the
different compartments.

"Seems to have a little money in," he said, as he took out some nickles
and pennies, and laid them on the cover. "Here's a--well, I declare,
it's a five-dollar bill!" he said, as he opened a piece of paper. "It's
covered with oil and grease, but it can be washed clean and will be as
good as ever."

"A five-dollar bill!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown. "Oh, is there--is there
anything else in the pocketbook? If there is, it must be----"

Mr. Ravenwood thrust his fingers into another section. A strange look
came over his face as he drew out and held up in the sunlight something
that gleamed and glinted and sparkled.

"A diamond ring!" he cried.

"Oh, it's my mother's! It's my mother's!" shouted Bunny Brown. "Give it
to her!"

Mr. Ravenwood wiped the diamond ring on a clean bit of white waste, and
then handed it to Mrs. Brown.

"Yes, it is mine. It's my diamond engagement ring that was in the
pocketbook the dog took away! Oh, how glad I am!" she said, and there
were tears in her eyes as she slipped the ring on her finger.

"Of all the remarkable happenings!" exclaimed Mrs. Slater.

"Just like a fairy story!" laughed Sue.

"Did Sandy drop the pocketbook in the boat?" asked Bunny.

"I think that must be how it happened," answered Mr. Ravenwood, as he
looked in the purse for anything more that it might contain; but there
was nothing. "Do you want it saved?" he asked Mrs. Brown.

"No, it was an old pocketbook and you might as well toss it overboard,"
she answered. "I have all I wanted out of it--my diamond ring."

"Well, we got the money back, too," said Bunny. "Can you really wash a
five-dollar bill?" he asked.

"Oh, yes," Uncle Tad assured him. "I'll wash this and iron it and make
it look like new." And this he did a little later.

The old pocketbook was tossed overboard. It sank in a circle of rainbow
colors, caused by the oil on it, and as the boat started off again Mrs.
Brown looked joyfully at her diamond ring so strangely recovered.

"I see how it must have happened," said Mr. Ravenwood, as they landed at
the dock. "Sandy must have had the pocketbook in his mouth when he
leaped aboard my boat, but I didn't notice it, as my back was turned. He
must have dropped it inside the engine box, which was open, and it has
been there ever since. To-day it worked its way under the wheel and
stopped the machinery, or I might not have found it until I laid the
boat up for the winter, when I always take the engine out to clean it."

"I think that is how it really did happen," said Mrs. Slater. "Sandy,
you were a bad dog to take the pocketbook!" and she shook her finger at
him. Sandy hung his head for a moment, but he was soon wagging his tail
joyfully as Bunny, Sue, and Harry petted him.

And so Mrs. Brown's pocketbook and diamond ring, so strangely taken
away, were found again. Sandy did not drop the purse in the carpenter
shop, as was supposed. He carried it out again in his mouth, and kept it
until he leaped aboard the boat, when he dropped it.

Mr. Ravenwood looked at the box in the woodshed, declaring it to be the
one that had been lost overboard in the storm.

"So each one has his own again," said the young pattern-maker. "I have
my box, Harry has his dog, and Mrs. Brown has her diamond ring."

There was much rejoicing, as you may imagine, and when Daddy Brown came
up that night he had to hear the whole story over and over again.

Mr. Ravenwood departed that evening, taking his box with him and
promising to call and see the Browns in Bellemere when they returned
home.

But the joyous days at Christmas Tree Cove were not yet over. Many happy
times followed, and Bunny Brown and his sister Sue were in the midst of
them. They had some adventures, also, but every one agreed that the one
of the lost and found diamond ring and dog was the most remarkable. And
now, for a time, we shall take leave of our little friends, perhaps to
meet them again in new scenes.

* * * * *

_This Isn't All!_

Would you like to know what became of the good
friends you have made in this book?

Would you like to read other stories continuing
their adventures and experiences, or other books
quite as entertaining by the same author?

On the _reverse side_ of the wrapper which comes
with this book, you will find a wonderful list of
stories which you can buy at the same store where
you got this book.

_Don't throw away the Wrapper_

_Use it as a handy catalog of the books you want
some day to have. But in case you do mislay it,
write to the Publishers for a complete catalog._

THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES

By LAURA LEE HOPE

Author of the Popular "Bobbsey Twins" Books, Etc.

Durably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding.

Each Volume Complete in Itself.

These stories 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 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
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE SUNNY SOUTH
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE KEEPING STORE
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR TRICK DOG
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT A SUGAR CAMP
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON THE ROLLING OCEAN
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON JACK FROST ISLAND
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT SHORE ACRES
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT BERRY HILL

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.

Durably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding.

Every Volume Complete in Itself.

These books for boys and girls between the ages of three and ten stand
among children and their parents of this generation where the books of
Louisa May Alcott stood in former days. The haps and mishaps of this
inimitable pair of twins, their many adventures and experiences are a
source of keen delight to imaginative children.

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
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT CEDAR CAMP
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE COUNTY FAIR
THE BOBBSEY TWINS CAMPING OUT
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AND BABY MAY
THE BOBBSEY TWINS KEEPING HOUSE
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT CLOVERBANK
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT CHERRY CORNERS
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AND THEIR SCHOOLMATES
THE BOBBSEY TWINS TREASURE HUNTING
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SPRUCE LAKE

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