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Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Christmas Tree Cove, a novel by Laura Lee Hope |
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Chapter 20. The Floating Box |
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_ CHAPTER XX. THE FLOATING BOX The electric light service in Christmas Tree Cove was uncertain in storms, and Mr. Brown always kept a supply of candles on hand, as well as some kerosene lamps. Soon there was plenty of light in the room, and as supper was about over when the storm broke the family and their two visitors went into the sitting-room of the bungalow. "I don't like storms," said Harry, and he kept close to his mother. "There isn't any danger," remarked Mr. Brown. "The lightning hardly ever strikes near the ocean or the bay. I think it may hit out far from shore. But no houses have ever been struck up here." "I guess the Christmas trees keep it away," said Bunny. "Perhaps," laughed his mother. "It isn't bad, now that the worst outburst is over. Come, Harry, tell us about your lost dog. We have lost one, too." So, while the thunder boomed and the lightning flashed, Mrs. Slater and Harry told about their dog Sandy. "And so he left us in Bellemere, and we haven't seen him since," finished Harry's mother. "How strange!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown. "He left you the same day the strange dog ran into our yard, where Bunny and Sue were playing seesaw, and grabbed up my pocketbook. I wonder if, by any chance, it could be the same animal in both cases." "This dog was a big, yellow one," said Bunny, and he described the animal that had caused him and Sue so much trouble. "Sandy was yellow in color," remarked Mrs. Slater. "But I would not call him a very large dog." "Perhaps the dog that took my wife's pocketbook and diamond ring seemed larger to Bunny and Sue than he really was," said Mr. Brown. "He rushed into the yard and out again so quickly that he may have looked extra big." "It would be very strange if it should turn out to be our dog who made so much trouble over your pocketbook," went on Harry's mother. "Sandy did have a bad habit of running off with things. We tried to break him of it. And, now that I recall it, he took one of my gloves when he leaped out of the auto that day." "The big, yellow dog that came into our yard and took my mother's pocketbook didn't have any gloves on," explained Sue. "No, he wouldn't be likely to have any on," agreed Mrs. Slater. "But he might have carried one in his mouth." "I didn't see it," said Bunny, shaking his head. "But he took the pocketbook in his mouth and ran away." They talked over the dog matter for some time, and then, as the storm seemed to be growing worse again, Mrs. Slater began to think it was time for her and Harry to go back to the hotel. A closed automobile was called from the village, and in that the lady and her son prepared to go to their hotel. It was then about eight o'clock in the evening. "Mr. Slater has advertised for our lost dog," his wife said, as she was departing. "If we ever find him, Bunny and Sue can look at Sandy and make sure whether or not he is the dog that ran into their yard. Though, of course, that will not bring back your ring, I am sorry to say," she added. The storm kept up all night and part of the next day. It rained hard and the wind blew, though the thunder and lightning were soon over. It settled into what the cove dwellers called a "nor'easter," and it was not at all pleasant. Bunny and Sue could not go out to play, but Uncle Tad and Bunker Blue amused the children indoors. Mr. Brown had to go back to Bellemere, but he went on the train, as the bay was so rough the boat did not run, and Captain Ross had not returned with the _Fairy_. "I wish Harry could come over and play with us," said Bunny on the second day of the storm, as he stood with his nose pressed against the window. "It will be clear to-morrow," said Bunker Blue, who had come in from a trip to the store. "The wind is working around and the sun will be out to-morrow." Bunny and Sue certainly hoped so, and when they arose the next morning the first thing they did was to run to the window and look out anxiously. Bunker's prophecy had come true. The sun was shining and the wind was no longer blowing, though the water in the bay was still rough. "Let's go down to the beach!" cried Bunny, as soon as breakfast was over. "Maybe we'll find a lot of things washed up on shore." This was not unusual, for the storms along the coast, even in summer, sometimes caused wrecks, and parts of them were often washed up on the beach. "Yes, let's," agreed Sue. A little later Bunny and Sue were running down to the sandy shore, and there they saw their new friend Harry, who was walking along with his mother. "Wasn't it a terrible storm?" called Mrs. Slater, when she saw the two Brown children. "I never remember a worse one!" "Yes, it was bad," agreed Bunny. "It was worse than when we were on the _Fairy_. Did you see anything washed up?" he asked. "Not yet," replied Harry. "What do you find after a storm?" "Oh, lots of things," answered Bunny. "Once I saw a whale washed up on shore. He was awful big." "I wish I could see a whale washed up," said Harry longingly. He looked across the tumbling waters of Christmas Tree Cove, as though he might catch sight of some monster of the sea. But there was nothing in view just then. The three children, with Mrs. Slater, walked along a little farther. Suddenly Sue, who was a short distance ahead, gave a delighted cry. "What is it?" asked Bunny. "A cocoanut?" Once a ship laden with cocoanuts had been wrecked and the shore strewn with the nuts. "Is it a whale?" asked Harry. "It's a big box," answered Sue, pointing. "Look, it's floating out there, and I guess it's coming to shore right here." The others looked toward the object at which Sue pointed and saw, bobbing up and down in the waves, what appeared to be a large chest. The wind and tide were fast bringing it up to where they stood on the beach. _ |
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