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Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue in the Big Woods, a novel by Laura Lee Hope |
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Chapter 22. The Hermit Comes For Tom |
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_ CHAPTER XXII. THE HERMIT COMES FOR TOM "Are you sure she came over here?" asked Bunny Brown. "Sure," answered Rose. "You see this was her pretend house, and mine was over there under the string of sleigh bells." She pointed to where several small trunks had been drawn together to form a square. Some old bed quilts had been laid over to make a roof, and under this Rose received visits from her friend Sue, who went by the name of Mrs. Wilson. "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." _ |
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