CHAPTER X
OUT IN THE BOAT
Bunker Blue turned sleepily over on his cot.
"What--what's that?" he asked of Tom.
"Listen," Tom answered. "Don't you hear that, Bunker? First someone ishollering about Katy's doing something, and then somebody else yellsthat she didn't do it. Say, I don't like it here."
Bunker Blue laughed aloud.
"What's the matter out there?" asked Daddy Brown.
"Oh, it's only Tom," said the red-haired boy. "He doesn't like the songof the katydids."
"Song! Is that a song?" asked Tom.
"Some people call it that," said Mr. Brown, for he knew that a city boymight be just as frightened of sounds in the country as a country boymight of sounds in the city.
"That noise is made by a little green bug, called a katydid," Mr. Brownexplained. "It looks something like a grasshopper."
"But they don't all say 'Katy did,'" objected Tom.
"No, some of them seem to say 'Katy didn't,'" agreed Mr. Brown. "Ofcourse they don't really say those words. It only sounds as if they did.Now go to sleep. In the morning I'll show you a katydid."
Tom was not frightened any longer. He turned over and was soon soundasleep. Mr. Brown and Bunker also closed their eyes and the tent in CampRest-a-While was quiet once more. Bunny and Sue had not awakened.
Early the next morning, before breakfast, Tom was seen walking aboutamong the trees of the camp. He seemed to be looking for something.
"What are you looking for?" asked Bunny.
"For Katy," Tom answered.
"There isn't any Katy with us," said Sue. "We have a cook, but her nameis Mary, and she isn't here with us, anyhow. She's at home."
"No, I'm looking for a Katy bug," explained Tom, and then he told aboutthe noises he had heard in the night.
"I'll help you look," said Bunny.
"So will I," added Sue. "I'd like to see a Katy bug."
But, though the children and Tom looked all over, they could not find akatydid until Mr. Brown helped them. Then on a tree he found one of thequeer, light-green grasshopper-like bugs and showed it to the children.
"Why doesn't it cry now?" Sue wanted to know. "Make it cry, Daddy, so Ican hear it!"
"Oh, I can't do that," Mr. Brown said with a laugh. "The katydid cries,or sings, mostly at night. I guess they don't want anyone to see them.Besides, I don't just know how they make the noises, whether they rubtheir rough legs together, or make a sound somewhere inside them. So Iguess we'll have to let them do as they please."
Tom and the children stood for some little time, watching the pretty,green bug, and then came the sound of a bell.
"There!" cried Mr. Brown, with a laugh. "I guess you all know who madethat noise, and what it means."
"It means breakfast!" cried Bunny.
"And mother rang the bell!" added Sue.
"That's right," said Bunker Blue, coming along just then. "And yourmother doesn't want you to be late, either, for she's baking cakes, andyou know how you like them!"
"Oh, cakes!" cried Bunny, clapping his hands. "I just love them!"
Soon the little party, including the new boy, Tom Vine, were seatedaround the table under the dining tent, eating pancakes that Mrs. Browncooked over the oil stove.
Bunny and Sue said nothing for several minutes. They were too busyeating. Then Bunny, looking at Tom, asked:
"Can you jump over an elephant?"
"Jump over elephants? I guess not!" the new boy cried. "I never saw anelephant, except in a picture."
"We did," said Sue. "We saw a real elephant in a real circus, and we hada make-believe circus with a pretend elephant in it."
"And we knowed a boy named Ben Hall, who used to be in a real circus,"went on Bunny. "He could jump over an elephant, and I thought maybe youcould, too."
"No," said Tom, with a shake of his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't dothat. About the only thing I can do is wash and dry the dishes."
"Well, it's a good thing to be able to do even one thing well," saidMrs. Brown, "and I'm glad you're here to wash and dry the dishes. Thereare plenty of them."
"I know something else you can do," said Bunny, smiling at Tom.
"What is it?"
"You can eat."
"Yes," and Tom laughed. "I like to eat, and I'm hungry three times aday."
"Bunny and Sue are hungry oftener than that," said Uncle Tad. "At leastthey say they are, and they come in and get bread and jam."
Bunny and Sue looked at each other and laughed.
After breakfast, just as he had said he would do, Tom Vine picked up thedishes, and got ready to wash them. Mrs. Brown watched him for a fewminutes, until she was sure that he knew just how to go about it. Thenshe left him to himself.
"He is a very nice, neat and clean boy," she said to her husband. "I'mglad he came to us. But what are we going to do with him? We can't keephim always."
"Well, we'll let him stay with us while we are in camp here in thewoods," said Mr. Brown, "and when we go back home, well, I can findsomething for him to do at the boat-dock, perhaps--that is, if hedoesn't want to go back to the city."
While Tom was doing the dishes Bunny and Sue had gone off into the wooda little way, to where they had made for themselves a little play-houseof branches of trees, stuck in the ground. It was a sort of green tent,and in it Sue had put some of her dolls, while Bunny had taken to itsome of his toys. The children often played there.
But they did not do anything for very long at a time, getting tired ofone thing after another as all children do. So when Sue had undressedand dressed her two dolls, combing and braiding their hair, she said toBunny:
"Oh, let's do something else now."
"All right," replied her brother. "What shall we do?"
"Can't you think of some fun?" Sue wanted to know.
Bunny rubbed his nose. He often did that when he was thinking. Then hecried:
"Let's ask mother to let Bunker Blue take us out in the boat. I want togo fishing."
"That will be nice," Sue said. "I'd like a boat ride, too."
Back to the camp went the children, but when they reached the tents theysaw neither their father nor mother, nor was Uncle Tad or Bunker Blue insight.
"They've gone away!" said Sue.
"Yes, so they have," agreed Bunny. "But I guess they didn't go far, orthey'd have told us. Mother knew where we were."
"Let's go find them," said Sue. "Maybe they went out in the boat."
"We'll look," agreed Bunny.
The two children went to the edge of the lake, where a big willow treeoverhung the water. The boat was kept tied to this tree.
"Oh, the boat's gone!" exclaimed Sue, as she reached the place and didnot see it. "The boat's gone, Bunny!"
"Then they must have gone for a row, and they didn't take us!" and Bunnywas much disappointed. He looked across the lake, up and down, as didSue, and then both children cried out:
"Oh, look!" said Sue.
"There's the boat," added Bunny. "And Tom Vine is in it all alone! Hehasn't got any oars, either. Look, Sue!"
Surely enough, there was the boat, some distance out in the lake, andTom, the city boy, who knew nothing at all about boats, was in it. As hesaw Bunny and Sue he waved his hands to them, and cried:
"Come and get me! I can't get back! I'm afraid! Come and get me!"