CHAPTER XI
TOM SEES A MAN
Bunny Brown and his sister Sue stood by the lake shore, and didn't knowwhat to do. Some distance out on the water floated the boat with TomVine standing up in it, waving his hands. And Tom cried once more:
"Come and get me! Come and get me!"
Bunny was the first to speak after that. And he said just the rightthing.
"Sit down, Tom!" cried Bunny. "Sit down, or you'll tip over, and thenyou'll be drowned, and we can't get you."
Bunny shouted loudly, and his clear, high voice could easily be heard byTom, for there was no wind, or at least only a little, to ruffle thewater of the lake. Tom heard, and he knew what Bunny meant. Verycarefully he sat down on one of the seats in the boat.
"Are you coming to get me?" he asked. "I can't get back to shore, and Ican't swim. I don't like it out here!"
"Just sit still, and we'll think up a way to get you," called Bunny."But don't stand up, whatever you do."
"No, you must keep sitting down," added Sue.
Mr. Brown had often told his children how to act when in boats. Small asthey were they could both swim a little, Bunny, of course, better thanSue, because he was older. And they had both been told what to do incase they fell into the water--hold their breath until they came to thetop, when someone might save them, if they could not swim out.
But it was what Mr. Brown had told Bunny about not standing up in a boatthat the little fellow now first remembered to shout to Tom. He did notwant to see the new boy fall over into the lake.
And Tom must have known what Bunny meant, for he was now sitting veryquietly in the boat, looking toward the shore where Bunny and Sue stood.
"How did you get out there?" Bunny asked. He had not yet thought of away to get Tom back to land.
"I--I didn't think the boat would float away," Tom answered. "I got init and untied the rope. Then, the first thing I knew I was away outhere. The wind blew me out, but it won't blow me back. I'll soon be outin the middle, I guess!"
Though there had been enough wind to blow Tom, in the boat, away fromshore, there was hardly any wind now, so the boy could not be blownback. And how to get him to shore was something that Bunny and Sue couldnot tell how to do, especially as there were no oars in the boat.
"He can't row without oars," said Bunny.
"No, he can't," said Sue. She knew enough about boats to tell that. "Andhe hasn't any sail," she added.
"Haven't you got a stick, so you can push yourself back to shore?"called Bunny.
"I have a little stick, but it won't touch bottom," Tom answered. As hespoke he held up a short tree branch. Bunny had used it the day beforeas a fishpole, and when through playing had tossed it into the boat.Tom reached this stick over the side of the boat, and put it down intothe water. But the lake was too deep there to let him touch the bottom,and so push himself to shore.
"Can't you swim out and get me, Bunny?" Tom cried. He was not as old aboy as was Bunker Blue, and so he was quite easily frightened,especially as he could not swim, and knew hardly anything about boats.
"Swim out and get me, Bunny!" Tom begged.
Bunny Brown shook his head.
"I couldn't swim that far," he shouted. "Besides, I'm not let go in thewater unless my father or mother, or Uncle Tad or Bunker Blue is withme, and they're not here now."
"But how can I get back?" poor Tom wanted to know.
"We'll get you, somehow!" cried Bunny. "Won't we, Sue?"
"Yes," answered the little girl. But neither she nor her brother knewhow they were going to save Tom.
"Anyhow, if I could swim that far, and daddy would let me," went onBunny, speaking to his sister, "I couldn't take the oars out, and if Ididn't have oars to row with, I couldn't bring the boat back, or Tomeither."
"No, you couldn't," Sue said. She knew enough about boats to tell that,for she could row a little, with a light pair of oars.
"Call your father or mother!" called Tom, who was now farther from shorethan ever. "Call them! Maybe they can get another boat, and come afterme."
So Bunny and Sue called as loudly as they could, but neither Mr. Brown,his wife, Bunker nor Uncle Tad answered. They had taken a walk back inthe woods, when Tom started to wash the dishes, and when Bunny and Suewere playing house in the leafy bower, and they had gone farther thanthey intended. So they could not hear Bunny and Sue calling.
"It's no use," said Bunny, after a bit. "We've got to save himourselves, Sue. But I wonder how we can do it."
Sue thought for a minute. She did not rub her nose as Bunny had done.She could think without doing that. Then Sue said:
"If we only had a string on the boat, Bunny, we could pull Tom right tous. We could stand on shore and pull him in, just as we did with yourlittle sail boat."
"That's right--we could!" cried Bunny. Then he called:
"Tom, has you got a rope on your boat? If you has throw it to me andSue, and we'll pull you in by it."
Tom looked in the bottom of the boat.
"There's a rope here," he said, "but it isn't long enough to reach toshore."
He held it up so the children could see. Certainly it was not half longenough. It was the rope by which the boat had been tied to the tree.
While Bunny and Sue stood there, wondering what to do, there came arustling, cracking sound in the bushes back of them. They quicklyturned, and saw their dog, Splash. He had been roving about in thewoods, and had now come back to camp.
"Oh, Splash!" cried Bunny. "You can do it, I know you can!"
"What can he do?" asked Sue.
"He can swim out to Tom in the boat, and pull him back to shore. Go on,Splash!" cried Bunny, pointing to poor Tom. "Go on and get him! Bringhim back!"
Splash bounded around and barked. He looked to where Bunny pointed, butthough the dog could understand some of the things Bunny said, he couldnot tell just what his little master wanted this time. Tom was watchingwhat was going on, and now he called:
"I know a better way than that."
"What?" asked Bunny.
"If you had a long cord, you could tie one end to a stick, and give itto Splash to bring to me. Then I could tie it to the boat, and you couldpull me to shore."
"Oh, yes, we can do that!" cried Bunny.
"Have you got a long cord?" Tom asked.
"Yes, one I fly my kite with. I brought the cord along, but now Ihaven't any kite. I'll get that."
Bunny ran to the tent where he kept his box of playthings. He soonreturned with a stick, on which was wound a long and very strong cord.
"This will pull the boat," he said.
He looked around for a stick to tie onto the end of the cord, and whenhe had done this he gave the stick to the dog.
"Take it out to Tom!" ordered Bunny.
But Splash only barked and dropped the stick. He wagged his tail, as ifhe were saying:
"I'll do anything you want me to, little master, but I don't know justwhat you mean."
Once more Tom called across the water.
"Throw the stick into the lake, Bunny. Then Splash will bring it to me.He knows how to jump in after sticks you throw into the water; doesn'the?"
"Oh, yes, Splash knows that all right," Bunny said. "Here, Splash!" hecalled.
Into the lake Bunny tossed the stick to which was fastened one end ofhis kite cord.
"Get it, Splash!" cried the little boy.
With a bark Splash sprang into the water. But instead of swimming out toTom with the stick and string, he swam back to shore. That was what hehad been taught to do, you see.
Splash dropped the stick at Bunny's feet, and wagging his wet tail,spattered drops all over Sue. The dog barked, looking up at Bunny, andseeming to say:
"There, little master! Didn't I do that fine? Wasn't that just what youwanted me to do?"
"No! No!" cried Bunny. "I don't want the stick, Splash! Take it toTom--out in the boat--take it to him!" and he pointed to Tom.
Once more Bunny threw the stick into the water, a
nd once more Splashsprang in and brought it to shore. It was not until Bunny had toldSplash four times, that the dog knew what was wanted.
Then the fifth time, when Bunny threw the stick into the water, Splashjumped in after it and swam out to Tom in the boat. Tom kept calling:
"Here, Splash! Here, Splash! Come on, good dog!"
Up to the boat, with the stick and cord, swam the dog. Tom made thestring fast to the boat, and then Bunny and Sue, standing on shore,pulled on their end. They pulled slowly at first, so as not to breakthe cord. But, once the boat was started, it came along easily, and soonTom was on dry land again. Splash swam along behind the boat.
"There!" Tom cried, as he tied the boat fast. "I'll never do thatagain!"
"We're not let get in the boat," said Bunny, "but I guess daddy forgotto tell you."
"If he had I'd never have gotten in," Tom said. "But I'm glad you pulledme to shore."
The rest of the campers came back soon after that, and Mr. Brown got Tomto promise never to get in the boat alone again. Of course Tom was notin any real danger as long as he kept still, and Mr. Brown might easilyhave gone out and rescued him in another boat. But I think it was veryclever of Bunny and Sue, and Splash, too, to get Tom back to shore asthey did; don't you?
There were many happy, joyful days at Camp Rest-a-While. The childrenwent on little picnics in the woods and often they were taken out in theboat by Bunker Blue. Bunny had a real fishpole and line and hook now,with "squiggily" worms, as Sue called them, for bait, and the littleboy caught some real fish.
It was about a week after Tom's adventure in the drifting boat that oneday, as he was walking through the woods with Bunny and Sue, on theirway back from a farmhouse where they had gone after milk, that Tomsuddenly came to a stop along the path.
"Wait a minute!" he said in a whisper, to Bunny and Sue.
"What's the matter?" Bunny wanted to know. "You look afraid, Tom. Areyou?"
"Yes, I am," said Tom, and even Sue could tell that he was when shelooked at him.
"Did you--did you see a snake?" she asked, drawing closer to Bunny, forSue did not like snakes, either.
"No, it wasn't a snake," returned Tom. "It was a man. Here, come on backamong the bushes, and he can't see us," and, as he spoke, Tom drew Bunnyand Sue away from the path, behind some thick bushes. Tom seemed verymuch afraid of something. And he had said he had seen a man. Bunny andSue could not imagine why Tom should be afraid of a man.