CHAPTER IX
TOM HEARS A NOISE
Bunny Brown and his sister Sue, with their father, mother, Uncle Tad andBunker Blue, hurried on toward the tent under which was set the diningtable. They could see where the ragged boy had made a meal for himself,taking the bread and meat from the ice box. For a refrigerator had beenbrought to camp, and the iceman came on a boat, once a day, to leaveice.
"Who is he?" asked Bunny Brown, looking toward the bushes behind whichthe strange boy had run.
"What did he want?" Sue asked.
"I can answer you, Sue, but I can't answer Bunny," said Mr. Brown. "Thatboy was hungry, and wanted something to eat, but who he is I don'tknow."
"Poor little chap," said Mrs. Brown in a kind voice. "He didn't need torun away just because he wanted something to eat. I would be glad togive him all he wanted. I wouldn't see anyone go hungry."
"He looked like a tramp," said Bunker.
"But he was only a boy," remarked Uncle Tad.
"I wish he hadn't run away," said Mother Brown. "I don't believe he gothalf enough to eat. He took only a little." She could tell that bylooking in the ice box.
By this time Splash, the big dog, who had not come up with the others,now rushed into camp. He sniffed around, and then, all of a sudden, hemade a dash for a clump of bushes, and, standing in front of it beganbarking loudly.
"Oh, maybe the bear's come back and is hiding in there!" cried Bunny.
"More likely it's that ragged boy," said Uncle Tad. "That's where hemade a rush for as soon as we came up."
Splash seemed about to go into the bushes himself, and drive, or drag,out whatever was hiding there.
But Mr. Brown called:
"Here, Splash! Come here, sir!"
The dog came back and then Bunny's father, going over to the bushes,looked down among them.
"You'd better come out," he said, to someone. The children could not seewho it was. "Come on out," said Mr. Brown, "we won't hurt you."
Out of the bushes came the ragged boy. In his hand he still had some ofthe bread and meat he had taken from the ice box.
Bunny and Sue looked at him.
The boy's clothes were very ragged, but they seemed to be clean. He hadon no shoes or stockings, but one foot was wrapped up in a rag, asthough he had cut himself. He limped a little, too, as he came forward.
"I--I couldn't run very fast with my sore foot, or I'd a' got away fromyou," he said slowly.
"But why should you want to get away?" asked Mr. Brown.
"Well, I took some of your stuff--I was hungry and I went through theice box--and I s'posed you'd be looking for a policeman to have mearrested. That's why I ran. But I couldn't go very far, so I hid in thebushes. I thought I could get away when you weren't looking. Here's yourstuff," and he held out to Mrs. Brown what was left of the bread andmeat. Bunny and Sue thought the ragged boy looked hungrily at the foodas he offered to give it back.
"You poor boy!" said Mrs. Brown, "I don't want it! You're welcome tothat and more, if you need it. You must be hungry!"
"I am, lady. I haven't had anything since morning. I started to go backto the city, but it's farther than I thought, and I lost my way. When Istruck this camp, I saw the sign--'Rest-a-While,' so I sat down to rest.Then I saw the ice box, and I was hungry, and--and I--well, I justhelped myself."
His face was sunburned, so it could not be told whether he was blushingor not, but he hung his head as if ashamed of what he had done. He stillheld out the meat to Mrs. Brown.
Splash, who, now that he knew the boy was a friend of the family, didnot bark any more, slid gently up, and began nibbling at the meat andbread in the boy's hand.
"Oh, look at Splash!" laughed Sue.
"Here, Splash! That isn't for you!" cried Mr. Brown. "But you might aswell give it to him now, now that he's had his tongue on it," said Mr.Brown to the ragged boy. "We'll give you some more."
"Yes, sit right up to the table," said Mrs. Brown. "I'll get you a goodmeal."
The boy's eyes filled with tears, and he turned his head away so theywould not be seen.
"Where did you come from?" asked Daddy Brown, as Mrs. Brown was settingout some food.
"I come from Benton," the boy answered, naming a city about twenty milesaway. "I've lived there all my life until about a week ago, and I wish Iwas back there now."
"How did you come to leave?"
"Well, all my folks died, and I couldn't make much of a living sellingpapers, running errands and blacking shoes, so when a farmer down inthe city market, said he wanted a boy on his farm, I said I'd come andwork for him.
"I rode out on his wagon, after he had sold all his stuff one day, and Icame to a place called Fayetteville."
"Yes, I know where that is," said Mr. Brown. "It's on the other side ofthe lake."
"I went to work for the farmer," said the ragged boy, who gave his nameas Tom Vine, "but it was worse than being in the city. I never had aminute's rest and I didn't get enough to eat. I wasn't used to workingout in the hot sun, and my legs and arms seemed as if they'd burn offme."
"Yes, I can see you're pretty well burned," said Mr. Brown. "Then youran away?"
"Yes, sir. I couldn't stand it any longer. The farmer and his hired manused to whip me if I made a mistake, or if I didn't get up early enough.And they used to get up before daylight. So I made up my mind to runaway, and go back to the city.
"I used to think the country was nice," the ragged boy went on, "but Idon't any more. I don't mind working, but I don't want to be starvedand whipped all the while. So I ran off, but I guess I got lost, for Ican't find the way back to the city. I don't know what to do. When I gothere, and saw that sign about resting, I thought that was what I needed.So I came in."
"And I'm glad you did," said Mrs. Brown. "Now you eat this and you'llfeel better. Then I'll look at your sore foot, and we'll see what to dowith you."
"You--you won't have me arrested; will you?" asked the boy.
"No, indeed!" said Mr. Brown.
"And you--you won't send me back to that farmer?"
"No, I think not. He has no right to make you work for him if you don'twant to. Don't be afraid," said Bunny's father. "We'll look after you."
A little later the ragged boy had eaten a good meal. Then he was givensome of Bunker Blue's old clothes, for he was almost as large as thered-haired boy, and the old clothes were thrown away.
Mr. Brown looked at the boy's sore foot, and found that there was a bigsharp thorn in one toe. When this thorn had been taken out, and the toebound up with salve, the ragged boy said he felt much better. Perhaps Ishouldn't call him a ragged boy any longer, for he was not, withBunker's clothes on.
"Mother, is he going to stay with us?" asked Bunny that evening when itwas nearly supper time, and the new boy--Tom Vine--had gone after a pailof water at the spring.
"Would you care to have him stay?" asked Mrs. Brown.
"Yes," said Sue. "He's nice. I like him."
"Well, we'll keep him for a while," answered Mrs. Brown. "He needs help,I think."
Tom Vine told more of his story after supper. He had never been awayfrom the city's pavements in all his life before he went out to thecountry with the farmer who hired him. He had never seen the ocean, orthe woods. He did not even know that cows gave milk until he saw thefarmer's hired man milking one day.
"I just don't know anything about the woods or the country," the boysaid to Bunny and Sue, "so you can fool me all you like."
"Oh, we won't fool you," said Bunny kindly. "We'll tell you all weknow."
"Thanks," said Tom Vine.
He had offered to travel on, after supper, and try to get back to thecity.
"I don't want to be a trouble to you folks," he said to Mrs. Brown. "Inthe city I know some fellows, and they'll lend me money enough to buysome papers, and start in business."
"You had better stay with us awhile," said Mrs. Brown. "We have enoughroom for you, and you can help about camp."
"I can wash and dr
y dishes!" cried Tom eagerly. "I worked in arestaurant for a week once, and I know how to handle dishes."
"Then we can give you plenty of work," said Mrs. Brown, with a laugh."For if there is one thing, in camp or at home, that I don't like it iswashing dishes."
"I'll do them for you!" cried Tom, "and I'll be glad of the chance,too!"
"All right then. You'll be the head dishwasher of Camp Rest-a-While,"said Mr. Brown, smiling.
And that is how Tom Vine came to stay with the Browns while they livedin the woods near Lake Wanda.
Tom, indeed, knew very little about the country. As he said, he hadnever been away from the city pavements, winter or summer, in all hislife before. The first night in camp, when he was sleeping next toBunker Blue, in a little part of the tent that had been curtained offfor them, Tom awakened Bunker, by reaching over and punching him in theribs.
"Hey, listen to that!" cried Tom.
"To what?" asked Bunker, only half awake.
"Somebody is outside the tent, calling: 'Who? Who? Who?'" said Tom. "Ididn't do anything, did you? What do they holler 'who' for?"
Bunker listened. Surely enough he heard very plainly:
"Who? Who? Too-who?"
"Hear it?" asked Tom.
"Yes, it's only an owl," Bunker answered. "There's lots of 'em in thesewoods."
"What's an owl?" Tom wanted to know.
"Oh, it's a bird with big eyes, and it can only see at night. It comesout to get mice and bugs. Owls won't hurt you. Go on to sleep."
Tom did not go to sleep at once. But he was no longer afraid of the owl.
Tom was just going to sleep once more, when he heard another funnynoise. This time he was sure some one said:
"Katy did! Katy did! Katy did!"
Tom sat up in his cot. He reached over to punch Bunker, to ask him whatthis was, when all at once, another voice cried:
"Katy didn't! Katy didn't! Katy didn't!"
"Listen to that, now, would you!" exclaimed Tom. "Bunker! Bunker Blue!Wake up! There's two people outside, and one says Katy did it, and theother says she didn't--who's right?"