Part 20 (1/2)

The next day and the many that followed were full of joy for Bunny Brown and his sister Sue. They played with Rose and Jimmie, they waded in the water, they sailed little boats, and they made houses in the sand.

Often, as they sat on the beach, Bunny would look back toward the thick green clumps of evergreen trees which gave the place its name.

”Couldn't we go and take a walk in them?” he asked Jimmie one day.

”Yes,” was the answer. ”Only you want to be careful.”

”Why?” asked Bunny.

”'Cause the woods are awful thick. You can't see your way very well, and once Rose and I got lost.”

”Oh, we wouldn't go in very far,” said Bunny. ”Some day I'm going into those woods.”

Two or three days after that, when he and Sue had played in the sand until they were tired, Bunny said:

”Let's go to the woods!”

”All right!” agreed Sue. ”Shall we get Jimmie and Rose?”

”No, let's go by ourselves,” said her brother. ”I want to see if we can find our way all by ourselves.”

And so, not telling their father or mother or Uncle Tad or Bunker Blue anything about it, off the two children started.

It was pleasant, shady and cool in the evergreen woods of Christmas Tree Cove. On the ground were brown pine needles and the shorter ones from the spruces and the hemlocks. Here and there the sun shone down through the thick branches, but not too much. It was like being in a green bower.

On and on wandered Bunny and Sue, thinking what a nice place it was.

They found pine cones and odd stones, with, here and there, a bright flower.

All of a sudden Sue looked around.

”Bunny, it's getting dark,” she said. ”I can't see the sun any more. I guess it's night, and we'd better go back home.”

”I don't believe it's night,” said the little boy. ”I guess the trees are so thick we can't see the sun. But we can go home. I'm getting hungry, anyhow. Come on.”

They turned about to go back, and walked on for some time. Sue took hold of Bunny's hand.

”It's getting terrible dark,” she said. ”Where's home, Bunny?”

The little boy looked around.

”I--I guess it isn't far,” he said. ”But it is dark, Sue. I wish I had a flashlight. Next time I'm going to bring one. But we'll soon be home.”

However, they were not. It rapidly grew darker, and at last Bunny Brown knew what had happened.

”We're lost, and it's going to be a dark night,” he said, holding more tightly to Sue's hand. ”We're lost in the Christmas trees!” he added, and his sister gave a little cry and held tightly to him.

CHAPTER XV