"Perhaps it dropped out of doors," suggested Papa Brown.

They looked near the side porch where Bunny had been standing when his aunt gave him the claw with which he was going to play Punch, but the ring was not found there.

"Oh dear! I feel so sorry!" Aunt Lu said, "If only I could find my lovely ring. Bunny--Sue, you must help me. To whomever finds it I'll give a nice present---anything he wants. That will be a reward, children."

"Yes, you must help Aunt Lu look for her ring," said Mrs. Brown. "Come now, we will have supper, and look afterward. We may find it when we least expect it."

But even after supper, the ring was not found. The whole family searched. Aunt Lu did not eat much supper, much as she liked lobster salad. She was too worried, I guess. Even Bunny did not feel like playing Mr. Punch with the big hollow lobster claw that fitted over his nose in such a funny way. Neither he nor Sue felt like making jokes when their aunt felt so unhappy.

That night, when he and Sue went to bed, Bunny put the lobster claw away.

"We'll play with it some other time," he said to his sister.

"Yes," she agreed. "Some day when Aunt Lu finds her ring, and then she'll play with us, and be the audience. You will be Mr. Punch, and I'll be Mrs. Judy. Only I don't want to wear a lobster claw on my nose."

"No, I'll be the only one to wear a claw," said Bunny in a sleepy voice, and then he dreamed of sailing off to "by-low land."

Aunt Lu was up early the next morning, down in the kitchen, and out in the yard, looking for her lost ring. But it was not found, and Aunt Lu's face seemed to grow more sad. But she smiled at Bunny and Sue, and said:

"Oh, well, perhaps some day I shall find it."

"We'll look all over for it," said Bunny.

"Indeed we will," added Sue. "Let's look out in the yard now, Bunny."

The children looked, but had no luck Then, as it was not time for dinner, they wandered down the street.

"Don't go too far away," their mother called after them. "Don't go down to the fish dock unless some one is with you."

"No, Mother, we won't!" Bunny promised.

They had each a penny that Aunt Lu had given them the day before, and now they wandered toward the little candy store kept by Mrs. Redden. She smiled at Bunny and Sue as they entered. Nearly every one did smile at the two children, who wandered about, hand in hand.

"Well, what is it to-day?" asked the store-lady. "Lollypops or caramels?"

"I want a penny's worth of peanuts," said Bunny.

"And I'll take some little chocolate drops," said Sue.

Soon, with their little treat, the brother and sister walked on toward the corner, the candy store being half way between that and their house.

As they pa.s.sed a little dark red cottage, in front of which was an old boat, filled with flowers and vines, Bunny and Sue heard some one inside screaming and crying:

"Oh dear! Stop it I tell you! Let go my hair! Oh, if I get hold of you I'll make you stop! Oh dear! Jed! Jed! Where are you?"

Bunny and Sue looked at one another.

"That's Miss Winkler yelling!" said Bunny.

"But what makes her?" asked Sue.

"I don't know. We'll go and see," suggested Bunny.

Into the yard of the little red house ran the two children. Around to the kitchen they went, and, looking in through the open door they saw a strange sight.

Standing in front of a window was an elderly woman, wearing gla.s.ses which, just now, hung down over one ear. But, stranger still, there was a monkey, perched up on the pole over the window. One of the monkey's brown, hairy paws was entangled in the lady's hair, and the monkey seemed to be pulling hard, while the lady was screaming and trying to reach the fuzzy creature.

"Oh, it's w.a.n.go, the monkey, and he's up to some of his tricks!" cried Bunny.

"He'll pull out all her hair!" Sue exclaimed.

"Oh, Bunny--Sue--run for my brother! Go get Jed!" begged Miss Winkler.

"Tell him w.a.n.go is terrible! He must come at once. w.a.n.go is such a bad monkey he won't mind me!"

And w.a.n.go kept on pulling her hair!

CHAPTER IV

THE EMPTY HOUSE

Bunny Brown and his sister Sue hardly knew what to do. They just stood there, looking at the monkey pulling and tugging on the rather thin hair of Miss Winkler, and she, poor lady, could not reach up high enough to get hold of w.a.n.go, who was perched quite high up, on the window pole.

"Oh, Bunny!" cried Sue. "We must do something--but what?"

Sue felt that her brother, as he was a whole year older than she, ought to know what to do.

"I--I'll get him down!" cried Bunny, who, as had Sue, had, some time before, made friends with the old sailor's queer pet.

"How can you get him down?" Sue wanted to know.

"I--I can stand on a chair and reach up to him," went on the small, blue-eyed boy, looking around for one to step on.

"No, no!" exclaimed Miss Winkler, as she heard what Bunny said. "You musn't go near him, Bunny. He might bite or scratch you. He is very bad and ugly to-day. I don't know what ails him. Stop it, w.a.n.go!" she ordered. "Stop it at once! Come down from there, and stop pulling my hair!"

But the monkey did nothing of the sort. He neither came down, nor did he stop pulling the lady's hair, as Sue and Bunny could easily tell. For they could see w.a.n.go give it a yank now and then, and, when he did, poor Miss Winkler would cry out in pain.

"Oh, go for my brother! He's down on the fish dock I think," Miss Winkler begged.

"No, we can't go there," replied Bunny slowly. "Our mother told us not to go there unless Bunker Blue or Aunt Lu was with us."

"Then the monkey will never let go of my hair," sighed Miss Winkler.

"Yes, he will," Bunny said. "I'll make him."