"Yes," answered the little girl, turning away from the window, out of which she was looking at the scenery. "But we had a pretty good time with Nutty; didn't we, Bunny?"

"Yes, we did," answered the little boy. "And the nuts were good."

There was still for the party an all night ride before the Brown family would arrive at Orange Beach, which was in the southwestern part of Florida.

"Do the orange trees grow right near the ocean, Mother?" asked Bunny, when they had been talking for some time about the place to which they were going.

"Not exactly," his father answered. "I believe oranges do not grow so well too close to salt water. At any rate Mr. Halliday's orange grove is inland a few miles. It is on the banks of a river, but the river flows into the ocean, or rather, into the Gulf of Mexico, which is part of the ocean."

"Can we go swimming?" Sue wanted to know.

"You can't if there's any alligators there," Bunny said. "Anyhow, you can't go in the water till I catch all the alligators."

"If there's alligators I'm not going in," declared Sue.

"Oh, I don't believe there will be any," Mrs. Brown said, with a laugh.

And so with talk and laughter over what they might find at Orange Beach, the time pa.s.sed until it was time to go to bed.

The colored porter made up the clean, white beds, and Bunny and Sue were glad enough to get in theirs when the time came. They had slept pretty well at Mrs. Black's home, but they were still tired from their b.u.mping, jolting journey in the rough freight car.

So soundly did Bunny and Sue sleep that even when there was a little accident they did not awaken. During the night the train on which they rode had a little collision with an empty freight car which was standing on a side track. The freight car was smashed, but hardly any damage was done to the pa.s.senger train, except that the pa.s.sengers were awakened by being jolted. That is, all but Bunny and Sue. They slept through it.

"Is any one hurt?" asked Mr. Brown, as soon as quiet was restored and it was found that the express train could go on.

"A couple of tramps who were sleeping in the empty freight car were hurt," the conductor said. "We've sent them to the hospital."

"Oh! Tramps!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown, who heard the talk. "I hope one of them wasn't Nutty, who was so kind to the children, even though he did jump off and leave them alone. I hope Nutty wasn't hurt!"

"Nutty could hardly have got so far south as this since he left the children," Mr. Brown said. "I don't believe he was one of the tramps hurt in this collision."

Next morning, when Bunny and Sue awakened, they were told of the collision in the night, but nothing was said to them of the two tramps who were hurt for fear they might think one was Nutty. But neither was.

There was enough else to take the attention of the little boy and girl, for they were now in the real South, and they began to notice palm trees for the first time.

"They look just like pictures of cocoanut trees!" exclaimed Bunny, gazing from the car window.

"Wouldn't Nutty be glad if he was here and could gather cocoanuts!"

cried Sue. "Can we pick cocoanuts, Daddy?"

"I hardly think so, where we are going," Mr. Brown answered. "I think oranges will be enough for you to pick for a while."

"That and catching alligators," added Bunny, who never seemed to stop thinking of these scaly creatures, which Sue did not like at all.

On and on went the train, and the children were just about getting tired of so much travel when they saw their father and mother beginning to gather up the hand baggage.

"Are we there?" asked Bunny excitedly.

"Almost," his father answered.

A little later a trainman called:

"Orange Beach! Orange Beach!"

"Hurray! We're here!" cried Bunny.

"And I'm going to pick orange blossoms!" echoed Sue.

CHAPTER XXI

GOLDEN APPLES

Orange Beach, where Mr. Halliday owned many fruit groves, was the name of a small village. It was almost as small a town as the one in which Mr. Black, the switchman, lived. But Bunny and Sue liked small places.

They had seen enough of cities, having pa.s.sed through many on their railroad journey.

Alighting from the train, the Brown family found Mr. Halliday waiting for them in his motor car, Daddy Brown having telegraphed to tell the time of their arrival.

"Well, you got here at last, I see!" the orange grower exclaimed, as he came up to welcome his guests.

"If Bunny and Sue could have had their way perhaps we wouldn't have come," said Mrs. Brown, with a smile.

"Why not?" asked Mr. Halliday, with a smile.

"Oh, they went for a ride on a freight train," laughed their mother, and then she told of the adventure.

"I guess they have had enough nuts for a time," the fruit grower said, at the end of the little story. "I'll try them on oranges."

"May I pick some for myself?" Sue asked eagerly.

"All you want!" was the answer. "We have a big crop this year."

"And will you please show me where to catch alligators?" asked Bunny Brown.

"Oh ho! So that's what you came here for, is it?" exclaimed Mr.

Halliday, with a wink at Mr. Brown. "Well, I'm sorry to say we are all out of alligators!"

"Aren't there any?" inquired Bunny, in disappointed tones.

"Not right around here," went on the orange grower. "But there are some farther down Squaw River. I'll take you down some day and show them to you."

"Hurray!" cried Bunny Brown.

"My grove and house are a few miles from here," the orange grower said.

"You'll soon be there, and I hope you'll have lots of fun."