"What--what's the matter, Bunny?" asked Sue. "Don't you want to sail any more? What makes you be in the water? Oh, you're all wet!" she cried, as she saw that he had fallen in, right over his head.

"I--I couldn't help it," said Bunny. "I slipped in when the wind broke the sail. I--I fell on my back, and a lot of water got in my nose and mouth, but--but I got on my feet, and I'm all right now, Sue."

Bunny's father had taught him a little about swimming, and Bunny knew that the first thing to do, when you fall in water, is to hold your breath. Then, when your head bobs up, as it surely will, you can take a breath, and stand up, if the water isn't too deep.

So Bunny stood up, with the muddy water dripping from him, looking at Sue who was still on the raft, all alone.

"Oh, Bunny!" cried the little girl. "What shall I do? I--I'm afraid!"

"You're all right," Bunny answered bravely. "I'll come and push you to sh.o.r.e. I'm all wet so I might as well stay wading now."

The duck pond was not very deep, and Bunny was soon wading behind the raft, pushing it, with Sue on it, toward sh.o.r.e. So his sister did not get more than her feet wet, and, as she had on no shoes or stockings, that did not matter.

"Oh, Bunny! What happened?" asked his mother, when she saw how wet he was, as, a little later, the two children came to the farmhouse. "What happened, Bunny?"

"Oh, Mamma. We gave the old hen a ride, so she could be with her little ducks," said Sue, "and the wind broke our sail, and it fell on me, and the ducks flew away and so did the hen mother, and Bunny fell in. That's what happened!"

"Mercy me, sakes alive! I should think that was enough!" cried Grandma Brown.

"Yes, perhaps you had better keep away from the duck pond after this,"

said Mother Brown. "Now I'll have to change all your clothes, Bunny."

Bunny was sorry his mother had so much work to do for him, but, as he said, he could not help it.

Washed and clean, Bunny and Sue, a little later, went down the road to the house of Nellie Bruce.

"We'll take Splash with us," said Bunny. "Where is he? Here, Splash!

Splash!" he called.

"I didn't see him all to-day," said Sue. "Maybe he didn't like being a blue-striped tiger in a circus, and he's gone back to our home by the ocean."

"He wouldn't go that far," said Bunny. "Besides, he liked being in the circus. He wagged his tail 'most all the while, and when he does that he's happy. Here, Splash!" he called again.

But Splash did not come, even when Sue called, and the two children went off to play without him. For a time they did not think about their dog, as they had such fun at the home of Nellie Bruce. They played tag, and hide-and-go-seek, as well as teeter-tauter, and bean-bag.

Then Mrs. Bruce gave them some cookies and milk, and they had a little play-party. But, when it came time for Bunny and Sue to go home, they thought of Splash again.

"I wonder if he'll be there waiting for us," said Sue, as they came within sight of their Grandpa Brown's house.

"I hope so," said Bunny.

But no Splash was there, and he had not been seen since early morning, before Bunny and Sue went sailing on the duck pond.

"Oh, dear!" sighed Sue. "Splash has run away. He's lost!"

"Dogs can't get lost!" Bunny declared.

"Yes, he is too lost," and tears came into Sue's eyes.

CHAPTER XVI

GETTING THE TENTS

Bunny Brown himself thought it was strange that Splash was not about to greet him and his sister as they came home from play. The big s.h.a.ggy dog, that had once pulled Sue from the water, was very fond of the children, and if he did not go with them (which he did nearly every time) he was always waiting for them to come back.

But this time Splash was not to be seen. Bunny went about the yard, whistling, while Sue called:

"Splash! Here, Splash! I want you! Come here, Splash!"

But the joyful bark of Splash was not heard, nor did he come bounding around the side of the house, to play with Bunny Brown and his sister Sue, when they called.

"It is queer," said Mother Brown. "I saw him early this morning, when I gave him his breakfast, and I thought he went with you, Bunny, when you and Sue went down to the duck pond."

"No, Splash didn't go with us," said Bunny. And this was rather strange, too, for the dog loved water, and played near it whenever he could, dashing in to bring out sticks that Bunny or Sue would throw in for him.

"And didn't he go down to Nellie Bruce's with you?" asked Grandma Brown.

She was as fond of Splash as anyone.

"No, he didn't follow us," Sue answered. "We wanted him, too. But we thought sure he'd be here waiting for us. But he isn't," and again the little girl's eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, we'll find him," said Bunny.

But that was easier said than done. All about the house and barns in the farmyard, down through the meadows and over the pasture they looked for Splash. Mother and Grandmother Brown helped search, but Bunny and Sue, with Bunker Blue and Ben Hall, went farther off to look. It was nearly time for supper, but Bunny and Sue did not want to wash and get clean ready for the meal until they had found Splash.

But Splash, it seemed, was not to the found.

"We'll have to ask some of the neighbors if they've seen him," said Bunker. "We'll go down the road a way and ask everyone we meet."

Splash, by this time, was pretty well known at the houses along the road where Grandpa Brown lived, for the dog made friends with everyone, and was fond of children.

But Bunker, Ben, Bunny and Sue had to ask at a number of places before they found anyone who had seen Splash.

"Your dog lost; eh?" exclaimed Mr. Black, who lived about a mile from Grandpa Brown's house. "Why, yes, I saw Splash this morning. He was running over the fields back of my house. I called to him, thinking you children might be with him, and there's an old ram, over in my back pasture, that I didn't want to get after you.

"But Splash wouldn't come when I called to him, and when I saw you two youngsters weren't with him, I didn't worry about the ram. I knew Splash could look out for himself."

"Did you see him come back?" asked Bunker.

"No. I didn't notice. I was too busy."

"Then we'll go over and look for him," said Ben. "Maybe the old ram got him after all."

"Well, maybe he did," said the farmer, "but I guess a dog like Splash can run faster than a ram. Anyhow we'll have a look."