"Are you going, Bunny?" asked Sue.

"Sure. Aren't you? Don't you want to find Splash?"

"Yes--but--but I don't want a old ram to hook me with his horns."

"I'll take care of you, Sue," said Farmer Black. "I'll take a big stick with me, and the ram is afraid of that. We'll find Splash for you."

They all went over the field where Mr. Black had seen Splash trotting early that morning. They saw the ram, who, at first, seemed about to run toward them. But when Mr. Black shook the stick at him the ram turned away and nibbled gra.s.s.

"No sign of Splash here," said the farmer, as he stood on the fence and looked across the field.

"Then he's just lost," said Bunny. He was glad the ram had not hurt his dog. But where could Splash be?

They went on a little farther, and Sue called:

"Splash! Splash! Where are you?"

But there was no answer. Then they went on a little farther, and Bunny called:

"Splash! Ho, Splash!"

Hark! What was that?

They all listened.

From somewhere, a good way off, the faint barking of a dog could be heard.

"There he is!" cried Bunker Blue. "That's Splash!"

"Oh, I'm so glad!" cried Sue.

"But why doesn't he come to us?" Bunny asked. "Splash always comes when you call him. Why doesn't he come?"

No one could answer this. They listened and waited. They could hear the dog barking, but the sound was as far off as ever.

"Maybe he can't come," said Ben. "Maybe he's caught, or hurt, and can't walk. We'll have to go to him."

"I guess that's right," said Farmer Black. "We'll find that dog of yours after all."

They listened in order to tell where the barking came from, and then started off toward a little grove of trees. It seemed that Splash was there. And, as they came nearer the barking sounded more plainly.

"Oh, Splash! Splash!" cried Sue.

The dog barked and whined now.

"He's hurt!" said Bunker Blue. "He must be caught in a trap!"

And it was there they found poor Splash.

He had stepped with one paw into a trap that was hidden under the leaves, and there he was, held fast. For the trap, which was a string spring one, was fastened by a chain to a heavy log. And as Splash could not pull the log and trap too, he had had to stay where he was caught.

"Oh, you poor, dear Splash!" cried Sue, putting her arms around the dog's neck. Splash licked her face with his red tongue, and whined.

Bunny, too, put his arms around his pet.

"Some boy must have set that trap here to catch musk rats," said Farmer Black. "I've told 'em not to, but they won't mind. Let me see now if I can't set Splash loose."

This was soon done. The trap was not a sharp one, with teeth, as some are made, and though one of the dog's paws was pinched and bruised, no bones were broken, nor was the skin cut. But poor Splash was quite lame, and could only walk on three legs.

"Splash, what made you run away from home?" asked Bunny.

Of course the dog could not answer. But he may have found some other dog to play with, and run off to have some fun. Then he had stepped into the trap, and there he was held until his little friends came to find him.

"And it's a good thing you looked for him," said Bunker Blue, "or he might have been out here all night, caught in the trap."

"Poor Splash!" said Sue, as she hugged him again.

As Splash could not walk along very well, on three legs, Mr. Black said he would hitch up a wagon and take the dog, and everyone else, to grandpa's place. And, a little later, this was done.

Grandpa Brown put some liniment on the sore leg, and bound it up in soft cloths. Then Splash went to sleep in the kitchen.

"Oh, I'm so glad he isn't lost!" sighed Sue, as she and Bunny went to bed that night.

"So am I," echoed her brother.

For several days Splash had to go about on three legs, holding the lame one, with the cloth on, up in the air. Then the pain and bruise of the trap pa.s.sed away, and he could run around the same as before, on four legs, though he limped a little. Soon he was over that, and as well as ever.

"And you must keep out of traps," said Bunny, shaking a finger at his pet.

"Bow-wow!" barked Splash, and I guess that he meant he would.

It was about a week after this that Bunny Brown and his sister Sue saw Bunker Blue and Ben Hall out in a field with a big pile of white cloth.

"Oh, maybe they're going to send up a balloon!" exclaimed Bunny, for he had once seen this done at a park.

"Let's go watch!" cried Sue.

They found the two big boys stretching out the white cloth, to which was fastened many ropes.

"Is it a balloon?" asked Bunny.

"No," answered Bunker. "It's a tent."

"A tent! What a big one!"

"It's the army tent your grandfather used to sleep in when he went to camp. He let us take it. We're going to put it up and see how many it will hold."

"What for?" Bunny wanted to know. "Are you going camping? Can Sue and I come?"

"No, we're not going camping," answered Ben. "But we want this tent, and perhaps another one, bigger, for the circus we are going to give."