FUN IN THE ATTIC
Bunny Brown looked at his sister Sue, and she looked at him. What could
it mean--so many things being taken away? First Bunny's train of cars,
then Sue's electric-eyed Teddy bear. Now Eagle Feather's horse was
missing and he had come to Camp Rest-a-While to look for it, though why
the children could not understand. Tom was kept busy roasting the ears
of corn, and passing them around. Eagle Feather ate three without saying
anything more, and would probably have taken another, which Tom had
ready for him, when Mr. Brown asked:
"Well, Eagle Feather, what is your trouble? Is your horse really gone?
And if it is, why do you think it is here? We don't have any horses
here. All our machines go by gasolene."
"Me know all such," replied the Indian. "Little wagon make much
puff-puff like boy's heap big medicine train. No horse push or pull 'um.
Eagle Feather hab good horse, him run fast and stop quick, sometimes,
byemby, like squaw, Eagle Feather fall off. But horse good--now somebody
take. Somebody take Eagle Feather's horse."
"Maybe he wandered away," said Mr. Brown. "Horses often do that you
know, when you tie them in the woods where flies bite them."
"Yes, Eagle Feather know that. But how you say--him rope broke or cut?"
and the Indian held out a halter made of rope, with a piece of rope
dangling from it. Mr. Brown looked closely at it.
"Why, that's been cut!" exclaimed the children's father, for the end of
the rope by which the horse had been tied was smooth, and not broken and
rough, as it would have been had it been pulled apart. If you will cut a
rope and then break another piece, you can easily see the difference.
"Sure, cut!" exclaimed Eagle Feather. "Done last night when all dark.
Indians at corn dance and maybe sleepy. No hear some one come up soft to
Eagle Feather's barn and take out horse. Have to cut rope 'cause Indian
tie knot white man find too much hard to make loose."
"So you think a white man took your horse, and that's why you come to
us?" asked Mr. Brown.
"Yes. You know much white man. Maybe so like one ask you hide my horse
in your tent."
"Indeed not!" cried Mr. Brown. "I haven't any friends who would steal a
man's horse."
"Maybe not," went on the Indian. "But night of green corn dance him come
to see it and your boy too," and Eagle Feather pointed first at Tom and
then at Bunny.
"We didn't see Eagle Feather's horse!" cried out Bunny Brown.
"Easy, my boy," said his father. "Let's get at what Eagle Feather
means."
Before he could ask a question the Indian pointed a finger at Tom and
asked sharply:
"You see my horse night you come green corn dance?"
"Not a sign of him did I see," answered Tom quickly. "And I wasn't
nearer the middle of the village, where the campfire was, than half a
mile. We didn't take your horse, Eagle Feather."
"Maybe so not. Eagle Feather thought maybe you might see," went on the
red man. "Me know you good boy, Tom--good to Indians. These little Brown
boy an' gal--they good too.
"But we walk along path horse took, and marks of him feet come right to
this camp."
"Is that so?" asked Mr. Brown. "We'll have to look into this. Perhaps
the thief did pass among our tents to hide the direction he really took.
We'll have a look in the morning. It's too dark now."
Indeed it was very dark, the campfire throwing out but fitful gleams,
for enough of the roasted ears had been cooked to suit every one. Eagle
Feather bade his friends good-bye, remarking again how sorry he was over
losing his horse, and he said he would see them all in the morning.
With the children and Tom safely in bed Uncle Tad and Mr. and Mrs. Brown
talked the matter over.
"Eagle Feather seems to think his horse was brought to this camp," said
Mrs. Brown.
"Perhaps he does," agreed her husband. "But that doesn't matter."
"I don't like it though," went on his wife. "The idea of thinking Bunny
might have had a hand in the trick!"
"I don't believe Eagle Feather ever had such an idea," laughed Mr.
Brown. "He might have thought Tom, from having watched the corn dance,
had taken the horse in fun, but I don't believe he has any such idea
now."
"I should hope not!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown.
Early the next morning Eagle Feather and another Indian came to the
camp. They looked for the marks of horses' hoofs and found some they
said were those of Eagle Feather's animal in the soft dirt. But though
the marks came to the edge of the camp, they did not go through the
spaces between the tents.
"They must have led the horse _around_ our camp," said Uncle Tad, and
this proved to be a correct guess, for on the other side of the camp the
footprints of a horse, with the same shaped hoof as that of Eagle
Feather's, were seen.
"Now we find horse easy," said the Indian, as he and his companion
hurried on through the big woods.
"Well, I hope you find him, and I'm glad you don't think any one around
here had anything to do with it," said Uncle Tad. "I hope you find your
horse soon."
But it was a vain hope, for in a little while it began to rain and the
rain, Mr. Brown said, would wash away all hoofprints of the Indian's
horse, so they could no longer be seen. But Eagle Feather and his friend
did not come back.
"Oh, I wish we had something to do!" cried Sue, as the rain kept on
pelting down on the roof of the tent, and she and Bunny could not go
out.
"It would be fun if we had your electric train now and my Sallie
Malinda," said Sue.
"That's right!" exclaimed Bunny. "But I don't s'pose we'll ever get
'em."
"No, I s'pose not," sighed Sue.
The children were trying to think of a rainy-day game to play and
wishing they could go out, when there came a knock on the main tent
pole, which was the nearest thing to a front door in the camp.
"Oh, it's Mrs. Preston, the egg lady," said Sue, who, out of a celluloid
tent window, had watched the visitor coming to the camp.
"She can't be coming with eggs," said Mrs. Brown, "for I bought some
only yesterday." Mrs. Preston quickly told what she wanted.
"I've come for your two children, Mrs. Brown," she said. "I know how
hard it is to keep them cooped up and amused on a rainy day.
"Now over at our house we have a lovely big attic, filled with all sorts
of old-fashioned things that the children of our neighbors play with.
They can't harm them, and they can't harm themselves. Don't you want to
let Bunny and Sue come over to my attic to play?"
"Oh, yes, Mother, please do!" begged Bunny.
"And it's only such a little way that we won't get wet at all," said
Sue. "We can wear rubbers and take umbrellas."
"Well, if you're sure it won't be any bother, Mrs. Preston," said Mrs.
Brown.
"No bother at all! Glad to have them," answered Mrs. Preston. "Get
ready, my dears!"
And Bunny Brown and his sister Sue were soon on their way to have
rainy-day fun in an attic.