Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue in the Sunny South | Page 4

They went to Grandpa's farm, they played circus, they visited at Aunt Lu's city home, they camped in the woods at "Camp Rest-a-While," journeyed to the big woods, took an auto tour, had rides on a Shetland pony, gave a show in the town hall, and just before this story opens they had been to Christmas Tree Cove, where they took part in many strange happenings and solved a queer mystery.
They had been back from Christmas Tree Cove for some time, and now winter had set in. Then came the big storm, the making of the snow man and the slide of snow from the roof, covering Bunny Brown from sight.
"Oh, Mother! Mother! come and get Bunny out," cried Sue, as she raced toward the house.
"And bring a shovel!" added Helen, glancing back to see where Charlie was trying to get to the bottom of the pile by using his hands.
"What's the matter?" asked Mrs. Brown, as she came to the door in answer to the cries of the two girls.
"Oh, Bunny--Bunny--a--a--" Then Sue had to stop, for she was breathless.
"He's under the snow!" cried Helen, able to finish the sad news Sue had started.
Mrs. Brown, who had been sewing in the house, had heard the slide of snow from the roof, and had also heard the thud it made as it landed in the yard. Now she understood what Sue and Helen meant. Bunny, somehow or other, was under that snowslide.
"Oh, Uncle Tad!" cried Mrs. Brown. "Come quick! Bunny is under a snowslide from the roof! We'll have to get him out!"
Mrs. Brown hurried from the house, followed by the two little girls. But Helen paused long enough to shout:
"Bring a shovel! That's what Charlie said!"
"Is Charlie under the snow, too?" asked Mrs. Brown, as she hurried around the corner of the house.
"No'm. But he's digging with his hands," Helen answered. "I guess the shovels Bunny and Sue were making the snow man with are too small to dig with."
This was so, and Mrs. Brown was thinking of turning back into the house to get the large shovel when she saw Uncle Tad coming with it.
"I'll soon dig him out," said the old soldier, as he began to work with the shovel.
"Poor Bunny!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown. "I can't even see him."
"The snow came down from on top," explained Charlie. "It went right over his head and everything!"
"I hope he isn't hurt," said Mrs. Brown, picking up one of the small shovels the children had been using and beginning to help Uncle Tad dig.
"I guess it won't hurt him much," Charlie said. "The snow's soft. Once I was in a snow house and the roof fell in on me and I was all covered up, but I wasn't hurt."
"That's good," remarked Mrs. Brown. "We're digging you out, Bunny," she called.
"I don't guess he can hear you," said Helen, when no answer came from beneath the snow.
"I couldn't hear when I was in the snow house," said Charlie. "My ears were all stopped up."
"We'll soon have him out," declared Uncle Tad, tossing aside big shovelfuls of the damp snow. "It's a deep pile, though."
There were now three of them digging away at the pile of snow which hid Bunny Brown from sight. Of course Uncle Tad was doing the most work, as his shovel was so large. Pile after pile he tossed aside, and he was fast getting to the bottom, when, all of a sudden there was a cracking sound, and the handle of Uncle Tad's shovel broke in the middle.
"Oh, dear!" cried the old soldier. "This is too bad!"
"And we haven't another large shovel!" said Mrs. Brown. "Walter took our second one down to the dock with him this morning!"
"Well, perhaps I can make this do," said Uncle Tad. "Though I can't work as fast as I could if the handle wasn't broken."
"Sue, and Helen, run next door and see if you can borrow a large snow shovel," called Mrs. Brown. "Don't stop to tell them what it's for, or Bunny may smother."
"Oh, no'm, I guess he won't," Charlie said, as he dug away with the little shovel that Sue had been using. "When I was under the snow I could breathe all I wanted to."
Mrs. Brown said she was glad to hear this, but, for all that, she dug as fast as she could with the other small shovel, and Uncle Tad, using the one with the broken handle, did the best he could.
Helen and Sue hurried next door to see if they could borrow a broad wooden shovel, but before they returned Uncle Tad had managed to dig down through the pile of snow until he reached the ground and the side of the house foundation--the upper part of the cellar wall.
"Why, Bunny isn't here!" cried Uncle