Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue and Their Shetland Pony Part 4

"You are certainly not a very tall man," said Mr. Brown, with a smile.

"And yet I am," observed the other.

"You are _what_?"

"I am Vera Tallman," was the answer. "That really is my name, strange as it may sound," he went on, smiling at Mr. Brown, who was smiling at him.

"Vera is the last name of my grandfather, and I am called after him.

Tallman is my own last name, and I had to be called that though I am very short. It is quite a joke with my friends. I say to them I am a short Tallman or a short man who is Vera Tallman."

"Oh, I see!" laughed Mr. Brown. "Well, it's a good thing you can be so jolly about it."

"There is no good in finding fault with what can't be helped," said the man with a kind smile, as he patted the pony. "I can't make myself tall by wis.h.i.+ng, even though I have a long name. So I let it go at that. And, when any one says to me, 'You are not very tall,' I answer, 'Oh, yes, I am Vera Tallman,' and then I have a joke on them."

"Yes, I should think you would," said Mr. Brown. "But let us get back to the broken harness. How much shall I pay you?"

"Nothing at all," answered Mr. Tallman. "It was my fault for driving Toby in a harness mended with bits of string. I should have known better, but I did not think Toby would meet with a moving van, that would make him think of the circus where he was so badly treated. You need not pay me anything."

"But perhaps the cart is broken also," said Mr. Brown.

"I hardly think so," returned Mr. Tallman, who was such a short man.

"Toby just twisted around and tore himself loose out of the harness.

Then he ran back along the road and I ran after him. He did not run far, as soon as he was out of sight of your big auto he stopped."

"I am glad of that," said Mr. Brown. "Now I will tell you what we had better do."

"What?" asked Mr. Tallman, still patting the pony, a thing which Bunny Brown and his Sister Sue were also doing. "What had we better do?"

"One of us had better go back and get the pony cart," went on Mr. Brown.

"Bunker Blue can easily haul it here, and you can hitch Toby to it out of sight of our big auto. Then he won't be frightened any more. And perhaps you had better drive him around another road, or wait until we can take the auto another way. I wouldn't want to have Toby break loose again."

"Well, maybe that would be a good plan," agreed Mr. Tallman. "If you will let Bunker, as you call him, bring the pony cart here, I will harness Toby to it. Then I'll drive over the short-cut road and get past your auto without letting my pony see it."

Bunker ran back, and soon came trotting along the road with the basket cart, pretending he was a pony himself, which made Bunny and Sue laugh.

It was found that only the string part of the harness was broken, and as Bunker had some strong fish cords in his pocket, the straps were soon mended.

"It is better than before," said Mr. Tallman, when Toby was once again hitched to the basket cart. "I don't believe Toby could break loose now."

"And won't you let me pay you for the damage?" asked the fish merchant.

"Oh, no, indeed!" cried Mr. Tallman. "You have done more than your share now."

Bunny and Sue were again whispering together. Then Bunny stepped forward and said:

"Daddy, we'll give you all the money in our banks."

"All the money in your banks, Bunny? What do you mean?" asked Mr.

Brown.

"To help you buy the pony for us," went on the little boy. "Please, Daddy, buy Toby for us. Sue and I would like him awful much!"

"Well, he certainly is a nice pony," said Mr. Brown, "and I remember, once I did half promise to get you a Shetland pony. Is Toby for sale?"

asked Mr. Brown.

Mr. Tallman shook his head, while Bunny and Sue looked anxiously at him.

"No," said the owner of Toby, "I don't want to sell my trick pony. I am going to take him to the fair, and I think I shall win prizes with him, and get a lot of money when I show what tricks he can do. I wouldn't sell Toby--not for anything!"

"Oh, dear!" sighed Bunny Brown.

"Oh, dear!" sighed his Sister Sue.

And just then, along the road came driving a man in a light carriage.

The man had a dark face and a very black beard. He scowled as he looked at Mr. Tallman and the Shetland pony. Then the black-bearded man said:

"Well, I've found you, have I? Now, I want you to give me that pony!

Give him to me at once and have no more nonsense about it! I want that pony!"

CHAPTER IV

LOOKING FOR A PONY

Bunny Brown and his Sister Sue hardly knew what to make of the black-bearded man who seemed so angry about something. He jumped from his wagon and went up close to the Shetland pony. The little animal was again harnessed to the basket cart.

"Give him to me!" exclaimed the black-whiskered man.

"No, I will not!" answered Mr. Tallman. "He is not your pony, and you have no right to him."

"Well, if he isn't mine he soon will be!" said the dark man. "You owe me a lot of money, and if you don't pay pretty soon I'll take that pony away from you and sell him. Then I'll get the money in that way."

"Perhaps you will," said the pony's owner. "But before you do that I may be able to pay you what I owe you, and then I can keep my little Toby."

"Why don't you pay me now?" asked the black-whiskered man, whose name was Mr. Tang.

"Because I haven't the money," answered Mr. Tallman.

"Then give me the pony! Come, now!" went on Mr. Tang, for such was his name. "If you will let me have your trick pony I'll not bother you about the money you owe me. I'll let you have a long while in which to pay me the last part of it. Give me that pony!" and he seemed about to take Toby away.

"No, I'll not give him up!" said Mr. Tallman. "I'll try to get your money in some other way. I never can part with Toby; especially to you."

"Why won't you let me have him?" asked Tang.

"Because I'm afraid you wouldn't be kind to him."

"I'd sell him, that's what I'd do!" said the dark man. "I'd sell him, after you gave him to me, and in that way I'd get back a part of the money you owe me. I'd sell Toby, that's what I'd do!"