Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue on an Auto Tour Part 10

"Oh dear!" said Mrs. Brown. "What trouble these dogs are giving us to-day!"

"Well, this is the third trouble, and let us hope it will be the last,"

said Mr. Brown.

"Are you going to send Dix back again?" asked Bunny.

"No, I don't think it would do any good. Besides, we are now about ten miles from home. He might not find his way."

"That would be too bad," said Mrs. Brown. "The Wards would not want to lose their dog."

"I presume the only thing for us to do is to turn around and carry him back again," said Mr. Brown slowly.

Just then Splash, who had been lying inside under one of the sleeping cots, awoke, and, looking out of the rear door of the auto, saw his friend Dix trotting merrily along.

"Bow-wow!" barked Splash.

"Wow-wuff-wow!" answered Dix.

That meant in dog language I suppose:

"Well, I'm glad to see you again, old fellow."

"And I'm glad to see you," said Dix. "I hope they don't drive me back again. But I went only to the first turn in the road. There I waited awhile and then came on. I could easily tell which way you came by the big wheel-marks."

"Well, I guess there's no hope for it," said Mr. Brown, as the two dogs stopped barking. "It's turn around again and take Dix back with us to his home. It's a good thing we're not in a hurry."

He was about to turn the big car, and Dix had come to a stop a short distance away from it when Bunny suddenly cried:

"Oh, I've thought of a way to do it!"

"A way to do what?" his father asked.

"Take care of Dix."

"Do you mean to ask somebody going past in another automobile to take Dix to Bellemere?" asked Mrs. Brown.

"No. But in that house," and Bunny pointed to one not far away, "is a telephone. I can see the wires, and they're just like our telephone wires. Why can't we call up Mr. Ward and ask him if we can take his dog along with us?"

"Take Dix with us!" cried Mrs. Brown. "What would we do with two dogs?"

"Well, they'll be company for each other," said Sue, who had taken a great liking to Dix.

"And Dix wants to come," added Bunny. "You see how hard it is to drive him back."

"But we don't need him, and two dogs are harder to look after than one,"

said Mr. Brown. "Dix has made trouble enough to-day, though part of it was Splash's fault."

It was then Bunny had his fine idea.

"Oh, I know the best reason in the world for taking Dix with us!" he cried. "Wait and I'll 'splain it all to you. Just let Dix and Splash play together until I get through talking."

"Well, let's hear your idea, Bunny," said Mr. Brown with a smile, as he leaned back in his seat and rested his back. Splash, seeing his dog friend, leaped from the car and the two were soon playing together in the road as merrily as ever.

CHAPTER VIII

DIX AND THE COW

"Now," said Bunny, as he sat down on a little stool in the auto to talk to his father and mother--and Sue, of course, and Uncle Tad, who were all listening. "Now it wouldn't hurt an awful lot to take Dix with us, would it?"

"What do you mean?" asked his mother.

"I mean Dix wouldn't eat much more than Splash, would he?"

"Oh, I guess if it comes to feeding dogs, two come about as cheaply as one," said Mr. Brown with a laugh. "But what's the idea, Bunny?"

"Well, I'd like to have Dix come along with us then. It will save time now in taking him back."

"Yes, it will do _that_," said Mr. Brown. "And it's quite a way back home this time."

"And Splash will have company to play with all the while," went on Bunny. "Two dogs are happier than one, aren't they?" he asked. "If two dogs eat more than one then two must be happier than one."

"It's a new way of looking at it, but I guess it may be true," laughed Mrs. Brown. "But are you doing all this talking, Bunny, just to have company for Splash?"

"No indeedy I'm not!" exclaimed Bunny. "I haven't 'splained it all."

"What else is there?" asked Mr. Brown, laughing.

"Well, if Mr. Ward will let us take Dix along--and you can find out about that over the telephone--then maybe we can find Fred."

For a moment no one spoke after Bunny had announced his plan. His father and mother looked sharply at him, and so did Sue and Uncle Tad.

"How can Dix find Fred?" asked Sue.

"'Cause didn't the bloodhounds find the runaway slaves in Uncle Tom's Cabin?" demanded Bunny.

"Yes," answered Sue. "I 'member that."

"Well then, won't Dix find Fred the same way?" went on Bunny. "He can smell his tracks along the road and we'll find that runaway boy a lot quicker than if we didn't have his dog along. Fred and Dix were always together, and I guess Fred couldn't have run away if Dix had seen him.

So if we take Dix along, and have to look for Fred in big crowds, Dix'll come in 'specially handy."

"Oh, won't that be fun!" cried Sue, clapping her hands. "Do let's take Dix along!"

"I believe Bunny's plan is a good one," said Mr. Brown, after thinking about it a while. "We don't know Fred very well, and he may look different, now that he has gone away from home, from what he did before.

His dog would know him, however, no matter how Fred dressed."