CHAPTER XV
A BIG WHITE BIRD
Mrs. Martin looked up, smiling at the three children. She was thinking of setting out the lunch which had been brought along, and perhaps her mind was so much on this, wondering whether there would be enough for five hungry children, that, at first, she did not know just what Tom and Ted were saying.
“Come on, Mother!” cried Ted to her. “You come and see what it is!”
“Where shall I come?” she asked, getting up, as Ted tugged at her hand to help her to her feet.
“Come to the growlery hole,” begged Tom.
“And me want my wed ball!” cried Trouble.
“Is this some game you are playing?” asked Mrs. Martin, looking first at one and then the other. “Have you taken Trouble’s ball and hidden it, Teddy?”
“Oh, no’m!” answered the little Curlytop boy. “Trouble threw his ball down a hole. Tom and I tried to get it out for him, but every time we poke our hands or a stick in a growl comes out of the hole.”
“What comes out?” asked Mrs. Martin in surprise.
“A growl!” answered Tom. “It’s a growl, like a dog, and that’s why we call it the growlery hole.”