"And I'm glad you did," said Mrs. Brown. "Now you eat this and you'll feel better. Then I'll look at your sore foot, and we'll see what to do with you."
"You—you won't have me arrested; will you?" asked the boy.
"No, indeed!" said Mr. Brown.
"And you—you won't send me back to that farmer?"
"No, I think not. He has no right to make you work for him if you don't want to. Don't be afraid," said Bunny's father. "We'll look after you."
A little later the ragged boy had eaten a good meal. Then he was given some of Bunker Blue's old clothes, for he was almost as large as the red-haired boy, and the old clothes were thrown away.
Mr. Brown looked at the boy's sore foot, and found that there was a big sharp thorn in one toe. When this thorn had been taken out, and the toe bound up with salve, the ragged boy said he felt much better. Perhaps I shouldn't call him a ragged boy any longer, for he was not, with Bunker's clothes on.
"Mother, is he going to stay with us?" asked Bunny that evening when it was nearly supper time, and the new boy—Tom Vine—had gone after a pail of water at the spring.
"Would you care to have him stay?" asked Mrs. Brown.
"Yes," said Sue. "He's nice. I like him."