"Take the basket of clams," directed Sue. "I don't want to spill 'em!"
She handed Bunny the basket of soft clams which the two boys had dug, and Bunny set it on top of the pile of dirt that had been piled up as he and Harry dug holes to get at the shellfish. Then the two boys stood, one on either side of Sue, so she could put her hands on their shoulders.
"Maybe we'll get stuck in the mud, too," suggested Harry.
"Oh, I guess not," said Bunny. "Anyhow, if we do, it'll be fun."
Seeing Bunny and Harry about to help her, Sue felt better. She gave up the notion of crying, and began to pull up, first on one foot and then on the other.
At first it seemed that neither one would move, so sticky was the mud and muck. But at last Sue felt one giving, and she cried:
"Oh, I'm getting loose! I'm getting loose, Bunny!"
"Pull harder!" directed her brother. "Pull as hard as you can!"
Just about this time Mrs. Brown, who was sitting on the sand under the sun umbrella talking to Mrs. Slater, happened to look over toward the children who had gone clam-digging. She saw Bunny and Harry standing close to Sue, and she knew, by the way the children were acting, that something had happened.
Then Mrs. Slater, too, looked toward the three children.