"Hush!" he whispered. "Don't let him hear you."
They were soon at Mr. Bixby's cabin.
"Now, if you'll sit down a minute," said the ragged man, "I'll get you a few cookies. I baked them myself. Maybe they are not as nice as those your mother makes, but Tramp, my dog, likes them."
"I'm sure we will, too," said Sue. "There! what'd I tell you, Bunny Brown?" she asked in a whisper. "I knew he'd give us something to eat! And it isn't impolite to take it when he offers it to you!"
"No, I guess it's not," said Bunny. "Anyhow, we'll take 'em."
The ragged man appeared with a plate of cookies. The children said they were very good indeed, fully as good as Mother Brown baked, and Tramp, the dog, ate his share, too, sitting up on his hind legs and begging for one when the ragged man told him to. Then the dog would sit up with a cookie balanced on his nose, and he would not snap it off to eat until the man told him to.
"Well, I like to have you stay," said the hermit, "but it is getting late, and perhaps I had better take you to the road that leads straight to your camp."
"Yes, we had better go," replied Bunny. "We'll know our way home now. Thank you for taking care of us and for the cookies."
"Which we didn't ask for," said Sue quickly. "Did we, Mr. Bixby?"
"No, you didn't," he answered with a laugh, and he seemed to understand what Sue meant without asking any questions.