However, this was not to be, for the next day Mr. and Mrs. Brown were taken by Mr. Halliday on an excursion to a distant orange grove, and Bunny and Sue went along.
"We'll make the raft to-morrow," Bunny said.
But for one reason or another this fun had to be put off, and it was not until they had been at Orange Beach nearly a week that Bunny got the chance he wanted.
During this time the Brown family had very much enjoyed their stay in Florida. The weather was lovely, and there was much that was new to visit. While there was not the variety in an orange grove that there was on the cotton and peanut plantation, still there was much work to be done.
The children saw how the oranges, when brought in from the trees, were sorted over, the best being packed for one class of trade, and those that were not so good for another. The golden yellow fruit was wrapped in tissue paper and then the thin wooden crates were packed full, to be shipped North.
Sometimes Bunny and Sue were allowed to ride to the railroad freight depot on the load of oranges, and this trip they liked very much.
One night, just before a strange adventure that happened to Bunny and Sue, the children were in the sitting room with their parents and Mr. and Mrs. Halliday. It was almost bedtime for Bunny and Sue.
"Did you ever hear anything more about that oil stock Bunny found?" asked Mrs. Brown of her husband.
"No, not a word," he answered. "The oil company wrote me that they had no notice from any one of the loss of a certificate. They advised me to hold it until some one claimed it."
"If you ever get any money—or a reward for it—Bunny must have the cash put in a bank for him, to keep until he grows up," said Mother Brown.