It was one thing for Bunny to say he would open the door, but it was quite another thing to do it. For by this time the engine was puffing away down the track at good speed, and the little fellow soon found that it was very hard to walk across the empty freight car. It swayed from side to side, much more so than an ordinary railroad coach, and a great deal more than a Pullman car.
But if it was difficult for him to walk in a regular passenger car, it was much harder in the swaying freight car. And when he tried to make his way to the door he was nearly thrown off his feet.
"Oh, Bunny, look out! You'll be hurt! What are you going to do?" asked Sue, for she could see her brother fairly well now.
"I'm going to open that door!" grunted Bunny. The reason he grunted was because he sat down suddenly. He had been swayed right off his feet.
"You can't do it!" Sue said. "Don't get hurt, Bunny!"
"I won't," he answered. "But we've got to get out of this car, and I've got to get that door open! I know what I can do," he went on. "If I can't walk over I can crawl. I did that when I was a baby."
Bunny Brown was a smart and brave little fellow, and, as he said, when he found he could not walk upright, because the car swayed so, he made up his mind to crawl. And crawl he did, across the rough, splintery floor of the old car. Once he stuck a sliver into the palm of his hand. He cried "Ouch!" but the rumble of the wheels was so loud that Sue did not hear him, and Bunny was glad of it.
He stopped, pulled the splinter from his hand, and then bravely went on again, crawling over the swaying car. At last he reached the door, and as there were projections on the side, by which he could hold himself, Bunny managed to stand up.
"Now I'm going to open the door, Sue!" he called to his sister. "And when the train stops we can get off and go back to mother and daddy."
"Yes, I guess we'd better do that," Sue answered. "They'll get worried about us."