Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue in the Sunny South

by Laura Lee Hope

The old tramp had made up his mind to run away from the children. He was really afraid of being arrested and having it said that he had tried to kidnap them, and as he knew he had no such idea he did not care to be punished for something he had not done.

So he had made up his mind to jump off the train when it slowed up, leaving Bunny and Sue alone. And that is why he sent the children to the dark corner, so they could not see him open the door. He thought if they saw him they would want to follow.

"If I can get away," said Nutty to himself, "I'll tell some of the railroad men that I saw two kids in one of the empty cars, and the railroad men will look after them. But I don't want them to find me here."

Slowly and carefully Nutty slid back the door, inch by inch, in order to make the crack wide enough for him to jump out when the train slowed up. He glanced toward the dark corner where Bunny and Sue were sitting, playing with the cat. The candle was still burning, but the children were some distance from it.

"I'll have to leave all my things behind," thought Nutty, as he got the door open as wide as he needed. "I'll leave 'em my store of nuts and the water to drink. I'll have to leave Toddle, too."

The thought of leaving behind his little kitten made the old tramp feel rather sad. But he knew that if he picked Toddle up and gathered together his tin boxes and the bottles Bunny and Sue would guess that he intended to go away from them.

"I'll just leave everything—even the pussy," thought Nutty. "I can easily get more nuts and bottles of water. I'll jump off as soon as the train slows up a little more. I don't want to be arrested as a kidnapper."

Watching his chance, and noticing that the train was moving quite slowly now, Nutty thrust himself half way out of the crack. He glanced toward Bunny and Sue. They were trying to make the kitten stand up on his hind legs, and did not see the tramp.

"This is my chance!" thought the ragged man, with a last, kind look toward the children. "I'm sorry to leave you all alone," he went on, "but it's better so. And I'll send help to you if I can."

A moment later he jumped from the moving freight car and landed on the ground, running along a little way, and then darting into some bushes beside the track so no railroad men would see him.