After breakfast they set off again, passing through the city.

Mr. Brown asked several persons there about the traveling medicine show with the colored banjo player.  Many had seen it, but some were sure the banjo-playing boy was a real negro, while others said he was only blackened up.  At any rate the show had traveled on, and no one knew where it would be next met with.

“Well, it may have been Fred, and it may not,” said Mr. Brown.  “I must write and ask Mr. Ward if his son could imitate a negro, singing and playing the banjo, and whether he ever dressed up and did that sort of thing.”

The progress of the big automobile through the town attracted many persons, not a few of whom believed it to be a traveling show, and they were disappointed when some sort of performance was not given.

The Browns were soon out in the sunny country again, traveling along a shady level road.  Bunny and Sue played with their toys, and at noon, when they stopped for lunch, they had a romping game of tag in the woods and fields near-by.

After the noon rest they went on again, the two dogs running along, sometimes ahead of the automobile and sometimes behind it.

“I’m going to put darling Sallie Malinda to sleep,” said Sue after a while.  “And I’m going to let her sleep near the back door of the car.”

“Why?” asked Bunny, who was very fond of asking questions.

“She isn’t feeling very well, and the air will do her good,” answered Sue, who made her “make-believe” very real to herself.

So, having made a nice bed of rags for her Teddy bear, Sue put Sallie Malinda to sleep near the rear door of the auto and got out one of her books to look at the pictures.  Bunny was building some sort of house with some new blocks his father had bought for him, but he was not having very good luck, for the motion of the auto made the house topple over almost as soon as Bunny had it built.

After a while Sue thought her Teddy bear had had enough sleep near the auto door, so she went to take her in.  But when she reached the rag bed Sallie Malinda was not there.

“Oh, my Teddy bear is gone!” cried Sue.  “Oh, Bunny, do you think she falled out?  Daddy!  Daddy!  Stop the auto!  My Teddy bear is lost!”

Mr. Brown stopped the car at once, though he did not understand all of what Sue said.  The little girl told him what had happened.

“Sallie Malinda gone!” cried Mother Brown.  “That’s too bad!  She must have been jostled off when the auto went over a bump.  I think we’ll have to go back and look for her,” she said to her husband.

Then Bunny gave some more news.

“Dix is gone too!” he cried.  “I’ve been watching a long while and I haven’t seen him.  And Splash is acting awful funny—­just as if Dix had run away.”

“Hum!  This is rather strange!” exclaimed Mr. Brown.  “Two disappearances at once.”

“What’s disappearcesses?” asked Sue.