“Say, this cave is fine!” he cried.  “It’s got water in it and a place for a fire.  All the smoke would go up that hole.  We’ll get Bunker and daddy and mother and Uncle Tad and come here and have a picnic some day.  Don’t you like it, Sue?”

“I—­I’d rather be back at Camp Rest-a-While,” said the little girl.  “Can’t we go?”

“I’ll go and see how hard it’s raining,” said the little boy.

He went to the front door of the cave, and looked out.  It was storming very hard now.  The wind was blowing the limbs of the trees about, and dashing the rain all over.

“We can’t walk home in this storm,” said Bunny to Sue.  “We’ll have to stay in this cave until they come for us.”

“All right,” Sue said.  “Then let’s eat.”

The children ate some more of the lunch they had brought with them.

“Now let’s make the bed,” said Sue.  “We’ll sleep on a pile of the bags, Bunny, and pull some of ’em over us for covers.  Splash won’t need any covers.  He never sleeps in a bed.”

Bunny and Sue had often “played house,” and they knew how to make the old blankets, and pieces of carpet they found in the cave, into a sort of bed.  It was not so light now, for it was coming on toward night, and the sky was covered with clouds.

“If we shut our eyes and go to sleep we won’t mind the dark,” said Bunny.

“All right—­let’s,” agreed Sue.

They cuddled up on the bags, their arms around one another, with Sue’s doll held close in her hand, while Splash lay down not far from them.

Bunny was not sure he had been asleep.  Anyhow he suddenly opened his eyes, and looked toward the chimney hole in the roof of the cave.  A little light still came down it.  But something else was also coming down.  Bunny saw a big boy—­or a small man—­sliding down a grapevine rope into the cave.  First Bunny saw his feet—­then his legs—­then his body.  Bunny wondered who was coming into the cave.  He made up his mind to find out.

“Who is there?” he suddenly called.  “Who are you?  What do you want in our cave?”

The figure sliding down the piece of grapevine into the cave, through the chimney hole, suddenly fell in a heap on the floor, close to where Bunny and Sue were lying on the pile of bags.  Splash jumped up and began to bark loudly.

CHAPTER XXV

BACK IN CAMP

Bunny Brown tried to be brave, but when he saw someone come into the cave in the darkness, in such a queer way, the little boy did not know what to do.  He thought of Sue, and felt that he must not let her get hurt, no matter what else happened.

“Oh, Bunny!” cried Sue.  “Is that one of the robbers?  Is it, Bunny?  If it is I don’t want to stay here!  You said there weren’t any but picture book robbers in this cave, Bunny Brown!”

Bunny did not answer right away.  He did not know what to tell Sue.