“It’s all queer!” declared Sue.  “Come on, we’ll have some more fun sliding down the hay.”

This they did, and even Splash joined in.  But though they slid all over the hay, and kept a sharp lookout for any more parts of Bunny’s train, they found nothing.

“I wish I could find part of my Teddy bear,” said Sue.

“If you did that your Sallie Malinda wouldn’t be much good,” said Bunny.  “For you can take an electrical train apart and put it together again, and it isn’t hurt.  You can’t do that way with a Teddy bear.  If you pull off one of his legs or his head he’s not much good any more.”

“That’s right,” agreed Sue.  “I want to find my dear Sallie Malinda all in one piece.”

“And with his eyes blazing,” added Bunny.

“Oh, of course, with her eyes going,” said Sue.  “Now for a last slide, and then we’ll go out and see if daddy has come.”

“And I guess I’d better go back to the poorhouse and get a meal,” said Tom.  “Mr. Bixby won’t give me any dinner ’cause I ran away from him, but if I tell the superintendent back at the poorhouse how it happened I know he’ll feed me until I get another place.

“And I can get work easy now.  I’m good and strong, and the farmers are beginning to think of getting in their crops.  But I’m not going to be stuck full of needles again.”

“You come right along with us,” said Bunny.  “My mamma and papa will be glad to see you when they know you helped us look for our lost toys, even if we didn’t find but one car, and I slid over that.  But they’ll take care of you until you can get some work to do.  My mamma does lots of that in the city when tramps come to us——­

“Of course you’re not a tramp,” he said quickly, “’cause you have a home to go to.”

“Folks don’t ginnerally call it much of a home, but it’s better’n nothing,” said Tom.  “But I’m thankful to you.  I’ll come, only maybe your maw mightn’t be expectin’ company—­leastwise such as I am,” and he looked down at his ragged clothes.

“Never mind that,” said Bunny.  “You ought to see the picture of my Uncle Tad when he was in the war, captured by the Confederates as a prisoner.  He had only corn husks for shoes and his coat and trousers were so full of holes that he didn’t know in which ones to put his legs and arms.  He’ll give you some of the clothes he don’t want.  Now come right along.”

“What about meeting daddy to go fishing?” asked Sue.  “I guess he isn’t going to take us to-day, or he’s forgotten about it.  Maybe the fish are biting so good out where he is in his boat that he doesn’t want to come in.”

“Maybe,” said Bunny.  “Anyhow we’ll go on back to the camp.  It must be getting near dinner time, for I’m feeling hungry, aren’t you?” he asked Tom.

“Yes, but then I’m ’most allers that way.  I never remember when I had all I wanted to eat.”