“Did a shark ever bite your father?” asked Rose.

“No, I guess not,” Sammie answered.  “Anyhow he never told me about it.  But I must go now, ’cause it’s time for my lunch.  I’ll come over after lunch and we can have some more fun.”

Sammie said good-bye to the six little Bunkers and started down the side path toward the front gate of Aunt Jo’s home.  Hardly had he reached the sidewalk when Russ and the others heard him yelling: 

“Oh, come here!  Come here quick, and look!  Hurry!”

CHAPTER III

ON THE BOAT

“What is it?  What’s the matter?” cried Rose, as she hurried after her brother, who started to run toward Sammie Brown.

“I don’t know,” Russ answered.  “But something has happened!”

“Maybe Sammie found the treasure,” suggested Laddie.  “Oh, wouldn’t that be great?  Then we wouldn’t have to dig for it down in the sand at Cousin Tom’s!”

“Pooh! there couldn’t be no treasure out in front of Aunt Jo’s house,” exclaimed Violet, not being quite so careful of her words as she should have been.

By this time Russ and Rose were in the front yard, but they could not see Sammie, because between the yard and the street were some high bushes, and the shrubbery hid Sammie from sight.

“What’s the matter?” asked Rose.

“What happened?” Russ wanted to know.

“A policeman has arrested a big bear!” cried Sammie.  “Come on and see it!  The policeman has the bear, an’ there’s a man with gold rings in his ears, and he’s got a red handkerchief on his neck, or maybe that’s where the bear scratched him, and there’s a big crowd and—­and—­everything!”

Words failed Sammie.  He had to stop then.

“Oh—­a—­a bear!” gasped Rose.

She and Russ, followed by the rest of the six little Bunkers, hurried out to Aunt Jo’s front gate.  There they saw just what Sammie had said they would—­a policeman had hold of a long cord which was fastened about the neck of a bear.  And there was an excited man with a red handkerchief tied about his throat, and he had gold rings in his ears.  He was talking to the policeman, and there was a crowd of men and children and a few women about the bear, the policeman, and the other man, who seemed to be the bear’s owner.

“What happened?” asked Russ of a boy whom he knew, and who lived a few doors from Aunt Jo’s house.

“I don’t know,” was the answer.  “I guess the bear bit somebody though, and the policeman arrested it.”

“No, that wasn’t it,” said another boy.  “The bear broke into a bake shop and ate a lot of pies.  That’s why the policeman is going to take it to the station house.”

“Here comes the patrol wagon!” some one else cried, and up the street dashed the automobile from the precinct station house, its bell clanging loudly.

“Get in!” the six little Bunkers heard the policeman say to the man with the red handkerchief around his neck.  “Get in, you and the bear!  I’ll teach you to come around here!”