“Grab him!” cried Bunny, and his dog caught hold of the loose piece of cloth sewed to Mr. Treadwell’s coat.  Then began a funny scene, with the actor pulling one way and Splash pulling the other, until, with a rip, the cloth came loose and Splash began shaking it as he might a rat.

Well, you should have heard the people laugh and clap at that!  They wanted that scene done over again, but of course this wasn’t like a song, with two verses.  Mr. Treadwell only had one patch sewed on his coat, and when that was torn off he didn’t want Splash to pretend to bite him again.

Finally the dog act came to an end and the little play went on with George and Mary Watson, Harry Bentley, fat Bobbie Boomer, Sadie West, Charlie Star and Helen Newton, besides other boys and girls, taking part.  They all did well, and the fathers and mothers and strangers, too, applauded very loudly.

Lucile’s Uncle Bill could hear all that was said, though he could see nothing, and he seemed to enjoy it all very much.  The first act came to an end with all the children joining in singing a chorus.

“And now for act two!” exclaimed Mr. Treadwell, as the curtain went down.  “This is in the barnyard, you know.”

“I hope Peter crows at the right time!” said George, for it had been decided to try the rooster in that act.

While the audience sat in front of the lowered curtain, waiting for it to go up again, the children behind the curtain were very busy.  Most of them had to dress in different clothes, or “costumes,” as they are called, for the next act.  And, for a time, there was much hurrying to and fro, much hunting here and there for things that had been mislaid.

“Where’s my red hat?” called Charlie Star as he looked back of a piece of scenery that had a little brook painted on it.  “Has anybody got my red hat?”

“Is it a fireman’s hat, Charlie?” asked Sue, who was looking for some one to help her pin her dress in the back.

“No, it was a soldier’s hat, but I’m going to make believe I’m a fireman, so I guess you could call it a fireman’s hat,” explained Charlie.  “Has anybody seen my red hat?”

“Hush!  Not so loud!” called Mr. Treadwell to Charlie.  “The audience out in front will hear you, and they’ll all be laughing at us.”

“Oh!” said Charlie more quietly.  “But I’ve got to have my hat, or I can’t be in the next act.”

“I’ll help you hunt for it,” said Bunny Brown.  “I know where all my things are for the next act and I have time to help you, Charlie, ’cause you helped me a lot by printing the tickets for our show.”

The two little boys began to hunt behind the scene, on the stage, for the missing red hat.  They searched all around for it, but it seemed to have disappeared.  Even Mr. Treadwell helped look, for he knew the play would not go right unless Charlie was dressed as had been planned for him.

“Did anybody see Charlie’s red hat?” finally the impersonator called, when he managed to stop all the others from talking for a moment.  “Please think, and see if you can remember seeing a red hat.”