“I—­I’m awful sorry,” faltered Sue.  “My father will pay for the molasses I let run out, Mrs. Golden!”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” said the old lady, though she was a bit worried over the loss, for nearly a pint of the sweet stuff had run away.  “It’s you I’m thinking of,” she said.  “Are you sure you aren’t hurt?”

“No,” answered Sue.  “But my dress is.  Oh, how am I going to get home?” she went on, as she pulled up the edge of her skirt and saw how dirty and sticky it was.

“You’ll have to get into the bath tub, clothes and all,” said one of the customers.

“It’s like when I fell in the brook,” half sobbed Sue.

“There, never mind!” said Mrs. Golden kindly.  “Here, little boy,” she said, reaching over and lifting up the brimming measure of sweet stuff, “take your molasses and run along.  Then I’ll clean up here.”

Leaning over, to keep her feet out of the puddle, Mrs. Golden helped Sue to rise, though it was a bit hard on account of the sticky molasses.  Then the little girl’s dress was taken off and she was sent into Mrs. Golden’s bedroom.

“I’ll wash this dress and your petticoat out for you, Sue,” said Mrs. Golden, when her thread customers were gone.  “But it will hardly be dry for you to wear home before dark.”

“If you should see Bunny, you could send him home to get another dress for me,” Sue suggested.

“Yes, I could do that,” agreed Mrs. Golden.  “I’ll see if Bunny is coming after I put your clothes to soak.”

But Bunny was off playing ball that day, and did not come to the corner store.  However, fat Bobbie Boomer happened to pass, and Mrs. Golden sent him to Sue’s house.

He rather frightened Mrs. Brown at first, for Bobbie twisted the message and said Sue had fallen into a barrel of molasses, instead of just into a puddle on the floor, so that Mrs. Brown came hurrying to the store, imagining all sorts of things had happened.

She had to laugh when she heard the real story, and then she went back to get a clean dress for Sue, leaving the other to be washed and dried by Mrs. Golden.

“I’m afraid the children are more of a bother to you than a help,” said Mrs. Brown, as she started home with Sue.

“Oh, bless their hearts, I don’t know what I’d do without them!” said the storekeeper.  “They are a great help.  My store business is much better than before they began coming here.  That special oatmeal sale brought me new customers, and Bunny and Sue are a great help.”

As it would be rather hard work for Mrs. Golden to clean up the sticky puddle, Mrs. Brown sent Bunker Blue up from the boat dock to help.  For this Mrs. Golden was very glad, as she could hardly have handled the broom and pails of water as well as Bunker did.

“This is easier than cleaning out boats,” declared the fish boy as he “swabbed” the floor, as he called it.

Soon the store was scrubbed nice and clean and ready for more customers the next day.  As Bunny and Sue had nothing special to do they went to the corner grocery to see if they could do anything to help.  And Sue was told by her mother to bring home the washed dress and petticoat.