“You should speak of the girls first,” said Sadie, who was a little older than the others.

“Well, anyhow, we ought to help Mrs. Golden,” went on Bunny.  “She needs customers.  Now, if all of you would buy everything you could of her, like Sue and I do, maybe she wouldn’t lose her store.”

“My mother says she’d trade there if Mrs. Golden would deliver stuff,” remarked Helen Newton.  “But she says she can’t cart heavy things from any store.”

“My mother said the same thing,” added Mary Watson.

“She can’t afford to hire a delivery horse and wagon,” said Charlie Star.  “I know, ’cause I helped in her store.”

“She needs an auto like Mr. Gordon,” said Bobbie Boomer.

“Pooh, autos are only for big stores!” exclaimed Harry.

Bunny Brown seemed to be doing some hard thinking.  He had a new idea.

“Fellows!” he suddenly cried, “I have it!  I’ll get a delivery wagon for
Mrs. Golden!”

“You will?”

“A delivery wagon?”

“How?”

These cries greeted what Bunny had said.

“I’ll take our Shetland pony, Toby, and deliver things for her in the little cart!” cried Bunny Brown.  “If all of you will promise to buy as much as you can from her, I’ll deliver things in our pony cart!”

“Hurray for the pony express!” cried Charlie Star.  “I’ll help!”

CHAPTER XXIV

BAD NEWS

The boys and girls, all of whom promised to buy as much as they could from Mrs. Golden and who also promised to tell their mothers at home that things could now be delivered from the little corner store, were bubbling over with fun and good-nature as they left the yard of Bunny and Sue where the “meeting” was held.  But after his playmates had gone Bunny Brown began to do a little worrying.

“I know Toby will like to deliver groceries and be a pony express,” said the little boy to his sister.  “But maybe mother won’t let us do it.”

“Oh, I guess she will,” said Sue.

“I’ll ask her, anyhow,” decided Bunny, and he did.

Mrs. Brown thought the matter over carefully when Bunny and Sue told her about it.

“Is Mrs. Golden really in such need of money?” asked Mrs. Brown.

“Oh, yes!” cried Bunny.  “She feels so sad when Mr. Flynt comes and says he’s going to close her store.  And we’ll feel sad if we don’t have any place to go any more and learn how to work in it, Mother!  Please let us take Toby and be a pony express!”

“I’ll talk it over with your father,” said Mrs. Brown.

The children waited anxiously for what their father should say, and they were glad when they heard him laugh after Mrs. Brown had spoken to him of the plan.

“Why, yes,” he agreed.  “I don’t see any harm in it.  Toby doesn’t get enough exercise as it is.  And Bunny and Sue can manage the little Shetland very well.  The only thing is, I wouldn’t want them to drive all over town delivering groceries—­I mean out on the main street where there are so many autos now.”