“Won’t your company give me a little more time?” she asked.

“No,” said Mr. Flynt.  “We’ve been waiting and waiting, hoping you could pay.  Of course things are better than early in the summer.  I guess these children have helped you a lot,” and he looked at Bunny and Sue.  “But you don’t take in enough money to pay your bills.  If you could pay up you might get along, for you have a good trade now.  But you can’t pay your bills, and so we’re going to sell you out!”

“Does that mean close up the store?” asked Bunny timidly.

“That’s what it means, little man,” was the answer, and Mr. Flynt did not seem so cross now.  Perhaps he was sorry for what he had to do.  “Mrs. Golden will have to give up her store.”

CHAPTER XXV

GOOD NEWS

Bunny Brown and his sister Sue looked at each other with sad eyes.  After all their work it had come to this.  The store would be closed!  They would have no place to come and have good times during the long vacation days!  It was too bad!  What was to be done?

Sue waited for Bunny to speak, as she usually did, and Bunny, after thinking the matter over, asked: 

“Are you going to close it up right away?”

“Within a day or so, unless Mrs. Golden can pay her bills,” answered Mr. Flynt.  “We have waited as long as we can.  I’m going to begin now to close out her business, but it will take two or three days.  If she can raise the money in that time——­”

“There’s no use waiting or hoping—­I can’t do it!” sighed the old lady, with tears in her eyes.  “I’ve tried my best, but I can’t do it, even with the help of these dear children and the pony express,” and she looked out of the window at Toby, hitched to the little basket cart.

“It is too bad,” said Mr. Flynt.  “We know you’ve done your best, and if you didn’t owe so much you might get along now, with the start you have.  But it takes all you can make to pay your back debts.  It’s best that you should give up the store.  My company is sorry for you, but we’ve waited as long as we can.  You’ll have to sell out, Mrs. Golden.”

“Yes, I suppose so,” she agreed.  “But if I could only hear from Philip, and if he could bring the money from that legacy, I could pay all I owe and start a bigger store.  But I don’t suppose there’s any use hoping for that.”

“No, I believe not,” agreed Mr. Flynt.  “Your son Philip doesn’t seem to have gotten that legacy.  Have you heard from him?”

“Not lately,” said Mrs. Golden, with a sad shake of her head.  “I don’t know why he hasn’t written.  Perhaps because he has no good news for me.”

“Very likely,” said Mr. Flynt.  “Well, I must go.  You had better arrange to sell everything by the end of the week, and pay us what you can.  We’ll have to wait for the rest, I reckon.”

“Won’t there be a store here any more?” asked Sue.