But when Bunny tried to push the boat away from the island, as he had seen his father and Bunker Blue often do, he found it was not easy.  The boat was stuck fast in the soft mud of the edge of the island.

“I—­I can’t do it,” Bunny said, puffing, as he pushed on the oar, with which he was trying to shove off the boat.  “I can’t do it, Sue.”

“Will we have to stay here forever?”

“No, not forever.  Maybe papa, or somebody will come for us.  But I can’t push off the boat.”

“I’ll help you,” offered Sue.  The oar was too heavy for her, however, so Bunny got her a long stick.  But, even with what little help Sue could give, the boat would not move.

“Oh, dear!” sighed Bunny, sitting down on a seat.  He looked worried, and so did Sue.

“If we had a harness for our new dog we could hitch him to the boat, and maybe he could pull it into the water,” remarked Bunny, after a bit.

“Oh, that would be fine!” cried the little girl.  “And maybe he could swim, and pull us all the way home.”

“But we haven’t any harness,” said Bunny with another sigh.

“Couldn’t we use the fish line?  I’ve got another piece of string.”

“We can try.”

With the string, which he knotted together, Bunny made a sort of “harness,” putting one end around the dog’s neck, and tying the other end to the bow, or front of the boat.

“Now pull us, Towser!” Bunny cried.

“Is his name Towser?” Sue wanted to know.

“Well, we’ll call him that until we can think of a better name.  Go on, pull!” ordered Bunny.

But the dog only barked and stood still.  He did not seem to mind being “hitched up.”  It seemed as though he had often had children play with him.

“Oh, I know how to make him pull us!” Sue exclaimed.

“How?”

“Throw a stick in the water, and he’ll chase after it.”

“Fine!” cried Bunny, and he tossed a chip out into the river.  With a bark the dog rushed after it.  But I think you can guess what happened.  Instead of the dog’s pulling the boat, the string broke, and, of course, that was the end of the harness.

“Oh, dear!” exclaimed Sue.  “We’ll never get home, Bunny!”

The little boy did not know what to do next.  But, all at once, as he and his sister looked at each other, quite worried and anxious, they heard a voice shouting: 

“Bunny!  Sue!  Are you there?  Where are you?  Bunny!  Sue!”

CHAPTER X

A TROLLEY RIDE

“Who—­who is that?” asked Sue of her brother in a whisper.  “Oh, it’s papa come for us!”

“That isn’t papa,” Bunny answered, for well he knew his father’s voice.

“Well, it’s somebody, anyhow,” and Sue smiled now, through her tears.  “It’s somebody, and I’m so glad!”

“Bunny!  Sue!” called the voice again, and the big dog barked.  Perhaps he was also glad that “somebody” had come for him, as glad as were the children.  But, though Bunny Brown and his sister Sue looked all about, they could see no one.  Then, all of a sudden, Sue thought of something.