“Call him Splash, then,” agreed Mr. Brown, and so the big dog was called that name.  He did not seem to mind how funny it was, but wagged his tail, and barked happily whenever he was spoken to.

For two or three days after they had gone off in the boat, Bunny Brown and his sister Sue did not go far from home.  They remained about the house, playing different games with some of the children who lived near them.  Now and then they would go down the street with Aunt Lu, or to the dock, to see the fish boats come in.  And, often, as she walked along, Aunt Lu would look down at the ground.

“Are you looking for your lost diamond ring?” Bunny or Sue would ask.

“Well, not exactly,” Aunt Lu would say.  “I’m afraid I shall never find it,” she would add, in rather a sad voice.  “I am afraid it is gone forever.”

“We’ll keep on looking,” promised Bunny.  “And maybe we’ll find it.”

Splash, the big dog, proved to be very gentle and kind.  He seemed to love the two children very much, and went everywhere with them.  No one came to claim him.  There was only one place Bunny and Sue could not take him, and that was to Mr. Winkler’s house, and it was on account of the monkey.

“I’m afraid Splash might scare Wango,” the old sailor said.  “Monkeys are easily frightened, and Wango might try to get out of his cage and hurt himself.  So, much as I love your dog, children, please don’t bring him where Wango is.”  “We won’t,” promised Bunny and Sue.  So, whenever they paid a little visit to their friend, the old sailor, Splash was chained outside the gate, and the poor dog did not seem to understand why this was done.  But he would lie down and wait until Bunny and Sue came out.  Then how glad he was to see them!

One day Aunt Lu gave Bunny and Sue each five cents.  They said they wanted to buy some toy balloons, which they had seen in the window of Mrs. Redden’s store.

“Maybe we could tie two balloons together, and fasten them to a basket and have a ride, like in an airship,” Sue said to Bunny, for they had been looking at some pictures of airships in a magazine.

“Maybe we could,” Bunny agreed.

But Bunny and Sue did not buy the toy balloons.  They were on their way to get them, with Splash, the dog, walking along the street behind them, when a trolley car came along.  The trolley ran from Bellemere, where Bunny and Sue lived, to Wayville, the next town.  In Wayville lived Uncle Henry, who was a brother of Mrs. Brown’s.

“Oh, Sue!  I know what let’s do!” Bunny suddenly cried, as the trolley car stopped to take on some passengers at the street corner.

“What shall we do, Bunny?” Sue was always ready to follow where her brother led.

“Let’s take our five cents and have a trolley ride!  We can go to Wayville and see Uncle Henry.  He’d like to see us.”

“But if we go on the trolley it costs five cents,” Sue objected, “and we can’t buy the balloons.”