Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home Part 24

"It's mighty good of you, lady," said the ragged man, as he started to walk down the stairs again.

"You can thank the children," said Aunt Lu with a smile, as she gave the man some money. "And you needn't walk down. I'll ring for the elevator for you."

"Oh, no'm, I'd rather walk. I'm stronger now I've had that coffee. I'll walk down. The elevator boy wouldn't want me in his car. I'll walk."

Down he started, not so hungry now, though as ragged as ever. And, too, Aunt Lu had given him money enough to last him for a few days, until he could find work to earn money for himself.

"But, Bunny and Sue, please don't ask any more ragged men up without first coming to tell me," said Aunt Lu with a smile. "I like to be kind to all poor persons, but you see I live in a house with many other families, and some of them might not like to have tramps come up here.

However, you meant all right, only come and tell me or your mother first, after this."

"I will," promised Bunny. "But he was awful hungry; wasn't he?"

"I guess he was, and I'm glad we could help him. But now Wopsie is ready to take you to the moving pictures. Run along."

Bunny and Sue had another good time at the pictures. They saw the play of Cinderella, and liked it very much. After they came out they went to a drug store, and had ice-cream.

One day Aunt Lu said to Bunny and Sue:

"How would you like to go to the aquarium?"

"What's that?" asked Bunny. "Is it like a moving picture show?"

"Well, it is moving, and it is a show," answered Aunt Lu, with a smile.

"But it is not exactly pictures. It is a big building down at the end of New York City, in a place called Battery Park, and in the building are tanks and pools, where live fish are swimming around. There are also seals, alligators and turtles. Would you like to go to see that?"

Bunny and Sue thought they would, very much, and a little later, with their mother and Aunt Lu, they were in the aquarium. All around the building, which was in the shape of a circle, were gla.s.s tanks, in which big and little fish could be seen swimming about. In white tile-lined pools, in the middle of the floor, were larger fish, alligators, turtles and other things. Bunny was delighted.

"Oh, if I could only catch some of these big fish," he said to Sue.

"But you can't!"

"Maybe I can," he said to her in a whisper. "I brought some pins with me, and some string. I'm going to try and catch a fish. Come on over here."

From his pocket Bunny took a string and a pin. His mother and his aunt were looking down in the pool where some seals were swimming about.

Bunny, holding Sue's hand, led her over to the other side of the aquarium where there was a pool containing some large fish, and some big turtles.

"I'm going to fish here," said Bunny Brown.

CHAPTER XVI

LOST IN NEW YORK

Bunny's sister Sue did not think her brother was doing anything wrong.

She had so often seen him do many things that other boys did not do that she thought whatever Bunny did was all right.

"How you going to catch fish?" she asked.

"I'll show you," Bunny answered. "But don't call mother or Aunt Lu. They want to stay looking at the seals. I've seen enough of them."

But I think, though, that the real reason Bunny did not want Sue to call his mother, or his aunt, was because he was afraid they might stop him from trying to catch a fish.

And that was what Bunny Brown was going to try to do.

While Sue watched, Bunny bent a pin up in the shape of a hook. He and his sister had often fished with such hooks down in the brook near their house. Bunny tied the bent pin to the end of a long string, and then he walked over toward the white, tile-lined pool.

Just at this time there was no one near this pool, for most of the visitors in the aquarium were watching the seals, as Mrs. Brown and Aunt Lu were doing. The seals, of whom there were three or four, seemed to be having a game of tag. They swam about very swiftly, and leaped half out of the water, splashing it all about, and even on the persons standing about the pool. But the men, women and children only laughed, and crowded up closer to look at the playing seals.

"I want to see them," said Sue, pointing to where the crowd stood, laughing.

"Wait until I catch a fish," pleaded Bunny. "I'll soon have a fish, or a turtle or an alligator, Sue."

"I don't want any alligators," said the little girl. "They bite, and so does a turtle."

"All right. I won't catch them," promised Bunny. "I'll just catch a fish. Then we'll go to look at the seals."

"All right," agreed Sue. She went with her little brother over to the other pool. They were the only ones there, because everyone else was so anxious to look at the seals.

"Now watch me catch a fish," Bunny said. To the bent pin hook, on the end of the string, he tied a piece of rag. He had brought all these things with him, hoping he might get a chance to fish in the aquarium.

"What's that rag?" Sue wanted to know.

"That's my bait," Bunny answered. "You can't dig any worms in the city, 'cause there's all sidewalk. So I use this rag for bait."

"I don't like worms, anyhow," said Sue. "They is so--so squiggily. Rags is nicer for bait. But will the fish eat rags, Bunny?"

"I guess so."

The pool that Bunny had picked out to fish in was in two parts. There was a wire screen across the middle, and on one side were the alligators and turtles--some large and some small, while on the other side of the wire were fish. It was these fish--or one of them at least--that Bunny Brown was going to try to catch.

Into the water he cast his bent pin hook, with the fluttering rag for bait. No one saw him, everyone else being at the seal-pool. Sue watched her brother eagerly. She wanted him to hurry, and catch a fish, so they could go over where their mother and Aunt Lu were.

But the fish in the pool did not seem to care for Bunny's rag bait.

Perhaps they knew it was only a piece of cloth, and not a nice worm, or piece of meat, such as they would like to eat. Anyhow, they just swam past it in the water.

"Hurry up, Bunny, and catch a fish!" begged Sue. "I want to go and look at the seals."

"All right--I'll have a fish in a minute," Bunny said, hopefully.

But he did not. The fish would not bite. Bunny wanted to catch something, and, all at once, he decided that if he could not get a fish he might get a turtle, or a small alligator. But he did not tell Sue what he was going to do, for he knew she would not like it. She was afraid of alligators and turtles.

Bunny pulled his line from the fish-pool and tossed the pin-hook over into the turtle-pool. And then something happened, all at once! There was a rush through the water, as a big turtle saw the fluttering rag, and the next minute Bunny was nearly pulled over the low railing into the pool. For the turtle had swallowed his bent pin hook.

"Oh, Sue! I've got one! I've got one!" cried Bunny, shouting out loud, he was so excited.