rlie. "It went right over
his head and everything!"

"I hope he isn't hurt," said Mrs. Brown, picking up one of the small
shovels the children had been using and beginning to help Uncle Tad dig.

"I guess it won't hurt him much," Charlie said. "The snow's soft. Once I
was in a snow house and the roof fell in on me and I was all covered up,
but I wasn't hurt."

"That's good," remarked Mrs. Brown. "We're digging you out, Bunny," she
called.

"I don't guess he can hear you," said Helen, when no answer came from
beneath the snow.

"I couldn't hear when I was in the snow house," said Charlie. "My ears
were all stopped up."

"We'll soon have him out," declared Uncle Tad, tossing aside big
shovelfuls of the damp snow. "It's a deep pile, though."

There were now three of them digging away at the pile of snow which hid
Bunny Brown from sight. Of course Uncle Tad was doing the most work, as
his shovel was so large. Pile after pile he tossed aside, and he was
fast getting to the bottom, when, all of a sudden there was a cracking
sound, and the handle of Uncle Tad's shovel broke in the middle.

"Oh, dear!" cried the old soldier. "This is too bad!"

"And we haven't another large shovel!" said Mrs. Brown. "Walter took our
second one down to the dock with him this morning!"

"Well, perhaps I can make this do," said Uncle Tad. "Though I can't work
as fast as I could if the handle wasn't broken."

"Sue, and Helen, run next door and see if you can borrow a large snow
shovel," called Mrs. Brown. "Don't stop to tell them what it's for, or
Bunny may smother."

"Oh, no'm, I guess he won't," Charlie said, as he dug away with the
little shovel that Sue had been using. "When I was under the snow I
could breathe all I wanted to."

Mrs. Brown said she was glad to hear this, but, for all that, she dug as
fast as she could with the other small shovel, and Uncle Tad, using the
one with the broken handle, did the best he could.

Helen and Sue hurried next door to see if they could borrow a broad
wooden shovel, but before they returned Uncle Tad had managed to dig
down through the pile of snow until he reached the ground and the side
of the house foundation--the upper part of the cellar wall.

"Why, Bunny isn't here!" cried Uncle Tad, in great surprise.

"Isn't he?" asked the little boy's mother, looking over Uncle Tad's
shoulder down into the hole in the snow pile.

"There isn't a sign of him," went on the soldier. "Are you sure