ny and Sue could hear them flitting through the tree
branches overhead, and could listen to their songs. Sometimes birds with
brilliant feathers flashed into view, disappearing in the thick, leafy
trees on either side of the river.

Bunny had made his raft rather strong and heavy, so that it floated well
up out of the water. In fact, the top part was quite dry, and if the
children had worn shoes and stockings they would have been perfectly
safe. But Bunny knew that, sooner or later, water generally washes over
the top of a raft, for one side or the other is likely to tip down. So
he and Sue were barefooted. They had left their shoes and stockings on
shore at the spot where they had launched the raft. It did not matter
now whether the water washed over the top of their craft or not.

On and on, down the river floated the two children. For a time nothing
happened. It was as calm and peaceful as even Mrs. Brown could have
wished. But Bunny and Sue wanted something to happen, and pretty soon
Bunny said:

"Let's eat!"

"Oh, yes, let's!" agreed Sue, always willing to do what Bunny did.

"We'll make believe it's dinner time," Bunny went on, "and we'll let the
raft float."

There was enough current in the river to carry the raft gently down, and
Bunny and Sue were in no hurry.

Bunny had thought the time would come when he and his sister might want
to sit down on their raft, and to keep them up out of the water he had
put two empty orange crates on the craft. These made fine seats, and on
one the lunch bag had been placed.

Laying their pushing poles down on top of the raft, in the middle,
Bunny and Sue sat down on the orange crates and began to eat what they
had brought with them. It did not matter that the cake and the bread
were stale. To the children the food tasted as good as anything they had
ever eaten at a party.

As they ate and floated along, the raft swung this way and that,
sometimes turning completely around, so, at times, the children were
going backward down the stream. It was at one of these times that they
felt a sudden bump and jar--almost like the time when the engine had
hitched itself to the freight car.

"Oh!" cried Sue. "What's that?"

Bunny turned, gave one look and cried:

"Hurray! We're here!"

"Where?" Sue asked.

"On the pirate island! Come on! All ashore!"

CHAPTER XXIV

THE ALLIGATORS

Bunny and Sue had, indeed, landed on an island in Squaw River. Or if
they had not