ry. But they could see how
the cotton was put into a sort of iron box. A big plunger then pressed
down what might be called the "lid" of the box. This squeezed the big,
fluffy mass of cotton into a bale, and iron straps, or wires, were put
around the outside of the burlap bagging that kept the cotton clean.

Sue was standing with Sam and Grace, watching the cotton being pressed
into bales, when suddenly behind them came a noise as of something
falling, and a voice cried:

"Oh, dear!"

"That's Bunny!" exclaimed Sue, turning around.

She did not see her brother, but she saw some men gathered around a big
heap of cotton on the floor of the gin. And, not seeing Bunny, his
sister Sue had the most dreadful scare.

"Oh, Bunny's in a cotton press! He's being put into one of the bales!"
she cried. "Oh, Bunny! Bunny!" and she broke away from the holding hand
of Grace and rushed toward the heap of cotton on the floor, which was
tumbling about in the queerest fashion.

CHAPTER IX

GATHERING PEANUTS

Sam and Grace Morton were somewhat older than Bunny Brown and his sister
Sue, and they knew more about cotton gins. So when Sue cried that Bunny
was being pressed into one of the white bales neither Sam nor Grace
thought this could be so.

For they had been standing near the big press all the while, and they
would have seen if Bunny had fallen in. But the little boy was not in
sight, and something must have happened to him, or why did he cry out as
he had? Sue had certainly heard Bunny's voice.

"Bunny! Bunny! where are you?" shouted Sue, as she broke away from the
Morton children.

"Who yo' all lookin' fo'?" asked a big colored man, who had been rolling
bales of cotton about the floor.

"My--my bro-brother!" stammered Sue, almost ready to cry. "He's in a
bale of cotton!"

"Oh, nopey! Nopey, he ain't, li'l girl!" said the kind colored man. "I
done see dat li'l boy jest a minute ago. He was climbin' up on a basket
ob loose cotton, an' he done pulled it over on top ob him! He's under
dat pile right yeah!" and he pointed to the mass of white, fluffy stuff
on the floor.

"I see what happened!" exclaimed Sam, hurrying over with his sister to
Sue, who stood near the pile of cotton. "Bunny's all right. You can't
get hurt when loose cotton falls on you," and he laughed.

"Is--is Bu-Bunny under there?" asked Sue.

There was no need for any one to answer her, for a moment later out from
under the fluffy pile crawled