an old man?"

"There's one in your kitchen now," added Sue, for she was now looking at
the funny "old man" in the kitchen.

"One what in my kitchen?" asked Miss Winkler, in surprise.

"A funny old man," said Bunny again. "And he's after some of your nice
sugar cookies." Bunny knew Miss Winkler's sugar cookies were nice
because she sometimes gave him and Sue some. Not too often, but once in
a while.

"An old man after my cookies, is there?" cried the sailor's sister.
"Well, I'll see about that!"

Down the hall she hurried, leaving Mr. Treadwell to look for the wig
himself, and this he was doing.

"I suppose it's some tramp!" exclaimed Miss Winkler. "Wait until I take
the broom stick to him! The idea of taking my cookies! I'd rather give
'em to you children than to an old tramp. I wish your dog was here,
Bunny Brown!"

"Oh, so do I!" cried Bunny. "Splash would hang on to the tramp the way
he hangs to Mr. Treadwell's coat in the play. Oh, Sue, let's go home and
get our Splash, and sic him on the tramp!"

By this time Miss Winkler had reached the kitchen door. Bunny and Sue,
with Lucile and Mart, stood to one side, so the sailor's sister could go
in and stop the funny old man from taking her cookies.

Into the kitchen hurried Miss Winkler. There, surely enough, with his
gray head just showing over the back of a hall chair on which he was
standing, was what seemed to be an old man. He had on a black coat, and
one hand appeared to be reaching up into the cookie closet.

"Hi there! Get down out of that!" cried Miss Winkler. "The idea of you
daring to take my cookies! Get out of here! You tramp!"

And the green parrot, in his cage hanging in the kitchen, cried in his
shrill voice:

"No tramps allowed! Out you go! Sic him, Towser! Bow wow!"

Bunny, Sue, Mart, and Lucile hurried into the kitchen after Miss
Winkler. They saw her quickly take a broom from a corner.

And then, as the sailor's sister ran around in front of the chair, on
which the old man tramp seemed to be standing, she gave a scream.

"Wango! You good-for-nothing monkey you!" cried Miss Winkler. "The idea
of pretending you were a tramp! I've a good notion to take this broom to
you, anyhow!"

There was a chatter from the chair and the gray head dropped down out of
sight.

"Oh, was it Wango?" cried Bunny Brown.

"Indeed it was!" said Miss Winkler. "The idea of his fooling us all like
that!"

"But he looked just like an old man with gray hair,"