ed Mart.
"You can stay right here--you and Lucile!" cried Mrs. Brown. "Our house
is plenty large enough, and there's lots of room. Do stay here--at least
until you locate your uncle and your aunt."
"That's very kind of you," said Lucile softly, and she reached over and
stroked Sue's curls.
"Oh, goodie!" cried Bunny, when he understood that his father was going
to hire Mart Clayton to work in the office at the dock. "Then you can
help us get up the show."
"Well, I'll do all I can," promised Mart.
"And I'll help, too," added Lucile.
"If you can find a place for me, Mr. Brown, I'll make the same promise,"
said Mr. Treadwell. "I don't care much about going back to New York, and
if Mart and Lucile stay here I'd like to stay, too, and sort of look
after them. I'll try to help them find their missing folks."
"I guess I can find work for you," said Mr. Brown. "Do you know anything
about the fish or boat business?"
"Very little, I'm afraid. I once worked as a bookkeeper in a piano
factory, though, if that would help any," he said.
"Keeping books is just what I want done," said Mr. Brown. "So you can
have a place in my office. The man I have is going to leave, and you may
take his place. He also has a room with Mr. Winkler and his sister, and
you could get board there."
"That suits me all right, and thank you very much," said Mr. Treadwell.
"I'll send over to Wayville and get what little baggage I have. But
will it be all right for me to board at Mr. Winkler's?" he asked.
"Oh, yes. They'll be glad to have you."
"And you can see Mr. Winkler's monkey Wango and the parrot all the
while!" cried Bunny Brown.
"That will be a treat!" laughed Mr. Treadwell.
So it was settled that both Mr. Treadwell and Mart would work for Mr.
Brown. The man who pretended to be George Washington and other great men
would board with the old sailor and his sister, while Mart and Lucile
would live with the Browns.
"And we'll have lots of fun!" said Sue to Lucile.
"And will you show me how to make flipflops?" asked Bunny of Mart.
"Yes," answered the boy actor and acrobat, "I will."
While Lucile remained at Mrs. Brown's house, Mart, with Mr. Brown and
the impersonator went over to Wayville to get the baggage of the
theatrical folk. Mr. Brown was going to pay the board bills. Bunny and
Sue wanted to go also, but their father said:
"I'll take you along when we go to look at the scenery. You'd only be in
the way now, and
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