nd boat boy waved his hand to the children.

"I'll be with you in a minute," he said. "Tommy lost an oar off the dock
and I had to get it for him."

As Bunny and Sue turned to walk back toward Toby they saw a funny sight.
The little Shetland pony started to come toward them, and in his mouth
was a white rag.

"Oh, look what Toby has!" cried Bunny. "It's a piece of paper!"

"No, it's my handkerchief!" exclaimed Sue, "I dropped it out of my
pocket," and, on looking, surely enough, her handkerchief was gone.

"And Toby picked it up and he's bringing it to you!" said Bunny. "Oh,
Sue! he's just like Splash, isn't he? He brings things back to you!"

The little pony walked as far toward the children as the strap would
let him, and there he stood, holding Sue's handkerchief in his teeth.

[Illustration: TOBY WAS HOLDING SUE'S HANDKERCHIEF.

_Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue and Their Shetland Pony. Page 78._]

"It's just like he was handing it to me!" cried Sue.

"I wonder if he did it on purpose," said Bunny.

"We can find out," Sue said. "I could drop it again, and we could see if
he picked it up. Shall we do it, Bunny?"

"Oh, yes, let's!" said the little boy.

"What is it you're going to do?" Bunker Blue asked, as he came along
just then. "I thought you were going for a ride with me."

"So we are," answered Bunny. "But look! Toby picked up Sue's
handkerchief that she dropped, and he started to bring it over to her,
but he couldn't go any farther on account of the strap. Do you s'pose he
did it on purpose, Bunker?"

The fish boy scratched his head.

"I shouldn't wonder but what he did," he answered. "Didn't Mr. Tallman
say Toby was once in a circus?"

"Yes," answered Bunny and Sue together.

"That settles it then!" cried Bunker. "Toby is a trick pony, and picking
up handkerchiefs is one of his tricks."

"Honest?" asked Bunny.

"I think so," replied Bunker. "But it's easy to tell for sure."

"How?" asked Sue.

"We'll just loosen the strap, and you can drop your handkerchief again,
Sue, and see if he picks it up. Here, Toby," went on Bunker, "I'll just
take that handkerchief now, thank you, and we'll see if you can do the
trick again--if it _is_ a trick. I'll loosen your strap."

And as he was doing this Bunny Brown and his Sister Sue were wondering
what Toby would do. Would he pick up the handkerchief again?

CHAPTER IX

TOBY'S NEW TRICK

"We didn't know we had a trick pony, did we, Bunny?