on't you make Splash shake hands with this boy, and then they'll be
friends forever. You ought to introduce 'em."

"That's so! I will," said Bunny. "I forgot about that. Splash, come
here!" he ordered, and the dog obeyed. "Now go over and shake hands with
him," went on the little fellow, pointing to the strange boy.

"Don't be afraid and move away from him, or Splash won't like it," said
Sue, as she saw the boy shrink back a little. "Just stand still and
Splash will shake hands and be friends with you."

The boy seemed to be a bit afraid still, but he stood quietly and,
surely enough, Splash advanced and held out his right paw, which the boy
took and shook up and down. Then the boy patted the dog on the head, and
Splash barked, afterward licking the boy's hand with his tongue.

"Now he's friends with you, and he'll always like you," announced Sue.

"And no matter where he meets you he'll come up to you and shake hands,"
said Bunny. "Once Splash makes friends he keeps 'em. My name is Bunny
Brown," he went on, "and this is my sister Sue. We live at Camp
Rest-a-While on the edge of the big woods. We came out to see if my
father had come back from fishing, and we saw this cave and came in."

"Is there a way out?" asked the ragged boy. "I hardly know how I got in
here, but I've been trying to find a way out and I couldn't."

"Oh, we can show you that," said Sue. "It's only a little way back, and
it comes right out on the lake shore. But how did you get in here? You
look as ragged as the ragged man," she went on. "But that's nothing.
Sometimes Bunny and I are raggeder than you. We like it."

"I don't know who the ragged man is," said the boy, who gave his name as
Tom Fleming, "but I work for a man named Mr. Bixby, and his clothes have
lots of holes in."

"That's the ragged man we mean," said Bunny. "But please don't ever say
we called him ragged, 'cause we like him just as much ragged as if he
wasn't."

"Oh, I guess he doesn't mind being called ragged," said Tom. "He's got
other clothes but he won't wear 'em."

"If you're working for him, what are you doing in this cave?" Sue
asked. "Lessen it's his."

"Well, maybe he calls it his'n," said Tom. "It joins on to his cow
stable and that's how I got in it. After I got in I couldn't find my way
out until I saw your light."

"What did you run away for?" asked Bunny. "Please tell us! We won't tell
on you."

"No, I don't believe you would," said Tom. "Well, I'll tell