s, here they are," she called to Bunny and Sue, who were
sitting in the dining room. "Come now, young folks, get acquainted, and
then go up to the attic to play."

Charlie and Rose Parker, being about the age of Bunny and Sue, did not
take long to grow friendly. And the Brown children, having often met
strangers, were not a bit bashful, so the four soon felt that they had
known each other a long time.

"Now up to the attic with you, and have your fun!" directed Mrs.
Preston. "Use anything you want to play with, but, when you are through,
put everything back where you found it."

"We will!" promised the children, and up the stairs they went, laughing
and shouting.

"I hope we find some swords and guns to fight with," said Bunny to
Charlie.

"Oh, there's a lot of them," Charlie answered. "I've been here before
and I know where lots of guns are. Only they're awful heavy."

"Then we can pretend they are cannon!" cried Bunny.

"Yes, and we can make a fort of old trunks. There's a lot of them up
here," Charlie said.

They were on their way up the attic stairs, Charlie leading the way, as
he had often gone up before.

"Don't take all the trunks until we get out of them what we want to play
with," begged Rose.

"What's in the trunks?" asked Bunny of his new friend.

"Oh, nothing but a lot of old dresses and things. Rose most always
dresses up fancy in 'em and pretends she's a big lady," said Charlie.

"Then that's what Sue'll do," said Bunny. "She likes to dress up. But
we'll play soldier."

Mrs. Preston's attic was the nicest one that could be imagined. In one
corner were several trunks. In another corner was a spinning wheel, and
hanging here and there from the attic beams were strings of sleigh
bells, that sent out a merry jingle when one's head hit them.

Here and there, in places where there were no boards over the beams,
were hickory nuts and walnuts that could be cracked on a brick and
eaten.

"They'll be our rations," said Charlie, who liked to play soldier as
well as did Bunny.

"But where are the swords and the guns?" Bunny asked.

"I'll show you," said Charlie. "They're just behind the chimney."

In the middle of the attic, extending up through the roof, was a big
chimney. It could not be seen in the rest of the house, but here in the
attic the bricks were in plain view, and Charlie said, on cold Winter
days, when it snowed, it was warm in the attic because of the heat from
the chimney.

Jus