By this time the raft had floated free of the little hill of mud in the
meadow lake where it had gone aground, and Bunny and Sue poled it
toward the road. When their mother saw how wet they were she did not
scold them. That is, not much. For, after all, part of it could not be
helped.

Dix and Splash enjoyed the flood, for they both liked to be in the
water. They swam about, playing their sort of "tag" and racing after
sticks which Bunny and Sue threw for them.

A few days after this, when the flood had all gone down, and having
waited for the roads to dry, Mr. Brown once more set off with his family
in the big machine. For two or three days they traveled along. Once,
when they stopped for their noon-day lunch under a big oak tree, Uncle
Tad built a small fire of twigs and Bunny and his sister roasted
marshmallows at the blaze.

At a number of places Mr. Brown asked about Fred Ward, the missing boy,
but no trace of him could be found, nor was anything more heard of the
traveling medicine show with the colored banjo player.

It was one evening at dusk, when the automobile had come to a stop for
the night, and the family were all sitting out under the tree near the
road, that Uncle Tad, looking down the highway, said:

"Isn't that a fire over there?" He pointed toward a neighboring
farmhouse.

"Do you mean a campfire or a bonfire?" asked Bunny.