hardly any damage was
done to the passenger train, except that the passengers were awakened by
being jolted. That is, all but Bunny and Sue. They slept through it.

"Is any one hurt?" asked Mr. Brown, as soon as quiet was restored and
it was found that the express train could go on.

"A couple of tramps who were sleeping in the empty freight car were
hurt," the conductor said. "We've sent them to the hospital."

"Oh! Tramps!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown, who heard the talk. "I hope one of
them wasn't Nutty, who was so kind to the children, even though he did
jump off and leave them alone. I hope Nutty wasn't hurt!"

"Nutty could hardly have got so far south as this since he left the
children," Mr. Brown said. "I don't believe he was one of the tramps
hurt in this collision."

Next morning, when Bunny and Sue awakened, they were told of the
collision in the night, but nothing was said to them of the two tramps
who were hurt for fear they might think one was Nutty. But neither was.

There was enough else to take the attention of the little boy and girl,
for they were now in the real South, and they began to notice palm trees
for the first time.

"They look just like pictures of cocoanut trees!" exclaimed Bunny,
gazing from the car window.

"Wouldn't Nutty be glad if he was here and could gather cocoanuts!"
cried Sue. "Can we pick cocoanuts, Daddy?"

"I hardly think so, where we are going," Mr. Brown answered. "I think
oranges will be enough for you to pick for a while."

"That and catching alligators," added Bunny, who never seemed to stop
thinking of these scaly creatures, which Sue did not like at all.

On and on went the train, and the children were just about getting tired
of so much travel when they saw their father and mother beginning to
gather up the hand baggage.

"Are we there?" asked Bunny excitedly.

"Almost," his father answered.

A little later a trainman called:

"Orange Beach! Orange Beach!"

"Hurray! We're here!" cried Bunny.

"And I'm going to pick orange blossoms!" echoed Sue.

CHAPTER XXI

GOLDEN APPLES

Orange Beach, where Mr. Halliday owned many fruit groves, was the name
of a small village. It was almost as small a town as the one in which
Mr. Black, the switchman, lived. But Bunny and Sue liked small places.
They had seen enough of cities, having passed through many on their
railroad journey.

Alighting from the train, the Brown family found Mr. Halliday waiting
for the