to take off our shoes and stockings, 'cause we have 'em
off already," said Bunny. "Harry and I can wade."

"It looks as if I'd have to do that," said Harry's mother. "I wonder if
the water is very deep," she went on, as she looked at the water which
had covered the shore end of the little tongue of land.

"No, it isn't deep!" declared Bunny, and he waded out into it. "But it
keeps on getting deeper when the tide comes up. You'd better take your
shoes and stockings off now, Mrs. Slater, else maybe it'll be away up
over your head soon."

"I shouldn't want that to happen," she said, with a laugh. "I believe I
shall have to do as you children have done, and go barefoot," and she
glanced at Sue, who, by this time, had off her shoes and stockings.

Harry's mother looked at the stretch of water separating the little
party from the mainland. As Bunny had said, it would get deeper the
higher the tide rose, though, of course, it would not go over Mrs.
Slater's head. She sat down on the box, as Sue had done, and was just
beginning to take off her shoes when a voice called to them.

"Wait a minute! I'm coming to get you!" was what they all heard, and,
looking up, Bunny Brown saw Bunker Blue rowing along in his sailboat.
The sail, however, was not up now.

"Oh, Bunker, come and get us!" cried Sue. "We're caught by the tide,
and----"

"And we found a box and maybe it has pirate gold in it!" sang out Bunny.
"Look, Bunker!" and the little boy pointed to the box on the sand. It
was still partly in the water.

"I see," answered Bunker Blue. "I noticed that you'd been caught by the
tide, so I came in the boat to get you. Wait there, Mrs. Slater," he
went on. "There's no need of getting your feet wet."

In a little while Bunker rowed up to the place where the box rested and
where Bunny, Sue, and the others stood around it, the three children
barefooted. The little tongue, or peninsula, of land, was now an island,
rapidly growing smaller in size as the tide rose.

"Get in the boat and I'll row you to shore," said Bunker, as he grounded
his craft in the sand.

"Have we got to leave the box here?" asked Bunny.

"No, I'll come back and get that after I land you," said the fish boy.

So they all got into the boat, and it did not take Bunker Blue long to
row them to shore. Then he went back, and, after a little hard work, he
managed to get the box into his boat.

"I'll row this box down to the dock," called Bunker to those on sho