immie, while Bruce circled around them, barking
madly. "Now we'll have to look out that you don't surprise us more by
catching cold from this ducking."

CHAPTER VII

ADVENTURES BEGIN

Grandpa hurried up to them, his kind face filled with anxiety.

"I brought my coat," he gasped, for he was out of breath from running.
"Wrap him in that, Jimmie. Then hustle for the house."

Jimmie carrying Sunny Boy and Grandpa and Bruce following made quite a
little procession. Mrs. Horton, who was down at the gate with Grandma
inspecting the garden, was startled.

"Sunny Boy!" she cried, and came running toward them. "What happened? Are
you hurt?"

"He's all right," Grandpa assured her cheerfully. "Just fell into the
brook and got a little damp, that's all. Mercy, Olive, don't look like
that--brooks were made for boys to fall into. Why I'd dragged Harry out a
dozen times before he was Arthur's age."

Of course Mother and Grandma were relieved and thankful to find it was
nothing more serious than a ducking. But they decided that it was safer
to rub Sunny Boy briskly with towels and put him to bed to rest.

"You might take cold and be sick a long time, precious," explained Mrs.
Horton, as she popped him between the sheets. "You would miss all the
Summer fun then. Now close your eyes and Mother will read to you."

And while listening to the adventures of a little Italian boy, Sunny's
blue eyes grew heavier and heavier, till he went to sleep.

When he awoke, Mrs. Horton had gone, and the room was empty and quiet.
Sunny Boy lay for a time, studying the walls and furniture, for he had
been asleep when put to bed the night before and had dressed for
breakfast in such a hurry that he had not noticed much of anything. It
was a very different room from his blue and white bedroom at home, but a
very pleasant, pretty room, too. The wall-paper had gay little pink roses
scattered thickly over it, and the furniture was all very large and dark
and brightly polished. Sunny Boy did not know it, but the four-posted bed
in which he was lying had belonged to his great-grandmother, and would be
his own some day.

Presently Sunny Boy tired of lying still and began to be conscious of a
funny sensation somewhere down in his ribs. At least he thought it must
be his ribs. He remembered that he had had no lunch. Did his grandma
expect him to starve at her house?

Sunny Boy got up and found his slippers. The ''fernal 'chine' of an alarm
cloc