Part 11
Mom sat down on a packing box and looked desperate. “If she ran away again,” she said, “she can stay away. I’m not going to stop everything now and go looking for her.”
“But, Mom,” said Billy.
“Don’t ‘But, Mom’ me! I’ll not start looking for her again this morning.”
“But, Mom, she didn’t run away.”
“She didn’t run away? Then what are you talking about?”
“She had puppies. I mean rabbits. Babies. Lots of them.”
The whole family let out one big shout and ran for the back yard. True enough, Queen and Blackie were the parents of a large and handsome family. Mom and Daddy laughed so hard they leaned against the garage. “Let’s get out of here,” Mom said, “while we still can. The longer we stay here the more complicated things get.”
They went back to the cottage and hunted for something warm to wrap the baby rabbits in. Everything had been packed away, but Davey volunteered an old blanket of Butchie’s, and the infants were made ready for their first long trip.
The trailer was pretty well packed when Janie spied Mr. Mott and Mirandy coming down the road. “Hey, hey,” she cried. “Here comes Mr. Mott with Daddy’s present. He said he was coming, and here he comes.”
“Janie,” said her father. “Don’t talk like that. You children have made all this talk about a present sound like something that it never was intended to be. What I did for Mr. Mott was no more than one neighbor would do for another. I didn’t expect a reward, and I don’t expect one now.”
“Maybe you don’t expect one, Daddy,” said James, “but you’re going to get one.”
“Good morning, folks,” said Mr. Mott. “I see you’re getting ready to leave, and I came to say good-by.”
“Don’t say good-by yet,” said Mom. “We’ll be out for week-ends all during the nice fall weather.”
“City folks always say that,” said the old man, “but when the time comes they get busy in town, and they stay there. Labor Day is usually the end of things out here.”
“What do you do out here all winter,” asked Mr. Murray.
Mr. Mott patted Mirandy on the back. “Time was when I used to do a lot of hunting and fishing, but I’m getting a little old for that. I cleared a nice little heap of money on my stamps, and I figured that this year I’d spend the winter in Florida. I’ve heard the fishing is real good down there.”
“Good for you,” said Dad with a sort of surprised look on his face.
“Yes,” said Mr. Mott blowing his nose. “I’ve been mighty lucky, and you folks have been the cause of it all. I’ve been figuring and figuring what I could do for you and I’ve settled on Mirandy. She’s the finest thing I own. She’s smart, and she’s gentle, and she’d make a good pet for your children.”
Mom looked dazed, and Dad kept saying “But, Mr. Mott....”
“I’ll just tuck her right in here in the trailer beside the bicycle. A little grass and some water is all she needs. Now don’t you thank me,” he said as Dad started to protest. “You did me a good turn, and I want you to have Mirandy. I really do.”
A gentle rain began to fall. The baby rabbits were asleep in Janie’s lap in the back seat of the car. King and Queenie were in a market basket under Billy’s feet. Davey was balancing a bowl of goldfish, and Butch, terribly excited, was pointing and making impolite noises at the creature with the chin whisker who stood in the trailer and looked bored. Mr. Mott wrung Mr. Murray’s hand in farewell, and he walked down the road toward the bus station. The car began to move down around the curve and the children looked back at the snug little cottage.
“Good-by summer,” they called. “Good-by. We’ll be back again next year.”
_Cottage on the Curve_
Janie Murray and her brothers, Billy, James, and Davey were all excited. School was over and they were getting ready to spend the summer at their cottage at Oak Lake. Something exciting always happened for there was swimming and a raft, fishing and hiking, and--a HAUNTED HOUSE!
Wouldn’t you like to meet the Murrays? Fun-loving Dad brought the organ grinder’s monkey home to live with them. To Mom, each child was her favorite. Billy, the oldest of the children, liked to tease sister Jane (as older brothers like to); Jane loved her Mom and Dad and her brothers; she went fishing with them and baited her own hook (she liked hair ribbons, too). James liked to mix things together in bottles and you never knew what might come out of them; Davey, the youngest, collected anything and everything for no reason at all.
The Murrays were constantly getting pets in the strangest way. Butch, the monkey, was part payment of Dad’s fee for a case he worked on. When the doctor visited James who had fallen off the roof, he presented the children with two rabbits--one white and the other coal black. Buick was the next door neighbor’s dog--he was at the Murrays so often, however, people didn’t know to whom he belonged. BUT--wait until you see what, the Murrays got from the cross old hermit who belonged to the haunted house and lived in a chicken coop!
Mystery, excitement, suspense, and action always accompany the Murrays--why not let boys and girls from nine to twelve years accompany them, too?
Transcriber’s Note
Punctuation and hyphenation have been standardised, including changing numerous semicolons when commas appeared to have been intended, and removing apostrophes from the plural form of proper nouns unless ownership was apparent.
Other changes have been made as follows:
Page 15 about you’re not being happy _changed to_ about your not being happy
“Mom,” replied, “I know you’re _changed to_ “Mom,” she replied, “I know you’re
Page 25 When I’m a millioniare _changed to_ When I’m a millionaire
Page 47 like a bullfighter at the at the dog _changed to_ like a bullfighter at the dog
Page 54 up and manuevered the boat _changed to_ up and maneuvered the boat
Page 99 The aimiable little car _changed to_ The amiable little car
Page 115 played an accordian _changed to_ played an accordion
Page 134 the Landry boys came pop-pop-poping _changed to_ the Landry boys came pop-pop-popping
Page 142 Billy roared with laugher _changed to_ Billy roared with laughter
Page 156-157 sat on the roof. and then they rolled _changed to_ sat on the roof, and then they rolled
Page 172 they tamed a chipmonk _changed to_ they tamed a chipmunk
Page 180 lifted out the most lucious _changed to_ lifted out the most luscious
Page 188 but persistance is more important _changed to_ but persistence is more important
Page 200 looking a the stars overhead _changed to_ looking at the stars overhead
Page 214 she was as tempermental as _changed to_ she was as temperamental as