The Project Gutenberg eBook, Six Little Bunkers at Uncle Fred's, by Laura Lee Hope This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Six Little Bunkers at Uncle Fred's Author: Laura Lee Hope Release Date: January 10, 2007 [eBook #20326] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT UNCLE FRED'S*** E-text prepared by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, J. P. W. Fraser, Emmy, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net/c/) SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT UNCLE FRED'S BY LAURA LEE HOPE Author of "Six Little Bunkers at Cousin Tom's," "Six Little Bunkers at Grandpa Ford's," "The Bobbsey Twins Series," "The Bunny Brown Series," "The Outdoor Girls Series," etc. ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS Made in the United States of America BOOKS By LAURA LEE HOPE 12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. 50 cents per volume. THE SIX LITTLE BUNKERS SERIES SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT GRANDMA BELL'S SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT AUNT JO'S SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT COUSIN TOM'S SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT GRANDPA FORD'S SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT UNCLE FRED'S THE BOBBSEY TWINS SERIES THE BOBBSEY TWINS THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON A HOUSEBOAT THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT MEADOW BROOK THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT HOME THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN A GREAT CITY THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON BLUEBERRY ISLAND THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON THE DEEP BLUE SEA THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON GRANDPA'S FARM BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE PLAYING CIRCUS BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CAMP REST-A-WHILE BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE BIG WOODS BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON AN AUTO TOUR BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR SHETLAND PONY THE OUTDOOR GIRL SERIES THE OUTDOOR GIRLS OF DEEPDALE THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT RAINBOW LAKE THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A MOTOR CAR THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A WINTER CAMP THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN FLORIDA THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT OCEAN VIEW THE OUTDOOR GIRLS ON PINE ISLAND THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN ARMY SERVICE GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK Copyright, 1918, by GROSSET & DUNLAP Six Little Bunkers at Uncle Fred's "OH, HERE COME THE COWBOYS!" "OH, HERE COME THE COWBOYS!" Six Little Bunkers at Uncle Fred's. Frontispiece—(Page 74) CONTENTS chapter page I. A Strange Rescue 1 II. Uncle Fred 14 III. A Queer Story 23 IV. Uncle Fred's Tale 33 V. Packing Up 43 VI. Off for the West 53 VII. At Three Star Ranch 61 VIII. Russ Makes a Lasso 73 IX. The Queer Spring 84 X. Some Bad News 94 XI. Violet Takes a Walk 104 XII. Laddie Catches a Riddle 113 XIII. On the Ponies 125 XIV. Mun Bun's Pie 133 XV. The Wind Wagon 144 XVI. "Captain Russ" 152 XVII. A Cattle Stampede 164 XVIII. An Indian 174 XIX. What Rose Found 181 XX. Laddie Is Missing 193 XXI. Russ Digs a Hole 202 XXII. At the Bridge 210 XXIII. The Boys' Well 219 XXIV. More Cattle Gone 228 XXV. The Secret of the Spring 237 [1] SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT UNCLE FRED'S CHAPTER I A STRANGE RESCUE "Can't I have a ride now, Russ? You said it would be my turn after Mun Bun." "Yes, but, Margy, I haven't had enough ride yet!" declared Mun Bun. "But when can I get in and have my ride?" The three little children, two girls and a boy, stood in front of their older brother, Russ, watching him tying an old roller skate on the end of a board. "Can't I have any more rides?" asked the smallest boy. "In a minute, Mun Bun. As soon as I get this skate fastened on," answered Russ. "You rode so hard last time that you busted the scooter, and I've got to fix it. You broke the skate off!" "I didn't mean to," and Mun Bun, who was called that because no one ever had the time to call him by his whole name, Munroe Ford Bunker—Mun Bun looked sorry for what had happened. "I know you didn't," answered Russ. "I didn't break anything, did I, Russ?" asked a little girl, with dark, curling hair and dark eyes, as she leaned over in front of her older brother, the better to see what he was doing. "I rided nice, didn't I, and I didn't break anything?" "No, Margy, you didn't break anything," answered Russ. "And I'll give you a ride on the scooter pretty soon. Just wait till I get it fixed." "And I want a ride, too!" exclaimed another girl, with curly hair of light color, and gray eyes that opened very wide. "Don't I get a ride, Russ? And what makes the wheels make such a funny sound when they go 'round? And what makes you call it a scooter? And can you make it go backwards? And——" "Oh, I can't answer all those questions, Vi!" exclaimed Russ. "You're always asking questions, Daddy says. You wait and I'll give you a ride." The four Bunker children—there were six of them, and you will meet the other two soon. The four Bunker children were playing up in the attic of their home. The attic was not as large as the attic of Grandpa Ford's house on Great Hedge Estate nor were there so many nice things in it. But still it did very well on a rainy afternoon, and Russ, Margy, Violet and Mun Bun were having a good time on the "scooter" Russ had made. The way Russ made a "scooter" was this. He found a long board, one that the carpenters had left after they had made a storeroom for Mrs. Bunker in the attic, and to the board he fastened, on each end, part of an old roller skate. This gave the scooter two wheels on either end. The wheels were not very large, nor very wide, and unless you sat right in the middle of the board of the scooter you might get tipped over. This had happened several times, and when Mun Bun was on, having a ride, he not only tipped over, but he ran into a trunk that stood in the attic, and knocked off one of the skates. "Now I have to tie it on again!" Russ had exclaimed, and this had caused a stop in the fun. "Can you fix it?" asked Margy, as she watched her brother. She wanted another ride, for the one she had had was a short one. Mun Bun was the youngest of the six little Bunkers, and they generally let him have more turns than any one else. "Oh, yes, I can fix it," said Russ, who now began to whistle. And when Russ whistled, when he was making anything, you could generally tell that everything was coming out right. Russ very often made things, but he did not always whistle over them. Often the things he made were such a puzzle that he could not think how to make them come out right and also think of a whistle-tune at the same time. But now he was all right, and so he whistled merrily as he put more string on the roller skate that he was fastening to the board of the scooter. "Is it almost done?" asked Mun Bun, leaning over eagerly. "Almost," answered Russ. "I want to look at the back wheels to see if they're all right, and then you can have a ride." Russ gave the string a last turn, tied several knots in it, and then turned the board around. As he did so Margy uttered a cry. [2] [3] [4] [5] "Ouch!" she exclaimed. "What's the matter?" asked Russ. "You banged me with the scooter," answered the little girl. "Oh, I didn't mean to," said Russ. "I'm sorry! You can have an extra ride for that." Russ was very kind to his little brothers and sisters. "It doesn't hurt very much," said Margy, rubbing the elbow that had been hit when Russ swung the board around. Russ now bent over the other wheels on the end of the scooter. He found them a bit loose, as string will stretch and really isn't very good with which to fasten wheels on. But it was the best Russ could do. Outside an early spring rain beat against the windows of the attic. It was cold outside, too, for the last winter snow had, only a week before, melted from the ground, which was still frozen in places. But it was nice and warm up in the attic, and there the Bunker children were having a fine time. The attic, as I have said, was not as big as Grandpa Ford's, but the children were having a good time, and even a smaller attic would have answered as well in the rain. "Now I guess it's all ready for more rides," said Russ, as he put the scooter down on the floor. "I'm going to get on!" cried Mun Bun. "Wait until I put it straight," called Russ. "Then you can have a longer ride." He took the board, with the roller skate wheels on either end, to a far corner of the attic. From there it could be pushed all the way across to the other wall. Just as Mun Bun was about to take his place, so that Russ could push him across the attic floor, footsteps were heard coming up the stairs that led to the third story of the Bunker house. Then a boy's voice called: "What are you doing?" "Riding on a scooter Russ made," answered Violet. "Oh, it's lots of fun! Come on, Laddie!" Laddie was Violet's twin brother, and he had the same kind of curly hair and gray eyes as had his sister. "Did you make that?" asked Laddie of Russ. "Sure." "Will it hold me?" "Sure. It'll hold me. I had a ride on it." "Say, that's great!" cried Laddie. "We can have lots of fun on that! I'm glad I came up." "Well, come all the way up, and stand out of the way!" ordered Russ. "The train's going to start. Toot! Toot! All aboard!" Laddie hurried up the last few steps and took his place in a corner, out of the way of the scooter with Mun Bun on it. A girl with light, fluffy hair, and bright, smiling eyes, followed him. She was a year younger than Russ, who was eight years old. "Oh, Rose!" cried Violet, as she saw her older sister. "We're having such fun!" "You can have a ride, too, Rose! Can't she?" asked Mun Bun of Russ. "Go on, push me!" "Yes, we'll all take turns having rides," said Russ. "If I could find another roller skate I'd make another scooter, and then we could have races." "If we had two we could make believe they were two trains, and have 'em bump into each other and have collisions and all that!" cried Laddie. "That'll be fun! Come on, let's do it!" "We'll have to get another board and another skate," said Russ. "We'll look after a while. Now I'm going to give Mun Bun a ride." He shoved the scooter across the floor of the attic. Mun Bun kept tight hold with his chubby hands of the edges of the board, in the middle of which he sat, between the two pieces of roller skate that made wheels for the scooter. "Hi! Yi!" yelled Mun Bun. "This is fun!" "Now it's my turn!" exclaimed Margy. "Get off, Mun Bun." "I have to have a ride back! I've got to have a ride back!" he cried. "Russ said he'd ride me across the attic and [6] [7] [8] [9] back again! Didn't you, Russ?" "Yes, that's what I did. Well, here we go back." He had pushed Mun Bun to the far side of the attic, and was pushing the little fellow back again, when Laddie cried: "Oh, I know a better way than that." "For what?" asked Russ. "For having rides," went on Laddie. "We can make a hill and let the scooter slide downhill. Then you won't have to push anybody." "How can you make a hill?" asked Russ. "Out of mother's ironing-board," was the answer. "It's down in the kitchen. I'll get it. Don't you know how we used to put it up on a chair and then slide down on the ironing-board?" "Oh, I remember!" cried Rose. "Then we can do that," went on Laddie. "It'll be packs of fun!" "Well, you get the ironing-board," said Russ. "I'll help," offered Violet. "I'll help you get the board, Laddie." "All right, come on," he called, and the two children started down the attic stairs. While he was waiting for them to come back Russ gave Margy and Rose each a ride on the scooter. It really went very well over the smooth floor of the attic, for the roller-skate wheels turned very easily, even if they did get crooked now and then because the strings with which they were tied on, slipped. Up the stairs, bumpity bump, came Laddie and Vi with the ironing-board. "Mother wasn't there, and I didn't see Norah, so I just took the board," said Laddie. "Now we'll put one end on a box and the other end on the floor, and we'll have a hill. Then we can ride the scooter downhill just like we rode our sleds at Grandpa Ford's." "Yes, I guess we can," said Russ. There were several boxes in the attic, and some of these were dragged to one end. On them one end of the ironing- board was raised, so that it sloped down like a hill. Of course it was not a very big one, but then the Bunkers were not very large children, nor was the scooter Russ had made very long. By squeezing them on, it would hold two children. "Who's going down first?" asked Russ, as he and Laddie fixed the ironing-board hill in place, and wheeled the scooter over to it. "I will!" exclaimed Mun Bun. "I like to ride." "You'd better let us try first," said Laddie. "It might go so fast it would knock into something." "I'll go down!" decided Russ. "It's my scooter, because I made it; and so I'll go down first." "But I made the hill!" objected Laddie. "It's my hill." "Then why don't both of you go down together?" asked Rose. "If it will hold you two boys it will be all right for us girls. You go three times, then Vi and I will take three turns." "All right—that's what we will," said Russ. "Come on, Laddie." Some boxes had been piled back of the one on which the ironing-board rested in a slanting position, and these boxes made a level place on which to get a start. Russ and Laddie lifted the scooter up there, and got up themselves. Then they carefully sat down on the board to which were fastened the roller-skate wheels. "All ready?" asked Russ, who was in front, holding to a rope, like a sled rope, by which he hoped to guide the scooter. "All ready, Laddie?" "All ready," was the answer. "Here we go!" cried Russ. He gave a little shove with his feet, and down the ironing-board hill ran the scooter, carrying Russ and Laddie with it. The first time it ran beautifully. "This is great!" cried Laddie. "Fine!" exclaimed his brother. [10] [11] [12] And then, all of a sudden, something happened. The scooter ran off the hill sideways, and started over the attic floor toward Rose, Vi, Mun Bun and Margy. They squealed and screamed and tried to get out of the way. But Mun Bun fell down, and Margy fell over him, and Vi fell over Margy, and Rose fell over Violet. So there the four little Bunkers were, all in a heap, and the scooter, with Russ and Laddie on it, running toward the brother and sisters. "Stop! Stop it!" cried Laddie. "I can't!" shouted Russ, pulling on the guide rope. But that did no good. "Oh, we're going to knock into 'em!" yelled Laddie. And right into the other children ran the scooter. Russ and Laddie were thrown off, and, for a moment, there was a bumping, thumping, yelling, crying and screaming noise. Mun Bun, trying to roll out of the way, knocked a box down off a trunk, and the box had some croquet balls in it, which rumbled over the attic floor almost like thunder. In the midst of all this noise and confusion some one came running up the stairs. A man entered the attic, and took one look at the mass of struggling children on the floor. "My good land!" he cried. "I wonder if I can save any of 'em! Oh, what a mix-up!" Then the stranger started in to rescue the six little Bunkers, for they were all tangled up. CHAPTER II UNCLE FRED "Are you hurt? Are any of you hurt? What happened, anyhow? Did part of the house fall on you?" The man who had run up the attic stairs went on picking up first one and then another of the six little Bunkers. For a time they were so excited over what had happened that they paid no attention to him. But when the stranger picked Rose up and set her on her feet, the little girl took a good look at him, and, seeing a strange man in the attic, she cried: "Oh, it's a burglar! It's a burglar! Oh, Mother! Norah! Jerry Simms! It's a burglar!" "Hush, child! Don't shout like that or you'll have all the neighbors in!" said the man. "Be quiet, and I'll tell you who I am! Don't yell any more!" Rose stopped yelling, her mouth still wide open, ready for another shout, and looked at the man. He smiled at her and picked up Mun Bun out from under the box from which the croquet balls had fallen. "Who is you?" asked Mun Bun. "I'll tell you in just a moment, if you don't make such a racket," said the stranger, smiling kindly. The six little Bunkers became quiet at once, but before I tell you who the strange man is I want to say just a few words about the children in this story, and relate to you something about the other books in this series. To begin at the beginning, there were six little Bunkers, as I have told you. There was Russ, aged eight, a great whistler and a boy very fond of making toys, such as scooters and other things. Next to him was Rose, a year younger. Then came Violet and Laddie. They both had curly hair and gray eyes, and were six years old each, which makes twelve in all, you see. They were twins, and each one had a funny habit. Vi asked a great many questions, some of which could be answered, some of which could not be answered, and to some of which she didn't wait for an answer. Laddie was very fond of asking queer little riddles. Some were good, and it took quite a while to think of the answer he wanted. Others didn't seem to have any answer. And some were not really riddles at all. But he had fun asking them. Next in order was Margy, whose real name was Margaret, just as Laddie's real name was Fillmore Bunker. But he was seldom called that. Margy was aged five. She had dark hair and eyes. Then there was Mun Bun, or Munroe Ford Bunker, her little brother, who was four years old, and had blue eyes and golden hair. Now you have met the six little Bunkers. Of course there was Daddy Bunker, whose name was Charles. He was in the real estate business in Pineville, Pennsylvania, and his office was almost a mile from his home, on the main street. Mother Bunker's name was Amy, and before her marriage she had been Miss Amy Bell. [13] [14] [15] [16] Besides this there were in the Bunker family two others: Norah O'Grady, the cook, and Jerry Simms, an old soldier, who could tell fine stories of the time he was in the army. Now Jerry ran the Bunker automobile, cut the grass, sprinkled the lawn and attended to the furnace in winter. But the Bunker family had relatives, and it was on visits to some of these that the children had had many adventures. First you may read "Six Little Bunkers at Grandma Bell's." This is the book that begins the series, and tells of the visit the family made at Grandma Bell's at Lake Sagatook in Maine. There they found an old lumberman and he had some papers which Daddy Bunker wanted to get back. And, oh, yes! Grandma Bell was Mrs. Bunker's mother. After that the children went to visit their father's sister in Boston, and the book which tells all about that, and the strange pocketbook Rose found, is called "Six Little Bunkers at Aunt Jo's." On leaving Aunt Jo's the family paid a visit to another relative. This was Mr. Thomas Bunker, who was the son of Mr. Ralph Bunker, and Ralph was Daddy Bunker's brother, who had died. In "Six Little Bunkers at Cousin Tom's" I told you the story of the fun the children had at the seashore, and how a gold locket was lost and strangely found again. The book just before this one is called "Six Little Bunkers at Grandpa Ford's," and there was quite a mystery about a ghost at Great Hedge Estate, in New York State, where Mr. Ford lived. Grandpa Ford was Daddy Bunker's step-father, but no real father could have been more kind, nor have loved the six little Bunkers any more than he did. The children spent the winter at Great Hedge Estate, and helped find out what made the queer noises. And if you want to find out I suggest that you read the book. Christmas and New Year's had been celebrated at Grandpa Ford's, and when winter was about to break up the Bunkers had come back home to Pineville. Daddy Bunker said he needed to look after the spring real estate business, for that was the best time of the year for selling and buying houses and lots, and renting places. So they said good-bye to Grandpa Ford, and took the train back home. The six little Bunkers had been in their own house about a month now, and they were playing in the attic, as I have told you, with the scooter Russ had made, when the accident happened. Then, as I have told you, up the attic stairs rushed a strange man, who pulled Mun Bun out of the tangle of arms and legs. And Rose thought the strange man was a burglar. "But I'm not," he said, smiling at the children. "Don't you know who I am?" Russ shook his head. "How did you get in here?" asked Violet. As usual, she was first with a question. "I just walked in," said the man in answer. "I was coming here anyhow, and when I got here I saw the door wide open, so I just walked in." "Did you come to sell something?" asked Rose. "'Cause if you did I don't believe my mother wants anything. She's got everything she wants." "Well, she's got a nice lot of children, anyhow," said the man, smiling on each and ever one of the six little Bunkers in turn. "I'll say that. She has a nice lot of children, and I'm very glad none of you is hurt. "As I said, I was coming here anyhow, and when I got on the porch and saw the door open, I walked right in. Then I heard a terrible racket up here in the attic, and up I rushed. I thought maybe the house was falling down." "No," said Russ as he pulled his scooter out from between two trunks, "it was this. We slid down the ironing-board hill, Laddie and I, and it went off crooked—the scooter did." "And it knocked into us," said Violet. "But if you didn't come to sell anything, what did you come for?" "Well," said the strange man, and he smiled again, "you might say I came to get you children." "You—you came to get us?" gasped Rose. "Yes. I'm going to take you away with me." "Take—take us away with you!" cried Russ. "We won't go! We want to stay with our daddy and mother." "I'll take them, too," said the man. "I have room for all you six little Bunkers and more too, out on my ranch. I've come to take you all away with me." What could it mean? Russ and Rose, the oldest, could not understand it. They looked at the man again. They were sure they had never seen him before. "Yes," the stranger went on, "I saw the door open, so I walked in. I was glad to get out of the rain. It's a cold storm. [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] THE SIX LITTLE BUNKERS STOOD IN A HALF CIRCLE AND LOOKED UP AT THE STRANGE MAN. I hope summer will soon come. And, as I say, I've come to take you away." If the man had not smiled so nicely the children might have been frightened. But, as it was, they knew everything would be all right. "And now, as long as none of you is hurt, I think I'd better go downstairs and tell your mother I have come to take you away," went on the man. "I think I hear her coming up." And, just then, footsteps were heard on the stairs leading to the attic, and Mrs. Bunker appeared. "Oh, Mother," gasped out Rose, "there's a man here and he says he's going to take us away and——" Before she finished Mrs. Bunker had run up to the attic. She looked at the strange man, who smiled at her. Then she hurried over to him and kissed him and said: "Oh, Fred, I'm glad to see you! I didn't expect you until to-morrow, and I was going to surprise the children with you. Oh, but I'm glad to see you! Children," she said, laughing, "this is my brother, your Uncle Fred." CHAPTER III A QUEER STORY The six little Bunkers, who had been untangled from the mix-up caused when the scooter ran sideways off the ironing-board hill, stood in a half circle and looked at the strange man. He did not seem quite so strange now, and he certainly smiled in a way the children liked. "Is he our real uncle?" asked Violet. "Yes, he is your very own uncle. He is my brother. Frederic is his name —Frederic Bell," went on Mother Bunker. "But you are to call him Uncle Fred." "Then he isn't a burglar!" stated Rose. "Of course not!" laughed her mother. "No, I'm not a burglar," said the visitor, laughing too. "Though I don't blame you for feeling a bit alarmed when I rushed in. I thought some of you might know me, though some of you I've never seen, and Russ and Rose were smaller than they are now the last time I saw them." "I didn't tell them you were coming," said Mrs. Bunker. "I hardly thought you would get here so soon, and I was planning a surprise, as I say. But we're very glad to see you. How did you get into the house and up here?" "I walked in. The front door was open and——" "I left it open to air the house." "And as soon as I got in I heard a great racket up where I knew the attic must be, so up I rushed. I found the children all in a heap, and I pulled them apart as best I could." "We were riding on a scooter I made from an older roller skate," explained Russ, "and it went off the ironing-board sideways and it bumped into everybody." "I should say it did bump!" laughed Uncle Fred. "But we're not hurt," added Laddie. "We're all right now. Can you answer riddles, Uncle Fred?" "Well, yes, I think so, if they're not too hard." "I know lots of riddles," said Laddie. "I have a good one about what goes through——" "Wait a minute!" cried Vi, elbowing her way to a place in the front ranks of the six little Bunkers. "I want to ask Uncle Fred a question." "You did ask him one," suggested Rose. "Well, I want to ask him another," went on Vi. "You said you were going to take us away," she told the visitor. "Are [22] [23] [24] [25] you? And where and when are we all going? And can we have some fun?" "Oh, hold on! Stop! Whoa! Back up!" exclaimed Uncle Fred. "I thought you said you wanted to ask one question, not half a dozen." "But you said you were going to take us away. Are you?" "I am if your mother and father will let me," replied Uncle Fred. "You know I wrote you," he went on to Mother Bunker, "that I'd like to have you all come out to my ranch to stay all summer." "What's a ranch?" asked Vi. "I know," interrupted Russ. "It's a place where they have horses and cows and——" "Indians!" cried Laddie. "And cowboys!" went on Russ. "That'll be great! We can have a Wild West show!" "Oh, let's go!" shouted Laddie. "Children! Children!" murmured Mother Bunker. "Less noise, please! What will Uncle Fred think of you?" "Oh, I don't mind the noise," replied the Westerner. "I'm used to that. Sometimes, when the cowboys are feeling pretty good, they whoop and yell like Indians." "Are there any Indians out there?" asked Russ eagerly. "I mean out at your ranch?" "Yes, a few," answered Uncle Fred. "And where is your ranch?" Laddie inquired. All interest in the scooter was lost in Uncle Fred's arrival. And if he planned to take the six little Bunkers somewhere they wanted to hear all about that. So they crowded close around him. "My ranch," said Uncle Fred, "is out in Montana, near a place called Moon City. The name of my place is Three Star, and——" "Is there a moon, too?" asked Violet. "Well, the name of the town, as I said, is Moon City, and I suppose it was named that because the moon looks so beautiful over the mountains. But I am down on the plains, and the reason I call my ranch Three Star is because my cattle are marked with three stars, so I will know them if they should happen to get mixed up with the cattle of another ranch." "When are we going?" asked Russ. "I have to make a lasso if we go out on a ranch. Maybe I'll lasso an Indian." "So'll I," put in Laddie. "When can we go, Mother?" "Oh, not for some little time. Uncle Fred has come to pay us a visit. Haven't you?" she went on to her brother. "Oh, yes, I'm going to stay East a while," he said. "But I'm desirous of getting back to Three Star," he added. "There's something queer been going on there, and I want to find out what it is. That's one reason I came on East—to try to find out what's wrong at my place. There certainly is something queer there!" "Is it a ghost?" asked Violet. "No, hardly a ghost," answered Uncle Fred with a laugh. "What do you know about ghosts, anyhow?" "There was one at Grandpa Ford's," explained Rose. "But we found out what it was," added Russ. "But first it made terribly queer noises," said Laddie. "Well, the only queer noises out at Three Star Ranch are made by the cowboys, and sometimes by the Indians," said Uncle Fred. "No, this is something different. But it might almost as well be a ghost for all I can find out about it. It certainly is very queer," he went on to his sister. "I have lost a great many cattle lately, and that and something strange about a spring of water on my place, are two of the reasons why I came on here. I want to talk with some men who know about springs and streams of water, and get some books about it so I can solve this puzzle, if it's possible. "Another reason I came on," he added, "is to take you all back with me to Moon City, and let the children have fun out on my ranch." "Do you mean to take us all out West?" asked Rose. "Yes, every one of you six little Bunkers, and your father and mother, too," returned Uncle Fred. [26] [27] [28] [29] "Can we go, Mother?" begged Russ. "I'll see about it," was the answer. "But we'd all better go downstairs now. Uncle Fred must be tired from his long trip, and I want to get him a cup of tea. It is raining hard still, so you children can't go out and play." "We don't want to," said Vi. "We want to see Uncle Fred." "I like Uncle Fred!" exclaimed Mun Bun, going up to his mother's brother and clasping his hand. "I like him awful much!" "And I like you, too," replied Uncle Fred, catching the little fellow up in his arms. "I like him, too!" exclaimed Margy, who was not going to be left out. "That's the girl! I knew you wouldn't forget me!" and with a laugh Uncle Fred caught her up also, and danced about the attic, with a child in each arm. "Is it far out to your ranch?" asked Russ. "Quite a way, little man," answered Uncle Fred. "It will take us about four days to get there, riding steadily on the train. But we won't start right away. I have some business to do here. But when that is over I hope the weather will be better, and then we can start." "And stay out there all summer?" asked Laddie. "Yes, and all winter, too, if you like. We'll be glad to have you." "We seem to do nothing but visit around of late!" exclaimed Mother Bunker. "We have been to Grandma Bell's, to Aunt Jo's, to Cousin Tom's, to Grandpa Ford's and now maybe we're going to Uncle Fred's." "I think it's nice," remarked Rose. "So do I!" added Vi. "I love to go visiting!" "Could I ask you that riddle now?" inquired Laddie, as Uncle Fred started downstairs, carrying Margy and Mun Bun. "Yes," was the answer of the children's uncle. "Go ahead." "What is it that goes through——" "Oh, don't ask him that one about what goes through a door but doesn't come into the room!" exclaimed Russ. "I wasn't!" asserted Laddie. "That's an old one, and the answer is a keyhole. I was going to ask him a new one." "Well, go ahead," said Uncle Fred. "What is it goes through—— No, that isn't it. Let me see. I almost forgot. Oh, I know! What can you drive without a whip or reins? That's it. What can you drive without a whip or reins?" "Do you mean an ox?" asked Uncle Fred. "I've seen oxen driven, and the man who drove them didn't use reins as they do on horses, though he did have a goad, which is like a whip." "No, oxen isn't the answer," said Laddie. "Do you give up?" "Well, I will, just to see what the answer is," replied Uncle Fred. "What is it you can drive without a whip or reins?" asked Laddie again. "The answer is a nail. You can drive that with a hammer." "Ha! Ha! That's a pretty good riddle!" laughed Uncle Fred. "I must try that on some of the cowboys when I get back to Three Star Ranch." "And now don't you children bother Uncle Fred too much while I'm making him a cup of tea," said Mrs. Bunker, as they reached the first floor. "Oh, they don't bother me," declared Uncle Fred. "Tell us about the something queer on your ranch," begged Russ, as his uncle sat down, holding Margy and Mun Bun in his lap. "All right, I will," promised Mr. Bell. "First I'll tell you about the ranch, and then about the queer things that happened. Now Three Star Ranch is——" Just then the doorbell rang loudly, and Uncle Fred stopped speaking. "I wonder who it is," said Rose. [30] [31] [32] [33] CHAPTER IV UNCLE FRED'S TALE The ringing of the Bunker doorbell was not unusual. It often rang during the day, but just now, when Uncle Fred was about to tell his story, it rather surprised the children to hear the tinkle. "I'll go and see who it is," offered Russ. "And please don't tell any of the story until I come back," he begged. "I won't," promised Uncle Fred. Russ hurried to the door, and, as he opened it, the other children heard him cry: "Oh, Daddy! What made you ring?" "I forgot my key," answered Mr. Bunker. "I couldn't open the door." "Oh, it's Daddy!" cried Mun Bun and Margy, and, slipping down from Uncle Fred's knee, they raced to the hall to get their usual kisses. "Guess who's here!" cried Russ, for his father could not see into the room where his wife's brother sat. "Guess!" "Grandma Bell?" "Nope!" "Aunt Jo?" "Nope!" "It's Uncle Fred!" cried Rose, hurrying out into the hall. "And he's got a secret out at his ranch like Grandpa Ford had at Great Hedge, and he's going to take us all out there and—and——" "My! better stop and catch your breath before it runs away from you," laughed Daddy Bunker, as he lifted Rose in his arms and kissed her. "So Uncle Fred is here, is he? He came a little ahead of time." "And he s'prised us all up in the attic," added Laddie, who had also come into the hall. "Russ and I rode down on the scooter, and we bumped, and had a mix-up, and Uncle Fred came up, and——" "And we thought he was a burglar!" finished Violet. "You must have had quite a time," laughed Daddy Bunker. "Well, now, after I get my wet things off, I'll go in and see Uncle Fred and hear all about it," and soon Daddy Bunker and his wife's brother were shaking hands and talking, while the children sat about them, eager and listening. "We'll have an early supper," said Mother Bunker, when she had given Uncle Fred a cup of tea, "and then we can hear all about Three Star Ranch." Norah O'Grady soon had a nice supper on the table, and after Rose had helped with it, as she often did, for her mother was teaching her little daughter to be a housekeeper, the children took their places and began to eat. And, at the same time, they listened to the talk that went on among the grown folk. Mother and Father Bunker had many questions to ask Uncle Fred, and he also asked them a great many, for he wanted to know all about Grandma Bell, and Aunt Jo and Grandpa Ford and all the rest of the Bunkers' relatives. "And now will you tell us about Three Star Ranch?" asked Russ eagerly, as the chairs were pushed back. "Yes, I will," promised Uncle Fred. "And don't leave out the Indians," begged Laddie. "Nor the cowboys," added Russ. "Can you tell about some ponies?" asked Rose. "I love ponies!" "Yes, I'll tell about them, too," said her uncle. "And if you come out West with me you shall have some rides on ponies." "Really, truly?" gasped Rose. "Oh, won't that be fun!" cried Vi. "What color are ponies? And what makes them be called ponies? I should think they would be called pawnies, 'cause they paw the ground. And how many have you, Uncle Fred?" "Oh, Vi! Not so many questions, my dear! Please!" exclaimed her mother, laughing. "Uncle Fred won't get a chance to tell any story if you talk so much. You are a regular chatterbox to-night." [34] [35] [36] "Wait until you get out West. It's so big there you can talk all day and night and bother no one," said Uncle Fred. "But now I'll tell you about my ranch. "As I mentioned, it is near Moon City, in Montana. That is a good many miles from here, and around my house are big fields, where the cattle roam about and eat the grass. "A ranch, you must know, little Bunkers, is just a big farm. But instead of raising apples and peaches and pears, hay, grain or chickens on my ranch, I raise cattle. Cows you might call them, though we speak of them as cattle. Some men raise horses on their ranches, but though I have some horses and ponies, I have more cattle than anything else. "I have to keep a number of men to look after the cattle. These men are called cowboys, and they ride about the ranch on horses, or cow ponies, and see that the cattle are all right, that they get enough to eat and drink, and that no one takes them away." "What do the Indians do?" asked Russ. "Tell us about them." "Well, some of the Indians farm," said Uncle Fred. "Some of them make baskets and other things to sell to travelers who come through on the trains, but many of them just live a lazy life. They are on what is called a Reservation—that is land which the government has set aside for them." "Do Indians come to your ranch?" asked Laddie. "And could I lasso any of 'em with a rope lasso like I saw in some pictures?" "Well, sometimes Indians do come to Three Star," answered Uncle Fred. "But I don't believe any of them would like to be lassoed." "What's this I hear about your having trouble?" asked Daddy Bunker. "Well, yes, I have been having trouble," answered Uncle Fred. "And, as usual, my trouble is like that a lot of ranchers have. Some one has been taking my cattle." "Didn't you want them to?" asked Russ. "No, indeed," answered his uncle. "I raise my cattle to sell, so I can make money to pay my cowboys and live on some of it myself. If bad men take my cattle away in the night, as they do, without paying me, I lose money. And that's why I came on East here." "Surely you didn't come all the way from Moon City to find out who was taking your cattle at Three Star Ranch!" exclaimed Mother Bunker. "Oh, no. The men who are doing that are right out there. I've left some of my cowboys to attend to them," answered Uncle Fred. "What I came on for, besides getting you to go back with me, is to get some books about springs and streams of water, and also to talk with some engineers about a queer spring on my ranch." "What sort of queer spring?" asked Daddy Bunker. "I thought all springs were alike." "Well, I s'pose they are, in that they have water in 'em," said Uncle Fred. "But mine isn't that kind. Sometimes it has water in it, and again it hasn't." "What do you mean?" asked his sister. "Does the spring go dry? That used to happen to the spring where we lived when we were children. Don't you remember, Fred?" "Yes, but that spring only went dry when there was no rain—say in a dry, hot summer. The spring on Three Star Ranch goes dry sometimes in the middle of a rainy season." "What makes it?" asked Daddy Bunker. "That's what I came on to find out about," replied Uncle Fred. "None of my cowboys can tell what makes it, and the Indians are puzzled, too. It's like one of Laddie's riddles, I guess." "That's what we thought about the ghost at Great Hedge," said Mrs. Bunker. "But we finally found out what it was, and very simple it was, too. Perhaps this spring of yours will turn out the same way." "Well, I hope it does," said her brother. "All I know is that sometimes the spring will be full of fine water. We use it for drinking at the ranch house and for watering some of the horses. The cattle drink at a creek that runs through my place. That never goes dry. "But sometimes there will be hardly a drop of water in the spring, and then there is trouble. Everybody is sorry then, for we have to haul water from the creek in barrels, and it isn't as good to drink as the spring water." "Is that the only queer thing?" asked Daddy Bunker. "No. The most remarkable thing about it," went on Uncle Fred, "is that every time the spring goes dry some of my cattle are taken away. I suppose you could call it stolen, though I don't like to think that any of my neighbors would steal. I used to think the cattle wandered away, but since none of them wander back again I feel pretty sure they must [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] be taken on purpose." "And every time the spring dries up the cattle are taken?" asked Mrs. Bunker, while the six little Bunkers listened eagerly to Uncle Fred's story. "Almost every time. I don't know what causes it." "Maybe the cows drink up all the water," said Russ. "No, cattle don't come near the spring," said Mr. Bell. "They are on the far end of the ranch. It is a puzzle to me; about as much of a puzzle as the ghost must have been at Great Hedge, before you found out about it." "So you came East to consult some engineers about the spring," remarked Daddy Bunker. "Do you think they can help you?" "Well, you know there are engineers who make a study of all kinds of water; of springs, lakes, rivers, and so on," explained Uncle Fred. "They are water-engineers just as others are steam or electrical engineers. I thought I'd ask them the reasons for springs going dry. Some of them may know something about the water in Montana, and they can tell me if there are underground rivers or lakes that might do something to my spring. "Anyhow I had some other business in New York, so while I was attending to that, and coming on here to get you folks, I thought I'd see the engineers." "And have you seen any yet?" asked his sister. "Not yet. I'm going to in a day or so. But I stopped at a store and ordered——" Before Uncle Fred could say what it was he had ordered the doorbell rang again. This time it could not be Daddy Bunker coming in, as he was already at home. Norah, who went to open the door, could be heard speaking to some one. "Oh, and it's a message you have for Mr. Bell, is it?" she said. "Well, come in and don't be standin' there in the wet rain." "A message for me!" exclaimed Uncle Fred. "I hope it isn't any bad news from my ranch—about more cattle being taken." CHAPTER V PACKING UP "Somebody for you, Mr. Bell," announced Norah, as she opened wider the door of the sitting room where the six little Bunkers, Uncle Fred and the others were gathered. "It's a boy, and he has a package." "Then it can't be a telegram containing bad news," said Uncle Fred. "They don't come in packages, unless there's a lot of 'em, and I hardly would get that many. I'll see what it is." The boy was not a telegraph messenger after all, but a special delivery lad from the post-office, and the package he had for Uncle Fred was a book. "Oh, it's a book I sent for to New York," said the ranchman after he had given the boy ten cents, and had opened the package. "It's a book that tells about springs, and the rocks underneath the earth where the water comes from. I thought I'd read about springs so I'd learn something about the queer one on my ranch," Uncle Fred said to Daddy Bunker. "I heard about this book, sent to New York for it, and asked them to send it to me here by special delivery. Now I can read what I want to know about water." "Will you read us a story out of the book?" asked Margy. "I like stories." "I don't believe there are any stories in this book," said Uncle Fred with a laugh. "Could you tell us one?" asked Mun Bun. "About cowboys!" exclaimed Russ. "And Indians!" added Laddie. "Well, I guess I could think of a story, if I tried real hard," answered Uncle Fred, laughing. The six little Bunkers gathered about his chair, and, laying aside the book that the special delivery messenger had [42] [43] [44] brought, the ranchman told the children some wonderful stories. He told them how, once, his cattle all ran away in a mad rush called a "stampede," and how he and his cowboys had to ride after them on ponies, firing their big revolvers, to turn the steers back from a deep gully. "And did you stop 'em?" asked Russ, his eyes wide open in wonder and excitement. "Oh, yes. But it was hard work," answered his uncle. Then Mr. Bell told about a big prairie fire. On the flat, level fields, where he pastured his cattle, grew long grass. When this gets dry it burns very easily, and, once started, it is hard to stop. "And how did you stop it?" asked Rose, when her uncle had told about the blazing miles of grass. "We got a lot of men and horses and plows," he answered, "and plowed a wide strip of land in front of the fire. When the flames got to the bare ground there was nothing for them to burn, and the wind was not strong enough to carry them over to where there was more grass. So we saved our ranch houses." "Do you live in a house on your ranch?" asked Laddie. "Why, of course we do!" laughed Uncle Fred. "What did you think we lived in?" "Tents, like the Indians." "Oh, no, we have houses. But they aren't as nice as yours here in Pineville," said the ranchman. "I have a house to myself where I live with Captain Roy, and there is another house where the cowboys live. Then there is still another house where they eat their meals. This has a lot of big windows in it that can be opened wide on a hot day." "Who is Captain Roy?" asked Russ. "Is he an old soldier, like Jerry Simms?" "Yes, Captain Robert Roy used to be in the United States army," answered Uncle Fred. "He is retired now, and he helps me at the ranch. He is a partner of mine, and he looks after things while I am away. You six little Bunkers will like him, for he loves children." "I wish we could hurry up and get out there!" sighed Russ. "Well, I think the best place for my little chickens to hurry to is—bed!" laughed Mother Bunker. "Go to bed now, and morning will soon come, so we can talk about going to Uncle Fred's." The children did not want to go to bed, but they always minded their mother, unless they forgot and did something she had told them not to. But this time there was no chance to forget. "Good night, Uncle Fred!" they called, one after another, as they trooped upstairs. Norah went with Mun Bun and Margy to see that they were properly undressed and covered up. Uncle Fred stayed downstairs to talk with Daddy and Mother Bunker. He was telling them about the strange spring on his ranch, in which the water sometimes ran out in the night, no one knew where, and he was speaking about his cattle having been taken away, when suddenly Laddie called from upstairs: "Mother, make Russ stop!" "I'm not doing anything, Mother!" answered the voice of Russ, quickly enough. "He is so!" went on Laddie. "He's playing he's a cowboy, and he says I've got to be an Indian, and he's going to lasso me with the sheet off the bed." "Well, I didn't do it—not yet—did I?" asked Russ. "No, but you're going to!" "I am not!" "You are so! You said you were." "Well, I said I would if you'd let me." "And I won't let you! I want to go to sleep so morning will come quick, and we can go to Uncle Fred's," went on Laddie. "I can think of some new riddles there." "Boys! Boys! Be quiet and go to sleep!" called Mr. Bunker. And, after a little more talk, Laddie and Russ settled down in bed and nothing more was heard of them until morning. "Is Uncle Fred here?" eagerly asked Rose, when she came downstairs to breakfast. [45] [46] [47] [48]