Six Little Bunkers at Cowboy Jacks | Page 4

noise when he was--or thought he was--hurt, as he was doing
on this very occasion when he and Vi were caught by the crushing-in of
the house roof.
After we got acquainted with the Bunker family at home in Pineville,
Pennsylvania, they all started on a most wonderful vacation which took
them first to the children's mother's mother's house. So, you see, that
story is called "Six Little Bunkers at Grandma Bell's."

From that lovely place in Maine the six little Bunkers went to their
Aunt Jo's, then to Cousin Tom's, afterward to Grandpa Ford's, then to
Uncle Fred's. They had no more than arrived home at Pineville after
their fifth series of adventures, than Captain Ben, a distant relative of
Mother Bunker's, and recently in the war, came along and took the
whole Bunker family down with him to his bungalow at the seashore,
the name of that sixth story of the series being "Six Little Bunkers at
Captain Ben's."
And the six certainly had had a fine time at Grand View, as the
seashore place was called, until this very September day when an
equinoctial storm had been blowing for twenty-four hours or more and
the lightning-struck tree had fallen upon the roof of the old house in
which the six little Bunkers were playing.
But now none of the little Bunkers thought it so much fun--no, indeed!
At the rate Vi and Mun Bun were screaming, the accident which held
them prisoners in the attic of the old house seemed to threaten dire
destruction.
Russ Bunker, when he had recovered his own breath, charged up the
dust-filled stairway and reached the attic in a few bounds. But the floor
boards were broken at the head of the stairs, and almost the first thing
that happened to him when he got up there into the dust and the
darkness--yes, and into the rain that drove through the holes in the
roof!--was that his head, with an awful "tunk!" came in contact with a
broken roof beam.
Russ staggered back, clutching wildly at anything he could lay his
hands on, and all but tumbled backwards down the stairs again.
But in clutching for something to break his fall Russ grabbed Vi's curls
with one hand. He could not see her in the dark, but he knew those
curls very well. And he was bound to recognize Vi when the little girl
stammered:
"What's happened? Did the house fall on my legs, Russ? Must you pull
my hair off to get me out?"

Mun Bun was bawling all by himself, but near by. He seemed to be
quite as immovable as Vi. And perhaps Russ would have been unable
to get out either of the unfortunates by himself.
Just then there came a shout of encouragement from outside, and the
rapid pounding of feet. The door below burst open and Daddy Bunker's
welcome voice cried out:
"Here I am, children! Here I am--and Captain Ben, too! Where are you
all?"
In the dusky kitchen it was easy enough to count the three little
Bunkers who remained there. But Daddy Bunker was heartily
concerned over the absent ones.
"Where are Russ and Vi and Mun Bun?" cried Daddy Bunker.
"They're upstairs--under that old thunder stroke," gasped Margy. "But I
guess they're not all dead-ed yet."
"I guess not!" exclaimed Captain Ben, who was a very vigorous young
man, being both a soldier and a sailor. "They are all very much alive."
That was proved by the concerted yells of the three in the attic. Both
men hurried to mount the stairs. The dust had settled to some degree by
this time, and they could see the struggling forms. Russ had almost got
Vi loose, and he had not pulled out her hair in doing so.
Daddy Bunker saw that Mun Bun was only caught by his clothing.
Captain Ben took Vi from Russ and Daddy Bunker released Mun Bun.
Then they all came hurriedly down the stairs.
Mun Bun was still weeping wildly. Laddie looked at him in
amazement.
"Why--why," he said, "you're a riddle, Mun Bun."
"I'm not!" sobbed the littlest Bunker.

"Yes, you are," said Laddie. "This is the riddle: Why is Mun Bun like a
sprinkling cart?"
"That is too easy!" laughed Captain Ben, setting Vi down on the floor.
"It's because Mun Bun scatters water so easily out of his eyes."
They all laughed at that--even Mun Bun himself, only he hiccoughed
too. It did not take much to make the children laugh when the danger
was over.
"Why did the old thunder stroke have to do that?" asked Vi. "Why did
it pin me down across my legs?"
Daddy Bunker hurried them all out of the old house. He was afraid it
might fall altogether.
"And then where should