Six Little Bunkers at Cowboy Jacks | Page 4

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 we be?" he asked. "I couldn't go away out West to Cowboy Jack's and leave my little Bunkers under that old house, could I?"
At this Russ and Rose immediately began to be excited--only for a reason very different from the effects of the storm. They looked at each other quite knowingly. That was what Daddy Bunker and Mother Bunker were talking about so earnestly the night before!
"Oh, Daddy!" burst out Rose, clinging to his hand, "are you going so far away from us all? Aren't you going to take us to Cowboy Jack's?"
"Why do they call him that?" asked Vi. "Is he part cow and part boy?"
But Daddy Bunker replied to Rose's question quite seriously:
"That is a hard matter to decide. It is a long journey, and you know school will soon begin at Pineville. And you must not miss school."
"But, Daddy," said Russ, very gravely, "you know you