Six Little Bunkers at Grandma Bells | Page 6

of a window. "We
can play out in the yard now."
"Yes, I believe you can," said her mother. "But you must put on your
rubbers, for the ground is damp. Run out and play!"
With shouts of glee and laughter the six little Bunkers started to go
outdoors. It was a warm day, late in June, and even the rain had not
made it too cool for them to be out.
As the six children trooped out on the side porch they saw their father
coming up the walk.
"Why, it isn't supper time, and daddy's coming home!" exclaimed Rose.

"What do you s'pose he wants?" asked Russ.
"Maybe he heard the barrel break and came up to see about it,"
suggested Laddie.
"He couldn't hear the barrel break away down to his office," said Russ.
Just then Mrs. Bunker, from within the house, saw her husband
approaching. She went out on the porch to meet him.
"Why, Charlie!" she exclaimed, "has anything happened? What is the
matter? You look worried!"
"I am worried," said Mr. Bunker. "I've had quite a loss! It's some
valuable real estate papers. They are gone from my office, and I came
to see if they were on my desk in the house. Hello, children!" he called
to the six little Bunkers. But even Mun Bun seemed to know that
something was wrong. Daddy Bunker's voice was not at all jolly.
His loss was worrying him, his wife well knew.
CHAPTER III
GRANDMA'S LETTER
While the other children, being too young to understand much about
Daddy Bunker's worry, ran down to play in the yard, Russ and Rose
stayed on the porch with their father and mother. They heard Mrs.
Bunker ask:
"What sort of papers were they you lost?
"Well, I don't know that I have exactly lost them," said Mr. Bunker
slowly, as though trying to think what really had happened, "I had some
real estate papers in my desk at the office. They were about some
property I was going to sell for a man, and the papers were valuable.
But a little while ago, when I went to look for them, I couldn't find
them. It means the loss of considerable money."

"Perhaps they are in your desk here," said Mrs. Bunker, for her husband
sometimes did business at his home in the evening, and had a desk in
the sitting-room.
"Perhaps they are," said the father of the six little Bunkers. "That is
why I came home so early--to look."
He went into the house, followed by his wife and Russ and Rose. Mr.
Bunker stepped over to his desk, and began looking through it. He took
out quite a bundle of books and papers, but those he wanted did not
seem to be there.
"Did you find them?" asked his wife, after a while.
"No," he answered with a shake of his head, "I did not. They aren't here.
I'm sorry. I need those papers very much. I may lose a large sum of
money if I don't find them. I can't see what could have happened to
them. I had them on my desk in the office yesterday, and I was looking
at them when Mr. Johnson came along to see about buying some
lumber from the pile in the yard next to my office."
"Perhaps Mr. Johnson might know something about the papers,"
suggested Mrs. Bunker.
Her husband did not answer her for a moment. Then he suddenly
clapped his hands together as a new thought came to him, and he said:
"Oh, now I remember! I left those papers in my old coat."
"Your old coat!" repeated Mrs. Bunker with interest.
"Yes. That old ragged one I sometimes wear at the office when I have
to get things down from the dusty shelves. I had on that coat when I
was holding the papers in my hand, and then Mr. Johnson came along. I
wanted to go out in the lumberyard with him, to look at the boards he
wanted to buy, so I stuck the papers in the pocket of the old coat."
"Then that's where they must be yet," said Mrs. Bunker. "Where is the

coat?"
"Oh, I always keep it hanging up behind the office door. Yes, that's it. I
remember now. When Mr. Johnson came in and I went out to look at
the lumber with him, I stuck the papers in the inside pocket of the old,
ragged coat. And then I forgot all about them until just now, when I had
to have them. I'll hurry back to the office and get the papers out of the
pocket of the coat."
"May we come with you?" asked Russ.
"Please let us," begged Rose.
Mr. Bunker, who did not seem quite so worried