Six Little Bunkers at Uncle Freds | Page 8

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.

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