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Six Little Bunkers at Cousin Tom's, a novel by Laura Lee Hope |
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Chapter 8. Rose's Locket |
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_ CHAPTER VIII. ROSE'S LOCKET Mrs. Bunker gave a quick glance about to see what was happening. She noticed Margy and Mun Bun, well up on the beach, digging holes and making little piles of sand. But down near the inlet, where a boat was tied, Rose was having trouble with Laddie. The little boy who was so fond of asking riddles, and his sister Violet, who liked to ask questions, had left the place where they first had begun to "dig for gold," as they called it, and Laddie was about to get into the boat, calling to his sister Vi to follow. "No, you mustn't go!" declared Rose. "You mustn't get into the boat. Mother told me to stay and watch you, and you've got to keep here on the beach and dig for gold!" "There isn't any gold here!" declared Laddie. "I've dug all over, and we can't find any; can we, Vi?" "Nope, not a bit," and Vi shook her curly hair. "So we're going out in the boat, like real sailors. That's what Sammie Brown's father did," went on Laddie. "Then we'll find gold." "But you mustn't get into the boat, Laddie, unless Daddy or Cousin Tom is with you!" said Mother Bunker. "Do as Rose tells you, and come away." Laddie did not want to, but he always minded his mother, except when he was very bad, and this was not one of those times. So he went slowly away from the boat, which was tied to a little pier. "I was going after gold," he said. "We can't find any here," and he pointed to the holes he and his little sister had dug. "But if you went out in the boat alone, or with Vi, you might fall into the water," said his mother. "Never get into the boat unless some big person is with you, Laddie. And I mean you, too, Vi." "All right," said the two children. "We won't." "Come on!" called Rose to them, now that the dispute was over. "We will go farther down the shore and dig. And if we don't find any gold maybe we'll find some pretty shells, or a starfish." "Does a starfish twinkle, Mother?" asked Vi. "No, I don't believe it does, my dear." "Then what makes 'em call it a starfish?" the little girl wanted to know. "Because it has five arms, or perhaps they are legs, and as a star, such as you see in our flag, has five points, they call the fish that name. It is shaped like a star, you see. It doesn't twinkle, and it eats oysters, so I have read." "How does it crack the oyster shells?" asked Vi. "Oh, now you are asking too many questions for a little girl, and some that I can't answer," said Mrs. Bunker with a laugh. "Run along and play in the sand with Rose. But don't go too far, for it will be time for supper soon. And don't forget about the boat!" "I hope we find a starfish," said Laddie, glad he had something new to think about. "Could I make up a riddle about one, Mother?" "I guess so, if you tried hard." "I know a riddle about the sand," went on the little chap. "Why is the sand like a boy?" "It isn't," said Rose. "Sand isn't at all like a boy." "Yes, it is," went on Laddie. "A boy runs and so does sand." "Sand doesn't run," declared Rose. "Yes, it does," insisted her little brother. "I heard you say that some sand ran down into your shoe. So sand runs and a boy runs and that's a riddle." "Yes, I guess it is," laughed Mother Bunker. "Well, you run along and play." And Rose and Laddie and Violet did. They went to where Margy and Mun Bun were digging holes in the sand. "Did you find any gold?" asked Laddie. Mun Bun shook his head until his hair was in his eyes. "We found a lot of funny little white bugs that jump," he said. "They were awful nice little bugs, and they wiggled and wiggled in the sand," added Margy. "Oh, I want to see some!" cried Vi, and then Margy and Mun Bun dug until they found some "sand hoppers," for the other children. They are a sort of shore shrimp, I think, and very lively, jumping about, digging themselves holes in the sand in which they hide. Margy and Mun Bun and Laddie and Vi became so interested in looking for the sand hoppers that they forgot about digging for gold, and it was almost time for supper when Russ came whistling down the beach calling: "Who wants to come and see me sail my boat?" "I do! I do!" cried Mun Bun and Laddie, and the girls, Rose also, said they would go. "I haven't got all the sails on yet," explained Russ, "but I guess it will sail a little this way, and I can put some more sails on to-morrow." From an old shingle and some sticks Russ had made a nice little boat, fastening to the mast a bit of cloth, which looked like a sail. Followed by his smaller brothers and sisters Russ took his boat to a place in the inlet where the water was not deep, and there he let the wind blow it about, to the delight of all. Then came a call from the bungalow. "Supper, children! Come on in and get washed!" "Oh, I'm so hungry!" cried Rose. "So'm I," agreed Russ. Margy and Mun Bun didn't say anything, but they looked as if they could eat. "I thought of another riddle," said Laddie, as he went along with Russ. "It's about why does the sand run." "No! That isn't it!" laughed Rose. "You've started it backward, Laddie, and spoiled it." "Oh, yes, now I know. Why is sand like a boy?" "Because they both run," answered Russ. It was easy to guess the riddle after Laddie had partly told it to him. "Cousin Tom said lobsters run backwards," put in Violet, having heard Rose say that Laddie started his riddle backwards. "What makes lobsters go that way, Russ?" "I don't know. I s'pose 'cause they like it." "Do fish go backwards?" the little girl went on. "I never saw any," Russ answered. "And can they stand on their heads?" went on the little girl. But no one could answer this question, and there was no time to do so, anyhow, as they were now at Cousin Tom's bungalow, and from it came the smell of many good things that had been cooked for supper. "My! you have a houseful with all of us Bunkers," said the children's mother, as they gathered about the table. "Yes. There wouldn't be room for many more," said Cousin Tom's pretty wife. "But I like company." "Even if they eat so much it will keep you busy buying more?" asked Daddy Bunker. "Oh, I guess they won't do that," replied Cousin Tom, laughing. "We're going to dig gold in the sand, and then we can buy our own things to eat," declared Laddie. "Well, until you do that I'll see that you get enough to eat," said his cousin. After supper they went for a ride on the inlet in Cousin Tom's big rowboat. "I think we had better go back," said Mother Bunker, after they had ridden about a bit. "It is getting late, and I see two of my little tots are getting sleepy." This was true, for Margy and Mun Bun were nidding and nodding, hardly able to keep their eyes open, though it was hardly dark yet. But they had been up early and they had traveled far that day. Back to the bungalow they went, and soon the four smaller children were in bed. "And it will be time for you, Russ and Rose, in a little while," said Mrs. Bunker. They were allowed to stay up a half hour longer than the others. While Daddy Bunker and Cousin Tom and the two Mrs. Bunkers were talking on the side porch, and watching the moon rise, as though it came right from the ocean, Russ and Rose sat down on the beach. They were within call from the bungalow, though about a block away from it, Cousin Tom's place being the first one up from the water. Russ picked up a shell, and started to dig. "What are you looking for?" asked Rose. "I was just wondering if there was any gold here," said her brother. "Sammie Brown said there was gold in sand, and there's lots of sand here; isn't there, Rose?" "Yes, but Laddie and Violet dug in a lot of places to-day, and so did Margy and Mun Bun, and they didn't find any gold." "They didn't know how to look for it," declared Russ. "You have to dig deep for gold." "I'll help," offered Rose. "I like to dig in the sand." She found a clam shell, as large as the one Russ had, and with those for shovels, the children began digging on the beach in the moonlight. They could look back and see the bungalow, and Mr. and Mrs. Bunker could see the children from where they sat. The ocean surf made a loud noise. "Doesn't it sound nice and scary-like?" asked Rose, as she reached her arm down into the hole she was digging, and scooped up some damp sand. "Yes. It's like the desert island Sammie told about," agreed Russ, listening to the boom and hiss of the waves as they broke on the beach. "Have you found any gold yet, Rose?" "No. Have you?" Russ shook his head. "I guess we've got to go deeper," he said. It grew later. The moon rose higher, and it became a little more "scary-like." Presently Mrs. Bunker called: "Come, Rose! Russ! Time to go to bed!" "All right!" they answered. They were tired enough to want to go to sleep. They dropped their clam shells near the holes they had dug, and started up the beach. Suddenly Rose gave a cry. "What's the matter?" asked Russ. "My locket! My gold locket that Grandma gave me! It's gone! Oh, I have lost my lovely gold locket!" _ |
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