Six Little Bunkers at Grandpa Ford's Part 13

"Well, you know what I mean."

"Yes," said Daddy Bunker. "We know."

"I know what they were talking about," said Russ in a whisper to Rose, a little later.

"What?"

"About the ghost. Grandpa has a ghost at Great Hedge, and he wants to find it. We'll find it for him, Rose."

"Yes, but we mustn't tell any one else about it," and Rose nodded toward Mun Bun and the others.

"No, we won't tell them," agreed Russ. "We'll hunt all by ourselves, and s'prise Grandpa and Grandma."

The pa.s.sengers were now settled in their seats again, and pretty soon the train started off once more. It did not go as fast as at first, because there was so much snow on the tracks. But there were no more sudden stops, and soon a brakeman came through the coach and said he thought everything would be all right.

"Will we get to Tarrington?" asked Daddy Bunker.

"Yes, I am pretty sure we shall," was the answer.

The train did get to Tarrington, though not without some trouble and one or two more stops to clear snow out of the switches. And when Tarrington was reached it was quite late. It was dark, and cold, and snowing hard.

"I don't know about going on to my place to-night," said Grandpa Ford with a shake of his head as he looked at the six little Bunkers. "I'm afraid it will be a long, cold drive for them."

"Wrap them up in robes and we'll try it," said Daddy Bunker. "Is your sled here?"

"Yes, my man is here with a strong team of horses and the big bob sled.

He says the roads are pretty good, but it is very cold. Well, we'll try.

And, if we can't make it, we'll come back and stay at the hotel here all night."

They were in the Tarrington station now, where it was nice and warm and light. Outside it was dark and cold and snowing hard. But the children did not mind.

"We'll soon be at Grandpa's!" chanted Laddie.

"And have some bread and jam!" added Violet. "What's jam made of?" she asked quickly. "Has it got honey in to make it sweet?"

"No time for questions now," said Mother Bunker. "Save them until we get to Grandpa's."

"I'm hungry!" wailed Margy. "I want something to eat!"

"So do I!" added Mun Bun.

"There's a lunch counter in this station," said Grandpa Ford. "If you want to we can get the children something to eat here, and perhaps we'd better, before we start on the long, cold drive. It may be late before we get to Great Hedge."

"Yes, I think it best to get something," agreed Daddy Bunker. "I'll go and see what there is to eat."

Daddy Bunker started toward the lunch counter, but at that moment there was a loud crash, a breaking of gla.s.s, and a voice cried:

"Now you've gone and done it! You busted it, an' spilled 'em all!"

CHAPTER X

GREAT HEDGE AT LAST

"Oh, what has happened now?" exclaimed Mother Bunker as she looked around the depot to see if any of the children was in mischief. She noticed Rose and Russ, Laddie and Vi, and Margy. But Mun Bun was not in sight.

"Did he fall out of a window?" asked Violet.

"Mercy! I hope not," cried Mrs. Bunker.

Then they all heard Mun Bun's voice saying, rather tearfully:

"I--I didn't mean to do it. I only wanted a cake!"

"Well, you busted it, an' now somebody's got to pay for it!" came another voice, and one that was rather angry.

Daddy Bunker hurried around to the other side of the ticket office, and the others, including Grandpa Ford, followed. There, standing near the lunch counter, with a broken bowl at his feet, and cakes scattered around him, stood Mun Bun. In front of him was the young man who had charge of the station lunch counter.

"Oh, Mun Bun!" sighed his mother.

"Why, Mun Bun! what happened?" asked his father.

"He happened--that!" exclaimed the young man. "He pulled it over, off the counter, and it smashed. And look at the cakes--all spoiled."

"Not all spoiled," said Mun Bun. "I can eat 'em, an' so can Margy. We're both hungry!"

"Did you pull over the bowl of cakes?" asked Mr. Bunker.

"Yes," admitted Mun Bun, "I did. I reached up to get one, and the bowl tipped over on me and they all spilled."

"And the bowl broke," said the lunch-counter young man.

"I'll pay for it, Tom," said Grandpa Ford, who seemed to know the young man. "That'll be all right. I'll pay for the bowl and the cakes, too.

Some of them are all right. They fell on this newspaper."

And this was true. Mun Bun had reached up, standing on his tip-toes, to get a cake out of the bowl. As he said, he was hungry, and while Daddy Bunker and Grandpa Ford were talking about getting the children something to eat, Mun Bun had wandered off by himself, found the lunch counter, and started to help himself. But he was not quite tall enough, and the gla.s.s bowl had fallen with a crash.

The cakes had scattered out, but, as Grandpa Ford had said, some of them had fallen on a clean newspaper which some one had dropped on the depot floor just before the accident.

Grandpa Ford, Daddy Bunker and Tom, the lunchman, picked up the clean cakes and put them in another bowl. The broken pieces of the smashed bowl and the cakes that had gone on the floor were also picked up.

"Well, now that we're all here, we might as well get the children something to eat," said Grandpa Ford. "Tom can give them hot milk and cakes, and we grown-folks can have some hot coffee to get us ready for the ride out to Great Hedge. Tom, can you take care of this big family?"

"Oh, I guess so," was the answer, and the lunchman was not angry now, for he saw he would lose nothing by what Mun Bun had done.

The six little Bunkers ate well, for the other five, as well as Mun Bun, were hungry. Then, when the grown-ups had been fed, and the broken bowl paid for, Grandpa Ford went out into the storm to tell his man, who was in charge of the horses and sled, that the party was ready to start. The horses had been kept waiting under a shed so they would be out of the storm.