"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 now, looked at his wife. "Take the children, if you have time," she said. "At least Rose and Russ. The others are playing in the sand," for that's what they were doing. Vi, Laddie, Margy and Mun Bun were digging in a pile of sand at one end of the yard. "All right, come along, Little Flower, and you, too, Whistler," said Mr. Bunker, giving Russ a pet name he used occasionally. The two children, delighted to be out after the rain, went down the street with their father, leaving their smaller brothers and sisters playing in the sand. Russ and Rose felt they were too old for this—especially just now. "Did you hear what happened to us?" asked Russ, as he walked along, holding one of his father's hands, while Rose took the other. "What happened when?" asked Mr. Bunker. "When I made a steamboat partly out of a barrel," went on Russ. "It got broken when Laddie was inside it and I was outside. But we didn't any of us get hurt." "Well, I'm glad of that," said Mr. Bunker with a smile. "And Laddie made up a funny riddle about the barrel" went on Rose. "Jerry told it to him, though. It's like
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