“Be quiet, silly boy!” ordered his mother, who saw that Vi was in no danger.  “We’ll get her out.  Why didn’t you wade out to her yourself, and bring her to shore?”

“’Cause I thought maybe something was out there,” said Laddie.

“Something out there?  What do you mean?” asked his mother.

“I mean something that made the boat sink—­something that pulled it down in the water with Vi.  A shark maybe, or a whale!”

“Nonsense!” laughed Mrs. Bunker.  “There are only little baby fishes in the brook.”

“But something made the boat sink!” insisted Laddie.

“We’ll see about that when we get Vi to shore,” said Mrs. Bunker.  “Come on,” she called to the little girl.  “Wade to shore, Vi.  You have your shoes and stockings off, haven’t you?”

“Oh, yes, Mother.”

“Then wade to shore.  You’re all right.”

So Vi stepped out of the soap box, which Laddie had called the boat, and started for shore.  The box floated down the brook, and Russ ran out on a little point of land to catch hold of it when it should float to him.

“Now you’re all right,” said Mrs. Bunker to her little girl, as Vi came ashore.  “But what happened?”

“We were playing sailor,” explained Laddie, “and I made the boat out of a box.  Then Vi went for a ride, but the boat sank.  What made it sink, Vi?”

“’Cause it’s full of cracks and holes—­that’s why!” answered Russ, who had caught the soap box as it floated down to him.  “Look!  It let in a lot of water, and that’s what made it sink,” he went on, as he held out the play boat.

The bottom and sides of the box were filled with many holes, from which the water now dripped.  Laddie told how he had set it afloat in the brook, with Vi as a passenger.  He had pushed her out from shore, hoping to give her a nice ride, but in the middle of the stream the boat went down, and Vi was frightened—­or maybe just cross because she was not getting the ride she expected.  She screamed.  Laddie couldn’t understand why the boat sank, and called out to know.  That was when Russ heard them.

“But you’re all right now,” said Mrs. Bunker.  “And it’s so warm to-day that wading in the brook won’t hurt you.  Only don’t upset and fall in.  I don’t believe you can ride in your boat, Laddie.  It won’t float when it leaks so much.”

“’Course not,” said Russ, who knew something about boats.  “You got to stuff up all the cracks and holes with putty, Laddie.”

“All right; I’ll do that,” said the little fellow.  “I like a boat.  I’ll give you a nice ride, Vi, a real long one, after I stuff up the holes.”

“No, I guess I don’t want to ride in the boat any more,” said the little girl, who was wading in the shallow water near shore, “This is more fun.”

“Well, I’ll go in the boat myself,” said Laddie, taking the box from his brother.  “Got any putty?” he asked.

“No.  But maybe Jerry Simms has,” answered Russ.  “He was putting a new window glass in the barn yesterday, and he had putty then.”