“I thought sure he was the one that daddy wanted,” said Russ, a little sadly.

“So did I,” added Laddie.  He, too, was disappointed.  “Maybe I could make up a riddle about a red-haired man,” he added more cheerfully.

“Maybe you could,” agreed Russ.

“I guess I will, too,” said Laddie.  “I can think of a riddle the next time.”

A little later the children heard a voice asking: 

“Well, are you having a good time?”

They looked up to see Daddy and Mother Bunker walking toward them through the woods.

“Oh, we’re having lots of fun!” said Rose, who had been amusing Vi, Margy and Mun Bun.

“And we almost found your lost papers,” added Russ.

“How?” asked Mr. Bunker.

Then the boys told about the red-haired man.

“I’m afraid my papers are gone for ever,” said Mr. Bunker with a shake of his head, “I’ll have to lose that money.  But it might be worse.  Don’t worry about it any more, children.”

But, though the children were too little to worry very, much about their father’s trouble, Russ and Laddie could not help thinking about it now and then.

“This is a lovely place for the children to play,” said Mother Bunker.  “I shall never feel worried about them when they are here.  The water is so shallow near the shore.”

And so it was.  The six little Bunkers—­even Mun Bun, the smallest of them all—­could wade out quite a distance from shore on the smooth, sandy bottom, and not be in danger.

All that day—­except when it was time to go in to eat—­the children played on the shore of Lake Sagatook.  They saw boats come and go—­some with fishermen in them, like Mr. Hurd, and others that carried lumber and other things from shore to shore.

“Can we go out in a boat some day?” asked Russ of his father.

“Yes, some day I’ll get a boat and take you all for a row,” Mr. Bunker promised.

But there were many other things to do at Grandma Bell’s to have fun besides going out on the lake in a boat.  There were chickens and cows to look at; there was Zip to play with, and Muffin too; and there were lovely places in the woods where they could take their lunches and have picnics.

“Grandma Bell’s is the nicest place in the world!” said Rose.

“That’s what!” exclaimed Russ.

And Laddie tried to think up a riddle about why Grandma Bell’s house was like fairyland, only he couldn’t get just the right sort of answer, he said.

One day Russ, Laddie, and Rose went out to the barn with Tom Hardy to watch him feed the chickens.  He gave them grains of yellow corn.

“Where do you get the corn?” asked Laddie.

“Out of the corn crib,” answered Tom.  “See it over there,” and he pointed to a shed, through the slat sides of which could be seen the yellow ears of corn.

“How do you get the little pieces off the cobs?” asked Rose.