“Where are you going to get the wheels?” asked Laddie.

Russ had to stop and think about that part.  Then he happened to remember that he had seen two wheels from an old baby carriage out in the barn.  Grandma Bell had once had a woman working for her who had a little baby, and this woman had kept the carriage at the Bell farmhouse.  But after a while it broke, or wore out, and when the woman and her baby went away there were only two wheels of the carriage left.

“We can take them,” said Russ, “and maybe we can find two more somewhere.  We’ll ask daddy or grandma.”

“Say, it’ll be lots of fun if we can make a dog-cart!” cried Laddie.  “Could we really ride in it, do you s’pose?”

“Why, yes!” answered Russ.  “Zip is strong enough to pull us both.  Look at him pull that log.  Feel how hard he pulls on the rope!”

The boys took hold of the rope and tried to hold back on it.  But Zip was so strong that he dragged them along a little way, as well as the log.  And Zip growled and snarled, pretending he was very angry.

“Look out!” cried Mother Bunker.  “He might bite you!”

“Zip is only playing,” said Grandma Bell.  “He never bites.  But what are you doing?” she asked Russ and Laddie.

“We’re trying how hard Zip can pull, to see if he can pull us when we make a dog-cart,” explained Russ.

“Please, Grandma, may we?” asked Laddie.  “And may we have the two old baby carriage wheels out in the barn?”

“Yes, certainly,” his grandmother said.  “But I don’t know where there are any more wheels.  You’ll have to get along with two.”

“Well, we could do that,” Russ said.  “But four would be better.  Oh, Laddie!  We’ll have a lot of fun making the dog-cart!”

“That’s what we will!” said the smaller boy.

CHAPTER XXI

RUSS HEARS NEWS

When Daddy Bunker heard about the plan of Russ and Laddie to make a dog-cart, he at first thought the boys could not do it.

“How are you going to harness Zip to the cart?” he asked.

“Oh, we can do it,” declared Russ.  “We can make a harness out of pieces of rope and some straps in the barn.  And we can get a box and put some wheels on it for a cart.  It’ll be easy.”

“But maybe Zip won’t let himself be hitched up,” said Daddy Bunker.  He wanted the boys to have fun while at Grandma Bell’s, but he did not want them to go to a lot of work making something, and then be disappointed if it did not work.

“Oh, I guess Zip won’t mind being harnessed,” said Grandma Bell.  “Once we had a man working for us who had a small boy.  This boy—­his name was Bobbie—­made a little cart and used to drive Zip hitched to it, and the dog pulled Bobbie all around very nicely.”

“Did he?  Hurray!  Then he’ll pull us!” shouted Laddie.

As soon as Russ and Laddie got back to Grandma Bell’s house they began to look for things of which to make the dog-cart and the harness.  Two wheels were all they could find, but Daddy Bunker thought they would answer very nicely.