“Did your father ever go down like a diver?” asked Russ.

“Yes, once or twice.  But now he just helps the other men go down.  He’s been a sea captain all his life, and once he was shipwrecked.”

“What’s shipwrecked?” asked Margy.

“It’s when your ship hits a rock, or runs on a desert island and sinks,” said Sammie.  “Then you have to get off if you don’t want to be drowned.  And once my father was shipwrecked on a desert island that way, and they found a lot of gold.”

“They did?” cried Russ.

“Sure!  I’ve heard him tell about it lots of times.”

“Oh, is it a story?” asked Rose.

“No, it’s real,” said Sammie.

“Tell us about it,” demanded Laddie.

“Well, I don’t ’member much about it,” Sammie said.  “But if you come over to my house, my father’ll tell you about it.  Only he isn’t home now ’cause he’s got some divers down in the harbor and they’re going to raise up a ship that’s sunk.”

“Couldn’t you tell us a little about it?” asked Russ.  “Did your father dig gold on the desert island?”

“Yes, he dug a lot of it,” said Sammie.  “He’s got one piece at home now.  It’s yellow, just like a five-dollar gold piece.”

“Where was the island?” asked Violet.

“Maybe we can go there,” suggested Laddie.  “That is, if it isn’t too far.”

“Oh, it’s terrible far,” said Sammie.  “It’s half-way around the world.”

“That’s too far,” said Russ with a sigh.

“Maybe we could dig for gold here,” suggested Rose.  “There’s nice sand in one part of Aunt Jo’s garden, and I guess she’d let us dig for gold.  We could give her some if we found any.”

“I don’t guess there’s any gold here,” said Sammie, looking the place over.  “This isn’t a desert island.”

“We could pretend it was,” said Laddie.  “Let’s do that!  I’ll go for a shovel.”

He ran to where the garden tools were kept, but, on the way, he heard the postman’s whistle and stopped to get the mail.  This he carried to his mother, and, when she saw one letter, she cried: 

“Oh, this is from Cousin Tom!  I hope it has good news in it!”

Quickly she read it, while Laddie wondered what the good news was about.  Then Mrs. Bunker said: 

“Oh, Laddie!  We’re going on another nice trip!  Cousin Tom has invited us all down to his seashore cottage!  Won’t that be fine?  We must soon get ready to leave Aunt Jo’s and go to Cousin Tom’s!”

CHAPTER II

TREASURE HOPES

Laddie Bunker looked up at his mother as she finished reading the letter.  Then he shook his head and said: 

“We can’t go to Cousin Tom’s!”

“Can’t go to Cousin Tom’s!” repeated his mother.  “Why not, Laddie, my boy?”

“’Cause we’re going to dig for gold here.  Sammie Brown’s father is a sea captain, and he has divers.  He knows a lot about digging gold on desert islands, Sammie’s father does, and we’re going to make believe Aunt Jo’s back yard is a desert island, and we’re going to dig for gold there.”