Six Little Bunkers at Cousin Tom's by Laura Lee Hope

Author:Laura Lee Hope [Hope, Laura Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2006-01-11T09:00:00+00:00

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CHAPTER XV

THE BOX ON THE BEACH

"Dear me!" exclaimed the children's mother, as she hurried along beside Violet to help settle whatever trouble Russ had caused.

"Oh! did you hear what Rose said?" asked Vi. "Did you hear?"

"Yes, my dear, I did."

"Oh, my lovely doll is drowned!" cried the little girl, and there were real tears in her eyes, and some even ran down her nose and splashed to the ground. "I just knew Russ would be mean and tease me, and he did, and now my doll is drowned and——"

"Well, it might better be a doll that is drowned and not one of my six little Bunkers," said the mother. "Though, of course, I am sorry if any of your playthings are lost. Russ, did you drown Vi's doll?" she called to her oldest son.

"I didn't mean to, Mother," was the answer. "I was giving the doll a ride in a boat I made, and the boat got blown by the wind, and the wind upset the boat, and the boat went under water, 'cause I had a cargo of stones on it, and——"

"What happened to Vi's doll?" asked Mother Bunker. "Why don't you get to that part of it, Russ?"

"I was going to," he said. "The doll fell off when the boat upset and sank, and the doll sank, too, I guess."

"Is my doll really, really, drowned?" cried Violet.

"I—I'm afraid I guess so," stammered Russ. "But maybe I can fish her up again when the tide is low," he added hopefully.

"Do it now," sobbed the little girl.

"The water's too deep now."

"Where did she get drowned?" asked Violet, gazing through her tears at the waters of the inlet.

"The boat upset out there in the middle," said Russ, pointing.

"Oh, dear!" sighed Violet. "If she was my rubber doll maybe she wouldn't be drowned. But she's my china doll, and they won't float, will they, Mother?"

"No, my dear, I'm afraid not. How did it happen, Russ? Why did you take Violet's doll?"

"'Cause I wanted to give her a ride, and I didn't think she would care—I mean Vi. Course the doll didn't care."

"She did so!" exclaimed the little girl, stamping her foot on the sand. "My dolls have got feelings, same as you have, Russ Bunker, so there!"

"Now children, don't get excited," said Mrs. Bunker gently. "Russ, you shouldn't have taken Vi's doll."

"Well, I wanted to see how much my boat would hold, and I was playing the doll was a passenger. I'll get it back for her. Cousin Tom will take me out in his boat to the middle, and I can scoop the doll up with a crab net."

Mrs. Bunker went with Russ and Violet to find Cousin Tom, leaving Laddie, Rose, Margy and Mun Bun playing with pebbles and shells in the sand.

Russ told Cousin Tom what had happened. The little boy had made a boat out of a piece of board, with a mast and a bit of cloth for a sail. He had loaded his boat with stones he had picked up on the beach of the inlet, and had started his craft off on a voyage.

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