Six Little Bunkers at Aunt Jo's Part 11

"No, there doesn't seem to be anything but just the roll of bills," he answered. "Hold on, though!" he exclaimed, as he looked in another part of the pocketbook, "here is some sort of a paper."

"That may have the owner's name on it," said Aunt Jo. "I always carry in my purse a slip with my name and address on it, so if I lose my pocketbook whoever finds it will know where to bring it back. Probably that is what this is."

"No, it doesn't seem to be," said Mr. Bunker. "This appears to be part of a letter. Of course it isn't nice to read letters that are for other people, but as we are trying to find out to whom this money and pocketbook belong it will be all right. I'll read this."

He took out a folded paper from a compartment in the pocketbook next to where the money had been, and began to read. He read it aloud. It said:

"DEAR MOTHER: I am so glad you have the sixty-five dollars, for then you will not have to work so hard, and can take a little rest. It was so good of Uncle Jack to send it to you. I feel so much better now that you have this money. You will not have to worry so much. I am working hard myself, but I like it, and I will save all I can and send all I can spare to you. Take good care of the money and don't lose it, for you may never have as much again. I am very lonesome and wish I could see you, but I know the rest will do you good.

With lots of love."

"Is that all?" asked Mrs. Bunker, as her husband stopped reading.

"That is all," he said.

"Isn't there any name or address to that little letter?" Aunt Jo wanted to know.

"No, nothing like that," answered her brother. "The only name in it is 'Uncle Jack,' and that might mean anybody. There must have been a name signed to the letter, but it has been torn off. You can see where the paper has been torn across. I don't see how we can find who owns the money from this letter."

"Maybe there is something else in the pocketbook," said Russ.

Mr. Bunker looked, and did find a Chinese coin with a square hole in it.

There was only the letter, addressed to "Dear Mother," and the sixty-five dollars, and the Chinese coin.

"We'll have to put an advertis.e.m.e.nt in the paper, saying we have found a pocketbook," said Mr. Bunker. "Whoever has lost it will see the advertis.e.m.e.nt and call here. And we must look in the 'lost and found'

advertis.e.m.e.nts in the paper to-night."

"Yes, we'll do that," said Aunt Jo. "The poor woman must be very sad over her loss. She will be very glad to get it back, and----"

Just then the telephone in Aunt Jo's house gave a loud ring.

"Oh," cried Rose. "Maybe that's some one now to ask about the pocketbook I found. Oh, maybe it is!"

CHAPTER VIII

RUSS MAKES A FOUNTAIN

The six little Bunkers, as well as their father and mother, waited while Aunt Jo went to answer the telephone, which kept on ringing as though in a hurry. Vi had asked "Who's ringing?" but of course n.o.body could tell her until Aunt Jo answered the call.

"Yes! What is it?" asked Aunt Jo into the mouthpiece of the instrument, which stood on a table in the sitting-room. "Oh, it's you, is it, Mr.

North?" she went on. "What's that? Did we lose anything? No, not that I know of. One of my little guests _found_ something, but I haven't heard of anything being lost. Wait a minute, though, until I count noses. I'll see if all the six little Bunkers are here. I might have missed one and not know it."

Laughing, Aunt Jo turned from the telephone to look at the children.

They were all there, from Russ the oldest to Mun Bun the youngest. Then Aunt Jo spoke again into the instrument.

"No, we haven't lost anything," she said. "Oh, you'll bring it over, will you, Mr. North? Thank you!"

"Was it something about the pocketbook?" asked Rose eagerly.

"No, it was nothing like that," answered her aunt. "The gentleman who telephoned was Mr. North, my next-door neighbor. He says he has something belonging to one of you children, and he is going to bring it right over. Did any of you leave out any of your toys when you were playing in the yard?"

"I didn't," said Russ, and none of his brothers or sisters could think of anything of theirs that was missing. In a few minutes the door bell rang, and when this was answered, Mr. North brought in what seemed to be a bundle of rags.

"Your dog Alexis brought this over and left it on my door mat," he said to Aunt Jo.

"Oh, it's my doll Sue!" cried Rose, as she ran forward to take it. "I forgot all about her. I left her to sleep on the porch in the sun so she would get nice and tanned, as I do when I go to the seash.o.r.e, and then I went downtown with mother and I forgot all about her."

"Well, I'm glad to bring her back to you," said Mr. North with a smile.

"I guess I must have been holding her upside down," and so he had. That was what made Sue look so like a bundle of rags. Really she was a nice doll when she was held right side up.

"It's queer Alexis brought her to your house, instead of in here to me,"

said Aunt Jo.

"Oh, Alexis and I are great friends," said Mr. North. "He often brings me my paper when the boy leaves it at the front gate instead of walking up to the porch with it, and perhaps your dog might have thought this was a paper, though a very large one," and Mr. North smiled at Rose.

Mr. North had been introduced to the six little Bunkers, and also to Daddy and Mother Bunker, when he entered, and he stayed some little time, talking with them, for he liked children, though all his were grown into big boys and girls now.

"I found a pocketbook," said Rose, when she had got over her first bit of shyness sufficiently to talk to the visitor.

"Did you, indeed? Well, you are lucky!" said Mr. North. Then he was told about the sixty-five dollars, and shown the sad letter in the pocketbook.

"We are going to put an advertis.e.m.e.nt in the paper," said Aunt Jo. "And if you hear of any poor woman who has lost this sum of money, or read about any in the paper, I wish you would tell us."

"I will," promised Mr. North. "Well, Rose, you have had quite an experience almost as soon as you come to Boston. What are you children going to do the rest of your stay here?"

"I'm afraid I won't know how to provide fun for so many of them," said Aunt Jo. "I want them to have a good time, and remember their visit pleasantly, but I have no toys for girls and boys----"

"That's just what I was going to speak about," said Mr. North. "There is an express wagon in my barn, and an old velocipede, as well as a coaster wagon. They used to belong to my youngsters, but they have outgrown them. If the six little Bunkers would like to play with those toys they are very welcome."

"That will be splendid!" cried Aunt Jo. "I was just wondering what I could do to amuse Russ and the others, for I haven't any things that children like, and we can't go on sight-seeing trips or excursions all the while, though we will go on some. The toys you have, Mr. North, will be just the thing."

And indeed they did prove so. The next day Russ and his brothers and sisters went over to Mr. North's barn. It was an old-fas.h.i.+oned one, the kind horses and carriages used to be kept in before there were automobiles. Mr. North also had a garage for his cars, but the old barn stood far back in his yard, which was a large one next to Aunt Jo's, and in it were the velocipede, the express wagon, a coaster wagon and other things with which to have fun.

"Oh, we can have jolly good times now!" cried Russ.

"And I can give my doll a ride, after Alexis carried her in his teeth,"

put in Rose.

"Can't we have rides, too?" asked Vi.

"'Course you can," answered Russ. "I'll give you a nice ride."

And then, while Aunt Jo and Mother Bunker went to a Red Cross meeting and while Daddy Bunker went downtown to put an advertis.e.m.e.nt in the paper about the pocketbook Rose had found, the children played around Mr. North's barn and Aunt Jo's yard.

"Will it be all right to leave them while we go out?" asked Aunt Jo of Mrs. Bunker.