CHAPTER X
THE WRONG DADDY
Mrs. Bunker turned from her paper to look down at what Rose held in herarms. And, to the surprise of the children's mother, she saw that herlittle girl held, not a doll, that could open and close her eyes, but areal, live baby, which was kicking and squirming in its blankets, andwrinkling up its tiny face, making ready to cry.
"Oh, Rose!" cried Mrs. Bunker. "What have you done?"
"I--I--didn't do anything!" Rose answered. "But my doll turned into a livebaby!"
"Oh!" exclaimed Mrs. Bunker. "You have--you have----"
And just then, down at the other end of the car, a woman's voice cried:
"Oh, my baby! My baby! Where is my baby? This is only a doll!"
At once the car was a scene of great confusion. Mr. Bunker ran to whereRose and her mother sat, Rose still holding the live baby. The otherlittle Bunkers wondered what had happened.
At the other end of the car a woman rushed frantically along, holding outa doll.
"Look! Look!" she cried. "Somebody took my dear baby and left this doll!Oh, conductor, stop the train!"
Daddy Bunker seemed to be the first to understand what had happened. Hehurried to Rose, and tenderly lifted up the little baby, which was nowcrying hard. Perhaps it knew that something had happened, or perhaps itwas hungry.
"Here is your baby, madam," said Mr. Bunker to the woman. "And I guess youhave my little girl's doll. It's just a mix-up--just a great, big mistake.Here is your baby!"
The woman, whose face showed delight now instead of fear and worry,clasped her baby in her arms, first handing the doll to Mr. Bunker.
"Oh, my baby! My precious!" she crooned, pressing her face close to thechild. "I thought some one had taken you!"
"I--I guess I took up your baby for my doll," put in Rose. "I laid my dolldown in a seat at the end of the car so she would go to sleep nice andquiet."
"That's just what I did with my baby," said the woman.
"And then I went to get my doll, and I thought she'd come to life," wenton Rose.
"The seats where the baby and doll were must have been right next to oneanother," said Mrs. Bunker. "That's how Rose picked up your little one inmistake for her doll."
"I suppose so," the baby's mother answered with a smile. "Well, it has allcome out right, I'm glad to say. But at first I was dreadfullyfrightened."
"It was a queer mistake," said Mr. Bunker. "Rose put her doll down tosleep in the seat right next to where the live baby was sleeping. And theseats looked so much alike, and Rose's doll was in a white shawl, justlike the real baby, so that's how it happened."
"And the baby is such a little one, and Rose's doll is so big, that nowonder she didn't know the difference until she saw the real baby open itseyes," went on Mother Bunker. "Well, it was a funny happening."
The other passengers laughed and talked about it, and so did the sixlittle Bunkers. Then it was time to go into the dining-car for supper,after which the berths would be made up, so those who wished could go tobed.
The children were all sleepy, for they had gotten up early, so theyhurried through their supper. They were interested in seeing the coloredporter make the beds when they got back to their own coach.
He pulled out the bottom parts of two seats, until they met in the middle.Then he fastened them together, pulled down what seemed to be a big shelfoverhead, and from this recess, or closet, he took blankets, curtains,sheets, pillows, cases and everything needed for nice, clean beds.
As Mrs. Bunker was afraid the children might roll out of the upper berthsin the night if the train went fast or swayed, they all had lower berths.Soon the children with their heaviest clothing taken off, were stretchedout and, a little later, lulled by the clickity-click-clack of the wheels,they were deep in slumber.
The younger children did not awaken all night, but Rose and Russ both saidthey did once during the hours of darkness.
"And I heard a baby cry," said Rose. "Was it the one I took for my doll?"
"I guess it was, Little Helper," answered her mother, the next morningwhen Rose told about it.
After breakfast, eaten at little tables in the dining car, the ladybrought the baby down for Rose and all the other little Bunkers to see.
"Oh, isn't she cute?" cried Rose, "I wish we could keep her!"
"I'm glad you like her," said the baby's mother, "but I want to keep herfor myself."
Once more it was daylight, and as the train rumbled on toward LakeSagatook, the Bunkers looked from the windows, or looked again at thepicture books their father had bought for them.
"When shall we be there?" asked Russ, for perhaps the tenth time. He wasgetting a bit tired of train travel.
"We'll get in at the station about noon," his father told him, "but wehave to drive about five miles in a wagon or an auto to get to GrandmaBell's place. That is on the shore of Lake Sagatook."
"And I hope none of you fall in," said Mrs. Bunker.
"We'll get a boat," said Russ.
"And I hope it won't sink," added Vi, remembering her last boat ride.
"Oh, say! I've thought of a new riddle!" shouted Laddie. "Why don't thetickets get mad when the conductor punches 'em? Why don't they?"
"I don't know--I give up," said Daddy Bunker. "What's the answer?"
"Oh, I haven't thought of a good answer yet," said Laddie with a laugh. "Ijust thought of the riddle!"
And he sat by the window, murmuring over and over to himself:
"Why don't the tickets get mad when the conductor punches 'em?"
On and on rumbled the train. They were getting near the end of the trip,and the children were counting the time before they would get to thestation where they could start to drive to Lake Sagatook and GrandmaBell's house, when the conductor came through the coach and told Mr.Bunker that if he changed cars, and took another train at a junctionstation, he could save all of an hour.
"We'll do that," decided the children's father. "We'll change atClearwell, and get on a train there that will take us to Sagatookearlier." The name of the station where they were to start to drive tograndma's was Sagatook. The lake was five miles back in the woods.
They were soon near the junction, where two railroad lines came together,and there the Bunkers were to change. They gathered up their belongingsand stood ready to get off the car in which they had been nearly a wholeday.
Clearwell was quite a large place, and the station, where the twodifferent railroad trains came in, was a big one. There was quite a crowdgetting off the train on which the Bunkers had ridden, and more of acrowd on the platform.
"Follow me!" called Daddy Bunker to his wife and children. "And don't loseany of your bundles."
He was carrying Mun Bun, while Mrs. Bunker had Margy in her arms. Russ,Rose, Laddie and Vi came along behind.
Laddie stopped for a moment to look at some pictures on the magazinecovers at the news stand, and then, as he gave a quick glance, and saw theothers crossing the platform, and leaving him, he ran on to catch up tothem.
He saw a man's hand dangling among others in the crowd, and in anotherinstant, Laddie had grasped it. He thought it was his father's, and hecalled, above the noise of the crowd:
"Why don't the tickets get mad when the conductor punches 'em?"
"Eh? What's that? Tickets? A conductor? I'm not the conductor!" a voiceexclaimed. "Who's this grabbing my hand?"
Laddie looked up.
He had hold of the wrong daddy!