CHAPTER XXIII
THE LUMBERMAN'S CABIN
Along the road that led down the hill, and through the woods to GreenPond, went Zip the dog; pulling after him the cart in which Russ andLaddie rode.
"I'm glad we're riding," said Laddie. "It would be awful far to walk toMr. Barker's place at Green Pond and back again, wouldn't it, Russ?"
"Oh, I don't know," Russ answered slowly, as he guided Zip around a turnin the crooked path. "I could walk it, but your legs aren't as long asmine. I walked two miles once, with daddy."
"What'll we do when we see that red-haired lumberman?" asked the smallerboy.
"We'll ask him for daddy's old coat and the papers."
"But maybe he'll want the old coat," suggested Laddie.
"Oh, well, he can have that," Russ answered. "Daddy gave him that, anyhow.But we can ask him for the papers."
"S'posin' he hasn't got 'em?"
"What makes you s'pose so much?" demanded Russ. "Wait till we get there,and we can tell what to do."
"All right," agreed Laddie. "I can be thinking of a riddle. Maybe I couldask the lumberman a riddle, Russ. Could I?"
"Maybe. But maybe he doesn't like 'em. Some folks don't."
"I could ask him an easy one, about the miller's hat, or about why thetickets don't get mad when the conductor punches 'em."
"No, don't ask him that one," Russ said.
"Why not?"
"'Cause that one about the tickets is too hard--nobody knows the answer.You don't yourself."
"I know I don't, but maybe the lumberman might. Maybe he'd like to answerit. I guess I'll ask him."
"No, don't do it," advised Russ. "He's a poor lumberman, or he wouldn'twant an old coat. And if he's poor he wouldn't pay money for tickets, sohe wouldn't know why the conductor punched 'em."
Laddie thought about this a while.
"All right," he said, finally, as Zip trotted along down the hill, andcame out on a level road that led to Green Pond. "I'll make up a newriddle for the lumberman," he went on. "Or I could ask him about Zip'sbreath coming in short pants."
"All right, ask him that," agreed Russ. "I hope he gives us the papers."
Mr. Barker's place was on the shores of Green Pond. In fact the man ownedthe whole pond--or little lake, for that was what it was--and all thewoods around it. His house, a very big one, stood in the woods not farfrom the pond, and all about the house were beautiful grounds, with roadsand paths leading through them. And around the house was a high ironfence, with gate-ways here and there.
Russ and Laddie, riding in their soap-box dog-cart, came along the publicroad. Ahead of them they could see the big iron fence around Mr. Barker'splace. They knew it, for they had driven past it the week before withGrandma Bell, when she took the six little Bunkers and Daddy Bunker andMother Bunker for a picnic ride in the big carriage.
"There's the place," said Laddie, pointing.
"I see it," returned Russ. "Now we'll drive in and find the lumberman andget daddy's papers."
Russ guided Zip up to one of the big iron gates, and as the boys turnedinto the drive a man came out of a little house near the entrance and heldup his hand. It was just as the policeman does in the city street when hewants the automobiles and wagons to stop, so Russ called to Zip:
"Whoa!"
The dog had learned to stop when any one driving him said this, so now hehalted and, being tired, he stretched out on the ground. His harness wasloose, so he could do this.
"Where are you boys going?" asked the man at the gate.
"We want to find a lumberman," said Russ.
"A lumberman?"
"Yes. One works here and he has daddy's old coat and there are somepapers in the pocket that daddy wants," Russ explained. "He's red-haired,"he went on. "I mean the lumberman is, not my father."
"Oh," said the man at the gate. "So you're looking for some one. But Mr.Barker lives here and you can't go in, I'm afraid."
"We know Mr. Barker lives here," returned Russ. "We live over at LakeSagatook--that is, we don't zactly _live_ there, but we're visitingGrandma Bell."
"Oh, are you some of the little children staying at Mrs. Bell's house?"asked the gate-tender. "I heard she had company. I know her well, but Idon't often get a chance to see her. So you're her company."
"She's our grandma," explained Russ. "And we are the six littleBunkers--everybody calls us that. 'Course Laddie and I are only twoBunkers--there're four more at home--Rose, Vi, Margy and Mun Bun."
"What's Mun Bun?" asked the gate-man. Nearly every one asked this onhearing the funny name.
"Mun Bun is our littlest brother," explained Russ, who was doing all thetalking.
"His right name is Munroe, but we call him Mun Bun for short."
"Well, as long as you don't eat him for short I guess it will be allright," said the gate-man with a laugh.
"Is that a riddle--about eating Mun Bun?" asked Laddie.
"No. That's supposed to be a joke," explained the gate-man. "Yourbrother's nickname is Bun, you say. Well, a bun is something good to eat,but I hope you don't eat your little brother--joke, you see."
Russ and Laddie laughed. They didn't exactly understand the joke, but theythought the gate-man was jolly and they wanted to be jolly too.
"So you six little Bunkers--at least two of you--came to see Mr. Barker,did you?" asked the man at the entrance.
"No, we didn't zactly come to see _him_," answered Russ. "We want to seethe lumberman that took daddy's ragged coat with the papers in thepocket--only he didn't know they were there and he didn't take the coat.That was given to him."
"You want to see a lumberman?" repeated the guard at the gate, for he wasa sort of guard. "But we haven't any lumbermen here."
"He's red-haired," Russ reminded him.
"Oh, I guess I know whom you mean!" said the gate-man. "There is ared-haired man cutting trees over in the woods. Mr. Barker is going tobuild a new dock for his boats in Green Pond, and there is a red-hairedman chopping down trees for the work. He is a lumberman, I s'pose."
"And is he red-haired?" asked Laddie eagerly.
"Yes, his hair is red. I remember now. He came here one day and asked ifthere was any work on the place. I was going to tell him there wasn't,when one of the gardeners said the foreman was looking for a man to choptrees. So this red-haired man was hired."
"And is he a tramp?" asked Russ.
"Well, he did look sort of like that, ragged and dusty."
"And did he have a ragged coat?" Russ went on.
"I didn't notice particularly," answered the gate-man. "He was prettymuch ragged all over, I guess, but I didn't pay much attention to him, asI was busy. But he certainly was red-haired."
"Oh, I do hope he's got daddy's papers!" went on Russ. "Mr. Hurd told usabout the lumberman," he went on, "and we came to see him."
"Well, you can do that," said the guard at the gate. "Just follow thisroad until you come to the lake. This lumberman--I think his name is MikeGannon--lives by himself in a little cabin near the place where the newdock is to be built. He said he was used to living by himself, so theforeman told him he could camp out there. And there you'll find him, if heisn't chopping down trees in the woods. Just follow this road to the lake.Will your dog pull you there?"
"Oh, yes, Zip is a good puller," said Russ. "He gave us this ride fromLake Sagatook."
"And he ran after a rabbit!" added Laddie. "And he might 'a' got it, onlythe bunny went down a hole."
"They mostly do that when a dog chases 'em," said the gate-man. "Well, youjust follow the road along until you come to the cabin where thered-haired lumberman lives--Mike Gannon is his name--and then you can askhim about the ragged coat and the papers. Stop and tell me about it onyour way out."
"We will," promised Russ and Laddie. Then Russ called to Zip:
"Gid-dap!"
Up jumped the dog with a bark, as much as to say "Good-bye!" to thegate-man, and down the gravel drive he trotted with the cart.
"He was a nice
man, wasn't he?" observed Laddie.
"Yes, terrible nice," agreed Russ. "I hope we find the red-hairedlumberman."
"I forgot to ask him a riddle," went on Laddie. "I mean the man at thegate. But I can ask him one when we go back."
"If we have time," Russ said. "We can't stay too long, or mother and daddyand Grandma Bell will wonder where we are."
"That's so," agreed Laddie. "Well, we'll just find the lumberman and getthe papers and take them to daddy."
Only it was not going to be quite as easy as that, the boys were to learn.
Along the pretty drive, under the trees, they went in the dog-cart. Prettysoon they came to a part of the road where the little lake came close tothe roadway, and, just beyond, was a log cabin.
"There's where the lumberman lives," said Russ.
"Yes, I guess he does," agreed Laddie.
And just then, all of a sudden, Zip saw a cat out in front of the cabin.With a growl and a bark the dog began to run toward the cat as fast as hecould go, pulling the cart after him.
"Whoa! Whoa! Stop!" cried Russ.
"Stop! Stop, Zip!" yelled Laddie. "Stop!"
But the dog did not hear, or would not mind. Straight at the cat herushed, and pussy, seeing a strange dog coming, and pulling a soap-boxcart in which were two boys--pussy, seeing this strange sight--arched herback and made her tail get as big as a big bologna sausage.