Laura Lee Hope

“ This horn is what the cowboys fasten their lassos around when they catch a wild steer or a pony.
Behind the boys could be heard the thunder of the hoofs of the stampeding steers. They were running close together, and, even in the half-darkness of the evening, a big cloud of dust raised by the many feet could be seen. [177]
"What's the matter?" cried Uncle Fred, as the two cowboys rode up to the ranch with Laddie and Russ.
"Stampede!" was the answer. "Big bunch of cattle running away."
"Oh, my!" exclaimed Uncle Fred. "Well, get right after 'em! Stop 'em!" ”

“ It was two or three days after Mun Bun had become stuck in the mud pie that the children awakened one morning to find a high wind blowing outside.
"Oh, is this a cyclone?" asked Violet, for she had heard they had such winds in the West.
"Oh, no, this wind is nothing like as strong as a cyclone," answered Uncle Fred. "It's just one of our summer winds. They're strong, but they do no damage. Look out for your hair if you go outdoors; it might blow off."
"My hair can't blow off 'cause it's fast to me—it's growed fast!" explained Violet. ”

“ But everything came out all right, you see, and Red Feather, to show how grateful he was to Rose, brought her, a week or so later, a beautiful basket, woven of sweet grass that smelled for a long time like the woods and fields.
With this Rose was immensely pleased.
There were many happy days at Three Star Ranch. The prairies did not get on fire again, and the cattle seemed to quiet down, and not want to stampede to make work for every one.
Russ and Laddie and Rose and Vi had fine fun riding their ponies to and fro, for they [199] were allowed to go out alone, if they did not ride too far. ”

“ Every day some of the six little Bunkers, and, sometimes, all of them, went to the mysterious spring, to see if any of the water had run out, but it seemed to be all right, and behaving just as a spring should.
"Though there's no telling when it will go dry again," said Uncle Fred. "We'll have to keep watch of it. For nearly every time the spring goes dry I lose some cattle."
"May we go for a ride on our ponies to-day?" asked Russ of his mother one morning. "Laddie and I want a ride." ”

“ At times, when the wind blew with unusual strength, the children could smell the smoke and burning grass.
"Does the wind push the fire on, same as it pushed Russ's sail-wagon?" asked Vi.
"Just the same," answered her father. "The fire comes toward us just as fast as the wind blows. If the wind would only blow the other way the fire would not harm us."
But the wind was blowing right toward Uncle Fred's ranch houses, and he and the cowboys knew they must hurry to plow the safety strip of land. ”

“ He and Russ began to make the queer carriage in which Margy was to ride. Perhaps you may have seen them in Indian pictures. A long pole is fastened on either side of a horse, being tied to the edge of the saddle. The ends drag behind the horse on the ground, and between these poles is a platform, or a piece of bagging stretched, in which the Indian squaws and their papooses, or babies, ride. It is just like a carriage or cart, except that it has no wheels.
It took Russ and Laddie longer than they thought it would to make the Indian carriage for Margy. ”

“ Over to the corral Russ and Laddie ran, and soon they were leading out their own two special ponies. A little later they were riding them around the big fenced-in meadow, playing they were cowboys and Indians, though Russ was not allowed to have a lasso. Uncle Fred had said that if a little boy, like Russ, played with a rope while riding a pony, the cord might get tangled in the pony's legs, and throw it.
"This is lots of fun!" cried Laddie, as he trotted about. ”

“ Then the rest of the little Bunkers came [49] down, each one eager to see Uncle Fred and hear more of his wonderful stories of the West. And he was glad to tell them, for he liked the children, and, knowing they had never been out on a ranch, he realized how strange it all was to them.
"If we are really going West," said Mother Bunker to Daddy Bunker, after breakfast, "I must begin to think of packing up again. It seems we do nothing but travel!" ”

“ The grown folk stayed up a bit later, talking about different things, and the queer spring on Uncle Fred's ranch.
"I hope I can find the men who have been taking my cattle," said the Westerner, as he got ready for his berth, as the beds in the sleeping-car are called.
"We'll help you find the bad chaps," said Daddy Bunker.
"And the children will want to help, too," added Mrs. Bunker. "Especially Russ and Laddie. They think they are getting to be quite big boys now. They may find out what is the matter with your spring, Fred." ”

“ On and on rode Laddie and Russ, their ponies trotting over the grassy plain. The day was warm and sunny, and the two boys were having a grand time.
"I wish I was an Indian," said Russ, with [214] a sigh, as he let his pony walk a way, for it seemed tired.
"I'd rather be a cowboy," said Laddie.
"But Indians can live in a tent," went on Russ. "And if they don't like it in one place they can take their tent to another place. If you're a cowboy and live in a house, like Uncle Fred's, you have to stay where the house is." ”

“ To know the six little Bunkers is to take them at once to your heart, they are so intensely human, so full of fun and cute sayings. Each story has a little plot of its own—one that can be easily followed—and all are written in Miss Hope's most entertaining manner. ”

“ If bad men take my cattle away in the night, as they do, without paying me, I lose money. And that's why I came on East here."
"Surely you didn't come all the way from Moon City to find out who was taking your cattle at Three Star Ranch!" exclaimed Mother Bunker.
"Oh, no. The men who are doing that are right out there. I've left some of my cow [39] boys to attend to them," answered Uncle Fred. "What I came on for, besides getting you to go back with me, is to get some books about springs and streams of water, and also to talk with some engineers about a queer spring on my ranch." ”

“ It was no easy work to move a man with a broken leg from the field near the bridge to the bunk-house of Three Star Ranch, but at last it was done, and then the doctor was sent for. He said the cowboy, who gave his name as Sam Thurston, would have to stay in bed for a while, until his leg got well.
Getting the cowboy to the bunk-house, and going for the doctor, who lived some miles away, took up so much time that it was dark before Uncle Fred, Daddy Bunker and Captain Roy had time to think about looking at the well Laddie and Russ had dug. ”

“ Cows you might call them, though we speak of them as cattle. Some men raise horses on their ranches, but though I have some horses and ponies, I have more cattle than anything else.
"I have to keep a number of men to look after the cattle. These men are called cowboys, and they ride about the ranch on horses, or cow ponies, and see that the cattle are all right, that they get enough to eat and drink, and that no one takes them away."
"What do the Indians do?" asked Russ. "Tell us about them."
"Well, some of the Indians farm," said Uncle Fred. ”

“ CHAPTER XII LADDIE CATCHES A RIDDLE
Mrs. Bunker was startled when she did not see Violet with the other little Bunkers.
"Where's Vi?" she asked the other children. "Where did she go?"
"Oh, she just took her doll for a walk," said Russ. "She went away a little while ago, over there," and he pointed to the rolling plains behind the willow trees.
The plain was not flat, like a board. It was rolling land, with hills and hollows here and there. Some of the hills were high enough to hide a man behind them. ”

“ If he was awake he did not remember it. He must have toddled down the aisle of the car, all by himself, and then have crawled into the berth with the strange man. The latter was not awakened until he had his queer dream about his pet dog, and then he found Mun Bun.
"And just in time, too," said Uncle Fred, as they were all laughing about it at breakfast the next morning. "I wouldn't have liked to get all the passengers awake to find a lost boy. After this, Mun Bun, we'll have to put a hobble on you."
"What's a hobble?" asked Russ.
"Is it an Indian?" Violet wanted to know. ”

“ The two who had seen the stampede first, and ridden in to tell the news, bringing Laddie and Russ on the way, were joined by other cowboys. They then rode toward the rushing cattle, to head them off, or turn them back.
A stampede on a ranch means that a lot of steers or horses become so frightened over something that they all run together, and don't pay any attention to where they are going. If one of their number falls, the others trample right over it. So, too, if a cowboy on his horse got too close to the stampeding cattle, he would be trampled on. ”

“ Captain Roy, the father, had just come back.
"Yes, a few were driven off, as almost always happens when the spring goes dry," said the ranchman in answer to Captain Roy's question. "It is a puzzle—beats Laddie's riddles all to pieces."
"I suppose he'll be getting up some new ones about the Indian to-morrow," said Captain Roy.
"If the Indian doesn't run off in the night with one of the ponies," said Daddy Bunker.
"Oh, he won't go," declared Uncle Fred. "He's being treated too nicely here. He'll stay until his foot gets better." ”

“ My mother says we must help everybody, and give them a drink of cold water, even our enemies, and I know you're not an enemy."
"I don't know about that," said the cowboy with a queer laugh, and he turned his head away and seemed to be looking at his horse, which was on the other side of the bridge, eating grass.
"No, you're not an enemy," went on Russ. "An enemy is a bad man, and you're not that." ”

“ It really went very well over the smooth floor of the attic, for the roller-skate wheels turned very easily, even if they did get crooked now and then because the strings with which they were tied on, slipped.
Up the stairs, bumpity bump, came Laddie and Vi with the ironing-board.
"Mother wasn't there, and I didn't see Norah, so I just took the board," said Laddie. "Now we'll put one end on a box and the other end on the floor, and we'll have a hill. Then we can ride the scooter downhill just like we rode our sleds at Grandpa Ford's."
"Yes, I guess we can," said Russ. ”

“ I'll show them to you," said Uncle Fred. "We'll go back by way of the spring. I have some Shetland ponies," he went on to Daddy Bunker. "I raised a few and may raise more. The larger children can ride on them while they're at the ranch."
"That will be fine!" exclaimed Mrs. Bunker. "Oh, I'm sure the children will love it here."
They turned back toward the spring to go to the pony corral.
"I'm thirsty!" exclaimed Russ, as they reached the water hole. "I'm going to run on ahead and get a drink." ”

“ There were big cases of canned peaches in Bill Johnson's kitchen, and when Russ asked him why he had so many the cook said:
"Well, the boys seem to like 'em more than anything else. It's hard to get fresh fruit out on a cattle ranch, so I keep plenty of the canned stuff on hand. Often a cowboy will eat two cans at once when he comes in from a ride very hungry."
So the six little Bunkers had something to eat, even if it was not supper time, and then they went with Captain Roy to look at the ponies again. ”

“ Each time cattle were taken the spring was made to go dry, and the men thus fooled Uncle Fred and his cowboys. The bad men would hide the cattle and sell them to other men who did not know they were stolen.
So the secret of the spring might never have been discovered except for Laddie and Russ making that race to the bridge where they found the cowboy with the broken leg.
Sam Thurston became good after that, his leg healed, and he worked for Uncle Fred for a number of years. The bad men were sent to prison for a long time, and had no more chance to take cattle from any one. ”

“ So back they went to where Laddie, Rose and the others were waiting.
"Did you get him?" asked Laddie eagerly, when he saw Russ.
"No, he got me," was the answer. "I guess we won't play Wild West any more. We'll be Indians and not cowboys. Indians don't have to lasso buffaloes, do they, Uncle Fred."
"No, Indians have it sort of easy out here [90] on their reservation," said Mr. Bell with a laugh. "I guess it will be safer for you boys to be Indians."
"That'll be fun too," agreed Russ.
"But we must have some feathers for our heads," said Laddie. ”

“ Russ could pull on the ropes fast to the front wheels, and steer his "ship" out of the way of stones and holes.
"Well, the youngsters did pretty well!" exclaimed Uncle Fred, as he saw Russ and Laddie sailing along.
"Yes, they did better than I expected they would," said their father. "If they don't upset they'll be all right."
Laddie and Russ did not seem to be going to do this. The wind wagon appeared to be a great success.
"Oh, who made it? Where did you get it? Whose is it? Can't I have a ride?" cried Violet, when she saw the new toy. ”

“ Russ had fallen in a bunch of soft grass, so he was not hurt; and the pony, after trotting around in a circle, stood still and began to eat grass.
"I wouldn't try to ride fast yet a while," said Uncle Fred. "Better learn more about the ponies first. You can have just as much fun riding slowly, and then you won't tumble off."
"I won't go fast any more," said Russ, as his uncle helped him back into the saddle. The other children did not have any accidents, and rode around on the ponies for some time. Then Mun Bun and Margy [102] awakened from their naps, and they, too, wanted rides. ”