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Mun Bun meant a "turtle," of course.
"But I didn't find any," he went on, "and I went down deeper and deeper, and then I hollered like anything."
"And I heard him," said Margy. "I was going to wade in and get him, but my feet went down deep in the mud, so I ran for you."
"It's a good thing you did," said her mother. "You mustn't come here again. You might get stuck and never get out. Never come here again!"
"Can't we make mud pies in the sand?" asked Mun Bun.
"Yes, but you mustn't hunt for mud turtles. Stay outside the bog fence."
The children promised that they would, and then came the work of washing Mun Bun and Margy. Margy was the easiest to clean, as she only had mud on her up to her knees. She waded in the creek where there was a clean, sandy bottom, and where the water was clear, and soon the mud was washed off her.
"But as for Mun Bun," said his father, "I guess I'll have to put him in the creek, clothes and all, up to his neck, and let the water wash the mud away."
"I guess you'd better," said Mrs. Bunker. "That's the only way to get off the mud."
The day was warm, and so was the water, so Mun Bun was set down in the creek at a clean place, and he and his clothes were washed at the same time. The mud was rinsed from his hands and face and, in time, it came off his feet, legs and clothes.
"It's just like I been in swimming with all my things on!" laughed Mun Bun, as his father lifted him out of the pond.
"Well, don't make any more mud pies right away," his mother told him, and Mun Bun promised not to.
The other little Bunkers laughed when they heard what had happened to Mun Bun.
"Maybe I could make up a riddle about Mun Bun in a mud pie," said Laddie.
"I don't want you to!" the little boy exclaimed. "I don't want to be in a riddle."
"All right. Then I'll make up one about something else," went on Laddie. "This is it. What is it you cannot take from the top of a house to the bottom?"
"Pooh! that isn't a riddle," said Russ.
"Say it again," begged Rose.
"What is it you can't take from the top of a house and put it on the bottom -- I mean like down cellar?" asked Laddie.
"There isn't anything," declared Violet. "If you got anything in the top of your house you can take it down cellar, if you want to; can't you, Daddy?"
"Well, I should think so, yes," answered Mr. Bunker.
"No, you can't!" declared Laddie. "Do you all give up? What is it in the top of the house that you can't take down cellar with you?"
"The chimney," answered Russ.
"Nope," said Laddie. "'Cause the chimney starts down cellar, anyhow, and goes up to the top. I mean what's in the top of a house you can't take down cellar?"
"We'll give up," said his mother. "What is it?"
"A hole in the roof!" answered Laddie with a laugh. "You can't take a hole in the roof down cellar, can you?"
"No, I guess you can't," admitted Uncle Fred. "That's a pretty good riddle, Laddie."
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.
"Well, then be careful it doesn't blow you away, hair and all!" said Uncle Fred, but by the way he laughed Violet knew he was only joking.
The children went out to play, and they had to hold their hats on most of the time, as the wind blew across the plain so strongly. But the six little Bunkers did not mind.
"If we only had a boat, and the pond was big enough, we could have a fine sail!" cried Laddie, as he looked at the wind making little waves on the place where Mun Bun had been stuck in the mud.
"Oh, I know what we could make!" suddenly exclaimed Russ.
"What?" his brother wanted to know.
"A wind wagon."
"A wind wagon?"
"Yes, you know, a wagon that the wind will blow. Come on, we'll do it. Mother read me a story once about a boy who lived in the West, and he made himself a wind wagon and he had a nice ride. Come on, we'll make one!"
Chapter XVI
"Captain Russ"
Laddie knew Russ could make many play-things, for he had seen his brother at work. But a wind wagon was something new. Laddie did not see how this could be made.
"Where are you going to get your wagon?" he asked Russ, as the two boys went out to the barn.
"There's an old express wagon out here. I saw it the other day. It's broken, but maybe we can fix it. Uncle Fred said it belonged to a family that used to live on this ranch before he bought it. We'll make the wind wagon out of that."
In a corner of the barn, under a pile of trash and rubbish, was found an old, broken toy express wagon.
"The four wheels are all right, and that's the main thing," said Russ. "We can fix the other part. The wheels you must have, else you can't make a wind wagon. Come on! We'll have lots of fun."
Then began the making of the wind wagon, though Laddie, even yet, didn't know exactly what Russ meant by it. But Russ soon told his brother what he was going to do, and not only told him, but showed him.
"You see, Laddie," explained Russ, "a water ship sails on the ocean or a lake 'cause the wind blows on the sail and makes it go."
"Yes," answered Laddie, "I know that."