THE TREASURE
Once more there came sailing through the air a paper "cannon ball." It
fell on the ground between Laddie and Russ and burst open, a lot of dry,
soft sand spilling out.
"There!" cried Laddie. "See! I didn't throw 'em!"
"No, I don't guess you did," admitted Russ. "But who did?"
Just then a jolly laugh sounded, and out from behind a ridge of
sand--one of the dunes made by the wind--came George Carr.
"Did I scare you?" asked George.
"A--a little," admitted Russ, wiggling to get rid of the sand down his
back.
"We didn't know who it was," said Laddie. And he, too, squirmed about,
for there was sand inside his blouse.
"I thought you wouldn't," said George, laughing again. "I saw you
playing soldiers and I thought I'd make believe I was another enemy
coming up behind. You didn't make any fort in back of you," he said to
Russ, "and so I could easily fire at you."
"But we don't put sand in our paper bullets," complained Laddie.
"Don't you?" asked George. "Then I'm sorry I did. I hope I didn't hurt
you, or get any in your eyes."
"No," answered Russ, sort of shaking himself to let the sand sift down
through the legs of his knickerbockers. "But it tickles a lot."
"Well, I won't throw any more," promised George. "But lots of times we
play soldier down on the beach and we throw sand bullets. Only we don't
ever throw 'em at each others' eyes. Sand in your eyes hurts like
anything."
"I know it does," agreed Russ. "Mun Bun got some in his the other day
and he cried a lot."
"Well, come on, let's play soldier some more," suggested George. "I'll
be on Laddie's side. You go in the fort, Russ, and we'll stand against
you. Two to one is fair when the one is inside a fort."
"And won't you throw any more sand bullets or cannon balls?"
"No, only paper ones."
"All right, then I'll play."
Russ went back in his fort, and Laddie and George, outside the wall of
sand, began pelting him with wads of paper. But now the battle went
differently. The attacking force could shoot twice as many paper bullets
and balls as could Russ and they soon ran up on him, pelting him so that
he had to put his hands over his head.
"All right--I surrender! I give up!" he cried.
"Wait till I haul down the flag!" laughed George.
Then he took down the red and blue penciled handkerchief and he and
Laddie took possession of the fort. Russ was beaten, but he did not
mind, for it was all in fun. Then he took a turn outside the fort, with
Laddie and George inside. However, as this was two against one, Russ
could not win, though the three boys had jolly times.
They were pelting away at one another, using paper "bullets" and "cannon
balls," shouting and laughing, when, as they became quiet for a moment,
they heard a voice asking:
"What is all this?"
They looked up to see Mrs. Bunker with Mun Bun and Margy.
"How-do?" called George, grinning.
"Oh, we're having such fun!" cried Laddie. "We're soldiers and we got a
fort, and we had a flag----"
"It's made out of a handkerchief and red and blue pencils," added Russ.
"I want to play soldier!" exclaimed Mun Bun.
"No, it's too rough for you," explained Russ.
"I want to play, too!" insisted Margy.
"We're done playing fort and soldier," said Russ. "We'll play something
else."
"Let's see who can dig the deepest hole," suggested George. "I'll go and
get a shovel, and you have yours, Russ and Laddie. Let's see who can dig
the deepest hole!"
The two older Bunker boys thought this would be fun, and George ran
over to his cottage to get his shovel.
"Can we play that game, Mother?" asked Margy.
"Yes, you and Mun Bun can do that," said Mrs. Bunker.
The warm sun was drying out the beach, and when George came back with
his shovel he and Laddie and Russ began three holes in a row, each one
trying to make his the deepest. Mun Bun and Margy, each of whom had a
small shovel, also began to dig, though, of course, they could not
expect to dig as fast as the boys, nor make as deep holes.
"I'll sit on the sand and watch you," said Mrs. Bunker.
"Maybe we'll find a treasure," suggested Russ.
"What treasure?" asked George.
"Oh, before we came down here, when we were at our Aunt Jo's in Boston,"
Russ explained, "we knew a boy named Sammie Brown. His father dug up
some treasure on a desert island once. We thought maybe we could dig up
some here."
"But we didn't--not yet," added Laddie.
"And I don't guess we ever will," said Russ. "Only we make believe, lots
of times, that we're going to."
The three boys dug away and Mun Bun and Margy did the same, only more
slowly. Then along came Rose and Violet.
"What are you doing?" Violet asked, getting in her question first, as
usual.
"Digging holes," answered Russ.
"Seeing who can make the biggest," added George. "Mine's deeper than
yours!" he said to Russ.
"Yes, but mine's going to be bigger. I'm going to make a hole big enough
so I can stand down in it and dig. I'm going to make a regular well."
"I guess I will, too," decided George.
"So'll I," said Laddie.
"Well, if you come to water, don't fall in," advised Mrs. Bunker with a
laugh.
"You go get a shovel and dig, too," called Russ to Rose.
"No, I don't want to," said his sister. "I'll watch you."
My, how the sand was flying on the beach now! Russ, Laddie and George
were all digging as fast as they could with their shovels, each one
trying to make the biggest hole. Mun Bun and Margy dug also, but, though
they made a lot of sand fly, they did not always dig in the same place.
Instead of keeping to one hole they made three or four. But they had
just as much fun.
Suddenly Laddie, who had made a hole in which he could stand, it being
so deep that he was half hidden from sight in it, uttered a cry.
"What's the matter?" asked his mother. "Did you hurt yourself?"
"Did you dig up a Sallie Growler?" asked Vi.
"Maybe it's a crab," said Mun Bun, and he dropped his shovel and started
for his mother.
"No, nothing like that," said Laddie. "Only--oh, goody--I guess I've
found the treasure!" he shouted.
"Treasure!" cried Russ. "What do you mean?"
"I guess I've found some gold in my hole!" went on Laddie. "Come and
look! It shines like anything!"
Russ and George leaped out of the holes they were digging and ran toward
Laddie. Mrs. Bunker got up and hurried down the beach. Mun Bun and Margy
followed. Rose and Violet went too.
"Where is it?" asked Russ, stooping over the edge of his brother's hole.
"Where's the treasure?"
"There," answered Laddie, pointing to something shining in the sand. It
did glitter brightly and it was not buried very deeply, being near the
top of the hole, but on the far edge, where Laddie had not done much
digging.
"It is gold!" cried George. "Whoop! Maybe that boy you knew was right,
and there is pirate's treasure here!"
Mrs. Bunker bent down and looked at what Laddie had uncovered. Then she
took a stick and began carefully to dig around it.
"Here, take my shovel," offered Laddie.
"No, I don't want to scratch it, if it is what I think," said his
mother. "I had better dig with the stick."
She went on scratching away the sand. As she did so the piece of shiny
thing became larger. It sparkled more brightly in the sun.
"Is it treasure?" asked Laddie eagerly. "Did I find some gold treasure?"
"Yes, I think you did, Son," said Mrs. Bunker. "It is gold and it is a
treasure."
"Did the pirates hide it?" demanded Russ.
"No, I think not," said Mrs. Bunker with a smile. "I think Rose lost
it."
"Rose lost it!" cried the two Bunker boys. "What?"
"Yes, it is her locket that she dropped when we first came here and
never could find," went on Mrs. Bunker. "Laddie, you have found it. You
have discovered the golden treasure--Rose's locket!"
Having dug away the sand in which it was imbedded, Mrs. Bunker lifted up
a dangling gold chain to which was fastened the gold locket.
"Oh, it is mine!" cried Rose. "Oh, how glad I am to get it back again!
Oh, Laddie, how glad I am!"
Her mother handed the little girl her long-lost locket. It was not a bit
hurt from having been buried in the sand, for true gold does not tarnish
in clean sand. And the ornament was as good as ever. Rose clasped it
about her neck and looked very happy.
"How did it get in my hole?" asked Laddie.
"It didn't," said his mother. "You happened to dig in just the place
where Rose dropped her locket and you uncovered it. Or this may not have
been the exact place where it fell. Perhaps the sands shifted and
carried the locket with them. That is why we could not find it before.
But now we have it back."
"It was like finding real treasure," said Russ.
"I wish we'd find some more," said George. "I'm going to dig a big
hole."
But, though he scooped out more sand, he found no more gold, nor did
Russ, though they found some pretty shells.
Daddy Bunker, Cousin Tom and Cousin Ruth came down to the beach to see
what all the joyful laughter was about and they were told of the finding
of the lost locket Rose had dropped in the sand.
"I never thought I'd get it back," she said, "but I did."
"And I never thought I'd get my doll back," said Vi, "and I didn't. But
I got a nicer one out of the sea."
"Well, that was very good luck," said Daddy Bunker. "For once digging in
the sand had some results."
They all walked up to Cousin Tom's bungalow.
On the way Laddie seemed rather quiet.
"What's the matter?" asked his father. "Aren't you glad you found your
sister's gold locket?"
"Oh, yes, very glad," answered Laddie. "Only I was trying to think up a
riddle about it and I can't. But I have one about why is the ocean like
a garden?"
"'Tisn't like a garden," declared Russ. "It's all water, the ocean is."
"It's like a garden in my riddle," insisted Laddie.
"Why?" his mother asked.
"The ocean is like a garden 'cause it's full of seaweed," answered
Laddie.
"I don't think that's a very good riddle," remarked Russ.
"It wouldn't be a very good garden that had weeds in it," said Mr.
Bunker with a laugh. "Anyhow we ought to be happy because Rose has her
locket back."
And they all were, I'm sure.
"What makes gold so bright?" asked Vi, as she saw the locket sparkling
in the sun.
"Because it is polished," her mother answered.
"What makes it polished?" went on Vi.
"Oh, my dear, if you keep on asking questions I'll get in such a tangle
that I'll never be able to find my way out," laughed her mother. "Come,
we'll get ready to go crabbing this afternoon and that will keep you so
busy you won't want to talk."
"We never came to any nicer place than this, did we?" asked Russ of Rose
as they sat on the pier that afternoon catching crabs by the dozen.
"No, we never had any better fun than we've had here. I wonder where
we'll go next."
"I don't know," answered Russ. "Home, maybe."
But the children did not stay at home very long, and if you want to hear
more about their adventures I invite you to read the next book in this
series. It will be called: "Six Little Bunkers at Grandpa Ford's," and
in it is told all about what happened that winter and how the ghost----
But there. I guess you'd better read the book.
"Daddy! Daddy! Come quick!" called Mun Bun, as he felt a tug at his
line. "I got a terrible big crab!"
"Well, I should say you had!" exclaimed his father, as he caught it in
the net. "It's a wonder it didn't pull you off the pier!"
The crab was a large one, the largest caught that day, and Mun Bun was
very glad and happy. But he was no more glad than was Rose over her
locket that had been lost and found.
And so we will leave them, the six little Bunkers, enjoying the last
days of their visit at Cousin Tom's.
THE END
THE BOBBSEY TWINS BOOKS
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Transcriber's notes:
Punctuation normalised.
Page 100, "it" changed to "in". (when it caved in)