THE GHOST AT LAST
"Merry Christmas!" called the six little Bunkers.
"Merry Christmas!" answered Grandpa and Grandma Ford and Daddy and
Mother Bunker. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas!" called Dick as he tramped in from the barn, all
covered with snow.
And such a jolly Christmas as it was! If each of the six little Bunkers
did not get exactly what he or she wanted, all got something just as
good.
There were toys, dolls, sleds, games and picture books. There was a
magic lantern for Russ--something he had long wanted. There was a toy
airship, that could be wound up and would fly, for Laddie. This he had
wished for many times.
And the grown folks were not forgotten. There were fur-lined slippers
for both Grandpa and Grandma Ford, a gold pin for Mother Bunker, and a
new shaving set for Daddy Bunker. Dick had some new neckties, a pipe,
and a pair of rubber boots.
"Just what I wanted!" he exclaimed.
And I wish you could have seen the Christmas tree! It was a beautiful
one, and covered with colored balls that sparkled red, green, blue, and
yellow in the candle light. It was wonderful!
"I wish I could try my new skates," said Russ. But this was a vain wish,
as the ice on the pond, as well as the ground, was covered with snow.
"But we can have lots more rides now, 'cause I got my big new sled, and
you can all take turns on it," said Laddie. "And, oh, I've thought of a
new riddle!" he cried. "Why would your dress be good to go fishing with,
Mother?" he asked.
"Why would my dress be good to go fishing with?" repeated Mrs. Bunker.
"It wouldn't, Laddie. I wouldn't want to soil my nice dress by going
fishing in it."
"Anyhow, what's that got to do with your new sled?" asked Russ.
"Nothing," answered Laddie. "Only I just happened to think of this
riddle. Why would Mother's dress be good to go fishing with?"
"Well, why would it?" asked Grandma Ford. "I want to hear the answer,
because I have to go out into the kitchen and see about getting the
dinner. Why would your mother's dress be good for fishing with, Laddie?"
"'Cause it's got hooks on," he answered with a laugh. "I heard her ask
you to hook it up this morning. Isn't that a good riddle?"
"Very good," answered Grandma Ford. "Now see if you can think of one
about roast chicken, as that's what we're going to have for dinner. Get
good and hungry, all of you."
"Better go out into the air and play a while," suggested Daddy Bunker.
"That will give you good, healthy appetites."
So the six little Bunkers went out to play. It was not very cold, but
Grandpa Ford said it looked as though there would be more snow.
"Then we can make more snow men!" shouted Russ. "And maybe I'll make an
ice boat, too, when the snow melts so we can go on the pond."
Out in the snow rushed the six little Bunkers, and they had fun playing
near the big hedge which gave Grandpa Ford's place its name.
When the children were romping about, sliding down a little hill they
made, and tumbling about in the snow, along came Mr. Thompson.
"Merry Christmas!" he called to Russ, Rose and the others.
"Merry Christmas!" they answered.
Mun Bun and Margy, who had been making a little snow man all by
themselves, stopped their play and walked toward the house.
"Where are you going?" asked Russ.
"I'm going to ask Grandma for a cookie," explained Mun Bun. "I'm
hungry."
"So'm I," added Margy.
"Don't eat before dinner," advised Rose. "Save your 'hungry' for the
roast chicken."
And Grandma Ford told the little ones the same thing, but they insisted
that they wanted a cookie each, so she gave them one apiece, but they
were rather small.
"Because," said Grandma, "I want you to eat my nice, brown, roast
chicken."
And Mun Bun and Margy did. For, when dinner time came, they had as good
appetites as any of the others. Every one seemed to be hungry, and, for
a while, the sound of the clatter of the knives, forks and plates was
louder than the talk.
After dinner they sat about the open fire on the big hearth in the
living-room, and cracked nuts. Or, rather, Grandpa Ford cracked them and
the children ate them.
"Wouldn't it be funny," began Russ, "if we should----"
And, just then, there suddenly sounded throughout the house that
strange, groaning sound.
"O-u-g-h-m!"
It seemed louder than ever, and, for a moment, every one was startled.
Mun Bun and Margy ran to their mother.
"Come on!" called Grandpa Ford to Daddy Bunker. "We must find out what
that noise is. It has been going on long enough, and now to have it
come when we are all so happy at Christmas time is too much! We must
find where it is."
"Can't we help hunt?" asked Russ.
"Yes, let us, Mother, won't you?" added Rose.
"But what is it?" asked Laddie. "What makes the funny groaning noise?"
"Maybe Mr. Thompson is blowing his horn," said Vi.
The groaning noise kept up longer this time than ever before. Every few
minutes it would echo through the house. Sometimes it sounded as though
upstairs, and again down in the cellar.
"We'll try the attic," said Grandpa Ford.
He and Daddy Bunker went up there. Grandma Ford and Mother Bunker stayed
in the sitting-room with Mun Bun and Margy.
"Come on!" called Russ to Rose. "Let's go and look."
Rose followed her brother.
"Want to come?" she asked Violet and Laddie.
"Yep," the twins said exactly together, just as twins should, I
suppose.
Russ, Rose, Laddie and Vi walked slowly through the different downstairs
rooms. In each one they listened. In some they could hear the noise more
plainly than in others. Finally they came to the kitchen.
"It sounds plainer here," said Russ.
And, just then, the groan sounded so near at hand that Rose jumped and
caught Russ by the arm.
"O-u-g-h-m!"
Again the groan sounded.
"It's over in there!" cried Laddie, pointing to a large storeroom
opening out of the kitchen. The door of this room was open, and the
noise, indeed, did seem to come from there.
"Let's go in!" suggested Russ, and he started toward it.
"Maybe you'd better call Grandpa and Daddy, and let them look," said Vi.
Just then Mother Bunker and Grandma Ford, followed by the two smallest
children, came into the kitchen.
"Oh, we've found the ghost!" cried Rose to her mother. "It's in the
storeroom! Listen!"
The two women listened. The groan sounded very plainly, and did seem to
come from the room off the kitchen.
Grandma Ford walked in. All was quiet for a moment, and then the noise
sounded again.
"I've found it!" cried Grandma Ford. "I've found the ghost at last!"
"What is it?" exclaimed Mother Bunker.
"I don't know exactly what makes it," said Grandma Ford; "but the noise
comes out of this rain-water pipe under the window of the storeroom.
We'll call Daddy Bunker and Grandpa Ford and have them look. But come in
and listen, all of you."
With their mother the six little Bunkers went into the storeroom. Just
as they entered the groan sounded loudly, and, as Grandma Ford said, it
came from a rain-water pipe that ran slantingly under the window.
"That's the ghost!" cried Mother Bunker. "No wonder we couldn't find it.
We never looked here before."
And when Daddy Bunker and Grandpa Ford came down out of the attic, where
they had not been able to find the "ghost," though they heard the sound
of it faintly there, they were told what the six little Bunkers had
discovered with the help of Grandma Ford.
"Yes, the noise comes from the rain-water pipe," said Grandpa Ford, when
he had looked and listened carefully.
"What makes it?" asked Daddy Bunker.
"Well, the pipe is broken, and partly filled with water from the rain or
melted snow. There are also some dried leaves in the pipe. One end has
sunk down and the wind blows across that and makes a hollow, groaning
sound, just as you can make by blowing across the open mouth of a big,
empty bottle. That was the ghost--the wind blowing across the broken
water pipe."
"Yes, that is what made it," said Daddy Bunker, when he had taken a look
and had listened again. "The sound comes loudest when the wind blows."
"The noise sounded, sometimes, when the wind didn't blow," said Grandpa
Ford, as he took the pipe apart, "because of the dried leaves that were
in it. The leaves became water-soaked, and were in a lump. Then, when
this lump slid down it made a sort of choking sound like a pump that
runs out of water. The wind blowing across the pipe, and the wet leaves
sinking down, made the queer noises. I'm glad we've found out about
them."
"But what made it blow all through the house?" asked Mother Bunker.
"Because there are rain-water pipes, or drain pipes, from the gutters on
all sides of the house," explained her husband. "The pipes are
connected, and the sound, starting in the broken pipe under the window
in the storeroom, vibrated all around the house from the attic to the
cellar. That ends the ghost, children."
And so it did, for when that pipe and some others were mended, and
fastened together after being cleaned out, no more groans were heard.
And so the "ghost" at Great Hedge was found to be nothing more than all
ghosts are--something natural and simple.
"Now I can make a riddle about it," said Laddie. "I can ask why is a
ghost like an umbrella?"
"Why is it?" asked Violet.
"'Cause it hid in a rain-water pipe. 'Course that isn't a _very_ good
riddle," admitted Laddie. "Maybe I'll think of a better one after a
while."
"Well, it's good enough this time," laughed Grandpa Ford. "Now the ghost
is 'laid,' as they call it, we'll have lots of fun at Great Hedge."
And so the children did. The Christmas holidays passed and New Year's
came. The snow melted, and there was a chance for more skating and for
rides in the ice boat. Russ kept his word and made one, but it upset
more times than it sailed.
"I wonder what we'll do next Winter," said Rose, as she and Russ were
sliding downhill one day.
"Summer comes before next Winter," he said. "Maybe we'll go visiting
again."
And where the children went and what they did you may learn by reading
the next volume of this series, to be called: "Six Little Bunkers at
Uncle Fred's." He had a ranch out West and----
But there, I'll let you read the book for yourselves.
"Oh, but we're having lots of fun here," said Laddie that night, as he
sat trying to think of a new riddle. "Lots of fun."
"And the best fun of all was finding the ghost that wasn't a ghost,"
said Russ.
And I think so myself. So, having been on many adventures with the six
little Bunkers, we will leave them for a while.
THE END
_This Isn't All!_
Would you like to know what became of the good friends you have made in
this book?
Would you like to read other stories continuing their adventures and
experiences, or other books quite as entertaining by the same author?
On the _reverse side_ of the wrapper which comes with this book, you
will find a wonderful list of stories which you can buy at the same
store where you got this book.
_Don't throw away the Wrapper_
_Use it as a handy catalog of the books you want some day to have. But
in case you do mislay it, write to the Publishers for a complete
catalog._
SIX LITTLE BUNKERS SERIES
By LAURA LEE HOPE
Author of The Bobbsey Twins Books, The Bunny Brown Series, The Blythe
Girls Books, Etc.
* * * * *
Durably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding. Every Volume
Complete in Itself.
* * * * *
Delightful stories for little boys and girls which sprung into immediate
popularity. 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.
Clean, wholesome volumes which ought to be on the bookshelf of every
child in the land.
SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT GRANDMA BELL'S
SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT AUNT JO'S
SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT COUSIN TOM'S
SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT GRANDPA FORD'S
SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT UNCLE FRED'S
SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT CAPTAIN BEN'S
SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT COWBOY JACK'S
SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT MAMMY JUNE'S
SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT FARMER JOEL'S
SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT MILLER NED'S
SIX LITTLE BUNKERS AT INDIAN JOHN'S
* * * * *
GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
* * * * *
THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES
By LAURA LEE HOPE
Author of the Popular "Bobbsey Twins" Books, Etc
* * * * *
Durably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding. Every Volume
Complete in Itself.
* * * * *
These stories are eagerly welcomed by the little folks from about five
to ten years of age. Their eyes fairly dance with delight at the lively
doings of inquisitive little Bunny Brown and his cunning, trustful
sister Sue.
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON GRANDPA'S FARM
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE PLAYING CIRCUS
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CAMP-REST-A-WHILE
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE BIG WOODS
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON AN AUTO TOUR
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR SHETLAND PONY
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE GIVING A SHOW
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CHRISTMAS TREE COVE
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE SUNNY SOUTH
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE KEEPING STORE
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR TRICK DOG
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT A SUGAR CAMP
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON THE ROLLING OCEAN
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON JACK FROST ISLAND
* * * * *
GROSSET & DUNLAP, _Publishers_, NEW YORK
THE BOBBSEY TWINS BOOKS
For Little Men and Women
By LAURA LEE HOPE
Author of "The Bunny Brown Series," Etc.
* * * * *
Durably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding. Every Volume
Complete in Itself.
* * * * *
These books for boys and girls between the ages of three and ten stands
among children and their parents of this generation where the books of
Louisa May Alcott stood in former days. The haps and mishaps of this
inimitable pair of twins, their many adventures and experiences are a
source of keen delight to imaginative children everywhere.
THE BOBBSEY TWINS
THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE
THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON A HOUSEBOAT
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT MEADOW BROOK
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT HOME
THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN A GREAT CITY
THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON BLUEBERRY ISLAND
THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON THE DEEP BLUE SEA
THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE GREAT WEST
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT CEDAR CAMP
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE COUNTY FAIR
THE BOBBSEY TWINS CAMPING OUT
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AND BABY MAY
* * * * *
GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
* * * * *
Transcriber's note: Obvious printer's punctuation errors have been
repaired.