were, too, though Mun Bun said
they had too many bones in them, and this, perhaps, was true. But all
fish have bones.

As the days went on Uncle Fred and his men, as well as Daddy Bunker,
tried to find the lost cattle, or the men who, it was thought, had taken
them. But they could not. The cattle seemed to have vanished, leaving no
trace.

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."

"Will you be very careful," asked his mother, "not to go outside the big
field?"

"Oh, yes, we'll just stay in the big field," promised Laddie. "Come on,
Russ! We'll have some fun!"

The four older Bunker children had learned to ride the little Shetland
ponies very well. Uncle Fred had let them take, for their own use, four
of the best animals, which were kind and gentle. He had also set aside
for them a big fenced-in field, where they might ride.

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.

"Most fun we ever had!" agreed Russ.

But as the six little Bunkers said this every place they went, you can
take it for what it is worth. Certainly they were having good times at
Uncle Fred's.

When Russ and Laddie were giving their ponies a rest in the shade of a
tree that grew at one side of the field, they heard a voice calling to
them:

"Give me a ride! Oh, please give me a ride!"

"It's Margy!" cried Russ, looking around. "How'd you get here, Margy?"
he asked.

"I walked," stated the little girl. "Mother and Daddy have gone to the
store with Violet to get her a new dress, and Mun Bun has gone, too. I
stayed at home with Rose."

"Where is Rose now?" asked Laddie.

"She