the little boy explained.

"I wants a wide!" said Baby William.

"Well, maybe I'll give you a ride after I get tired of bucking," said
Teddy, thinking about it.

They made a ring of chairs on the playroom floor, and in this corral
Teddy crept around on his hands and knees, pretending to be a wild
Western pony. Janet tried to catch him and the children had much fun,
Trouble screaming and laughing in delight.

At last Teddy allowed himself to be caught, for it was hard work
crawling around as he did, and rearing up in the air every now and
then.

"Give me a wide!" pleaded Trouble.

"Yes, I'll ride him on my back," offered Teddy, and his baby brother was
put up there by Janet.

"Now don't go too fast with him, pony," she said.

"Yes, I wants to wide fast, like we does with Nicknack," declared Baby
William. Nicknack was the Curlytops' pet goat.

"All right, I'll give you a fast ride," promised Teddy.

He began crawling about the room with Trouble on his back. The baby
pretended to drive his "horse" by a string which Ted held in his mouth
like reins.

"Go out in de hall--I wants a big wide," directed Trouble.

"All right," assented Teddy. Out into the hall he went and then
forgetting, perhaps, that he had his baby brother on his back, Teddy
began to buck--that is flop up and down.

"Oh--oh! 'top!" begged Trouble.

"I can't! I'm a Wild-West pony," explained Ted, bucking harder than
ever.

He hunched himself forward on his hands and knees, and before he knew
it he was at the head of the stairs. Then, just how no one could say,
Trouble gave a yell, toppled off Teddy's back and the next instant went
rolling down the flight, bump, bump, bumping at every step.

CHAPTER II

NICKNACK AND TROUBLE

"Oh, Teddy!" screamed Janet. "Oh, Trouble!"

Teddy did not answer at once. Indeed he had hard work not to tumble down
the stairs himself after his little brother. Ted clung to the banister,
though, and managed to save himself.

"Oh, he'll be hurt--terrible!" cried Janet, and she tried to get past
her older brother to run downstairs after Trouble.

But Mrs. Martin, who was in the dining-room talking to Nora Jones, the
maid, heard the noise and ran out into the hall.

"Oh, children!" she cried. "Teddy--Janet--what's all that noise?"

"It's Trouble, Mother!" announced Teddy. "I was playing bucking bronco
and----"

"Trouble fell downstairs!" screamed Janet.

While everyone was thus calling out at once,