FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101  
102   103   104   >>  
me distance away, the rattle of a drum. "Another queer noise!" exclaimed Grandma Ford in dismay. "What will happen next?" CHAPTER XXI MR. WHITE Rattle and bang-bang and rattle sounded the noise of the drum in Grandpa Ford's house, and yet, as the grown folks downstairs in the sitting-room looked at one another, they could not imagine who was playing at soldier. And yet that is what it sounded like--children beating a drum. "Are any of those little ones up?" asked Mother Bunker. "Could they have gotten out of their beds to beat a drum?" "I didn't know they had a drum with them," said Daddy Bunker. "They didn't bring any from home," returned his wife. "There is an old drum up in the attic," said Grandpa Ford. "It used to belong to Mr. Ripley, I think. Could Russ or Laddie have gone up there and be beating that?" "The noise has stopped now," remarked Grandma Ford. "Let's go up and see which of the six little Bunkers did it," and she smiled at Mrs. Bunker. It took only a glance into the different rooms to show that all six of the little Bunkers were in bed. Margy and Mun Bun had not been awakened by the drumming or the talk, but the other four were now waiting with wide-open eyes to learn what had happened. "There it goes again!" exclaimed Daddy Bunker. Surely enough the rub-a-dub-dubbing sounded again, this time more loudly than before, because the grown folks were nearer the attic. "We must see what it is," said Grandpa Ford. "We surely must," at once agreed Daddy Bunker. As he and Grandpa Ford started up the stairs to the attic the drumming noise stopped, and all was quiet when the two men went into the attic. It was not dark, as Daddy Bunker took with him his electric flashlight, which he flashed into the different corners. "Where is that drum you spoke of, Father?" he asked of Grandpa Ford. "I don't see it now," was the answer. "It used to hang up on one of the rafters. But maybe the children took it down." Daddy Bunker flashed his light to and fro. "Here it is!" he cried, and he pointed to the drum standing up at one side of the big chimney, which was in the center of the attic. "The children did have it down, playing with it. "But I don't see what would make it rattle," went on Daddy Bunker. "Unless," he added, "a rat is flapping its tail against the drum." The noise had stopped again, but, all of a sudden, as Grandpa Ford and Daddy Bunker stood looking at the dr
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101  
102   103   104   >>  



Top keywords:

Bunker

 

Grandpa

 

rattle

 
children
 
stopped
 

sounded

 
flashed
 

playing

 

Grandma

 

drumming


exclaimed
 

beating

 

Bunkers

 

agreed

 

surely

 
happened
 

nearer

 

dubbing

 

loudly

 
Surely

Father

 
chimney
 

center

 

pointed

 

standing

 

Unless

 

sudden

 
flapping
 

electric

 

flashlight


stairs

 

corners

 

rafters

 

answer

 

waiting

 

started

 

soldier

 

imagine

 

looked

 

Mother


sitting

 

dismay

 

Another

 

distance

 

happen

 

Rattle

 
downstairs
 

CHAPTER

 

glance

 

smiled