ture of a
Banks cat. And don't they call 'em that because maybe they live in banks
and haven't any tails so they won't get shut in a door? Will you answer
that question, Grandpa?"

"Really, Laddie boy, I should say there were almost a dozen questions
there!" laughed Grandpa Ford. "But I'll answer only one now. About the
cats. There is a kind called Manx, and that sounds like banks, I
suppose. Manx is an island, near England, and cats that come from there
have no tails--or at least they have only little short ones that you can
hardly see. I guess when your mother told you about the Manx cats you
thought she said 'banks.' But now run along and have some fun."

Grandpa Ford turned up the walk with Miss Ripley, and Laddie and Russ
heard her say:

"Father sent me over to tell you not to be alarmed, as he doesn't
believe it is anything. He'll come out and help you look for whatever it
may be, if you want him to."

"Oh, the six little Bunkers and their father and mother are coming with
me," said Mr. Ford. "The six little Bunkers don't know about the strange
goings on, as yet, but their father and mother will help me hunt for
the----"

That was all Russ and Laddie heard, for their grandfather turned a
corner in the path then, and his voice was not so loud.

"I wonder if they're talking about a riddle," said Laddie.

"I don't guess so," returned Russ. He knew, or thought he knew, what
Miss Ripley and Grandpa Ford were talking about. It was the "secret"
about which he and Rose had heard something.

But it was not yet time to tell Laddie anything about it. Russ wished
Rose had been with him to hear what Miss Ripley said. Rose might know
what it all meant.

"But we'll wait until we get to Great Hedge," thought Russ. Then to
Laddie he said: "Come on, we'll go and spend our nickels."

"All right," agreed the little boy. "But I was pretty near right about
the Banks cat; wasn't I?"

"Pretty near," agreed Russ.

When Russ and Laddie reached home again, after a trip to the store, they
found Miss Ripley had gone. And then, for a time, Russ, as well as Rose,
forgot about the "secret," as the whole family, six little Bunkers and
all, were so busy packing up to go away.

At last, after some weeks, the day came. The trunks and valises had been
packed, the house in Pineville had been shut for the winter, the water
being turned off so it would not freeze, and everything was all ready
for the winter visit to Grandpa Ford at Grea