r said. "I know I can get to him; but how can I
pull him up out of the mud?"

This was a harder question to answer than one of Vi's. The rails did not
sink much under Russ's weight, and he believed he could get within reach
of the calf. But, having reached the animal, what could the boy do?

"Bla-a-at!" bawled the calf, his smutched head lifted out of the mire.

"Oh, dear! The poor bossy!" gasped Rose, staggering along with another
rail. "How you going to help him, Russ?"

"Give me that rail," commanded her brother, standing up gingerly upon
the crisscrossed rails. "I bet I can keep him from sinking any farther,
anyway. And maybe Tad will find his owner before long."

Russ had just thought of something to do. He balanced himself carefully
and took the last rail from Rose.

"Oh, Russ!" cried Vi, "your shoes are getting all muddy."

"Well, I can clean them, can't I?" panted the boy.

"How can you when you haven't any blacking and brush here?" asked Vi.

Russ paid her and her question no attention. He had too much to think of
just then. He pointed the rail he held downward and pushed it into the
mire just beyond the far end of the platform he had built. The calf
bawled again, and struggled some more; but Russ knew he was not hurting
the creature, although he could feel the end of the rail scraping down
along the calf's side.

He pushed down with all his might until at least half the length of the
rail was out of sight. It was poked down right behind the calf's
forelegs. Russ thought that if he could pry up the fore-end of the calf,
the animal could not drown in the mud.

This is what he tried to do, anyway. And although the calf began to
struggle again, being evidently very much frightened, Russ was able to
force the end of the rail up, and lifted the calf's head and shoulders.

"Oh, Russ, you're doing it!" cried Rose.

The other children jumped up and down in their delight, and praised him
too. All but Mun Bun. He didn't say anything, for the very good reason
that he was no longer there to say it!

Nobody had noticed the little boy for the last few minutes. Mun Bun
always liked to help, and he had first followed Rose to try to pull a
rail off the fence. This was too heavy for Mun Bun, so he had wandered
along the road to find a rail or a stick or something that he could drag
back to help make Russ Bunker's platform.

None of the others had noticed his absence, and Mun Bun was out of sight
when Russ, with