the boat."

"Laddie went in the house," said Rose. "I'll find him then," returned
Russ, and into the house he went, calling:

"Laddie! Laddie! Where are you? Come on and help me sail the boat!"

"Laddie was here a minute ago," said Jane, the hired girl, when Russ
reached the kitchen in his search. "He asked me to give him some sugar in
a cup."

"What'd he want of sugar?" asked Russ.

"I don't know," answered Jane. "But I gave him some and he went out in a
hurry."

"Maybe he's going to make candy," said Russ.

"No, I don't believe so. He'd have to cook sugar on a fire to make candy,
and you know your grandmother or your mother wouldn't let you play with
fire."

"That's so," agreed Russ. "I wonder what Laddie wanted of the sugar. I've
got to find him."

CHAPTER XIX

DOWN IN THE WELL

Russ went out of the kitchen and looked all around the house for his
brother Laddie. He did not see the little fellow, but, on the side steps
he saw some white grains of sugar, and Russ could follow them a little
way. The trail led down across the brook and toward the meadow.

"He went this way," Russ thought to himself, "and he had the sugar with
him. Maybe he's going out to the woods to feed the birds. Or maybe he's
going to have a play party with Rose and the others. I'll find 'em and
have some fun myself."

But Laddie was not with the other little Bunkers, for Russ saw Rose, Vi,
Margy and Mun Bun playing under one of the trees.

"Hi, Rose!" called Russ. "Have you found Laddie?"

"No," Rose answered, "I didn't look for him."

"I saw him," said Tom, the hired man. "He went over that way," and he
pointed across the brook.

"Do you mean over to Strawberry Hill?" asked Russ, for so they had come to
call the place where the wild red berries grew.

"Well, yes, I s'pose you might say towards Strawberry Hill," replied Tom.

Across the brook hurried Russ, and, a little way ahead of him, he saw his
brother.

"Hi, Laddie!" he called. "Wait for me! Where are you going?"

Laddie waited, and Russ soon caught up to him. But Laddie did not at once
answer his older brother's question. So Russ asked again:

"Where are you going?" Then, before Laddie had a chance to say anything,
Russ went on: "I know! You're going to pick wild strawberries, and put
sugar on 'em."

"No, I'm not," returned Laddie slowly. "I'll tell you what I'm going to
do. I'm going to give some sugar to the sheep."

"Give sugar to the sheep?" cried R