said Mrs. Bunker to her little girl, as Vi came
ashore. "But what happened?"

"We were playing sailor," explained Laddie, "and I made the boat out of a
box. Then Vi went for a ride, but the boat sank. What made it sink, Vi?"

"'Cause it's full of cracks and holes--that's why!" answered Russ, who had
caught the soap box as it floated down to him. "Look! It let in a lot of
water, and that's what made it sink," he went on, as he held out the play
boat.

The bottom and sides of the box were filled with many holes, from which
the water now dripped. Laddie told how he had set it afloat in the brook,
with Vi as a passenger. He had pushed her out from shore, hoping to give
her a nice ride, but in the middle of the stream the boat went down, and
Vi was frightened--or maybe just cross because she was not getting the
ride she expected. She screamed. Laddie couldn't understand why the boat
sank, and called out to know. That was when Russ heard them.

"But you're all right now," said Mrs. Bunker. "And it's so warm to-day
that wading in the brook won't hurt you. Only don't upset and fall in. I
don't believe you can ride in your boat, Laddie. It won't float when it
leaks so much."

"'Course not," said Russ, who knew something about boats. "You got to
stuff up all the cracks and holes with putty, Laddie."

"All right; I'll do that," said the little fellow. "I like a boat. I'll
give you a nice ride, Vi, a real long one, after I stuff up the holes."

"No, I guess I don't want to ride in the boat any more," said the little
girl, who was wading in the shallow water near shore, "This is more fun."

"Well, I'll go in the boat myself," said Laddie, taking the box from his
brother. "Got any putty?" he asked.

"No. But maybe Jerry Simms has," answered Russ. "He was putting a new
window glass in the barn yesterday, and he had putty then."

Laddie ran off to beg some putty from the good-natured Jerry, and Vi,
after paddling about a little longer in the brook, went back to the house
with her mother and Norah.

"I guess I'll make me a boat, too," decided Russ. "I can fix the box for
my things to-morrow."

He went to the barn with Laddie, and soon the two boys were building
"boats" out of soap boxes, stuffing the cracks and holes with putty which
Jerry gave them.

Then they went down to the brook and floated the boxes. They did not sink
so quickly as had the one with Vi in it, and Russ and Laddie had lots of
fun until supper time.