"I can't go first," answered the little girl. "I don't know how you do
it. You go first, Russ."

Russ was very willing to do this. So he took the skate wagon to the top
of the sidewalk "hill," as the little Bunkers called it, and then he put
one foot on the flat board, to which were fastened the roller-skate
wheels.

"You have to push yourself along with one foot, just the same as when
you're skating on one skate," explained Russ. "Then when you get to
going fast you put the other foot on the board and stand there, and you
hold on tight and down you go."

"Show me!" begged Rose, jumping up and down because she was so excited
and pleased.

And then Russ went riding downhill, almost as nicely as he coasted on
the snow in winter.

"Is it fun?" shouted Laddie, from where he stood with Rose at the top of
the hill--only almost no one would have called such a slight grade a
"hill."

"Lots of fun!" answered Russ.

Down to the bottom of the hill he rode, and then he walked up.

"Now it's your turn, Rose," he said, as he handed her the skatemobile.
But the little girl shook her head.

"I'll watch a little more," she said. "Let Laddie go."

So Laddie coasted down. Then Rose took her turn. Down the sidewalk hill
she coasted on the skate wagon, and she was just turning around to wave
to her mother and her brothers, who were watching her, when all of a
sudden out from a gate ran a little dog. Right in front of Rose, and a
little ahead of her he ran, and then he stood on the sidewalk and barked
at her.

"Look out, Rose! Look out!" cried her mother.

"Steer to one side! Turn out for him!" yelled Russ.

"Stick out your foot and stop the skate wagon, same as you stop yourself
on roller skates," cried Laddie.

But Rose, it seemed, could do none of these things. Straight for the
little dog she coasted.

What was going to happen?

CHAPTER XVIII

THE SPINNING TOPS

Rose was not able to stop the skate wagon, on which she was coasting
down the sidewalk hill in front of Aunt Jo's house. Nor did the little
dog seem to want to get out of the way. He just stood in front of Rose,
while she was coasting toward him, and barked and wagged his tail. And
it was almost as if he said:

"Well, what's all this? Are you coming to give me a ride?"

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way--please!" begged Rose. "I'll
bump into you, same as I bumped into the curbstone, if you don't get out
of the way, little dog; and then I'l