A rooster was crowing and flapping his wings, and Mother Bunker could hear the voices of Laddie, Mun Bun, Margy and Violet, and Laddie seemed to be making the most noise. Russ, as it happened, was down at the dock with his father and Captain Ben, or he might have helped his little brother.
As Mrs. Bunker turned the corner and came within sight of the chicken yard she saw what was happening. Inside the wire fence, which kept the savage rooster penned up, was Laddie. Outside, as though looking at some show, were Mun Bun, Margy and Vi, and they were screaming with excitement, Vi, every now and then saying:
"Bang him with the stick, Laddie! Bang him with the stick!"
This, as his mother could see, Laddie was trying to do. The small boy had a stick, and with this he was hitting at the rooster. But the feathered creature would flap his wings, jump up in the air out of Laddie's reach and, coming down, would try to hit Laddie with wings, spurs or beak.
Mrs. Bunker lost no time. Letting go of Rose's hand she rushed into the chicken yard through the high, wire gate. Then, flapping her skirts at the rooster, and crying "Shoo! Shoo!" Mrs. Bunker picked her little boy up in her arms, and before the surprised fowl could attack her she was safely outside and the gate was closed. The old rooster, with an angry crow, threw himself against the wire netting, but he would not get out.
Laddie, rather mussed up and with a scratch on his bare leg that was bleeding, turned around and faced his enemy as soon as his mother put him down.
"You bad old rooster you!" cried Laddie. "If you were a baseball I'd knock you over the fence!"
"Laddie, how did you come to go into the rooster's yard?" asked Mrs. Bunker, when she saw that the little fellow was not any more harmed than a few scratches.
"I went after my ball," Laddie answered. "It got knocked over into the chicken yard when we were playing, and I went after it."
"I told him not to," said Rose.