CHAPTER V
THE MISSING WATCH
"What's the matter? Oh, let me see!" begged Rose, as Russ came in with a fluttering paper. "Are we going to have another school play?"
There had been one the previous winter, and Rose and Russ had taken part in it. Their pictures, as well as those of other young performers, were in the newspaper, and Russ and Rose were quite proud of this.
"No, it isn't another school play," Russ answered. "But there was an accident at our school, and now it can't open when it was going to. Oh, I'm glad! Now we don't have to go back to school and we can go to Captain Ben's bungalow at Grand View!"
"Let me see," requested Mr. Bunker, reaching out one hand for the paper, while with the other he sought for his glasses in his vest pocket.
"Yes, that's right," he said, after he had read the item on the front page, the sight of which had so excited Russ. "There has been an accident at Montgomery school, where our children go."
"An accident!" exclaimed Mother Bunker. "Was any one hurt?"
"No, it wasn't that sort of accident," her husband answered. "It was just a break in the water pipes and the boiler that heats the school in cold weather. Of course they will not need heat right away, but the boiler will have to be fixed, and it will take over a month. This article in the paper says that the opening of Montgomery school will be postponed for a month. That means our six little Bunkers will not have to go back to their classes as soon as we thought they would," he added.
"All the better for me!" cried Captain Ben. "Now I can take you all to Grand View in my auto. You won't have any objections now, will you?" he asked Mr. Bunker.