"What's the matter now?" his father called after him. "Are you still going to look for the hole in the pipe where the soda water came out?"
"Maybe he left one of his riddles in there," suggested Captain Ben, with a laugh.
A moment later they saw what it was Laddie had gone back after—it was a little bag of cookies he had asked Rose to buy for him. He had laid them on the counter when he was drinking his soda water through a straw stuck in the bottle, and he did not intend to leave his lunch behind.
"Give me some!" begged Violet, when she saw what her brother had in his hand.
"I'll give us all some," he promised generously.
"All aboard, then!" called Captain Ben, and once more they were on their way toward Grand View. They stopped for lunch at a hotel in a small town, and the children were delighted at this. They always liked a change, no matter what it was.
"And we never had a summer like this," said Rose. "Two different vacation trips—one to Uncle Fred's and the other to Captain Ben's."
"We aren't at Captain Ben's yet," said Rose, as they started off again after their lunch.
"But we shall be pretty soon, shan't we, Daddy?" asked Rose.
"I don't know just how much farther it is," was the answer. "What do you say?" he asked, turning to the soldier-sailor.