"Here comes a canal boat," said Russ, looking down the still, quiet stream of water which was not like a brook or a river. The water in the canal did not run, but remained as still as the water in a bath tub.
"It's a nice canal boat," went on Russ, "and it's got some mules pulling it, and a man is driving the mules. Maybe he'd lend us his mules to help pull the auto out of the ditch."
"Maybe he would," agreed Mr. Bunker. "We'll ask him. But first let's put the fence rail back under the wheel so when the canal boat man comes along we may show him what we want to do."
As Daddy Bunker and Captain Ben leaned over to put the fence rail in place, Russ turned from looking at the canal boat to glance over the field near the half overturned auto. And the boy caught sight of something that made him cry:
"Oh, look out! Look out! Here he comes!"
"Who's coming?" asked Daddy Bunker. "If it's a farmer who is going to find fault because we borrowed his fence rails, we can offer to pay him."
"Oh, it isn't a farmer!" cried Russ. "It's worse! It's a bad ram! A big, ugly sheep with horns, and he's going to bunk into Captain Ben, I guess! Oh, look out!"
CHAPTER XI
THE APPLE BOY
What Russ had said was perfectly true. Daddy Bunker looked around just in time to see a big ram bounding out of the meadow toward Captain Ben, who was stooping to put the fence rail under the broken wheel of the automobile. And it was because of the rails that had been taken off the fence that the ram was able to get out of his meadow.