"Did you get it out of the ditch?" asked Russ of his father.
"Yes," was the answer, "it's out of the ditch. And we managed to get it to a garage where we hope it will be fixed so we can go on in the morning."
"If we don't get to Grand View pretty soon," said Captain Ben, "I'm afraid the six little Bunkers will think I'm a pretty poor sort of a vacation planner. I haven't given you a very good time yet."
"Oh, we've had lots of fun!" Rose hastened to say.
"And the mule was awful funny the way he kicked up his heels," laughed Vi.
"I wish I could think of a riddle about him," said Laddie.
The others laughed at the little fellow, and then, when Daddy Bunker and Captain Ben had washed off as much of the oil and grease as possible, they all sat down to supper. Tad was with the four little Bunkers.
"Will you be ready to ride back to Grand View with us in the morning?" asked Captain Ben of the strange boy.
"Oh, yes, thank you," was the answer. "I want to get to Avalon as soon as I can."
After supper the visitors sat out on the broad porch in the pleasant shadows of evening. Mr. Brown was telling some simple riddles he knew, and Laddie was trying to guess them, when, suddenly, the farmer started from his chair and looked down toward the orchard.