"Mun Bun is our littlest brother," explained Russ, who was doing all the talking.
"His right name is Munroe, but we call him Mun Bun for short."
"Well, as long as you don't eat him for short I guess it will be all right," said the gate-man with a laugh.
"Is that a riddle—about eating Mun Bun?" asked Laddie.
"No. That's supposed to be a joke," explained the gate-man. "Your brother's nickname is Bun, you say. Well, a bun is something good to eat, but I hope you don't eat your little brother—joke, you see."
Russ and Laddie laughed. They didn't exactly understand the joke, but they thought the gate-man was jolly and they wanted to be jolly too.
"So you six little Bunkers—at least two of you—came to see Mr. Barker, did you?" asked the man at the entrance.
"No, we didn't zactly come to see him," answered Russ. "We want to see the lumberman that took daddy's ragged coat with the papers in the pocket—only he didn't know they were there and he didn't take the coat. That was given to him."
"You want to see a lumberman?" repeated the guard at the gate, for he was a sort of guard. "But we haven't any lumbermen here."
"He's red-haired," Russ reminded him.