"This is great!" cried Laddie.
"Fine!" exclaimed his brother.
And then, all of a sudden, something happened. The scooter ran off the hill sideways, and started over the attic floor toward Rose, Vi, Mun Bun and Margy. They squealed and screamed and tried to get out of the way. But Mun Bun fell down, and Margy fell over him, and Vi fell over Margy, and Rose fell over Violet. So there the four little Bunkers were, all in a heap, and the scooter, with Russ and Laddie on it, running toward the brother and sisters.
"Stop! Stop it!" cried Laddie.
"I can't!" shouted Russ, pulling on the guide rope. But that did no good.
"Oh, we're going to knock into 'em!" yelled Laddie.
And right into the other children ran the scooter. Russ and Laddie were thrown off, and, for a moment, there was a bumping, thumping, yelling, crying and screaming noise.
Mun Bun, trying to roll out of the way, knocked a box down off a trunk, and the box had some croquet balls in it, which rumbled over the attic floor almost like thunder.
In the midst of all this noise and confusion some one came running up the stairs. A man entered the attic, and took one look at the mass of struggling children on the floor.
"My good land!" he cried. "I wonder if I can save any of 'em! Oh, what a mix-up!"