"We'll take care of you at Three Star Ranch," said Uncle Fred kindly. "We've got plenty of room."
It was no easy work to move a man with a broken leg from the field near the bridge to the bunk-house of Three Star Ranch, but at last it was done, and then the doctor was sent for. He said the cowboy, who gave his name as Sam Thurston, would have to stay in bed for a while, until his leg got well.
Getting the cowboy to the bunk-house, and going for the doctor, who lived some miles away, took up so much time that it was dark before Uncle Fred, Daddy Bunker and Captain Roy had time to think about looking at the well Laddie and Russ had dug. And then it was too late.
"We'll look at it the first thing in the morning," said the ranchman.
"Didn't you want us to dig the well?" asked Russ.
"Oh, I don't mind," his uncle answered. "And maybe, by means of that well, we may find out the secret of the spring."
The six little Bunkers sat in the living-room, listening to Uncle Fred tell a story, just before they were sent to bed. This was one of their delights since coming to Three Star Ranch. Uncle Fred knew a lot of stories of the West—stories of Indians, cowboys, of wild animals, big storms, of fires, and of cattle running in a stampede.
Mun Bun and Margy fell asleep, one in their mother's lap and the other in Daddy Bunker's; but Rose and Vi, and Laddie and Russ stayed awake, listening to the stories told by Uncle Fred.
"I know a riddle about a bear," said Laddie, when his uncle had finished a story about one.
"A riddle about a bear?" exclaimed Mr. Bell. "Well, let's hear it, Laddie."