Before she finished Mrs. Bunker had run up to the attic. She looked at the strange man, who smiled at her. Then she hurried over to him and kissed him and said:
"Oh, Fred, I'm glad to see you! I didn't expect you until to-morrow, and I was going to surprise the children with you. Oh, but I'm glad to see you! Children," she said, laughing, "this is my brother, your Uncle Fred."
CHAPTER III
A QUEER STORY
The six little Bunkers, who had been untangled from the mix-up caused when the scooter ran sideways off the ironing-board hill, stood in a half circle and looked at the strange man. He did not seem quite so strange now, and he certainly smiled in a way the children liked.
THE SIX LITTLE BUNKERS STOOD IN A HALF CIRCLE AND LOOKED UP AT THE STRANGE MAN.
"Is he our real uncle?" asked Violet.
"Yes, he is your very own uncle. He is my brother. Frederic is his name—Frederic Bell," went on Mother Bunker. "But you are to call him Uncle Fred."