ost ring. I mustn't let them see that I care so much, or it will spoil
their summer at Christmas Tree Cove."

"Yes, forget your loss if you can," suggested her husband.

There was much to do the next day--so much that only once in a while did
Bunny and Sue think of the strange dog that had run away with their
mother's pocketbook and diamond ring. Bunker Blue was busy, also, and so
was Uncle Tad, helping to get ready for the trip.

Bunny and Sue wanted to help pack, but their mother said they could best
help by running on errands. One of these took them to the carpenter shop
of Mr. Foswick for a piece of wood Bunker wanted to nail across certain
shutters in the house, which was to be closed for the summer.

"Well, have you come to take another look for the ring?" asked the
carpenter. "It isn't here. Bunker Blue and I looked all over."

"I don't see what that dog could have done with it," said Bunny, as he
glanced around the newly-swept shop. "He surely came in here with the
pocketbook."

"Yes, I saw the dog running around my yard," admitted the carpenter.
"But I didn't see him have anything. Well, it's one of those things that
never will be found, I s'pose. Here's the wood you want, and I'll not
lock you in this time," and he smiled at Bunny and Sue as he thought of
what had happened the other night.

Another errand took the children down to their father's dock, and there
they saw Bunker Blue and Captain Ross working aboard the _Fairy_.

"I'm getting her in good shape for you, messmates!" called the jolly
sailor. "And it reminds me of a riddle. Do you see that barrel of water
there?" he asked, pointing to one on deck.

"Yes, I see it," admitted Bunny.

"Well, here's a riddle about it," went on the captain. "That barrel,
we'll say, weighs ten pounds when it is empty. Now, what could I fill it
with so it would weigh only seven pounds?"

"Why, Captain Ross, if that barrel weighs _ten_ pounds when it hasn't
got anything in it, you couldn't fill it with anything to make it weigh
_seven_ pounds. It would weigh _more_ than ten pounds if you filled it
with anything."

"Oh, no, it wouldn't!" the sailor said. "If I filled it full of holes,
boring 'em in with one of Mr. Foswick's augers, then the barrel
wouldn't weigh so much, would it? I'd cut a lot of wood out of the sides
when I made the holes. Ha! Ha!"

Bunny thought it over for a minute. Then he laughed.

"That's a pretty good riddle," he said.

"I'm glad you