CHAPTER VIII

A BIG STORM

"Why didn't you wait for me, Mun Bun?" asked Rose, as she caught her
little brother just as he was about to topple over in the aisle, from
the swaying of the train. "I told you to wait for me. You might be hurt
coming up by yourself!"

"I was in a hurry," explained Mun Bun. He gave one hand to Rose, but the
other he held behind his back. In it was the thing he had taken from the
train boy's basket.

Once more the six little Bunkers were in their seats, looking out of the
windows. The train was puffing along, bringing them nearer and nearer to
Grandpa Ford's, though it would still be some hours before they reached
Tarrington.

"There!" Russ suddenly exclaimed. "I have it all done!" and he whistled
a merry tune, as he turned in his seat and held up something for the
others to see.

"What is it?" asked his father.

"It's a buzzy-buzzer," answered the boy. "Look, it goes around this
way."

He put the loops of two strings over his thumbs, and pulled his hands
apart. Then two pieces of cardboard, strung on the strings, began to
whirl about very fast.

"Why, that's like a pin-wheel!" exclaimed Grandpa Ford.

"I call it a buzzy-buzzer," laughed Russ. "I was going to make a
wind-mill, but I didn't have enough things here in the train. I'll make
you a wind-mill when we get to Great Hedge, Grandpa."

After a while a colored man, dressed in a spotless white suit, came
through the car, calling:

"First call for dinner in the dining-car! First call for dinner!"

"What does he mean--first call?" asked Violet, who, as usual, was the
one who asked the first question.

"He means that dinner is now ready in the dining-car," said Mr. Bunker.
"You see the car is rather small, and every one can't eat at once. So
they take turns, so to speak."

"I wish we could eat first," sighed Vi. "I'm terrible hungry!"

"So'm I," said Margy.

"Me, too," added Mun Bun. He had gone back to his seat, after taking
something from the train boy's basket, and he had cuddled up by himself.
What he had he showed to no one, and now, when he heard that dinner was
ready, he stuffed something down between the edge of the seat and the
side of the car next the window.

"This is my seat," Mun Bun announced, "and please don't any one take it
when we come back! I got something hid here."

No one paid much attention to him, as it had been decided that they
would all go into the dining-car at the first call, and they