thes."

"Alexis always has on his old clothes. He doesn't have to change his to
play," said Laddie, who was with Russ.

Just then the two boys saw their mother and Rose looking at the broken
skate.

"What's the matter?" Russ wanted to know.

"Oh, I bumped my foot on the curbstone," answered Rose. "And now look!"

She held out the skate that was broken in two parts.

"Perhaps Russ can fix it," said Mrs. Bunker with a smile. "He makes so
many things that he might mend this."

Russ took the pieces of the skate in his hand. Rose still had the other,
the unbroken one, on her foot.

"I could push myself along on one skate," said the little girl, "but it
isn't much fun. Can you fix it, Russ?"

Her brother shook his head.

"I don't guess anybody could fix that broken skate," he said.

"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Rose.

"But," went on Russ, "I know how to make something that you can have
lots of fun with; and so can I!"

"Can I, too?" asked Laddie.

"We all can," said Russ. "We can take turns."

"On what?" asked Rose.

"A skate wagon," answered Russ. "I saw a boy downtown have one--the day
we went to the movies. You take a good roller skate, and pull it apart.
Then you put two of the wheels on the front end of a board, and the two
other wheels on the back end."

"Well, then what do you do?" asked Laddie, for Russ had come to a pause.

"Well, then you nail a stick up on the front end of the board, for a
handle, and you stand on it--you stand on the board, I mean--and you
ride downhill on the sidewalk on the skate wagon. It's fun!"

"Say, let's do it!" cried Laddie. "I'll help you, Russ! Give us that one
skate that isn't busted, Rose, and we'll make a skate wagon."

Laddie knelt down and began to unfasten the strap of the one good skate,
which was still on Rose's left foot.

"Stop! Stop it!" cried the little girl, pulling back her leg.

"Hold still!" exclaimed Laddie. "I can't get your skate off if you
wiggle so much."

"I don't want my skate off!" insisted Rose.

"Then how am I going to make a skate wagon?" asked Russ in some
surprise.

"I can push myself along on one foot, and skate that way," went on Rose.
"If I let you boys take my skate to make a wagon of, you'll be riding
all the time and I won't have any fun. I'm going to keep my own skate.
So there!"

"We'll give you some rides; won't we, Russ?" asked Laddie.

"'Course we will! Lots of 'em!" added the older boy.

"I'd let them take my skate,