Chapter X: What Charlie DID on a Rainy Day 135 (2)

Poor Bingo! it seemed to him that he had been hours and hours in the chicken house. He wondered if he would ever get out again. He was sure that it was long past his dinner hour, he felt so _dreadfully_ hungry. Poor Bingo was a very unhappy little dog.

At last Charlie had finished helping the farm lady make the butter. They had taken it out of the churn, and the farm lady had put it in a big wooden bowl and beaten it with wooden butter paddles so that all the butter milk was squeezed out. She had given Charlie some butter in a smaller bowl so that he could finish making some of the butter all by himself. The farm lady had promised him that they should have it on the dinner table and surprise his Mother and his Auntie.

But it wasn’t dinner time yet, so Charlie ran into the garden to play with Bingo--and there was no Bingo to be seen! He called Bingo, but Bingo did not come. Then he decided to go down to the big barn to look for him. As he passed near the chicken house he heard a _tre-men-dous_ commotion--“Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, CLUCK,” “Ooka-ooka-ooka-oooooooooo, ooka-ooka-ooka-oooooooooo, ooka-ooka-ooka-ooooooooo” ... Bingo had been trying to get out again!

Then Charlie said, “Shoo, shoo, shoo!” and the hens and even the rooster all got out of the way, and Bingo was free again! Oh, how glad he was! He jumped, and pranced, and followed Charlie to the kitchen, where his dinner was waiting for him.

But never again did Bingo bark at the chickens and chase them. He no longer thought it an amusing game. In fact Bingo never went near that chicken house again, he was so afraid of that terrible rooster.

CHARLIE DELIVERS MAIL FOR THE STAGE DRIVER

Well, I can tell you that Charlie and Topsy and Bingo liked living in the country very much. There were so many interesting things to do, and so many interesting people to talk to, and every single thing in the country was different from what it was in the city.

Charlie had different things to eat, and he wore different clothes. You never can guess what kind of clothes Charlie wore when he was in the country! Charlie wore blue denim overalls, just like the farm workers, and his Mother bought them for him at the country store, which is _ex-act-ly_ where the farm workers bought theirs!

One day Charlie ran out to the gate before breakfast to mail a letter for his Auntie. In the country there are no post boxes at every corner as there are in the city. Oh, no! When Charlie wanted to mail a letter he just had to go down to the gate and put it in the box that was fastened outside; then he had to take out an old red tobacco tin that was inside the mail box, tied to it by a string, and leave it hanging outside the box, so that the mailman would see it when he went past and know that there was a letter for the mail. If he did not see the tobacco tin hanging out, the stage driver would not stop at all--so it was very important not to forget to hang the tobacco tin out.

Well, Charlie got to the gate just as the stage driver was driving up. When he saw Charlie standing there, he said, “Hello, good morning.” And Charlie said, “Hello, good morning,” too. Then he said, “Are you the postman?” The stage driver laughed. “We-e-ll, I reckon that you can say that’s what I am, though folks here about call me the stage driver.”

“That is very interesting,” said Charlie. “Do you know, in the city the postman wears a gray cap and coat and trousers and he does not drive a cart, he has to walk?”

The stage driver was most surprised. “Is that so?” he said. “Well, I reckon there’s lots of things they do differently in the city, and you, being a city boy, must surely know all about it. I certainly would like to hear about city ways. Supposing you ask your Mother if she would let you drive with me this afternoon when I take the afternoon mail up; then you can show me how they deliver mail in the city.”

Oh, my goodness, but Charlie was excited! He ran to the house so fast that he puffed and he blowed, and, as he ran, he called out, “Mother, Auntie! The stage driver says that I can go with him and give out the letters just like a real postman in the city! He says that I can go this afternoon, if you say yes. Oh, Mother, oh, Auntie, I _can_ go, can’t I?”

Of course his Mother and his Auntie were _de-light-ed_ when they heard that Charlie was to go and help deliver the mail just like a real postman, and of course they both said “Yes,” that Charlie might go.

Well, the very minute that Charlie had finished his dinner, he said very politely, “Please excuse me, I don’t want to keep the stage driver waiting.” Then the lady where they were boarding and his Mother and his Auntie said, “Yes,” he might be excused.

So Charlie got his hat and his whistle, which belonged to his sailor suit, because he knew he would need it as he was going to be a postman--and he ran down to the gate as fast as ever he could. No, Charlie did not keep the stage driver waiting. It was Charlie who had to wait for the stage driver!

But at last he came driving down the road and, when he saw Charlie waiting at the gate, he said, “Hello, young man, so you are coming with me. That’s fine! Hop in.”

So Charlie hopped in and he showed the stage driver his whistle and how he was going to blow it just like a real city postman.

The stage driver said, “First we are going to the station to get the mail;” and he clicked with his whip and said, “Gid ap, gid ap!” to the horses, and they _did_ “gid ap,” and their bells jingled as they trotted along the road.

The station was a long way off from the farm where Charlie and his Mother and his Auntie were staying, but the horses trotted so quickly, so quickly, that they got there before the train did.

Charlie and the stage driver got down, and the stage driver hitched the horses to the post, and then they both went on to the platform to wait for the train.

Everybody in the station talked to Charlie--even the station master and the man in the ticket office--and they said, “Is this the new stage driver?” The stage driver said, “No; this boy is the new postman and he is going to deliver the mail for me.”

You can believe that Charlie felt proud and important when he heard them talk like that.

At last the train came in, and it was the same train that had carried Charlie and his Mother and his Auntie and his Daddy and Topsy and Bingo and Jane to the country. Yes, it was the very same train and the very same engine that Charlie had ridden on, and the fireman was there, and he looked out of the cab and called out, “Hello, Charlie!”

Well, the stage driver went to the baggage car and a lot of men were unloading packages, and there was one great big sack.

Charlie asked what was in that great big sack--and the stage driver told him that was the mail. Yes, all the letters that Charlie was going to deliver were stuffed into that great big sack!

So the stage driver got the mail bag and the packages on to the stage. The stage driver carried all the big packages and Charlie carried all the little ones.

Then the stage driver said, “Gid ap!” and off they went again. First they went to the post office and waited there a long time. They had to wait till the postmaster had taken out of the mail sack all the mail for the people who lived near the post office and who had to come and get their mail for themselves. But at last the postmaster had finished _his_ job, and it was time for Charlie and the stage driver to begin theirs.

This, of course, was the interesting part of the drive. The stage rattled along the road, the horses went so fast; and at last they came to a house and the horses stopped of their own accord.

The stage driver gave Charlie some letters and told him to go and deliver them.

So Charlie climbed down from the stage and he blew his whistle, one, two, three times--but nobody came to the gate to get the letters from the postman. No, even though Charlie blew again and again, nobody came at all.

Then the stage driver said, “I reckon the folks at this farm are not used to city postmen. I reckon they don’t even _know_ that that whistle means that there is mail for them. You had better just slip the letters in the box, the way we do in these parts, and we’ll drive on to the next farm.”

So Charlie did as the stage driver said. He had to stand on tiptoe because the box was so high. He felt a little sad that nobody had come to get the letters from him--but it was fun putting the letters in the box.

Then they drove on to the next farm. This time there were a whole lot of letters and a parcel, too. Charlie carried the parcel himself, as it was a little one. He said to the stage driver, “Perhaps I had better not blow my whistle this time.” But the stage driver said, “Oh, go ahead and blow your whistle, you know you are a city postman and you must do as they do.”

So Charlie blew on his whistle--he blew a TREMENDOUS blast, and he blew again and again. And--what do you think?

The farmer who was in the field, hoeing potatoes, threw down his hoe and he came running, as fast as he could run, to see what Charlie’s whistle meant.

And the farmer’s wife, who was in the kitchen frying doughnuts, the minute she heard Charlie’s whistle, threw down her cooking spoon and ran out of the kitchen door to see what Charlie’s whistle meant.

And the cat, who was sleeping on a rocking chair on the porch, sprang straight up in the air when she heard the whistle; and _she_ came tearing down to the gate to see _what in the world_ all that whistling meant.

And the watch dog, who was tied up outside his kennel--he jumped and pranced and tried to get loose because _he_ wanted to find out what all that whistling meant!

And they all came rushing down to the gate, except the dog, and when they saw Charlie with the parcel and the letters--my goodness, they were surprised!

The farmer said, “Well, well, to think that we have a postman just the same as they have in the city--well! well!” and he shook hands with Charlie.

Then the farmer’s wife said, “Mr. Stage Driver, couldn’t you wait a minute while I run into the house and get a doughnut apiece for you and the postman?” The stage driver thought that would be very nice--so the farmer’s wife brought the doughnuts and they were _delicious_.

Then they said, “Good-by” to the nice farmer and his wife and thanked her for the delicious doughnuts, and off they went to the next farm. Charlie blew his whistle, and he blew his whistle every single time they came to a farm, but nobody else came to the gate to see what was the matter; so Charlie put the letters in the box every time.

Soon they came to a long stretch of road where there were no houses at all, and Charlie and the stage driver could talk together without being interrupted every minute by Charlie having to deliver letters.

Charlie told the stage driver all about the city and about his Mother and his Auntie and his Daddy, and about Jane and Topsy and Bingo, and about the iceman and the postman, and the letter boxes that are at the corner of the streets where you mail your letters.

Then the stage driver told Charlie all about the country and what an important person the stage driver is when he lives in the country--even more important than the postman. For the stage driver not only brings letters, and parcels for birthdays or Christmas, he brings _everything_ that the people in the country need--clothes, and furniture, and medicine--every single thing that they use, except what they grow themselves.

Everything is sent from the city by the train in great big packages. And the stage driver puts the packages on to the stage, and carries some of them to the country store, where the people can come and buy the things they want--but some of the things go directly to the farmers who live too far from the country store.

Charlie thought this very interesting. There were a whole lot of questions that he wanted to ask. But now they had come to another farm and there was a great big package all ready at the gate!

The stage driver got down and put it on to the stage. Charlie was much surprised. He said, “I thought you brought packages _to_ people, I did not know that you took any away.”

Then the stage driver said, “I reckon you can’t guess what is inside _this_ package and where it is going to be sent. Why, this package is full of maple sugar, and it is going to be sent to the city because people could not get maple sugar in the city unless the people in the country sent it to them. This package is going to a big store in the city, and when you go back home, maybe you and your Mother will go into the store and buy a pound of this very same maple sugar that is in this package!”

Yes, that is what the stage driver said, and Charlie was so interested and surprised that the stage driver started to surprise him some more.

“See all those pretty blossoms on the apple trees. Well, by Fall they will all have turned into apples. Then the farmer will gather them off the trees, and he will put them in sacks, and I will take them to the station on my stage and load them on to the train, and they will be taken to the city, where you city folks will buy them. Same thing with the wheat growing in the fields, and the vegetables, and everything the farmer raises. Everything that he doesn’t need for his own use the farmer sends to the city, first by the stage driver and then by the train.”

My goodness! This gave Charlie a lot to think about! He said, “I think that trains and mail stages are the most interesting things in the world. I will either be a stage driver or a fireman when I grow up, and I will take things to the country people that _they_ need and bring back things to the city people that _they_ need.”

By this time _all_ the letters and _all_ the packages had been delivered. And the stage driver was driving back the way they came.

At last they came to the farm where Charlie was staying. And the stage driver said, “Here is one more letter for you to deliver, and then your job will be finished. You have been a great help to me to-day. I think you are a fine postman and I hope you will come with me another day and deliver the mail for me. This letter is for your Mother.”

So Charlie thanked the stage driver and climbed down from the stage. He ran all the way to the house; then he rang the bell and blew his whistle just as the postman did at home. And who do you think opened the door? It was his Mother.

She said, “Good afternoon, Postman, have you a letter for me?” And Charlie said, “Yes, ma’am,” just like the postman. Then he couldn’t help laughing, and he forgot that he was the postman, and he hugged his Mother and said, “Is it a letter from Daddy?”

And it _was_. Yes, it was a letter from Daddy, and what do you think? The letter said that Daddy found that after all he would be able to get away from the city--and that he would arrive on Friday afternoon, and Charlie was to be sure to come and meet him.

Then Charlie’s Mother hugged him again for bringing her such a nice letter and his Auntie came downstairs, Topsy and Bingo prancing after her. Bingo jumped up and down and Topsy climbed on to Charlie’s shoulder, and they all listened to the adventures he had had that afternoon when he was a postman.

CHARLIE MAKES A POOL AND SAILS HIS BOAT

All the time that Charlie and his Mother and his Auntie were living in the country Charlie’s Daddy came down every single Saturday to visit them, and he stayed in the country with them until Sunday night, when he had to go back to the city. And every Saturday, when Charlie’s Daddy came to visit them in the country, he _always_ brought a present for everybody!

One Saturday Charlie’s Daddy came and he brought Charlie’s Mother a basket of peaches, and he brought his Auntie a box of candy, and he brought Bingo a ball, and he brought Jane and Topsy a catnip mouse--and what do you think he brought for Charlie? I will tell you. Charlie’s Daddy brought Charlie a sailboat! It was a beautiful boat, painted white with a green water line. It had a mast and two sails. His Daddy told Charlie that the big sail at the back is called the _mainsail_ and that the stick that holds it out at the bottom is called the _boom_; and that the little three-cornered sail in front is called the _jib_ and the stick to which it is fastened is called the _bowsprit_.

Of course Charlie’s Daddy did not say “the front and back” of the ship either. Oh, dear, no! Charlie’s Daddy called the front part of the ship the _bow_, and he called the back part the _stern_, and the bottom of the ship he called the _keel_--and, I can tell you, _nobody ought to own a ship who does not know these things_.

Well, of course, the very first thing that Charlie wanted to do was to go and sail his boat--but what do you think? The brook was so shallow and full of stones that there was no place deep enough to sail the boat at all! That was very sad.

Charlie and his Daddy walked a long way beside the brook looking for a pool where the water was deeper, but they could not find one.

Then Charlie’s Daddy said, “Well, unless some rain comes to make the brook get deeper, I guess you’ll have to wait to sail your boat till you come back to town and can sail it in the bath tub. As long as you are in the country you will have to say that the boat is in ‘dry dock.’”

But what do you think? Charlie didn’t even know what a dry dock _is_. No, his Daddy had to explain to him all about it--how the ship is put into “dry dock” when it has to be mended or painted below the water line. First the ship sails into the dock, and then the dock is closed up behind the ship and all the water is pumped out and the ship is propped up straight with props from each side of the dock.

So Charlie and his Daddy made a dry dock for his ship on the bureau in his room. They made the dock of books, and propped the ship up straight with blocks on each side of the keel. The ship looked very beautiful on the bureau, but Charlie _did_ wish that he could sail it and that he did not have to keep it in “dry dock” all the time.

One day, when his Daddy had gone back to town, Charlie and his Mother and his Auntie went for a walk.

They went for a new walk. Instead of just going along the road, they thought it would be interesting to follow the creek. So they climbed a wall and followed the creek through the fields and into a wood which was “private property”; but there was a sign which said people could walk there if they did not do any damage.

Then they came to a place where there was a stone wall built right across the creek from side to side and above the stone wall was a great _e-nor-mous_ pool! And the water pounded over the stone wall like a waterfall. The pool was very deep and wide, but above the pool the creek was all stony and shallow again.

Charlie was very much interested. He said, “Why is that stone wall built across the creek, and what makes that pool so deep and broad when the rest of the creek is shallow and narrow?”

Then his Mother explained to Charlie all about it. She explained to him that the pool was a swimming pool, and that the stone wall built across the creek from side to side was a _dam_. The dam keeps the water in like a basin until it gets as deep as the dam is high and then the water flows over the top.

Charlie was _very much interested_ when he heard this. He said to his Mother, “Can anybody build a dam?”

And of course his Mother said that anybody could. She said that you only had to heap a lot of mud and stones together just below where you wanted the pool to be, and just as high as you wanted the pool to be deep.

Oh, my goodness! Charlie _was_ excited then. I wonder if you can guess what he said?

I will tell you. Charlie said, “Mother, Auntie, I want to go home _im-me-di-ate-ly_, I AM GOING TO BUILD A DAM! Yes, I am going to build a dam across the brook and make a great ENORMOUS pool to sail my boat in.” Of course his Mother and his Auntie said they would go home immediately when they heard that Charlie was going to do such an important thing.

So they did go home, and Charlie put on his overalls and he ran down to the brook and began to work at his dam.

First he found a place where the brook was a little wider and where the banks were quite steep. Then he started scooping out the stones at the bottom of the brook, so that there would be no rocks for his boat to get wrecked on.

You may be sure that Bingo and Topsy were very much interested in what Charlie was doing. Yes, they both came and watched him awhile. Then Topsy began to dig a hole in the grass--he wanted to show that _he_ could dig a hole just as well as Charlie could. Bingo tried to dig a hole, too, but he soon got tired of it and ran around and barked, “Yap, yap!” He wanted Charlie and Topsy to come and play with him.

But Charlie was much too busy to pay any attention to Bingo. He just went on bending over the brook, digging out the stones until he had the bottom of the brook, where his pool was going to be, nicely cleaned out. Then he started to work on the dam.

First Charlie hunted around until he had got together a nice lot of flat stones, and he began to pile them up one on top of the other, and he went on piling them up until the dam went right across the brook from bank to bank.

At first the water paid no attention to Charlie’s dam at all. It just went on flowing through the chinks between the stones, just as if there were not any dam there at all! But Charlie piled up great banks of mud, and put in more big stones and then little stones to fill the chinks--and at last the water began to rise!

Yes, the water rose, and it rose until it was a nice big pool and came up to the top of the banks on both sides, and then it began to dribble over the top of the dam. So Charlie knew that the dam was finished! Of course the water in the pool was _dreadfully_ muddy, but Charlie did not mind a bit. Why should he, when the pool was so nice and wide and deep? Yes, it was so deep that it came all the way up to his knees!

Then Charlie saw his Mother and his Auntie walking across the field from the house. They had come to see how Charlie was getting along with his dam.

And, my goodness, how astonished they were when they saw that Charlie had _ac-tu-al-ly_ finished the dam and what a huge big pool he had made!

But both his Mother and his Auntie could not help laughing when they saw how Charlie was all covered with mud. He had mud all over the front of his overalls, and on his hands, and there was a big splash of mud on the end of his nose!

Then his Mother said, “Now, Charlie, dinner will soon be ready, so you must hurry home and wash your face and hands, and put on a clean suit. Then after dinner you may sail your boat in your beautiful big pool.”

So Charlie ran to the house, and he washed his face, and he scrubbed his hands, and he put on a clean blue sailor suit, and he ate his dinner.

Then he gave Topsy and Bingo and Jane their dinner. And then--he and his Mother and his Auntie went down to the pool to sail the boat. And, what do you think? The mud had all settled at the bottom of the pool while Charlie was eating his dinner, and the pool was as clear as glass so that you could see to the very bottom and you could see the dam that Charlie had built.

Then Charlie launched his boat. The pool was deep enough--but the boat did not sail quite well even yet. No, the boat leaned a little to one side and, when a gust of wind came, it would have turned right over if Charlie had not caught hold of the mast just in time.

Charlie felt very sad that his boat would not sail properly when he had built such a beautiful pool for it.

But his Auntie said, “Cheer up, Charlie, I know exactly what is the matter with the boat so that it will not sail, and it can be fixed so that it will sail _beautifully_. The trouble is that the boat has not enough _ballast_. That means that the masts and the sails are too heavy for the keel. But if we nail a strip of lead along the bottom of the keel the boat will stay upright and will not lean to one side.”

Well, Charlie and his Auntie took the boat and went to the barn, where the farmer was mending his mowing machine.

And his Auntie asked the farmer if he knew where they could get a strip of lead to nail to the keel of Charlie’s boat.

The farmer said, “Right here I have all the lead that you can use.” And he cut off a strip of lead just the size of the keel. Then the farmer also gave Charlie some interesting-looking nails that he said could be just the thing to nail the lead to the keel. They were crooked nails that folded over and looked just like tiny croquet hoops.

Then Charlie’s Auntie took the mast and sails off, and she hammered the nails over the lead so that it was fastened to the keel of the boat. Then she put the masts and sails back. Don’t you think that she was a clever Auntie? Yes, indeed, she was.

So they went back to the pool again, where Charlie’s Mother was waiting to see if the boat would sail right _this_ time.

And what do you think? _It did!_ Yes, the boat sailed beautifully, it sailed right away to the other side of the brook, and when Charlie turned the rudder to the right the boat turned in the opposite direction and sailed right back again!

Yes, that boat could do everything that a real boat does, and when the wind blew hard it keeled over to one side but it did not capsize. No, nothing could make that boat capsize. Even when Bingo stood upon his hind legs and tried to catch it when it went sailing past, he fell splash into the pool and made a great ENORMOUS wave, just like the waves in the middle of the ocean--_still_ that boat did not capsize.

Well, every day after that Charlie sailed his boat in the pool. He made a dock for it, with stones, and he put grass and pebbles on the deck for the cargo, which he loaded and unloaded at the dock, and the boat sailed from side to side of the pool. When the boat got to the other side Charlie would jump across the brook where it was narrow and turn the rudder so that the boat would turn right round and sail back again to the dock.

Yes, Charlie had more fun than I can tell you playing with his boat. And Topsy and Bingo played, too; they jumped across the brook backwards and forwards and they tried to catch the boat as it sailed past. And, Charlie’s Mother and his Auntie liked to help Charlie sail his boat; yes, they enjoyed watching it sail so beautifully before the wind.

And--on Saturday, when Charlie’s Daddy came down to visit them all--my goodness! he was surprised and _de-light-ed_ to see the dam and the pool that Charlie had made all by himself, and to see how beautifully the boat sailed, with its sails blown out by the wind, and with its cargo of grass and pebbles piled up on deck.

Yes, Charlie’s Daddy thought that Charlie was a very clever boy to have made that dam and that pool all by himself--and I think so, too.

CHARLIE BUILDS A REAL HOUSE

Well, the days passed and passed--and at last it was time for Charlie to go back to the city. He said “Good-by” to the stage driver and to the postmaster and to the man at the country store and to the lady at the farm, where he and his Mother and his Auntie lived while they were in the country. And he said “Good-by” to the cows and to the chickens and to the baby pigs.

Charlie’s Mother and his Auntie packed the suitcase and the trunk and put Topsy into his basket, and he did not like it at all and said “Miaouw, miaouw!” And Jane was put into _her_ basket and _she_ did not like it either, but she was a good cat and she did not say a word. Then Charlie put the leash on Bingo’s collar and they all climbed into the surrey, which is a two-seated carriage, and they all drove to the station. Then they all got on to the train and off they went to the city.

This time there was another fireman, as Charlie’s friend was having a day off, so Charlie did not ride on the engine _this_ time; no, _this_ time he rode in the day coach with his Mother and his Auntie and Topsy and Bingo and Jane.

Charlie was feeling rather sad that he had to leave the country and all his new friends, but as the train steamed farther and farther away, he began to think that it was rather nice to be going back to the city after all.

It would be nice to see his Daddy again and the iceman--and he wanted to tell the postman all about the stage driver and how letters are delivered in the country. And Charlie wanted to see his house again, where he lived, and the garden and his electric train and his automobile and his great _e-nor-mous_ flashlight. Yes, Charlie began to feel very glad that he was going home again.

And--when Charlie _did_ get home, what do you think he found? Why, Charlie found that something _most_ interesting and ex-cit-ing had been happening while he was away in the country. Some builders had started to build a house on the other side of the road, and he could sit on his own front gate and watch them build.

The builders had already built quite a lot of the house, and in front of what they had built was a big pile of bricks and also a pile of sand and quicklime to make mortar of.

It was late in the afternoon, so the builders had stopped working, but Charlie wanted to stay right there and look at everything. But his Mother and his Auntie said, “No.” They said that it was getting late and Charlie must come right in and have his supper and go to bed. To-morrow he could watch the builders build as much as ever he wanted to.

So the next day Charlie ran out _immediately_ after breakfast. The builders were already at work--they were working hard, putting the bricks on top of each other. Charlie saw how they put each brick on top of two others, he saw how they did it _very carefully_ so that the brick was _ex-act-ly_ in the middle of the two below it. Then he saw how carefully the builders put the mortar on with a flat, wide knife, so that none of the mortar dripped over the edge of the bricks but made a nice straight line up and across. And, because the bricks were laid, one in the middle of the two below, the white line of the mortar made a most interesting design.

Charlie was _ab-so-lute-ly_ fascinated, he thought that he would _never_ get tired of watching those builders build.

Then Topsy and Bingo came out to see what Charlie was doing and to get him to play with them, but Charlie was _much_ too interested in watching the house being built, so he paid no attention at all. No, he paid no attention to Topsy and Bingo, but went on watching the builders build the house.

After a while one of the builders looked up, and he said, “Hello, you seem to like watching us build this house; I guess you would like to be over here helping us.” And Charlie said, “Oh, yes, I _would_ like to come over and help you, I mean to be a house builder when I grow up.” Then the builder said, “Is that so? Have you had any practice in building houses?” Charlie said, “No, I have never built a _real_ house, but I can build _beautiful_ houses with my wooden blocks.”

But the builder said, “Well, I guess you need more practice than _that_--you have to know how to put the mortar on, and that is not as easy as it looks. How would you like me to give you some bricks and mortar and then you can build yourself a house in the corner of your yard?” Yes, the builder _ac-tu-al-ly_ said that to Charlie! And he also asked him, “Have you an express wagon that you can haul the bricks in?”

Of course Charlie said, “Yes,” and he ran off to the house to tell his Mother and his Auntie all about the house builder, and to ask if he might go across the road by himself to get the bricks. And his Mother and his Auntie both said, “Yes.” They said that it would be perfectly safe for Charlie to go across the road all by himself, because no automobiles were allowed on the road and there was a sign which said, “Closed to Traffic.”

Then Charlie got his express wagon and he went across the road to get the bricks. He loaded the bricks into his express wagon and he dragged them across the road and in at the garden gate to the corner of the garden where there were no flowers and no vegetables. Charlie did this over and over again; he did it so often that his legs ached,--and every time that Charlie went across the road Topsy and Bingo followed him. When Charlie had been across the road four, five, _six_ times getting his express cart full of bricks every time, the builder said, “Now you have enough bricks to start with. Suppose you go now and ask your Mother for a pail and I will give you some mortar, already mixed.”

Charlie ran and got the pail, and the builder filled it with mortar and carried it over to Charlie’s yard himself because it was too heavy for Charlie to carry. The builder certainly _was_ a nice man.

Of course Charlie wanted _immediately_ to start in building the house. But his Mother and his Auntie said, “No.” They said that Charlie had worked enough for one day, and that he had better play a little. And his Mother said, “You had better wait till your Daddy comes home before starting to build your house; I think you ought to ask his advice as to exactly where would be the best place to build it.”

Charlie thought that his Mother was right and he determined to wait till his Daddy came home before building the house. So he went off and had a lovely game with Topsy and Bingo.

At last Charlie’s Daddy came home. Charlie was watching for him out of the dining-room window. As soon as he saw his Daddy come in at the gate, Charlie ran out to meet him and to tell him all about the bricks that the builder had given him and about the house he was going to build.

Charlie’s Daddy was very interested; he was so interested that he said he would like to help Charlie to build the house. Then Charlie’s Daddy went upstairs and changed into his old suit, the one he always wore when he was digging in the garden, and he found a spade, and he said, “Come on, Charlie, let us start building the house.”

So they went into the garden and started to build the house. First Charlie’s Daddy dug a trench, the size that the house was to be; this was to be the foundation so that the house should not blow over in a wind-storm. Charlie helped dig the trench also. It was very hard work digging the trench--it was such hard work that both Charlie and his Daddy were puffing and blowing before they had finished digging. But at last the trench was finished, and while they were both standing still to admire it Charlie’s Auntie came and called them in to supper.

So they both had to go in and change their clothes and eat their supper and, by the time that supper was over, it was too dark to work at the house any longer. Charlie did not like this at all, he said, “I do not want to stop for a single minute until the house is built.”

But his Daddy said, “Cheer up, Charlie, to-morrow is a legal holiday, and I shall be home all day. So I shall be able to help you build your house until it is finished.” Then Charlie was satisfied and he went to sleep the minute he got into bed--and all night long he dreamed about the beautiful house he was going to build.

The next morning both Charlie and his Daddy got up early; they got up at six o’clock! They each had a glass of milk and a cookie, then they went into the garden and began to work.

First they started piling bricks into the trench, one on top of two others, _ex-act-ly_ the way Charlie had seen the builders doing it; and his Daddy showed him how to put the mortar on each brick with a flat trowel that he had found in the woodshed and that looked _ex-act-ly_ like the one the builders used. It is very important to put the mortar on right, as that is what makes the bricks stick together.

Before breakfast Charlie and his Daddy had _ac-tu-al-ly_ finished the foundation! Charlie was very glad that he had his Daddy to help him--why, if it had not been for his Daddy I don’t think that Charlie would have thought of building _any_ foundation for his house, and then it would have blown down!

Well, you may be sure that the moment they had finished breakfast, and when Charlie’s Daddy had smoked just one cigarette, they both of them were hard at work on the house again.

For one reason Charlie was sorry that it was a legal holiday, and that was because the builders were having a holiday, too, and Charlie _would_ have liked them to see him in his overalls that were all covered with mortar and pink with brick dust--so that he looked _ex-act-ly_ like a real builder.

Well, they worked and they worked. And you never can guess how clever Charlie’s Daddy was. He was just as clever as a real builder. Yes, Charlie’s Daddy _ac-tu-al-ly_ knew how to make a window in the house--and a door also! The window went all the way to the top of the roof and so did the door, for Charlie’s Daddy said that there was _one_ thing he did not know how to do that a real builder knows, and that is how to make an arch, with a keystone! Soon the house was tall enough for Charlie to go in at the door, and then his Daddy said that the front of the house was tall enough. But the sides had to be built sloping higher toward the back so that the roof should slope--it is very important that a house should have a sloping roof so that the water may drain off it when it rains.

At last his Daddy said, “There, the house is finished, all but the roof!”

Charlie _was_ excited! He jumped and he shouted, “My house is nearly finished, my house is nearly finished!”

Then his Daddy went off to the woodshed and he brought back a whole lot of boards and a roll of tar paper. He put the boards all across the roof and covered them with tar paper--and THE HOUSE WAS FINISHED!

Yes, it was _ac-tu-al-ly_ finished. It had a beautiful doorway, and a window and a roof--anybody could see that it was a real house.

Topsy and Bingo were nearly as much excited as Charlie. Bingo ran in and out of the door and barked and barked. But Topsy climbed up the wall and in at the window and he did this again and again.

Then Charlie’s Mother and his Auntie came to look at the beautiful house. And, my goodness! they _were_ surprised that Charlie and his Daddy had built a house that looked exactly like a real house.

And Charlie’s Mother said, “Now, we will go back to the house and we will bring Charlie’s little chairs and his table, and I will get a rag rug that is in the attic; then the house will be furnished and Charlie can live in it with Topsy and Bingo and Jane.”

So that is what they did! And Charlie’s Auntie hung some curtains across the window and tied them with blue ribbon, and his mother put the rag rug on the floor, and placed the furniture around the room so that it looked _most_ cozy and _most_ comfortable.

Well, just when everybody was standing and admiring the house, Jane the cat came up, and she looked at the house for a minute. Then she walked straight in at the door and lay down on the rug, and she purred and purred as loud as she could purr, because she liked Charlie’s house so tremendously. But Topsy jumped in at the window and _he_ walked around the house and sat down on every one of the little chairs and even on the table, but when he jumped into the express cart, which was in the corner of the house, he liked it so much that he curled up and went to sleep. But Bingo was the most excited of all--he dashed around and around the house, and he jumped up in the air and barked and barked and BARKED!

The next day, when the builders were at work again, Charlie climbed up on the gate and called out to the builder who had given him the bricks, “Good morning, Mr. Builder! I have finished my house!”

The builder was most interested and he came over to look at the house that Charlie had built.

He said, “Did you build that house _all_ by yourself?”

And Charlie said, “Yes, I built that house _all_ by myself, and my Daddy helped me.”

BINGO LEARNS TO COME WHEN HE IS CALLED

Bingo was a very clever little dog--he learned very quickly all the tricks that Charlie taught. He could sit up and beg, and he could bark three times for the flag, and when Charlie put a piece of cake on his nose Bingo could toss it in the air and catch it in his mouth, and, if Charlie threw a stick, Bingo would always run and bring it back. Yes, Bingo could do all these things and he liked to do them again and again. He was such a clever little dog that all the boys in the neighborhood knew him well, and they used to watch him over the fence doing all the tricks that he had learned.

But there was _one_ thing that Bingo never _would_ learn and that was to come _immediately_ when he was called. If Bingo thought that Charlie was going for a walk or that his dinner was ready, he would come the very minute that Charlie called him; but if he was doing something interesting or something that he should not be doing, Charlie could call “Bingo, Bingo, Bingo,” till he was hoarse, Bingo would not come! He would wag his tail and perk up his ears to show that he had heard, but he would not come.

One day Charlie was playing in the garden with Bingo and Topsy when Bingo suddenly saw something that interested him in the road and he scrambled under the gate and went scampering along down the road.

Charlie did not approve of this at all. He called and he called, “Bingo, Bingo, Bingo”--but Bingo would not come, he went on racing along the road. He had decided that he would like to go out and see the world!

Then Charlie ran into the house to tell his Mother and his Auntie. He could not run after Bingo, because of course he was not allowed to go outside the garden gate by himself. His Auntie did not even wait to put on her sweater though it was very cold; she ran straight out of the gate to bring Bingo back--but Bingo had _ab-so-lute-ly_ disappeared!

Charlie and his Auntie put on their coats and went a long distance down the road, calling Bingo all the time, but they could not find him anywhere. They asked everybody that they met if they had seen a little white dog with black spots but nobody had seen him. Then they went home again, hoping that Bingo would have arrived there before them. But no, Bingo was not there!

Now I will tell you what happened to Bingo. When he had run along the road for quite a distance he came to a turning where the road ran very steeply downhill. There was a boy with a bob sled, and just as Bingo reached the corner the boy lay down flat on his sled, and biff! off he flew down the hill! Bingo was much excited. He barked, “Yap, yap, yap,” and ran after the bob sled as fast as ever he could. He was determined to catch that bob sled! But of course he could not. The boy and the sled reached the bottom of the hill before Bingo, but not long before.

The boy had decided to go home, as it was near his dinner time, and he was dragging his sled after him when Bingo arrived at the bottom of the hill, all out of breath and with his little red tongue hanging out. But he was not too out of breath to jump up at the boy and bark “Yap, yap, yap!” He was trying to tell him how glad he was that he had caught up with him at last.

The boy patted Bingo on the head and talked to him, but of course he did not know his name as he lived quite a distance away and had never seen Bingo before.

Bingo liked the boy very much and decided that he would go for a walk with him. So he followed after him. It was a long, long walk, but at last they arrived at the boy’s house.

It was a tall brick house very much larger than the house in which Bingo lived with Charlie; and it had to be larger too, because a great many people lived in it--two families lived on every floor!

The boy climbed up five flights of stairs; he lived on the top floor of all--and Bingo followed after him.

The boy’s Mother was cooking dinner in the kitchen and she was very much surprised when she saw Bingo. She said, “Who is that dog?” The boy said, “I found him and I am going to keep him for my dog. I have always wanted one.”

But his Mother said, “How can we keep a dog when we live five flights up and have only three rooms? It is impossible. After you have had your dinner you must take him back to where you found him, then he will be able to find his way home. He has a collar on so he must belong to somebody. In the meantime, take him downstairs and tie him up in the yard. I have just washed the kitchen floor and I am afraid he will make it dirty again.”

The boy felt very sad because he could not keep Bingo, but he took him down to the yard as his Mother had told him to, and he tied him up to the fence with a piece of rope.

Bingo did not like this at all. He pulled and he pulled and he pulled, but he could not get loose. He pulled and he pulled and--he PULLED, and--suddenly the fastening of his collar snapped (it snapped because Charlie had not fastened it properly that morning), and Bingo was a free dog.

Then he scampered gayly out of the yard and into the street again. He thought that it was time to go home to Charlie and his dinner. But--what do you think? Bingo could not find his way home! He ran through street after street but he could not find the house where he lived with Charlie and Topsy and Jane. The boy’s Mother must have thought that Bingo was older than he really was when she said that he could find his way home by himself.

Bingo was beginning to be worried--there were a great many children playing in the streets through which he passed and every now and again he thought that he saw Charlie, but it always turned out that he was mistaken. Sometimes some of the children would try to stop him but Bingo always ran away from them. He wanted to go home.

At last he passed four little boys who were walking along together. Bingo was very tired now and he was not running any more; no, he was walking very slowly and limping a little because he had hurt his foot.

One of the boys looked at him limping along in front and he said, “Look at that puppy. He looks exactly like Charlie’s Bingo, who does such wonderful tricks!”

The other boy said, “He does look like him. Let’s call him and see if he answers to the name Bingo.” So they called, “Bingo, Bingo, Bingo!”

You may be sure that when Bingo heard his name called _this time_ he did come running as fast as ever he could.