"I know where it came from," said Russ, after thinking a moment.
"Where?" asked Vi. "Do you mean out of a circus?"
"No," answered Russ. "But it must have got away from a hand-organ man."
"I think that"s just what happened," said Aunt Jo. "Hand-organ men, with monkeys fast to the ends of long strings, often come up this way, and play what they call music, and they let the funny little animals go after the pennies. One of these Italians must have been around here with his music-machine, and his monkey must have run away from him and hidden up in a tree where you saw him, Laddie."
"But I found him, and he"s mine. I want to keep him," said the little boy. "He"s awful soft and fuzzy, and he likes me."
Indeed the monkey was a nice, clean little chap, and he seemed to like Laddie. And he seemed to like to have the other children pet him, also.
He wore a funny little red jacket and a green cap, and every now and then he would take off his cap and hold it out, as he had been taught to do, for pennies.
Mun Bun, who had been afraid the monkey would wind its long tail around him, came out from behind his mother"s skirts, and even dared to pet Laddie"s "riddle," as they called it.
"He"s awful nice!" said Mun Bun.
"He"d make a lovely doll," observed Rose. "I wish I had a doll that was alive."
"I"ll let you play with him sometimes," promised Laddie. "I"m going to call him. "Peanuts" "cause he likes "em so."
"Well, that would be a nice name for a monkey," said Mrs. Bunker. "But don"t get your heart set on keeping this one, Laddie."
"Why not, Mother? Can"t I have him?"
"I"m afraid not. In the first place Aunt Jo has no place in her Boston home for a monkey, and, in the second place, Alexis, the big dog, might bark at Peanuts and scare him."
Alexis was not there just then, or he would have seen the monkey, and surely would have barked, as he always did when he saw anything new or strange.
"Another reason why you can"t keep him," said Mother Bunker, "is that the Italian hand-organ grinder will want his monkey himself. That is how he makes his living--by having the monkey collect pennies for him."
"But can I keep him until the organ man comes?" asked Laddie, as he cuddled his "riddle" in his arms.
"Oh, yes, I guess you can keep him until then," said Mrs. Bunker. "We couldn"t turn the poor little monkey loose, anyhow, or dogs would chase him. We"ll see what your father says when he comes home."
"And we can have some fun now, with Peanuts," added Russ. "We can tie a string to his collar and make-believe we have a circus."
"Maybe he"ll bite," said Margy.
"He didn"t bite me," Laddie explained, "and I carried him under my coat from down the street. He tickled me though, when he wanted to get out."
Mrs. Bunker and Aunt Jo said the children could play with the monkey awhile on the side porch, fastening it by a string attached to the collar around its neck, so it could not get away.
"The Italian may be along pretty soon looking for it," said William, the chauffeur, who had been called from the garage to see Laddie"s new pet.
"Peanuts," as the six little Bunkers called the monkey, seemed to enjoy being with them. He climbed about the porch, and came down when they held out in their hands bread, bits of crackers or cake, which the monkey liked to eat.
The children were having lots of fun with their funny little pet, and they were talking over and over again their wish that they might keep him, when, from out in front, came the sound of a hand-organ. It played rather a sad and doleful tune, and, at the sound of it, the monkey seemed to p.r.i.c.k up his ears, much as a dog might do.
"Oh, dear!" sighed Rose. "Maybe that"s the hand-organ man that owns this monkey."
"If it is I"d better see about it," said Aunt Jo. "I want you children to have all the fun you can, but we don"t want to keep a poor man"s monkey, any more than we do the poor woman"s purse, though she hasn"t come for that yet."
William, the chauffeur, who also heard the hand-organ tune, went out in front, and came back to tell Aunt Jo that the Italian had indeed lost his monkey, and was looking everywhere for it.
"Tell him to come in," said Miss Bunker.
And a little later, walking along and grinding out the doleful tune, the Italian came into the yard.
"Is this your monkey?" asked Aunt Jo, pointing to the one that Laddie had coaxed down out of the tree with peanuts.
"Oh, Petro! Petro!" cried the Italian, leaning his hand-organ up against a tree and rushing to the porch. "Ah, Petro! I have found you again, my baby!" and he held out his arms. The monkey made a jump for them, and sat up on the man"s shoulder, chattering and taking off and putting on his green cap so often that, as Russ said, he looked like a moving picture.
"Ah, Petro! Petro!" cried the hand-organ man, and then he began to talk to the monkey in Italian, which the little creature seemed to understand, for he chattered back, though of course he spoke monkey talk, or, maybe, jungle talk.
"Is that your animal?" asked William.
"Sure, he mine!" exclaimed the Italian. "His name Petro! I make-a de music down de street, an" a big dog chase after Petro! He break-a de string an" jump oop de tree. I no can find! Now I have him back! Ah, my Petro!"
"Well, the children will be sorry to lose their pet," said Aunt Jo, "but I"m glad you have him back."
"I glad. Vera mooch-a glad, too!" said the Italian, taking off his hat, and bowing to Aunt Jo and Mrs. Bunker. "Petro bring me in pennies. I play for you, but I no want-a pennies. No take pennies--you find my Petro."
"This little boy found him," said William, pointing to Laddie.
"I gave him peanuts," said Laddie. "He was up a tree."
"Mooch "bliged," said the Italian. "I make-a de music for you. Petro do tricks."
Then he fastened the long cord he had in his pocket to Petro"s collar, and began to grind out what he called "music." He also made the monkey do several tricks, such as turning somersaults or climbing trees and jumping from one branch to another.
Then, with more thanks, and promising to come and play again for them, and not to let Petro take any pennies, the Italian went on his way with the monkey and the hand-organ.
Laddie and the others were sorry to lose their pet, but, as Daddy Bunker said afterward, the monkey and Alexis might not have been good friends.
"Well, I found a monkey, and somebody came for it," said Laddie that night. "But n.o.body has come for the pocketbook yet."
"And, if they don"t, I"m going to have the money," said Rose. "Anyhow, I can have some of it, daddy says. And I"m going to buy a pair of new roller skates, "cause my old ones are "most worn out."
However, Rose could still skate on them, and speaking of them as she did, made her think of them the next day. So, when she had put her dolls to "sleep," the little girl went out roller-skating on the sidewalk in front of Aunt Jo"s house.
Rose had not been skating long before her mother heard her crying.
"Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" Rose was saying.
"What"s the matter?" asked her mother, hurrying out to the porch. "Did you fall and hurt yourself, Rose, my dear?"
"No. But I struck my foot against the curbstone, and now one of my roller skates is broken, and I can"t have any fun!"