right, though his brother and sisters understood what he meant. "Didn't
you say I was to be the pirate?"

"Yes, 'cause we don't want to be," retorted Rose.

"Well, all right then, I'm going to be the pirate," went on Russ.

"But you've got to get us good things to eat," said Vi. "We're the
prisoners, an' you said they had good things to eat."

"I'll get good things to eat if Cousin Ruth'll give 'em to me," promised
Russ. "But I'm the pirate, and pirates don't ever work. They just boss
the prisoners. Now come on, prisoners, and build me the bungalow!" and
Russ leaned back on a pile of sea weed and looked very lazy and
comfortable.

"Don't pirates _ever_ work?" asked Laddie.

"Nope! Not the kind I ever heard Mother read about in books," went on
Russ. "They just tell the prisoners what to do, 'ceptin', of course,
when there's any fighting. Pirates are 'most always fighting, but we
won't play that part, 'cause Mother doesn't like that. I'll be a good
pirate, and I'll let you prisoners build the bungalow."

"But you've got to get us something to eat," said Vi again.

"I'll do that," promised Russ. "I'll go up now and ask Cousin Ruth for
some, and you prisoners can be getting a lot of wood."

The plans Russ made came out all right. Cousin Tom's pretty young wife