Laura Lee Hope - The Bobbsey Twins

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"That wasn't very nice," pouted Flossie. "Dorothy might have fallen in
the snow."

"Can't help it," answered Freddie. "A fireman can't stop for anything."

"But--but--he doesn't have to throw his baby away, does he?" questioned
Flossie, with wide open eyes.

"Yes, he does,--_ev'rything_."

"But--but supposing he is--is eating his dinner?"

"He has to throw it away, Flossie. Oh, it's awful hard to be a real
fireman."

"Would he have to throw his jam away, and his pie?"

"Yes."

"Then I wouldn't be a fireman, not for a--a house full of gold!" said
Flossie, and marched back into the house with her doll.

Flossie's dolls were five in number. Dorothy was her pride, and had
light hair and blue eyes, and three dresses, one of real lace. The next
was Gertrude, a short doll with black eyes and hair and a traveling
dress that was very cute. Then came Lucy, who had lost one arm, and
Polly, who had lost both an arm and a leg. The fifth doll was Jujube, a
colored boy, dressed in a fiery suit of red, with a blue cap and real
rubber boots. This doll had come from Sam and Dinah and had been much
admired at first, but was now taken out only when all the others went
too.

"He doesn't really belong to the family, you know," Flossie would
explain to her friends. "But I have to keep him, for mamma says there is
no colored orphan asylum for dolls. Besides, I don't think Sam and Dinah
would like to see their doll child in an asylum." The dolls were all
kept in a row in a big bureau drawer at the top of the house, but
Flossie always took pains to separate Jujube from the rest by placing
the cover of a pasteboard box between them.

With so much snow on the ground it was decided by the boys of that
neighborhood to build a snow fort, and this work was undertaken early on
the following Saturday morning. Luckily, Bert was by that time well
enough to go out and he did his fair share of the labor, although being
careful not to injure the sore ankle.

The fort was built at the top of a small hill in a large open lot. It
was made about twenty feet square and the wall was as high as the boys'
heads and over a foot thick. In the middle was gathered a big pile of
snow, and into this was stuck a flag-pole from which floated a nice flag
loaned by a boy named Ralph Blake.

"Let us divide into two parties of soldiers," said Ralph. "One can
defend the fort and the others can attack it."

"Hurrah! just the thing!" cried Bert. "When shall the battle begin?"

The boys talked it over, and it was decided to have the battle come off
after lunch.

The boys went home full of enthusiasm, and soon the news spread that a
real soldiers' battle was to take place at the lot.

"Oh, Bert, can't I go and look on?" asked Nan.

"I want to go, too," put in Flossie.

"Can't I be a soldier?" asked Freddie. "I can make snowballs, and throw
'em, too."

"No, Freddie, you are too little to be a soldier," answered Bert. "But
you can all come and look on, if you wish."

After lunch the boys began to gather quickly, until over twenty were
present. Many girls and a few grown folks were also there, who took
places out of harm's way.

"Now, remember," said a gentleman who was placed in charge. "No icy
snowballs and no stones."

"We'll remember, Mr. Potter," cried the young soldiers.

The boys were speedily divided into two parties, one to attack and one
to defend the fort. It fell to Bert's lot to be one of the attacking
party. Without loss of time each party began to make all the snowballs
it could. The boys who remained in the fort kept out of sight behind the
walls, while the attacking party moved to the back of the barn at the
corner of the big lot.

"Are you all ready?" shouted Mr. Potter presently.

A yell of assent came from nearly all of the young soldiers.

"Very well, then; the battle may begin."

Some of the boys had brought horns along, and now a rousing blast came
from behind the barn and then from the snow fort.

"Come on and capture the fort!" cried Bert, and led the way, with his
arms full of snowballs.

There was a grand cheer and up the hill rushed the young soldiers, ready
to capture the snow fort no matter what the cost.

CHAPTER VIII

FUN ON THE ICE

"Oh, the fight is going to start!" cried Nan, in high excitement. "See
them coming up the hill!"

"Will they shoot?" asked Flossie, just a bit nervously.

"Course they won't shoot," answered Freddie. "Can't shoot snowballs.
Ain't got no powder in."

The attacking party was still a good distance from the fort when those
inside let fly a volley of snowballs. But the snowballs did not reach
their mark, and still the others came up the hill.

"Now then, give it to them!" cried Bert, and let fly his first snowball,
which landed on the top of the fort's wall. Soon the air was full of
snowballs, flying one way and another. Many failed to do any damage, but
some went true, and soon Bert received a snowball full in the breast
and another in the shoulder. Then he slipped and fell and his own
snowballs were lost.

The attacking party got to within fifty feet of the fort, but then the
ammunition gave out and they were forced to retreat, which they did in
quick order.

"Hurrah! they can't take the fort!" cried those inside of the
stronghold, and blew their horns more wildly than ever. But their own
ammunition was low and they made other snowballs as quickly as they
could, using the pile of snow in the middle of the fort for that
purpose.

Back of the barn the attacking party held a consultation.

"I've got a plan," said a boy named Ned Brown. "Let us divide into two
parties and one move on the fort from the front and the other from the
back. Then, if they attack one party, the other party can sneak in and
climb over the fort wall and capture the flag."

"All right, let us do that," said Bert.

Waiting until each boy had a dozen or more snowballs, half of the
attacking force moved away along a fence until the rear of the fort was
gained. Then, with another cheer, all set out for the fort.

It was a grand rush and soon the air was once more filled with
snowballs, much to the delight of the spectators, who began to cheer
both sides.

"Oh, I hope they get into the fort this time," said Nan.

"I hope they don't," answered another girl, who had a brother in the
fort.

Inside the fort the boys were having rather a hard time of it. They were
close together, and a snowball coming over the walls was almost certain
to hit one or another. More than this, the pile of snow around the flag
was growing small, so that the flag was in great danger of toppling
over.

Up the two sides of the hill came the invaders, Bert leading the
detachment that was to attack the rear. He was hit again, but did not
falter, and a moment later found himself at the very wall.

"Get back there!" roared a boy from the fort and threw a large lump of
soft snow directly into his face. But Bert threw the lump back and the
boy slipped and fell flat. Then, amid a perfect shower of snowballs,
Bert and two other boys fairly tumbled into the fort.

"Defend the flag! Defend the flag!" was the rallying cry of the fort
defenders, and they gathered around the flag. The struggle was now a
hand-to-hand one, in which nothing but soft snow was used, and nearly
every boy had his face washed.

"Get back there!" roared Danny Rugg, who was close to the flag, but as
he spoke two boys shoved him down on his face in the snow, and the next
moment Bert and another boy of the invading party had the flag and was
carrying it away in triumph.

"The fort has fallen!" screamed Nan, and clapped her hands.

"Hurrah!" shouted Freddie. "The--the forters are beaten, aren't they?"

"Yes, Freddie."

A cheer was given for those who had captured the fort. Then some of the
boys began to dance on the top of the walls, and down they came, one
after another, until the fort was in ruins, and the great contest came
to an end.

"It was just splendid!" said Nan to Bert, on the way home. "Just like a
real battle."

"Only the band didn't play," put in Freddie disappointedly. "Real
soldiers have a band. They don't play fish-horns."

"Oh, Freddie!" cried Flossie. "They weren't fish-horns. They were
Christmas horns."

"It's all the same. I like a band, with a big, fat bass-drum."

"We'll have the band next time--just for your benefit, Freddie," said
Bert.

He was tired out and glad to rest when they got home. More than this,
some of the snow had gotten down his back, so he had to dry himself by
sitting with his back to the sitting-room heater.

"Danny Rugg was terribly angry that we captured the fort," said he. "He
is looking for the boys who threw him on his face."

"It served him right," answered Nan, remembering the trouble over the
broken show window.

The second fall of snow was followed by steady cold weather and it was
not long before the greater part of Lake Metoka was frozen over. As soon
as this happened nearly all of the boys and girls took to skating, so
that sledding and snowballing were, for the time being, forgotten.

Both Nan and Bert had new skates, given to them the Christmas before,
and each was impatient to go on the ice, but Mrs. Bobbsey held them back
until she thought it would be safe.

"You must not go too far from shore," said she. "I understand the ice in
the middle of the lake, and at the lower end, is not as firm as it might
be."

Freddie and Flossie wanted to watch the skating, and Nan took them to
their father's lumber yard. Here was a small office directly on the lake
front, where they could see much that was going on and still be under
the care of an old workman around the yards.

Nan could not skate very well, but Bert could get along nicely, and he
took hold of his twin sister's hand, and away they went gliding over the
smooth ice much to their combined delight.

"Some day I am going to learn how to do fancy skating," said Bert. "The
Dutch roll, and spread the eagle, and all that."

"There is Mr. Gifford," said Nan. "Let us watch him."

The gentleman mentioned was a fine skater and had once won a medal for
making fancy figures on the ice. They watched him for a long while and
so did many of the others present.

"It's beautiful to skate like that," cried Nan, when they skated away.
"It's just like knowing how to dance everything."

"Only better," said Bert, who did not care for dancing at all.

Presently Nan found some girls to skate with and then Bert went off
among the boys. The girls played tag and had great fun, shrieking at the
top of their lungs as first one was "it" and then another. It was hard
work for Nan to catch the older girls, who could skate better, but easy
enough to catch those of her own age and experience on the ice.

The boys played tag, too, and "snapped the whip," as it is termed. All
of the boys would join hands in a long line and then skate off as fast
as they could. Then the boy on one end, called the snapper, would stop
and pull the others around in a big curve. This would make the boys on
the end of the line skate very fast, and sometimes they would go down,
to roll over and over on the ice. Once Bert was at the end and down he
went, to slide a long distance, when he bumped into a gentleman who was
skating backwards and over went the man with a crash that could be heard
a long distance off.

"Hi! you young rascal!" roared the man, trying to scramble up. "What do
you mean by bowling me over like that?"

"Excuse me, but I didn't mean to do it," answered Bert, and lost no time
in getting out of the gentleman's way. The gentleman was very angry and
left the ice, grumbling loudly to himself.

Down near the lower end of Mr. Bobbsey's lumber yard some young men were
building an ice-boat. Bert and Charley Mason watched this work with
interest. "Let us make an ice-boat," said Charley. "I can get an old
bed-sheet for a sail, if you will get your father to give you the
lumber."

"I'll try," answered Bert, and it was agreed that the ice-boat should be
built during the following week, after school.

CHAPTER IX

FREDDIE LOSES HIMSELF

Christmas was now but four weeks away, and the stores of Lakeport had
their windows filled with all sort of nice things for presents. Nan and
Bert had gazed into the windows a number of times, and even walked
through the one big department store of which the town boasted, and they
had told Freddie and Flossie of many of the things to be seen.

"Oh, I want to see them, too!" cried Flossie, and begged her mother to
take her along the next time she went out.

"I want to go, too," put in Freddie. "Bert says there are _sixteen_
rocking horses all in a row, with white and black tails. I want to see
them."

"I am going to the stores to-morrow," answered Mrs. Bobbsey. "You can go
with me, after school. It will be better to go now than later on, when
the places are filled with Christmas shoppers."

The twins were in high glee, and Freddie said he was going to spend the
twenty-five cents he had been saving up for several months.

"Let us buy mamma something for Christmas," said Flossie, who had the
same amount of money.

"What shall we buy?"

That question was a puzzling one. Flossie thought a nice doll would be
the right thing, while Freddie thought an automobile that could be wound
up and made to run around the floor would be better. At last both
consulted Nan.

"Oh, mamma doesn't want a doll," said Nan. "And she ought to have a real
automobile, not a tin one."

"Can't buy a real auto'bile," said Freddie. "Real auto'biles cost ten
dollars, or more."

"I'll tell you what to do," went on Nan. "You buy her a little bottle of
cologne, Freddie, and you, Flossie, can buy her a nice handkerchief."

"I'll buy her a big bottle of cologne," said Freddie. "That big!" and
he placed his hands about a foot apart.

"And I'll get a real lace handkerchief," added Flossie.

"You'll have to do the best you can," said practical Nan, and so it was
agreed.

When they left home each child had the money tucked away in a pocket.
They went in the family sleigh, with Sam as a driver. The first stop was
at Mr. Ringley's shoe store, where Mrs. Bobbsey purchased each of the
twins a pair of shoes. It may be added here, that the broken window
glass had long since been replaced by the shoe dealer, and his show
window looked as attractive as ever.

"I heard you had a window broken not long ago," said Mrs. Bobbsey, when
paying for her purchases.

"Yes, two bad boys broke the window," answered the shoe dealer.

"Who were they?"

"I couldn't find out. But perhaps I'll learn some day, and then I mean
to have them arrested," said Mr. Ringley. "The broken glass ruined
several pairs of shoes that were in the window." And then he turned
away to wait on another customer.

Soon the large department store was reached and Mrs. Bobbsey let Freddie
and Flossie take their time in looking into the several windows. One was
full of dolls, which made the little girl gape in wonder and delight.

"Oh, mamma, what a flock of dolls!" she cried. "Must be 'bout ten
millions of them, don't you think so?"

"Hardly that many, Flossie; but there are a good many."

"And, oh, mamma, what pretty dresses! I wish I had that doll with the
pink silk and the big lace hat," added the little girl.

"Do you think that is the nicest, Flossie?"

"Indeed, indeed I do," answered the little miss. "It's too lovely for
anything. Can't we get it and take it home?"

"No, dear; but you had better ask Santa Claus to send it to you,"
continued her mother with a smile.

Some wooden soldiers and building blocks caught Freddie's eye, and for
the time being his favorite fire engines were forgotten.

"I want wooden soldiers," he said. "Can set 'em up in a row, with the
sword-man in front, an' the man with the drum."

"Perhaps Santa Claus will bring you some soldiers in your stocking,
Freddie."

"Stocking ain't big enough--want big ones, like that," and he pointed
with his chubby hand.

"Well, let us wait and see what Santa Claus can do," said Mrs. Bobbsey.

Inside of the store was a candy counter near the doorway, and there was
no peace for Mrs. Bobbsey until she had purchased some chocolate drops
for Flossie, and a long peppermint cane for Freddie. Then they walked
around, down one aisle and up another, admiring the many things which
were displayed.

"Bert said they had a lavater," said Freddie presently. "Mamma, I want
to go in the lavater."

"Lavater?" repeated Mrs. Bobbsey, with a puzzled look. "Why, Freddie,
what do you mean?"

"He means the stairs that runs up and down on a big rope," put in
Flossie.

"Oh, the elevator," said the mother. "Very well, you shall both ride in
the elevator."

It was great sport to ride to the third story of the store, although the
swift way in which the elevator moved made the twins gasp a little.

"Let us go down again," said Freddie. "It's ever so much nicer than
climbing the stairs."

"I wish to make a few purchases first," answered the mother.

She had come to buy a rug for the front hallway, and while she was busy
in the rug and carpet department she allowed the twins to look at a
number of toys which were located at the other end of the floor.

For a while Freddie and Flossie kept close together, for there was quite
a crowd present and they felt a little afraid. But then Flossie
discovered a counter where all sorts of things for dolls were on sale
and she lingered there, to look at the dresses, and hats, and underwear,
and shoes and stockings, and chairs, trunks, combs and brushes, and
other goods.

"Oh, my, I must have some of those things for my dolls," she said, half
aloud. There was a trunk she thought perfectly lovely and it was marked
39 cents. "Not so very much," she thought.

When Freddie got around to where the elevator was, it was just coming up
again with another load of people. As he had not seen it go down he
concluded that he must go down by way of the stairs if he wanted another
ride.

"I'll get a ride all by myself," he thought, and as quickly as he could,
he slipped down first one pair of stairs and then another, to the ground
floor of the store. Then he saw another stairs, and soon was in the
basement of the department store.

Here was a hardware department with a great number of heavy toys, and
soon he was looking at a circular railroad track upon which ran a real
locomotive and three cars. This was certainly a wonderful toy, and
Freddie could not get his eyes off of it.

In moving around the basement of the store, Freddie grew hopelessly
mixed up, and when he started to look for the elevator or the stairs, he
walked to the storage room. He was too timid to ask his way out and
soon found himself among great rows of boxes and barrels. Then he made a
turn or two and found himself in another room, filled with empty boxes
and casks, some partly filled with straw and excelsior. There was a big
wooden door to this room, and while he was inside the door shut with a
bang and the catch fell into place.

"Oh, dear, I wish I was back with mamma," he thought, and drew a long
and exceedingly sober breath. "I don't like it here at all."

Just then a little black kitten came toward him and brushed up
affectionately. Freddie caught the kitten and sat down for a moment to
pet it. He now felt sleepy and in a few minutes his eyes closed and his
head began to nod. Then in a minute more he went sound asleep.

Long before this happened Mrs. Bobbsey found Flossie and asked her where
Freddie was. The little girl could not tell, and the mother began a
diligent search. The floor-walkers in the big store aided her, but it
was of no avail. Freddie could not be found, and soon it was time to
close up the establishment for the day. Almost frantic with fear, Mrs.
Bobbsey telephoned to her husband, telling him of what had occurred and
asked him what had best be done.

CHAPTER X

LOST AND FOUND

When Freddie woke up all was very, very dark around him. At first he
thought he was at home, and he called out for somebody to pull up the
curtain that he might see.

But nobody answered him, and all he heard was a strange purring, close
to his ear. He put up his hand and touched the little black kitten,
which was lying close to his face. He had tumbled back in the straw and
this had proved a comfortable couch upon which to take a nap.

"Oh, dear me, I'll have to get back to mamma!" he murmured, as he
struggled up and rubbed his eyes. "What can make it so awful dark? They
ought to light the gas. Nobody can buy things when it's so dark as
this."

The darkness did not please him, and he was glad to have the black
kitten for a companion. With the kitten in his arms he arose to his
feet and walked a few steps. Bump! he went into a big box. Then he went
in another direction and stumbled over a barrel.

"Mamma! Mamma!" he cried out. "Mamma, where are you?"

No answer came back to this call, and his own voice sounded so queer to
him that he soon stopped. He hugged the kitten tighter than ever.

He was now greatly frightened and it was all he could do to keep back
the tears. He knew it must be night and that the great store must be
closed up.

"They have all gone home and left me here alone," he thought. "Oh, what
shall I do?"

He knew the night was generally very long and he did not wish to remain
in the big, lonely building until morning.

Still hugging the kitten, he felt his way around until he reached the
big wooden door. The catch came open with ease, and once more he found
himself in that part of the basement used for hardware and large
mechanical toys. But the toy locomotive had ceased to run and all was
very silent. Only a single gas jet flickered overhead, and this cast
fantastic shadows which made the little boy think of ghosts and
hobgoblins. One mechanical toy had a very large head on it, and this
seemed to grin and laugh at him as he looked at it.

"Mamma!" he screamed again. "Oh, mamma, why don't you come?"

He listened and presently he heard footsteps overhead.

"Who's there?" came in the heavy voice of a man.

The voice sounded so unnatural that Freddie was afraid to answer.
Perhaps the man might be a burglar come to rob the store.

"I say, who's there?" repeated the voice. "Answer me."

There was a minute of silence, and then Freddie heard the footsteps
coming slowly down the stairs. The man had a lantern in one hand and a
club in the other.

Not knowing what else to do, Freddie crouched behind a counter. His
heart beat loudly, and he had dim visions of burglars who might have
entered the big store to rob it. If he was discovered, there was no
telling what such burglars might do with him.

"Must have been the cat," murmured the man on the stairs. He reached the
basement floor and swung his lantern over his head. "Here, kittie,
kittie, kittie!" he called.

"Meow!" came from the black kitten, which was still in Freddie's arms.
Then the man looked in that direction.

"Hullo!" he exclaimed, starting in amazement. "What are you doing here?
Are you alone?"

"Oh, please, I want my mamma!" cried Freddie.

"You want your mamma?" repeated the man. "Say!" he went on suddenly.
"Are you the kid that got lost this afternoon, youngster?"

"I guess I did get lost," answered Freddie. He saw that the man had a
kindly face and this made him a bit braver. "I walked around and sat
down over there--in the straw--and went to sleep."

"Well, I never!" cried the man. "And have you been down here ever
since?"

"Yes, sir. But I don't want to stay--I want to go home."

"All right, you shall go. But this beats me!"

"Are you the man who owns the store?" questioned Freddie curiously.

At this the man laughed. "No; wish I did. I'm the night watchman. Let me
see, what is your name?"

"Freddie Bobbsey. My papa owns the lumber yard."

"Oh, yes, I remember now. Well, Freddie, I reckon your papa will soon
come after you. All of 'em are about half crazy, wondering what has
become of you."

The night watchman led the way to the first floor of the department
store and Freddie followed, still clutching the black kitten, which
seemed well content to remain with him.

"I'll telephone to your papa," said the watchman, and going into one of
the offices he rang the bell and called up the number of the Bobbsey
residence.

In the meantime Mrs. Bobbsey and the others of the family were almost
frantic with grief and alarm. Mr. Bobbsey had notified the police and
the town had been searched thoroughly for some trace of the missing boy.

"Perhaps they have stolen Freddie away!" said Nan, with the tears
starting to her eyes. "Some gypsies were in town, telling fortunes. I
heard one of the girls at school tell about it."

"Oh, the bad gypsies!" cried Flossie, and gave a shudder. The idea that
Freddie might have been carried off by the gypsies was truly terrifying.

Mr. Bobbsey had been out a dozen times to the police headquarters and to
the lake front. A report had come in that a boy looking like Freddie had
been seen on the ice early in the evening, and he did not know but what
the little fellow might have wandered in that direction.

When the telephone bell rang Mr. Bobbsey had just come in from another
fruitless search. Both he and his wife ran to the telephone.

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