Laura Lee Hope - The Bobbsey Twins at the County Fair

L >> Laura Lee Hope >> The Bobbsey Twins at the County Fair

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

And while Flossie and Freddie went into the house with Dinah, Bert and
Nan hurried toward the garage, where they saw their father and mother
talking with Sam Johnson.

"I's done suah I put dat lap robe in de auto," said Dinah's husband.

"I thought you did, Sam," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "Yet when Mr. Bobbsey
looked for it, to put around him, as he had no coat, the robe was gone."

"Are you sure it isn't in the garage, Sam?" asked Mr. Bobbsey.

"Sartin suah, sah! I done put it in de little auto when yo' all started
off, 'case I reckoned it'd be dusty."

"Well, the lap robe is gone like my coat," said Mr. Bobbsey. "Too bad,
for it was a new one."

"It suah am too bad!" declared Sam. "Yo' all has me worried!"

"Well, you don't need to worry, Sam," said Mrs. Bobbsey kindly. "It
isn't your fault. I know you put the robe in the auto, for I saw it when
we started. But when I wanted it to wrap around Mr. Bobbsey, after his
coat was taken, and it was cool riding home, the robe was gone."

"Stolen, Mother, do you think?" asked Nan.

"I wouldn't say that. It may have fallen out on the way."

"Well, that's two things gone the same day," said Mr. Bobbsey, who was
still in his shirt sleeves, as he had come from the picnic. "My coat and
the lap robe. I guess that Blipper's merry-go-round, which is to show at
the Bolton County Fair, didn't bring me any good luck."

Bert and Nan were wondering if Bob Guess or the red-faced man knew
anything of their father's coat and the missing lap robe when from the
kitchen Dinah's voice excitedly called:

"Come heah! Come heah if yo' please, Mr. Bobbsey! Suffin's done gone an'
happened!"

"Oh, dear!" cried Mrs. Bobbsey. "What's the matter now?"

CHAPTER VI

HAPPY DAYS COMING

When Dinah called in this fashion, with worry making itself heard in her
voice, Mrs. Bobbsey always hurried to see what the matter was. Generally
it was something the smaller Bobbsey twins had done. And as she knew
Flossie and Freddie were now in the kitchen, Mother Bobbsey feared one
of the smaller children had been hurt.

"What is it, Dinah?" asked the mother, as she hurried back toward the
house. Bert and Nan, with their father, waiting only a moment, followed
Mrs. Bobbsey.

"I should think Freddie and Flossie would have had enough fun at the
picnic not to want to do any more cutting up," remarked Nan.

"You never can tell what those tykes will do," observed Bert. "I don't
hear either of 'em yelling, and that's a good sign."

But just as he spoke there came a wail from the kitchen, which, by this
time, Mrs. Bobbsey had reached, disappearing within.

"That's Flossie," said Nan.

Again came the voice of a little child, crying either in fear or in
delight at some funny happening, it could not be told which.

"There goes Freddie, letting off steam," said Bert. "I guess it isn't
anything very much. Freddie always laughs in that squealing way when
something tickles him."

Mr. Bobbsey, with the two older twins, entered the kitchen soon after
Mrs. Bobbsey. There stood Flossie and Freddie before a low kitchen
table, one leaf of which was down, so that whatever was under could not
be seen very well, on account of the shadow cast by the electric light.
And beside Flossie and Freddie stood Dinah.

"What's the matter?" asked Mr. Bobbsey.

"Dinah says Snoop, our cat, has caught some sort of animal and has it
under the table," said Mrs. Bobbsey.

"It's a big animal and it's got fur on," declared Flossie, greatly
excited.

"An' it's got yellow eyes and four legs an' it's long--it's as long as
my arm!" added Freddie, his eyes big with wonder. "Oh, it was awful
funny!" he went on, squealing with delight. "I saw Snoop drag it under
the table and I called Dinah. Didn't I, Dinah?"

"Dat's whut yo' done, honey lamb! Ah don't know whut it is Snoop has,
Mis' Bobbsey," went on the colored cook, "but it's some sort o'
animile!"

"And Snoop growled, he did, when he dragged it under the table!"
exclaimed Flossie. "I heard Snoop growl, I did! Listen!"

Surely enough the cat growled again, just as a lion or a tiger in the
jungle would growl after catching its dinner--only not so loud, of
course.

"Oh!" murmured Flossie, making a dive for her mother's skirts.

"There! Look! I saw its tail!" cried Freddie.

As he spoke just a flash of some furry animal was seen under the table
where Snoop had gone to hide.

"I hope it isn't a little skunk!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey.

"Don't worry!" advised her husband. "If it was a young skunk that Snoop
had, you'd have known it long before this. And Snoop never would try to
catch a skunk--Snoop would know better."

"But what is it? He has something!" insisted Mrs. Bobbsey.

"Maybe I can coax Snoop out," put in Nan. "He minds me better than he
does any one else. Here, Snoop! Come on out, nice Snoop!" she called in
a gentle voice.

But Snoop only growled in answer, and seemed to be shaking, beneath the
table, the unknown animal he had caught and dragged there.

"Shall I get the rake and pull him out?" asked Bert.

"No, you might hurt him," replied Mr. Bobbsey. "Go out to the garage and
get the big flash lamp from Sam. I can shine that under the table and we
can see what it is before we do anything. Evidently Snoop isn't going to
come out until he gets ready. And it may be he has a large rat or----"

Dinah gave a scream.

"Oh--a rat!" she cried.

"Maybe it's only a little mouse--I like a funny little mouse," said
Flossie.

"Well, I don't," said Dinah. "They eats mah food."

"Maybe it's only a little mole from the garden," went on Mr. Bobbsey.

"It's bigger'n a ground mole!" declared Freddie. "I saw it, an' it's
long and brown and has legs an' brown eyes that shine."

"Well, whatever it is it can't be very dangerous," said Mr. Bobbsey. "If
it was, Snoop never would have dared to get it. But I don't want to
reach under there in the dark and perhaps get bitten and scratched by
Snoop, or whatever he has. We'll wait for the flash light."

Bert now came running in with this, Sam following when he heard that the
cat had something strange under the table in the kitchen.

"Dey suah am lots ob t'ings happenin' dis day," observed Sam.

Mr. Bobbsey flashed the light under the table. The four twins had
stooped down to get a better view, and Freddie cried:

"I see its eyes shining!"

"I can see its tail! Oh, no, that's Snoop's tail!" added Flossie.

"Snoop, what have you there? Stop growling and give it to me!" demanded
Mr. Bobbsey, thrusting his hand under the table.

"Be careful," advised his wife. "It may bite."

Mr. Bobbsey laughed and thrust his hand farther under the table. There
was a little scuffle as Snoop tried to hold fast to what he had. He
clung so hard to it with teeth and claws that he was dragged over the
smooth linoleum on the floor.

"Here's your wild beast!" cried Mr. Bobbsey, as he arose, and held
something covered with brown fur dangling from one hand.

"What is it?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey. "That's not a rat."

"No, it's your fur neck piece," her husband said, with a laugh.

"Oh, I wore it to the picnic, for I thought it would be cool coming
home," said Mrs. Bobbsey, as she took the piece of fur. "And I laid it
on the hall table. I forgot about Snoop. He must have seen it, thought
it was a strange animal, and carried it away with him. Oh, Snoop!" and
she shook her finger at the cat which, now that it had nothing to play
with, came out from beneath the table.

"It does look like an animal," said Nan.

And indeed the fur piece did. For it was fashioned with an imitation of
an animal's head, with yellow glass eyes. The fur piece was quite long
and four little legs were fastened to it. So that it is no wonder a cat,
or even a boy or a girl, at first look, would take it for something
real.

"Well, Snoop had a good time with it, while it lasted," said Mr.
Bobbsey, with a laugh.

"And my fur wouldn't have lasted much longer with him, if he'd started
to claw and bite it," remarked Mrs. Bobbsey. "I'm glad you called me in,
Dinah."

"Yessum, Ah thought maybe yo'd better see what the cat had, 'cause Ah
couldn't make out what 'twas," the cook answered.

"Well, now that the excitement is over, we'd better have supper," said
Mr. Bobbsey. "Or did you youngsters have enough at the picnic to last
until morning?"

"We want to eat now!" decided Bert. "That wasn't so much we had at the
picnic."

"I guess you were extra hungry, from being out of doors all day," his
mother said. "Well, supper will soon be ready."

As they ate they talked over the fun they had had at Pine Grove, and
Flossie remarked:

"I'm going to ride on a wooden lion, I am--on the merry-go-round. I'm
going to ride on the lion."

"So'm I," declared Freddie. "There are two lions, an' I'm going to ride
on one an' Flossie on the other one."

"Where's your merry-go-round?" asked Nan.

"At the fair--the Bolton County Fair," said Freddie. "I heard that funny
red-faced man say so."

"But the Bolton Fair is a long way off," went on Nan.

"Daddy will take us; won't you?" asked Flossie. "Can't we go to the
fair and ride on the merry-go-round?" she teased.

"Well, I don't know," answered Mr. Bobbsey slowly. "I suppose it would
be a good thing to visit a big county fair, and this is one of the
largest."

"But we'd have to go and stay for some time," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "Bolton
is a long way off. We couldn't go and come the same day."

"One ought to spend more than a day at a big fair if he wants to see
everything," went on Mr. Bobbsey. "I never could stay as long as I
wanted to when I was a boy. Now, I was thinking perhaps we could all go
to Meadow Brook Farm for a little visit. From Meadow Brook it isn't far
to the Bolton County Fair."

"Oh, let's go!" cried Bert and Nan.

"What about school?" asked their mother.

"School doesn't open until later this fall than usual," explained Mr.
Bobbsey. "They are repairing the school house and the work will not be
finished in time for the regular fall opening. I know, for the school
board buys lumber of me.

"So, as long as the children don't have to be back until the middle of
October, we could all go to Meadow Brook, and from there visit the fair.
Would you like that?" he asked his wife.

"I think it would be lovely!"

"So do I!" echoed the Bobbsey twins.

"Well, then, we'll think about it," promised their father. "You will
have some happy days to think about until it is time to go. And now I
think it is time for my little Fairy and my brave Fireman to go to bed."
Daddy Bobbsey sometimes called the small twins by these pet names. "Come
on! Up to bed!" he called. "We'll talk more about the Bolton County Fair
another day!"

As he was carrying the smaller children up to bed, a style of travel the
little twins loved, there came a ring at the front door bell. Dinah, who
answered, came back to say:

"Dere's a p'liceman outside whut wants to see yo', Mr. Bobbsey."

"A policeman?"

"Yas, sah!"

"A policeman for me?"

"Yas, sah!"

"Dear me!" Mr. Bobbsey murmured. "What can be the matter now!"

"Oh, Daddy!" squealed Flossie, at once filled with excitement.

"What do you suppose----" began Bert, and then stopped in the midst of
his speech.

"Maybe he has found your lost coat," suggested Nan, as her father put
Flossie and Freddie down in an easy chair.

CHAPTER VII

THE CRYING BOY

There had been so much excitement over the strange "animal" which Snoop
had under the table that, for a time, the Bobbsey twins had forgotten
about their father's coat having been taken at the picnic. Nor had they
remembered about the missing lap robe. But now, as Nan said this, every
one--except perhaps the smaller twins--thought about the things that
were gone.

"Oh, that's so!" exclaimed Bert, following what his sister said. "Maybe
the policeman has come to bring back your lost coat, Daddy!"

"I hope he has," said Mr. Bobbsey. "Not only do I not want to lose the
coat, for a suit of clothes isn't of much use without a coat, but I
don't like to lose the money and papers."

"No, sah, Mr. Bobbsey, de p'liceman didn't hab no coat," said Dinah.

"He didn't?" remarked Mr. Bobbsey.

"No, sah. He didn't."

"Well then, I can't imagine what he wants," went on the father of the
Bobbsey twins. "Ask him to come in, Dinah."

In came the policeman. He was one the children knew, from having often
seen him pass the house.

"Good evening, Mr. Bobbsey," said the officer, the light flashing on his
brass buttons. "I came up to see about a lap robe stolen from your
auto."

"Did you find it?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey. "I'm so glad! And did you find
Mr. Bobbsey's coat, also?"

"Why, no, Mrs. Bobbsey, I didn't," answered Policeman Murphy. "I didn't
know about any lost coat. I was just sent up from the police station to
inquire about the robbery of a lap robe. Somebody telephoned down that a
policeman was wanted because a lap robe had been stolen. That's why I
came up--because of the telephone message."

"Telephone!" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey. "I didn't telephone for you, Mr.
Murphy."

"Neither did I," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "Perhaps it was one of the
children," and she looked at Bert and Nan.

The older Bobbsey twins shook their heads. Flossie and Freddie, though
they knew how to telephone, would hardly have thought of calling up the
police. But they were asked about it.

"Nope, we didn't do it," Flossie said. "Though we likes p'licemans;
don't we, Freddie?"

"Yeppie," he answered sleepily. "When I grows up I'm goin' be a
p'licemans or a firesmans--I forget which."

"He's sleepy," laughed the officer. "But what about this, Mr. Bobbsey?
Some one must have telephoned."

"Yes, of course. I wonder if it could have been Mr. Blipper or that lad
who called himself Bob Guess?"

"Who are they?" the officer asked.

"Mr. Blipper is a man who owns a merry-go-round he takes to fairs and
circuses. He passed the picnic grounds where we were to-day. He's on his
way to the Bolton County Fair. He had with him a boy named Bob
Guess--called that because the lad is an orphan and they had to 'guess'
at his name. Soon after this Blipper and his outfit left, I missed my
coat, and, coming home, we found the lap robe gone. I was going to ride
after him, but we had a little excitement here, and I haven't had a
chance. Then you came along and----"

The sound of steps was heard on the side porch, and in came Sam, quite
excited.

"'Scuse me!" he murmured, as he entered. "Oh, de p'liceman done come!"
he exclaimed. "He's heah! I'm glad!"

"Did you expect him?" asked Mr. Bobbsey.

"Yes, sah, Mr. Bobbsey, I did! When de lap robe was gone I t'ought maybe
you t'ink I might 'a' been careless like, an' let some chicken t'ieves
in. So I telephoned fo' a p'liceman to come an' see if he could cotch de
burglar!"

"Oh, Sam, you didn't need to do that!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey. "We know
it wasn't your fault that the lap robe was taken, any more than it was
that Mr. Bobbsey's coat was stolen."

"Of course not!" echoed her husband.

"Well, I t'ought better we have a p'liceman," murmured Sam.

"I don't know what there is for him to do," said Mr. Bobbsey. "As nearly
as I can figure it out, my coat was stolen at the picnic grounds and the
lap robe was taken about the same time."

"It was," agreed Mrs. Bobbsey. "And I think that Blipper--or perhaps Bob
Guess--had something to do with both thefts."

"It might be," replied the officer. "Those traveling show people aren't
very careful, sometimes. I'll report back to the chief and see what he
says. If we get sight of this merry-go-round crowd, Mr. Bobbsey, we'll
stop them and ask them about your coat and the robe."

"Thank you, I wish you would. But I don't imagine you'll see them. They
are on their way to Bolton, and we shall be there ourselves next week,
so we can make some inquiries."

Officer Murphy left, finding there was nothing he could do. Flossie and
Freddie were carried up to bed, and Nan danced about the room, singing:

"We're going to the fair! We're going to the fair! We're going to the
Bolton County Fair!"

And Bert echoed:

"Maybe we'll find daddy's coat when we get there!"

Then, tired but happy over their fun at the picnic and too sleepy to
worry much over the lost articles, the Bobbsey twins at last went to
bed.

As their parents had said, school would not open as early that fall as
in other years, because some rebuilding work was being done in a few of
the rooms. So there was time to go to Meadow Brook, and from there to
visit Bolton, a few miles away, where the big fair was being held.

"Do you really think we can go, Mother?" asked Nan, the next day.

"I don't see why not. Your father seems to have made up his mind to it."

"Well, I hope he doesn't change it, as he does sometimes," said Bert,
with a laugh. "They're going to have airships and a balloon at the
fair, Charlie Mason says, and maybe I can go up in the balloon. Wouldn't
that be great, Nan?"

"I'm not going up in any balloon!"

"I am!" decided Bert, as if that was all there was to it.

"An' I'm going to ride on a lion!" cried Flossie.

"So'm I!" chimed in her brother Freddie.

Uncle Daniel Bobbsey and his wife Sarah, with their son Harry, lived at
Meadow Brook Farm. The Bobbsey twins had been there more than once, as
those who have read the other books of this series will remember. And
now it was proposed to go there again.

"But we'll be at the fair more than we will be at Meadow Brook, sha'n't
we?" asked Nan of her father.

"Well, sort of betwixt and between," he answered, with a laugh.

Uncle Daniel having been written to, said he would be delighted to have
his brother and his brother's family come out for the remainder of the
summer and early fall. And in about a week all preparations were made.

The trip was to be made in the Bobbsey's big auto, and would take about
a day. By starting early in the morning Meadow Brook Farm could be
reached by night. From there it was only a short distance to Bolton
where, each year, a big fair was held.

"And if I see that Bob Guess I'll make him tell where daddy's coat is!"
declared Bert.

"And the lap robe, too!" added Nan.

It was a fine, sunny day when the start was made. Into the auto piled
the Bobbsey twins, with boxes and baskets of lunch.

"It's like another picnic!" laughed Nan, as she saw Bert piling away the
good things to eat.

"Hab a good time, honey lambs!" called fat Dinah, as she and her husband
stood on the steps, waving good-by.

"Take good care of Snoop and Snap!" begged Nan.

"We will!" promised Sam.

Snap, the dog, wanted to come along, but as he could not very well be
looked after on this trip he had to be left behind, much to his sorrow.
He howled dismally as the auto went down the road.

Not very much happened on the way to Meadow Brook. Once a tire was
punctured and Mr. Bobbsey had to stop to put on a spare one. But this
happened near a garage, so he had a man from there do the work, while he
and his wife, with the twins, went into a little grove of trees and ate
lunch.

"Be careful of your coat!" warned Mrs. Bobbsey, as her husband took it
off and hung it on a tree while he built a fire to heat the water for
tea.

"Oh, no one is going to steal this one!" he said. "Anyhow, it's an old
one. But there's no one here to take it. No Mr. Blipper or Bob Guess
around now."

"Well, don't forget, and go off, leaving it hang on the tree," warned
his wife.

"I won't," said Mr. Bobbsey.

A fire was made, and as Mrs. Bobbsey was sitting with her back against a
stump, comfortably sipping her tea, she heard the sound of crying. As
Bert and Nan, with Flossie and Freddie, were gathering flowers not far
away, Mrs. Bobbsey could see that it was none of her twins who was
sobbing.

But the crying kept up, and she looked around to see whence it came. Mr.
Bobbsey was busy packing up the lunch things, for there was enough food
left to serve a little tea around five o'clock, since Meadow Brook Farm
would not be reached before seven o'clock that evening, on account of
the delay over the tire.

"Who is that crying, Dick?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey.

"Crying? Why, I don't hear--yes, I do, too!" her husband added, as the
sound of sobs came to his ears. He looked to make sure his own children
were all right and then glanced about.

As he did so there came from a little clump of trees, not far from the
grove where the Bobbseys had eaten lunch, a ragged boy, who seemed in
pain or distress, for he was crying very hard.

"Oh, the poor lad!" said Mrs. Bobbsey in a kind voice. "Go see what the
matter is, Dick! He is in trouble of some sort! I wonder who he is?"

"Yes, without doubt, the lad's in trouble. We'll see what we can do,"
answered the father of the twins.

The crying boy walked slowly toward the Bobbsey family, and now the
twins, hearing his sobs, looked up in wonder from their
flower-gathering.

CHAPTER VIII

ANGRY MR. BLIPPER

"Why, it's Bob Guess!" cried Bert, dropping his bunch of flowers, so
excited was he. "It's Bob Guess!"

"So it is!" agreed Nan. "And he's crying."

There was no doubt of that: It was Bob Guess, the lad the Bobbsey twins
had seen working at the merry-go-round engine the day of the Sunday
school picnic. Bob came slowly along, sobbing hard.

"What's the matter, Bob?" asked Bert, who had taken a liking to the
ragged chap. For the time being Mr. Bobbsey's missing coat and the lap
robe were forgotten. "Why are you crying?"

"Can we help you?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey.

Bob Guess ceased sobbing and looked up. He seemed surprised to see the
children and their parents.

"Oh, I--I didn't know anybody was here," he stammered.

"That's all right," said Mr. Bobbsey. "If there's anything we can do to
help you---- Where's Mr. Blipper, by the way? There is something I
should like to ask him. Or perhaps you can tell me."

"Not now, Dick, not now," said Mrs. Bobbsey in a whisper, with a shake
of her head at her husband. She knew what he wanted to ask--about his
coat and the robe. "Not now; he is too miserable," she went on.

"Has anything happened?" asked Mr. Bobbsey, changing his first line of
questions.

"Ye--yes," stammered Bob, not sobbing so hard now. "I--I've run away
from Mr. Blipper!"

"You've run away!" echoed Nan.

Bob nodded his head vigorously to show that he meant "yes," and he went
on:

"He treated me mean! There was a lot of hard work setting up the
merry-go-round at the Bolton Fair, and I had more than my share. He
wouldn't give me any money--he hardly gave me enough to eat. And I ran
away. I'm not done running yet, only I'm so hungry I can't go very fast
any more."

"You poor boy!" murmured Mrs. Bobbsey. "Is that why you cried--because
you were hungry?"

"Yes--yes'm," murmured Bob Guess.

"Well, we have plenty to eat," said Mr. Bobbsey, with a kindly pat on
the shoulder of the ragged boy. "Here, we'll give you a lunch, and then
maybe you can tell me what I want to know. Where is Mr. Blipper?"

"He's back there at the merry-go-round. We had some trouble with the
engine. But I guess he has it fixed by now. He's back at the fair
grounds. It opens to-morrow. That is, he's there unless he has come
chasing after me."

"Do you think he'd do that?" asked Bert. It was quite an exciting
adventure, Bert thought, to run away and be chased by Mr. Blipper.

"Well, he said if I ever ran away he'd run after me and bring me back,"
answered Bob. "Anyhow, I've run away, but it isn't as much fun as I
thought it'd be. Only I can't stand Mr. Blipper! He's too cross!"

"Poor boy!" murmured Mrs. Bobbsey again. "Get him something to eat,
Dick. He must be very hungry!"

And Bob was, to judge by the manner in which he ate some of the
Bobbsey's lunch. It was a good thing there was plenty. Having eaten all
he seemed to care for and drinking two glasses of milk, Bob leaned back
against a tree stump and said:

"Now can't I do something to pay you for my meal?"

"Do something to pay for it?" repeated Mrs. Bobbsey, wonderingly.

"Yes, Mr. Blipper says I've always got to work for my board. Sometimes
he says I'm not worth my salt."

"Well, this time there is no need of doing anything for us," said Mr.
Bobbsey. "You are welcome to what you have had to eat. But now what are
you going to do?"

"I'm going to run away farther if I can," Bob Guess answered.

"Hum! I'm not so sure that we ought to let you, now that we know about
you," went on the father of the Bobbsey twins. "Has this Mr. Blipper any
claim on you?"

"He says he adopted me and can keep me until I'm twenty-one years old."

"He may be right. I don't know about that. It must be looked into.
Anyhow, I don't feel like letting you run away, Bob," went on Mr.
Bobbsey kindly. "I'd like to have a talk with Blipper on my own account,
and I could ask him about you. Did you happen to see----"

But before Mr. Bobbsey could ask what he intended to--about his missing
coat and the lap robe--a man from the garage where the automobile had
been left to have the tire changed came across the field.

"It's a good thing you stopped when you did, Mr. Bobbsey," said the
garage man.

"Why so?"

"Because if you had gone on a little farther one of the wheels of your
car would have come off, and if you had been going fast, or down-hill,
you might have had a bad accident. I found the break when I was putting
on the tire, and I came over to ask if you wanted me to fix it."

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8