"We'll have to carry them in," said Mr. Bobbsey, as he looked in the rear of the auto, and saw his two little twins fast asleep on the dog's back.
"I'll take 'em," said Sam kindly. "Many a time I'se carried 'em in offen de porch when dey falled asleep. I'll carry 'em in."
And he did, first taking Flossie, and then Freddie. Then he and Dinah brought in the bundles and valises, while Nan and Bert and Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey followed, having bidden good-night to Mr. Blake, and thanking him for the ride.
"Where—where are we?" asked Flossie, rubbing her eyes and looking around the room which she had not seen in some months.
"An'—an' where's our dog?" demanded Freddie.
"Oh, bless your hearts—that dog!" cried Mamma Bobbsey. "Sam took him out in the barn. You may see him in the morning, if he doesn't run away in the night."
The twins looked worried over this suggestion, until Sam said:
"Oh, I locked him up good an' proper in a box stall; 'deed an' I did, Mrs. Bobbsey. He won't get away to-night."
"That's—good," murmured Freddie, and then he fell asleep again.
Soon the little twins were undressed and put to bed. Nan and Bert soon followed, but Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey stayed up a little later to talk over certain matters.
"It's good to be home again," said Mr. Bobbsey, as he looked about the rooms of the town house.
"Yes, but we had a delightful summer," spoke his wife, "and the children are so well. The country was delightful, and so was the seashore. But I think I, too, am glad to be back. It will be quite a task, though, to get the children ready for school. Flossie and Freddie will go regularly now, I suppose, and with Nan and Bert in a higher class, it means plenty of work."
"I suppose so," said her husband.
"But Dinah is a great help," went on Mrs. Bobbsey, for she did not mean to complain. Flossie and Freddie had tried a few days in the kindergarten class at school, but Flossie said she did not like it, and, as Freddie would not go without her, their parents had taken them both out in the Spring.
"There will be plenty of time to start them in the Fall," said Mrs. Bobbsey, and so it had been arranged. And now the four twins were all to attend the same school, which would open in about a week.
Flossie and Freddie were both up early the next morning, and, scarcely half-dressed, they hurried out to the barn.
"Whar yo' chillens gwine?" demanded Dinah, as she prepared to get breakfast.
"Out to see our dog," answered Freddie. "Is Sam around?"
"Yes, he's out dere somewheres, washin' de carriage. But don't yo' let 'at dog bite yo'."
"We won't," said Freddie.
"He wouldn't bite anyhow," declared Flossie.
Sam opened the box stall for them, and out bounced the big white dog, barking in delight, and almost knocking down the twins, so glad was he to see them.
"What shall we call him?" asked Freddie. "Maybe we'd better name him Snoop, like our cat. I guess Snoop is gone forever."
"No, we mustn't call him Snoop," said Flossie, "for some day our cat might come back, and he'd want his own name again. We'll call our dog Snap, 'cause see how bright his eyes snap. Then if our cat comes back we'll have Snoop and Snap."
"That's a good name," decided Freddie, after thinking it over. "Snoop and Snap. I wonder how we can make this dog stand on his hind legs like he did before?"
"Bert snapped his fingers and he did it," suggested Flossie. "But maybe he'll do it now if you just ask him to."
Freddie tried to snap his fingers, but they were too short and fat.Then he patted the dog on the head and said:
"Stand up!"
At once the dog, with a bark, did so. He sat up on his hind legs and then walked around. Both the children laughed.
"I wonder if he can do any other tricks?" asked Flossie.
"I'm going to try," said her brother. "What trick do you want him to do?"
"Make him lie down and roll over."
"All right," spoke Freddie "Now, Snap, lie down and roll over!" he called. At once the fine animal did so, and then sprang up with a bark, and a wag of his tail, as much as to ask:
"What shall I do next?"
"Oh, isn't he a fine dog!" cried Flossie. "I wonder who taught him those tricks?"
"Let's see if he can do any more," said Freddie. "There's a barrel hoop over there. Maybe he'll jump through it if we hold it up."
"Oh, let's do it!" cried Flossie, as she ran to get the hoop. Snap barked at the sight of it, and capered about as though he knew just what it was for, and was pleased at the chance to do more of his tricks. The hoop was a large one, and Freddie alone could not hold it very steady. So Flossie took hold of one side. As soon as they were in position. Freddie called:
"Come on now, Snap. Jump!"
Snap barked, ran back a little way, turned around and came racing straight for the twins. At that moment Sam Johnson came up running, a stick in his hand.
"Heah! heah!" shouted the colored man. "You let dem chillens alone, dog! Go 'way, I tells yo'!"
"That's all right, Sam," said Freddie. "Don't scare him. He's our new dog Snap, and he's going to do a trick," for the colored gardener had supposed the dog was running at Flossie and Freddie to bite them.
Snap paid no attention to Sam, but raced on. When a short distance from where Flossie and Freddie held the hoop, Snap jumped up into the air, and shot straight through the wooden circle, landing quite a way off.
"Mah gracious sakes alive!" gasped Sam, "Dat's a reg'lar circus trick—dat's what it am!"
He scratched his head in surprise, and the stick he had picked up, intending to drive away the dog with, stuck straight out. In a moment Snap raced up, and jumped over the stick.
"Oh, look!" cried Flossie.
"Another trick!" exclaimed Freddie.
"Mah gracious goodness!" cried Sam. "Dat suah am wonderful!"
Snap ran about barking in delight. He seemed happy to be doing tricks.
"Let's go tell papa," said Freddie. "He'll want to know about this."
"Oh, I do hope he lets us keep him," said Flossie.
Mr. Bobbsey had not yet gone to his lumber office. He listened to what the little twins had to tell them about Snap, who lay on the lawn, seeming to listen to his own praises.
"A trick dog; eh?" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey. "I wonder who owns him?"
"Maybe he escaped from the circus," suggested Bert, who came out just then to see how his pigeons were getting along.
"That's it!" cried Mr. Bobbsey. "I wonder I did not think of it before. The dog must have escaped from the wrecked circus train, and he followed us, not knowing what else to do. That accounts for his tricks."
"But we can keep him; can't we?" begged Flossie.
"Hum! I'll have to see about that," said Mr. Bobbsey slowly. "I suppose the circus people will want him back, for he must be valuable. Perhaps some clown trained him."
"But if we can't have Snoop, our cat, we ought to have a dog," asserted Freddie.
"I'll try to get Snoop back," said Mr. Bobbsey. "I'll have one of my men go down to the place where the wreck was, to-day, and inquire of the railroad men. He may be wandering about there."
"Poor Snoop!" said Nan, coming out to feed some of her pet chickens, that Sam had looked after all summer.
"And while you are about it," suggested Mrs. Bobbsey, who was on the front porch, "I wish, Richard, that you would see if you can locate that fat lady, and get back the children's silver cup."
"I will," replied Mr. Bobbsey. "I will have to write to them anyhow, about the dog, and at the same time I'll ask about the cup. Though I don't believe the fat lady meant to keep it."
"Oh, no," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "Probably she just held it, in the excitement over the wreck, and she may have left it in the car. But please write about it."
"I will," promised Mr. Bobbsey, as he started for the office, while the twins gathered about the new dog, who seemed ready to do more tricks.
That afternoon a small fire broke out in Mr. Bobbsey's lumber yard. The alarm bell rang, and Mrs. Bobbsey, hearing it, and knowing by the number that the blaze must be near her husband's place of business, came hurrying down stairs.
"Oh, I must go and see how dangerous it is," she said to Dinah. "It is too bad to have it happen just after Mr. Bobbsey comes back from his summer vacation."
"'Deed it am!" cried the fat, colored cook. "But maybe it am only a little fire, Mrs. Bobbsey."
"I'm sure I hope so," was the answer.
As Mrs. Bobbsey was hurrying down the front walk Flossie and Freddie saw her.
"Where are you going, mamma?" they called.
"Down to papa's office," she answered "There's a fire near his place, and—"
"Oh, a fire! Then I'm going!" cried Freddie. "Fire! Fire! Ding, dong! Turn on the water!" and he raced about quite excitedly.
"Oh, I don't know," said Mrs. Bobbsey, in doubt. "Where are Nan and Bert?" she asked.
"They went down to the lake," said Flossie. "Oh, mamma, do take us to the fire with you. We'll bring Snap along."
"Sure," said Freddie. "Hi, Snap!" he called.
The trick dog came rushing from the stable, barking and wagging his tail.
"Well, I suppose I might as well take you," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "But you must stay near me. We'll leave Snap home, though."
"Oh, no!" cried Freddie.
"He might get lost," said Mrs. Bobbsey.
That was enough for Freddie. He did not want the new pet to get lost, so he did not make a fuss when Sam came hurrying up to lock Snap in the stable. Poor Snap howled, for he wanted very much to go with the children.
The fire was, as I have said, a small one, in part of the planing mill. But the engines puffed away, and spurted water, and this pleased Freddie. Flossie stayed close to her mother, and Mrs. Bobbsey, once she found out that the main lumber yard was not in danger, was ready to come back home. But Freddie wanted to stay until the fire was wholly out.
Mr. Bobbsey came from his office to give some directions to the firemen, and saw his wife and the two twins. Then he took charge of them, and led them as close to the blaze as was safe.
"It will soon be out," he said. "It was only some sawdust that got on fire."
"I wish I could squirt some water!" sighed Freddie.
"What's that? Do you want to be a fireman?" asked one of the men in a rubber coat and a big helmet. He smiled at Mr. Bobbsey, whom he knew quite well.
"Yes, I do," said Freddie.
"Then come with me, and I'll let you help hold the hose," said the fireman. "I'll look after him," he went on, to Mrs. Bobbsey, and she nodded to show that Freddie could go.
What a good time the little fellow had, standing beside a real fireman, and helping throw real water on a real fire! Freddie never forgot that. Of course the fire was almost out, and it was only one of the small hose lines that the fireman let the little fellow help hold, but, for all that, Freddie was very happy.
"Did you write to the circus people to-day about our silver cup, and that trick dog?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey of her husband that night.
"I declare, I didn't!" he exclaimed. "The fire upset me so that it slipped my mind. I'll do it the first thing to-morrow. There is no special hurry. How is the dog, by the way?"
"Oh, he's just lovely!" cried Flossie.
"And I do hope we can keep him forever!" exclaimed Freddie."'Specially since Snoop is gone."
"Did you hear anything about our cat?" asked Nan, of her father.
"No. I sent a man to the railroad company, but no stray cat had been found. I am afraid Snoop is lost, children."
"Oh dear!" cried Flossie.
The next day, having learned from the railroad company where the circus had gone after the wreck, Mr. Bobbsey sent a letter to the manager, explaining about the lost silver cup, and the found circus dog. He asked that the fat lady be requested to write to him, to let him know if she had taken the cup by accident, and Mr. Bobbsey also wanted to know if the circus had lost a trick dog.
"There!" he exclaimed as he sent the letter to be mailed, "now we'll just have to wait for an answer."
Nan and Bert, and Flossie and Freddie were soon having almost as much fun as they had had at the seashore and in the country. Their town playmates, who had come back from their vacations, called at the Bobbsey home, and made up games and all sorts of sports.
"For," said Grace Lavine, with whom Nan sometimes played, "school will soon begin, and we want to have all the fun we can until then."
"Let's jump rope," proposed Nan.
"All right," agreed Grace. "Here comes Nellie Parks, and we'll see who can jump the most."
"No, you mustn't do that," said Nan, "Don't you remember how you once tried to jump a hundred, and you fainted?"
"Indeed I do," said Grace. "I'm not going to be so silly as to try that again. We'll only jump a little."
Soon Nan and her chums were having a good time in the yard.
Charley Mason, with whom Bert sometimes played, came over, and the two boys went for a row on the lake, in Bert's boat. Some little friends of Flossie and Freddie came over, and they had fun watching Snap do tricks.
For the circus dog, as he had come to be called, seemed to be able to do some new trick each day. He could "play dead," and "say his prayers," besides turning a back somersault. The little twins, who seemed to claim more share in Snap than did Nan and Bert, did not really know how many tricks their pet could do.
"Maybe you'll have to give him back to the circus," said WillieFlood, one of Freddie's chums.
"Well, if we do, papa may buy him, or get another dog like him," spoke Flossie.
A few days after this, when Bert was out in the front yard, watering the grass with a hose, along came Danny Rugg. Now Danny went to the same school that Bert did, but few of the boys and none of the girls, liked Danny, because he was often rough, and would hit them or want to fight, or would play mean tricks on them. Still, sometimes Danny behaved himself, and then the boys were glad to have him on their baseball nine as he was a good hitter and thrower, and he could run fast.
"Hello, Bert!" exclaimed Danny, leaning on the fence. "I hear you have a trick circus dog here."
"Who told you?" asked Bert, wondering what Danny would say next.
"Oh, Jack Parker. He says you found him."
"I didn't," spoke Bert, spraying a bed of geranium flowers. "He followed us the night of the circus wreck."
"Well, you took him all the same. I know who owns him, too; andI'm going to tell that you've got him."
"Oh, are you?" asked Bert. "Well, we think he belongs to the circus, and my father has written about it, so you needn't trouble yourself."
"He doesn't belong to any circus," went on Danny. "That dog belongs to Mr. Peterson, who lives over in Millville. He lost a trick dog, and he advertised for it. He's going to give a reward. I'm going to tell him, and get the money."
"You can't take our dog away!" cried Freddie, coming up just then."Don't you dare do it, Danny Rugg."
"Yes, I will!" exclaimed the mean boy, who often teased the smallerBobbsey twins. "You won't have that dog after to-day."
"Don't mind him, Freddie," said Bert in a low voice. "He's trying to scare you."
"Oh, I am eh?" cried Danny. "I'll show you what I'm trying to do. I'll tell on you for keeping a dog that don't belong to you, and you'll be arrested—all of you."
Freddie looked worried, and tears came into his eyes. Bert saw this, and was angry at Danny for being so mean.
"Don't be afraid, Freddie," said Bert. "Look, I'll let you squirt the hose, and you can pretend to be a fireman."
"Oh, fine!" cried Freddie, in delight, as he took the nozzle from his older brother.
Just how it happened neither of them could tell, but the stream of water shot right at Danny Rugg, and wet him all over in a second.
"Hi there!" he cried. "Stop that! I'll pay you back for that, Fred Bobbsey," and he jumped over the fence and ran toward the little fellow.
Freddie saw Danny coming, and did the most natural thing in the world. He dropped the hose and ran. And you know what a hose, with water bursting from the nozzle will sometimes do if you don't hold it just right. Well, this hose did that. It seemed to aim itself straight at Danny, and again the rough boy received a charge of water full in the face.
"Ha—ha—here! You quit that!" he gasped. "I'll fix you for that!"
The water got in his eyes and mouth, and for a moment he could not see. But with his handkerchief he soon had his eyes cleared, and then he came running toward Bert.
Danny Rugg was larger than Bert, and stronger, and, in addition, was a bullying sort of chap, almost always ready to fight someone smaller than himself.
But what Bert lacked in size and strength he made up in a bold spirit. He was not at all afraid of Danny, even when the bully came rushing at him. Bert stood his ground manfully. He had taken up the hose where Freddie had dropped it, and the water was spurting out in a solid stream. Freddie, having gotten a safe distance away, now turned and stood looking at Danny.
Danny, too, had halted and was fairly glaring at Bert, who looked at him a bit anxiously. More than once he and the bully had come to blows, and sometimes Bert had gotten the best of it. Still he did not like a fight.
"I'll get you yet, Freddie Bobbsey!" cried Danny, shaking his fist at the little fellow. Whereupon Freddie turned and ran toward the house. Danny saw that he could not catch him in time, and so he turned to Bert.
"You put him up to do that—to douse me with water!" cried Danny angrily.
"I did not," said Bert quietly. "It was just an accident. I'm sorry—-"
"You are not! I say you did that on purpose—or you told Freddie to, and I'm going to pay you back!"
"I tell you it was an accident," insisted Bert. "But if you want to think Freddie did it on purpose I can't stop you."
"Well, I'm going to hit you just the same," growled Danny, and he stepped toward Bert.
"You'd better look out," said Bert, with just a little smile. "There's still a lot of water in this hose," and he brought the nozzle around in front, ready to squirt on Danny if the bad boy should come too near.
Danny came to a stop.
"Don't you dare put any more water on me!" cried the bully. "If you do, I'll——" He doubled up his fists and glared at Bert.
"Then don't you come any nearer if you don't want to get wet," said Bert. "This hose might sprinkle you by accident, the same as it did when Freddie had it," he added.
"Huh! I know what kind of an accident that was!" spoke Danny, with a sneer.
"You'd better get out of the way," went on Bert quietly. "I want to sprinkle that flower bed near where you are, and if you'll there you might get wet, and it wouldn't be my fault."
"I'll fix you!" growled Danny, springing forward. Bert got ready with the hose, and there might have been more trouble, except that Sam, the colored man, came out on the lawn. He saw that something out of the ordinary was going on, and breaking into a run he called out:
"Am anyt'ing de mattah, Massa Bert? Am yo' habin' trouble wif anybody?"
"Well, I guess it's all over now," said Bert, as he saw Danny turn and walk toward the gate.
"If yo' need any help, jest remembah dat I'm around," spoke Sam, with a wide grin that showed his white teeth in his black, but kindly face. "I'll be right handy by, Massa Bert, yes, I will!"
"All right," said Bert, as he went on watering the flowers.
"Huh! You needn't think I'm afraid of you!" boasted Danny, but he kept on out of the gate just the same. Sam went back to his work, of weeding the vegetable garden and Bert watered the flowers. Pretty soon Freddie came back.
"Did—did Danny do anything to you?" the little fellow wanted to know.
"No, Freddie, but the hose did something to him," said Bert.
"Oh, did it wet him again?"
"That's what it did."
"Ha! Ha!" laughed Freddie. "I wish I'd been here to see it, Bert."
"Well, why did you run?"
"Oh, I—I thought maybe—mamma might want me," answered Freddie, but Bert understood, and smiled. Then he let Freddie finish watering the flowers, after which Freddie played he was a fireman, saving houses from burning by means of the hose.
Snap, the trick dog came running out, followed by Flossie, who had just been washed and combed, her mother having put a clean dress on her.
"Oh, Freddie," said the little girl, "let's make Snap do some tricks. See if he will jump over the stream of water from the hose."
"All right," agreed her little brother. "I'll squirt the water out straight, and you stand on one side of it and call Snap over. Then he'll jump."
Flossie tried this, but at first the dog did not seem to want to do this particular trick. He played soldier, said his prayers, stood on his hind legs, and turned a somersault. But he would not jump over the water.
"Come, Snap, Snap!" called Flossie. "Jump!"
Snap raced about and barked, and seemed to be having all sorts of fun, but jump he would not until he got ready. Then, when he did, Freddie accidentally lowered the nozzle and Snap was soaked.
But the dog did not mind the water in the least. In fact he seemed to like it, for the day was warm, and he stood still and let Freddie wet him all over. Then Snap rolled about on the lawn, Freddie and Flossie taking turns sprinkling.
And, as might be expected, considerable water got on the two children, and when Snap shook himself, as he often did, to get some of the drops off his shaggy coat, he gave Flossie and her clean dress a regular shower bath.
Nan, coming from the house saw this. She ran up to Flossie, who had the hose just then, crying:
"Flossie Bobbsey! Oh, you'll get it when mamma sees you! She cleaned you all up, and now look at yourself!"
"She can't see—there's no looking glass here," said Freddie, with a laugh.
"And you're just as bad!" cried Nan. "You'd both better go in the house right away, and stop playing with the hose."
"We're through, anyhow," said Freddie. "You ought to see Snap jump over the water."
"Oh, you children!" cried Nan, with a shake of her head. She seemed like a little mother to them at times, though she was only four years older.
Mrs. Bobbsey was very sorry to see Flossie so wet and bedraggled, and said:
"You should have known better than to play with water with a clean dress on, Flossie. Now I must punish you. You will have to stay in the house for an hour, and so will Freddie."
Poor little Bobbsey twins! But then it was not a very severe punishment, and really some was needed. It was hard when two of their little playmates came and called for them to come out. But Mrs. Bobbsey insisted on the two remaining in until the hour was at an end.
Then, when they had on dry garments, and could go out, there was no one with whom to play.
"I'm not going to squirt the hose ever again," said Freddie.
"Neither am I," said his sister. "Never, never!"
Snap didn't say anything. He lay on the porch asleep, being cooled off after his sport with the water.
"I—I wish we had our cat, Snoop, back," said Flossie. "Then we wouldn't have played in the water."
"That's so," agreed Freddie. "I wonder where he can be?"
They asked their father that night if any of the railroad men had seen their pet, but he said none had, and added:
"I'm afraid you'll have to get along without Snoop. He seems to have disappeared. But, anyhow, you have Snap."
"But some one may come along and claim him," said Freddie. "That Danny Rugg says he belongs to Mr. Peterson in Millville, father," said Bert.
"Well, I'll call Mr. Peterson up on the telephone to-morrow, and find out," spoke Mr. Bobbsey. "That much will be settled, at any rate."
"Did you hear anything from the circus people about the fat lady?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey.
"Yes, but no news," was her husband's answer. "The circus has gone to Cuba and Porto Rico for the winter, and I will have to write there. It will be some time before we can expect an answer, though, as I suppose the show will be traveling from place to place and mail down there is not like it is up here. But we may find the fat lady and the cup some day."
"And Snoop, too," put in Nan.
"Yes, Snoop too."
One fact consoled the Bobbseys in their trouble over their lost pet and cup. This was the answer received by Mr. Bobbsey from Mr. Peterson. That gentleman had lost a valuable dog, but it was a small poodle, and unlike big Snap. So far no one had claimed the trick dog, and it seemed likely that the children could keep him. They were very glad about this.
"Oh dear!" exclaimed Bert, one afternoon a few days following the fun with the hose, "school begins Monday. Only three more days of vacation!"
"I think you have had a long vacation," returned Mrs. Bobbsey, "and if Freddie and Flossie are going to do such tricks as they did the other day, with the hose, I, for one, shall be glad that you are in school."
"I like school," said Nan, "There are a lot of new girls coming this term, I hear."
"Any new fellows?" asked Bert, more interested.
"I don't know. There is a new teacher in the kindergarten, though, where Flossie and Freddie will go. Nellie Parks has met her, and says she's awfully nice."
"That's good," spoke Flossie. "I like nice teachers."
"Well, I hope you and Freddie will get along well," said Mamma Bobbsey. "You are getting older you know, and you must soon begin to study hard."
"We will," they promised.
The school bell, next Monday morning, called to many rather unwilling children. The long vacation was over and class days had begun once more. The four Bobbseys went off together to the building, which was only a few blocks from their home. Mr. Tetlow was the principal, and there were half a dozen lady teachers.
"Hello, Nan," greeted Grace Lavine. "May I sit with you this term?"
"Oh, I was going to ask her," said Nellie Parks.
"Well, I was first," spoke Grace, with a pout.
"We'll be in the room where there are three seated desks." saidNan with a smile. "Maybe we three can be together."
"Oh, we'll ask teacher!" cried Nellie. "That will be lovely!"
"I'm going to sit with Freddie," declared Flossie. "We're to be together—mamma said so."
"Of course, dear," agreed Nan. "I'll speak to your teacher about it."
Bert was walking in the rear with Charley Mason, when Danny Rugg came around a corner.
"I know what I'm going to do to you after school, Bert Bobbsey!" called the bully. "You just wait and see."
"All right—I'll wait," spoke Bert quietly. "I'm not afraid."
By this time they were at the school, and it was nearly time for the last bell to ring. Danny went off to join some of his particular chums, shaking his fist at Bert as he went.
Lessons were not very well learned that first day in school, but this is generally the case when the Fall term opens after the Summer vacation.
Just as were the Bobbsey twins, nearly all the other pupils were thinking of what good times they had had in the country, or at the seashore, and in consequence little attention was paid to reading, spelling, arithmetic and geography.
But Principal Tetlow and his teachers were prepared for this, and they were sure that, in another day or so, the boys and girls would settle down and do good work. Many of the children were in new rooms and different classes, and this did not make them feel so much "at home" as before vacation.
Nan Bobbsey's first duty, after reporting to her new teacher, was to go to the kindergarten room, and ask the teacher there if Flossie and Freddie might sit together.
"You see," Nan explained, "this is really their first real school work. They attended a few times before, but did not stay long."
"I see," spoke the pretty kindergarten instructor with a laugh, "and we must make it as pleasant for them this time as we can, so they will want to stay. Yes, my dear, Flossie and Freddie may sit together, and I'll look after them as much as I can. But, oh, there are such a lot of little tots!" and she looked about the room that seemed overflowing with small boys and girls.
Some were playing and talking, telling of their summer experiences. Others seemed frightened, and stood against the wall bashfully, little girls holding to the hands of their little brothers.
Nan looked for Freddie and Flossie. She saw her little sister trying to comfort a small girl who was almost ready to cry, while Freddie, like the manly little fellow he was, had charge of a small chap in whose eyes were two large tears, just ready to fall. It was his first day at school.
"Oh, I am sure your little twin brother and sister will get along all right," said the kindergarten teacher, with a smile to Nan, as she saw what Flossie and Freddie were doing. "They are too cute for anything—the little dears!"
"And they are very good," said Nan, "only of course they do—things—sometimes."
"They wouldn't be real children if they didn't," answered the teacher.
This was during a recess that had come after the classes were first formed. On her way back to her room, to see if she could arrange to sit with Grace and Nellie at one of the new big desks, Nan saw her brother Bert. He looked a little worried, and Nan asked at once:
"What is the matter, Bert? Haven't you got a nice teacher?"
"Oh, yes, she's fine!" exclaimed Bert. "There's nothing the matter at all."
"Yes there is," insisted Nan. "I can tell by your face. It's thatDanny Rugg; I'm sure. Oh, Bert, is he bothering you again?"
"Well, he said he was going to."
"Then why don't you go straight and tell Mr. Tetlow? He'll makeDanny behave. I'll go tell him myself!"
"Don't you dare, Nan!" cried Bert. "All the fellows would call me 'sissy,' if I let you do that. Never mind, I can look out for my self. I'm not afraid of Danny."
"Oh, Bert, I hope you don't get into a fight."
"I won't, Nan—if I can help it. At least I won't hit first, but if he hits me—-"
Bert looked as though he knew what he would do in that case.
"Oh dear!" cried Nan, "aren't you boys just awful!"
However, she made up her mind that if Danny got too bad she would speak to the principal about him, whether her brother wanted her to or not.
"He won't know it," thought Nan.
She had no trouble in getting permission from her teacher for herself and her two friends to sit together, and soon they had moved their books and other things to one of the long desks that had room for three pupils.
Meanwhile Flossie and Freddie got along very well in the kindergarten. At first, just as the others did, they gave very little attention to what the teacher wanted them to learn, but she was very patient, and soon all the class was gathered about the sand table, in the little low chairs, making fairy cities, caves, and even make-believe seashore places.
"This is like the one where we were this Summer," said Flossie, as she made a hole in her sand pile to take the place of the ocean. "If I had water and a piece of wood I could show you where there was a shipwreck," she said to the girl next to her.
"That isn't the way it was," spoke Freddie, from the other side of the room. "There was more sand at the seashore than on this whole table—yes, on ten tables like this."
"There was not!" cried Flossie.
"There was too!" insisted her brother.
"Children—children!" called the teacher. "You must not argue like that—ever—in school, or out of it. Now we will sing our work-song, and after that we will march with the flags," and she went to the piano to play. All the little ones liked this, and the dispute of Flossie and Freddie was soon forgotten.
Bert kept thinking of what might happen between himself and DannyRugg when school was out, and when his teacher asked him what thePilgrim Fathers did when they first came to settle in New EnglandBert looked up in surprise, and said:
"They fought."
"Fought!" exclaimed the teacher. "The book says they gave thanks."
"Well, I meant they fought the—er—the Indians," stammered Bert.
Poor Bert was thinking of what might take place between himself and the bully.
"Well, yes, they did fight the Indians," admitted the teacher, "but that wasn't what I was thinking of. I will ask you another question in history."
But I am not going to tire you with an account of what went on in the classrooms. There were mostly lessons there, such as you have yourselves, and I know you don't care to read about them.
Bert did not see Danny Rugg at the noon recess, when the Bobbsey twins and the other children went home for lunch. But when school was let out in the afternoon, and when Bert was talking to Charley Mason about a new way of making a kite, Danny Rugg, accompanied by several of his chums, walked up to Bert. It was in a field some distance from the school, and no houses were near.
"Now I've got you, Bert Bobbsey!" taunted Danny, as he advanced with doubled-up fists. "What did you want to squirt the hose on me that time for?"
"I told you it was an accident," said Bert quietly.
"And I say you did it on purpose. I said I'd get even with you, and now I'm going to."
"I don't want to fight, Danny," said Bert quietly.
"Huh! he's afraid!" sneered Jack Westly, one of Danny's friends.
"Yes, he's a coward!" taunted Danny.
"I'm not!" cried Bert stoutly.
"Then take that!" exclaimed Danny, and he gave Bert a push that nearly knocked him down. Bert put out a hand to save himself and struck Danny, not really meaning to.
"There! He hit you back!" cried one boy.
"Yes, go on in, now, Dan, and beat him!" said another
"Oh, I'll fix him now," boasted Danny, circling around Bert. Bert was carefully watching. He did not mean to let Danny get the best of him if he could help it, much as he did not like to fight.
Danny struck Bert on the chest, and Bert hit the bully on the cheek. Then Danny jumped forward swiftly and tried to give Bert a blow on the head. But Bert stepped to one side, and Danny slipped down to the ground.
As he did so a white box fell from his pocket. Bert knew what kind of a box it was, and what was in it, and he knew now, what had stained Danny's fingers so yellow, and what made his clothes have such a queer smell. For the box had in it cigarettes.
Danny saw where it had fallen, and picked it up quickly. Then he came running at Bert again, but a boy called:
"Look out! Here comes Mr. Tetlow, the principal!"
This was a signal for all the boys, even Bert, to run, for, though school was out, they still did not want to be caught at a fight by one of the teachers, or Mr. Tetlow.
"Anyhow, you knocked him down, Bert," said Charley Mason, as he ran on with Bert. "You beat!"
"He did not—I slipped," said Danny. "I can fight him, and I will, too, some day."
"I'm not afraid of you," answered Bert.
Mr. Tetlow did not appear to have seen the fight that amounted to so little. Perhaps he pretended not to.
Whether Danny Rugg was afraid the principal had seen him trying to force a fight on Bert, or whether the unexpected fall that came to him, caused it, no one knew, but certainly, for the next few days, Danny let Bert alone. When he passed him he scowled, or shook his fist, or muttered something about "getting even," but this was all.
Perhaps it was the thought of what Bert had seen fall from Danny's pocket that made the bully less anxious to keep up the quarrel. At any rate, Bert was left alone and he was glad of it. He was not afraid, but he liked peace.
The school days went on, and the classes settled down to their work for the long Winter term. And the thought of the snow and ice that would comparatively soon be with them, made the Bobbsey twins rejoice.
"Charley Mason and I are going to make a dandy big bob this year," said Bert one day. "It's going to carry ten fellows."
"And no girls?" asked Nan with a smile. She was walking along behind her brother with Grace and Nellie.
"Sure, we'll let you girls ride once in a while," said Charley, as he caught up to his chum. "But you can't steer."
"I steered a bob once," said Grace, who was quite athletic for her age. "It was Danny Rugg's, too."
"Pooh! His is a little one alongside the one Charley and I are going to make!" exclaimed Bert. "Ours will be hard to steer, and it's going to have a gong on it to tell folks to get out of the way."
"That's right," agreed Charley. "And we'd better start it right away, Bert. It may soon snow."
"It doesn't feel so now," spoke Nan. "It is very warm. It feels more like ice cream cones."
"And if you'll come with me I'll treat you all to some," exclaimed Nellie Parks, whose father was quite well off. "I have some of my birthday money left."
"Oh, but there are five of us!" cried Nan, counting. "That is too much—twenty-five cents, Nellie."
"I've got fifty, and really it is very hot to-day."
It was warm, being the end of September, with Indian Summer near at hand.
"Well, let's go to Johnson's," suggested Nellie. "They have the best cream."
"Oh, here comes Flossie and Freddie!" exclaimed Nan. "We don't want to take them, Nellie. That means—-"
"Of course I'll take them!" exclaimed Nellie, generously. "I've got fifty cents, I told you."
"I'll give them each a penny and let them run along home," offeredBert.
"No, I'm going to treat them, too," insisted Nellie. "Come on!" she called to the little twins, "we're going to get ice cream cones, it's so warm."
"Oh, goodie!" cried Flossie. "I was just wishing for one."
"So was I," added her brother.
"And I'll ask you to my party next week," the little girl went on."I'm going to have one on my birthday."
"Oh, are you really, Flossie?" asked Nan. "I hadn't heard about it."
"Yep—I am. Mamma said I could, but she told me not to tell. I don't care, I wanted Nellie to know, as she's going to treat us to cones."
"And it's half my party, 'cause my birthday's the same day," explained Freddie. "So you can come to my party at the same time, Nellie."
"Thank you, dear, I shall. Now let's hurry to the store, for it's getting warmer all the while."
The ice cream in the funny little cones was much enjoyed by all. Bert and Charley walked on together eating, and talking of the bob sled they were going to make. They passed Danny Rugg, who looked rather enviously at them.
"Hey, Charley," called Danny, "come here, I want to speak to you."
"I'm busy now," answered Charley. "Bert and I have something to do."
"So have I. I've got a dandy plan."
"Well, I'll see you later," spoke Charley,
He had once been quite friendly with Danny, but he grew not to like his ways, and so became more chummy with Bert, who was very glad, for he liked Charley.
The two boys went on to Bert's barn, where they were going to build the bob sled. The girls, with Flossie and Freddie, went on the Bobbsey lawn, where there were some easy chairs. They sat in the shade of the trees, and Freddie had Snap do some of his tricks for the visitors.
"Can he jump through a hoop, covered with paper as they do in the circus?" asked Nellie.
"Oh, we never thought to try that," said Freddie. "I'm going to make one," and, filled with this new idea, he hurried into the house.
"Dinah," he said, "I want some paper and paste."
"Land sakes, chile! what yo' gwine t' do now?" asked the colored cook. "Make a kite, an' take Snoop up in de air laik yo' brother Bert done once?"
"No, we're not going to do that," answered the little boy. "We're going to cover a hoop with paper, and make Snap jump through it, like in a circus."
"Mah goodness mustard pot!" cried Dinah. "What will yo' all be up to next?"
"I don't know," answered Freddie. "But will you make me some paste, Dinah? And you know we haven't got Snoop, anyhow, so we couldn't send him up on a kite tail," added Freddie.
"Deah me! Yo' chilluns done make me do de mostest wuk!" complained Dinah, but she laughed, which showed that she did not really mean it, and set at mixing some flour and water for the paste.
Flossie and Freddie insisted on making the paper covered hoop themselves. They started, but they got so much of the sticky stuff on their hands and faces that Nan feared they would soil their clothes, so she insisted on being allowed to do the pasting for them.
"But we can help, can't we?" asked Freddie.
"Yes," said Nan.
Even for Nan covering a hoop with paper was not as easy as she thought it would be. Grace and Nellie helped, but sometimes the wind would blow the paper away just as they were ready to fold it around the rim of the hoop. Then the paste would get on the girls' hands.
"What are you doing?" asked Bert, as he and Charley came from the barn. They had to stop work on their job, as they could not find a long enough plank. The decided to get one from Mr. Bobbsey's lumber yard, later.
"We're going to have Snap do the circus trick of jumping through a paper hoop," explained Nan. "Only we can't seem to get the hoop made."
"I'll do it," offered Bert, and as he and Charley had often pasted paper on their kite frames they had better luck, and soon the hoop was ready.
"Come, Snap!" called Freddie, it having been settled that he and Flossie were to hold the hoop for the dog to leap through. Snap, always ready for fun, jumped up from the grass where he had been sleeping, and frisked about, barking loudly.
"Now you hold him there, Charley," directed Bert, pointing to a spot back of where Freddie and Flossie stood. "Then I'll go over here and call him. He'll come running, and when he gets near enough, Freddie, you and Flossie hold up the paper hoop. He'll go right through it."
It worked out just as the children had planned. Snap raced away from Charley, when he heard Bert calling. He ran right between Flossie and Freddie, who raised the hoop just in time.
"Rip! Tear!" burst the paper, and Snap sailed through the hoop just as he probably had often done in the circus, perhaps from the back of a horse.
"Oh, that was fine!" cried Flossie. "Let's make another hoop!"
"Let's make a lot of 'em, and have a circus with Snap, and charge money to see him, and then we can buy a lot of ice cream for our party!" said Freddie.
"Oh, yes!" agreed his sister.
Well, they did make more hoops, and Snap seemed to enjoy jumping through them. But when Mrs. Bobbsey heard about the circus plans she decided it would make too much confusion.
"Besides, you have to help me get ready for your party," she said to the two little twins.
This took their mind off the proposed circus, but for several days after that they had much fun making hoops for Snap to jump through.
Bert and Charley got a long plank from the lumber yard, and spent much time after school in the Bobbsey barn, working over their bob sled. It was harder than they had thought it would be, and they had to call in some other boys to help them. Mr. Bobbsey, too, gave his son some advice about how to build it.
Flossie and Freddie liked it very much in school. The kindergarten teacher was very kind, and took an interest in all her pupils.
"Oh, mamma!" cried Flossie, coming in one day from school, "I've learned how to make a house."
"And I can make a lantern, and a chain to hang it on, and I can put it in front of Flossie's house!" exclaimed Freddie. "And, please, mother, may I have some bread and jam. I'm awful hungry."
"Yes, dear, go ask Dinah," said Mrs. Bobbsey, with a smile. "And then you may show me how you make houses and lanterns and a chain. Are they real?"
"No," said Flossie, "they're only paper, but they look nice."
"I'm sure they must," said their mother.
After each of the twins had been given a large slice of bread and butter and jam, they showed the latest thing they had learned at school. Flossie did manage to cut out a house, that had a chimney on it, and a door, besides two windows.
Freddie took several little narrow strips of paper, and pasting the ends together, made a lot of rings. Each ring before being pasted, was slipped into another, and soon he had a paper chain. To make the lantern he used a piece of paper made into a roll, with slits all around the middle of it where the light would have come out had there been a candle in it. And the handle was a narrow slip of paper pasted over the top of the lantern.
"Very fine indeed," said Mamma Bobbsey. "Run out now to play. If you stay in the house too much you will soon lose all the lovely tan you got in the country, and at the seashore."
"Children," said the principal to the Bobbseys and all the others in school the next day, "I have a little treat for you. To-morrow will be a holiday, and, as the weather is very warm, we will close the school at noon, and go off in the woods for a little picnic."
"Oh, good!" cried a number of the boys and girls, and, though it was against the rules to speak aloud during the school hours, none of the teachers objected.
"But I expect you all to have perfect marks from now until Friday," Mr. Tetlow went on. "You may bring your lunches to school with you Friday morning, if your parents will let you, and we will leave here at noon, and go to Ward's woods."
It was rather hard work to study after such good news, but, somehow, the pupils managed it. Finally Friday came, and nearly every boy and girl came to school with a basket or bundle holding his or her lunch. Mrs. Bobbsey put up two baskets for her children, Nan taking one and Bert the other.
"Oh, we'll have a lovely time!" cried Freddie, dancing about on his little fat legs.
Twelve o'clock came, and with each teacher at the head of her class, and Mr. Tetlow marching in front of all, the whole school started off for the woods.