CHAPTER XII
TIGE--PLAYING THEATER
Nan dearly loved the dogs with which she was well acquainted, but shewas in great terror of strange animals, especially if they barked loudlyand showed a disposition to bite.
"Bert! Bert! what shall we do?" she gasped as she clung to her twinbrother's arm.
Bert hardly knew what to say, for he himself did not like a biting dog.He looked around for a stick or a stone, and espied the doorway to thecow-shed. It was open.
"Let us get into the shed," he said quickly. "Perhaps we can close thedoor and keep the dog out."
Into the shed sprang Nan and her twin brother after her. The dog wasalmost upon them when Bert banged the door in his face. At once theanimal stopped short and began to bark more furiously than ever.
"Do you--you think he can get in at the window?" faltered Nan. She wasso scared she could scarcely speak.
"I don't know, I'm sure. If you'll stand by the door, Nan, I'll try toguard the window."
Nan threw her form against the door and held it as hard as if a giantwere outside trying to force it in. Bert felt around the empty shed andpicked up the handle of a broken spade. With this in hand he stalkedover to the one little window which was opposite the door.
"Are there any cows here?" asked Nan. It was so dark she could see nextto nothing.
"No cows here, I guess," answered Bert. "This building is 'most ready totumble down."
The dog outside was barking still. Once in a while he would stop tocatch his breath and then he would continue as loudly as ever. Hescratched at the door with his paw, which made Nan shiver from head tofeet.
"He is trying to work his way in," she cried.
"If he does that, I'll hit him with this," answered her twin brother,and brandished the spade handle over his head. He watched the windowclosely and wondered what they had best do if the dog leaped straightthrough and attacked them in the dark.
The barking continued for over quarter of an hour. To Nan and Bert itseemed hours and hours. Then came a call from a distance.
"Hi, Tige, what's the matter? Have you spotted a tramp in the shed?"
"Help! help!" called out Bert. "Call off your dog!"
"A tramp, sure enough," said the man who was coming toward the cow-shed.
"I am not a tramp," answered Bert. "And my sister isn't a tramp,either."
"What's that? You've got your sister with you? Open the door."
"Please, we are afraid of the dog," came from Nan. "He came after us andwe ran into the shed for shelter."
"Oh, that's it?" The farmer gave a short laugh. "Well, you needn't beskeert! Tige won't hurt ye none."
"Are you sure of that?" put in Bert. "He seems to be very savage."
"I won't let him touch ye."
Thus assured Nan opened the door and followed Bert outside. At a wordfrom the farmer Tige stopped barking and began to wag his tail.
"That dog wouldn't hurt nobody, 'ceptin' he was attacked, or if a persontried to git in my house," said Farmer Sandborn. "He's a very nicefellow, he is, and likes boys and gals fust-rate; don't ye, Tige?" Andthe dog wagged his tail harder than ever, as if he understood everyword.
"I--I was so scared," said Nan.
"May I ask what you be a-doin' on the road all alone and in thissnowstorm?"
"We are going home," answered Bert, and then explained how they had beenice-boating and what had happened on the lake.
"I do declare!" cried Farmer Sandborn. "So the boat up an' run away withye, did she? Contrary critter, eh!" And he began to laugh. "Who be you?"
"I am Bert Bobbsey and this is my twin sister Nan."
"Oh, yes, I know now. You're one pair o' the Bobbsey twins, as theycall 'em over to Lakeport. I've heard Sary speak o' ye. Sary's my wife."The farmer ran his hand through his thick beard. "You can't tramp homein this storm."
"Oh, we must get home," said Nan. "What will mamma say? She will thinkwe are killed, or drowned, or something,--and she isn't over the scareshe got when Freddie was lost."
"I'll take you back to town in my sleigh," said Farmer Sandborn. "I wasgoing to town for some groceries to-morrow morning, but I might just aswell go now, while the roads are open. They'll be all closed up ag'in bydaylight, if this storm keeps up."
He led the way down the road to his house and they were glad enough tofollow. By Nan's side walked Tige and he licked her hand, just to showthat he wanted to make friends with her.
"I guess you are a good dog after all," said she, patting his head. "Butyou did give me _such_ a scare!"
Both of the twins were very cold and glad enough to warm themselves bythe kitchen fire while the farmer hitched up his horse. The farmer'swife wished to give them supper, but this they declined, saying theywould get supper at home. But she made each eat a big cookie, whichtasted exceedingly good.
Soon Farmer Sandborn drove around to the door with his sleigh and inthey piled, on the soft straw, with several robes to keep them warm.Then the horse set off on a brisk trot for town.
"It's a nice enough sleigh ride for anybody," declared Bert. And yetthey did not enjoy it very much, for fear of what would happen to themwhen they got home.
"Where in the world have you been?" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey as she ran tothe door to let them in. "We have been looking all over for you. Yourpapa was afraid you had been drowned in the lake."
An evening dinner was in waiting for them, and sitting down to satisfytheir hunger, they told their story, to which all of the others listenedwith much interest.
"You can be thankful you weren't blown clear to the other end of thelake," said Mr. Bobbsey. "I think after this you had better leaveice-boating alone."
"I know I shall!" declared Nan.
"Oh, I'll be more careful, papa, after this," pleaded Bert. "You know Ipromised to go out again with Charley."
"Well then, don't go when the wind is strong," and Bert promised.
"I'm so glad the dog didn't bite you," said little Flossie. "He mighthave given you hy--hy_dro_pics."
"Flossie means hydrophobics," put in Freddie. "Ain't no hy_dro_pics, isthere, Bert?"
"Oh, Freddie, you mean hydrophobia!" burst out Nan, with a laugh.
"No, I mean hydrophobics," insisted the little fellow. "That's whatDinah calls them anyway."
After the adventure on the ice boat matters ran smoothly with theBobbsey twins for two weeks and more. There was a great deal of snow andas a consequence Freddie and Flossie stayed home from school most of thetime. Nan and Bert also remained home two separate days, and duringthose days all of the children had great fun in the attic, where therewas a large storeroom, filled with all sort of things.
"Let us play theater," said Nan, who had been to several exhibitionswhile at home and while visiting.
"All right," said Bert, falling in with the plan at once. "Let us playRip Van Winkle. I can be Rip and you can be the loving wife, and Flossieand Freddie can be the children."
Across the storeroom a rope was placed and on this they hung a slidingcurtain, made out of a discarded blanket. Then at one side they arrangedchairs, and Nan and Flossie brought out their dolls to be the audience.
"They won't clap their hands very much," said Bert. "But then they won'tmake any disturbance either."
The performance was a great success. It was their own version of Rip VanWinkle, and Bert as old Rip did many funny things which caused Freddieand Flossie to roar with laughter. Nan as the loving wife recited apiece called "Doughnuts and Daisies," pretending to be working aroundthe kitchen in the meantime. The climax was reached when Bert tried toimitate a thunderstorm in the mountains and pulled over a big trunk fullof old clothes and some window screens standing in a corner. The showbroke up in a hurry, and when Mrs. Bobbsey appeared on the scene,wanting to know what the noise meant, all the actors and the dollaudience were out of sight.
But later, when mamma went below again, Bert and Nan sneaked back, andput both the trunk and the screens in their proper places.