CHAPTER II--LOCKED UP
"Get him! Get him!" cried Bert Bobbsey, making a dive for the littlemouse.
"Oh, don't let him come near me!" screamed Nan, as she left her seat andhurried over toward her mother.
"Nonsense!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey. "To be frightened at a poor littlemouse!"
The mouse ran under one chair after another, and circled around beneaththe dining room table.
"Where's Snoop?" cried Bert, stooping down to watch which way the mouseran. "Get Snoop in to catch the mouse!"
"Don't let him get me!" begged Flossie, and she ran over to Nan.
"Children, be quiet!" commanded Mr. Bobbsey. "All this excitement over alittle mouse! Freddie, you did very wrong to put a mouse in a box andgive it to Dinah for a birthday present!" and he spoke rather sternly tothe little fellow.
"Am dat mouse mah birfday present?" asked the fat cook, who was huddledagainst the wall. "If it is I don't want it nohow!"
Isn't it queer how frightened some women and girls are of a mouse? Iwonder why that it is? Anyhow, Nan, Flossie and Dinah seemed muchfrightened, while Bert was more interested in seeing which way thelittle gray creature ran.
"Get Snoop! Where is Snoop?" asked Bert, calling for the family cat."Snoop will love to chase this mouse!"
"I help you catch my mouse for Snoop!" offered Freddie.
He had stood, eagerly waiting, to see what would happen when Dinahopened his extra present box. And enough had happened to satisfy evenfun-loving Freddie.
"Here, I'll fix that mouse!" cried Mr. Bobbsey. "Let it alone, Bert.I'll drive it out!"
Mr. Bobbsey picked up a small open glass salt dish from the table, andwas about to throw it at the mouse under the table.
"Don't do that," said his wife.
"Why not?" asked Mr. Bobbsey, holding the salt dish in readiness.
"Because you'll spill the salt and it will have to be cleaned up."
"I'll get the mouse!" cried Freddie. "I'll get him!"
He ran over to the goldfish tank in one corner of the room. On the tableon which the tank rested was a tiny net of cloth on a handle and wireframe. Bert used the net to lift out the fish when he wanted to cleanthe tank, which he intended doing that day.
"I'll catch the mouse under this!" cried Freddie, grabbing up the littlenet and trying to dive under the table. But the little fellow slipped,and knocked over a chair. It happened to fall on Flossie's foot.Instantly the small Bobbsey girl set up a cry.
"Oh! Oh, Freddie Bobbsey! Now look what you did! My toenails is allbroken! Oh! Oh!"
"Hush! Hush!" begged Mother Bobbsey, hugging Flossie.
"Oh, mah good lan'!" exclaimed Dinah, "I neber did see such a birfday asdish yeah! Nebber in all mah born days!"
Bert caught up his aluminum napkin ring and threw it across the room asthe mouse made a dart toward the door leading into the kitchen.
"There he goes!" cried Bert. "No use getting Snoop now!"
"Well, I'm glad the creature is out of the way!" said Mrs. Bobbsey, witha sigh of relief. "Now, Freddie, what possessed you to do a thing likethat--to give Dinah a mouse for her birthday?"
"And where did you get it?" asked Bert. "I should think you'd be afraidof it, Freddie."
"He was in the box, and I shut the cover down quick--like that"--Freddieclapped his hands together--"and I ketched him."
"You should say 'caught,'" murmured Nan. "Your teacher wouldn't like tohave you say 'ketched,' Freddie."
"Well, I--I got him, anyhow," Freddie went on. "An' I tied some stringaround the box and I kept the mouse and I thought maybe Dinah wouldlaugh an'--an'----"
Freddie looked around the room. All too much had happened from hislittle surprise. The whole place was in confusion.
"If dey is any mo' birfday presents like _dat_," said Dinah, "I reckon Ibetter go!"
"Oh, no!" exclaimed Nan. "Mine is a nice one, Dinah!"
"So's mine!" echoed Flossie.
"An' I've another!" added Freddie. "I'm sorry I scared you, Dinah."
"Well, we'll forgive you this time," said his father. "Bring out theother presents now."
And while this is being done I will take just a moment to tell my newreaders something about the children who are to be the main charactersin this story.
If you have read the first book of this series, called "The BobbseyTwins," you have learned that Mr. Bobbsey had a lumber business in theeastern city of Lakeport, on Lake Metoka. Bert and Nan were the twoolder twins. They had dark brown hair and brown eyes and were rathertall and slim. The younger Bobbsey twins were Flossie and Freddie. Theywere somewhat short and stout, and had light hair and blue eyes. Thechildren had many good times together and with their playmates, GraceLavine, Charlie Mason, Dannie Rugg, Nellie Parks and Ruth Nelson. Theyalso had fun with Snoop, their pet cat, and with Snap, their dog.
There are a number of books coming between the first volume and the onejust before this. The Bobbsey twins went to the country to visit UncleDaniel, and at the seashore they stayed with Uncle William. Besidesthese trips the four children made a voyage on a houseboat, visited agreat city, camped on Blueberry Island, went to Washington, and made atrip at sea. They had, a week or so before celebrating Dinah's birthday,returned home after some exciting times out West.
You may read about these last adventures in the book just before thispresent volume. It is called "The Bobbsey Twins in the Great West," andit tells how Bert, Nan, Flossie and Freddie helped solve a strangemystery about an old man.
It was now fall, and on their return from the West the Bobbsey twins hadstarted to school again. Bert and Nan had gone into a higher grade, andFlossie and Freddie, though they were still the babies of the family,were now somewhat advanced at school, and were in regular classes,attending morning and afternoon, instead of going just in the morning,as they had done while they were still in the kindergarten.
One of the first affairs the Bobbsey twins had taken part in since theirreturn from the West had been Dinah's birthday celebration. Each of thechildren had bought the cook, of whom they were very fond, a present,but Freddie had provided an extra one, as we have seen.
"Don't ever do it again, Freddie!" cautioned his father, when quiet hadonce more settled over the household.
"I won't, Daddy," he promised.
"Then you may give Dinah her regular present," said Mother Bobbsey.
Freddie handed the cook a package wrapped in blue paper.
"Is yo' suah dey isn't no mouse in dis?" asked Dinah, pretending to befrightened.
"No mouse!" Freddie assured her. "You open it!"
And when Dinah had done so she found a bottle of perfume, which, shedeclared, was "jest de sweetest kind what ebber was!" It was exactlywhat she had wished for, she said.
Then the other presents were given to her. Nan's was a pocketbook, andBert's a pair of comfortable slippers. Flossie handed Dinah a gay, redsilk handkerchief.
"An' when I puts pufume on _dat_, an' walks out, everybody'll be wishin'dey was me!" declared the fat, black cook. "Dish suah am a lovelybirfday!"
There were presents, also, from Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey, and when she hadadmired everything, and thanked them all, Dinah finished bringing in thebreakfast. They all laughed at Freddie's mouse, and he told how he hadcaught it.
He had had some nuts in a cigar box, and the day before, coming softlyup to it, he had seen a little mouse nibbling away among the nuts andshells. As quick as a wink Freddie clapped the cover down, and hadcaught the mouse fast. Then, without saying anything to anyone about it,he had given it to Dinah.
"Come on, Bert, or we'll be late for school!" called Nan, as shefinished her breakfast.
"I'll be right with you," her brother answered. "If Charlie Mason callstell him to wait. He and I are going fishing this afternoon."
"Can I come?" asked Freddie. "I'll help dig worms."
"Not now," Bert answered. "Maybe to-morrow."
"You wait for me, Freddie!" called Flossie.
"Yes, I'll wait," he promi
sed.
Soon the Bobbsey twins were on their way to school. Bert walked withCharlie Mason and Dannie Rugg, while Grace Lavine and Nellie Parksstrolled along with Nan.
"Did you bring your skipping rope?" asked Grace of Nan. Grace was veryfond of this fun, though once she had jumped too much and had been takenill.
"No, I didn't bring it," Nan answered. "I brought a new bean bag,though, and we can play that at recess."
"Oh, that'll be fun!" cried Nellie.
Bert and Charlie were talking about the best place to go fishing. Andthe younger Bobbsey twins were talking about something else.
"If he does it again to-day, you tell me an' I'll fix him," said Freddieto Flossie.
"I will," his golden-haired sister answered. "Will you make him stop,Freddie?"
"Sure I will! You come and tell me!"
"What is it you are going to do?" asked Nan of her smaller brother andsister. But just then the warning bell rang and they all had to run sothey would not be late, and Nan forgot about what she had overheard.
At recess there were jolly times in the school playground. Some of theboys got up a baseball game, and others played marbles, leapfrog ormumble-the-peg. The girls skipped rope or tossed bean bags, while someplayed different kinds of tag. It was cool, so that running about andjumping made one feel fine.
Suddenly from the lower end of the playground, near the shed where thejanitor kept his brooms, a lawnmower, and other things, came a cry ofalarm.
"That's Flossie!" exclaimed Nan, pausing in the midst of a bean baggame. "Something's the matter!"
She caught sight of Flossie and Freddie in some sort of a battle withNick Malone, one of the "bad" boys of the school. Flossie and Freddieseemed to be having a fight with Nick.
However, the battle was soon over. Before Nan reached the scene or couldcall to Bert to come to her help, Nick disappeared, and Flossie andFreddie, each laughing, ran over to the other side of the yard.
"Oh, I guess they are all right," said Nan, as she stopped running andturned back.
Then the bell rang to call the children in from their play, and theytook their places in long lines. A little later Bert and Nan were intheir room, saying their lessons, and Flossie and Freddie were withtheir classmates, getting ready to recite in geography.
Miss Snell, their teacher, looked over the room. She noticed one vacantseat.
"Where is Nick?" asked Miss Snell. "He was here before recess. Didanyone see him go home?"
No one answered for a moment, and then Flossie raised her little, fat,chubby hand.
"Yes, Flossie, what is it?" asked Miss Snell, with a smile.
"Nick didn't go home," said the little girl. "He--he's out in the yard."
"Out in the yard?" exclaimed the teacher. "He should come in!"
"If you please, he can't," said Freddie suddenly. "He's locked up! Ilocked him up!"