CHAPTER XIII
THE FIRST FROST
Mrs. Bobbsey was quite surprised when Tommy brought Freddie home, andshe was more surprised when she heard what had happened, and how Freddiehad been caught under the lumber.
"Dear me, I am glad they found you, Freddie!" she cried, kissing him.
"And so Tommy found you; did he?" asked Nan, smiling at the boy whomthey had met in the train the day the fresh air children came home fromthe country.
"Yes," Tommy answered. "I was going on an errand for my grandmother, andthe shortest way was through the lumber yard. I thought it would be agood chance to ask your father for work. And I am to have it--everySaturday and on some other days after school."
"You'll earn a lot of money," Freddie said, "and then we can build ourship."
"He can't get that idea out of his head," remarked Bert to Nan.
"Oh, he's anxious to help Tommy find his father," Nan answered. "I wishit would happen, but I'm afraid he never will be found."
Having seen that Freddie was safe at home, Tommy hurried back to thelumber yard office. Then he went on a number of errands for Mr. Bobbsey.The twins' father said, that night, he had seldom met such a bright andwilling boy.
"Tommy will grow up to be a fine man, I'm sure," said Mr. Bobbsey.
One day, a little while after Freddie had been lost under the lumberpile, he and Flossie were standing in the school yard at recess, AliceBoyd came up to them.
"Want some candy?" she asked, holding out some in a paper.
"Thanks," said Freddie, taking some.
"Where did you get it?" Flossie inquired, as she took a piece.
"My sister and I made it," answered Alice.
"How do you make candy?" inquired Freddie.
"Oh, you just put some sugar and water on the stove in a tin dish,"Alice answered, "and when it boils you pour it out on a butteredpan--you butter the pan just as you butter a slice of bread."
"Why do you butter the pan?" demanded Flossie.
"So the candy won't stick to it. Candy is awful sticky. Our dog got alump in his mouth, and it stuck to his teeth so he couldn't open hisjaws."
"I wouldn't give a dog candy," declared Freddie. "I'd rather eat itmyself."
"Oh, well, we didn't 'zactly _give_ the candy to our dog," said Alice."A lump of it fell on the floor, and he grabbed it up before we couldstop him. Anyhow, we didn't want the candy after it had rolled on thefloor."
Flossie and Freddie ate the sweet stuff Alice handed them, and thoughtit very good. That afternoon when Flossie reached home from school, shemarched out into the kitchen and said:
"Dinah, I'm going to make some candy!"
"Make candy, honey lamb! How yo' all gwine t' make candy?"
"Oh, you just put some sugar and water on the stove to boil, and when itboils you butter a pan like a slice of bread, and pour the candy in itso it won't stick. And if a lump falls on the floor--a lump of candy Imean--that belongs to Snap. Though I hope it doesn't make his jaws sticktogether so they'll never come open, or he can't bark. But I'm going tomake some candy."
"Now look yeah!" said Dinah. "Does yo' ma know yo' is gwine t' do dishyeah candy business?"
"No, Dinah, but I'll tell her when she comes home," for on coming infrom school Flossie had been told that her mother was not in.
"Yo'll tell her when she comes home?" cried the old colored cook. "Yo'won't need t' _tell_ her, honey lamb. She'll done know dat yo' all hasbeen up t' suffin queer. Make candy! Oh mah gracious! I done guess you'dbettah not!"
"Oh, please, Dinah! It's easy. You can help me."
Dinah gave in, as she usually did, and got out some sugar, some waterand a saucepan for the little girl. Dinah knew Flossie was too little tobe trusted alone around the stove, so she stood near herself.
"Let me pour in the water," begged Flossie, and she was allowed to dothis. Then the sugar and water in the saucepan was soon bubbling on topof the stove. Flossie buttered a pan, getting almost as much butter onher fingers as she did on the tin, but Dinah gave her a wash rag, sothat was all right.
Letting the candy boil, Dinah went about her kitchen work, while Flossiesat in a chair near the stove watching. Pretty soon the door bell rang,and Dinah went to answer it. Flossie stayed in the kitchen looking atthe steaming pan of candy until she heard a voice calling to her fromthe yard.
"Flossie! Flossie! Come on out and play!"
It was Stella Janson, a little girl who lived next door.
"I can't come out right away, Stella," answered Flossie. "I'm makingcandy and I have to watch it. You sit down on the porch and when thecandy is done I'll bring some out to you."
Flossie went to the door to tell this to the little girl, and then shesaw that Stella had a new doll.
"Oh, isn't she pretty!" cried Flossie. "I must see her!"
Forgetting all about the candy boiling on the stove, Flossie went out onthe porch. There she and Stella took turns holding the doll. All thiswhile Dinah was at the front door. A peddler had rung the bell, and ittook the colored cook some little time to tell him her mistress did notwant to buy a new kind of piano polish.
All at once Dinah gave a cry and quickly closed the door.
"Sumfin's burnin'! Sumfin's burnin'!" she shouted as she hurried back tothe kitchen.
At the same time Stella, who was out on the porch with Flossie, began tosniff the air.
"What's that funny smell?" she asked.
Flossie also sniffed.
"Oh, it's my candy burning!" she cried. "My nice candy! I forgot allabout it!"
She and Dinah ran into the kitchen at the same time. Over the stoveblack smoke was curling up from the saucepan of candy.
"Oh, oh!" cried Flossie.
"Keep away, honey lamb--don't touch it!" cried Dinah. "It's hot! I'lllift it off!"
She was just doing that, using an iron holder so she would not burn herhand, when Freddie came rushing in, dragging after him his toy fireengine with which he had been playing out in the yard.
"Fire! Fire!" cried Freddie. "Fire! Fire! I'm a fireman! I put outfires! Look out!"
Freddie's fire engine, though a toy, squirted real water, from a reallittle rubber hose. The little fireman pointed the hose at Dinah, whowas carrying the smoking and burning pan of candy over to the sink.
"Fire! Fire! Pour on water! Pour on water!" shouted Freddie.
"Look out dere, honey lamb! Don't squirt no watah on me!" cried Dinah.
But Freddie had started the pump of his engine, and a stream of watersquirted all over Dinah.
"Oh mah good landy!" cried the fat cook. "Stop it, Freddie! Stop it!Dish yeah am awful! It suttinly am turrible!"
Luckily for Dinah, Freddie had been playing so long out in the yard withhis engine that there was only a little water left in it. When this hadsquirted out there was no more until he filled the tank again.
"Oh my!" cried Dinah, as she went on over to the sink, and set down thesmoking pan of candy. "Oh my!"
"Is the house on fire?" Freddie demanded.
"No, it isn't," said Flossie. "It's just my nice candy that burned. Ohdear! And I did want it _so_ much!"
"Never mind, I'll make some mo', honey lamb!" promised Dinah, wiping herface on her apron. "But don't yo' squirt no mo' watah on me, Freddiepet."
"No, I won't, Dinah," he promised. "But I saw the smoke coming out ofthe kitchen, and I knew there was a fire."
"It wasn't 'zactly a fire," said Stella. "But I guess the candy burnedup. It's as bad as when we dropped all of ours on the floor."
But good-natured Dinah made another pan of the sweet stuff for Flossie.This did not burn, and it was soon turned out into the buttered tin tocool. And when it was cool Flossie, Freddie and Stella ate it.
Mrs. Bobbsey only laughed when Flossie told her what had happened, butshe said she thought the little girl had better not try to make any morecandy until she was a little older.
The weather was getting colder day by day now. The children had redcheeks when they went to sc
hool, and they ran and romped along to keepwarm.
"It will soon be cold enough to have a frost," said Mr. Bobbsey.
"Yes," said his wife, "I wouldn't be surprised if we had one to-night. Ihave brought in my geraniums and other plants."
"A frost!" cried Bert. "Good! That means the chestnuts will crack out oftheir burrs. We'll go chestnutting!"
The next morning Bert hopped out of bed earlier than usual. He lookedfrom the window. The ground was white, and so was the roof of theporch.
"Oh, it's snow!" cried Freddie, who also got up.
"No, it's just frost," Bert said. "The first frost of the Winter. Nowwe'll get ready to have some fun. I'm glad to-day is Saturday. Noschool, and we can go after chestnuts!"
"Hurrah!" cried Freddie. "May I come, Bert?"
"Yes, we'll all go!"