CHAPTER XVII
ON THE HILL
"Dinah! Dinah!" called Flossie, dropping to the floor the cookies shehad gotten to take out to the snow house. "Oh, Dinah! Look at Freddie!"
Dinah hurried to the window.
"Freddie?" she asked. "Freddie? Where am Freddie? I can't see him, sohow kin I look at him, Flossie lamb?"
"Oh, you can't see him!" wailed Flossie, "But you can hear him, can'tyou?"
Dinah listened.
"Help me out! Help me out!" Freddie was crying. His voice was ratherfaint, for he was under the snow, and it sounded as though he were downin the cellar. But though the snow roof had fallen in when Snap jumpedon it, there was a sort of little cave, or hollow around his head soFreddie could call out.
"Don't you hear him?" asked Flossie, who was so excited she did not knowwhat to do. "Don't you hear him, Dinah?"
"Yes, I _heahs_ him all right," replied the colored cook, "but I can't_see_ him, honey lamb."
"He's under the snow! In the snow house!" Flossie went on. "The rooffell on him because Snap jumped on it when I came in here to get thecookies. Oh, Dinah, will you help get him out?"
"Git Freddie lamb out? Course I will! In de snow house wid de roof fellin on him! Oh mah land ob massy!" cried Dinah. "It's jest laik it donehappened once befo' when Bert made a bigger house."
She caught up a big spoon, which she used to stir the pancakes, andrushed out to the yard, Flossie running after her. Up to the big pile ofsnow, which did not look much like a house now, ran the cook. Then, justas she might have stirred a cake with the big spoon, she began diggingin the snow. It was almost as good as a shovel.
In a little while Freddie's head was uncovered, and then it was easy toget him out. He wasn't hurt a bit, only a little scared, and he laughedwhen Dinah and Flossie brushed the snow off him.
"But you can't brush out what's down my neck, inside my coat," he said,squirming about. "It's cold, and it tickles."
"Snow down inside your clo'hes!" exclaimed Dinah. "Den yo' got t' comeright in de house an' hab it tucken out. You'll ketch cold ef yo'don't."
"Maybe you could get it out if you stood me on my head and wiggled me,"Freddie said, after thinking about it. "Could you try that, Dinah?"
"Try what, honey lamb?"
"Take hold of my feet, you and Flossie, and stand me on my head. Thenthe snow will run down from under my coat and I won't have to go in andundress. I don't want to do that. I want to build the snow house upagain."
Dinah laughed.
"Ho! ho!" she said. "I'm not gwine t' do such t'ing as dat! No, sah! Yo'come, in de house an' git dry t'ings on," and with that she caughtFreddie up under one arm and marched him into the house, where he soonchanged into dry clothes.
"Now you can go out to play again," his mother said, "but don't go inany snow houses unless you are sure the roof is thick enough to keepfrom falling in on you. The sun is so warm now, I don't believe it willbe safe to make snow houses. Play at something else."
"All right, Mother, we will," promised Flossie and Freddie.
They took the cookies which Flossie had forgotten about in theexcitement and, after eating them, the two children made another snowman; for the first one, and his "little boy" as they called him, hadmelted into mere lumps.
For about a week the weather was warm, and most of the first snowmelted. Then came another storm, which covered the ground deep withwhite flakes, and once more the coasting hill was lively with theshouting, laughing and merry boys and girls.
Flossie and Freddie, as well as Nan and Bert, spent as much time on thecoasting hill as their mother would let them. After school every daythey were out with their sleds, and on Saturday they were only home fortheir meals.
Bert and Charley Mason had made a bob-sled, by fastening two sledstogether with a long plank. This they covered with a piece of carpet. Onthis eight or nine boys or girls could sit, while Bert or Charleysteered the bob down the hill by a wheel fastened to the front sled.
On the back sled was a bell to warn other coasters out of the way, andsometimes, when there were not many on the hill, Freddie was allowed tosit on the rear sled and ring the bell. He liked that.
Flossie and Freddie each had sleds of their own, and they rode down onthem alone, on one side of the hill where the smaller boys and girlskept by themselves.
"For," said Alice Boyd, "we don't want to get run over by the big bob."
"I guess not!" cried Johnnie Wilson. "Some day we'll make a bobourselves, Freddie."
"That's what we will."
The Bobbsey twins were coasting one day after school, when Freddie saw,walking up the hill, Tommy Todd, the fresh air boy. Tommy looked tired,for he had just been doing some errands for Mr. Bobbsey.
"Hello, Tommy!" called Freddie. "Why don't you get your sled and have acoast? It's lots of fun."
"Yes, I guess it is," said Tommy, with a smile.
"Then go and get your sled," said Freddie again.
"No, I don't believe I will," Tommy said. And he said it in such a queerway that Nan Bobbsey whispered to Bert:
"I don't believe he has a sled, and he doesn't want to say so."
"I guess that's right," Bert replied. "I'll offer him a ride on ourbob."
"That will be nice," Nan said. "He can have my place," for she had beencoasting with her brother.
"Wouldn't you like to ride down with us?" asked Bert, of Tommy.
"Wouldn't I though?" cried Tommy, his eyes shining. "Well, I guess Iwould!"
"Come on, then," cried Bert.
"He can ride on my sled, too," said Freddie.
"And on mine!" added Flossie.
"I guess your sleds are too small," Bert said, with a smile, for Tommywas even bigger than Bert, and Bert could not fit on the sleds of hisyounger brother and sister any more.
"Thank you, just the same," said Tommy to the little Bobbsey twins."I'll go down on the big bob. But I'll pull your sleds up the hill foryou."
"That will be nice," declared Flossie. "I like riding down hill, but Idon't like walking up, and pulling my sled."
Room was made for Tommy on the big bob-sled and he was soon gliding downthe long hill, Bert steering. Once or twice the smaller boys or girls,on their little sleds, would edge over toward that part of the hillwhere the big boys and girls, with their sleds or bob-sleds, werecoasting.
"Keep out of the way, little folks!" warned Bert. "There's room enoughfor you on your own side, and you might be hurt."
"And you two be careful," said Nan to Flossie and Freddie. "Stay on yourown side."
The two small twins said they would do so.
"Now for a last coast!" cried Bert, when Tommy had been given a numberof rides on the bob-sled. "It's time to go home to supper."
"Maybe we can come out after supper," said Nan. "There's going to be alovely moon, and coasting by moonlight is fine."
"Maybe we can," Bert said. "Come on, Tommy," he called. "This is ourlast coast before supper."
"All right," Tommy answered. He had walked up the hill, pulling afterhim the sleds of Flossie and Freddie, who liked to have him help them inthis way.
"Last coast, little ones!" Bert called to the small twins. "Then it'stime to go home."
"Whose turn is it to steer?" asked Charley Mason.
"Yours, I guess," Bert answered. "Tommy, you can sit right behindCharley and watch how he does it. Then next time you come out on thishill we'll let you steer."
"Thanks!" exclaimed Tommy. He had been anxious to take hold of the wheelhimself, but he did not like to ask.
On the bob-sled the boys and girls took their seats. Bert was on theback sled, to push off and ring the bell.
"All ready?" he called.
"All ready," answered Charley.
Bert gave a push and the bob-sled started down hill. On either side wereother bob-sleds and single sleds, while farther off, to the right, werestreams of smaller boys and girls.
Clang! Clang! went the bell, as Bert rang it.
The bo
b-sled was about half-way down the hill when Nan, sitting next toTommy, who was behind Charley, gave a cry.
"Oh, look!" Nan exclaimed. "Flossie and Freddie! They're going to getright in our way! Steer out, Charley!"
The little Bobbseys, in taking their last coast, had come too near thepart of the hill where the big sleds were.
"Flossie! Freddie!" cried Nan. "Look out! Steer away!"
But they did not seem able to do it.
"I guess we won't run into them," Charley said. He was trying as hard ashe could to keep to one side.
All at once the bob-sled struck a lump of ice, and the front sled jumpedinto the air. Charley Mason was jarred so hard that he rolled off. Thebob-sled swayed from side to side when no one was steering it.
Then Flossie and Freddie, on their sleds, steered right over in the wayof the bob-sled. They could not help it, they said afterward, and thatwas probably true, for they did not know much about steering sleds.
"Oh!" cried Nan. "We'll run right over them."
But Tommy Todd, who was sitting behind Charley, slid forward as theother boy rolled off, and now Tommy grasped the steering wheel with allhis might.
He twisted it around, to send the bob-sled away from Flossie andFreddie, who were almost under the runners now. Bert, who saw what wasabout to happen, was ringing the bell as hard as he could. The otherboys were yelling and the girls were screaming.
"Flossie! Freddie! Fall off your sleds! Roll out of the way!" yelledNan.