CHAPTER XIII
THE CIRCUS
"There you are, my little man! Not hurt a bit! Up again! Out again!"and Mr. Weston picked little Freddie out of the brook, and set him onhis feet. "All right, aren't you?" asked the moving picture man.
"Ye--yes, I--I guess so," stammered the "little fat fireman," as helooked down at his dripping knickerbockers. "But I--I'm terrible wet!I'm awful wet--ma--mamma!" he stammered.
"Never mind, Freddie," Mrs. Bobbsey answered with a smile. "You'lldry."
"I say!" called one of the men who had been turning the crank of themoving picture camera. "I say, Mr. Weston, I got the picture of theboy falling in the water on this film. I couldn't help it."
"That's all right," said the manager. "It won't spoil the picture any.It will only make it look more natural."
"And it's natural for Freddie to be wet;" said Bert, with a laugh."He's always playing with that toy fire engine of his, and gettingsoaked."
"But I didn't have the fire engine this time, Bert," said the chubbylittle chap. "I--I fell in!"
"You poor little dear!" exclaimed the actress-schoolteacher, puttingher arms around him. "It was all my fault, too!"
"No, it was mine," said Freddie, generously. "I don't mind. I likebeing wet!"
They all laughed at this. Mrs. Bobbsey said Freddie wanted to bepolite.
A few more pictures were made of the village children, the Bobbseytwins, with the exception of Freddie, taking part. Freddie was hurriedoff by his mother to the farmhouse to be put into dry clothes.
Then, with thanks to those who had helped make the scenes, Mr. Weston,Miss Burns and the camera man went back to the village hotel wherethey were stopping.
"Wasn't it great, Bert!" exclaimed Harry, as he and his cousinstrolled over the fields.
"It certainly was," agreed Bert.
"If we could only see the pictures when they are finished," suggestedMabel Herold. "It must be queer to see yourself in the movies."
"I think so, too," said Nan. "I'm going to find out where this playwill be shown, in some theatre, and maybe mamma will take us to it."
"I hope she does," Bert said. "It will be fun to see Freddie fallingin."
"Poor little fellow!" murmured Nan.
"But he was real brave," Mabel added.
For several days the Bobbsey twins, their cousin and their countryfriends talked of the moving pictures in which they had had a part.They went again to the valley, where more scenes were being made, butnone were as exciting as the sham-battle.
"Aren't they going to shoot any more guns?" asked Freddie, his eyesbig and shining with the hope of excitement.
"I guess that's all over," spoke Bert.
"And I'm glad of it," Nan declared.
"So am I," exclaimed Flossie, looking around as though she would heara boom from a cannon.
One day Bert and Harry went alone to the place where the movingpicture company had erected tents and log cabins in the valley. Theyfound the men packing things up, taking down the tents and knockingapart the wooden cabins.
"Are you all through?" Bert asked Mr. Weston.
"All through, my lad," was the answer. "We are going to another placesoon, to get different moving pictures. But we'll be here for a day ortwo yet, at least some of the camera men will. They have to takepictures of a circus parade."
"Circus parade!" exclaimed Harry. "Is a circus coming here?"
"Well, not exactly here," replied Mr. Weston. "But it is coming toRosedale--that's the next town--and I am going to have some movingpictures made of it."
"The circus coming to Rosedale!" cried Bert, looking at Harry. Thesame thought came to both of them.
"Let's go!" exclaimed Harry, eagerly.
"If our folks will let us," added Bert.
"Oh, I guess mine will," spoke the country boy. "Circuses don't comearound here very often, and when they do, we generally go. I do hopethey'll let you come, Bert."
"It's going to be a large circus," said Mr. Weston. "They have a goodcollection of wild animals."
"I don't believe they can beat our combination of a wild cat, Snoop,and a crazy turkey gobbler," said Bert to Harry with a laugh, when thetwo boys were on their way back to the farmhouse.
Passing along a country road Bert saw something that caused him to cryout:
"Look, there it is, Harry!"
"What?"
"The circus! See it!" and Bert pointed to a barn.
"Oh, you mean the circus posters," went on Harry, for Bert had pointedto the bright-colored pictures advertising the performance. There wereshown men jumping through paper hoops or hanging from dizzy heights ontrapeze bars, ladies riding galloping horses, and all sorts of wildanimals, from the long-necked giraffe to the hippopotamus, whoappeared to have no neck at all, and from the big elephant to thelittle monkey.
"Oh, I do hope we can see it!" cried Bert, as he and his cousin stoodbefore the gay pictures.
"I'm going to do my best to go!" declared Harry.
The two boys hurried home, talking on the way of the circus postersthey had seen, and wondering if there really would be shown all thewild animals pictured on the side of the barn.
Bert saw his father and mother sitting out in the side yard under ashady tree, and, running up to them he asked:
"Oh, can't we go? We want to so much! Nan, you ask, too!" he cried.
Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey looked at him rather surprised.
"What's it all about?" asked Mr. Bobbsey, with a smile.
"And what am I to ask?"
"For a circus--wild animals--moving pictures--the parade--anelephant--lions, tigers--everything!" cried Bert, stopping because heran out of breath.
"Ask for all that?" exclaimed Nan, wonderingly.
"No, Bert means the circus is coming," explained Harry, with a laugh."The moving picture people are going to get views of the parade. Theposters are up on the barns and fences. It's coming to Rosedale, thecircus is, and--"
"Oh, do let us go!" broke in Bert. Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey looked at oneanother, questioningly.
"Oh, wouldn't it be just grand!" sighed Nan.
"What is it?" demanded Freddie, toddling up just then. "Is there goingto be a fire? Can I squirt with my engine?"
"Always thinking of that, little fat fireman!" laughed his father."No, it isn't a fire, Freddie."
"It's a circus coming!" cried Bert "Can't you take us, father?"
"I'm afraid not, son," he said. "I have just had a letter calling meback to Lakeport on business."
"Oh!" cried Nan and Bert in a chorus.
"Do we have to go back to the city, too?" asked Bert, after a pause.
"No, I am going to let you and mamma stay here," said Mr. Bobbsey,"but I have to go. I'll come back, of course, but not in time to takeyou to the circus, I'm afraid."
"Mamma can take us," said Freddie.
"Hardly," said Mrs. Bobbsey with a smile. "I want papa along when Ihave four children to take to a circus."
"My father will take us," said Harry. "He always goes to a circus whenone comes around here."
"Oh, fine!" cried Bert. "Uncle Daniel will take us! Uncle Daniel willtake us!" and he caught Nan around the waist and went dancing over thelawn with her.
"Now may we go, papa?" asked Nan, when Bert let her go.
"Well, I guess so," answered Mr. Bobbsey. "Uncle Daniel can look afteryou as well as I could."
"If Uncle Daniel goes, it will be all right," Mrs. Bobbsey said.
"And will you go, too, mamma?" asked Bert, slipping up to her, andgiving her a kiss.
"Oh, yes, I suppose I'll have to help feed the elephant peanuts," shelaughed.
"Hurray! Hurrah!" cried Bert, swinging his cap in the air. "We'regoing to the circus! We're going to the circus!"
The children were delighted with the pleasure in store for them. Theytalked of little else, and when they found that Tom Mason and MabelHerold were also going to the show, they were more than delighted.
"Oh, what fun we'll have!" cried Na
n.
"I--I hope none of the wild animals get loose," said Flossie, withrather a serious face.
"Nonsense! Of course they won't!" cried Bert.
"If they do, I--I'll squirt my fire engine on them!" cried Freddie."Lions and tigers are afraid of water."
"But elephants aren't, are they, mamma?" asked Flossie. "I saw apicture of an elephant squirting water through his nose-trunk justlike your fire engine, Freddie. Elephants aren't afraid of water."
"Well, elephants won't hurt you, anyhow," spoke the little fat fellow."And if a lion or tiger gets loose, I'll play the hose on him, just asI did at The Five-Pin Show."
Mr. Bobbsey was obliged to go back to the city next day, but he saidhe would return to Meadow Brook as soon as he could.
"And if you see that poor boy, bring him back with you, and we'll takehim to the circus with us," said Freddie.
"What poor boy?" asked Mr. Bobbsey.
"You know, the one who had the no-good money, and who ran away when wewere out with you in the auto that time, and the two girls in theboat--don't you remember?" asked Freddie, ending somewhatbreathlessly, for that was rather a long sentence for him.
"Oh, you mean Frank Kennedy, who worked for Mr. Mason," said thelumber merchant.
"Yes, that's the boy," went on Freddie. "If you see him, tell him torun this way, and we'll take him to the circus with us."
"Poor boy," sighed Mrs. Bobbsey. "I wonder what has become of him?"
"I don't know," answered her husband. "I'll ask Mr. Mason, if I seehim. He said Frank was sure to come back. It is a hard life for a boyto lead. Well, take care of yourselves, children, and I'll come backas soon as I can. Have a good time at the circus."
"We will, papa!" chorused the Bobbsey twins.
Uncle Daniel readily promised to take the whole family to the circus.Rosedale, where the show would be held, in the big tents, was not farfrom Meadow Brook.
"I'll just hitch up the team to the big wagon," said the farmer, "putplenty of soft straw in the bottom, and we'll go over in style. We'lltake our lunch with us, and have a good time."
"Is Dinah going?" asked Flossie.
"Yes, I think we'll take her and Martha, too," said Mrs. Bobbsey, butwhen Flossie went to tell the colored cook the treat in store for her,Dinah cried:
"'Deed an' I ain't gwine t' no circus. I doan't want t' be et up by noragin' lion who goeth about seekin' what he may devour, laik it saysin de Good Book. Dere's enough wild animiles right yeah on dish yearfarm--wild bulls, wild rams an' turkey gobblers, what pulls cats bydere tails. No, sah! honey lamb--I ain't gwine t' no circus!"