CHAPTER XIII
AN UNPLEASANT SURPRISE
Quickly, after the first guests had arrived came the others. NellieParks, Grace Lavine friends of Nan, and Willie Porter and his sisterSadie, came first, and Freddie and Flossie let them in, the Porterchildren being some of their best-liked playmates.
All the children wore their best clothes, and for a time they werea bit stiff and unnatural, standing shyly about in corners, againstthe walls, or sitting on chairs.
The boys seemed to all crowd together in one part of the room, andthe girls in another. Flossie and Freddie, Nan and Bert, were sobusy answering the door that they did not notice this at first.
But Aunt Sarah, their mother's sister, who had come over to helpMrs. Bobbsey, looking in the parlor and library, saw what thetrouble was.
"My!" she cried, with a good-natured laugh, as she noticed how"stiff" the children were. "This will never do. You're not that wayat school, I don't believe. Come, be lively. Mix up--play games.Pretend this is recess at school, and make as much noise as youlike."
For a moment the boys and girls did not know what to think of thisinvitation. But just then Snap, the circus dog, came in the room,and, with a bark of welcome, he turned a somersault, and thenmarched around on his hind legs, carrying a broomstick like agun--pretending he was a soldier. Bert had given it to him.
Then how the children laughed and clapped their hands! And Snap barkedso loudly--for he liked applause--that there was noise enough foreven jolly Aunt Sarah. After that there was no trouble. The boysand girls talked together and soon they were playing games, andhaving the best kind of fun.
For some of the games simple prizes had been offered and it wasquite exciting toward the end to see who would win. Flossie andFreddie thought they had never had such a good time in all theirlives. Nan and Bert were enjoying themselves, too, with theirfriends, who were slightly older than those who had been asked forthe younger Bobbsey twins.
"Going to Jerusalem," was one game that created lots of enjoyment.A number of chairs were placed in the centre of the room, and theboys and girls marched around them while Mrs. Bobbsey played thepiano. But there was one less chair than there were players, sothat when the music would suddenly stop, which was a signal foreach one who could, to sit down, someone was sure to be left. Thenthis one had to stay out of the game.
Then a chair would be taken away, so as always to have one lessthan the number of players, and the game went on. It was great fun,scrambling to see who would get a seat, and not be left withoutone, and finally there but one chair left, while Grace Lavine andJohn Blake marched about. Mrs. Bobbsey kept playing quite sometime, as the two went around and around that one chair. Everyonewas laughing, wondering who would get a seat and so win the game,when, all at once, Mrs. Bobbsey stopped the music. She had her backturned so it would be perfectly fair.
Grace and John made a rush for the one chair, but Grace got to itfirst, and so she won.
"Well, I'm glad you did, anyhow," said John, politely.
Other games were "peanut races" and "potato scrambles." In thefirst each player had a certain number of peanuts and they had tostart at one end of the room, and lay the nuts at equal distancesapart across to the other side, coming back each time to their pileof peanuts to get one.
Sometimes a boy would slip, he was in such a hurry, or a girl woulddrop her peanuts, and this made fun and confusion.
Nan won this race easily.
In the potato scramble several rows of potatoes were made acrossthe room. Each player was given a large spoon, and whoever firsttook up all his or her potatoes in the spoon, one at a time, andpiled them up at the far end of the room, won the game. In thisCharley Mason was successful, and won the prize--a pretty littlepin for his tie.
The afternoon wore on, and, almost before the children realized itthe hour for supper had arrived. They were not sorry, either, forthey all had good appetites.
"Come into the dining room, children," invited Mrs. Bobbsey.
And Oh! such gasps of pleased surprise as were heard when the childrensaw what had been prepared for them! For Mr. and Mrs Bobbsey, whilenot going to any great expense, and not making the children's partytoo fanciful, had made it beautiful and simple.
The long table was set with dishes and pretty glasses. There wereflowers in the centre, and at each end, and also blooms in vases aboutthe room. Then, from the centre chandelier to the four corners ofthe table, were strings of green smilax in which had been entwinedcarnations of various colors.
The lights were softly glowing on the pretty scene, and therewere prettily shaded candles to add to the effect. But what caughtthe eyes of all the children more than anything else were two largecakes--one at either end of the table.
On each cake burned five candles, and on one cake was the name"Flossie," while the other was marked "Freddie." The names were inpink icing on top of the white frosting that covered the birthdaycakes.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" could be heard all about the room. "Isn't that toosweet for anything!"
"I guess they are sweet!" piped up Freddie in his shrill littlevoice, "'cause Dinah put lots of sugar in 'em; didn't you, Dinah?"and he looked at Dinah, who had thrust her laughing, black,good-natured face into the dining room door.
"Dat's what I did, honey! Dat's what I did!" she exclaimed. "Ifanybody's got a toofache he'd better not eat any ob dem cakes,'cause dey suah am sweet."
How the children laughed at that!
"All ready, now, children, sit down," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "Yournames are at your plates."
There was a little confusion getting them all seated, as those onone side of the table found that their name cards were on the otherside. But Flossie and Freddie, and Nan and Bert, helped the gueststo find their proper places and soon everyone was in his or herchair.
"Can't Snap sit with us, too?" asked Freddie, looking about forhis pet, who had done all his tricks well that evening.
"No, dear," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "Snap is a good dog, but we don'twant him in the dining room when we are eating. It gives him badhabits."
"Then can't I send him out some cakes?" asked Flossie, for Snaphad almost as large a "sweet tooth" as the children themselves.
"Yes, as it is your birthday, I suppose you can give him some ofyour good things," said Mamma Bobbsey.
"Here, Dinah!" called Freddie to the cook, as he piled a plate fullof cakes. "Please give these to Snap."
"Land sakes goodness me alive!" cried Dinah. "Dat suah am queer.Feedin' a dog jest laik a human at a party. I can't bring mahselfto it, nohow."
"I'll take 'em out to him," said her husband.
Then the feast began, and such a feast at it was! Mrs. Bobbsey,knowing how easily the delicate stomachs of children can be upset,had wisely selected the food and sweets, and she saw to it that noone ate too much, though she was gently suggestive about it insteadof ordering.
"Don't eat too much," advised Freddie to some of the friends whosat near him. "We've got a lot of ice cream coming. Save room forthat."
"That's so--I almost forgot," spoke Jimmie Black.
A little later Mrs. Bobbsey said to Dinah:
"I think you may bring in the cream now, and I will help you serveit."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Oh, goodie!" cried Freddie. "Ice cream's coming!" and he wavedhis spoon above his head.
"Freddie--Freddie" said his mother, in gentle reproof.
Dinah went out on the back stoop, looked around and came runningback to the dining room, where Mrs. Bobbsey was. Dinah's eyes werebig with wonder and surprise.
"Mrs. Bobbsey! Mrs. Bobbsey!" she cried. "Suffin's done gone an'happened!"
"What is it?" asked Mamma Bobbsey, quickly. "Is anyone hurt?"
"No'm, but dat ice cream freezer hab jest gone and walked rightoff de back stoop, an' it ain't dere at all, nohow! De ice creamis all gone!"
The children looked at one another with pained surprise showing ontheir faces.
The ice cream was gone!
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