CHAPTER X
UNWELCOME NEWS
"Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas to everybody!"
"Oh, Christmas is here! I wonder what I got?"
"I'm going to get up and see!"
The Bobbsey twins were calling to one another from their rooms, and papaand mamma Bobbsey were replying to their children's happy greetings. Itwas Flossie who had made the exclamation about wondering what SantaClaus had brought her, and it was Freddie who declared he was going toget up to see.
Soon the patter of bare feet announced that the two younger twins werescampering downstairs.
"You must put on your dressing gowns and slippers, my dears!" calledMrs. Bobbsey. "You'll take cold. Nan, look after them; will you?"
"Yes, mother, in just a minute. As soon as I can find my own things,"and Nan got out of bed. She and Bert were not in so much of a hurry asFlossie and Freddie for they were getting older, and though Christmaswas still a source of great joy to them they were not so anxious to seewhat gifts they had. Still Nan was eager to know if her camera had come.
From the parlor below came cries, shouts and peals of delighted andsurprised laughter as Flossie and Freddie discovered their differentgifts.
"Look at my book!" cried Flossie. "And a doll--a doll that you can windup, and she walks and says 'mamma.' Look, Freddie!" and the little girlstarted the doll off across the room.
"Pooh! Look at what I got!" cried Freddie. "It's a fire engine, and itsquirts real water. I'm going to put some in it, and play fire."
He started for the kitchen with his toy, but Nan caught him.
"Not just yet, little fat fireman," she said with a laugh, as she tookhim up in her arms. "You can't splash in the cold water until you havemore clothes on. Get dressed and then you may play with your toys."
"All right!" answered Freddie. "Oh, look, I've got a wind-up steamboat,too. Oh! let me down so I can look at it, Nan! Now please do!"
Nan saw a pile of her own gifts, so she set Freddie down for a moment,intending to carry him up stairs a little later. She had wrapped a robeabout Flossie, who was contentedly playing with her newest doll, andlooking at her other presents. Santa Claus had been kind to the Bobbseytwins that Christmas.
Bert, big boy though he thought himself getting to be, could no longerresist the temptation to come down in his bath robe to see what he hadreceived, and a little later fat Dinah, roused earlier than usual by thejoyous shouts of the children, came lumbering in.
"Oh, Dinah! Dinah! Look what you got!" cried Flossie. "Your things areall here on this chair," and the little girl led the fat cook overtoward it.
"Things fo' me? What yo'-all talkin' 'bout chile? Ole Dinah don't git noChristmas!" protested the jolly colored woman, laughing so that sheshook all over.
"Yes, you do get a Christmas, Dinah. Look here!" and Flossie showedwhere there were some useful presents for the cook,--large aprons, warmshoes, an umbrella, and a bright shawl that Dinah had been wanting for along time.
"What? All dem fo' me?" asked the surprised cook. "Good land a' massy! Iguess ole Santa Claus done gone an' made a beef-steak this time, suah!"
"No, there's no mistake! See, they've got your name on!" insistedFlossie. "See, Dinah!" and she led the cook over to the chair where thepresents were piled. There was no doubt of it, they were for Dinah, andnear them was another chair containing gifts for her husband, Sam. Hewould not be in until later, however. But Dinah saw a pair of rubberboots that would be very useful in the deep snow, and there were otherfine presents for Sam.
Bert and Nan were now looking at their things, and Mr. and Mrs. Bobbseycould be heard moving around upstairs, having decided that it wasuseless to lie abed longer now that the children were up.
"Come, come, Flossie and Freddie!" called Mrs. Bobbsey. "You must getdressed and then you can play as much as you like. I don't want you toget cold. If you do you can't go to Snow Lodge, remember!"
This was enough to cause the small Bobbseys to scamper upstairs. Flossiecarried her doll with her, and Freddie took along his fire engine, forthat was the gift he had most wanted, and for which he had begged andpleaded for weeks before Christmas.
Feeling that a little liberty might be allowed on this day, Mrs. Bobbseydid not insist on the younger children dressing completely until afterbreakfast, so in their warm robes and slippers Flossie and Freddie weresoon again examining their toys, discovering new delights every fewminutes.
Nan was busy inspecting her camera, while Bert was looking at a newpostage stamp album he had long wanted, when from the kitchen whereDinah was getting breakfast came a series of excited cries, mingled withlaughter and shouts of:
"Fire! Fire! Fire!"
"Mercy! What's that?" screamed Mrs. Bobbsey, turning pale.
Mr. Bobbsey made a rush for the kitchen. Nan and Bert, with Flossie,gathered about their mother. Then they heard Dinah calling:
"Stop it, Freddie! Stop it I done tell you! Does yo'-all want me t' gitsoaked? An' yo'-all will suah spoil them pancakes! Oh, now yo' hab doneit! Yo' squirted right in mah mouf! Oh mah goodness sakes alive!"
Mrs. Bobbsey looked relieved.
"Freddie must be up to some prank," she said.
"Freddie, stop it!" commanded Mr. Bobbsey, and then he was heard tolaugh. The others all went out to the kitchen and there they saw acurious sight.
Freddie, with his new toy fire engine, was pumping water on fat Dinah,who was laughing so heartily that she could do nothing to stop him. Mr.Bobbsey, too, was shouting with mirth, for the hose from the toy enginewas rather small, and threw only a thin, fine spray.
"I'm a fireman!" cried Freddie, "and I'm pretending Dinah is on fire.See her red apron--that's the fire!" and the little fellow turned thecrank of his engine harder than ever, throwing the tiny stream of waterall over the kitchen.
"That's enough, Freddie," said Mr. Bobbsey, when he could stop laughing.Dinah was still shaking with mirth, and Freddie, looking in the tank ofthe engine, said:
"There's only a little more water left. Can't I squirt that?"
Without waiting for permission Freddie made the water spurt from thenozzle of the hose. At that moment the door of the kitchen opened, tolet in Sam. With him came Snap, the trick dog, and the tiny stream ofwater caught Sam full in the face.
"Hello! What am dat?" he demanded in surprise. "Am de house leakin'?"
"It's my new fire engine!" cried Freddie. "I didn't mean to wet you,Sam, but I was playing Dinah was on fire!"
"Well, yo'-all didn't wet me so very much," replied Sam, with a grinthat showed his white teeth. "Dat suah am a fine fire engine!"
Snap sprang about, barking and wagging his tail, and, there being nomore water in Freddie's engine, he had to stop pumping, for which everyone was glad.
"You must not do that again," said Mrs. Bobbsey, when the excitement wasover, and laughing Dinah had dried her face, and put on another apron."You frightened us all, Freddie, and that is not nice, you know."
"I won't, Mamma, but I did want to try my fire engine."
"Then you must do it in the bath room where the water will do no harm.But come now, children, get your breakfast and then you will have thewhole day to look at your toys."
Breakfast was rather a hurried affair, and every now and then Flossieand Freddie would leave the table to see some of their gifts. Butfinally the meal was over and then came more joyous times. Sam receivedhis presents, and Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey had time to look at theirs, forSanta Claus had not forgotten them.
"And there's something for Snap, and for Snoop, too!" exclaimed Freddie."Snoop has a new ribbon with a silver bell, and Snap a new collar, withhis name on," and soon the cat and dog, newly adorned, were being putthrough some of their tricks.
If I tried to tell you all that went on in the Bobbsey house thatChristmas this book would contain nothing else. So I will only say thatthe holiday was one of the most delightful the twins ever remembered.
"And then to think, with all this, that we are to go to Sn
ow Lodge! It'sgreat!" cried Bert.
"I hope I can get some good pictures up there with my camera," said Nan."Will you show me how it works, Bert?"
"Yes, and we'll go out to-day and try it. I want to see how my newskates go, too. The lake is frozen and we'll have some fun."
The day was cold and clear. There had been a little fall of snow duringthe night, but not enough to spoil the skating, and soon Bert and Nanwere on their way to the lake, while Flossie and Freddie, afterinspecting all their presents over again, had gone out to play on theirsleds.
This gave Dinah and Mrs. Bobbsey time to get ready the big Christmasdinner, with the roast turkey, for Mr. Bobbsey had brought home one ofthe largest he could find.
While Flossie and Freddie were playing on the hill, a small one neartheir home, they heard a voice calling to them:
"Want a ride, youngsters?"
Looking up they saw Mr. Carford in his big sled. It was filled withbaskets and packages, and the Bobbsey twins guessed rightly that thegenerous old man was taking around his Christmas contributions to thepoor families.
"Yes, we'll go!" cried Freddie. "What shall we do with our sleds?" askedFlossie.
"Oh, Harry Stone will look after them; won't you Harry?" asked Freddie,"He can use mine, and his sister Jessie can use yours until we comeback, Flossie," and Freddie turned the coasters over to a poor boy andgirl who lived near the Bobbsey home. Harry and his sister weredelighted, and promised to take good care of the sleds.
"I won't take you far--only just around town," said Mr. Carford, as thetwins got in his sled. "When are you going up to my Snow Lodge?"
"We're going soon, I guess," answered Flossie. "I heard mamma and papatalking about it yesterday."
"And we're ever so much obliged to you for letting us have your place,"said Flossie. "Will you come up and see us while we're there? I've got adoll that can talk."
"And I'm going to take my fire engine along, so if the place gets onfire I can help put it out," exclaimed Freddie. "Will you come up?"
Mr. Carford started. He looked at the children in a strange sort of way,and then stared at the horses.
"No--no--I guess I won't go to Snow Lodge any more," he said slowly, andFlossie and Freddie were sorry they had asked him, for they rememberedthe story their father had told them about the sorrow that had come tothe aged man.
But the children soon forgot this in the joy of helping in thedistribution of the good things in the sled, and the happiness broughtto many poor families seemed to make up, in a way, for what Mr. Carfordhad suffered in the trouble over his nephew.
When all the gifts had been given out from the sled, Mr. Carford drovethe two younger Bobbsey twins back to the hill where they again had funcoasting.
Meanwhile Nan and Bert were having a good time on the ice. Nan's camerawas used to take a number of pictures, which the children hoped wouldturn out well.
While Bert was taking a picture of Nan, Charley Mason came skating up,and Bert, whose best chum he was, insisted that Charley get in thepicture also.
"My!" exclaimed Charley, as he saw Nan's camera, "that's a fine one!"
"I just got it to-day," said Nan, with a pleased smile. "I'm going totake a lot of pictures up at Snow Lodge."
"Snow Lodge," repeated Charley. "You mean that place Mr. Carford owns?"
"Yes," replied Bert. "He is going to let us all go up there for threeweeks or so."
"Say, that's funny," spoke Charley. "You'll have some other Lakeportfolks near you."
"Who else is going up to Snow Lodge?" asked Nan.
"Well, they're not exactly going to Snow Lodge," replied Charley, "but Iheard a while ago that Danny Rugg and his folks were going up to awinter camp near there. Mr. Rugg has bought a lumber tract in the woods,and he's going to see about having some of the trees cut. Danny isgoing, too. So you'll have him for a neighbor."
"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Nan, in dismay. "That spoils everything!"
"Well, if Danny tries any of his tricks I'll get after him!" exclaimedBert, firmly. But he looked anxious over the unwelcome news Charley hadbrought.