CHAPTER VII
THE CRYING BOY
There had been so much excitement over the strange "animal" which Snoophad under the table that, for a time, the Bobbsey twins had forgottenabout their father's coat having been taken at the picnic. Nor had theyremembered about the missing lap robe. But now, as Nan said this, everyone--except perhaps the smaller twins--thought about the things thatwere gone.
"Oh, that's so!" exclaimed Bert, following what his sister said. "Maybethe policeman has come to bring back your lost coat, Daddy!"
"I hope he has," said Mr. Bobbsey. "Not only do I not want to lose thecoat, for a suit of clothes isn't of much use without a coat, but Idon't like to lose the money and papers."
"No, sah, Mr. Bobbsey, de p'liceman didn't hab no coat," said Dinah.
"He didn't?" remarked Mr. Bobbsey.
"No, sah. He didn't."
"Well then, I can't imagine what he wants," went on the father of theBobbsey twins. "Ask him to come in, Dinah."
In came the policeman. He was one the children knew, from having oftenseen him pass the house.
"Good evening, Mr. Bobbsey," said the officer, the light flashing on hisbrass buttons. "I came up to see about a lap robe stolen from yourauto."
"Did you find it?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey. "I'm so glad! And did you findMr. Bobbsey's coat, also?"
"Why, no, Mrs. Bobbsey, I didn't," answered Policeman Murphy. "I didn'tknow about any lost coat. I was just sent up from the police station toinquire about the robbery of a lap robe. Somebody telephoned down that apoliceman was wanted because a lap robe had been stolen. That's why Icame up--because of the telephone message."
"Telephone!" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey. "I didn't telephone for you, Mr.Murphy."
"Neither did I," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "Perhaps it was one of thechildren," and she looked at Bert and Nan.
The older Bobbsey twins shook their heads. Flossie and Freddie, thoughthey knew how to telephone, would hardly have thought of calling up thepolice. But they were asked about it.
"Nope, we didn't do it," Flossie said. "Though we likes p'licemans;don't we, Freddie?"
"Yeppie," he answered sleepily. "When I grows up I'm goin' be ap'licemans or a firesmans--I forget which."
"He's sleepy," laughed the officer. "But what about this, Mr. Bobbsey?Some one must have telephoned."
"Yes, of course. I wonder if it could have been Mr. Blipper or that ladwho called himself Bob Guess?"
"Who are they?" the officer asked.
"Mr. Blipper is a man who owns a merry-go-round he takes to fairs andcircuses. He passed the picnic grounds where we were to-day. He's on hisway to the Bolton County Fair. He had with him a boy named BobGuess--called that because the lad is an orphan and they had to 'guess'at his name. Soon after this Blipper and his outfit left, I missed mycoat, and, coming home, we found the lap robe gone. I was going to rideafter him, but we had a little excitement here, and I haven't had achance. Then you came along and----"
The sound of steps was heard on the side porch, and in came Sam, quiteexcited.
"'Scuse me!" he murmured, as he entered. "Oh, de p'liceman done come!"he exclaimed. "He's heah! I'm glad!"
"Did you expect him?" asked Mr. Bobbsey.
"Yes, sah, Mr. Bobbsey, I did! When de lap robe was gone I t'ought maybeyou t'ink I might 'a' been careless like, an' let some chicken t'ievesin. So I telephoned fo' a p'liceman to come an' see if he could cotch deburglar!"
"Oh, Sam, you didn't need to do that!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey. "We knowit wasn't your fault that the lap robe was taken, any more than it wasthat Mr. Bobbsey's coat was stolen."
"Of course not!" echoed her husband.
"Well, I t'ought better we have a p'liceman," murmured Sam.
"I don't know what there is for him to do," said Mr. Bobbsey. "As nearlyas I can figure it out, my coat was stolen at the picnic grounds and thelap robe was taken about the same time."
"It was," agreed Mrs. Bobbsey. "And I think that Blipper--or perhaps BobGuess--had something to do with both thefts."
"It might be," replied the officer. "Those traveling show people aren'tvery careful, sometimes. I'll report back to the chief and see what hesays. If we get sight of this merry-go-round crowd, Mr. Bobbsey, we'llstop them and ask them about your coat and the robe."
"Thank you, I wish you would. But I don't imagine you'll see them. Theyare on their way to Bolton, and we shall be there ourselves next week,so we can make some inquiries."
Officer Murphy left, finding there was nothing he could do. Flossie andFreddie were carried up to bed, and Nan danced about the room, singing:
"We're going to the fair! We're going to the fair! We're going to theBolton County Fair!"
And Bert echoed:
"Maybe we'll find daddy's coat when we get there!"
Then, tired but happy over their fun at the picnic and too sleepy toworry much over the lost articles, the Bobbsey twins at last went tobed.
As their parents had said, school would not open as early that fall asin other years, because some rebuilding work was being done in a few ofthe rooms. So there was time to go to Meadow Brook, and from there tovisit Bolton, a few miles away, where the big fair was being held.
"Do you really think we can go, Mother?" asked Nan, the next day.
"I don't see why not. Your father seems to have made up his mind to it."
"Well, I hope he doesn't change it, as he does sometimes," said Bert,with a laugh. "They're going to have airships and a balloon at thefair, Charlie Mason says, and maybe I can go up in the balloon. Wouldn'tthat be great, Nan?"
"I'm not going up in any balloon!"
"I am!" decided Bert, as if that was all there was to it.
"An' I'm going to ride on a lion!" cried Flossie.
"So'm I!" chimed in her brother Freddie.
Uncle Daniel Bobbsey and his wife Sarah, with their son Harry, lived atMeadow Brook Farm. The Bobbsey twins had been there more than once, asthose who have read the other books of this series will remember. Andnow it was proposed to go there again.
"But we'll be at the fair more than we will be at Meadow Brook, sha'n'twe?" asked Nan of her father.
"Well, sort of betwixt and between," he answered, with a laugh.
Uncle Daniel having been written to, said he would be delighted to havehis brother and his brother's family come out for the remainder of thesummer and early fall. And in about a week all preparations were made.
The trip was to be made in the Bobbsey's big auto, and would take abouta day. By starting early in the morning Meadow Brook Farm could bereached by night. From there it was only a short distance to Boltonwhere, each year, a big fair was held.
"And if I see that Bob Guess I'll make him tell where daddy's coat is!"declared Bert.
"And the lap robe, too!" added Nan.
It was a fine, sunny day when the start was made. Into the auto piledthe Bobbsey twins, with boxes and baskets of lunch.
"It's like another picnic!" laughed Nan, as she saw Bert piling away thegood things to eat.
"Hab a good time, honey lambs!" called fat Dinah, as she and her husbandstood on the steps, waving good-by.
"Take good care of Snoop and Snap!" begged Nan.
"We will!" promised Sam.
Snap, the dog, wanted to come along, but as he could not very well belooked after on this trip he had to be left behind, much to his sorrow.He howled dismally as the auto went down the road.
Not very much happened on the way to Meadow Brook. Once a tire waspunctured and Mr. Bobbsey had to stop to put on a spare one. But thishappened near a garage, so he had a man from there do the work, while heand his wife, with the twins, went into a little grove of trees and atelunch.
"Be careful of your coat!" warned Mrs. Bobbsey, as her husband took itoff and hung it on a tree while he built a fire to heat the water fortea.
"Oh, no one is going to steal this one!" he said. "Anyhow, it's an oldone. But there's no one here to take it. No Mr. Blipper or Bob Guessaround now."
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sp; "Well, don't forget, and go off, leaving it hang on the tree," warnedhis wife.
"I won't," said Mr. Bobbsey.
A fire was made, and as Mrs. Bobbsey was sitting with her back against astump, comfortably sipping her tea, she heard the sound of crying. AsBert and Nan, with Flossie and Freddie, were gathering flowers not faraway, Mrs. Bobbsey could see that it was none of her twins who wassobbing.
But the crying kept up, and she looked around to see whence it came. Mr.Bobbsey was busy packing up the lunch things, for there was enough foodleft to serve a little tea around five o'clock, since Meadow Brook Farmwould not be reached before seven o'clock that evening, on account ofthe delay over the tire.
"Who is that crying, Dick?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey.
"Crying? Why, I don't hear--yes, I do, too!" her husband added, as thesound of sobs came to his ears. He looked to make sure his own childrenwere all right and then glanced about.
As he did so there came from a little clump of trees, not far from thegrove where the Bobbseys had eaten lunch, a ragged boy, who seemed inpain or distress, for he was crying very hard.
"Oh, the poor lad!" said Mrs. Bobbsey in a kind voice. "Go see what thematter is, Dick! He is in trouble of some sort! I wonder who he is?"
"Yes, without doubt, the lad's in trouble. We'll see what we can do,"answered the father of the twins.
The crying boy walked slowly toward the Bobbsey family, and now thetwins, hearing his sobs, looked up in wonder from theirflower-gathering.