CHAPTER II
A TRAVELING MENAGERIE
It took some time for the people to get settled down again, for allhad enjoyed the fun with the duck. The boys wanted Freddie to let himout of the box, on the quiet, but Bert overheard the plot and put astop to it. Then, when the strange youngsters got better acquainted,and learned that the other box contained a little black kitten, theyinsisted on seeing it.
"We'll hold him tight," declared the boy from the back seat, "andnothing will happen to him."
"But you don't know Snoop," insisted Bert. "We nearly lost himcoming up in the train, and he's the biggest member of Freddie'smenagerie, so we have to take good care of him."
Mr. Bobbsey, too, insisted that the cat should not be taken out of thebox; so the boys reluctantly gave in.
"Now let us look around a little," suggested Mrs. Bobbsey, when quiethad come again, and only the rolling of the train and an occasionalshrill whistle broke in on the continuous rumble of the day's journey.
"Yes, Dinah can watch the things and we can look through the othercars," agreed Mr. Bobbsey. "We might find someone we know going downto the shore."
"Be awful careful of Snoop and Downy," cautioned Freddie, as Dinahtook up her picket duty. "Look out the boys don't get 'em," with awise look at the youngsters, who were spoiling for more sport of somekind.
"Dis yeah circus won't move 'way from Dinah," she laughed. "When Igoes on de police fo'ce I takes good care ob my beat, and you needn'tbe a-worryin', Freddie, de Snoopy kitty cat and de Downy duck will beheah when you comes back," and she nodded her wooly head in realearnest.
It was an easy matter to go from one car to the other as they werevestibuled, so that the Bobbsey family made a tour of the entiretrain, the boys with their father even going through the smoker intothe baggage car, and having a chance to see what their own trunklooked like with a couple of railroad men sitting on it.
"Don't you want a job?" the baggagemaster asked Freddie. "We need aman about your size to lift trunks off the cars for us."
Of course the man was only joking, but Freddie always felt like a realman and he answered promptly:
"Nope, I'm goin' to be a fireman. I've put lots of fires out already,besides gettin' awful hurted on the ropes with 'Frisky.'"
"Frisky, who is he?" inquired the men.
"Why, our cow out in Meadow Brook. Don't you know Frisky?" andFreddie looked very much surprised that two grown-up people had nevermet the cow that had given him so much trouble.
"Why didn't you bring him along?" the men asked further.
"Have you got a cow car?" Freddie asked in turn.
"Yes, we have. Would you like to see one?" went on one of therailroaders. "If your papa will bring you out on the platform at thenext stop, I'll show you how our cows travel."
Mr. Bobbsey promised to do this, and the party moved back to meet Nan,Flossie, and their mamma. Freddie told them at once about hispromised excursion to the cattle car, and, of course, the otherswanted to see, too.
"If we stop for a few minutes you may all come out," Mr. Bobbsey said."But it is always risky to get off and have to scramble to get backagain. Sometimes they promise us five minutes and give us two, takingthe other three to make up for lost time."
The train gave a jerk, and the next minute they drew up to a littleway station.
"Here we are, come now," called Mr. Bobbsey, picking Freddie up in hisarms, and telling the others to hurry after him.
"Oh, there go the boys from our car!" called Bert, as quite a party ofyoungsters alighted. "They must be going on a picnic; see their lunchboxes."
"I hope Snoop is all right," Freddie reflected, seeing all the lunchboxes that looked so much like Snoop's cage.
"Come on, little fellow," called the baggage man, "we only have a fewminutes."
Then they took Freddie to the rear car and showed him a big cage ofcows--it was a cage made of slates, with openings between, and throughthe openings could be seen the crowded cattle.
"Oh, I would never put Frisky in a place like that," declared Freddie;"he wouldn't have room to move."
"There is not much room, that's a fact," agreed the man. "But you seecows are not first-class passengers."
"But they are good, and know how to play, and they give milk," saidFreddie, speaking up bravely for his country friends. "What are yougoing to do with all of these cows?"
"I don't know," replied the man, not just wanting to talk aboutbeefsteak. "Maybe they're going out to the pasture."
One pretty little cow tried to put her head out through the bars, andBert managed to give her a couple of crackers from his pocket. Shenibbled them up and bobbed her head as if to say:
"Thank you, I was very hungry."
"They are awfully crowded," Nan ventured, "and it must be dreadful tobe packed in so. How do they manage to get a drink?"
"They will be watered to-night," replied the man, and then theBobbseys had to all hurry to get on the train again, for thelocomotive whistle had blown and the bell was ringing.
They found Dinah with her face pressed close to the window pane,enjoying the sights on the platform.
"I specked you was clean gone and left me," she laughed. "S'pose yousaw lots of circuses, Freddie?"
"A whole carful," he answered, "but, Dinah," he went on, lookingscared, "where's Snoop?"
The box was gone!
"Right where you left him," she declared. "I nebber left dis yeahspot, and nobody doan come ter steal de Snoopy kitty cat."
Dinah was crawling around much excited, looking for the missing box.Bert, Nan, and Flossie, of course, all rummaged about, and evenMr. and Mrs. Bobbsey joined in the search. But there was no box to befound.
"Oh, the boys have stoled my cat!" wailed Freddie. "I dust knowedthey would!" and he cried outright, for Snoop was a dear companion ofthe little fellow, and why should he not cry at losing his pet?
"Now wait," commanded his father, "we must not give up so easily.Perhaps the boys hid him some place."
"But suah's you lib I nebber did leab dis yeah seat," insisted Dinah,which was very true. But how could she watch those boys and keep herface so close to the window? Besides, a train makes lots of noise tohide boys' pranks.
"Now, we will begin a systematic search," said Mr. Bobbsey, who hadalready found out from the conductor and brakeman that they knewnothing about the lost box. "We will look in and under every seat.Then we will go through all the baggage in the hangers" (meaning theoverhead wire baskets), "and see if we cannot find Snoop."
The other passengers were very kind and all helped in the hunt. Theold lady who had thrown her hand bag at Downy thought she had seen aboy come in the door at the far end of the car, and go out againquickly, but otherwise no one could give any information that wouldlead to the discovery of the person or parties who had stolen Snoop.
All kinds of traveling necessities were upset in the search. Somejelly got spilled, some fresh country eggs were cracked, but everybodywas good-natured and no one complained.
Yet, after a thorough overhauling of the entire car there was no Snoopto be found!
"He's gone!" they all admitted, the children falling into tears, whilethe older people looked troubled.
"They could hardly have stolen him," Mr. Bobbsey reflected, "and theconductor is sure not one of those boys went in another car, for theyall left the train at Ramsley's."
"I don't care!" cried Freddie, aloud, "I'll just have every one ofthem arrested when we get to Auntie's. I knowed they had Snoop intheir boxes."
How Snoop could be "in boxes" and how the boys could be found atAuntie's were two much mixed points, but no one bothered Freddie aboutsuch trifles in his present grief.
"Why doan you call dat kitty cat?" suggested Dinah, for all this timeno one had thought of that.
"I couldn't," answered Freddie, "'cause he ain't here to call." Andhe went on crying.
"Snoop! Snoop! Snoop Cat!" called Dinah, but there was no familiar"me-ow" to answer her.
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"Now, Freddie boy," she insisted, "if dat cat is alibe he will answerif youse call him, so just you stop a-sniffing and come along. Dere'sa good chile," and she patted him in her old way. "Come wit Dinah andwe will find Snoop."
With a faint heart the little fellow started to call, beginning at thefront door and walking slowly along toward the rear.
"Stoop down now and den," ordered Dinah, "cause he might be hiding,you know."
Freddie had reached the rear door and he stopped.
"Now jist gib one more good call" said Dinah, and Freddie did.
"Snoop! Snoop!" he called.
"Me-ow," came a faint answer.
"Oh, I heard him!" cried Freddie.
"So did I!" declared Dinah.
Instantly all the other Bobbseys were on the scene.
"He's somewhere down here," said Dinah. "Call him, Freddie!"
"Snoop! Snoop!" called the boy again.
"Me-ow--me-ow!" came a distant answer.
"In the stove!" declared Bert, jerking open the door of the stove,which, of course, was not used in summer, and bringing out the poor,frightened, little cat.