CHAPTER II
DIGGING OUT
"Oh, Bert Bobbsey! look what you did," cried Nan.
She picked herself up from the barn floor, to which she had slid afterhaving come down with the pile of hay, with her brother, right whereFlossie and Freddie had been playing a moment before.
"Look what you did!" she cried again.
"I didn't do it any more than you did!" exclaimed Bert. "But where isFlossie? And where's Freddie?" He looked around, not seeing the smallertwins, and not having noticed exactly what had happened to them. "Whereare they, Nan?"
"Under the hay, and we've got to dig 'em out! I'll get the pitchfork.That's what Sam does when he gets the hay to feed the horse. I can digout Flossie and Freddie!" cried Nan.
She started to run across the barn floor, but was stopped by a call fromBert.
"Don't do that!" he said.
"What?" she asked.
"Don't get the pitchfork! It's sharp and might hurt Flossie and Freddie.I'll pull the hay off with my hands. You go and tell mother or Dinah!Somebody's got to help! There's 'most a whole load of hay on 'em Iguess!"
And indeed it was a large part of the pile of hay in the Bobbsey barnthat had slid from the mow when Bert jumped on it. And this hay nowcovered from sight the "little fireman" and the "little fat fairy," asDaddy Bobbsey called his two little twins.
"Yes, I'll go for Dinah!" cried Nan. "She knows how to dig under thehay, I guess!"
"And I'll start digging now," added Bert, as he began tossing aside thewisps of dried grass that covered his small brother and sister fromsight.
And while the rescue of Freddie and Flossie is being arranged for, Iwill take this chance to tell my new readers something of the fourchildren, about whom I am going to write in this book.
There are other books ahead of this one, and the first is named afterthe children. It is called "The Bobbsey Twins," and relates some of theearly adventures of Bert, Nan, Flossie and Freddie. Those are the namesof the twins, as you have already learned.
The Bobbsey family lived in an eastern city called Lakeport, at the headof Lake Metoka. Mr. Bobbsey was in the lumber business and had an officenear his lumberyard, which was "down town" as the children called it.
Now I'll tell you just a little about the four children, their friendsand something about the other books, and then I'll get on with thestory, which I hope you will wish to read.
There were two sets of twins, you see. Bert and Nan were the older. Theyeach had dark brown hair, brown eyes and were rather tall for their age,and not so very fat; though, of late, with all the good times they hadhad in the country at Blueberry Island and on the deep, blue sea, theolder twins were getting stouter. "Fatter," Freddie called it.
Flossie and Freddie were just the opposite of Bert and Nan. The smallerpair of twins were short and stout, and each had light hair, and blueeyes that looked at you, sometimes, in the funniest way you can imagine.
Besides Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey there was Dinah, the fat, good-naturedcolored cook, who knew how to make more kinds of cake than you could eatin one day. And then there was Sam Johnson, her husband. Sam workedabout the Bobbsey house and barn, looked after the horse and sometimesdrove the automobile, though he said he liked a horse better. But theBobbsey family liked the automobile, so the horse was used down in thelumberyard more often than to take Bert, Nan, Flossie and Freddie for aride.
The Bobbsey twins had many friends and relations, but I will not take upyour time, now, telling you about them. I must not forget, however, tomention Snoop and Snap. Snoop was a fine, big cat, and he was named"Snoop" because he always seemed to be "snooping" into everything, asDinah said. Snoop didn't do that to be bad, he just wanted to find outabout things. Once he wanted to find out what was inside an empty tincan, and so he stuck his head in and he couldn't get it out until Berthelped him.
Snap was the Bobbsey dog, and he wasn't called "Snap" because he wouldsnap at you. No indeed! It was because, when Bert put a cracker on hisdog's nose, the animal would "snap" it off with a jerk of his head andeat it--eat the cracker I mean. That was one reason he was called"Snap." But there were other reasons, too.
And so the Bobbsey twins lived in a fine house in a pleasant city andthey had lots of fun. Those of you who have read the other books knowthat. They went to the country and to the seashore, to visit UncleWilliam at the latter place, and Uncle Daniel Bobbsey in the former.
Of course the Bobbsey twins went to school, and there is a book tellingabout them there, and the fun and adventures they had. Later on theywent to "Snow Lodge," and after an exciting winter, they spent part ofthe summer on a houseboat.
When Bert, Nan, Flossie and Freddie went to Meadow Brook, which was thecountry home of Uncle Daniel, the twins never expected very much tohappen. But it did, and they talked about it for a long time. Then theycame home to have more good times, and, later on, went to a great city.I haven't space, here, to tell you all that happened. You must get thebook and read it for yourself.
After that they spent a summer on Blueberry Island, and there weregypsies on the island. Some strange things happened, but the Bobbseytwins enjoyed every hour of their stay, and did not want to come home.
But they had to, of course, and still more strange adventures awaitedthem. Those you may read about in the book just before this. It iscalled: "The Bobbsey Twins on the Deep, Blue Sea," and in it is relatedhow the family went on a voyage to an island off the coast of Florida,to rescue a poor, sick boy who had been left there by mistake.
Now they were home once more.
It was almost time for school to open for the fall term, and the twinswere playing in the barn, making the most of the last days of theirvacation, when the accident happened about the hay, as I have told you.
"Flossie! Freddie! Are you under there?" called Bert, anxiously, as hethrew aside armful after armful of the dried grass. "Are you down thereunder the hay?"
He paused a moment to listen for an answer, but none came. If Flossieand Freddie were there, either they did not hear him or they were sosmothered by the hay that they could not answer.
"Oh, I hope nothing has happened to them!" exclaimed Bert, and he begandigging away faster than before.
Certainly it was a large pile of hay to have fallen on two littlechildren. But then the hay was soft, and Bert, himself, had often beenburied under a pile in the field. It had not hurt, but the dust had madehim sneeze.
Faster and faster Bert dug away at the hay. He heard feet pattering onthe barn floor back of him, and, turning, saw Snap, the big dog, comerunning in.
"Oh, Snap!" cried Bert, "Flossie and Freddie are under the hay! Help medig 'em out!"
"Bow wow!" barked Snap, just as if he understood. Of course he didn'treally know what had happened, but he saw Bert digging away and Snaphimself knew enough to do that. Often enough he had dug up, with hisfront paws, a bone he had buried in the hard ground. This digging in thesoft hay was easier than that.
So Snap began to paw aside the hay, just as Bert was doing, and whileboy and dog were doing this into the barn came fat Dinah, with Nanrunning ahead of her.
"Whut's dish yeah has happened, Bert? Whut's all dish yeah I heah Nansay?" demanded the black cook. "Whut you done gone an' done to yo' l'ilbroth' an' sistah? De pooh l'il honey lambs!"
"I didn't do anything!" declared Bert. "I was swinging on a rope, overthe haymow, and so was Nan. And Flossie and Freddie were playing on thebarn floor under the mow. I fell on the hay and so did Nan, and a wholelot of it slid down and fell on top of Flossie and Freddie and--and--nowthey're down under there, I guess!"
"Good land ob massy!" exclaimed Dinah. "Dat suah is a lot to happen tomah poor l'il lambkins! Where is you, Flossie? Where is you, Freddie?"she cried.
There was no answer.
"Oh, Dinah! do get them out," begged Nan.
"I will, honey! I will!" exclaimed the colored woman.
"Shall I go to get Sam?" Nan wanted to know. "Mother isn't at home," sheadded to Bert. "She went over to
Mrs. Black's. Oh, maybe we can't everget Flossie and Freddie out!"
"Hush yo' talk laik dat!" cried Dinah. "Co'se we git 'em out! We kin doit. No need to git Sam. Come on now, Bert an' Nan! Dig as fast as yo'kin make yo' hands fly!"
Dinah bent over and began tossing aside the hay as Bert had been doing.Nan also helped, and Snap--well he meant to help, but he got in the waymore than he did anything else, and Bert tried to send his dog out, butSnap would not go.
Faster and faster worked Dinah, Nan and Bert, and soon the big pile ofhay, which had fallen on Flossie and Freddie grew smaller. It was beingstacked on another part of the floor.
"Maybe I'd better go and telephone to daddy!" suggested Nan, when thehay pile had been made much smaller. "You don't see anything of themyet, do you Dinah?" she asked anxiously.
"No, not yet, honey! But I soon will. We's 'most to de bottom ob deheap. No use worritin' yo' pa. We'll git Freddie and Flossie out allright!"
Bert was tossing aside the hay so fast that his arms seemed like thespokes of a wheel going around. He felt that it was partly his faultthat the hay had fallen on his little brother and sister.
"Now we'll git 'em!" cried Dinah, after a bit. "I see de barn flo' inone place. Come on out, chilluns!" she cried. "Come on out, Flossie an'Freddie! We's dug de hay offen yo' now! Come on out!"
Indeed the hay pile was now so small at the place where it had slid fromthe mow, that it would not have hidden Snap, to say nothing of coveringthe two Bobbsey twins.
But something seemed to be wrong. There were no little fat legs orchubby arms sticking out. The little Bobbsey twins were not in sight,though nearly all the hay had been moved aside.
Bert, Nan and Dinah gazed at the few wisps remaining. Then, in a queervoice Nan said:
"Why--why! They're not there!"