CHAPTER II
THE WASHINGTON CHILDREN
THERE was no doubt of it. Flossie and Freddie were not under the pile ofhay that had fallen on them. The hay had all been cast aside now, so faraway from the place where it had fallen that it could not serve for ahiding place. And Bert and Nan could see the bare floor of the barn.
"Where are they?" asked Bert, looking in surprise at Nan. "Where areFlossie and Freddie?"
"Dat's whut I wants to know!" declared Dinah. "Where is dey? Has yo' allbeen playin' a trick on ole Dinah?" and she looked sadly at Bert andNan.
"Playing a trick?" cried Nan.
"We didn't play any trick!" exclaimed Bert. "Flossie and Freddie weredown under that hay!"
"But they're not there now!" went on Nan.
"No," said Dinah, as she poked aside some of the wisps of hay with herfoot. "Dey isn't heah now, an' where is dey? Dat's whut I'se askin' yo'all, Bert an' Nan? Where is dem two little lambkins?"
Bert looked at Nan and Nan looked at Bert. It was a puzzle. What hadbecome of Flossie and Freddie between the time they disappeared underthe sliding pile of hay and now, when it had been cleared away toanother part of the barn.
"I saw them playing on the floor," said Nan. "Then, when Bert and I letgo the ropes and jumped in the mow, a lot of hay came down all at once,and then I--I didn't see Flossie and Freddie any more. They surely wereunder the hay!"
"Yes," agreed Bert, "they were. But they aren't here now. Maybe theyfell down through the floor!" he added hopefully. "The cow stable isunder this part of the barn."
"Yes, but there isn't any hole in the barn floor here," said Nan. "Andthe cracks aren't big enough for Flossie and Freddie to slip through."
"No, dey didn't go t'rough de flo', dat's suah!" exclaimed Dinah. "It'smighty queer! I guess yo' all had best go call Sam," she went on to Nan."Mebby he know something 'bout dish yeah barn dat I don't know. Go gitSam an'--"
Just then there came a joyous shout from the big barn doors behind Nan,Bert and Dinah.
"Here we are! Here we are! Oh, we fooled you! We fooled you!" cried twochildish voices, and there stood the missing Flossie and Freddie, hay intheir fluffy, golden hair, hay hanging down over their blue eyes, andhay stuck over their clothes.
"Here we are!" cried Freddie. "Did you was lookin' for us?"
"I should say we did was!" cried Bert, laughing, now, at Freddie's queerway of speaking, for, though the little fireman usually spoke quiteproperly, he sometimes went wrong.
"Where have you been?" asked Nan. "And how did you get out?"
"We crawled out from under the hay when it fell on us," explainedFlossie. "Then Freddie says let's play hide and coop and we climbed upthe little ladder and went up in the haymow and then we slid out of thelittle window and got outside the barn and then we just hid an' waitedto see what you'd do." By this time Flossie was out of breath, havingsaid all this without pause.
"But you didn't come after us," said Freddie, "and so we came to seewhere you were. And we fooled you, didn't we? We fooled you bad."
"I should say you did!" cried Bert. "We were digging the hay away. Ithought you'd be away down underneath."
"We were," went on Flossie. "But we wiggled out, an' you didn't see uswiggle."
"No," agreed Nan, "we didn't see you. But, oh, I'm so glad you are allright!" she cried, and she hugged Flossie in her arms. "You aren't hurt,are you?"
"No, but I was tickled," said Flossie. "The hay did tickle me in mynose, and I wanted to sneeze."
"But I wouldn't let her!" explained Freddie. "I held my hand over hernose so she couldn't sneeze."
"I tried hard so I wouldn't," said Flossie, "and Freddie helped me. Itfeels awful funny not to sneeze when you want to. It tickles!"
"And the hay tickled me," went on Freddie. "It's ticklin' me now.There's some down my back," and he wiggled and twisted as he stood inthe middle of the barn floor. Snap, the big dog, put his head to oneside, and cocked up his ears, looking at the two smaller twins as ifasking what it was all about, and what the digging in the hay was allfor.
"Well, it's mighty lucky laik dat it wasn't no wuss!" exclaimed fatDinah, with a sigh of relief. "I suah was clean skairt out ob mah sebensenses when yo' come runnin' into mah kitchen, Nan, an' says as howFlossie an' Freddie was buried under de hay!"
"And they were!" said Nan. "I saw the hay go down all over them."
"So did I!" added Bert.
"But we wiggled out and hid so we could fool you!" laughed Freddie."Didn't you see us crawl out?"
"No," answered Bert, "I didn't. If I had I wouldn't have dug so hard."
"Ouch! Something tickles me awful!" complained Freddie, twisting aroundas though he wanted to work his way out of his clothes. "Maybe there's ahay-bug down my back!" he went on.
"Good land of massy!" cried Dinah, catching him up in her arms. "Yo'come right in de house wif me, honey lamb, an' ole Dinah'll undress yo'an' git at de bug--if dey is one!"
"I guess we've had enough fun in the barn," said Nan. "I don't want toplay here any more."
"I guess we'll have to put back the hay we knocked down," said Bert.That was one of the Bobbsey rules--to put things back the way they hadbeen at first, after their play was done.
"Yes, we must put the hay up in the mow again," agreed Nan. "Daddywouldn't like to have us leave it on the floor. I'll help you, Bert,'cause I helped knock it down."
Dinah led the two younger twins off to the kitchen, with a promise of amolasses cookie each and a further promise to Freddie that she wouldtake out of his clothes whatever it was tickling his back--a hay-bug orsome of the dried wisps of grass.
Bert and Nan had not long been working at stacking the hay back in placebefore Sam came in. He had heard what had happened from Dinah, his wife,and he said, most kindly:
"Run along an' play, Bert an' Nan! I'll put back de hay fo' yo' all.'Tain't much, an' it won't take me long."
"Thank you, Sam!" said Bert. "It's more fun playing outdoors to-day thanstacking hay in a barn."
"Are you very sure you don't mind doing it, Sam?" asked Nan, for shewanted to "play fair."
"Oh, I don't mind!" exclaimed the good-natured Sam. "Hop along!"
"Didn't you ever like to play outdoors, Sam?" questioned Bert, as he andNan started to leave the barn.
"Suah I did," answered Sam. "When I was a youngster like you I loved togo fishin' and swimmin' in the ole hole down by the crick."
"Oh, Sam, did you like to swim?" went on the Bobbsey boy quickly.
"I suah did, Bert. Down in our pa'ts I was considered the bestes'swimmer there."
"Some day I'm going to see you, Sam," declared Bert. "Maybe you couldteach me some new strokes."
"I doan know about that, Bert. You see, I ain't quite so limber as whatI used to be when I was your age or jest a little older. Now you jesthop along, both of you, and enjoy yourselves."
So Nan and Bert went out to find some other way of having fun. Theywanted to have all the good times they could, as school would soon beginagain.
"But we'll have a vacation at Thanksgiving and Christmas and NewYear's," said Nan, as she and her brother talked it over.
"Thanksgiving's a long way off," said Bert, with a sigh.
The two children were walking along the side path toward the front yardwhen suddenly Snap, their dog, gave a savage growl. It was the kind ofgrowl he never gave unless he happened to be angry, and Bert knew, rightaway, something must be wrong.
"What is it, Snap? A tramp?" asked the boy, looking around. Often Snapwould growl this way at tramps who might happen to come into the yard.Now there may be good tramps, as well as bad ones, but Snap neverstopped to find out which was which. He just growled, and if that didn'tscare away the tramp then Snap ran at him. And no tramp ever stood afterthat. He just ran away.
But now neither Bert nor Nan could see any tramp, either in the yard orin the street in front of the house. Snap, though, kept on growling deepdown in his throat, and then, suddenly, the children saw what the
matterwas. A big dog was digging a hole under the fence to get into theBobbsey yard. The gate was closed, and though the dog might have jumpedthe fence, he didn't. He was digging a hole underneath. And Snap sawhim. That's why Snap growled.
"Oh, Bert! Look!" cried Nan.
As she spoke the dog managed to get through the hole he had dug, andinto the Bobbsey yard he popped. But he did not stay there long. Beforehe could run toward Bert and Nan, if, indeed, he had that notion, Snaphad leaped toward the unwelcome visitor.
Snap growled and barked in such a brave, bold way that the other doggave one long howl, and then back through the hole he wiggled his way,faster than he had come in. But fast as he wiggled out, he was not quickenough, for Snap nipped the end of the big dog's tail and there wasanother howl.
"Good boy!" cried Bert to his dog, as Snap came back to him, wagging histail, having first made sure, however, that the strange dog was runningdown the street. "Good, old Snap!"
And Snap wagged his tail harder than ever, for he liked to be told hehad been good and had done something worth while.
"I wonder what that dog wanted?" asked Nan.
"I don't know," answered Bert. "He was a strange one. But he didn't staylong!"
"Not with our Snap around!" laughed Nan.
The two older Bobbsey twins were wondering what they could do next tohave a good time, when they heard their mother's voice calling to themfrom the side porch. She had come back from a little visit to a ladydown the street, and had heard all about the accident to Flossie andFreddie.
"Ho, Nan! Ho, Bert! I want you!" called Mrs. Bobbsey.
"I guess she's going to scold us for making the hay slide on Flossie andFreddie," said Bert, rather anxiously.
"Well, we couldn't help it," replied his sister. "We didn't know it wasso slippery. Yes, Mother; we're coming!" she answered, as Mrs. Bobbseycalled again.
But, to the relief of Nan and Bert, their mother did not scold them. Shejust said:
"You must be a little more careful when you're playing where Flossie andFreddie are. They are younger than you, and don't so well know how tolook out for themselves. You must look out for them. But now I want youto go down to daddy's office."
"What do you want us to do?" asked Nan.
"Here is a letter that he ought to have right away," went on Mrs.Bobbsey. "It came to the house by mistake. It should have gone todaddy's lumber office, but the postman left it while I was out, andDinah was out in the barn with you children, so she could not tell himto carry it on down town. So I wish you'd take it to daddy. He has beenexpecting it for some time. It's about some business, and I don't wantto open the letter and telephone what's in it. But if you two will justrun down with it--"
"Of course we will!" cried Bert. "It'll be fun!"
"And may we stay a little while?" asked Nan.
"Yes, if you don't bother daddy. Here is the letter."
A little later Nan and Bert were in their father's office. The clerksknew the children and smiled at them, and the stenographer, who wroteMr. Bobbsey's letters on the clicking typewriter machine, took the twinsthrough her room into their father's private office.
As the door opened, Bert and Nan saw a strange man talking to Mr.Bobbsey. But what interested them more than this was the sight of twochildren--a boy and a girl about their own age--in their father'sprivate office. The boy and girl were sitting on chairs, looking at thevery same lumber books--those with pictures of big woods in them--thatNan and Bert often looked at themselves.
Mr. Bobbsey glanced up as the door opened. He saw his two older twins,and, smiling at them, said:
"Come in, Nan and Bert. I want you to meet these Washington children!"