CHAPTER VI
AUNT EMELINE
When Bert Bobbsey reached home that afternoon, having stopped his playon the lumber piles with Charley and Danny earlier than usual, thesmall boy saw his father and mother talking together on the sideporch. Nan, Nellie Parks, and Grace Lavine were down in the yard underthe shady grapevine playing.
"Well, I don't see anything for us to do except to go out West," Bertheard his father saying.
"Oh, do you really mean that?" cried the boy. "Are we going out Westwhere there are Indians and cowboys and ponies and mountains and--andeverything?"
His eyes were wide open with excitement.
"I didn't think you were around, or I wouldn't have spoken so loudly,"said Mr. Bobbsey, with a laugh.
"But, tell me, Daddy! Are we really going out West?" asked Bert. "I'vealways wanted to go there, and I guess Nan has, too."
"Oh, you can depend upon it, Nan will always want to go where you go,and so will Flossie and Freddie, for that matter!" said Mrs. Bobbsey,with a laugh.
Bert had passed his small brother and sister as he entered the yard.They were playing with a little cart of Freddie's, and, as you caneasily guess, Freddie was pretending he was a fireman.
"When are we going?" asked Bert. "Can't we go right away? School isalmost over, and I know I'm going to pass 'cause the teacher said so.Nan is, too!"
"My, but you are getting in a hurry!" said Mr. Bobbsey. "We have onlyjust begun to talk of the West and here you are stopping school togo."
"But what is it all about?" Bert went on. "Why do you have to go outWest, Daddy? Aren't you going to have the lumberyard any more?"
"Oh, indeed I am, and perhaps a larger one than before if things turnout the way I expect," answered Mr. Bobbsey. "But here comes Nan," hewent on. "I think we might as well tell her and Bert all about it," hesaid to his wife. "If we go out West Bert and Nan will have to makebelieve they are almost grown up."
"What's it all about?" asked Nan, as she sat down on the steps besideher brother. Grace and Nellie had gone home to help their mothers getsupper.
"Well, to begin at the beginning," said Mr. Bobbsey, "I had a letterto-day from some lawyers out West. Children, your mother has been lefta cattle ranch and a lumber tract by a relative who died and made hiswill in your mother's favor."
"A cattle ranch?" cried Nan. "Oh, I know what that is! We have apicture of one in our geography! There's a lot of cattle in thepicture, and cowboys are catching them with lassos."
"Yes, that's one of the things that happen on a ranch," said Mr.Bobbsey. "Well, your mother now owns one of those."
"She does?" cried Nan with wide-open eyes. "Oh, what are you going todo with it?"
"I'm going to be a cowboy on it!" decided Bert, as quickly as that."I've always wanted to be a cowboy, and now I'm going to. When can Igo on your ranch, Mother?" and jumping up eagerly he stood beside her,waiting for her answer.
"Oh, but, dear boy! I don't know anything about it yet," said Mrs.Bobbsey. "The letter has just come, and your father and I were talkingover the news when you came. Poor Uncle Watson! I never knew him verywell, though I had heard he was quite rich. But I never expected hewould leave me his fine ranch, to say nothing of a lumber tract."
"What's a lumber tract?" Nan asked. "Is it a lumberyard like yours,Daddy?"
"No, my dear," answered Mr. Bobbsey. "A lumber tract is what youchildren would call big woods. It is a place where trees grow that maybe cut down and made into lumber. All the boards and planks in mylumberyard were once big trees, growing out West, or up North, or downSouth. Now it seems that your mother's uncle owned a big forest oftrees where lumber is cut, as well as owning a cattle ranch."
"And has he left them both to you?" asked Bert.
"Yes," his mother answered. "And the letter from the lawyers who madeUncle Watson's will tells me that I had better come out to look afterthe property that has been left to me."
"Are you going?" Nan wanted to know.
"I think I must," Mrs. Bobbsey replied. "It isn't every day I have somuch property given me. I must go out West to look after it. But daddyis coming with me, so I'll be all right."
"Hurray!" cried Bert, tossing his hat into the air.
"What are you 'hurrahing' about?" asked his father.
"'Cause I'm going to be a cowboy on mother's ranch!" answered Bert."Whoop-la! I'll be a lumberman, too, part of the time!"
"Now wait a minute, Son," said Mr. Bobbsey gently. "I don't want tospoil your fun, but we can't take you out West with us."
"You can't?" cried Bert. "Why, I thought we could all go--Nan,Flossie, Freddie, everybody!"
"No, I don't see how we can take you children," said Mr. Bobbsey,while his wife also shook her head. "You see we have to leave in ahurry, and it would not do to take you youngsters out of school. Wewill not be gone longer than we can help."
"And have we got to stay here all alone?" asked Nan, and there was asuspicion of tears in her voice.
"You won't mind staying here," said her mother. "There will be Dinahto cook for you and to look after Freddie and Flossie. Sam will bearound the house all the while, and there will be Mr. Hickson, too.Besides this we have a surprise for you."
"What is it?" cried Bert. "Are you going to take us after all? Oh, sayyou are! Tell me you were only fooling when you said we would have tostay here all alone!"
"No, I wasn't fooling," replied his mother. "I don't really see how wecan take you children West with us. But the surprise is this. I amgoing to ask Aunt Emeline to come and stay with you, to keep house foryou while your father and I are away. Aunt Emeline will come."
"Oh, Aunt Emeline!" gasped Nan.
"Aunt Emeline!" cried Bert. "Why she--she--"
Then he stopped short. He knew what he had been going to say was notpolite.
"Aunt Emeline will be very kind to you," went on Mrs. Bobbsey. "I willgo in and write to her now, asking her to come."
"And I must go in and telephone," said Mr. Bobbsey. "If I am to goWest I shall have a lot of work to do to get ready."
Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey entered the house, leaving Nan and Bert sittingout on the steps. For a moment or two the Bobbsey twins said nothing.They could hear Flossie and Freddie in the front yard laughingtogether as they played their games. Then Bert looked at Nan.
"Aunt Emeline!" he said, in a strange voice.
"Aunt Emeline!" responded Nan, and she sighed.
"I'll have to wipe my feet three times every time I come into thehouse once!" went on Bert, in a grumbly voice. "She'll always belooking at my hands to see if they're clean and--and--Oh, I don't wantAunt Emeline to come!" he exclaimed.
"She never likes to have me run," said Nan, and her voice was gloomy."She won't want me to have the other girls in here to play up in theattic, and she doesn't believe in eating cookies between meals!"
"It's going to be awful--terrible!" exclaimed Bert. "I know what I'mgoing to do!" he declared desperately.
"What?" asked Nan, in a frightened sort of voice.
"I'm going to run away, like Mr. Hickson's boys did!" Bert went on."You can run away with me if you want to, Nan!" he added. "I'm goingto be a cowboy and you can be the cook at the ranch."
"What ranch?" asked Nan.
"The one mother is going to get by Uncle Watson's will," explained herbrother. "That's where I'm going to run to. I wouldn't run away tojust any old place, but mother and father won't mind if I run off toour own ranch. They'll be glad to see me. Will you come, Nan?"
His sister shook her head.
"No," she answered. "Aunt Emeline is terrible, but she isn't badenough to run away from, and maybe she'll be different now."
"She can't ever be any different," declared Bert. "I guess she meansto be kind and good, but, say, a fellow can't be always washing hishands and wiping his feet!"
"And a girl's got to run and romp sometimes," added Nan. "But we'llhave to do as father and mother want us to, I guess."
"Oh, I s'pose so!" agreed Bert. "Well, maybe I won'
t run away if youaren't coming with me. But I'd like to!" he said.
Flossie and Freddie heard something of the plans. They did notremember Aunt Emeline very well, though Bert and Nan easily recalledthe queer old lady, who really was very particular when it came tochildren. She never had had any of her own, and perhaps this made adifference.
At first Flossie and Freddie had clamored to be taken out West withtheir father and mother, as Bert and Nan had done. But when told theymust stay at home and help Bert and Nan keep house, they seemed to besatisfied. They were some years younger than the older Bobbsey twins.
"I'll put out the fire if our house starts to burn while you're away,"Freddie promised.
"There'll not be much danger of fire with Aunt Emeline here to lookafter things," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "I wouldn't leave my children withevery one, but I know they'll be safe with Aunt Emeline," she said toDinah.
"Yassum, dey's suah gwine to be _safe!_" declared the fat, jollycolored cook. "She suah will look after 'em! But will dey gets enoughto _eat?_ Dat's whut I'se askin' yo'!" and she looked earnestlyat Mrs. Bobbsey.
"Well, you'll be doing the cooking as usual. Dinah," said thechildren's mother. "I depend on you to feed them well."
"Dat's all right, den!" exclaimed Dinah, with a satisfied air. "Iknows she won't starve 'em at de table, even ef she suah has terrible'tickler manners. But ef she says dey shan't eat 'tween meals, denI'll says to her as how dey can. I ain't gwine to hab mah honey lambsstarvin', dat's whut I ain't!" and Dinah shook her woolly head.
"Oh, Aunt Emeline isn't as bad as all that," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "Sheis strict, I know, but it is for the children's good. I expect aletter from her very soon, saying when she can come. As soon as shecan Mr. Bobbsey and I will start for the West."
Bert and Nan tried to be cheerful as the days passed, and they thoughtmore and more of their father and mother going away from them. Flossieand Freddie had fretted a little at first, but, being younger, theywere over it more quickly.
At last the letter came from Aunt Emeline. Bert and Nan were home whentheir mother read it to their father. A look of surprise came overMrs. Bobbsey's face as she read.
"Dear me," she exclaimed, "this is quite surprising!"
"What is it?" asked her husband.
"Aunt Emeline can't come to stay with the children while we go West,"was the answer. "She says she is too old to take charge of a house andfour children now, and she begs to be excused. Aunt Emeline isn'tcoming after all!"
Bert and Nan had hard work not to shout: Hurrah!
Mr. Bobbsey took the letter to read for himself.
"Then I'm sure I don't know what we're going to do," he said. "All ourplans are made for going out West to look after the lumber tract andthe cattle ranch. If Aunt Emeline can't come to stay with thechildren, what are we going to do?"