CHAPTER XVI
SNOOP IS MISSING
The children suddenly lost interest in the game of hide-and-go-to-seek.Freddie thought no more of spying Flossie or Helen. Flossie no longercared about hiding down between the two logs, and Helen did not careabout anything but the white dress she was holding up as she scrambledout of the hollow stump.
"It's my doll's dress!" she said over and over again. "It's my lostdoll's dress!"
"Are you sure?" asked Flossie, as she shook the leaves from her dressand hair, and came over to her friend.
"Course I'm sure!" answered Helen. "Look, here's a place where I mendedthe dress after Mollie tore it when she was playing with Grace Lavine'sdollie one day."
Mollie hadn't really torn her dress. Helen had done it herself liftingher pet out of the doll carriage, but she liked to pretend the doll haddone it.
"Let's see the torn place," said Flossie, and Helen showed where a holehad been sewed together.
"I 'member it," Helen went on, "'cause I sewed it crooked. I can sewbetter now. It's my doll's dress all right."
"It's all wet," said Freddie, who, though a boy, was not too old to beinterested in dolls, though he did not play with them. "Maybe thegypsies live around here," he went on, "and they washed your doll'sdress and hung it on the stump to dry."
"Maybe!" agreed Helen, who was ready to believe anything, now that shehad found something belonging to her doll.
"No gypsies live around here," said Flossie, "'cause we haven't seenany. But maybe they live in the cave."
"The cave's far off," said Freddie. "But it's funny about that dress."
"I--I found it when I hid in the stump," explained the little visitinggirl. "First I thought it was a piece of paper, but as soon as Itouched it I knew it wasn't. Oh, now if I could only find Mollie!"
"Maybe she's in the stump, too," Freddie said. "If the gypsies washedher dress they'd have to cover her up with leaves or bark so shewouldn't get cold while her dress was drying."
"The gypsies didn't wash her dress," said Helen.
"How do you know?" asked Flossie.
"'Cause nobody washes dresses an' makes 'em all up in a heap an' puts'em in a hollow stump," Helen went on. "You've got to hang a dressstraight on a line to make it dry."
"That's so," added Flossie. "You only roll a dress up the way this onewas rolled when you sprinkle it to iron, don't you, Helen?"
"Yep. Oh, I do wish I could find my Mollie!"
"Well, she must be somewhere around here if she isn't in the stump,"insisted Freddie. "If the gypsies took off her dress they must havedropped the doll. Let's look!"
This was what the two little girls wanted to do, so with Freddie to helpthey began poking about with sticks in the leaves that were piledaround the stump. They searched for some time, but could find no traceof the lost doll.
"We'd better go and tell my mamma and your mamma," said Flossie. "Maybethey'll get a policeman and he'll find the gypsies and your dollie,Helen."
"All right--come on!"
Out of breath, the children ran to the tents where Mrs. Porter was justthinking about going in search of her little girl, as it was nearly timefor the steamboat to come back for them.
"Oh, I found Mollie's dress! I found Mollie's dress!" cried Helen,waving it over her head.
"It was in a stump!" added Freddie.
"And it was all wet from bein' rained on, I guess," said Flossie, forindeed the doll's dress was still damp, and very likely it had been outin the rain. That stump would hold water for some time, like a big,wooden pitcher.
Mrs. Porter was very much surprised to hear the news, and thoughtperhaps her little girl was mistaken. But when she had looked carefullyat the dress, she knew it was one she herself had made for Helen whenthat little girl was a baby.
"But how did it come on this island?" she asked.
"It must have been dropped by the gypsies," said Mr. Bobbsey. "In spiteof what they said to us some one of them must have picked up the dolland carried her away for some little gypsy girl. And the gypsies musthave been on this island. Some of the blueberry pickers said they sawthem, but when I looked I could not find them. By that time they musthave gone away."
"And did they take my doll with them?" asked Helen.
"Well, I'm afraid they did," said Mr. Bobbsey. "If they wanted your petbadly enough to take her away so boldly, as they did from the yard,they'd probably keep her, once they had her safe. It isn't every daythey can get a talking doll, you know."
"I wish there was some way of getting Helen's doll back," said Mrs.Porter. "She does nothing but wish for her every day. She has otherdolls----"
"But I liked Mollie best," Helen said. "I want her. If she only knew Ihad her dress she might come to me," she added wistfully.
"She might, if she were a fairy doll," said Mrs. Bobbsey, as she pattedHelen on the head. "But we'll look as carefully as we can for yourlittle girl's pet, Mrs. Porter. If Mollie is on this island we'll findher."
"And I'll leave this dress here," said Helen, "so you can put it on herwhen you do find her. Then she won't take cold."
"I'll wash the dress and have Dinah iron it for you," promised Flossie."I can't iron very well."
"Thank you," said Helen. "Oh, I'm so glad I came here, for I found partof Mollie, anyhow."
Helen and her mother left Blueberry Island, promising to come again someday, and Flossie and Freddie said they would, in the meanwhile, look aswell as they could for the lost doll.
THEY TOASTED THE SOFT CANDIES OVER THE BLAZE
_The Bobbsey Twins on Blueberry Island._ _Page 175_]
That night, in front of the tents, there was a marshmallow roast. TheBobbsey children, with long sticks, toasted the soft candies over theblaze, until the marshmallows puffed out like balloons and were coloreda pretty brown. Then they ate them.
Flossie and Freddie dropped about as many candies in the fire as theytoasted, but Bert and Nan at last showed the small twins how to do it,and then Freddie toasted a marshmallow for his father and Flossie madeone nice and brown for her mother.
"I dropped mine in the dirt, after I cooked it," said Freddie to hisfather, as he came running up with the hot candy, "but I guess you caneat it."
"I'll try," laughed Mr. Bobbsey, and he brushed off all the dirt hecould, but had to chew the rest, for Freddie stood right in front of hisfather, to make sure the marshmallow was eaten.
"Is it good?" asked the little boy.
"Fine!" cried Mr. Bobbsey. "But I can't eat any more," he said quickly,"because I might get indigestion."
"Then I'll eat 'em," said Freddie. "I'm not afraid ofid-idis-idisgestion."
It was jolly fun toasting candies at the campfire, but as everythingmust come to an end some time, this did also, and the children went tobed and the camp was quiet, except that now and then Whisker gave agentle "Baa-a-a-a!" from his resting place under a tree, and Snoop, theblack cat, purred in his sleep.
The next day it rained, so the twins could not go to look for the doll,as they wanted to. They had to stay around the tents, though when theshower slackened they were allowed to go out with their rubber coats andboots on.
Toward night the sun came out, and they all went down to the dock tomeet the steamboat, for Mr. Bobbsey had gone over to the mainland afterdinner, to attend to some business at the lumber office, and was comingback on the last boat.
It was after supper that Dinah, coming into the dining tent to clearaway the dishes, caused some excitement when she asked:
"Has any ob you all seen Snoop?"
"What? Is our cat gone?" asked Bert.
"Well, I hasn't seen 'im since Flossie an' Freddie was playin' hitch himup like a hoss to a cigar box wagon," went on Dinah. "He come out to mean' I gib 'im some milk, an' now, when I called 'im t' come an' git hissupper, he ain't heah!"
Flossie and Freddie looked at each other. So did Nan and Bert. Even Mr.Bobbsey seemed surprised. But he said:
"Oh, I guess he just went off in the woods for a rest aft
er Flossie andFreddie mauled him when they were playing with him. Go call him, Bert."
So Bert went out in front of the tent and called: "Snoop! Snoop! Hi,Snoop, where are you?"
But no Snoop answered. Then Flossie and Freddie called, and so did Nan,while Sam went farther into the woods among the trees. But the big blackcat, that the children loved so dearly, was missing. Snoop did not cometo his supper that night.