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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/5617.txt b/5617.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7421321 --- /dev/null +++ b/5617.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5908 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bobbsey Twins in Washington, by Laura Lee Hope + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Bobbsey Twins in Washington + +Author: Laura Lee Hope + +Posting Date: September 26, 2012 [EBook #5617] +Release Date: May, 2004 +First Posted: July 23, 2002 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOBBSEY TWINS IN WASHINGTON *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + + + + + +The Bobbsey Twins +in Washington + +BY LAURA LEE HOPE + +AUTHOR OF "THE BOBBSEY TWINS," "THE BUNNY +BROWN SERIES," "THE OUTDOOR GIRLS +SERIES," ETC. + +ILLUSTRATED + + + +BOOKS BY LAURA LEE HOPE + +12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. + + THE BOBBSEY TWINS SERIES + THE BOBBSEY TWINS + THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE + THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON A HOUSEBOAT + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT MEADOW BROOK + THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT HOME + THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN A GREAT CITY + THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON BLUEBERRY ISLAND + THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON THE DEEP BLUE SEA + THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN WASHINGTON + THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON GRANDPA'S FARM + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE PLAYING CIRCUS + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CAMP REST-A-WHILE + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE BIG WOODS + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON AN AUTO TOUR + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR SHETLAND PONY + BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE GIVING A SHOW + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS SERIES + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS OF DEEPDALE + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT RAINBOW LAKE + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A MOTOR CAR + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A WINTER CAMP + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN FLORIDA + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT OCEAN VIEW + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS ON PINE ISLAND + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN ARMY SERVICE + THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT HOSTESS HOUSE + + + + +CONTENTS + + I UNDER THE HAY + II DIGGING OUT + III THE WASHINGTON CHILDREN + IV MISS POMPRET'S CHINA + V "WHAT A LOT OF MONEY!" + VI WONDERFUL NEWS + VII ON A TRIP + VIII IN NEW YORK + IX WASHINGTON AT LAST + X LOST + XI THE PRESIDENT + XII WASHINGTON MONUMENT + XIII A STRAY CAT + XIV STRAY CHILDREN + XV "WHERE ARE THEY?" + XVI THE FIRE BELL + XVII FREDDIE'S REAL ALARM + XVIII THE ORIENTAL CHILDREN + XIX "OH LOOK!" + XX A GREAT BARGAIN + XXI JUST SUPPOSE + XXII HAPPY DAYS + + + + +CHAPTER I + +UNDER THE HAY + +"This is 'most as much fun as we had on Blueberry Island, or when we +went to Florida on the deep, blue sea, isn't it, Bert?" asked Nan +Bobbsey, as she sat on the porch and fanned herself with her hat. She +and her brother had been running around the house, playing a new game, +and Nan was warm. + +"Yes, it's fun all right," agreed Bert. "But I liked the deep, blue sea +better--or even Blueberry Island," and off came his hat to cool his +flushed face, for, though it was late in September, the day was warm. + +"But we couldn't stay on the island, always," went on Nan. "We have to +go to school, daddy says!" + +"Don't speak about it!" begged Bert. "I don't want to go to school for a +long, long time, and not then!" + +"Have we got to go to school?" asked a little light-haired and blue-eyed +girl, as she ran up the steps, to sink in a heap at the feet of her +sister, Nan Bobbsey. "When do we go?" she went on. + +"Oh, not right away, 'little fat fairy!'" laughed Nan, giving Flossie +the name her father sometimes called her. "School won't open for two +weeks more." + +"Hurray!" cried Bert. "The longer it stays closed the better I like it. +But come on, Nan! Let's have some more fun. This isn't like Blueberry +Island, sitting still on a porch!" + +"You haven't sat still more than three minutes, Bert Bobbsey!" cried his +sister. "I can hardly get my breath, you made me run so fast!" + +Just then a little boy, who had the same sort of blue eyes and golden +hair that made Flossie such a pretty little girl, came tumbling up the +steps with a clatter and a bang, falling down at Bert's feet. The older +boy caught his small brother just in time, or there might have been a +bumped nose. + +"Hi there, Freddie, what's the matter?" asked Bert, with a laugh. "Is +our dog Snap chasing you, or have you been playing a trick on our cat +Snoop?" + +"I--I--I'm a--a fireman!" panted Freddie, for he, too, was out of breath +from running. "I'm a fireman, and I--I've got to get the engine. There's +a big, big fire!" and his eyes opened wide and round. + +"A big fire--really?" asked Nan quickly. + +"Course not! He's only making believe!" replied Bert. + +"Well, I thought maybe he might have seen some boys start a bonfire +somewhere," explained Nan. "They sometimes do." + +"I know they do," admitted Bert. "And I hope they don't start one near +daddy's lumberyard." + +"There was a fire down in the lumber once!" exclaimed Freddie. He was +too young to have seen it, but he had heard his father and mother talk +about the time Mr. Bobbsey's lumberyard was nearly burned out. Freddie +Bobbsey was very fond of a toy fire engine he had been given for +Christmas, and his father often called Freddie a "little fireman," just +as Flossie was named a "fairy." + +"Well, if it's only a make-believe fire we can sit here and cool off," +went on Nan. "What were you doing, Flossie?" she asked her little +sister. + +"Oh, I was having a race with our cat Snoop; but I guess I beat, 'cause +Snoop didn't get here to the porch before I did." + +"Yes, you won the race all right," laughed Bert. "But it's too hot for +any more running games. I wish we were back on the island where we found +that boy, Jack Nelson, and could play we were sailors and could splash +in the water." + +"That would be fun!" sighed Nan, as she fanned herself harder than ever +with her hat. + +The Bobbsey twins had, a few days before, returned to their home from a +vacation spent on a strange island off the coast of Florida. They had +gone there with Cousin Jasper Dent to rescue a boy who had been left in +a lonely cave, and very many strange adventures the Bobbsey twins and +their father and mother, to say nothing of Cousin Jasper, had had on +that voyage. + +Now the simple games they tried to get up around the house, and the +thought of having to go back to school soon, made them feel a bit +lonesome for the deep, blue sea, over which they had made a voyage to +rescue the boy, Jack Nelson, and also for Blueberry Island, where once +they spent a vacation. + +"I know what we can do!" cried Nan, after a rest. + +"What?" asked Bert, always ready to join Nan in any fun she thought of. +"What can we do?" + +"Go out to the barn and play that's a ship like the one we went on to +Florida. It'll be cooler in the barn than it is here, anyhow." + +"That's so," admitted Bert. "And oh! I know how we can have packs of +fun!" + +"How?" This time it was Nan who eagerly asked. + +"Why we can swing on some of the ropes that are in the haymow. I guess +the ropes are there to tie things up on in the winter. But we can swing +on 'em now, and make believe we're sailors, just as we did when we found +that boy in the cave where we went with Cousin Jasper." + +"Oh, so we can!" cried Nan. "Come on!" + +"I'll be a fireman on the ship!" declared fat Freddie, as he got slowly +to his feet from the floor where he had been sitting near Bert. "I'll be +a fireman and squirt water." + +"Not real--only make believe," cried Bert. "Water spoils hay, you know, +Freddie. You can't splash any water on daddy's hay in the barn." + +"No, I'll only make believe," agreed the light-haired little boy. "Come +on Flossie!" he called to his sister, who had slipped down off the porch +to run after a big black cat that marched along with his tail in the +air, "like a fishing pole," Bert said. "Come on, Flossie!" called +Freddie. "We'll go out to the barn and play ship and sailors, and I'll +be a fireman and you can be----" + +"I'm going to be hungry, and have something good to eat! That's what +I'll be," declared Flossie quickly. "I'm going to be AWFUL hungry!" + +"Oh dear!" exclaimed Nan, but she was laughing. "That's always the way. +Those two want to do something different." + +"Well, we can all make believe we're hungry," said Bert. "And maybe +Dinah will give us some cookies to eat." + +"There she goes now. I'll ask her!" offered Nan, as she saw the +Bobbsey's fat and good-natured colored cook cross the lawn with a small +basket of clothes to hang up. "We'll have a little play-party out in the +barn." + +"But I'm going to be real hungry--not make believe!" said Freddie. "I +want to eat real." + +"And so you can!" declared Nan. "I'll get enough for all of us." + +A little later the Bobbsey twins--the two pairs of them--were on the way +to the barn that stood a little way back of the house. Mr. Bobbsey did +not live on a farm. He lived in a town, but his place was large enough +to have a barn on it as well as a house. He kept a horse, and sometimes +a cow, but just now there was no cow in the stable--only a horse. + +And the horse was not there, either, just then, for it was being used to +pull a wagon about the streets of Lakeport. Mr. Bobbsey had an +automobile, but he also kept the horse, and this animal was sometimes +used by the clerks from the lumber office. + +So out to the barn, which had in it the winter supply of hay and oats +for the horse, went the Bobbsey twins. Nan and Bert, being older, +reached the place first, each one carrying some sugar and molasses +cookies Dinah had given them. After Nan and Bert ran Flossie and +Freddie, each one looking anxiously at the packages of cookies. + +"Don't those cookies look good?" cried Flossie. + +"And I guess they'll eat just as good as they look," was Freddie's +comment. + +Just then Nan's foot slipped on a small stone, and she came very near +falling down. + +"Oh!" cried Flossie and Freddie together. + +"Don't drop your cookies, Nan!" came quickly from Bert. + +"Oh, if you dropped 'em they'd get all dirty," said Flossie. + +"They wouldn't get very dirty," answered Freddie hopefully. "Anyway, we +could brush 'em off. They'd be good enough to eat, wouldn't they?" and +he looked at Bert. + +"I guess they wouldn't get very dirty," answered Bert. "Anyway, Nan +didn't drop them. But you'd better be careful, Nan," he went on. + +"Don't be so scared, Bert Bobbsey," answered his sister. "I won't drop +them." + +In a minute more the Bobbsey twins were at the barn where the sugar and +molasses cookies Dinah had given them were put in a safe place. + +"There are the ropes!" exclaimed Bert, as he pointed to some dangling +from a beam near the haymow. + +"They're too high to climb!" Nan said, for some of the ropes were fast +to the rafters of the barn. + +"Oh, we won't climb 'em!" Bert quickly returned, for he knew his mother +would never allow this. "We'll just swing on 'em, low down near this +pile of hay, so if we fall we can't hurt ourselves." + +"I want to swing on a rope, too!" exclaimed Freddie, as he heard what +his older brother and sister were talking of. "I like to be a sailor and +swing on a rope." + +"Not now, Freddie," answered Bert. "The ropes are too high for you and +Flossie. You just play around on the barn floor, and you can watch Nan +and me swing. Then we'll play steamboat, maybe." + +"I want to be the steam, and go puff-puff!" cried Freddie. + +"And I want to be the captain and say 'All aboard!'" was Flossie's wish. + +"You can take turns," agreed Bert. "Now don't get in our way, Flossie +and Freddie. Nan and I want to see how big a swing we can take by +holding to the ropes." + +"All right. I'll go and see if I can find any eggs," replied Freddie. +"Hens lay eggs in the barn." + +"Well, if you find a nest don't step in it and break all the eggs," +warned Nan. + +She and Bert, as Flossie and Freddie went marching around the big barn, +climbed up on the pile of hay, and began swinging on the ropes. To and +fro swung the older Bobbsey twins. + +"Isn't this better than Blueberry Island?" asked Nan. + +"Well no, it isn't any better," said Bert; "but it's just as good. Look, +I'm going to let go and drop on the hay." + +"Be careful and don't hurt yourself!" begged Nan, as she swung to and +fro, her feet raised from the hay beneath her, while Bert, also, swayed +slowly to and fro. + +"Oh, I'll be careful!" Bert promised. "Anyhow, the hay is nice and soft +to fall in. I'll make believe I'm a man in the circus, falling from the +top of the tent." + +He swung a little farther to and fro, and then suddenly cried: + +"Here I go!" + +"Oh!" screamed Nan, but, really, nothing happened to harm Bert. He just +dropped into the pile of soft hay. + +"Come on, Nan! You try it! Lots of fun!" laughed Bert as he scrambled up +and made for his rope again. + +Nan said "no" at first, but when Bert had swung once more and again +dropped into the hay, she took her turn. Into the hay she plunged, and +sank down to her shoulders in the soft, dried grass. + +"Come on--let's do it some more!" laughed Bert. Then he and his older +sister had lots of fun swinging on the ropes and dropping into a pile of +hay. + +"I wonder what Flossie and Freddie are doing," said Bert, after they had +had about an hour of this fun. "I haven't seen them for a long while." + +"Maybe they found a hen's nest and took the eggs to the house," said +Nan. "They'd do that." + +"Yes, if they found one," agreed Bert. "Well, we'll see where they are +after I take another swing. And I'm going to take a big one." + +"So will I!" decided Nan. "Oh, it's just as nice as Blueberry Island or +on the deep, blue sea, isn't it, Bert?" + +"It is when we play this way--yes. But just watch me." + +"Here come Flossie and Freddie now!" exclaimed Nan, as she glanced at +her older brother, who was taking a firm hold of the rope for his big +swing. The two smaller twins, at this moment, came into the barn through +the door that led to the cow stable. + +"Where have you been?" asked Nan, as she watched Bert get ready for his +swing. + +"Oh, we had fun," said Flossie. + +"And I squirted water, out where the horse drinks," added Freddie, + +"I hope you didn't get wet!" exclaimed Nan. "If you did----" + +"Well, I have on a dirty waist, so it won't hurt me any if I am wet," +said Freddie calmly. "I want to swing like that, Bert," he added. "Give +me a swing!" + +"After I've had my turn I'll give you and Flossie each one," promised +Nan. "Watch me, Bert!" she called. + +Off the mow swung Nan, clinging to the swaying rope with both hands. + +"Come on--let's both let go together and see who falls into the hay +first!" proposed Bert. + +"All right!" agreed Nan. + +"One, two, three!" cried Bert. "Ready! Let go!" + +He and Nan let go of the ropes at the same time. Together they dropped +down to the hay--and then something happened! The two older Bobbsey +children jumped too near the edge of the mow, where the hay was piled in +a big roll, like a great feather bed bolster, over the top rail. And +Bert and Nan, in their drop, caused a big pile of hay--almost a +wagonload--to slip from the mow and down to the barn floor. And directly +underneath were Flossie and Freddie! + +Down on the two little twins fell Bert and Nan and the big pile of dried +grass, and, in an instant, the two golden heads were buried out of sight +on the barn floor in a large heap of hay. + + + + 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 after +having come down with the pile of hay, with her brother, right where +Flossie 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 is +Flossie? And where's Freddie?" He looked around, not seeing the smaller +twins, and not having noticed exactly what had happened to them. "Where +are 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 dig +out Flossie and Freddie!" cried Nan. + +She started to run across the barn floor, but was stopped by a call from +Bert. + +"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 I +guess!" + +And indeed it was a large part of the pile of hay in the Bobbsey barn +that had slid from the mow when Bert jumped on it. And this hay now +covered from sight the "little fireman" and the "little fat fairy," as +Daddy Bobbsey called his two little twins. + +"Yes, I'll go for Dinah!" cried Nan. "She knows how to dig under the +hay, I guess!" + +"And I'll start digging now," added Bert, as he began tossing aside the +wisps of dried grass that covered his small brother and sister from +sight. + +And while the rescue of Freddie and Flossie is being arranged for, I +will take this chance to tell my new readers something of the four +children, about whom I am going to write in this book. + +There are other books ahead of this one, and the first is named after +the children. It is called "The Bobbsey Twins," and relates some of the +early adventures of Bert, Nan, Flossie and Freddie. Those are the names +of the twins, as you have already learned. + +The Bobbsey family lived in an eastern city called Lakeport, at the head +of Lake Metoka. Mr. Bobbsey was in the lumber business and had an office +near his lumberyard, which was "down town" as the children called it. + +Now I'll tell you just a little about the four children, their friends +and something about the other books, and then I'll get on with the +story, which I hope you will wish to read. + +There were two sets of twins, you see. Bert and Nan were the older. They +each 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 had +had in the country at Blueberry Island and on the deep, blue sea, the +older twins were getting stouter. "Fatter," Freddie called it. + +Flossie and Freddie were just the opposite of Bert and Nan. The smaller +pair of twins were short and stout, and each had light hair, and blue +eyes that looked at you, sometimes, in the funniest way you can imagine. + +Besides Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey there was Dinah, the fat, good-natured +colored cook, who knew how to make more kinds of cake than you could eat +in one day. And then there was Sam Johnson, her husband. Sam worked +about the Bobbsey house and barn, looked after the horse and sometimes +drove the automobile, though he said he liked a horse better. But the +Bobbsey family liked the automobile, so the horse was used down in the +lumberyard more often than to take Bert, Nan, Flossie and Freddie for a +ride. + +The Bobbsey twins had many friends and relations, but I will not take up +your time, now, telling you about them. I must not forget, however, to +mention Snoop and Snap. Snoop was a fine, big cat, and he was named +"Snoop" because he always seemed to be "snooping" into everything, as +Dinah said. Snoop didn't do that to be bad, he just wanted to find out +about things. Once he wanted to find out what was inside an empty tin +can, and so he stuck his head in and he couldn't get it out until Bert +helped him. + +Snap was the Bobbsey dog, and he wasn't called "Snap" because he would +snap at you. No indeed! It was because, when Bert put a cracker on his +dog's nose, the animal would "snap" it off with a jerk of his head and +eat 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 and +they had lots of fun. Those of you who have read the other books know +that. They went to the country and to the seashore, to visit Uncle +William at the latter place, and Uncle Daniel Bobbsey in the former. + +Of course the Bobbsey twins went to school, and there is a book telling +about them there, and the fun and adventures they had. Later on they +went to "Snow Lodge," and after an exciting winter, they spent part of +the summer on a houseboat. + +When Bert, Nan, Flossie and Freddie went to Meadow Brook, which was the +country home of Uncle Daniel, the twins never expected very much to +happen. But it did, and they talked about it for a long time. Then they +came 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 the +book and read it for yourself. + +After that they spent a summer on Blueberry Island, and there were +gypsies on the island. Some strange things happened, but the Bobbsey +twins enjoyed every hour of their stay, and did not want to come home. + +But they had to, of course, and still more strange adventures awaited +them. Those you may read about in the book just before this. It is +called: "The Bobbsey Twins on the Deep, Blue Sea," and in it is related +how 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 twins +were playing in the barn, making the most of the last days of their +vacation, when the accident happened about the hay, as I have told you. + +"Flossie! Freddie! Are you under there?" called Bert, anxiously, as he +threw aside armful after armful of the dried grass. "Are you down there +under the hay?" + +He paused a moment to listen for an answer, but none came. If Flossie +and Freddie were there, either they did not hear him or they were so +smothered by the hay that they could not answer. + +"Oh, I hope nothing has happened to them!" exclaimed Bert, and he began +digging away faster than before. + +Certainly it was a large pile of hay to have fallen on two little +children. But then the hay was soft, and Bert, himself, had often been +buried under a pile in the field. It had not hurt, but the dust had made +him sneeze. + +Faster and faster Bert dug away at the hay. He heard feet pattering on +the barn floor back of him, and, turning, saw Snap, the big dog, come +running in. + +"Oh, Snap!" cried Bert, "Flossie and Freddie are under the hay! Help me +dig 'em out!" + +"Bow wow!" barked Snap, just as if he understood. Of course he didn't +really know what had happened, but he saw Bert digging away and Snap +himself knew enough to do that. Often enough he had dug up, with his +front paws, a bone he had buried in the hard ground. This digging in the +soft hay was easier than that. + +So Snap began to paw aside the hay, just as Bert was doing, and while +boy and dog were doing this into the barn came fat Dinah, with Nan +running ahead of her. + +"Whut's dish yeah has happened, Bert? Whut's all dish yeah I heah Nan +say?" demanded the black cook. "Whut you done gone an' done to yo' l'il +broth' an' sistah? De pooh l'il honey lambs!" + +"I didn't do anything!" declared Bert. "I was swinging on a rope, over +the haymow, and so was Nan. And Flossie and Freddie were playing on the +barn floor under the mow. I fell on the hay and so did Nan, and a whole +lot of it slid down and fell on top of Flossie and Freddie and--and--now +they're down under there, I guess!" + +"Good land ob massy!" exclaimed Dinah. "Dat suah is a lot to happen to +mah 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," she +added to Bert. "She went over to Mrs. Black's. Oh, maybe we can't ever +get Flossie and Freddie out!" + +"Hush yo' talk laik dat!" cried Dinah. "Co'se we git 'em out! We kin do +it. 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 way +more than he did anything else, and Bert tried to send his dog out, but +Snap would not go. + +Faster and faster worked Dinah, Nan and Bert, and soon the big pile of +hay, which had fallen on Flossie and Freddie grew smaller. It was being +stacked on another part of the floor. + +"Maybe I'd better go and telephone to daddy!" suggested Nan, when the +hay pile had been made much smaller. "You don't see anything of them +yet, do you Dinah?" she asked anxiously. + +"No, not yet, honey! But I soon will. We's 'most to de bottom ob de +heap. No use worritin' yo' pa. We'll git Freddie and Flossie out all +right!" + +Bert was tossing aside the hay so fast that his arms seemed like the +spokes of a wheel going around. He felt that it was partly his fault +that 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' in +one 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 from +the mow, that it would not have hidden Snap, to say nothing of covering +the two Bobbsey twins. + +But something seemed to be wrong. There were no little fat legs or +chubby 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 queer +voice Nan said: + +"Why--why! They're not there!" + + + + CHAPTER II + +THE WASHINGTON CHILDREN + +THERE was no doubt of it. Flossie and Freddie were not under the pile of +hay that had fallen on them. The hay had all been cast aside now, so far +away from the place where it had fallen that it could not serve for a +hiding place. And Bert and Nan could see the bare floor of the barn. + +"Where are they?" asked Bert, looking in surprise at Nan. "Where are +Flossie and Freddie?" + +"Dat's whut I wants to know!" declared Dinah. "Where is dey? Has yo' all +been playin' a trick on ole Dinah?" and she looked sadly at Bert and +Nan. + +"Playing a trick?" cried Nan. + +"We didn't play any trick!" exclaimed Bert. "Flossie and Freddie were +down 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 her +foot. "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 had +become of Flossie and Freddie between the time they disappeared under +the sliding pile of hay and now, when it had been cleared away to +another part of the barn. + +"I saw them playing on the floor," said Nan. "Then, when Bert and I let +go 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 were +under the hay!" + +"Yes," agreed Bert, "they were. But they aren't here now. Maybe they +fell down through the floor!" he added hopefully. "The cow stable is +under this part of the barn." + +"Yes, but there isn't any hole in the barn floor here," said Nan. "And +the 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's +mighty 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 git +Sam 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 two +childish voices, and there stood the missing Flossie and Freddie, hay in +their fluffy, golden hair, hay hanging down over their blue eyes, and +hay 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 queer +way of speaking, for, though the little fireman usually spoke quite +properly, 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," explained +Flossie. "Then Freddie says let's play hide and coop and we climbed up +the little ladder and went up in the haymow and then we slid out of the +little window and got outside the barn and then we just hid an' waited +to see what you'd do." By this time Flossie was out of breath, having +said all this without pause. + +"But you didn't come after us," said Freddie, "and so we came to see +where 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. I +thought you'd be away down underneath." + +"We were," went on Flossie. "But we wiggled out, an' you didn't see us +wiggle." + +"No," agreed Nan, "we didn't see you. But, oh, I'm so glad you are all +right!" 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 my +nose, and I wanted to sneeze." + +"But I wouldn't let her!" explained Freddie. "I held my hand over her +nose so she couldn't sneeze." + +"I tried hard so I wouldn't," said Flossie, "and Freddie helped me. It +feels 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 in +the middle of the barn floor. Snap, the big dog, put his head to one +side, and cocked up his ears, looking at the two smaller twins as if +asking what it was all about, and what the digging in the hay was all +for. + +"Well, it's mighty lucky laik dat it wasn't no wuss!" exclaimed fat +Dinah, with a sigh of relief. "I suah was clean skairt out ob mah seben +senses when yo' come runnin' into mah kitchen, Nan, an' says as how +Flossie 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 around +as though he wanted to work his way out of his clothes. "Maybe there's a +hay-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 to +play 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 had +been at first, after their play was done. + +"Yes, we must put the hay up in the mow again," agreed Nan. "Daddy +wouldn'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 a +molasses cookie each and a further promise to Freddie that she would +take out of his clothes whatever it was tickling his back--a hay-bug or +some of the dried wisps of grass. + +Bert and Nan had not long been working at stacking the hay back in place +before 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 than +stacking hay in a barn." + +"Are you very sure you don't mind doing it, Sam?" asked Nan, for she +wanted 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 and +Nan started to leave the barn. + +"Suah I did," answered Sam. "When I was a youngster like you I loved to +go 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 could +teach me some new strokes." + +"I doan know about that, Bert. You see, I ain't quite so limber as what +I used to be when I was your age or jest a little older. Now you jest +hop along, both of you, and enjoy yourselves." + +So Nan and Bert went out to find some other way of having fun. They +wanted to have all the good times they could, as school would soon begin +again. + +"But we'll have a vacation at Thanksgiving and Christmas and New +Year'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 yard +when suddenly Snap, their dog, gave a savage growl. It was the kind of +growl he never gave unless he happened to be angry, and Bert knew, right +away, something must be wrong. + +"What is it, Snap? A tramp?" asked the boy, looking around. Often Snap +would 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 never +stopped to find out which was which. He just growled, and if that didn't +scare away the tramp then Snap ran at him. And no tramp ever stood after +that. He just ran away. + +But now neither Bert nor Nan could see any tramp, either in the yard or +in the street in front of the house. Snap, though, kept on growling deep +down in his throat, and then, suddenly, the children saw what the matter +was. A big dog was digging a hole under the fence to get into the +Bobbsey yard. The gate was closed, and though the dog might have jumped +the fence, he didn't. He was digging a hole underneath. And Snap saw +him. That's why Snap growled. + +"Oh, Bert! Look!" cried Nan. + +As she spoke the dog managed to get through the hole he had dug, and +into the Bobbsey yard he popped. But he did not stay there long. Before +he could run toward Bert and Nan, if, indeed, he had that notion, Snap +had leaped toward the unwelcome visitor. + +Snap growled and barked in such a brave, bold way that the other dog +gave 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 quick +enough, for Snap nipped the end of the big dog's tail and there was +another howl. + +"Good boy!" cried Bert to his dog, as Snap came back to him, wagging his +tail, having first made sure, however, that the strange dog was running +down the street. "Good, old Snap!" + +And Snap wagged his tail harder than ever, for he liked to be told he +had 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 stay +long!" + +"Not with our Snap around!" laughed Nan. + +The two older Bobbsey twins were wondering what they could do next to +have a good time, when they heard their mother's voice calling to them +from the side porch. She had come back from a little visit to a lady +down the street, and had heard all about the accident to Flossie and +Freddie. + +"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 and +Freddie," said Bert, rather anxiously. + +"Well, we couldn't help it," replied his sister. "We didn't know it was +so slippery. Yes, Mother; we're coming!" she answered, as Mrs. Bobbsey +called again. + +But, to the relief of Nan and Bert, their mother did not scold them. She +just said: + +"You must be a little more careful when you're playing where Flossie and +Freddie are. They are younger than you, and don't so well know how to +look out for themselves. You must look out for them. But now I want you +to 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 to +daddy's lumber office, but the postman left it while I was out, and +Dinah was out in the barn with you children, so she could not tell him +to carry it on down town. So I wish you'd take it to daddy. He has been +expecting it for some time. It's about some business, and I don't want +to open the letter and telephone what's in it. But if you two will just +run 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 clerks +knew the children and smiled at them, and the stenographer, who wrote +Mr. Bobbsey's letters on the clicking typewriter machine, took the twins +through 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 two +children--a boy and a girl about their own age--in their father's +private office. The boy and girl were sitting on chairs, looking at the +very same lumber books--those with pictures of big woods in them--that +Nan 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!" + + + + CHAPTER IV + +MISS POMPRET'S CHINA + +Bert and Nan looked at one another in some surprise as they stood in the +door of their father's private office. What did he mean by saying that +they were to come in and meet the "Washington children?" Who were the +"Washington children?" + +Nan and Bert were soon to know, for their father spoke again. + +"Come on in. These are two of my twins, Mr. Martin," he added to the +gentleman who was sitting near his desk. The two "Washington children," +looked up from the lumber books they had been reading. No, I am wrong, +they had not been reading them--only looking at the pictures. + +"Two of your twins?" repeated Mr. Martin, with a smile. "Do you mean to +say you have more twins at home?" + +"Oh, yes, another set. Smaller than these. I wish you would see Flossie +and Freddie. Come here, Bert and Nan. This is my friend, Mr. Martin," he +continued, "and these are his children, Billy and Nell. They live in +Washington, D.C." + +So that was what Mr. Bobbsey meant. At first, Nan said afterward, she +had a little notion that her father might have meant the boy and girl +were the children of General George Washington. But a moment's thought +told Nan that this could not be. General Washington's children, +supposing him to have had any, would have been grown up into old men and +women and would have passed away long ago. But Billy and Nell Martin +lived in Washington, District of Columbia (which is what the letters +D.C. stand for) and, Bert and Nan knew, Washington was the capital, or +chief city, of the United States. + +"Mr. Martin came in to see me on business," explained Daddy Bobbsey. "He +is traveling for a lumber firm, and on this trip he brought his boy and +girl with him." + +"They aren't twins, though," said Mr. Martin with a nod at Nan and Bert. + +"I think it's lovely to be a twin!" said Nell, with a smile at Nan. +"Don't you have lots of fun?" + +"Yes, we do," Nan said. + +"I should think you could have fun in this lumberyard," remarked Billy +Martin. "I'd like to live near it." + +"Yes, we play in it," said Bert; and now that the "ice had been broken," +as the grown folks say, the four children began to feel better +acquainted. + +"Did you come down for anything special?" asked Mr. Bobbsey of Bert. + +"Yes, Daddy. Here's a letter mother gave us for you," the boy answered. + +"Oh, this is the one I have been expecting," said Mr. Bobbsey to Mr. +Martin. "Now we can talk business. Bert and Nan, don't you want to take +Billy and Nell out in the yard and show them the lake? But don't fall +in, and don't climb on the lumber," he added. + +"Oh, I'd love to look at the lake!" cried Nell. + +"And I like to see big piles of lumber," said her brother Billy. + +"The children will be all right," said Mr. Bobbsey, in answer to a look +from Mr. Martin. "My older twins often play about the lumberyard, and +they'll see that Billy and Nell come to no harm." + +So while the two men talked over lumber matters, Bert and Nan showed +Billy and Nell the sights of their father's lumberyard, and took the +Washington children down to Lake Metoka, where the blue waters sparkled +in the sun. + +"Oh, this is lovely!" exclaimed Nell. "It's nicer than Washington!" + +"Don't you have a lake there?" asked Bert. + +"No; but we have the Potomac River," answered Billy. "That's nice, but +not as nice as this lake. Now let's go and look at the big piles of +lumber." + +"Yes, let's," echoed Nell. + +The children tossed some chips into the lake, pretending they were +boats, and then they walked around the yard to where long boards and +planks were stacked into great piles, waiting to be taken away on boats +or wagons. + +Bert asked one of the workmen if they could play with some of the +boards, and, receiving permission to do so, they had fun making +something they called a house, and then on a see-saw. + +"Oh, I always did love to see-saw!" said the little girl from +Washington. "We don't get much of a chance to play that way where I come +from." + +"We have see-saw rides lots of times down here," answered Nan. + +"Well, that's Because your father owns a lumberyard, and you can get +plenty of boards to use for a see-saw," said Henry. + +For an hour or more Bert and Nan entertained the Washington children in +the lumberyard, and then, as it was getting close to dinner time, Nan +told Bert they had better go back to their father's office. + +They found Mr. Martin about to leave. And then Mr. Bobbsey thought of +something. + +"Look here, Henry!" he exclaimed to his friend, "there's no need of your +going back to that hotel. Come out to the house--you and the +children--and have dinner with me. I want you and your boy and girl to +meet Flossie and Freddie, and I want you to meet Mrs. Bobbsey." + +"Well, I'd like to," said Mr. Martin slowly, while the eyes of Nell and +Billy glowed in delight. "But, perhaps it might bother your wife." + +"Oh, no!" laughed Mr. Bobbsey. "She likes company. I'll telephone out +that we're coming, and Dinah, that's our cook, will be delighted to get +up something extra. They'll be glad to see you. Come out to the house, +all of you, and make me a nice visit. Can't you stay a day or so?" + +Eagerly Nan and Bert waited for the answer, for they liked the +Washington children very much. + +"Oh, no, we can't stay later than this evening," said Mr. Martin. "I've +got other business to look after. But I'll come out to dinner with you." + +"Oh, we'll have lots of fun!" whispered Nan to Nell. "You'll just love +Flossie--she's so cute!" + +"I'll show you my dog Snap," said Bert to Billy. "You ought to have seen +him scare a strange dog just before we came down here." + +"I like dogs," said Billy. "We could have one in Washington if we had a +barn to keep him in." + +"We've got a barn," went on Bert. "You ought to have seen what happened +there this morning to Flossie and Freddie," and then he told about the +little twins having been hidden under the hay. + +Mr. Bobbsey's automobile was in the lumberyard, and in this the trip was +quickly made to the home of the four twins, after Mrs. Bobbsey had been +told, by telephone, that company was coming. + +Nell and Billy were glad to see Flossie and Freddie, and the six +children had fun playing around the house and barn with Snoop and Snap. + +Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey wanted Mr. Martin to stay two or three days with +his children, but the Washington lumberman said it could not be done +this time. + +"I'm on a business trip," he said, "and I can't spend as much time in +visiting and pleasure as I'd like, though I am trying to give Billy and +Nell a good time. This is the first time I have ever taken them on a +trip with me." + +"And we've had such a lovely time!" exclaimed Nell. + +"Packs of fun!" added her brother. + +"I'm sorry we can't stay longer," went on Mr. Martin. "You folk must +come to Washington some day." + +"Yes, I expect to," said Mr. Bobbsey. "I've been counting on going there +some day on some business matters." + +"Well, when you come be sure to bring the children," said the father of +Nell and Billy. "I think they would enjoy seeing the White House, the +big Capitol building, the Congressional Library, Washington's home at +Mt. Vernon and places like that." + +"Could we see the Washington Monument?" asked Nan. She remembered +looking at a picture of that in her geography. + +"Oh, yes, I'd show you that, too," said Mr. Martin. + +"And could we see the Potomac River?" Bert wanted to know. + +"Surely!" laughed Billy's father. "I'll show you all the sights of +Washington if you'll come and pay me a visit--all you Bobbsey twins!" he +added. + +"I wish we could go!" sighed Nan. + +"Perhaps you can," said her father. + +"Have you got any hay in Wash'ton?" asked Freddie, suddenly, and every +one else laughed except himself and Flossie. + +"Oh, I guess I could find enough hay for you and your little sister to +hide under," answered Mr. Martin with a laugh, for he had heard the +story of what had happened in the barn. + +A little later Mr. Martin and his boy and girl had to leave. They said +"good-bye," and while the father of the Washington children again asked +Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey to come to visit him at his home, Nell and Billy +whispered to Nan and Bert: + +"Be sure and come, and bring Flossie and Freddie with you!" + +"We will!" promised Nan, but neither she nor Bert guessed what a queer +little adventure they were soon to have in Washington. + +A few days later school opened, and the Bobbsey twins had to go back to +their class-rooms. At first they did not like it, after the long, joyous +vacation on the deep, blue sea, but their teachers were kind, and +finally the twins began to feel that, after all, school was not such a +bad place. + +Thanksgiving Day came, bringing a little vacation period, and after +church in the morning, the Bobbsey twins went home to eat roast turkey +and cranberry sauce. Then they went out to play with some of their boy +and girl friends, having lots of fun in the barn and yard. + +"But don't slide any more hay down on Flossie and Freddie!" begged Mrs. +Bobbsey. + +"We won't!" promised Bert and Nan, and they kept their word. + +It was about a week after Thanksgiving, and Bert and Nan were on their +way home from school one day, when, as they passed a red brick house on +the street next to theirs, they saw, standing on the porch, a +pleasant-faced, elderly lady who was looking up and down the avenue. + +"That's Miss Pompret," said Nan to Bert. "I heard mother say she was +very rich." + +"Is she?" asked Bert. "She looks kind of funny." + +"That's 'cause she isn't married," returned Nan. "Some folks call her an +old maid, but I don't think she's very old, even if her hair is white. +Her face looks nice." + +"Yes, but she looks kind of worried now," said Bert. "That's the way +mother looks when she's worried." + +They were in front of the house now, and could see Miss Pompret quite +plainly. Certainly the elderly lady did look as though something +troubled her. + +"Good afternoon, Miss Pompret!" called Nan, as she was about to pass by. +Bert took off his cap and bowed. + +"Oh, you're half of the Bobbsey twins, aren't you?" asked Miss Pompret, +with a smile. "I often see you go past. I only wish you were a little +bigger." + +"Bigger? Why?" asked Bert, in some surprise. + +"Why, then," explained Miss Pompret, "you might take this letter to the +post-office for me. It's very important, and I want it to go out on this +mail, but I can't go to the post-office myself. If you Bobbsey twins +were bigger I should ask you to take it. Tell me, is the other set of +twins larger than you two?" + +"No'm; they're smaller," explained Nan. "Flossie and Freddie are lots +littler than we are." + +"But we're big enough to take the letter to the post-office for you, +Miss Pompret," said Bert. He had often heard his father and mother speak +of this neighbor, and the kindnesses she had done. + +"Are you sure you are big enough to go to the post-office for me?" asked +Miss Pompret. + +"We often go for daddy and mother," said Nan. + +"Well, then, if you think your mother wouldn't mind, I would like, very +much, to have you go," said Miss Pompret. "The letter is very important, +but I can not take it myself, as I have company, and I have no one, just +now, who can leave. I thought I might see some large boy on the street, +but--" + +"I'm big enough!" exclaimed Bert. + +"Yes, I believe you are!" agreed the elderly lady, looking at him +through her glasses. "Well, I shall be very thankful to you and your +sister if you will mail the letter for me. And, on your way back, stop +and let me know that you dropped it in the post-office all right." + +"We will!" promised Bert, and Nan nodded her head in agreement with him. +Miss Pompret handed over the letter, which was in a large envelope. Nan +and Bert were soon at the post-office with it. + +The white-haired lady was waiting for them on the porch as they came +back along the street. + +"Won't you come in, just for a minute?" she asked, smiling kindly at +them. "My maid has just baked a chocolate cake, and I don't believe your +mother would mind if you each had a piece." + +"Oh, no'm--she wouldn't mind at all!" said Bert quickly. + +"We like chocolate cake," said Nan, "but we didn't go to the post-office +for that!" + +"Bless your heart, child, I know you didn't!" laughed their new friend. +"Please come in!" + +The chocolate cake was all Bert and Nan hoped it would be, and besides +that Miss Pompret set out on the table for them each a glass of milk. +They looked around the beautiful but old-fashioned room, noting the dark +mahogany furniture, the cut glass on the side-board, and, over in one +corner, a glass cupboard, through the clear doors of which could be seen +some china dishes. + +Miss Pompret saw Nan looking at this set of china, and the elderly lady +smiled as she said: + +"Isn't it beautiful?" + +"Yes," said Nan, softly. "I love pretty dishes." + +"And these are my greatest treasure," said Miss Pompret. "I am very +proud of them. They have been in my family over a hundred years. But +there is a sad story about it--a very sad story about the old Pompret +china." And the lady's face clouded. + +"Did somebody break it?" asked Bert. Once he had broken a plate of which +his mother was very proud, and he remembered how sad she felt. + +"No, my china wasn't broken," said Miss Pompret. "In fact, there is a +sort of mystery about it." + +"Oh, please tell me!" begged Nan. "I like nice dishes and I like +stories." + +She and Bert looked at the closet of choice china dishes. Children +though they were, they could see that the plates, cups, saucers and +other dishes were not like the kind set on their table every day. + +What could Miss Pompret mean about a "mystery" connected with her set of +china? + + + + CHAPTER V + +"WHAT A LOT OF MONEY!" + +Bert and Nan sat up very straight on the chairs in Miss Pompret's dining +room, and looked first at her and then at the china closet with its +shiny, glass doors. Miss Pompret sat up very straight, too, in her +chair, and she, also, looked first from Nan and Bert to the wonderful +china, which seemed made partly of egg shells, so fine it was and +pretty. + +Miss Pompret's dining room was one in which it seemed every one had to +sit up straight, and in which every chair had to be in just the right +place, where the table legs must keep very straight, too, and where not +even a corner of a rug dared to be turned up. In fact it was a very +straight, old-fashioned but very beautiful dining room, and Miss Pompret +herself was an old-fashioned but beautiful lady. + +"Now if you will sit very still, and not move, I'll bring out some +pieces of my china set and show them to you," said Miss Pompret. "You +were so kind as to take the letter to the post-office for me when I +could not go myself, that I feel I ought to reward you to some way." + +"The chocolate cake was enough," said Nan. + +"Yes, it was awful good!" sighed Bert. + +"Mother told you not to say 'awful,'" interposed Ben's sister. + +"Oh, well, I mean it was terribly nice!" exclaimed the boy. + +"I'm glad you liked it," went on Miss Pompret with a smile. "But I must +not keep you too long, or your mother will be wondering what has become +of you. But I thought you, Nan, would be interested in seeing beautiful +china. You'll have a home of your own, some day, and nothing is nicer in +a nice home than beautiful dishes." + +"I know that!" cried Nan. "My mamma has some very beautiful dishes, and +once in a great while she lets me look them over. Sometimes, too, we +have them on the table--when it's some special occasion like a birthday +or visitors." + +"I don't much like to see the real nice dishes on a table," remarked +Bert. "I'm always afraid that I'll break one of them, and then I know my +mother would feel pretty bad over it." + +"You must be careful, my boy. You can't handle nice china as you can +your baseball or your football," said Miss Pompret, with a smile. + +"Well, I guess they couldn't treat dishes like baseballs and footballs!" +cried Nan. "Just think of throwing a sugar bowl up into the air or +hitting it with a bat, or kicking a teapot all around the lots!" + +"That certainly wouldn't be very nice," said Miss Pompret. + +She went over to the closet, unlocked the glass doors, and set some of +the rare pieces out on the lace cover of the dining room table. Bert and +Nan saw that Miss Pompret handled each piece as though it might be +crushed, even in her delicate hands, which were almost as white and thin +as a piece of china. + +"This is the wonderful Pompret tableware," went on the old lady. "It has +been in my family over a hundred years. My great-grandfather had it, and +now it has come to me. I have had it a number of years, and I think more +of it than anything else I have. Of course, if I had any little children +I would care for them more than for these dishes," went on Miss Pompret. +"But I'm a lonely old lady, and you neighborhood children are the only +ones I have," and she smiled rather wistfully at Nan and Bert. + +Carefully dish after dish was taken from the closet and set out for the +Bobbsey twins to look at. They did not venture to so much as touch one. +The china seemed too easily broken for that. + +"I should think you'd have to be very careful when you washed those +dishes," remarked Nan, as she saw how light glowed through the side of +one of the thin cups. + +"Oh, I am," answered Miss Pompret. "No one ever washes this set but me. +My maid is very careful, but I would not allow her to touch a single +piece. I don't use it very often. Only when some old and dear friends +come to see me is the Pompret china used. And then I am sorry to say, I +can not use the whole set." + +"Why not?" asked Bert. "Are you afraid they'll break it?" + +"Oh no," and Miss Pompret smiled. "I'm not afraid of that. But you see I +haven't the whole set, so I can't show it all. One of the sorrows of my +life is that part of my beautiful set of china is missing." + +"There's a lot of it, though," added Bert, as he saw a number of shelves +covered with the rare plates, cups and saucers. + +"Yes, but the sugar bowl and cream pitcher are missing," went on Miss +Pompret, with a shake of her white head. "They were beautiful. But, +alas! they are missing." And she sighed deeply. + +"Where are they?" asked Nan. + +"Ah, that's the mystery I am going to tell you about," said Miss +Pompret. "It isn't a very big story, and I won't keep you long. It isn't +often I get a chance to tell it, so you must forgive an old lady for +keeping you from your play," and again she smiled, in rather a sad +fashion, at Nan and Bert. + +"Oh, we like it here!" exclaimed Nan quickly. + +"It's lots of fun!" added Bert. "I like to hear about a mystery." + +"Well," began Miss Pompret, "as I told you, this set of china has been +in our family over a hundred years. It was made in England, and each +piece has the mark of the man who made it. See, this is what I mean." + +She turned over one of the cups and showed the Bobbsey twins where, on +the bottom, there was the stamp, in blue, of some animal in a circle of +gold. + +"That is the mark of the Waredon factory, where this china was made," +went on Miss Pompret. "Only china made by Mr. Waredon can have this mark +on it." + +"It looks like our dog Snap," said Bert. + +"Oh, no!" laughed Miss Pompret. "That is supposed to be the British +lion. Mr. Waredon took that as a trade-mark, and at the top of the +golden circle, with the blue lion inside, you can see the letter 'J' +while at the bottom is the letter 'W.' They stand for the name Jonathan +Waredon, in whose English factory the china was made. Each piece has +this mark on it, and no other make of china in the world can be +rightfully marked like that. + +"Well, now about the mystery. Some years ago, before you children were +born, I lived in another city. I had the china set there with me, and +then it was complete. I had the cream pitcher and the sugar bowl. One +day a ragged man came to the house. He was very ragged and poor. I +suppose you would call him a tramp. + +"The cook I then had felt sorry for him, and let him come into the +kitchen to have something to eat. As it happened, part of my rare china +set was on a table in the same room. I was getting ready to wash it +myself, as I would let no one else touch it. + +"Well, when I came out to wash my beautiful dishes the sugar bowl and +cream pitcher of the set were gone. They had been on the table when the +tramp was eating the lunch the cook gave him, but now they could not be +found. The cook and I looked all over for them--we searched the house, +in fact, but never found them." + +"Who took them?" asked Bert, eagerly. + +"Well, my dear boy, I have never found out. The cook always said the +tramp put the sugar bowl and cream pitcher in his pocket when her back +was turned to get him a cup of coffee. At any rate, when he was gone the +two pieces were gone also, and while I do not want to think badly of any +one, I have come to believe that the tramp took my rare dishes." + +"Didn't you ever see him again?" asked Nan. + +"No, my dear, never, as far as I know." + +"And did you never find the dishes?" Bert wanted to know. + +"Never. I advertised for them. I inquired if any boys in the +neighborhood might have slipped in and taken them for a joke, but I +never found them. To this day," went on Miss Pompret, "I have never +again set eyes on my cream pitcher and sugar bowl. They disappeared as +completely and suddenly as though they had fallen down a hole in the +earth. The tramp may have taken them; but what would he do with just two +pieces? They were too frail for him to use. A man like that would want +heavy dishes. Perhaps he knew how valuable they were and perhaps he +intended asking a reward for bringing them back. But I never heard from +him. + +"So that is why my rare set of Pompret china is not complete. The two +pieces are missing and I would give a hundred dollars this minute if I +could get them back!" + +"A--a hundred dollars!" exclaimed Bert. + +"Yes, my boy. If some one would get me that sugar bowl and pitcher, with +the mark of the lion in a golden circle, and the initials 'J' at the top +and 'W' at the bottom, I would willingly pay one hundred dollars," said +Miss Pompret. + +"A--a whole hundred dollars!" gasped Bert. "What a lot of money!" + + + + CHAPTER VI + +WONDERFUL NEWS + +Miss Alicia Pompret began putting back in the glass-doored closet the +pieces of rare china that had the blue lion in a circle of gold and the +initials "J.W." on the bottom of each piece. Nan and Bert watched her, +and saw how carefully her white hands took up each plate and cup. + +"A hundred dollars!" murmured Bert again. "I'd like to have all that +money. I'd buy--er--I'd buy a goat!" + +"A goat!" exclaimed Miss Pompret. + +"Yes," went on Bert. "Freddie nearly thought one once, when we went to +the big city, but mother wouldn't let him keep it. Now we're back home; +and if I had a hundred dollars I'd buy a goat." + +"Well, if you can find my sugar bowl and pitcher I'll be glad to pay you +a hundred dollars," said Miss Pompret with a smile at Bert. "But I don't +know that I'd like a goat," she added. + +"Do you really mean you'd pay a hundred dollars for two china dishes?" +asked Nan, her eyes big with wonder. + +"Yes, my dear," said Miss Pompret. "Of course if they were just two +ordinary dishes, such as these," and she pointed to some on a side +table, "they would not be worth a hundred dollars. But I need just those +two pieces--the pitcher and sugar bowl--to make my rare set of china +complete again. So if you children should happen to come across them, +bring them to me and I'll pay you a hundred dollars. But, of course," +she added, "they must be the pieces that match my set--they must have +the lion mark on the underside. However," she concluded with a sigh, "I +don't suppose you'll ever find them. The tramp must have broken them +many long years ago. I'll never see them again." + +"Did you know the tramp's name?" asked Bert. + +"Bless you, of course not!" laughed Miss Pompret. "Tramps hardly ever +tell their names, and when they do, they don't give the right one. No, +I'm sure I'll never see my beautiful dishes again. Sometimes I dream +that I shall, and I am disappointed when I awaken. But now I mustn't +keep you children any longer. I've told you my little mystery story, and +I hope you liked it." + +"Yes, we did, very much," answered Nan "Only it's too bad!" + +"You aren't sure the tramp took the dishes, are you?" asked Bert. + +"No; and that is where the mystery comes in," said Miss Pompret. +"Perhaps he didn't, and, maybe, in some unexpected way, I'll find them +again. I hope I do, or that some one does, and I'll pay the hundred +dollars to whoever does." + +"My, that's a lot of money!" murmured Bert again, when he and Nan were +once more on their way home, having said good-bye to Miss Pompret. "I +wish we could find those dishes." + +"So do I," agreed Nan. "But don't call 'em dishes, Bert." + +"What are they?" her brother wanted to know. + +"Why, they're rare china. When I grow up I'm going to have a set just +like Miss Pompret's." + +"With the dog on the bottom?" + +"Tisn't a DOG, it's a LION!" exclaimed Nan. + +"Well, it looks like our dog Snap," declared Bert. + +They ran on home to find their mother out at the gate looking up and +down the street for them. + +"Are you children just getting home from school?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey. +"Were you kept in for doing something wrong?" + +"Oh, no'm!" exclaimed Nan. "We went to see Miss Pompret." + +"And she's going to give us a hundred dollars if we find two of her +dishes!" exclaimed Bert. + +"My! What's all this?" asked his mother, laughing. + +"'Tisn't dishes! It's rare china," said Nan, and then, between them, she +and Bert told the story of the little favor they had done for Miss +Pompret, and how she had invited them in, given them cake and milk, and +told them the mystery story. + +"Well, you had quite a visit," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "Miss Pompret is a +dear lady, rather queer, perhaps, but very kind and a good neighbor. I +am glad you did her a favor. I have heard, before, about her china, and +knew she had some other rare and old-fashioned things in her house. I +have been there once or twice. Now I want you to go to the store for me. +Sam is away and Dinah needs some things for supper." + +"I want to go to the store, too!" exclaimed Freddie, who came around the +corner of the house just then, with his face and hands covered with mud. + +"Oh, my dear child! what have you been doing?" cried his mother. + +"Oh, just makin' pies," answered Freddie, rubbing one cheek with a grimy +hand. "I made the pies and Flossie put 'em in the oven to bake. We made +an oven out of some bricks. But we didn't really eat the pies," he +added, "'cause they were only mud." + +"You look as though you had tried to eat them," laughed Nan. "Come, +Freddie, I'll wash you clean." + +"No, I want to go to the store!" he cried. + +"So do I!" chimed in the voice of Flossie, as she, too, marched around +the corner of the house, dirtier, if possible, than her little twin +brother. "If Freddie goes to the store, I want to go with him!" Flossie +cried. + +"All right," answered Bert. "You go and wash Flossie and Freddie, Nan, +and I'll get the express wagon and we'll pull them to the store with us. +Then we can put the groceries in the wagon and bring them back that +way." + +"That will be nice," put in Mrs. Bobbsey. "I'll go and see just what +Dinah wants. Run along with Nan, Flossie and Freddie, and let her wash +you nice and clean." + +This just suited the smaller twins, and soon they were being made, by +Nan's use of soap and water in the bath room, to look a little less like +mud pies. While Bert got out the express wagon, Snap, the big dog, saw +his little master, and jumped about, barking in joy. + +"I don't care if that is a lion on the back of Miss Pompret's dishes," +murmured Bert, as he put a piece of carpet in the wagon for Flossie and +Freddie to sit on, "it looks just like you, Snap. And I wonder if I +could ever find that milk pitcher and sugar bowl and get that hundred +dollars. I don't guess I could, but I'd like to awful much. No, I +mustn't say 'awful,' but I'd like to a terrible lot. A hundred dollars +is a pack of money!" + +Down the street Nan and Bert pulled Flossie and Freddie in the little +express wagon, with Snap running on ahead and barking in delight. This +was the best part of the day for him--when the children came home from +school. Flossie and Freddie came first, and then Nan and Bert, and then +the fun started. + +"Now don't run too fast!" exclaimed Flossie, as the express wagon began +to bounce over the uneven sidewalk. + +"Oh, yes, let's go real fast!" cried Freddie. "Let's go as fast as the +fire engines go." + +"We can't run as fast as that, Freddie," declared Nan, who was almost +out of breath. "We'll just run regular." + +And then she and Bert pulled the younger twins around for a little ride +in the express wagon before they did the errand on which they had been +sent. + +"I had a letter from Mr. Martin to-day," said Mr. Bobbsey at the supper +table that evening. "He asked to be remembered to you," he said to Mrs. +Bobbsey. "And Billy and Nell sent their love to you children." + +"They got safely back to Washington, did they?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey. + +"Yes," her husband answered. "And they said they had had a very nice +visit here. They are anxious to have us come to Washington to see them." + +"Can we go?" asked Nan. + +"Well, perhaps, some day," said her father. + +"I'd like to go now," murmured Bert. "Maybe we might see that tramp in +Washington, and get back Miss Pompret's dishes." + +"Rare china," muttered Nan, half under her breath. + +"What tramp is that, and what about Miss Pompret's dishes?" asked Daddy +Bobbsey, as he took his cup of tea from Dinah. + +Then he had to hear the story of that afternoon's visit of Nan and Bert. + +"Oh, I guess Miss Pompret will never see her two china pieces again," +said Mr. Bobbsey. "If the tramp took them he must have sold them, if he +didn't smash them. So don't think of that hundred dollars, Bert and +Nan." + +"But couldn't we go to Washington, anyhow?" Bert wanted to know. + +"Well, not right away, I'm afraid," his father answered. "You have to go +to school, you know." + +But a few days after that something happened. About eleven o'clock in +the morning Bert, Nan, Flossie and Freddie came trooping home. Into the +house they burst with shouts of laughter. + +"What's the matter? What is it? Has anything happened?" cried Mrs. +Bobbsey. "Why are you home from school at such a time of day?" + +"There isn't any school," explained Nan. + +"No school?" questioned her mother. + +"And there won't be any for a month, I guess!" added Bert. "Hurray!" + +"What do you mean?" asked his surprised mother. "No school for a month?" + +"No, Mother," added Nan "The steam boiler is broken and they can't heat +our room. It got so cold the teacher sent us home." + +"An' we came home, too'" added Flossie. "We couldn't stay in our school +'cause our fingers were so cold!" + +"Was any one hurt when the boiler burst?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey. + +"No," Bert said. "It didn't exactly burst very hard, I guess." + +But Mrs. Bobbsey wanted to know just what the trouble was, so she called +up the principal of the school on the telephone, and from him learned +that the heating boiler of the school had broken, not exactly burst, and +that it could no longer heat the rooms. + +"It will probably be a month before we can get a new boiler, and until +then there will be no more school," he said. "The children will have +another vacation." + +"A vacation so near Christmas," murmured Mrs. Bobbsey. "I wonder what I +can do with my twins?" + +Just then the telephone rang, and Mrs. Bobbsey listened. It was Mr. +Bobbsey telephoning. He had heard of some accident at the school, and he +called up his house, from the lumberyard, to make sure his little fat +fairy and fireman, as well as Nan and Bert, were all right. + +"Yes, they're home safe," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "But there will be no +school for a month." + +"Good!" exclaimed Daddy Bobbsey. "That will just suit me and the +children, too. I'll be home in a little while, and I have some wonderful +news for them!" + +"Oh, I wonder what it can be!" exclaimed Nan, when her mother told her +what Daddy Bobbsey had said. + + + + CHAPTER VII + +ON A TRIP + +The Bobbsey twins could hardly wait for their daddy to come home after +their mother had told them what he said over the telephone. + +"Tell me again, Mother, just what he told you!" begged Nan. + +"Well, he said he was just as glad as you children were, that there was +to be no more school for a month," answered Mrs. Bobbsey. "Though, of +course, he was sorry that the steam boiler had broken. And then he said +he had some wonderful news to tell us all." + +"Oh, I know what it is!" cried Bert. + +"What?" asked Nan. + +"He's found the tramp that took Miss Pompret's dishes," went on Bert, +"and he's got them back--daddy has--and he's going to get the hundred +dollars! That's it!" + +"Oh, I hardly think so," said Mrs. Bobbsey, with a smile. "I don't +believe daddy has caught any tramp." + +"They do sometimes sleep in the lumberyard," remarked Bert. + +"Yes, I know," agreed his mother. "But, even if daddy had caught a +tramp, it would hardly be the same man who took Miss Pompret's rare +pieces of china--the pitcher and sugar bowl. And if it had been anything +like that, daddy would have told me over the telephone." + +"But what could the wonderful news be?" asked Nan. + +"Something too long to talk about until he gets home, I think," answered +Mother Bobbsey. "Have patience, daddy will soon be here!" + +But of course the Bobbsey twins could not be patient any more than you +could if you expected something unusual. They looked at the clock, they +ran to the door several times to look down the street to see if their +father was coming, and, at last, when Nan had said for about the tenth +time: "I wonder what it is!" a step sounded on the front porch. + +"There's daddy now!" cried Bert. + +Eight feet rushed to the front door, and Mr. Bobbsey was almost +overwhelmed by the four twins leaping at him at once. + +"What is it?" cried Bert. + +"Tell us the wonderful news!" begged Nan. + +"Have you got another dog for us?" Flossie wanted to know. + +"Did you bring me a new toy fire engine?" cried Freddie. + +"Maybe it's a goat!" exclaimed Flossie. + +"Now wait a minute! Wait a minute!" laughed Mr. Bobbsey, as he kissed +each one in turn. "Sit down and I'll tell you all about it." + +He led them into the library, and sat down on a couch, taking Flossie +and Freddie up on his knees, while Bert and Nan sat close on either +side. + +"Now first let me hear all about what happened at school to-day," said +Mr. Bobbsey, who had come home to dinner. + +"Oh, no!" laughed Nan. "We want to hear the wonderful news first!" + +"Oh, all right!" laughed her father. "Well, then, how would you all like +to go off on a trip?" + +"A trip?" cried Bert. "A real trip? To Florida?" + +"Well, hardly there again so soon," replied his father. + +"Do you mean a trip to some city?" asked Nan. "In a steamboat?" cried +Freddie. "I want to go on a boat!" + +"Yes, I think perhaps we can go on a boat," said Mr. Bobbsey. + +"And in a train, too!" exclaimed Flossie. "I want to go on a train!" + +"And I suppose, if we take this trip, we'll have to go on a train, +also," and Mr. Bobbsey looked over the heads of the children and smiled +at his wife who stood in the doorway. + +"But you haven't told us yet where we are going," objected Nan. + +"Is it to New York?" Bert wanted to know. + +"Part of it is," his father replied. + +"Oh, is it two trips?" Nan asked. + +"Well, not exactly," answered Mr. Bobbsey. "You might say it has two +parts to it, like a puzzle. The first part is to go on a trip to New +York, and from there we'll go on a trip to--I'll let you see if you can +guess. Come on, Bert, your turn first." + +"To Uncle William's!" guessed Bert. + +"No," answered his father. "Your turn, Nan." + +"To Uncle Daniel's at Meadow Brook." + +"No," and her father smiled at her. + +"I know!" cried Freddie. "We're goin' on the houseboat." + +"Wrong!" said Mr. Bobbsey. "Now what does my little fat fairy have to +say?" + +"Are we going swimming?" asked Flossie, who loved to splash in the +water. + +"Hardly!" laughed Daddy Bobbsey. "It's too cold. Well, none of you has +guessed right, so I'll tell you. We're going to Washington to visit the +Martin children who were here a while ago." + +"Oh, to Washington!" cried Nan. "How nice!" + +"And shall we see Billy and Nell?" Bert wanted to know. + +"Yes," his father answered, "that's what we'll do. I had a letter from +Mr. Martin the other day, inviting us all to come to his house to pay +him a visit," he went on. "I didn't know just when I could go, but +to-day I got another letter from another man in Washington, saying he +wanted to see me about some lumber business. I may have to stay a week +or two, so I thought I would take the whole family with me, and make a +regular visit of it." + +"Will you take us all?" asked Freddie. + +"Yes." + +"And Snap and Snoop an' an'--" began Flossie. + +"Well, hardly the dog and the cat," explained her father. "Just mother, +you four twins and I will go to Washington." + +"When can we start?" Nan asked. + +"As soon as your mother can get you ready," replied Mr. Bobbsey. + +"I'm ready now," announced Freddie. + +"And shall we stop in New York?" Bert demanded. + +"Yes, for a day or so. And now what do you think of my news?" asked Mr. +Bobbsey. + +"It's just--wonderful!" cried Nan. "Oh, we'll have such fun with Nell +and Billy!" + +"And I want to see if I can drop a ball off Washington Monument," added +Bert. + +"Oh, you hadn't better try that," his father cautioned him. "You might +hit some one. Well, then, it's all settled, and we'll go on the trip. +How about it, Mother?" and he smiled at his wife. + +"I think it will be very nice to go," she answered. "I like Mr. Martin +and his children very much, and I'm sure we'll like Mrs. Martin too. +It's fortunate that we can all go--that the children will not lose any +schooling. For if all the classes stop, and the school is closed, they +will all start evenly again when the boiler is fixed. So run along now, +my twins, and get ready for lunch. Daddy and I have lots to talk about." + +And so did the Bobbsey twins, as you can easily imagine. + +If I told you all the things that happened in the next few days there +would be but little else in this book except the story of getting ready +for the journey. And as the trip itself is what you want to hear about, +and especially what happened on it, I'll skip the getting ready and go +right on with the story. + +Trunks and valises were packed, Dinah and Sam were told what to do while +the Bobbseys were away, and the children reminded the colored cook and +her husband to be sure to feed Snap and Snoop plenty of things the dog +and cat liked. + +"Oh, I'll look after dem animiles all right, honey lamb!" said fat Dinah +to Freddie. "I won't let 'em starve!" + +"And maybe I can get another dog in Washington," said Freddie. + +"And maybe I can find a cat!" added Flossie. + +"Fo' de land sakes! doan brung any mo' catses an' dogses around heah," +begged Dinah. + +At last everything was in readiness. Mr. Bobbsey had written to Mr. +Martin, telling of the coming of the Bobbsey twins to Washington, after +a short stay in New York. The children said good-bye to Dinah and Sam, +as well as to Snap and Snoop, and then one day they were taken to the +railroad station in the automobile. + +"All aboard!" cried the conductor, as the Bobbseys scrambled into the +coach of the train that was to take them to New York. "All aboard!" + +"Oh, isn't this fun?" cried Nan, as she settled herself in a seat with +Bert. + +"Great!" he agreed. "I wonder what will happen before we get back." + +And it was going to be something very odd, I can tell you that much. + + + + CHAPTER VIII + +IN NEW YORK + +The Bobbsey twins had been to so many places, and had so often ridden in +railroad trains, that this first part of their trip--journeying in the +steam cars--was nothing new to them. They were quite like old travelers; +at least Nan and Bert were. For Flossie and Freddie there was always +sure to be something new and strange on such a long railroad trip. + +The two older twins had picked out a nice seat in the center of the car, +and were comfortably settled, Bert kindly letting Nan sit next to the +window. + +"You may sit here after a while," Nan said to Bert. "We'll take turns." + +"That will be nice," replied Bert. + +But Flossie and Freddie were not so easily pleased. Each of the smaller +twins wanted to sit next to the window, and their father and mother knew +that soon the little snub noses would be pressed close against the +glass, and that the bright eyes would see everything that flashed by as +the tram speeded on. + +But the trouble was that there were not enough seats for Flossie and +Freddie each to have one, and, for a moment, it looked as though there +would be a storm, Freddie slipped into the only whole vacant seat and +took his place next the window. + +"Oh, I want to sit there!" cried Flossie. "Mother, make Freddie give me +that place! Please do!" + +"No! I was first!" exclaimed the little boy, and this was true enough. + +"I want to look out the window and see the cows!" went on Flossie, and +her voice sounded as though she might cry at any moment. "I want to see +the cows!" + +"And I want to see the horses," declared Freddie. "If I'm going to be a +fireman I've got to look at horses, haven't I?" he asked his father. + +"Cows are better than horses!" half-sobbed Flossie. "Mother, make +Freddie let me sit where I can look out!" + +"Children! Children! This isn't at all nice!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey. +"What shall I do?" she asked her husband in a low voice, for several of +the passengers were looking at Flossie and Freddie, whose voices were +rather loud. + +"I'll let Flossie have my place," offered Nan. "I don't mind sitting in +the outside seat. Here, Flossie, come over here and sit with Bert, and +I'll sit with Freddie." + +"Thank you, very much, Nan," said her mother in a low voice. "You are a +good girl. I'm sure I don't know what makes Flossie and Freddie act so. +They are usually pretty good on such a journey as this." + +But Nan did not have to give up her place at the window, for a gentleman +in the seat across the aisle arose and said to Mr. Bobbsey with a smile: + +"Let your little girl take my seat near the window. I'm going into the +smoking car, and I get off at the next station. I know how I liked to +sit near a window, where I could see the horses and cows, when I was a +little boy." + +"Oh, thank you!" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey. "That is very kind of you." + +So the change was made. Flossie had a seat near one window, and Freddie +near another, and Mr. Bobbsey sat with his "little fireman," while Mrs. +Bobbsey took the other half of the seat with the "little fat fairy." Nan +and Bert were together, and so there was peace at last. On rushed the +train taking the Bobbsey twins to New York; and from there they were to +go to Washington, where a strange adventure awaited them. + +Nothing very much happened during the first part of the journey. Of +course, Flossie and Freddie wanted many drinks of water, as they always +did, and for a time they kept Bert busy going to the end of the car to +fill the drinking cup. But as it was winter and the weather was not +warm, the little twins did not want quite as much water as they would +have wanted had the traveling been done on a hot day in summer. And at +last Flossie and Freddie seemed to have had enough. They sat looking out +of the window and speaking now and then of the many things they saw. + +"I counted ten horses," announced Freddie after a while. "They were +mostly on the road. I didn't see many horses in the fields." + +"No, not very many horses are put out to graze in the fields in the +winter, except perhaps on an extra warm day when there isn't any snow," +said Mr. Bobbsey. + +"And I saw two-sixteen cows!" exclaimed Flossie. "I saw them in a +barnyard. Two-sixteen cows." + +"There aren't so many cows as that; is there, Daddy?" asked Freddie. + +"Well, perhaps not quite," agreed Mr. Bobbsey with a smile. "But Flossie +saw a few cows, for I noticed them myself." + +Then the smaller twins tried to count the telegraph poles and the trees +that flashed past, and soon this made them rather drowsy. Flossie leaned +back against her mother, and was soon sound asleep, while Freddie +cuddled up in Daddy Bobbsey's arms and, in a little while, he, also, was +in by-low land. + +Bert and Nan took turns sitting next to the window, until the train boy +came through with some magazines, and then the older twins were each +allowed to buy one, and this kept them busy, looking at the pictures and +reading the stories. + +It was a rather long trip from Lakeport to New York, and it was evening +when the train arrived in the big city. It was quite dark, and the +smaller twins, at least, were tired and sleepy. But they roused up when +they saw the crowds in the big station, and noticed the bright lights. + +"I'm hungry, too!" exclaimed Freddie. "I want some supper. Oh, dear, I +wish Dinah was here!" + +"So do I!" added Flossie. "I guess my cat Snoop is having a good supper +now." + +"And I guess my dog Snap is, too!" went on Freddie. "Why can't we have +supper?" he asked of his father, and several of the passengers, hurrying +through the big station, turned to laugh at the chubby little fellow, +who spoke very loud. + +"We'll soon have supper, little fireman," said Mr. Bobbsey. "We might +have eaten on the train, but I thought it best to wait until we reached +our hotel, where we shall stay all night." + +"How long are we going to be in New York?" asked Nan. + +"Two or three days," her father replied. "I have some business to look +after here. We may stay three days." + +"That'll be fun!" exclaimed Bert. "There's a lot of things I want to +see, and we didn't have time when we were here before." + +The twins had been in New York before, as those of you know who have +read the book called "The Bobbsey Twins In a Great City." + +The hotel was soon reached, and, after being washed and freshened up in +the bathroom of their apartment, the Bobbsey twins and their father and +mother were ready to go down to supper. And not all the bright lights, +nor the music which played all during the meal, could stop Flossie and +Freddie from eating, nor Bert and Nan, either. The twins were very +hungry. + +The next day Mrs. Bobbsey took Nan and Flossie shopping with her, while +Mr. Bobbsey took Bert and Freddie down town with him as the lumber +merchant had to see some men on business, and he knew the two boys could +wait in the different offices while he talked with his men friends. + +"We will meet you in the Woolworth Building," said Mr. Bobbsey to his +wife. "You bring Flossie and Nan there, and after we go up in the high +tower we'll have lunch, and then go to the Bronx Park to see the +animals." + +"Oh, that will be fun!" cried Freddie. "I want to see a bear--two +bears!" + +"And I want to see ten--fifteen monkeys!" cried Flossie. + +"Well, I hope you all get your wishes!" laughed Mother Bobbsey. + +In one of the downtown offices where he had to stop to see a man, Mr. +Bobbsey was kept rather a long time talking business, and Freddie and +Bert got tired, or at least Freddie did. Bert was so interested in +looking out of the high window at the crowds in the streets below, that +he did not much care how long his father stayed. But Freddie wandered +about the outer office, looking at the typewriter which a pretty girl +was working so fast that, Bert said afterward, you could hardly see her +fingers fly over the keys. The girl was too busy to pay much attention +to what Freddie did until, all of a sudden, she looked down at the floor +and exclaimed: + +"Oh, it's raining in here! Or else a water pipe has burst!" She pointed +to a little puddle of water that had formed under her desk, while +another stream was running over the office floor. + +"Why, it isn't raining!" declared Bert, for the sun was shining outside. +"It can't be!" + +"Then where did the water come from?" asked the girl. + +"I--I guess I made it come!" confessed Freddie, walking out of a corner. +"I got a drink from the water tank, but now I can't shut off the handle, +and the water's comin' out as fast as anything!" + +"Oh, my!" cried the girl, jumping up with a laugh, "I must shut it off +before we have a flood here!" + +"Freddie! what made you do it?" asked Bert. + +"I couldn't help being thirsty, could I?" asked the little boy. "And it +wasn't my fault the handle got stuck! I didn't know so much water would +come out!" + +And I suppose it really wasn't his fault. The girl soon shut oft the +water at the faucet, and a janitor mopped up the puddle on the floor, so +that when Mr. Bobbsey came out with his friend from the inner office, +everything was all right again. And the business man only laughed when +he heard what Freddie had done. + +"Now we'll go to the Woolworth Building," said Mr. Bobbsey to Freddie +and Bert, as they went out on Broadway. "I think mother and the girls +will be there waiting for us, as I stayed talking business longer than I +meant to." + +And, surely enough, Mrs. Bobbsey, Nan, and Flossie were waiting in the +lobby of the big Woolworth Building when Mr. Bobbsey came up with the +two boys. This building is the tallest one in the world used for +business, and from the top of the golden tower one can look for miles +and miles, across New York Bay, up toward the Bronx, over to Brooklyn +and can see towns in New Jersey. + +"We'll go up in the tower and have a view," said Mr. Bobbsey, "and then +we'll get lunch and go to the Bronx, where the animals are." + +They entered one of the many elevators, with a number of other persons +who also wanted to go to the Woolworth tower, and, in a moment, the +sliding doors were closed. + +"Oh!" suddenly exclaimed Nan. + +And Flossie, Freddie and Bert all said the same thing, while Mrs. +Bobbsey clasped her husband's arm and looked rather queer. + +"What's the matter?" asked her husband. + +"Why, we're going up so fast!" exclaimed the children's mother. "It +makes me feel queer!" + +"This is an express elevator," said Mr. Bobbsey. "There are so many +floors in this tall building that if an elevator went slowly, and +stopped at each one, it would take too long to get to the top. So they +have some express elevators, that start at the bottom floor, and don't +stop until they get to floor thirty, or some such number as that." + +"Are there thirty floors to this building?" asked Bert, as the elevator +car, like a big cage in a tunnel standing on end, rushed up. + +"Yes, and more," his father answered. + +"I like to ride fast," said Freddie, "I wish we had an elevator like +this at home." + +They had to take another, and smaller elevator, that did not go so fast, +to get to the very top of the tower, and from there the view was so +wonderful that it almost took away the breath of the Bobbsey twins. + +"My, this is high up!" exclaimed Bert, as he looked over the edge of the +railing, and down at the people in the streets below, who seemed like +ants crawling around. + +"Well, I guess we'd better be going now," said Mr. Bobbsey, after a bit. +"Come, children! Nan--Bert--Flossie--Why, where is Freddie?" he asked, +looking around. + +"Isn't he here?" cried Mrs. Bobbsey, her face turning white. + +"I don't see him," went on Mr. Bobbsey. "He must have gone inside." But +Freddie was not there, nor was he anywhere on the outside platform that +surrounded the topmost peak of the tall building. + +"Oh, where is he? What has happened to Freddie?" cried his mother. "If +he has fallen! Freddie!" + + + + CHAPTER IX + +WASHINGTON AT LAST + +The startled cries of Mrs. Bobbsey alarmed a number of other women on +the tower platform, and some one asked: + +"Did your little boy fall off?" + +"I don't know what happened to him!" said Mrs. Bobbsey, who was now +almost crying. "He was here a moment ago, and now he's gone!" + +"He couldn't have fallen off!" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey. "Some one would +have seen him. I think he must have gone down by himself in the little +elevator. I'll ask the man." + +The elevator, just then, was at the bottom of the tower, but it was soon +on its way up, and Mrs. Bobbsey fairly rushed at the man as he opened +the door. + +"Where is my little boy? Oh, have you seen my little boy?" she cried. + +"Well, I don't know, lady," answered the elevator man. "What sort of +little boy was he?" + +"He has blue eyes and light hair and--" + +"Let me explain," Mr. Bobbsey spoke quietly. "My little boy, Freddie, +was out on the tower platform with us looking at the view, a few minutes +ago, and now we can't find him. We thought perhaps he slipped in here by +himself and rode down with you." + +"Well, he might have slipped into my elevator when I wasn't looking," +answered the man. "I took two or three little boys down on the last +load, but I didn't notice any one in particular. Better get in and ride +to the ground floor. Maybe the superintendent or the head elevator man +can tell you better than I. Get in and ride down with me." + +"Oh, yes, and please hurry!" begged Mrs. Bobbsey. "Oh, what can have +happened to Freddie?" + +"I think you'll find him all right," said the elevator man. "No accident +has happened or I'd have heard of it." + +"Yes; don't worry!" advised Mr. Bobbsey. + +But Mrs. Bobbsey could not help worrying, and Nan, Bert and Flossie were +very much frightened. They were almost crying. Even though the Bobbseys +got in an express elevator after getting out of the small, slower one, +it could not go down fast enough to suit Freddie's mother. When the +ground floor was reached she was the first to rush out. + +One look around the big corridor of the Woolworth Building showed Mrs. +Bobbsey that something had happened over near one of the elevators. +There was a crowd there, and, for a moment, she was very much +frightened. But the next second she saw Freddie himself, with a crowd of +men around him, and they were all laughing. + +"Oh, Freddie! where did you go and what have you been doing?" cried his +frightened mother as she caught him up in her arms. + +"I've been having rides in the elevator," announced the small boy. "And +it went as fast as anything! I rode up and down lots of times!" + +"Yes, that's what he did," said the elevator man, with a laugh. "I +didn't pay much attention to him at first, but when I saw that he was +staying in my car trip after trip, I asked him at what floor he wanted +to get out. He said he didn't want to get out at all--that he liked me, +and liked to stay in and ride!" + +And at this the crowd laughed again. + +"And is that what you have been doing, Freddie--riding up and down in +the elevator?" asked Mr. Bobbsey. + +"Yes, and I liked it!" exclaimed Freddie. "I wished Flossie was with +me." + +"I'm here now!" said the "little fat fairy," laughing. "I can ride with +you now, Freddie." + +"No! There has been enough of riding," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "And you gave +me a bad fright, Freddie. Why did you wander away?" + +"'Cause I liked an elevator ride better than staying up so high where +the wind blew," explained the little fellow. + +And when they asked him more about it he said he had just slipped away +from them while they were on the tower platform, gone back into the room +and ridden down in the elevator with the other passengers. No one +realized that Freddie was traveling all by himself, the elevator man +thinking the blue-eyed and golden-haired boy was with a lady who had two +other children by the hands. + +Freddie rode to the ground floor, and then he just stayed in the express +elevator, riding up and down and having a great time, until the second +elevator man began to question him. + +"Well, don't ever do it again," said Mr. Bobbsey, and Freddie promised +that he would not. + +After this there was a lunch, and then they all went up to Bronx Park, +traveling in the subway, or the underground railway, which seems strange +to so many visitors to New York. But the Bobbsey twins had traveled that +way before, so they did not think it very odd. + +"It's just like a big, long tunnel," said Bert, and so the subway is. + +The Bronx Park is not such a nice place to visit in winter as it is in +summer, but the children enjoyed it, and they spent some time in the +elephant house, watching the big animals. There was also a hippopotamus +there, and oh! what a big mouth he had. The keeper went in between the +bars of the hippo's cage, with a pail full of bran mash, and cried: + +"Open your mouth, boy!" + +"Oh, look!" cried Bert. + +And, as they looked, the hippopotamus opened his great, big red jaws as +wide as he could, and the man just turned the whole pail full of soft +bran into the hippo's mouth! + +"Oh, what a big bite!" cried Freddie, and every one laughed. + +"Does he always eat that way?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey of the keeper. + +"Well, I generally feed him that way when there are visitors here," was +the answer. "The children like to see the big red mouth open wide. And +here's something else he does." + +After the hippo, which is a short name for hippopotamus, had swallowed +the pail full of bran mash, the keeper took up a loaf of bread from a +box which seemed to have enough loaves in it for a small bakery, and +cried: "Open again, old fellow!" + +Wide open went the big mouth, and right into it the man tossed a whole +loaf of bread. And the hippo closed his jaws and began chewing the whole +loaf of bread as though it were Only a single bite. + +"Oh my!" cried Freddie and Flossie, and Freddie added: "If he came to a +party you'd have to make an awful lot of sandwiches!" + +"I should say so!" laughed the keeper. "One sandwich would hardly fill +his hollow tooth, if he had one." + +The children spent some little time in the Bronx Park, and enjoyed every +moment. They liked to watch the funny monkeys, and see the buffaloes, +which stayed outdoors even though it was quite cold. + +The Bobbsey twins spent four days in New York, and every day was a +delight to them. They had many other little adventures, but none quite +so "scary" as the one where Freddie slipped away to ride in the +elevator. + +Finally, Mr. Bobbsey's business was finished, and one evening he said: + +"To-morrow we go to Washington." + +"Hurray!" exclaimed Bert. "Then I can see Billy Martin." + +"And I can see Nell. I like her very much," added Nan. + +"And I'm going to see the big monument!" cried Freddie. + +Early the next morning the Bobbsey family took a train at the big +Pennsylvania Station to go to Washington. Nothing very strange happened +on that trip except that a lady in the same car where the twins rode had +a beautiful little white dog, and Flossie and Freddie made friends with +it at once, and had lots of fun playing with the animal. + +"Washington! Washington!" called the trainman, after a ride of about +five hours. "All out for Washington!" + +"Here at last, and I am glad of it," sighed Mrs. Bobbsey. "I shall be +glad to have supper at the hotel and get to bed. I am tired!" + +But the children did not seem to be tired. They had enjoyed every moment +of the trip. In an automobile they rode to their hotel, and soon were in +their rooms, for Mr. Bobbsey had engaged three with a nice bath. He had +decided it would be best to stay at a hotel rather than at the Martins' +house, because there were so many Bobbseys; but they expected to visit +their friends very often. + +It was evening when the Bobbseys arrived in Washington, and too late to +go sight-seeing. But on the way to the hotel in the automobile they had +passed the Capitol, with the wonderful lights showing on the dome, +making it look as though it had taken a bath in moon-beams. + +"Oh, it's just lovely here!" exclaimed Nan, with a happy little sigh as +they went down to supper, or "dinner" as it is generally called, even +though it is eaten at night. + +"Scrumptious!" agreed Bert. + +The Bobbsey family had a little table all to themselves at one side of +the room, and a waiter came up to serve them, Mr. Bobbsey giving the +order. + +Nan and Bert and Flossie and Freddie looked about. It was not the first +time they had stopped at a big hotel, but there was always something new +and strange and interesting to be seen. + +Bert, who had been gazing about the room, began to look at the dishes, +knives and forks the waiter was putting on the table. Suddenly the +dark-haired boy took hold of the sugar bowl and turned it over, +spilling out all the lumps. + +"Why Bert! you shouldn't do that," exclaimed his father. + +"I want to see what's on the bottom of this bowl," Bert said. "It looks +just like the one Miss Pompret lost, and if it's the same I'll get a +hundred dollars! Oh, look, it is the same! Nan, I've found her lost +sugar bowl!" cried Bert. + + + + CHAPTER X + +LOST + +Several persons, dining at different tables, looked over to the one +where the Bobbseys were. They smiled as they heard Bert's excited voice +and saw him with the empty, overturned sugar bowl in his hand. + +"Yes, this is the very one Miss Pompret lost!" Bert went on. "If we can +only find the milk pitcher now we'll have both pieces and we can get the +reward. Look at the pitcher, Nan, and see if it's got the dog--I mean +the lion--on as this has." + +"Don't dare turn over the milk!" cried Mrs. Bobbsey, as Nan reached for +the pitcher. "Spilling the sugar was bad enough. Bert, how could you?" + +"But, Mother, that's the only way I could tell if it was Miss +Pompret's!" said the boy, while Flossie and Freddie looked curiously at +the heap of square lumps of sugar where Bert had emptied them in the +middle of the table. + +"Let me see that bowl, Bert," said Mr. Bobbsey a bit sternly. "I think +you are making a big mistake. This isn't at all like the kind of china +Miss Pompret has. Hers is much finer and thinner." + +"But this has got a lion on the bottom, and it's in a circle just like +the lion on Miss Pompret's dishes!" said Bert, as he passed the bowl to +his father. + +"Are the letters there--the letters 'J.W.'?" Nan asked eagerly. + +"I don't see them," said Bert. "But the lion is there. Maybe the letters +rubbed off, or maybe the tramp scratched 'em off." + +"No, Bert," and Mr. Bobbsey shook his head, "this sugar bowl has a lion +marked on the bottom, it is true, but it isn't the same kind that is on +Miss Pompret's fine china. This tableware is made in Trenton, New +Jersey, and it is new--it isn't as old as that Miss Pompret showed you. +Now please pick up the sugar, and don't act so quickly again." + +"Well, it looked just like her sugar bowl," said Bert, as he began +putting the square lumps back where they belonged. A smiling waiter saw +what had happened, and came up with a sort of silver shovel, finishing +what Bert had started to do. + +"Wouldn't it have been great if we had really found her milk pitcher and +sugar bowl?" asked Nan. "If we had the hundred dollars we could buy lots +of things in Washington." + +"Don't count on it," advised Mrs. Bobbsey. "You will probably never see +or hear of Miss Pompret's missing china. But I'm glad Bert overturned +the sugar bowl and not the milk pitcher searching for the lion mark." + +"Oh, I wouldn't upset the milk'" exclaimed Bert with a laugh. "I knew +the sugar wouldn't hurt the tablecloth." + +So that incident passed, much to the amusement of the other hotel +guests, and, really, no great harm was done, for the sugar was easily +put back in the bowl. Then dinner was served, and for a time the Bobbsey +twins did not talk very much. They were too busy with their knives, +forks and spoons. + +Bert wanted to go out and take a look at the Capitol by night, to see +the searchlights that were arranged to cast their glow up on the dome +from the outside. Nan, also, said she would like to take a little walk, +and as Mrs. Bobbsey was tired she said she would stay in with Flossie +and Freddie. + +So it was arranged, and Mr. Bobbsey took the two older children out of +the hotel. It was still early evening, and the streets were filled with +persons, some on foot, some in carriages, and many in automobiles. + +It was not far from the hotel where the Bobbseys were staying to the +Capitol, and soon Bert and Nan, with their father, were standing in +front of the beautiful structure, with its long flight of broad steps +leading up to the main floor. + +"It's just like the picture in my geography!" exclaimed Nan, as she +stood looking at it. + +"But the picture in your book isn't lighted up," objected Bert. + +"Well, no," admitted Nan. + +"The lights have not been in place very long," explained Mr. Bobbsey. +"Very likely the picture in Nan's book was made before some one thought +of putting search lamps on the dome." + +"Could we go inside?" Bert wanted to know. "I'd like to see where the +President lives." + +"He doesn't live in the Capitol," explained Nan. "He lives in the White +House; doesn't he Daddy? Our history class had to learn that." + +"Yes, the White House is the home of the President," said Mr. Bobbsey. +"But we could go inside the Capitol for a few minutes I guess. The +senators and congressmen are having a night session." + +"What for?" asked Nan. "Do they have to work at night?" + +"Sometimes." + +"They don't work," declared Bert. "They just talk. I know, 'cause I +heard Mr. Perkins say so down in our post-office at home one day. He +said all the senators and congressmen did was talk and talk and talk!" + +"Well, they do talk a lot!" laughed Bert's father. "But that is one of +the ways in which they work. Now we'll go inside for a little while." + +In spite of the fact that it was night the Capitol was a busy place. +Later Mr. Bobbsey learned that the senators and congressmen were meeting +at night in order to finish a lot of work so they could the sooner end +the session--"adjourn," as it is called. + +Bert and Nan walked around the tiled corridors. They saw men hurrying +here and there, messenger boys rushing to and fro, and many visitors +like themselves. + +The children looked at the pictures and statues of the great men who had +had a part in the making of United States history, but, naturally, Nan +and Bert did not care very much for this. + +"It isn't any fun!" exclaimed Bert. "Can't we go in and hear 'em talk +and talk and talk, like Mr. Perkins said they did?" + +"We'll go in and hear the senators and congressmen debate, or talk, as +you call it, some other time," said Mr. Bobbsey. "We mustn't stay too +late now on account of having left mother and Freddie and Flossie at the +hotel. I think you've seen enough for the first evening." + +So, after another little trip about the corridors, Bert and Nan followed +their father outside and down the flight of broad steps. + +"Say, this would be a great place to slide down with a sled if there was +any ice or snow!" exclaimed Bert. + +"They wouldn't let him, would they, Daddy?" asked Nan. + +"Hardly," answered her father. + +"Well, I can have fun some other way," Bert said. "I wish I could find +Miss Pompret's dishes and get the hundred dollars." + +"So do I!" sighed Nan. + +But their father shook his head and told them not to hope or think too +much about such a slim chance as that. + +Flossie and Freddie were in bed and asleep when Mr. Bobbsey and Bert and +Nan reached the hotel again, and, after a little talk with their mother, +telling her what they had seen, the two older Bobbsey twins "turned in," +as Bert called it, having used this expression when camping on Blueberry +Island, and taking the voyage on the deep, blue sea. + +Because they were rather tired from their trip, none of the Bobbseys +arose very early the next morning. + +"It's a real treat to me to be able to lie in bed one morning as long as +I like," said Mrs. Bobbsey, with a happy sigh as Flossie crept in with +her. "And I don't have to think whether or not Dinah will have breakfast +on time. I'm having as much fun out of this trip as the children are," +she told her husband. + +"I am glad you are, my dear," he said. "I'll be able to go around with +you a little to-day, but after that, for about a week, I shall be quite +busy with Mr. Martin. But Mrs. Martin and Nell and Billy will go around +with you ant the children." + +"When are we going to see Billy and Nell?" asked Bert, at the breakfast +table. + +"To-day," answered his father. "I telephoned Mr. Martin last night that +we had arrived, and they expect us to lunch there to-day. But first I +thought I'd take the children into the Congressional Library building. +It is very wonderful and beautiful." + +And it certainly was, as the children saw a little later, when their +father led them up the broad steps. The library building was across a +sort of park, or plaza, from the Capitol. + +"We will just look around a little here, and then go on to Mr. +Martin's," said Mr. Bobbsey. "It takes longer than an hour to see all +the beautiful and wonderful pictures and statues here." + +Mrs. Bobbsey was very much interested in the library, but I can not say +as much for Flossie and Freddie, though Nan and Bert liked it. But the +two smaller Bobbsey twins were anxious to get outdoors and "go +somewhere." + +"Well, we'll go now," said Mr. Bobbsey, when he and his wife had spent +some little lime admiring the decorations. "Come, Freddie. Where's +Flossie?" he asked, as he looked around and did not see his "little fat +fairy."' + +"She was here a little while ago," replied Nan. "I saw her with +Freddie." + +"Where did Flossie go, Freddie-boy?" asked his mother. + +"Up there!" and the little chap pointed to a broad flight of stone +steps. + +"Oh, she has wandered away," said Mrs. Bobbsey. + +"I'll run up and get her!" offered Mr. Bobbsey. Up the stairs he +hurried, but he came back in a little while with a queer look on his +face. "I can't find her," he said. + +"Oh, Flossie's lost!" cried Freddie. "Oh, maybe she falled down stairs +and got lost!" + + + + Chapter XI + +The President + +Really it was nothing new for one of the Bobbsey twins to become +lost--especially the younger set, Flossie and Freddie. Some years before, +when they were younger, it had often happened to Nan and Bert, but they +were now old enough, and large enough, to look after themselves pretty +well. But Flossie or Freddie, and sometimes both of them, were often +missing, especially when the family went to some new place where there +were strange objects to see, as was now the case in the Congressional +Library. + +"Where do you suppose Flossie could have gone?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey, as +she glanced around the big rotunda in which they stood with some other +visitors who had come to the city of Washington. + +"I'll have to ask some of the men who are in charge of this building," +replied Daddy Bobbsey. "Are you sure you saw Flossie go up those stairs, +Freddie?" he asked the little fireman. + +"Well, she maybe went up, or she maybe went down," answered the boy. "I +was lookin' at the pishures on the wall, and Flossie was by me. And +then--well, she wasn't by me," he added, as if that explained it all. +"But I saw a little girl go up the stairs and I thought maybe it was +Flossie." + +"But why didn't you tell mother, dear?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey. "If you had +called to me when you saw Flossie going away I could have brought her +back before she got lost. Why didn't you tell me that Flossie was going +away?" + +"'Cause," answered Freddie. + +"Because why?" his father wanted to know. + +"'Cause I thought maybe Flossie wanted to slide down a banister of the +stairs and maybe you wouldn't let her, and I wanted to see if she could +slide down and then I could slide down too!" + +"Well, that's a funny excuse!" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey. "I don't believe +Flossie would slide down any banister here. But she has certainly +wandered away, and we'll have to find her. You stay here with the +children, so I'll know where to find you," Mr. Bobbsey said to his wife. +"I'll go to look for Flossie." + +"I want to come!" exclaimed Nan. + +"No, you had better stay with mother," her father told her. "But I will +take Bert along. He can take a message for me in case I have to send +one. Come along!" he called to Nan's brother. + +"All right, Daddy," answered Bert. + +Up the big stone stairs went Daddy Bobbsey and Bert. Mrs. Bobbsey, with +a worried look on her face, remained in the big rotunda with Nan and +Freddie. The two children were worried too. + +"Do you s'pose Flossie is hurt?" asked Nan. + +"Oh, no, I don't believe so," and Mrs. Bobbsey tried to speak easily. +"She has just gone into some room, or down some long hall, and lost her +way, I think. You see there are so many rooms and halls in this building +that it would be easy for even daddy or me to be lost. But your father +will soon find Flossie and bring her back to us." + +"But if they don't find her, Mamma?" + +"Oh, they'll be sure to do that, Nan. There is nobody around this +building who would hurt our little Flossie." + +"What an awful big building it is," remarked Nan. "And just think of the +thousands and thousands of books! Why, I didn't know there were so many +books in the whole world! Mamma, do you suppose any of the people down +here read all these books?" + +"Hardly, Nan. They wouldn't have time enough to do that." + +And now we shall see what happens to Mr. Bobbsey and Bert. Flossie's +father decided to try upstairs first, as Freddie seemed to think that +was the way his little sister had gone. + +"Of course, he isn't very sure about it," said Mr. Bobbsey to Bert; "but +we may as well start one way as the other. If she isn't upstairs she +must be down. Now we'll look around and ask questions." + +They did this, inquiring of every one they met whether a little blue-eyed +and flaxen-haired child had been seen wandering about. Some whom +Mr. Bobbsey questioned were visitors, like himself, and others were men +who worked in the big library. But, for a time, one and all gave the +same answer; they had not seen Flossie. + +Along the halls and into the different rooms went Mr. Bobbsey and Bert. +But no Flossie could they find until, at last, they approached a very +large room where a man with very white hair sat at a desk. The door of +this room was open, and there were many books in cases around the walls. + +"Excuse me," said Mr. Bobbsey to the elderly gentleman who looked up +with a smile as Flossie's father and Bert entered the room. "Excuse me +for disturbing you; but have you seen anything of a little girl--" + +"Did she have blue eyes?" asked the old man. + +"Yes!" eagerly answered Mr. Bobbsey. + +"And did she have light hair?" + +"Oh, yes! Have you seen her?" + +Softly the man arose from his desk and tiptoed over to a folding screen. +He moved this to one side, and there, on a leather couch and covered by +an office coat, was Flossie Bobbsey, fast asleep. + +"Oh! Oh!" exclaimed Bert. + +"Hush!" said the old man softly. "Don't awaken her. When she arouses +I'll tell you how she came in here. It's quite a joke!" + +"You stay here, Bert," said Mr. Bobbsey to his son, "and I'll go and get +your mother, Nan and Freddie. I want them to see how cute Flossie looks. +They'll be glad to know we have found her." + +So while Bert sat in a chair in the old man's office Mr. Bobbsey hurried +to tell his wife and the others the good news. And soon Mrs. Bobbsey and +the rest of the children were peeping at Flossie as she lay asleep. + +And then, suddenly, as they were all looking down at her, the little +girl opened her eyes. She saw her mother and father; she saw Nan and +Bert and Freddie; and then she looked at the kind old man with the white +hair. + +"Did you find a story book for me?" were the first words Flossie said. + +"Well, I'm afraid not, my dear," was the old man's answer. "We don't +have story books for little girls up here, though there may be some +downstairs." + +"Is that what she came in here for--a story book?" asked Mr. Bobbsey. + +"I believe it was," answered the old man, with a smile. "I was busy at +my desk when I heard the patter of little feet and a little girl's voice +asking me for a story book. I looked around, and there stood your little +one. I guessed, at once, that she must have wandered away from some +visitors in the library, so I gave her a cake I happened to have in my +lunch box, and got her to lie down on the sofa, as I saw she was tired. +Then she fell asleep, and I covered her up and put the screen around +her. I knew some one would come for her." + +"Thank you, so much!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey. "But, Flossie, how did you +happen to come up here?" + +"Oh, I wanted a story book," explained the little girl, as she sat up. +"We have story books in our library, an' there ought to be story books +here. I looked in this room an' I saw a lot of books, so I did ask for +one with a story in it. I like a story about pigs an' bears an'--an' +everything!" finished Flossie. + +"Well, I wish I had that kind of story book for you, but I haven't!" +laughed the old man. + +"All my books are very dull, indeed, for children, though when you grow +up you may like to read them," and he waved his hand at the many books +in the room. + +So Flossie was lost and found again. The old man was one of the +librarians, and he had taken good care of the little girl until her +family came for her. After thanking him, Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey led their +twins downstairs and Mr. Bobbsey said: + +"Well, I think we have seen enough of the library for a time. We had +better go and see the Martins." + +"Oh, yes!" cried Bert. "Billy said he'd take me to see the President." + +"And I want to go, too!" added Nan. + +"We'll see!" half promised her mother. + +In an automobile the Bobbsey family rode to where the Martin family +lived. And you can well believe that Billy and Nell were glad to see the +Bobbsey twins once more. Mrs. Martin welcomed Mrs. Bobbsey, and soon +there was a happy reunion. Mr. Martin was at his office, and Mr. Bobbsey +said he would go down there to see him. + +"Then couldn't we go out and see the President while mother stays here +and visits with Mrs. Martin?" asked Nan. "Nell and Billy will go with +us." + +"I think they might go," said Mrs. Martin. "Billy and Nell know their +way to the White House very well, as they often go. It isn't far from +here." + +"Well, I suppose they may go," said Mrs. Bobbsey slowly. + +"And I want to go, too!" exclaimed Freddie. "I want to see the dent." + +"It isn't a DENT--it's PRESIDENT--the head of the United States!" +explained Bert. "Our teacher told us about him, and she said if ever I +came to Washington I ought to see the President." + +"I want to see him too," cried Flossie. + +"Let all the children go!" said Mrs. Martin. "I'll send one of my maids +to walk along with them to make sure that they keep together. It is a +nice day, and they may catch a glimpse of the President. He often goes +for a drive from the White House around Washington about this time." + +"Well, I suppose it will be a little treat for them," said Mrs. Bobbsey. + +"Oh, goodie!" shouted Freddie. + +So, a little later, the Bobbsey twins, with Nell and Billy Martin and +one of the Martin maids, were walking toward the White House. + +"There it is!" exclaimed Billy to Bert, as they turned the corner and +came within view of the Executive Mansion, as it is often called. + +"Oh, it IS white!" cried Nan. + +"Just like the pictures!" added Bert. + +"It's got a big iron fence around," observed Freddie. "Is that so the +President can't get out?" + +"No, I guess it's so no unwanted people can get in," answered Nell. + +The children and the maid walked down the street and looked through the +iron fence into the big grounds, green even now though it was early +winter. And in the midst of a great lawn stood the White House--the home +of the President of the United States. + +Suddenly two big iron gates were swung open. Several policemen began +walking toward them from the lawn and some from the street outside. + +"What's the matter?" asked Bert. "Is there a fire?" + +"The President is coming out in his carriage," said Billy. "If we stand +here we can see him! Look! Here comes the President!" + + + + CHAPTER XII + +WASHINGTON MONUMENT + +Down the White House driveway rolled the carriage, drawn by the prancing +horses. It was coming toward the iron gate near which, on the sidewalk, +stood the Bobbsey twins, with their new friends, Billy and Nell Martin. + +On the front seat of the carriage, which was an open one, in spite of +the fact that the day was cool, though not very cold, sat two men. One +drove the horses and the other sat up very straight and still. + +"I should think he'd have an automobile," remarked Bert. + +"He has," answered Billy. "He has an auto--two of 'em, I guess. But lots +of times he rides around Washington in a carriage just as he's doing +now." + +"That's right," chimed in Nell. "Sometimes we see the President and his +wife in a carriage, like now, and sometimes in a big auto." + +By this time the carriage, containing the President of the United +States, was passing through the gate. A crowd of curious persons, who +had seen what was going on, as had the Bobbsey twins, came hurrying up +to catch a glimpse of the head of the nation. The police officers and +the men from the White House ground kept the crowd from coming too close +to the President's carriage. + +The Chief Executive, as he is often called, saw the crowd of people +waiting to watch him pass. Some of the ladies in the crowd waved their +hands, and others their handkerchiefs, while the men raised their hats. + +Billy put his hand to his cap, saluting as the soldiers do, and Bert, +seeing this, did the same thing. Nell and Nan, being girls, were not, of +course, expected to salute. As for Flossie and Freddie they were too +small to do anything but just stare with all their eyes. + +As the President's carriage drove along he smiled, bowed, and raised his +hat to those who stood there to greet him. The President's wife also +smiled and bowed. And then something in the eager faces of the Bobbsey +twins and their friends, Nell and Billy, attracted the notice of the +President's wife. + +She smiled at the eager, happy-looking children, waved her hand to them, +and spoke to her husband. He turned to look at the Bobbseys and their +friends, and he waved his hand, He seemed to like to have the children +watching him. + +And then Flossie, with a quick little motion kissed the tips of her +chubby, rosy fingers and fluttered them eagerly toward the President's +wife. + +"I threw her a kiss!" exclaimed Flossie with a laugh. + +"I'm gin' to throw one too," exclaimed Freddie. And he did. + +The President's wife saw what the little Bobbsey twins had done, and, as +quick as a flash, she kissed her hand back to Flossie and Freddie. + +"Oh, isn't that sweet!" exclaimed a woman in the throng, and when, +afterward, Nan told her mother what had happened, Mrs. Bobbsey said that +when Flossie and Freddie grew up they would long remember their first +sight of a President of the United States. + +"Well, I guess that's all we can see now," remarked Billy, as the +President's carriage rolled off down the street and the crowd that had +gathered at the White House gate began moving on. The gates were closed, +the policemen and guards turned away, and now the Bobbsey twins and +their friends were ready for something else. + +"Where do you want to go?" asked Billy of Bert. + +"Oh, I don't know. 'Most anywhere, I guess." + +"Could we go to see the Washington Monument?" asked Nan. "I've always +wanted to see that, ever since I saw the picture of it in one of daddy's +books at home." + +"I don't believe we'd better go out there alone," said Nell. "It's quite +a way from here. We'd better have our mothers or our fathers with us. +But we can walk along the streets, and go in the big market, I guess." + +"Let's do that!" agreed Billy. "There's heaps of good things to eat in +the market," he added to Bert. "It makes you hungry to go through it." + +"Then I don't want to go!" laughed Bert. "I'm hungry now." + +"I know where we can get some nice hot chocolate," said Nell. "It's in a +drug store, and mother lets Billy and me go there sometimes when we have +enough money from our allowance." + +"Oh, I'm going to treat!" cried Bert. "I have fifty cents, and mother +said I could spend it any way I pleased. Come on and we'll have +chocolate. It's my treat!" + +"We may go, Mayn't we, Jane?" asked Nell, of the maid who had +accompanied them. + +"Oh, yes," was the smiling answer. "If you go to Parson's it will be all +right." + +And a little later six smiling, happy children, and a rosy, smiling maid +were seated before a soda counter sipping sweet chocolate, and eating +crisp crackers. + +After that Billy and Nell took the Bobbsey twins to the market, which is +really quite a wonderful place in Washington, and where, as Billy said, +it really makes one hungry to see the many good things spread about and +displayed on the stands. + +"I think we've been gone long enough now," said the maid at last. "We +had better go back." + +So, after looking around a little longer at the part of the market where +flowers were sold and where old negro women sold queer roots, barks, and +herbs, the Bobbsey twins and their friends started slowly back toward +the Martin house. + +On the way they passed a store where china and glass dishes were sold, +and there were many cups, saucers and plates in one of the windows. + +"Wait a minute!" cried Bert, as Billy was about to pass on. "I want to +look here!" + +"What for?" Billy asked. "You don't need any dishes!" + +"I want to see if Miss Pompret's sugar bowl and cream pitcher are here," +Bert answered. "If Nan or I can find them we'll get a lot of money, and +I could spend my part while I was here." + +"Why Bert Bobbsey!" cried Nan, "you couldn't find Miss Pompret's things +here--in a store like this. They only sell new china, and hers would be +secondhand!" + +"I know it," admitted Bert. "But there might be a sugar bowl and pitcher +just like hers here, even if they were new." + +"Oh, no!" exclaimed Nan. "There couldn't be any dishes like Miss +Pompret's. She said there wasn't another set in this whole country." + +"Well, I don't see 'em here, anyhow!" exclaimed Bert, after he had +looked over the china in the window. "I guess her things will never be +found." + +"No, I guess not," agreed Billy, to whom, and his sister, Nan told the +story of the reward of one hundred dollars offered by Miss Pompret for +the return of her wonderful sugar bowl and cream pitcher, while Bert was +looking at the window display. + +"Well, did you have a good time?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey, when her twins +came trooping back. + +"Yes. And we saw the President!" cried Nan. + +And then they told all about it. + +The Bobbseys spent the rest of the day visiting their friends, the +Martins, and returned to their hotel in the evening. They planned to +have other pleasure going about the city to see the sights the next day +and the day following. + +"Could we ever go into the house where the President lives?" asked Nan +of her father that night. + +"Yes, we can visit the White House or, rather, one room in it," said Mr. +Bobbsey. "What they call the 'East Room' is the one in which visitors +are allowed. Perhaps we may go there tomorrow, if Mr. Martin and I can +finish some business we are working on." + +After breakfast the next morning the Bobbsey twins were glad to hear +their father say that he would take them to the White House; and, a +little later, in company with other visitors, they were allowed to enter +the home of the President, and walk about the big room on the east side +of the White House. + +"I'm going to sit down on one of the chairs," said Nan. "Maybe it will +be one that the President once sat on." + +"Very likely it will be," laughed Mrs. Bobbsey, as Nan picked out a +place into which she "wiggled." From the chair she smiled at her +brothers and sister, and they, too, took turns sitting in the same +chair. + +Bert found a pin on the thick green carpet in the room. The carpet was +almost as thick and green as the moss in the woods, and how Bert ever +saw the tiny pin I don't know. But he had very sharp eyes. + +"What are you going to do with it?" asked his father. + +"Just keep it," the boy answered. "Maybe it's a pin the President's wife +once used in her clothes." + +"Oh, you think it's a souvenir!" laughed Mrs. Bobbsey, as Bert stuck the +pin in the edge of his coat. And for a long time he kept that common, +ordinary pin, and he used to show it to his boy friends, and tell them +where he found it. + +"The White House President's pin," he used to call it. + +"And now," said Mr. Bobbsey, as they came from the White House, "I think +we'll have time to see the Monument before lunch." + +"That's good!" exclaimed Nan. "And shall we go up inside it?" + +"I think so," her father replied. + +Washington Monument, as a good many of you know, is not a solid shaft of +stone. It is built of great granite blocks, as a building is built, and +is, in fact, a building, for it has several little rooms in the base; +rooms where men can stay who watch the big pointed shaft of stone, and +other rooms where are kept the engines that run the elevator. + +The bottom part of Washington Monument is square, and on one side is a +doorway. Above the base the shaft itself stretches up over five hundred +feet in height, and the top part is pointed, like the pyramids of the +desert. The monument shaft is hollow, and there is a stairway inside, +winding around the elevator shaft. Some people walk up the stairs to get +to the top of the monument, where they can look out of small windows +over the city of Washington and the Potomac River. But most persons +prefer to go up and down in the elevator, though it is slow and, if +there are many visitors they have to await their turns. + +If the Bobbseys had walked up inside the monument they would have seen +the stones contributed by the different states and territories. Each +state sent on a certain kind of stone when the monument was being built, +and these stones are built into the great shaft. + +As it happened, there was not a very large crowd visiting the monument +the day the Bobbseys were there, so they did not have long to wait for +their turn in the elevator. + +"This isn't fast like the Woolworth Building elevators were," remarked +Bert as they felt themselves being hoisted up. + +"No," agreed his father. "But this does very well. This is not a +business building, and there is no special hurry in getting to the top." + +But at last they reached the end of their journey and stepped out of the +elevator cage into a little room. There were windows on the sides, and +from there the children could look out. + +"It's awful high up," said Nan, as she peeped out. + +"Not as high as the Woolworth Building," stated Bert, who had jotted +down the figures in a little book he carried. + +Flossie and Freddie had gone around to the other side of the elevator +shaft with their mother, to look from the windows nearest the river, +and, a moment later, Mr. Bobbsey, Nan and Bert heard a cry of: + +"Oh, Flossie! Flossie! Look out! There it goes!" + + + + CHAPTER XIII + +A STRAY CAT + +MR. BOBBSEY, who was standing near Bert and Nan, turned quickly as he +heard his wife call and ran around to her side. + +"What's the matter?" he called. "Has Flossie fallen?" + +But one look was enough to show him that the two little Bobbsey twins +and their mother were all right. But Flossie was without her hat, and +she had been wearing a pretty one with little pink roses on it. + +"What happened?" asked Mr. Bobbsey, while one of the men who stay inside +the Monument at the top, to see that no accidents happen, came around to +inquire if he could be of any help. + +"It's Flossie's hat," explained Mrs. Bobbsey. "She was taking it off, as +she said the rubber band hurt her, when a puff of wind came along---" +"And it just blowed my hat right away!" cried Flossie. "It just blowed +it right out of my hand, and it went out of the window, my hat did! And +now I haven't any more hat, and I'll--I'll--an'--an'--" + +Flossie burst into tears. + +"Never mind, little fat fairy!" her father comforted her, as he put his +arms around her. "Daddy will get you another hat." + +"But I want that one!" sobbed Flossie. "It has such pretty roses on it, +an' I liked 'em, even if they didn't smell!" + +"I guess the little girl's hat will be all right when you get down on +the ground," said the monument man. "Many people lose their hats up +here, and unless it's a man's stiff one, or unless it's raining or +snowing, little harm comes to them. I guess your little girl's hat just +fluttered to the ground like a bird, and you can pick it up again." + +"Do you think so?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey. + +"Oh, you'll get her hat back again, ma'am, I'm sure," the man said. +"There's lots of boys and young men who stay around the monument, hoping +for a chance to earn a stray dime or so by showing visitors around or +carrying something. One of them probably saw the hat flutter out of the +window, and somebody will pick it up." + +"Well, let's go down and see," suggested Mr. Bobbsey. "I think we have +had all the view we want." + +"Don't cry, Flossie," whispered Nan consolingly, as she took her little +sister by the hand. "We'll get your hat back again." + +"And the roses, too?" Flossie asked. + +"Yes, the roses and everything," her mother told her. + +"If I were a big, grown-up fireman, I could climb down and get Flossie's +hat," said Freddie. "That's what firemans do. They climb up and down big +places and get things--and people," the little boy added after a moment +of thought. + +"Well, I don't want my little fireman climbing down Washington +Monument," said Mr. Bobbsey. "It's safer to go down in the elevator." + +And, a little later, the Bobbsey twins and their father and mother were +back on the ground again. Once outside the big stone shaft, they saw a +boy come running up with Flossie's hat in his hand. + +"Oh, look! Look!" cried the little girl. "There it is! There it is!" + +"Is this your hat?" the small boy wanted to know. "I saw it blow out of +the window, and I chased it and chased it. I was afraid maybe it would +blow into the river." + +"It was very nice of you," said Mr. Bobbsey, and he gave the boy +twenty-five cents, which pleased that small chap very much. + +Flossie's hat was a little dusty, but the pink roses were not soiled, +and soon she was wearing it again. Then, smiling and happy, she was +ready to go with the others to the next sight-seeing place. + +"Where now?" asked Bert, as they started away from the little hill on +which the Monument stands. + +"I think we'll go to the Smithsonian Museum," said his father. "There +are a few things I want to see, though you children may not be very much +interested. Then I want to take your mother to the art gallery and after +that--well, we'll see what happens next," and he smiled at the Bobbsey +twins. + +"I know it will be something nice!" exclaimed Nan. + +"I hope it's something good to eat!" murmured Bert. "I'm hungry!" + +"I'd like to see a fire!" cried Freddie. "Do they ever have fires in +Washington, Daddy?" + +"Oh, yes, big ones, sometimes. But we really don't want to see any, +because a fire means danger and trouble for people." + +"And wettings, too," put in Flossie. "Sometimes when Freddie plays fire +he gets me wet." + +"Well, I'm goin' to be a fireman when I grow up," declared Freddie. "And +I wish I had my little fire engine now, 'cause I don't like it not to +have any fun." + +"We'll have some fun this afternoon," his father promised him. + +Just as Mr. Bobbsey had expected, the children were not much amused in +the art gallery or the museum. But Mrs. Bobbsey liked these places, and, +after all, as Nan said, they wanted their mother to have a good time on +this Washington trip. + +After lunch they went again to call on the Martins, as Mr. Bobbsey had +to see the father of Billy and Nell on business. + +"And where are we going to have some fun?" Bert asked, as they journeyed +away from their hotel toward the Martin house. + +"You'll see," his father promised. The children tried to guess what it +might be, but they could not be sure of anything. + +It did not take Mr. Bobbsey long to get through with his business with +Mr. Martin and then the father of the twins said to Mrs. Martin: + +"Can you let Billy and Nell come with us on a little trip?" + +"To be sure. But where are you going?" Mrs. Martin replied. + +"I thought we'd take one of the big sight-seeing autos and ride about +the city, and perhaps outside a little way," said Mr. Bobbsey. "Nell and +Billy can tell us the best way to go." + +"Oh, yes! I can do that'" cried Billy. "I often take rides that way with +my uncle when he comes to Washington. Come on, Nell! We'll get ready." + +"May we really go?" asked Nell, of her mother. + +"Yes, indeed!" was the answer. + +So, a little later, the Bobbsey twins, with Billy and Nell and Mr. and +Mrs. Bobbsey, were on one of the big automobiles. It was not too cold to +ride outside, as they were all bundled up warm. + +Through the different parts of the city the sight-seeing car went, a man +on it telling the persons aboard about the different places of interest +as they were passed. In a little while the machine rumbled out into the +quieter streets, where the houses were rather far apart. + +Then the automobile came to a stop, and some one asked: + +"What's so wonderful to see here?" + +"Nothing," the driver of the car answered. "But I have to get some water +for the radiator. We won't be here very long. Those who want to, can get +out and walk around." + +"Yes, I'll be glad to stretch by legs," said one man with a laugh. He +was sitting next to Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey, and they began talking to him. +Nan and Bert were talking to Billy and Nell, and, for the time being, no +one paid much attention to Flossie and Freddie, who were in a rear seat. + +Suddenly Flossie called to her little brother; + +"Oh, look! There's a cat! It's just like our Snoop!" + +Freddie looked to where Flossie pointed with her chubby finger. + +"No, that isn't like our Snoop," said the little boy, shaking his head. + +"Yes, 'tis too!" declared his sister. "I'm going to get down and look at +it. I like a cat, and I didn't see one close by for a long time." + +"Neither did I," agreed Freddie. "If that one isn't like our Snoop, it's +a nice cat, anyhow." + +The cat, which seemed to be a stray one, was walking toward the car, its +tail held high in the air "like a fishing pole." + +Flossie and Freddie were in the rear seat, as I have said, and no one +seemed to be paying any attention to them. Their father and mother were +busy talking to the man who had gotten down to "stretch his legs," and +Nan and Bert, with Billy and Nell, were busy talking. + +"Let's get down," proposed Flossie. + +"All right," agreed Freddie. + +In another moment the two smaller Bobbsey twins had left their seat, +climbed down the rear steps of the sight-seeing automobile, and were +running toward the stray cat, which seemed to wait for them to come and +pet it. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +STRAY CHILDREN + +"Nice pussy! Come and let me rub you!" said Freddie softly, as he held +out his hand toward the stray cat. + +"Yes, come here, Snoop!" added Flossie, as she walked along with her +brother. + +"'Tisn't Snoop, and you mustn't call him that name," ordered Freddie. + +"Well, he looks like Snoop," declared Flossie. + +"But if that isn't his name he won't like to be called by it, no more +than if I called you Susie when your name's Flossie," went on the little +boy. + +"Do you s'pose cats know their names?" asked Flossie. + +"Course they do!" exclaimed her brother. "Don't our Snoop know his name +when I call him, same as our dog Snap does?" + +"Oh, well, but our cat is a very, very, smart cat!" + +"Maybe this one is, too," Freddie said. "Anyhow, we'll just call him +'Puss' or 'Kittie,' and he'll like that, 'cause that's a name for any +cat." + +"That's so," agreed Flossie. + +So calling to the stray cat in their soft, little voices, and holding +out their hands to pet the animal, Flossie and Freddie walked farther +away from the sight-seeing car, and soon they were petting the cat that, +indeed, did look a bit like Snoop. + +They stroked the soft back of the cat, rubbed its ears, and the animal +rubbed up against their legs and purred. Then, suddenly, the cat heard a +dog barking somewhere, and ran down toward the side entrance of a large, +handsome house. + +"Oh, come on!" cried Freddie to his sister, as he saw the cat running +away. "Maybe there's some little cats back here, and we could get one to +take home with us! Come on, Flossie!" + +Flossie was willing enough to go, and in a moment they were in the rear +yard of one of the big houses, and out of sight from the street where +the auto stood, while the man was putting water in the radiator. + +The cat, once over its fright about the barking dog, seemed quieter now, +and let the two little Bobbsey twins pet it again. Freddie saw a little +box-like house in one corner of the yard and cried: + +"I'm going to look here, Flossie! Maybe there's kittens in it!" + +"Oh, let me see!" exclaimed the little girl. Forgetting, for a time, the +stray cat they had started to pet, she and her brother ran over to the +little box-like house. + +"Better look out!" exclaimed Flossie, as they drew near. + +"Why?" asked Freddie. + +"'Cause maybe there's a strange dog in that box." + +"If there was a dog in this yard I guess this cat wouldn't have come in +here," replied Freddie. "The cat ran when the other dog barked, and +there can't be a dog here, else the cat wouldn't come in." + +"I wonder what's there?" murmured Flossie. + +"We'll soon find out," her brother said, as he bent over the little +house, which was made of some boxes nailed together. There was a tiny +window, with a piece of glass in it, and a small door. + +Freddie began to open the little door, and he was not very much afraid, +for now the cat was purring and rubbing around his legs, and the little +boy felt sure that there could be no dog, or anything else scary, in the +box-house, or else the cat would not have come so close. + +"Maybe there isn't anything in there," suggested Flossie. + +"Oh, there's got to be SOMETHING!" declared Freddie. "It's a place for +chickens, maybe." + +"It's too little for chickens," said Flossie. + +"Well, maybe it's a place for----" + +That is as far as Freddie got in his talk, for, just then, a voice +called from somewhere behind the children: + +"Hi there! What do you want?" + +"Oh!" + +Freddie and Flossie both called out in surprise as they turned. They +saw, standing on the back steps of the big house, a boy about as big as +Bert. + +"We came in after this cat," said Freddie, and he pointed to the stray +pussy that was rubbing against his legs. + +"Is it your cat?" the boy wanted to know. + +Flossie shook her head. + +"We just followed after him," she said. "He was out on the street, and +we saw him, and we got down to rub him, and he heard a dog bark, and he +ran in here, and we ran after him." + +"Oh, I see," and the boy on the back steps smiled in a friendly way. "So +it isn't your cat." + +"No," answered Freddie, "Is it yours?" + +The boy shook his head. + +"I never saw the cat before," he answered. "It's a nice one, though, and +maybe I'll keep it if you don't want it." + +"Oh, we don't want it!" Freddie said quickly. "We have a cat of our own +at home. His name is Snoop." + +"And we have a dog, too," added Flossie. "But his name is Snap. And we +have Dinah and Sam. Only they aren't a cat or a dog," she went on. +"Dinah is our cook and Sam's her husband." + +"Where do you live?" the boy asked. + +"Oh, away off," explained Freddie. "We live in Lakeport, and we go to +school." + +"Only now there isn't any school," went on Flossie. "We can't have a +fire 'cause something broke, and we came to Washington." + +"Have you come here to live?" the strange boy questioned. + +"No, only to visit," explained Freddie. "My father has to see Mr. +Martin. Do you know Mr. Martin?" + +The strange boy shook his head. + +"I guess he doesn't live around here," he remarked. "I've lived here all +my life; but there's nobody named Martin on this block. Where did you +come from?" + +"Offen the auto," explained Freddie. "We were riding on the auto with +Billy Martin and Nell, and our father and mother and Nan and Bert and----" + +"Say, there are a lot of you!" cried the boy with a laugh. + +"It was a big auto," explained Flossie. "But the man had to stop and +give it some water, so we got down to pet the cat. It's a nice cat." + +"Yes, it's a nice cat all right," agreed the strange boy, and he came +down the steps and began to rub the animal. "I like cats," he went on to +the children. "What's your names?" + +"Flossie and Freddie Bobbsey," answered Freddie. "What's yours?" + +"Tom Walker," was the answer. "I guess I know where you came from. It's +one of those big, sight-seeing autos. They often go through this street, +but I never saw one stop before. You'd better look to see that it +doesn't go off and leave you." + +"Oh, the man said we could get down," returned Freddie. "And one man is +going to stretch his legs. I'd like to see a man stretch his legs." he +went on. "I wonder how far he can stretch them?" + +"Not very far, I guess," remarked Tom Walker. "But I'm glad to see you, +anyhow. I've been sick, and I had to stay home from school, but I'm +better now, and I'm going back to-morrow. But I haven't had any one to +play with, and I'm glad you came in--you and the cat." + +"'Tisn't our cat!" Flossie hastily explained. + +"Oh, I know!" agreed the boy. "But he came in with you." + +"We thought maybe there were kittens in that box," and Freddie pointed +to the one he had been about to open. + +"Oh, that was the place where I used to keep my rabbits," said Tom. "I +haven't any now, but maybe I'll get some more; so I left the little +house in the yard. I like rabbits." + +"So do I!" declared Freddie. + +"And their nose goes sniff-snuff so funny!" laughed Flossie. "Rabbits +eat a lot of cabbage," she said. "If I had something to eat now I would +like it." + +"Say, I can get some cookies!" cried Tom. "Wait, I'll go in the house +after some. You wait here!" + +"We'll wait!" said Freddie. + +Into the house bounded Tom, and to the cook in the kitchen he called: + +"Oh, please give me some cookies. There's a stray cat in our yard and +some stray children, and I want to give 'em something to eat, and----" + +"My goodness, boy, how you do rattle on!" cried the cook. "What do you +mean about stray cats and stray children?" + + + + CHAPTER XV + +"WHERE ARE THEY?" + +Freddie and Flossie walked slowly up the yard, away from the empty +rabbit house, and stood at the foot of the back steps up which Tom +Walker had hurried to ask the cook for something to eat for the "stray +children." The little Bobbsey twins had not heard what the cook said to +Tom after he had asked for something to eat. But the cook repeated her +question. + +"What do you mean by stray cats and stray children?" + +"There are the stray children out in the yard now," answered Tom. "They +strayed away from some place, just as that dog I kept for a while once +did. There was a stray cat, too, but I don't see it now." + +"Stray children, is it?" cried the jolly cook. "Oh, look at the little +darlin's!" she exclaimed, as she saw the small Bobbsey twins standing +out in the yard, waiting for Tom to come back. Freddie and Flossie +certainly did look very sweet and pretty with their new winter coats and +caps on, though it was not very cold. It was not as cold in Washington +as in Lakeport. + +"Do you think he'll bring us anything to eat?" asked Freddie of Flossie, +as they stood there waiting. + +"I hope he does," the little girl answered. "I'm hungry." + +"So'm I!" Freddie admitted. "I guess that cat was, too. Where did he +go?" + +The cat answered himself, as though he knew he was being talked about. +He came out from under the back steps, rubbed up against Flossie's fat, +chubby legs with a mew and a purr, and then, seeing a place where the +sun shone nice and warm on the steps, the cat curled up there and began +to wash its face, using its paws as all cats do. + +"Please, Sarah, can't I have something to eat for the stray children, +and maybe for the cat?" again asked Tom of the cook. + +"Oh, I dunno!" she answered. "Sure an' you're a bother! Your mother's +out and I don't know what to do. These must be lost children, and, most +likely, their father or mother's lookin' all over for 'em now. But I'd +better bring 'em in an' keep 'em safe here, rather than let 'em wander +about the streets. How did they come into our yard, do you think, Tom?" + +"They just walked in, after the stray cat. They were on one of the big +automobiles, and it stopped, so they got off. I told 'em maybe their +folks would be looking for them," went on Tom, who was older than +Flossie and Freddie. "But they seem to think it's all right." + +"Well, they're lost, as sure as anything," declared the cook. "But it's +best to keep 'em here until their folks can come after 'em. I'll give +you something for them to eat, Tom, and then you must look after 'em, as +I'm too busy, getting ready for the party your mother is going to have +this night." + +The kind cook soon got ready a plate of cookies and some glasses of milk +for Flossie and Freddie. And, as Tom began to feel hungry himself when +he saw something being made ready for his new little friends, a place +was set for him, also, on a side table in the dining room. + +"Call 'em in, now!" said the cook. "Everything is ready. And is the cat +there?" + +"Yes," answered Tom, as he looked out and saw the pussy curled up in the +sun on the steps. "It's there." + +"Well, I think I'll give it some milk," said the cook. + +So, a little later, Flossie and Freddie, the stray children--for that is +what they were--sat down to a nice little lunch in a strange, house. Tom +Walker sat down with them, and the stray cat had a saucer of milk in the +kitchen. + +"I looked out in the street," said the cook, as she came back to get +Freddie another glass of milk, "but I don't see any automobile there. +Did you really ride here in an auto?" + +"Oh, yes," answered Freddie. "And the man on it all the time talked +through a red horn, but I didn't know what he said." + +"That was the man speaking through a megaphone so everybody on the +sight-seeing auto would know what they were looking at as they rode +along," said Tom. "They often pass through here, though I haven't seen +any to-day." + +"But what to do about you children I don't know," said the cook, when +Flossie and Freddie had eaten as much as they wanted. "If you did come +here on an auto it's gone now, and there isn't a sign of it. I think you +must have come two or three streets away from the car before you turned +in here." + +"Oh, no!" exclaimed Freddie. "When we got down off the auto we saw the +cat and we came in after it. The auto was right out in front." + +"Well, it isn't there now," said the cook. "I guess it must have gone +away and taken your folks with it. Maybe they're looking for you. But I +guess you'll have to stay here until they come to find you. You're too +small to be allowed to go about alone." + +"We like it here," said Flossie, settling back comfortably in her chair. +"We can stay as long as you want us to." + +"And we can stay to supper if you ask us," went on Freddie. "Course +mother wouldn't let us ask for an invitation, but if you WANT to ask us +to stay we can't help it." + +"'Specially if you have cake," added Flossie, smoothing out her dress. + +"Yes, 'specially cake!" agreed Freddie. + +"Oh my!" laughed the cook. "Sure an' you're very funny! But I like you. +And I only wish I knew where your folks were. But the best I can do is +to keep you here until they come. They must know about where they lost +you. Come, Tom, take the stray children out and amuse them. Your +mother'll be home pretty soon." + +If Tom's mother had been at home she would have at once telephoned and +told the police that she had two lost--or stray--children at her house, +so that in case Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey inquired, as they did, they would +know that the tots were all right. + +But Mrs. Walker was not at home, and the cook did the best she could. +She made sure the children were safe and comfortable while they were +with her. + +And, after they had eaten, Tom got out some of his toys, and he and +Flossie and Freddie had a good time playing about the house and in the +yard. The stray cat wandered away while Flossie and Freddie were eating +their little lunch, and the Bobbsey twins did not see him again. + +Now while Flossie and Freddie were having a pretty good time, eating +cookies and drinking milk, there was much excitement on the big +sight-seeing car where Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey, Nan, Bert, and the other, +still had their seats. + +For some little time after the car had stopped to allow the man to put +water in the radiator, neither Mr. nor Mrs. Bobbsey missed their smaller +twins. They were busy talking, and Bert and Nan were looking about and +having a good time, talking to Billy and Nell Martin. + +At last, however, the auto man called: + +"Everything is all right! Get on board!" + +That meant he was going to start off again, and it was not until then +that Mrs. Bobbsey thought to look around to see if Flossie and Freddie +were all right. And, of course, she did not see them. + +"Flossie! Freddie! Where are you?" called Mrs. Bobbsey. + +There was no answer, and the seat which the two smaller children had +been in on the big bus, was empty. + +"Oh, Daddy!" cried Mrs. Bobbsey, "Flossie and Freddie have gone." + +"Gone? Gone where?" Mr. Bobbsey asked, + +"That's it--I can't say," answered Mrs. Bobbsey. "The last I saw of them +was when the auto stopped." + +"I saw the two little tots climb down off the rear steps of the car," +said the man who had wanted to "stretch his legs." "They seemed to be +going after something," he added. + +"It was a cat," said the woman next to the big man who had last spoken. +"I saw the children get down and go toward a stray cat and then I got to +thinking of something else." + +"Oh, if it was a cat you might know it!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey with a +laugh. "I guess they're all right. They can't have gone far. Probably +they are on the other side of the street, looking at some bedraggled +kitten." But a look up and down the street did not show Flossie and +Freddie. By this time the auto was all ready to start off again. + +"But we can't go without Flossie and Freddie!" cried Nan. + +"I should say not!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey. "Oh, where are they? Where +can my darlings have gone? What has happened?" + + + + CHAPTER XVI + +THE FIRE BELL + +Mrs. Bobbsey's cries of alarm, of course, excited all the other +passengers who had got back on the sight-seeing auto, ready to start off +again. They had had a little rest while the water was being put into the +radiator, and the man had "stretched his legs" all he wanted to, it +seemed. + +"The children can't be far away," said Mr. Bobbsey. "They were here only +a moment ago. Even if they have wandered off, which is probably what +they have done, they can't be far." + +"They're all right," the man who drove the car assured Mr. Bobbsey. "I +didn't see 'em go away, of course, as I was busy, but I'm sure nothing +has happened." + +"But what shall we do?" cried Mrs. Bobbsey, and tears came into her +eyes. "It does seem as if more things have happened to Flossie and +Freddie since we started on this trip than ever before." + +"Oh, they'll be all right," declared Mr. Bobbsey. "I'll look around. +Perhaps they may have gone into one of these houses." + +"Did you look under the seats?" asked Bert. + +"Under the seats!" exclaimed Billy. "What good would that do? Your +brother and sister couldn't be under there!" + +"Pooh, you don't know much about Flossie and Freddie!" answered Bert. +"They can be in more places than you can think of; can't they, Nan?" + +"Yes, they do get into queer places sometimes. But they aren't under my +seat," and Nan looked, to make sure. + +"Nor mine," added Nell, as she looked also. + +Some of the other passengers on the auto did the same thing. Mr. Bobbsey +really thought it might be possible that Freddie and Flossie, for some +queer reason, might have crawled under one of the seats when the big +machine stopped for water. But the children were not there. + +"Oh, what shall we do?" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey. + +"They'll be all right," her husband answered. "They can't be far away." + +"That's right ma'am," said a fat, jolly-looking man. + +"Some of you go and inquire in the houses near here," suggested the man +who drove the auto. "And I'll go and telephone back to the office, and +see if they're there." + +"But how could they be at your automobile office?" Mrs. Bobbsey wanted +to know. + +"It might easily happen," replied the man. "We run a number of these big +machines. One of them may have passed out this way while I was stopping +here for water, and perhaps none of us notice it, and the children may +have climbed on and gone on that car, thinking it was this one." + +"They couldn't get on if the auto didn't stop," said Billy. + +"Well, maybe it stopped," returned the driver. "Perhaps it passed up the +next street. The children may have gone down there and gotten on. +Whatever has happened, your little ones are all right, ma'am; I'm sure +of that." + +"I wish I could be!" sighed Mrs. Bobbsey. + +Several men volunteered to help Mr. Bobbsey look for the missing twins, +and they went to the doors of nearby houses and rang the bells. But to +all the answer was the same. Flossie and Freddie had not been seen. + +And the reason for this was that the small Bobbsey twins, in following +the stray cat, had turned a corner and gone down another street, and +were on the block next the one where the auto stood. That was the reason +the Walker cook, looking out in front, could see no machine, and why it +was that none of those who helped Mr. Bobbsey look for the missing +children could find them. + +"Well, this is certainly queer!" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey, when at none of +the houses was there any word of Flossie and Freddie. + +"But what are we to do?" cried his wife. + +"I think we'd better notify the police," said Mr. Bobbsey. "That will be +the surest way." + +"Yes, I think it will," agreed the auto man. "I telephoned to the +office, but they said no lost children had been turned in. Get aboard, +every one, and I'll drive to the nearest police station." + +Away started the big auto, leaving Flossie and Freddie behind in the +home of Tom Walker on the next street. And though Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey, +with Nan and Bert and Billy and Nell were much worried, Flossie and +Freddie themselves, were having a good time. + +For they were playing with Tom, who showed them his toys, and he told +them about the rabbits he used to keep. + +"I have had as many as six big ones at a time," Tom said. "And I had one +pair that had the finest red eyes you ever saw." + +"Red eyes!" cried Flossie. "What funny rabbits they must have been!" + +"Oh, I know some rabbits have red eyes," declared Freddie. "But not very +many. Bert said so." + +"I don't believe I'd like to have red eyes," answered his twin sister. +"Everybody'd think I'd been crying." + +"They're not red that way," explained Tom. "They just have the color red +in them; just as some people have black eyes, blue eyes, and brown +eyes--like that." + +"Oh! Say, I heard Nan say once that a girl in her room at school had one +black eye and one grey eye. Wasn't that funny?" + +"It certainly was," answered Tom. And then he showed the little Bobbsey +twins a number of picture books and a locomotive which went around a +little track. + +Freddie and Flossie were having such a good time that they never thought +their father and mother might be worried about them. + +But, after a while, Mrs. Walker came home. You can well imagine how +surprised she was when she found the two lost, strayed children in her +house. + +"And so they got off one of the sight-seeing autos, did they?" cried +Tom's mother. "Oh, my dears! I'm glad you're here, of course, and glad +you had a good time with Tom. But your mother and father will be much +frightened! I must telephone to the police at once." + +"We'll not be arrested, shall we?" asked Freddie anxiously. + +"No, indeed, my dear! Of course not! But your parents have probably +already telephoned the police, who must be looking for you. I'll let +them know I have you safe." + +"Why, course we're safe!" cried Flossie. + +So Mrs. Walker telephoned. And, just as she guessed, the police were +already preparing to start out to hunt for the missing children. But as +soon as they got Mrs. Walker's message everything was all right. + +"They're found!" cried Mr. Bobbsey to his wife, when a police officer +telephoned to the hotel to let the father of the small Bobbsey twins +know that the children were safe. "They're all right!" + +"Where were they?" asked his wife, + +"All the while they were right around the corner and just in the next +street from where our auto was standing." + +"Oh, dear me!" cried Mrs. Bobbsey, "what a relief." + +"I should say so!" agreed Mrs. Martin, who had gone to the hotel, where +her friends were staying, to do what she could to help them. + +"I'll get a taxicab and bring them straight here," said Mr. Bobbsey. + +A little later Flossie and Freddie were back "home" again. That is, if +you call a hotel "home," and it was, for the time, to the traveling +Bobbseys. + +"What made you do it?" asked Flossie's mother, when the story had been +told. "What made you go after the stray cat?" + +"It was such a nice cat!" said the little girl, + +"And we wanted to see if it was like our Snoop," added Freddie. + +"Well, don't do such a thing again!" ordered Mr. Bobbsey. + +"No, we won't!" promised Freddie. + +"No, but they'll do something worse," said Bert in a low voice to his +friend Billy, who had also come to the hotel. + +So the little excitement was over, and soon the Bobbsey twins were in +bed. Not, however, before Nan had asked her father: + +"Where are you going to take us to-morrow?" + +"To Mount Vernon, I think," was his answer. + +"Oh, where Washington used to live!" remarked Bert. + +"Where--" But right there Freddie went to sleep. + +"Yes, and where he is buried," added Nan. + +And then she, too, fell asleep. And she dreamed that Flossie and Freddie +were lost again, and that she started out to find them riding on the +back of a big cat while Bert rode on a dog, like Snap. + +"And I was so glad when I woke up and, found it was only a dream," said +Nan, telling Nell about it afterward. + +There are two ways of going to Mount Vernon from the city of Washington. +Mount Vernon is down on the Potomac River, and one may travel to it by +means of a small steamer, which makes excursion trips, or one can get +there in a trolley car. + +"I think we'll go down by boat and come back by trolley," said Mr. +Bobbsey. "In that way we can see more." + +"I'd rather go on the boat all the while," said Freddie. "Maybe I could +be a fireman on the boat." + +"Oh, I think they have all the firemen they; need," laughed his father. + +"Is Mount Vernon an old place?" asked Nan, as they were getting ready to +leave their hotel after breakfast. + +"Quite old, yes," her father answered. + +"And do they have old-fashioned things there, like spinning wheels, and +old guns and things like those in Washington's headquarters that we went +to once?" Nan went on. + +"Why, yes, perhaps they do," her father said. "Why do you ask?" + +"Oh, I was just thinking," went on Nan, "that if they had a lot of +old-fashioned things there they might have Miss Pompret's sugar bowl and +cream pitcher, and we could get 'em for her." + +"How could we?" asked Bert. "If they were there they'd belong to +Washington, wouldn't they, Daddy?" + +"Well, I suppose all the things in the house once belonged to him or his +friends," said Mr. Bobbsey. "But I don't imagine those two missing +pieces of Miss Pompret's set will be at Mount Vernon, Nan." + +"No, I don't s'pose so," sighed the little girl. "But, oh, I would like +to find 'em!" + +"And get the hundred dollars reward!" added Bert. + +"Don't think too much of that," advised their mother. "Of course it +would be nice to find Miss Pompret's dishes, and do her a favor, but I +think it is out of the question after all these years that they have +been lost." + +The weather was colder than on the day before, when Flossie and Freddie +had been lost, and the sun shone fitfully from behind clouds. + +"I think we are going to have a snow storm," said Mr. Bobbsey, on their +way to take the boat for Mt. Vernon. + +"Oh, goodie!" cried Flossie. "I hope it snows a lot!" + +"So do I!" added Freddie. "Could we send home for our sled if there's +lots of snow, Daddy?" he asked. + +"I hardly think it would be worth while," said his father. "We are not +going to be here much more than a week longer. And it would be quite a +lot of work to get your sleds here and send them home again. I think +you'll get all the coasting and skating you want when we get back to +Lakeport." + +"Anyway, we're having a nice time while we're here," said Nan, with a +happy little sigh. + +"It's fun when Freddie and Flossie don't get lost," added Bert. "I'm +going to keep watch of 'em this time." + +"I'll help," added Nan. "Oh, here are Billy and Nell!" she called, +waving her hand to their new friends. The Martin children were to go to +Mount Vernon with the Bobbsey twins, and they now met them near the +place from which the boat started. + +"All aboard!" cried Freddie, as they went on the small steamer that was +to take them to Mount Vernon. "All aboard. I'm the fireman!" + +"There aren't any fires to put out," said, Nell, teasing the small chap +a little. + +"Yes, there is--a fire in the boiler, and it makes steam," said Freddie, +who had often looked in the engine room of steamers. "But I'm not that +kind of fireman. I put out fires. I'm going to be a real fireman when I +grow up," he added. + +Soon they were comfortably seated on board the boat, which after a bit +moved out into the Potomac. Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey were talking together. +Nan, Bert, Billy and Nell were watching another boat which was passing, +and Flossie was near them. But Freddie had slipped away, in spite of +what Bert had said about going to keep a watchful eye on his small +brother. + +Suddenly, when the steamer was well out in the river, there was the loud +clanging of a bell, and a voice cried: + +"Fire! Fire! Fire!" + +At once every one on the boat jumped up. The women looked frightened, +while the men seemed uncertain what to do. + +"Clang! Clang! Clang!" rang the fire alarm bell. + + + + CHAPTER XVII + +FREDDIE'S REAL ALARM + +"I hope nothing has happened--that the boat isn't on fire," said Mrs. +Bobbsey to her husband. "That would be terrible!" + +"I hardly think that is it," he said. "There may be a small fire, +somewhere on the boat, but, even if there is, they have a way of putting +it out. I'll go and see what it is. You stay with the children." + +But just then, after another clanging of the bell, some one was heard to +laugh--the ringing, hearty laugh of a man. + +"There!" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey, "I guess everything is all right. They +wouldn't be laughing if there was any danger." + +"Let's go to the fire!" cried Bert. "I want to see it!" + +"So do I!" chimed in his new chum, Billy, eagerly. + +"Oh, can't we see it; whatever it is?" begged Nan. + +"First I'll have to make sure there is a fire," replied Mr. Bobbsey. "I +hope there isn't. But, if there should be a small one, and the firemen +on the boat are putting it out, and if they let us get near enough to +see, and if the smoke isn't too thick--" + +"Oh, Daddy! Not so many 'ifs' please!" laughed Nan. + +The Bobbseys all laughed at this, as did Nell and Billy. + +"Freddie would like to see the fire, if there is one," remarked Nell +Martin. + +"Oh, that's so! Where is Freddie?" cried Bert. + +Then, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey noticed that the little +blue-eyed and light-haired boy was not with them. + +But at that moment around the corner of a deck cabin came a man wearing +a cap with gold braid around the edge. He was smiling and leading by the +hand a little boy. And the little boy was Freddie! + +"Oh, there he is!" cried Flossie. "Freddie, where were you?" she asked. +"And did you been to see the fire?" + +"Well, I rather guess he did!" exclaimed the man, who was the captain of +the boat. "He Was the whole fire himself!" + +"The whole fire?" cried Mr. Bobbsey. "Do you mean to say that my little +boy started a fire?" + +"Oh, nothing as bad as that!" said the captain, and he smiled down on +Freddie who smiled up at him in return. "No, all your little boy did was +to ring the fire alarm bell and then call out 'Fire!' But of course that +was enough to start things going, and we had quite a good deal of +excitement for a time. But it's all right now, and I think he won't do +it again." + +"Just what did he do?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey, as Freddie came over to stand +beside his mother. He looked rather ashamed. + +"Well, on the deck, back of the wheel-house, which is the little place +where I or my men stand to steer the boat, there is a fire alarm bell. +It's there for any one to ring who finds the boat on fire, and when the +bell is rung all my firemen hurry to put out the blaze," said the +captain. + +"Now this little chap of yours went up and rang that bell, and then he +cried out 'Fire,' as I've told you. Then--well, lots of things happened. +But I couldn't help laughing when I found out it was a false alarm, and +learned just why Freddie, as he tells me his name is, rang the bell." + +"And why was that?" asked Mr. Bobbsey, quickly. + +Freddie spoke up for himself. + +"The bell had a sign on it," said the little fellow, "and it said to +ring it for a fire. I wanted to see a fire, and so I rang the bell +and--and--" + +Freddie's lips began to quiver. He was just ready to cry. + +"There, there, my little man!" said the captain kindly. "No harm is +done. Don't worry. It's all right," and he patted Freddie on the +shoulder. + +"You see it's just as Freddie says," the captain went on. "There is a +large sign painted near the bell which reads: 'Ring this for a fire.' I +suppose it would be better to say; 'Ring the bell in case of fire.' I +believe I'll have it changed to read that way. Anyhow, your little boy +saw the sign over the bell, And on the bell is a rope so low that any +one, even a child, can reach it. So your Freddie just pulled the rope, +clanged the bell, and then he cried 'Fire!' as loudly as he could. Some +one else took up the cry, and, there you are!" + +"And so you rang the bell, did you, Freddie, because you wanted to see a +fire?" asked the father of the little fellow. + +"Yes," answered Flossie's brother. "I wanted to see how they put out a +fire on a boat, and the bell said for to ring for a fire, and I wanted a +fire, I did; not a big one, just a little one, and so----" + +"And so you just naturally rang the bell!" laughed the captain. "Well, I +guess that's partly my fault for having the sign read that way. I'll +have it changed. But your little boy is quite smart to be able to read +so well," he added. + +"Oh, I go to school!" said Freddie proudly, "only there isn't any now on +account of--well I guess the boiler got on fire," he added. + +"He's a regular little fireman," said Mr. Bobbsey. "He can't read very +much, but one of the first words he learned to spell was 'fire,' and +he's never forgotten it." + +The boat was now going on down the river toward Mount Vernon, and the +excitement caused by the false alarm of fire was over. + +Of course Freddie had done wrong, though he had not meant to, and +perhaps it was not all his fault. However, his father and mother scolded +him a little, and he promised never to do such a thing again. + +I wish I could tell you that the Bobbsey twins were interested in Mount +Vernon, but the truth of the matter is that the two younger ones were so +busy talking about Freddie's fire alarm, and Bert and Nan, with Billy +and Nell, also laughed so much about it, that they did not pay much +attention to the tomb of the great Washington, or anything about the +place where the first President of the United States once had his home. + +Of course Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey were interested in the place where the +wonderful man had lived, and they looked about the grounds where he had +once walked, and they visited the house where he had lived. But, really, +the children did not care much for it. + +"When are we going back?" asked Freddie several times. + +"Don't you like it here?" asked his mother. "Just think of what a +wonderful and beautiful place this is!" + +"Well," said Freddie slowly, "I didn't see any fire engines yet." + +Mrs. Bobbsey tried not to laugh, but it was hard work. + +"I think we'd better go back to Washington," she said to her husband. + +"I think so, too," he answered, and back to Washington they went. This +time they rode on a trolley car, and there was no danger of Freddie's +sending in an alarm of fire. + +And on the way home something quite wonderful happened. At least it was +wonderful for Freddie. + +He was looking out of the window, when suddenly he gave a yell that +startled his father and mother, as well as Nan, Bert, Nell and Flossie, +and that made the other passengers sit up. + +"Oh, look! There's a fire engine! There's a fire engine!" cried the +little chap, pointing; and, surely enough, there was one going along the +street. It was bright and shiny, smoke was pouring from it and the +horses were prancing. + +The other Bobbsey twins turned to look at it, and Bert said: + +"Pooh, that's only coming back from an alarm." + +"That's so," agreed Mr. Bobbsey. "The horses are going too slowly to be +running to a fire, Freddie. They must be coming back." + +"Well, it's a fire engine, anyhow," said Freddie, and every one had to +agree with him. Freddie watched the shiny engine until it was out of +sight, and then he talked about nothing else but fires on the way home. + +Tired, but well satisfied with their trip, the Bobbsey's reached their +hotel, and the Martin children went to their home, promising to meet the +following day and see more Washington sights. + +It was about the middle of the night that Mrs. Bobbsey, who slept in the +same room with Flossie and Freddie, felt herself being shaken in bed. +She roused up to see, in the dim light, Freddie standing near her, and +shaking her with his chubby hands. + +"What is it, dear?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey, sleepily. + +"Fire!" hoarsely whispered Freddie. "The house is on fire, and it's +real, too, this time!" + + + + CHAPTER XVIII + +THE ORIENTAL CHILDREN + +At first Mrs. Bobbsey was too sleepy, from having been so quickly +awakened, to really understand what Freddie was saying. She turned over +in bed, so as to get a better look at the small boy, who was in his +night gown, and with his hair all tousled and frowsled from the pillow. +There was no mistake about it--Mrs. Bobbsey was not dreaming. Her little +boy was really standing beside her and shaking her. And once more he +said: + +"Wake up, Momsie! There's a real fire! This house is on fire, and we've +got to get out. I can hear the fire engines!" + +"Oh, Freddie! you're walking in your sleep again," said his mother as +she sat up, now quite awake--"You have been dreaming, and you're walking +in your sleep!" + +Freddie had done this once or twice before, thought not since he had +come to Washington. + +"The excitement of going to Mount Vernon, and your ringing of the fire +bell on the boat has made you dream of a fire, Freddie," his mother went +on. "It isn't real. There isn't any fire in this hotel, nor near here. +Go back to sleep." + +"But, Momsie, I'm awake now!" cried Freddie. "And the fire is real! I +can see the red light and I can hear the engine puffin'! Look, you can +see the light!" + +Freddie pointed to a window near his mother's bed. And, as she looked, +she certainly saw a red, flickering light. And then the heard the +whistle which she knew came from a fire engine. It was not like a +locomotive whistle, and, besides, there were no trains near the hotel! + +"Oh, it is a fire!" cried Mrs. Bobbsey. "Freddie, call your father!" + +Mr. Bobbsey slept in the next room with Bert, while Nan had a little bed +chamber next to her mother's, on the other side of the bath room. + +But there was no need to call Mr. Bobbsey. In his big, warm bath robe he +now came stalking into his wife's room. + +"Don't be frightened," he said. "There's a small fire in the building +next to this hotel. But it is almost out, and there is no danger. Stay +right in bed." + +"But it's a real fire, isn't it, Daddy?" cried Freddie. "I heard the +engines puffin', and I saw the red light and it woke me up and I comed +in and telled Momsie; and it's a real fire, isn't it?" + +"Yes, Freddie, it's a real fire all right," said Mr. Bobbsey. "But don't +talk so loud, nor get excited. You may awaken the people in the other +rooms around us, and there is no need. I was talking to the night clerk +of the hotel over the telephone from my room, and he says there is no +danger. There is a big brick wall between our hotel and the place next +door, which is on fire. The blaze can't get through that." + +"Can't I look out the window and see the engines?" Freddie wanted to +know. + +"Yes, I guess it would be too bad not to let you see them, as long as +they are here, and it's a real fire," answered Mrs. Bobbsey. "I hope no +one was hurt next door," she added to her husband. + +"I think not," he replied. "The fire is only a small one. It is almost +out." + +So Freddie had his dearest wish come true in the middle of the night--he +saw some real fire engines puffing away, spouting sparks and smoke, and +pumping water on a real fire. Of course the little boy could not see the +water spurting from the hose, as that was happening inside the burning +building. But Freddie could see some of the firemen at work, and he +could see the engines shining in the light from the fire and the glare +of the electric lamps. So he was satisfied. + +Bert and Nan were awakened, and they, too, looked out on the night +scene. They were glad it was not their hotel which was on fire. As for +Flossie, she slept so soundly that she never knew a thing about it until +the next morning. And then when Freddie told her, and talked about it at +the breakfast table, Flossie said: + +"I don't care! I think you're real mean, Freddy Bobbsey, to have a fire +all to yourself!" + +"Oh, my dear! that isn't nice to say," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "We thought it +better to let you sleep." + +"Well, I wish I'd seen the fire," said Flossie. "I like to look at +something that's bright and shiny." + +"Then you'll have a chance to see something like that this afternoon," +said Mr. Bobbsey to his little girl. + +"Where?" asked all the Bobbsey twins at once, for when their father +talked this way Nan and Bert were as eager as Flossie and Freddie. + +"How would you all like to go to a theater show this afternoon--to a +matinee?" asked Mr. Bobbsey. + +"Oh, lovely!" cried Flossie. + +"Could Nell and Billy go?" asked Nan, kindly thinking of her little new +friends. + +"Yes, we'll take the Martin children," Mr. Bobbsey promised. + +"And will there be some red fire in the theater show?" Flossie wanted to +know. + +"I think so," said her father. "It is a fairy play, about Cinderella, +and some others like her, and I guess there will be plenty of bright +lights and red fire." + +"Will there be a fire engine?" asked Freddie. Of course you might have +known, without my telling you, that it was Freddie who asked that +question, But I thought I'd put his name down to make sure. + +"I don't know about there being a fire engine in the play," said Mr. +Bobbsey. "I hardly think there will be one. But the play will be very +nice, I'm sure." + +"I think so, too," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "We'll have a fine time." + +"Will there be any cowboys or Indians in it?" Bert asked. + +"Well, hardly, I think," his father answered. "But if we don't like the +play, after we get there, we can come home," he added, his eyes +twinkling. + +"Oh, Daddy!" cried all the Bobbsey twins at once. And then, by the way +their father smiled, they knew he was only joking. + +"Oh, we'll stay," laughed Bert. + +"Oh, it's snowing!" cried Freddie as they left the breakfast table and +went to sit in the main parlor of the hotel. "It's snowing, and we can +have sleigh rides." + +"If it gets deep enough," put in Bert. "I guess it won't be very deep +here, will it, Daddy?" + +"Well, sometimes there is quite a bit of snow in Washington," answered +Mr. Bobbsey. "We'll have to wait and see." + +"The snow won't keep us from going to show in the theater; will it?" +asked Nan. + +"No," her mother said. "Nor to see the show given there," she added, +smiling. + +After a visit to the Martins, to tell them of the treat in store, the +tickets were purchased, the Bobbseys had dinner, and, in due time, the +merry little party was at the theater. + +They were shown to their seats, and then the children looked around, +waited eagerly for the curtain to go up, while Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey +talked together. More and more people came in. There were a large number +of children, for it was a play especially for them, though, of course, +lots of "grown-ups" came also. + +The musicians entered and took their places on the funny little place +back of a brass rail. Then came the delicious thrills of the squeaking +violins as they were tuned, the tap-tap of the drum, the tinkle of a +piano, and the soft, low notes of a flute. + +"Oh, it's going to begin soon," whispered Nell to Nan. + +"I hope it's a good show," said Bert to his chum Billy, and trying to +speak as if he went to a matinee every other day at least. + +"Oh, they have pretty good shows here," Billy said. + +"Look!" suddenly whispered Nan, pointing to a box at their left. "Look +at the Chinese children!" + +And, surely enough, into a near-by box came several boys and girls about +the age of the Bobbsey twins, and some almost babies, but they were +dressed in beautiful blue, golden and red silken garments. And with them +came their father, who also wore a silk robe of blue, embroidered with +golden birds. + +"Who are they--some of the actors in the play?" asked Bert. + +"No, that's the Chinese minister and some of his family, and I guess +some of their friends," explained Billy. "I've seen them before. They +don't often dress up in the same kind of clothes they wear in China, but +they did to-day." + +"Oh, aren't they cute!" said Nell to Nan. + +"Too lovely for anything!" agreed Nan enthusiastically. + +Many eyes were on the box, but the Chinese minister and his beautifully +dressed children did not seem to mind being looked at. The children were +just as much interested in staring about the theater as were the Bobbsey +twins, and the Oriental tots probably thought that the other children +were even more queer than the American boys and girls thought the +Chinese to be. + +Having given a good deal of attention to the Chinese children in the +box, the Bobbseys looked around the theater at the other little folk in +the audience. + +"Oh, look at the funny fat boy over there!" cried out Freddie in a loud +voice. + +"Hush, hush, Freddie!" whispered Nan quickly. "You mustn't talk so loud. +Every one will hear you." + +"But he is awful fat, isn't he?" insisted Freddie. + +"He isn't any fatter than you'll be if you keep on eating so much," +remarked Bert. + +"Oh, I don't eat any more than I have to," declared the little boy. +"When you are really and truly hungry you can't help eating. Nobody +can!" + +"And you're hungry most all the time," said Bert. + +"I'm not at all! I'm hungry only when--when--I'm hungry," was Freddie's +reply. + +Then the orchestra began to play, and, a little later, the curtain went +up and the fairy play began. + +I am not going to tell you about it, because you all know the story of +Cinderella. There she was, sitting among the ashes of the fire-place, +and in came the godmother who made a pumpkin turn into a golden coach, +and did all the other things just like the story. + +The play was a little different from the story in some books. In one +scene a bad fairy sets off a lighted fire cracker under the palace of +the princess. And on the stage, when this happened, there was a loud +banging noise, just as Bert and Nan had often heard on the Fourth of +July. + +"Bang'!" went the fire cracker. + +"Oh!" cried Nell, and she gave a little jump, she was so surprised. And +many other were surprised, too, including the little Oriental children. +And they were so surprised that the smaller ones burst out crying. + +"Oh dear! Oh dear!" they cried, in their own language, of course, and +the two smallest hid their faces down in their father's lap and cried +salty tears on his beautiful blue robe. But he didn't seem to mind a +bit. + +He patted the heads of the little, sobbing tots, and every one in the +theater looked over toward the box, for the crying of the Chinese +children, who were frightened by the bang of the fire cracker, was very +loud crying indeed. + + + + CHAPTER XIX + +"OH LOOK!" + +FOR a time the actors on the stage, taking part in the fairy play, had +to stop. They could not go on because the Chinese children were crying +so hard. And really it was a strange thing to have happen. + +Then Cinderella herself--or at least the young lady who was playing that +part--seeing what the matter was, stepped to the front of the stage and +said to the Chinese minister: + +"Tell your little children there will be no more shooting. They will not +be frightened again. I am sorry it happened," and she bowed and kissed +her hand to the older boys and girls, in the box. They were not +frightened as were the smaller ones. + +"It is all right. They will be themselves again soon. I thank you," said +the Chinese minister, rising and bowing to the actress. He spoke in +English, but with a queer little twist to his words, just as we would +speak queerly if we tried to talk Chinese. + +Then the sobbing of the frightened children gradually ceased, and the +play went on. But the Bobbsey twins were almost as much interested in +the queer, beautifully dressed foreign children in the box as they were +in the play itself. Indeed Flossie and Freddie looked from the stage to +the box and from the box back to the stage again so often that their +mother said they would have stiff necks. However, they didn't have, +which only goes to show that children's necks can stand a great deal of +twisting and turning without getting tired. + +So the play went on, and very pretty it was. Cinderella tried on the +glass slipper. It fitted perfectly, and everything came out all right, +and she and the prince lived happily forever after. + +"Is that all?" asked Flossie, when the curtain went down for the last +time, and the people began getting up to leave. + +"That's all," her mother told her. "Didn't you like it?" + +"Oh, yes, it was nice," said Flossie. "But they didn't have as much red +fire as I wanted to see." + +"And they didn't have a single fire engine!" sighed Freddie. + +"Too bad!" laughed Bert. "We'll look for a show for you, Freddie, where +they have nothing but fire engines!" + +But, after all, even without quite enough red fire and not a fire engine +on the stage, the play was enjoyed by the Bobbsey twins and their little +friends, the Martin children. + +"Where are we going?' asked Nan, as they came out of the theater and Mr. +Bobbsey led the children toward a big automobile that stood at the curb. + +"We are going to the Martins for the evening," answered Daddy Bobbsey. +"Mr. Martin sent down his auto for us, so we don't have to go out in the +storm." + +"It was very kind of him," added Mrs. Bobbsey. + +"I like the snow!" cried Freddie. "I'm going to make a snow fort, +to-morrow, and a snow man." + +"And I'm going to make a little snow doll!" declared Flossie. + +"Wait until you see if there's snow enough," advised Bert. + +"Will there be much, do you think?" Nan inquired of Nell. + +"Well, we don't often have a very heavy fall of snow here," was the +answer, "though it sometimes happens. It's snowing hard now." + +And so it was, And the weather was getting cold, too, almost as cold as +back in Lakeport. But the Bobbseys were used to it. Their eyes were +shining and their cheeks were red. Flossie and Freddie tried to catch +the drifting snow flakes dancing down from the sky. But there was quite +a crowd on the side-walk coming out of the theater, and every one seemed +to get in the way of the little Bobbsey twins, so they did not have much +luck catching the white crystals. + +Into the big, closed auto they piled, and soon they were rolling along +the snow-covered streets of Washington toward the home of Nell and Billy +Martin. Mr. and Mrs. Martin would be waiting at their house to greet the +Bobbseys. It was dark, now, and the lighted lamps made the snow sparkle +like a million diamonds. + +"Oh, it's just lovely!" sighed Nan, as she leaned back against the +cushions and peered from the window. + +"It looks just like a fairy play out there," and Nell pointed to the +glittering snow. + +"It looks like--like one of those funny Christmas cards that twinkle +so!" declared Freddie. + +"Oh, it will soon be Christmas, won't it?" exclaimed Flossie, who sat on +her mother's lap. "I wonder what I'll get!" + +"I want something, too!" cried Freddie. "Oh, won't it be nice at +Christmas!" + +"Yes, it will soon be here--much sooner than we think," said Mr. +Bobbsey. + +"Shall we go home for Christmas?" Nan asked. + +"Oh, yes," her father told her. "My business here is nearly finished, +and we'll go back to Lakeport next week." + +"Aren't we going to buy anything to take home--souvenirs I mean?" added +Bert. "I promised to bring Sam something." + +"And I want to take Dinah a present!" declared Nan. + +"Yes, we must do a little shopping for things like that," said Mrs. +Bobbsey. "You children will have a chance next week." + +And they talked of that, and the things they would buy, until the +automobile stopped at the Martin house, when they all went inside. + +After supper, or dinner as it is more often called, the children had fun +playing games and looking at picture books, while the older folk talked +among themselves. Mr. and Mrs. Martin were quite interested in hearing +of how the Chinese children cried when the fire cracker went off. + +"I have never seen any of the ambassadors or the ministers from the +Oriental countries wear their native dress," said Mr. Martin. "But there +is no reason why they shouldn't." + +"No," said Mr. Bobbsey, "there isn't. If we went to a foreign country we +would want to wear the clothes we had always worn at home, and we +wouldn't like to be stared at for doing it, either." + +The evening passed pleasantly, but at last Mrs. Bobbsey noticed that +Flossie and Freddie were getting sleepy, so she said they would have to +go back to the hotel and to bed. + +"And I hope the fire engines don't wake us up to-night," said Nan. "I +want to sleep." + +"I do, too," added her mother. Nothing happened that night, and in the +morning there was enough snow on the ground for the making of a small +snow man, at least, and as many snowballs as the children wanted to +throw at him. Flossie and Freddie were warmly dressed, and allowed to +play out in a little yard in front of the hotel. It was rather a treat +for Washington children to have as much snow as they now had, and many +were out enjoying it. + +Flossie and Freddie played as they did at home, and Bert and Nan, with +Nell and Billy Martin, who came over, watched the smaller twins. + +"Let's throw snowballs at a target," said Freddie presently. "I'm going +to play I'm a soldier and shoot the cannon." + +"You haven't any target, Freddie Bobbsey," declared Flossie. + +"Yes, I have, too!" answered her twin brother. "Just look here!" + +Freddie had espied a small tin can standing in an areaway not far away. +He ran to get this, and then set it up on a near-by iron railing. + +"There's my target!" he exclaimed; and both he and Flossie began to +throw snowballs at it and were in high glee when the can tumbled over. + +Thus the fun went on for some time. + +After lunch Mrs. Bobbsey said: + +"Now, children, if you wish, you may go out and buy some souvenirs. As +long as Nell and Billy are here to go with you, I will not have to go, +since they know their way about the streets near our hotel. I'm going to +give you each a certain sum, and you may spend it in any way you like +for souvenirs to take home to Sam, Dinah and your other friends. Now +start out and have a good time." + +The snow had stopped and the sun was shining, which meant that the white +covering would not last long. But it gave a touch of winter to +Washington, and the children liked it. + +Down the street went the six children, two by two, the four Bobbsey +twins and Nell and Billy Martin. Flossie and Freddie walked together, +then came Billy and Bert, while Nan walked with Nell. + +"Here's a store where they have nice things," said Nell, as they stopped +in front of one, the windows of which held all sorts of light and pretty +articles, from fans and postcards to vases and pocket knives, some with +tiny photographic views of Washington set in the handles. + +"Let's go in there and buy something," proposed Bert. + +In they trooped, and you may well believe me when I say that the woman +who kept this store had a busy half-hour trying to wait on the four +Bobbsey twins at once. Nell and Billy did not want to buy anything, but +the Bobbseys did. + +At last, however, each one had bought something, and then Bert said: + +"I know where to go next." + +"Where?" asked Nan. + +"Around the corner," her brother answered as they came out of the +souvenir shop. "There's a cheaper place there. I looked in the windows +yesterday and saw the prices marked. We haven't got much money left, and +we've got to go to a cheap place for the rest of our things." + +"All right," agreed Nan, and Bert led the way. The other store, just as +he said, was only around the corner, and, as he had told his sister, the +windows were filled with many things, some of them marked at prices +which were very low. + +Suddenly, as Nan was peering in through the glass, she gave a startled +cry, and, plucking Bert by the sleeve, exclaimed: + +"Oh, look!" + + + + CHAPTER XX + +A GREAT BARGAIN + +Bert Bobbsey turned to look at his sister Nan. She was staring at +something in the jumble of articles in the second-hand shop window, and +what she saw seemed to excite Nan. + +"What is it? What's the matter?" asked Bert, as Nan, once more, +exclaimed: + +"Look! Oh, look!" + +"Is it a fire?" eagerly asked Freddie, as he wiggled about to get a +better view of the window, since Bert and Nan stood so near it he could +not see very well. "Is it a fire?" + +"Oh, you and your fires!" laughed Nell, as she put her hands lovingly on +his shoulders. "Don't you ever think of anything else?" + +"Oh, is it a fire?" asked Freddie again. + +"No, there isn't any fire," answered Billy, laughing, as his sister Nell +was doing, at Freddie's funny ideas. + +"But it's something!" insisted Flossie, who had, by this time, wiggled +herself to a place beside Freddie, and so near the window that she could +flatten her little nose against it. + +"What is it you see, Nan?" asked Bert. "If it's more souvenirs I don't +believe we can buy any. My money is 'most gone." + +"Oh, but we must get these even if we have to go home for more money!" +exclaimed Nan. "Look, Bert! Right near those old brass candlesticks. See +that sugar bowl and pitcher?" + +"I see 'em!" answered Bert. + +"Don't you know whose they are?" rapidly whispered Nan. "Look at the way +they're painted? And see! On the bottom of the sugar bowl is a blue +lion! I can't see the letters 'J. W.' but they must be there. Oh, Bert! +don't you know what this means? Can't you see? Those are Miss Pompret's +missing dishes that she told us she'd give a hundred dollars to get +back! And oh, Bert! we've got to go in there and buy that sugar bowl and +cream pitcher, and we can take 'em back to Miss Pompret at Lakeport, and +she'll give us a hundred dollars, and--and--" + +But Nan was so excited and out of breath that she could not say another +word. She could just manage to hold Bert's sleeve and point at the +window of the second-hand shop. + +At last Bert "woke up," as he said afterward. His eyes opened wider, and +he stared with all his might at what Nan was pointing toward. There, +surely enough, among some old candlesticks, a pair of andirons, a +bellows for blowing a fire, was a sugar bowl and cream pitcher. And it +needed only a glance to make Bert feel sure that the two pieces of china +were decorated just as were Miss Pompret's. + +But there was something more than this. The sugar bowl was turned over +so that the bottom part was toward the street. And on the bottom, +plainly to be seen, was a circle of gold. Inside the circle was a +picture of some animal in blue, and Nan, at least, felt sure it was a +blue lion. As she had said, no letters could be seen, but they might be +there. + +"Don't you see, Bert?" asked Nan, as her brother waited several seconds +before speaking. "Don't you see that those are Miss Pompret's dishes?" + +"Well," admitted the Bobbsey lad, "they look like 'em." + +"They surely are!" declared Nan. "Oh, I'm so excited! Let's go right in +and buy them. Then we'll get a hundred dollars!" + +She darted away from Bert's side, and was about to move toward the door +of the shop when Billy caught her by the coat sleeve. + +"Wait a minute, Nan," he said. + +"What for?" she asked. + +"Until Bert and I talk this over," went on Billy, who, though he was not +much older than Nan, seemed to be, perhaps because he had lived in a +large city all his life. "You don't want to rush in and buy those dishes +so quick." + +"Why not?" demanded Nan. "If I don't get 'em somebody else may, and you +know Miss Pompret offered a reward of a hundred dollars. These are the +two pieces missing from her set. Her set is 'broken' as she calls it, if +she doesn't have this sugar bowl and pitcher." + +"Yes, I remember your telling me about Miss Pompret's reward," said +Billy. "But you'd better go a bit slow." + +"Maybe somebody else'll buy 'em!" exclaimed Nan. + +"Oh, I don't believe they will," said Nell, "This is a quiet street, and +this shop doesn't do much business. We only come here once in a while +because some things are cheaper. We never bought any second-hand +things." + +"There's nobody coming down the street now," observed Bert, who was +beginning to agree with Billy in the matter. "If we see any one going in +that we think will buy the dishes, we can hurry in ahead of 'em. We'll +stand here and talk a minute. What is it you want to say, Billy?" + +"Well, it's like this," went on the Washington boy. "I know these +second-hand men. If they think you want a thing they'll charge you a lot +of money for it. But if they think you don't want it very much they will +let you have it cheap. I know, 'cause a fellow and I wanted to get a +baseball glove in here one day. It was a second-hand one, but good. The +fellow I was with knew just how to do it. + +"He went in, and asked the price of a lot of things, and said they were +all too high. Then he asked the price of the glove, just as if he didn't +care much whether he got it or not. The man said it was a dollar, but +when Jimmie--the boy who was with me--said he only had eighty cents, the +man let him have the glove for that." + +"Oh, I see what you mean!" cried Nan. "You mean we must try to get a +bargain." + +"Yes," said Billy. "Otherwise, if you go in and want to buy those dishes +first thing, the man may want five dollars for 'em." + +"Oh, we haven't that much money!" cried Nan, much surprised. + +"That's why I say we must go slow," said Billy. "Now you leave this to +me and Bert." + +"I think it would be a good idea," declared Nell. + +"All right! I will," agreed Nan. "But, oh, I do hope we can get those +dishes for Miss Pompret." + +"And I hope we can get the reward of a hundred dollars," murmured Bert. + +"I only hope they're the right dishes," said Billy. + +"Oh, I'm sure they are," declared Nan. "They have the blue lion on and +everything. And if they have the letters 'J. W.' on, then we'll know for +sure. Let's go in and see." + +"We've got to go slow," declared Billy. "Mustn't be too fast. Let Bert +and me go ahead." + +"I want to come in, too!" declared Freddie. "I want to buy a whistle. Do +they have whistles in here?" + +"I guess so," answered Bert. "It will be a good thing to go in and ask +for, anyhow." + +"Sort of excuse for going in," suggested Nell. + +"Do they have ice cream cones?" asked Flossie. "I want something to +eat." + +"I don't believe they have anything to eat in here," said Nell. "But we +can get that later, Flossie. Now you and Freddie be nice when we go in, +and after we come out I'll get you some ice cream." + +"I'll be good!" promised Flossie. + +"So'll I," agreed Freddie. "But I want a whistle, and if they have a +little fire engine I want that." + +"You don't want much!" laughed Bert. + +"Well, let's go in!" suggested Billy. + +So, with the two boys in the lead, followed by Nell and Nan and Flossie +and Freddie, the children entered the second-hand and souvenir store. + +A bell on the door rang with a loud clang as Billy opened it, and when +the children stepped inside the shop an old man with a black, curly +beard and long black hair that seemed as if it had never been combed, +came out from a back room. + +"What you want to buy, little childrens?" he asked. "I got a lot of nice +things, cheap! Very cheap!" + +"Well, if you've got something very cheap we might buy it," answered +Billy, with as nearly a grown-up manner as he could assume. "But we +haven't much money." + +"Ha! Ha! That's what they all say!" exclaimed the old man. "But +everybody has more money that what I has. I'm very poor. I don't hardly +make a living I sell things so cheap. What you want to buy, little +childrens?" + +"Have you got any whistles or fire engines?" burst out Freddie, unable +to wait any longer. + +"Whistles? Lots of 'em!" exclaimed the man. "Here is a finest whistle +what ever was. Listen to it!" + +He took one from the show case and blew into it. Not a sound came out. + +"Ach! I guess that one is damaged," he said. "But I got other ones. +Here! Listen to this!" + +The next one blew loud and shrill. + +"I want that!" cried Freddie. + +"Ten cents!" said the man, holding it out to the little boy. + +"What?" cried Billy. "Why, I can buy those whistles for five cents +anywhere in Washington! Ten cents? I guess not!" + +"Oh, well, take it for seven cents then," said the man. "What I care if +I die poor. Take it for seven cents!" + +"No, sir!" exclaimed Billy firmly. "Five cents is all they cost, and +this is an old one." + +"Oh, well. Take it for five then. What I care if you cheats a poor old +man? Such a boy as you are! Take it for five cents!" and he handed the +whistle to Freddie. But before he could take it Nan said, gently: + +"I think it would be better for him to have a fresh one from the box. +That is all dusty." + +The truth was she did not want Freddie to take a whistle the old man had +blown into. + +"Oh, well, I gives you a fresh one," he said, and he took a new and +shining one from the box. Freddie blew it, making a shrill sound. + +"What else you want to buy, little childrens?" asked the old man. "I +sell everythings cheap--everythings!" + +"Ask how much the dishes are," whispered Nan to Billy. But he shook his +head, and looked around the shop. He looked everywhere but at the window +where the dishes were. + +"Any sailboats?" asked Billy, as if that was all he had come in to +inquire about. + +"Sailboats?" cried the man. "Sailboats?" + +"Yes, toy sailboats." + +"No, I haven't got any of them, but I got a nice football. Here I show +you!" + +"I don't want a football. You can't play football when the snow is on +the ground!" exclaimed Bert, as the man started toward some shelves on +the other side of the room. + +"I want a doll," whispered Flossie. "Just a little doll." + +"A doll!" exclaimed the man. "Sure I gots a fine lot of dolls. See!" + +Quickly he held out a large one with very blue eyes and hair just like +Flossie's. + +"Only a dollar seventy-five," he said. "Very cheap!" + +"Oh, that's too much!" exclaimed Nan. "We haven't that much money. She +wants only a little ten-cent doll." + +"Oh, well, I have them kinds too!" said the man, in disappointed tones. +"Here you are!" + +He held out one that did not appear to be very nice. + +"You can get those for five cents in the other stores," whispered Nell. + +"Better take it," said her brother. "Then I'll ask about the dishes." + +"Yes, we'll take it," agreed Nan. + +So Flossie was given her doll, and, even though it might have been only +five cents somewhere else, she liked it just as well. + +"What else you wants to buy, childrens?" asked the old man. "I got lots +more things so cheap--oh, so very cheap!" + +Billy and Bert strolled over to the window. They looked down in. Nan +crowded to their side. She felt sure, now, that the two pieces of china +were the very ones Miss Pompret wanted. If they could only get that +sugar bowl and pitcher! + +"I wish you had a sailboat!" murmured Billy, as if that was all he cared +about. Then, turning to Nan he asked: "Would you like that sugar bowl +and pitcher?" + +"Oh, yes, I think I would!" she exclaimed, trying not to make her voice +seem too eager. + +"You might have a play party with them," Billy went on. If Miss Pompret +could have heard him then I feel sure she would have fainted, or had +what Dinah would call "a cat in a fit." + +"You want those dishes?" asked the old man, as he reached over and +lifted the sugar bowl and pitcher from his window. "Ach! them is a great +bargain. I let you have them cheap. And see, not a chip or a crack on +'em. Good china, too! Very valuable, but they is all I have left. I +sells 'em cheap." + +Bert took the sugar bowl and looked closely at it, while Nan took the +pitcher. The children felt sure these were the same pieces that would +fill out Miss Pompret's set. + +"Look at the mark on the bottom," whispered Nan to Bert, as the +storekeeper hurried to the other side of the room to rescue a pile of +chairs which Freddie seemed bent on pulling down. "Is the blue lion +there?" + +"Yes," answered Bert, "it is." + +"And the letters 'J. W.'?" + +"Yes," Bert replied. "But, somehow, it doesn't look like the one on Miss +Pompret's plates." + +"Oh, I'm sure it's the same one!" insisted Nan. "We've found the missing +pieces, Bert, and we'll get--" + +"Hush!" cautioned Billy, for the old man was coming back. + +"You want to buy them?" he asked. "I sell cheap. It's a great bargain." + +"Where did they come from?" asked Bert. + +"Come from? How shoulds I know. Maybe I get 'em at a fire sale, or maybe +all the other dishes in that set get broken, and these all what are +left. Somebody bring 'em in, and I buys 'em, or my wife she buys 'em. +How can I tells so long ago?" + +"Oh, well, maybe we might take 'em for the girls to have a play party +with their own set of dishes," went on Billy. "But I wish you had a toy +ship. How much for these dishes--this sugar bowl and pitcher?" + +"How much? Oh, I let you have these very cheap. They is worth five +dollars--very rare china--very thin but hard to break. These is a good +bargain--a great bargain. You shall have them for--two dollars!" + + + + Chapter XXI + +Just Suppose + +Nan Bobbsey gave gasp, just as if she had fallen into a bath tub full of +cold water. Bert quickly glanced at his friend Billy. Nell had hurried +over to the other side of the room to stop Flossie from pulling a pile +of dusty magazines from a shelf down on top of herself. Billy seemed to +be the only one who was not excited. + +"Two dollars?" he repeated. "That's a lot of money." + +"What? A lot of money for rich childrens? Ha! Ha! That's only a little +moneys!" laughed the man, rubbing his hands. + +"We aren't rich," said Bert. "And I don't believe we have two dollars." +He was pretty sure he and Nan had not that much, at any rate. + +"How much you got?" asked the man eagerly. "Maybe I let you have these +dishes cheaper, but they's worth more as two dollars. How much you all +got?" + +"How much have you?" asked Billy of Bert. Bert pulled some change from +his pocket. The two boys counted it. + +"Eighty-seven cents," announced Bert, when they had counted it twice. + +"Oh, that isn't half enough!" cried the old man. + +"I have some money," announced Nan, bringing out her little purse. + +"How much?" asked the man. That seemed to be all he could think about. + +Nan and Nell counted the change. It amounted to thirty-two cents. + +"How much is thirty-two and eighty-seven?" asked Nell. + +Bert and Billy figured it on a piece of paper. + +"A dollar and twenty-nine cents," announced, Bert. + +"No, it's only a dollar and nineteen," declared Billy, who was a little +better at figures than was his chum. + +"How much?" asked the old man, for the children had done their counting +on the other side of the room, and in whispers. + +"A dollar and nineteen cents!" announced Billy. + +"Oh, I couldn't let you have these dishes, for that," said the old man, +and he seemed about to take them from the counter where they had been +put, to place them back in the window. + +"Wait a minute," said Billy. "These dishes are worth only a dollar, but +I have fifteen cents I can lend you, Bert. That will make a dollar and +thirty-four cents. That's all we have and if you don't want to sell the +dishes for that, we can go and get 'em somewhere else." + +Nan was about to gasp out: "Oh!" but a look from Billy stopped her. She +saw what he was trying to do. + +"A dollar thirty-four--that's all the moneys you got?" asked the old +man. + +"Every cent we're going to give!" declared Billy firmly. "If you'll sell +the play dishes for that all right. If you won't--" + +He seemed about to leave. + +"Oh, well, what I cares if I die in the poor-house?" asked the old man. +"Here! Take 'em. But I am losing money. Those is valuable dishes. If I +had more I could sell 'em for ten dollars maybe. But as they is all I +got take 'em for a dollar and thirty-four. You couldn't make it a dollar +thirty-five, could you?" + +"No," said Bert decidedly, "we couldn't!" + +"Oh, dear!" sighed the old man. "Take 'em, then." + +"They're awfully dusty," complained Nell, as she looked at the sugar +bowl and pitcher. + +"That's 'cause they're so old and valuable, my dear," snarled the old +man. "But my wife she dust them off for you, and I wrap them up, though +I ought to charge you a penny for a sheet of paper. But what I care if I +dies in the poorhouse." + +"Are you goin' there soon?" asked Flossie. "We've got a poorhouse at +Lakeport, and it's awful nice." + +"Oh, well, little one, maybe I don't go there just yet," said the man +who spoke wrong words sometimes. "Here, Mina!" he called, and a woman, +almost as old as he, came from the back room. "Wipe off the dust. I have +sold the old dishes--the valuable old dishes." + +"Ah, such a bargain as they got!" murmured the old woman. "Them is +valuable china. Such a bargains!" + +"Where did you get them?" asked Nan, as the dishes were being wrapped +and the old man was counting over the nickels, dimes and pennies of the +children's money. + +"Where I get them? Of how should I know? Maybe they come in by somebody +what sell them for money. Maybe we buy them in some old house like +Washington's. It is long ago. We have had them in the shop a long time, +but the older they are the better they get. They is all the better for +being old--a better bargain, my dear!" and the old woman smiled, showing +a mouth from which many teeth were missing. + +"Well, come on," said Billy, when the dishes had been wrapped and given +to Bert, who carried them carefully. "But I wish you had some +sailboats," he said to the old man, as if that was all they had come in +to buy. + +"I have some next week," answered the old man. "Comes around then and +have a big bargains in a sailsboats." + +"Maybe I will," agreed Billy. + +Out of the shop walked the Bobbsey twins and their chums, the Martin +children of Washington. And the hearts of Bert and Nan, at least, were +beating quickly with excitement and hope. As for Flossie, she was +holding her doll, and Freddie was blowing his whistle. + +"I'm a regular fire engine now," declared Freddie. "Don't you hear how +the engine is blowing the whistle?" + +"You'll have everybody looking at you, Freddie Bobbsey!" exclaimed +Flossie. "Nan, do make him stop his noise." + +"Oh, let him blow his whistle if he wants to," said Bert. "It isn't +hurting anybody." + +"I know what I'm going to do when I get home," said Flossie. "I'm going +to put a brand new dress on this doll, and give her a new hat, too." + +"That will be nice," said Nan. + +At that moment they had to cross at a street corner which was much +crowded. There was a policeman there to regulate the coming and going of +the people and carriages and automobiles, and when he blew his whistle +the traffic would go up and down one street, and then when he blew his +whistle again it would go up and down the other. + +The policeman had just blown on his whistle, and the traffic was going +past the Bobbsey twins when Freddie gave a sudden loud blow. Immediately +some of the carriages and automobiles going in one direction stopped +short and the others commenced to go the other way. + +"For gracious sake, Freddie! see what you have done," gasped Bert. + +The traffic policeman who stood in the middle of the two streets looked +very much surprised. Then he saw it was Freddie who had blown the +whistle, and he shook his finger at the little boy in warning. + +"He wants you to stop," said Nan, and made Freddie put the whistle in +his pocket for the time being. + +Then the Bobbseys and their friends hurried on their way. + +"I'll give you the fifteen cents as soon as we get back to the hotel, +Billy," said Bert. + +"Oh, that's all right," his chum answered. "I'm in no hurry. Do you +think we paid too much for the dishes?" + +"Oh, no!" exclaimed Nan. "I'd have given the two dollars if I'd had it. +Why, Miss Pompret will give us a hundred dollars for these two pieces." + +"That's fifty dollars apiece!" exclaimed Nell. "It doesn't seem that +they could be worth that." + +"Oh, but she wants them to make up her set," said Bert. "Just these two +pieces are missing. I wonder how they came to be in that second-hand +store?" + +"Maybe the tramp who took them years ago brought them here and sold +them," suggested Nan. "But I don't suppose we'll ever really find out." + +Eager and excited, the Bobbsey twins and their friends walked back +toward the hotel. + +"Won't mother and father be surprised when they find we have the Pompret +china?" asked Nan of her brother. + +"Yes," he answered, "I guess they will. But, oh, Nan! Just suppose!" + +"Suppose what?" she asked, for Bert seemed worried over something. + +"Suppose these aren't the right dishes, after all? S'posin' these aren't +the ones Miss Pompret wants?" + + + + Chapter XXII + +Happy Days + +Nan Bobbsey was so surprised by what Bert said that she stood still in +the street and looked at her brother. Then she looked at the precious +package he was carrying. + +"Bert Bobbsey!" she exclaimed, "these MUST be the same as Miss +Pompret's! Why they have the blue lion on, and the circle of gold, and +the letters 'J. W.' and--and everything!" + +"Yes, I saw that, too," agreed Bert. "But still they might not be the +same dishes." + +"Oh, dear!" sighed Nan. "And we paid all that money, too!" + +"Oh, I guess they must be the same," put in Nell. "Anyhow, you can take +'em to the hotel and ask your mother." + +"Yes, mother might know," agreed Nan. + +"And if she says those dishes aren't the ones you want, why we can take +'em back and the man will give us our money," said Billy. + +"Oh, he'd never do that!" declared Bert. + +"Well, we can ask him," went on the Washington lad. + +"Maybe the dishes are Miss Pompret's, after all," said Bert. "I was just +s'posin'. And if they aren't, why we can give 'em to Dinah for +souvenirs. I was going to get her something anyhow." + +"But they cost a lot of money," objected Nan. + +"Well, Dinah is awful good to us," said Bert. "And she'd like these +dishes if they aren't Miss Pompret's." + +"But I do hope they are," sighed Nan. "Think of a whole hundred +dollars!" + +"It would scare me to get all that money," said Nell. "Oh, I do hope +they are the right sugar bowl and pitcher!" + +Back to the hotel hurried the Bobbsey twins. Flossie and Freddie, happy +with their toys--the doll and the whistles--did not care much one way or +the other about the dishes and the reward. But Bert and Nan were very +much excited. + +"Well, you've been gone rather a long time buying souvenirs," said Mrs. +Bobbsey, when the twins and the Martin children came in. + +"And oh, Mother, we've had the most wonderful time!" burst out Nan. +"We've found Miss Pompret's missing china dishes--the two she has wanted +so long--the ones the tramp took and she's going to give a reward of a +hundred dollars for, you know--and--and--" + +"Yes, and I know you're excited!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey. "Now cool down +and tell me all about it." + +"And here are the dishes," added Bert, as he set the precious bundle +down on the table. "Look at 'em, Mother, and see if they are the ones +like Miss Pompret's set. You saw her dishes, didn't you?" + +"Yes, but I am not sure I would know them again." + +"I owe Billy fifteen cents," went on Bert, as he unwrapped the dishes. +"We didn't have money enough. The man wanted two dollars, but Billy got +him down to a dollar and thirty-four cents." + +"Billy is quite a little bargainer," said Mrs. Bobbsey, with a smile. +"And now to look at the dishes." + +She carefully examined the sugar bowl and cream pitcher. There was no +doubt about the blue lion in the circle of gold being stamped on the +bottom of each piece. There were also the initials "J. W." which might +stand for Jonathan Waredon, the man who made such rare china. + +"Well, I should say that these pieces were just like those in Miss +Pompret's set," said Mrs. Bobbsey, after a pause. "But whether they are +exactly the same or not, I can't tell. She would have to look at them +herself." + +"I wish we could hurry home and show them to her," sighed Nan. + +"So do I," said Bert. "I want to get that hundred dollars." + +"Well, we'll be going back to Lakeport in a few days now," said his +mother. "Our stay in Washington is nearly over." + +"Oh, dear!" sighed Nell. "I wish you could stay longer." + +"So do I," added her brother Billy. + +Bert gave Billy back the borrowed fifteen cents, and when Mr. Bobbsey, +having been out on lumber business, came home, he, too, said he thought +the pieces belonged to Miss Pompret's set of rare china. + +"But there is only one sure way to tell," the twins' father said. "Miss +Pompret must see them herself." + +The few remaining days the Bobbsey twins spent in Washington were filled +with good times. They were nicely entertained by the Martins, and went +on many excursions to places of interest. But, all the while, Bert and +Nan, at least, were thinking of the sugar bowl and pitcher, and the +hundred dollars reward Miss Pompret had promised. + +"I do hope we don't have to give the dishes to Dinah for souvenirs," +said Nan to Bert. + +"I hope so, too," he agreed. "Anyhow, I bought Dinah a red handkerchief +with a yellow border and a green center. She likes bright colors." + +"I bought her something, too, and for Sam I got something he can hang on +his watch chain," said Nan. "So if we have to give Dinah the dishes, +too, she'll have a lot of souvenirs." + +At last the day came when the Bobbseys must leave Washington for +Lakeport. Goodbyes were said to the Martins, and they promised to visit +the Bobbseys at Lakeport some time. Mr. Bobbsey finished his lumber +business, and then with trunks and valises packed and locked, and with +the precious dishes put carefully in the middle of a satchel which Bert +insisted on carrying, the homeward trip was begun. + +Not very much happened on it, except that once Bert forgot the valise +with the dishes in it, having left it in a car, but he thought of it in +time and ran back to get it just before the train was about to start +away with it. After that he was more careful. + +"Well, honey lambs! I suah is glad to see yo' all back!" cried Dinah, as +she welcomed the Bobbsey twins at their own door. "Come right in, I'se +got lots fo' yo' all to eat! Come in, honey lambs! How am mah little fat +fairy and' mah little fireman?" + +"Oh, we're fine, Dinah!" said Freddie, "And I saw a real fire and I +pulled the fire bell on the boat an'--an'--an'--everything!" + +"Bress yo' heart, honey lamb! I guess yo' did!" laughed Dinah. + +"And I got a little doll and my hat blew off the steeple!" cried +Flossie. + +"Lan' sakes! Do tell!" cried Dinah. + +"And we found Miss Pompret's dishes!" broke in Nan. + +"And we're going to get the hundred dollars reward," added Bert. "'Cept, +of course, if they aren't the right ones you can have 'em for souvenirs, +Dinah." + +"Bress yo' heart, honey lamb! Dinah's got all she wants when yo' all +come back. Now I go an' git somethin' to eat!" + +The children--at least Nan and Bert--were so eager to have Miss Pompret +see the two dishes that they hardly ate any of the good things Dinah +provided. They wanted to go at once and call on the dear, old-fashioned +lady, but their father and mother made them wait. + +At last, however, when they had all rested a bit, Mr. Bobbsey took Nan +and Bert with him and went to call on Miss Pompret. The dishes, +carefully washed by Mrs. Bobbsey, were carried along, wrapped in soft +paper. + +"Oh, I am glad to see my little friends again," said Miss Pompret, as +she greeted Nan and Bert. "Did you have a nice time in Washington?" + +"Yes'm," answered Bert. "And we brought you--" + +"We found your missing sugar bowl and pitcher!" broke in Nan. "Anyhow, +we hope they're yours, and we paid the old man a dollar and thirty-four +cents and--" + +"You--you found my sugar bowl and pitcher!" exclaimed Miss Pompret, and +Mr. Bobbsey said, afterward, that she turned a little pale. "Really do +you mean it--after all these years?" + +"Well, they look like your dishes," said Mr. Bobbsey. "The children saw +them in a second-hand store window, and went in and bought them. I hope, +for your sake, they are the right pieces." + +"I can soon tell," said the old lady. "There is not another set like the +ancient Pompret china in this country. Oh, I am so anxious!" + +Her thin, white hands, themselves almost like china, trembled as she +unwrapped the pieces. And then, as she saw them, she gave a cry of joy +and exclaimed: + +"Yes! They are the very same! Those are the two pieces missing from my +set! Now it is complete! Oh, how thankful I am that I have the Pompret +china set together again! Oh, thank you, children, thank you!" and she +threw her arms about Nan and kissed her, while she shook hands with +Bert, much to that young boy's relief. He hated being kissed. + +"Are you sure these are the two pieces from your set?" asked Mr. +Bobbsey. + +"Positive," answered Miss Pompret. "See? Here is the blue lion in the +circle of gold, and initials 'J. W.' There can be no mistake. And now +how did you find them?" + +Bert and Nan told, and related how Billy had bargained for the two +pieces. They all wondered how the second-hand man had come by them, but +they never found out. + +Miss Pompret carefully placed the sugar bowl and pitcher in the +glass-doored closet with her other pieces. She looked at them for +several seconds. They matched perfectly. + +"Now, once more, after many years, my precious set of china is together +again," she murmured. + +She went over to a desk and began to write. A little later she handed a +slip of blue paper to Mr. Bobbsey. + +"What is this?" he asked. + +"A check for one hundred dollars," answered Miss Pompret. "It is the +reward I promised for the finding of my china. I have made the check out +to you, Mr. Bobbsey. You can get the money and give half to Nan and half +to Bert." + +Mr. Bobbsey slowly shook his head. Then he handed the blue check back to +Miss Pompret. + +"Their mother and I couldn't think of letting the children take the +hundred dollars just for having discovered your dishes, Miss Pompret," +he said. "I thank you very much, but Nan and Bert would not want it, +themselves," he went on. "They really did not earn the money. It was +just good luck; and so, I'm sure, they would rather the money would go +to the Red Cross. Wouldn't you?" he asked Nan and Bert. + +For a moment only did they hesitate. Then with a sigh, which she tried +hard to keep back. Nan said: + +"Oh, yes. It wouldn't be right to take a hundred dollars just for two +dishes." + +"No," agreed Bert, "it wouldn't. Please give the money to the Red +Cross." + +Miss Pompret looked from the children to their father, then to the china +in the closet and next at the check in her white, thin hand. + +"Very well," said the old lady. "Since you wish it, I'll give the +hundred dollars to the Red Cross; and very glad I am to do it, Mr. +Bobbsey. I would gladly have paid even more to get back my sugar bowl +and pitcher." + +"It would hardly be right for the children to have so much money," he +said. "The Red Cross needs it for poor and starving children in other +lands." + +"Very well," answered Miss Pompret. "But at least let me give them back +the dollar and thirty-four cents they spent to get the dishes. That was +their own spending money, I presume." + +"Yes," said Mr. Bobbsey, "it was. And I don't mind if you give that +back." + +So Nan and Bert did not really lose anything, and soon the disappointed +feeling about not getting the reward wore off. They were glad it was to +go to the Red Cross. + +And the next morning, when they awakened to find the ground a foot deep +in snow, their joy knew no bounds. They forgot all about rewards, china +dishes, and even Washington. + +"Now for some coasting!" cried Bert. + +"And snow men!" added Freddie. + +"And I'm going to make a snow house for my Washington doll!" cried +Flossie. + +"Oh, I love snow!" ejaculated Nan. "It's lovely to have it come so near +Christmas!" + +"That's so!" exclaimed Bert. "It soon will be Christmas! Now let's go +out and have some fun in the snow!" + +And they did, rolling and tumbling about, making snow men and houses, +and coasting on their sleds. + +Miss Pompret wrote Mr. Bobbsey a letter, stating that she had sent a +check for one hundred dollars to the Red Cross in the names of Bert and +Nan Bobbsey. + +"That was certainly very nice of her," said Mrs. Bobbsey, when her +husband read this letter to her. + +"Well, Miss Pompret is a very nice lady," answered Mr. Bobbsey. "I am +very glad that the children got those missing dishes back for her." + +"So am I. She has been greatly worried for years over them." + +Slowly the snow flakes drifted down, another storm following the first. +It was the night before Christmas. + +"I wonder what we'll get?" murmured Nan as she and Bert went up to their +rooms. + +"I hope I get a pair of shoe-hockeys," he said. + +"And I want a fur coat," said Nan. + +And when Christmas morning dawned, with the sun shining on the new, +sparkling snow, it also shone on the piles of presents for the Bobbsey +twins. + +There were a number for each one, and, in a separate place on the table +were two large packages. One was marked for Nan and the other for Bert, +and each bore the words: "From Miss Alicia Pompret, to the little +friends who restored my missing china." + +"Oh, mine's a fur coat!" cried Nan, as she opened her package. "A fur +coat and story books!" + +"And mine's shoe-hockeys--the best ever!" shouted Bert. "And an air +rifle and books too!" + +And so their dreams came true, and it was the happiest Christmas they +ever remembered. And Miss Pompret was happy too. + +The End. + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Bobbsey Twins in Washington, by Laura Lee Hope + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOBBSEY TWINS IN WASHINGTON *** + +***** This file should be named 5617.txt or 5617.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/5/6/1/5617/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Illustrated. + +THE BOBBSEY TWINS SERIES +THE BOBBSEY TWINS +THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY +THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE +THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL +THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE +THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON A HOUSEBOAT +THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT MEADOW BROOK +THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT HOME +THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN A GREAT CITY +THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON BLUEBERRY ISLAND +THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON THE DEEP BLUE SEA +THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN WASHINGTON +THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES +BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE +BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON GRANDPA'S FARM +BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE PLAYING CIRCUS +BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME +BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CAMP REST-A-WHILE +BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE BIG WOODS +BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON AN AUTO TOUR +BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR SHETLAND PONY +BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE GIVING A SHOW +THE OUTDOOR GIRLS SERIES +THE OUTDOOR GIRLS OF DEEPDALE +THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT RAINBOW LAKE +THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A MOTOR CAR +THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A WINTER CAMP +THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN FLORIDA +THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT OCEAN VIEW +THE OUTDOOR GIRLS ON PINE ISLAND +THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN ARMY SERVICE +THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT HOSTESS HOUSE + + + + +CONTENTS + +I UNDER THE HAY +II DIGGING OUT +III THE WASHINGTON CHILDREN +IV MISS POMPRET'S CHINA +V "WHAT A LOT OF MONEY!" +VI WONDERFUL NEWS +VII ON A TRIP +VIII IN NEW YORK +IX WASHINGTON AT LAST +X LOST +XI THE PRESIDENT +XII WASHINGTON MONUMENT +XIII A STRAY CAT +XIV STRAY CHILDREN +XV "WHERE ARE THEY?" +XVI THE FIRE BELL +XVII FREDDIE'S REAL ALARM +XVIII THE ORIENTAL CHILDREN +XIX "OH LOOK!" +XX A GREAT BARGAIN +XXI JUST SUPPOSE +XXII HAPPY DAYS + + + + +CHAPTER I + +UNDER THE HAY + +"This is 'most as much fun as we had on Blueberry Island, or when we +went to Florida on the deep, blue sea, isn't it, Bert?" asked Nan +Bobbsey, as she sat on the porch and fanned herself with her hat. She +and her brother had been running around the house, playing a new game, +and Nan was warm. + +"Yes, it's fun all right," agreed Bert. "But I liked the deep, blue sea +better--or even Blueberry Island," and off came his hat to cool his +flushed face, for, though it was late in September, the day was warm. + +"But we couldn't stay on the island, always," went on Nan. "We have to +go to school, daddy says!" + +"Don't speak about it!" begged Bert. "I don't want to go to school for a +long, long time, and not then!" + +"Have we got to go to school?" asked a little light-haired and blue-eyed +girl, as she ran up the steps, to sink in a heap at the feet of her +sister, Nan Bobbsey. "When do we go?" she went on. + +"Oh, not right away, 'little fat fairy!'" laughed Nan, giving Flossie +the name her father sometimes called her. "School won't open for two +weeks more." + +"Hurray!" cried Bert. "The longer it stays closed the better I like it. +But come on, Nan! Let's have some more fun. This isn't like Blueberry +Island, sitting still on a porch!" + +"You haven't sat still more than three minutes, Bert Bobbsey!" cried his +sister. "I can hardly get my breath, you made me run so fast!" + +Just then a little boy, who had the same sort of blue eyes and golden +hair that made Flossie such a pretty little girl, came tumbling up the +steps with a clatter and a bang, falling down at Bert's feet. The older +boy caught his small brother just in time, or there might have been a +bumped nose. + +"Hi there, Freddie, what's the matter?" asked Bert, with a laugh. "Is +our dog Snap chasing you, or have you been playing a trick on our cat +Snoop?" + +"I--I--I'm a--a fireman!" panted Freddie. for he, too, was out of breath +from running. "I'm a fireman, and I--I've got to get the engine. There's +a big, big fire!" and his eyes opened wide and round. + +"A big fire--really?" asked Nan quickly. + +"Course not! He's only making believe!" replied Bert. + +"Well, I thought maybe he might have seen some boys start a bonfire +somewhere," explained Nan. "They sometimes do." + +"I know they do," admitted Bert. "And I hope they don't start one near +daddy's lumberyard." + +"There was a fire down in the lumber once!" exclaimed Freddie. He was +too young to have seen it, but he had heard his father and mother talk +about the time Mr. Bobbsey's lumberyard was nearly burned out. Freddie +Bobbsey was very fond of a toy fire engine he had been given for +Christmas, and his father often called Freddie a "little fireman," just +as Flossie was named a "fairy." + +"Well, if it's only a make-believe fire we can sit here and cool off," +went on Nan. "What were you doing, Flossie?" she asked her little +sister. + +"Oh, I was having a race with our cat Snoop; but I guess I beat, 'cause +Snoop didn't get here to the porch before I did." + +"Yes, you won the race all right," laughed Bert. "But it's too hot for +any more running games. I wish we were back on the island where we found +that boy, Jack Nelson, and could play we were sailors and could splash +in the water." + +"That would be fun!" sighed Nan, as she fanned herself harder than ever +with her hat. + +The Bobbsey twins had, a few days before, returned to their home from a +vacation spent on a strange island off the coast of Florida. They had +gone there with Cousin Jasper Dent to rescue a boy who had been left in +a lonely cave, and very many strange adventures the Bobbsey twins and +their father and mother, to say nothing of Cousin Jasper, had had on +that voyage. + +Now the simple games they tried to get up around the house, and the +thought of having to go back to school soon, made them feel a bit +lonesome for the deep, blue sea, over which they had made a voyage to +rescue the boy, Jack Nelson, and also for Blueberry Island, where once +they spent a vacation. + +"I know what we can do!" cried Nan, after a rest. + +"What?" asked Bert, always ready to join Nan in any fun she thought of. +"What can we do?" + +"Go out to the barn and play that's a ship like the one we went on to +Florida. It'll be cooler in the barn than it is here, anyhow." + +"That's so," admitted Bert. "And oh! I know how we can have packs of +fun!" + +"How?" This time it was Nan who eagerly asked. + +"Why we can swing on some of the ropes that are in the haymow. I guess +the ropes are there to tie things up on in the winter. But we can swing +on 'em now, and make believe we're sailors, just as we did when we found +that boy in the cave where we went with Cousin Jasper." + +"Oh, so we can!" cried Nan. "Come on!" + +"I'll be a fireman on the ship!" declared fat Freddie, as he got slowly +to his feet from the floor where he had been sitting near Bert. I'll be +a fireman and squirt water." + +"Not real--only make believe" cried Bert. "Water spoils hay, you know, +Freddie. You can't splash any water on daddy's hay in the barn." + +"No, I'll only make believe," agreed the light-haired little boy. "Come +on Flossie!" he called to his sister, who had slipped down off the porch +to run after a big black cat that marched along with his tail in the +air, "like a fishing pole," Bert said. "Come on, Flossie!" called +Freddie. "We'll go out to the barn and play ship and sailors, and I'll +be a fireman and you can be----" + +"I'm going to be hungry, and have something good to eat! That's what +I'll be," declared Flossie quickly. "I'm going to be AWFUL hungry!" + +"Oh dear!" exclaimed Nan, but she was laughing. "That's always the way. +Those two want to do something different." + +"Well, we can all make believe we're hungry," said Bert. "And maybe +Dinah will give us some cookies to eat." + +"There she goes now. I'll ask her!" offered Nan, as she saw the +Bobbsey's fat and good-natured colored cook cross the lawn with a small +basket of clothes to hang up. "We'll have a little play-party out in the +barn." + +"But I'm going to be real hungry--not make believe!" said Freddie. "I +want to eat real." + +"And so you can!" declared Nan. "I'll get enough for all of us." + +A little later the Bobbsey twins--the two pairs of them--were on the way +to the barn that stood a little way back of the house. Mr. Bobbsey did +not live on a farm. He lived in a town, but his place was large enough +to have a barn on it as well as a house. He kept a horse, and sometimes +a cow, but just now there was no cow in the stable--only a horse. + +And the horse was not there, either, just then, for it was being used to +pull a wagon about the streets of Lakeport. Mr. Bobbsey had an +automobile, but he also kept the horse, and this animal was sometimes +used by the clerks from the lumber office. + +So out to the barn, which had in it the winter supply of hay and oats +for the horse, went the Bobbsey twins. Nan and Bert, being older, +reached the place first, each one carrying some sugar and molasses +cookies Dinah had given them. After Nan and Bert ran Flossie and +Freddie, each one looking anxiously at the packages of cookies, + +"Don't those cookies look good?" cried Flossie. + +"And I guess they'll eat just as good as they look," was Freddie's +comment. + +Just then Nan's foot slipped on a small stone, and she came very near +falling down. + +"Oh!" cried Flossie and Freddie together. + +"Don't drop your cookies, Nan!" came quickly from Bert. + +"Oh, if you dropped 'em they'd get all dirty," said Flossie. + +"They wouldn't get very dirty," answered Freddie hopefully. "Anyway, we +could brush 'em off. They'd be good enough to eat, wouldn't they?" and +he looked at Bert. + +"I guess they wouldn't get very dirty," answered Bert. "Anyway, Nan +didn't drop them. But you'd better be careful, Nan," he went on. + +"Don't be so scared, Bert Bobbsey," answered his sister. "I won't drop +them." + +In a minute more the Bobbsey twins were at the barn where the sugar and +molasses cookies Dinah had given them were put in a safe place. + +"There are the ropes!" exclaimed Bert, as he pointed to some dangling +from a beam near the haymow. + +"They're too high to climb!" Nan said, for some of the ropes were fast +to the rafters of the barn. + +"Oh, we won't climb 'em!" Bert quickly returned, for he knew his mother +would never allow this. "We'll just swing on 'em, low down near this +pile of hay, so if we fall we can't hurt ourselves." + +"I want to swing on a rope, too!" exclaimed Freddie, as he heard what +his older brother and sister were talking of. "I like to be a sailor and +swing on a rope." + +"Not now, Freddie," answered Bert. "The ropes are too high for you and +Flossie. You just play around on the barn floor, and you can watch Nan +and me swing. Then we'll play steamboat, maybe." + +"I want to be the steam, and go puff-puff!" cried Freddie. + +"And I want to be the captain and say 'All aboard!'" was Flossie's wish. + +"You can take turns," agreed Bert. "Now don't get in our way, Flossie +and Freddie. Nan and I want to see how big a swing we can take by +holding to the ropes." + +"All right. I'll go and see if I can find any eggs," replied Freddie. +"Hens lay eggs in the barn." + +"Well, if you find a nest don't step in it and break all the eggs," +warned Nan. + +She and Bert, as Flossie and Freddie went marching around the big barn, +climbed up on the pile of hay, and began swinging on the ropes. To and +fro swung the older Bobbsey twins. + +"Isn't this better than Blueberry Island?" asked Nan. + +"Well no, it isn't any better," said Bert; "but it's just as good. Look, +I'm going to let go and drop on the hay." + +"Be careful and don't hurt yourself!" begged Nan, as she swung to and +fro, her feet raised from the hay beneath her, while Bert, also, swayed +slowly to and fro. + +"Oh, I'll be careful!" Bert promised. "Anyhow, the hay is nice and soft +to fall in. I'll make believe I'm a man in the circus, falling from the +top of the tent." + +He swung a little farther to and fro, and then suddenly cried: + +"Here I go!" + +"Oh!" screamed Nan, but, really, nothing happened to harm Bert. He just +dropped into the pile of soft hay. + +"Come on, Nan! You try it! Lots of fun!" laughed Bert as he scrambled up +and made for his rope again. + +Nan said "no" at first, but when Bert had swung once more and again +dropped into the hay, she took her turn. Into the hay she plunged, and +sank down to her shoulders in the soft, dried grass. + +"Come on--let's do it some more!" laughed Bert. Then he and his older +sister had lots of fun swinging on the ropes and dropping into a pile of +hay. + +"I wonder what Flossie and Freddie are doing," said Bert, after they had +had about an hour of this fun. "I haven't seen them for a long while." + +"Maybe they found a hen's nest and took the eggs to the house," said +Nan. "They'd do that." + +"Yes, if they found one," agreed Bert. "Well, we'll see where they are +after I take another swing. And I'm going to take a big one." + +"So will I!" decided Nan. "Oh, it's just as nice as Blueberry Island or +on the deep, blue sea, isn't it, Bert?" + +"It is when we play this way--yes. But just watch me." + +"Here come Flossie and Freddie now!" exclaimed Nan, as she glanced at +her older brother, who was taking a firm hold of the rope for his big +swing. The two smaller twins, at this moment, came into the barn through +the door that led to the cow stable. + +"Where have you been?" asked Nan, as she watched Bert get ready for his +swing. + +"Oh, we had fun," said Flossie. + +"And I squirted water, out where the horse "drinks," added Freddie, + +"I hope you didn't get wet!" exclaimed Nan. "If you did----" + +"Well, I have on a dirty waist, so it won't hurt me any if I am wet," +said Freddie calmly. "I want to swing like that, Bert," he added. "Give +me a swing!" + +"After I've had my turn I'll give you and Flossie each one," promised +Nan. "Watch me, Bert!" she called. + +Off the mow swung Nan, clinging to the swaying rope with both hands. + +"Come on--let's both let go together and see who falls into the hay +first!" proposed Bert. + +"All right!" agreed Nan. + +"One, two, three!" cried Bert. "Ready! Let go!" + +He and Nan let go of the ropes at the same time. Together they dropped +down to the hay--and then something happened! The two older Bobbsey +children jumped too near the edge of the mow, where the hay was piled in +a big roll, like a great feather bed bolster, over the top rail. And +Bert and Nan, in their drop, caused a big pile of hay--almost a +wagonload--to slip from the mow and down to the barn floor. And directly +underneath were Flossie and Freddie! + +Down on the two little twins fell Bert and Nan and the big pile of dried +grass, and, in an instant, the two golden heads were buried out of sight +on the barn floor in a large heap of hay. + + + + 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 after +having come down with the pile of hay, with her brother, right where +Flossie 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 is +Flossie? And where's Freddie?" He looked around, not seeing the smaller +twins, and not having noticed exactly what had happened to them. "Where +are 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 dig +out Flossie and Freddie!" cried Nan, + +She started to run across the barn floor, but was stopped by a call from +Bert. + +"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 I +guess!" + +And indeed it was a large part of the pile of hay in the Bobbsey barn +that had slid from the mow when Bert jumped on it. And this hay now +covered from sight the "little fireman" and the "little fat fairy," as +Daddy Bobbsey called his two little twins. + +"Yes, I'll go for Dinah!" cried Nan. "She knows how to dig under the +hay, I guess!" + +"And I'll start digging now," added Bert, as he began tossing aside the +wisps of dried grass that covered his small brother and sister from +sight. + +And while the rescue of Freddie and Flossie is being arranged for, I +will take this chance to tell my new readers something of the four +children, about whom I am going to write in this book. + +There are other books ahead of this one, and the first is named after +the children. It is called "The Bobbsey Twins," and relates some of the +early adventures of Bert, Nan, Flossie and Freddie. Those are the names +of the twins, as you have already learned. + +The Bobbsey family lived in an eastern city called Lakeport, at the head +of Lake Metoka. Mr. Bobbsey was in the lumber business and had an office +near his lumberyard, which was "down town" as the children called it. + +Now I'll tell you just a little about the four children, their friends +and something about the other books, and then I'll get on with the +story, which I hope you will wish to read. + +There were two sets of twins, you see. Bert and Nan were the older. They +each 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 had +had in the country at Blueberry Island and on the deep, blue sea, the +older twins were getting stouter. "Fatter," Freddie called it. + +Flossie and Freddie were just the opposite of Bert and Nan. The smaller +pair of twins were short and stout, and each had light hair, and blue +eyes that looked at you, sometimes, in the funniest way you can imagine. + +Besides Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey there was Dinah, the fat, good-natured +colored cook, who knew how to make more kinds of cake than you could eat +in one day. And then there was Sam Johnson, her husband. Sam worked +about the Bobbsey house and barn, looked after the horse and sometimes +drove the automobile, though he said he liked a horse better. But the +Bobbsey family liked the automobile, so the horse was used down in the +lumberyard more often than to take Bert, Nan, Flossie and Freddie for a +ride. + +The Bobbsey twins had many friends and relations, but I will not take up +your time, now, telling you about them. I must not forget, however, to +mention Snoop and Snap. Snoop was a fine, big cat, and he was named +"Snoop" because he always seemed to be "snooping" into everything, as +Dinah said. Snoop didn't do that to be bad, he just wanted to find out +about things. Once he wanted to find out what was inside an empty tin +can, and so he stuck his head in and he couldn't get it out until Bert +helped him. + +Snap was the Bobbsey dog, and he wasn't called "Snap" because he would +snap at you. No indeed! It was because, when Bert put a cracker on his +dog's nose, the animal would "snap" it off with a jerk of his head and +eat 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 and +they had lots of fun. Those of you who have read the other books know +that. They went to the country and to the seashore, to visit Uncle +William at the latter place, and Uncle Daniel Bobbsey in the former. + +Of course the Bobbsey twins went to school, and there is a book telling +about them there, and the fun and adventures they had. Later on they +went to "Snow Lodge," and after an exciting winter, they spent part of +the summer on a houseboat. + +When Bert, Nan, Flossie and Freddie went to Meadow Brook, which was the +country home of Uncle Daniel, the twins never expected very much to +happen. But it did, and they talked about it for a long time. Then they +came 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 the +book and read it for yourself. + +After that they spent a summer on Blueberry Island, and there were +gypsies on the island. Some strange things happened, but the Bobbsey +twins enjoyed every hour of their stay, and did not want to come home. + +But they had to, of course, and still more strange adventures awaited +them. Those you may read about in the book just before this. It is +called: "The Bobbsey Twins on the Deep, Blue Sea," and in it is related +how 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 twins +were playing in the barn, making the most of the last days of their +vacation, when the accident happened about the hay, as I have told you. + +"Flossie! Freddie! Are you under there?" called Bert, anxiously, as he +threw aside armful after armful of the dried grass. "Are you down there +under the hay?" + +He paused a moment to listen for an answer, but none came. If Flossie +and Freddie were there, either they did not hear him or they were so +smothered by the hay that they could not answer. + +"Oh, I hope nothing has happened to them!" exclaimed Bert, and he began +digging away faster than before. + +Certainly it was a large pile of hay to have fallen on two little +children. But then the hay was soft, and Bert, himself, had often been +buried under a pile in the field. It had not hurt, but the dust had made +him sneeze. + +Faster and faster Bert dug away at the hay. He heard feet pattering on +the barn floor back of him, and, turning, saw Snap, the big dog, come +running in. + +"Oh, Snap!" cried Bert, "Flossie and Freddie are under the hay! Help me +dig 'em out!" + +"Bow wow!" barked Snap, just as if he understood. Of course he didn't +really know what had happened, but he saw Bert digging away and Snap +himself knew enough to do that. Often enough he had dug up, with his +front paws, a bone he had buried in the hard ground. This digging in the +soft hay was easier than that. + +So Snap began to paw aside the hay, just as Bert was doing, and while +boy and dog were doing this into the barn came fat Dinah, with Nan +running ahead of her. + +"Whut's dish yeah has happened, Bert? Whut's all dish yeah I heah Nan +say?" demanded the black cook. "Whut you done gone an' done to yo' l'il +broth' an' sistah? De pooh l'il honey lambs!" + +"I didn't do anything!" declared Bert. "I was swinging on a rope, over +the haymow, and so was Nan. And Flossie and Freddie were playing on the +barn floor under the mow. I fell on the hay and so did Nan, and a whole +lot of it slid down and fell on top of Flossie and Freddie and--and--now +they're down under there, I guess!" + +"Good land ob massy!" exclaimed Dinah. "Dat suah is a lot to happen to +mah 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," she +added to Bert. "She went over to Mrs. Black's. Oh, maybe we can't ever +get Flossie and Freddie out!" + +"Hush yo' talk laik dat!" cried Dinah. "Co'se we git 'em out! We kin do +it. 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 way +more than he did anything else, and Bert tried to send his dog out, but +Snap would not go. + +Faster and faster worked Dinah, Nan and Bert, and soon the big pile of +hay, which had fallen on Flossie and Freddie grew smaller. It was being +stacked on another part of the floor. + +"Maybe I'd better go and telephone to daddy!" suggested Nan, when the +hay pile had been made much smaller. "You don't see anything of them +yet, do you Dinah?" she asked anxiously. + +"No, not yet, honey! But I soon will. We's 'most to de bottom ob de +heap. No use worritin' yo' pa. We'll git Freddie and Flossie out all +right!" + +Bert was tossing aside the hay so fast that his arms seemed like the +spokes of a wheel going around. He felt that it was partly his fault +that 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' in +one 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 from +the mow, that it would not have hidden Snap, to say nothing of covering +the two Bobbsey twins. + +But something seemed to be wrong. There were no little fat legs or +chubby 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 queer +voice Nan said: + +"Why--why! They're not there!" + + + + CHAPTER II + +THE WASHINGTON CHILDREN + +THERE was no doubt of it. Flossie and Freddie were not under the pile of +hay that had fallen on them. The hay had all been cast aside now, so far +away from the place where it had fallen that it could not serve for a +hiding place. And Bert and Nan could see the bare floor of the barn. + +"Where are they?" asked Bert, looking in surprise at Nan. "Where are +Flossie and Freddie?" + +"Dat's whut I wants to know!" declared Dinah. "Where is dey? Has yo' all +been playin' a trick on ole Dinah?" and she looked sadly at Bert and +Nan. + +"Playing a trick?" cried Nan. + +"We didn't play any trick!" exclaimed Bert. "Flossie and Freddie were +down 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 her +foot. "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 had +become of Flossie and Freddie between the time they disappeared under +the sliding pile of hay and now, when it had been cleared away to +another part of the barn. + +"I saw them playing on the floor," said Nan. "Then, when Bert and I let +go 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 were +under the hay!" + +"Yes," agreed Bert, "they were. But they aren't here now. Maybe they +fell down through the floor!" he added hopefully. "The cow stable is +under this part of the barn." + +"Yes, but there isn't any hole in the barn floor here," said Nan. "And +the 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's +mighty 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 git +Sam 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 two +childish voices, and there stood the missing Flossie and Freddie, hay in +their fluffy, golden hair, hay hanging down over their blue eyes, and +hay 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 queer +way of speaking, for, though the little fireman usually spoke quite +properly, 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," explained +Flossie. "Then Freddie says let's play hide and coop and we climbed up +the little ladder and went up in the haymow and then we slid out of the +little window and got outside the barn and then we just hid an' waited +to see what you'd do." By this time Flossie was out of breath, having +said all this without pause. + +"But you didn't come after us," said Freddie, "and so we came to see +where 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. I +thought you'd be away down underneath." + +"We were," went on Flossie. "But we wiggled out, an' you didn't see us +wiggle." + +"No," agreed Nan, "we didn't see you. But, oh, I'm so glad you are all +right!" 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 my +nose, and I wanted to sneeze." + +"But I wouldn't let her!" explained Freddie. "I held my hand over her +nose so she couldn't sneeze." + +"I tried hard so I wouldn't," said Flossie, "and Freddie helped me. It +feels 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 in +the middle of the barn floor. Snap, the big dog, put his head to one +side, and cocked up his ears, looking at the two smaller twins as if +asking what it was all about, and what the digging in the hay was all +for. + +"Well, it's mighty lucky laik dat it wasn't no wuss!" exclaimed fat +Dinah, with a sigh of relief. "I suah was clean skairt out ob mah seben +senses when yo' come runnin' into mah kitchen, Nan, an' says as how +Flossie 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 around +as though he wanted to work his way out of his clothes. "Maybe there's a +hay-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 to +play 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 had +been at first, after their play was done. + +"Yes, we must put the hay up in the mow again," agreed Nan. "Daddy +wouldn'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 a +molasses cookie each and a further promise to Freddie that she would +take out of his clothes whatever it was tickling his back--a hay-bug or +some of the dried wisps of grass. + +Bert and Nan had not long been working at stacking the hay back in place +before 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 than +stacking hay in a barn." + +"Are you very sure you don't mind doing it, Sam?" asked Nan, for she +wanted 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 and +Nan started to leave the barn. + +"Suah I did," answered Sam. "When I was a youngster like you I loved to +go 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 could +teach me some new strokes." + +"I doan know about that, Bert. You see, I ain't quite so limber as what +I used to be when I was your age or jest a little older. Now you jest +hop along, both of you, and enjoy yourselves." + +So Nan and Bert went out to find some other way of having fun. They +wanted to have all the good times they could, as school would soon begin +again. + +"But we'll have a vacation at Thanksgiving and Christmas and New +Year'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 yard +when suddenly Snap, their dog, gave a savage growl. It was the kind of +growl he never gave unless he happened to be angry, and Bert knew, right +away, something must be wrong. + +"What is it, Snap? A tramp?" asked the boy, looking around. Often Snap +would 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 never +stopped to find out which was which. He just growled, and if that didn't +scare away the tramp then Snap ran at him. And no tramp ever stood after +that. He just ran away. + +But now neither Bert nor Nan could see any tramp, either in the yard or +in the street in front of the house. Snap, though, kept on growling deep +down in his throat, and then, suddenly, the children saw what the matter +was. A big dog was digging a hole under the fence to get into the +Bobbsey yard. The gate was closed, and though the dog might have jumped +the fence, he didn't. He was digging a hole underneath. And Snap saw +him. That's why Snap growled. + +"Oh, Bert! Look!" cried Nan. + +As she spoke the dog managed to get through the hole he had dug, and +into the Bobbsey yard he popped. But he did not stay there long. Before +he could run toward Bert and Nan, if, indeed, he had that notion, Snap +had leaped toward the unwelcome visitor. + +Snap growled and barked in such a brave, bold way that the other dog +gave 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 quick +enough, for Snap nipped the end of the big dog's tail and there was +another howl. + +"Good boy!" cried Bert to his dog, as Snap came back to him, wagging his +tail, having first made sure, however, that the strange dog was running +down the street. "Good, old Snap!" + +And Snap wagged his tail harder than ever, for he liked to be told he +had 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 stay +long!" + +"Not with our Snap around!" laughed Nan. + +The two older Bobbsey twins were wondering what they could do next to +have a good time, when they heard their mother's voice calling to them +from the side porch. She had come back from a little visit to a lady +down the street, and had heard all about the accident to Flossie and +Freddie. + +"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 and +Freddie," said Bert, rather anxiously. + +"Well, we couldn't help it," replied his sister. "We didn't know it was +so slippery. Yes, Mother; we're coming!" she answered, as Mrs. Bobbsey +called again. + +But, to the relief of Nan and Bert, their mother did not scold them. She +just said: + +"You must be a little more careful when you're playing where Flossie and +Freddie are. They are younger than you, and don't so well know how to +look out for themselves. You must look out for them. But now I want you +to 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 to +daddy's lumber office, but the postman left it while I was out, and +Dinah was out in the barn with you children, so she could not tell him +to carry it on down town. So I wish you'd take it to daddy. He has been +expecting it for some time. It's about some business, and I don't want +to open the letter and telephone what's in it. But if you two will just +run 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 clerks +knew the children and smiled at them, and the stenographer, who wrote +Mr. Bobbsey's letters on the clicking typewriter machine, took the twins +through 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 two +children--a boy and a girl about their own age--in their father's +private office. The boy and girl were sitting on chairs, looking at the +very same lumber books--those with pictures of big woods in them--that +Nan 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!" + + + + CHAPTER IV + +MISS POMPRET'S CHINA + +Bert and Nan looked at one another in some surprise as they stood in the +door of their father's private office. What did he mean by saying that +they were to come in and meet the "Washington children?" Who were the +"Washington children?" + +Nan and Bert were soon to know, for their father spoke again. + +"Come on in. These are two of my twins, Mr. Martin," he added to the +gentleman who was sitting near his desk. The two "Washington children," +looked up from the lumber books they had been reading. No, I am wrong, +they had not been reading them--only looking at the pictures. + +"Two of your twins?" repeated Mr. Martin, with a smile. "Do you mean to +say you have more twins at home?" + +"Oh, yes, another set. Smaller than these. I wish you would see Flossie +and Freddie. Come here, Bert and Nan. This is my friend, Mr. Martin," he +continued, "and these are his children, Billy and Nell. They live in +Washington, D.C." + +So that was what Mr. Bobbsey meant. At first, Nan said afterward, she +had a little notion that her father might have meant the boy and girl +were the children of General George Washington. But a moment's thought +told Nan that this could not be. General Washington's children, +supposing him to have had any, would have been grown up into old men and +women and would have passed away long ago. But Billy and Nell Martin +lived in Washington, District of Columbia (which is what the letters +D.C. stand for) and, Bert and Nan knew, Washington was the capital, or +chief city, of the United States. + +"Mr. Martin came in to see me on business," explained Daddy Bobbsey. "He +is traveling for a lumber firm, and on this trip he brought his boy and +girl with him." + +"They aren't twins, though," said Mr. Martin with a nod at Nan and Bert. + +"I think it's lovely to be a twin!" said Nell, with a smile at Nan. +"Don't you have lots of fun?" + +"Yes, we do," Nan said. + +"I should think you could have fun in this lumberyard," remarked Billy +Martin. "I'd like to live near it." + +"Yes, we play in it," said Bert; and now that the "ice had been broken," +as the grown folks say, the four children began to feel better +acquainted. + +"Did you come down for anything special?" asked Mr. Bobbsey of Bert. + +"Yes, Daddy. Here's a letter mother gave us for you," the boy answered. + +"Oh, this is the one I have been expecting," said Mr. Bobbsey to Mr. +Martin. "Now we can talk business. Bert and Nan, don't you want to take +Billy and Nell out in the yard and show them the lake? But don't fall +in, and don't climb on the lumber," he added. + +"Oh, I'd love to look at the lake!" cried Nell. + +"And I like to see big piles of lumber," said her brother Billy. + +"The children will be all right," said Mr. Bobbsey, in answer to a look +from Mr. Martin. "My older twins often play about the lumberyard, and +they'll see that Billy and Nell come to no harm." + +So while the two men talked over lumber matters, Bert and Nan showed +Billy and Nell the sights of their father's lumberyard, and took the +Washington children down to Lake Metoka, where the blue waters sparkled +in the sun. + +"Oh, this is lovely!" exclaimed Nell. "It's nicer than Washington!" + +"Don't you have a lake there?" asked Bert. + +"No; but we have the Potomac River," answered Billy. "That's nice, but +not as nice as this lake. Now let's go and look at the big piles of +lumber." + +"Yes, let's," echoed Nell. + +The children tossed some chips into the lake, pretending they were +boats, and then they walked around the yard to where long boards and +planks were stacked into great piles, waiting to be taken away on boats +or wagons. + +Bert asked one of the workmen if they could play with some of the +boards, and, receiving permission to do so, they had fun making +something they called a house, and then on a see-saw. + +"Oh, I always did love to see-saw!" said the little girl from +Washington. "We don't get much of a chance to play that way where I come +from." + +"We have see-saw rides lots of times down here," answered Nan. + +"Well, that's Because your father owns a lumberyard, and you can get +plenty of boards to use for a see-saw," said Henry. + +For an hour or more Bert and Nan entertained the Washington children in +the lumberyard, and then, as it was getting close to dinner time, Nan +told Bert they had better go back to their father's office. + +They found Mr. Martin about to leave. And then Mr. Bobbsey thought of +something. + +"Look here, Henry!" he exclaimed to his friend, "there's no need of your +going back to that hotel. Come out to the house--you and the children-- +and have dinner with me. I want you and your boy and girl to meet +Flossie and Freddie, and I want you to meet Mrs. Bobbsey." + +"Well, I'd like to," said Mr. Martin slowly, while the eyes of Nell and +Billy glowed in delight. "But, perhaps it might bother your wife." + +"Oh, no!" laughed Mr. Bobbsey. "She likes company. I'll telephone out +that we're coming, and Dinah, that's our cook, will be delighted to get +up something extra. They'll be glad to see you. Come out to the house, +all of you, and make me a nice visit. Can't you stay a day or so?" + +Eagerly Nan and Bert waited for the answer, for they liked the +Washington children very much. + +"Oh, no, we can't stay later than this evening," said Mr. Martin. "I've +got other business to look after. But I'll come out to dinner with you." + +"Oh, we'll have lots of fun!" whispered Nan to Nell. "You'll just love +Flossie--she's so cute!" + +"I'll show you my dog Snap," said Bert to Billy. "You ought to have seen +him scare a strange dog just before we came down here." + +"I like dogs," said Billy. "We could have one in Washington if we had a +barn to keep him in." + +"We've got a barn," went on Bert. "You ought to have seen what happened +there this morning to Flossie and Freddie," and then he told about the +little twins having been hidden under the hay. + +Mr. Bobbsey's automobile was in the lumberyard, and in this the trip was +quickly made to the home of the four twins, after Mrs. Bobbsey had been +told, by telephone, that company was coming + +Nell and Billy were glad to see Flossie and Freddie, and the six +children had fun playing around the house and barn with Snoop and Snap. + +Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey wanted Mr. Martin to stay two or three days with +his children, but the Washington lumberman said it could not be done +this time. + +"I'm on a business trip," he said, "and I can't spend as much time in +visiting and pleasure as I'd like, though I am trying to give Billy and +Nell a good time. This is the first time I have ever taken them on a +trip with me." + +"And we've had such a lovely time!" exclaimed Nell. + +"Packs of fun!" added her brother. + +"I'm sorry we can't stay longer," went on Mr. Martin. "You folk must +come to Washington some day." + +"Yes, I expect to," said Mr. Bobbsey. "I've been counting on going there +some day on some business matters." + +"Well, when you come be sure to bring the children," said the father of +Nell and Billy. "I think they would enjoy seeing the White House, the +big Capitol building, the Congressional Library, Washington's home at +Mt. Vernon and places like that." + +"Could we see the Washington Monument?" asked Nan. She remembered +looking at a picture of that in her geography. + +"Oh, yes, I'd show you that, too," said Mr. Martin. + +"And could we see the Potomac River?" Bert wanted to know. + +"Surely!" laughed Billy's father. "I'll show you all the sights of +Washington if you'll come and pay me a visit--all you Bobbsey twins!" he +added. + +"I wish we could go!" sighed Nan. + +"Perhaps you can," said her father. + +"Have you got any hay in Wash'ton?" asked Freddie, suddenly, and every +one else laughed except himself and Flossie. + +"Oh, I guess I could find enough hay for you and your little sister to +hide under," answered Mr. Martin with a laugh, for he had heard the +story of what had happened in the barn. + +A little later Mr. Martin and his boy and girl had to leave. They said +"good-bye," and while the father of the Washington children again asked +Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey to come to visit him at his home, Nell and Billy +whispered to Nan and Bert: + +"Be sure and come, and bring Flossie and Freddie with you!" + +"We will!" promised Nan, but neither she nor Bert guessed what a queer +little adventure they were soon to have in Washington. + +A few days later school opened, and the Bobbsey twins had to go back to +their class-rooms. At first they did not like it, after the long, joyous +vacation on the deep, blue sea, but their teachers were kind, and +finally the twins began to feel that, after all, school was not such a +bad place. + +Thanksgiving Day came, bringing a little vacation period, and after +church in the morning, the Bobbsey twins went home to eat roast turkey +and cranberry sauce. Then they went out to play with some of their boy +and girl friends, having lots of fun in the barn and yard. + +"But don't slide any more hay down on Flossie and Freddie!" begged Mrs. +Bobbsey. + +"We won't!" promised Bert and Nan, and they kept their word. + +It was about a week after Thanksgiving, and Bert and Nan were on their +way home from school one day, when, as they passed a red brick house on +the street next to theirs, they saw, standing on the porch, a pleasant- +faced, elderly lady who was looking up and down the avenue. + +"That's Miss Pompret," said Nan to Bert. "I heard mother say she was +very rich." + +"Is she?" asked Bert. "She looks kind of funny." + +"That's 'cause she isn't married," returned Nan. "Some folks call her an +old maid, but I don't think she's very old, even if her hair is white. +Her face looks nice." + +"Yes, but she looks kind of worried now," said Bert. "That's the way +mother looks when she's worried." + +They were in front of the house now, and could see Miss Pompret quite +plainly. Certainly the elderly lady did look as though something +troubled her. + +"Good afternoon, Miss Pompret!" called Nan, as she was about to pass by. +Bert took off his cap and bowed. + +"Oh, you're half of the Bobbsey twins, aren't you?" asked Miss Pompret, +with a smile. "I often see you go past. I only wish you were a little +bigger." + +"Bigger? Why?" asked Bert, in some surprise. + +"Why, then," explained Miss Pompret, "you might take this letter to the +post-office for me. It's very important, and I want it to go out on this +mail, but I can't go to the post-office myself. If you Bobbsey twins +were bigger I should ask you to take it. Tell me, is the other set of +twins larger than you two?" + +"No'm; they're smaller," explained Nan. "Flossie and Freddie are lots +littler than we are." + +"But we're big enough to take the letter to the post-office for you, +Miss Pompret," said Bert. He had often heard his father and mother speak +of this neighbor, and the kindnesses she had done. + +"Are you sure you are big enough to go to the post-office for me?" asked +Miss Pompret. + +"We often go for daddy and mother," said Nan. + +"Well, then, if you think your mother wouldn't mind, I would like, very +much, to have you go," said Miss Pompret. "The letter is very important, +but I can not take it myself, as I have company, and I have no one, just +now, who can leave. I thought I might see some large boy on the street, +but--" + +"I'm big enough!" exclaimed Bert. + +"Yes, I believe you are!" agreed the elderly lady, looking at him +through her glasses. "Well, I shall be very thankful to you and your +sister if you will mail the letter for me. And, on your way back, stop +and let me know that you dropped it in the post-office all right." + +"We will!" promised Bert, and Nan nodded her head in agreement with him. +Miss Pompret handed over the letter, which was in a large envelope. Nan +and Bert were soon at the post-office with it. + +The white-haired lady was waiting for them on the porch as they came +back along the street. + +"Won't you come in, just for a minute?" she asked, smiling kindly at +them. "My maid has just baked a chocolate cake, and I don't believe your +mother would mind if you each had a piece." + +"Oh, no'm--she wouldn't mind at all!" said Bert quickly. + +"We like chocolate cake," said Nan, "but we didn't go to the post-office +for that!" + +"Bless your heart, child, I know you didn't!" laughed their new friend. +"Please come in!" + +The chocolate cake was all Bert and Nan hoped it would be, and besides +that Miss Pompret set out on the table for them each a glass of milk. +They looked around the beautiful but old-fashioned room, noting the dark +mahogany furniture, the cut glass on the side-board, and, over in one +corner, a glass cupboard, through the clear doors of which could be seen +some china dishes. + +Miss Pompret saw Nan looking at this set of china, and the elderly lady +smiled as she said: + +"Isn't it beautiful?" + +"Yes," said Nan, softly. "I love pretty dishes." + +"And these are my greatest treasure," said Miss Pompret. "I am very +proud of them. They have been in my family over a hundred years. But +there is a sad story about it--a very sad story about the old Pompret +china." And the lady's face clouded. + +"Did somebody break it?" asked Bert. Once he had broken a plate of which +his mother was very proud, and he remembered how sad she felt. + +"No, my china wasn't broken," said Miss Pompret. "In fact, there is a +sort of mystery about it." + +"Oh, please tell me!" begged Nan. "I like nice dishes and I like +stories." + +She and Bert looked at the closet of choice china dishes. Children +though they were, they could see that the plates, cups, saucers and +other dishes were not like the kind set on their table every day. + +What could Miss Pompret mean about a "mystery" connected with her set of +china? + + + + CHAPTER V + +"WHAT A LOT OF MONEY!" + +Bert and Nan sat up very straight on the chairs in Miss Pompret's dining +room, and looked first at her and then at the china closet with its +shiny, glass doors. Miss Pompret sat up very straight, too, in her +chair, and she, also, looked first from Nan and Bert to the wonderful +china, which seemed made partly of egg shells, so fine it was and +pretty. + +Miss Pompret's dining room was one in which it seemed every one had to +sit up straight, and in which every chair had to be in just the right +place, where the table legs must keep very straight, too, and where not +even a corner of a rug dared to be turned up. In fact it was a very +straight, old-fashioned but very beautiful dining room, and Miss Pompret +herself was an old-fashioned but beautiful lady. + +"Now if you will sit very still, and not move, I'll bring out some +pieces of my china set and show them to you," said Miss Pompret. "You +were so kind as to take the letter to the post-office for me when I +could not go myself, that I feel I ought to reward you to some way." + +"The chocolate cake was enough," said Nan. + +"Yes, it was awful good!" sighed Bert. + +"Mother told you not to say 'awful,'" interposed Ben's sister. + +"Oh, well, I mean it was terribly nice!" exclaimed the boy. + +"I'm glad you liked it," went on Miss Pompret with a smile. "But I must +not keep you too long, or your mother will be wondering what has become +of you. But I thought you, Nan, would be interested in seeing beautiful +china. You'll have a home of your own, some day, and nothing is nicer in +a nice home than beautiful dishes." + +"I know that!" cried Nan. "My mamma has some very beautiful dishes, and +once in a great while she lets me look them over. Sometimes, too, we +have them on the table--when it's some special occasion like a birthday +or visitors." + +"I don't much like to see the real nice dishes on a table," remarked +Bert. "I'm always afraid that I'll break one of them, and then I know my +mother would feel pretty bad over it." + +"You must be careful, my boy. You can't handle nice china as you can +your baseball or your football," said Miss Pompret, with a smile. + +"Well, I guess they couldn't treat dishes like baseballs and footballs!" +cried Nan. "Just think of throwing a sugar bowl up into the air or +hitting it with a bat, or kicking a teapot all around the lots!" + +"That certainly wouldn't be very nice," said Miss Pompret. + +She went over to the closet, unlocked the glass doors, and set some of +the rare pieces out on the lace cover of the dining room table. Bert and +Nan saw that Miss Pompret handled each piece as though it might be +crushed, even in her delicate hands, which were almost as white and thin +as a piece of china. + +"This is the wonderful Pompret tableware," went on the old lady. "It has +been in my family over a hundred years. My great-grandfather had it, and +now it has come to me. I have had it a number of years, and I think more +of it than anything else I have. Of course, if I had any little children +I would care for them more than for these dishes," went on Miss Pompret. +"But I'm a lonely old lady, and you neighborhood children are the only +ones I have," and she smiled rather wistfully at Nan and Bert. + +Carefully dish after dish was taken from the closet and set out for the +Bobbsey twins to look at. They did not venture to so much as touch one. +The china seemed too easily broken for that. + +"I should think you'd have to be very careful when you washed those +dishes," remarked Nan, as she saw how light glowed through the side of +one of the thin cups. + +"Oh, I am," answered Miss Pompret. "No one ever washes this set but me. +My maid is very careful, but I would not allow her to touch a single +piece. I don't use it very often. Only when some old and dear friends +come to see me is the Pompret china used. And then I am sorry to say, I +can not use the whole set." + +"Why not?" asked Bert. "Are you afraid they'll break it?" + +"Oh no," and Miss Pompret smiled. "I'm not afraid of that. But you see I +haven't the whole set, so I can't show it all. One of the sorrows of my +life is that part of my beautiful set of china is missing." + +"There's a lot of it, though," added Bert, as he saw a number of shelves +covered with the rare plates, cups and saucers. + +"Yes, but the sugar bowl and cream pitcher are missing," went on Miss +Pompret, with a shake of her white head. "They were beautiful. But, +alas! they are missing." And she sighed deeply. + +"Where are they?" asked Nan. + +"Ah, that's the mystery I am going to tell you about," said Miss +Pompret. "It isn't a very big story, and I won't keep you long. It isn't +often I get a chance to tell it, so you must forgive an old lady for +keeping you from your play," and again she smiled, in rather a sad +fashion, at Nan and Bert. + +"Oh, we like it here!" exclaimed Nan quickly. + +"It's lots of fun!" added Bert. "I like to hear about a mystery." + +"Well," began Miss Pompret, "as I told you, this set of china has been +in our family over a hundred years. It was made in England, and each +piece has the mark of the man who made it. See, this is what I mean." + +She turned over one of the cups and showed the Bobbsey twins where, on +the bottom, there was the stamp, in blue, of some animal in a circle of +gold. + +"That is the mark of the Waredon factory, where this china was made," +went on Miss Pompret. "Only china made by Mr. Waredon can have this mark +on it." + +"It looks like our dog Snap," said Bert. + +"Oh, no!" laughed Miss Pompret. "That is supposed to be the British +lion. Mr. Waredon took that as a trade-mark, and at the top of the +golden circle, with the blue lion inside, you can see the letter 'J' +while at the bottom is the letter 'W.' They stand for the name Jonathan +Waredon, in whose English factory the china was made. Each piece has +this mark on it, and no other make of china in the world can be +rightfully marked like that. + +"Well, now about the mystery. Some years ago, before you children were +born, I lived in another city. I had the china set there with me, and +then it was complete. I had the cream pitcher and the sugar bowl. One +day a ragged man came to the house. He was very ragged and poor. I +suppose you would call him a tramp. + +"The cook I then had felt sorry for him, and let him come into the +kitchen to have something to eat. As it happened, part of my rare china +set was on a table in the same room. I was getting ready to wash it +myself, as I would let no one else touch it. + +"Well, when I came out to wash my beautiful dishes the sugar bowl and +cream pitcher of the set were gone. They had been on the table when the +tramp was eating the lunch the cook gave him, but now they could not be +found. The cook and I looked all over for them--we searched the house, +in fact, but never found them." + +"Who took them?" asked Bert, eagerly. + +"Well, my dear boy, I have never found out. The cook always said the +tramp put the sugar bowl and cream pitcher in his pocket when her back +was turned to get him a cup of coffee. At any rate, when he was gone the +two pieces were gone also, and while I do not want to think badly of any +one, I have come to believe that the tramp took my rare dishes." + +"Didn't you ever see him again?" asked Nan. + +"No, my dear, never, as far as I know." + +"And did you never find the dishes?" Bert wanted to know. + +"Never. I advertised for them. I inquired if any boys in the +neighborhood might have slipped in and taken them for a joke, but I +never found them. To this day," went on Miss Pompret, "I have never +again set eyes on my cream pitcher and sugar bowl. They disappeared as +completely and suddenly as though they had fallen down a hole in the +earth. The tramp may have taken them; but what would he do with just two +pieces? They were too frail for him to use. A man like that would want +heavy dishes. Perhaps he knew how valuable they were and perhaps he +intended asking a reward for bringing them back. But I never heard from +him. + +"So that is why my rare set of Pompret china is not complete. The two +pieces are missing and I would give a hundred dollars this minute if I +could get them back!" + +"A--a hundred dollars!" exclaimed Bert. + +"Yes, my boy. If some one would get me that sugar bowl and pitcher, with +the mark of the lion in a golden circle, and the initials 'J' at the top +and 'W' at the bottom, I would willingly pay one hundred dollars," said +Miss Pompret. + +"A--a whole hundred dollars!" gasped Bert. "What a lot of money!" + + + + CHAPTER VI + +WONDERFUL NEWS + +Miss Alicia Pompret began putting back in the glass-doored closet the +pieces of rare china that had the blue lion in a circle of gold and the +initials "J.W." on the bottom of each piece. Nan and Bert watched her, +and saw how carefully her white hands took up each plate and cup. + +"A hundred dollars!" murmured Bert again. "I'd like to have all that +money. I'd buy--er--I'd buy a goat!" + +"A goat!" exclaimed Miss Pompret. + +"Yes," went on Bert. "Freddie nearly thought one once, when we went to +the big city, but mother wouldn't let him keep it. Now we're back home; +and if I had a hundred dollars I'd buy a goat." + +"Well, if you can find my sugar bowl and pitcher I'll be glad to pay you +a hundred dollars," said Miss Pompret with a smile at Bert. "But I don't +know that I'd like a goat," she added. + +"Do you really mean you'd pay a hundred dollars for two china dishes?" +asked Nan, her eyes big with wonder. + +"Yes, my dear," said Miss Pompret. "Of course if they were just two +ordinary dishes, such as these," and she pointed to some on a side +table, "they would not be worth a hundred dollars. But I need just those +two pieces--the pitcher and sugar bowl--to make my rare set of china +complete again. So if you children should happen to come across them, +bring them to me and I'll pay you a hundred dollars. But, of course," +she added, "they must be the pieces that match my set--they must have +the lion mark on the underside. However," she concluded with a sigh, "I +don't suppose you'll ever find them. The tramp must have broken them +many long years ago. I'll never see them again." + +"Did you know the tramp's name?" asked Bert. + +"Bless you, of course not!" laughed Miss Pompret. "Tramps hardly ever +tell their names, and when they do, they don't give the right one. No, +I'm sure I'll never see my beautiful dishes again. Sometimes I dream +that I shall, and I am disappointed when I awaken. But now I mustn't +keep you children any longer. I've told you my little mystery story, and +I hope you liked it." + +"Yes, we did, very much," answered Nan "Only it's too bad!" + +"You aren't sure the tramp took the dishes, are you?" asked Bert. + +"No; and that is where the mystery comes in," said Miss Pompret. +"Perhaps he didn't, and, maybe, in some unexpected way, I'll find them +again. I hope I do, or that some one does, and I'll pay the hundred +dollars to whoever does." + +"My, that's a lot of money!" murmured Bert again, when he and Nan were +once more on their way home, having said good-bye to Miss Pompret. "I +wish we could find those dishes." + +"So do I," agreed Nan. "But don't call 'em dishes, Bert." + +"What are they?" her brother wanted to know. + +"Why, they're rare china. When I grow up I'm going to have a set just +like Miss Pompret's." + +"With the dog on the bottom?" + +"Tisn't a DOG, it's a LION!" exclaimed Nan. + +"Well, it looks like our dog Snap," declared Bert. + +They ran on home to find their mother out at the gate looking up and +down the street for them. + +"Are you children just getting home from school?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey. +"Were you kept in for doing something wrong?" + +"Oh, no'm!" exclaimed Nan. "We went to see Miss Pompret." + +"And she's going to give us a hundred dollars if we find two of her +dishes!" exclaimed Bert. + +"My! What's all this?" asked his mother, laughing. + +"'Tisn't dishes! It's rare china," said Nan, and then, between them, she +and Bert told the story of the little favor they had done for Miss +Pompret, and how she had invited them in, given them cake and milk, and +told them the mystery story. + +"Well, you had quite a visit," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "Miss Pompret is a +dear lady, rather queer, perhaps, but very kind and a good neighbor. I +am glad you did her a favor. I have heard, before, about her china, and +knew she had some other rare and old-fashioned things in her house. I +have been there once or twice. Now I want you to go to the store for me. +Sam is away and Dinah needs some things for supper." + +"I want to go to the store, too!" exclaimed Freddie, who came around the +corner of the house just then, with his face and hands covered with mud. + +"Oh, my dear child! what have you been doing?" cried his mother. + +"Oh, just makin' pies," answered Freddie, rubbing one cheek with a grimy +hand. "I made the pies and Flossie put 'em in the oven to bake. We made +an oven out of some bricks. But we didn't really eat the pies," he +added, "'cause they were only mud." + +"You look as though you had tried to eat them," laughed Nan. "Come, +Freddie, I'll wash you clean." + +"No, I want to go to the store!" he cried. + +"So do I!" chimed in the voice of Flossie, as she, too, marched around +the corner of the house, dirtier, if possible, than her little twin +brother. "If Freddie goes to the store, I want to go with him!" Flossie +cried. + +"All right," answered Bert. "You go and wash Flossie and Freddie, Nan, +and I'll get the express wagon and we'll pull them to the store with us. +Then we can put the groceries in the wagon and bring them back that +way." + +"That will be nice," put in Mrs. Bobbsey. "I'll go and see just what +Dinah wants. Run along with Nan, Flossie and Freddie, and let her wash +you nice and clean." + +This just suited the smaller twins, and soon they were being made, by +Nan's use of soap and water in the bath room, to look a little less like +mud pies. While Bert got out the express wagon, Snap, the big dog, saw +his little master, and jumped about, barking in joy. + +"I don't care if that is a lion on the back of Miss Pompret's dishes," +murmured Bert, as he put a piece of carpet in the wagon for Flossie and +Freddie to sit on, "it looks just like you, Snap. And I wonder if I +could ever find that milk pitcher and sugar bowl and get that hundred +dollars. I don't guess I could, but I'd like to awful much. No, I +mustn't say 'awful,' but I'd like to a terrible lot. A hundred dollars +is a pack of money!" + +Down the street Nan and Bert pulled Flossie and Freddie in the little +express wagon, with Snap running on ahead and barking in delight. This +was the best part of the day for him--when the children came home from +school. Flossie and Freddie came first, and then Nan and Bert, and then +the fun started. + +"Now don't run too fast!" exclaimed Flossie, as the express wagon began +to bounce over the uneven sidewalk. + +"Oh, yes, let's go real fast!" cried Freddie. "Let's go as fast as the +fire engines go." + +"We can't run as fast as that, Freddie," declared Nan, who was almost +out of breath. "We'll just run regular." + +And then she and Bert pulled the younger twins around for a little ride +in the express wagon before they did the errand on which they had been +sent. + +"I had a letter from Mr. Martin to-day," said Mr. Bobbsey at the supper +table that evening. "He asked to be remembered to you," he said to Mrs. +Bobbsey. "And Billy and Nell sent their love to you children." + +"They got safely back to Washington, did they?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey. + +"Yes," her husband answered. "And they said they had had a very nice +visit here. They are anxious to have us come to Washington to see them." + +"Can we go?" asked Nan. + +"Well, perhaps, some day," said her father. + +"I'd like to go now," murmured Bert. "Maybe we might see that tramp in +Washington, and get back Miss Pompret's dishes." + +"Rare china," muttered Nan, half under her breath. + +"What tramp is that, and what about Miss Pompret's dishes?" asked Daddy +Bobbsey, as he took his cup of tea from Dinah. + +Then he had to hear the story of that afternoon's visit of Nan and Bert. + +"Oh, I guess Miss Pompret will never see her two china pieces again," +said Mr. Bobbsey. "If the tramp took them he must have sold them, if he +didn't smash them. So don't think of that hundred dollars, Bert and +Nan." + +"But couldn't we go to Washington, anyhow?" Bert wanted to know. + +"Well, not right away, I'm afraid," his father answered. "You have to go +to school, you know." + +But a few days after that something happened. About eleven o'clock in +the morning Bert, Nan, Flossie and Freddie came trooping home. Into the +house they burst with shouts of laughter. + +"What's the matter? What is it? Has anything happened?" cried Mrs. +Bobbsey. "Why are you home from school at such a time of day?" + +"There isn't any school," explained Nan. + +"No school?" questioned her mother. + +"And there won't be any for a month, I guess!" added Bert. "Hurray!" + +"What do you mean?" asked his surprised mother. "No school for a month?" + +"No, Mother," added Nan "The steam boiler is broken and they can't heat +our room. It got so cold the teacher sent us home." + +"An' we came home, too'" added Flossie. "We couldn't stay in our school +'cause our fingers were so cold!" + +"Was any one hurt when the boiler burst?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey. + +"No," Bert said. "It didn't exactly burst very hard, I guess." + +But Mrs. Bobbsey wanted to know just what the trouble was, so she called +up the principal of the school on the telephone, and from him learned +that the heating boiler of the school had broken, not exactly burst, and +that it could no longer heat the rooms. + +"It will probably be a month before we can get a new boiler, and until +then there will be no more school," he said. "The children will have +another vacation." + +"A vacation so near Christmas," murmured Mrs. Bobbsey. "I wonder what I +can do with my twins?" + +Just then the telephone rang, and Mrs. Bobbsey listened. It was Mr. +Bobbsey telephoning. He had heard of some accident at the school, and he +called up his house, from the lumberyard, to make sure his little fat +fairy and fireman, as well as Nan and Bert, were all right. + +"Yes, they're home safe," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "But there will be no +school for a month." + +"Good!" exclaimed Daddy Bobbsey. "That will just suit me and the +children, too. I'll be home in a little while, and I have some wonderful +news for them!" + +"Oh, I wonder what it can be!" exclaimed Nan, when her mother told her +what Daddy Bobbsey had said. + + + + CHAPTER VII + +ON A TRIP + +The Bobbsey twins could hardly wait for their daddy to come home after +their mother had told them what he said over the telephone. + +"Tell me again, Mother, just what he told you!" begged Nan. + +"Well, he said he was just as glad as you children were, that there was +to be no more school for a month," answered Mrs. Bobbsey. "Though, of +course, he was sorry that the steam boiler had broken. And then he said +he had some wonderful news to tell us all." + +"Oh, I know what it is!" cried Bert. + +"What?" asked Nan. + +"He's found the tramp that took Miss Pompret's dishes," went on Bert, +"and he's got them back--daddy has--and he's going to get the hundred +dollars! That's it!" + +"Oh, I hardly think so," said Mrs. Bobbsey, with a smile. "I don't +believe daddy has caught any tramp." + +"They do sometimes sleep in the lumberyard," remarked Bert. + +"Yes, I know," agreed his mother. "But, even if daddy had caught a +tramp, it would hardly be the same man who took Miss Pompret's rare +pieces of china--the pitcher and sugar bowl. And if it had been anything +like that, daddy would have told me over the telephone." + +"But what could the wonderful news be?" asked Nan. + +"Something too long to talk about until he gets home, I think," answered +Mother Bobbsey. "Have patience, daddy will soon be here!" + +But of course the Bobbsey twins could not be patient any more than you +could if you expected something unusual. They looked at the clock, they +ran to the door several times to look down the street to see if their +father was coming, and, at last, when Nan had said for about the tenth +time: "I wonder what it is!" a step sounded on the front porch. + +"There's daddy now!" cried Bert. + +Eight feet rushed to the front door, and Mr. Bobbsey was almost +overwhelmed by the four twins leaping at him at once. + +"What is it?" cried Bert. + +"Tell us the wonderful news!" begged Nan. + +"Have you got another dog for us?" Flossie wanted to know. + +"Did you bring me a new toy fire engine?" cried Freddie. + +"Maybe it's a goat!" exclaimed Flossie. + +"Now wait a minute! Wait a minute!" laughed Mr. Bobbsey, as he kissed +each one in turn. "Sit down and I'll tell you all about it." + +He led them into the library, and sat down on a couch, taking Flossie +and Freddie up on his knees, while Bert and Nan sat close on either +side. + +"Now first let me hear all about what happened at school to-day," said +Mr. Bobbsey, who had come home to dinner. + +"Oh, no!" laughed Nan. "We want to hear the wonderful news first!" + +"Oh, all right!" laughed her father. "Well, then, how would you all like +to go off on a trip?" + +"A trip?" cried Bert. "A real trip? To Florida?" + +"Well, hardly there again so soon," replied his father. + +"Do you mean a trip to some city?" asked Nan. "In a steamboat?" cried +Freddie. "I want to go on a boat!" + +"Yes, I think perhaps we can go on a boat," said Mr. Bobbsey. + +"And in a train, too!" exclaimed Flossie. "I want to go on a train!" + +"And I suppose, if we take this trip, we'll have to go on a train, +also," and Mr. Bobbsey looked over the heads of the children and smiled +at his wife who stood in the doorway. + +"But you haven't told us yet where we are going," objected Nan. + +"Is it to New York?" Bert wanted to know. + +"Part of it is," his father replied. + +"Oh, is it two trips?" Nan asked. + +"Well, not exactly," answered Mr. Bobbsey. "You might say it has two +parts to it, like a puzzle. The first part is to go on a trip to New +York, and from there we'll go on a trip to--I'll let you see if you can +guess. Come on, Bert, your turn first." + +"To Uncle William's!" guessed Bert. + +"No," answered his father. "Your turn, Nan." + +"To Uncle Daniel's at Meadow Brook." + +"No," and her father smiled at her. + +"I know!" cried Freddie. "We're goin' on the houseboat." + +"Wrong!" said Mr. Bobbsey. "Now what does my little fat fairy have to +say?" + +"Are we going swimming?" asked Flossie, who loved to splash in the +water. + +"Hardly!" laughed Daddy Bobbsey. "It's too cold. Well, none of you has +guessed right, so I'll tell you. We're going to Washington to visit the +Martin children who were here a while ago." + +"Oh, to Washington!" cried Nan. "How nice!" + +"And shall we see Billy and Nell?" Bert wanted to know. + +"Yes," his father answered, "that's what we'll do. I had a letter from +Mr. Martin the other day, inviting us all to come to his house to pay +him a visit," he went on. "I didn't know just when I could go, but to- +day I got another letter from another man in Washington, saying he +wanted to see me about some lumber business. I may have to stay a week +or two, so I thought I would take the whole family with me, and make a +regular visit of it." + +"Will you take us all?" asked Freddie. + +"Yes." + +"And Snap and Snoop an' an'--" began Flossie. + +"Well, hardly the dog and the cat," explained her father. "Just mother, +you four twins and I will go to Washington." + +"When can we start?" Nan asked. + +"As soon as your mother can get you ready," replied Mr. Bobbsey. + +"I'm ready now," announced Freddie. + +"And shall we stop in New York?" Bert demanded. + +"Yes, for a day or so. And now what do you think of my news?" asked Mr. +Bobbsey. + +"It's just--wonderful!" cried Nan. "Oh, we'll have such fun with Nell +and Billy!" + +"And I want to see if I can drop a ball off Washington Monument," added +Bert. + +"Oh, you hadn't better try that," his father cautioned him. "You might +hit some one. Well, then, it's all settled, and we'll go on the trip. +How about it, Mother?" and he smiled at his wife. + +"I think it will be very nice to go," she answered. "I like Mr. Martin +and his children very much, and I'm sure we'll like Mrs. Martin too. +It's fortunate that we can all go--that the children will not lose any +schooling. For if all the classes stop, and the school is closed, they +will all start evenly again when the boiler is fixed. So run along now, +my twins, and get ready for lunch. Daddy and I have lots to talk about." + +And so did the Bobbsey twins, as you can easily imagine. + +If I told you all the things that happened in the next few days there +would be but little else in this book except the story of getting ready +for the journey. And as the trip itself is what you want to hear about, +and especially what happened on it, I'll skip the getting ready and go +right on with the story. + +Trunks and valises were packed, Dinah and Sam were told what to do while +the Bobbseys were away, and the children reminded the colored cook and +her husband to be sure to feed Snap and Snoop plenty of things the dog +and cat liked. + +"Oh, I'll look after dem animiles all right, honey lamb!" said fat Dinah +to Freddie. "I won't let 'em starve!" + +"And maybe I can get another dog in Washington," said Freddie. + +"And maybe I can find a cat!" added Flossie. + +"Fo' de land sakes! doan brung any mo' catses an' dogses around heah," +begged Dinah. + +At last everything was in readiness. Mr. Bobbsey had written to Mr. +Martin, telling of the coming of the Bobbsey twins to Washington, after +a short stay in New York. The children said good-bye to Dinah and Sam, +as well as to Snap and Snoop, and then one day they were taken to the +railroad station in the automobile. + +"All aboard!" cried the conductor, as the Bobbseys scrambled into the +coach of the train that was to take them to New York. "All aboard!" + +"Oh, isn't this fun?" cried Nan, as she settled herself in a seat with +Bert. + +"Great!" he agreed. "I wonder what will happen before we get back." + +And it was going to be something very odd, I can tell you that much. + + + + CHAPTER VIII + +IN NEW YORK + +The Bobbsey twins had been to so many places, and had so often ridden in +railroad trains, that this first part of their trip--journeying in the +steam cars--was nothing new to them. They were quite like old travelers; +at least Nan and Bert were. For Flossie and Freddie there was always +sure to be something new and strange on such a long railroad trip. + +The two older twins had picked out a nice seat in the center of the car, +and were comfortably settled, Bert kindly letting Nan sit next to the +window. + +"You may sit here after a while," Nan said to Bert. "We'll take turns." + +"That will be nice," replied Bert. + +But Flossie and Freddie were not so easily pleased. Each of the smaller +twins wanted to sit next to the window, and their father and mother knew +that soon the little snub noses would be pressed close against the +glass, and that the bright eyes would see everything that flashed by as +the tram speeded on. + +But the trouble was that there were not enough seats for Flossie and +Freddie each to have one, and, for a moment, it looked as though there +would be a storm, Freddie slipped into the only whole vacant seat and +took his place next the window. + +"Oh, I want to sit there!" cried Flossie. "Mother, make Freddie give me +that place! Please do!" + +"No! I was first!" exclaimed the little boy, and this was true enough. + +"I want to look out the window and see the cows!" went on Flossie, and +her voice sounded as though she might cry at any moment. "I want to see +the cows!" + +"And I want to see the horses," declared Freddie. "If I'm going to be a +fireman I've got to look at horses, haven't I?" he asked his father. + +"Cows are better than horses!" half-sobbed Flossie. "Mother, make +Freddie let me sit where I can look out!" + +"Children! Children! This isn't at all nice!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey. +"What shall I do?" she asked her husband in a low voice, for several of +the passengers were looking at Flossie and Freddie, whose voices were +rather loud. + +"I'll let Flossie have my place," offered Nan. "I don't mind sitting in +the outside seat. Here, Flossie, come over here and sit with Bert, and +I'll sit with Freddie." + +"Thank you, very much, Nan," said her mother in a low voice. "You are a +good girl. I'm sure I don't know what makes Flossie and Freddie act so. +They are usually pretty good on such a journey as this." + +But Nan did not have to give up her place at the window, for a gentleman +in the seat across the aisle arose and said to Mr. Bobbsey with a smile: + +"Let your little girl take my seat near the window. I'm going into the +smoking car, and I get off at the next station. I know how I liked to +sit near a window, where I could see the horses and cows, when I was a +little boy." + +"Oh, thank you!" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey. "That is very kind of you." + +So the change was made. Flossie had a seat near one window, and Freddie +near another, and Mr. Bobbsey sat with his "little fireman," while Mrs. +Bobbsey took the other half of the seat with the "little fat fairy." Nan +and Bert were together, and so there was peace at last. On rushed the +train taking the Bobbsey twins to New York; and from there they were to +go to Washington, where a strange adventure awaited them. + +Nothing very much happened during the first part of the journey. Of +course, Flossie and Freddie wanted many drinks of water, as they always +did, and for a time they kept Bert busy going to the end of the car to +fill the drinking cup. But as it was winter and the weather was not +warm, the little twins did not want quite as much water as they would +have wanted had the traveling been done on a hot day in summer. And at +last Flossie and Freddie seemed to have had enough. They sat looking out +of the window and speaking now and then of the many things they saw. + +"I counted ten horses," announced Freddie after a while. "They were +mostly on the road. I didn't see many horses in the fields." + +"No, not very many horses are put out to graze in the fields in the +winter, except perhaps on an extra warm day when there isn't any snow," +said Mr. Bobbsey. + +"And I saw two-sixteen cows!" exclaimed Flossie. "I saw them in a +barnyard. Two-sixteen cows." + +"There aren't so many cows as that; is there, Daddy?" asked Freddie. + +"Well, perhaps not quite," agreed Mr. Bobbsey with a smile. "But Flossie +saw a few cows, for I noticed them myself." + +Then the smaller twins tried to count the telegraph poles and the trees +that flashed past, and soon this made them rather drowsy. Flossie leaned +back against her mother, and was soon sound asleep, while Freddie +cuddled up in Daddy Bobbsey's arms and, in a little while, he, also, was +in by-low land. + +Bert and Nan took turns sitting next to the window, until the train boy +came through with some magazines, and then the older twins were each +allowed to buy one, and this kept them busy, looking at the pictures and +reading the stories. + +It was a rather long trip from Lakeport to New York, and it was evening +when the train arrived in the big city. It was quite dark, and the +smaller twins, at least, were tired and sleepy. But they roused up when +they saw the crowds in the big station, and noticed the bright lights. + +"I'm hungry, too!" exclaimed Freddie. "I want some supper. Oh, dear, I +wish Dinah was here!" + +"So do I!" added Flossie. "I guess my cat Snoop is having a good supper +now." + +"And I guess my dog Snap is, too!" went on Freddie. "Why can't we have +supper?" he asked of his father, and several of the passengers, hurrying +through the big station, turned to laugh at the chubby little fellow, +who spoke very loud. + +"We'll soon have supper, little fireman," said Mr. Bobbsey. "We might +have eaten on the train, but I thought it best to wait until we reached +our hotel, where we shall stay all night." + +"How long are we going to be in New York?" asked Nan. + +"Two or three days," her father replied. "I have some business to look +after here. We may stay three days." + +"That'll be fun!" exclaimed Bert. "There's a lot of things I want to +see, and we didn't have time when we were here before." + +The twins had been in New York before, as those of you know who have +read the book called "The Bobbsey Twins In a Great City." + +The hotel was soon reached, and, after being washed and freshened up in +the bathroom of their apartment, the Bobbsey twins and their father and +mother were ready to go down to supper. And not all the bright lights, +nor the music which played all during the meal, could stop Flossie and +Freddie from eating, nor Bert and Nan, either. The twins were very +hungry. + +The next day Mrs. Bobbsey took Nan and Flossie shopping with her, while +Mr. Bobbsey took Bert and Freddie down town with him as the lumber +merchant had to see some men on business, and he knew the two boys could +wait in the different offices while he talked with his men friends. + +"We will meet you in the Woolworth Building," said Mr. Bobbsey to his +wife. "You bring Flossie and Nan there, and after we go up in the high +tower we'll have lunch, and then go to the Bronx Park to see the +animals." + +"Oh, that will be fun!" cried Freddie. "I want to see a bear--two +bears!" + +"And I want to see ten--fifteen monkeys!" cried Flossie. + +"Well, I hope you all get your wishes!" laughed Mother Bobbsey. + +In one of the downtown offices where he had to stop to see a man, Mr. +Bobbsey was kept rather a long time talking business, and Freddie and +Bert got tired, or at least Freddie did. Bert was so interested in +looking out of the high window at the crowds in the streets below, that +he did not much care how long his father stayed. But Freddie wandered +about the outer office, looking at the typewriter which a pretty girl +was working so fast that, Bert said afterward, you could hardly see her +fingers fly over the keys. The girl was too busy to pay much attention +to what Freddie did until, all of a sudden, she looked down at the floor +and exclaimed: + +"Oh, it's raining in here! Or else a water pipe has burst!" She pointed +to a little puddle of water that had formed under her desk, while +another stream was running over the office floor. + +"Why, it isn't raining!" declared Bert, for the sun was shining outside. +"It can't be!" + +"Then where did the water come from?" asked the girl. + +"I--I guess I made it come!" confessed Freddie, walking out of a corner. +"I got a drink from the water tank, but now I can't shut off the handle, +and the water's comin' out as fast as anything!" + +"Oh, my!" cried the girl, jumping up with a laugh, "I must shut it off +before we have a flood here!" + +"Freddie! what made you do it?" asked Bert. + +"I couldn't help being thirsty, could I?" asked the little boy. "And it +wasn't my fault the handle got stuck! I didn't know so much water would +come out!" + +And I suppose it really wasn't his fault. The girl soon shut oft the +water at the faucet, and a janitor mopped up the puddle on the floor, so +that when Mr. Bobbsey came out with his friend from the inner office, +everything was all right again. And the business man only laughed when +he heard what Freddie had done. + +"Now we'll go to the Woolworth Building," said Mr. Bobbsey to Freddie +and Bert, as they went out on Broadway. "I think mother and the girls +will be there waiting for us, as I stayed talking business longer than I +meant to." + +And, surely enough, Mrs. Bobbsey, Nan, and Flossie were waiting in the +lobby of the big Woolworth Building when Mr. Bobbsey came up with the +two boys. This building is the tallest one in the world used for +business, and from the top of the golden tower one can look for miles +and miles, across New York Bay, up toward the Bronx, over to Brooklyn +and can see towns in New Jersey. + +"We'll go up in the tower and have a view," said Mr. Bobbsey, "and then +we'll get lunch and go to the Bronx, where the animals are." + +They entered one of the many elevators, with a number of other persons +who also wanted to go to the Woolworth tower, and, in a moment, the +sliding doors were closed. + +"Oh!" suddenly exclaimed Nan. + +And Flossie, Freddie and Bert all said the same thing, while Mrs. +Bobbsey clasped her husband's arm and looked rather queer. + +"What's the matter?" asked her husband. + +"Why, we're going up so fast!" exclaimed the children's mother. "It +makes me feel queer!" + +"This is an express elevator," said Mr. Bobbsey. "There are so many +floors in this tall building that if an elevator went slowly, and +stopped at each one, it would take too long to get to the top. So they +have some express elevators, that start at the bottom floor, and don't +stop until they get to floor thirty, or some such number as that." + +"Are there thirty floors to this building?" asked Bert, as the elevator +car, like a big cage in a tunnel standing on end, rushed up. + +"Yes, and more," his father answered. + +"I like to ride fast," said Freddie, "I wish we had an elevator like +this at home." + +They had to take another, and smaller elevator, that did not go so fast, +to get to the very top of the tower, and from there the view was so +wonderful that it almost took away the breath of the Bobbsey twins. + +"My, this is high up!" exclaimed Bert, as he looked over the edge of the +railing, and down at the people in the streets below, who seemed like +ants crawling around. + +"Well, I guess we'd better be going now," said Mr. Bobbsey, after a bit. +"Come, children! Nan--Bert--Flossie--Why, where is Freddie?" he asked, +looking around. + +"Isn't he here?" cried Mrs. Bobbsey, her face turning white. + +"I don't see him," went on Mr. Bobbsey. "He must have gone inside." But +Freddie was not there, nor was he anywhere on the outside platform that +surrounded the topmost peak of the tall building. + +"Oh, where is he? What has happened to Freddie?" cried his mother. "If +he has fallen! Freddie!" + + + + CHAPTER IX + +WASHINGTON AT LAST + +The startled cries of Mrs. Bobbsey alarmed a number of other women on +the tower platform, and some one asked: + +"Did your little boy fall off?" + +"I don't know what happened to him!" said Mrs. Bobbsey, who was now +almost crying. "He was here a moment ago, and now he's gone!" + +"He couldn't have fallen off!" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey. "Some one would +have seen him. I think he must have gone down by himself in the little +elevator. I'll ask the man." + +The elevator, just then, was at the bottom of the tower, but it was soon +on its way up, and Mrs. Bobbsey fairly rushed at the man as he opened +the door. + +"Where is my little boy? Oh, have you seen my little boy?" she cried. + +"Well, I don't know, lady," answered the elevator man. "What sort of +little boy was he?" + +"He has blue eyes and light hair and--" + +"Let me explain," Mr. Bobbsey spoke quietly. "My little boy, Freddie, +was out on the tower platform with us looking at the view, a few minutes +ago, and now we can't find him. We thought perhaps he slipped in here by +himself and rode down with you." + +"Well, he might have slipped into my elevator when I wasn't looking," +answered the man. "I took two or three little boys down on the last +load, but I didn't notice any one in particular. Better get in and ride +to the ground floor. Maybe the superintendent or the head elevator man +can tell you better than I. Get in and ride down with me." + +"Oh, yes, and please hurry!" begged Mrs. Bobbsey. "Oh, what can have +happened to Freddie?" + +"I think you'll find him all right," said the elevator man. "No accident +has happened or I'd have heard of it." + +"Yes; don't worry!" advised Mr. Bobbsey. + +But Mrs. Bobbsey could not help worrying, and Nan, Bert and Flossie were +very much frightened. They were almost crying. Even though the Bobbseys +got in an express elevator after getting out of the small, slower one, +it could not go down fast enough to suit Freddie's mother. When the +ground floor was reached she was the first to rush out. + +One look around the big corridor of the Woolworth Building showed Mrs. +Bobbsey that something had happened over near one of the elevators. +There was a crowd there, and, for a moment, she was very much +frightened. But the next second she saw Freddie himself, with a crowd of +men around him, and they were all laughing. + +"Oh, Freddie! where did you go and what have you been doing?" cried his +frightened mother as she caught him up in her arms. + +"I've been having rides in the elevator," announced the small boy. "And +it went as fast as anything! I rode up and down lots of times!" + +"Yes, that's what he did," said the elevator man, with a laugh. "I +didn't pay much attention to him at first, but when I saw that he was +staying in my car trip after trip, I asked him at what floor he wanted +to get out. He said he didn't want to get out at all--that he liked me, +and liked to stay in and ride!" + +And at this the crowd laughed again. + +"And is that what you have been doing, Freddie--riding up and down in +the elevator?" asked Mr. Bobbsey. + +"Yes, and I liked it!" exclaimed Freddie. "I wished Flossie was with +me." + +"I'm here now!" said the "little fat fairy," laughing. "I can ride with +you now, Freddie." + +"No! There has been enough of riding," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "And you gave +me a bad fright, Freddie. Why did you wander away?" + +"'Cause I liked an elevator ride better than staying up so high where +the wind blew," explained the little fellow. + +And when they asked him more about it he said he had just slipped away +from them while they were on the tower platform, gone back into the room +and ridden down in the elevator with the other passengers. No one +realized that Freddie was traveling all by himself, the elevator man +thinking the blue-eyed and golden-haired boy was with a lady who had two +other children by the hands. + +Freddie rode to the ground floor, and then he just stayed in the express +elevator, riding up and down and having a great time, until the second +elevator man began to question him. + +"Well, don't ever do it again," said Mr. Bobbsey, and Freddie promised +that he would not. + +After this there was a lunch, and then they all went up to Bronx Park, +traveling in the subway, or the underground railway, which seems strange +to so many visitors to New York. But the Bobbsey twins had traveled that +way before, so they did not think it very odd. + +"It's just like a big, long tunnel," said Bert, and so the subway is. + +The Bronx Park is not such a nice place to visit in winter as it is in +summer, but the children enjoyed it, and they spent some time in the +elephant house, watching the big animals. There was also a hippopotamus +there, and oh! what a big mouth he had. The keeper went in between the +bars of the hippo's cage, with a pail full of bran mash, and cried: + +"Open your mouth, boy!" + +"Oh, look!" cried Bert. + +And, as they looked, the hippopotamus opened his great, big red jaws as +wide as he could, and the man just turned the whole pail full of soft +bran into the hippo's mouth! + +"Oh, what a big bite!" cried Freddie, and every one laughed. + +"Does he always eat that way?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey of the keeper. + +"Well, I generally feed him that way when there are visitors here," was +the answer. "The children like to see the big red mouth open wide. And +here's something else he does." + +After the hippo, which is a short name for hippopotamus, had swallowed +the pail full of bran mash, the keeper took up a loaf of bread from a +box which seemed to have enough loaves in it for a small bakery, and +cried: "Open again, old fellow!" + +Wide open went the big mouth, and right into it the man tossed a whole +loaf of bread. And the hippo closed his jaws and began chewing the whole +loaf of bread as though it were Only a single bite. + +"Oh my!" cried Freddie and Flossie, and Freddie added: "If he came to a +party you'd have to make an awful lot of sandwiches!" + +"I should say so!" laughed the keeper. "One sandwich would hardly fill +his hollow tooth, if he had one." + +The children spent some little time in the Bronx Park, and enjoyed every +moment. They liked to watch the funny monkeys, and see the buffaloes, +which stayed outdoors even though it was quite cold. + +The Bobbsey twins spent four days in New York, and every day was a +delight to them. They had many other little adventures, but none quite +so "scary" as the one where Freddie slipped away to ride in the +elevator. + +Finally, Mr. Bobbsey's business was finished, and one evening he said: + +"To-morrow we go to Washington." + +"Hurray!" exclaimed Bert. "Then I can see Billy Martin." + +"And I can see Nell. I like her very much," added Nan. + +"And I'm going to see the big monument!" cried Freddie. + +Early the next morning the Bobbsey family took a train at the big +Pennsylvania Station to go to Washington. Nothing very strange happened +on that trip except that a lady in the same car where the twins rode had +a beautiful little white dog, and Flossie and Freddie made friends with +it at once, and had lots of fun playing with the animal. + +"Washington! Washington!" called the trainman, after a ride of about +five hours. "All out for Washington!" + +"Here at last, and I am glad of it," sighed Mrs. Bobbsey. "I shall be +glad to have supper at the hotel and get to bed. I am tired!" + +But the children did not seem to be tired. They had enjoyed every moment +of the trip. In an automobile they rode to their hotel, and soon were in +their rooms, for Mr. Bobbsey had engaged three with a nice bath. He had +decided it would be best to stay at a hotel rather than at the Martins' +house, because there were so many Bobbseys; but they expected to visit +their friends very often. + +It was evening when the Bobbseys arrived in Washington, and too late to +go sight-seeing. But on the way to the hotel in the automobile they had +passed the Capitol, with the wonderful lights showing on the dome, +making it look as though it had taken a bath in moon-beams. + +"Oh, it's just lovely here!" exclaimed Nan, with a happy little sigh as +they went down to supper, or "dinner" as it is generally called, even +though it is eaten at night. + +"Scrumptious!" agreed Bert. + +The Bobbsey family had a little table all to themselves at one side of +the room, and a waiter came up to serve them, Mr. Bobbsey giving the +order. + +Nan and Bert and Flossie and Freddie looked about. It was not the first +time they had stopped at a big hotel, but there was always something new +and strange and interesting to be seen. + +Bert, who had been gazing about the room, began to look at the dishes, +knives and forks the waiter was putting on the table. Suddenly the dark- +haired boy took hold of the sugar bowl and turned it over, spilling out +all the lumps. + +"Why Bert! you shouldn't do that," exclaimed his father. + +"I want to see what's on the bottom of this bowl," Bert said. "It looks +just like the one Miss Pompret lost, and if it's the same I'll get a +hundred dollars! Oh, look, it is the same! Nan, I've found her lost +sugar bowl!" cried Bert. + + + + CHAPTER X + +LOST + +Several persons, dining at different tables, looked over to the one +where the Bobbseys were. They smiled as they heard Bert's excited voice +and saw him with the empty, overturned sugar bowl in his hand. + +"Yes, this is the very one Miss Pompret lost!" Bert went on. "If we can +only find the milk pitcher now we'll have both pieces and we can get the +reward. Look at the pitcher, Nan, and see if it's got the dog--I mean +the lion--on as this has." + +"Don't dare turn over the milk!" cried Mrs. Bobbsey, as Nan reached for +the pitcher. "Spilling the sugar was bad enough. Bert, how could you?" + +"But, Mother, that's the only way I could tell if it was Miss +Pompret's!" said the boy, while Flossie and Freddie looked curiously at +the heap of square lumps of sugar where Bert had emptied them in the +middle of the table. + +"Let me see that bowl, Bert," said Mr. Bobbsey a bit sternly. "I think +you are making a big mistake. This isn't at all like the kind of china +Miss Pompret has. Hers is much finer and thinner." + +"But this has got a lion on the bottom, and it's in a circle just like +the lion on Miss Pompret's dishes!" said Bert, as he passed the bowl to +his father. + +"Are the letters there--the letters 'J.W.'?" Nan asked eagerly. + +"I don't see them," said Bert. "But the lion is there. Maybe the letters +rubbed off, or maybe the tramp scratched 'em off." + +"No, Bert," and Mr. Bobbsey shook his head, "this sugar bowl has a lion +marked on the bottom, it is true, but it isn't the same kind that is on +Miss Pompret's fine china. This tableware is made in Trenton, New +Jersey, and it is new--it isn't as old as that Miss Pompret showed you. +Now please pick up the sugar, and don't act so quickly again." + +"Well, it looked just like her sugar bowl," said Bert, as he began +putting the square lumps back where they belonged. A smiling waiter saw +what had happened, and came up with a sort of silver shovel, finishing +what Bert had started to do. + +"Wouldn't it have been great if we had really found her milk pitcher and +sugar bowl?" asked Nan. "If we had the hundred dollars we could buy lots +of things in Washington." + +"Don't count on it," advised Mrs. Bobbsey. "You will probably never see +or hear of Miss Pompret's missing china. But I'm glad Bert overturned +the sugar bowl and not the milk pitcher searching for the lion mark." + +"Oh, I wouldn't upset the milk'" exclaimed Bert with a laugh. "I knew +the sugar wouldn't hurt the tablecloth." + +So that incident passed, much to the amusement of the other hotel +guests, and, really, no great harm was done, for the sugar was easily +put back in the bowl. Then dinner was served, and for a time the Bobbsey +twins did not talk very much. They were too busy with their knives, +forks and spoons. + +Bert wanted to go out and take a look at the Capitol by night, to see +the searchlights that were arranged to cast their glow up on the dome +from the outside. Nan, also, said she would like to take a little walk, +and as Mrs. Bobbsey was tired she said she would stay in with Flossie +and Freddie. + +So it was arranged, and Mr. Bobbsey took the two older children out of +the hotel. It was still early evening, and the streets were filled with +persons, some on foot, some in carriages, and many in automobiles. + +It was not far from the hotel where the Bobbseys were staying to the +Capitol, and soon Bert and Nan, with their father, were standing in +front of the beautiful structure, with its long flight of broad steps +leading up to the main floor. + +"It's just like the picture in my geography!" exclaimed Nan, as she +stood looking at it. + +"But the picture in your book isn't lighted up," objected Bert. + +"Well, no," admitted Nan. + +"The lights have not been in place very long," explained Mr. Bobbsey. +"Very likely the picture in Nan's book was made before some one thought +of putting search lamps on the dome." + +"Could we go inside?" Bert wanted to know. "I'd like to see where the +President lives." + +"He doesn't live in the Capitol," explained Nan. "He lives in the White +House; doesn't he Daddy? Our history class had to learn that." + +"Yes, the White House is the home of the President," said Mr. Bobbsey. +"But we could go inside the Capitol for a few minutes I guess. The +senators and congressmen are having a night session." + +"What for?" asked Nan. "Do they have to work at night?" + +"Sometimes." + +"They don't work," declared Bert. "They just talk. I know, 'cause I +heard Mr. Perkins say so down in our post-office at home one day. He +said all the senators and congressmen did was talk and talk and talk!" + +"Well, they do talk a lot!" laughed Bert's father. "But that is one of +the ways in which they work. Now we'll go inside for a little while." + +In spite of the fact that it was night the Capitol was a busy place. +Later Mr. Bobbsey learned that the senators and congressmen were meeting +at night in order to finish a lot of work so they could the sooner end +the session--"adjourn," as it is called. + +Bert and Nan walked around the tiled corridors. They saw men hurrying +here and there, messenger boys rushing to and fro, and many visitors +like themselves. + +The children looked at the pictures and statues of the great men who had +had a part in the making of United States history, but, naturally, Nan +and Bert did not care very much for this. + +"It isn't any fun!" exclaimed Bert. "Can't we go in and hear 'em talk +and talk and talk, like Mr. Perkins said they did?" + +"We'll go in and hear the senators and congressmen debate, or talk, as +you call it, some other time," said Mr. Bobbsey. "We mustn't stay too +late now on account of having left mother and Freddie and Flossie at the +hotel. I think you've seen enough for the first evening." + +So, after another little trip about the corridors, Bert and Nan followed +their father outside and down the flight of broad steps. + +"Say, this would be a great place to slide down with a sled if there was +any ice or snow!" exclaimed Bert. + +"They wouldn't let him, would they, Daddy?" asked Nan. + +"Hardly," answered her father. + +"Well, I can have fun some other way," Bert said. "I wish I could find +Miss Pompret's dishes and get the hundred dollars." + +"So do I!" sighed Nan. + +But their father shook his head and told them not to hope or think too +much about such a slim chance as that. + +Flossie and Freddie were in bed and asleep when Mr. Bobbsey and Bert and +Nan reached the hotel again, and, after a little talk with their mother, +telling her what they had seen, the two older Bobbsey twins "turned in," +as Bert called it, having used this expression when camping on Blueberry +Island, and taking the voyage on the deep, blue sea. + +Because they were rather tired from their trip, none of the Bobbseys +arose very early the next morning. + +"It's a real treat to me to be able to lie in bed one morning as long as +I like," said Mrs. Bobbsey, with a happy sigh as Flossie crept in with +her. "And I don't have to think whether or not Dinah will have breakfast +on time. I'm having as much fun out of this trip as the children are," +she told her husband. + +"I am glad you are, my dear," he said. "I'll be able to go around with +you a little to-day, but after that, for about a week, I shall be quite +busy with Mr. Martin. But Mrs. Martin and Nell and Billy will go around +with you ant the children." + +"When are we going to see Billy and Nell?" asked Bert, at the breakfast +table. + +"To-day," answered his father. "I telephoned Mr. Martin last night that +we had arrived, and they expect us to lunch there to-day. But first I +thought I'd take the children into the Congressional Library building. +It is very wonderful and beautiful." + +And it certainly was, as the children saw a little later, when their +father led them up the broad steps. The library building was across a +sort of park, or plaza, from the Capitol. + +"We will just look around a little here, and then go on to Mr. +Martin's," said Mr. Bobbsey. "It takes longer than an hour to see all +the beautiful and wonderful pictures and statues here." + +Mrs. Bobbsey was very much interested in the library, but I can not say +as much for Flossie and Freddie, though Nan and Bert liked it. But the +two smaller Bobbsey twins were anxious to get outdoors and "go +somewhere." + +"Well, we'll go now," said Mr. Bobbsey, when he and his wife had spent +some little lime admiring the decorations. "Come, Freddie. Where's +Flossie?" he asked, as he looked around and did not see his "little fat +fairy."' + +"She was here a little while ago," replied Nan. "I saw her with +Freddie." + +"Where did Flossie go, Freddie-boy?" asked his mother. + +"Up there!" and the little chap pointed to a broad flight of stone +steps. + +"Oh, she has wandered away," said Mrs. Bobbsey. + +"I'll run up and get her!" offered Mr. Bobbsey. Up the stairs he +hurried, but he came back in a little while with a queer look on his +face. "I can't find her," he said. + +"Oh, Flossie's lost!" cried Freddie. "Oh, maybe she falled down stairs +and got lost!" + + + + Chapter XI + +The President + +Really it was nothing new for one of the Bobbsey twins to become lost-- +especially the younger set, Flossie and Freddie. Some years before, when +they were younger, it had often happened to Nan and Bert, but they were +now old enough, and large enough, to look after themselves pretty well. +But Flossie or Freddie, and sometimes both of them, were often missing, +especially when the family went to some new place where there were +strange objects to see, as was now the case in the Congressional +Library. + +"Where do you suppose Flossie could have gone?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey, as +she glanced around the big rotunda in which they stood with some other +visitors who had come to the city of Washington. + +"I'll have to ask some of the men who are in charge of this building," +replied Daddy Bobbsey. "Are you sure you saw Flossie go up those stairs, +Freddie?" he asked the little fireman. + +"Well, she maybe went up, or she maybe went down," answered the boy. "I +was lookin' at the pishures on the wall, and Flossie was by me. And +then--well, she wasn't by me," he added, as if that explained it all. +"But I saw a little girl go up the stairs and I thought maybe it was +Flossie." + +"But why didn't you tell mother, dear?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey. "If you had +called to me when you saw Flossie going away I could have brought her +back before she got lost. Why didn't you tell me that Flossie was going +away?" + +"'Cause," answered Freddie. + +"Because why?" his father wanted to know. + +"'Cause I thought maybe Flossie wanted to slide down a banister of the +stairs and maybe you wouldn't let her, and I wanted to see if she could +slide down and then I could slide down too!" + +"Well, that's a funny excuse!" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey. "I don't believe +Flossie would slide down any banister here. But she has certainly +wandered away, and we'll have to find her. You stay here with the +children, so I'll know where to find you," Mr. Bobbsey said to his wife. +"I'll go to look for Flossie." + +"I want to come!" exclaimed Nan. + +"No, you had better stay with mother," her father told her. "But I will +take Bert along. He can take a message for me in case I have to send +one. Come along!" he called to Nan's brother. + +"All right, Daddy," answered Bert. + +Up the big stone stairs went Daddy Bobbsey and Bert. Mrs. Bobbsey, with +a worried look on her face, remained in the big rotunda with Nan and +Freddie. The two children were worried too. + +"Do you s'pose Flossie is hurt?" asked Nan. + +"Oh, no, I don't believe so," and Mrs. Bobbsey tried to speak easily. +"She has just gone into some room, or down some long hall, and lost her +way, I think. You see there are so many rooms and halls in this building +that it would be easy for even daddy or me to be lost. But your father +will soon find Flossie and bring her back to us." + +"But if they don't find her, Mamma?" + +"Oh, they'll be sure to do that, Nan. There is nobody around this +building who would hurt our little Flossie." + +"What an awful big building it is," remarked Nan. "And just think of the +thousands and thousands of books! Why, I didn't know there were so many +books in the whole world! Mamma, do you suppose any of the people down +here read all these books?" + +"Hardly, Nan. They wouldn't have time enough to do that." + +And now we shall see what happens to Mr. Bobbsey and Bert. Flossie's +father decided to try upstairs first, as Freddie seemed to think that +was the way his little sister had gone. + +"Of course, he isn't very sure about it," said Mr. Bobbsey to Bert; "but +we may as well start one way as the other. If she isn't upstairs she +must be down. Now we'll look around and ask questions." + +They did this, inquiring of every one they met whether a little blue- +eyed and flaxen-haired child had been seen wandering about. Some whom +Mr. Bobbsey questioned were visitors, like himself, and others were men +who worked in the big library. But, for a time, one and all gave the +same answer; they had not seen Flossie. + +Along the halls and into the different rooms went Mr. Bobbsey and Bert. +But no Flossie could they find until, at last, they approached a very +large room where a man with very white hair sat at a desk. The door of +this room was open, and there were many books in cases around the walls. + +"Excuse me," said Mr. Bobbsey to the elderly gentleman who looked up +with a smile as Flossie's father and Bert entered the room. "Excuse me +for disturbing you; but have you seen anything of a little girl--" + +"Did she have blue eyes?" asked the old man. + +"Yes!" eagerly answered Mr. Bobbsey. + +"And did she have light hair?" + +"Oh, yes! Have you seen her?" + +Softly the man arose from his desk and tiptoed over to a folding screen. +He moved this to one side, and there, on a leather couch and covered by +an office coat, was Flossie Bobbsey, fast asleep. + +"Oh! Oh!" exclaimed Bert. + +"Hush!" said the old man softly. "Don't awaken her. When she arouses +I'll tell you how she came in here. It's quite a joke!" + +"You stay here, Bert," said Mr. Bobbsey to his son, "and I'll go and get +your mother, Nan and Freddie. I want them to see how cute Flossie looks. +They'll be glad to know we have found her." + +So while Bert sat in a chair in the old man's office Mr. Bobbsey hurried +to tell his wife and the others the good news. And soon Mrs. Bobbsey and +the rest of the children were peeping at Flossie as she lay asleep. + +And then, suddenly, as they were all looking down at her, the little +girl opened her eyes. She saw her mother and father; she saw Nan and +Bert and Freddie; and then she looked at the kind old man with the white +hair. + +"Did you find a story book for me?" were the first words Flossie said. + +"Well, I'm afraid not, my dear," was the old man's answer. "We don't +have story books for little girls up here, though there may be some +downstairs." + +"Is that what she came in here for--a story book?" asked Mr. Bobbsey. + +"I believe it was," answered the old man, with a smile. "I was busy at +my desk when I heard the patter of little feet and a little girl's voice +asking me for a story book. I looked around, and there stood your little +one. I guessed, at once, that she must have wandered away from some +visitors in the library, so I gave her a cake I happened to have in my +lunch box, and got her to lie down on the sofa, as I saw she was tired. +Then she fell asleep, and I covered her up and put the screen around +her. I knew some one would come for her." + +"Thank you, so much!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey. "But, Flossie, how did you +happen to come up here?" + +"Oh, I wanted a story book," explained the little girl, as she sat up. +"We have story books in our library, an' there ought to be story books +here. I looked in this room an' I saw a lot of books, so I did ask for +one with a story in it. I like a story about pigs an' bears an'--an' +everything!" finished Flossie. + +"Well, I wish I had that kind of story book for you, but I haven't!" +laughed the old man. + +"All my books are very dull, indeed, for children, though when you grow +up you may like to read them," and he waved his hand at the many books +in the room. + +So Flossie was lost and found again. The old man was one of the +librarians, and he had taken good care of the little girl until her +family came for her. After thanking him, Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey led their +twins downstairs and Mr. Bobbsey said: + +"Well, I think we have seen enough of the library for a time. We had +better go and see the Martins." + +"Oh, yes!" cried Bert. "Billy said he'd take me to see the President." + +"And I want to go, too!" added Nan. + +"We'll see!" half promised her mother. + +In an automobile the Bobbsey family rode to where the Martin family +lived. And you can well believe that Billy and Nell were glad to see the +Bobbsey twins once more. Mrs. Martin welcomed Mrs. Bobbsey, and soon +there was a happy reunion. Mr. Martin was at his office, and Mr. Bobbsey +said he would go down there to see him. + +"Then couldn't we go out and see the President while mother stays here +and visits with Mrs. Martin?" asked Nan. "Nell and Billy will go with +us." + +"I think they might go," said Mrs. Martin. "Billy and Nell know their +way to the White House very well, as they often go. It isn't far from +here." + +"Well, I suppose they may go," said Mrs. Bobbsey slowly. + +"And I want to go, too!" exclaimed Freddie. "I want to see the dent." + +"It isn't a DENT--it's PRESIDENT--the head of the United States!" +explained Bert. "Our teacher told us about him, and she said if ever I +came to Washington I ought to see the President." + +"I want to see him too," cried Flossie. + +"Let all the children go!" said Mrs. Martin. "I'll send one of my maids +to walk along with them to make sure that they keep together. It is a +nice day, and they may catch a glimpse of the President. He often goes +for a drive from the White House around Washington about this time." + +"Well, I suppose it will be a little treat for them," said Mrs. Bobbsey. + +"Oh, goodie!" shouted Freddie. + +So, a little later, the Bobbsey twins, with Nell and Billy Martin and +one of the Martin maids, were walking toward the White House. + +"There it is!" exclaimed Billy to Bert, as they turned the corner and +came within view of the Executive Mansion, as it is often called. + +"Oh, it IS white!" cried Nan. + +"Just like the pictures!" added Bert. + +"It's got a big iron fence around," observed Freddie. "Is that so the +President can't get out?" + +"No, I guess it's so no unwanted people can get in," answered Nell. + +The children and the maid walked down the street and looked through the +iron fence into the big grounds, green even now though it was early +winter. And in the midst of a great lawn stood the White House--the home +of the President of the United States. + +Suddenly two big iron gates were swung open. Several policemen began +walking toward them from the lawn and some from the street outside. + +"What's the matter?" asked Bert. "Is there a fire?" + +"The President is coming out in his carriage," said Billy. "If we stand +here we can see him! Look! Here comes the President!" + + + + CHAPTER XII + +WASHINGTON MONUMENT + +Down the White House driveway rolled the carriage, drawn by the prancing +horses. It was coming toward the iron gate near which, on the sidewalk, +stood the Bobbsey twins, with their new friends, Billy and Nell Martin. + +On the front seat of the carriage, which was an open one, in spite of +the fact that the day was cool, though not very cold, sat two men. One +drove the horses and the other sat up very straight and still. + +"I should think he'd have an automobile," remarked Bert. + +"He has," answered Billy. "He has an auto--two of 'em, I guess. But lots +of times he rides around Washington in a carriage just as he's doing +now." + +"That's right," chimed in Nell. "Sometimes we see the President and his +wife in a carriage, like now, and sometimes in a big auto." + +By this time the carriage, containing the President of the United +States, was passing through the gate. A crowd of curious persons, who +had seen what was going on, as had the Bobbsey twins, came hurrying up +to catch a glimpse of the head of the nation. The police officers and +the men from the White House ground kept the crowd from coming too close +to the President's carriage. + +The Chief Executive, as he is often called, saw the crowd of people +waiting to watch him pass. Some of the ladies in the crowd waved their +hands, and others their handkerchiefs, while the men raised their hats. + +Billy put his hand to his cap, saluting as the soldiers do, and Bert, +seeing this, did the same thing. Nell and Nan, being girls, were not, of +course, expected to salute. As for Flossie and Freddie they were too +small to do anything but just stare with all their eyes. + +As the President's carriage drove along he smiled, bowed, and raised his +hat to those who stood there to greet him. The President's wife also +smiled and bowed. And then something in the eager faces of the Bobbsey +twins and their friends, Nell and Billy, attracted the notice of the +President's wife. + +She smiled at the eager, happy-looking children, waved her hand to them, +and spoke to her husband. He turned to look at the Bobbseys and their +friends, and he waved his hand, He seemed to like to have the children +watching him. + +And then Flossie, with a quick little motion kissed the tips of her +chubby, rosy fingers and fluttered them eagerly toward the President's +wife. + +"I threw her a kiss!" exclaimed Flossie with a laugh. + +"I'm gin' to throw one too," exclaimed Freddie. And he did. + +The President's wife saw what the little Bobbsey twins had done, and, as +quick as a flash, she kissed her hand back to Flossie and Freddie. + +"Oh, isn't that sweet!" exclaimed a woman in the throng, and when, +afterward, Nan told her mother what had happened, Mrs. Bobbsey said that +when Flossie and Freddie grew up they would long remember their first +sight of a President of the United States. + +"Well, I guess that's all we can see now," remarked Billy, as the +President's carriage rolled off down the street and the crowd that had +gathered at the White House gate began moving on. The gates were closed, +the policemen and guards turned away, and now the Bobbsey twins and +their friends were ready for something else. + +"Where do you want to go?" asked Billy of Bert. + +"Oh, I don't know. 'Most anywhere, I guess." + +"Could we go to see the Washington Monument?" asked Nan. "I've always +wanted to see that, ever since I saw the picture of it in one of daddy's +books at home." + +"I don't believe we'd better go out there alone," said Nell. "It's quite +a way from here. We'd better have our mothers or our fathers with us. +But we can walk along the streets, and go in the big market, I guess." + +"Let's do that!" agreed Billy. "There's heaps of good things to eat in +the market," he added to Bert. "It makes you hungry to go through it." + +"Then I don't want to go!" laughed Bert. "I'm hungry now." + +"I know where we can get some nice hot chocolate," said Nell. "It's in a +drug store, and mother lets Billy and me go there sometimes when we have +enough money from our allowance." + +"Oh, I'm going to treat!" cried Bert. "I have fifty cents, and mother +said I could spend it any way I pleased. Come on and we'll have +chocolate. It's my treat!" + +"We may go, Mayn't we, Jane?" asked Nell, of the maid who had +accompanied them. + +"Oh, yes," was the smiling answer. "If you go to Parson's it will be all +right." + +And a little later six smiling, happy children, and a rosy, smiling maid +were seated before a soda counter sipping sweet chocolate, and eating +crisp crackers. + +After that Billy and Nell took the Bobbsey twins to the market, which is +really quite a wonderful place in Washington, and where, as Billy said, +it really makes one hungry to see the many good things spread about and +displayed on the stands. + +"I think we've been gone long enough now," said the maid at last. "We +had better go back." + +So, after looking around a little longer at the part of the market where +flowers were sold and where old negro women sold queer roots, barks, and +herbs, the Bobbsey twins and their friends started slowly back toward +the Martin house. + +On the way they passed a store where china and glass dishes were sold, +and there were many cups, saucers and plates in one of the windows. + +"Wait a minute!" cried Bert, as Billy was about to pass on. "I want to +look here!" + +"What for?" Billy asked. "You don't need any dishes!" + +"I want to see if Miss Pompret's sugar bowl and cream pitcher are here," +Bert answered. "If Nan or I can find them we'll get a lot of money, and +I could spend my part while I was here." + +"Why Bert Bobbsey!" cried Nan, "you couldn't find Miss Pompret's things +here--in a store like this. They only sell new china, and hers would be +secondhand!" + +"I know it," admitted Bert. "But there might be a sugar bowl and pitcher +just like hers here, even if they were new." + +"Oh, no!" exclaimed Nan. "There couldn't be any dishes like Miss +Pompret's. She said there wasn't another set in this whole country." + +"Well, I don't see 'em here, anyhow!" exclaimed Bert, after he had +looked over the china in the window. "I guess her things will never be +found." + +"No, I guess not," agreed Billy, to whom, and his sister, Nan told the +story of the reward of one hundred dollars offered by Miss Pompret for +the return of her wonderful sugar bowl and cream pitcher, while Bert was +looking at the window display. + +"Well, did you have a good time?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey, when her twins +came trooping back. + +"Yes. And we saw the President!" cried Nan. + +And then they told all about it. + +The Bobbseys spent the rest of the day visiting their friends, the +Martins, and returned to their hotel in the evening. They planned to +have other pleasure going about the city to see the sights the next day +and the day following. + +"Could we ever go into the house where the President lives?" asked Nan +of her father that night. + +"Yes, we can visit the White House or, rather, one room in it," said Mr. +Bobbsey. "What they call the 'East Room' is the one in which visitors +are allowed. Perhaps we may go there tomorrow, if Mr. Martin and I can +finish some business we are working on." + +After breakfast the next morning the Bobbsey twins were glad to hear +their father say that he would take them to the White House; and, a +little later, in company with other visitors, they were allowed to enter +the home of the President, and walk about the big room on the east side +of the White House. + +"I'm going to sit down on one of the chairs," said Nan. "Maybe it will +be one that the President once sat on." + +"Very likely it will be," laughed Mrs. Bobbsey, as Nan picked out a +place into which she "wiggled." From the chair she smiled at her +brothers and sister, and they, too, took turns sitting in the same +chair. + +Bert found a pin on the thick green carpet in the room. The carpet was +almost as thick and green as the moss in the woods, and how Bert ever +saw the tiny pin I don't know. But he had very sharp eyes. + +"What are you going to do with it?" asked his father. + +"Just keep it," the boy answered. "Maybe it's a pin the President's wife +once used in her clothes." + +"Oh, you think it's a souvenir!" laughed Mrs. Bobbsey, as Bert stuck the +pin in the edge of his coat. And for a long time he kept that common, +ordinary pin, and he used to show it to his boy friends, and tell them +where he found it. + +"The White House President's pin," he used to call it. + +"And now," said Mr. Bobbsey, as they came from the White House, "I think +we'll have time to see the Monument before lunch." + +"That's good!" exclaimed Nan. "And shall we go up inside it?" + +"I think so," her father replied. + +Washington Monument, as a good many of you know, is not a solid shaft of +stone. It is built of great granite blocks, as a building is built, and +is, in fact, a building, for it has several little rooms in the base; +rooms where men can stay who watch the big pointed shaft of stone, and +other rooms where are kept the engines that run the elevator. + +The bottom part of Washington Monument is square, and on one side is a +doorway. Above the base the shaft itself stretches up over five hundred +feet in height, and the top part is pointed, like the pyramids of the +desert. The monument shaft is hollow, and there is a stairway inside, +winding around the elevator shaft. Some people walk up the stairs to get +to the top of the monument, where they can look out of small windows +over the city of Washington and the Potomac River. But most persons +prefer to go up and down in the elevator, though it is slow and, if +there are many visitors they have to await their turns. + +If the Bobbseys had walked up inside the monument they would have seen +the stones contributed by the different states and territories. Each +state sent on a certain kind of stone when the monument was being built, +and these stones are built into the great shaft. + +As it happened, there was not a very large crowd visiting the monument +the day the Bobbseys were there, so they did not have long to wait for +their turn in the elevator. + +"This isn't fast like the Woolworth Building elevators were," remarked +Bert as they felt themselves being hoisted up. + +"No," agreed his father. "But this does very well. This is not a +business building, and there is no special hurry in getting to the top." + +But at last they reached the end of their journey and stepped out of the +elevator cage into a little room. There were windows on the sides, and +from there the children could look out. + +"It's awful high up," said Nan, as she peeped out. + +"Not as high as the Woolworth Building," stated Bert, who had jotted +down the figures in a little book he carried. + +Flossie and Freddie had gone around to the other side of the elevator +shaft with their mother, to look from the windows nearest the river, +and, a moment later, Mr. Bobbsey, Nan and Bert heard a cry of: + +"Oh, Flossie! Flossie! Look out! There it goes!" + + + + CHAPTER XIII + +A STRAY CAT + +MR. BOBBSEY, who was standing near Bert and Nan, turned quickly as he +heard his wife call and ran around to her side. + +"What's the matter?" he called. "Has Flossie fallen?" + +But one look was enough to show him that the two little Bobbsey twins +and their mother were all right. But Flossie was without her hat, and +she had been wearing a pretty one with little pink roses on it. + +"What happened?" asked Mr. Bobbsey, while one of the men who stay inside +the Monument at the top, to see that no accidents happen, came around to +inquire if he could be of any help. + +"It's Flossie's hat," explained Mrs. Bobbsey. "She was taking it off, as +she said the rubber band hurt her, when a puff of wind came along---" +"And it just blowed my hat right away!" cried Flossie. "It just blowed +it right out of my hand, and it went out of the window, my hat did! And +now I haven't any more hat, and I'll--I'll--an'--an'--" + +Flossie burst into tears. + +"Never mind, little fat fairy!" her father comforted her, as he put his +arms around her. "Daddy will get you another hat." + +"But I want that one!" sobbed Flossie. "It has such pretty roses on it, +an' I liked 'em, even if they didn't smell!" + +"I guess the little girl's hat will be all right when you get down on +the ground," said the monument man. "Many people lose their hats up +here, and unless it's a man's stiff one, or unless it's raining or +snowing, little harm comes to them. I guess your little girl's hat just +fluttered to the ground like a bird, and you can pick it up again" + +"Do you think so?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey. + +"Oh, you'll get her hat back again, ma'am, I'm sure," the man said. +"There's lots of boys and young men who stay around the monument, hoping +for a chance to earn a stray dime or so by showing visitors around or +carrying something. One of them probably saw the hat flutter out of the +window, and somebody will pick it up." + +"Well, let's go down and see," suggested Mr. Bobbsey. "I think we have +had all the view we want." + +"Don't cry, Flossie," whispered Nan consolingly, as she took her little +sister by the hand. "We'll get your hat back again." + +"And the roses, too?" Flossie asked. + +"Yes, the roses and everything," her mother told her. + +"If I were a big, grown-up fireman, I could climb down and get Flossie's +hat," said Freddie. "That's what firemans do. They climb up and down big +places and get things--and people," the little boy added after a moment +of thought. + +"Well, I don't want my little fireman climbing down Washington +Monument," said Mr. Bobbsey. "It's safer to go down in the elevator." + +And, a little later, the Bobbsey twins and their father and mother were +back on the ground again. Once outside the big stone shaft, they saw a +boy come running up with Flossie's hat in his hand. + +"Oh, look! Look!" cried the little girl. "There it is! There it is!" + +"Is this your hat?" the small boy wanted to know. "I saw it blow out of +the window, and I chased it and chased it. I was afraid maybe it would +blow into the river." + +"It was very nice of you," said Mr. Bobbsey, and he gave the boy twenty- +five cents, which pleased that small chap very much. + +Flossie's hat was a little dusty, but the pink roses were not soiled, +and soon she was wearing it again. Then, smiling and happy, she was +ready to go with the others to the next sight-seeing place. + +"Where now?" asked Bert, as they started away from the little hill on +which the Monument stands. + +"I think we'll go to the Smithsonian Museum," said his father. "There +are a few things I want to see, though you children may not be very much +interested. Then I want to take your mother to the art gallery and after +that--well, we'll see what happens next," and he smiled at the Bobbsey +twins. + +"I know it will be something nice!" exclaimed Nan. + +"I hope it's something good to eat!" murmured Bert. "I'm hungry!" + +"I'd like to see a fire!" cried Freddie. "Do they ever have fires in +Washington, Daddy?" + +"Oh, yes, big ones, sometimes. But we really don't want to see any, +because a fire means danger and trouble for people." + +"And wettings, too," put in Flossie. "Sometimes when Freddie plays fire +he gets me wet." + +"Well, I'm goin' to be a fireman when I grow up," declared Freddie. "And +I wish I had my little fire engine now, 'cause I don't like it not to +have any fun." + +"We'll have some fun this afternoon," his father promised him. + +Just as Mr. Bobbsey had expected, the children were not much amused in +the art gallery or the museum. But Mrs. Bobbsey liked these places, and, +after all, as Nan said, they wanted their mother to have a good time on +this Washington trip. + +After lunch they went again to call on the Martins, as Mr. Bobbsey had +to see the father of Billy and Nell on business. + +"And where are we going to have some fun?" Bert asked, as they journeyed +away from their hotel toward the Martin house. + +"You'll see," his father promised. The children tried to guess what it +might be, but they could not be sure of anything. + +It did not take Mr. Bobbsey long to get through with his business with +Mr. Martin and then the father of the twins said to Mrs. Martin: + +"Can you let Billy and Nell come with us on a little trip?" + +"To be sure. But where are you going?" Mrs. Martin replied. + +"I thought we'd take one of the big sight-seeing autos and ride about +the city, and perhaps outside a little way," said Mr. Bobbsey. "Nell and +Billy can tell us the best way to go" + +"Oh, yes! I can do that'" cried Billy. "I often take rides that way with +my uncle when he comes to Washington. Come on, Nell! We'll get ready." + +"May we really go?" asked Nell, of her mother. + +"Yes, indeed!" was the answer. + +So, a little later, the Bobbsey twins, with Billy and Nell and Mr. and +Mrs. Bobbsey, were on one of the big automobiles. It was not too cold to +ride outside, as they were all bundled up warm. + +Through the different parts of the city the sight-seeing car went, a man +on it telling the persons aboard about the different places of interest +as they were passed. In a little while the machine rumbled out into the +quieter streets, where the houses were rather far apart. + +Then the automobile came to a stop, and some one asked: + +"What's so wonderful to see here?" + +"Nothing," the driver of the car answered. "But I have to get some water +for the radiator. We won't be here very long. Those who want to, can get +out and walk around." + +"Yes, I'll be glad to stretch by legs," said one man with a laugh. He +was sitting next to Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey, and they began talking to him. +Nan and Bert were talking to Billy and Nell, and, for the time being, no +one paid much attention to Flossie and Freddie, who were in a rear seat. + +Suddenly Flossie called to her little brother; + +"Oh, look! There's a cat! It's just like our Snoop!" + +Freddie looked to where Flossie pointed with her chubby finger. + +"No, that isn't like our Snoop," said the little boy, shaking his head. + +"Yes, 'tis too!" declared his sister. "I'm going to get down and look at +it. I like a cat, and I didn't see one close by for a long time." + +"Neither did I," agreed Freddie. "If that one isn't like our Snoop, it's +a nice cat, anyhow." + +The cat, which seemed to be a stray one, was walking toward the car, its +tail held high in the air "like a fishing pole." + +Flossie and Freddie were in the rear seat, as I have said, and no one +seemed to be paying any attention to them. Their father and mother were +busy talking to the man who had gotten down to "stretch his legs," and +Nan and Bert, with Billy and Nell, were busy talking. + +"Let's get down," proposed Flossie. + +"All right," agreed Freddie. + +In another moment the two smaller Bobbsey twins had left their seat, +climbed down the rear steps of the sight-seeing automobile, and were +running toward the stray cat, which seemed to wait for them to come and +pet it. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +STRAY CHILDREN + +"Nice pussy! Come and let me rub you!" said Freddie softly, as he held +out his hand toward the stray cat. + +"Yes, come here, Snoop!" added Flossie, as she walked along with her +brother. + +"'Tisn't Snoop, and you mustn't call him that name," ordered Freddie. + +"Well, he looks like Snoop," declared Flossie. + +"But if that isn't his name he won't like to be called by it, no more +than if I called you Susie when your name's Flossie," went on the little +boy. + +"Do you s'pose cats know their names?" asked Flossie. + +"Course they do!" exclaimed her brother. "Don't our Snoop know his name +when I call him, same as our dog Snap does?" + +"Oh, well, but our cat is a very, very, smart cat!" + +"Maybe this one is, too," Freddie said. "Anyhow, we'll just call him +'Puss' or 'Kittie,' and he'll like that, 'cause that's a name for any +cat." + +"That's so," agreed Flossie. + +So calling to the stray cat in their soft, little voices, and holding +out their hands to pet the animal, Flossie and Freddie walked farther +away from the sight-seeing car, and soon they were petting the cat that, +indeed, did look a bit like Snoop. + +They stroked the soft back of the cat, rubbed its ears, and the animal +rubbed up against their legs and purred. Then, suddenly, the cat heard a +dog barking somewhere, and ran down toward the side entrance of a large, +handsome house. + +"Oh, come on!" cried Freddie to his sister, as he saw the cat running +away. "Maybe there's some little cats back here, and we could get one to +take home with us! Come on, Flossie!" + +Flossie was willing enough to go, and in a moment they were in the rear +yard of one of the big houses, and out of sight from the street where +the auto stood, while the man was putting water in the radiator. + +The cat, once over its fright about the barking dog, seemed quieter now, +and let the two little Bobbsey twins pet it again. Freddie saw a little +box-like house in one corner of the yard and cried: + +"I'm going to look here, Flossie! Maybe there's kittens in it!" + +"Oh, let me see!" exclaimed the little girl. Forgetting, for a time, the +stray cat they had started to pet, she and her brother ran over to the +little box-like house. + +"Better look out!" exclaimed Flossie, as they drew near. + +"Why?" asked Freddie. + +"'Cause maybe there's a strange dog in that box." + +"If there was a dog in this yard I guess this cat wouldn't have come in +here," replied Freddie. "The cat ran when the other dog barked, and +there can't be a dog here, else the cat wouldn't come in." + +"I wonder what's there?" murmured Flossie. + +"We'll soon find out," her brother said, as he bent over the little +house, which was made of some boxes nailed together. There was a tiny +window, with a piece of glass in it, and a small door. + +Freddie began to open the little door, and he was not very much afraid, +for now the cat was purring and rubbing around his legs, and the little +boy felt sure that there could be no dog, or anything else scary, in the +box-house, or else the cat would not have come so close. + +"Maybe there isn't anything in there," suggested Flossie. + +"Oh, there's got to be SOMETHING!" declared Freddie. "It's a place for +chickens, maybe." + +"It's too little for chickens," said Flossie. + +"Well, maybe it's a place for----" + +That is as far as Freddie got in his talk, for, just then, a voice +called from somewhere behind the children: + +"Hi there! What do you want?" + +"Oh!" + +Freddie and Flossie both called out in surprise as they turned. They +saw, standing on the back steps of the big house, a boy about as big as +Bert. + +"We came in after this cat," said Freddie, and he pointed to the stray +pussy that was rubbing against his legs. + +"Is it your cat?" the boy wanted to know. + +Flossie shook her head. + +"We just followed after him," she said. "He was out on the street, and +we saw him, and we got down to rub him, and he heard a dog bark, and he +ran in here, and we ran after him." + +"Oh, I see," and the boy on the back steps smiled in a friendly way. "So +it isn't your cat." + +"No," answered Freddie, "Is it yours?" + +The boy shook his head. + +"I never saw the cat before," he answered. "It's a nice one, though, and +maybe I'll keep it if you don't want it." + +"Oh, we don't want it!" Freddie said quickly. "We have a cat of our own +at home. His name is Snoop." + +"And we have a dog, too," added Flossie. "But his name is Snap. And we +have Dinah and Sam. Only they aren't a cat or a dog," she went on. +"Dinah is our cook and Sam's her husband." + +"Where do you live?" the boy asked. + +"Oh, away off," explained Freddie. "We live in Lakeport, and we go to +school." + +"Only now there isn't any school," went on Flossie. "We can't have a +fire 'cause something broke, and we came to Washington." + +"Have you come here to live?" the strange boy questioned. + +"No, only to visit," explained Freddie. "My father has to see Mr. +Martin. Do you know Mr. Martin?" + +The strange boy shook his head. + +"I guess he doesn't live around here," he remarked. "I've lived here all +my life; but there's nobody named Martin on this block. Where did you +come from?" + +"Offen the auto," explained Freddie. "We were riding on the auto with +Billy Martin and Nell, and our father and mother and Nan and Bert and--- +-" + +"Say, there are a lot of you!" cried the boy with a laugh. + +"It was a big auto," explained Flossie. "But the man had to stop and +give it some water, so we got down to pet the cat. It's a nice cat." + +"Yes, it's a nice cat all right," agreed the strange boy, and he came +down the steps and began to rub the animal. "I like cats," he went on to +the children. "What's your names?" + +"Flossie and Freddie Bobbsey," answered Freddie. "What's yours?" + +"Tom Walker," was the answer. "I guess I know where you came from. It's +one of those big, sight-seeing autos. They often go through this street, +but I never saw one stop before. You'd better look to see that it +doesn't go off and leave you." + +"Oh, the man said we could get down," returned Freddie. "And one man is +going to stretch his legs. I'd like to see a man stretch his legs." he +went on. "I wonder how far he can stretch them?" + +"Not very far, I guess," remarked Tom Walker. "But I'm glad to see you, +anyhow. I've been sick, and I had to stay home from school, but I'm +better now, and I'm going back to-morrow. But I haven't had any one to +play with, and I'm glad you came in--you and the cat." + +"'Tisn't our cat!" Flossie hastily explained. + +"Oh, I know!" agreed the boy. "But he came in with you." + +"We thought maybe there were kittens in that box," and Freddie pointed +to the one he had been about to open. + +"Oh, that was the place where I used to keep my rabbits," said Tom. "I +haven't any now, but maybe I'll get some more; so I left the little +house in the yard. I like rabbits." + +"So do I!" declared Freddie. + +"And their nose goes sniff-snuff so funny!" laughed Flossie. "Rabbits +eat a lot of cabbage," she said. "If I had something to eat now I would +like it." + +"Say, I can get some cookies!" cried Tom. "Wait, I'll go in the house +after some. You wait here!" + +"We'll wait!" said Freddie. + +Into the house bounded Tom, and to the cook in the kitchen he called: + +"Oh, please give me some cookies. There's a stray cat in our yard and +some stray children, and I want to give 'em something to eat, and----" + +"My goodness, boy, how you do rattle on!" cried the cook. "What do you +mean about stray cats and stray children?" + + + + CHAPTER XV + +"WHERE ARE THEY?" + +Freddie and Flossie walked slowly up the yard, away from the empty +rabbit house, and stood at the foot of the back steps up which Tom +Walker had hurried to ask the cook for something to eat for the "stray +children." The little Bobbsey twins had not heard what the cook said to +Tom after he had asked for something to eat. But the cook repeated her +question. + +"What do you mean by stray cats and stray children?" + +"There are the stray children out in the yard now," answered Tom. "They +strayed away from some place, just as that dog I kept for a while once +did. There was a stray cat, too, but I don't see it now." + +"Stray children, is it?" cried the jolly cook. "Oh, look at the little +darlin's!" she exclaimed, as she saw the small Bobbsey twins standing +out in the yard, waiting for Tom to come back. Freddie and Flossie +certainly did look very sweet and pretty with their new winter coats and +caps on, though it was not very cold. It was not as cold in Washington +as in Lakeport. + +"Do you think he'll bring us anything to eat?" asked Freddie of Flossie, +as they stood there waiting. + +"I hope he does," the little girl answered. "I'm hungry." + +"So'm I!" Freddie admitted. "I guess that cat was, too. Where did he +go?" + +The cat answered himself, as though he knew he was being talked about. +He came out from under the back steps, rubbed up against Flossie's fat, +chubby legs with a mew and a purr, and then, seeing a place where the +sun shone nice and warm on the steps, the cat curled up there and began +to wash its face, using its paws as all cats do. + +"Please, Sarah, can't I have something to eat for the stray children, +and maybe for the cat?" again asked Tom of the cook. + +"Oh, I dunno!" she answered. "Sure an' you're a bother! Your mother's +out and I don't know what to do. These must be lost children, and, most +likely, their father or mother's lookin' all over for 'em now. But I'd +better bring 'em in an' keep 'em safe here, rather than let 'em wander +about the streets. How did they come into our yard, do you think, Tom?" + +"They just walked in, after the stray cat. They were on one of the big +automobiles, and it stopped, so they got off. I told 'em maybe their +folks would be looking for them," went on Tom, who was older than +Flossie and Freddie. "But they seem to think it's all right." + +"Well, they're lost, as sure as anything," declared the cook. "But it's +best to keep 'em here until their folks can come after 'em. I'll give +you something for them to eat, Tom, and then you must look after 'em, as +I'm too busy, getting ready for the party your mother is going to have +this night." + +The kind cook soon got ready a plate of cookies and some glasses of milk +for Flossie and Freddie. And, as Tom began to feel hungry himself when +he saw something being made ready for his new little friends, a place +was set for him, also, on a side table in the dining room. + +"Call 'em in, now!" said the cook. "Everything is ready. And is the cat +there?" + +"Yes," answered Tom, as he looked out and saw the pussy curled up in the +sun on the steps. "It's there." + +"Well, I think I'll give it some milk," said the cook. + +So, a little later, Flossie and Freddie, the stray children--for that is +what they were--sat down to a nice little lunch in a strange, house. Tom +Walker sat down with them, and the stray cat had a saucer of milk in the +kitchen. + +"I looked out in the street," said the cook, as she came back to get +Freddie another glass of milk, "but I don't see any automobile there. +Did you really ride here in an auto?" + +"Oh, yes," answered Freddie. "And the man on it all the time talked +through a red horn, but I didn't know what he said." + +"That was the man speaking through a megaphone so everybody on the +sight-seeing auto would know what they were looking at as they rode +along," said Tom. "They often pass through here, though I haven't seen +any to-day." + +"But what to do about you children I don't know," said the cook, when +Flossie and Freddie had eaten as much as they wanted. "If you did come +here on an auto it's gone now, and there isn't a sign of it. I think you +must have come two or three streets away from the car before you turned +in here." + +"Oh, no!" exclaimed Freddie. "When we got down off the auto we saw the +cat and we came in after it. The auto was right out in front." + +"Well, it isn't there now," said the cook. "I guess it must have gone +away and taken your folks with it. Maybe they're looking for you. But I +guess you'll have to stay here until they come to find you. You're too +small to be allowed to go about alone." + +"We like it here," said Flossie, settling back comfortably in her chair. +"We can stay as long as you want us to." + +"And we can stay to supper if you ask us," went on Freddie. "Course +mother wouldn't let us ask for an invitation, but if you WANT to ask us +to stay we can't help it." + +"'Specially if you have cake," added Flossie, smoothing out her dress. + +"Yes, 'specially cake!" agreed Freddie. + +"Oh my!" laughed the cook. "Sure an' you're very funny! But I like you. +And I only wish I knew where your folks were. But the best I can do is +to keep you here until they come. They must know about where they lost +you. Come, Tom, take the stray children out and amuse them. Your +mother'll be home pretty soon." + +If Tom's mother had been at home she would have at once telephoned and +told the police that she had two lost--or stray--children at her house, +so that in case Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey inquired, as they did, they would +know that the tots were all right. + +But Mrs. Walker was not at home, and the cook did the best she could. +She made sure the children were safe and comfortable while they were +with her. + +And, after they had eaten, Tom got out some of his toys, and he and +Flossie and Freddie had a good time playing about the house and in the +yard. The stray cat wandered away while Flossie and Freddie were eating +their little lunch, and the Bobbsey twins did not see him again. + +Now while Flossie and Freddie were having a pretty good time, eating +cookies and drinking milk, there was much excitement on the big sight- +seeing car where Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey, Nan, Bert, and the other, still +had their seats. + +For some little time after the car had stopped to allow the man to put +water in the radiator, neither Mr. nor Mrs. Bobbsey missed their smaller +twins. They were busy talking, and Bert and Nan were looking about and +having a good time, talking to Billy and Nell Martin. + +At last, however, the auto man called: + +"Everything is all right! Get on board!" + +That meant he was going to start off again, and it was not until then +that Mrs. Bobbsey thought to look around to see if Flossie and Freddie +were all right. And, of course, she did not see them. + +"Flossie! Freddie! Where are you?" called Mrs. Bobbsey. + +There was no answer, and the seat which the two smaller children had +been in on the big bus, was empty. + +"Oh, Daddy!" cried Mrs. Bobbsey, "Flossie and Freddie have gone." + +"Gone? Gone where?" Mr. Bobbsey asked, + +"That's it--I can't say," answered Mrs. Bobbsey. "The last I saw of them +was when the auto stopped." + +"I saw the two little tots climb down off the rear steps of the car," +said the man who had wanted to "stretch his legs." "They seemed to be +going after something," he added. + +"It was a cat," said the woman next to the big man who had last spoken. +"I saw the children get down and go toward a stray cat and then I got to +thinking of something else." + +"Oh, if it was a cat you might know it!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey with a +laugh." I guess they're all right. They can't have gone far. Probably +they are on the other side of the street, looking at some bedraggled +kitten." But a look up and down the street did not show Flossie and +Freddie. By this time the auto was all ready to start off again. + +"But we can't go without Flossie and Freddie!" cried Nan. + +"I should say not!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey. "Oh, where are they? Where +can my darlings have gone? What has happened?" + + + + CHAPTER XVI + +THE FIRE BELL + +Mrs. Bobbsey's cries of alarm, of course, excited all the other +passengers who had got back on the sight-seeing auto, ready to start off +again. They had had a little rest while the water was being put into the +radiator, and the man had "stretched his legs" all he wanted to, it +seemed. + +"The children can't be far away," said Mr. Bobbsey. "They were here only +a moment ago. Even if they have wandered off, which is probably what +they have done, they can't be far." + +"They're all right," the man who drove the car assured Mr. Bobbsey. "I +didn't see 'em go away, of course, as I was busy, but I'm sure nothing +has happened." + +"But what shall we do?" cried Mrs. Bobbsey, and tears came into her +eyes. "It does seem as if more things have happened to Flossie and +Freddie since we started on this trip than ever before." + +"Oh, they'll be all right," declared Mr. Bobbsey. "I'll look around. +Perhaps they may have gone into one of these houses." + +"Did you look under the seats?" asked Bert. + +"Under the seats!" exclaimed Billy. "What good would that do? Your +brother and sister couldn't be under there!" + +"Pooh, you don't know much about Flossie and Freddie!" answered Bert. +"They can be in more places than you can think of; can't they, Nan?" + +"Yes, they do get into queer places sometimes. But they aren't under my +seat," and Nan looked, to make sure. + +"Nor mine," added Nell, as she looked also. + +Some of the other passengers on the auto did the same thing. Mr. Bobbsey +really thought it might be possible that Freddie and Flossie, for some +queer reason, might have crawled under one of the seats when the big +machine stopped for water. But the children were not there. + +"Oh, what shall we do?" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey. + +"They'll be all right," her husband answered. "They can't be far away." + +"That's right ma'am," said a fat, jolly-looking man. + +"Some of you go and inquire in the houses near here," suggested the man +who drove the auto. "And I'll go and telephone back to the office, and +see if they're there." + +"But how could they be at your automobile office?" Mrs. Bobbsey wanted +to know. + +"It might easily happen," replied the man. "We run a number of these big +machines. One of them may have passed out this way while I was stopping +here for water, and perhaps none of us notice it, and the children may +have climbed on and gone on that car, thinking it was this one." + +"They couldn't get on if the auto didn't stop," said Billy. + +"Well, maybe it stopped," returned the driver. "Perhaps it passed up the +next street. The children may have gone down there and gotten on. +Whatever has happened, your little ones are all right, ma'am; I'm sure +of that." + +"I wish I could be!" sighed Mrs. Bobbsey. + +Several men volunteered to help Mr. Bobbsey look for the missing twins, +and they went to the doors of nearby houses and rang the bells. But to +all the answer was the same. Flossie and Freddie had not been seen. + +And the reason for this was that the small Bobbsey twins, in following +the stray cat, had turned a corner and gone down another street, and +were on the block next the one where the auto stood. That was the reason +the Walker cook, looking out in front, could see no machine, and why it +was that none of those who helped Mr. Bobbsey look for the missing +children could find them. + +"Well, this is certainly queer!" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey, when at none of +the houses was there any word of Flossie and Freddie. + +"But what are we to do?" cried his wife. + +"I think we'd better notify the police," said Mr. Bobbsey. "That will be +the surest way." + +"Yes, I think it will," agreed the auto man. "I telephoned to the +office, but they said no lost children had been turned in. Get aboard, +every one, and I'll drive to the nearest police station." + +Away started the big auto, leaving Flossie and Freddie behind in the +home of Tom Walker on the next street. And though Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey, +with Nan and Bert and Billy and Nell were much worried, Flossie and +Freddie themselves, were having a good time. + +For they were playing with Tom, who showed them his toys, and he told +them about the rabbits he used to keep. + +"I have had as many as six big ones at a time," Tom said. "And I had one +pair that had the finest red eyes you ever saw." + +"Red eyes!" cried Flossie. "What funny rabbits they must have been!" + +"Oh, I know some rabbits have red eyes," declared Freddie. "But not very +many. Bert said so." + +"I don't believe I'd like to have red eyes," answered his twin sister. +"Everybody'd think I'd been crying." + +"They're not red that way," explained Tom. "They just have the color red +in them; just as some people have black eyes, blue eyes, and brown eyes- +-like that." + +"Oh! Say, I heard Nan say once that a girl in her room at school had one +black eye and one grey eye. Wasn't that funny?" + +"It certainly was," answered Tom. And then he showed the little Bobbsey +twins a number of picture books and a locomotive which went around a +little track. + +Freddie and Flossie were having such a good time that they never thought +their father and mother might be worried about them. + +But, after a while, Mrs. Walker came home. You can well imagine how +surprised she was when she found the two lost, strayed children in her +house. + +"And so they got off one of the sight-seeing autos, did they?" cried +Tom's mother. "Oh, my dears! I'm glad you're here, of course, and glad +you had a good time with Tom. But your mother and father will be much +frightened! I must telephone to the police at once." + +"We'll not be arrested, shall we?" asked Freddie anxiously. + +"No, indeed, my dear! Of course not! But your parents have probably +already telephoned the police, who must be looking for you. I'll let +them know I have you safe." + +"Why, course we're safe!" cried Flossie. + +So Mrs. Walker telephoned. And, just as she guessed, the police were +already preparing to start out to hunt for the missing children. But as +soon as they got Mrs. Walker's message everything was all right. + +"They're found!" cried Mr. Bobbsey to his wife, when a police officer +telephoned to the hotel to let the father of the small Bobbsey twins +know that the children were safe. "They're all right!" + +"Where were they?" asked his wife, + +"All the while they were right around the corner and just in the next +street from where our auto was standing." + +"Oh, dear me!" cried Mrs. Bobbsey, "what a relief" + +"I should say so!" agreed Mrs. Martin, who had gone to the hotel, where +her friends were staying, to do what she could to help them. + +"I'll get a taxicab and bring them straight here," said Mr. Bobbsey. + +A little later Flossie and Freddie were back "home" again. That is, if +you call a hotel "home," and it was, for the time, to the traveling +Bobbseys. + +"What made you do it?" asked Flossie's mother, when the story had been +told. "What made you go after the stray cat?" + +"It was such a nice cat!" said the little girl, + +"And we wanted to see if it was like our Snoop," added Freddie. + +"Well, don't do such a thing again!" ordered Mr. Bobbsey. + +"No, we won't!" promised Freddie. + +"No, but they'll do something worse," said Bert in a low voice to his +friend Billy, who had also come to the hotel. + +So the little excitement was over, and soon the Bobbsey twins were in +bed. Not, however, before Nan had asked her father: + +"Where are you going to take us to-morrow?" + +"To Mount Vernon, I think," was his answer. + +"Oh, where Washington used to live!" remarked Bert. + +"Where--" But right there Freddie went to sleep. + +"Yes, and where he is buried," added Nan. + +And then she, too, fell asleep. And she dreamed that Flossie and Freddie +were lost again, and that she started out to find them riding on the +back of a big cat while Bert rode on a dog, like Snap. + +"And I was so glad when I woke up and, found it was only a dream," said +Nan, telling Nell about it afterward. + +There are two ways of going to Mount Vernon from the city of Washington. +Mount Vernon is down on the Potomac River, and one may travel to it by +means of a small steamer, which makes excursion trips, or one can get +there in a trolley car. + +"I think we'll go down by boat and come back by trolley," said Mr. +Bobbsey. "In that way we can see more." + +"I'd rather go on the boat all the while," said Freddie. "Maybe I could +be a fireman on the boat." + +"Oh, I think they have all the firemen they; need," laughed his father. + +"Is Mount Vernon an old place?" asked Nan. as they were getting ready to +leave their hotel after breakfast. + +"Quite old, yes," her father answered. + +"And do they have old-fashioned things there, like spinning wheels, and +old guns and things like those in Washington's headquarters that we went +to once?" Nan went on. + +"Why, yes, perhaps they do," her father said. "Why do you ask?" + +"Oh, I was just thinking," went on Nan, "that if they had a lot of old- +fashioned things there they might have Miss Pompret's sugar bowl and +cream pitcher, and we could get 'em for her." + +"How could we?" asked Bert. "If they were there they'd belong to +Washington, wouldn't they, Daddy?" + +"Well, I suppose all the things in the house once belonged to him or his +friends," said Mr. Bobbsey. "But I don't imagine those two missing +pieces of Miss Pompret's set will be at Mount Vernon, Nan." + +"No, I don't s'pose so," sighed the little girl. "But, oh, I would like +to find 'em!" + +"And get the hundred dollars reward!" added Bert. + +"Don't think too much of that," advised their mother. "Of course it +would be nice to find Miss Pompret's dishes, and do her a favor, but I +think it is out of the question after all these years that they have +been lost." + +The weather was colder than on the day before, when Flossie and Freddie +had been lost, and the sun shone fitfully from behind clouds. + +"I think we are going to have a snow storm," said Mr. Bobbsey, on their +way to take the boat for Mt. Vernon. + +"Oh, goodie!" cried Flossie. "I hope it snows a lot!" + +"So do I!" added Freddie. "Could we send home for our sled if there's +lots of snow, Daddy?" he asked. + +"I hardly think it would be worth while," said his father. "We are not +going to be here much more than a week longer. And it would be quite a +lot of work to get your sleds here and send them home again. I think +you'll get all the coasting and skating you want when we get back to +Lakeport." + +"Anyway, we're having a nice time while we're here," said Nan, with a +happy little sigh. + +"It's fun when Freddie and Flossie don't get lost," added Bert. "I'm +going to keep watch of 'em this time." + +"I'll help," added Nan. "Oh, here are Billy and Nell!" she called, +waving her hand to their new friends. The Martin children were to go to +Mount Vernon with the Bobbsey twins, and they now met them near the +place from which the boat started. + +"All aboard!" cried Freddie, as they went on the small steamer that was +to take them to Mount Vernon. "All aboard. I'm the fireman!" + +"There aren't any fires to put out," said, Nell, teasing the small chap +a little. + +"Yes, there is--a fire in the boiler, and it makes steam," said Freddie, +who had often looked in the engine room of steamers. "But I'm not that +kind of fireman. I put out fires. I'm going to be a real fireman when I +grow up," he added. + +Soon they were comfortably seated on board the boat, which after a bit +moved out into the Potomac. Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey were talking together. +Nan, Bert, Billy and Nell were watching another boat which was passing, +and Flossie was near them. But Freddie had slipped away, in spite of +what Bert had said about going to keep a watchful eye on his small +brother. + +Suddenly, when the steamer was well out in the river, there was the loud +clanging of a bell, and a voice cried: + +"Fire! Fire! Fire!" + +At once every one on the boat jumped up. The women looked frightened, +while the men seemed uncertain what to do. + +"Clang! Clang! Clang!" rang the fire alarm bell. + + + + CHAPTER XVII + +FREDDIE'S REAL ALARM + +"I hope nothing has happened--that the boat isn't on fire," said Mrs. +Bobbsey to her husband. "That would be terrible!" + +"I hardly think that is it," he said. "There may be a small fire, +somewhere on the boat, but, even if there is, they have a way of putting +it out. I'll go and see what it is. You stay with the children." + +But just then, after another clanging of the bell, some one was heard to +laugh--the ringing, hearty laugh of a man. + +"There!" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey, "I guess everything is all right. They +wouldn't be laughing if there was any danger." + +"Let's go to the fire!" cried Bert. "I want to see it!" + +"So do I!" chimed in his new chum, Billy, eagerly. + +"Oh, can't we see it; whatever it is?" begged Nan. + +"First I'll have to make sure there is a fire," replied Mr. Bobbsey. "I +hope there isn't. But, if there should be a small one, and the firemen +on the boat are putting it out, and if they let us get near enough to +see, and if the smoke isn't too thick--" + +"Oh, Daddy! Not so many 'ifs' please!" laughed Nan. + +The Bobbseys all laughed at this, as did Nell and Billy. + +"Freddie would like to see the fire, if there is one," remarked Nell +Martin. + +"Oh, that's so! Where is Freddie?" cried Bert. + +Then, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey noticed that the little +blue-eyed and light-haired boy was not with them. + +But at that moment around the corner of a deck cabin came a man wearing +a cap with gold braid around the edge. He was smiling and leading by the +hand a little boy. And the little boy was Freddie! + +"Oh, there he is!" cried Flossie. "Freddie, where were you?" she asked. +"And did you been to see the fire?" + +"Well, I rather guess he did!" exclaimed the man, who was the captain of +the boat. "He Was the whole fire himself!" + +"The whole fire?" cried Mr. Bobbsey. "Do you mean to say that my little +boy started a fire?" + +"Oh, nothing as bad as that!" said the captain, and he smiled down on +Freddie who smiled up at him in return. "No, all your little boy did was +to ring the fire alarm bell and then call out 'Fire!' But of course that +was enough to start things going, and we had quite a good deal of +excitement for a time. But it's all right now, and I think he won't do +it again." + +"Just what did he do?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey, as Freddie came over to stand +beside his mother. He looked rather ashamed. + +"Well, on the deck, back of the wheel-house, which is the little place +where I or my men stand to steer the boat, there is a fire alarm bell. +It's there for any one to ring who finds the boat on fire, and when the +bell is rung all my firemen hurry to put out the blaze," said the +captain. + +"Now this little chap of yours went up and rang that bell, and then he +cried out 'Fire,' as I've told you. Then--well, lots of things happened. +But I couldn't help laughing when I found out it was a false alarm, and +learned just why Freddie, as he tells me his name is, rang the bell." + +"And why was that?" asked Mr. Bobbsey, quickly. + +Freddie spoke up for himself. + +"The bell had a sign on it," said the little fellow, "and it said to +ring it for a fire. I wanted to see a fire, and so I rang the bell and-- +and--" + +Freddie's lips began to quiver. He was just ready to cry. + +"There, there, my little man!" said the captain kindly. "No harm is +done. Don't worry. It's all right," and he patted Freddie on the +shoulder. + +"You see it's just as Freddie says," the captain went on. "There is a +large sign painted near the bell which reads: 'Ring this for a fire.' I +suppose it would be better to say; 'Ring the bell in case of fire.' I +believe I'll have it changed to read that way. Anyhow, your little boy +saw the sign over the bell, And on the bell is a rope so low that any +one, even a child, can reach it. So your Freddie just pulled the rope, +clanged the bell, and then he cried 'Fire!' as loudly as he could. Some +one else took up the cry, and, there you are!" + +"And so you rang the bell, did you, Freddie, because you wanted to see a +fire?" asked the father of the little fellow. + +"Yes," answered Flossie's brother. "I wanted to see how they put out a +fire on a boat, and the bell said for to ring for a fire, and I wanted a +fire, I did; not a big one, just a little one, and so----" + +"And so you just naturally rang the bell!" laughed the captain. "Well, I +guess that's partly my fault for having the sign read that way. I'll +have it changed. But your little boy is quite smart to be able to read +so well," he added. + +"Oh, I go to school!" said Freddie proudly, "only there isn't any now on +account of--well I guess the boiler got on fire," he added. + +"He's a regular little fireman," said Mr. Bobbsey. "He can't read very +much, but one of the first words he learned to spell was 'fire,' and +he's never forgotten it." + +The boat was now going on down the river toward Mount Vernon, and the +excitement caused by the false alarm of fire was over. + +Of course Freddie had done wrong, though he had not meant to, and +perhaps it was not all his fault. However, his father and mother scolded +him a little, and he promised never to do such a thing again. + +I wish I could tell you that the Bobbsey twins were interested in Mount +Vernon, but the truth of the matter is that the two younger ones were so +busy talking about Freddie's fire alarm, and Bert and Nan, with Billy +and Nell, also laughed so much about it, that they did not pay much +attention to the tomb of the great Washington, or anything about the +place where the first President of the United States once had his home. + +Of course Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey were interested in the place where the +wonderful man had lived, and they looked about the grounds where he had +once walked, and they visited the house where he had lived. But, really, +the children did not care much for it. + +"When are we going back?" asked Freddie several times. + +"Don't you like it here?" asked his mother. "Just think of what a +wonderful and beautiful place this is!" + +"Well," said Freddie slowly, "I didn't see any fire engines yet." + +Mrs. Bobbsey tried not to laugh, but it was hard work. + +"I think we'd better go back to Washington," she said to her husband. + +"I think so, too," he answered, and back to Washington they went. This +time they rode on a trolley car, and there was no danger of Freddie's +sending in an alarm of fire. + +And on the way home something quite wonderful happened. At least it was +wonderful for Freddie. + +He was looking out of the window, when suddenly he gave a yell that +startled his father and mother, as well as Nan, Bert, Nell and Flossie, +and that made the other passengers sit up. + +"Oh, look! There's a fire engine! There's a fire engine!" cried the +little chap, pointing; and, surely enough, there was one going along the +street. It was bright and shiny, smoke was pouring from it and the +horses were prancing. + +The other Bobbsey twins turned to look at it, and Bert said: + +"Pooh, that's only coming back from an alarm." + +"That's so," agreed Mr. Bobbsey. "The horses are going too slowly to be +running to a fire, Freddie. They must be coming back." + +"Well, it's a fire engine, anyhow," said Freddie, and every one had to +agree with him. Freddie watched the shiny engine until it was out of +sight, and then he talked about nothing else but fires on the way home. + +Tired, but well satisfied with their trip, the Bobbsey's reached their +hotel, and the Martin children went to their home, promising to meet the +following day and see more Washington sights. + +It was about the middle of the night that Mrs. Bobbsey, who slept in the +same room with Flossie and Freddie, felt herself being shaken in bed. +She roused up to see, in the dim light, Freddie standing near her, and +shaking her with his chubby hands. + +"What is it, dear?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey, sleepily. + +"Fire!" hoarsely whispered Freddie. "The house is on fire, and it's +real, too, this time!" + + + + CHAPTER XVIII + +THE ORIENTAL CHILDREN + +At first Mrs. Bobbsey was too sleepy, from having been so quickly +awakened, to really understand what Freddie was saying. She turned over +in bed, so as to get a better look at the small boy, who was in his +night gown, and with his hair all tousled and frowsled from the pillow. +There was no mistake about it--Mrs. Bobbsey was not dreaming. Her little +boy was really standing beside her and shaking her. And once more he +said: + +"Wake up, Momsie! There's a real fire! This house is on fire, and we've +got to get out. I can hear the fire engines!" + +"Oh, Freddie! you're walking in your sleep again," said his mother as +she sat up, now quite awake--"You have been dreaming, and you're walking +in your sleep!" + +Freddie had done this once or twice before, thought not since he had +come to Washington. + +"The excitement of going to Mount Vernon, and your ringing of the fire +bell on the boat has made you dream of a fire, Freddie," his mother went +on. "It isn't real. There isn't any fire in this hotel, nor near here. +Go back to sleep." + +"But, Momsie, I'm awake now!" cried Freddie. "And the fire is real! I +can see the red light and I can hear the engine puffin'! Look, you can +see the light!" + +Freddie pointed to a window near his mother's bed. And, as she looked, +she certainly saw a red, flickering light. And then the heard the +whistle which she knew came from a fire engine. It was not like a +locomotive whistle, and, besides, there were no trains near the hotel! + +"Oh, it is a fire!" cried Mrs. Bobbsey. "Freddie, call your father!" + +Mr. Bobbsey slept in the next room with Bert, while Nan had a little bed +chamber next to her mother's, on the other side of the bath room. + +But there was no need to call Mr. Bobbsey. In his big, warm bath robe he +now came stalking into his wife's room. + +"Don't be frightened," he said. "There's a small fire in the building +next to this hotel. But it is almost out, and there is no danger. Stay +right in bed." + +"But it's a real fire, isn't it, Daddy?" cried Freddie. "I heard the +engines puffin', and I saw the red light and it woke me up and I comed +in and telled Momsie; and it's a real fire, isn't it?" + +"Yes, Freddie, it's a real fire all right," said Mr. Bobbsey. "But don't +talk so loud, nor get excited. You may awaken the people in the other +rooms around us, and there is no need. I was talking to the night clerk +of the hotel over the telephone from my room, and he says there is no +danger. There is a big brick wall between our hotel and the place next +door, which is on fire. The blaze can't get through that." + +"Can't I look out the window and see the engines?" Freddie wanted to +know. + +"Yes, I guess it would be too bad not to let you see them, as long as +they are here, and it's a real fire," answered Mrs. Bobbsey. "I hope no +one was hurt next door," she added to her husband. + +"I think not," he replied. "The fire is only a small one. It is almost +out." + +So Freddie had his dearest wish come true in the middle of the night--he +saw some real fire engines puffing away, spouting sparks and smoke, and +pumping water on a real fire. Of course the little boy could not see the +water spurting from the hose, as that was happening inside the burning +building. But Freddie could see some of the firemen at work, and he +could see the engines shining in the light from the fire and the glare +of the electric lamps. So he was satisfied. + +Bert and Nan were awakened, and they, too, looked out on the night +scene. They were glad it was not their hotel which was on fire. As for +Flossie, she slept so soundly that she never knew a thing about it until +the next morning. And then when Freddie told her, and talked about it at +the breakfast table, Flossie said: + +"I don't care! I think you're real mean, Freddy Bobbsey, to have a fire +all to yourself!" + +"Oh, my dear! that isn't nice to say," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "We thought it +better to let you sleep." + +"Well, I wish I'd seen the fire," said Flossie. "I like to look at +something that's bright and shiny." + +"Then you'll have a chance to see something like that this afternoon," +said Mr. Bobbsey to his little girl. + +"Where?" asked all the Bobbsey twins at once, for when their father +talked this way Nan and Bert were as eager as Flossie and Freddie. + +"How would you all like to go to a theater show this afternoon--to a +matinee?" asked Mr. Bobbsey. + +"Oh, lovely!" cried Flossie. + +"Could Nell and Billy go?" asked Nan, kindly thinking of her little new +friends. + +"Yes, we'll take the Martin children," Mr. Bobbsey promised. + +"And will there be some red fire in the theater show?" Flossie wanted to +know. + +"I think so," said her father. "It is a fairy play, about Cinderella, +and some others like her, and I guess there will be plenty of bright +lights and red fire." + +"Will there be a fire engine?" asked Freddie. Of course you might have +known, without my telling you, that it was Freddie who asked that +question, But I thought I'd put his name down to make sure. + +"I don't know about there being a fire engine in the play," said Mr. +Bobbsey. "I hardly think there will be one. But the play will be very +nice, I'm sure." + +"I think so, too," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "We'll have a fine time." + +"Will there be any cowboys or Indians in it?" Bert asked. + +"Well, hardly, I think," his father answered. "But if we don't like the +play, after we get there, we can come home," he added, his eyes +twinkling. + +"Oh, Daddy!" cried all the Bobbsey twins at once. And then, by the way +their father smiled, they knew he was only joking. + +"Oh, we'll stay," laughed Bert. + +"Oh, it's snowing!" cried Freddie as they left the breakfast table and +went to sit in the main parlor of the hotel. "It's snowing, and we can +have sleigh rides." + +"If it gets deep enough," put in Bert. "I guess it won't be very deep +here, will it, Daddy?" + +"Well, sometimes there is quite a bit of snow in Washington," answered +Mr. Bobbsey. "We'll have to wait and see." + +"The snow won't keep us from going to show in the theater; will it?" +asked Nan. + +"No," her mother said. "Nor to see the show given there," she added, +smiling. + +After a visit to the Martins, to tell them of the treat in store, the +tickets were purchased, the Bobbseys had dinner, and, in due time, the +merry little party was at the theater. + +They were shown to their seats, and then the children looked around, +waited eagerly for the curtain to go up, while Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey +talked together. More and more people came in. There were a large number +of children, for it was a play especially for them, though, of course, +lots of "grown-ups" came also. + +The musicians entered and took their places on the funny little place +back of a brass rail. Then came the delicious thrills of the squeaking +violins as they were tuned, the tap-tap of the drum, the tinkle of a +piano, and the soft, low notes of a flute. + +"Oh, it's going to begin soon," whispered Nell to Nan. + +"I hope it's a good show," said Bert to his chum Billy, and trying to +speak as if he went to a matinee every other day at least. + +"Oh, they have pretty good shows here," Billy said. + +"Look!" suddenly whispered Nan, pointing to a box at their left. "Look +at the Chinese children!" + +And, surely enough, into a near-by box came several boys and girls about +the age of the Bobbsey twins, and some almost babies, but they were +dressed in beautiful blue, golden and red silken garments. And with them +came their father, who also wore a silk robe of blue, embroidered with +golden birds. + +"Who are they--some of the actors in the play?" asked Bert. + +"No, that's the Chinese minister and some of his family, and I guess +some of their friends," explained Billy. "I've seen them before. They +don't often dress up in the same kind of clothes they wear in China, but +they did to-day." + +"Oh, aren't they cute!" said Nell to Nan. + +"Too lovely for anything!" agreed Nan enthusiastically. + +Many eyes were on the box, but the Chinese minister and his beautifully +dressed children did not seem to mind being looked at. The children were +just as much interested in staring about the theater as were the Bobbsey +twins, and the Oriental tots probably thought that the other children +were even more queer than the American boys and girls thought the +Chinese to be. + +Having given a good deal of attention to the Chinese children in the +box, the Bobbseys looked around the theater at the other little folk in +the audience. + +"Oh, look at the funny fat boy over there!" cried out Freddie in a loud +voice. + +"Hush, hush, Freddie!" whispered Nan quickly. "You mustn't talk so loud. +Every one will hear you." + +"But he is awful fat, isn't he?" insisted Freddie. + +"He isn't any fatter than you'll be if you keep on eating so much," +remarked Bert. + +"Oh, I don't eat any more than I have to," declared the little boy. +"When you are really and truly hungry you can't help eating. Nobody +can!" + +"And you're hungry most all the time," said Bert. + +"I'm not at all! I'm hungry only when--when--I'm hungry," was Freddie's +reply. + +Then the orchestra began to play, and, a little later, the curtain went +up and the fairy play began. + +I am not going to tell you about it, because you all know the story of +Cinderella. There she was, sitting among the ashes of the fire-place, +and in came the godmother who made a pumpkin turn into a golden coach, +and did all the other things just like the story. + +The play was a little different from the story in some books. In one +scene a bad fairy sets off a lighted fire cracker under the palace of +the princess. And on the stage, when this happened, there was a loud +banging noise, just as Bert and Nan had often heard on the Fourth of +July. + +"Bang'!" went the fire cracker. + +"Oh!" cried Nell, and she gave a little jump, she was so surprised. And +many other were surprised, too, including the little Oriental children. +And they were so surprised that the smaller ones burst out crying. + +"Oh dear! Oh dear!" they cried, in their own language, of course, and +the two smallest hid their faces down in their father's lap and cried +salty tears on his beautiful blue robe. But he didn't seem to mind a +bit. + +He patted the heads of the little, sobbing tots, and every one in the +theater looked over toward the box, for the crying of the Chinese +children, who were frightened by the bang of the fire cracker, was very +loud crying indeed. + + + + CHAPTER XIX + +"OH LOOK!" + +FOR a time the actors on the stage, taking part in the fairy play, had +to stop. They could not go on because the Chinese children were crying +so hard. And really it was a strange thing to have happen. + +Then Cinderella herself--or at least the young lady who was playing that +part--seeing what the matter was, stepped to the front of the stage and +said to the Chinese minister: + +"Tell your little children there will be no more shooting. They will not +be frightened again. I am sorry it happened," and she bowed and kissed +her hand to the older boys and girls, in the box. They were not +frightened as were the smaller ones. + +"It is all right. They will be themselves again soon. I thank you," said +the Chinese minister, rising and bowing to the actress. He spoke in +English, but with a queer little twist to his words, just as we would +speak queerly if we tried to talk Chinese. + +Then the sobbing of the frightened children gradually ceased, and the +play went on. But the Bobbsey twins were almost as much interested in +the queer, beautifully dressed foreign children in the box as they were +in the play itself. Indeed Flossie and Freddie looked from the stage to +the box and from the box back to the stage again so often that their +mother said they would have stiff necks. However, they didn't have, +which only goes to show that children's necks can stand a great deal of +twisting and turning without getting tired. + +So the play went on, and very pretty it was. Cinderella tried on the +glass slipper. It fitted perfectly, and everything came out all right, +and she and the prince lived happily forever after. + +"Is that all?" asked Flossie, when the curtain went down for the last +time, and the people began getting up to leave. + +"That's all," her mother told her. "Didn't you like it?" + +"Oh, yes, it was nice," said Flossie. "But they didn't have as much red +fire as I wanted to see." + +"And they didn't have a single fire engine!" sighed Freddie. + +"Too bad!" laughed Bert. "We'll look for a show for you, Freddie, where +they have nothing but fire engines!" + +But, after all, even without quite enough red fire and not a fire engine +on the stage, the play was enjoyed by the Bobbsey twins and their little +friends, the Martin children. + +"Where are we going?' asked Nan, as they came out of the theater and Mr. +Bobbsey led the children toward a big automobile that stood at the curb. + +"We are going to the Martins for the evening," answered Daddy Bobbsey. +"Mr. Martin sent down his auto for us, so we don't have to go out in the +storm." + +"It was very kind of him," added Mrs. Bobbsey. + +"I like the snow!" cried Freddie. "I'm going to make a snow fort, to- +morrow, and a snow man." + +"And I'm going to make a little snow doll!" declared Flossie. + +"Wait until you see if there's snow enough," advised Bert. + +"Will there be much, do you think?" Nan inquired of Nell. + +"Well, we don't often have a very heavy fall of snow here," was the +answer, "though it sometimes happens. It's snowing hard now." + +And so it was, And the weather was getting cold, too, almost as cold as +back in Lakeport. But the Bobbseys were used to it. Their eyes were +shining and their cheeks were red. Flossie and Freddie tried to catch +the drifting snow flakes dancing down from the sky. But there was quite +a crowd on the side-walk coming out of the theater, and every one seemed +to get in the way of the little Bobbsey twins, so they did not have much +luck catching the white crystals. + +Into the big, closed auto they piled, and soon they were rolling along +the snow-covered streets of Washington toward the home of Nell and Billy +Martin. Mr. and Mrs. Martin would be waiting at their house to greet the +Bobbseys. It was dark, now, and the lighted lamps made the snow sparkle +like a million diamonds. + +"Oh, it's just lovely!" sighed Nan, as she leaned back against the +cushions and peered from the window. + +"It looks just like a fairy play out there," and Nell pointed to the +glittering snow. + +"It looks like--like one of those funny Christmas cards that twinkle +so!" declared Freddie. + +"Oh, it will soon be Christmas, won't it?" exclaimed Flossie, who sat on +her mother's lap. "I wonder what I'll get!" + +"I want something, too!" cried Freddie. "Oh, won't it be nice at +Christmas!" + +"Yes, it will soon be here--much sooner than we think," said Mr. +Bobbsey. + +"Shall we go home for Christmas?" Nan asked. + +"Oh, yes," her father told her. "My business here is nearly finished, +and we'll go back to Lakeport next week." + +"Aren't we going to buy anything to take home--souvenirs I mean?" added +Bert. "I promised to bring Sam something." + +"And I want to take Dinah a present!" declared Nan. + +"Yes, we must do a little shopping for things like that," said Mrs. +Bobbsey. "You children will have a chance next week." + +And they talked of that, and the things they would buy, until the +automobile stopped at the Martin house, when they all went inside. + +After supper, or dinner as it is more often called, the children had fun +playing games and looking at picture books, while the older folk talked +among themselves. Mr. and Mrs. Martin were quite interested in hearing +of how the Chinese children cried when the fire cracker went off. + +"I have never seen any of the ambassadors or the ministers from the +Oriental countries wear their native dress," said Mr. Martin. "But there +is no reason why they shouldn't." + +"No," said Mr. Bobbsey, "there isn't. If we went to a foreign country we +would want to wear the clothes we had always worn at home, and we +wouldn't like to be stared at for doing it, either." + +The evening passed pleasantly, but at last Mrs. Bobbsey noticed that +Flossie and Freddie were getting sleepy, so she said they would have to +go back to the hotel and to bed. + +"And I hope the fire engines don't wake us up to-night," said Nan. "I +want to sleep." + +"I do, too," added her mother. Nothing happened that night, and in the +morning there was enough snow on the ground for the making of a small +snow man, at least, and as many snowballs as the children wanted to +throw at him. Flossie and Freddie were warmly dressed, and allowed to +play out in a little yard in front of the hotel. It was rather a treat +for Washington children to have as much snow as they now had, and many +were out enjoying it. + +Flossie and Freddie played as they did at home, and Bert and Nan, with +Nell and Billy Martin, who came over, watched the smaller twins. + +"Let's throw snowballs at a target," said Freddie presently. "I'm going +to play I'm a soldier and shoot the cannon." + +"You haven't any target, Freddie Bobbsey," declared Flossie. + +"Yes, I have, too!" answered her twin brother. "Just look here!" + +Freddie had espied a small tin can standing in an areaway not far away. +He ran to get this, and then set it up on a near-by iron railing. + +"There's my target!" he exclaimed; and both he and Flossie began to +throw snowballs at it and were in high glee when the can tumbled over. + +Thus the fun went on for some time. + +After lunch Mrs. Bobbsey said: + +"Now, children, if you wish, you may go out and buy some souvenirs. As +long as Nell and Billy are here to go with you, I will not have to go, +since they know their way about the streets near our hotel. I'm going to +give you each a certain sum, and you may spend it in any way you like +for souvenirs to take home to Sam, Dinah and your other friends. Now +start out and have a good time." + +The snow had stopped and the sun was shining, which meant that the white +covering would not last long. But it gave a touch of winter to +Washington, and the children liked it. + +Down the street went the six children, two by two, the four Bobbsey +twins and Nell and Billy Martin. Flossie and Freddie walked together, +then came Billy and Bert, while Nan walked with Nell. + +"Here's a store where they have nice things," said Nell, as they stopped +in front of one, the windows of which held all sorts of light and pretty +articles, from fans and postcards to vases and pocket knives, some with +tiny photographic views of Washington set in the handles. + +"Let's go in there and buy something," proposed Bert. + +In they trooped, and you may well believe me when I say that the woman +who kept this store had a busy half-hour trying to wait on the four +Bobbsey twins at once. Nell and Billy did not want to buy anything, but +the Bobbseys did. + +At last, however, each one had bought something, and then Bert said: + +"I know where to go next." + +"Where?" asked Nan. + +"Around the corner," her brother answered as they came out of the +souvenir shop. "There's a cheaper place there. I looked in the windows +yesterday and saw the prices marked. We haven't got much money left, and +we've got to go to a cheap place for the rest of our things." + +"All right," agreed Nan, and Bert led the way. The other store, just as +he said, was only around the corner, and, as he had told his sister, the +windows were filled with many things, some of them marked at prices +which were very low. + +Suddenly, as Nan was peering in through the glass, she gave a startled +cry, and, plucking Bert by the sleeve, exclaimed: + +"Oh, look!" + + + + CHAPTER XX + +A GREAT BARGAIN + +Bert Bobbsey turned to look at his sister Nan. She was staring at +something in the jumble of articles in the second-hand shop window, and +what she saw seemed to excite Nan. + +"What is it? What's the matter?" asked Bert, as Nan, once more, +exclaimed: + +"Look! Oh, look!" + +"Is it a fire?" eagerly asked Freddie, as he wiggled about to get a +better view of the window, since Bert and Nan stood so near it he could +not see very well. "Is it a fire?" + +"Oh, you and your fires!" laughed Nell, as she put her hands lovingly on +his shoulders. "Don't you ever think of anything else?" + +"Oh, is it a fire?" asked Freddie again. + +"No, there isn't any fire," answered Billy, laughing, as his sister Nell +was doing, at Freddie's funny ideas. + +"But it's something!" insisted Flossie, who had, by this time, wiggled +herself to a place beside Freddie, and so near the window that she could +flatten her little nose against it. + +"What is it you see, Nan?" asked Bert. "If it's more souvenirs I don't +believe we can buy any. My money is 'most gone." + +"Oh, but we must get these even if we have to go home for more money!" +exclaimed Nan. "Look, Bert! Right near those old brass candlesticks. See +that sugar bowl and pitcher?" + +"I see 'em!" answered Bert. + +"Don't you know whose they are?" rapidly whispered Nan. "Look at the way +they're painted? And see! On the bottom of the sugar bowl is a blue +lion! I can't see the letters 'J. W.' but they must be there. Oh, Bert! +don't you know what this means? Can't you see? Those are Miss Pompret's +missing dishes that she told us she'd give a hundred dollars to get +back! And oh, Bert! we've got to go in there and buy that sugar bowl and +cream pitcher, and we can take 'em back to Miss Pompret at Lakeport, and +she'll give us a hundred dollars, and--and--" + +But Nan was so excited and out of breath that she could not say another +word. She could just manage to hold Bert's sleeve and point at the +window of the second-hand shop. + +At last Bert "woke up," as he said afterward. His eyes opened wider, and +he stared with all his might at what Nan was pointing toward. There, +surely enough, among some old candlesticks, a pair of andirons, a +bellows for blowing a fire, was a sugar bowl and cream pitcher. And it +needed only a glance to make Bert feel sure that the two pieces of china +were decorated just as were Miss Pompret's. + +But there was something more than this. The sugar bowl was turned over +so that the bottom part was toward the street. And on the bottom, +plainly to be seen, was a circle of gold. Inside the circle was a +picture of some animal in blue, and Nan, at least, felt sure it was a +blue lion. As she had said, no letters could be seen, but they might be +there. + +"Don't you see, Bert?" asked Nan, as her brother waited several seconds +before speaking. "Don't you see that those are Miss Pompret's dishes?" + +"Well," admitted the Bobbsey lad, "they look like 'em." + +"They surely are!" declared Nan. "Oh, I'm so excited! Let's go right in +and buy them. Then we'll get a hundred dollars!" + +She darted away from Bert's side, and was about to move toward the door +of the shop when Billy caught her by the coat sleeve. + +"Wait a minute, Nan," he said. + +"What for?" she asked. + +"Until Bert and I talk this over," went on Billy, who, though he was not +much older than Nan, seemed to be, perhaps because he had lived in a +large city all his life. "You don't want to rush in and buy those dishes +so quick." + +"Why not?" demanded Nan. "If I don't get 'em somebody else may, and you +know Miss Pompret offered a reward of a hundred dollars. These are the +two pieces missing from her set. Her set is 'broken' as she calls it, if +she doesn't have this sugar bowl and pitcher." + +"Yes, I remember your telling me about Miss Pompret's reward," said +Billy. "But you'd better go a bit slow." + +"Maybe somebody else'll buy 'em!" exclaimed Nan. + +"Oh, I don't believe they will," said Nell, "This is a quiet street, and +this shop doesn't do much business. We only come here once in a while +because some things are cheaper. We never bought any second-hand +things." + +"There's nobody coming down the street now," observed Bert, who was +beginning to agree with Billy in the matter. "If we see any one going in +that we think will buy the dishes, we can hurry in ahead of 'em. We'll +stand here and talk a minute. What is it you want to say, Billy?" + +"Well, it's like this," went on the Washington boy. "I know these +second-hand men. If they think you want a thing they'll charge you a lot +of money for it. But if they think you don't want it very much they will +let you have it cheap. I know, 'cause a fellow and I wanted to get a +baseball glove in here one day. It was a second-hand one, but good. The +fellow I was with knew just how to do it. + +"He went in, and asked the price of a lot of things, and said they were +all too high. Then he asked the price of the glove, just as if he didn't +care much whether he got it or not. The man said it was a dollar, but +when Jimmie--the boy who was with me--said he only had eighty cents, the +man let him have the glove for that." + +"Oh, I see what you mean!" cried Nan. "You mean we must try to get a +bargain." + +"Yes," said Billy. "Otherwise, if you go in and want to buy those dishes +first thing, the man may want five dollars for 'em." + +"Oh, we haven't that much money!" cried Nan, much surprised. + +"That's why I say we must go slow," said Billy. "Now you leave this to +me and Bert." + +"I think it would be a good idea," declared Nell. + +"All right! I will," agreed Nan. "But, oh, I do hope we can get those +dishes for Miss Pompret." + +"And I hope we can get the reward of a hundred dollars," murmured Bert. + +"I only hope they're the right dishes," said Billy. + +"Oh, I'm sure they are," declared Nan. They have the blue lion on and +everything. And if they have the letters 'J. W.' on, then we'll know for +sure. Let's go in and see." + +"We've got to go slow," declared Billy. "Mustn't be too fast. Let Bert +and me go ahead." + +"I want to come in, too!" declared Freddie. "I want to buy a whistle. Do +they have whistles in here?" + +"I guess so," answered Bert. "It will be a good thing to go in and ask +for, anyhow." + +"Sort of excuse for going in," suggested Nell. + +"Do they have ice cream cones?" asked Flossie. "I want something to +eat." + +"I don't believe they have anything to eat in here," said Nell. "But we +can get that later, Flossie. Now you and Freddie be nice when we go in, +and after we come out I'll get you some ice cream." + +"I'll be good!" promised Flossie. + +"So'll I," agreed Freddie. "But I want a whistle, and if they have a +little fire engine I want that." + +"You don't want much!" laughed Bert. + +"Well, let's go in!" suggested Billy. + +So, with the two boys in the lead, followed by Nell and Nan and Flossie +and Freddie, the children entered the second-hand and souvenir store. + +A bell on the door rang with a loud clang as Billy opened it, and when +the children stepped inside the shop an old man with a black, curly +beard and long black hair that seemed as if it had never been combed, +came out from a back room. + +"What you want to buy, little childrens?" he asked. "I got a lot of nice +things, cheap! Very cheap!" + +"Well, if you've got something very cheap we might buy it," answered +Billy, with as nearly a grown-up manner as he could assume. "But we +haven't much money." + +"Ha! Ha! That's what they all say!" exclaimed the old man. "But +everybody has more money that what I has. I'm very poor. I don't hardly +make a living I sell things so cheap. What you want to buy, little +childrens?" + +"Have you got any whistles or fire engines?" burst out Freddie, unable +to wait any longer. + +"Whistles? Lots of 'em!" exclaimed the man. "Here is a finest whistle +what ever was. Listen to it!" + +He took one from the show case and blew into it. Not a sound came out. + +"Ach! I guess that one is damaged," he said. "But I got other ones. +Here! Listen to this!" + +The next one blew loud and shrill. + +"I want that!" cried Freddie. + +"Ten cents!" said the man, holding it out to the little boy. + +"What?" cried Billy. "Why, I can buy those whistles for five cents +anywhere in Washington! Ten cents? I guess not!" + +"Oh, well, take it for seven cents then," said the man. "What I care if +I die poor. Take it for seven cents!" + +"No, sir!" exclaimed Billy firmly. "Five cents is all they cost, and +this is an old one." + +"Oh, well. Take it for five then. What I care if you cheats a poor old +man? Such a boy as you are! Take it for five cents!" and he handed the +whistle to Freddie. But before he could take it Nan said, gently: + +"I think it would be better for him to have a fresh one from the box. +That is all dusty." + +The truth was she did not want Freddie to take a whistle the old man had +blown into. + +"Oh, well, I gives you a fresh one," he said, and he took a new and +shining one from the box. Freddie blew it, making a shrill sound. + +"What else you want to buy, little childrens?" asked the old man. "I +sell everythings cheap--everythings!" + +"Ask how much the dishes are," whispered Nan to Billy. But he shook his +head, and looked around the shop. He looked everywhere but at the window +where the dishes were. + +"Any sailboats?" asked Billy, as if that was all he had come in to +inquire about. + +"Sailboats?" cried the man. "Sailboats?" + +"Yes, toy sailboats." + +"No, I haven't got any of them, but I got a nice football. Here I show +you!" + +"I don't want a football. You can't play football when the snow is on +the ground!" exclaimed Bert, as the man started toward some shelves on +the other side of the room. + +"I want a doll," whispered Flossie. "Just a little doll." + +"A doll!" exclaimed the man. "Sure I gots a fine lot of dolls. See!" + +Quickly he held out a large one with very blue eyes and hair just like +Flossie's. + +"Only a dollar seventy-five," he said. "Very cheap!" + +"Oh, that's too much!" exclaimed Nan. "We haven't that much money. She +wants only a little ten-cent doll." + +"Oh, well, I have them kinds too!" said the man, in disappointed tones. +"Here you are!" + +He held out one that did not appear to be very nice. + +"You can get those for five cents in the other stores," whispered Nell. + +"Better take it," said her brother. "Then I'll ask about the dishes." + +"Yes, we'll take it," agreed Nan. + +So Flossie was given her doll, and, even though it might have been only +five cents somewhere else, she liked it just as well. + +"What else you wants to buy, childrens?" asked the old man. "I got lots +more things so cheap--oh, so very cheap!" + +Billy and Bert strolled over to the window. They looked down in. Nan +crowded to their side. She felt sure, now, that the two pieces of china +were the very ones Miss Pompret wanted. If they could only get that +sugar bowl and pitcher! + +"I wish you had a sailboat!" murmured Billy, as if that was all he cared +about. Then, turning to Nan he asked: "Would you like that sugar bowl +and pitcher?" + +"Oh, yes, I think I would!" she exclaimed, trying not to make her voice +seem too eager. + +"You might have a play party with them," Billy went on. If Miss Pompret +could have heard him then I feel sure she would have fainted, or had +what Dinah would call "a cat in a fit." + +"You want those dishes?" asked the old man, as he reached over and +lifted the sugar bowl and pitcher from his window. "Ach! them is a great +bargain. I let you have them cheap. And see, not a chip or a crack on +'em. Good china, too! Very valuable, but they is all I have left. I +sells 'em cheap." + +Bert took the sugar bowl and looked closely at it, while Nan took the +pitcher. The children felt sure these were the same pieces that would +fill out Miss Pompret's set. + +"Look at the mark on the bottom," whispered Nan to Bert, as the +storekeeper hurried to the other side of the room to rescue a pile of +chairs which Freddie seemed bent on pulling down. "Is the blue lion +there?" + +"Yes," answered Bert, "it is." + +"And the letters 'J. W.'?" + +"Yes," Bert replied. "But, somehow, it doesn't look like the one on Miss +Pompret's plates." + +"Oh, I'm sure it's the same one!" insisted Nan. "We've found the missing +pieces, Bert, and we'll get--" + +"Hush!" cautioned Billy, for the old man was coming back. + +"You want to buy them?" he asked. "I sell cheap. It's a great bargain." + +"Where did they come from?" asked Bert. + +"Come from? How shoulds I know. Maybe I get 'em at a fire sale, or maybe +all the other dishes in that set get broken, and these all what are +left. Somebody bring 'em in, and I buys 'em, or my wife she buys 'em. +How can I tells so long ago?" + +"Oh, well, maybe we might take 'em for the girls to have a play party +with their own set of dishes," went on Billy. "But I wish you had a toy +ship. How much for these dishes--this sugar bowl and pitcher?" + +"How much? Oh, I let you have these very cheap. They is worth five +dollars--very rare china--very thin but hard to break. These is a good +bargain--a great bargain. You shall have them for--two dollars!" + + + + Chapter XXI + +Just Suppose + +Nan Bobbsey gave gasp, just as if she had fallen into a bath tub full of +cold water. Bert quickly glanced at his friend Billy. Nell had hurried +over to the other side of the room to stop Flossie from pulling a pile +of dusty magazines from a shelf down on top of herself. Billy seemed to +be the only one who was not excited. + +"Two dollars?" he repeated. "That's a lot of money." "What? A lot of +money for rich childrens? Ha! Ha! That's only a little moneys!" laughed +the man, rubbing his hands. + +"We aren't rich," said Bert. "And I don't believe we have two dollars." +He was pretty sure he and Nan had not that much, at any rate. + +"How much you got?" asked the man eagerly. "Maybe I let you have these +dishes cheaper, but they's worth more as two dollars. How much you all +got?" + +"How much have you?" asked Billy of Bert. Bert pulled some change from +his pocket. The two boys counted it. + +"Eighty-seven cents," announced Bert, when they had counted it twice. + +"Oh, that isn't half enough!" cried the old man. + +"I have some money," announced Nan, bringing out her little purse. + +"How much?" asked the man. That seemed to be all he could think about. + +Nan and Nell counted the change. It amounted to thirty-two cents. + +"How much is thirty-two and eighty-seven?" asked Nell. + +Bert and Billy figured it on a piece of paper. + +"A dollar and twenty-nine cents," announced, Bert. + +"No, it's only a dollar and nineteen," declared Billy, who was a little +better at figures than was his chum. + +"How much?" asked the old man, for the children had done their counting +on the other side of the room, and in whispers. + +"A dollar and nineteen cents!" announced Billy. + +"Oh, I couldn't let you have these dishes, for that," said the old man, +and he seemed about to take them from the counter where they had been +put, to place them back in the window. + +"Wait a minute," said Billy. "These dishes are worth only a dollar, but +I have fifteen cents I can lend you, Bert. That will make a dollar and +thirty-four cents. That's all we have and if you don't want to sell the +dishes for that, we can go and get 'em somewhere else." + +Nan was about to gasp out: "Oh!" but a look from Billy stopped her. She +saw what he was trying to do. + +"A dollar thirty-four--that's all the moneys you got?" asked the old +man. + +"Every cent we're going to give!" declared Billy firmly. "If you'll sell +the play dishes for that all right. If you won't--" + +He seemed about to leave. + +"Oh, well, what I cares if I die in the poor-house?" asked the old man. +"Here! Take 'em. But I am losing money. Those is valuable dishes. If I +had more I could sell 'em for ten dollars maybe. But as they is all I +got take 'em for a dollar and thirty-four. You couldn't make it a dollar +thirty-five, could you?" + +"No," said Bert decidedly, "we couldn't!" + +"Oh, dear!" sighed the old man. "Take 'em, then." + +"They're awfully dusty," complained Nell, as she looked at the sugar +bowl and pitcher. + +"That's 'cause they're so old and valuable, my dear," snarled the old +man. "But my wife she dust them off for you, and I wrap them up, though +I ought to charge you a penny for a sheet of paper. But what I care if I +dies in the poorhouse." + +"Are you goin' there soon?" asked Flossie. "We've got a poorhouse at +Lakeport, and it's awful nice." + +"Oh, well, little one, maybe I don't go there just yet," said the man +who spoke wrong words sometimes. "Here, Mina!" he called, and a woman, +almost as old as he, came from the back room. "Wipe off the dust. I have +sold the old dishes--the valuable old dishes." + +"Ah, such a bargain as they got!" murmured the old woman. "Them is +valuable china. Such a bargains!" + +"Where did you get them?" asked Nan, as the dishes were being wrapped +and the old man was counting over the nickels, dimes and pennies of the +children's money. + +"Where I get them? Of how should I know? Maybe they come in by somebody +what sell them for money. Maybe we buy them in some old house like +Washington's. It is long ago. We have had them in the shop a long time, +but the older they are the better they get. They is all the better for +being old--a better bargain, my dear!" and the old woman smiled, showing +a mouth from which many teeth were missing. + +"Well, come on," said Billy, when the dishes had been wrapped and given +to Bert, who carried them carefully. "But I wish you had some +sailboats," he said to the old man, as if that was all they had come in +to buy. + +"I have some next week," answered the old man. "Comes around then and +have a big bargains in a sailsboats." + +"Maybe I will," agreed Billy. + +Out of the shop walked the Bobbsey twins and their chums, the Martin +children of Washington. And the hearts of Bert and Nan, at least, were +beating quickly with excitement and hope. As for Flossie, she was +holding her doll, and Freddie was blowing his whistle. + +"I'm a regular fire engine now," declared Freddie. "Don't you hear how +the engine is blowing the whistle?" + +"You'll have everybody looking at you, Freddie Bobbsey!" exclaimed +Flossie. "Nan, do make him stop his noise." + +"Oh, let him blow his whistle if he wants to," said Bert. "It isn't +hurting anybody." + +"I know what I'm going to do when I get home," said Flossie. "I'm going +to put a brand new dress on this doll, and give her a new hat, too." + +"That will be nice," said Nan. + +At that moment they had to cross at a street corner which was much +crowded. There was a policeman there to regulate the coming and going of +the people and carriages and automobiles, and when he blew his whistle +the traffic would go up and down one street, and then when he blew his +whistle again it would go up and down the other. + +The policeman had just blown on his whistle, and the traffic was going +past the Bobbsey twins when Freddie gave a sudden loud blow. Immediately +some of the carriages and automobiles going in one direction stopped +short and the others commenced to go the other way. + +"For gracious sake, Freddie! see what you have done," gasped Bert. + +The traffic policeman who stood in the middle of the two streets looked +very much surprised. Then he saw it was Freddie who had blown the +whistle, and he shook his finger at the little boy in warning. + +"He wants you to stop," said Nan, and made Freddie put the whistle in +his pocket for the time being. + +Then the Bobbseys and their friends hurried on their way. + +"I'll give you the fifteen cents as soon as we get back to the hotel, +Billy," said Bert. + +"Oh, that's all right," his chum answered. "I'm in no hurry. Do you +think we paid too much for the dishes?" + +"Oh, no!" exclaimed Nan. "I'd have given the two dollars if I'd had it. +Why, Miss Pompret will give us a hundred dollars for these two pieces." + +"That's fifty dollars apiece!" exclaimed Nell. "It doesn't seem that +they could be worth that." + +"Oh, but she wants them to make up her set," said Bert. "Just these two +pieces are missing. I wonder how they came to be in that second-hand +store?" + +"Maybe the tramp who took them years ago brought them here and sold +them," suggested Nan. "But I don't suppose we'll ever really find out." + +Eager and excited, the Bobbsey twins and their friends walked back +toward the hotel. + +"Won't mother and father be surprised when they find we have the Pompret +china?" asked Nan of her brother. + +"Yes," he answered, "I guess they will. But, oh, Nan! Just suppose!" + +"Suppose what?" she asked, for Bert seemed worried over something. + +"Suppose these aren't the right dishes, after all? S'posin' these aren't +the ones Miss Pompret wants?" + + + + Chapter XXII + +Happy Days + +Nan Bobbsey was so surprised by what Bert said that she stood still in +the street and looked at her brother. Then she looked at the precious +package he was carrying. + +"Bert Bobbsey!" she exclaimed, "these MUST be the same as Miss +Pompret's! Why they have the blue lion on, and the circle of gold, and +the letters 'J. W.' and--and everything!" + +"Yes, I saw that, too," agreed Bert. "But still they might not be the +same dishes." + +"Oh, dear!" sighed Nan. "And we paid all that money, too!" + +"Oh, I guess they must be the same," put in Nell. "Anyhow, you can take +'em to the hotel and ask your mother." + +"Yes, mother might know," agreed Nan. + +"And if she says those dishes aren't the ones you want, why we can take +'em back and the man will give us our money," said Billy. + +"Oh, he'd never do that!" declared Bert. + +"Well, we can ask him," went on the Washington lad. + +"Maybe the dishes are Miss Pompret's, after all," said Bert. "I was just +s'posin'. And if they aren't, why we can give 'em to Dinah for +souvenirs. I was going to get her something anyhow." + +"But they cost a lot of money," objected Nan. + +"Well, Dinah is awful good to us," said Bert. "And she'd like these +dishes if they aren't Miss Pompret's." + +"But I do hope they are," sighed Nan. "Think of a whole hundred +dollars!" + +"It would scare me to get all that money," said Nell. "Oh, I do hope +they are the right sugar bowl and pitcher!" + +Back to the hotel hurried the Bobbsey twins. Flossie and Freddie, happy +with their toys--the doll and the whistles--did not care much one way or +the other about the dishes and the reward. But Bert and Nan were very +much excited. + +"Well, you've been gone rather a long time buying souvenirs," said Mrs. +Bobbsey, when the twins and the Martin children came in. + +"And oh, Mother, we've had the most wonderful time!" burst out Nan. +"We've found Miss Pompret's missing china dishes--the two she has wanted +so long--the ones the tramp took and she's going to give a reward of a +hundred dollars for, you know--and--and--" + +"Yes, and I know you're excited!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey. "Now cool down +and tell me all about it." + +"And here are the dishes," added Bert, as he set the precious bundle +down on the table. "Look at 'em, Mother, and see if they are the ones +like Miss Pompret's set. You saw her dishes, didn't you?" + +"Yes, but I am not sure I would know them again." + +"I owe Billy fifteen cents," went on Bert, as he unwrapped the dishes. +"We didn't have money enough. The man wanted two dollars, but Billy got +him down to a dollar and thirty-four cents." + +"Billy is quite a little bargainer," said Mrs. Bobbsey, with a smile. +"And now to look at the dishes." + +She carefully examined the sugar bowl and cream pitcher. There was no +doubt about the blue lion in the circle of gold being stamped on the +bottom of each piece. There were also the initials "J. W." which might +stand for Jonathan Waredon, the man who made such rare china. + +"Well, I should say that these pieces were just like those in Miss +Pompret's set," said Mrs. Bobbsey, after a pause. "But whether they are +exactly the same or not, I can't tell. She would have to look at them +herself." + +"I wish we could hurry home and show them to her," sighed Nan. + +"So do I," said Bert. "I want to get that hundred dollars." + +"Well, we'll be going back to Lakeport in a few days now," said his +mother. "Our stay in Washington is nearly over." + +"Oh, dear!" sighed Nell. "I wish you could stay longer." + +"So do I," added her brother Billy. + +Bert gave Billy back the borrowed fifteen cents, and when Mr. Bobbsey, +having been out on lumber business, came home, he, too, said he thought +the pieces belonged to Miss Pompret's set of rare china. + +"But there is only one sure way to tell," the twins' father said. "Miss +Pompret must see them herself." + +The few remaining days the Bobbsey twins spent in Washington were filled +with good times. They were nicely entertained by the Martins, and went +on many excursions to places of interest. But, all the while, Bert and +Nan, at least, were thinking of the sugar bowl and pitcher, and the +hundred dollars reward Miss Pompret had promised. + +"I do hope we don't have to give the dishes to Dinah for souvenirs," +said Nan to Bert. + +"I hope so, too," he agreed. "Anyhow, I bought Dinah a red handkerchief +with a yellow border and a green center. She likes bright colors." + +"I bought her something, too, and for Sam I got something he can hang on +his watch chain," said Nan. "So if we have to give Dinah the dishes, +too, she'll have a lot of souvenirs." + +At last the day came when the Bobbseys must leave Washington for +Lakeport. Goodbyes were said to the Martins, and they promised to visit +the Bobbseys at Lakeport some time. Mr. Bobbsey finished his lumber +business, and then with trunks and valises packed and locked, and with +the precious dishes put carefully in the middle of a satchel which Bert +insisted on carrying, the homeward trip was begun. + +Not very much happened on it, except that once Bert forgot the valise +with the dishes in it, having left it in a car, but he thought of it in +time and ran back to get it just before the train was about to start +away with it. After that he was more careful. + +"Well, honey lambs! I suah is glad to see yo' all back!" cried Dinah, as +she welcomed the Bobbsey twins at their own door. "Come right in, I'se +got lots fo' yo' all to eat! Come in, honey lambs! How am mah little fat +fairy and' mah little fireman?" + +"Oh, we're fine, Dinah!" said Freddie, "And I saw a real fire and I +pulled the fire bell on the boat an'--an'--an'--everything!" + +"Bress yo' heart, honey lamb! I guess yo' did!" laughed Dinah. + +"And I got a little doll and my hat blew off the steeple!" cried +Flossie. + +"Lan' sakes! Do tell!" cried Dinah. + +"And we found Miss Pompret's dishes!" broke in Nan. + +"And we're going to get the hundred dollars reward," added Bert. "'Cept, +of course, if they aren't the right ones you can have 'em for souvenirs, +Dinah." + +"Bress yo' heart, honey lamb! Dinah's got all she wants when yo' all +come back. Now I go an' git somethin' to eat!" + +The children--at least Nan and Bert--were so eager to have Miss Pompret +see the two dishes that they hardly ate any of the good things Dinah +provided. They wanted to go at once and call on the dear, old-fashioned +lady, but their father and mother made them wait. + +At last, however, when they had all rested a bit, Mr. Bobbsey took Nan +and Bert with him and went to call on Miss Pompret. The dishes, +carefully washed by Mrs. Bobbsey, were carried along, wrapped in soft +paper. + +"Oh, I am glad to see my little friends again," said Miss Pompret, as +she greeted Nan and Bert. "Did you have a nice time in Washington?" + +"Yes'm," answered Bert. "And we brought you--" + +"We found your missing sugar bowl and pitcher!" broke in Nan. "Anyhow, +we hope they're yours, and we paid the old man a dollar and thirty-four +cents and--" + +"You--you found my sugar bowl and pitcher!" exclaimed Miss Pompret, and +Mr. Bobbsey said, afterward, that she turned a little pale. "Really do +you mean it--after all these years?" + +"Well, they look like your dishes," said Mr. Bobbsey. "The children saw +them in a second-hand store window, and went in and bought them. I hope, +for your sake, they are the right pieces." + +"I can soon tell," said the old lady. "There is not another set like the +ancient Pompret china in this country. Oh, I am so anxious!" + +Her thin, white hands, themselves almost like china, trembled as she +unwrapped the pieces. And then, as she saw them, she gave a cry of joy +and exclaimed: + +"Yes! They are the very same! Those are the two pieces missing from my +set! Now it is complete! Oh, how thankful I am that I have the Pompret +china set together again! Oh, thank you, children, thank you!" and she +threw her arms about Nan and kissed her, while she shook hands with +Bert, much to that young boy's relief. He hated being kissed. + +"Are you sure these are the two pieces from your set?" asked Mr. +Bobbsey. + +"Positive," answered Miss Pompret. "See? Here is the blue lion in the +circle of gold, and initials 'J. W.' There can be no mistake. And now +how did you find them?" + +Bert and Nan told, and related how Billy had bargained for the two +pieces. They all wondered how the second-hand man had come by them, but +they never found out. + +Miss Pompret carefully placed the sugar bowl and pitcher in the glass- +doored closet with her other pieces. She looked at them for several +seconds. They matched perfectly. + +"Now, once more, after many years, my precious set of china is together +again," she murmured. + +She went over to a desk and began to write. A little later she handed a +slip of blue paper to Mr. Bobbsey. + +"What is this?" he asked. + +"A check for one hundred dollars," answered Miss Pompret. "It is the +reward I promised for the finding of my china. I have made the check out +to you, Mr. Bobbsey. You can get the money and give half to Nan and half +to Bert." + +Mr. Bobbsey slowly shook his head. Then he handed the blue check back to +Miss Pompret. + +"Their mother and I couldn't think of letting the children take the +hundred dollars just for having discovered your dishes, Miss Pompret," +he said. "I thank you very much, but Nan and Bert would not want it, +themselves," he went on." They really did not earn the money. It was +just good luck; and so, I'm sure, they would rather the money would go +to the Red Cross. Wouldn't you?" he asked Nan and Bert. + +For a moment only did they hesitate. Then with a sigh, which she tried +hard to keep back. Nan said: + +"Oh, yes. It wouldn't be right to take a hundred dollars just for two +dishes." + +"No," agreed Bert, "it wouldn't. Please give the money to the Red +Cross." + +Miss Pompret looked from the children to their father, then to the china +in the closet and next at the check in her white, thin hand. + +"Very well," said the old lady. "Since you wish it, I'll give the +hundred dollars to the Red Cross; and very glad I am to do it, Mr. +Bobbsey. I would gladly have paid even more to get back my sugar bowl +and pitcher." + +"It would hardly be right for the children to have so much money," he +said. "The Red Cross needs it for poor and starving children in other +lands." + +"Very well," answered Miss Pompret. "But at least let me give them back +the dollar and thirty-four cents they spent to get the dishes. That was +their own spending money, I presume." + +"Yes," said Mr. Bobbsey, "it was. And I don't mind if you give that +back." + +So Nan and Bert did not really lose anything, and soon the disappointed +feeling about not getting the reward wore off. They were glad it was to +go to the Red Cross. + +And the next morning, when they awakened to find the ground a foot deep +in snow, their joy knew no bounds. They forgot all about rewards, china +dishes, and even Washington. + +"Now for some coasting!" cried Bert. + +"And snow men!" added Freddie. + +"And I'm going to make a snow house for my Washington doll!" cried +Flossie. + +"Oh, I love snow!" ejaculated Nan. "It's lovely to have it come so near +Christmas!" + +"That's so!" exclaimed Bert. "It soon will be Christmas! Now let's go +out and have some fun in the snow!" + +And they did, rolling and tumbling about, making snow men and houses, +and coasting on their sleds. + +Miss Pompret wrote Mr. Bobbsey a letter. stating that she had sent a +check for one hundred dollars to the Red Cross in the names of Bert and +Nan Bobbsey. + +"That was certainly very nice of her," said Mrs. Bobbsey, when her +husband read this letter to her. + +"Well, Miss Pompret is a very nice lady," answered Mr. Bobbsey. "I am +very glad that the children got those missing dishes back for her." + +"So am I. She has been greatly worried for years over them." + +Slowly the snow flakes drifted down, another storm following the first. +It was the night before Christmas. + +"I wonder what we'll get?" murmured Nan as she and Bert went up to their +rooms. + +"I hope I get a pair of shoe-hockeys," he said. + +"And I want a fur coat," said Nan. + +And when Christmas morning dawned, with the sun shining on the new, +sparkling snow, it also shone on the piles of presents for the Bobbsey +twins. + +There were a number for each one, and, in a separate place on the table +were two large packages. One was marked for Nan and the other for Bert, +and each bore the words: "From Miss Alicia Pompret, to the little +friends who restored my missing china." + +"Oh, mine's a fur coat!" cried Nan, as she opened her package. "A fur +coat and story books!" + +"And mine's shoe-hockeys--the best ever!" shouted Bert. "And an air +rifle and books too!" + +And so their dreams came true, and it was the happiest Christmas they +ever remembered. And Miss Pompret was happy too. + +The End. + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, BOBBSEY TWINS IN WASHINGTON *** + +This file should be named tbtiw10.txt or tbtiw10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, tbtiw11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, tbtiw10a.txt + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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