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diff --git a/old/69776-0.txt b/old/69776-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b35e5b3..0000000 --- a/old/69776-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4247 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Four little Blossoms through the -holidays, by Mabel C. Hawley - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Four little Blossoms through the holidays - -Author: Mabel C. Hawley - -Illustrator: Robert Gaston Herbert - -Release Date: January 13, 2023 [eBook #69776] - -Language: English - -Produced by: David Edwards, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The - Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOUR LITTLE BLOSSOMS THROUGH -THE HOLIDAYS *** - - -[Illustration: Decorating Mr. White. _See page 134_] - - - - - FOUR LITTLE BLOSSOMS - THROUGH - THE HOLIDAYS - - BY - MABEL C. HAWLEY - - AUTHOR OF “FOUR LITTLE BLOSSOMS AT BROOKSIDE FARM,” - “FOUR LITTLE BLOSSOMS ON APPLE TREE ISLAND,” ETC. - - ILLUSTRATED BY - ROBERT GASTON HERBERT - - NEW YORK - GEORGE SULLY & COMPANY - - - - - FOUR LITTLE BLOSSOMS SERIES - - BY MABEL C. HAWLEY - - 12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. - - FOUR LITTLE BLOSSOMS AT BROOKSIDE FARM - FOUR LITTLE BLOSSOMS AT OAK HILL SCHOOL - FOUR LITTLE BLOSSOMS AND THEIR WINTER FUN - FOUR LITTLE BLOSSOMS ON APPLE TREE ISLAND - FOUR LITTLE BLOSSOMS THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS - - GEORGE SULLY & COMPANY - PUBLISHERS NEW YORK - - Copyright, 1922, by - GEORGE SULLY & COMPANY - - _Four Little Blossoms Through the Holidays_ - - MADE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I TWADDLES MAKES A GIFT 7 - - II THE THANK-OFFERINGS 19 - - III FOUR GRATEFUL CHILDREN 31 - - IV DRIVING WITH DADDY 43 - - V THE FOOTBALL GAME 55 - - VI BOBBY HEARS BAD NEWS 67 - - VII THE MAGIC FOUNTAIN 79 - - VIII CHRISTMAS AT SCHOOL 91 - - IX COMPANY COMES 103 - - X CHRISTMAS AT HOME 115 - - XI MR. WHITE 127 - - XII RUNNING AWAY 139 - - XIII CHARLOTTE GORDON’S PARTY 151 - - XIV DOT READS A STORY 163 - - XV MR. BENNETT SHAKES HANDS 173 - - - - -FOUR LITTLE BLOSSOMS THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS - - - - -CHAPTER I - -TWADDLES MAKES A GIFT - - -“Where’s the soap, Norah?” demanded Meg importantly. “The soap and the -scrubbing brush and a clean towel, please. I need them very much.” - -Norah looked at her calmly. - -“And why do you be wanting to take a scrubbing brush and the soap down -cellar?” she asked. “What are you all up to down there, anyway? I can’t -get Twaddles to go to the store for me, and Dot has been poking about -in the pantry till she has me wild. What are you doing anyway?” - -“Why, you know, Norah, I told you last week,” replied Meg. “We’re -getting the Thanksgiving stuff ready to take to school; all the -children bring something good to eat and then it is collected and the -poor people have a Thanksgiving Day dinner.” - -“Well, I’ve been poor in my time,” said Norah, tying on her clean, -white apron and preparing to start her dinner, “but never have I been -so starved that I could eat soap or, for that matter, a scrubbing brush -or a towel, even if ’twas a clean one.” - -Meg’s blue eyes widened in surprise, and then she laughed. - -“Oh, Norah, how funny you are!” she cried. “You know I don’t want the -soap for the poor people to eat! I want to wash the potatoes for them!” - -And then it was Norah’s turn to laugh. She laughed till the tears came -in her eyes and she had to take her clean apron to wipe them away. - -“Meg, Meg, you’ll be the end of me yet!” laughed Norah. “Who ever heard -of scrubbing potatoes with soap and water and using a towel to dry ’em? -Won’t Sam snicker when I tell him!” - -“I don’t see anything funny about that,” said Meg, edging toward the -cellar door. “I want to take nice, clean potatoes and you wash those we -eat, you know you do, Norah.” - -“Yes, child, that I do,” admitted Norah kindly and her voice was sober -though her eyes still twinkled. “But water and a good stiff brush will -be all your potatoes need. They’ll dry of themselves and you won’t need -the towel; and the soap would spoil ’em completely if the poor people -should be wistful to have ’em baked.” - -“Meg, what you doing? Did you get the soap yet?” shouted Bobby from the -bottom of the cellar steps. - -“Here’s the brush,” said Norah, hastily giving Meg the small vegetable -brush from the shelf over the sink. “Now be off with you and don’t let -me find water all over the laundry floor either; drowning Dot in water -isn’t going to help the poor folks.” - -Meg ran down the steps and joined the other children who were -exceedingly busy. Bobby was sorting over the apples in the apple bin -and trying to keep Twaddles from eating the perfect ones he selected. -Dot had filled the laundry tubs with hot water and was only waiting -Meg’s return to put in the turnips and potatoes to be thoroughly -washed. As for Twaddles, he was walking up and down before the preserve -closet, munching apples, and trying to decide which jar of preserves he -would choose. Mother Blossom had promised each of the children one jar -of jelly, jam or canned fruit, to take to school. - -“And Dot and Twaddles may send something, too,” she had said, when the -twins as usual declared that they never had any of the fun because -they were too young to go to school. “Meg and Bobby will take your -thank-offering to school for you, twinnies.” - -It was warm and dry in the cellar and the electric light made it bright -even though it was already dark outside at half-past four that November -afternoon. The glowing heater occupied one end of the cemented room and -the laundry tubs the other. In between were the vegetable and fruit -bins and closets where food that would keep through the winter had -been stored. - -“Norah says we don’t use soap on the potatoes,” reported Meg to Dot. -“Maybe we shouldn’t have hot water, either.” - -“Course we need hot water,” insisted Dot, who was already splashed from -head to foot. “Hot water is the only way to get ’em clean.” - -“There’s Sam--we’ll ask him,” said Bobby as someone opened the door of -the cellar and came in, bringing a blast of cold, fresh air. - -“Well, you look happy,” smiled Sam Layton, who ran the car and mowed -the lawn in summer and took care of the heater in winter for the -Blossom family. “What mischief are you into now?” - -“Sam, don’t you wash turnips and things like that in hot water?” -demanded Dot earnestly. - -“So that’s it,” cried Sam. “I knew, soon as I saw the cloud of steam -from the laundry tubs, that something was going on. Are you counting on -washing vegetables in Norah’s pet tubs and in that boiling hot water?” - -“They’re for the poor folks,” explained Bobby, polishing an apple by -the simple method of rubbing it on his stocking. “We have to take ’em -to school tomorrow and we want them to be clean.” - -“Very nice and quite correct,” approved Sam seriously. “But somehow -it doesn’t fit in with my sanitary ideas to wash vegetables where the -clothes are done or polish apples on stockings, Bobby.” - -“I meant to get a rag,” said Bobby quickly. “Norah will give me one. -What shall we do to the potatoes, Sam?” - -Sam explained that he thought the best thing to do was to borrow a pan -from Norah and scrub the vegetables with the brush in water not too -cold for their hands and yet not hot enough to shrivel the skin of the -turnips and potatoes. - -“How you going to get your stuff over to school?” he asked, when Bobby -had gone after the pan and returned with both pan and Norah, who -declared that she knew she would have to help them. “Potatoes weigh -heavy, when you try to carry them.” - -“Daddy said you’d take us in the car,” replied Meg. “You will, won’t -you, Sam? We have potatoes and carrots and turnips and apples and four -jars of fruit to take.” - -“Then you certainly can’t walk,” said Sam, shaking the heater and -raising his voice above the racket he made. “I guess I can take you -before your father is ready to go in the morning.” - -When the vegetables were all nicely washed, and the laundry floor -mopped up, and Dot placed before the heater to dry off, since she -refused to go upstairs and get into another dress, and the apples -polished to Bobby’s liking, then it was time to choose the cans of -fruit. - -The twins could not make up their minds. Dot wavered between her two -favorites, blackberry jam and orange marmalade, and Twaddles insisted -on peach butter and mustard pickles. - -“Mother said one,” Meg reminded him. Meg had her own jar of canned -pears she had filled herself and labeled with a little red label. -“Filled by Meg, October 2,” Mother Blossom had written, and Meg was -eager to give the jar away because, as she said, it was something she -had done herself. - -“Well, pickles don’t count,” argued Twaddles. “Pickles are extra.” - -Bobby had chosen his favorite strawberry jam and he was anxious to go -upstairs and see if dinner wasn’t almost ready. - -“Hurry up, Twaddles!” he urged his small brother. “We can’t wait all -night. Which do you want, Dot?” - -“Blackberry jam,” said Dot, shutting her eyes and gulping as she always -did when she had to make a choice. - -“Children, dinner will be ready in a minute!” Mother Blossom called -down to them. - -“Now, you see,” scolded Bobby. “Take the pickles, Twaddles, and put -them over there with the apples. I have to lock up the closet.” - -Bobby took the jar of peach butter out of Twaddles’ hands and put it -back on the shelf. Then he locked the door of the preserve closet and -put the key in his pocket to give his mother. - -Twaddles scowled. - -“I didn’t want pickles,” he said. “You’re mean, Bobby Blossom. I hope -the poor folks will throw away your old apples.” - -Twaddles never could stay cross very long, though, and before dinner -was over, he was teasing with Dot to be allowed to go to the school the -next day with Meg and Bobby. - -“Please, Daddy,” pleaded the twins. “We’re sending things for the poor -people to eat and can’t we go and see them?” - -“They won’t be there,” said Meg hastily. “The Charity Bureau comes and -gets the stuff and gives it to the poor people; don’t they, Bobby?” - -Bobby nodded and Father Blossom laughed. - -“Now, Twaddles, don’t begin to see a nice comfortable walnut bureau -like the one in Mother’s room going around collecting food for the poor -folk,” he said teasingly. “I can see your big eyes beginning to wonder -what a Charity Bureau is. That is only a name for the kind men and -women who go around taking care of hungry and cold people.” - -But though Dot continued to tease to be allowed to go to school -the next day, Twaddles’ busy little brain kept thinking about the -“Charity Bureau.” He couldn’t understand--Twaddles was only four years -old--exactly why men and women who collected food for hungry people -should be called a bureau, and the more he thought about it, the more -tangled up he became. When bedtime came for him and Dot he was still -puzzling over it and it was not till the next morning that he decided -what he should do. - -Meg and Bobby were seated on the front seat of the car with Sam Layton, -and the vegetables and apples and fruit jars were carefully arranged -on the back seat, when Twaddles came running out of the house. Mother -Blossom had said the twins were not to go to school--much to Meg’s and -Bobby’s relief--and Meg at first thought Twaddles was determined to -have his own way. - -“Go back, Twaddles! Mother said you couldn’t go,” she cried, when -Twaddles bounced on the running board. - -“I’m not going! I brought you something!” gasped Twaddles, breathless -from running. “It’s for the Charity Bureau.” - -Meg took the little box, wrapped in white tissue paper, and Sam started -the car. The twins stood and waved to Bobby and Meg as though they were -going on a voyage instead of to school where they went every school day -morning, and Meg did not look at the package till Sam suggested that it -might be well to see what was in it. - -“You never can tell what Twaddles is going to do,” observed Sam sagely, -“and if I were you, I’d want to know what I was taking to the Bureau -for him.” - -Meg unwrapped the box while Bobby and Sam stared curiously. When she -lifted the cover, there lay a bottle of cologne! - -“It’s his own bottle, the one he bought with his own money and Daddy -laughed at him so,” said Meg. “Twaddles does love cologne! And why do -you suppose he wants to give it to the poor people?” - -Sam Layton chuckled. - -“Don’t you see, this isn’t for the poor folks,” he explained. -“Twaddles said it was for the ‘Charity Bureau’--the poor kid has the -bureau idea in his mind in spite of what your father told him. Pretty -nice of him to give away his own cologne, though, isn’t it?” - -Nora had told Sam how Father Blossom had tried to explain what the -Charity Bureau was to Twaddles the night before, and Meg and Bobby -remembered, too. They laughed a little at poor Twaddles but it was at -the idea of the cologne bottle to stand on the Charity Bureau, and not -at the little boy himself. - -“We won’t make fun of him a bit, will we, Bobby?” said Meg, as the car -stopped before the school. “Twaddles was as good as gold to give away -his own bottle of cologne, and perhaps someone will like to have it.” - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE THANK-OFFERINGS - - -Sam helped carry the vegetables into the school and we’ll leave him for -a minute, “toting” as he called it, the potatoes and shiny apples up -the walk, and introduce you to the Blossom children. - -You may already know them and if you have met them before you’ll -remember that Meg and Bobby had other and longer names, although their -best friends often forgot that Meg was named Margaret for her mother, -and that Robert Hayward Blossom was Bobby’s real name, the one he would -use when he grew up and went in business with Father Blossom. The -four-year-old twins, too, Dot and Twaddles, when they were old enough -to go to school would be written down on the teacher’s roll book as -Dorothy Anna and Arthur Gifford Blossom. In case you do not know, we’ll -tell you that these four children lived in the town of Oak Hill, with -their father and mother, and with Norah who had lived with them for -years, and with Sam Layton who lived over the garage and was right-hand -man to Father Blossom. - -The first book about the Blossoms describes the lovely summer they -spent at Brookside Farm, visiting Aunt Polly, who was Mother Blossom’s -sister. The friends they made there and the fun they had are all told -of in “Four Little Blossoms at Brookside Farm.” The children would have -been sorry to leave Aunt Polly and the farm if there had not been other -exciting days to look forward to. Meg and Bobby had to go to school, of -course, and their first winter in the school room, and the persistent -efforts of Dot and Twaddles to go to school, too, though they were not -old enough to be enrolled in any class, and their final success, is -related in the second volume called, “Four Little Blossoms at Oak Hill -School.” The third book about the Blossoms tells of the blue turquoise -locket Meg lost and how it was found, and how even Meg and Bobby -themselves were lost, though they were also found. The children had -some exciting days in this book, “Four Little Blossoms and Their Winter -Fun,” but all the excitement ended happily. - -As soon as school closed in the spring, away went the Blossom family -for a good time. What happened to them is told in the fourth book -called, “Four Little Blossoms on Apple Tree Island.” Living on an -island is great fun and the little Blossoms enjoyed every day of the -long summer. It did seem as though they were always finding something, -and they helped to find a whole missing family while they were on Apple -Tree Island and also helped to rescue a girl and two younger children -who were “lost” on another island. They found a great friend in Captain -Jenks who ran the motor boat, and they might have stayed happily on the -island the whole year round if the same important business that had -brought them home from Brookside Farm the summer before had not called -them back to Oak Hill the middle of September. School opened, you see. - -Back came the Blossom family and Norah was very glad to see them. So -was Sam Layton, who had been working on a farm in Canada during the -summer, and had taken Philip, Meg’s dog, with him. Sam had had enough -of Canada, he said, and he liked Oak Hill much better; he had found no -one in Canada, he declared, who could cook like Norah. - -Between going to school and playing after school and taking care of -Philip and Annabel Lee, the cat, and running errands and going with -Father Blossom for rides in the car, the days passed swiftly and, -almost before they realized it, Thanksgiving Day was just around the -corner. And at Thanksgiving time, the children in school were asked -to bring donations of food which were taken in charge by the Charity -Bureau and by them given to people who otherwise might not have any -dinner on the holiday. - -And now that you know all about the four little Blossoms, we’ll go back -to where we left Sam carrying the potatoes and apples into the school. - -“Is that all?” he asked, when he had cleared the back seat of the -boxes and bundles. “All right, then, I must go right back for your -father. Don’t forget to see that the Bureau gets the cologne, Meg,” and -he grinned. - -Sam drove off in the car and Meg and Bobby ran down the stone steps -into the basement of the school where the thank-offerings were to be -stored. Once it had been the custom of the school to arrange everything -in neat rows on the platform in the assembly hall, but after a handsome -pyramid of apples had shifted during the opening prayer and had -bumped--one at a time--down over the edge of the platform and into the -aisles and, another time, a jar of preserves had burst and stained the -green velvet carpet, it was wisely decided that everything should be -carried into the basement and kept there. - -“Oh, look at all the stuff!” cried Bobby when he saw the collection of -gifts spread out on the plain wooden tables which were used for lunch -tables on the days when it was too stormy to go home at noon. “Look, -Meg, someone even brought a turkey!” - -Sure enough, there was a fat turkey, neatly folded into a basket lined -with orange crepe paper. One of the pupils who lived on a farm had -brought him as her thank-offering and if the fortunate family who found -that turkey in their basket Thanksgiving Eve admired the gift as much -as the boys and girls of Oak Hill school did, there could have been no -doubt of their thankfulness. - -Mr. Carter, the principal of the grammar and primary grades, and Miss -Wright, the vice-principal of the primary school, were busy taking the -things the children brought and finding places for them on the tables. - -“What fine, clean potatoes!” said Miss Wright, smiling at Meg. “You -scrubbed those well, didn’t you, dear? I’m so glad when the children -take special pains to make their gifts attractive, for I believe the -pleasure is doubled for the giver and the receiver. What is that in -your hand, Meg? Something for the thank-offering?” - -Meg had forgotten Twaddles’ bottle of cologne which she held tightly in -her hand. - -“My little brother, Twaddles, sent it,” she explained shyly, blushing -a little. “It’s--it’s cologne, and he meant it for the Charity Bureau. -He’s only four years old and he doesn’t understand about the Bureau -very well.” - -Mr. Carter laughed and so did Miss Wright, and the children who were -listening giggled. But in a moment Mr. Carter put out his hand. - -“Let me take it, Meg,” he said gently. “I know just the place for it. -One of the Bureau workers told me yesterday about a poor old lady who -has no one to love and take care of her. She sits all day long in a -ward with seven other old ladies and we are going to make up a special -little basket for her because she is ill. It will be a pretty basket -with a little tea and candy and other dainties old ladies like in it -and on the very top we’ll put Twaddles’ bottle of cologne. How will -that be?” - -“And I’ll put a bow of cheerful red ribbon on it,” promised Miss -Wright. “Be sure and tell Twaddles, Meg, that we think it was lovely of -him to send such a gift.” - -“He’ll be--he’ll be _thankful_!” stammered Meg and then Mr. Carter and -Miss Wright and the children laughed again, but as the principal said, -proper laughing was good for them all. - -“Now upstairs with you, every one,” he said presently, when everything -was in order, “the assembly bell will ring in five minutes and we don’t -want any stragglers. Tim Roon, put that apple back; I’m surprised I -should have to speak to anyone about touching the gifts meant for the -poor and sick.” - -Tim Roon, a boy in Bobby’s room, though two or three years older than -Bobby who was seven and a half, tossed the apple he had taken from the -table angrily back and it fell to the floor and rolled under the table. -Bobby crawled under and brought it out and dusted it off carefully with -his clean handkerchief. Then he put it with the other apples and went -upstairs with Meg who had waited for him. - -“Won’t Twaddles be glad about the cologne?” said Meg happily. “I do -think Mr. Carter is just as nice!” - -“Yes, he is,” agreed Bobby, “and you could see he remembers Twaddles. -So does Miss Wright. Well, I’ll see you at recess, Meg.” - -Twaddles and Dot had paid a visit to the school the term before and -it was not likely that anyone who had met the twins would ever forget -them. Mr. Carter did not and neither did Miss Wright. As for Miss -Mason, who had taught Bobby and Meg last year and in whose class Meg -was this term, she was always asking about Twaddles and Dot, and she -declared she quite looked forward to the time when they should be old -enough to come to school. - -Meg missed Bobby very much and often wished that they could go through -school in the same grade. But he was a class ahead of her and they -saw each other only at recess, once the school day had started. This -morning, as soon as the recess gong sounded, a stream of children -headed for the basement to inspect the thank-offerings again. - -“What’s that, Edward?” Bobby asked a fat little boy who had dashed to -the basement door and came back lugging something yellow and round. -“What’s that for?” - -Edward Kurler was in Meg’s class. He was a good-natured, not -particularly quick child, and very ready to do whatever anyone else -suggested. When he played “tag” with the other boys, Edward was apt to -be “it” the greater part of the game; but he was so good-natured he -never was known to be cross about it. - -“I brought a pumpkin,” he explained, his own face as round and shiny as -the pumpkin he carried. “I didn’t have time to bring it in ’fore school -opened. I guess the poor folks will like a pumpkin--they can make pies -out of it.” - -Tim Roon came up to the pumpkin and looked at it closely. - -“Why, it’s a jack-o-lantern!” he said in surprise. - -“Yes, it is,” nodded Edward. “I had it left over from Hallowe’en. My -uncle made it for me.” - -“But you haven’t any candle in it,” said Tim. “I never heard of a -pumpkin lantern without a candle, did you, Charlie?” - -Charlie Black was Tim Roon’s chum and the two boys usually helped each -other when they planned any mischief. - -“No, I never heard of a pumpkin without a candle,” said Charlie -seriously. “And I don’t think you ought to give one away ’less you have -a candle for it, Edward.” - -Bobby and Meg leaned up against the table and stared at Edward -anxiously. They knew a candle should go inside a pumpkin lantern, too. -The other pupils began to think Edward had made a mistake and that his -thank-offering had something very wrong with it. Edward felt that way -himself. - -“I’ll lend you a candle, if you like,” offered Tim Roon. “Of course -I’ll have to have it back, but you can have it till school closes.” - -“Oh, give it to him,” said Charlie Black. “Light it for him and let’s -see how the lantern looks. Maybe it isn’t a good lantern.” - -“All right, I will,” agreed Tim, his black eyes snapping with -naughtiness. “Wait a minute, Edward, and I’ll show you how to do things -right.” - -Mr. Carter had gone over to the grammar school to see how their -thank-offerings were coming in, and Miss Wright was busy in her -office. There was no one in the basement to stop Tim Roon as he pulled -what looked like a red candle from his pocket and fitted it in the -hollow pumpkin. He stood the lantern in the center of a pile of apples -and took a match from his pocket. None of the boys were allowed to -carry matches and they looked at him in surprise. - -“Now I’ll light it for you,” said Tim, touching the match to the candle -he had placed inside. - -Meg leaned forward to watch and her pretty hair was almost touching the -pumpkin when Bobby shouted, “Look out!” and pulled her back. - -Then with a loud noise the pumpkin blew into many pieces, scattering in -all directions and sending the apples rolling to the floor! - - - - -CHAPTER III - -FOUR GRATEFUL CHILDREN - - -Just as the pumpkin burst, two things happened; Mr. Carter stepped -inside the door and the gong rang to announce the end of recess. - -Tim Roon shot for the door and the children followed. Tim was eager -to escape the principal and the others did not want to be late in -returning to their classrooms. But Mr. Carter stood in the doorway and -did not move to let them pass. - -“What was that noise I heard just now?” he asked. “It sounded like an -explosion.” - -No one answered and Mr. Carter turned to Miss Wright who had come -downstairs to see why so many pupils were absent from their rooms. - -“Say to the teachers, please,” he said, “that I am detaining the -children; they will come up presently.” - -“Oh, dear!” whispered Meg to Bobby, “now he’s going to scold.” - -The principal heard her and he smiled a little. - -“Not scold, Meg, unless someone deserves it,” he said pleasantly. “What -was that noise I heard?” - -“The pumpkin blew up,” replied Meg uncomfortably. - -“The pumpkin blew up!” repeated Mr. Carter in astonishment. “Whose -pumpkin? What made it blow up?” - -Meg was silent. - -“Bobby,” said Mr. Carter, “was it your pumpkin?” - -“No, sir,” answered Bobby. - -“Please, Mr. Carter,” said Edward bravely. “It was my pumpkin. I -brought it for the poor people. But it was only a hollow one.” - -“Well, why did you want to blow it up?” asked Mr. Carter, puzzled. “And -what did you do to it to make it blow up, Edward?” - -“I didn’t do anything to it,” protested Edward. - -“I want to know and I want to know at once, what caused that pumpkin to -explode,” said the principal sternly and Tim Roon wished suddenly that -he had had nothing to do with it. “Edward!” - -“Yes, sir?” poor Edward replied faintly. - -“What made your pumpkin explode?” asked Mr. Carter. - -“A candle,” said Edward, who really believed that Tim Roon had put a -candle in his pumpkin. “They said a hollow pumpkin had to have a candle -in it.” - -“Nonsense,” declared Mr. Carter. “No candle ever exploded. Who put the -candle in your pumpkin?” - -Bobby thought “telling tales” under any circumstances, the most -dreadful thing anyone could do. He did hope that Edward would not give -Tim away. Tim had the same hope, but he did not trust the fat boy. -Instead, he leaned against him and pinched him. - -“You know what will happen to you, if you tell,” he whispered warningly. - -“Ouch!” cried Edward, but the principal’s sharp eyes had seen Tim. - -“So you’re the culprit, Tim,” he said severely. “I might have known. -What did you put in the pumpkin? Tell me the truth.” - -“A firecracker,” replied Tim sullenly. - -“Did you light it?” persisted Mr. Carter. - -Tim nodded. He knew what was coming. - -“Very well,” said the principal. “I will wait for you, Tim, while you -put the scattered apples back as you found them and carry out the -pieces of pumpkin. Then you and I will go up to the office and have a -little talk. I think your father will be surprised to hear that you -are carrying matches in your pocket. You may go back to your rooms, -children, and please go quietly.” - -It was all very well to tell then to go quietly, but such a buzzing of -tongues as sounded in the halls and corridors as the boys and girls -went upstairs! They talked about how frightened they had been when the -pumpkin exploded and they talked about what might happen to Tim and -they wondered what made him think of lighting a firecracker and how -Mr. Carter had happened to come just in time to hear the noise of the -explosion. - -“I think it was a silly thing to do,” said Bobby indignantly. “Meg was -so close to that pumpkin her hair would have been burned if I hadn’t -pulled her back. And now Edward hasn’t even a jack-o-lantern to give -the poor people.” - -School closed at one o’clock that day because the next day was -Thanksgiving, and of course as soon as Meg and Bobby reached home -the twins demanded to know about the thank-offerings. Twaddles was -delighted to hear about his bottle of cologne and he said that he was -sure it would look nice on the Bureau. As Meg observed, there was no -use in trying to explain that again to him, so she didn’t try. - -When they told of the pumpkin Edward Kurler had brought and of the -trouble Tim Roon had made for himself, Twaddles listened breathlessly, -but Dot turned up her small nose. - -“Huh!” she said scornfully. “I think Edward is a very queer boy. -Nobody could eat a hollow pumpkin, could they, Norah?” - -“Not a very hollow one,” admitted Norah, “but neither can I make tarts -from a hollow bowl, Dot. If you don’t stop ‘tasting’ pretty soon, we’ll -have no tarts for tomorrow.” - -The four little Blossoms were in the kitchen, helping Norah who was -very busy getting ready for the Thanksgiving Day dinner. Bobby and -Meg had found the twins hovering around the kitchen table when they -came home from school and they had had their lunch in the kitchen, for -Mother Blossom was in the city for the day and Father Blossom seldom -came home to lunch. - -“And now we’ll help you,” said Meg, as soon as they had finished lunch. -So Norah had four helpers for the rest of the afternoon. - -“I’d as lief have four whistling winds to help me rake leaves,” said -Sam, coming in for a drink of water and finding Norah surrounded by -willing hands and exceedingly willing little mouths. “But then, ’pears -to me you are managing to turn out some work, Norah,” and Sam helped -himself to a couple of sugar cookies from a golden-brown pile left to -cool on a clean cloth. - -“You’re as bad as the children,” sighed Norah, but she gave Sam two -more cookies before she told him to “be off.” - -“Sam says he’s thankful it hasn’t snowed yet,” reported Meg at the -dinner table that night. “He says he wants to finish painting the -garage roof before it snows.” - -“What are you thankful for, Meg?” asked Father Blossom suddenly. - -“Tarts!” cried Dot, before Meg could answer, managing to tip her glass -of milk into her lap. - -“Dot, you must learn to be more careful,” said Mother Blossom. “I -suppose I ought to be thankful it wasn’t cocoa you upset. And you -answered when Daddy was speaking to Meg.” - -“I can’t think in a hurry,” apologized Meg, while Dot was being mopped -up with a clean napkin. “Could you wait a minute, Daddy?” - -“I’ll ask you again tomorrow morning,” said Father Blossom. “I’ll -expect each one of you to be able to tell me then why you are thankful. -Think it over carefully and then you’ll be ready.” - -“Why am I thankful?” said Meg to herself, over and over that evening -till bedtime came. “Why am I thankful, I wonder?” - -“Oh, Daddy!” Bobby called down over the banisters, after he was -supposed to be in bed. “Daddy! Is it just the same to think why you are -thankful and what you are thankful for?” - -“Just about the same,” answered Father Blossom. “If you think about -what you are thankful _for_ you’ll soon know _why_ you are thankful. Do -you understand?” - -“I--I guess so,” said Bobby doubtfully and he went back to bed. - -In the morning the four little Blossoms found a chocolate turkey at -each plate and Mother Blossom explained that they were a present from -Daddy. - -“Well, who can tell me for what they’re thankful?” asked Father -Blossom, as Norah brought in the oatmeal. - -“I know, Daddy!” cried Twaddles. “I’m thankful I found Bobby’s knife.” - -“You found my knife?” said Bobby, frowning. “You found my knife? Why, -my knife isn’t lost--I left in the top drawer of my desk in my room.” - -“Yes, I know you did,” admitted Twaddles, “and I borrowed it to whittle -a new mast for my boat and I couldn’t remember where I left it. But -Norah found it on the back stoop,” concluded Twaddles cheerfully. - -“If you don’t leave my things alone!” began Bobby wrathfully. -“I’ll--I’ll----” - -“Now we won’t have any quarrels Thanksgiving morning,” said Father -Blossom quietly. “Bobby, suppose you tell me what you are thankful for.” - -“For turkey,” said Bobby promptly, forgetting to be angry at Twaddles -as he remembered the plump bird he had seen hanging in the “cold room” -where Norah kept her food supplies and the refrigerator. - -“I’m thankful for the maple sugar Aunt Polly sent us,” cried Dot. “You -said we could have a piece after breakfast, Mother.” - -“Meg?” asked Father Blossom. “What are you thinking of, dear?” - -Meg raised her blue eyes and smiled sunnily. - -“I’m thankful Mr. and Mrs. Harley and Dick and Herbert found each -other,” she said simply. - -Meg, you see, remembered the Harleys who had once lived on Apple Tree -Island and the trouble and sorrow they had known when the family was -separated. - -“I think we’re all thankful for the Harleys,” said Mother Blossom, “and -I’m thankful for my whole Blossom family this morning!” - -Thanksgiving dinner was to be at one o’clock and little Miss Florence, -the dressmaker, was coming, and Mrs. Jordan and her lame son Paul, for -whom the four little Blossoms had once given a fair. - -“If we can’t have Aunt Polly, or any of the dear farm folk, at least we -can make a happy day for someone else,” Mother Blossom had said, when -she sent Bobby to invite Miss Florence and Mrs. Jordan. - -“And after dinner, I’ll take everyone for a ride,” promised Father -Blossom, “that is, if it doesn’t snow.” - -So the four children spent their morning between the kitchen, where -Norah and Mother Blossom were cooking the most delicious smelling -things to eat, and the garage, where Father Blossom and Sam were going -over the car to make sure that it would be in good order for the drive -that afternoon. - -“It’s my turn to sit up with you, isn’t it, Sam?” asked Dot eagerly. -“You always take Meg, but it is my turn, really it is.” - -“Your father is going to drive,” replied Sam to this. “I’m going to -lend Norah a hand with all the dinner dishes. You can argue with him -about riding on the front seat, Dot.” - -Though Father Blossom had bought the car the spring before, the four -little Blossoms still argued about whose turn it was to ride with -the driver nearly every time they went for a ride. They had a system -of “taking turns,” but this did not always prevent friction because -sometimes the twins both squeezed into the front seat and then neither -one was willing to admit that “counted.” As a rule, though, they -settled the dispute amiably and without any suggestion from Sam or -Father Blossom. - -“Mother says we must come in and put on our best dresses, Dot,” said -Meg, coming back to the garage from a trip to the kitchen. “The table -is all set and it’s most time for the company to come.” - -“All right, I’m coming,” Dot answered, brushing past Father Blossom who -was washing his hands at the lavatory in one corner of the garage. - -“Wait a minute, Dot,” he said, catching hold of her blouse. “What on -earth have you in your pockets, child?” - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -DRIVING WITH DADDY - - -Dot wore a blue serge sailor suit and she had four pockets, two in the -skirt and two in the blouse, and in addition there were two pockets in -the blue reefer coat she wore. Apparently all six pockets were stuffed -full of something. - -“Mother said you shouldn’t put things in the pockets of your cloth -dress,” Meg told her little sister. “They get stuck up and gummy and -she can’t clean them.” - -“Well, I thought I was going to wear this dress all day,” explained -Dot, looking earnestly at Father Blossom, “so I wanted some raisins in -case anyone was hungry while we’re out driving this afternoon.” - -Dot showed them her coat pockets stuffed with raisins, packed in so -tightly that they made two hard lumps. It was these hard lumps Father -Blossom had felt when she brushed past him. - -“What’s that in your blouse?” asked Bobby. - -“My choc’late turkey,” said Dot. Alas, the chocolate had melted and the -turkey was now sadly mixed with blue serge and red flannel. - -“What’s in the other pocket?” suggested Twaddles. - -Dot looked a little confused. - -“Cookies,” she said. “I thought Norah wouldn’t mind. I only took three.” - -“And both her skirt pockets are stuffed full of nuts!” announced Meg, -who had been examining them. “Salted nuts. I’ll bet you didn’t ask -Mother if you could have them, either.” - -“Well, I was going to afterward,” said Dot, half crying. “I didn’t eat -a single thing. I was saving them for folks to have this afternoon. So -there!” - -“Run along in and get ready for dinner,” directed Father Blossom, -trying not to look at Sam, lest he laugh. “Next time, ask Mother, Dot; -you are old enough to know you mustn’t help yourself to food without -asking.” - -Mother Blossom sighed a little over the stuffed pockets, for Dot’s -dresses seemed to be always in need of cleaning and repairing. But she -said that she knew her little girl had not meant to be careless and -that no one should be scolded on Thanksgiving Day. - -“And I don’t believe even you will be hungry after you eat the dinner -Norah has for us,” said Mother Blossom smiling as she tied Dot’s pretty -new red hair-ribbon on the thick dark hair. “There is the bell--suppose -you run down, Dot, and that will save Norah a trip to the door.” - -Dot, looking very neat and pretty in her red and white dotted challis -dress, danced downstairs to let Miss Florence in. Dot had such dark -hair and eyes that all shades of red just suited her. Meg’s frock was -blue and white challis and her hair-ribbon matched her blue eyes. - -By the time old Mrs. Jordan and the lame Paul had arrived and had -warmed their cold hands at the blazing wood fire in the living-room, -Norah said dinner was ready. And such a dinner as it was! Aunt Polly -had sent the turkey from Brookside Farm and most of the vegetables, -too! And the currant jelly was the reddest you ever saw, and certainly -the pumpkin pie was the yellowest! Pale little Miss Florence, who sewed -all day long, day after day, week after week, for the people in Oak -Hill and who had no family of her own to love her, said she had never -tasted such delicious stuffing as came out of the big brown turkey, -and as for Mrs. Jordan and Paul they ate as though a good dinner was a -solemn and important affair, and perhaps it was to them. - -“It isn’t snowing, is it, Daddy?” said Twaddles, the moment dinner was -over. - -“No, I shouldn’t say it was actually snowing,” answered Father Blossom -teasingly, “but it looks very much to me as though it might snow. The -paper said snow today and those clouds are pretty heavy.” - -“But you said if it didn’t snow, you’d take us,” urged Bobby. “Didn’t -he, Meg?” - -“Yes,” nodded Meg. “Yes, you did, Daddy.” - -“Then I must keep my word,” said Father Blossom gravely. “Mother, have -you enough wraps to keep us all warm?” - -Mother Blossom had brought down heavy coats and robes and blankets -early that morning, and now she and Norah began to wrap up the guests -to make them comfortable for the drive. Father Blossom’s car was big -and roomy, with side curtains that could be put up in case of a storm, -but it was not a closed car. All the Blossoms were fond of plenty of -fresh air and they liked to be warmly bundled up and then to ride -through the wind and cold and come home with rosy cheeks and bright -eyes and, goodness, such appetites! - -Sam brought the car around and first Mrs. Jordan was helped in, then -Paul next to her, and then little Miss Florence who, as Father Blossom -said, hardly took up any room at all. Mother Blossom took one of the -folding seats and Meg the other. Meg wanted very much to sit next to -her father, but she was little woman enough not to tease when she knew -there were others to be considered. Mother Blossom had explained to the -children that this ride was really to give pleasure to Miss Florence -and Mrs. Jordan and Paul, who seldom enjoyed an automobile trip. - -“Tuck Dot away in there with you, Mother,” said Father Blossom, lifting -that small girl in, “and I’ll take the boys with me. Then coming home, -Dot may changes places with Twaddles, if she likes.” - -Finally everyone was nicely packed in and away they went, leaving Sam -and Norah to talk over the dinner and eat their own and wash the dishes -and put them away. - -“Don’t forget to feed Philip and Annabel Lee,” cried Meg, and Sam -shouted back that he would see to “Fill-Up.” This was Sam’s name for -the dog and although Meg did not like it she was used to it by this -time. - -“Did you bring anything to eat, Dot?” asked Bobby, mischievously, -twisting in his seat to speak to his small sister. Dot was almost -buried under the wraps and blankets in the tonneau. - -“No, I didn’t,” she said indignantly. “I meant to bring my turkey, but -he’s stuck to my serge dress.” - -“Daddy!” cried Twaddles suddenly. “Oh, Daddy, I dropped Bobby’s knife!” - -Twaddles never went out in the car that he didn’t drop something. His -family were used to his habit and sometimes Father Blossom stopped the -car and sometimes he didn’t. It depended on what Twaddles dropped. This -time Father Blossom knew he could not have dropped anything in the road -because he was safely tucked in between Bobby and himself. - -“Daddy, make Twaddles leave my knife alone!” said Bobby. “He never even -asks me if he can have it and he’s always losing it. It’s my knife.” - -“I’ll get down and pick it up for you,” offered Twaddles generously. - -“You leave it alone!” cried Bobby furiously. “I’ll get it myself, and -if you ever touch it again----” Bobby didn’t say what would happen, but -from the frown on his face Twaddles was left to guess that it would be -mighty serious. - -However, Twaddles had a will of his own and he began to wriggle, -intending to slip down to the floor and recover the knife. Bobby flung -his arm around him to hold him and then, as Twaddles kicked, Bobby -began to kick, too. - -“Children!” said Mother Blossom in warning, but she was too late. - -Father Blossom stopped the car. - -“Meg and Dot, change places with Bobby and Twaddles,” he said very -quietly. “Hurry, please, and don’t keep us waiting.” - -Sam Layton often threatened to make them change places when they -argued, but this was the first time it had ever really happened to -them. Poor Bobby and Twaddles got slowly down and Meg and Dot crawled -out and up on the front seat with Father Blossom. Then, when the robes -and blankets were all fixed again, they drove on. Bobby and Twaddles -were very quiet for half an hour and Meg and Dot did not talk much, -either. Father and Mother Blossom and the guests had the conversation -all to themselves. - -“Ralph!” said Mother Blossom, when they had driven several miles, -“Ralph, I do believe it is beginning to snow.” - -“I thought so myself a few minutes ago,” answered Father Blossom. -“I’ll go on to the next cross-roads and turn. We can be home before it -storms heavily.” - -But the white flakes began to come faster and faster and the road was -white when they reached the cross-road. Father Blossom turned the car -and they started back to Oak Hill. Dot was half asleep, though she -would have been much aggrieved if anyone had said so, when Meg said -excitedly that she saw something in the road. - -“Look, Daddy, over under that bush!” she insisted. “Let me get out and -see. Oh, maybe it’s lost in this snowstorm!” - -“Let Bobby go, Daughter,” said Father Blossom stopping the car. “Bobby, -don’t you want to run over and see what that is under the bush?” - -Bobby was very glad to go and he was out in a minute and running across -the road. - -“It’s a dog, Daddy,” he shouted. “A little white dog. And he is so -cold!” - -“Bring him here and we’ll take care of him,” said Father Blossom, -smiling at Meg who was nearly jumping up and down with anxiety. “Trust -Meg to see an animal in trouble. I never should have noticed that bit -of fluff under the bush. Why, he’s almost the color of the snow!” - -The little white dog Bobby brought back in his arms was so tiny and -so soft and silky that he might easily have been overlooked in a -snowstorm. He was evidently lost and had crawled under the bush in an -effort to keep warm. Meg held him on her lap and put her muff over him -to keep the cold air off. - -“He has a silver collar on,” she reported, “but I can’t read it. Can -you, Bobby?” - -Bobby leaned over the back of the seat and looked at the collar. - -“M-A-T-S-I-E,” he spelled out slowly. “What a funny name. But there’s -some more--C-L-I-F-T-O-N P-A-R-K.” - -“Why, Clifton Park is thirty miles from here,” said Father Blossom -in surprise. “The poor dog never could have come that distance. I -wonder----” - -Before he could say what he wondered, a handsome shining limousine, -coming down the road slowly from the other direction, stopped. The -chauffeur held up his hand. - -“Have you seen anything of a dog?” he asked anxiously. “A little white -dog, with a silver collar?” - -And maybe that chauffeur wasn’t surprised when four children shouted at -him, “Is the dog’s name ‘Matsie’?” - -“Yes, we found such a dog,” said Father Blossom, smiling. “Back about -forty rods, under a bush. He was pretty cold, but he seems to be all -right.” - -The chauffeur came over and took the dog Meg held out to him. - -“I’m much obliged to you,” he said awkwardly. “It would cost me my -job if I went home and told ’em I’d lost Matsie; that dog’s worth -a thousand dollars and took first prize at the last dog show. Mrs. -Hemming thinks a heap of him.” - -“Well, it is easy to lose a small animal like that,” said Father -Blossom. “Don’t you think you’d better shut him up in a safe place till -you get home?” - -“You bet I will,” grinned the chauffeur. “I guess Matsie dropped out -when I went into a rut back there; the rest of the trip he rides down -under the seat tied fast.” - -He thanked the Blossoms again for finding the dog for him and went -back to his car, and Father Blossom continued the journey toward home. -Twaddles, who had been remarkably silent the whole trip, spoke just as -they were coming into Oak Hill. - -“Well, I never dropped a dog out of the car, did I?” he said seriously, -and Mother Blossom kissed him and said no, he never had. - -“But you’ve dropped about everything else,” declared Bobby gloomily. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE FOOTBALL GAME - - -Father Blossom drove Mrs. Jordan and Paul home and left Miss Florence -at her house. They all said it had been the happiest Thanksgiving they -had known in years and the four little Blossoms were happy, too. - -“I like to have company come to our house,” said Meg, as she was going -to bed that night. “Don’t you, Dot?” - -“Yes, I do,” replied Dot sleepily. “I’m thankful for company.” - -The next day there was no school, of course, and though Bobby had -planned to play with Meg and the twins, two boys came to ask him to -play football before he was through breakfast. - -“Fred Baldwin has a football, Mother,” said Bobby earnestly. “And we’re -getting up a football team. Do you care if I go over to his house and -play?” - -“Let me be on the team?” begged Twaddles. “I can play football, Bobby. -Can’t I, Dot?” - -“You’re too little,” answered Bobby impatiently. “Fred is waiting to -know if I can come, Mother.” - -“But, dear, I don’t see where you are going to play,” protested Mother -Blossom. “You can’t play on the school field, because the older boys -have that for their use.” - -“They’re all through playing football now,” explained Bobby. “The last -game was Thanksgiving. There’s a vacant lot back of Fred’s house, -Mother, and we can play there. I’m the captain.” - -“All right, dear, run along and have a good time,” said Mother Blossom, -giving him a kiss. “Be sure you come home at twelve o’clock. And, -Twaddles, I’ll think of something nice for you to do at home. When you -are as old as Bobby, you may play football, too.” - -Fred Baldwin and Palmer Davis, two boys in Bobby’s class at school, -were waiting for him. Fred had his football under his arm. - -“We’re going over to Bertrand Ashe’s,” Fred explained. “His cousin -is visiting him over Thanksgiving and his brother is captain of the -football team at the State University. So he ought to be a good player.” - -Bobby thought a boy who was fortunate enough to have a brother captain -of a University team ought to be a good player, too, and he did not -wonder that Fred had decided to play in Bertrand’s yard. - -“Hello,” said Bertrand, when he saw the three boys. “This is my cousin, -Elmer Lambert.” - -“Hello,” said Elmer, a tall thin boy with a freckled face and nice, -merry blue eyes. “I see you have a football.” - -Fred was proud of his football. It was a present from his grandfather, -he explained. In five minutes the boys were lined up ready for a game. -Of course they knew a real football team needs eleven players, but as -Bertrand sensibly said there wasn’t room for eleven in the yard anyway -and they could get alone with five. - -But from the start the game didn’t go smoothly. Bobby kicked the ball -over the fence and then, when he had climbed after it and brought it -back, Fred kicked it over the fence on the other side. - -“There isn’t room enough here,” complained Elmer. “Can’t we play -somewhere else, Bertrand?” - -“Back of the carpenter shop, across the street,” suggested Bertrand. -“The shop’s built on the edge of the street and there’s an open place -in back. Come on, I’ll show you.” - -The snowstorm which had begun so briskly the afternoon before when the -four little Blossoms were out automobiling had not amounted to much -after all. It had melted during the night and though there was a sharp -wind and it was cold, the ground was almost bare. - -The carpenter shop “on the edge of the street,” was a one-story -building on the street end of a long, narrow lot that stretched through -to the next block. There was no one around when the boys went around -back of the shop and it seemed to be locked up securely. Bertrand -said he thought the man who owned the shop had gone away to spend -Thanksgiving with his son in another town. - -“Will he mind if we play here?” asked Elmer. - -“He won’t care a bit,” replied Bertrand confidently. “We won’t hurt -anything, and besides he won’t know about it.” - -Which wasn’t a very good argument and would have made Father Blossom -laugh if he had heard it. But the boys were too eager to resume their -game to pay much attention to anything Bertrand said. - -Bobby, as captain, had his “signals” written down on a piece of paper -and he first explained them to his players and then called off the -numbers as he had seen the high school captain do. And when they had -tried all the signals three times, Elmer suggested that they practice -punting. - -“That’s very important,” he explained, “and my brother says if you can -develop a good punter on your team, half your troubles are settled. I -think Bobby does pretty well now.” - -Bobby was very much pleased at this praise from a boy whose brother was -a big football captain and he resolved, more firmly than ever, to make -the football team the first year he was in high school. - -“Punt now,” urged Elmer. “Stand back, fellows, and give him a chance. -Go on and try, Bobby.” - -Bobby took the ball from Fred, held it a moment in his hands and -dropped it. Before it reached the ground he kicked and his toe sent it -curving in a long line over the lot toward the carpenter shop. - -“My goodness, it went in the window!” gasped Palmer Davis. “Bobby, -you’ve kicked it into the carpenter shop!” - -“How’ll we get it out?” asked Fred anxiously. “All the doors are -locked, the back one, too. I saw the padlocks. How’ll we get my ball -back?” - -The five boys looked at each other anxiously. There was Fred’s new, -expensive football inside the locked shop. What would the carpenter say -when he found it there and would he give it back? - -“Do you know the man who owns the shop, Bertrand?” asked Elmer -sensibly. “Is he cross?” - -“Yes, he is,” said Bertrand quickly. “He’ll be mad anyway ’cause we’ve -been playing here and I don’t believe he’ll give the ball back. He -doesn’t like boys much, ever since a gang used to play round his shop -and steal pieces of wood and tin and solder. That’s why he had the -locks put on the doors; he used to have just bolts.” - -Bertrand had a memory like a great many other people. He remembered -these small details after something had happened. - -“Well, I didn’t break a window,” said Bobby hopefully. “The ball went -through that little window that was left open; ’tisn’t as if I had -broken a window in his shop.” - -“That won’t make any difference,” said Bertrand gloomily. “I tell you -he will be mad ’cause we played on his lot. I think we’d better go home -before he comes and finds us here.” - -“I won’t go without my ball,” protested Fred. “It’s brand-new and I -want it. Bobby, you have to ask the man for it, ’cause you kicked it -through the window.” - -As they talked the boys had been walking slowly toward the carpenter -shop, and now they stood directly under the open window. It was smaller -than the three regular-sized windows which were closed--and presumably -locked. Bobby could reach the sill of the small window with the tips of -his fingers. - -“I’m going in to get it,” he said quietly to Fred. “You watch, and if -you see the man coming sing out.” - -“Are you going in?” asked Fred, surprised. “Maybe you can’t get out. -Aren’t you afraid, Bobby?” - -Bobby considered. He was a very honest little boy. - -“Yes, I’m afraid, kind of,” he said truthfully. “But I’d be more afraid -to go and ask the man for it. Be sure you yell if you see him coming.” - -He scrambled up to the window sill and the boys helped push him through -the small opening. They heard him drop down to the floor and begin -rummaging around. - -“I don’t see where it went,” he cried. “Gee, there’s a lot of things in -here.” - -“Come on, I’m going in!” exclaimed Elmer. “It’s mean to make Bobby do -it all. We were all playing. I’m going to help him find the ball.” - -The rest of the boys followed Elmer’s lead. One by one they scrambled -up to the little window and squeezed through. Once inside, they found -the shop so fascinating that they had to stop and look around before -they began to search for the missing ball. - -“What do you suppose this is?” cried Fred, pointing to a queer tool -that lay on the workbench. - -“I don’t know--don’t touch anything,” said Bobby. “I wish I could see -the ball. Oh, here’s a cat!” - -Sure enough, a sleek gray and white cat lay curled up on a coat in one -corner of the room. She opened her eyes sleepily and stared at Bobby -and when he patted her she purred gently. - -“Here’s the ball!” shouted Elmer Lambert. “Look, it rolled under this -basket. Pitch it out of the window, Fred, and then we’ll go.” - -“But I want to see how this works,” said Fred, who was examining a box -that clamped to a block of steel. “Just wait a minute, can’t you? I -want to see if I can work it.” - -“All right, you wait and the carpenter man will come along and catch -us,” Bobby told him. “Then I guess you’ll be sorry.” - -The mention of the carpenter was enough for Fred. He tossed his -precious football out of the window and climbed after it, hastily -followed by the other boys. All breathed a sigh of relief as they -landed safely on the ground. - -“H. Bennett,” read Bobby, looking up at the sign which hung over the -door. “Does Mr. H. Bennett own the shop, Bertrand?” - -“Yes, he’s the carpenter,” replied Bertrand, “and he has men who go out -and work for him. He lives up near the school.” - -“Oh, yes, I know that man,” said Palmer. - -Bobby thought it must be nearly twelve o’clock and when Bertrand ran -into his house to look at the clock, he called back to the rest that -it was quarter of twelve. So they scattered to go home for lunch and -there was of course no more football game. - -Luncheon was ready when Bobby reached home and oddly enough he did not -speak of the morning’s experience. Mother Blossom asked him if the -boys had played football, and Bobby answered yes, but he did not say -anything about the game. Usually he liked to tell about his fun and -the twins depended on their older brother to give them new ideas for -playing. - -“Sam says he’s going over to Clayton, and he’ll come home by the -foundry and get Daddy and if you say so we may go with him,” cried Meg, -running in from the garage where she had taken Annabel Lee and Philip -their dinners. “Please, Mother, you want us to go, don’t you?” - -“Oh, Mother, let us!” cried the twins. - -“I suppose as it is holiday time and you may not have the opportunity -again soon, you’ll have to go,” said Mother Blossom. “Be sure you wear -your sweaters under your coats, and don’t bother Sam with too many -questions and too much chatter.” - -“Oh, goody!” cried the twins, and the children all clattered out of the -room to prepare for their trip. - -The four little Blossoms had their drive to Clayton and came home with -Father Blossom just in time for dinner. The long ride in the cold air -made them sleepy and they were glad to go to bed earlier than usual. - -In the middle of the night, when it was dark and still and very cold, -something woke Bobby. He sat up in bed and listened, then snuggled down -under the blankets, for a chilly wind blew in at the window. - -“Fire engines,” he whispered, and went to sleep again. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -BOBBY HEARS BAD NEWS - - -“Another cup of coffee, please, Norah,” said Father Blossom. - -It was breakfast time, and the four little Blossoms had each made a -separate trip to the door and back, before taking seats at the table, -to see if it “wasn’t going to snow.” Father Blossom had finally said -that no one was to open the door again and that he would like to eat -breakfast once with his family when he did not feel that he had to -hurry. - -“Aren’t you going directly to the foundry, then?” asked Mother Blossom, -sugaring Dot’s oatmeal for her. - -“No, I have an errand in town first,” replied Father Blossom. “By the -way, Sam tells me a carpenter shop burned down last night.” - -“Mr. H. Bennett’s carpenter shop?” asked Bobby in surprise. Then he -flushed a bright red. - -“Why, yes, it was Bennett’s,” said Father Blossom, glancing curiously -at Bobby. “What do you know about the place, Son?” - -“Nothing much,” muttered Bobby. “It’s over by Bertrand’s house.” - -“Was it much of a loss, dear?” asked Mother Blossom. - -“I believe it was,” replied Father Blossom, and Bobby listened eagerly. -“Several hundred dollars’ worth of valuable tools and some building -plans and considerable cabinet work was destroyed, Sam says. The only -thing saved was a cat.” - -It was on the tip of Bobby’s tongue to add, “a gray and white one,” but -he stopped himself just in time. - -“There’s Fred Baldwin whistling for me,” he said instead. “He wants me -to come and play. May I be excused, Mother?” - -“Mother, Bobby never plays with us any more,” complained Twaddles. “He -ought to stay in our yard some, don’t you think? All he cares about now -is playing football.” - -“I don’t mind the football,” said Mother Blossom smiling. “But I do -wish the boys wouldn’t come and whistle outside the house when we are -eating, Bobby. I like you to stay at the table till a meal is properly -finished.” - -“Well, I will next time,” promised Bobby, throwing his arms about her -and giving her a hug. - -The twins took the opportunity to help themselves to marmalade and when -the scandalized Norah and Meg drew attention to the mountain of sweet -stuff on the two plates, Bobby ran off while Twaddles and Dot were -loudly protesting that they had only taken a “tiny bit.” - -“Hello, Bobby!” said Fred, as Bobby came running down the path. “Say, -did you know the carpenter shop burned down last night?” - -“Daddy told me,” replied Bobby. “I thought I heard fire engines when I -woke up. It’s lucky they saved the cat.” - -The boys were walking up the street and now Fred turned and looked at -Bobby. - -“Mr. Bennett thinks we set it on fire,” he said in a low tone, and -glancing over his shoulder as though he expected to see the owner -of the carpenter shop behind him. “He heard we were in his shop -yesterday.” - -“Well, suppose we were--we didn’t set it on fire!” said Bobby crossly. -He was cross because he was worried. It is not very pleasant to be told -that someone suspects you of setting his shop on fire. - -“No, of course we didn’t,” agreed Fred. “But you know Bertrand says Mr. -Bennett doesn’t like boys, and I suppose if he had caught us in there -he would have been awfully mad. And now he knows we were in there, he’s -sure we did it.” - -“Who told him we were in his shop?” asked Bobby suddenly. - -“Bertrand says some of the neighbors saw us climb in,” explained Fred. -“Bertrand’s over at my house now, waiting for us. He told me. And -Palmer Davis is there, too, and Elmer Lambert.” - -Bobby and Fred found the other three boys in Fred’s yard. They looked -serious and no one suggested football. Evidently Bertrand had been -telling them more about Mr. Bennett. - -“He’s so mad,” reported Bertrand when he saw Fred and Bobby, “he’s so -mad, I don’t dare go on that side of the street. I saw it burning last -night--everybody on our street woke up when the engines came. And a -solid mahogany china closet he was carving was burned, and my father -says he never had any insurance.” - -“But we didn’t burn his shop,” argued Bobby. “Look how long ago we -were in there--yesterday morning and it never burned down till late at -night. Doesn’t that show we didn’t do it?” - -“Well, Mr. Bennett says maybe we tipped over oil or varnish or -something and it took a long time to soak into the wood and then it -caught fire from the stove he had in the corner,” explained Bertrand. - -“Did he tell you that?” demanded Bobby. - -“Oh, my no!” said Bertrand, looking frightened at the idea. “He never -said a word to me; I wouldn’t go near him. But the man that tends our -furnace heard him and he told me. And he says Mr. Bennett has all our -names and he is going to see our fathers!” - -The boys stared at each other. This was dreadful! Only Elmer Lambert -smiled. - -“I’m going home this afternoon,” he said. “Gee, I’m sorry for the rest -of you.” - -“I’m going to tell my father right away!” cried Bobby. “I’ll go out -to the foundry before he comes home to lunch. He comes home at noon, -Saturdays.” - -But Fred Baldwin sprang up angrily. - -“Don’t you dare!” he said excitedly, shaking his fist at Bobby. “Don’t -you dare tell your father! He’d call up my father and then I’d catch -it. My father will be mad if he hears I went into the old carpenter -shop when the door was locked. That was all your fault, Bobby--we -wouldn’t have gone in if you hadn’t.” - -“Well, he went after your ball,” said Elmer reasonably. “And I guess -your father will know you were in the shop if Mr. Bennett tells him -about it, won’t he?” - -“Perhaps he won’t tell him,” said the hopeful Fred. “He may forget all -about it, or find out who really did set the shop on fire. But anyone -who tells first is mean, because my father will scold like anything.” - -So Bobby promised not to tell his father and the other boys promised to -keep silent, too. - -“There’s no use in making trouble,” declared Fred when the noon -whistles blew and his friends started for their homes. “Perhaps Mr. -Bennett won’t say a thing, and then think how silly we’d feel.” - -But Bobby, while he may not have felt silly, certainly was feeling far -from comfortable as he walked home. And when he reached home and saw -the car in the garage, which meant that Father Blossom was home earlier -than usual, he wished that it was not Saturday. If it had been, say, -Tuesday, his father would not have come home to lunch. - -“Now, Bobby, I want you to stay in the house this afternoon and play,” -said Mother Blossom cheerfully. “You haven’t been in the house hardly -an hour since the holiday began. You and Meg think of something you -want to do, and if Dot and Twaddles can play it, too, that will be -lovely. Your father and I are going over accounts and we want to have -a few hours of quiet.” - -“Oh, dear, he isn’t even going anywhere,” thought poor Bobby, toiling -upstairs after Meg and the noisy twins who were headed for the -playroom. He had been hoping, during lunch, that Father Blossom would -go for a drive in the car and perhaps take Mother Blossom with him. - -“What ails you, Bobby?” asked Meg when they reached the third floor -front room, given over to the four little Blossoms as a winter place -to play. “I’ve asked you twice what you want to do and you don’t say -anything.” - -“There’s the doorbell,” said Bobby, running into the hall to look over -the banisters. It was only the laundryman and he came back, relieved. - -“Mother says it isn’t nice to hang over the railing when the bell -rings,” said Meg reprovingly. - -“I don’t care, I will if I want to,” was Bobby’s answer to this. “What -shall we play?” - -“Soap bubbles,” suggested Dot, and this seemed to suit everyone, so -Meg brought out the bowls and the pipes and an apron for Dot who was -sure to need one. - -The bell rang three times while Bobby was blowing soap bubbles and each -time his heart gave a fearful thump. He was afraid Mr. Bennett had come -to complain about the carpenter shop. But none of the rings brought -him, and Bobby was beginning to think the carpenter was not coming that -afternoon when suddenly he heard Norah calling him from the second -floor hall. - -“Bobby!” she called. “Bobby, your father wants you right away.” - -“I didn’t hear the doorbell,” said Bobby to himself as he walked slowly -downstairs. “How could he come ’thout ringing the bell?” - -Bobby never doubted that Mr. Bennett had come. And he had. He had come -in his small work car and Father Blossom had seen him through the -window and had gone to the door to save him waiting in the cold. That -was why Bobby had not heard the doorbell. - -Although he walked as slowly as he could, Bobby finally came to the -door of the living-room. There was no one there for Mother Blossom, -supposing that Mr. Bennett had come to talk business with Father -Blossom, had excused herself and gone upstairs to write a letter. - -“In here, Son,” said Father Blossom’s voice, and Bobby saw they were in -the little back room where Father Blossom had his desk. - -Mr. Bennett sat facing the door and Father Blossom sat at his desk. The -carpenter was a short, heavy man with a red face and a deep, hoarse -voice. He had small, quick blue eyes and just now they looked angry. - -“Bobby,” said Father Blossom quietly, “this is Mr. Bennett whose shop -burned down last night. And he seems to think that you, and some other -boys, are responsible for the fire.” - -“Think!” snorted Mr. Bennett. “Think! I don’t think anything about it; -I know those kids set the place on fire. And they’ve got to pay for it.” - -Bobby had got as far as the desk and there he stood, feeling very -unhappy and a little ashamed. - -“Were you in the shop at all, Bobby?” asked Father Blossom keenly. - -“Yes, Daddy,” replied Bobby bravely, raising his eyes. “I went in after -the football. The window was open. And I didn’t touch a thing. None of -us did. Except the cat. We stroked her and made her purr.” - -“You needn’t tell me that five boys--and I have the names of everyone -of you--could go in a tool shop and not upset things,” scolded Mr. -Bennett. “I know as well as though I’d seen you do it, some of you -kicked over turpentine and varnish and laid the foundations for the -fire.” - -“We did not!” retorted Bobby. “I had to get the ball out, ’cause it -wasn’t mine. But I didn’t set your old shop----” - -“That will do, Son,” interrupted Father Blossom. “You had absolutely no -right to go into Mr. Bennett’s shop in his absence and I am exceedingly -sorry to hear you did such a thing. The other boys were wrong, too, and -Mr. Bennett has a right to be angry. I don’t think you are responsible -for the fire, however, and we hope we’ll be able to convince Mr. -Bennett presently.” - -“Convince me!” almost shouted the carpenter. “Why, I tell you those -boys set my shop on fire! A parcel of young ones, skylarking over my -workbench and in among my tools and varnishes--I wish I’d caught ’em at -it! I could make ’em dance! And now that boy stands there and denies -up and down he had anything to do with the fire and you expect me to -believe him. I’m going up to the police court and get warrants out for -every one of ’em, that’s what I’m going to do!” shrieked the angry -carpenter, thumping the desk. - -Bobby turned pale and his knees began to wobble. But Father Blossom -only shook his head. - -“I don’t think you will do that, Mr. Bennett,” he said. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE MAGIC FOUNTAIN - - -Father Blossom did not seem to be afraid of Mr. Bennett, though the -carpenter’s red face and angry eyes and the way he pounded the desk -scared Bobby speechless. Father Blossom continued to sit quietly in his -chair and when Mr. Bennett started toward the door, repeating that he -was going uptown and “get warrants,” Father Blossom merely said again, -“I don’t think you will do that, Mr. Bennett.” - -“Why not?” blustered the carpenter, stopping half-way in the hall. “Why -not? What’s to stop me, I’d like to know?” - -“Well, in the first place,” said Father Blossom evenly, “the recorder -isn’t likely to take a complaint against boys seriously; and if he did, -he would require more evidence than you seem to have. For instance, are -you sure your cat didn’t upset this varnish and oil you speak of?” - -“The cat!” sputtered Mr. Bennett. “It’s likely a cat would do that, -isn’t it? I never heard such nonsense.” - -“You didn’t see the cat do it, of course,” admitted Father Blossom. -“But neither did you see the boys. You only surmise. And a police -complaint needs evidence to back it, Mr. Bennett.” - -The carpenter scolded and raged another ten minutes, but in the end -he went away muttering that he guessed he’d wait a few days before -having the boys arrested. When the front door banged behind him, Bobby -breathed a sigh of relief. - -“Now I want to know all about this affair,” said Father Blossom -gravely, and Bobby told him. - -“We didn’t set the shop on fire, honestly we didn’t, Daddy,” he -concluded. “We didn’t knock over anything. And I only touched the cat.” - -“No, I don’t believe you set the place on fire, either,” said Father -Blossom. “But remember after this, Bobby, that it is never right to go -into a room or a shop or building that belongs to someone else when -it is locked expressly to keep people out. You should have left the -ball there and asked for it back when you could find Mr. Bennett. But -then, boys don’t think of that when they are playing and I won’t blame -you too severely for crawling through the window. But you made another -mistake and one I think you must have known when you made it.” - -Bobby looked at the floor. “I--I didn’t say anything ’bout the fire,” -he faltered. - -“You didn’t come straight to me when you heard Mr. Bennett was angry -and accused you,” said Father Blossom. “It makes me feel bad to learn -that my boy was afraid to tell me he was in trouble.” - -This was too much for Bobby and he flung himself into his father’s lap -and cried a little, even if he was seven and a half years old. - -“I wanted to tell you, Daddy,” he insisted. “Honestly I did. -But--but--the fellows----” - -“Someone didn’t want to tell, I suppose,” said Father Blossom. “Well, -we don’t like to go against our friends’ wishes and sometimes they say -we will get them into trouble if we do. But I think it is always best -for a boy to tell his daddy, at least of his own share in anything like -this. Next time you’ll know better what to do.” - -Bobby was silent for a little while and then he asked timidly if the -carpenter could have them arrested. - -“I don’t know, Son, but I doubt it,” replied Father Blossom, who never -pretended to know when he was not sure. “You want to say as little -about this as possible and don’t talk unkindly of Mr. Bennett with the -other boys. You were not wholly in the right, you know, and he has lost -a valuable collection of tools and much fine work. It is natural that -he should feel bitter. If you are patient, some day he will find out -that he has been mistaken and I know he is man enough to admit it when -he discovers he is wrong.” - -Bobby was very quiet through dinner that night and he stayed closely -to the house over Sunday. He did not tell even Meg about Mr. Bennett, -though usually he told her everything that happened to him. Mother -Blossom knew, of course, but she did not speak of it. It was not till -Meg went to school Monday morning that she heard of the mischief the -five boys were supposed to have done. - -“Oh, Bobby!” she gasped when she met him at the school gate at noon. -“Bobby, do you know what that awful Charlie Black is saying about you? -He says you and Fred Baldwin and Palmer Davis and Bertrand Ashe and -that Lambert boy who was visiting Bertrand over Thanksgiving, set fire -to Mr. Bennett’s carpenter shop!” - -“Charlie Black is a fibber!” said Bobby hotly. “We didn’t set fire to -the shop.” And then, because there was no hope of satisfying Meg with -anything less, he told her the whole story. - -She was as indignant as any small sister would be and she assured Bobby -that she knew he had not burned down the shop. But not everyone had -so much faith, and as the news travelled through the school--as such -news will--Bobby and the three other boys (Elmer Lambert had gone home -Saturday afternoon and was safely out of trouble) had to submit to -much teasing and questioning. Charlie Black and Tim Roon taunted Bobby -openly with having set fire to the carpenter shop, and one recess a -pitched battle started between Bobby and his friends and Charlie Black -and Tim Roon and their chums. - -Fighting was strictly forbidden in the school yard and the culprits -were marched in disgrace to the principal’s office by one of the -teachers who said that it was “a mercy Mr. Carter is here today and can -punish you as you deserve.” - -Mr. Carter asked a few questions, scolded them all for breaking the -rule against fighting and then sent Tim and Charlie and their three -followers down to the gymnasium to wash off the dirt, first warning -them that they were not to molest Bobby or his chums or make any -reference whatever to the carpenter shop fire again. - -Then the principal kept Bobby and Fred Palmer and Bertrand a few -minutes longer while he told them that he did not believe they were -responsible for the fire and that he thought very few people would -ever believe it. But, he said, it was foolish to pay any attention to -taunts or teasing, and that when people were wrongly accused, if they -were brave, it didn’t matter to them what unkind things were said about -them. - -“And now you may go,” said Mr. Carter smiling. “But there must be no -more fighting. Another time I shall have to be more severe.” - -“I didn’t even know he’d heard about the fire,” said Bobby, walking -home that noon with Meg. “I guess everybody in Oak Hill knows about it; -and Mr. Bennett probably goes around telling everyone we set fire to -his shop. Oh, dear, I wish I’d never played football!” - -But Bobby forgot his troubles when he and Meg reached home and found -that Dot and Twaddles were planning to give a play that afternoon. - -“You must hurry right home from school,” announced Dot importantly. -“Mother is coming and so is Norah. The curtain raises at three.” - -“You talk as if the curtain were Norah’s bread,” giggled Meg. “You -should say the curtain ‘rises’ at three, Dot.” - -“Huh, it doesn’t rise, either,” remarked Twaddles, who had come to the -lunch table with his face streaked with dust. “It pulls apart!” - -“How dirty your face is,” observed Bobby, big-brother fashion. “Where -are you going to give this play, Twaddles?” - -“Up garret,” answered Twaddles. “You pay six pins and you can come. And -we have seats and everything.” - -“I don’t know anything about it,” laughed Mother Blossom when Bobby -asked her what kind of a play the young ones were planning. “Dot and -Twaddles have done it all themselves; they have been working all -morning and aside from considerable racket, I wouldn’t know there was -to be a play. You and Meg will have to wait and see. And, Twaddles, -my dear little son, how could you come to the table with such a dirty -face?” - -“That’s shadows,” said Twaddles comfortably. “Will you hurry, Meg?” - -Meg and Bobby promised to hurry home from school that afternoon and -they were home twenty minutes after the dismissal bell had sounded. -They paid their six pins to Twaddles, who stood at the door of the -garret, and went in. Mother Blossom and Norah were already there, -seated on a board placed on two small footstools. - -“’Tisn’t a very high seat,” whispered Norah to Meg, who sat down beside -her, “but then you haven’t far to fall.” - -Meg and Bobby stared in surprise at the corner of the attic which the -twins had curtained off for the stage. They would not let anybody help, -so they had not been able to hang their curtains very high. A string -had been stretched from one side of the wall to the other, where the -garret roof began to slope, and two old lace curtains were flung over -this. The audience could see through the lace without the slightest -trouble but, as Dot said, they were supposed to pretend they couldn’t. - -“The play will begin in a minute,” announced Twaddles, stepping out -from behind the curtain. “It is called ‘The Magic Fountain’ and I -invented some of it and Dot did, too.” - -The audience politely clapped, and Twaddles reached up to pull the -curtains apart. Something went wrong, the string broke and curtains and -cord came down upon the unfortunate stage manager. Bobby untangled him -and Twaddles said he thought they could get along without curtains. - -“Hurry up, Dot,” he called in a loud whisper. “Come on, and begin. What -are you waiting for?” - -“I got it!” cried Dot, climbing out of a trunk that stood open on the -“stage.” She wore a blue silk dress that had been her grandmother’s and -was the pride of her heart because it had a long train. - -“This is the fountain,” declared Twaddles, pointing to the open trunk. -“I am a witch-man and I point my wand at it and a beautiful princess -comes out. You watch.” - -The summer before, Twaddles and Dot had seen an electric fountain and -had watched fascinated while pretty girls and beautiful scenery and -once what Dot called a “whole house” had risen apparently out of the -water. This had given them the idea for their play. - -“You have to wait a minute while I put on my hair,” said Dot so -seriously that the audience did not dare laugh. - -The desire of Dot for long golden curls was something no one could -understand. All her dolls had to have yellow hair and she was always -sighing for long, springy curls instead of the short, thick dark hair -that covered her head. Now she carefully put on a circlet of pasteboard -to which she had pinned long streamers of yellow crepe paper twisted to -look something like curls. - -“You look crazy,” said Bobby frankly, but Twaddles withered him with a -look. - -“A heap you know about a princess,” he said scornfully. “They always -have long hair. Go on, Dot.” - -Dot curled herself into the trunk and Twaddles stood by it. He rapped -with his wand three times and up rose the princess, slowly and -gracefully, her yellow curls dangling half-way to her waist. - -“Now go back!” commanded the witch-man, striking the trunk with his -wand again to make the princess disappear. - -She disappeared, but more quickly than she had intended. Twaddles’ -stick had jarred the heavy lid of the trunk and it crashed down, hiding -the princess from view, but not shutting out her shrieks of fright. - -“Mother!” screamed poor Dot. “Mother! Ow! Open it, Twaddles!” - -“You’re a fine witch-man,” scolded Bobby, rushing for the trunk; but -Mother Blossom and Norah reached it first. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -CHRISTMAS AT SCHOOL - - -Well, Dot wasn’t hurt, and Mother had her out of the trunk in a jiffy. -Dot, between her sobs, managed to remember that it was the end of -the play, anyway, and that made her feel better. And after Twaddles -had explained that he did not mean to knock so hard, they all went -downstairs. - -“I think it was worth six pins,” said Bobby slowly, and Mother Blossom -laughed and said she thought so, too. - -For the first time in weeks the twins did not envy Bobby and Meg when -they started off to school the next morning. It had snowed during the -night, and great was the excitement of the four little Blossoms who -awoke to find a beautiful white world. - -“We can play in it, can’t we?” urged Twaddles, bouncing around in his -chair and nearly upsetting Meg’s oatmeal bowl. “Let’s hurry and go -out, Dot.” - -“I’m glad we don’t have to go to school,” said Dot. “Meg has to go; -she can’t play in the snow till this afternoon. And Bobby has to go to -school--he can’t play, either.” - -“I hate school!” muttered Bobby. “I wish I never had to go near the -place.” - -Mother Blossom glanced at him in surprise and Father Blossom put down -his paper and said if they’d hurry he would take him and Meg to school -in the car. Mr. Bennett’s story of the fire was known all over Oak Hill -by this time and though his parents guessed that Bobby was not exactly -happy under such an accusation, they did not know how much tormenting -he had to endure. Mr. Carter managed to keep him and the other boys out -of actual fights, but he could not prevent the sly teasing that went -on. The lads in the upper grades took special delight in pretending -that they heard fire engines whenever Bobby or any of the three boys -accused with him of the burning of the carpenter shop came near them. -Bobby often said gloomily that he would like to run away. - -“Well, school closes Friday,” Meg reminded her brother cheerfully. “And -it’s almost Christmas. I have to go shopping Saturday.” - -“So do I, Meg,” chimed in Dot. “I have to go shopping. Can’t I go with -you?” - -“I’ll go, too,” said Twaddles placidly. “I have ten cents to spend.” - -“I want to go by myself,” declared Meg. “I don’t see why you always -have to tag along.” - -“I shouldn’t think you’d want to go where you’re not wanted,” said -Bobby crossly. - -“Well, we do,” retorted Twaddles. “We’re going--you’ll see.” - -“Why, this doesn’t sound much like Christmas,” said Father Blossom in -surprise. “You’ll be quarreling in a minute, and no one should ever -quarrel at Christmas time. If you’re coming with me, Meg and Bobby, get -your things on. And, Dot and Twaddles, I thought you were going to play -out in the snow?” - -The thought of the snow restored Dot and Twaddles to good humor and -they ran to get their mittens and leggings and coats, while Meg and -Bobby rode to school with Sam and Father Blossom. - -When they came home at noon, they had news to tell of the last day, -before the Christmas vacation began. - -“We’re not going to have exercises this year,” reported Meg, “but Miss -Wright is going to read us a Christmas story and everybody will sing. -And then there is a big Christmas tree and every child brings two -presents--not great, big expensive ones, Mother, but little silly ones.” - -“What’s a silly present?” demanded Twaddles. - -“Mother,” said Meg with dignity, “can’t I ever speak to you without -Twaddles listening?” - -“I’m not listening,” cried Twaddles, much hurt. “And Dot isn’t -listening, either.” - -“What do you suppose Uncle Dave and Aunt Miranda will think of children -who squabble as you do?” said Mother Blossom. “Bobby, will you bring me -the letter that is on the hall table, like my good little son?” - -“Is Uncle Dave coming?” asked Meg. - -“Yes, dear, he and Aunt Miranda are coming to spend Christmas with us,” -replied Mother Blossom. “The letter came this morning. They will get -here--let me see, when did uncle write they would get here?” - -Mother Blossom opened the letter Bobby brought her and ran over the -faint, small handwriting hastily. Uncle Dave was her own uncle, and -great-uncle to the four little Blossoms. He was an old man and it was -not easy for him to write a letter. - -“Uncle Dave writes they will be here Monday, that is the day before -Christmas,” said Mother Blossom. “I am so glad they can come; they have -never seen Dot and Twaddles, you know.” - -“Well, Mother, may Bobby and I go shopping without coming home from -school this afternoon?” asked Meg. “We have to get two things apiece, -that’s four altogether.” - -“Let us go, Mother?” begged Dot. “We can go and meet Meg and Bobby -after school.” - -“I think Meg and Bobby should have this afternoon alone to buy the -presents for the school Christmas tree,” said Mother Blossom firmly. -“Then, Saturday morning, you may all go shopping together. How will -that be?” - -This seemed to suit everyone, and Mother Blossom gave Bobby an extra -kiss as he and Meg hurried back to school. Bobby did not have much to -say about school nowadays, and Mother Blossom was sorry he did not feel -happier. - -“Mother gave me forty cents,” said Meg as they walked along. “We -mustn’t buy anything that costs more than ten cents, Miss Wright said.” - -“Who do we give ’em to?” asked Bobby curiously. - -“Why, didn’t you hear Miss Wright when she was talking this morning in -assembly?” asked Meg, surprised. “She said she’ll have a basket in her -office tomorrow, two baskets I mean, one for boys’ presents and one for -the girls. And we wrap our things up and drop them in, one for a boy -and one for a girl; then Miss Wright puts the names on and no one knows -what the presents are, not even Miss Wright or Mr. Carter.” - -As soon as school was out that afternoon Bobby and Meg started for the -stores. It had stopped snowing soon after noon, and the walks were wet -and slippery. Some of the children had their sleds out but there was -not enough snow for good sledding or coasting. - -“We’ll go to the five-and-ten-cent store,” planned Meg. “Isn’t it fun -to buy four things!” - -She and Bobby spent over an hour, looking at everything on the long -counters, and finally Meg bought a chain of blue beads for a girl and -a little red-covered address book for a boy. Bobby chose a little pin -tray for a girl and for his boy’s present he selected a key-ring. - -The twins were nearly beside themselves with eagerness to see the -presents, and they insisted on helping tie them up, and Dot wanted to -take them to the school and put them in the baskets that night. - -“You don’t believe in wasting time, do you, Dot?” teased Father -Blossom. “However, I think tomorrow morning will be better. Meg says -the tree will not be trimmed till Friday.” - -The next day was Thursday, and Meg and Bobby took their tissue-paper -wrapped parcels to school and dropped them into the two large baskets -which stood in the vice-principal’s office. There was a buzz of -excitement in every classroom and Miss Lee, Bobby’s teacher, said that -school might as well close then and there for all the work that was -being done. - -“Tim Roon, if I see you whispering once more,” Miss Lee scolded, “you -will have to stay after school an hour tomorrow night. What are you and -Charlie Black giggling over?” - -Tim Roon merely stopped whispering, but did not explain. - -“I wish we could go see the tree,” said Twaddles wistfully Thursday -night. “Meg and Bobby have all the fun.” - -“Why, Twaddles!” said Mother Blossom. “You and Dot are going shopping -Saturday morning, you know you are. And Norah and I need you tomorrow -to help us get ready for Uncle Dave and Aunt Miranda.” - -So Twaddles cheered up and decided that he was important, after all. - -Friday morning, Meg and Bobby pattered away to school for the one -session which always featured the last day before the close of a term -or the beginning of a holiday. They found the building bright with -wreaths and ropes of Christmas greens. - -“Have you seen the tree?” asked Palmer Davis excitedly, meeting Bobby -in the hall. “It’s a great big one, almost as high as the ceiling. And -all the presents are tied on. They did it last night.” - -The pupils filed into the assembly hall as usual, but it is doubtful -whether any of them heard the Bible reading or knew which song they -were singing. All eyes were fastened on the beautiful big tree which -towered nearly to the ceiling. It was sprinkled with tissue-paper -packages and looked as mysterious as though Santa Claus had trimmed it -himself. - -There was an hour or so of work in the classrooms, putting the desks in -order for the holiday recess, and making sure that no loose papers were -left in the books, and then the gong sounded again and the whole four -grades marched back to the assembly hall for the exercises. - -Bobby’s class sat directly across the aisle from Meg’s and she saw him -and smiled. Miss Wright read them a Christmas story that made everyone -think of Christmas Eve and stockings to be filled and all the fun of -Christmas morning; then the school sang two Christmas carols and then, -and _then_ it was time to distribute the presents. Mr. Carter came -in to do that. He had spent half the morning at the grammar school -exercises. - -It was great fun and there was so much talk and laughter--for Mr. -Carter himself said that they should talk as much as they pleased--that -even the janitor peeped in to see what the racket was about. The pupils -were told to unwrap their presents as soon as they received them and -such a collection you never saw! There were tin whistles and small -horns, and these, of course, the boys simply had to test at once, and -ribbons and little dolls and candy and paint boxes, and indeed about -everything you could hope to mention. - -Meg had a tiny painting set (which she planned to give to Dot) and a -doll’s fan for her gifts, and she looked about for Bobby to show them -to him as soon as she had unwrapped them. She found him in one corner -of the room with Palmer Davis, Bertrand and Fred. Bobby looked very -angry. - -“I think it’s mean,” Fred was saying as Meg came up. - -“If I knew who did it,” began Bobby hotly, but Miss Mason approached -him smilingly before he could finish what he meant to say. - -“Let me see what you have, Bobby,” she said pleasantly. - -Bobby put his hands behind his back and looked obstinate. - -“Bobby, I asked you to let me see your Christmas presents,” said Miss -Mason, beginning to look severe. - -“I--I won’t!” blurted Bobby, trying to get behind Fred Baldwin. - -“Bobby Blossom, how dare you speak to me like that!” exclaimed Miss -Mason, losing her temper, while Meg wished she wouldn’t scold Bobby in -such a loud tone. All the children were listening. “Mr. Carter, what do -you think of a boy who flatly refuses to obey?” - -Mr. Carter turned when Miss Mason raised her voice. He said nothing, -but Bobby knew that he was looking at him. He could not bear to have -the principal think he was stubborn and he was dreadfully afraid he was -going to cry. He jerked his hand up and threw what he held directly at -the astonished Miss Mason. - -“Why, it’s a piece of coal!” said Meg aloud. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -COMPANY COMES - - -“I’m very sorry this happened,” said Mr. Carter gravely. - -He and Meg and Bobby stood in the hall, just outside the Assembly -hall, where the children were singing the closing Christmas carol. -The principal had beckoned to Bobby when the music began and Meg had -followed them. - -“I’m very sorry,” repeated Mr. Carter. “Do you know who sent this piece -of coal to you, Bobby?” - -“No, sir!” said Bobby hastily. “I don’t know at all.” - -“And you evidently don’t want me to guess,” said the principal with a -half-smile. “I think that will be better, after all. Just pretend to -pay no attention and whoever is trying to tease you will see that he -has missed his aim. Did I hand this to you from the tree, Bobby? Was -there anything with it?” - -“Yes, you gave it to me,” replied Bobby. “My other present was a game.” - -“Was there anything with the piece of coal?” persisted Mr. Carter. - -“There was a piece of paper that said ‘to help you start another -fire,’” said Bobby jerkily. “I tore it up.” - -“I should have liked to see the writing,” remarked Mr. Carter. “But -never mind. Evidently someone removed one package marked with your name -from the basket last night, after we finished working, or it may have -been this morning, and substituted the coal. The best thing to do is to -ignore the silly trick altogether.” - -The carol ended just as he finished speaking and the assembly broke up. -Mr. Carter put his arm around Bobby, wished him a Merry Christmas, and -said that he must let nothing spoil his holidays. Then he shook hands -with Meg and wished her “Merry Christmas,” too, and they were free to -go. As they went slowly upstairs to get their wraps, for the corridors -were crowded, they passed Miss Mason. - -“Merry Christmas, Bobby!” she smiled and nodded. “And you, too, Meg.” - -That was Miss Mason’s way of telling Bobby that she understood why he -had been cross and that she knew he did not mean to be rude. Bobby’s -own sunny smile answered her and he began to feel better directly. By -the time he reached home he had almost forgotten the piece of coal. - -“No more school for two weeks!” he shouted, prancing into the kitchen -where Mother Blossom and Norah were. - -“It’s snowing! It’s snowing!” shrieked the twins, tumbling up the back -steps and bursting into the kitchen like two small whirlwinds. “There’s -going to be snow on Christmas!” - -As soon as lunch was over, the four little Blossoms went out to play -in the snow and they spent the time till dinner teaching Philip to -pull the sled. The dog didn’t like it very well, but the children had -glorious fun and came in with such red cheeks and such appetites that -Father Blossom declared he was almost tempted to go out and play in the -snow himself. - -“And now we’re going shopping!” announced Twaddles the next morning. -“We have ever so much money, haven’t we, Meg?” - -“Is Meg the banker?” asked Father Blossom. - -“She carries the money,” explained Twaddles. “Dot has twenty-five cents -and I have twenty, and Meg has forty and Bobby has--how much have you, -Bobby?” - -“Fifty cents,” said Bobby. “I saved it.” - -“I could have earned ’bout fifty dollars, if Mother would let me,” -sighed Dot. “But she wouldn’t.” - -“Why, Dot, dear, what are you talking about?” asked Mother Blossom, -puzzled. “How could a little girl like you earn money?” - -“Errands,” said Dot briefly. “Folks wanted to give me pennies for -errands every time; but you said we mustn’t take pennies.” - -“Not for doing little kindnesses,” declared Mother Blossom firmly. -“Just remember the times the neighbors have given you cookies and cloth -for doll dresses, Dot, and sent you postal cards from far away cities. -I know you and Twaddles are both glad to do an errand now and then for -the Peabodys and the Wards and the Hiltons.” - -“Why, of course they are,” said Father Blossom. “And that reminds me, I -have four shiny new quarters in my pocket that I’ve been saving for you -children. Perhaps that will help you with this Christmas shopping.” - -The four little Blossoms were sure it would, and when they started -uptown soon after breakfast they felt very rich indeed. Meg carried -the money in a beaded bag and Dot sat on the sled. They were sure they -would need a sled to bring the bundles home on. It had stopped snowing -but there was a thick, snowy blanket on every street and the sled -pulled easily. - -“How many presents do we have to buy, Meg?” asked Dot, who certainly -depended on Meg for a great deal of information. - -“Mother, Daddy, Norah, Sam, Twaddles, Bobby and me,” counted Meg on her -fingers. “You have to buy seven presents.” - -“Eight, counting me,” said Dot. - -“You don’t buy a present for yourself,” Bobby reminded her. - -“Oh, yes, that’s so, I don’t,” admitted Dot. “Well, then does each of -us have to buy seven presents?” - -“We’re forgetting Uncle Dave and Aunt Miranda,” said Meg. “It wouldn’t -be nice to have them come see us Christmas and not have any presents. -That makes nine.” - -Dear, dear, nine presents are a good many to buy and it took the four -little Blossoms several minutes to decide how much they had to spend -on each gift. They sat down on somebody’s doorstep while Bobby figured -it out for them. He said they must spend exactly the same amount on -each present because he couldn’t be working out arithmetic examples all -morning. - -“Dot can spend five and one-tenth cents on each present,” announced -Bobby after much hard work with a stubby pencil and a slip of paper -from Meg’s bag. - -“I’d rather it came out even,” objected Dot. - -“It can’t,” Bobby informed her. “That’s arithmetic. Meg can spend seven -and two-sixty-fifths cents.” - -“You can’t buy anything for that,” pouted Meg. “I tell you what let’s -do--divide up the presents; you get one for Norah and I’ll get one for -Sam. And Dot can get something for Aunt Miranda, and Twaddles can get a -present for Uncle David. Like that, you know.” - -The four little Blossoms thought this was a sensible plan, after they -had talked it over, though Bobby said he wished Meg had thought of it -before he done had so much arithmetic. - -“I’m going to get a present for Mother and Daddy,” he added. - -Each of the children were determined to buy a present for Father and -Mother Blossom, so that was understood, too. And when they reached the -five-and-ten-cent store, they separated, because Christmas shopping -should always be a secret. Bobby left the sled with the boy who kept -a paper stand next door, and he was the first one through with his -shopping. He had to wait nearly half an hour and then Meg and Dot -struggled out of the crowd together, their arms full of small packages. -Twaddles was the last one to come and he carried one large bundle that -was so big around he could scarcely clasp his hands about it. - -“Did you spend all your money for one thing?” asked Meg curiously, -while they piled their purchases on the sled. - -“No, the others are inside of that,” replied Twaddles, gazing at his -bundle with loving pride. “But you can’t see ’em.” - -The four little Blossoms ploughed home through the snow and that -afternoon they were very busy, tying up packages in tissue paper and -writing names on the pretty tags and seals Mother Blossom gave them. -Mother Blossom herself was busy doing up Christmas gifts to mail and -she had a whole sledful for the children to take to the post-office -late that afternoon. Among the parcels were several for Aunt Polly -and one for Jud and another for Linda who lived with Aunt Polly at -Brookside Farm. - -Tuesday would be Christmas, and Monday morning Uncle Dave and Aunt -Miranda came. The four little Blossoms went with Father Blossom in the -car to the station to meet them. Meg and Bobby had seen them once, when -Bobby was three years old and Meg two, but, of course, they did not -remember them clearly. - -“Well, well, well,” said Uncle Dave, when he saw the children almost -tumbling out of the car to greet him. “So these are the four little -Blossoms, eh? What goes round and round and never touches the sky or -ground?” - -“What does?” asked Dot who loved riddles. - -“You do,” said Uncle Dave kissing her. “You haven’t had your feet on -the ground two minutes since I first caught sight of you.” - -Uncle Dave was a rather tall old man, with slightly stooped shoulders -and eyes that twinkled whenever he looked at anyone. He wore a soft -felt hat with a high crown and a narrow, curving brim. Out of the -pocket of his overcoat peeped a corncob pipe. Uncle Dave was very fond -of his old cob pipe, the children soon discovered. - -Aunt Miranda was a tiny little old lady with snow white hair and -snapping black eyes. She was so muffled up in shawls and scarfs and -capes that no one realized how tiny she was till she was all “unwound,” -as Bobby said. The first thing she did when they had reached the house -and she had kissed Mother Blossom, was to put on a black silk apron -and take her knitting out of the pocket. And during her visit no one -ever saw Aunt Miranda without her knitting. She did not believe in idle -hands. - -The four little Blossoms always trimmed their own Christmas tree, and -right after lunch they went to work. Uncle Dave insisted on helping and -he was so tall and had such long arms that he was every bit as good as -a step-ladder. How he laughed when Twaddles, watching him admiringly, -told him this. - -“I must tell Aunt Miranda that,” he chuckled. “She always says I put -things out of her reach. She is so short that what I put away on the -closet shelves, she has to stand on a chair to get down.” - -The tree looked beautiful when it was all trimmed. Meg and Dot had -strung the ropes of popcorn and the cranberries and Bobby and Uncle -Dave had put on the gold and silver ornaments which were carefully -saved from year to year. Twaddles always claimed the right to sprinkle -the white cotton and mica on for the snow, and just before dinner -Father Blossom put the star at the top of the tree and Sam Layton came -in to fix the electric lights. Norah had baked the gingerbread men -which hung from the branches, and Mother Blossom and Aunt Miranda had -made the candied apples on sticks which helped to trim the tree. All -the Blossom family had a hand in getting the tree ready, you see, which -was one reason, perhaps, they always loved to have one. - -“Now we light it after dinner, and put all the other lights out,” Bobby -explained to Aunt Miranda. “And then we hang up our stockings and then -we go to bed.” - -And after dinner the tree was lighted, and the four little Blossoms -marched around it, singing the Christmas carols they had learned. Then -Mother Blossom helped them to hang up their stockings, four in a row, -fastened to the mantle-piece--and very long and black and empty they -looked, dangling there--and they said good-night and pattered upstairs -to bed. - -Just before Mother Blossom tucked them in for the night, Bobby ran -over to the window to look at the weather. - -“It’s snowing some more!” he cried. “Twaddles, Santa Claus won’t have a -bit of trouble getting here; the roof will be covered with snow!” - -“If you hear him, you call me,” directed Twaddles. - -“Call me,” begged Dot sleepily from her bed. “I want to tell him -something special.” - - - - -CHAPTER X - -CHRISTMAS AT HOME - - -Whatever it was Dot wanted to tell Santa Claus, he was not to hear it -this Christmas. When the four little Blossoms woke Christmas morning, -it was already light and they tumbled downstairs to find the four -stockings bulging with knobby packages. They made so much noise that -they awoke everyone else in the house and Norah served breakfast a half -hour earlier than usual. - -“Could I open one bundle, Mother?” Twaddles kept saying. “Could I open -one bundle? Just that little square one. That doesn’t look exciting, -Mother.” - -“That little square one happens to be marked with my name, young man,” -said Father Blossom, “and I don’t intend to have any surprises spoiled -ahead of time.” - -The Blossom family never opened their Christmas gifts till after -breakfast Christmas morning. The children had their stockings and that -was supposed to keep them contented till it came time to open the -parcels; but often they thought they just could not wait another minute -after the first peep at the little mountain of white paper packages -under the tree. - -“I declare, Twaddles, you remind me of a bumble bee on a hot griddle,” -said Uncle Dave laughingly. “I never saw anyone in such a hurry to get -through his breakfast; now I call these hot rolls first-rate and I need -another cup of coffee, please, Margaret,” he added to Mother Blossom. - -“Dave, I think you’re real mean,” scolded Aunt Miranda, but she spoke -so gently, no one thought she really meant to scold. “How can you sit -there and drink another cup of that hot coffee when you know these -children are counting the minutes till they can open their presents? It -isn’t good for you to drink that much coffee, anyway.” - -“All right, I won’t take the second cup,” said Uncle Dave meekly. “I -seem to have had my breakfast, then, Margaret.” - -“May we be ’scused, Mother?” shouted the four little Blossoms. “Please, -Mother? Is it time to open the things now, Mother?” - -Mother Blossom laughed and said they would all go into the living-room -and look at their presents. And in ten minutes that beautiful, orderly -room was a sea of white tissue paper and seals and string and pink and -blue cotton. How Aunt Miranda laughed when she unwrapped one canvas -glove! - -“I couldn’t afford to buy two of them,” Dot explained, “because I had -to buy a present for Mother and Daddy, too. But you can use one hand, -can’t you, Aunt Miranda?” - -“Why, of course, I can,” Aunt Miranda said heartily. “I’ll wear it when -I’m fussing with my garden this spring, Dot, and think of you every -time I wear it.” - -Aunt Miranda had knitted a lovely scarf of brushed wool with mittens -to match for each of the children, and a tam-o-shanter hat for Meg and -one for Dot. The four little Blossoms were delighted with these, as -they might well be. Dot’s set was of scarlet wool, Meg’s was a delicate -blue, Bobby had brown and Twaddles’ set was a light buff color. Uncle -Dave had whittled each of the boys a ship, and for Meg he had made a -little chain of curious wooden beads and another smaller chain for Dot. - -It took a long time to see all the presents for there were a good many -of them and everyone wanted to show his gifts to everyone else. Sam was -very proud of the little diary Meg had given him and he promised to -write in it every day; Norah laughed till she cried over the cologne -bottle Bobby gave her for he had pulled the cork out to smell of it -after he got it home and the cologne had either evaporated or had been -spilled and the tiny bottle was quite empty. But as Norah said, when -she thanked Bobby, it still smelled exactly like cologne. Twaddles had -bought a pocket-knife with six blades for Uncle Dave and not one of -them would open. But Uncle Dave declared he liked that kind of a knife -because it always looked well and yet there was no danger that he would -cut himself. - -Each of the four little Blossoms, with much panting and counting of -their pennies, had managed to buy Father Blossom a present and another -for Mother. - -“I’m so overcome I don’t know how to say ‘thank you,’” announced Father -Blossom when he had Bobby’s ash tray on the table beside him, Meg’s red -stickpin in his tie, Dot’s paper weight on his desk in the den and the -handkerchief Twaddles had given him in his pocket. - -Mother Blossom was delighted with the cup and saucer Meg gave her and -she declared that the pin tray Bobby had chosen for her was exactly -what she needed for her dresser and that Dot must have known she wanted -another glass dish. But when she came to Twaddles’ present Mother -Blossom looked puzzled. - -“What in the world can this be?” she said, unwrapping it slowly. - -They all crowded around her while she undid the paper and when she -held up an enameled pot, such as Norah used to boil the potatoes in, -everyone looked surprised. Except Twaddles. - -“Isn’t it nice?” he urged. “Course it has a little hole in it, but -that was why I could buy it for ten cents. It used to be thirty cents, -Mother. Don’t you like it?” - -“Why, Twaddles, of course I do,” said Mother Blossom, kissing him. “I -like it very much and you must have loved me dearly to buy such a large -kettle. I’ll find some way to use it, even if there is a little hole in -it.” - -After all the presents had been seen, and the four little Blossoms had -so many toys and games that Father Blossom said folks must have made -a mistake and thought they didn’t have a single thing to play with -before, Mother Blossom reminded them that they were to feed the birds. -The children did this every year, tying pieces of suet to long strings -and hanging these in the trees where the birds could easily find them. -They also sprinkled plenty of bread-crumbs in dry sheltered places, off -the ground so that no cats should bother the birds at dinner. - -“The snow’s awful deep,” said Bobby, stamping in from helping to feed -the birds. “Couldn’t we go coasting, Mother?” - -“After dinner, dear,” replied Mother Blossom. “If you went now, you -would have to hurry back. After dinner you may all go and wear your new -scarfs and mittens, too.” - -Christmas dinner was a wonderful affair, with a huge brown turkey and -a plum pudding surrounded by a wreath of holly. Philip and Annabel -Lee had an extra good meal, too, in the garage where they preferred -to spend most of their time. Philip seemed to feel that he was really -Sam’s dog and Annabel Lee liked to sleep on the old fur robe Sam kept -especially for her. - -“So you’re going coasting, hey?” said Uncle Dave, when after dinner -the four little Blossoms began to bundle themselves up and Bobby went -down cellar and brought up the sleds. “Did you ever hear the story, -Meg, about the little girl who coasted into a snow bank and wasn’t seen -again till the next spring?” - -“Oh, no,” answered Meg, her eyes round with wonder. “Was she all dead, -Uncle Dave?” - -“Mercy, I should hope not!” said Uncle Dave, his eyes twinkling more -than ever. “You see, it was spring the next day by the calendar, -though there was snow on the ground.” - -“Dave, you shouldn’t tease the children,” reproved Aunt Miranda, coming -into the hall and knitting as she walked. “They won’t know, pretty -soon, when you are in earnest and when you’re not.” - -“I like to hear stories,” said Meg, pulling her tam down over her -yellow hair. “Don’t you want to come coasting, Uncle Dave?” - -“Well, no, I’d rather stay home and smoke,” replied Uncle Dave -placidly. “I’ve had my day coasting. When I was the age of Dot, my -father made me a sled and I went up on the roof and coasted off the -woodshed and was in bed a week.” - -“I wouldn’t be putting such notions in the heads of children, Dave,” -said Aunt Miranda, gently. “They’ll be wanting to coast off the roof -next.” - -“No, we can’t,” said Twaddles sadly. “We haven’t any woodshed.” - -The four little Blossoms had two sleds, just alike; one for Meg and Dot -and the other for Bobby and Twaddles. Wayne Place Hill was the finest -coasting spot in Oak Hill and when they reached it this afternoon, -they found a crowd of girls and boys already enjoying the fun. Some of -them had new Christmas sleds and some, like the four little Blossoms, -had sleds that were almost new and some had old, old sleds that were -battered and scarred and tied up with rope to make them last. And, -strange to say, the children who had the oldest sleds seemed to be -having as good a time as the ones with brand-new shiny sleds. - -Meg was immediately surrounded by little girls who wanted her to “take -us down.” Meg was only six years old, but she could steer a sled as -well as Bobby and her small friends knew it. - -“Don’t take Hester,” said Marion Green to Meg. “She always screams and -makes folks think she is hurt. And once she grabbed my brother and -pulled him right over backward.” - -Marion Green and Hester Scott were both in Meg’s class at school. -Hester was a fat little girl and generally smiling. But now she looked -ready to cry. - -“I haven’t been down the hill once this whole afternoon,” she declared. -“I’ll lend Dot my sled, Meg, if you’ll take me down. And I won’t scream -a tiny bit, honestly I won’t.” - -“All right, I’ll take you,” said Meg briefly. “Let Dot have your sled -and she can play round with it till I come back. She can’t coast down -alone either.” - -Hester knelt on the sled behind Meg, and Bobby obligingly gave them a -send-off push. The moment she felt the rush of air, Hester forgot her -promise. - -“Stop it!” she begged. “Oh, Meg, please stop. I can’t breathe! Ow! -Somebody stop us! Ow, we’re going to hit that red sled! Oh, Meg, -please, please----” - -She flung her arms around Meg’s neck and leaned back with her whole -weight. Up came Meg’s hands, the sled shot to one side and the two -girls tumbled off into the snow. - -“I told you so! I told you so!” Marion kept saying as she ran down -toward them, and Dot and Twaddles and Bobby came running, too. “She -always does that.” - -“I don’t either!” protested Hester. “But I couldn’t breathe or -anything, and I was scared.” - -“That’s just like a girl,” said Fred Baldwin in disgust. “They always -get scared.” - -“Who always gets scared?” asked Stanley Reeves, one of the high school -boys, hearing this sentence as he was passing the group on his way up -hill. - -“Why, I don’t think girls are all like that at all,” said Stanley, when -he had heard Fred’s explanation. “I tell you what we’ll do--we’ll clear -the hill and let the girls have a race. Any girl who is willing to -steer her own sled may enter. Come on back to the top and we’ll settle -this little matter.” - -Fred Baldwin walked beside Bobby. - -“Say, Bobby,” he said in an undertone. “Palmer and Bertrand and I want -to see you about something. Can you come over tomorrow?” - -“Is it about the fire?” asked Bobby in quick alarm. “Has Mr. Bennett -said anything more?” - -“Yes, he has,” admitted Fred. “I can’t tell you now. You come over to -my house tomorrow morning.” - -“You come over to our house,” suggested Bobby. “Bring the boys. I said -I’d help the children start a snowman in the yard. We can go out in the -garage and talk and nobody will hear us.” - -Fred said they would come and then he hurried on to watch the coasting -race. But Bobby’s pleasure in the sport was spoiled. He began to worry -again about the fire in the carpenter shop. What had Mr. Bennett been -saying? - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -MR. WHITE - - -Stanley was as good as his word and he and several other high school -lads kept the coasters off while ten small girls, all who were willing -to try their skill at steering, started down the hill when he gave the -word. Two of them capsized almost at once, three lasted half-way down, -one ran into a gutter and of the four who reached the bottom of the -hill safely, Meg was the first. - -“You’re the winner,” Stanley informed her. “And I didn’t see any of -those who fell off act as though frightened. What do you have to say -for yourself, Fred?” - -“Oh, well, girls are different,” said Fred, looking at Meg admiringly. - -“But you said they always get scared,” insisted Stanley relentlessly. - -“I meant some of them do,” said Fred uneasily. - -And then Stanley took pity on him and invited all the ten little girls -to have a coast on his bobsled which was certainly the largest and -swiftest sled on the hill. - -The four little Blossoms left Wayne Place Hill when the town clock -struck five and all the way home they talked of what they meant to do -during the holidays. That is Meg and Dot and Twaddles talked, but Bobby -remained silent. - -“I hope there will be skating,” said Meg. “If there is anything I love -it is skating. I don’t know which is more fun, skating or coasting.” - -“I like skating better,” declared Twaddles. “Don’t you, Dot?” - -“Yes,” agreed Dot, “I do. And I’m going to ask Daddy to buy us some -skates. I’m sure we’re old enough to have ’em this year.” - -“But you don’t either of you know how to skate,” said Meg. “So how do -you know you like it better than coasting?” - -They argued about this the rest of the way home and were still at it -when they trooped into the living-room, where Aunt Miranda and her -knitting and Uncle Dave with his corncob pipe, sat before the fire. - -“Have a good time?” Uncle Dave asked the four little Blossoms. “You -did? That’s fine. I don’t suppose you looked in the oven as you came -through the kitchen to see what we’re going to have for supper?” - -Twaddles offered at once to go and see. Aunt Miranda was shocked at -Uncle Dave and he sat there and laughed so much Meg and Dot had to -laugh with him. Even Bobby smiled, though he was still serious. - -“What ails Bobby, Mother?” asked Twaddles suddenly. “I guess he has -something on his mind.” - -Twaddles had heard some older person say this, but it was too near the -truth to be comfortable for Bobby. - -“Mother,” he said, trying to look over Twaddles’ head, “Mother, is -there any place in this house where a person can think?” - -“Just what I’ve often wondered, Son,” said Father Blossom, coming into -the room. “If you find such a place, let me know.” - -“Supper’s ready,” announced Mother Blossom, smiling, “and you’ll have -to wait till afterward to think. I know you children are hungry, in -spite of Christmas dinner, after all that coasting.” - -Supper finished, Bobby forgot that he had wanted a quiet place in which -to think, for they all gathered around the glowing fire and Uncle Dave -and Aunt Miranda told stories of the Christmas days they remembered -years and years ago, when they were little. Some of the stories were -most exciting, and Twaddles’ eyes were as “large as saucers” Aunt -Miranda said, when she told them of standing outside the house when she -was a tiny girl and having a slide of snow from the roof strike her and -bury her out of sight. - -“I thought you were going to build a snowman,” said Uncle Dave, -the story apparently reminding him of snow figures. “Didn’t I hear -something about a snowman yesterday?” - -“We’re going to build him tomorrow morning,” replied Meg. “Can’t we, -Mother? Just you wait till you see him, Uncle Dave.” - -Though the children went to bed early so that they might feel like -getting up the next morning and going to work at the snowman, they did -not begin to build him till after lunch. Father Blossom offered to take -everyone for a long ride in the car as soon as they finished breakfast -and they did not get back till half-past twelve. - -“Come on, we’re going to build the snowman!” cried Meg, hurrying into -the hall for her hat and coat as soon as they were through luncheon. -“You watch, Uncle Dave, and we’ll build him close to the house; you can -see from the back windows.” - -“I’ll come look after a bit,” said Uncle Dave. “I have to have a little -nap afternoons, you know. Been working so hard this morning, I’m all -tuckered out.” - -So Uncle Dave lay down on the big sofa to enjoy a little nap and Aunt -Miranda sat beside him and knitted, while the four little Blossoms went -seriously to work to build the best snowman they had ever built. - -“We want him nice,” said Meg, beginning to help Bobby roll a snowball -for his body. “Uncle Dave is going home tomorrow. He said so. And we -want to show him we know how to build snowmen.” - -“I think he’s lovely,” said Dot, when Bobby put another snowball on -for the head and began to make holes for the eyes. “Per-fectly lovely. -Daddy, see our snowman! Isn’t he nice?” - -The car had stopped at the curb and Dot’s quick eyes had spied her -father. He came toward them, around the side of the house, and smiled -when he saw what they were doing. - -“Well, well, that is a mighty fine snowman,” he said. “Mighty fine. -What do you call him, Meg?” - -Meg was always expected to name any new pet or a new doll, and why not -a snowman, too? The three other children looked at her confidently, -sure that she would be able to think of a name. - -“His name,” said Meg slowly, “his name is--let me think a minute; oh, I -guess his name is Mr. White!” - -Father Blossom laughed and kissed her, and Bobby said he thought that -was a splendid name. - -“Are you going to stay home, Daddy?” asked Meg, clinging to Father -Blossom. “Or are you going to take us somewhere?” - -“Neither,” he answered promptly. “I came home to get some papers from -my desk and then Sam is going to drive me over to Clifton; I’m not -sure what condition the roads are in and I don’t think it wise to take -anyone else. I’m glad you’re having such a good time.” - -He went into the house and came out the back way again, in a few -moments. - -“Meg,” he called over his shoulder as he walked to the car, “why don’t -you get Mr. White a hat to keep him from taking cold, and a pipe to -keep his nose warm? He ought to have some comforts, you know.” - -“Could we get him a hat?” asked Meg doubtfully. “Oh, Bobby, there’s -Fred and Palmer and Bertrand. Don’t go off and play with them, please; -stay and play with us.” - -The three boys came into the yard and Dot disappeared toward the house. -She had a way of slipping off when she thought of something she wanted -to do. - -“Gee, that’s a pretty good snowman,” said Fred, looking at Mr. White -with great respect. “I think he’s the biggest one I ever saw.” - -“Yes, he’s pretty good,” chimed in Palmer. “Who built him?” - -“We all did,” said Bobby proudly. “For goodness’ sake, what’s that, -Dot?” - -Dot was out of breath from running and in her hand she held an -odd-shaped soft felt hat and a corncob pipe. - -“Put ’em on Mr. White, Bobby,” she urged. “The way Daddy said.” - -“Isn’t that Uncle Dave’s pipe?” asked Bobby. - -“Yes, but he’s asleep; he doesn’t need it when he’s asleep,” said Dot. - -So Bobby ran and borrowed a chair from Norah and stood on it to put the -hat on Mr. White and place the pipe in his mouth. To be sure he stuck -the pipe in upside down, but no one thought that made any difference. - -“That’s great!” said Palmer Davis. But he looked at Bobby as though he -were trying to tell him something. - -“You go over to the garage and I’ll be there in a minute,” directed -Bobby. “I have to take this chair back to the kitchen.” - -The three boys went off to the garage whistling and Bobby climbed back -on the chair to fix Mr. White’s hat more firmly, wondering what in the -world they wanted to say to him. - -“Lend me your necktie, Twaddles,” he said suddenly. “Who ever heard of -a man without a necktie?” - -Twaddles took off his red tie and gave it to Bobby who tied it around -the snowman’s neck in a twinkling. And then, before he could get down -from the chair, the four little Blossoms heard Aunt Miranda calling. -She had come out on the back porch with an apron thrown around her head -to keep her from taking cold. - -“Meg, Meg,” she called. “Have you seen anything of Uncle Dave’s hat? -And his pipe is gone, too. He can’t remember what he did with that.” - -Meg looked at Dot and Dot looked at the sky. But before anyone could -say a word, Aunt Miranda saw Mr. White and his hat and pipe. How she -did laugh! She ran into the house to tell Uncle Dave to come and look, -and he came to the door and Norah, too. Uncle Dave had finished his nap -and decided to come out and see what the children were doing and that -was when he missed his hat and pipe. - -“But I wouldn’t think of disturbing a gentleman who needs ’em worse -than I do,” he said merrily. “Leave ’em be till tonight, and let your -father see how you’ve taken his advice. I don’t want the hat till after -supper, anyway.” - -Leaving Meg and the twins to admire their snowman, Bobby dashed off -to the garage. He felt that he could not wait another moment to hear -what the boys wanted to tell him. They were waiting for him with sober -faces and Fred looked around as though he feared someone might be -listening, as he whispered, “I heard that Mr. Bennett wants to have us -all arrested!” - -Bobby had not heard a word, but Palmer and Fred had overheard two men -talking in the back of a shoemaker’s shop the day before Christmas, as -they waited for a pair of shoes to be mended. - -“He keeps saying we did it, and he doesn’t mean to wait much longer,” -said Palmer. “Do you suppose they’ll put us in prison, Bobby?” - -“I--I guess so,” nodded Bobby gloomily. “That is, if they catch us. -Say, why don’t we run away?” - -This was a new idea, but the other three boys liked it at once. Before -they left the garage, their plans were all made to run away that night. -There was no use waiting, Bobby said. - -“I’ll meet you at the corner, at ten o’clock,” he said. “And we can’t -carry much baggage. We can’t run with a trunk, and we may have to run.” - -“Do we say good-bye to anyone?” asked Fred. - -“Not a single person,” said Bobby, “Not even your mother. And remember -not to bang the front door. Daddy is going to lodge meeting tonight, I -think, so I can get away easily.” - -After the boys had gone, Bobby did not go back to where Meg and the -twins were playing with Mr. White. Instead he went upstairs and began -to pack. He spread out a clean handkerchief on the window sill in his -room and in it he put his pocket-knife, the one Twaddles always wanted -to borrow, two gum drops that were so hard he had never expected to eat -them, the watch spring Uncle Dave had given him and which he meant to -use in an “invention” some day, and a piece of soft, kneaded rubber. -These were the things he liked best and he thought they would all be -useful on a journey. - -“What red cheeks Bobby has!” said Mother Blossom at dinner that night. -“I do hope he hasn’t taken cold, playing in the snow.” - -“I’m all right,” declared Bobby, wishing that everyone would not look -at him. He was afraid they would see that he was excited because he was -going to run away. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -RUNNING AWAY - - -As it happened, Bobby could not have chosen a better night for running -away. That is, for running away without being found out. Father Blossom -hurried off to his lodge meeting directly after dinner, and then the -telephone bell rang and Mrs. Ward, a neighbor who lived near, asked -Mother Blossom and Uncle Dave and Aunt Miranda to come over to her -house and spend the evening. - -“I ought to be packing our things,” said Aunt Miranda, when Mother -Blossom told her. “But we’re not going till the eleven o’clock train, -and I suppose I’ll have time in the morning; I’d like to go, Margaret, -and so would Dave.” - -That left Norah in charge of the house and of the four little Blossoms, -and she sent them to bed the minute the clock struck eight. Norah -believed that all children should go to bed early and it never did any -good to coax her to let one stay up a single second past bedtime hour. -She waited till they were all in bed, then put out the lights in their -rooms, raised the windows and went downstairs to read her paper in the -kitchen. - -“It’s an awful long time till ten o’clock,” said Bobby to himself, -crawling out of bed as soon as he heard Norah close the door at the -foot of the back stairs. “I hope I don’t go to sleep before it’s time -to start.” - -Bobby had not meant to undress, for when he and the boys talked it over -they had decided that the best way would be to go to bed fully dressed -and then pull the covers up and if anyone peeped into their bedrooms -they would look as usual. But Bobby had reckoned without Norah who -announced that she expected to see clothes “folded up as they belong -on chairs and not scattered all about.” Bobby knew that if Norah went -through his room and saw no clothes neatly folded she would immediately -want to know where they were. So he had had to undress and get into his -pajamas as he always did. - -Bobby had a small room to himself, while the twins slept in a larger -connecting room and Meg had her own little room. - -“I s’pose Meg will be kind of sorry,” said Bobby, trying to dress -quietly, and without snapping on the light. “But she would be sorrier -if I stayed here and Mr. Bennett put me in prison. Mother wouldn’t like -that, either. I wonder what Mr. Bennett will say when he finds we’ve -gone.” - -As soon as he was dressed, Bobby tiptoed into Mother Blossom’s room to -look at her little ivory clock. It was only half-past eight! - -“I wish I’d told the fellows nine o’clock,” thought Bobby. “But there -would be a lot of people coming home from the movies then and they -might see us. I guess I can read till a quarter of, and then I’ll go.” - -He found a magazine on the table by the bed and he took that and Father -Blossom’s pocket flashlight which lay near and went back into his own -room and lay down on the floor and read the stories, not daring to turn -on the electric light lest someone come home and see a light in his -room when he was supposed to be asleep. He had to put the quilt over -him, because, even though he had closed the window, the room was cold. -Norah had carefully turned off the heat before she went downstairs. - -Bobby was so wide awake that he knew he wouldn’t go to sleep and he was -very much surprised when his head struck the floor with a bump. - -“Why--I guess I went to sleep!” he whispered. “I hope it isn’t after -ten o’clock!” - -He hurried across the hall to look at the ivory clock. It said twenty -minutes of ten. Bobby’s heart thumped a little as he went back to his -room and felt around for the handkerchief he had tied up that afternoon -and hidden on the floor of his closet. He found it and then crept -carefully into the hall, afraid that Dot would hear him and call out. -She was a light sleeper and woke easily. - -“I’ll slide down the banisters,” he decided when he reached the stairs. -“Then the stairs can’t creak and make a noise.” - -Once in the downstairs hall, it was easy to get his hat and coat and -rubber boots. A light shone under the kitchen door, proof that Norah -was still there. Probably she would sit up till Mother Blossom came -home. Bobby let himself out of the front door and closed it very -gently. Then he was possessed to run around to the back of the house -and make sure that Norah had not taken it into her head to go upstairs -and look for him. - -“Oh--my!” gasped Bobby with a half grunt as he turned the corner of the -house. He had walked into Mr. White, whose existence he had forgotten. -There was no moon and the dark was pretty black until one got used to -it. - -Bobby walked around the snowman and then he could see the light -streaming from the kitchen windows. Norah seldom pulled down the -shades. He could see her sitting at the table, her paper propped up -against her mending basket. Sam sat on the other side of the table, -reading a book. Philip was stretched out before the fire, and Annabel -Lee dozed in a cushioned rocking chair. - -“Sam could take us in the car,” thought Bobby, carefully picking his -way out of the yard. “He could take us to--to Mexico, I guess! But -he’d want to tell Daddy first, and Daddy wouldn’t let us go, maybe.” - -There were not many street lights in Oak Hill and the street where the -Blossoms lived was not much traveled after dark. So Bobby had to go -slowly, feeling his way till he reached the corner where an arc light -burned. - -“Hello, Bobby!” whispered a voice, and Fred Baldwin stepped out of the -shadows. Palmer Davis was behind him. - -“Where’s Bertrand?” asked Bobby. - -“Hasn’t come yet--he’s always late,” said Fred, who thought that -everyone should be as prompt as he was. - -“Maybe he can’t get away,” said Palmer mildly. “My mother most caught -me as I was going out the door. Suppose she had!” - -“Your father go to lodge meeting?” Fred asked Bobby. “So’d mine and -Palmer’s too, and I think Bertrand’s father was going. Wonder where he -is now.” - -Fred meant Bertrand, not his father, and just as he finished speaking, -that small boy came up to them, panting. - -“I ran all the way,” he said. “Is it late? My mother had company in the -parlor and my big sister was making candy in the kitchen. So I couldn’t -get out till I thought of sliding down the porch trellis.” - -“Wasn’t it icy?” asked Bobby. - -“Oh, yes, it was icy,” admitted Bertrand cheerfully. “But I don’t care, -long as I got here!” - -“Where we going?” asked Fred, looking at Bobby for directions. - -“I think we’d better walk till we come to a barn,” planned Bobby. -“Folks always sleep in a barn when they run away from home.” - -“Where’ll we get anything to eat?” suggested Palmer Davis. “I’m hungry -already.” - -“I brought some buns,” said Bertrand, hastily untying a small package -he carried. “We can eat these as we go along.” - -They started to walk uptown, keeping close together and munching the -buns as they walked. The packed snow deadened the noise of their -footfalls and there was not a sound anywhere. Here and there a light -shone out from the houses they passed, but most folk in Oak Hill went -to bed before ten o’clock unless there happened to be a party. - -“Mr. Bennett has a watchman all night at the shop,” said Bertrand -presently. “I saw him when I came out of our house. He has a little -shanty to stay in and a stove to keep him warm.” - -“What’s he supposed to do?” asked Bobby, wishing that everything didn’t -look so queer and spooky at night. - -“Why, the grocery boy says Mr. Bennett is trying to get more insurance -and he won’t have anything touched till that’s settled,” explained -Bertrand, who certainly heard everything that was ever said anywhere in -his vicinity. “He thinks we’ll come pawing over the ruins, the grocery -boy says.” - -They had reached the business section of the town now and Bobby, -looking ahead, made out the dim outline of a figure coming toward them. -They would meet under the next arc light, unless the boys could hide. - -“Sh--there’s somebody coming!” he whispered. “We don’t want ’em to see -us. Let’s cross over to the other side.” - -“That’ll look funny,” objected Fred. “Just walk ahead and don’t say -anything or look up; nobody will know us.” - -Alas for Fred’s hope! To Bobby’s terror and despair, as he was doggedly -tramping past the stranger, his coat collar turned up and his hands -deep in his pockets, he felt a grasp on his shoulder. - -“Robert!” said Father Blossom’s voice sternly, “what are you doing out -here at this time of night?” - -The boys stopped as if they had been shot, and poor Bobby turned -furiously on Fred. - -“I _told_ you we ought to have crossed over,” he said angrily. “Now see -what you’ve done!” - -“But what are you doing?” asked Father Blossom. “That’s more important. -Does Mother know where you are, Bobby?” - -“No, not exactly,” admitted Bobby. - -“I’ve just left your father, Fred,” said Father Blossom, recognizing -Fred in the dim light. “Does he know you are uptown?” - -Fred stood on one foot and then the other and finally muttered that he -supposed he didn’t. - -Father Blossom touched the knotted handkerchief Bobby carried, gently. - -“What is this, Son?” he asked. - -“Things,” said Bobby uncomfortably. “My knife and the kneaded rubber, -and--and some more things.” - -“Are you running away?” said Father Blossom and the suddenness of the -question took Bobby by surprise. The other boys stared in astonishment -at Bobby’s father. How in the world had he managed to guess so quickly? - -“I see you are,” said Father Blossom, as no one answered. “And what are -you running away from, boys?” - -“Mr. Bennett,” said Bobby jerkily. “He says he’s going to have us -arrested.” - -“And we’ll have to go to prison,” put in Palmer Davis. - -Father Blossom looked at the circle of worried little faces and -smiled. Then he became very grave. - -“I doubt very much if Mr. Bennett will have you arrested,” he said. “I -have heard a new story tonight that puts the blame on some tramps seen -hanging around the shop after you boys went in to get your ball. There -is too much doubt about the affair for Mr. Bennett to risk getting out -warrants. But, suppose he did: do you think I want my son, and would -your fathers want you, to run away instead of facing this trouble and -seeing it through?” - -“But I thought you wouldn’t like me to be arrested,” cried Bobby. “And -all the girls in school would tease Meg.” - -“I don’t want you arrested,” said Father Blossom earnestly, “and Meg -would feel very bad if that should happen and so would Mother. But, -Bobby, that would be something you could not help. People can not help -getting into trouble sometimes, but they can always help being afraid. -You are running away because you are afraid of what may happen.” - -Bobby and the other boys were silent. - -“A good soldier always faces the music,” said Father Blossom. “Surely -you are not going to turn your backs and run?” - -Bobby looked from Palmer to Fred and then at Bertrand. They looked -gloomy but not frightened. - -“All right,” sighed Bobby, “we’ll go back. Nobody can say we are -cowards.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -CHARLOTTE GORDON’S PARTY - - -Uncle Dave and Aunt Miranda went home the next morning. They did not -know that Bobby had almost run away. Neither did Meg and the twins. -Mother Blossom knew, for Father Blossom told her. But she only hugged -Bobby when she came into his room to call him the next morning and -whispered that he must never think of running away and leaving her, no -matter what happened. - -“I couldn’t get along without my big boy,” she said earnestly. - -Bobby and Father Blossom had reached home before Mother Blossom and -Uncle Dave and Aunt Miranda came in from Mrs. Ward’s, so Bobby had been -spared any explanations. He himself told Meg several weeks afterward -and she was much surprised to hear what he had planned to do. - -The carpenter apparently had not made up his mind that the boys were -responsible for the destruction of his shop, for he caused no arrests -to be made. Father Blossom and Fred’s father found out that one of the -tramps seen around the shop was supposed to have once worked for Mr. -Bennett, but beyond that they could not get a description of the men. - -“But if they set fire to the shop, we’ll find them,” said Father -Blossom. “You tell the boys to stop worrying over this, Bobby. No one -is going to do anything to you, and sooner or later you’ll hear that -Mr. Bennett has discovered who burned down his shop.” - -A cold snap that brought wonderful skating helped Bobby and his chums -to forget their troubles. And when Charlotte Gordon, one of the girls -in Bobby’s class at school, sent out invitations for a New Year’s -party, they were sure that nothing could ever bother them again. - -“Isn’t she nice to ask me!” exclaimed Meg, when she came home from the -ice pond one afternoon to find two square pink invitations on the hall -table, one addressed to Bobby and one to herself. “Hester Scott told -me this morning that she invited all your class, Bobby, but I’m in the -next grade. Hester didn’t get an invitation.” - -“I suppose Charlotte thought it would be nice to ask you, because of -Bobby,” said Mother Blossom. “When I was a little girl I always went to -parties with my brother.” - -“But she forgot us!” chorused the twins excitedly. “Can’t we go, -Mother? Maybe Charlotte didn’t know about us.” - -Mother Blossom laughed and said she thought that Charlotte knew about -Dot and Twaddles. - -“You wouldn’t have much fun at this party, dears,” she told the -disappointed youngsters. “The children who are asked are several years -older than you; I’ll tell you what we’ll do when Meg and Bobby go to -the party. We’ll have one of our own. Dot may set the dolls’ table and -Norah will give her something good to eat and I will come upstairs and -play with you myself. How will that please you?” - -The twins loved to have Mother Blossom play with them and they did not -mind about the party with such a pleasant day to look forward to. -Although New Year’s Day was nearly a week off, Dot teased Norah to tell -her what they could have to eat and Twaddles helped to set the doll -table so many times that he broke two of the cups and saucers. - -“Going to Charlotte Gordon’s party?” asked Fred Baldwin when he met -Bobby in the grocery store the morning after the invitations had been -sent out. “You are? So’m I. But what do you think, she’s asked Tim -Roon and Charlie Black. I wouldn’t have them at my birthday party last -summer; they’re too mean to invite to a party, I think.” - -“Maybe Charlotte is polite ’cause she is a girl,” ventured Bobby. - -“Shucks, it’s just because they’re in our class,” retorted Fred. “She -could have left them out, as well as not. But she invited every single -boy and girl. Meg’s the only one asked outside the class.” - -Meg was much pleased when she heard this. - -“I think Charlotte is lovely,” she said. “And why shouldn’t she invite -Tim Roon and Charlie Black? I guess they like to go to parties.” - -“Well, I hope they know how to act,” remarked Bobby. “But I don’t -believe they do.” - -New Year’s Day finally came--though Meg and Bobby thought it never -would--and in the afternoon they went gaily off to Charlotte’s party. -Very nice they looked, too, Meg in a white wool frock and wearing blue -hair-ribbons and her beloved blue locket which she had lost and found -the winter before. Bobby wore his best suit and shiny patent leather -shoes. - -“We’re going to have a party, too!” the twins called after them, and -Meg and Bobby turned to wave their hands to show that they understood. - -Charlotte Gordon lived in the largest house in Oak Hill. The Gordons -had moved to Oak Hill from Chicago and everyone liked them for, -although they had a great deal of money and kept three cars and a staff -of servants, Mrs. Gordon did not forget or try to make other people -forget that her father had kept the grocery store in Oak Hill for years -and that she had gone to school with many of the Oak Hill folk. She -sent her daughter to the same school now, and Charlotte was a lovely -little girl, dark-eyed and pretty and with her mother’s own charming -manners and way of keeping friends. - -“I’m so glad you could come,” said Mrs. Gordon kissing Meg as she met -her in the hall. “Charlotte will show you where to put your things, -dear. Bobby, you’ll find some of the boys upstairs who will tell you -where to go.” - -Upstairs in Charlotte’s room Meg found a little group of girls shaking -out their hair-ribbons and comparing dresses and slippers. - -“What a darling locket!” said Eleanor Gray, when Meg took off her coat. -“I never saw one like it.” - -“It belonged to my great-aunt Dorothy,” explained Meg. “My Aunt Polly -gave it to me. I love it because it’s blue.” - -In a room across the hall, Bobby found the boys. He knew them all -because he saw them every day in school. Fred and Bertrand and Palmer -were there and Tim Roon and Charlie Black who were already trying to -do hand-springs over the beautiful carved mahogany bed with its blue -satin cover. - -“Come on downstairs and don’t act foolish,” growled Palmer, as Tim -landed in the center of the bed. “That’s no way to behave at a party.” - -“I guess I know how to act as well as you do,” retorted Tim. “But -I’m ready to go down. I want to tell Mrs. Gordon to have the fire -extinguishers ready in case of a fire.” - -Bobby colored angrily, but Fred pinched him to remind him to keep still. - -“Wait till we get him outside, and we can punch him,” whispered Fred. -“But I don’t think it would be very nice to start a row in here.” - -Bobby didn’t think so, either, and with an effort he kept from “talking -back” to Tim. Everyone went downstairs and Mrs. Gordon announced that -they would have a Virginia reel first. - -“Everyone can dance that,” she said. “I’ll play for you. And you must -keep your partners for the first game.” - -To Meg’s surprise, and small pleasure, Tim Roon asked her to dance -with him. She wanted Bobby for her partner for she did not know how -to dance well, but Meg was a polite little girl and she did not know -how to refuse Tim without offending him. She did not enjoy the reel -very much, though, for Tim was clumsy and stepped on her feet often -and besides he tormented her by twitching her hair-ribbon whenever he -thought no one would see him. - -“Now we’re going to play a game,” announced kind Mrs. Gordon when the -dance was finished. “Keep the same partners you had for the reel, -children. All sit on the floor in a circle, and close your eyes. I am -going to pass something around and let you guess what it is by smelling -it.” - -The children sat down in a circle, Tim on one side of Meg, Charlie -Black on the other. Mrs. Gordon went around back of them and held a -small bottle for each one to smell. Such wild guesses! Fred Baldwin -thought it was camphor, and Bobby was sure it was cologne. - -“I think it’s vinegar,” said Meg when her turn came. - -She had guessed it and she guessed the next test, also, which was a -pickle cut up in tiny bits so that each child had a taste. If you think -you can tell a pickle every time, try it some day when your eyes are -closed and you have not seen what you are going to eat. - -“We’ll let Meg test you for the sense of touch,” said Mrs. Gordon, -smiling. “Give them something of yours to feel, Meg, and see if they -can guess what it is.” - -Without hesitation, Meg unclasped her locket and passed it around the -circle. No one could guess what it was. Tim Roon was the last to handle -it and finally he “gave up.” - -“It was my locket,” explained Meg dimpling. And then Mrs. Gordon said -they would play another game. - -This was to answer “Happy New Year” to every question asked without -laughing and they had been playing several minutes before Meg realized -that Tim had not given her back her locket. She waited till the game -was over and then asked him for it. - -“I haven’t your locket,” said Tim. “I gave it back to you. Have you -gone and lost it again?” - -Meg was sure he had not given it back, but she looked about the room -carefully. She could not find it. When they marched out to supper it -was still missing and she was afraid to say anything to Bobby who did -not like Tim Roon, she knew. - -“He might hit him, or something,” reasoned Meg. “I _know_ I didn’t lose -my locket, but folks might think I did. I lost it once and they think -I’m careless, I guess.” - -She could not half enjoy the delicious goodies and when they went back -to play more games after supper, Meg stole away by herself to have a -little cry. She had hidden herself in one of the big leather chairs in -the book-lined room across the hall which was Mr. Gordon’s library and -she was sobbing quietly when suddenly a deep voice said, “Well, bless -me, and who is this?” - -A tall, gray-haired gentleman stood looking down at her. Meg knew he -must be Mr. Gordon. When he found she couldn’t stop crying he sat down -and took her on his lap and by and by Meg found she could tell him -about the lost locket and Tim and Bobby. - -“And I did lose it once,” she explained, “and perhaps I lost it this -time, but I know I didn’t.” - -“You stay here,” said Mr. Gordon shortly. - -He went away and in a few minutes he came back and Tim Roon, looking -very frightened and ashamed, was with him. - -“Tim has something to give you, Meg,” said Mr. Gordon. - -Silently Tim gave her her locket and Meg was so glad to get it back she -thanked Tim as though he had found it for her. - -“If you don’t say anything about it, Meg won’t,” Mr. Gordon told him. -“I don’t like Charlotte’s party to be disturbed and I would rather she -did not know what a mean boy she has invited as a friend. Come, Meg, -we’ll go back before they begin to wonder where you are.” - -Bobby had been looking for Meg and he was surprised to see her come -in with Mr. Gordon. It was almost time to go home and after they had -unwound the spider web of strings which brought them each a gift, the -party was over. - -“I hope you’ll have a party every day in the year,” said Palmer Davis, -trying to be very polite when he said good-bye to Mr. and Mrs. Gordon. - -“That would give us a gay new year, if not a happy one, wouldn’t it?” -Mrs. Gordon answered him laughingly. “Well, you should all be invited, -my dears.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -DOT READS A STORY - - -Meg told Bobby about her locket as they walked home and he was very -indignant. - -“Just let me catch that Tim Roon!” he said wrathfully. “He’s always -trying to bother someone. I don’t believe you would ever have got your -locket back if it hadn’t been for Mr. Gordon.” - -“Oh, Tim wouldn’t keep it--that would be stealing,” said Meg who liked -to think the best of everyone. “He only wanted to tease me; I know he -would have let me have it after a while. But I was afraid he would lose -it or break it.” - -New Year’s Day was, of course, on Tuesday just a week after Christmas, -and school was to open the next Monday. So Meg and Bobby determined to -have all the fun they could before they had to go back to lessons. - -“Mother, they say the skating on Blake’s pond is wonderful,” said Meg -at breakfast the morning after the party. “Better than ever. The ice is -eight feet thick!” - -“Now Meg,” protested Father Blossom, his eyes twinkling at her over the -top of his paper, “are you sure it isn’t eight inches you mean?” - -“Well, maybe it is eight inches,” admitted Meg. “But that is thick, -isn’t it, Daddy? And Bobby and I want to go this morning, because they -say the high school crowd is going to skate all the afternoon and we -couldn’t have much fun then.” - -Mother Blossom moved the sugar bowl away from Twaddles who seemed to -want to pour sugar on his oatmeal, and said she had a question to ask -Meg. - -“I’ve often wondered, Daughter,” said Mother Blossom, “who ‘they’ are; -you’re always quoting what ‘they’ say, Meg, and yet you seldom use any -names.” - -“They are--they are--well, I guess I mean everybody,” explained Meg. -“Everybody says the skating is wonderful, Mother. You don’t care if -Bobby and I go this morning do you?” - -“Let Twaddles and me go?” said Dot eagerly. “Mother, can’t we go -skating, too?” - -Father Blossom looked across the table at Mother, and laughed. - -“Now the argument begins,” he remarked whimsically. “A little more -coffee, please, Norah, to fortify me.” - -“Oh, Mother, don’t let the twins go!” said Bobby hastily. “We can’t -have a bit of fun with them around. They get in the way, and Twaddles -won’t stay off the pond, and they always want to come home before we -do.” - -“I think you’re a mean boy!” stormed poor Twaddles. “You and Meg are -selfish. You have all the fun--you went to a party yesterday and Dot -and I didn’t go.” - -“No, but you had a party home with Mother,” Meg told him. “Norah said -you had cocoanut layer cake and cocoa in the yellow pot.” - -“Yes, we had a lovely party,” said Mother Blossom cheerfully. “And -twinnies, if you don’t go skating this morning, I’ll think of something -pleasant for you to do in the house.” - -“It’s a very cold day,” said Father Blossom, folding up his paper and -taking his fur-lined gloves (which Santa Claus had brought him) from -the window sill. “Quite too cold for anyone to go out who doesn’t have -to. I don’t think Meg and Bobby will stay at the pond very long; and -small folks like Dot and Twaddles mustn’t think of taking such a long -walk.” - -“Oh, Daddy!” cried Dot, disappointment in her voice. - -“Oh, Dot!” said Father Blossom, kissing her. “Be a good girl, honey, -and tonight when I come home, we’ll pop corn at the fireplace.” - -Sam brought the car around in a moment and took Father Blossom off to -the busy foundry. Dot, with her nose pressed against the window pane, -was trying not to cry when her attention was attracted by a farm wagon -going slowly past. - -“What a lot of noise that wagon makes!” she said aloud. “Why doesn’t -the man oil it the way Jud used to oil Aunt Polly’s wagons?” - -“That wagon doesn’t need oiling,” Norah answered. She was clearing the -breakfast table and had heard Dot’s remark. “Wagons always creak like -that in cold weather. You can tell by that it’s a very cold day.” - -Bobby and Meg bundled up warmly and taking their skates from the hall -closet, hurried off to the pond. They promised Mother Blossom to come -home the moment they felt cold. - -“The big boys will have a bonfire on the ice,” said Bobby. “We can warm -our hands there, Mother.” - -“Don’t go near the fire unless there are older people around,” warned -Mother Blossom. “You can’t always tell what a bonfire is going to do, -Bobby.” - -As soon as Meg and Bobby were out of sight, the twins teased Mother -Blossom to tell them what they could do. - -“You haven’t played school in a long time,” suggested Mother Blossom. -“Or don’t you want to play school during the holidays?” - -“We’re tired of playing school,” objected Twaddles. - -“You mean you’re tired of the old way you play it,” said Mother -Blossom. “I don’t believe you have ever played you were a college -professor, have you, Twaddles? Take the old glasses and pretend you’re -a professor like the ones who taught Daddy in college.” - -“But what’ll I do with Dot?” asked Twaddles anxiously. - -“Why, Twaddles Blossom!” Mother Blossom pretended to scold. “Dot will -go to college of course. Isn’t she going when she is a big girl? You -may be the professor and Dot one of your students.” - -“But, Mother, I don’t know how to play college,” said Twaddles. “Dot -doesn’t, either. You tell us how.” - -Mother Blossom thought a moment. She was used to planning plays for the -twins and even Meg and Bobby sometimes came and asked her to tell them -“something to play.” - -“Why don’t you hold entrance examinations, Twaddles?” said Mother -Blossom, after she had thought while the twins watched her anxiously. -“Play that Dot wants to come to college and you must try her out and -see if she knows enough to come into your class. You might read aloud -for him, Dot, and pretend that he is a professor of English.” - -So Twaddles and Dot ran up to the playroom and got out all the toys -without which they thought they couldn’t play school. Twaddles put on -the big spectacles that had no glasses in them--which were among his -choicest possessions--and Dot sat down to read to him. - -Neither child could read, though they knew their alphabet fairly -well. But Dot had an excellent memory and knew many stories that had -been read aloud to her, and now she opened a book and pretended to be -reading from it to Twaddles. - -“Begin,” said the professor kindly. - -“Once upon a time,” read Dot, “there was the nicest girl you ever saw. -Her name was Cinderella. Her sisters were so mean to her she said ‘I -won’t stay with you any more’ and she ran away. They wouldn’t let -her go skating with them,” added Dot, glancing up from her book at -Professor Twaddles, who nodded to show he understood. - -“Cinderella went on a ship across the ocean,” continued Dot, “and -the ship was wrecked in the middle of the ocean and the wind blew her -ashore. While she was blowing through the air she saw another person -in the water and he was Robinson Crusoe. ‘Catch hold of my sash,’ said -Cinderella, ‘and I will pull you ashore.’ And he did, and they both -landed on a desert island,” and now Dot stopped to get her breath and -see what effect the story was having on the professor. He was staring -at her through his glasses in amazement. - -“Aren’t you mixing Cinderella up with another story?” he asked -doubtfully. - -“That’s all right,” Dot answered airily. “I like different stories. -Besides,” she added, “I’m reading to you from the book.” - -“Oh!” said the professor. “Excuse me; go on.” - -“As soon as Cinderella and Robinson Crusoe found they were on an -island,” went on Dot, “they thought they would look around and see if -anyone lived there they knew. They went to all the houses and rang the -doorbells----” - -[Illustration: Dot’s Wonderful Story. _Page 170_] - -“How could they if it was a desert island?” interrupted Twaddles. -“Nobody lives on a desert island.” - -“Well, they did on this one,” retorted Dot. “Cinderella was afraid to -ring the doorbells, but Robinson Crusoe went right up and punched ’em -hard. And when the folks came to the door, if he didn’t know them, he -said he hoped they would excuse him.” - -“I don’t believe they have doorbells, either,” murmured Professor -Twaddles, but Dot paid no attention to him. She was determined to -finish her story. - -“Pretty soon they came to a house,” she continued, “where little Red -Riding Hood lived. She was very glad to see them and when they asked -her to take a walk, she said she would. And they walked and they -walked, and by and by they came to a deep, dark forest.” - -Dot paused and shook her finger at the professor. - -“The Three Bears lived in that wood,” she said slowly. “And they came -out to eat them up! The Big Bear said he would eat Cinderella and the -Middle Bear was going to eat Robinson Crusoe and the Little Bear said -he would eat little Red Riding Hood.” - -“Did they?” asked Twaddles with interest. - -“No, they didn’t,” replied Dot. “There was a Fairy Tree at the edge of -the wood and Jack the Giant Killer lived inside it. He heard the Three -Bears talking and he jumped right out of that tree and killed them -with his hatchet. And, after that, a ship came and got Cinderella and -the others, too, and took them home. And they all lived happily ever -after.” - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -MR. BENNETT SHAKES HANDS - - -Before Professor Twaddles could say what he thought of this remarkable -story, the bang of the front door sent him and Dot flying into the hall -to see who had come. It was Bobby and Meg who had come home because of -the cold. - -“Hardly anyone at the pond,” reported Bobby, blowing on his fingers and -stamping up and down to warm his feet. “Let’s ask Mother if we may make -candy.” - -The four little Blossoms enjoyed a grand taffy pull, and in the -afternoon they played “menagerie” in the playroom, using the animal -suits left over from the play they had given a year before. - -The next morning Father Blossom said the weather was milder, and Meg -and Bobby were eager to try the pond again. The twins begged so hard -to be allowed to go, and promised so eagerly to do everything they -were asked to do, that it would have taken a harder-hearted brother and -sister than Bobby and Meg to have refused them. - -“Maybe next year we’ll have skates,” said Twaddles as he pattered -along, trying to keep up with Bobby. - -“Daddy was going to get you some for Christmas,” explained Bobby, “but -Mother said next year would be better. You can watch Meg and me skate.” - -The pond was well filled this morning and most of Bobby’s and Meg’s -friends were there. A blazing bonfire was burning down close to the -edge of the pond and the girls sat around this to put on their skates. - -“You kids want to stay away from the fire,” said Stanley Reeves, -skating up just as the four little Blossoms reached the pond. “And if I -catch any boy taking a stick out to play with, I’ll paddle him with it, -sure as you’re born!” - -Everyone laughed for Stanley was as good-natured as he was tall--and he -was the tallest boy in his class in high school. - -“You think I’m fooling, but I mean it,” he said seriously. “Fire is -nothing to play with.” - -“’Less you want to burn down a carpenter shop!” shouted Tim Roon. Then -he skated away, with Fred Baldwin after him. - -“Don’t you mind him,” whispered Meg to Bobby, as they joined hands and -struck out across the ice. “He just likes to be mean.” - -It did seem as though Tim liked to be mean. He and Charlie Black, -instead of skating off with the others, hung around the edges of -the pond and tried to tease the younger children who were amusing -themselves by making slides on the ice. There were half a dozen who -had no skates and these played with Twaddles and Dot. Left alone, -they would have had a happy time, but Tim and Charlie continually -tormented them. Finally when Tim put out his foot and tripped Morgan -Smith, a boy about a year older than Twaddles, for the third time, that -quick-tempered lad lost his last shred of patience. - -“I’ll fix you!” he shouted, and grabbing a long burning stick from the -fire he started after Tim. - -The other children scattered and Morgan, his stick leaving a trail of -fire behind him, was running after Tim when Twaddles cried a warning. - -“Look out! Stanley’s coming!” he called. - -Morgan turned, but not quickly enough to throw the stick back in the -fire. Stanley skated up to him and not even Mr. Carter, the twins -thought, could look more severe than he did. - -“What do you mean, pulling a stick out of the fire like that?” demanded -Stanley. “Don’t you know the little Davis girl was burned yesterday -doing that? I’ve a good mind to spank you with that very stick.” - -This was too much for Twaddles, who saw Tim grinning on the edge of the -crowd. - -“I think you ought to spank Tim Roon,” said Twaddles clearly. “He -tripped Morgan three times and he won’t leave us alone.” - -“Is that so?” said Stanley. “Well, in that case I think I’ll excuse -you, Morgan. But next time you leave fire alone. And Tim, I’ll attend -to you if I hear you’ve been bothering children younger than yourself -again.” - -Tim skated off muttering that “he guessed Stanley Reeves didn’t own -the whole pond.” Yet after that the children had their slide in peace. -Bobby and Meg called the twins when the whistles blew at twelve o’clock -and they went home to lunch. - -Mother Blossom said that no one should try to skate all day, so Meg -and the twins stayed home in the afternoon. But Bobby was due at the -dentist’s at three o’clock. His teeth needed cleaning only and he did -not dread the visit to kind Dr. Ward. - -“Stop in the grocery, will you, Bobby,” said Norah as he was leaving -the house. “And bring me a bottle of vanilla. I find I haven’t a drop -in the bottle.” - -Bobby promised, and as soon as Dr. Ward had finished with him, he -crossed over to the grocery store to get Norah’s vanilla. - -“Heard about the tramps?” asked the clerk who waited on him. - -Bobby asked what tramps and the clerk glanced at him curiously. - -“Thought you’d know all about it,” he said. “Why, the constable’s -arrested two tramps he caught hanging around the railroad station. -Guess they were waiting for a freight--there’s one goes through -at two-thirty. They say one of ’em used to work for Bennett, the -carpenter, and the other is a pal of his. Folks say they may know -something about the fire at the shop last fall.” - -Bobby took the bottle of vanilla the clerk gave him and bolted out of -the store without a word. He ran all the way home and burst into the -house so breathless that he had to wait a minute before he could speak. - -“Where’s Mother?” he asked Norah, who came into the hall to get her -vanilla. - -“Upstairs,” she answered. “What have you been doing, Bobby? Your face -is as red as a beet.” - -Bobby dashed upstairs without answering, and met Meg in the upstairs -hall. - -“Where’s Mother?” he asked again. - -“Up in the attic, hunting for some red flannel to make a new tongue for -Dot’s teddy bear,” replied Meg. “What do you want, Bobby?” - -Bobby was already half-way up the attic stairs and Meg flew after him. -Mother Blossom and the twins were looking over the contents of one of -the rag bags in the middle of the attic floor and they were surprised -when Bobby rushed toward them crying, “They’ve found the tramps, -Mother! They ’rested two of them and one used to work for Mr. Bennett! -The clerk in the grocery store says so!” - -“Why, Bobby!” said Mother Blossom, reaching up and pulling her “big -boy” as she often called Bobby, into her lap. “Why, Bobby, dear! Tell -me about it, quick.” - -Meg sat down on the floor to listen and Dot and Twaddles hung over -Mother Blossom’s shoulder. - -“I don’t know much about it,” said Bobby excitedly. “But the grocery -store clerk told me the constable arrested two tramps this afternoon. -He said folks said they might know something about the fire. And Daddy -said so that night.” - -“What night?” asked Dot curiously. - -“Oh--a night,” replied Bobby. The twins had never learned of his -attempt to run away and he did not intend to tell them now. “Daddy -said he heard two tramps were seen hanging around the carpenter shop -the afternoon before it burned.” - -“Ting-a-ling! Ting-a-ling!” the sound of the telephone bell came -faintly up the attic stairs. - -“I’ll answer it!” cried Meg, jumping to her feet. - -“No, let me!” shouted Bobby, running after her. Mother Blossom ran, -too, and so did Dot and Twaddles who thought this was all great fun. - -“Mr. Blossom wants to speak to you, ma’am,” said Norah, as Mother -Blossom reached the first floor hall where the telephone was placed. -“He says it’s important.” - -The four little Blossoms stood around expectantly and listened eagerly -while Mother Blossom said “Yes, Ralph,” and “No, indeed,” and “I’m so -glad.” - -You know how one-sided a telephone conversation sounds. Finally Mother -Blossom hung up the receiver. - -“Daddy says Mr. Baldwin telephoned him about the tramps and that he is -going with him and Mr. Davis and Mr. Ashe to the recorder’s office -right away,” said Mother Blossom. “Then, as soon as he has anything to -tell us, he’ll come home and we shall know all there is to know.” - -You may imagine how the four little Blossoms glued their faces to the -front windows to watch for Father Blossom, and what a racket they made -when the car turned in the drive. They were out on the porch in a -minute, dancing in the cold like four little wild Indians. - -“Come in, come in,” said Father Blossom laughing as they pounced upon -him. “You are not little Eskimos, you know. Yes, Bobby, I’ll tell you -everything in a minute. Let me get my gloves off. Don’t strangle me, -Dot; I need my breath to talk with.” - -As soon as he was settled before the fire in the living-room, the four -children sitting in a row on the hearth rug and Mother Blossom in her -chair opposite, Father Blossom told them what he had learned that -afternoon. - -“Mr. Baldwin telephoned me as soon as he heard of the arrest of the -tramps,” said Father Blossom, “and I came into town at once and -met him and Mr. Davis and Mr. Ashe at Recorder Scott’s office. Mr. -Bennett was also there. The tramps didn’t seem to be bad fellows, only -shiftless and careless. One of them had worked for Mr. Bennett several -years ago. - -“The recorder gave them an informal hearing and though vagrancy was -the charge against them, he began to question them about where they -had been and what towns they stopped in during the last few months. -He surprised them into admitting that they were in Oak Hill around -Thanksgiving time and though they denied they had been in the carpenter -shop, he finally drove them into a corner and one of them owned up to -having slept in the shop the night it burned. The man said they were -cold and they found the shop window open and crawled in, meaning to -stay till morning. They smoked a pipe or two and then went to sleep. -The crackling of flames awoke them, and they found the shop on fire. -Though they were terribly frightened, they were good enough to grope -through the smoke and heat till they found the cat and tossed her out -of the window. Then they broke down the door and got out and ran for -dear life. Naturally they were not anxious to be charged with setting -the fire.” - -“But if they were seen around the shop, why weren’t they traced?” asked -Mother Blossom. “How could Mr. Bennett suspect five little boys?” - -“Oh, boys and mischief go together in some people’s minds,” said Father -Blossom, smiling at Bobby. “And the tramps were sixty miles away before -morning. They caught a fast freight out of town. But now everyone in -Oak Hill knows who set the fire, for good news travels fast.” - -Bobby felt as though a great weight had been lifted from his mind. Back -in his head, ever since the fire and Mr. Bennett’s charge that he and -his chums were responsible, had been the question: “Does everyone think -I did it?” Now he knew that everyone knew and, best of all, he could go -back to school with no fear of being taunted with being a “fire-bug.” - -“Will the tramps have to go to prison?” he asked Father Blossom that -night. - -“No, not to prison, I think,” replied Father Blossom. “It will depend -to some extent on Mr. Bennett. But no one can do wrong and not be -punished, Bobby. Sooner or later, we have to pay for wrong doing and -mistakes.” - -Saturday Meg and Bobby went together for the last afternoon of skating -they could enjoy before school opened. The holidays were almost over. -Bobby had his skates on first and he and Fred and Palmer were racing -across the pond to see who could reach the other side and be back -before Meg should be ready, when Bobby heard his sister give a little -cry. - -“Tim’s teasing her!” shouted Bobby angrily. “Just wait till I get him!” - -But Stanley Reeves had seen Tim skate up and take Meg’s mittens which -lay on the ice beside her. He was a splendid skater, was Stanley, and -he easily overtook the grinning Tim. - -“I owe you one licking, Tim, and now you’re going to get it,” said -Stanley, dragging Tim back to where Meg and Bobby and the other -children stood. “Hand over those mittens and say you’re sorry you took -’em!” - -Tim mumbled something that sounded like “sorry.” - -“Ask him if he gave Bobby the coal for Christmas in school,” said -Bertrand Ashe suddenly. - -“Did you?” asked Stanley, shaking Tim as though he hoped by that method -to shake the truth out of him. - -Tim nodded miserably. - -“Then say you’re sorry,” ordered Stanley and again Tim mumbled an -apology. - -“All right. And here’s something to make you a better boy,” said -Stanley turning the astonished Tim over his knee. And, being much older -and a strong and athletic lad, he did manage to spank Tim thoroughly in -spite of his shrieks and kicks. - -Tim fled as soon as he was released and for at least two weeks gave his -schoolmates and teachers no trouble at all. As Stanley said, someone -ought to spank him often enough and he would probably be a very good -child. - -On their way home from the pond that afternoon, Bobby and Meg met the -carpenter. Bobby had not seen Mr. Bennett since the day he accused him -of setting fire to his shop. Now he stopped and held out his hand. - -“Hope I know enough to say I was mistaken,” he said. “Will you shake -hands, Bobby? I’m mighty sorry I blundered.” - -Bobby shook hands with a beaming face. All the way home he walked on -air. - -“Everybody’s nice,” he announced at dinner that night, “when you know -them.” - -And here let us say good-bye to the Four Little Blossoms. - - -THE END - - - - -TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: - - -Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - -Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - -Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. - -Archaic or variant spelling has been retained. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOUR LITTLE BLOSSOMS THROUGH -THE HOLIDAYS *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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