The Bobbsey Twins

by Laura Lee Hope

  CHAPTER XX

  ST. VALENTINE'S DAY

  St. Valentine's Day was now close at hand, and all of the children ofthe neighborhood were saving their money with which to buy valentines.

  "I know just the ones I am going to get," said Nan.

  "I want some big red hearts," put in Freddie. "Just love hearts, I do!"

  "I want the kind you can look into," came from Flossie. "Don't you know,the kind that fold up?"

  Two days before St. Valentine's Day the children gathered around thesitting-room table and began to make valentines. They had paper ofvarious colors and pictures cut from old magazines. They worked veryhard, and some of the valentines thus manufactured were as good as manythat could be bought.

  "Oh, I saw just the valentine for Freddie," whispered Nan to Bert. "Ithad a fireman running to a fire on it."

  There were a great many mysterious little packages brought into thehouse on the afternoon before St. Valentine's Day, and Mr. Bobbsey hadto supply quite a few postage stamps.

  "My, my, but the postman will have a lot to do to-morrow," said Mr.Bobbsey. "If this keeps on he'll want his wages increased, I am afraid."

  The fun began early in the morning. On coming down to breakfast each ofthe children found a valentine under his or her plate. They were allvery pretty.

  "Where in the world did they come from?" cried Nan. "Oh, mamma, did youput them there?"

  "No, Nan," said Mrs. Bobbsey.

  "Then it must have been Dinah!" said Nan, and rushed into the kitchen."Oh, Dinah, how good of you!"

  "'Spect da is from St. Valentine," said the cook, smiling broadly.

  "Oh, I know you!" said Nan.

  "It's just lubby!" cried Freddie, breaking out into his baby talk. "Justlubby, Dinah! Such a big red heart, too!"

  The postman came just before it was time to start for school. He broughtsix valentines, three for Flossie, two for Freddie and one for Bert.

  "Oh, Nan, where is yours?" cried Bert.

  "I--I guess he forgot me," said Nan rather soberly.

  "Oh, he has made some mistake," said Bert and ran after the letter man.But it was of no use--all the mail for the Bobbseys had been delivered.

  "Never mind, he'll come again this afternoon," said Mrs. Bobbsey, whosaw how keenly Nan was disappointed.

  On her desk in school Nan found two valentines from her schoolmates. Onewas very pretty, but the other was home-made and represented a girlrunning away from a figure labeled GHOST. Nan put this out ofsight as soon as she saw it.

  All that day valentines were being delivered in various ways. Freddiefound one in his cap, and Bert one between the leaves of his geography.Flossie found one pinned to her cloak, and Nan received another in apasteboard box labeled Breakfast Food. This last was made of paper rosesand was very pretty.

  The letter man came that afternoon just as they arrived home fromschool. This time he had three valentines for Nan and several for theothers. Some were comical, but the most of them were beautiful andcontained very tender verses. There was much guessing as to who had senteach.

  "I have received just as many as I sent out," said Nan, counting themover.

  "I sent out two more than I received," said Bert.

  "Never mind, Bert; boys don't expect so many as girls," answered Nan.

  "I'd like to know who sent that mean thing that was markedGHOST," went on her twin brother.

  "It must have come from Danny Rugg," said Bert, and he was right. It hadcome from Danny, but Nan never let him know that she had received it,so his hoped-for fun over it was spoilt.

  In the evening there was more fun than ever. All of the children wentout and dropped valentines on the front piazzas of their friends'houses. As soon as a valentine was dropped the door bell would be givena sharp ring, and then everybody would run and hide and watch to see whocame to the door.

  When the Bobbsey children went home they saw somebody on their own frontpiazza. It was a boy and he was on his knees, placing something underthe door mat.

  "I really believe it is Danny Rugg!" cried Nan.

  "Wait, I'll go and catch him," said Bert, and started forward.

  But Danny saw him coming, and leaping over the side rail of the piazza,he ran to the back garden.

  "Stop," called Bert. "I know you, Danny Rugg!"

  "I ain't Danny Rugg!" shouted Danny in a rough voice. "I'm somebodyelse."

  He continued to run and Bert made after him. At last Danny reached theback fence. There was a gate there, but this was kept locked by Sam, sothat tramps might be kept out.

  For the moment Danny did not know what to do. Then he caught hold of thetop of the fence and tried to scramble over. But there was a sharp nailthere and on this his jacket caught.

  "I've got you now!" exclaimed Bert, and made a clutch for him. But therefollowed the sound of ripping cloth and Danny disappeared into thedarkness, wearing a jacket that had a big hole torn in it.

  "Was it really Danny?" questioned Nan, when Bert came back to the frontpiazza.

  "Yes, and he tore his coat--I heard it rip."

  "What do you think of that?"

  Nan pointed to an object on the piazza, half under the door mat. Therelay a dead rat, and around its neck was a string to which was attached acard reading, "Nan and Bert Bobbsey's Ghost."

  "This is certainly awful," said Bert.

  The noise on the piazza had brought Mrs. Bobbsey to the door. At thesight of the dead rat, which Freddie had picked up by the tail, shegave a slight scream.

  "Oh, Freddie, leave it go!" she said.

  "It won't hurt you, mamma," said the little boy. "The real is gone outof it."

  "But--but--how did it get here?"

  "Danny Rugg brought it," said Bert. "Look at the tag."

  He cut the tag off with his pocket-knife and flung the rat into thegarbage can. All went into the house, and Mrs. Bobbsey and her husbandboth read what Danny Rugg had written on the card.

  "This is going too far," said Mr. Bobbsey. "I must speak to Mr. Ruggabout this." And he did the very next day. As a result, and for havingtorn his jacket, Danny received the hardest thrashing he had got in ayear. This made him more angry than ever against Bert, and also angry atthe whole Bobbsey family. But he did not dare to do anything to hurtthem at once, for fear of getting caught.

  Winter was now going fast, and before long the signs of spring began toshow on every hand.

  Spring made Freddie think of a big kite that he had stored away, in thegarret, and one Saturday he and Bert brought the kite forth and fixedthe string and the tail.

  "There is a good breeze blowing," said Bert. "Let us go and fly it onRoscoe's common."

  "I want to see you fly the kite," said Flossie. "Can I go along?"

  "Yes, come on," said Bert.

  Flossie had been playing with the kitten and hated to leave it. So shewent down to the common with Snoop in her arms.

  "Don't let Snoop run away from you," said Bert. "He might not find hisway back home."

  The common was a large one with an old disused barn at one end. Freddieand Bert took the kite to one end and Freddie held it up while Bertprepared to let out the string and "run it up," as he called it.

  THE KITE WENT UP INTO THE AIR AND SNOOP WITH IT.--P.177.]

  Now, as it happened, the eyes of Snoop were fixed on the long tail ofthe kite, and when it went trailing over the ground Snoop leaped fromFlossie's arms and made a dash for it. The kitten's claws caught fastin the tail, and in a moment more the kite went up into the air andSnoop with it.

  "Oh, my kitten!" called out Freddie. "Snoop has gone up with the kite!"