“I wonder if anybody lives here,” whispered Flossie, as she kept close to her brother.
“We live here now,” he said. “Anyhow, we’re going to stay here till the rain stops.”
“Maybe a bear lives here,” said Flossie in a whisper.
“Pooh!” laughed Freddie. “There are no bears on Blueberry Island, or daddy would have brought a gun. And he said I didn’t even need my popgun, ’cause there wasn’t a thing here to shoot. But I did bring my popgun.”
“You haven’t got it here now, though,” said Flossie.
“I know I haven’t. I left it in the tent by the go-around bugs. I mean before the go-around bugs got away. But my popgun is there. I saw it. Only I haven’t it now, so I can’t shoot anything. But there’s nothing to shoot, anyhow.” Freddie added the last for fear his sister might be frightened in the dark cave.
It was very dark, especially back in the end, where Flossie and Freddie could see nothing. But by looking toward the place where they had come in, they could see daylight and the lake, which was now quite rough on account of the wind. They could also see the rain falling and splashing.
“I’m glad we’re in here,” said Flossie. “It’s better than an umbrella.”
“Lots better,” agreed Freddie. “If we had some cookies to eat we could stay here a long time, and live here.”
“We couldn’t sleep, ’cause we haven’t any beds,” declared Flossie.
“We could make beds of dried grass the way Bert told us to do if we went camping.”
“But have you any more cookies?” asked Flossie, going back to what her brother had first spoken of. “I’m hungry!”
“Only some crumbs,” Freddie said, as he put his hand in the pockets of his coat, “and they’re all soft and wet. We can’t eat ’em.”
“Well, we can go home when it stops raining,” said Flossie, “an’ Dinah’ll give us lots to eat.”
The two children were not frightened now. They stood in the cave, and looked out at the storm. It was raining harder than ever, and the thunder seemed to shake the big hole in the ground, while the lightning flashes lighted up the cave so Freddie and Flossie could look farther back into it.
But they could not see much, and if there was any one or anything in the cave besides themselves, they did not know it. They saw the boat blown inside the cave, and it came to rest in the little cove, which was a sort of harbor.
Then, almost as quickly as it had started, the storm stopped. The wind ceased blowing, the rain no longer fell, the thunder rumbled no more and the lightning died out. For a few minutes longer Flossie and Freddie stayed in the cave, and then, as they were about to go out, the little girl grasped her brother by the arm and cried:
“Hey! Did you hear that?”
“What?” asked Freddie.
“A noise, like something growling!”
Freddie looked back over his shoulder into the dark part of the cave. Then, speaking as boldly as possible, he answered:
“I didn’t hear it. Anyhow, I guess it was the wind. Come on, we’ll go home!”
“Are we going back in the boat?” Flossie asked.
“I guess not,” Freddie replied. “It’ll be rough out on the lake—it always is after a storm. We can walk down the path to our camp. Besides, this isn’t our boat. Maybe it belongs here and we’d better leave it.”
“Then you’d better tie it,” said Flossie. She and her brother had been told something of the care of boats, and one rule their father had given them was always to tie a boat when they got out of it. In the excitement of the storm the children had forgotten this at first, but now Flossie remembered it.
“Yes, I’ll tie the boat,” Freddie said, “and then whoever owns it can come and get it.”
It did not take him long to scramble around to the edge of the little cove. Once there, he tied the rope of the boat fast to a large stone that was half buried in the ground. Making sure it would not slip off, Freddie came back to where Flossie waited for him.
She was quite ready to leave the cave, and soon the two children were outside under the trees that still were dripping with rain.
The sun was now shining. Flossie and Freddie had had an adventure, they thought, and that was fun for them.
“Which way is home—I mean where our camp is?” asked Flossie, as she and Freddie walked along together.
“Down this way,” he said. “See the path?”
Certainly there was a path leading away from the cave, but Freddie did not stop to think it might lead somewhere else than to Twin Camp. It was a nice, smooth path, though, and he and Flossie set out along it not at all worried.
“I’m hungry,” said the little girl, “and I want to get home as soon as I can.”
“I’m hungry, too,” Freddie said. “We’ll soon be home.”
But the children might not have reached the camp soon, only that a little later they heard their names called in the wood, and, answering, they found Nan and Bert looking for them in the goat wagon drawn by Whisker.
“Where in the world have you been?” asked Bert of his little brother and sister.
“Oh,” answered Freddie, “we’ve been out in a boat and in a cave and we only had cookies to eat and they were wet and—”
“We heard a noise in the cave. Maybe it’s a bear, an’ if it is Freddie can take his popgun the next time we go there. Can’t you, Freddie?”
“Dear me!” laughed Nan. “What’s it all about?”
Then the two small twins told more slowly what had happened to them, and Nan and Bert told their small brother and sister that, coming back from their little trip, they had found Mrs. Bobbsey much worried because she could not find Flossie and Freddie.
“Then it began to rain,” said Nan, “and we were all as worried as could be. We looked at our boats, and when we found they were tied at the dock we didn’t think you were out on the water. Then when it stopped raining Bert and I started out to find you and so did Sam, though he went a different way.”
“And we called and called to you,” said Bert. “Didn’t you hear us shouting?”
“Maybe that was the noise we heard in the cave,” said Freddie to his sister.
“What about this cave?” asked Bert. “Tell us where it is.”
Then, riding back to camp in the goat wagon, the two small twins told again of the big hole in which they had taken refuge from the storm.
“I’d like to see that,” Bert said. “We’ll go there to-morrow.”
“We can walk there, or Whisker can take us,” said Freddie. “And then we can come home in the boat, but you’ll have to take some oars, Bert.”
“That’s so—there is a boat!” exclaimed the older Bobbsey boy. “I wonder whose it can be?”
But they did not learn at once, for the next day, when they all went to the cave—including Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey—the boat was not there.
“Somebody untied it and took it away,” said Freddie, as he pointed out the rock to which he had made fast the rope.
“Are you sure you tied it tightly?” asked his father.
“Yep. I made the same kind of knot you showed me,” and Freddie told how he had done it. Flossie, too, was sure her brother had fastened the boat properly.
“Well, then somebody’s been here in the cave,” said Bert. “Say, it’s a big place, Daddy! Can’t we get a lantern and see where it goes to back there,” and he motioned to the dark part.
“Some time, maybe, but not now,” said Mr. Bobbsey, who, with his wife, had walked along the island path to the cave while the children rode in the goat wagon. “I didn’t know there was a cave on Blueberry Island. I don’t believe many persons know it is here. But the boat might belong to some of the berry pickers, and they hunted for it until they found it.”
“Did the blueberry pickers make the funny noise in the cave?” asked Flossie.
“I don’t know,” replied her father. “I don’t hear any noise now. I presume it was only the wind.”
Mr. Bo
bbsey and Bert, lighting matches, went a short way back into the cave, but they could see very little, and the children’s father said they would look again some other day.
“But, Flossie and Freddie, you mustn’t come here alone again,” said Mr. Bobbsey.
“If it rains and we’re near here can’t we come in if we haven’t an umbrella?” asked Freddie.
“Well, yes, perhaps if it rains. But you mustn’t go out in a drifting boat again, rain or no rain,” ordered Mr. Bobbsey.
Flossie and Freddie promised they would not, as they always did, and then the camping family started back for their tents.
“What do you think of that cave, the boat’s being taken and all that’s happened?” asked Mrs. Bobbsey in a whisper of her husband, as they walked toward camp together.
“I don’t know what to think,” he said slowly.
“Do you suppose the gypsies could be in there?”
“Well, they might. But don’t let the children know. They are having a good time here and there’s no need, as yet, to frighten them.”
For the next few days there were happy times in Twin Camp. The children went on many rides in the goat wagon and had other fun. Then, one afternoon when they were all sitting near the tents waiting for Dinah to get dinner, they saw a steamer heading toward the little dock.
“Oh, maybe it’s company!” cried Flossie, clapping her hands.
And so it proved, for when the boat landed Mrs. Porter and her little girl, Helen, got off.
“We came to see how you were,” said Mrs. Porter. “Helen wanted a trip on the water, so we came on the excursion boat. We’re going back this evening. How are you?”
“Very well, indeed,” said Mrs. Bobbsey, “and glad to see you. Helen can play with Flossie and Freddie.”
“Did you see any of the gypsies, and did they have my talking doll?” asked Helen as soon as she had taken off her hat in the tent and had gone outside to play with the two small Bobbsey twins.
CHAPTER XV
The Doll’s Dress
“Haven’t you got your lost doll back yet?” asked Freddie, as he moved over on a board, nailed between two trees, to make room for Helen to sit down between him and Flossie.
“No, I haven’t found Mollie,” answered the little girl, who had come to visit her friends. “I guess she’s a gypsy by this time.”
“Helen, are you sure a gypsy man took your doll?” asked Nan, who had been sent out by her mother to see if the little ones were all right.
“Yes, I’m sure,” answered Helen. “I left her in the yard; and, besides, didn’t Johnnie Marsh and me both see the gypsy man runnin’ off with her?”
“Well, maybe it did happen that way,” said Nan. “But what makes you think we might have seen that gypsy man here, Helen?”
“‘Cause Johnnie Marsh said gypsies were camped on Blueberry Island.”
“We haven’t seen any yet,” remarked Bert, who had come out to ask the little girl visitor about some of his boy friends in Lakeport.
“Maybe they’re hiding ’cause they’ve got Helen’s doll,” said Flossie. “And maybe they’re in the cave Freddie and I found.”
“Did you find a cave?” asked Helen. “My mamma read me a story once about a cave and a giant that lived in it. Did your cave have a giant inside?”
“It had a noise!” answered Flossie excitedly. “Me and Freddie heard it! But we didn’t go see what it was. Are you hungry, Helen?” she asked, suddenly changing the subject.
“Yes, I am. I only had some cake and ice-cream on the boat.”
“We’re goin’ to have ice-cream!” Freddie cried. “Sam chopped up the ice this morning and I heard him turning the freezer. I wish dinner would hurry up and be ready.”
It was not long after this that fat Dinah rang the gong which told that the meal was cooked, and soon they were all seated in the dining tent making merry over it. Mrs. Porter told how Helen had been teasing, ever since the Bobbseys had come to Blueberry Island, to be brought for a visit.
“She says that maybe the gypsies who took her doll are here,” went on Mrs. Porter; “though I tell her she will never see Mollie again. But Helen begged hard to come, and so—here we are.”
“And we’re very glad to see you,” said Mrs. Bobbsey. “Can’t you stay longer than just until this evening?”
“No, not this time, as we didn’t bring any extra clothes with us. But Helen might come later for a visit of a few days.”
“Oh, yes, please let her come!” begged Flossie.
“We’ll see,” said Mrs. Porter. “Did you find Snap?” she asked Bert.
“No, we haven’t heard anything of him. I was going to ask if you had,” and he looked anxiously at Helen’s mother.
“No, I haven’t heard a word about your pet,” answered Mrs. Porter, “though I’ve asked all your boy friends, and so has Helen. Tommy Todd and the others say they are keeping watch for Snap, and if they see him they’ll let you know. Has anything else happened since you’ve been here?” she asked Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey.
“Nothing much,” answered Nan’s mother. “We have had a lovely time camping, and—”
“Flossie’s and my go-around bugs broke out of their box!” cried Freddie, and then he begged his mother’s pardon for interrupting her when she was speaking. His mother smiled, excused him, and then she let him and Flossie, in turn, tell about the missing bugs.
“Come on, we’ll play hide-and-go-to-seek,” proposed Flossie after dinner, while her father and mother and Mrs. Porter were still sitting about the table talking. “Do you and Nan want to play, Bert?” she asked her older brother.
“No, Flossie,” he answered with a smile. “I’m going to help Sam cut wood for the campfire. We’re going to have a marshmallow roast tonight.”
“Oh, I just wish I could stay!” cried Helen. “I love roast marshmallows!”
“We’ll roast some when you come again,” said Nan, who was going to do some sewing, so she could not play with the smaller children just then. Soon the game of hide-and-go-to-seek began.
Freddie said he would hide first, and let both girls hunt for him. He thought he could hide so well that he could fool them both, and still get “home safe” before they spied him.
So while Flossie and Helen “blinded” by hiding their faces in their arms against a tree, Freddie stole quietly off to hide. He found a good place behind a pile of brush-wood, and there he cuddled up in a little bunch and waited, after calling “coop!”, until he heard the two girls searching for him.
By peeping through the brush Freddie could see Helen and his sister looking all about for him—behind trees, down back of fallen logs, and in clumps of ferns.
Then Freddie saw the girls go far enough away from “home,” which was a big oak tree, so that he thought he would have a chance to run in “free.”
This he did, and how surprised Flossie and Helen were when they saw him dash out from the pile of brush-wood!
“I’ll blind now and let you hide,” said Freddie, though if the game was played by the rules it would be his turn to hide again, as he had not been caught.
So this time the little boy hid his head in his arms and began counting up to a hundred by fives, and when he had called out loudly: “Ninety-five—one hundred! Ready or not, I’m coming!” he opened his eyes and began searching.
Freddie had to be more careful about going away from the “home” tree than had the two little girls. Either one of them could have spied him and have run to touch “home” before he did. But Freddie was all alone hunting for his sister and Helen, and when he had his back turned one or the other might run in ahead of him.
“But I’ll find ’em,” he told himself. “I’ll spy ’em both and then it will be my turn to hide again.”
Meanwhile, Flossie and Helen were well hidden. Flossie had found two logs lying on a pile of leaves, not far from the “home” tree, and she had crawled down in between them pulling leaves over her. Only her nose stuck out, so she could breathe, an
d no one could have seen her until they were very close.
Helen had picked out a hollow stump in which to hide. It was deep enough for her to get inside, and the bottom was covered with old leaves, so it was soft and not very dirty. Helen had been given an old dress of Flossie’s to put on to play in, so she would not soil her own white one.
“I’m going to have a good place to hide,” thought Helen, as she climbed up on a pile of stones outside the old stump and jumped down inside, crouching there.
Then she waited for Freddie to come to find her, and as there was a crack in the stump, she could look out and see where he was. As soon as he got far enough away from “home,” Flossie, who was nearer the oak tree, would run in free,—and then she would try to reach it.
Meanwhile she crouched in the hollow stump, trying not to laugh or cough or sneeze, for if she did that Freddie would hear and know where she was. Helen saw something white in the stump with her. At first she thought it was a piece of paper, but when she picked it up she knew it was cloth. And as she looked at it her eyes grew big with wonder.
Without stopping to think that she was playing the hide-and-go-to-seek game Helen suddenly stood up in the hollow stump, her head and waist showing above the edge like a Jack-in-the-box. In her hand she held the white thing she had found.
Flossie, from her hiding place between the two logs, could look over and see what Helen was doing. Seeing her standing up in plain sight Flossie, in a loud whisper, called to her friend:
“Get down! Get down! Freddie will see you and then you’ll be it! Get down!”
“But look! Look at what I found! In the hollow stump!” answered Helen. “Oh, I must show you!”
“No! Get down!” cried Flossie, pulling more leaves over herself. “Here comes Freddie. He’ll see you!”
The little boy was coming from the “home” tree. He caught sight of Helen, and cried:
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