The Bobbsey Twins on a Houseboat

by Laura Lee Hope

  CHAPTER X

  DOWN THE CREEK

  "There goes Snoop!"

  "Oh, somebody get her!"

  Nan and Dorothy both shouted at the same time. As for Bert, he was sosurprised at having caught a fish, and at seeing the cat slide off thedeck with it, that he could say nothing. It was almost the same withHarry. He had jumped to his feet, however, and had run toward Snoop,but too late.

  Then, all of a sudden, Snap, with a loud bark, gave one spring, andthe next moment he had jumped right over the deck railing, under whichSnoop had slid. Right over it went Snap, and down into the lake. Forhe knew that Snoop had fallen in, and, being the kind of a dog thatasks nothing better than to save something, or somebody, from thewater, Snap was right on hand.

  "Oh, my doll! My doll!" cried Flossie. "Snap is taking my doll intothe lake with him! Come back, Snap! Come back!"

  Snap did not stop to listen. He had, indeed, taken Flossie's doll withhim. He had been holding it on his front paws as Snoop slid overboard,and, as he gave a jump, Snap did not come down on all four legs. Hejumped while he was yet standing on his hind ones, and of course thedoll went over the rail with him.

  "What has happened?" cried Mrs. Bobbsey, as she heard the screaming,and the splashes in the water. "Have any of the children fallen in?"For she had gone to another part of the deck, with Dinah, out of sightof the twins for a moment. Now she came hurrying back, and a singlelook showed her that the children were all safe.

  "What has happened?" she asked again.

  "As nearly as I can figure out," said Mr. Bobbsey, "Bert caught afish, Snoop tried to get it and fell into the water, and now Snap hasgone in after Snoop."

  "And Snap has my doll! She'll get all wet--she'll be drowned!" criedFlossie.

  "I'll get her for you," offered Harry. But just now they were allanxious to see what Snap and Snoop did. Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey and thechildren looked over the side of the houseboat. They saw the black catswimming about in the lake, and Snap, who was a fine water-dog, waspaddling toward her.

  "Hadn't you better stop the boat?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey, for theBluebird was slowly floating away from the dog and the cat.

  "Yes, I guess it would be best," said Mr. Bobbsey. So he called out:

  "Captain! Captain White! Stop the boat! Something overboard!"

  Down in the little motor room Mr. White heard the shout, and he atonce shut off the gasoline engine. Then he came up on deck as fast ashis lame leg would let him, to see what was wrong.

  "What's that you say?" he asked. "Somebody fell overboard?"

  "The dog and the cat," explained Mr. Bobbsey. "I wonder how we can getthem out? It's Snoop and Snap who are in the water."

  "And my doll!" added Flossie. "I want my doll back!"

  "Oh, yes, and Flossie's doll," added Mr. Bobbsey. "I guess you'dbetter get in the rowboat, Captain White. It will be easier to liftthem out from there."

  "I'll do it, Mr. Bobbsey," the captain said, as he limped down stairsagain. By this time Snap had swum to where poor Snoop was paddlingabout in the water. The dog gently took hold of the cat by the back ofthe neck, where her loose fur would give a good hold. Then Snap,holding Snoop's head well up out of the water, started back for thehouseboat.

  "Good old Snap!" called Mr. Bobbsey. Snap wanted to bark and wag histail, as he always did when any one spoke pleasantly to him, but heknew if he opened his mouth to bark now, he would have to drop Snoop.And Snap had hard enough work swimming, without trying to wag histail. On he came toward the boat.

  By this time Captain White had gotten into the small boat, which waspulled after the Bluebird, by a rope, and he was rowing toward thedog. Seeing that the smaller boat was nearer, Snap swam toward that,instead of toward the larger one. He held Snoop carefully up out ofthe water.

  "That's a good dog, Snap!" called Captain White, as Snap came nearer."I'll take her now."

  The engineer lifted poor, wet, dripping Snoop into his boat. Shecrawled close up to Captain White, for she was much frightened. AfterSnap had delivered the cat he had rescued, he turned back again.

  "Where are you going?" asked Captain White. "Don't you want to get inmy boat, too, Snap?"

  "Bow wow!" barked Snap. This time he could open his mouth, as he wasnot carrying a cat.

  "Oh, he's going to get my doll!" cried Flossie. "Look, Snap is aftermy doll!"

  And so he was. After taking Snoop safely to the boat, Snap had seenFlossie's doll floating on the top of the water, and had swum towardthat, just as he would have gone toward a floating stick, had therebeen one near.

  "OK, now he's got her!" cried the happy Flossie. "Now Snap has mydoll. Goodie!"

  "And, as she's a wooden doll, the water won't hurt her," said Nan,with a laugh, "Everything is coming out all right."

  And so it seemed.

  Taking the doll in his mouth, as he had taken the cat, Snap swam backtoward the small boat, where Captain White waited for him, now andthen petting poor Snoop. Just as the dog had done with the cat, so hedid with the doll, giving her to the engineer of the Bluebird. Then,seeing that his work was all done, Snap once more swam toward the bigboat, not trying to get into the small one.

  "Good dog, Snap!" cried Mr. Bobbsey, as he leaned over to lift him in,for there were no steps by which to climb up the side of the Bluebird.

  This time Snap barked and wagged his tail, and then he gave himself abig shake to get rid of the water. He sent a regular shower of sprayall about.

  "Come, girls!" cried Mrs. Bobbsey with a laugh, "this is no place forus. We haven't our bathing suits on!" and she, with Nan and Dorothy,ran back out of the way of the scattering drops from Snap's shaggycoat.

  A little later Captain White rowed up with Snoop and Flossie's doll,and the little girl at once said she was going to put a dry dress onthe doll, so she wouldn't "take cold."

  "Well," said Mr. Bobbsey, when the excitement had died down. "That'sover, at any rate. All that over one little fish!"

  "That's so--my fish started it all!" said Bert. "I wonder what becameof it?" and he looked at his empty hook, dangling from the line of hispole.

  "The fish dropped off," said Harry. "I saw it. But it was only alittle one. It wouldn't have been any good."

  "Poor Snoop!" said Mrs. Bobbsey. "All your trouble for nothing! Youdidn't get the fish."

  "Oh, I'll soon catch some more for her, won't we, Harry?" Bert asked.

  "That's what we will," answered the country cousin.

  "Now if yo' folks am all done fallin' ovahbo'd I'se ready t' gib yo'all suffin t' eat," said Dinah, coming up from the dining-room.

  "And I think we are ready to eat," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "This travelingon the water has given me an appetite."

  "I guess it has all of us," spoke Mr. Bobbsey with a laugh, as henoticed the eager, hungry looks on the faces of the children.

  "And give Snoop and Snap something good and hot, so they won't takecold," suggested Nan. "Though I don't believe they will this weather,it's so warm."

  "I'm going to give my dollie hot chocolate," said Flossie, who, bythis time, had put a dry dress on her pet.

  The meal was a merry one, though at first the children, especiallyFlossie and Freddie, were too excited to eat. Then, too, it was sostrange eating on a boat that was moving through the water, for theengine had been started again. Several times, during the meal, the twosmaller twins jumped up from the table to run to the windows and lookout over the lake. At last their mother said:

  "Now, Flossie and Freddie, you must sit still and finish your dinner.Otherwise you may be ill. You'll have plenty of time to see thingsafter you leave the table."

  Snap was soon dry, from lying in the sun, and, a little later, Snoopwas as warm and fluffy as before she had fallen into the lake. Shepicked out a warm spot on deck near Snap, for they had been the bestof friends since the first day they had met, when Snoop came back fromher long trip to Cuba, as I have told you in another book.

  All the rest of that day the houseboat traveled over Lake Metoka. Thechildr
en sat on Heck, and watched other boats pass them. Some of themwere loaded with lumber for Mr. Bobbsey. Others were pleasure boats,and those on board waved their hands to the Bobbsey twins and theircousins.

  "Are we going to travel all night?" asked Bert of his father, whenDinah called that supper was ready.

  "No, we are going to anchor soon. We will go a little nearer shorefirst, though."

  "And when will we start through Lemby Creek toward Lake Romano?"

  "Oh, in a day or so, I fancy."

  It was such a pleasant evening, that even the little twins wereallowed to stay up on deck past their usual bedtime, looking at thetwinkling stars, and the lights of other boats on the lake.

  When Flossie and Freddie did get to bed, they did not go to sleep atonce. It was very strange to them, sleeping on a boat in the water.

  Finally the two little people dozed off, and then the older folks wentto bed. In the middle of the night Freddie woke up. At first he couldnot remember where he was, and he wondered at the queer rocking motionof the boat, for a little wind was ruffling the lake.

  Suddenly there came a loud toot.

  "Mamma! Papa! I heard something!" cried Freddie, sitting up.

  "Yes, dear. It was only the whistle of another boat," said his mother,who was in the room next to him. "Go to sleep again."

  Freddie did.

  "Well, I sure am going to catch some fish to-day," said Bert, when heand Harry went up on deck next morning, after breakfast.

  "We'll try, anyhow," Harry said. "We're nearer shore now, and thefishing ought to be better. I'll get my line.".

  Whether it was on account of the bait they used, or because the fishwere not plentiful, the boys did not know, but they did not get evenone bite. Anyhow, they had fun.

  The Bluebird went slowly across the lake. The Bobbseys were in nohurry, and they wanted to enjoy the pleasant weather. For three daysthey sailed over the blue waters, and then Mr. Bobbsey told CaptainWhite to steer toward Lemby Creek.

  "We'll go through the creek into Lake Romano," said the twins' father."That is a much larger lake. We'll spend most of our houseboatvacation there. We will also visit the big waterfall."

  "That will be lovely!" exclaimed Dorothy. Though she lived near thesea, she also loved inland waters, such as rivers and lakes.

  The houseboat moved so slowly, and was such a safe craft, that Bertand Harry were allowed to steer at times, when Mr. Bobbsey or CaptainWhite stood near them in case of any danger. The two boy cousins hadtaken turns steering, until the Bluebird was close to the place whereLemby Creek emptied into Lake Metoka.

  "You'd better let me take the steering wheel, now," said Mr. Bobbseyto Bert. "There is a little current from the creek into the lake, andwe don't want to run ashore."

  In a little while the houseboat was safely in the creek. This streamof water was narrow, though it was deep enough to float the Bluebirdeasily. The shores were so close, at times, that the tree branchesoverhung the deck, and brushed the rails.

  "I could almost jump ashore," said Harry.

  "But you mustn't try it!" cautioned his aunt. "You might fall in, andSnap couldn't rescue you as easily as he did Snoop or the doll."

  As the houseboat went slowly around a bend in the creek, Nan, whostood in front, near her father, suddenly uttered a cry, and pointedtoward shore.

  "What is it?" asked Mr. Bobbsey.

  "There's that boy--Will Watson!" spoke Nan. "You know--the one wholiked our boat so," and she pointed to the strange lad who worked forMr. Hardee. The boy was walking along the shore of the creek, a fishpole over his shoulder.

  "Oh, let's ask him how to catch fish!" proposed Bert. "We haven't hadany luck at all!"