The Bobbsey Twins at Meadow Brook

by Laura Lee Hope

  CHAPTER XVII

  A WILD ANIMAL SCARE

  Back to the shed where they had left the horses, went the Bobbseyparty, the children talking on the way of the wonderful things theyhad seen in the circus, while the older folks spoke of Freddie beinglost, and found again, by Frank Kennedy.

  "But I wasn't lost!" the little chap insisted. "I knew where I was allthe time. Besides, the elephants were with me, and so was Frank, theboy who was shooked. I saw him shooked and so did Bert, didn't you?"and Freddie looked at his older brother.

  "Well, we won't talk about that part of it," said his mother with asmile. "It isn't nice to think about, and I am glad Frank is in aplace now where he will be kindly treated. Though perhaps Mr. Masondid not mean to be cruel. He was probably very sorry at losing so muchmoney."

  "I like Frank," said Freddie. "He let me, take hold of one of theelephant's tooths."

  "Oh, Freddie!" exclaimed Dinah. "It's a wonder he didn't cotch an'bite yo, honey lamb!"

  "Oh, I didn't take hold of one of his tooths away back in his mouth,"explained Freddie, "it was the long tooth-pick tooth that stuck outunder his nose."

  "He means the elephant's tusk," explained Bert with a laugh.

  "Oh, Freddie! I hope you weren't in any danger!" his mother cried.

  "What an escape he had!" sighed Aunt Sarah. "Suppose an elephant hadeaten him!"

  "Pooh! Elephants don't eat anything but hay," said Freddie, who, ofcourse, did not mean to be impolite, speaking to his aunt that way."Frank told me so," he went on, "and I saw them eat hay. They eat aawful lot, and one of them took all my peanuts."

  "Well, I'll buy you some more," said Uncle Daniel with a laugh. "Youdeserve it after the trouble you have had--getting lost and all that."

  "I--I wasn't losted!" declared Freddie again. "I knew--"

  "Oh, look at the balloons!" cried Flossie, as she saw a man outsidethe circus grounds selling the red, green and yellow gas-bags. "I wantone, mamma!" cried the little girl.

  "And so do I!" added Freddie, forgetting what he was going to sayabout not being lost "I want a balloon!"

  They each had one, and then the children and older folks took theirplaces in the wagon, and soon were on their way to Meadow Brook farmagain, talking over the wonderful good time they had had.

  "I'm coming to the circus to-morrow," announced Freddie, as thoughgoing to circuses was all there was to do in this world.

  "The circus won't be there," said Bert.

  "Won't be there? Where will it go?" asked Freddie, wonderingly.

  "It will travel to the next town," Bert went on. "A circus stays in atown only one day, unless it's a very big place. This show will be faraway by this time to-morrow."

  "And will Frank be away, too?" asked

  UP, UP, UP, WENT THE RED AND BLUE BALLOONS]

  Flossie. "I like Frank, 'cause he found Freddie."

  "Yes, Frank will be away, too, poor boy," said Mrs. Bobbsey, "that is,if he stays with the circus. I wish Richard could do something forhim," she went on to Uncle Daniel and Aunt Sarah. "I feel sure thatboy ought to be back in his guardian's home."

  "But he said Mr. Mason was cruel to him," declared Aunt Sarah.

  "Perhaps he wouldn't be any more," remarked Mrs. Bobbsey, wonderinghow anyone could be really cruel to children. She loved her twins verymuch.

  "Well, I'se glad mah honey lamb am safe!" murmured Dinah, as shecuddled Freddie up in her big arms.

  "Oh--oh, Dinah!" cried the little fellow with a laugh. "You squeeze melike an elephant's trunk!"

  "Dat's 'cause I lubs yo', honey lamb!" went on the dear old coloredwoman.

  Back to Meadow Brook in the cool of the evening came the Bobbseys andtheir friends. Tom and Mabel declared they had never had such a goodtime, and as for Freddie and Flossie they were too busy playing withtheir toy balloons to say much. But you may be sure they had enjoyedthemselves, and Freddie forgot all about being lost.

  On their way home the Bobbseys had met Mr. Weston with his movingpicture camera. He said he had made several fine views of the circus.

  "What about _our_ pictures?" asked Nan. "The ones you took of uschildren near the school?"

  "They will soon be finished," said Mr. Weston. "And when they areready to be shown, I shall send your father word, so he may bring you,and let you look at yourselves on the white screen in our movingpicture theatre. Won't you like that?"

  "That will be great!" cried Bert. "I never saw myself in movingpictures."

  "Nor I," said Nan.

  Back in the pleasant farmhouse that evening all the happenings of theday were gone over again, until Mrs. Bobbsey, noticing that Flossieand Freddie were nodding their heads, and blinking their eyes realoften, said:

  "Come now, little tots, time you were in bed. To-morrow is anotherday."

  "I'm going to take my balloon to bed with me," said Freddie.

  "So am I!" exclaimed Flossie, who wanted to do as many things as didher brother.

  "Oh, I wouldn't," their mother said. "Leave the balloons here untilmorning."

  "And then we'll have a balloon race," proposed Bert.

  "What's a balloon race?" Freddie wanted to know.

  "No more talk to-night, little fat fireman!" said his mother. "Off tobed you go!" and he and Flossie were "packed off," the other childrencoming soon after.

  Freddie and Flossie were up bright and early next morning, out playingwith their balloons before breakfast. They tied long threads to them,and let them float above the trees.

  "When will we have the balloon race?" asked Freddie.

  "Whenever you like," Bert answered. "Only to have a race you have tolet your balloon sail off, without any string fast to it, and you willnot get it back again."

  At first Freddie would not hear of that, but finally he and Flossiebecame tired of the toy circus balloons, and came to Bert to beg himto make a race for them.

  Bert cut the string off both balloons. Freddie's was red and Flossie'sblue.

  "Now we'll let go of both balloons at the same time," Bert explained,"and the balloon that goes up highest will win the race. Now watch,everyone!"

  They all watched, as Bert let go the toys, one from either hand. Up,up, up, went the red and blue balloons.

  "Oh, mine's going faster!" cried Freddie.

  "No, mine is!" exclaimed Flossie.

  And, for a time first the red balloon would be ahead, and then theblue one. But finally they both were at exactly the same height, andin that way they sailed onward and upward until they were only littlespecks in the blue sky, so no one could tell which one was ahead inthe race.

  It was while the children were out in the yard in front of the MeadowBrook farmhouse, watching the disappearing balloons, that Bert heard astranger's voice calling.

  "I say, do you children know where there is a circus around here?" wasthe question, and, turning, Nan, Bert and the others saw a man in acarriage, on the road just outside the fence.

  "A circus?" repeated Bert.

  "Yes, I heard there was one showing around here," the man went on,"and I'd like to find it."

  "There was a circus over at Rosedale yesterday," spoke Bert, "but ithas traveled on by this time. If you inquired there you could find outwhere it went."

  "I'll do that," the man said. "I'm much obliged to you," and he wasabout to drive on, when Bert asked:

  "Aren't you Mr. Mason, who has a lumber yard near my father's?"

  "Whoa!" called the man to his horse. "Yes, I'm Mr. Mason," he went on,"and I have a lumber yard. But I don't seem to know you."

  "I'm Bert Bobbsey," the lad said, "and my father--"

  "Oh, yes, to be sure! Of course I know you!" the man exclaimed. "Why,you were the boy in the automobile the day my ward, Frank Kennedy, ranaway from me."

  "Yes, I was there," said Bert.

  "Well, it's about Frank that I came on here," said Mr. Mason. "I havebeen tracing him. I heard he joined a circus when he ran away from me,and I want to find him and take him back. I came on here by tra
in, andhired this horse and carriage to drive about the country. But now,when I am almost up to the circus, you tell me it has moved. That'stoo bad, and I'm not sure, when I find it, that Frank will be withit."

  "I think he will be, Mr. Mason," said Bert, quietly.

  "What's that?" cried Mr. Mason. "You think Frank will be with thecircus? What makes you think so?"

  "Because we saw him with it yesterday," said Nan, taking part in thetalk, "and he said he was going to travel with it."

  "Yes, that's right," agreed Bert. He thought it only fair to giveinformation about Frank, since Mrs. Bobbsey had said she thought itwould be best for the runaway boy to go back to his guardian.

  "Hum!" exclaimed Mr. Mason. "If Frank is with the circus, I'll soonget him. I'll drive over to Rosedale, and inquire where the show wentfrom there. I can easily trace it. Much obliged to you for yourinformation," he called over his shoulder, as he drove off. He did notstop to inquire how Frank was, nor how he had fared since runningaway. Perhaps Mr. Mason did not think of this.

  "Oh, I hope he--I hope he doesn't shake Frank, when he finds him,"said Nan, as the lumber man drove on.

  "I don't believe he will," remarked Bert. "I fancy Frank will make hisguardian promise to treat him better if he goes back to the lumberoffice."

  Nan and Bert went in the house to tell their mother of meeting the manwho was looking for Frank. She said they had done right to tell whatthey knew.

  "Poor boy," she sighed, "he hasn't had a very happy life, but perhapsthis will be all for the good, and he may be better treated now."

  That afternoon, as Harry and the Bobbsey children, with Tom Mason andMabel Herold were going down the road to pick some blackberries, theymet a farmer boy driving an empty hay wagon. This boy knew Bert, Harryand Tom.

  "Hello!" he called to them, "did you hear the news about the circus?"

  "What news?" asked Bert, wondering if the boy meant that Mr. Mason hadreached the show and taken away Frank.

  "News about the wild animals escaping from the circus," went on theboy on the hay-wagon.

  "Wild animals escaping!" exclaimed Nan, with a frightened look overher shoulder, while Flossie came over closer to her sister.

  "That's it!" said the boy. "When the show was moving out of Rosedalelast night, some tigers and lions got loose, and ran off in the woods.They looked for 'em, but couldn't find 'em. Some of the farmers aroundhere are out now with guns."

  "Oh, Nan!" exclaimed Flossie. "Let's go back home! I don't like wildanimals!"