THE CRYING BOY
There had been so much excitement over the strange "animal" which Snoop
had under the table that, for a time, the Bobbsey twins had forgotten
about their father's coat having been taken at the picnic. Nor had they
remembered about the missing lap robe. But now, as Nan said this, every
one--except perhaps the smaller twins--thought about the things that
were gone.
"Oh, that's so!" exclaimed Bert, following what his sister said. "Maybe
the policeman has come to bring back your lost coat, Daddy!"
"I hope he has," said Mr. Bobbsey. "Not only do I not want to lose the
coat, for a suit of clothes isn't of much use without a coat, but I
don't like to lose the money and papers."
"No, sah, Mr. Bobbsey, de p'liceman didn't hab no coat," said Dinah.
"He didn't?" remarked Mr. Bobbsey.
"No, sah. He didn't."
"Well then, I can't imagine what he wants," went on the father of the
Bobbsey twins. "Ask him to come in, Dinah."
In came the policeman. He was one the children knew, from having often
seen him pass the house.
"Good evening, Mr. Bobbsey," said the officer, the light flashing on his
brass buttons. "I came up to see about a lap robe stolen from your
auto."
"Did you find it?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey. "I'm so glad! And did you find
Mr. Bobbsey's coat, also?"
"Why, no, Mrs. Bobbsey, I didn't," answered Policeman Murphy. "I didn't
know about any lost coat. I was just sent up from the police station to
inquire about the robbery of a lap robe. Somebody telephoned down that a
policeman was wanted because a lap robe had been stolen. That's why I
came up--because of the telephone message."
"Telephone!" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey. "I didn't telephone for you, Mr.
Murphy."
"Neither did I," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "Perhaps it was one of the
children," and she looked at Bert and Nan.
The older Bobbsey twins shook their heads. Flossie and Freddie, though
they knew how to telephone, would hardly have thought of calling up the
police. But they were asked about it.
"Nope, we didn't do it," Flossie said. "Though we likes p'licemans;
don't we, Freddie?"
"Yeppie," he answered sleepily. "When I grows up I'm goin' be a
p'licemans or a firesmans--I forget which."
"He's sleepy," laughed the officer. "But what about this, Mr. Bobbsey?
Some one must have telephoned."
"Yes, of course. I wonder if it could have been Mr. Blipper or that lad
who called himself Bob Guess?"
"Who are they?" the officer asked.
"Mr. Blipper is a man who owns a merry-go-round he takes to fairs and
circuses. He passed the picnic grounds where we were to-day. He's on his
way to the Bolton County Fair. He had with him a boy named Bob
Guess--called that because the lad is an orphan and they had to 'guess'
at his name. Soon after this Blipper and his outfit left, I missed my
coat, and, coming home, we found the lap robe gone. I was going to ride
after him, but we had a little excitement here, and I haven't had a
chance. Then you came along and----"
The sound of steps was heard on the side porch, and in came Sam, quite
excited.
"'Scuse me!" he murmured, as he entered. "Oh, de p'liceman done come!"
he exclaimed. "He's heah! I'm glad!"
"Did you expect him?" asked Mr. Bobbsey.
"Yes, sah, Mr. Bobbsey, I did! When de lap robe was gone I t'ought maybe
you t'ink I might 'a' been careless like, an' let some chicken t'ieves
in. So I telephoned fo' a p'liceman to come an' see if he could cotch de
burglar!"
"Oh, Sam, you didn't need to do that!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey. "We know
it wasn't your fault that the lap robe was taken, any more than it was
that Mr. Bobbsey's coat was stolen."
"Of course not!" echoed her husband.
"Well, I t'ought better we have a p'liceman," murmured Sam.
"I don't know what there is for him to do," said Mr. Bobbsey. "As nearly
as I can figure it out, my coat was stolen at the picnic grounds and the
lap robe was taken about the same time."
"It was," agreed Mrs. Bobbsey. "And I think that Blipper--or perhaps Bob
Guess--had something to do with both thefts."
"It might be," replied the officer. "Those traveling show people aren't
very careful, sometimes. I'll report back to the chief and see what he
says. If we get sight of this merry-go-round crowd, Mr. Bobbsey, we'll
stop them and ask them about your coat and the robe."
"Thank you, I wish you would. But I don't imagine you'll see them. They
are on their way to Bolton, and we shall be there ourselves next week,
so we can make some inquiries."
Officer Murphy left, finding there was nothing he could do. Flossie and
Freddie were carried up to bed, and Nan danced about the room, singing:
"We're going to the fair! We're going to the fair! We're going to the
Bolton County Fair!"
And Bert echoed:
"Maybe we'll find daddy's coat when we get there!"
Then, tired but happy over their fun at the picnic and too sleepy to
worry much over the lost articles, the Bobbsey twins at last went to
bed.
As their parents had said, school would not open as early that fall as
in other years, because some rebuilding work was being done in a few of
the rooms. So there was time to go to Meadow Brook, and from there to
visit Bolton, a few miles away, where the big fair was being held.
"Do you really think we can go, Mother?" asked Nan, the next day.
"I don't see why not. Your father seems to have made up his mind to it."
"Well, I hope he doesn't change it, as he does sometimes," said Bert,
with a laugh. "They're going to have airships and a balloon at the
fair, Charlie Mason says, and maybe I can go up in the balloon. Wouldn't
that be great, Nan?"
"I'm not going up in any balloon!"
"I am!" decided Bert, as if that was all there was to it.
"An' I'm going to ride on a lion!" cried Flossie.
"So'm I!" chimed in her brother Freddie.
Uncle Daniel Bobbsey and his wife Sarah, with their son Harry, lived at
Meadow Brook Farm. The Bobbsey twins had been there more than once, as
those who have read the other books of this series will remember. And
now it was proposed to go there again.
"But we'll be at the fair more than we will be at Meadow Brook, sha'n't
we?" asked Nan of her father.
"Well, sort of betwixt and between," he answered, with a laugh.
Uncle Daniel having been written to, said he would be delighted to have
his brother and his brother's family come out for the remainder of the
summer and early fall. And in about a week all preparations were made.
The trip was to be made in the Bobbsey's big auto, and would take about
a day. By starting early in the morning Meadow Brook Farm could be
reached by night. From there it was only a short distance to Bolton
where, each year, a big fair was held.
"And if I see that Bob Guess I'll make him tell where daddy's coat is!"
declared Bert.
"And the lap robe, too!" added Nan.
It was a fine, sunny day when the start was made. Into the auto piled
the Bobbsey twins, with boxes and baskets of lunch.
"It's like another picnic!" laughed Nan, as she saw Bert piling away the
good things to eat.
"Hab a good time, honey lambs!" called fat Dinah, as she and her husband
stood on the steps, waving good-by.
"Take good care of Snoop and Snap!" begged Nan.
"We will!" promised Sam.
Snap, the dog, wanted to come along, but as he could not very well be
looked after on this trip he had to be left behind, much to his sorrow.
He howled dismally as the auto went down the road.
Not very much happened on the way to Meadow Brook. Once a tire was
punctured and Mr. Bobbsey had to stop to put on a spare one. But this
happened near a garage, so he had a man from there do the work, while he
and his wife, with the twins, went into a little grove of trees and ate
lunch.
"Be careful of your coat!" warned Mrs. Bobbsey, as her husband took it
off and hung it on a tree while he built a fire to heat the water for
tea.
"Oh, no one is going to steal this one!" he said. "Anyhow, it's an old
one. But there's no one here to take it. No Mr. Blipper or Bob Guess
around now."
"Well, don't forget, and go off, leaving it hang on the tree," warned
his wife.
"I won't," said Mr. Bobbsey.
A fire was made, and as Mrs. Bobbsey was sitting with her back against a
stump, comfortably sipping her tea, she heard the sound of crying. As
Bert and Nan, with Flossie and Freddie, were gathering flowers not far
away, Mrs. Bobbsey could see that it was none of her twins who was
sobbing.
But the crying kept up, and she looked around to see whence it came. Mr.
Bobbsey was busy packing up the lunch things, for there was enough food
left to serve a little tea around five o'clock, since Meadow Brook Farm
would not be reached before seven o'clock that evening, on account of
the delay over the tire.
"Who is that crying, Dick?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey.
"Crying? Why, I don't hear--yes, I do, too!" her husband added, as the
sound of sobs came to his ears. He looked to make sure his own children
were all right and then glanced about.
As he did so there came from a little clump of trees, not far from the
grove where the Bobbseys had eaten lunch, a ragged boy, who seemed in
pain or distress, for he was crying very hard.
"Oh, the poor lad!" said Mrs. Bobbsey in a kind voice. "Go see what the
matter is, Dick! He is in trouble of some sort! I wonder who he is?"
"Yes, without doubt, the lad's in trouble. We'll see what we can do,"
answered the father of the twins.
The crying boy walked slowly toward the Bobbsey family, and now the
twins, hearing his sobs, looked up in wonder from their
flower-gathering.