TIGE--PLAYING THEATER
Nan dearly loved the dogs with which she was well acquainted, but she
was in great terror of strange animals, especially if they barked loudly
and showed a disposition to bite.
"Bert! Bert! what shall we do?" she gasped as she clung to her twin
brother's arm.
Bert hardly knew what to say, for he himself did not like a biting dog.
He looked around for a stick or a stone, and espied the doorway to the
cow-shed. It was open.
"Let us get into the shed," he said quickly. "Perhaps we can close the
door and keep the dog out."
Into the shed sprang Nan and her twin brother after her. The dog was
almost upon them when Bert banged the door in his face. At once the
animal stopped short and began to bark more furiously than ever.
"Do you--you think he can get in at the window?" faltered Nan. She was
so scared she could scarcely speak.
"I don't know, I'm sure. If you'll stand by the door, Nan, I'll try to
guard the window."
Nan threw her form against the door and held it as hard as if a giant
were outside trying to force it in. Bert felt around the empty shed and
picked up the handle of a broken spade. With this in hand he stalked
over to the one little window which was opposite the door.
"Are there any cows here?" asked Nan. It was so dark she could see next
to nothing.
"No cows here, I guess," answered Bert. "This building is 'most ready to
tumble down."
The dog outside was barking still. Once in a while he would stop to
catch his breath and then he would continue as loudly as ever. He
scratched at the door with his paw, which made Nan shiver from head to
feet.
"He is trying to work his way in," she cried.
"If he does that, I'll hit him with this," answered her twin brother,
and brandished the spade handle over his head. He watched the window
closely and wondered what they had best do if the dog leaped straight
through and attacked them in the dark.
The barking continued for over quarter of an hour. To Nan and Bert it
seemed hours and hours. Then came a call from a distance.
"Hi, Tige, what's the matter? Have you spotted a tramp in the shed?"
"Help! help!" called out Bert. "Call off your dog!"
"A tramp, sure enough," said the man who was coming toward the cow-shed.
"I am not a tramp," answered Bert. "And my sister isn't a tramp,
either."
"What's that? You've got your sister with you? Open the door."
"Please, we are afraid of the dog," came from Nan. "He came after us and
we ran into the shed for shelter."
"Oh, that's it?" The farmer gave a short laugh. "Well, you needn't be
skeert! Tige won't hurt ye none."
"Are you sure of that?" put in Bert. "He seems to be very savage."
"I won't let him touch ye."
Thus assured Nan opened the door and followed Bert outside. At a word
from the farmer Tige stopped barking and began to wag his tail.
"That dog wouldn't hurt nobody, 'ceptin' he was attacked, or if a person
tried to git in my house," said Farmer Sandborn. "He's a very nice
fellow, he is, and likes boys and gals fust-rate; don't ye, Tige?" And
the dog wagged his tail harder than ever, as if he understood every
word.
"I--I was so scared," said Nan.
"May I ask what you be a-doin' on the road all alone and in this
snowstorm?"
"We are going home," answered Bert, and then explained how they had been
ice-boating and what had happened on the lake.
"I do declare!" cried Farmer Sandborn. "So the boat up an' run away with
ye, did she? Contrary critter, eh!" And he began to laugh. "Who be you?"
"I am Bert Bobbsey and this is my twin sister Nan."
"Oh, yes, I know now. You're one pair o' the Bobbsey twins, as they
call 'em over to Lakeport. I've heard Sary speak o' ye. Sary's my wife."
The farmer ran his hand through his thick beard. "You can't tramp home
in this storm."
"Oh, we must get home," said Nan. "What will mamma say? She will think
we are killed, or drowned, or something,--and she isn't over the scare
she got when Freddie was lost."
"I'll take you back to town in my sleigh," said Farmer Sandborn. "I was
going to town for some groceries to-morrow morning, but I might just as
well go now, while the roads are open. They'll be all closed up ag'in by
daylight, if this storm keeps up."
He led the way down the road to his house and they were glad enough to
follow. By Nan's side walked Tige and he licked her hand, just to show
that he wanted to make friends with her.
"I guess you are a good dog after all," said she, patting his head. "But
you did give me _such_ a scare!"
Both of the twins were very cold and glad enough to warm themselves by
the kitchen fire while the farmer hitched up his horse. The farmer's
wife wished to give them supper, but this they declined, saying they
would get supper at home. But she made each eat a big cookie, which
tasted exceedingly good.
Soon Farmer Sandborn drove around to the door with his sleigh and in
they piled, on the soft straw, with several robes to keep them warm.
Then the horse set off on a brisk trot for town.
"It's a nice enough sleigh ride for anybody," declared Bert. And yet
they did not enjoy it very much, for fear of what would happen to them
when they got home.
"Where in the world have you been?" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey as she ran to
the door to let them in. "We have been looking all over for you. Your
papa was afraid you had been drowned in the lake."
An evening dinner was in waiting for them, and sitting down to satisfy
their hunger, they told their story, to which all of the others listened
with much interest.
"You can be thankful you weren't blown clear to the other end of the
lake," said Mr. Bobbsey. "I think after this you had better leave
ice-boating alone."
"I know I shall!" declared Nan.
"Oh, I'll be more careful, papa, after this," pleaded Bert. "You know I
promised to go out again with Charley."
"Well then, don't go when the wind is strong," and Bert promised.
"I'm so glad the dog didn't bite you," said little Flossie. "He might
have given you hy--hy_dro_pics."
"Flossie means hydrophobics," put in Freddie. "Ain't no hy_dro_pics, is
there, Bert?"
"Oh, Freddie, you mean hydrophobia!" burst out Nan, with a laugh.
"No, I mean hydrophobics," insisted the little fellow. "That's what
Dinah calls them anyway."
After the adventure on the ice boat matters ran smoothly with the
Bobbsey twins for two weeks and more. There was a great deal of snow and
as a consequence Freddie and Flossie stayed home from school most of the
time. Nan and Bert also remained home two separate days, and during
those days all of the children had great fun in the attic, where there
was a large storeroom, filled with all sort of things.
"Let us play theater," said Nan, who had been to several exhibitions
while at home and while visiting.
"All right," said Bert, falling in with the plan at once. "Let us play
Rip Van Winkle. I can be Rip and you can be the loving wife, and Flossie
and Freddie can be the children."
Across the storeroom a rope was placed and on this they hung a sliding
curtain, made out of a discarded blanket. Then at one side they arranged
chairs, and Nan and Flossie brought out their dolls to be the audience.
"They won't clap their hands very much," said Bert. "But then they won't
make any disturbance either."
The performance was a great success. It was their own version of Rip Van
Winkle, and Bert as old Rip did many funny things which caused Freddie
and Flossie to roar with laughter. Nan as the loving wife recited a
piece called "Doughnuts and Daisies," pretending to be working around
the kitchen in the meantime. The climax was reached when Bert tried to
imitate a thunderstorm in the mountains and pulled over a big trunk full
of old clothes and some window screens standing in a corner. The show
broke up in a hurry, and when Mrs. Bobbsey appeared on the scene,
wanting to know what the noise meant, all the actors and the doll
audience were out of sight.
But later, when mamma went below again, Bert and Nan sneaked back, and
put both the trunk and the screens in their proper places.