Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the
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[ILLUSTRATION: "You have made a fine shelter," said the hunter.]
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE
BY
LAURA LEE HOPE
Author of the Bobbsey Twins.
COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY GROSSET & DUNLAP.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I. THE RUNAWAYS
II. OLD MR. CARFORD
III. THE BIG SNOWBALL
IV. THE ACCUSATION
V. HOLIDAYS AT HAND
VI. A VISIT TO MR. CARFORD
VII. THE STORY OF SNOW LODGE
VIII. A KIND OFFER
IX. MR. BOBBSEY'S STORY
X. UNWELCOME NEWS
XI. MAKING PLANS
XII. THE LETTERS
XIII. IN A HARD BLOW
XIV. AT SNOW LODGE
XV. THE SNOW SLIDE
XVI. LOST IN THE WOODS
XVII. HENRY BURDOCK
XVIII. SNOWBALLS
XIX. SNAP IS GONE
XX. THE BIG STORM
XXI. THE FALLING TREE
XXII. THE MISSINC MONEY
CHAPTER I
THE RUNAWAYS
"Will Snap pull us, do you think, Freddie?" asked little Flossie
Bobbsey, as she anxiously looked at her small brother, who was fastening
a big, shaggy dog to his sled by means of a home-made harness. "Do you
think he'll give us a good ride?"
"Sure he will, Flossie," answered Freddie with an air of wisdom. "I
explained it all to him, and I've tried him a little bit. He pulled
fine, and you won't be much heavier. I'll have the harness all fixed in
a minute, and then we'll have a grand ride."
"Do you think Snap will be strong enough to pull both of us?" asked the
little girl.
"Of course he will!" exclaimed Freddie firmly. "He's as good as an
Esquimo dog, and we saw some pictures of them pulling sleds bigger than
ours."
"That's so," admitted Flossie. "Well, hurry up, please, Freddie 'cause
I'm cold standing here, and I want to get under the blankets on the sled
and have a nice ride."
"I'll hurry all right, Flossie. You go up there by Snap's head and pat
him. Then he'll stand stiller, and I can fix the harness on him
quicker."
Flossie, with a shake of her light curls, and a stamp of her little feet
to rid them of the snow from the drift in which she had been standing,
went closer to the fine-looking and intelligent dog, who did not seem to
mind being all tied up with ropes and leather straps to Freddie's sled.
"Good old Snap!" exclaimed Flossie, patting his head. "You're going to
give Freddie and me a fine ride; aren't you, old fellow?"
Snap barked and wagged his tail violently.
"Hey! Stop that!" cried Freddie. "He's flopping his tail right in my
face!" the little boy added. "I can't see to fasten this strap. Hold his
tail, Flossie."
Snap, hearing the voice of his young master--one of his two masters by
the way--wagged his tail harder than ever. Freddie made a grab for it,
but missed. Flossie, seeing this, laughed and Snap, thinking it was a
great joke, leaped about and barked with delight. He sprang out of the
harness, which was only partly fastened on, and began leaping about in
the snow. Finally he stood up on his hind legs and marched about, for
Snap was a trick dog, and had once belonged to a circus.
"There now! Look at that!" cried Freddie. "He's spoiled everything!
We'll never get him hitched up now."
"It--it wasn't my fault," said Flossie, a tear or two coming into her
eyes.
"I know it wasn't, Flossie," replied Freddie, speaking more quietly.
"It's always just that way with Snap when he gets excited. Come here!"
he called to the dog, "and let me harness you. Come here Snap!"
The dog was well enough trained so that he knew when the time for fun
was over and when he had to settle down. Still wagging his tail
joyously, however, Snap came up to Freddie, who started over again the
work of harnessing the animal to the sled.
"I guess you'd better stand at his tail instead of at his head," said
Freddie. "So when he wags it you can grab it, Flossie, and hold it
still. Then it won't slap me in the face, and I can see what I'm doing.
Hold his tail, Flossie."
"Then he can't wag it," objected the little girl.
"I know he can't. I don't want him to."
"But it may make him angry."
"Snap never gets mad; do you, Snap?" asked Freddie, and the dog's bark
seemed to say "No, never!"
So Flossie held the dog's tail, while Freddie put on the harness again.
This time he succeeded in getting it all arranged to suit him, and the
frisky Snap was soon made fast to the sled.
"Now get on, Flossie," called her brother, "and we'll see how fast Snap
can pull us."
"But don't make him go too fast, Freddie," begged the little girl. "For
it's hard pulling in the snow."
"No, I'll let him go slow," promised Freddie. "But it won't be hard work
pulling us. My sled goes awfully easy, anyhow."
Freddie tucked Flossie in amid the robes and rugs which the children had
taken from the house, near which they had started to harness the dog.
Then Freddie took his place in front of his sister, holding to two reins
that were fastened to the dog's head. Freddie had made no bit, such as
is used for horses and goats, but he thought by making straps fast to a
sort of muzzle by which he could guide Snap, by pulling his head to one
side or the other.
"All ready, Flossie?" called Freddie, when he himself was comfortable on
the sled.
"All ready," she answered.
"Giddap, Snap!" cried Freddie, and, with a bark, off the dog started,
pulling the sled and the two children after him.
"Oh, he's going! He's giving us a ride! It's as real as anything!" cried
Flossie in delight, holding fast to the sled. "Oh, Freddie!"
"Of course it's real!" said Freddie. "Bert and Nan said Snap wouldn't
pull us, but I knew he would. I just wish they could see us now."
As if in answer to this wish a little later, when the two smaller twins
had turned a corner, they saw coming toward them their brother and
sister Nan and Bert, also twins, but four years older.
"Look, look!" cried Flossie to Nan. "See what a nice ride we're having."
"Oh, look, Bert!" exclaimed Nan, "Snap really is pulling them," and she
grasped her brother's arm. Bert was pulling his own sled and that of his
twin sister.
"Yes, he'll pull them a little way," admitted Bert, as if he knew all
about it, "and then, the first thing they know, Snap will turn around
short and tip them into a snowdrift. He hasn't been trained to pull a
sled, no matter how many other tricks he can do."
"I trained him myself!" declared Freddie, as he pulled on the lines to
bring the dog to a stop. But Snap, seeing Nan and Bert, was eager to
reach them to be patted and made much of, so he did not obey the command
given by the reins, but kept on.
"Whoa there!" cried Freddie, holding back with all his little strength.
"See, I told you he wouldn't mind," said Bert, with a laugh.
"Oh, but isn't it cute!" exclaimed Nan, flapping her hands. "I didn't
think they'd get any ride at all."
"We'll show you! We'll have a fine ride!" panted Freddie, vainly trying
to make Snap halt.
Then just what Bert said would happen seemed about to take place. The
dog leaped around, and turned short to get nearer to the older Bobbsey
twins.
"Look out!" cried Bert, but his warning came too late.
Over went the sled, and Flossie and Freddie were pitched from it into a
big, fluffy bank of snow, falling into it deeply, but with no more harm
to them than if they had landed on a bed of feathers.
"Oh dear!" cried Flossie, as she felt herself shooting toward the snow.
"Whoa there! Whoa! Don't you run away, Snap!" shouted Freddie. Then his
mouth was filled with snow and he could say nothing more.
"Oh, Bert! They'll be smothered!" cried Nan. "Help me get them out!"
Bert was laughing, and trying to defend himself against the jumping up
of Snap, who seemed to want to hug the boy with his paws.
"Stop laughing! Help me!" ordered Nan, who was already trying to lift
Flossie from her snowy bed.
"I can't help laughing--Freddie looked so funny when he went over," said
Bert.
"There's no danger of smothering, though. That snow is as dry as sand.
Here you go, Freddie. Give me your hand and I'll pull you out."
In a few seconds the smaller Bobbsey twins stood beside their larger
brother and sister, while Snap capered about them, barking loudly and
wagging his tail.
"Oh, he's got loose, and the harness is all broken," said Freddie, and
tears of disappointment stood in his blue eyes.
"Never mind," said Bert. "I'll help you make a better harness to-morrow,
Freddie. That one wasn't strong enough for Snap, anyhow. I'll fix it
differently."
"Oh, but we were going to have such a fine ride!" said Flossie, who was
also ready to cry. The smaller twins were only about five years old, so
it might have been expected.
"Well, come on and go coasting with Bert and me," said Nan, as she
patted her little sister's head. "We're going over on the long hill.
It's fine there, and you'll have just as much fun as if you had Snap to
pull you."
"Shall we go, Freddie?" asked Flossie, who generally depended on him to
start their amusements.
"I guess so," he answered. "This harness is all busted, anyhow."
Sadly he looked at the tangled strings and straps fast to the sled,
where Snap had broken away from them. The harness Freddie had made with
such care was all broken now.
"Never mind," said Bert again. "I'll make you a better one to-morrow,
Freddie. Come along now, and we'll have some fun. And when we get
through coasting I'll buy everybody a hot chocolate soda."
"Really?" asked Flossie, her sorrow forgotten now.
"Sure thing," promised Bert.
"Come on, then, Freddie," said his little sister. "We can harness Snap
up to-morrow."
The useless harness was taken to the Bobbsey home, not far away, and
then the four twins--the two sets of them, as it were--started for the
coasting hill, Flossie and Freddie having one sled between them, and Nan
and Bert each having one of their own.
On the way to the hill they met many of their friends, also bound for
the same place. School was just out and the boys and girls were eager to
have a good time in the snow.
"There's Charley Mason!" exclaimed Bert, seeing a boy he knew. "Hello,
Charley!" he called. "Going coasting?"
"Sure. Where's the big bob?" For some time before this Bert and Charley
had made, in partnership, a large bob sled.
"Oh, I didn't know you'd be out, or I'd have brought it," replied Bert.
"Anyhow, I promised Nan I'd coast with her."
"Oh, that's all right. I guess the hill will be too crowded for a bob,
anyhow. Danny Rugg was taking his over, though, for I saw him and some
of his crowd hauling it from his barn a little while ago."
"Well, let 'em. We can get ours later. Got a new sled?" and Bert looked
admiringly at the one Charley was pulling.
"No, it's only my old one painted over. But it makes it look like new."
"We had Snap hitched up, but he broke loose," said Freddie. "But we're
going to have a stronger harness to-morrow."
"That's good," said Charley, with a broad smile.
Soon the children were on the hill. There was a large crowd of coasters
there, and fun was at its height. There was merry shouting and laughter,
and several spills and upsets. As Bert had said, the hill was very much
crowded.
"I thought it would be no good for a bob," he remarked.
"There goes Danny Rugg now!" exclaimed Charley. "He's giving orders to
everyone."
"He'd better not give any to me," said Bert, in a quiet voice, but with
determination in his tones.
"Oh, Bert!" exclaimed Nan. "Please don't have any fuss; will you?"
"Not on my part," said Bert "But if Danny Rugg thinks he can boss me he
is mistaken."
It was evident that Danny liked to play master. He could be heard giving
orders to this one and the other one to get out of the way, to pull his
bob around in place, and then to shove it off with its load of boys and
girls.
Now, though Danny was a bully, some of the children were friendly with
him for the sake of getting a ride on his sled, which was a large and
expensive one.
Bert and Nan, and Flossie and Freddie, soon were coasting with their
friends, having a good time on the hill. The two smaller twins went down
together.
As Freddie came up the long slope, pulling his sled in readiness for
another trip, Danny Rugg with his bob reached the head of the slope at
the same time.
"Say, Danny, give me a ride this trip; won't you?" begged a small boy,
who had no sled, but who often did errands for the bully, and played
mean tricks for him that, Danny was too lazy to play himself. "Let me go
on your bob?"
"Not this time, Sim," said Danny. "The bob is going to be filled. But
here, you can take Freddie Bobbsey's sled. He doesn't want it," and
without giving Freddie time to say whether he did or not Danny snatched
the sled rope from him and held it out to Sim Watson.
For a moment Freddie was too surprised to utter a protest and then, as
he realized what had happened, he cried out:
"Here, Danny Rugg, you let my sled alone! I do want it! Give it back to
me!"
"Aw, go on!" said Danny. "You've had rides enough. Let Sim take your
sled, or I'll punch you!" and Danny gave Freddie a shove, and held out
the rope of the sled to Sim.
"Stop it!" cried Freddie. "I'll tell Bert on you."
"Pooh! Think I'm afraid of your brother. I can handle him with one hand
tied behind my back."
"Then it's time you started in!" exclaimed a voice just back of Danny,
and the bully turned suddenly to see Bert standing near him, Danny's
face flushed, and then grew pale. Before he could make a move Bert
grabbed away from him the rope of Freddie's sled, which Sim had not yet
taken, and passed it back to his small brother.
"Don't you try that again," warned Bert.
"I will if I want to," said Danny, meanly, "I'm not afraid of you."
"Maybe not," said Bert, quietly, "and I'm not afraid of you, either. But
if you take my brother's sled for some of your friends you'll have to
settle with me. You leave Freddie alone; do you hear?"
"I don't have to mind you!"
"We'll see about that. Go ahead, Freddie. You and Flossie coast as much
as you like, and if Danny bothers you any more let me know."
Danny, with an uneasy laugh, turned aside. Some of his particular chums
gathered about him, and one murmured:
"Why don't you fight him?"
For a moment it looked as though there might be trouble, but an instant
later all thoughts of it passed, for a series of girls' screams came
from midway down the long hill.
All eyes were turned in that direction, and those at the top of the
slope saw a team of runaway horses, attached to a heavy bobsled,
plunging madly up the hill.
And, right in the path of the frightened animals was Nan Bobbsey, and
one or two other girls, on their sleds, coasting straight for the
runaways.
A cry of fear came from Bert Bobbsey as he noticed his sister's danger.