DANNY RUGG IS MEAN
That afternoon a small fire broke out in Mr. Bobbsey's lumber yard.
The alarm bell rang, and Mrs. Bobbsey, hearing it, and knowing
by the number that the blaze must be near her husband's place of
business, came hurrying down stairs.
"Oh, I must go and see how dangerous it is," she said to Dinah.
"It is too bad to have it happen just after Mr. Bobbsey comes back
from his summer vacation."
"'Deed it am!" cried the fat, colored cook. "But maybe it am only
a little fire, Mrs. Bobbsey."
"I'm sure I hope so," was the answer.
As Mrs. Bobbsey was hurrying down the front walk Flossie and Freddie
saw her.
"Where are you going, mamma?" they called.
"Down to papa's office," she answered "There's a fire near his
place, and--"
"Oh, a fire! Then I'm going!" cried Freddie. "Fire! Fire! Ding,
dong! Turn on the water!" and he raced about quite excitedly.
"Oh, I don't know," said Mrs. Bobbsey, in doubt. "Where are Nan
and Bert?" she asked.
"They went down to the lake," said Flossie. "Oh, mamma, do take
us to the fire with you. We'll bring Snap along."
"Sure," said Freddie. "Hi, Snap!" he called.
The trick dog came rushing from the stable, barking and wagging
his tail.
"Well, I suppose I might as well take you," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "But
you must stay near me. We'll leave Snap home, though."
"Oh, no!" cried Freddie.
"He might get lost," said Mrs. Bobbsey.
That was enough for Freddie. He did not want the new pet to get
lost, so he did not make a fuss when Sam came hurrying up to lock
Snap in the stable. Poor Snap howled, for he wanted very much to
go with the children.
The fire was, as I have said, a small one, in part of the planing
mill. But the engines puffed away, and spurted water, and this
pleased Freddie. Flossie stayed close to her mother, and Mrs.
Bobbsey, once she found out that the main lumber yard was not in
danger, was ready to come back home. But Freddie wanted to stay
until the fire was wholly out.
Mr. Bobbsey came from his office to give some directions to the
firemen, and saw his wife and the two twins. Then he took charge
of them, and led them as close to the blaze as was safe.
"It will soon be out," he said. "It was only some sawdust that got
on fire."
"I wish I could squirt some water!" sighed Freddie.
"What's that? Do you want to be a fireman?" asked one of the men
in a rubber coat and a big helmet. He smiled at Mr. Bobbsey, whom
he knew quite well.
"Yes, I do," said Freddie.
"Then come with me, and I'll let you help hold the hose," said the
fireman. "I'll look after him," he went on, to Mrs. Bobbsey, and
she nodded to show that Freddie could go.
What a good time the little fellow had, standing beside a real
fireman, and helping throw real water on a real fire! Freddie never
forgot that. Of course the fire was almost out, and it was only
one of the small hose lines that the fireman let the little fellow
help hold, but, for all that, Freddie was very happy.
"Did you write to the circus people to-day about our silver cup,
and that trick dog?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey of her husband that night.
"I declare, I didn't!" he exclaimed. "The fire upset me so that it
slipped my mind. I'll do it the first thing to-morrow. There is no
special hurry. How is the dog, by the way?"
"Oh, he's just lovely!" cried Flossie.
"And I do hope we can keep him forever!" exclaimed Freddie.
"'Specially since Snoop is gone."
"Did you hear anything about our cat?" asked Nan, of her father.
"No. I sent a man to the railroad company, but no stray cat had
been found. I am afraid Snoop is lost, children."
"Oh dear!" cried Flossie.
The next day, having learned from the railroad company where the
circus had gone after the wreck, Mr. Bobbsey sent a letter to the
manager, explaining about the lost silver cup, and the found circus
dog. He asked that the fat lady be requested to write to him, to
let him know if she had taken the cup by accident, and Mr. Bobbsey
also wanted to know if the circus had lost a trick dog.
"There!" he exclaimed as he sent the letter to be mailed, "now
we'll just have to wait for an answer."
Nan and Bert, and Flossie and Freddie were soon having almost as
much fun as they had had at the seashore and in the country. Their
town playmates, who had come back from their vacations, called at
the Bobbsey home, and made up games and all sorts of sports.
"For," said Grace Lavine, with whom Nan sometimes played, "school
will soon begin, and we want to have all the fun we can until then."
"Let's jump rope," proposed Nan.
"All right," agreed Grace. "Here comes Nellie Parks, and we'll see
who can jump the most."
"No, you mustn't do that," said Nan, "Don't you remember how you
once tried to jump a hundred, and you fainted?"
"Indeed I do," said Grace. "I'm not going to be so silly as to try
that again. We'll only jump a little."
Soon Nan and her chums were having a good time in the yard.
Charley Mason, with whom Bert sometimes played, came over, and the
two boys went for a row on the lake, in Bert's boat. Some little
friends of Flossie and Freddie came over, and they had fun watching
Snap do tricks.
For the circus dog, as he had come to be called, seemed to be able
to do some new trick each day. He could "play dead," and "say his
prayers," besides turning a back somersault. The little twins,
who seemed to claim more share in Snap than did Nan and Bert, did
not really know how many tricks their pet could do.
"Maybe you'll have to give him back to the circus," said Willie
Flood, one of Freddie's chums.
"Well, if we do, papa may buy him, or get another dog like him,"
spoke Flossie.
A few days after this, when Bert was out in the front yard,
watering the grass with a hose, along came Danny Rugg. Now Danny
went to the same school that Bert did, but few of the boys and none
of the girls, liked Danny, because he was often rough, and would
hit them or want to fight, or would play mean tricks on them. Still,
sometimes Danny behaved himself, and then the boys were glad to
have him on their baseball nine as he was a good hitter and thrower,
and he could run fast.
"Hello, Bert!" exclaimed Danny, leaning on the fence. "I hear you
have a trick circus dog here."
"Who told you?" asked Bert, wondering what Danny would say next.
"Oh, Jack Parker. He says you found him."
"I didn't," spoke Bert, spraying a bed of geranium flowers. "He
followed us the night of the circus wreck."
"Well, you took him all the same. I know who owns him, too; and
I'm going to tell that you've got him."
"Oh, are you?" asked Bert. "Well, we think he belongs to the circus,
and my father has written about it, so you needn't trouble yourself."
"He doesn't belong to any circus," went on Danny. "That dog belongs
to Mr. Peterson, who lives over in Millville. He lost a trick dog,
and he advertised for it. He's going to give a reward. I'm going
to tell him, and get the money."
"You can't take our dog away!" cried Freddie, coming up just then.
"Don't you dare do it, Danny Rugg."
"Yes, I will!" exclaimed the mean boy, who often teased the smaller
Bobbsey twins. "You won't have that dog after to-day."
"Don't mind him, Freddie," said Bert in a low voice. "He's trying
to scare you."
"Oh, I am eh?" cried Danny. "I'll show you what I'm trying to do.
I'll tell on you for keeping a dog that don't belong to you, and
you'll be arrested--all of you."
Freddie looked worried, and tears came into his eyes. Bert saw
this, and was angry at Danny for being so mean.
"Don't be afraid, Freddie," said Bert. "Look, I'll let you squirt
the hose, and you can pretend to be a fireman."
"Oh, fine!" cried Freddie, in delight, as he took the nozzle from
his older brother.
Just how it happened neither of them could tell, but the stream of
water shot right at Danny Rugg, and wet him all over in a second.
"Hi there!" he cried. "Stop that! I'll pay you back for that, Fred
Bobbsey," and he jumped over the fence and ran toward the little
fellow.