OFF TO CRYSTAL LAKE
This was not the first time Trouble Martin had been lost or missing. It
happened more or less often at home in Cresco, and once when the
Curlytops had come to Uncle Toby's. But he had never before been lost
after a big snow storm--that is, as far as Janet or Teddy could
remember. What Janet was afraid of was that her little brother might
wander off and fall into some drift. For the snow was deep in places not
very far from Uncle Toby's house.
"Oh, we'll find him!" declared Ted. "He can't be far off. We didn't want
him playing around our fort for fear he'd spoil it."
"And I sent him away from our snowman on the same account," sighed
Janet. "I wish I had kept him by me."
Aunt Sallie came out of the house, her apron thrown over her head.
"Did you find Trouble?" she asked.
"No'm," chorused the children.
"Dear me!" exclaimed the old lady. "You must call Uncle Toby and tell
him. He's out in the barn working over the auto, getting ready for the
trip to Crystal Lake. Go tell him Trouble is missing."
Janet and the others thought this would be the best thing to do, and
Uncle Toby soon heard the latest happening regarding the Curlytops.
"If Trouble isn't in the house nor around where you are playing, he must
have wandered off down the street," said Uncle Toby. "The walks have
been pretty well cleaned off by this time. The snowplow has been along."
For in Pocono the street cleaning department sent out a big snowplow,
drawn by horses, after every big storm, and thus the sidewalks were made
easy to walk on without waiting for each householder to clean his own
space.
"But where would he go?" asked Janet, hardly able to keep back her
tears.
"That's what we must find out," said Uncle Toby. "Don't worry. We'll
find him. I'll ask the police if they've seen him. A little chap like
Trouble would be sure to be noticed."
"Unless maybe he fell in a snowdrift," suggested Janet.
"If he fell in he'd shout and cry until some of us came to help him
out," said Uncle Toby. "Now we'll start a searching party. I'll go with
you girls up the street, and the three boys can go down the street. Ask
every one you meet if they have seen Trouble."
"Only," suggested Jan, "we'd better give him his right name of William."
"That's so!" laughed Uncle Toby. "If we go along asking every one we
meet if they have seen Trouble, they'll think we are trying to make fun
of them. Yes, we must ask for news of a little boy named William."
So they started out, Ted, Tom and Harry going one way, and Uncle Toby
and the three girls the other way. Aunt Sallie remained behind in the
house, but she was very anxious, and she said she would call up police
headquarters, asking that each officer be told to be on the lookout.
At first the question asked by the searchers had no effect. No one
seemed to have noticed Trouble toddling along the streets, which, as
Uncle Toby had said, were now quite free from snow, which was piled
high on either side.
"Maybe he wandered off toward the woods," suggested Lola, for there was
a clump of trees, called "woods" not far from Uncle Toby's house.
"I don't believe so," was Mr. Bardeen's answer. "I think he wouldn't go
there alone. But here comes Policeman McCarthy. I'll ask him."
And, to the delight of the girls, Policeman McCarthy said he had seen a
little boy going along the street a few minutes before.
"I don't know what his name was," the officer said. "But he was dressed
just as you say. He seemed to know where he was going, so I didn't stop
him, though he was pretty little to be out alone."
"Where did he go?" asked Uncle Toby.
"Right down that way," answered the policeman, pointing. "He was
standing in front of that barber shop the last I saw him."
"Oh, now I know where he's gone!" suddenly cried Janet.
"Where?" asked Uncle Toby.
"In the barber shop," answered the little girl. "Trouble was in the
bathroom this morning, Uncle Toby, getting washed," Janet explained.
"He found some of your shaving soap, and he liked the smell of it. He
was rubbing it on his face when I stopped him. He asked me where you got
your soap and I told him in a barber shop, I thought. Then he wanted to
know what a barber shop was like, and I told him it was a place that had
a red, white, and blue pole in front of it. So that's where he's
gone--to the barber shop to get some of that nice smelling soap."
"I shouldn't wonder," agreed Uncle Toby. "I hope the barber kept him
there, if he went in."
They hurried to the shop in front of which was a gay red, white, and
blue pole, and there they found Trouble. But they found him more than
just inquiring for scented soap, for he was up in the chair, kept
specially for children.
In front of Trouble, draped around his neck, was a white apron, and the
barber, with comb and scissors, was just about to cut the little
fellow's long hair.
"Trouble! What are you doing?" cried Uncle Toby, his voice causing the
barber to turn around in surprise.
"I goin' get hair cut!" announced the little fellow.
"Oh, no! You mustn't!" exclaimed Jan.
"I wants hair cut an' nice smelly stuff on my face," announced the
little fellow, holding tightly to the arms of the barber's chair, lest
he be made to come out.
"No, no!" said Janet. "Not now, Trouble!"
"Didn't some of you send him to have his hair trimmed?" asked the
barber, in some surprise.
"No, indeed!" laughed Uncle Toby, who knew the barber quite well. "He
ran off by himself. I'm glad we reached here in time to stop you. He's a
little tyke; that's what he is!"
"Well, he came in here as bold as you please," said Mr. Miller, the
barber. "He climbed up in the chair himself, and though he didn't tell
me so exactly, I thought he wanted a hair cut, as it's pretty long. He
did say he wanted some nice perfume on him, but all the children say
that when they come in here. And I've often had them as young as he is
come in here alone. But of course their fathers or mothers sent 'em. And
you didn't send this little chap?" he asked, as he helped Trouble down
out of the chair, much to William's disgust.
"No, we didn't send him," chuckled Uncle Toby. "He just took the notion
himself. Tried some of my shaving soap this morning, so his sister says.
Well, I am glad he's found. We'd better take him back so the boys will
know we've come to the end of the search. You mustn't do anything like
this again, Trouble," said Uncle Toby, a bit sternly, shaking his finger
at William.
"Nope!" he readily promised. "Maybe I have some nice smelly stuff take
home?" he added hopefully.
"Here you are!" laughed the barber, and he gave Trouble a little cake of
scented soap.
"You gave us a big scare," said Janet, when they were on their way back
to Uncle Toby's house.
"You make big snowman?" asked Trouble, and that's about all he seemed to
care. Janet wanted to laugh, but she did not think it wise.
They met the boys coming back, Ted and the other two being anxious, as
of course they had heard no word about the missing wanderer. But they
saw William in Uncle Toby's arms, and knew everything was now all
right.
"I'll keep my eye on you after this," said Janet when the children were
once more playing in the snow around Uncle Toby's house.
But it was one thing to say she would keep watch over a little chap like
Trouble, and another thing actually to do it. And William made more
trouble before the day was over.
Evening came, when it was time to stop playing out of doors and come
into the house. And it was after supper when the children were sitting
in the living room, listening to Uncle Toby tell a story, that Aunt
Sallie came running in from the kitchen.
"Oh, Uncle Toby!" she cried. "There's a leak in one of the pipes.
There's a big puddle of water in the middle of the kitchen floor. It was
dry when I went up to see if the beds were ready, and when I came down,
just now, I found a lot of water there."
"A broken pipe? That's too bad!" exclaimed Uncle Toby. "I may be able to
fix it myself; but if I can't, we'll have hard work getting a plumber
this time of night. I can shut off the water in the cellar, though, I
suppose. However, I'll take a look."
The children followed Uncle Toby and Aunt Sallie out to the kitchen.
Surely enough there was a large puddle of water in the middle of the
oilcloth. Uncle Toby looked up and around, and said:
"I can't see what pipe has burst. If it was one in the kitchen the water
would be spurting out now. It seems to come from under the sink."
By this time Trouble was toddling across the room toward the sink, under
which was a sort of cupboard with two swinging doors. The little fellow
was trying to open one of these doors.
"Here, Trouble! Let Uncle Toby look!" said Ted.
"I wants get my snowball," announced William.
"Your snowball!" cried Jan.
"Yep! I put big snowball there when I comed in. Wants to get it now,"
and William tugged at the sink door.
"Ha! Maybe that's where the water came from!" cried Uncle Toby.
And it was. As the sink cupboard was opened more water was seen, and in
the midst of the puddle there floated what was left of a large ball of
snow. Trouble had brought it in, put it under the sink when no one was
looking, and there the warmth of the kitchen stove had slowly melted it,
causing the water to run out under the doors.
"What in the world made you put a snowball in there, Trouble?" asked
Ted, as Aunt Sallie mopped up the water.
"Maybe I wants make snowman in night," was Trouble's answer.
That may have been his reason--no one could tell. At any rate, no great
harm was done, as the snow water was clean and the oilcloth was soon
wiped dry.
"I guess you'd better go to bed before you get into any more mischief,"
said Janet.
And soon the Curlytops and their playmates were all sound asleep.
The next day it rained, and as the weather turned warm the snow was soon
nearly all melted or washed away.
"So much the better for making the trip to Crystal Lake," said Uncle
Toby. "I don't care what it does after we get there, but I like good
going though the woods."
"Oh, what fun we'll have at Crystal Lake!" cried the Curlytops and their
playmates.
They started three days later, in the big automobile. Uncle Toby, Aunt
Sallie, the children, and Skyrocket. Uncle Toby hired a colored man and
his wife to come and live in his house and look after the pets,
including the new kitten, Fluff, while he was at camp for the holidays.
"Hurray! Here we go!" cried Ted and the others, as Uncle Toby started
the automobile.
As they were turning out of the drive a boy came riding up the street on
a bicycle, waving a yellow envelope in his hand.
"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!" he shouted. "Here's a telegram!"