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  • 1913
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come back, children, tell me all about it. If I can’t go there at least I like to hear about the place.”

Mr. Carford went out to his team, through the now driving snow. He little realized what a joyful story the Bobbsey twins were to bring back to him from Snow Lodge, nor how it was to change his feeling in regard for his boyhood home.

“Papa,” said Bert soberly, after the visitor had gone, leaving the keys of Snow Lodge behind him, “what is the secret about Mr. Carford and that winter place? And you’re mixed up in it, I’m sure.”

“What makes you sure, Bert?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking so ever since that day I helped to catch his runaway horses, and he said this was the second time a Bobbsey had tried to do him a favor.'”

“Had your favor anything to do with Snow Lodge, Papa?” asked Nan, as she put her arms about his neck.

“Well, yes, daughter, in a way. And, since Mr. Carford has told you part of the story, I may as well tell you the other half, I suppose.”

“Oh, another story!” cried Flossie, in delight.

“Yes, we must be quiet and listen,” said Freddie, as he drew up a stool close to his father.

“It isn’t a very nice sort of story,” went on Mr. Bobbsey. “In fact it is rather sad. But I’ll tell it to you, anyhow. Did Mr. Carford tell you about when he was a boy?”

“Yes, and how he went away, and came back rich, and found all his folks gone and the farm sold,” said Nan.

“Yes. Well, I guess he told you then, how he took his nephew, Henry Burdock, to live with him. He loved Henry almost as if he were his own son, and did everything for him. In fact he planned to leave him all his money. Then came a quarrel.”

“What about?” asked Bert softly.

“Over some money. Henry was a young man who liked to spend considerable, and though he was not bad he was different from the country boys. Mr. Carford gave him plenty of spending money, however, and did not ask him what became of it.

“Then, one day, a large sum of money was missing from Snow Lodge. Mr. Carford accused Henry of taking it, and Henry said he had seen nothing of it. Then came a quarrel, and Mr. Carford, in a fit of temper, drove Henry away from Snow Lodge. There were bitter words on both sides, and after that Mr. Carford closed up the place, and has not been near it since. That is the part of the story Mr. Carford did not tell you.”

“But where do you come in, Daddy?” asked Nan. “Did you find the missing money?”

“No, Nan, though I wish I had. But I was sure Henry had not taken it, and I tried to make Mr. Carford believe so. That is what he meant by me trying to do him a favor. But he would not have it so, and, for a time, he had some feeling against me. But it passed away, for he realized that I was trying to help him.

“But since then Mr. Carford and his nephew, Henry Burdock, have not spoken. As I said, Mr. Carford drove the young man away from Snow Lodge. It was in a raging storm and Henry might have frozen, only I found him and took him to a hotel. I helped look after him until he could get a start. It was a very sad affair, and it has spoiled Mr. Carford’s life, for he loved Henry very much.”

“And did Henry really take the money?” asked Freddie. “That was wicked, I think.”

“You must not say so, Freddie,” spoke Mr. Bobbsey. “We do not know that Henry did take it. No one knows. It is a mystery. I, myself feel sure that Henry did not, but I can not prove that he did not take it. His uncle believes that he did. At any rate the money disappeared.”

“And where was it when Mr. Carford last saw it?” asked Nan.

“Mr. Carford left it on the mantlepiece in the big living room of Snow Lodge,” said Mr. Bobbsey. “Henry was the only other person, beside himself, who was in the room, and in some way the money was taken. I even went so far as to have a man from the police station look all over the house, hoping he could find the roll of bills somewhere, but it did not come to light. And so, ever since, there has been a bad feeling between Henry and his uncle.”

“What does Henry Burdock do now?” asked Bert.

“He roams about the woods, as a sort of guide and hunter. Sometimes, I am told, he comes close to Snow Lodge and looks down on it from a distant hill, thinking of the happy days he spent there.”

“Maybe we’ll see him when we go up,” said Freddie. “If I do I’ll give him all the money in my bank so he can be friends with his uncle again.”

“No, Freddie,” said Mrs. Bobbsey solemnly. “You must not speak of what you have just heard. It is a sad story, and is best forgotten. Both Mr. Carford and Henry feel badly enough about it, so it will be best not to mention it. Just forget all about it if we go to Snow Lodge.”

“But we are going; aren’t we, Papa?” asked Bert. “The trip to the woods would do us all good.”

“Well, I think we might take advantage of Mr. Carford’s kind offer,” said Mr. Bobbsey. “Yes, we’ll plan to go to Snow Lodge!”

“Hurrah!” cried Nan and Bert, grasping each other by the hands and swinging around in a sort of waltz.

“Can we take our sleds,” asked Flossie.

“I’m going to take my skates–maybe I’ll skate all the way there–I could–on the lake!” exclaimed Freddie, and he wondered why the others laughed.

“Well, we’ll make our plans later,” said Mrs. Bobbsey. “Now, children, we’ll have an early supper and then you must all get to bed. Christmas will come so much earlier if you go to sleep now.”

“Oh, jolly Christmas!” cried Nan. “I can hardly wait!”

CHAPTER X

UNWELCOME NEWS

“Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas to everybody!”

“Oh, Christmas is here! I wonder what I got?”

“I’m going to get up and see!”

The Bobbsey twins were calling to one another from their rooms, and papa and mamma Bobbsey were replying to their children’s happy greetings. It was Flossie who had made the exclamation about wondering what Santa Claus had brought her, and it was Freddie who declared he was going to get up to see.

Soon the patter of bare feet announced that the two younger twins were scampering downstairs.

“You must put on your dressing gowns and slippers, my dears!” called Mrs. Bobbsey. “You’ll take cold. Nan, look after them; will you?”

“Yes, mother, in just a minute. As soon as I can find my own things,” and Nan got out of bed. She and Bert were not in so much of a hurry as Flossie and Freddie for they were getting older, and though Christmas was still a source of great joy to them they were not so anxious to see what gifts they had. Still Nan was eager to know if her camera had come.

From the parlor below came cries, shouts and peals of delighted and surprised laughter as Flossie and Freddie discovered their different gifts.

“Look at my book!” cried Flossie. “And a doll–a doll that you can wind up, and she walks and says ‘mamma.’ Look, Freddie!” and the little girl started the doll off across the room.

“Pooh! Look at what I got!” cried Freddie. “It’s a fire engine, and it squirts real water. I’m going to put some in it, and play fire.”

He started for the kitchen with his toy, but Nan caught him.

“Not just yet, little fat fireman,” she said with a laugh, as she took him up in her arms. “You can’t splash in the cold water until you have more clothes on. Get dressed and then you may play with your toys.”

“All right!” answered Freddie. “Oh, look, I’ve got a wind-up steamboat, too. Oh! let me down so I can look at it, Nan! Now please do!”

Nan saw a pile of her own gifts, so she set Freddie down for a moment, intending to carry him up stairs a little later. She had wrapped a robe about Flossie, who was contentedly playing with her newest doll, and looking at her other presents. Santa Claus had been kind to the Bobbsey twins that Christmas.

Bert, big boy though he thought himself getting to be, could no longer resist the temptation to come down in his bath robe to see what he had received, and a little later fat Dinah, roused earlier than usual by the joyous shouts of the children, came lumbering in.

“Oh, Dinah! Dinah! Look what you got!” cried Flossie. “Your things are all here on this chair,” and the little girl led the fat cook over toward it.

“Things fo’ me? What yo’-all talkin’ ’bout chile? Ole Dinah don’t git no Christmas!” protested the jolly colored woman, laughing so that she shook all over.

“Yes, you do get a Christmas, Dinah. Look here!” and Flossie showed where there were some useful presents for the cook,–large aprons, warm shoes, an umbrella, and a bright shawl that Dinah had been wanting for a long time.

“What? All dem fo’ me?” asked the surprised cook. “Good land a’ massy! I guess ole Santa Claus done gone an’ made a beef-steak this time, suah!”

“No, there’s no mistake! See, they’ve got your name on!” insisted Flossie. “See, Dinah!” and she led the cook over to the chair where the presents were piled. There was no doubt of it, they were for Dinah, and near them was another chair containing gifts for her husband, Sam. He would not be in until later, however. But Dinah saw a pair of rubber boots that would be very useful in the deep snow, and there were other fine presents for Sam.

Bert and Nan were now looking at their things, and Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey could be heard moving around upstairs, having decided that it was useless to lie abed longer now that the children were up.

“Come, come, Flossie and Freddie!” called Mrs. Bobbsey. “You must get dressed and then you can play as much as you like. I don’t want you to get cold. If you do you can’t go to Snow Lodge, remember!”

This was enough to cause the small Bobbseys to scamper upstairs. Flossie carried her doll with her, and Freddie took along his fire engine, for that was the gift he had most wanted, and for which he had begged and pleaded for weeks before Christmas.

Feeling that a little liberty might be allowed on this day, Mrs. Bobbsey did not insist on the younger children dressing completely until after breakfast, so in their warm robes and slippers Flossie and Freddie were soon again examining their toys, discovering new delights every few minutes.

Nan was busy inspecting her camera, while Bert was looking at a new postage stamp album he had long wanted, when from the kitchen where Dinah was getting breakfast came a series of excited cries, mingled with laughter and shouts of:

“Fire! Fire! Fire!”

“Mercy! What’s that?” screamed Mrs. Bobbsey, turning pale.

Mr. Bobbsey made a rush for the kitchen. Nan and Bert, with Flossie, gathered about their mother. Then they heard Dinah calling:

“Stop it, Freddie! Stop it I done tell you! Does yo’-all want me t’ git soaked? An’ yo’-all will suah spoil them pancakes! Oh, now yo’ hab done it! Yo’ squirted right in mah mouf! Oh mah goodness sakes alive!”

Mrs. Bobbsey looked relieved.

“Freddie must be up to some prank,” she said.

“Freddie, stop it!” commanded Mr. Bobbsey, and then he was heard to laugh. The others all went out to the kitchen and there they saw a curious sight.

Freddie, with his new toy fire engine, was pumping water on fat Dinah, who was laughing so heartily that she could do nothing to stop him. Mr. Bobbsey, too, was shouting with mirth, for the hose from the toy engine was rather small, and threw only a thin, fine spray.

“I’m a fireman!” cried Freddie, “and I’m pretending Dinah is on fire. See her red apron–that’s the fire!” and the little fellow turned the crank of his engine harder than ever, throwing the tiny stream of water all over the kitchen.

“That’s enough, Freddie,” said Mr. Bobbsey, when he could stop laughing. Dinah was still shaking with mirth, and Freddie, looking in the tank of the engine, said:

“There’s only a little more water left. Can’t I squirt that?”

Without waiting for permission Freddie made the water spurt from the nozzle of the hose. At that moment the door of the kitchen opened, to let in Sam. With him came Snap, the trick dog, and the tiny stream of water caught Sam full in the face.

“Hello! What am dat?” he demanded in surprise. “Am de house leakin’?”

“It’s my new fire engine!” cried Freddie. “I didn’t mean to wet you, Sam, but I was playing Dinah was on fire!”

“Well, yo’-all didn’t wet me so very much,” replied Sam, with a grin that showed his white teeth. “Dat suah am a fine fire engine!”

Snap sprang about, barking and wagging his tail, and, there being no more water in Freddie’s engine, he had to stop pumping, for which every one was glad.

“You must not do that again,” said Mrs. Bobbsey, when the excitement was over, and laughing Dinah had dried her face, and put on another apron. “You frightened us all, Freddie, and that is not nice, you know.”

“I won’t, Mamma, but I did want to try my fire engine.”

“Then you must do it in the bath room where the water will do no harm. But come now, children, get your breakfast and then you will have the whole day to look at your toys.”

Breakfast was rather a hurried affair, and every now and then Flossie and Freddie would leave the table to see some of their gifts. But finally the meal was over and then came more joyous times. Sam received his presents, and Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey had time to look at theirs, for Santa Claus had not forgotten them.

“And there’s something for Snap, and for Snoop, too!” exclaimed Freddie. “Snoop has a new ribbon with a silver bell, and Snap a new collar, with his name on,” and soon the cat and dog, newly adorned, were being put through some of their tricks.

If I tried to tell you all that went on in the Bobbsey house that Christmas this book would contain nothing else. So I will only say that the holiday was one of the most delightful the twins ever remembered.

“And then to think, with all this, that we are to go to Snow Lodge! It’s great!” cried Bert.

“I hope I can get some good pictures up there with my camera,” said Nan. “Will you show me how it works, Bert?”

“Yes, and we’ll go out to-day and try it. I want to see how my new skates go, too. The lake is frozen and we’ll have some fun.”

The day was cold and clear. There had been a little fall of snow during the night, but not enough to spoil the skating, and soon Bert and Nan were on their way to the lake, while Flossie and Freddie, after inspecting all their presents over again, had gone out to play on their sleds.

This gave Dinah and Mrs. Bobbsey time to get ready the big Christmas dinner, with the roast turkey, for Mr. Bobbsey had brought home one of the largest he could find.

While Flossie and Freddie were playing on the hill, a small one near their home, they heard a voice calling to them:

“Want a ride, youngsters?”

Looking up they saw Mr. Carford in his big sled. It was filled with baskets and packages, and the Bobbsey twins guessed rightly that the generous old man was taking around his Christmas contributions to the poor families.

“Yes, we’ll go!” cried Freddie. “What shall we do with our sleds?” asked Flossie.

“Oh, Harry Stone will look after them; won’t you Harry?” asked Freddie, “He can use mine, and his sister Jessie can use yours until we come back, Flossie,” and Freddie turned the coasters over to a poor boy and girl who lived near the Bobbsey home. Harry and his sister were delighted, and promised to take good care of the sleds.

“I won’t take you far–only just around town,” said Mr. Carford, as the twins got in his sled. “When are you going up to my Snow Lodge?”

“We’re going soon, I guess,” answered Flossie. “I heard mamma and papa talking about it yesterday.”

“And we’re ever so much obliged to you for letting us have your place,” said Flossie. “Will you come up and see us while we’re there? I’ve got a doll that can talk.”

“And I’m going to take my fire engine along, so if the place gets on fire I can help put it out,” exclaimed Freddie. “Will you come up?”

Mr. Carford started. He looked at the children in a strange sort of way, and then stared at the horses.

“No–no–I guess I won’t go to Snow Lodge any more,” he said slowly, and Flossie and Freddie were sorry they had asked him, for they remembered the story their father had told them about the sorrow that had come to the aged man.

But the children soon forgot this in the joy of helping in the distribution of the good things in the sled, and the happiness brought to many poor families seemed to make up, in a way, for what Mr. Carford had suffered in the trouble over his nephew.

When all the gifts had been given out from the sled, Mr. Carford drove the two younger Bobbsey twins back to the hill where they again had fun coasting.

Meanwhile Nan and Bert were having a good time on the ice. Nan’s camera was used to take a number of pictures, which the children hoped would turn out well.

While Bert was taking a picture of Nan, Charley Mason came skating up, and Bert, whose best chum he was, insisted that Charley get in the picture also.

“My!” exclaimed Charley, as he saw Nan’s camera, “that’s a fine one!”

“I just got it to-day,” said Nan, with a pleased smile. “I’m going to take a lot of pictures up at Snow Lodge.”

“Snow Lodge,” repeated Charley. “You mean that place Mr. Carford owns?”

“Yes,” replied Bert. “He is going to let us all go up there for three weeks or so.”

“Say, that’s funny,” spoke Charley. “You’ll have some other Lakeport folks near you.”

“Who else is going up to Snow Lodge?” asked Nan.

“Well, they’re not exactly going to Snow Lodge,” replied Charley, “but I heard a while ago that Danny Rugg and his folks were going up to a winter camp near there. Mr. Rugg has bought a lumber tract in the woods, and he’s going to see about having some of the trees cut. Danny is going, too. So you’ll have him for a neighbor.”

“Oh, dear!” exclaimed Nan, in dismay. “That spoils everything!”

“Well, if Danny tries any of his tricks I’ll get after him!” exclaimed Bert, firmly. But he looked anxious over the unwelcome news Charley had brought.

CHAPTER XI

MAKING PLANS

“Are you sure this is so–is Danny Rugg really going up to the woods near Snow Lodge?” asked Bert of Charley, after a pause.

“That’s what Frank Smith told me,” replied Charley, “and you know Frank and Danny are great chums.”

“That’s so. Well, if Danny doesn’t bother us we won’t make any trouble for him,” said Bert. “Still, I’d rather he would go somewhere else.”

“If Mr. Rugg is going up to see about having lumber cut,” said Nan, “I guess there won’t be much fun for Danny. Maybe he won’t bother us at all.”

“He will if he gets a chance,” declared her brother. “Danny’s just that kind. But we’ll wait and see.”

Bert, Nan and Charley talked for some time longer about the trip to Snow Lodge, and then, as it was getting nearly time for dinner, they skated down the lake toward their homes.

“How are you folks going up to the lodge?” asked Charley, before parting from Bert and Nan.

“Oh, I guess father will take one of his big lumber sleds and drive us all up,” replied Bert. “We’ll have to take along lots of things to eat, for it’s a good ways to the store, and we might get snowed in.”

“That’s right,” said Charley. “But say, why don’t you and Freddie go up in our iceboat, the _Ice Bird_? It isn’t much of a run to Snow Lodge, on the lake, and it’s good going now.”

“I never thought of that!” exclaimed Bert. “I wonder if father would let us?”

“You can ask him,” said Nan. “I’d like to skate up, if it wasn’t so far. But I don’t believe it would be safe to take Freddie on the ice- boat, Bert. He’s so little, and so easily excited that he might tumble out.”

“That’s right. And yet it will be no fun to sail it alone. I wish you could go with me, Charley.”

“I wish I could, but I don’t see how I can. My folks are going to my grandmother’s for a couple of weeks. Otherwise I’d be glad to go.”

“Well, maybe my father will sail in the ice-boat with me,” spoke Bert. “I guess I’ll ask him.”

Bert and Nan had much to talk about as they skated on, having bidden Charley goodbye, and their conversation was mostly about the new idea of getting to Snow Lodge on the ice.

“I don’t want to skate alone, any more than you want to go in the ice- boat alone,” said Nan. “But maybe mamma and papa will let us invite some of our friends to spend a week or so at Snow Lodge with us. Then it would be all right.”

“It surely would,” said Bert.

The Christmas dinner at the Bobbsey home was a jolly affair, and while it was being eaten Bert spoke to his father about the ice-boat.

“Do you think it will carry you to the upper end of the lake?” asked Mr. Bobbsey with a smile, for Bert and Charley had made the boat themselves, with a little help. Though it was a home-made affair, Bert was as proud of it as though a large sum had been spent for it.

“Of course it will carry us to Snow Lodge,” he said. “There would be room for four or five on it, if the wind was strong enough to carry us to the head of the lake. But I don’t want to go alone, Father. Could you come?”

“I’m afraid not,” laughed Mr. Bobbsey. “I’ll have to go in the big sled with your mother, and the provisions. We’re going to take Dinah and Sam along, you know. Can’t you ask some of your boy friends? I guess there’s room enough at the Lodge.”

“That’s just what I’ll do!” exclaimed Bert “I’ll see who of the boys can go.”

“And may I ask Grace Lavine or Nellie Parks?” inquired Nan. “We could skate up, or go part way in the ice-boat with the boys.”

“I think so,” said Mrs. Bobbsey.

“I know who you could take on the iceboat,” said Freddie, passing his plate for more turkey.

“Who?” asked Bert.

“Dinah!” cried the little fellow. “She would be so heavy that she couldn’t roll off, and if the ice-boat started to blow away she’d be as good as an anchor.”

“That’s right!” cried Nan. “Dinah, did you hear what Freddie is planning for you?” she asked as the fat cook came in with the plum pudding.

“I ‘clar t’ goodness I neber knows what dat ar’ chile will be up to next!” exclaimed Dinah with a laugh. “But if he am plannin’ to squirt any mo’ fire injun water on me I’s gwine t’ run away, dat’s what I is!”

They all laughed at this, Dinah joining in, and then Freddie explained what he had said.

“No, sah! Yo’ don’t cotch me on no ice-cream boat!” declared Dinah. “I’ll go in a sled, but I ain’t gwine t’ fall down no hole in de ice and be bit by a fish! No, sah!”

There was more laughter, and then the plum pudding was served. Freddie begged that Snoop and Snap be given an extra good dinner, on account of it being Christmas, and Dinah promised to see to this.

Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey discussed the plans for going to Snow Lodge. They agreed that Bert and Nan, if they wished, might each ask a friend, for the old farmhouse in the woods on the edge of the lake contained many rooms. It was completely furnished, all that was needed being food.

“So if you young folks want to skate or ice-boat up the lake I see no objection,” said Mr. Bobbsey. “The rest of us will go in a big sled.”

“Couldn’t I go in the ice-boat?” asked Freddie. “I’m getting big. I’m almost in the first reader book.”

“We’re going so fast your fire engine might be lost overboard,” said Bert with a smile, and that was enough for his little brother. He didn’t want that to happen for the world, so he gave up the plan of going on the _Ice Bird_.

“I don’t like the idea of that Danny Rugg going to be near us,” said Mrs. Bobbsey to her husband, when Bert had told this news. “He’s sure to make trouble.”

“Perhaps not,” said Mr. Bobbsey. “Bert generally manages to hold his own when Danny bothers him.”

“Yes, I know. But it always makes hard feelings. I do wish Danny wasn’t going up there.”

“Well, the woods are open, and we can’t stop him,” said Mr. Bobbsey, with a smile. The children had gone out to play, and the house was quiet once more.

“There is a great deal to do to get ready,” went on Mrs. Bobbsey. “But I think the trip will do us all good. I only hope none of us take cold.”

“Don’t worry,” advised her husband. “I’ll see Mr. Carford, and have the fires made up a couple of days before we arrive. That will make the house good and warm, and dry it out.”

They talked over the various things they had to do in order to make their stay at Snow Lodge pleasant, and then went out to call on some friends.

That afternoon Bert and Nan extended the invitation to Snow Lodge to a number of their boy and girl friends, explaining how they were going to make the trip on skates or on the ice-boat.

But one after another declined. Either their parents had made other plans for spending the Christmas holidays, or they did not think it wise to let their children go off in the woods.

Bert asked a number of boys he knew, but none of them could go, and Grace Lavine, Nellie Parks, and many other girls to whom Nan spoke, made excuses.

“I guess we’ll have to give up the ice-boat plan,” said Bert, regretfully that night to Nan. “No one seems able to go. Will you risk it with me, Nan?”

“I wouldn’t be afraid,” she answered. “If mamma and papa will let me I’ll sail in the _Ice Bird_ with you.”

“Then we’ll go that way!” cried Bert. But the next day something occurred that made a change in the plans of the Bobbsey twins.

CHAPTER XII

THE LETTERS

The day after Christmas, when Bert and Nan came home from having been to see a number of their friends, but not having succeeded in getting any of them to promise to make the trip to Snow Lodge, the two older Bobbsey twins were quite discouraged.

“I’ll need another fellow to help me sail the ice-boat,” spoke Bert. “Of course I know you’ll do all you can, Nan, but we can’t tell what might happen. I don’t see what’s the matter with all the fellows, anyhow, that they can’t go.”

“And the girls, too,” added Nan. “I couldn’t get one of them to promise. And I don’t know whether mamma and papa will let you and me go in the ice-boat by ourselves.”

And, when they heard of this plan, both Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey objected to it.

“It would be too risky,” decided Mr. Bobbsey. “Your ice-boat is a small one. I know, Bert, but in a stiff wind it might capsize if you did not have some other boy along to help you manage it. I guess you and Nan had better come with us in the big sled.”

“I think so, too,” added Mrs. Bobbsey.

There seemed to be no other way out of it, and Nan and Bert felt quite badly. Not even the tricks of Snap and Snoop, when Freddie and Flossie put the dog and cat through them before going to bed, would cause their older brother and sister to look happy.

“Never mind,” said Mamma Bobbsey, “when we get to Snow Lodge you’ll have such a good time that you won’t mind not having made the trip on skates or on the ice-boat. And you can skate all you like when you get up there.”

The next day Freddie was playing quite a game. He had a little toy village, made of pasteboard houses, and this he had set up in the playroom. He was pretending that a fire had broken out in one of the dwellings and he was going to put it out with his toy engine. Of course there was not even a match on fire, for Mrs. Bobbsey was very careful about this, but Freddie pretended to his heart’s content. He was allowed to have real water, but Dinah had spread on the floor an old rubber coat so that the spray would do no harm.

With a great shout Freddie came running out of the “engine house,” which was a chair turned on its side. He was pulling his toy after him, racing to the make-believe blaze.

Just then Flossie came into the room with her new walking doll, and, not seeing her, Freddie ran into and knocked her over.

Flossie sat down quite hard, and for a moment was too surprised to cry. But a moment later, when she saw Freddie’s fire engine run over her new doll, which cried out “Mamma!” as if in pain, the tears came into Flossie’s eyes.

“Oh, you bad boy!” she exclaimed, forgetting her own pain, at the sight of her doll, “you’ve run right over her!”

“I–I couldn’t help it!” said Freddie, stopping in his rush to the fire to pick up his sister’s toy. “You got right in my way.”

“I did not–Freddie Bobbsey!”

“Yes, you did, too, and I’m going to squirt water on you, and put you out. You’re on fire! Your cheeks are all red!”

This was true enough. Flossie did get very red cheeks when she was excited.

“Don’t you put any water on me!” she cried. “I’ll tell mamma on you! And you’ve broke my best doll, too! Oh, dear!” and Flossie burst into tears, so there was no need for Freddie to use his toy engine to wet her flaming cheeks.

This frightened Freddie. He seldom made his twin sister cry, and he was very much alarmed.

“I–I didn’t mean to, Flossie,” he said, putting his arms around her. “I guess I was running pretty fast. Don’t cry, and you can squirt my engine. Maybe if you squirted some water on your doll she’d be all right,” and Freddie picked up the talking toy.

“Don’t you dare put any water on her!” screamed Flossie. “You’ll make her catch cold, and then she won’t talk at all, Oh, dear! I wish you didn’t have that old engine.”

Mrs. Bobbsey came into the room just then, or there is no telling what might have happened. She knew what to do, and soon she had straightened out matters. It was not very often that Flossie and Freddie had trouble of this kind, but they were only human children, just like any others, and they had their little disputes now and then.

“Oh, dear! This will never do!” said Mrs. Bobbsey. “Freddie, you must not rush about the house so fast.”

“But, mamma, firemens is always fast. They have to be fast, and I was going to a fire,” the fat little fellow said.

“I know, dear, but you should look where you are going. And, Flossie, dear, you must watch out before you rush into a room, you know.”

“Yes, mamma, but, you see, I was pretending my doll was sick, and I was running to the doctor’s with her.”

“Oh, dear!” cried Mamma Bobbsey. “You were both in too much of a hurry, I think. Never mind. Let’s see if the doll is hurt, much.”

It seemed that she was, for though she would walk across the room when wound up, she would not cry out “Mamma!” But Mrs. Bobbsey was used to mending broken toys, and after poking about in the wheels and springs with a hairpin she soon had the doll so it would talk again. Then Flossie was happy, and her tears were forgotten.

Freddie said he was sorry he had been in such a hurry, so all was forgiven, and he went on playing fireman. He was in the midst of putting out a make-believe blaze in the village church when the doorbell rang, and the postman’s whistle was heard.

“Will you get the mail, dear?” asked Mrs. Bobbsey of Freddie. “Dinah is busy, I’m sure. Let me see how mamma’s little fat fireman can get the letters. But don’t run!” she exclaimed, “or you might fall downstairs.”

“I won’t, mamma,” said Freddie.

He came back with several letters, and he was again playing he was a fireman, and Flossie was making believe she was a doctor for her sick doll, when Mrs. Bobbsey exclaimed:

“Oh, this will be good news for Bert,” and she looked up from a letter she was reading.

“What is it, mamma?” asked Flossie. “Is someone sending him more Christmas presents?”

“No, dear, but Harry, your cousin from the country, you know, is coming to visit us. Bert will have someone to play with. Won’t that be nice?”

“And can I play with him, too?” asked Freddie.

“I guess so, sometimes,” said Mrs. Bobbsey. “But you must remember that Harry is about ten years old, and he won’t always want to be with little boys.”

“I’m a big boy!” declared Freddie. “I’m ‘most as big as Bert.”

“Well, I guess you can have some fun,” said Mrs. Bobbsey. “Bert will be glad to hear this. Now, who can this other letter be from?” and she tore open the envelope.

“Why!” she cried, as she quickly read it “It’s from Uncle William Minturn, at the seashore, and he says his daughter Dorothy is coming to pay us a visit. Well, did you ever! Our two cousins–one from the country and the other from the seashore–both coming at the same time! Oh, this will please Bert and Nan!”

“And can’t we have a good time, too?” asked Flossie.

“Of course,” said Mrs. Bobbsey. “Let me see now; how will I arrange the rooms for them? Oh, I forgot, we’re going to Snow Lodge soon. I wonder what I can do? Both Dorothy and Harry will be here before I can tell them not to come. I must telephone to papa!”

Bert and Nan came in just then, in time to hear this last.

“Telephone to papa!” exclaimed Bert “What’s the matter, mother? Has anything happened?”

“Nothing, only your cousins, Dorothy and Harry, are coming to visit you. And I don’t know what to do about it, as we are going to Snow Lodge!”

“Do about it?” cried Bert. “Why, we won’t do anything about it, except to let them come. Say, this is the best news yet! Harry can go with me on the ice-boat. Hurray! Hurray!”

“Yes, and Dorothy and I can skate on the lake!” said Nan. “Oh, how glad I am!”

“We’ll take them both to Snow Lodge!” cried Bert. “Now we won’t have to look for any other boys or girls. Well have our own cousins! Whoop!” and he threw his arms around his mother, while Nan tried to kiss her. Flossie and Freddie looked on in pleased surprise. The letters had come just in time. Now there would be a jolly party at Snow Lodge.

CHAPTER XIII

IN A HARD BLOW

“Are you girls warm enough?” asked Bert Bobbsey, as he and his cousin Harry started toward the frozen lake one afternoon, the day before they were all to start for Snow Lodge.

“If we aren’t we will never be,” answered Dorothy Minturn, who was Nan’s “seashore cousin” as she called the visitor. “I’ve got on so many things that it would be easier to roll along instead of walking,” went on Dorothy with a laugh.

“Well, it’s a good thing to be warm, for it will be cold on the ice- boat; won’t it, Bert?” asked Harry.

“That’s what it will. There’s a good wind blowing, too. It’s stronger than I thought it was,” and Bert bent to the blast as he walked along with the others.

“Will there be any danger?” asked Dorothy, who was not used to the activities of the Bobbseys.

“Oh, don’t worry!” cried Harry. “We’ll look after you girls.”

“They think they will,” murmured Nan looking at her cousin, “I guess I know almost as much about the _Ice Bird_ as Bert does.”

“Where is your ice-boat?” asked Harry of Bert, as they kept on along the path that led to the lake.

“Over in the next cove. I had her out the other day, and the wind died out, leaving me there. Since then we’ve been so busy getting ready to go to Snow Lodge that I haven’t had time to bring her back to the dock.”

“Will she be safe over there?”

“I guess so–hardly anybody goes there in winter.”

The two cousins–Harry from the country and Dorothy from the seashore,–in each of which places the Bobbseys had spent part of the preceding summer,–had followed soon after their letters, and had been warmly welcomed by Nan, Bert, Flossie and Freddie. The visitors were rather surprised to learn that the Bobbsey family was preparing to go away for a winter vacation in the woods, but they were only too glad to accept an invitation to go along.

So it was arranged, and in another day the start to Mr. Carford’s former home would be made. Mr. Bobbsey had a big sled gotten ready, there were boxes, barrels and packages of provisions, Snow Lodge had been opened by a farmer living near there, who remained in it all night, keeping up the fires so that the long-deserted house would not be chilly, and all was in readiness.

The plans of Nan and Bert to go to Snow Lodge by means of skates and on the ice-boat had been agreed to.

Dorothy and Nan thought they would rather skate than go all the way on the ice-boat, but Bert and Harry decided to keep to the ice craft all the way.

“And when you girls get tired of skating just wave your handkerchiefs, and we’ll wait for you,” said Bert.

Now they were going to take a little trial sail on the _Ice Bird_ before starting off on the longer cruise.

As the four walked around a point of land, and came within sight of the ice-boat, tied to a stake in the ice of the cove, Harry uttered a cry.

“Look!” he exclaimed to Bert, “someone is at your boat!”

“That’s right!” cried Bert, starting to run. Just then a figure skated away from the craft, and Bert breathed a sigh of relief.

“I guess it was only someone taking a look at her,” he said “There aren’t many on the lake.”

“We can’t go very far,” said Nan, as they neared the boat, “for mamma said to be back early. We’ve got a great deal of packing to do yet.”

“We’ll just take a little spin,” replied Bert.

They were soon on the ice-boat, gliding up and down the lake, which was frozen to a glassy smoothness.

“If it’s like this to-morrow it will be grand for skating!” exclaimed Nan.

“Yes, and fine for ice-boating, too,” replied her brother. “We’ll beat you to Snow Lodge.”

“Well, you ought to,” said Dorothy, “but we’ll be warmer skating than you will be on the ice-boat.”

“Not when we take along all the fur robes I’ve got out for the trip,” replied Bert. “I didn’t bring ’em this time, as it was too far to carry. But to-morrow Harry and I will be regular Eskimos.”

Back and forth on the lake sailed the _Ice Bird_ with the merry- hearted boys and girls. Bert did not go very far, as he noticed that the wind was growing much stronger and his boat, though sturdy and well-built, was not intended to weather a gale.

“Well, I think we’d better start for home now,” said Nan after about an hour’s sailing. “Mamma will be expecting us.”

“All right,” assented Bert. “Do you want to steer her, Harry?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know how,” replied the country lad.

“Oh, you’ll soon learn. I’ll be right beside you here, and tell you what to do.”

“Don’t upset, please, whatever you do,” urged Dorothy.

“I’ll try not to,” promised Harry.

When they got out of the sheltered cove they felt the full force of the wind, and for a moment even Nan, who had been on the boat many times, felt a bit timid. The _Ice Bird_ tilted to one side, the left hand runner raising high in the air.

“Oh!” screamed Dorothy. “We’re going over!”

“No, we’re not! Sit still!” cried Bert, grasping the tiller, which Harry was not holding just right. By turning the ice-boat to one side the wind did not strike it so hard, and the craft settled down on the level again.

“There! That’s better!” exclaimed Dorothy, who had grabbed hold of Nan.

“Oh, that’s nothing,” said Nan. “Bert and I are used to that.”

But as the ice-boat proceeded it was evident that those on her were not going to have an easy time to get to the Bobbsey dock. The wind blew harder and harder, and the sail seemed ready to rip apart. It took both Bert and Harry to hold the rudder steady, and even then the tiller was almost torn from their grasp.

Even Nan began to look a little frightened, and she did not laugh when Dorothy stretched out flat and held on to the side of the boat with all her strength.

“I don’t want to be blown away if I can help it,” said Dorothy.

Harder and harder blew the wind, sending the ice-boat along at great speed. In a few minutes more it would be at the dock, where Bert kept it tied.

“If it blows this way to-morrow we won’t be long getting to Snow Lodge,” cried Bert in Harry’s ear. He had to shout to be heard above the howling of the wind.

“That’s right,” agreed the country boy. “The girls can never skate along as fast as this.”

“We’ll have to use less sail,” went on Bert, “and then we won’t go so fast.”

He and Harry shifted the rudder to steer closer to shore. Suddenly the wind came in a fierce gust. The ice-boat seemed about to turn completely over. The two girls screamed, even Nan being frightened now.

“Oh, what is it? What is it?” cried Dorothy.

Then came a sharp crack. There was a sound as though a hundred pop- guns were being fired, and the boat slackened speed.

“Look!” cried Harry pointing ahead “Our sail has burst, Bert”

“No, it’s the sheet rope–the main rope that holds the sail fast- that’s broken,” replied Bert. “Lucky it did, too, or we might have gone over. I was going to let go of it.”

The ice-boat slid along a short distance, and then came to a stop. The sail, no longer held in place so as to catch the wind, was blowing and flapping, making snapping sounds like a line of clothes in a heavy wind.

“All right, girls, no danger now,” called Bert, as he got out to make the flapping sail fast again. As he looked at the end of the broken rope he uttered a cry of surprise.

“Look here!” he called to Harry, “this rope has been cut!”

“Cut?”

“Yes. Someone hacked it partly through with a knife, and the wind did the rest.”

There was no doubt of it. The main rope had been partly severed, and the strain of the hard blow had done the rest.

“That fellow we saw near the ice-boat!” began Harry. “It must have been him! Who was he?”

“Danny Rugg–if anybody,” answered Bert. “I thought it looked like him. Probably he heard that we were going to use the boat to go to Snow Lodge, and he wanted to make trouble for us. He’s going to camp up there near us, I hear.”

“Gracious!” cried Dorothy. “I hope he doesn’t play any tricks like that up there.”

“If he does I guess Harry and I can attend to him,” cried Bert. “But, in a way, it’s a good thing the rope did break or we might have upset. Only Danny, if he did it, had no idea of doing us a good turn. He just wanted to make trouble.”

“Can you fix it?” asked Nan of her brother.

“Oh, yes, it can be spliced and will be stronger than ever. But I won’t do it now. We can walk the rest of the way to the dock. The wind is blowing harder than ever, and we don’t want any accidents.”

Indeed, the wind was blowing a gale now, and even with the sail down the ice-boat went along at such a speed that it was all Harry and Bert could do to hold it.

But finally it was gotten to the dock, and made fast, and while the girls went on to the Bobbsey home to finish with their packing, Bert and Harry mended the broken rope.

“I’ll have to teach Danny Rugg a good lesson,” said Bert to his cousin.

“Yes, and I’ll help you,” returned Harry.

CHAPTER XIV

AT SNOW LODGE

“Are we all here?”

“Have we got everything?”

“Here, Snap! If you jump out again you can’t go!”

“Dinah, you hold Snap, will you?”

“Good lan’ chile! I’se got about all I kin do to hold mah own self!”

These were some of the cries and exclamations as the Bobbsey family prepared to start on the trip to Snow Lodge. With the exception of Nan and Bert, and Dorothy and Harry, they were all in a big sled, drawn by four horses that were prancing about in the snow, anxious to get started. At every step the bells jingled. Sam, the colored man, was driving. With him on the front seat sat fat Freddie.

“I’m going to drive, as soon as we get out on the country road!” cried Freddie.

“He is not; is he, Sam?” demanded Flossie, who was taking one of her dolls on the trip, and with the doll, and her big muff, little Flossie had about all she could manage.

“Yes, I am too,” declared Freddie. “You said I could, Sam; you know you did!”

“Well I guess you kin drive, where the roads are easy,” promised the colored man, with a scratch of his black, kinky head.

Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey were now on their seat, with Flossie between them. Dinah was on the seat behind, while in back of her were piled the packages of food.

Snap, the trick dog, was to be taken along, but it had been decided to leave Downy the duck, and Snoop, the fat, black cat at home. A neighbor had promised to look after them and feed them.

“Well, I guess we’re all ready,” said Mr. Bobbsey, as he looked back at the well-loaded sled. “Now be careful,” he called to Nan and Bert, who with their cousins were to go to Snow Lodge on the icy lake. The girls would skate part of the way and ride on the ice-boat the remainder of the distance.

“We’ll be careful,” said Bert.

The day was cold, and clouds overhead seemed to tell that it was going to snow. But the young folks hoped the storm would hold off until night, when they would be safe in the big, old-fashioned farmhouse.

Everyone was well wrapped up, and Flossie and Freddie were almost lost in big rugs that had been tucked around them, for their mother did not want them to get cold.

Piles of rugs and blankets had been put on the ice-boat so those aboard would be comfortable.

“Well, let’s start!” called Mr. Bobbsey finally. “We’ll see who will get there first, Bert, or us.”

“All right–a race then!” cried Nan.

Down to the glittering, icy lake went the boys and girls, down to where the ice-boat awaited them. It had been put in good shape for the trip, but before starting Bert and Harry looked over all the ropes to make sure none were frayed, or had been cut. Nothing had been seen of Danny Rugg, and Charley Mason told Bert he thought the bully had gone to the wood camp with his father.

“Don’t you girls want to come on the iceboat for a ways first?” asked Bert of his sister and Dorothy. “Then, when you get tired of riding, you can skate.”

“Shall we?” inquired Nan.

“I guess so,” answered Dorothy, and so they did. The wind was not as strong as it had been the day before, but it was enough of a breeze to send the _Ice Bird_ along at a good speed. Well wrapped in the robes and blankets, the young people enjoyed the trip very much.

“I’m sure we’ll be there before papa and mamma are,” said Nan as they glided along. “See how fast we are going.”

“Yes, but this wind may not keep up all the way,” spoke her brother. “And it’s a good ways to Snow Lodge.”

“Oh, well, we’ll have a good time, anyhow,” said Dorothy.

“And we’ll stop and build a fire and have lunch when we’re hungry,” added Harry, for they had brought some food with them, and could make chocolate over a little fire.

Meanwhile the sled-load of the Bobbseys with their two colored servants, and Snap was proceeding along the snowy road. The path had been well broken, and the going was good, so they made fairly fast time. But every now and then Snap would insist on jumping out to run along the road, and every time he did this Flossie and Freddie would set up a howl, fearing he would get lost.

“Snap!” exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey, when this had happened four or five times, “if you don’t stay here quietly I’ll tie you fast. Lie down, sir!”

Snap barked, wagged his tail, and looked at Mr. Bobbsey with his head tilted to one side as much as to say:

“Very well sir. I’ll be good now. But I did want a little run.” Then Snap curled up at Dinah’s feet and gave no more trouble.

“I ‘clar t’ goodness!” exclaimed the colored cook, with a laugh that made her shake all over, “dat ar’ Snap am a good foot-warmer, so he be. I jest hopes he don’t jump out no mo’, so I does.” And, for a time at least, the trick dog seemed content to lie quietly in the sled.

It was not a very exciting trip for those in the sled, as they went along through the streets of Lakeport and so out into the open country. Then they passed through village after village, with little occurring. The roads were good, and occasionally they met other teams.

Once they came to a narrow place between two big drifts, and as another sled was coming toward them it was rather a race to see which one would get to the opening first.

“You can’t go through when he does, Sam,” said Mr. Bobbsey, nodding toward the other driver.

“I knows I can’t, sah. But I’ll get there first.”

Sam called to his horses and they sprang forward. A little later they had reached the opening between the drifts and the other sled had to wait until the Bobbseys got out of the narrow place.

All this time Bert and the others were making their way up the lake on the ice. After going a mile or two on the ice-boat the wind died down so that the craft did not go very fast.

“Come on, Dorothy,” called Nan, “let’s skate for a ways. And if you get too far ahead of us, please wait, Bert,” she added, and her brother promised that he and Harry would.

For a time Dorothy and Nan enjoyed the skating very much, and it was a welcome change from sitting still on the ice-boat. Then the wind sprang up again, and Harry and Bert got so far ahead that the two girls thought they should never be able to skate to them.

“Oh, I wish they’d wait,” said Dorothy. “I’m getting tired.”

“I’ll wave to them–maybe they’ll see my handkerchief,” said Nan.

Bert and Harry did see the girls, and, guessing what the white signal meant, they lowered the sail of the ice-boat and waited for the two to come up. And the girls were glad enough now to sit amid the comfortable robes and blankets.

“Skating such a long distance is harder than I thought it would be,” confessed Nan, with a sigh.

“Yes, the ice-boat is good enough for me,” agreed Dorothy. “But when we get to Snow Lodge we’ll do some skating.”

“That’s what we will,” said Nan.

Mile after mile was covered by the _Ice Bird_. They passed small towns and villages on the shore of the frozen lake. Many of the places were known to Nan and Bert, who had often visited them in the summer time, rowing to them in their boat, or sailing to them with the older folks.

“Isn’t it almost time to eat?” asked Bert after a bit. “That sun looks as if it were noon, Nan.”

“It’s half-past eleven,” spoke Harry, glancing at his watch. “There’s a nice little cove where we can be out of the wind, and where we can build a fire,” he went on, pointing ahead.

“That’s what we’ll do!” cried Bert, steering toward it. “Now you girls will have a chance to show what sort of cooks you are.”

“Humph! There’s nothing to cook but chocolate!” said Nan. “Any one could make that.”

They had brought with them the chocolate all ready to heat in a pot, and soon it was set over a fire of sticks which the boys had made on shore, scraping away the snow from the ground. Nan and Dorothy got out the packages of sandwiches and cake, and soon a merry little party was seated on the ice-boat, eating the good things.

The meal was soon over and then the young people got ready to resume their trip. Nan and Dorothy wanted to skate a bit, but Bert looking up at the sky, said:

“I don’t think it will be safe. It looks as though it were going to storm soon, and we don’t want to be caught in it. It isn’t far to Snow Lodge now, and once we are there let it snow as much as it likes. But if it comes down before we get there we’ll have hard work to keep on in the ice-boat. Even a little snow on the ice will clog the runners.”

So the skating idea was given up, and soon they were under way in the ice-boat again. The clouds grew darker, and there were a few scattering flakes of snow.

“I guess we’re going to be in for it,” said Bert. “If the wind would only blow harder we could go faster.”

As if in answer to his wish the wind started up and the boat fairly flew over the ice. Then the storm suddenly broke and the snow was so thick that they could not see where they were going.

“What shall we do?” cried Dorothy, who was not used to being out in such a blow.

“Keep on–that’s the only thing to do,” answered Bert. “We will go as far as we can in the boat and then we’ll walk.”

“Walk to Snow Lodge!” cried Nan. “We could never do it!”

“Oh, it isn’t so far now,” said her brother.

The snow fell so fast that soon the ice-boat went slower and slower. Finally it stopped altogether, the runners clogged with snow. The wind blowing on the sail nearly turned the craft over.

“Cast off those ropes!” cried Bert to Harry. “We’ll have to leave her here and walk on.”

The sail was lowered, the blankets and robes were picked up to be carried, and the four girls and boys set out over the ice.

“We must keep near the shore,” said Bert, “Snow Lodge is right on the shore of the lake, and we can’t miss it.”

“Oh, suppose we did, and had to stay out all night?” cried Dorothy.

“We won’t worry until we have to,” spoke Nan.

It snowed harder and harder, and grew quite dark. Even Bert was worried. He and Harry walked on ahead, to keep the wind and snow as much as possible out of the faces of the girls.

“Bert, I’m sure we’re lost!” cried Nan a little later. “We can’t see where we’re going! Don’t go on any farther.”

“We can’t stay here on the ice all night,” objected Bert.

“Well, it is pretty dark,” said Harry. “Are there any houses around here?”

They gazed at the fast-gathering blackness all about them. They were beginning to be very much afraid. The wind howled, and the snow came down harder than ever.

“There’s a light!” suddenly called Dorothy.

“Where?” cried all the others eagerly.

“There,” answered Dorothy, pointing toward where they had last seen the land. “Right over in those trees.”

“Then let’s go toward it,” suggested Bert. “Maybe they can tell us where Snow Lodge is, and if it’s too far we’ll stay there all night, if they’ll let us.”

The welcome light shone out through the storm and darkness. The four young folks made their way toward it as best they could, and, as they came nearer they could see that it was a big house in the midst of trees. Bert rubbed his eyes. He looked again, and then he cried:

“Why, it’s Snow Lodge! It’s Snow Lodge! We’ve found it after all! We’re all right now! We’re at Snow Lodge!”

“Hurray!” cried Harry.

“Oh, how glad I am!” said Nan, with her arms around Dorothy.

A door opened and the light streamed out over the snow.

“Who is there?” called Mr. Bobbsey. “Is that you, Bert?”

“Yes, father. We’re here at last.”

“Oh, thank goodness!” said Mrs. Bobbsey. “We were just going out to search for you!”

CHAPTER XV

THE SNOW SLIDE

How warm and cozy it was in Snow Lodge! How bright were the lights, and how the big fire blazed, crackled and roared up the chimney! And what a delightful smell came from the kitchen! It could easily be told that Dinah was out there.

“Where have you been?”

“What happened to you?”

“Was there an accident?”

“Did you get lost?”

“Did the ice-boat sink?”

It was Freddie and Flossie who asked the last two questions, and Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey who asked the others as Bert, Nan, Harry and Dorothy came into the farmhouse. Oh, how good it seemed after their battle in the darkness with the storm!

“The ice-boat couldn’t go on account of the snow,” explained Bert, “so we had to leave it and walk.”

“And we got lost,” added Nan. “Oh, it was terrible out there on the frozen lake!”

“Indeed it was,” agreed Dorothy. “I never had such a time in all my life.”

“It was too bad,” said Mrs. Bobbsey. “You children should have come in the sled with us.”

“Oh, we didn’t mind it much,” spoke Harry. “We had a good lunch. We saw the light and thought it was some farmhouse. We didn’t think it was Snow Lodge. But we’re glad it is,” he added with a laugh.

“We got here some time ago,” said Mr. Bobbsey. “The farmer had the fires all going finely, and it was as warm as toast. We began getting things to rights, but when it got dark, and snowed, and you children weren’t here, we all got worried.”

“And we were going to look for you,” added Mrs. Bobbsey. “Oh, I was so worried I didn’t know what to do!”

The evening was spent in playing a few games, and in talking and telling stories. Everyone was too tired to stay up long, after the day’s trip, and so “early to bed” was the rule, for the first night at least.

As Bert went up to his room with his cousin Harry he looked out of the window. It was too dark to see much, but the boy could get a glimpse of the snow blowing against the panes with great force.

“Poor Henry Burdock!” thought Bert. “If it wasn’t for that missing money he and his uncle might be living here at Snow Lodge. I wonder where Henry is now? Maybe off somewhere in the woods, lost–as we nearly were!”

The thought made him feel sad. Surely it was a terrible night to be out in the forest, amid the storm and darkness.

“I wish I could help him,” thought Bert, but he did not see how he could. Mr. Carford was a stern old man, and he believed his nephew had taken the money that was missing.

The storm raged all night, and part of the next day. Then it cleared off, leaving a great coating of white in the woods, and over the fields.

“No skating or ice-boating now,” said Bert, “and not for some days. We’ll have to wait for a thaw and another freeze.”

“But we can take walks in the woods; can’t we?” asked Nan. “Would you like that, Dorothy?”

“Indeed I would,” was the answer.

“Can’t we come?” asked Freddie. “Flossie and I have rubber boots.”

“Yes, you may come for a little way,” said Bert. “We won’t go far. Say, Harry, we ought to have snowshoes for this sort of thing.”

“That’s right,” agreed his cousin. “I saw a picture of some, but I don’t believe I would know how to make them.”

“I made some once, but they weren’t much good,” admitted Bert. “We’ll get my father to show us how some day. It would be fun to take a trip on them over the snow.”

Well wrapped up, the young folks set off through the woods, Snap trotting along with them, barking joyously. All about Snow Lodge, back from the lake, and on either side, were dense woods, and under the trees the snow was not as deep as in the open fields, for the branches kept part of it off. But it was deep enough to make walking hard.

“We can’t go very far at this rate,” said Nan, as she and Dorothy struggled on through the drifts.

“Let’s go to that hill, and see what sort of view there is,” suggested Harry.

“All right,” agreed Bert.

“And we can stop there and eat our lunch,” put in Freddie.

“Our lunch!” exclaimed Nan. “We didn’t bring any lunch, dearie!”

“Flossie and I did!” cried “the little fat fireman,” as his papa often called Freddie. “We thought we’d get hungry, so we had Dinah make us some sandwiches, and give us a piece of cake.”

“I’m hungry now,” said Flossie, and from under her cloak she drew out a bundle, which she opened, showing a rather crumpled sandwich and a piece of cake.

“I’m going to eat, too,” decided Freddie, as he brought out his lunch.

“Well, I declare; you two are the greatest ever!” cried Bert. “But it was a good idea all the same!”

“Yes, I could eat something myself,” admitted Harry. “I guess this air makes you hungry.”

“We–we haven’t got enough for all of us–I guess,” said Freddie, looking wistfully at his package.

“Don’t worry!” answered Harry with a laugh. “I won’t take any, Freddie. I can wait until we get home.”

Thereupon the two smaller twins proceeded to eat the lunch they had brought, doing this while trudging through the snow toward the little hill.

They reached the top, and stood for a time looking over the broad snow-covered expanse of lake and woods. Then they started down. But it was not easy work, especially for Flossie and Freddie, so the whole party stopped for a rest about half way.

They were sitting under a sheltering tree, looking at some flitting snow-birds, when from behind them came a curious sound. Bert looked back, and leaping to his feet, cried: “It’s a snow slide! A snow slide! It’s coming right toward us!”

Indeed a great drift of white snow was sliding down the side of the hill toward the children. A great white ball seemed to have started it, and as Harry looked up he gave a cry of surprise.

“I saw a boy up there!” he said. “He pushed that snowball on us!”

CHAPTER XVI

LOST IN THE WOODS

“Quick!” cried Bert, as he looked at the swiftly-sliding snow, “get close to the tree–on the downward side of it, and maybe the drift will go around us. Harry, you look after Freddie, and I’ll take care of Flossie!”

As he spoke Bert grabbed up his little sister and hurried closer to the tree. It was a big pine, and they had been sitting under its branches, on some big rocks, as the slide started.

“What shall we do?” cried Nan. “Can’t Dorothy and I help?”

“Take care of yourselves,” answered Bert. “I guess it will split at the tree and not hurt us.”

The snow slide had started at the top of the hill, whether from some snowball a boy had made, and rolled down, or from some other cause, Bert did not stop to consider. He was too anxious to get his little brother and sister to safety.

The snow was rather soft, and just right for the making of big balls, of the kind that had been put on the school steps. And, as it continued to slide down the hill, the mass of snow got larger and larger, until it was big enough to frighten even older persons than the Bobbsey twins and their cousins.

Harry had reached the tree with Freddie at the same time that Bert came to the protecting trunk with his little sister. Nan and Dorothy also were struggling toward it.

“Form in line!” called Bert. “In a long string down the hill, and every one stand right in line with the tree. The big trunk may split the snow slide in two.”

He and Harry took their positions nearest the trunk, with Flossie and Freddie between them. Nan and Dorothy came next. Bert clasped the tree trunk with both arms, and told Harry to grasp him as tightly as he could.

“And you and Flossie hold on to Harry, Freddie,” Bert directed. “Nan, you and Dorothy hold on to the little ones. Here she comes!”

By this time the snowslide had reached the tree, and the mass was now much larger than at first. Freddie and Flossie felt like crying, but they were brave and did not. It was an anxious moment.

Then just what Bert had hoped would happen came to pass. The snow slide was split in two by the tree trunk, and slid to either side, leaving the Bobbsey twins and their cousins safe.

“Oh!” gasped Nan.

“What was that you said about seeing someone up there on top of the hill?” asked Bert of Harry, a little later.

“I did see someone there just before the snow began to slide, and I’m almost sure I saw him roll that ball down that started the slide,” answered Harry.

“Is that so? Could you see his face?”

“Not very well.”

“Never mind. You don’t know Danny Rugg, anyhow.”

“Oh, Bert! Do you think Danny could have done such a thing as that?” asked Nan, in shocked tones.

“He might; not thinking how dangerous it would be,” answered her brother. “I’m going up there and take a look.”

“What for?” asked Dorothy.

“To see if I can find any marks in the snow. If someone was up there making a big snow ball to roll down on us there will be some marks of it. And if it was Danny Rugg I’ll have something to say to him.”

“He wouldn’t be there now, probably,” said Harry. “But do you think it would be safe to go up the side of the hill?”

“Yes, it would, by keeping right in the path of where the snow slide came down,” answered Bert. “There’s hardly any more snow to come down, now.”

“Then I’ll go with you,” said Harry.

Leaving the two girls, with Flossie and Freddie, at the tree, Bert and Harry made their way up to the top of the slope. There they saw the signs of where, some one–a boy to judge by the marks of his shoes– had tramped about, rolling a big snowball.

“That’s what happened,” decided Bert. “Danny Rugg, or some other mean chap, started that slide toward us. And I think it must have been Danny. He’s up around here somewhere, and he’s the only one who would have a grudge against me.”

Several days went by at the Lodge, and they were very busy ones. As soon as breakfast was over the boys and girls would go for a walk, or would coast down hill on a slope not far away from the old farmhouse. Freddie and Flossie were not allowed to go very far away, as it was hard traveling. But they had good times around the house, and out in the old barn.

Bert and Harry made snowshoes out of barrel staves, fastening them to their feet with straps. They managed to walk fairly well on the crust.

The lake was still covered with a coating of snow, and there was no skating, nor could the ice-boat be used. Mr. Bobbsey, with Harry and Bert, took the team of horses one afternoon and went after the _Ice Bird_. They found it where Bert had left it the night of the storm. and hitching the horses to it, pulled the craft to the dock in front of Snow Lodge.

“It will be all ready for us when the snow is gone,” said Bert.

The nights in Snow Lodge were filled with fun. Mr. Bobbsey had bought a barrel of apples, and when the family gathered about the fireplace there were put to roast in the heat of the glowing embers.

Corn was popped, and then it was eaten, with salt and butter on, or with melted sugar poured over it. Sometimes they would make candy, and once, when they did this, a funny thing happened.

Bert, Nan, Flossie and Freddie, with the two cousins, had been out in the kitchen making a panful of the sweets. I must say that Dinah did the most work, but the children always declared that they made the candy. Anyhow, Dinah always washed up the pans and dishes afterward.

“Now we’ll set it out on the back steps to cool,” said Nan, “and then we’ll pull it into sticks.”

The candy was soon in the condition for “pulling” and, putting butter on their fingers, so the sweet stuff would not stick to them, the children began their fun.

The more they pulled the candy the harder it got, and the lighter in color, Flossie and Freddie soon tired of the work, that was hard on their little arms, and Nan set their rolls of candy outside again to cool, ready for eating.

All at once a great howling was heard at the back stoop, and Flossie cried:

“Oh, someone is taking my candy!”

Bert laid the lump he was pulling down on the table, and rushed to the kitchen door. As he looked out he laughed.

“Oh, look!” he cried. “Snap tried to eat your candy, Freddie, and it’s stuck to his jaws. He can’t get his mouth open!”

This was just what had happened. Snap, playing around outside, had smelled the cooling candy. He was fond of sweets and in a moment had bitten on a big chunk. In an instant his jaws seemed glued together, and he set up a howl of pain and surprise.

“Oh, my lovely candy!” cried Freddie. “You bad Snap!”

“I guess Snap is punished enough,” said Mrs. Bobbsey, coming to the kitchen to find out what the trouble was. And the poor dog was. He would not get his jaws open for some time, so sticky was the candy, and finally Bert had to put his pet’s mouth in warm water, holding it there until the candy softened. Then Snap could open his jaws, and get rid of the rest of the sweet stuff in his mouth. He looked very much surprised at what had happened.

Freddie was given more candy to pull, and this time he set the pan in which he put it up high where no dog could get at it.

With the roasting of apples, making of popcorn and pulling of candy, many pleasant evenings were spent. Then came a thaw, and some rain that carried off most of the snow. A freeze followed, and the lake was frozen over solidly.

“Now for skates and our ice-boat!” cried Bert, and the fun started as soon as the lake was safe. The children had many good times, often going up to the nearest village in the ice-boat.

Sometimes Bert had races with other ice-boats, and occasionally he won even against larger craft that were bought, instead of being home- made. But almost as often the _Ice Bird_ came in last. But Bert and the others did not care. They were having a good time.

Bert met Danny Rugg in the woods one day, and spoke to him about the snow slide. Danny said he had had nothing to do with it, but Bert did not believe the bully.

Then came a spell of fine, warm weather, and as there was no snow on the ground, Bert, Nan, Dorothy and Harry decided to take a long walk one afternoon. Nan wanted to get some views with her new camera.

So interested did they all become that they never noticed how late it was, nor how far they had come.

“Oh, we must turn back!” cried Nan, when she did realize that it would soon be dark. “We’re a good way from Snow Lodge.”

“Oh, we can easily get back,” declared Bert. “I know the path.”

But though Bert might know the path they had come by daylight, it was quite different to find it after dark. However, he led the way, certain that he was going right. But when they had gone on for some distance, and saw no familiar landmarks, Nan stopped and asked:

“Are you sure this is the right path, Bert? I don’t remember passing any of these rocks,” and she pointed to a group of them under some trees.

“I don’t, either,” said Dorothy.

“Well, maybe this path leads into the right one,” suggested Harry. “Let’s keep on a little farther.”

There seemed to be nothing else to do, so forward they went. Then a few flakes of snow began to fall, and they rapidly increased until the air was white with them. It made the scene a little lighter, but it caused Bert and the others to worry a good deal.

“I hope this isn’t going to be much of a storm,” said Bert in a low voice to Harry.

“Why not? It would make good sleigh riding.”

“Yes, but it’s no fun to be in the woods when it storms; especially at night and when you’re–lost.”

“Lost!” cried Harry. “Are we lost?”

“I’m afraid so,” answered Bert, solemnly. “I haven’t seen anything that looked like the path we came over for a long time. I guess we’re lost, all right.”

“Oh! Oh!” cried Dorothy.

“Will we have to stay out in the woods all night?” Nan wanted to know.

Bert shook his head sadly.

“I’m afraid so,” he said.

CHAPTER XVII

HENRY BURDOCK

With the wind blowing about them, whirling the snowflakes into their faces, and with night fast coming on, the four young folks stood close together, looking at one another. Bert’s solemn words had filled the hearts of the others with fear. Then Harry, sturdy country boy that he was, exclaimed:

“Oh, don’t let’s give up so easily, Bert. Many a time I’ve been off in the woods, and thought I was lost, when a little later, I’d make a turn and be on the road home. Maybe we can do that now.”

“Oh, I do hope so!” murmured Dorothy.

“Let’s try!” exclaimed Nan, taking hold of her brother’s arm.

“Wait a minute!” exclaimed Bert as Harry and Dorothy were about to start off. “Do you know where you’re going?”

“We’re going back that way,” declared Harry, pointing off to the left.

“Why, that way?” asked Bert.

“I think that’s the way to Snow Lodge,” was the answer. “We’ve tried lots of other ways, and haven’t struck the right one, so it can’t do any harm to go a new way.”

“Now just hold on,” advised Bert. “I don’t mean to say that I know more than you about it, Harry, but it does seem to me that it won’t do any good to wander off that way, especially if you’re not sure it’s the right path. We’ll only get more lost than we are, if that’s possible.”

“Well, maybe you’re right,” admitted Harry. “But we can’t stay here all night, that’s sure.”

“Of course not,” added Dorothy, looking around with a shiver. The snow seemed to be coming down harder than ever and the cold wind blew with greater force.

“We may have to stay here,” said Bert. “But don’t let that scare you,” he said quickly, as he saw Dorothy and his sister clutch at each other and turn pale. “We can build a sort of shelter that will keep us warm, and there won’t be any danger of freezing.”

“No, but how about starving?” asked Harry. “I’m real hungry now.”

“We had a good dinner,” observed Dorothy. “If we don’t get anything more to eat until morning I guess we can stand it. But I do hope we can find some sort of shelter.”

“We’ll have to make one, I guess,” said Nan, looking about her.

“That’s right,” cried Bert. “It’s the only way. If we go wandering about, looking for a shelter, we may get into trouble. We’ll make one of our own. There’s a good place, over by that clump of trees. We can cut down some branches, stand them up around the trees and make a sort of tent. Then, when the snow has covered it, we’ll be real warm.”

“Well, let’s start building that snow tent,” proposed Harry. “It will give us something to do, and moving about is warmer than standing still. I know that much, anyhow.”

“Yes, it is,” agreed Bert. “Come on, girls. Harry and I will cut the branches and you can stack them up.”

Bert led the way to where three trees grew close together in a sort of triangle. The trees had low branches and it would be an easy matter to stand other branches up against them, one end on the ground, and so make a fairly good shelter.

With their pocket-knives Bert and Harry began cutting branches from the evergreen trees that grew all about. As fast as they were cut the girls took them, and piled them up as best they could. All the while the wind blew the falling snow about, and it became darker.

“Oh, if we only had some sort of a fire!” exclaimed Nan.

“A fire?” said her brother.

“That’s so,” agreed Dorothy. “It would not be so lonesome then, and it–would scare away–the bears!” and she looked over her shoulder in some fear.

“Bears!” cried Bert “There aren’t any within a hundred miles, unless they’re tame ones. But we might as well have a fire. I never thought of that. I’ve got a box of matches. Harry, if you’ll gather wood, and the fire, I’ll keep on cutting branches. We’ve got almost enough, anyhow.”

“Sure, I will!” said the other boy, and soon he had scraped away the snow from a spot on the ground, and had piled some sticks on it. He managed to find some dry twigs and leaves in a hollow stump, and these served to start a blaze. The wood was rather wet, and it smoked a good deal, but soon some of the fagots had caught and there was a cheerful fire reflecting redly on the white snow that was falling faster than ever.

“That’s something like!” cried Bert, coming over to the blaze to warm his cold fingers. “We’ll get a pile of wood and keep the fire going all night. Then, if any of our folks come looking for us, they can see it.”

Harry, who had just come up with an armful of wood, plunged his hands into his pockets to warm them. The next moment he uttered a joyful cry, and drew out two small packages.

“Look!” he cried. “Here’s our supper!”

“Supper?” asked Bert, slowly. “What do you mean?”

“It’s chocolate candy,” went on Harry. “I forgot I had it, but it’s fine stuff when you’re hungry. Lots of travelers use it when they can’t get anything else to eat. Here, I’ll divide it, and we’ll imagine we’re having a fine feast.”

He was about to do this when Bert suddenly exclaimed:

“Wait a minute! I have a better plan than that if I can only find a tin can. Everybody look for one. There may have been picnickers here during the summer, and they may have left a lot of tin cans.”

“But what do you want of one?” asked Nan.

“I’ll tell you if I find one,” said her brother. “If I told you now, and we didn’t pick up one, you’d be disappointed.”

But they were not to be, for a little later Harry, kicking about in the snow, turned up a rusty tin can.

“That’s it!” cried Bert. “Now we’ll put some snow in it, and melt it over the fire. That will give us water, and when it boils we’ll be sure the can is clean. Then we’ll melt snow and have hot chocolate. We’ll dissolve the chocolate candy in the water, Harry, and drink it. That will be something hot for us, and better than if we ate the cold candy. I’ve got a folding drinking cup we can use.”

“Say, that’s a fine idea!” cried Dorothy. “Bert, you’re wonderful.”

“Oh, no, the idea just popped into my head,” he replied.

The can, with some snow in it, was soon on the fire, and in a little while steam arising from it told that the water, formed from the melting snow, was boiling. They rinsed the can out carefully, made more hot water, and then put in the chocolate candy, saving half for another time.

Nan and Dorothy took turns stirring it with a clean stick until the mixture was foamy and hot. Then it was passed around in the single drinking cup.

“Oh, but I feel so much better now,” sighed Nan, after taking her share. “So warm and comfortable!”

“So do I!” exclaimed Dorothy, and the boys admitted that the drink of chocolate was very good, even though it had no milk in it.

Then they finished making the shelter, brought up more wood for the night, and went in the little snow-tent. Though it was only partly covered with a coating of white flakes, it was already warm and cozy, and they knew that they were in no danger of freezing.

As much of the snow as possible was scraped away from the ground inside, and thick hemlock branches were laid down for a sort of carpet. Then, with the cheerful fire going outside, the four young people prepared to spend the night. That it would be lonesome they well knew, but they hoped Mr. Bobbsey would come and find them, perhaps with a searching party.

The warm chocolate, the warmth of the fire, the effect of the wind, weariness of the long walk, and the work of making a shelter, all combined to make the boys and girls sleepy in spite of their strange situation. First one and then the other would nod off, to awake with a start, until finally they were all asleep.

How long he had been slumbering thus, in little snow-tent, Bert did not know. He suddenly awoke with a start, and listened. Yes, he heard something! The sound of someone tramping through the woods. A heavy body forcing its way through the bushes!

At first Bert’s heart beat rapidly, and he thought of wild animals. Then he realized that none was near Snow Lodge. He glanced about. The campfire was burning only dimly, and by the light of it, as it came in through the opening of the shelter, the boy could see the others sleeping, curled up on the soft branches.

The sound of someone approaching sounded louder. Bert looked about for some sort of weapon. There was none in the tent. Then he almost laughed at himself.

“How silly!” he exclaimed, “Of Course it’s father, or someone looking for us. I’ll give a call.”

He crawled to the edge of the shelter, looked out, and raised his voice in a shout:

“Hello there! Here we are! Father, is that you?”

Those inside the little snow-covered tent awoke with a start. Bert tossed some light wood on the fire and it blazed up brightly. By its glow the boy saw, coming into the circle of light, a man dressed in thick, heavy garments, with a coonskin cap on his head. Over his shoulder was a gun, and he had some rabbits and birds slung at his back.

“Hello!” called the man to Bert, who was now outside the little tent. “Who are you?”

“Bert Bobbsey,” was the answer. “My sister and cousins are here. We got lost and made this shelter. Were you looking for us?”

“Well, not exactly,” said the hunter slowly, as he leaned on his gun, and looked at the fire, then at Bert and next on Nan, Dorothy and Harry, who by this time had come from the tent. “Not exactly, but maybe it’s a good thing I found you. The storm is growing worse. What did you say your name was?”

“Bert Bobbsey.”

The hunter started.

“Any relation to Mr. Richard Bobbsey?” he asked.

“He’s my father.”

“You don’t say so! Well, I’m glad to hear that. It will give me a chance to do him a good turn. I’m Henry Burdock,” the hunter went on.

It was the turn of Bert and Nan to be surprised.

“Henry Burdock!” repeated Bert. “Are you the nephew of Mr. Carford?”

“Yes,” was the low reply. “Do you know him?”

“Why, we’re stopping at his place–Snow Lodge,” said Bert. “We got lost coming from there to take some pictures. Oh, Mr. Burdock, can you take us back there?”

“Snow Lodge–Snow Lodge,” said the hunter slowly. His voice was sad, as though the place had bitter memories for him.

CHAPTER XVIII

SNOWBALLS

“Are we very far from Snow Lodge?” asked Nan, after a pause. “We didn’t think we would have any trouble getting back to it.”

“You’re about three miles away, and the path is hard to find in the darkness and storm,” said the young hunter slowly. “Let me think what is best to do.”

He remained leaning on his gun, staring into the fire, which was now burning brightly. Then he spoke again.