The Bobbsey Twins at Cedar Camp Part 3

Soon the Bobbsey twins were on their way to school. Bert walked with Charlie Mason and Dannie Rugg, while Grace Lavine and Nellie Parks strolled along with Nan.

"Did you bring your skipping rope?" asked Grace of Nan. Grace was very fond of this fun, though once she had jumped too much and had been taken ill.

"No, I didn't bring it," Nan answered. "I brought a new bean bag, though, and we can play that at recess."

"Oh, that'll be fun!" cried Nellie.

Bert and Charlie were talking about the best place to go fis.h.i.+ng. And the younger Bobbsey twins were talking about something else.

"If he does it again to-day, you tell me an' I'll fix him," said Freddie to Flossie.

"I will," his golden-haired sister answered. "Will you make him stop, Freddie?"

"Sure I will! You come and tell me!"

"What is it you are going to do?" asked Nan of her smaller brother and sister. But just then the warning bell rang and they all had to run so they would not be late, and Nan forgot about what she had overheard.

At recess there were jolly times in the school playground. Some of the boys got up a baseball game, and others played marbles, leapfrog or mumble-the-peg. The girls skipped rope or tossed bean bags, while some played different kinds of tag. It was cool, so that running about and jumping made one feel fine.

Suddenly from the lower end of the playground, near the shed where the janitor kept his brooms, a lawnmower, and other things, came a cry of alarm.

"That's Flossie!" exclaimed Nan, pausing in the midst of a bean bag game. "Something's the matter!"

She caught sight of Flossie and Freddie in some sort of a battle with Nick Malone, one of the "bad" boys of the school. Flossie and Freddie seemed to be having a fight with Nick.

However, the battle was soon over. Before Nan reached the scene or could call to Bert to come to her help, Nick disappeared, and Flossie and Freddie, each laughing, ran over to the other side of the yard.

"Oh, I guess they are all right," said Nan, as she stopped running and turned back.

Then the bell rang to call the children in from their play, and they took their places in long lines. A little later Bert and Nan were in their room, saying their lessons, and Flossie and Freddie were with their cla.s.smates, getting ready to recite in geography.

Miss Snell, their teacher, looked over the room. She noticed one vacant seat.

"Where is Nick?" asked Miss Snell. "He was here before recess. Did anyone see him go home?"

No one answered for a moment, and then Flossie raised her little, fat, chubby hand.

"Yes, Flossie, what is it?" asked Miss Snell, with a smile.

"Nick didn't go home," said the little girl. "He--he's out in the yard."

"Out in the yard?" exclaimed the teacher. "He should come in!"

"If you please, he can't," said Freddie suddenly. "He's locked up! I locked him up!"

CHAPTER III--THANKSGIVING

Miss Snell was not quite sure that she understood Freddie Bobbsey. She looked at the little twin, smiled to make him understand that she was not cross, and said:

"What did you do to Nick, Freddie?"

"I locked him up," Freddie answered. "In the tool shed. I have the key, too," and, marching up to Miss Snell's desk he laid on it a large key.

"You locked Nick in the tool shed!" repeated the surprised teacher.

"Why, Freddie Bobbsey! what a strange thing to do. Why did you do it?"

"He pulled my hair," Flossie explained. "I mean Nick did. He pulled it yesterday, too, and I told Freddie and Freddie said he would make Nick stop."

"Yes, go on, please," urged Miss Snell, as Flossie grew silent.

"Well, when he pulled it again to-day," resumed the little girl, "I hollered for Freddie and we hit Nick and he hit us and we pushed him into the shed and--and----"

"I locked the door!" finished Freddie. "You can hear him hollerin' to get out," he added. "Listen!"

The windows had been opened to freshen the air in the cla.s.sroom, and as silence followed Freddie's last remark Miss Snell and the children could plainly hear, coming from the shed, the voice of someone calling:

"Let me out! Let me out!"

"That's Nick," calmly explained Freddie. "But I'm not going to let him out 'cause he pulled Flossie's hair."

"Well, of course, he shouldn't do that," said Miss Snell. "But you should not have locked him in, Freddie. I shall have to tell the princ.i.p.al and get him to let Nick out."

The eyes of Flossie and Freddie grew big as the teacher said this. The eyes of the other children opened wide also. To have to tell "the princ.i.p.al" anything meant that it was very serious.

"But I am sure you did not mean to do wrong," Miss Snell added, as she saw that Freddie and Flossie looked rather frightened. "It will be all right, I'll have the princ.i.p.al let Nick out. You may look over your geography lesson while I am gone. I want you to tell me, when I come back, what is a river, a lake, and an island."

"We know about a island," said Flossie in a loud whisper. "Once we camped on Blueberry Island, didn't we, Freddie?"

"Yep!" he answered. "An' I fell in!"

"Well, you may tell us about that later," and Miss Snell tried not to laugh. "But don't talk any more in school; and study your lesson while I go to Mr. Nixon's office."

While Miss Snell was out of the room I do not believe much studying was done by Flossie, Freddie or any of their cla.s.smates. They all listened as, through the open window, came the cries of Nick Malone calling:

"Let me out! Let me out!"

"I locked him in--'cause he pulled Flossie's hair!" declared Freddie, and Freddie was looked upon as quite a hero by the boys and girls in his room.

By standing up, Flossie, Freddie and the others in their cla.s.s could see the tool shed. And the children stood up and looked out as Miss Snell and the princ.i.p.al went to release the locked-up boy. He came out crying, and seemed frightened. But he soon quieted down, and promised never again to pull Flossie's hair, while Freddie was made to promise never again to lock anyone in the tool shed.

"Tell your teacher, or tell me, when anyone plagues your sister, Freddie," the princ.i.p.al said.

"Yes'm--I mean yes, sir," Freddie answered.