The Bobbsey Twins at Snow Lodge
by
Laura Lee Hope
Part 3 out of 3
"You youngsters certainly have made this a fine shelter. I couldn't
have done it much better myself. It's just the thing to keep out the
cold wind."
"We thought we'd have to stay here all night," said Bert. "We made
some hot chocolate. We've got a little left. Will you take some?"
"No, thank you," replied Henry Burdock. "I generally carry a little to
eat with me, and I just finished my night lunch. I had some cold
coffee that I warmed up, too. I'm sorry, but if I had known I was
going to meet you folks I'd have saved some."
"Oh, we're all right," declared Harry. "We can finish our chocolate,
and then perhaps you can show us the way back to Snow Lodge."
"Yes," spoke Henry Burdock, slowly, "I could do that. I know the way
well enough. But it's a hard path to travel in the storm, and after
dark. I don't believe you girls could manage it," and he looked at Nan
and Dorothy.
"Oh, yes, we could!" Nan exclaimed. "We've had a good rest, and papa
and mamma will be so anxious about us!"
"I'd like first rate to take you all home," said the hunter, "but I
think I have a better plan. My shack isn't far from here. I could take
you all there, and you could stay until morning. Then I could go to
Snow Lodge and tell them you were all right. When it was daylight they
could come for you in the sled."
"Maybe that would be best," agreed Bert.
"But won't it be too much of a trip for you?" asked Nan.
"No, I'm used to roaming about the woods," said Mr. Carford's nephew,
with a sad smile. "A few miles more or less won't make any difference,
and I know every inch of this forest. I've had to," he added. "It's
the only home I have now."
"Yes, we--we heard about you," said Nan quickly, and there was
kindness in her voice. "It's too bad your uncle acted as he did, and
sent you away."
"Well, he thought he was doing right," said Henry. "I don't know as I
blame him. Your father, though, he stuck to me, and I'm glad I can do
his children a favor."
"Indeed, it seems too much to ask," spoke Dorothy, for Nan had
whispered to her and Harry the details of the story of the missing
money which Henry Burdock was suspected of taking.
"I don't mind," said the hunter. "I didn't do much walking to-day.
Game was not very plentiful, though I got some. Now I'll lead you to
my shack. It's small, but it's warm, and you can be comfortable there
until daylight. I was walking through the woods, when I saw the
flicker of your fire, and came up to see what it was."
"And I couldn't imagine what it was I heard when I woke up," said
Bert. "I was a bit frightened at first," he admitted, with a smile.
"I don't blame you," said Henry. "And, since we are talking about Snow
Lodge, I want to say that I never took that money. It was on the
mantel in the living room, just as my uncle says it was, for I saw it.
I don't deny but what I would have been glad to have it, for I had
been foolish, and I owed more than I could pay. But I never took that
roll of bills."
"Have you any idea who did?" asked Bert.
"Not in the least. And as I was the only one in the house, besides my
uncle, of course it made it look as if I had taken it, especially as
the money totally disappeared. But I never laid a hand on it."
"It is too bad," said Bert. "Maybe some day the bills will be found
and you will be cleared."
"I hope so," sighed Henry. "But it's been some years now, and my uncle
has considered me a thief all that while. I've gotten so I don't much
care any more. Living in the woods makes you sort of that way. You do
a lot of thinking.
"But there!" exclaimed the young hunter, straightening up. "This isn't
doing you children any good. I'd better be taking you to my place
instead of staying here. Have you anything to carry?"
"My camera--that's all," said Nan. "I'll get it," and she darted into
the shelter after it. Then, when the fire had been extinguished so
there would be no danger of it spreading, the young folks set off
after Henry Burdock, who led the way. He seemed to know it, even in
the darkness, but of course the white snow on the ground made the path
rather easy to pick out.
In a short time they came to a log cabin, which was the "shack" the
hunter had mentioned. It was the work of but a few minutes to open it,
and blow into flames the fire that was smouldering on the hearth. A
lamp had been lighted and the place was warm and cozy enough for
anyone.
"Oh, this is fine!" cried Nan. "If the folks knew we were here we
would be all right, and not worry."
"They'll soon know it," said Mr. Burdock. "I'm going to set off at
once for Snow Lodge. Will you be afraid to stay here?"
"Not a bit of it!" exclaimed Bert, and the others agreed with him.
Leaving the game he had shot, Henry Burdock started off again through
the storm-swept woods, while Bert and the others made themselves at
home in the cabin. Mr. Burdock had showed them where he kept his food,
and the boys and girls enjoyed a midnight lunch, for it was now after
twelve o'clock.
It was about three in the morning when the hunter came back, to find
his young friends asleep. He let himself in quietly, and not until
daylight, when they awoke, did he tell them of his trip.
He had reached Snow Lodge safely, there to find Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey
almost distracted over the absence of the children. Mr. Bobbsey and
Sam had searched as well as they could, and they were just going off
to arouse some nearby farmers and make a more thorough hunt when Mr.
Burdock came in.
That his news was welcome need not be said, and Mrs. Bobbsey wept for
joy when she knew that her children and the others were safe. They
wanted the young hunter to remain until daylight, and go back with
them in the sled, but he said he would rather go on to his cabin now.
Perhaps he did not feel that he should remain in Snow Lodge, from
where his uncle had driven him in anger years before.
Mr. Burdock gave Mr. Bobbsey directions how to find the cabin, and, as
soon as the first streak of daylight showed, the lumber merchant and
Sam set off in the big sled. Flossie and Freddie were not awake, or
they might have been taken along.
And a little later Bert, Nan, Dorothy and Harry were safe in Snow
Lodge once more.
For some days after this the weather was stormy, so that the young
folks could not go far from Snow Lodge. But they managed to have good
times indoors, or out in the big barn.
Then came another thaw, and a freeze followed some days later, making
good skating. One afternoon Bert proposed to Harry that they go for a
trip on the ice-boat.
"But not too far," cautioned his father. "We don't want you to get
lost again."
"No, we'll only go a mile or so," said Bert. "Want to come, Nan and
Dorothy?"
The girls did, and so, also, did Flossie and Freddie, but their mother
would not allow this. So Freddie got out his engine and played
fireman, while his little sister put her walking and talking doll
through her performance. Snap, the trick dog, with many barks, raced
off with Bert and the older children.
The _Ice Bird_ sailed well that day, skimming over the frozen lake at
a fast pace, and the children greatly enjoyed the sport. Snap sat on
with the others, looking as though he liked it as well as anyone.
They sailed up the lake for some distance and then got out to look for
a cave which Bert had heard was a short distance from shore. They did
not find it at once, but while they were climbing up a little hill,
thinking the cave might be somewhere near it, Harry was suddenly
startled to receive a snowball on his ear.
"Ouch!" he cried. "Who threw that?"
They all stopped and looked around. No one was in sight.
"Maybe it fell off a tree," suggested Nan.
"It came too hard for that," declared Harry. "It was thrown."
They looked about again, but, seeing no one, went on. Then, suddenly
there came another ball, and Dorothy cried:
"There, that came out of a tree, for I saw it. Right over there," and
she pointed.
"Then if it came out of a tree someone is up the tree!" declared Bert,
"and I'm going to see who it is."
As he rushed forward a snowball struck him full in the face.
CHAPTER XIX
SNAP IS GONE
Dorothy screamed, and turned back toward Nan when she saw Bert struck
with the snowball. But plucky Nan kept on.
"That must be Danny Rugg!" cried Bert's sister. "No one else around
here would be as mean as that!"
Bert stopped a moment to brush the snow from his eyes, and then he
rushed toward the tree.
"Who is it?" cried Harry.
"I don't know--but I'm going to find out," was Bert's answer. "Come
along!"
The two boys hurried on, the girls lingering in the rear.
Again a snowball flew out of the tree, but it struck no one, though
coming near to Nan.
By this time Bert was close to the tree. It was a hemlock, and the
branches were quite thick, but Bert got a glimpse of someone hiding
among them.
"Come down out of that!" Bert cried. "I see you!"
There was no answer.
"What do you mean by hitting us?" asked Harry angrily. "We didn't do
anything to you."
Still there was no answer.
"I'm going to do some snowballing on my own account," spoke Bert.
"Here goes!"
He quickly made a hard ball, and, circling around the tree to find an
opening in the branches, he saw the figure of the boy more plainly.
"Danny Rugg!" cried Bert. "So it's you; is it? First you start a
snowslide down on us and then you snowball us. This has got to stop.
Take that!"
Bert threw, but though his aim was good, Danny, for it was the bully,
managed to climb up higher in the tree, and the snowball broke into
pieces against the branches.
"Ha! Ha!" laughed Danny.
"Oh, there's plenty more snow," said Harry, "and you can't have an
awful lot up there."
His answer was another snowball, which struck him on the shoulder,
doing no harm. Danny must have taken some snow-ammunition up the tree
with him, and, in addition, there was a supply of the white flakes on
the wide branches of the hemlock.
Bert and Harry both began throwing snowballs up into the tree, but
they were at a disadvantage, for their missiles broke to pieces
against the trunk or branches. On the other hand Danny could wait his
chance and hit them when they came within sight.
"This won't do!" exclaimed Bert, after a bit. "We've got to get him
out of that tree."
"How can we?" asked Harry. "Climb up it, and pull him down?"
"Oh, don't do that!" cried Nan. "You might get hurt."
"Yes, that would be risky," admitted Bert. "One of us might slip and
fall. Hey you, Danny Rugg!" cried Bert. "Come on down, and we'll give
you a fair show. Only one of us will tackle you at a time."
"Huh! Think I'm coming down?" asked Danny. "I'm not afraid of you, but
I'm going to stay up here."
"Oh, are you?" asked Bert, as he thought of a new plan. "We'll see
about that. Come here, Harry."
From the tree Danny looked down anxiously while Harry and Bert
whispered together. The girls had walked off to one side.
"How are you going to get him down?" asked Harry.
"Cut the tree," answered Bert. "It's only a small one."
"But we can't even cut that down with our knives."
"I know. But on the ice-boat is that hatchet father gave me to take to
be sharpened. I forgot about it on the way up the lake, and I was
going to do it on the way back. There's a blacksmith shop in the big
cove. But the hatchet is sharp enough to chop down this tree. We'll
get it and give Danny a good scare."
"That's what we will. You stay here and I'll run down and get it."
Harry started off on a run, and Danny, still up the tree, wondered
what plan was afoot. The bully had been out for a walk when he saw
Bert and the others coming up the hill. He quickly climbed the tree in
order to throw snowballs at them.
When Harry came back with the hatchet Bert once more called to Danny.
"Are you coming down and fight fair? I give you my promise that only
one of us will tackle you at a time. You can have your choice."
"I'm not coming down!" cried Danny.
"Chop away, Harry!" called Bert. "I guess I can pepper him with a few
snowballs if he tries to throw any at you."
The tree trunk was not very thick, and the hatchet was fairly sharp.
In a little while the tree began swaying.
"I say now, stop that!" cried Danny, trying to get a better hold in
the branches.
"Better come down before you fall," suggested Bert, who had a pile of
snowballs ready.
The tree swayed more and more. Bert and Harry knew that even if Danny
fell with it he could not get hurt in the soft drifts. So Harry kept
on chopping.
The tree swayed more and more. There was a cracking sound. Then Danny
cried:
"Don't chop any more--I'm coming down!"
"Get ready, Harry!" called Bert. "We'll give him some of the same kind
of a thing he gave us!"
In another instant Danny jumped, and as the swaying tree sprang back,
when relieved of his weight, Bert and Harry leaped forward to pelt the
bully with snowballs.
Danny tried to fight back, but he was no match for the two of them,
and soon he began to look like a snow image, so well was he plastered
with white flakes.
"Give it to him!" cried Bert, whose face still stung where Danny had
struck him with a snowball.
"That's what I will," agreed Harry, whose ear was quite sore.
For a time Danny said nothing, but tried to block off the rain of
snowballs, throwing some of his own back. Then, as he was almost
overwhelmed by the ones Harry and Bert threw, the bully cried:
"Stop! Stop! I've had enough! I won't bother you any more!"
Danny was soon out of sight, running off in the direction of his
father's lumber tract, and soon Bert and the others went back to the
ice-boat.
They stopped at the blacksmith shop to have the hatchet sharpened,
and reached home after a little sail on the _Ice Bird_.
"Did anything happen this time?" asked Freddie, as he greeted them on
the return to Snow Lodge.
"Not much," replied Bert. "We just had a snow fight; that's all."
The skating and ice-boating lasted for some time, and the girls and
boys had lots of fun. Nights were spent in popping corn, telling
stories, roasting apples, and once, in the big sled, they all went to
an entertainment in a nearby school hall.
It was on returning from this, in the evening, that Dinah met them at
the door, asking:
"Did yo' all take dat dog Snap wif yo?"
"Take Snap? No," said Mr. Bobbsey.
"Isn't he here?"
The children began to look alarmed.
"He was here," said Dinah, "but I can't find him now, nohow. He suah
am missin'."
CHAPTER XX
THE BIG STORM
For a moment they all looked at one another by turns. Flossie and
Freddie showed the most alarm. Bert started for the outside door, as
though intending to make a search for his pet. Mr. Bobbsey questioned
Dinah.
"Are you sure," he asked, "that Snap isn't around?"
"I suah am suah," she replied. "I done called him to git suffin to
eat, an' when Snap won't come fo' dat he ain't around."
"That's so," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "I wonder if he could have followed
after us, and got lost? Did any of you see him trailing us?"
"He did come a little way, when we started," came from Dorothy.
"Yes, but Dinah called him back; didn't you?" asked Nan of the cook.
"Yes, missis, dat's what I did. An' Snap come. Den, t' make suah he
wouldn't sneak off an' foller yo'-all, I shut him up in de kitchen an'
gibe him a chicken bone. Arter a while I let him out. He run around,
kinder disappointed like, an' come back. Den I didn't look fo' him
until a little while ago, but he was gone, an' I thought maybe, arter
all, he'd come wif yo'."
"No, he didn't," said Mr. Bobbsey, with a shake of his head. "But
we'll have a look around."
With Bert and Harry he went outside. But neither calling nor whistling
brought any bark from Snap. Nor did he come bounding joyfully up, as
he usually did when summoned. The darkness about Snow Lodge was quiet.
There was no sign of Snap.
"He's gone off in the woods and is lost," said Harry.
"Snap knows better than to get lost," declared Bert. "He could find
his way home from almost anywhere. I think he must have followed
someone away."
"Would he do that?" asked Harry.
"He might with someone he knew, if that person petted him," said Mr.
Bobbsey.
"That hunter--Henry Burdock!" suddenly exclaimed Bert. "Snap made
great friends with him when we met him out in the woods the other day,
and Henry said he'd make a fine hunting dog."
"I don't believe Henry Burdock would entice our dog away," said Mr.
Bobbsey, with a shake of his head.
"Oh, of course I didn't mean on purpose," said Bert. "But Snap may
have been running about in the woods at dusk when he met Henry. Then
he may have followed him, for Snap is part hunting dog, and he gets
crazy when he sees a gun. Maybe he followed Henry, and wouldn't be
driven back through the snow."
"Maybe that's so," agreed Mr. Bobbsey. "In that case Snap will be all
right, and we can get him in the morning. So don't worry any more."
They went back in the Lodge, to find Freddie and Flossie almost in
tears. But the little twins felt better when it was explained to them
that Snap might, after all, be safe with the young hunter.
"And will you get him first thing in the morning?" asked Freddie.
The following day was so nice that Flossie and Freddie were allowed to
go with Bert, Nan, Harry and Dorothy to the cabin of Henry Burdock to
look for Snap. The small twins were put on two sleds, the older
children taking turns pulling them.
They easily found Henry's cabin, having been there several times since
the night they spent in it. The hunter was just about to start off on
a trip.
"Where's Snap?" called Bert, eagerly.
"Snap? I haven't seen him since that day I met you with him in the
woods," answered the hunter.
"What! Isn't he here?" asked Harry.
Then they told of the missing dog. But Henry Burdock had not seen him.
"Where can he be?" spoke Nan, wonderingly.
Flossie and Freddie began to cry.
"Oh, a bear has Snap!" wailed Flossie.
"No, he hasn't!" declared Bert. "We'll find him."
"But where can he be?" said Dorothy. "Is there anyone else around here
who might take him?"
Bert and Nan thought of the same thing at the same time.
"Danny Rugg!" they exclaimed.
"What do you mean?" asked Henry Burdock.
"He's a mean boy who is camping with his father near us," explained
Bert. "Harry and I pelted him good with snowballs the other day, after
he bothered us. I think he has enticed Snap away."
"Would your dog go with him?"
"Yes, he's friendly with Danny, for sometimes Danny is fairly good,
and comes to our house. If he offered Snap a nice bone our dog might
go with him."
"Then I advise you to have a look over where Danny is camping," said
the young hunter.
It was quite a trip back to Snow Lodge and then over to the Rugg
lumber camp, and Mrs. Bobbsey thought it too far to take Flossie and
Freddie, so they were left behind on the second trip, Nan and Dorothy
going with Bert and Harry.
They saw Danny Rugg standing in front of a log cabin which was on the
edge of a lumber camp. The bully seemed uneasy at the sight of Harry
and Bert, and called out:
"If you're coming here to make any trouble I'll tell my father on you.
He's right over there."
"We're not going to make any trouble, Danny Rugg, if you don't," said
Bert slowly, "But we came for Snap, our dog."
"I don't know anything about your dog," answered Danny, in surly
tones.
"I think you do," said Bert, quietly. Then raising his voice, he
called:
"Snap! Snap! Where are you, old fellow? Snap!"
There was a moment of silence, and then, from a small cabin some
distance away, came loud barks.
"There's Snap! That's our dog!" cried Nan, joyfully, and at the sound
of her voice the barking grew louder. There could also be heard the
rattling of a chain.
"You've got him tied, Danny Rugg!" cried Bert, angrily. "Let him go at
once or I'll hit you!"
"Don't you dare touch me!" cried the bully. "And you get off our
land!"
"Not until I get my dog," said Bert, firmly.
He started for the cabin where the dog was, but Danny stepped in front
of him. Bert shoved Danny to one side, and just then Mr. Rugg came up.
"Here! What does this mean?" he asked. "Bert Bobbsey, you here?"
"Yes, sir. I came after my dog. Danny has him tied up!"
"Danny, is this so?" asked Mr. Rugg, who knew some of his son's mean
ways, and had tried in vain to break him of them. "Have you Bert's
dog?"
"Well, maybe it is his dog. It was dark when he followed me home last
night, and I tied him in that shack."
"I guess he wouldn't have followed you if you hadn't coaxed him," said
Bert.
"Well, I couldn't drive him back," went on Danny, but the Bobbseys
believed that he had deliberately coaxed Snap off to make trouble.
"Let the dog out at once," said Mr. Rugg to his son, and Danny had to
do so, though he was angry and sullen over it.
How Snap leaped about his master and mistress and their cousins! How
delightedly he barked! And his tail wagged to and fro so fast that it
looked like two tails, as Freddie said afterward.
"Poor Snap!" said Bert, as he patted his pet "And so you were tied up
all night? It was a mean trick!" and his eyes flashed at Danny, who
looked on sneeringly.
"I am sorry for this, Bert," said Mr. Rugg. "If I had known Danny
enticed away your dog I would have made him bring it back. Now I am
going to punish him. You go back home to-day, Danny. You can't stay in
the lumber camp any longer."
Danny felt badly, of course, but it served him right.
The Bobbseys and their cousins lost no time for getting back to Snow
Lodge with Snap, who was hugged so much by Flossie and Freddie that
Dinah said:
"Good land a' massy! Dat dog must be mos' starved, an' yo'-all is
lubbin him so dat he ain't time to eat a sandwich. Let him hab some
breakfast, an' den hug him!"
"Oh, but we like him so!" cried Flossie.
So Snap was restored, and Danny was sent home out of the woods, so
there was no more trouble from him.
In the days that followed, the Bobbsey twins at Snow Lodge had many
more good times. They made snow forts, and had snow-battles, they made
big snow men and threw snowballs at them, and went on sleigh rides, or
skated and ice-boated and played around generally, to their hearts'
content.
Occasionally the two older boys went on long tramps with Henry Burdock
as he visited his traps. They invited him to come to Snow Lodge, but
he said:
"No, I'm never coming there until I can prove to my uncle that I never
touched his money. Then I'll come."
One day, when Bert and Harry had been in the woods with the young
hunter, he said to them:
"Don't go far away from Snow Lodge to-morrow, boys."
"Why not?" asked Bert.
"Because I think we're in for a big storm, and you might easily get
lost again. Unless I'm mistaken, it's going to snow hard before
morning."
Henry Burdock proved a true weather prophet, for when the Bobbseys and
the other got up the next morning the ground was covered with a mantle
of newly-fallen snow, and more was sifting down from the clouds. The
wind, too, was blowing fiercely.
"It's going to be a bad storm," said Mr. Bobbsey, looking out after
breakfast. "Luckily we have plenty of wood and plenty to eat."
The wind howled around Snow Lodge while the white flakes came down
thicker and faster.
"Maybe we'll be snowed in," said Nan.
"That would be fun!" cried Bert.
CHAPTER XXI
THE FALLING TREE
How the wind did blow! How the snow swirled and drifted about the old
farmhouse! But within it all were warm and comfortable. The fire on
the open hearth was kept roaring up the chimney, Sam piling on log
after log. In the cozy kitchen Dinah kept at her work over the range,
singing old plantation melodies.
The blowing wind and the drifting snow kept up all day. Flossie and
Freddie begged to be allowed to go out for a little while, but their
mother would not think of it. Bert and Harry tried to go a little way
beyond the barn but were driven back by the cold, wintry blasts.
Dorothy and Nan managed to have a good time in the attic of the old
house, dressing up in some clothes of a by-gone age, which they found
in some trunks.
"My! I hope the chimneys don't blow off!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey, as a
particularly fierce blast shook the old house. "A fire now would be
dreadful."
"I don't imagine there is much danger," said Mr. Bobbsey, with a
laugh. "The way they built houses and chimneys when Snow Lodge was put
up was different from nowadays. They were built to stay."
"Oh, but this is a terrible storm!"
"Yes, and it seems to be getting worse," agreed Mr. Bobbsey. "I hope
no one is out in it. But, as I said, we have plenty to eat, and wood
to keep us warm, and that is all we can ask."
The day slowly passed, but toward afternoon Flossie and Freddie grew
fretful from having been kept in. They were used to going out of doors
in almost any kind of weather.
"Come on up in the attic with us," suggested Nan, "and we'll have a
sort of circus."
"And Snap can do tricks," cried Freddie, "and I'll give an exhibition
with my fire engine."
"Of course!" exclaimed Dorothy, and the little Bobbsey twins forgot
their fretfulness in a new series of games.
Harder blew the wind, and fiercer fell the snow. The path Mr. Bobbsey
had shoveled was soon filled up again. Out at the back door was a
drift that covered the rear stoop.
"If this keeps up we will be snowed in," said Mr. Bobbsey to his wife,
as they prepared to lock up for the night.
They were gathered around the big open fire, popping corn and roasting
apples, when a louder blast of wind than ever shook the house.
"Oh, what a night!" said Mrs. Bobbsey, with a shudder. "I wish we were
in our home again!"
Hardly had she spoken than there came a fearful crash, and the whole
house trembled. At the same time a blast of cold wind swept through
it, scattering the fire on the hearth.
"Oh, what was that?" cried Mrs. Bobbsey.
"That old apple tree, at the corner of the house," said Mr. Bobbsey.
"The storm has blown it over, and it has smashed a corner of the
Lodge. Don't be afraid. We'll be all right," and he ran to close the
door, to keep out the cold wind.
CHAPTER XXII
THE MISSING MONEY
"What happened?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey, when her husband had come back
after going out to take a look around. "Is the house safe?"
"As safe as ever," he answered. "Just as I told you, the old apple
tree blew over, and smashed the corner of the house near this living
room. That's why we felt the crash so. But there is no great harm
done. We can keep this door closed and not use that other part of the
house at all. We have room enough without it. The wind and storm can't
get at us here."
"I suah 'nuff thought de house was comin' down," said Dinah, who had
run in from the kitchen at the sound of the crash.
"It was a hard blow," said Bert "Look, all the ashes are scattered,"
and he pointed to where the wind had blown them about the hearth.
Dinah soon swept them up, however, and more wood was put on the fire,
and the Bobbseys were as comfortable as before. The part of the house
which had been smashed by the tree was closed off from the rest.
Soon it was time to go to bed, but all night long the storm raged,
making Snow Lodge tremble in the blast. Everyone was up early in the
morning to see by daylight what damage had been done.
The sun rose clear, for the storm had passed. But oh? what a lot of
snow there was! In big drifts it was scattered all over the place, and
one side door was snowed in completely; and could not be opened. Sam
had to shovel a lot of snow away from the kitchen steps before Dinah
could go out.
"Let's go see where the tree fell," suggested Bert to Harry, when they
were dressed, Nan and Dorothy joined them. They went to the corner of
the house and there saw a strange sight. The old apple tree lay partly
in the room into which it had crashed through the side of the house.
And much snow had blown in also.
This room, however, was little used, except for storage, and there was
nothing in it to be damaged save some old furniture. Bert and Harry
made their way into the apartment, and the girls followed.
They were looking about at the odd sight, when something in a corner
of the room, along the wall that was next to the living room, where
the Bobbseys had spent the evening, caught Bert's eyes. He went toward
it. He picked up a roll of what seemed to be green paper. It had been
in a crack of the wall that had been made wider by the falling tree.
"Oh, look?" he cried. "What is this? Why, it's money!"
"A roll of bills!" added Harry, looking over his cousin's shoulder.
Slowly Bert unrolled them. There seemed to be considerable money
there. One bill was for a hundred dollars.
"Where did it come from?" asked Nan.
"From a crack in the wall," spoke her brother. "It must have slipped
down, and the falling tree made the crack wider, so I could see it."
"I wonder who could have put it there?" said Dorothy.
Bert and Nan looked at each other. The same thought came into their
minds.
"The missing money!" cried Bert, "The roll of bills that Mr. Carford
thought his nephew took! Can this be it?"
"Oh, if it only is!" murmured Nan. "Let's tell papa right away!"
Carrying the money so strangely found, the young folks went into the
house where Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey were. The roll of bills was shown,
and Mr. Bobbsey was much surprised.
"Do you think this can be the money Mr. Carford lost?" asked Bert.
"I shouldn't be surprised," said Mr. Bobbsey, quickly. "I'll take a
look. Mr. Carford said he left it on the mantel in the living room,
and you found it in the room back of that. I'll look."
Quickly he examined the mantel. Then he said:
"Yes, that's how it happened. There is a crack up here, and the money
must have slipped down into it. All these years it has been in between
the walls, until the falling tree made a break and showed where it
was. Mr. Carford was mistaken. His nephew did not take the money. I
always said so. It fell into the crack, and remained hidden until the
storm showed where it was."
"Oh, how glad I am!" cried Mrs. Bobbsey. "Now Henry's name can be
cleared! Oh, if he were only here to know the good news!"
There seemed to be no doubt of it. Years before Mr. Carford had placed
the money on the shelf of the living room. He probably did not know of
the crack into which it slipped. The roll of bills had gone down
between the walls, and only the breaking of them when the tree fell on
the house brought the money to light.
"It is a strange thing," said Mr. Bobbsey. "The missing money is found
after all these years, and in such a queer way! We must tell Henry as
soon as possible, and Mr. Carford also."
Suddenly there came a knock on the door. Bert went to it and gave a
cry of surprise. There stood the young hunter--Henry Burdock.
"I came over to see if you were all right," he said. "We have had a
fearful storm. Part of my cabin was blown away, and I wondered how you
fared at Snow Lodge. Are you all right?"
"Yes, Henry, we are," said Mr. Bobbsey, "And the storm was a good
thing for you."
"I don't see how. My cabin is spoiled. I'll have to build it over
again."
"You won't have to, Henry. You can come to live at Snow Lodge now."
"Never. Not until my name is cleared. I will never come to Snow Lodge
until the missing money is found, and my uncle says I did not take
it."
"Then you can come now, Henry," cried Mr. Bobbsey, holding out the
roll of bills. "For the money is found and we can clear your name!"
"Is it possible!" exclaimed the young hunter, in great and joyful
surprise. "Oh, how I have prayed for this! The money found! Where was
it? How did you find it?"
Then the story was told, the children having their share in it.
"I can't tell you how thankful I am," said the young hunter. "This
means a lot to me. Now my uncle will know I am not a thief. I must go
and tell him at once."
"No, I'll go," said Mr. Bobbsey. "I want to prove to him that I was
right, after all, in saying you were innocent. You stay here until I
bring him."
Mr. Bobbsey went off in the big sled with Sam to drive the horses. It
was a hard trip, on account of the drifts, but finally Newton was
reached and Mr. Carford found. At first he could hardly believe that
the money was found, but when he saw and counted it, finding it
exactly the same as when he had put it on the shelf years before, he
knew that he had done wrong in accusing Henry.
"And I'll tell him so, too," he said. "I'll beg his pardon, and he and
I will live together again. Oh, how happy I am! Now I can go to Snow
Lodge with a light heart."
Uncle and nephew met, and clasped hands while tears stood in their
eyes. After years of suffering they were friends again. It was a
happy, loving time for all.
"And I'll never be so hasty again," said Mr. Carford. "Oh, what a
happy day this is, after the big storm! We must have a big
celebration. I know what I'll do. I'll get up a party, and invite all
the people in this part of the country. They all know that I accused
Henry of taking that money. Now they must know that he did not. I will
admit my mistake."
And that is what Mr. Carford did. He sent out many invitations to an
old-fashioned party at Snow Lodge. The place where the tree had
crashed through, to show the missing money, was boarded up, and the
house made cozy again.
Then came the party, and the Bobbseys were the guests of honor--
particularly the twins and their cousins, for it was due to them, in a
great measure, that the money had been found.
Mr. Carford stood up before everyone and admitted how wrong he had
been in saying his nephew had taken the money.
"But all our troubles are ended now," he said, "and Henry and I will
live in Snow Lodge together. And we will always be glad to see you
here--all of you--and most especially--the Bobbseys."
"Three cheers for the Bobbsey twins!" someone called.
The children were pleased at this praise. They did not know that soon
they would be helping some other people. You may read about this in
"The Bobbsey Twins on a Houseboat."
Then followed a fine feast--a happy time for all, while Henry and his
uncle received the good wishes of their friends and neighbors.
Snap raced about, barking and wagging his tail. Bert, Nan, Dorothy,
Harry and Freddie and Flossie were here, there, everywhere, telling
how the tree had blown down, and how they had found the money.
"Dear old Snow Lodge!" said Nan, when the party was over, and the
guests gone. "We will have to leave it soon!"
"But perhaps we can come back some time," said Nan.
"I'd like to," agreed Bert. "Next winter I am going to build a bigger
ice-boat, and sail all over the lake."
"And we'll make regular snowshoes, and go hunting in the woods," said
Harry.
"But it will be summer before it is winter again," said Freddie. "I'm
going to have a motor boat and ride in it. And I'll take my fire
engine along, and pump water."
"Can I come, with my doll?" asked Flossie.
"Yes, you may all come!" exclaimed Mamma Bobbsey, as she hugged the
two little twins.
"And don't forget," said Mr. Carford, "that Snow Lodge is open in the
summer as well as in the winter. I expect you Bobbsey twins to visit
me once in a while. I never can thank you enough for finding that
missing money."
"Neither can I," said Henry.
And now that the story is all told, we will say good-bye to the
Bobbsey twins and their friends.
THE END
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