The Bobbsey Twins at Home | Page 7

you remember what fun it was when we were in the movies this Summer?"
"Were you in them, really?" asked Tommy as he followed the twins out of the car.
"Yes, we acted a little," said Bert. "There was a make-believe battle being taken near our uncle's farm. We went to watch. They fired cannon and guns, and had horses----"
"And the men and horses were shot!" interrupted Freddie. "Only pretend, of course, but I was there and I was in the movies too. I acted and so did Nan. And I fell in the brook and the man made a moving picture of me doing that!"
"Did they really?" asked one of the fresh air ladies of Mrs. Bobbsey.
"Yes, the children were in the moving pictures a little this Summer," explained Freddie's mother. "It was all unexpected, but we did not mind, for it was all outdoors. It was fun for them." Those of you who have read the book before this one will remember how Freddie and the others really did act before the camera.
"Say, I'd like to do that!" cried Tommy with shining eyes as he heard what the Bobbseys had done. "It must have been great!"
"It was fun," Freddie said.
By this time they were out of the train, walking up toward the engine. About it were men and women, and the children saw a man with a black box on three legs grinding away at a crank.
"He's taking the moving pictures," said Bert.
"Why--why!" exclaimed Flossie as she came closer. "It's the same man who took our pictures at Meadow Brook!"
"So it is," agreed Nan. "It's Mr. Weston."
"Yes, he's the same one," said Mr. Bobbsey. "I told him you children were on the train and he asked me to fetch you up to see him."
When Mr. Weston had finished taking the pictures of the actors and actresses who had to pretend they were being robbed by the masked men, he spoke to the Bobbsey twins.
"Don't you want to act for the movies again?" he asked, laughing.
"Oh, yes!" cried Flossie and Freddie.
"I'm afraid we haven't time now," said Mrs. Bobbsey with a smile. "We shall get home late, as it is. When is the train going to start again?"
"Pretty soon," answered Mr. Weston.
A few more pictures were taken and then the engineer blew the whistle. The moving picture people got in a big automobile to ride away.
"All aboard!" called the conductor, waving his hand to the engineer who was looking from the window of his cab. "All aboard!"
"Come on!" cried Mr. Bobbsey, and he and the twins, as well as the fresh air children, were soon in the car again, speeding on toward Lakeport.
"That's the first time I ever saw moving pictures taken," said Tommy Todd.
"We go to moving picture shows lots of times," said Flossie. "I like 'em, 'specially when they have fairy plays."
"I like 'em too," replied Tommy. "Only I don't get to see 'em very often. There aren't very many nickels lying loose around our house. Sometimes I only make five cents in a whole day."
"Oh, I didn't find out how much money there was in my bank," said Freddie. "I was just doing it when the train stopped. Wait a minute, Tommy, and I'll ask my father."
Back once more the chubby little "fireman" went to where his father sat, and again he asked the question about the money, and about buying a ship to search for the lost sea captain.
"What's all this?" asked Mr. Bobbsey in surprise. "Who is this Tommy Todd?"
"He's one of the fresh air boys," answered Freddie. "There he is in the seat ahead of Flossie."
"He is one of our nicest boys," put in Miss Carter, the fresh air lady. "I was so glad we could send him out to the farm. He lives with his grandmother on the outskirts of the city near the dumps, and, though the home is a very poor one, Mrs. Todd keeps it very neat. She sews for a living."
"Tommy's father was lost at sea, and Tommy and I are going to rescue him from a desert island," cried Freddie eagerly. "How much money have I in my bank, Daddy?"
"Was his father really shipwrecked?" asked Mr. Bobbsey of Miss Carter.
"I believe he was, yes. Before then Tommy and his grandmother lived well. We help them all we can, but there are so many poor."
"Tommy can run errands," put in Freddie. "He works for Mr. Fitch, our grocer, after school. He's strong, Tommy is. He gained two pounds in the country. Maybe you could hire him to run errands for you, Daddy, and pay him money."
"He really is a very good boy," said Miss Carter. "If you could give him any work it would be a charity."
"I'll see about it when we get home," said Mr. Bobbsey.
"And you say the