The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore | Page 6

tears, while the
older people looked troubled.
"They could hardly have stolen him," Mr. Bobbsey reflected, "and the
conductor is sure not one of those boys went in another car, for they all
left the train at Ramsley's."
"I don't care!" cried Freddie, aloud, "I'll just have every one of them
arrested when we get to Auntie's. I knowed they had Snoop in their
boxes."
How Snoop could be "in boxes" and how the boys could be found at
Auntie's were two much mixed points, but no one bothered Freddie
about such trifles in his present grief.
"Why doan you call dat kitty cat?" suggested Dinah, for all this time no
one had thought of that.
"I couldn't," answered Freddie, "'cause he ain't here to call." And he
went on crying.
"Snoop! Snoop! Snoop Cat!" called Dinah, but there was no familiar
"me-ow" to answer her.

"Now, Freddie boy," she insisted, "if dat cat is alibe he will answer if
youse call him, so just you stop a-sniffing and come along. Dere's a
good chile," and she patted him in her old way. "Come wit Dinah and
we will find Snoop."
With a faint heart the little fellow started to call, beginning at the front
door and walking slowly along toward the rear.
"Stoop down now and den," ordered Dinah, "cause he might be hiding,
you know."
Freddie had reached the rear door and he stopped.
"Now jist gib one more good call" said Dinah, and Freddie did.
"Snoop! Snoop!" he called.
"Me-ow," came a faint answer.
"Oh, I heard him!" cried Freddie.
"So did I!" declared Dinah.
Instantly all the other Bobbseys were on the scene.
"He's somewhere down here," said Dinah. "Call him, Freddie!"
"Snoop! Snoop!" called the boy again.
"Me-ow--me-ow!" came a distant answer.
"In the stove!" declared Bert, jerking open the door of the stove, which,
of course, was not used in summer, and bringing out the poor,
frightened, little cat.
CHAPTER III
RAILROAD TENNIS

"Oh, poor little Snoop!" whispered Freddie, right into his kitten's ear.
"I'm so glad I got you back again!"
"So are we all," said a kind lady passenger who had been in the
searching party. "You have had quite some trouble for a small boy,
with two animals to take care of."
Everybody seemed pleased that the mischievous boys' pranks had not
hurt the cat, for Snoop was safe enough in the stove, only, of course, it
was very dark and close in there, and Snoop thought he surely was
deserted by all his good friends. Perhaps he expected Freddie would
find him, at any rate he immediately started in to "purr-rr," in a cat's
way of talking, when Freddie took him in his arms, and fondled him.
"We had better have our lunch now," suggested Mrs. Bobbsey, "I'm
sure the children are hungry."
"It's just like a picnic," remarked Flossie, when Dinah handed around
the paper napkins and Mrs. Bobbsey served out the chicken and
cold-tongue sandwiches. There were olives and celery too, besides
apples and early peaches from Uncle Daniel's farm.
"Let us look at the timetable, see where we are now, and then see where
we will be when we finish," proposed Bert.
"Oh yes," said Nan, "let us see how many miles it takes to eat a
sandwich."
Mr. Bobbsey offered one to the conductor, who just came to punch
tickets.
"This is not the regular business man's five-minute lunch, but the
five-mile article seems more enjoyable," said Mr. Bobbsey.
"Easier digested," agreed the conductor, accepting a sandwich. "You
had good chickens out at Meadow Brook," he went on, complimenting
the tasty morsel he was chewing with so much relish.

"Yes, and ducks," said Freddie, which remark made everybody laugh,
for it brought to mind the funny adventure of little white Downy, the
duck.
"They certainly can fly," said the conductor with a smile, as he went
along with a polite bow to the sandwich party.
Bert had attended to the wants of the animals, not trusting Freddie to
open the boxes. Snoop got a chicken leg and Downy had some of his
own soft food, that had been prepared by Aunt Sarah and carried along
in a small tin can.
"Well, I'se done," announced Dinah, picking up her crumbs in her
napkins. "Bert, how many miles you say it takes me to eat?"
"Let me see! Five, eight, twelve, fourteen: well, I guess Dinah, you had
fifteen miles of a chicken sandwich."
"An' you go 'long!" she protested. "'Taint no sech thing. I ain't got sich
a long appetite as date. Fifteen miles! Lan'a massa! whot you take me
fo?"
Everybody laughed and the children clapped hands at the length of
Dinah's appetite, but when the others had finished they found their own
were even longer than the maid's,