The Bobbsey Twins at Snow Lodge

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[ILLUSTRATION: "You have made a fine shelter," said the hunter.]

THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE

BY

LAURA LEE HOPE

Author of the Bobbsey Twins.

COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY
GROSSET & DUNLAP.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I. THE RUNAWAYS

II. OLD MR. CARFORD

III. THE BIG SNOWBALL

IV. THE ACCUSATION

V. HOLIDAYS AT HAND

VI. A VISIT TO MR. CARFORD

VII. THE STORY OF SNOW LODGE

VIII. A KIND OFFER

IX. MR. BOBBSEY'S STORY

X. UNWELCOME NEWS

XI. MAKING PLANS

XII. THE LETTERS

XIII. IN A HARD BLOW

XIV. AT SNOW LODGE

XV. THE SNOW SLIDE

XVI. LOST IN THE WOODS

XVII. HENRY BURDOCK

XVIII. SNOWBALLS

XIX. SNAP IS GONE

XX. THE BIG STORM

XXI. THE FALLING TREE

XXII. THE MISSINC MONEY

CHAPTER I

THE RUNAWAYS

"Will Snap pull us, do you think, Freddie?" asked little Flossie
Bobbsey, as she anxiously looked at her small brother, who was
fastening a big, shaggy dog to his sled by means of a home-made
harness. "Do you think he'll give us a good ride?"

"Sure he will, Flossie," answered Freddie with an air of wisdom. "I
explained it all to him, and I've tried him a little bit. He pulled
fine, and you won't be much heavier. I'll have the harness all fixed
in a minute, and then we'll have a grand ride."

"Do you think Snap will be strong enough to pull both of us?" asked
the little girl.

"Of course he will!" exclaimed Freddie firmly. "He's as good as an
Esquimo dog, and we saw some pictures of them pulling sleds bigger
than ours."

"That's so," admitted Flossie. "Well, hurry up, please, Freddie 'cause
I'm cold standing here, and I want to get under the blankets on the
sled and have a nice ride."

"I'll hurry all right, Flossie. You go up there by Snap's head and pat
him. Then he'll stand stiller, and I can fix the harness on him
quicker."

Flossie, with a shake of her light curls, and a stamp of her little
feet to rid them of the snow from the drift in which she had been
standing, went closer to the fine-looking and intelligent dog, who did
not seem to mind being all tied up with ropes and leather straps to
Freddie's sled.

"Good old Snap!" exclaimed Flossie, patting his head. "You're going to
give Freddie and me a fine ride; aren't you, old fellow?"

Snap barked and wagged his tail violently.

"Hey! Stop that!" cried Freddie. "He's flopping his tail right in my
face!" the little boy added. "I can't see to fasten this strap. Hold
his tail, Flossie."

Snap, hearing the voice of his young master--one of his two masters by
the way--wagged his tail harder than ever. Freddie made a grab for it,
but missed. Flossie, seeing this, laughed and Snap, thinking it was a
great joke, leaped about and barked with delight. He sprang out of the
harness, which was only partly fastened on, and began leaping about in
the snow. Finally he stood up on his hind legs and marched about, for
Snap was a trick dog, and had once belonged to a circus.

"There now! Look at that!" cried Freddie. "He's spoiled everything!
We'll never get him hitched up now."

"It--it wasn't my fault," said Flossie, a tear or two coming into her
eyes.

"I know it wasn't, Flossie," replied Freddie, speaking more quietly.
"It's always just that way with Snap when he gets excited. Come here!"
he called to the dog, "and let me harness you. Come here Snap!"

The dog was well enough trained so that he knew when the time for fun
was over and when he had to settle down. Still wagging his tail
joyously, however, Snap came up to Freddie, who started over again the
work of harnessing the animal to the sled.

"I guess you'd better stand at his tail instead of at his head," said
Freddie. "So when he wags it you can grab it, Flossie, and hold it
still. Then it won't slap me in the face, and I can see what I'm
doing. Hold his tail, Flossie."

"Then he can't wag it," objected the little girl.

"I know he can't. I don't want him to."

"But it may make him angry."

"Snap never gets mad; do you, Snap?" asked Freddie, and the dog's bark
seemed to say "No, never!"

So Flossie held the dog's tail, while Freddie put on the harness
again. This time he succeeded in getting it all arranged to suit him,
and the frisky Snap was soon made fast to the sled.

"Now get on, Flossie," called her brother, "and we'll see how fast
Snap can pull us."

"But don't make him go too fast, Freddie," begged the little girl.
"For it's hard pulling in the snow."

"No, I'll let him go slow," promised Freddie. "But it won't be hard
work pulling us. My sled goes awfully easy, anyhow."

Freddie tucked Flossie in amid the robes and rugs which the children
had taken from the house, near which they had started to harness the
dog. Then Freddie took his place in front of his sister, holding to
two reins that were fastened to the dog's head. Freddie had made no
bit, such as is used for horses and goats, but he thought by making
straps fast to a sort of muzzle by which he could guide Snap, by
pulling his head to one side or the other.

"All ready, Flossie?" called Freddie, when he himself was comfortable
on the sled.

"All ready," she answered.

"Giddap, Snap!" cried Freddie, and, with a bark, off the dog started,
pulling the sled and the two children after him.

"Oh, he's going! He's giving us a ride! It's as real as anything!"
cried Flossie in delight, holding fast to the sled. "Oh, Freddie!"

"Of course it's real!" said Freddie. "Bert and Nan said Snap wouldn't
pull us, but I knew he would. I just wish they could see us now."

As if in answer to this wish a little later, when the two smaller
twins had turned a corner, they saw coming toward them their brother
and sister Nan and Bert, also twins, but four years older.

"Look, look!" cried Flossie to Nan. "See what a nice ride we're
having."

"Oh, look, Bert!" exclaimed Nan, "Snap really is pulling them," and
she grasped her brother's arm. Bert was pulling his own sled and that
of his twin sister.

"Yes, he'll pull them a little way," admitted Bert, as if he knew all
about it, "and then, the first thing they know, Snap will turn around
short and tip them into a snowdrift. He hasn't been trained to pull a
sled, no matter how many other tricks he can do."

"I trained him myself!" declared Freddie, as he pulled on the lines to
bring the dog to a stop. But Snap, seeing Nan and Bert, was eager to
reach them to be patted and made much of, so he did not obey the
command given by the reins, but kept on.

"Whoa there!" cried Freddie, holding back with all his little
strength.

"See, I told you he wouldn't mind," said Bert, with a laugh.

"Oh, but isn't it cute!" exclaimed Nan, flapping her hands. "I didn't
think they'd get any ride at all."

"We'll show you! We'll have a fine ride!" panted Freddie, vainly
trying to make Snap halt.

Then just what Bert said would happen seemed about to take place. The
dog leaped around, and turned short to get nearer to the older Bobbsey
twins.

"Look out!" cried Bert, but his warning came too late.

Over went the sled, and Flossie and Freddie were pitched from it into
a big, fluffy bank of snow, falling into it deeply, but with no more
harm to them than if they had landed on a bed of feathers.

"Oh dear!" cried Flossie, as she felt herself shooting toward the
snow.

"Whoa there! Whoa! Don't you run away, Snap!" shouted Freddie. Then
his mouth was filled with snow and he could say nothing more.

"Oh, Bert! They'll be smothered!" cried Nan. "Help me get them out!"

Bert was laughing, and trying to defend himself against the jumping up
of Snap, who seemed to want to hug the boy with his paws.

"Stop laughing! Help me!" ordered Nan, who was already trying to lift
Flossie from her snowy bed.

"I can't help laughing--Freddie looked so funny when he went over,"
said Bert.

"There's no danger of smothering, though. That snow is as dry as sand.
Here you go, Freddie. Give me your hand and I'll pull you out."

In a few seconds the smaller Bobbsey twins stood beside their larger
brother and sister, while Snap capered about them, barking loudly and
wagging his tail.

"Oh, he's got loose, and the harness is all broken," said Freddie, and
tears of disappointment stood in his blue eyes.

"Never mind," said Bert. "I'll help you make a better harness to-
morrow, Freddie. That one wasn't strong enough for Snap, anyhow. I'll
fix it differently."

"Oh, but we were going to have such a fine ride!" said Flossie, who
was also ready to cry. The smaller twins were only about five years
old, so it might have been expected.

"Well, come on and go coasting with Bert and me," said Nan, as she
patted her little sister's head. "We're going over on the long hill.
It's fine there, and you'll have just as much fun as if you had Snap
to pull you."

"Shall we go, Freddie?" asked Flossie, who generally depended on him
to start their amusements.

"I guess so," he answered. "This harness is all busted, anyhow."

Sadly he looked at the tangled strings and straps fast to the sled,
where Snap had broken away from them. The harness Freddie had made
with such care was all broken now.

"Never mind," said Bert again. "I'll make you a better one to-morrow,
Freddie. Come along now, and we'll have some fun. And when we get
through coasting I'll buy everybody a hot chocolate soda."

"Really?" asked Flossie, her sorrow forgotten now.

"Sure thing," promised Bert.

"Come on, then, Freddie," said his little sister. "We can harness Snap
up to-morrow."

The useless harness was taken to the Bobbsey home, not far away, and
then the four twins--the two sets of them, as it were--started for the
coasting hill, Flossie and Freddie having one sled between them, and
Nan and Bert each having one of their own.

On the way to the hill they met many of their friends, also bound for
the same place. School was just out and the boys and girls were eager
to have a good time in the snow.

"There's Charley Mason!" exclaimed Bert, seeing a boy he knew. "Hello,
Charley!" he called. "Going coasting?"

"Sure. Where's the big bob?" For some time before this Bert and
Charley had made, in partnership, a large bob sled.

"Oh, I didn't know you'd be out, or I'd have brought it," replied
Bert. "Anyhow, I promised Nan I'd coast with her."

"Oh, that's all right. I guess the hill will be too crowded for a bob,
anyhow. Danny Rugg was taking his over, though, for I saw him and some
of his crowd hauling it from his barn a little while ago."

"Well, let 'em. We can get ours later. Got a new sled?" and Bert
looked admiringly at the one Charley was pulling.

"No, it's only my old one painted over. But it makes it look like
new."

"We had Snap hitched up, but he broke loose," said Freddie. "But we're
going to have a stronger harness to-morrow."

"That's good," said Charley, with a broad smile.

Soon the children were on the hill. There was a large crowd of
coasters there, and fun was at its height. There was merry shouting
and laughter, and several spills and upsets. As Bert had said, the
hill was very much crowded.

"I thought it would be no good for a bob," he remarked.

"There goes Danny Rugg now!" exclaimed Charley. "He's giving orders to
everyone."

"He'd better not give any to me," said Bert, in a quiet voice, but
with determination in his tones.

"Oh, Bert!" exclaimed Nan. "Please don't have any fuss; will you?"

"Not on my part," said Bert "But if Danny Rugg thinks he can boss me
he is mistaken."

It was evident that Danny liked to play master. He could be heard
giving orders to this one and the other one to get out of the way, to
pull his bob around in place, and then to shove it off with its load
of boys and girls.

Now, though Danny was a bully, some of the children were friendly with
him for the sake of getting a ride on his sled, which was a large and
expensive one.

Bert and Nan, and Flossie and Freddie, soon were coasting with their
friends, having a good time on the hill. The two smaller twins went
down together.

As Freddie came up the long slope, pulling his sled in readiness for
another trip, Danny Rugg with his bob reached the head of the slope at
the same time.

"Say, Danny, give me a ride this trip; won't you?" begged a small boy,
who had no sled, but who often did errands for the bully, and played
mean tricks for him that, Danny was too lazy to play himself. "Let me
go on your bob?"

"Not this time, Sim," said Danny. "The bob is going to be filled. But
here, you can take Freddie Bobbsey's sled. He doesn't want it," and
without giving Freddie time to say whether he did or not Danny
snatched the sled rope from him and held it out to Sim Watson.

For a moment Freddie was too surprised to utter a protest and then, as
he realized what had happened, he cried out:

"Here, Danny Rugg, you let my sled alone! I do want it! Give it back
to me!"

"Aw, go on!" said Danny. "You've had rides enough. Let Sim take your
sled, or I'll punch you!" and Danny gave Freddie a shove, and held out
the rope of the sled to Sim.

"Stop it!" cried Freddie. "I'll tell Bert on you."

"Pooh! Think I'm afraid of your brother. I can handle him with one
hand tied behind my back."

"Then it's time you started in!" exclaimed a voice just back of Danny,
and the bully turned suddenly to see Bert standing near him, Danny's
face flushed, and then grew pale. Before he could make a move Bert
grabbed away from him the rope of Freddie's sled, which Sim had not
yet taken, and passed it back to his small brother.

"Don't you try that again," warned Bert.

"I will if I want to," said Danny, meanly, "I'm not afraid of you."

"Maybe not," said Bert, quietly, "and I'm not afraid of you, either.
But if you take my brother's sled for some of your friends you'll have
to settle with me. You leave Freddie alone; do you hear?"

"I don't have to mind you!"

"We'll see about that. Go ahead, Freddie. You and Flossie coast as
much as you like, and if Danny bothers you any more let me know."

Danny, with an uneasy laugh, turned aside. Some of his particular
chums gathered about him, and one murmured:

"Why don't you fight him?"

For a moment it looked as though there might be trouble, but an
instant later all thoughts of it passed, for a series of girls'
screams came from midway down the long hill.

All eyes were turned in that direction, and those at the top of the
slope saw a team of runaway horses, attached to a heavy bobsled,
plunging madly up the hill.

And, right in the path of the frightened animals was Nan Bobbsey, and
one or two other girls, on their sleds, coasting straight for the
runaways.

A cry of fear came from Bert Bobbsey as he noticed his sister's
danger.

CHAPTER II

OLD MR. CARFORD

"Stop the horses!"

"Yes, grab them, somebody, or they'll run into the girls!"

"Look out, everybody, they're coming right this way!"

"I'm going to get my bob to a safe place!"

It was Danny Rugg who called out this last, and the other boys had
shouted the previous expressions, as they watched the oncoming,
runaway horses.

Bert Bobbsey had thrown himself on his sled and was coasting toward
the group of girls, of whom his sister Nan was one. They were on their
sleds in the very path of the team. It seemed that nothing could save
them. But Bert had a plan in his mind.

And, while he was preparing to carry it out, I will take just a moment
to tell my new readers something about the characters of this story,
and the books that have gone before in the series.

Bert and Nan, Freddie and Flossie Bobbsey were the twin children of
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Bobbsey, who lived in an Eastern city called
Lakeport, at the head of Lake Metoka. Mr. Bobbsey was a prosperous
lumber merchant. Other members of the household were Dinah and Sam
Johnson. Dinah was the cook, fat and good-natured. Sam was her
husband, slim and also good-natured. He did all sorts of work about
the place, from making garden to shoveling snow.

Then there was Downy, a pet duck; Snoop, a pet black cat, and, of
late, Snap, the fine trick dog, who had come into the possession of
the Bobbseys in a peculiar manner.

In the first book of this series, entitled "The Bobbsey Twins," I told
of the good times the four children had in their home. How they played
in the snow, went coasting, helped to discover what they thought was a
"ghost," and did many other things. Bert even went for a sail in an
ice boat he and Charley Mason had made, though it was almost more than
the boys could manage at times.

The second volume, called "The Bobbsey Twins in the Country," told of
the good times the four had when they went to the farm of Uncle Daniel
Bobbsey and his wife, Aunt Sarah, who lived at Meadow Brook.

Such fun as there was!

There was a country picnic, sport in the woods, and a great Fourth of
July celebration. A circus gave a chance to have other good times, and
though once there was a midnight scare, it all turned out happily.

But though the twins had much happiness in the country they were
destined to have still more fun when they went to the ocean shore, and
in the third book, called "The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore," I
related all that happened to them there.

They went on a visit to their uncle, William Minturn, who lived at
Ocean Cliff, and their cousin Dorothy showed them many strange scenes
and sights. They had most delightful times, and toward the close of
their visit there was a great storm at sea, and a shipwreck. The life
savers were on hand, however, and did such good work that no one was
drowned. And if you want to learn how a certain little girl was made
very happy, when she found that her father was among those saved, you
must read the book.

Then, after the storm ceased, there were more happy days at the shore.
The time for the Bobbseys to leave came all too soon. School was about
to open, and even the smaller twins must now settle down to regular
lessons.

In the fourth book of the series, called "The Bobbsey Twins at
School," there is told of the start for home.

But many things happened before the family arrived. There was the
wreck of the circus train, the escape of the animals, the meeting with
the very fat lady, and the loss of Snoop, the pet cat. Then, too, a
valuable cup the smaller Bobbsey twins had been drinking from, seemed
to be lost, and they were very sorry about it.

On the way home something else occurred. They were followed in the
dark by some strange animal. At first they feared it was some wild
beast from the circus but it proved to be only a friendly dog.

How Flossie and Freddie insisted on keeping the dog, now that their
pet cat Snoop was gone, how they named him Snap, and how it was
discovered that he could do tricks, are all part of the story.

There were many more happenings after the twins started in at school.
Mr. Bobbsey's boathouse caught fire in a mysterious manner. Snap was
found to be a circus dog, and it was pretty certain that the fat lady
in the train had also belonged to the show, and that it was she who
had the valuable silver cup.

In time all was straightened out, and how Snoop came back from the
circus in far-off Cuba, how Snap was allowed to stay with the
Bobbseys, and how even the cup was finally recovered--all this you
will find set down in the fourth book of this series.

And now winter had come in earnest, though even before this story
opens the Bobbsey twins had had a taste of snow and ice. The accident
on the coasting hill now occupied the attention of all.

"Oh, Nan! Nan will be killed!" cried Flossie, as she stood with
Freddie gazing down the slope.

"No, she won't!" exclaimed Freddie, "Bert is going to save her--you'll
see!"

"Oh, if he only can!" murmured Nellie Parks, one of Nan's friends.

"I think he will! See, he is coming nearer to them," added Grace
Lavine, another friend.

Danny Rugg, mean as he was, was not quite so mean as to discourage
this hope. Some of the girls on the sleds that were coming nearer to
the rushing horses seemed about to roll off, rather than take chances
of steering out of the way of the steeds.

"What can Bert be going to do?" asked Grace. "How can he save them?"

"I don't know," answered Nellie. "Let's watch him. Maybe he's going to
stop the horses."

"He'd never dare!" murmured Grace.

"Oh, Bert is brave," was the answer.

But Bert had no intention of leaping for the horses' heads just now.
His first idea was to get his sister and the other girls to a place of
safety. As he came near to them, his sled going much faster than
theirs, he called out:

"Steer to the right! Go to the right! I'll see if I can't make the
horses go over to one side."

"All right!" cried Nan, who understood what her brother meant. "Keep
to the right, girls," she called to her frightened chums, "and don't
any of you fall off!"

Those who had been about to roll from their sleds now held on with
firmer clasps. They were close to the runaway team now. Bert was near
to them also, and, while wondering to whom they belonged, and whether
they had injured their driver or anyone else in their mad rush, he
caught up a handful of snow as his sled glided onward.

It was hard work to throw the snow ball at the horses, going down hill
as he was, but Bert managed to do it. He had the good luck to hit one
of the animals with the wad of snow, and this sent the horse over to
one side, its mate following. This was just what Bert wanted, as it
gave Nan and the others more room to coast past them.

And this is just what the girls did. Their sleds whizzed past the
runaways, one sled, on which Hattie Jenson rode, almost grazing a
hoof.

"Now you're safe!" cried Bert. "Keep on to the foot of the hill!
You're all right!"

He gathered up another handful of snow, and threw it at the steeds,
making them swerve more than ever towards the side of the hill. Then
one of the animals slipped and stumbled. This caused them both to slow
up, and Bert, seeing this, left his sled, rolling off, and letting it
go down without him.

Hardly thinking of what he was doing, he ran for the heads of the
horses. Perhaps it was not just wise, for Bert was not very tall, but
he was brave. However, he was not to stop the runaways all alone, for
just then some of the larger boys, who had been rushing down the hill,
came up, and before the horses could start off again several lads had
grasped them by the bridles and were quieting them.

"That was a good idea of yours, Bert Bobbsey," said Frank Miller. "A
fine idea, lo throw snowballs at them. It made them go to one side all
right, and slowed them up."

"I wanted to save the girls," said Bert, who was panting from his
little run.

"Whose team is it?" asked another boy.

"I don't know," answered Bert. "I can't say that I ever saw them
before. There's no one in the sled, anyhow, though it is pretty well
loaded with stuff."

He and the other boys looked into the vehicle. It contained a number
of boxes and bags. Then the boys looked down the hill and saw that the
girls who had been in danger were now safe. Nan and the others were
walking up, dragging their sleds.

The boys then noticed a man half running up the slope. He was waving
his arms in an excited fashion.

"I guess that's the man who owns the horses," said Charley Mason.

There was no doubt of it a few minutes later, when the man came close
enough to make himself heard.

"Are they all right, boys?" he asked. "Are my horses hurt?"

"They don't seem to be," answered Frank.

"That's good. Are my things all right?"

"Everything seems to be here," said Charley Mason, who was standing
beside Bert. "I know who he is now," went on Charley in a low tone to
his chum. "He's Mr. James Carford, of Newton."

"He's lame," observed Bert, for the man limped slightly.

"Yes, he was in the war," went on Charley. "He's real rich, too, but
peculiar, they say."

By this time aged Mr. Carford was looking over the team and the sled
and its contents. He seemed weary and out of breath.

"Yes, everything is all right," he said slowly. "I hope no one was
hurt by my runaways, I never knew 'em to do that before. I left 'em
outside the store a minute while I went in to get something, and they
must have taken fright. I hope no one was hurt."

"No, everyone got out of the way in time," said Bert.

"That's good. Who stopped the horses?" the old man asked.

"Bert Bobbsey," answered Frank Miller. "He warned his sister and the
other girls to steer to one side, and then he threw snow at the horses
and made them fall down. Then they slowed up so we could grab 'em."

"Ha! Bert Bobbsey did that, eh?" exclaimed aged Mr. Carford. "So this
is the second time a Bobbsey has mixed up in my family affairs. The
second time," and Mr. Carford looked at Bert in a peculiar manner.

"Did you fall out of the sled, Mr. Carford?" asked another boy, coming
up just then.

"No, they started off when I was in the store. Funny, too, that they
should. Well, I'm glad there's no one hurt and no damage done. I
couldn't walk home to Newton. I'm much obliged to you boys. And to you
too, Bert Bobbsey.

"Are you Richard Bobbsey's son?" he suddenly asked, peering at Bert
from beneath his shaggy eyebrows.

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