"Oh, you needn't be afraid for my boy!" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey hastily. "I have Bert's promise that he won't smoke until he's man, and perhaps he won't want to then."

"Good!" exclaimed the chief heartily; "That's what I like to hear. But it's as certain as guns is, and nothing more certain than them, that some one was smoking in your boathouse, and set fire to it. And I wish we could find out who it was."

"So do I!" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey. "If only to teach them a lesson on how dangerous it is to be careless. Well, I suppose we can't do anything more," and he sighed, for half the beautiful boathouse was in ruins.

Mr. Bobbsey and Bert were soon at home, telling the news to the folks.

Freddie's eyes opened wide in surprise as he listened to the account of how the firemen had put out the fire.

"Oh, I wish I could have been there!" he cried. "I could have helped."

"What caused the fire?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey of her husband, when the children had gone to bed again.

"Some boys—or some one else smoking cigarettes, the chief thinks. We found a half-emptied box."

In her room Nan heard the word "cigarettes" and she wondered if her brother could be at fault, for she remembered he had told her how once some boys had asked him to go off in secret and smoke.

Mr. Bobbsey was up early, for he wanted to see by daylight what damage the fire had done, and he also wanted to see the insurance company about the loss. The beautiful boathouse looked worse in the daylight than it had at night, and the neat living room, where some of the Bobbseys had spent many happy hours, while others of them were out in the boats, was in ruins.

The fire chief came down while Mr. Bobbsey was there, and they talked matters over. The chief said he would send one of his men around to the different stores that sold cigarettes, to try and learn if boys had purchased any that afternoon, for it was against the law to sell cigarettes to anyone under sixteen years of age.

One afternoon Danny's father, Mr. Rugg, came home unexpectedly, and, wanting something that was out in his barn went to get it. As he entered the place he heard a scramble of feet, some excited whispers, and then silence. He was sure that some one was in the place and had run to hide.

"Who's there?" called Mr. Rugg sharply. There was no answer, but he listened and was sure he heard some one in the little room where the harness was kept.

He walked over to the door, and tried to open it. Some one on the inside was holding it, but Mr. Rugg gave a strong pull, and the door flew open. To the surprise of Mr. Rugg he saw his son Danny, and a number of boys, hiding there, and the smell of cigarette smoke was very strong.

"Danny!" exclaimed his father sternly, "what does this mean?"

"We—were—playing!" stammered Danny. "Playing hide and seek."

"And to play that is it necessary to smoke?" Mr. Rugg asked sharply.

"We—we aren't smoking," answered Danny.

"Not now, but you have been. I can smell it plainly. Go into the house, Danny, and these other boys must go home. If I find them smoking in my barn again I shall punish them. You might have set it on fire."

Danny had nothing to say, indeed, there was little he could say. He had been caught in the act.

The other boys slunk off, and Danny went into the house, his father following.

"Danny, I am very sorry to learn this," said Mr. Rugg. "I did not know that you smoked—a boy of your age!"

"Well, I never smoked much. Lots of the fellows smoke more than I do."

"That is no excuse. It is a bad habit for a boy. You may go to your room. I will consider your case later."

From then on Mr. Rugg did some hard thinking. He began "putting two and two together" as the old saying has it. He remembered the Bobbsey boathouse fire. On that occasion Danny had come in late, and there had been the smell of smoke on his clothes.

Mr. Rugg went to his son's room. A search showed a number of empty cigarette boxes, and cigarette pictures, and the boxes were all of the same kind—the kind that had been found in the halfburned boathouse.

Danny was accused by his father of having been smoking in the boathouse just before the fire, and Danny was so miserable, and so surprised at being caught in the barn, that he made a full confession. Tearfully he told the story, how he and some other boys, finding the boat house unlocked, for some unknown reason, had gone in, and smoked to their heart's content.

They did not mean to cause the fire, and had no idea that they were to blame. One of the boys was made ill by too much smoking, and they all hurried away.

But they must have left a smouldering stump of cigarette in some corner, or a carelessly thrown match, that started the blaze. Then, when the fire bells sounded, and they learned what had happened, Danny and all the boys promised each other that they would keep the secret.

"Well, Danny, I can't tell you how sorry I am," said Mr. Rugg, when the confession was over. "Sorry not only that Mr. Bobbsey's boathouse was burned, but because you have deceived me, and your good mother, and smoked in secret. I feel very badly about it."

Danny did, too, for though he was not a very good boy, his heart was in the right place, and with a little more care he might have been a different character. There was, however, hope for him.

"You must be punished for this," went on Mr. Rugg, "and this punishment will be that you are not to have the motor boat I promised you for next Summer. Perhaps it will be a lesson to you."

Danny wept bitterly, for he had counted very much on having this boat. But it was a good lesson to him. Mr. Rugg also told the fathers of the other boys whom he caught with his son, and these boys were punished in different ways.

Mr. Rugg also informed Mr. Bobbsey how the boathouse had been set afire, and expressed his sorrow. And so the mystery was cleared up.



CHAPTER XXI

THE FAT LADY'S LETTER

"WELL," remarked Nan Bobbsey, a few days after it had become known that Danny Rugg was to blame for the fire in the boathouse, "I wish we could find out, as easily as we found out about Danny, who has our cat Snoop."

"So do I," added Flossie. "Poor Snoop! I do miss him so much."

"So do I!" exclaimed Freddie. "But Snap is a nice dog, and I guess I like dogs better than cats, anyhow."

"Why, Freddie Bobbsey!" cried Nan.

"Don't you love Snoop any more?"

"Oh, yes, 'course I do, but then he isn't here to be loved, and Snap is."

"Yes, I guess that does make a difference," admitted Nan. "I wonder if papa wouldn't let us go down to the railroad office and inquire once more about him? Maybe, as it's getting cold weather now, Snoop will come in from the fields where he may have been staying ever since the railroad wreck."

"Let's ask," cried Freddie, always ready for action.

It was Saturday, and there was no school. Bert had gone off coasting on his new bob, but Nan did not want to go, her mother having asked her to stay and help with the dusting. But now the little bit of housework was over, and Nan was free.

"We'll go down to papa's office," she said to Flossie and Freddie, "and ask him if we can go to the railroad. I know one of the ticket agents and he can tell us of whom to ask about our cat."

Mrs. Bobbsey had no objections, and soon, with Flossie and Freddie at her side, Nan set off for her father's office in the lumber yard. The smaller twins were delighted.

"And maybe we can find our silver cup, too," suggested Freddie, as they trudged along in the snow, now and then stopping to make a white ball, which he threw at the fence or telegraph pole.

"The fat lady has our cup—I'm sure of that," said Flossie.

"Well, we can ask papa if he has heard from the circus people," suggested Nan.

Mr. Bobbsey was rather surprised to see his three children come into the office, but he was glad to meet them, for it made a break in his day's work. After a little thought he said they might go to the railroad office to inquire about Snoop. Nan and her brother and sister went in a trolley car, and were soon at the depot.

But to their disappointment there was no news of Snoop. The fat, black cat seemed to have completely disappeared.

"I've had the switchmen and trackmen keep a lookout for some time past," the agent told Nan, for Mr. Bobbsey did a large business in shipping lumber over the railroad, and many of the men were his friends. "One of the switchmen near where the wreck was, caught a lot of cats, that must have been living out in the fields all Summer," went on the agent, "but they were all sorts of colors. None was pure black, so I knew they could not be yours. I'm sorry."

"Yes, so are we," replied Nan. "Well, I guess Snoop is lost for good. He has been away a long time now."

On the way back to Mr. Bobbsey's office, the trolley car got off the track, on account of so much snow on the rails, and the children spent some time watching the men get it back, the electricity from the wire and rails making pretty flashes of blue fire.

"What luck?" asked Mr. Bobbsey, as the three came in his private office, their faces shining and red with the glow of winter.

"None," said Nan sadly. "Snoop is gone."

"Have you heard from the circus fat lady yet, papa?" asked Flossie.

"Yes, we want our cup back," added her brother.

"No word yet," answered Mr. Bobbsey. "That circus is traveling all over Cuba, and the letters I sent never seem to catch up to them. However, I am sending one on ahead now, to a city where they will soon give a show. The fat lady will find it there waiting for her, and she may answer then."

And with this the children had to be content. Getting back home, Flossie and Freddie took out their sleds and went for a coast on a small hill, not far from their home. This was where the smaller children had their fun, leaving the larger hill for the bigger girls and boys.

"Well, after this I think we all need something to cheer us up," said Papa Bobbsey, who came home from the office early that day.

"Oh, have you got something good?" asked Nan, for she saw a queer little twinkle in her father's eyes, and she knew that this generally meant a treat of some kind.

"I have some good news, if you would like to hear it," he said, as he drew a letter from his pocket.

"Is it to tell that some of our friends are coming to see us?" asked Bert.

"Well, yes, I think you will call it a visit from a friend—at least part of it," said Papa Bobbsey. "Now listen. This is a letter from the fat lady in the circus."

"What!" cried Flossie, "—the one who has our cup?"

"The same," said Mr. Bobbsey with a smile. "And she has more than your cup. Listen," and he read the letter.

It was too long to put it all in here, but it went on to say how the fat lady really had the valuable silver cup belonging to the twins.

"They loaned it to me to drink from," she wrote, "and when the train stopped so suddenly, there was so much confusion that I put it in my valise by mistake. I have had it ever since and have been wondering how I could send it back to you. The circus went to Cuba soon after that, and has been traveling around that island ever since. I have only just received your last letter asking me about the cup, or I would have answered before. If you will send me directions how to ship the cup to you I shall be very glad to return it."

"Oh goodie!" cried Freddie. "We'll have our nice cup again!"

"Is that all in the letter, papa?" asked Flossie.

"No, not quite," he said. "I'll read a little more," and he read:

"When our circus was wrecked we lost a valuable trick dog. He could play soldier, say his prayers, turn somersaults, and do a number of tricks. The ringmaster feels very badly about losing him, and has tried to locate him, but without success. If you should hear of anyone near you having such a dog we would be much obliged if you would send him to us as he belongs to the circus."

There was a moment of silence after Mr. Bobbsey read this, and then Freddie said:

"Why that must be Snap—our pet dog! Oh, papa you won't give him back to the circus; will you?"



CHAPTER XXII

SNAP AND SNOOP

ALL of the Bobbsey twins—Nan, Bert, Flossie and Freddie—looked so serious over the prospect of losing Snap that Mr. Bobbsey had to laugh. He just couldn't help it.

"Well, I don't see anything to make fun over," said Nan, with a little pout.

"Why, you all act as though you had lost your best friend—or were going to."

"Well, Snap is one of our best friends, aren't you Snap?" said Freddie.

"Still, if he belongs to the circus I don't see but what I'll have to send him back," went on Mr. Bobbsey, slowly.

At this Flossie burst into tears, and Mrs. Bobbsey, putting her arms about the little girl, said to her husband:

"Are you in earnest Richard? Don't tease the child."

"I'm not, Mary. The fat lady wrote just that. I believe the dog we have does belong to the circus."

"Then we'll have to give him up I suppose," and Mrs. Bobbsey sighed, for she had grown very much attached to the fine animal.

"Well, we won't have to send him back right away," said Mr. Bobbsey. "I will have to get more particulars. But I did not finish the fat lady's letter."

"What! Is there more news in it?" asked Nan.

"Listen," said Mr. Bobbsey, as he went on reading:

"We are sorry about losing our trick dog," the fat lady wrote, "but I picked up a big black cat when I walked out of the train. I brought him to Cuba with me, and I am teaching him tricks. He may be as valuable as our dog was."

"A black cat!" cried Nan.

"It's our Snoop!" shouted Freddie, "yes, that's it! The fat lady has our cat as well as our cup. Oh, papa, make her give back our Snoop!"

Mr. Bobbsey laughed.

"You see how it is," he said. "She has our cat, and we have their dog. We'll have to give up our dog to get our cat."

The Bobbsey twins had not thought of this before. They looked strangely at one another.

"Papa!" cried Freddie, jumping up and down in his excitement, "can't we keep both—the circus dog and our cat? Oh, do please, let us."

"But maybe Snap would fight Snoop," said Flossie. "We wouldn't want that."

Freddie thought for a moment.

"I don't believe he would," he said at last.

"Well," said Papa Bobbsey, after a bit, "I'll see what I can do. I'll write to the fat lady, telling her how to ship your silver cup, and also how to send Snoop. And I'll ask if we can buy Snap. How will that do?"

"Fine!" cried all the Bobbsey twins at once, and they made a rush for Mr. Bobbsey, hugging and kissing him.

The letter was sent to the fat lady, and then came a time of anxious waiting. Never before had the children seemed to care so much for Snap.

One day a letter came, saying that the silver cup had been sent, and also Snoop, the cat.

"But what about Snap, papa?" asked Nan.

"Does she say the circus will sell him?"

"No, the man who owns him is away for a few days. When he comes back he will let me know. But, anyhow, you will have your cup and cat back."

"But we want Snap, too!" said Flossie.

Several more days passed. They lengthened into a week, and still no news came from where the circus was: All the Bobbsey twins could hope was that their cat and cup were on the way, and that the man who owned Snap would consent to sell him.

The twins did not feel much like having fun. There was a warm spell, and all the snow had melted.

One day an express wagon stopped in front of the Bobbsey house.

It was a Saturday, and there was no school, and, as it happened, all four of the twins were in.

"Two boxes for you, Mrs. Bobbsey," said the driver, as he opened his receipt book. "I'll bring them in while you sign."

The man came up the walk with two boxes. One was small, and the other larger, with slats on one end. And from this box came a peculiar noise.

"Listen!" cried Bert.

"It's a cat!" shouted Freddie.

"It's Snoop—our Snoop!" cried Flossie.

Quickly the boxes were carried into the house. Bert got a hammer and screw driver and soon had opened the one containing the black cat. Snap, the dog, walked slowly into the room.

"Oh dear!" cried Flossie as she saw him, "now maybe they'll fight!"

"I'll hold Snap," volunteered Freddie.

"Come on, Snoop! Come out!" cried Bert, as he pried off the last slat.

"Meouw!" cried Snoop, as he came slowly out of the box in which he had ridden from Cuba.

Out walked the black cat. He looked about him strangely for a moment, and then began to purr, and rubbed up against Flossie's legs.

They all looked anxiously at Snap. The dog glanced at the cat, stretched lazily and wagged his tail. Snoop came over to him, and the two animals sniffed at each other, Mrs. Bobbsey holding Snap by the collar. Then, to the surprise of all, Snoop rubbed against the legs of the dog, and, on his part, Snap, wagging his tail in friendly, welcoming fashion, put out his red tongue and licked Snoop's fur.

"He's kissing Snoop! He's kissing Snoop!" cried Freddie.

"Yes, they love each other!" exclaimed Flossie. "They are not going to fight! Oh, how glad I am!" and she danced in delight.

"Oh, if only we can keep Snap now," said Nan, while Mrs. Bobbsey, satisfied that the two animals would be friends, had opened the other express box. It contained the twins' silver cup, so long missing.

Mr. Bobbsey came home soon after that his face was smiling.

"Oh, papa!" Flossie greeted him, "Snoop came, and Snap kissed him!"

"May we keep Snap, papa?" asked Freddie.

"Yes," was Mr. Bobbsey's answer. "I have a letter from the circus man, and he will sell Snap to me. I have already sent the money. And there is another letter from the fat lady, telling about some of the new tricks she taught Snoop, so you can make him do them."

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" cried the Bobbsey twins in firelight, as they looked at their two pets.

"What lots of things have happened since we came back from the seashore," said Nan, little later. "I wonder if the rest of the Winter will be as lively as this first part has been?"

"Maybe," said Bert with a smile.

And whether it was or not you may learn by reading the next volume of this series, to be called: "The Bobbsey Twins at Snow Lodge," in which we will once more hear of the doings of Flossie, Freddie Nan and Bert.

After reading the fat lady's second letter the twins got Snoop to do some of the tricks the cat had learned. He was not as smart at them as Snap was at his, but then cats never do learn to do tricks as well as do dogs.

Still everyone agreed that the fat lady had done her training well. As for Snap, he and Snoop became firmer friends every day, and often the cat went to sleep on Snap's back, or between his forepaws as he lay stretched out in front of the fire.

And the silver cup, which, with Snoop, had gone on such a long journey, was put back in its place on the mantle, to be admired by all.

Now my little story has come to an end, but I hope you children who have read it will care to hear more of the Bobbsey twins and the things they did. So I will say goodbye for a while, trusting to meet you all again.

THE END