The Bobbsey Twins on Blueberry Island | Page 2

will be something for you to think about, and then maybe you won't lean over and scare Nan," said Bert, smiling.
"Do you want I should land you at your father's lumber dock, or shall I row on down near the house, Bert?" asked a man who was pulling at the oars of the boat. "It won't make any difference to me. I've got lots of time."
"Then, Jack, row us down near the house, if you don't mind," begged Nan. "I want to get these two fat twins ashore as soon as I can; Freddie especially, if he's going to almost fall overboard when I'm not looking."
"I'm not going to fall overboard!" cried the little fat fellow. "Can't I row, Jack?"
"Not now, Freddie. I'm in a hurry," answered the man, one of the workers from Mr. Bobbsey's lumberyard.
"But you told Bert, just now, that you had lots of time," insisted Freddie.
"Well--er--ahem--I haven't time to let you row, Freddie. Maybe I will some other day," and Jack looked at Bert and smiled, while he said to himself: "You've got to get up early in the morning to match a smart chap like him," meaning Freddie, of course.
A short time before, the Bobbsey twins had returned from the city of New York where they had spent a part of the winter. Now it was spring and would soon be summer, and, as the day was a fine, warm one, they had gone on a little picnic, taking their lunch with them and pretending to camp on one of the many islands in the lake. Now they were on their way home.
"Well, here you are, safe on shore!" announced Jack, as the twins called Mr. Henderson, the man whom their father had sent with them to manage the boat.
"Yes, and there goes Freddie--falling overboard!" cried Bert with a laugh, as his little fat brother stumbled over a coil of rope on the dock and tumbled down. "It's a good thing you didn't do that in the boat, little fat fireman."
"I didn't hurt myself, anyhow," said Freddie, as he got up. "Come on, Flossie, let's run home. I'm terrible hungry."
"So'm I," added his sister, who was as fat as he, and just the same size. The two smaller Bobbsey twins started on ahead, while Bert, after seeing that the boat was well tied, followed on more slowly with his sister Nan.
"It was a nice ride we had," Nan said, "wasn't it, Bert?"
"Yes, it's great out on the lake. I wonder if we'll ever go camping as we talked of when we were in New York?"
"Maybe. Let's tease mother to let us!"
"All right. You ask her and I'll ask father. There's one island in the lake where----"
But Bert did not have a chance to finish what he was going to say, for just then Flossie and Freddie, who had hurried on ahead, came running back, surprise showing on their faces.
"Oh, Bert!" cried Freddie. "It's here! It's come!"
"Can we go to see it?" added Flossie. "Oh, I just want to!"
"What's here? What do you want to see? What is it?" asked Bert and Nan together, taking turns at the questions.
"The circus is here!" answered Freddie.
"Circus?" asked Bert in surprise.
"Yep! We saw the wagons!" went on Flossie. "They're all red and yellow, and they've got lookin' glasses all over the sides, and they have rumbly wheels, like thunder, and horses with bells on and--and----"
"You'd better save a little of your breath to eat some of the good things you think Dinah is going to cook for you," said Nan with a laugh, as she put her arms around her small sister. "Now what is it all about?"
"It's a circus!" cried Freddie.
"We saw the wagons going along the street where our house is," added Flossie. "All red and yellow and---- Oh, look!" she suddenly cried. "There they are now!"
She pointed excitedly down the side street, on which the Bobbsey twins then were, toward the main street of Lakeport, where the Bobbsey family lived. Nan and Bert, as well as Flossie and Freddie, saw three or four big wagons, gaily painted red and yellow, and with glittering pieces of looking glass on their sides. The prancing horses drawing the wagons had bells around their necks and a merry, tinkling jingle sounded, making music wherever the horses went.
Bert and Nan gave one look at the wagons, and then they both laughed. Flossie and Freddie glanced up in surprise at their older brother and sister.
"Look what they thought was a circus!" chuckled Bert.
"Isn't it?" asked Flossie. "Isn't that a circus?"
"No, dear," answered Nan. "Don't laugh so much," she said to Bert, as she saw that the two small twins felt hurt. "They do look something like circus wagons."
"They are circus wagons!" declared Freddie. "And pretty soon the elephants will come past. I