The Bobbsey Twins on Blueberry Island

  THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON BLUEBERRY ISLAND

  by

  LAURA LEE HOPE

  Author of "The Bobbsey Twins," "The Bunny Brown Series," "The Outdoor Girls Series," Etc.

  Illustrated

  New YorkGrosset & DunlapPublishersMade in the United States of America

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  BOOKS BY LAURA LEE HOPE

  THE BOBBSEY TWINS SERIES

  THE BOBBSEY TWINS THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON A HOUSEBOAT THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT MEADOW BROOK THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT HOME THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN A GREAT CITY THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON BLUEBERRY ISLAND

  THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES

  BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON GRANDPA'S FARM BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE PLAYING CIRCUS BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CAMP REST-A-WHILE BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE BIG WOODS BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON AN AUTO TOUR

  THE OUTDOOR GIRLS SERIES

  THE OUTDOOR GIRLS OF DEEPDALE THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT RAINBOW LAKE THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A MOTOR CAR THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A WINTER CAMP THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN FLORIDA THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT OCEAN VIEW THE OUTDOOR GIRLS ON PINE ISLAND

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  Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York.Copyright, 1917, byGrosset & Dunlap.

  THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON BLUEBERRY ISLAND

  FREDDIE CAUGHT THE FIRST FISH.

  _The Bobbsey Twins on Blueberry Island._ _Frontispiece_--(_Page 123_)]

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER PAGE

  I. THE GYPSIES 1 II. A SURPRISE 13 III. WORRIED TWINS 26 IV. THE GOAT 36 V. A BUMPY RIDE 47 VI. JOLLY NEWS 59 VII. "WHERE IS SNAP?" 68 VIII. OFF TO CAMP 78 IX. A NIGHT SCARE 90 X. THE "GO-AROUND" BUGS 103 XI. THE BLUEBERRY BOY 112 XII. THE DRIFTING BOAT 126 XIII. IN THE CAVE 137 XIV. HELEN'S VISIT 147 XV. THE DOLL'S DRESS 161 XVI. SNOOP IS MISSING 170 XVII. FREDDIE IS CAUGHT 179 XVIII. FLOSSIE IS TANGLED 191 XIX. THE TWINS FALL DOWN 202 XX. THE QUEER NOISE 213 XXI. "HERE COMES SNAP!" 221 XXII. HAPPY DAYS 231

  THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON BLUEBERRY ISLAND

  CHAPTER I

  THE GYPSIES

  "Oh, dear! I wish we weren't going home!"

  "So do I! Can't we stay out a little while longer?"

  "Why, Flossie and Freddie Bobbsey!" cried Nan, the older sister of thetwo small twins who had spoken. "A few minutes ago you were in a hurryto get home."

  "Yes; they said they were so hungry they couldn't wait to see what Dinahwas going to have for supper," said Bert Bobbsey. "How about that,Freddie?"

  "Well, I'm hungry yet," said the little boy, who was sitting beside hissister Flossie in a boat that was being rowed over the blue waters ofLake Metoka. "I am hungry, and I want some of Dinah's pie, but I'd liketo stay out longer."

  "So would I," added Flossie. "It's so nice on the lake, and maybeto-morrow it will rain."

  "Well, what if it does?" asked Nan. "You didn't expect to come out onthe lake again to-morrow, did you?"

  "Maybe," answered Flossie, as she smoothed out the dress of a doll shewas holding in her lap.

  "I'd like to come out on the lake and have a picnic every day," saidFreddie, leaning over the edge of the boat to see if a small ship, towhich he had fastened a string, was being pulled safely along.

  "Don't do that!" cried Nan quickly. "Do you want to fall in?"

  "No," answered Freddie slowly, as though he had been thinking thatperhaps a wetting in the lake might not be so bad after all. "No, Idon't want to fall in now, 'cause whenever I go in swimming I getterrible hungry, and I don't want to be any hungrier than I am now."

  "Oh, so that's the only reason, is it?" asked Bert with a laugh. "Well,just keep inside the boat until we get on shore, and then you can fallout if you want to."

  "How am I going to fall out when the boat's on shore?" asked Freddie."Boats can't go on land anyhow, Bert Bobbsey!"

  "That will be something for you to think about, and then maybe you won'tlean over and scare Nan," said Bert, smiling.

  "Do you want I should land you at your father's lumber dock, or shall Irow on down near the house, Bert?" asked a man who was pulling at theoars of the boat. "It won't make any difference to me. I've got lots oftime."

  "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; Freddieespecially, if he's going to almost fall overboard when I'm notlooking."

  "I'm not going to fall overboard!" cried the little fat fellow. "Can't Irow, Jack?"

  "Not now, Freddie. I'm in a hurry," answered the man, one of the workersfrom Mr. Bobbsey's lumberyard.

  "But you told Bert, just now, that you had lots of time," insistedFreddie.

  "Well--er--ahem--I haven't time to let you row, Freddie. Maybe I willsome other day," and Jack looked at Bert and smiled, while he said tohimself: "You've got to get up early in the morning to match a smartchap like him," meaning Freddie, of course.

  A short time before, the Bobbsey twins had returned from the city of NewYork where they had spent a part of the winter. Now it was spring andwould soon be summer, and, as the day was a fine, warm one, they hadgone on a little picnic, taking their lunch with them and pretending tocamp on one of the many islands in the lake. Now they were on their wayhome.

  "Well, here you are, safe on shore!" announced Jack, as the twins calledMr. Henderson, the man whom their father had sent with them to managethe boat.

  "Yes, and there goes Freddie--falling overboard!" cried Bert with alaugh, as his little fat brother stumbled over a coil of rope on thedock and tumbled down. "It's a good thing you didn't do that in theboat, 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 samesize. The two smaller Bobbsey twins started on ahead, while Bert, afterseeing that the boat was well tied, followed on more slowly with hissister 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 aswe 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 thelake where----"

  But Bert did not have a chance to finish what he was going to say, forjust then Flossie and Freddie, who had hurried on ahead, came runningback, 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 Nantogether, taking turns at the questions.

  "The circus is here!" answered Fredd
ie.

  "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 rumblywheels, like thunder, and horses with bells on and--and----"

  "You'd better save a little of your breath to eat some of the goodthings 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," addedFlossie. "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 twinsthen were, toward the main street of Lakeport, where the Bobbsey familylived. Nan and Bert, as well as Flossie and Freddie, saw three or fourbig wagons, gaily painted red and yellow, and with glittering pieces oflooking glass on their sides. The prancing horses drawing the wagons hadbells around their necks and a merry, tinkling jingle sounded, makingmusic 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 andsister.

  "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, asshe saw that the two small twins felt hurt. "They do look something likecircus wagons."

  "They _are_ circus wagons!" declared Freddie. "And pretty soon theelephants will come past. I like elephants."

  "You won't see any elephants to-day," said Bert. "That isn't a circusprocession."

  "What is it?" Flossie demanded.

  "Those are gypsy wagons," explained Nan. "Gypsies, you know, are thosequeer people, who are dark-skinned. They wear rings in their ears andlive in wagons like those. They ride all over the country and tellfortunes. I wanted to have my fortune told by a gypsy once, but motherwouldn't let me," she added.

  "It's silly!" declared Bert. "Just as if a gypsy could tell you what'sgoing to happen!"

  "Well, Lillie Kent had hers told," went on Nan, "and the gypsy looked ather hand and said she was going to have trouble, and she did."

  "What?" asked Flossie eagerly.

  "She lost a nickel a week after that--a nickel she was going to buy alead pencil with."

  "Pooh!" laughed Bert, "she'd have lost the nickel anyhow. But say, thereare lots of gypsies in this band! I've counted five wagons so far."

  "Maybe they're going to have a circus," insisted Freddie, who did notlike to give up the idea of seeing a show.

  "Course they're going to have a circus," said Flossie. "Look at all thehorses," for behind the last two wagons were trotting a number ofhorses, being led along by men seated in the ends of the bright-coloredwagons. The men had straps which were fastened to the heads of theanimals.

  "No; gypsies don't give shows. They buy and sell horses," said Bert."I've seen 'em here in Lakeport before, but not so many as this. I guessthey're going to make a camp somewhere on Lake Metoka."

  "Maybe we'll see 'em when we go camping," said Freddie.

  "It isn't yet sure that we're going," returned Nan. "But, come on. Thereare no more gypsy wagons to see, and we must get home."

  Flossie and Freddie, somewhat disappointed that, after all, it was not acircus procession they had seen, started off again. They wished theycould have seen more of the gypsies, but the gay wagons rumbled on outof sight, though this was not the last the Bobbsey twins were to see ofthem. In fact, they were to meet the gypsies again, and to have quite anadventure with them before the summer was over.

  "Well, we had a good time, anyhow," said Freddie to Flossie. "And we_almost_ saw a circus, didn't we?"

  "Yep," answered his sister. "I'm going to be a gypsy when I grow up."

  "Why?" asked Freddie.

  "'Cause they've got so many looking glasses on their wagons."

  "I'm going to be a gypsy, too," decided Freddie, after thinking it overa bit. "'Cause they've got so many horses. I'm going to ride horseback,and you can ride in one of the wagons, Flossie."

  "No. I'm going to ride horseback, too," declared the little girl. "I'mgoing to have a spangly thing in my hair and wear a dress all glitteryand stand on the horse's back and ride----"

  "Gypsies don't do that," protested Bert. "It's the people in circusesthat ride standing up."

  "Gypsies do too," declared Freddie, not knowing a thing about it butfeeling he must back up anything Flossie said.

  "No, they don't, either."

  "Well, maybe they have gypsies in a circus. They have Indians, youknow."

  "I don't believe they do," put in Nan. "Gypsies wouldn't like to be in atent and work every afternoon and every evening. They want to live intheir wagons and be more out of doors."

  "Well, maybe we'll be gypsies and maybe we'll be in a circus," saidFreddie. "We'll see, won't we, Flossie?"

  "Yep."

  By this time the Bobbsey twins had reached their house, or rather, theyhad turned the corner of the street leading out from the lake, and werein sight of their home. What they saw caused Bert, Nan, Flossie andFreddie to set out on a run. In front of their house was a crowd ofpeople. There were men, women and children, and among them the twinscould see their mother, fat Dinah, the cook, and Sam Johnson, herhusband, who attended to the Bobbsey furnace in winter and the lawn insummer.

  "What's the matter?" asked Nan.

  "Something has happened!" cried Bert.

  "The house is on fire!" shouted Freddie. "I must get my fire engine thatsquirts real water!" and he raced on ahead.

  "Wait a minute!" called Bert.

  The Bobbsey twins saw their mother coming quickly toward them. She heldout her arms and cried:

  "Oh, I'm so glad you're safe!"

  "Why, what's the matter?" asked Flossie.

  "I can't just say," answered her mother; "but Helen Porter can't befound. Her mother has looked everywhere for her, but can't find her."

  "She's been carried off by the gypsies!" exclaimed John Marsh, anexcited boy about Bert's age. "The gypsies took her! I saw 'em!"

  "You did?" asked Bert.

  "Sure I did! A man! Dark, with a red sash on, and gold rings in hisears! He picked Helen up in his arms and went off with her! She's in oneof the gypsy wagons now!"

  When John told this Flossie and Freddie huddled closer to their mother.