Part 22 (1/2)
”Havin' fun!” was all Trouble said.
”Come here!” cried Mrs. Martin.
”Wait till I sail boat,” and he pushed Ted's toy about in the cove, splas.h.i.+ng more water on himself.
”I guess you'll have to get him,” said Mrs. Martin to Teddy, who half dragged, half led his little brother to sh.o.r.e. Trouble got wetter than ever during this, and his mother had to take him back to the tent to put dry things on him.
”Trouble,” she said, ”you are a bad little boy. I'll have to keep you in camp the rest of the day now. After this you must not go in wading until I say you may. If you had had your bathing suit on it would have been all right. Now you must be punished.”
Trouble cried and struggled, but it was of no use. When Mother Martin said a thing must be done it was done, and Trouble could not play in the water again that day.
Toward the middle of the afternoon, however, as he had been pretty good playing around the tent, he was allowed to roam farther off, though told he must not go near the water.
”You stay with me, Baby,” called Nora. ”I'm going to bake a cake and I'll give you some.”
”Trouble bake a cake, too?” he asked.
”No, Trouble isn't big enough to bake a cake, but you can watch me. I'll get out the flour and sugar and other things, and I'll make a little cake just for you.”
On a table in the cooking tent Nora set out the things she was to use for her baking. There was the bag of flour, some water in a dish and other things. Just as she was about to mix the cake Mrs. Martin called Nora away for a moment.
”Now, Trouble, don't touch anything until I come back!” warned the girl, as she hurried out of the tent. ”I won't be gone a minute.”
But she was gone longer than that. Left alone in the tent, with many things on the table in front of him, Trouble looked at them. He knew he could have lots of fun with some of the pans, cups, the egg beater, the flour, the water and the eggs. A little smile spread over his tanned, chubby face.
”Trouble bake a cake,” he said to himself. ”Nora bake a cake--Trouble bake a cake. Yes!”
First Baby William pulled toward him the bag of flour. He managed to do it without upsetting it, for the bag was a small one. Near it was a bowl of water with a spoon in it. Trouble had seen his mother and Nora bake cakes, and he must have remembered that they mixed the flour and water together. Anyhow that was the way to make mud pies--by mixing sand and water.
Trouble looked for something to mix his cake in. The tins and dishes were so far back on the table that he could not get them easily. He must take something else.
Off his head Trouble pulled his white hat--a new one that grandpa had brought only that day from the village store.
”Make cake in dis,” murmured Baby William to himself.
He pushed a chair up to the table and climbed upon it. From the chair he got on the table and sat down. Then he began to make his cake in his hat.
[Ill.u.s.tration: THEN TROUBLE BEGAN TO MAKE A CAKE IN HIS HAT. _Page 138_]
CHAPTER XII
THE CURLYTOPS GO SWIMMING
”Trouble make a cake--Trouble make a nice cake for Jan an' Ted,”
murmured Baby William to himself. Certainly he thought he was going to do that--make a nice cake--but it did not turn out just that way.
Trouble's hat, being of felt, held water just as a dish or a basin would have done, but the little fellow had to hold it very carefully in his lap between his knees as he sat on the table, or he would have squeezed his hat and the water would have spilled out. But when Trouble really wanted to do anything he could be very careful. And he wanted, very much this time, to make that cake.