Part 14 (1/2)
This was a pleasant task to Nan and Flossie, who both always loved to play at housekeeping, and when at last Nan brought the dish in to the dinner table everybody said how pretty it looked.
”Them's my redishes!” exclaimed Freddie, as he saw the pretty bright red b.u.t.tons peeping out from between the lettuce leaves.
”But we can all have some, can't we, Freddie?” his father asked.
”Yes, 'course you can. But I don't want all my good redishes smothered in that big dish of green stuff,” he pouted.
”Now, Nan, you can serve your vegetables,” Aunt Sarah said, and then Nan very neatly put a few crisp lettuce leaves on each small plate, and at the side she placed a few of Freddie's radishes, ”with handles on”
as Dinah said, meaning the little green stalks.
”Just think, we've done it all from the garden to the table!” Nan exclaimed, justly proud of her success at gardening.
”I done the radishes,” put in Freddie, gulping down a drink of water to wash the bite off his tongue, for his radishes were quite hot.
”Well, you have certainly all done very nicely,” Mrs. Bobbsey said.
”And that kind of play is like going to school, for it teaches you important lessons in nature.”
The girls declared they were going to keep a garden all summer, and so they did.
It was an unusually warm night, and so nearly all the doors were left open when the folks went to bed. Freddie was so worked up over his success as a gardener he could not go to sleep.
At last he dozed off, but presently he awoke with a start. What was that strange sound ringing in his ears? He sat up and listened.
Yes, somebody must surely be playing the piano. But what funny music!
It seemed to come in funny runs and curious thumps. He called out sharply, and his mother came at once to his side.
”I heard piano-playing,” said Freddie, and Mrs. Bobbsey started, for she remembered how Flossie had once told her the same thing.
”Oh, Freddie, are you sure?” she asked.
”Sure,” repeated the little fellow. ”But it wasn't very good playing.”
Mrs. Bobbsey called Uncle Daniel, and the latter lit a lamp and went below into the parlor. n.o.body was at the piano or in the room.
”I've made a careful examination,” he said, on coming back. ”I can see nothing unusual. Some of the children left a piece of cake on the keys of the piano, that's all.”
”Well, cake can't play,” put in Freddie. ”Maybe it was a ghost.”
”No, you must have been dreaming,” said his mother. ”Come, go to sleep,” and presently Freddie dropped off. Mrs. Bobbsey was much worried, and the next day the older folks talked the matter over; but nothing came of it.
CHAPTER XII
TOM'S RUNAWAY
”Tom Mason is going to bring his colt out this afternoon,” said Harry to Bert, ”and we can all take turns trying him.”
”Oh, is it that pretty little brown horse I saw in the field back of Tom's home?” asked Bert.