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Home Again · The Bobbsey Twins at Cloverbank

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  Chapter twenty two of The Bobbsey Twins at Cloverbank. This is the LibriVox recording.
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  All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to
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  volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. The Bobbsey Twins at Cloverbank by Laura
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  Lee Hope Home again, Poor Flossy Bobbsey seemed to be covered from head to
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  foot with the dough she had mixed to make peached tarts, as she had
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  seen Nan doing. Of course, there may have been a few spots on
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  the little girl that were not covered with the mixture of flour and water,
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  but there were not many. FLOSSI had made her dough very sloppy, as
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  Bert said, and it splattered all about. There was much on the floor,
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  some on the chair, but most of it was on Flossy. Oh,
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  you poor child, What in the world were you trying to do?
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  Cried Nan as she ran across the room to pick up her little siss.
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  I was now I was making tarts, sobbed FLOSSI did I break missus Watson's
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  mixing bowl, Nan, for her eyes were so filled with flour that she
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  could not see out of them. Now, No, the bowl isn't broken,
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  answered Nan kindly, and I'll help you clean up Flossi. Oh,
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  but it is a terrible miss she sighed. Missus Bobbsey and Missus Watson,
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  hearing the crash of Flossi's fall, had run to the kitchen. They could
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  tell at once what had happened, but Flossie thought it best to explain.
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  I was making peached tarts, she said, but I didn't finish. Never
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  mind, soothed her mother. For Fossy had been punished enough. Missus Bobbsey
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  thought you may have some of NaN's tarts, and when Flossie had been washed
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  and a clean dress put on her, she was given one of the first
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  of the tarts from the oven. For NaN's baking turned out wonderfully. While
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  you're getting to be quite a cook, complimented Missus Jo Watson at the table
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  a little later, when NaN's tarts were served. You can put the story
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  of Flossie in her tarts in your composition, Nan suggested. Bert. Yes,
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  I guess I will, was his sister's answer. I hope some more
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  things happen around here before we go home, Nan went on. The more
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  things I have in my composition, the better it will be, and maybe
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  I can win the prize. I'd give someone a good prize if he or
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  she could find my lost glasses, sighed missus Martin. She was still without
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  her spectacles, though she gave up a large part of each day to looking
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  for them. I guess you'll have to wait until your doctor gets back and
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  then have em write you a prescription for a new pair, suggested mister Watson,
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  as he got on the floor to play horse with baby Jenny. I
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  think some one must have taken them, either by mistake or on purpose,
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  said the old lady. I remember perfectly well that I had them the day
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  the cattle ran away. Then I laid them down, and someone must have
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  come in and picked them up. Who would do such a thing as that,
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  asked missus Bobbsey. Well, some of those cattlemen might, Missus Martin,
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  answered, Those were rough fellows, and they might take a notion to
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  my glasses. The frames were of solid gold, But all the men who
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  drove the cattle were young fellows, said mister Watson. None of them wore
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  glasses. Well, I don't know, sighed missus Watson's cousin. I wish
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  I had my glasses That's all I can say. The happy days at Cloverbank
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  were drawing to a close. Mister Bobbsey planned to take his family back home
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  in about a week so the children could resume their studies at school. But
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  first I must get some more things to put in my composition, Nan said,
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  are you going to work on yours? Bert? She asked her brother
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  as she saw him wandering about the house as if searching for something. Are
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  you looking for a pencil and paper? I'm looking for my pole, he
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  said. I'm going fishing with Sam. I have lots of time to write
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  a composition after I get back to Lakeport. Oh, yes, agreed Nan.
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  I'm going to write my composition after I get home, but I want
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  some things to happen here, so I'll have plenty of incidents, as Miss
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  SkELL calls them. In the days that followed, the Bopsey twins had much
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  fun. They went on picnics to the woods and to Buttermilk Glen, but
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  Bert kept away from the pirate's cave. The children played in the barns.
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  They helped feed the chickens and gathered the eggs. Old speck came off her
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  nest beneath the barn with a brood of ten little chickens, and was put
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  in a coop near the house. Flossie and Freddy devoted themselves to this little
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  family, feeding them and giving them water. Every day when another crop of
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  hay was gathered, the twins were allowed to ride on top of the loads
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  as they were brought in from the field. Though Nan did not again try
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  to operate the trolley fork. Twice Bert and Sam went fishing, and once
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  they took Freddy, who, to his great delight, caught a good sized
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  chub, but it dropped off the hook when close to the bank and flapped
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  its way back toward the creek. I'll get you, I'll get you,
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  shouted the little fellow, and he threw himself on the fish so vigorously that
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  he slipped and went into the water himself, but Bert and Sam soon pulled
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  him out. A late crop of peaches was being picked when it was time
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  for the Bobbsey family to return home. Mister Bobbsey had gone to Lakeport to
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  attend some business, but was coming back to drive his family home in the
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  automobile. Only one day more, sighed Nan. One afternoon when word came
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  in a letter that mister Bobbsey would arrive the following morning, and that the
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  twins must be ready to leave. Oh it's so wonderful here. I could
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  stay forever, so could I, Bert said, But at the same time,
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  I'll be glad to get back home and see the fellows. We're going
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  to have a football eleven this season, and maybe I'll be captain, and
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  I suppose I'll be glad to get home after I arrive, said Nan.
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  Anyhow, I want to see if I can win the composition prize, and
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  that reminds me. I want to gather some yellow flowers I saw the other
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  day and didn't know what they were. Miss Scale said we should put in
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  something about the trees and the flowers we saw. So Nan, taking Flossy
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  and Freddy with her, went to gather the blossoms so she could find out
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  their name, while Bert went on a last fishing trip with Sam. Bert
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  came back from his trip with a fine string of fish, which were cooked
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  for the evening meal. Mister Watson said he would miss this treat as he
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  was so busy he seldom had time to go to the creek with hook and
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  line. Early the next morning, all was in readiness for the trip back
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  to Lakeport. The Bobbsey twins, brown as berries from their life out of
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  doors, once again put on their good clothes. Valices were packed and the
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  otto was brought to the door. Have you got room for these, asked
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  mister Watson, pointing to three baskets of choice peaches on the porch. I
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  sorted these out a sp actually for you. They'll stand the journey if you
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  don't jounce them too much over the rough roads. And when you get them
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  home, Nan, you can make some more tarts. Indeed, we'll make
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  room for the peaches, said mister Bobbsey, and very glad we are to
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  have them. If we could take some bees home, we could have some
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  honey too, remarked Freddie. They all laughed at this, and the farmer
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  said, I'm afraid it would be dangerous to carry bees, but in the
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  fall i'll send you some honey. Well, goodbye, folks, called Zeke.
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  I've got to go back to the peach orchard. We're getting in the
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  last load now and I don't want anything to happen to it. The children
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  and their parents said farewell to the kind hired man, and missus Martin called
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  after him if you find my lost glasses anywhere, zeke bring them back with
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  you. I will, he promised, though of course, as she lost
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  them around the house, he would hardly find them in the orchard. Goodbye,
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  good bye bye was called over and over again, baby Jenny waving her
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  little hand to the travelers. Then, with a jolly tooting of the auto
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  horn, the Bobbseys began their homeward journey. There was no delay and no
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  such experiences as had befallen them on their trip to Cloverbank, although there was
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  one detour that made for a short time a little rough going, and that
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  evening they reached their home in Lakeport. Dinah and Sam were at the house
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  waiting to greet them. How's all my honey, lambs, asked the fat
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  cook as she took some of the baggage. Missus Bobbsey handed out. We're
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  all well, thank ye, Dinah said mister Bobbsey. Did you and Sam
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  have a good vacation? Jest fine, answered Sam. A show, did
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  Miss de Chillins murmured Dinah, what all um diss? She asked, as
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  she saw the baskets in the car? Those are some peaches mister Watson gave
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  us, said missus Bobbsey, I'm gonna make peach tarts, added Nan.
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  I think those peaches had better be sorted, observed mister Bobbsey. We went
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  over a bit of rough road and making that detour, and some fruit may
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  be bruised. That's right, agreed his wife. And as mister Watson told
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  us, a few bruised peaches in a basket may spoil the whole lot.
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  We'll turn them out on the table and sort them. This work was begun
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  as soon as the Bobbseys had rested a little while. As the last peaches
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  from one of the baskets rolled out on the table, Nan, looking in
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  the bottom of the container, uttered a cry, darted out her hand and
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  said, look, I've found missus Martin's glasses. Missus Martin's glasses, exclaimed
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  her mother. Where were they in the bottom of that basket covered with the
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  peaches, said Nan. Look. She held out the spectacle case, which,
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  when it was opened, proved to contain the old lady's glasses, not
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  in the least harmed. How did they get there, asked Bert. No
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  one knew, of course, but it was thought that the empty peach basket
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  must have been on the porch at the time of the cattle, Missus Martin
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  must either have dropped or, in her excitement, have put the glasses in
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  the basket. Later it was set out in the shed, no one looking
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  to see if it contained anything. The glasses must have remained in the basket
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  all the while, and even when the peaches were put in to be given
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  to mister Bobbsey, no one saw the spectacle case. The case was about
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  the color of the basket, and of course a spectacle case is not large.
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  But here they are safe. And how glad Missus Martin will be,
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  said Missus Bobbsey. I'll mail them right back to her. This was done,
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  and a grateful letter of thanks came in reply. A few days later,
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  Baby Jenny misses the children, Missus Watson had added in a PostScript to
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  her cousin's missive and we, miss her, said Nan, but I've got
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  something more to put in my composition. I'm going to write about the lost
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  glasses and how they were found in the peaches. School opened about a week
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  later, and after the first few sessions, Miss Skelle brought up the subject
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  of the vacation compositions. She gave the children three days in which to write
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  and hand in their essays, and Nan worked hard. Bert also wrote one,
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  but he spent so little time over it that his mother said he would
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  not stand much chance of winning the prize. At last, the day came
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  when the decision was to be made. There were some anxious hearts among the
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  boys and girls in Miss Skell's class as the teacher faced them, ready to
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  tell who had won the prize. Most of you did very well, said
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  their instructor, much better than I expected. There were some excellent compositions handed
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  in and some very poor and short ones. As she said this, she
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  seemed to look at Bert Bobbsey, But the best of all was Nan Bobbsey's.
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  Went on, Miss SkELL, So I award her the prize, and
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  I am going to ask her to come up here and read her composition to
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  you. I think you will all enjoy it. The name of it is
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  a vacation in the country. Come Nan. Nan blushed but proud and happy.
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  She read her story, and the boys and girls all said it was
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  a most interesting Nan told in an entertaining way about many of the incidents that
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  had taken place at Cloverbank and on the way there and back. Just as
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  they have been told to you here. Now, what books do you want
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  for a prize? Asked miss SkELL, when Nan had finished a set of
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  nice story books for girls. If you please was the answer, and that
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  is what Nan received A little later. She still has those books and thinks
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  them the best in her little library. Well, we certainly had fun at
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  Cloverbank, said Bert to his brother and sisters that afternoon on their way home
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  from school, Nan, hurrying to tell the good news about winning the prize.
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  Lots of fun, she agreed. Wasn't it funny when Freddie and I
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  saw the bear that turned into a calf? Laughed FLOSSI. And wasn't it
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  fun that day when we played outdoors in the rain, asked Freddie. I
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  wonder if we'll ever have fun like that again? Oh? I guess,
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  so, said Bert. Whether the Bobbsey Twins did or not remains to be
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  seen the end end of chapter twenty two. End of The Bobsey Twins at
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  Clover Bank by Laura Lee Hope