The day was cold and clear. There had been a little fall of snow during the night, but not enough to spoil the skating, and soon Bert and Nan were on their way to the lake, while Flossie and Freddie, after inspecting all their presents over again, had gone out to play on their sleds.
This gave Dinah and Mrs. Bobbsey time to get ready the big Christmas dinner, with the roast turkey, for Mr. Bobbsey had brought home one of the largest he could find.
While Flossie and Freddie were playing on the hill, a small one near their home, they heard a voice calling to them:
"Want a ride, youngsters?"
Looking up they saw Mr. Carford in his big sled. It was filled with baskets and packages, and the Bobbsey twins guessed rightly that the generous old man was taking around his Christmas contributions to the poor families.
"Yes, we"ll go!" cried Freddie. "What shall we do with our sleds?" asked Flossie.
"Oh, Harry Stone will look after them; won"t you Harry?" asked Freddie, "He can use mine, and his sister Jessie can use yours until we come back, Flossie," and Freddie turned the coasters over to a poor boy and girl who lived near the Bobbsey home. Harry and his sister were delighted, and promised to take good care of the sleds.
"I won"t take you far--only just around town," said Mr. Carford, as the twins got in his sled. "When are you going up to my Snow Lodge?"
"We"re going soon, I guess," answered Flossie. "I heard mamma and papa talking about it yesterday."
"And we"re ever so much obliged to you for letting us have your place,"
said Flossie. "Will you come up and see us while we"re there? I"ve got a doll that can talk."
"And I"m going to take my fire engine along, so if the place gets on fire I can help put it out," exclaimed Freddie. "Will you come up?"
Mr. Carford started. He looked at the children in a strange sort of way, and then stared at the horses.
"No--no--I guess I won"t go to Snow Lodge any more," he said slowly, and Flossie and Freddie were sorry they had asked him, for they remembered the story their father had told them about the sorrow that had come to the aged man.
But the children soon forgot this in the joy of helping in the distribution of the good things in the sled, and the happiness brought to many poor families seemed to make up, in a way, for what Mr. Carford had suffered in the trouble over his nephew.
When all the gifts had been given out from the sled, Mr. Carford drove the two younger Bobbsey twins back to the hill where they again had fun coasting.
Meanwhile Nan and Bert were having a good time on the ice. Nan"s camera was used to take a number of pictures, which the children hoped would turn out well.
While Bert was taking a picture of Nan, Charley Mason came skating up, and Bert, whose best chum he was, insisted that Charley get in the picture also.
"My!" exclaimed Charley, as he saw Nan"s camera, "that"s a fine one!"
"I just got it to-day," said Nan, with a pleased smile. "I"m going to take a lot of pictures up at Snow Lodge."
"Snow Lodge," repeated Charley. "You mean that place Mr. Carford owns?"
"Yes," replied Bert. "He is going to let us all go up there for three weeks or so."
"Say, that"s funny," spoke Charley. "You"ll have some other Lakeport folks near you."
"Who else is going up to Snow Lodge?" asked Nan.
"Well, they"re not exactly going to Snow Lodge," replied Charley, "but I heard a while ago that Danny Rugg and his folks were going up to a winter camp near there. Mr. Rugg has bought a lumber tract in the woods, and he"s going to see about having some of the trees cut. Danny is going, too. So you"ll have him for a neighbor."
"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Nan, in dismay. "That spoils everything!"
"Well, if Danny tries any of his tricks I"ll get after him!" exclaimed Bert, firmly. But he looked anxious over the unwelcome news Charley had brought.
CHAPTER XI
MAKING PLANS
"Are you sure this is so--is Danny Rugg really going up to the woods near Snow Lodge?" asked Bert of Charley, after a pause.
"That"s what Frank Smith told me," replied Charley, "and you know Frank and Danny are great chums."
"That"s so. Well, if Danny doesn"t bother us we won"t make any trouble for him," said Bert. "Still, I"d rather he would go somewhere else."
"If Mr. Rugg is going up to see about having lumber cut," said Nan, "I guess there won"t be much fun for Danny. Maybe he won"t bother us at all."
"He will if he gets a chance," declared her brother. "Danny"s just that kind. But we"ll wait and see."
Bert, Nan and Charley talked for some time longer about the trip to Snow Lodge, and then, as it was getting nearly time for dinner, they skated down the lake toward their homes.
"How are you folks going up to the lodge?" asked Charley, before parting from Bert and Nan.
"Oh, I guess father will take one of his big lumber sleds and drive us all up," replied Bert. "We"ll have to take along lots of things to eat, for it"s a good ways to the store, and we might get snowed in."
"That"s right," said Charley. "But say, why don"t you and Freddie go up in our ice-boat, the _Ice Bird_? It isn"t much of a run to Snow Lodge, on the lake, and it"s good going now."
"I never thought of that!" exclaimed Bert. "I wonder if father would let us?"
"You can ask him," said Nan. "I"d like to skate up, if it wasn"t so far.
But I don"t believe it would be safe to take Freddie on the ice-boat, Bert. He"s so little, and so easily excited that he might tumble out."
"That"s right. And yet it will be no fun to sail it alone. I wish you could go with me, Charley."
"I wish I could, but I don"t see how I can. My folks are going to my grandmother"s for a couple of weeks. Otherwise I"d be glad to go."
"Well, maybe my father will sail in the ice-boat with me," spoke Bert.
"I guess I"ll ask him."
Bert and Nan had much to talk about as they skated on, having bidden Charley good-bye, and their conversation was mostly about the new idea of getting to Snow Lodge on the ice.
"I don"t want to skate alone, any more than you want to go in the ice-boat alone," said Nan. "But maybe mamma and papa will let us invite some of our friends to spend a week or so at Snow Lodge with us. Then it would be all right."
"It surely would," said Bert.
The Christmas dinner at the Bobbsey home was a jolly affair, and while it was being eaten Bert spoke to his father about the ice-boat.