"That"s it," declared Uncle Daniel, "and each time we scared him off he came back again to finish his meal. But I guess he is through now," and so saying he took the dead rodent and raising the side window tossed him out.
It was some time before everybody got quieted down again, but finally the rat scare was over and the Bobbseys turned to dreams of the happy summer-time they were enjoying.
When Uncle Dan came up from the postoffice the next morning he brought a note from the fresh-air camp.
"Sandy has to go back!" Nan whispered to Bert. "His own father in the city has sent for him, but mamma says not to say anything to Sandy or Freddie--they might worry. Aunt Sarah will drive over and bring Sandy, then they can fix it. I"m so sorry he has to go away."
"So am I," answered Nan"s twin. "I don"t see why they can"t let the little fellow alone when he is happy with us."
"But it"s his own father, you know, and something about a rich aunt.
Maybe she is going to adopt Sandy."
"We ought to adopt him; he"s all right with us," Bert grumbled. "What did his rich aunt let him cry his eyes out for if she cared anything for him?"
"Maybe she didn"t know about him then," Nan considered. "I"m sure everybody would have to love Sandy."
At that Sandy ran along the path with Freddie. He looked like a live b.u.t.tercup, so fresh and bright, his sunny sandy curls blowing in the soft breeze. Mrs. Bobbsey had just called the children to her.
"We are going over to see Mrs. Manily today, Sandy," she said. "Won"t you be awfully glad to see your own dear Mamma Manily again?"
"Yep," he faltered, getting a better hold on Freddie"s hand, "but I want to come back here," he finished.
Poor darling! So many changes of home in his life had made him fear another.
"Oh, I am sure you will come to see us again," Mrs. Bobbsey declared.
"Maybe you can come to Lakeport when we go home in the fall."
"No, I"m comin" back here," he insisted, "to see Freddie, and auntie, and uncle, and all of them."
"Well, we must get ready now," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "John has gone to bring the wagon."
Freddie insisted upon going to the camp with Sandy, "to make sure he would come down again," he said.
It was only the happiness of seeing Mamma Manily once more that kept Sandy from crying when they told him he was to go on a great big fast train to see his own papa.
"You see," Mrs. Manily explained to Mrs. Bobbsey, "a wealthy aunt of Edward"s expects to adopt him, so we will have to give him up, I am afraid."
"I hope you can keep track of him," answered Mrs. Bobbsey, "for we are all so attached to him. I think we would have applied to the Aid Society to let him share our home if the other claim had not come first and taken him from us."
Then Freddie kissed Sandy good-bye. It was not the kind of a caress that girls give, but the two little fellows said good-bye, kissed each other very quickly, then looked down at the ground in a brave effort not to cry.
Mrs. Bobbsey gave Sandy a real mother"s love kiss, and he said:
"Oh, I"m comin" beck--to-morrow. I won"t stay in the city. I"ll just run away and come back."
So Sandy was gone to another home, and we hope he will grow to be as fine a boy as he has been a loving child.
"How lonely it seems," said Nan that afternoon. "Sandy was so jolly."
Freddie followed John all over the place, and could not find anything worth doing. Even Dinah sniffed a little when she fed the kittens and didn"t have "dat little b.u.t.tercup around to tease dem."
"Well," said Uncle Daniel next day, "we are going to have a very poor crop of apples this year, so I think we had better have some cider made from the early fruit. Harry and Bert, you can help John if you like, and take a load of apples to the cider mill to-day to be ground."
The boys willingly agreed to help John, for they liked that sort of work, especially Bert, to whom it was new.
"We"ll take the red astrachans and sheepnoses to-day," John said.
"Those trees over there are loaded, you see. Then there are the orange apples in the next row; they make good cider."
The early apples were very plentiful, and it took scarcely any time to make up a load and start off for the cider mill.
"Old Bennett who runs the mill is a queer chap," Harry told Bert going over; "he"s a soldier, and he"ll be sure to quiz you on history."
"I like old soldiers," Bert declared; "if they do talk a lot, they"ve got a lot to talk about."
John said that was true, and he agreed that old Ben Bennett was an interesting talker.
"Here we are," said Harry, as they pulled up before a kind of barn. Old Ben sat outside on his wooden bench.
"h.e.l.lo, Ben," they called out together, "we"re bringing you work early this year."
"So much the better," said the old soldier; "There"s nothing like work to keep a fellow young."
"Well, you see," went on John, "we can"t count on any late apples this year, so, as we must have cider, we thought that we had better make hay while the sun shines."
"How much have you got there?" asked Ben, looking over the load.
"About a barrel, I guess," answered John "Could you run them through for us this morning?"
"Certainly, certainly!" replied the others. "Just haul them on, and we"ll set to work as quick as we did that morning at Harper"s Ferry.
Who is this lad?" he asked, indicating Bert.
"My cousin from the city," said Harry, "Bert"s his name."
"Glad to see you, Bert, glad to see you!" and the old soldier shook hands warmly. "When they call you out, son, just tell them you knew Ben Bennett of the Sixth Ma.s.sachusetts. And they"ll give you a good gun,"
and he clapped Bert on the back as if he actually saw a war coming down the hill back of the cider mill.
It did not take long to unload the apples and get them inside.
"We"ll feed them in the hopper," said John, "if you just get the sacks out, Ben."
"All right, all right, my lad; you can fire the first volley if you"ve a mind to," and Ben opened up the big cask that held the apples to be chopped. When a few bushels had been filled in by the boys John began to grind. He turned the big stick round and round, and this in turn set the wheel in motion that held the knives that chopped the apples.
"Where does the cider come from?" asked Bert, much interested.
"We haven"t come to that yet," Harry replied; "they have to go through this hopper first."
"Fine juicy apples," remarked Ben. "Don"t know but it"s just as well to make cider now when you have a crop like this."