"We thought we"d come in and get you two Curlytops and take you out to see Jim and the cow," added Uncle Frank.
"It isn"t snowing quite as hard as it was, and it isn"t quite so cold.
We thought it might do the children good, for they"ve been cooped up all day," the children"s father explained to his wife.
"So they have, but they haven"t fretted much, except Trouble, and he didn"t know any better. All right, take them out and then come in. We"ll have an early supper. I do hope the storm will be over by to-morrow."
"I think it surely will," her husband said.
Teddy and Janet were soon warmly bundled up and were taken out of doors by their father and uncle. The keen wind cut their faces and the snowflakes blew in their eyes, but they liked it.
Through the snow tunnel they were carried to the barn door, which was open. It opened right into the snow tunnel, and inside was a lantern, for the barn was dark, being more than half covered with snow and there being only one or two windows in it.
Jim, the horse, whinnied when he heard his friends come in, and the cow mooed.
"They"re glad to see us," said Janet.
"Yes, I guess they are," laughed her father. "I"m going to milk the cow.
Then we"ll shake down some hay for her and Jim, and give them more water, too. I"m glad the pump wasn"t frozen."
So while Daddy Martin milked the cow, Uncle Frank tossed down hay from the mow upstairs in the barn and pumped some water.
"And now can"t we get Nicknack?" asked Teddy, when a foaming pail of milk was ready to be carried to the house.
"Yes, I think so," answered his father.
"I called to him but he didn"t answer," said Janet.
"I"ll soon dig a way to Nicknack"s place," said Uncle Frank, and he started at a point where the tunnel ran to the barn door. It did not take him long, with the big shovel, to clear a place so that the door to Nicknack"s stable was free, for the drifts were not so deep on this side of the barn.
"Now for the goat!" cried Daddy Martin. "Stand back, Curlytops, and let Uncle Frank go first."
Uncle Frank, holding the lantern over his head, entered the goat"s stable. He stood still for a few seconds.
"Is he all right?" asked Teddy anxiously.
"Well, I can"t see him at all," Uncle Frank answered.
"You can"t see him?" echoed Mr. Martin.
"No, Nicknack isn"t here. He"s gone!"
CHAPTER XIX
WHAT NICKNACK BROUGHT
Teddy and Janet were so surprised they did not know what to say. They just stood and looked at one another in the light of the lantern their father held after having milked the cow. Uncle Frank was in Nicknack"s little stable with another lantern.
"Are you sure he isn"t there?" asked Mr. Martin, for well he knew how sorry the Curlytops would feel if anything happened to their goat.
"There isn"t a sign of him," answered Uncle Frank. "You can come and look for yourselves."
"Maybe he"s lying down asleep," suggested Teddy.
"I"ve looked all over," said Uncle Frank.
Teddy darted out of the barn, followed by Janet.
"Here! Come back!" cried their father. "You may get lost in the storm.
It"s snowing and the wind is blowing and it"s hard to see where you"re going, especially after dark."
"We want to see where Nicknack is," pleaded Teddy.
"Wait, and I"ll go with you," his father remarked. "Perhaps he has burrowed down under the hay or straw to keep warm."
But when all four of them stood in front of Nicknack"s little stable, which was too small for more than two to get in at a time, the Curlytops saw that their pet was not there. Uncle Frank flashed the lantern up high and down low, but no goat was to be seen.
"Where can he be?" asked Teddy, anxiously.
"Was the door fastened?" Daddy Martin inquired.
"Yes, it was shut and the catch was on. I had to take it off to get in,"
replied Uncle Frank. "Nicknack couldn"t have gotten out that way."
"And there is only one door," went on Mr. Martin. "Did you look to see if any boards were loose on the sides of the stable, Uncle Frank?"
"No, I didn"t, but I will."
With his lantern Uncle Frank began looking around the goat"s stable, pushing against the boards, on the outside of which the snow was piled.
Finally Uncle Frank gave a shout.
"What is it?" cried Teddy. "Have you found Nicknack?"
"No, but I"ve found the place where he got out. Look!"
Holding the lantern so all could see, Uncle Frank showed where a large board had been knocked loose. It swung to one side and showed a hole in the snow outside.
"Is he in there?" asked Jan, as she saw the hole. It was like the tunnel her father and Uncle Frank had dug, but smaller.
"I don"t know whether he"s there or not," answered Uncle Frank. "I"ll have a look, though."
He pulled the board loose. It hung by one nail only. Then, stooping down so he could look into the hole, which seemed to have been dug in the snow outside, and flashing his lantern into it, Uncle Frank called:
"Here, Nicknack! Are you there? Come here!"
There was no answer, the only sound being the howl of the wind and the swish of the snowflakes in the storm.