Bobbsey Twins 01: The Bobbsey Twins of Lakeport

THE wrecker looked from the cab of his machine. “Did someone call me?” he asked.

Nan, followed by Mr. Tetlow and the other Bobbseys, ran over to the huge machine. “Will you stop for a few minutes, please?” she pleaded. “I think I heard a cat crying.”

“I heard it too!” Freddie agreed excitedly. “Do you think it could be Snoop?”

“There it is again!” Bert exclaimed. “It’s coming from the kitchen!”

The children and the principal ran into the house and back to the kitchen. What a sight met their eyes The logs in the fireplace had tumbled forward and scattered on the floor. The metal plate wall back of it had crashed inward and lay on top of the logs.

Nan dashed over to the opening. As she leaned forward to look in, something jumped onto her shoulder.

Freddie grabbed his pet and hugged him. “I’m so glad we found you!” he cried. “Please don’t go away again!”

“Where do you suppose he was?” Bert said, curious. He pulled out his flashlight, stepped into the fireplace, and gasped.

“That wall we saw was a fake!” he exclaimed. “There’s another one back of it with steps leading to the roof ! Snoop must have climbed to the roof and then was afraid to come back.”

“And went down the chimney steps!” Flossie cried. “She’s a smart kitty.”

“Oh, boy!” Freddie exclaimed. “A mystery stairway You’ve really found something, Bert!”

“That terrific bang on the house by the wreckers did it,” Bert replied.

“I wonder where the steps go?” Nan said. “Maybe to a secret room!”

Mr. Tetlow caught her by the hand. “Not so fast, young lady,” he cautioned. “I think one of the older children should go first.”

“I will,” Nan volunteered. While Bert held the flashlight so that it shone in front of her, Nan crept up a few steps. Suddenly she called out, “There’s a box here!”

In reply Nan carefully backed down the steps, holding a black metal box in her hands. She put it on the floor and they all waited breathlessly while she fumbled with the clasp.

In another minute the box was open. Inside were two small chests—one a velvet jeweler’s case and the other of carved wood with a slide top.

“Open them quick!” Freddie urged, his blue eyes snapping excitedly.

With shaking fingers Nan pressed a little catch on the velvet box. It popped open. Inside lay a pale green cameo carved with a woman’s head. It was surrounded by a row of sparkling diamonds!

“How bee-yoo-ti-ful!” Flossie gasped, taking the brooch from its satin bed and holding it up to the light.

“Let’s see the coins!” Bert urged. He picked up the carved box and slid off the cover. The interior was filled with square-shaped coins embossed with various figures.

“Ah! Obsidional coins!” Mr. Tetlow observed. “They’re very rare.”

The children bent over to examine the silver pieces. One was eight-sided and bore a design of a castle with three towers. Another had an inscription in the middle and a seal in each comer.

“These are really museum pieces!” the principal said, closing the box again.

“They must be Mrs. Marden’s treasures,” Nan said, her brown eyes shining.

“I’ll drive you over,” Mr. Tetlow offered, as excited as the twins.

When they left the old house, the principal told the wreckers they could continue their work. Then he led the Bobbseys to his car. In a short while they parked in front of the Rolling Acres Nursing Home.

Flossie jumped out and ran up the walk, calling, “Mrs. Marden! Mrs. Marden!”

Mrs. Marden came hurrying down the stairs as they entered. “What is it?” the elderly woman inquired anxiously. “Is something wrong?”

“You mean my kitten?” Mrs. Marden asked, noticing the pet that Freddie still clutched in his arms.

“No, your missing presents!” Flossie cried, holding out the metal box.

Mrs. Marden sank into a chair. “You dear children!” she exclaimed. “Where did you find that box?”

Excitedly the twins told the story of the wrecker and hearing the cat cry and the discovery of the treasure in the old fireplace.

“Of course!” the woman cried. “Now I remember! That secret stairway was a favorite hiding place of mine. I knew no burglar would ever think of removing the metal wall I put up when I moved. But,” she continued ruefully, “I forgot that was where I had hidden the box.”

Freddie had been waiting to speak. Now he asked anxiously, “Is Snoop your cat?”

Mrs. Marden pulled the little boy over to her and put her arms around him. “We called him Midnight,” she explained. “The secret stairs were his favorite place for a snooze. Often he would disappear and I would find him there. But now the stairway is going to be destroyed. Will you keep my pet for me?”

Freddie looked relieved and nodded eagerly. Then he asked, “But how did Mr. Ryan get him? He gave Snoop to me!”

“Mr. Ryan?” Mrs. Marden looked puzzled. Then she brightened. “That must be the nice man at the store. I remember now I always thought he looked kind, and when I wanted to find a good home for Midnight I asked him if he would take my cat. I’m glad he gave the kitten to you if you like him.”

Freddie hugged Snoop. “We all love Snoop,” he said earnestly. “He’s a member of our family!”

“You children are wonderful detectives,” Mrs. Marden said. “You found both my treasures and my cat!”

“Snoop found me first!” Freddie said. He told Mrs. Marden about his adventure in the store when he had met Mr. Ryan.

“Midnight is a very smart cat,” she commented, and then thanked all the twins again for recovering the heirlooms.

Mr. Tetlow drove the children home. When they related the day’s adventures to their mother and father, Mrs. Bobbsey remarked proudly, “I told Mrs. Marden you twins were good at solving mysteries!”

The next day the Bobbseys met Nellie and Charlie on the way to school. Nellie ran up to Nan.

“What happened yesterday?” she asked. “I saw you dash into the old house, and then later you all went off with Mr. Tetlow. Charlie and I are dying to hear about it!”

The twins quickly brought their friends up to date on the events of the day before. “Oh, Nan, that’s simply super!” Nellie exclaimed. “Mrs. Marden must have been thrilled!”

“You’re great detectives!” Charlie praised them. Then as the group approached the school he said under his breath, “Look what’s waiting for us!”

Danny Rugg was standing on the steps. “I hear you found your old cat,” he sneered as the Bobbseys came up. “Too bad you didn’t look there sooner instead of going all the way to Maple Street!”

“Sure!” Danny boasted. “I could have had you dumb kids running all over town if I’d wanted to!”

“They’re not so dumb,” Charlie spoke up. “I know someone who thought an old muff was a cat!”

Danny reddened and turned away. Bert called after him, “How did you get into the old house?”

The bully came back, a smug look on his face. “The house is gone now, and I can’t have any more fun scaring you,” he said, “so I guess I might as well tell.”

“No. I was in the yard the day you found that secret door in the cellar. When you left, I figured out a way to open it from the outside. So, after that, I had no trouble getting in whenever I wanted to!”

“You didn’t scare us, so you were wasting your time,” Bert replied.

“By the way,” said Nan, “I wonder how Snoop got into the house.”

This was a mystery none of them could solve. Perhaps it had been through a broken window. “Or he might have run in behind that janitor sometime,” Bert suggested. “Then he was afraid to climb down through the window.”

“When they started knocking down the house, he got scared and called to us!” Freddie guessed.

At this moment the bell rang, and the children went in to their classrooms. Instead of beginning the lessons, the teachers announced that there would be a special assembly.

The auditorium buzzed with questions as the children filed into their seats. They grew quiet when Mr. Tetlow walked to the front of the stage.

“I have an important announcement which I am very happy to make,” he began. “I don’t know whether all of you have heard of the exciting events of yesterday afternoon. Thanks to the efforts of the Bobbsey twins, some very valuable possessions of the former owner of the old house next door were found and returned to her.”

He told the story of the missing heirlooms and the Bobbseys’ search for them.

“Mrs. Marden is very thankful,” he want on, “and as an expression of her gratitude, she has asked me to sell these valuable articles and wishes to donate the proceeds to help buy equipment for our new gymnasium.”

As Mr. Tetlow spoke these last words there was a burst of applause and cheers from the audience. Then as the noise died down, a clear young voice was heard. It was Freddie Bobbsey’s.

“But we didn’t really find the treasure,” he said. “Snoop, our cat, found it!”