“and it must be dreadful to be packed in so. How do they manage to get a drink?”
“They will be watered tonight,” replied the man, and then the Bobbseys had to all hurry to get on the train again, for the locomotive whistle had blown and the bell was ringing.
They found Dinah with her face pressed close to the window pane, enjoying the sights on the platform.
“I specked you was clean gone and left me,” she laughed. “S’pose you saw lots of circuses, Freddie?”
“A whole carful,” he answered, “but, Dinah,” he went on, looking scared, “where’s Snoop?”
The box was gone!
“Right where you left him,” she declared. “I nebber left dis yeah spot, and nobody doan come ter steal de Snoopy kitty cat.”
Dinah was crawling around much excited, looking for the missing box. Bert, Nan, and Flossie, of course, all rummaged about, and even Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey joined in the search. But there was no box to be found.
“Oh, the boys have stoled my cat!” wailed Freddie. “I dust knowed they would!” and he cried outright, for Snoop was a dear companion of the little fellow, and why should he not cry at losing his pet?
“Now wait,” commanded his father, “we must not give up so easily. Perhaps the boys hid him some place.”
“But suah’s you lib I nebber did leab dis yeah seat,” insisted Dinah, which was very true. But how could she watch those boys and keep her face so close to the window? Besides, a train makes lots of noise to hide boys’ pranks.
“Now, we will begin a systematic search,” said Mr. Bobbsey, who had already found out from the conductor and brakeman that they knew nothing about the lost box. “We will look in and under every seat. Then we will go through all the baggage in the hangers” (meaning the overhead wire baskets), “and see if we cannot find Snoop.”
The other passengers were very kind and all helped in the hunt. The old lady who had thrown her hand bag at Downy thought she had seen a boy come in the door at the far end of the car, and go out again quickly, but otherwise no one could give any information that would lead to the discovery of the person or parties who had stolen Snoop.
All kinds of traveling necessities were upset in the search. Some jelly got spilled, some fresh country eggs were cracked, but everybody was good-natured and no one complained.
Yet, after a thorough overhauling of the entire car there was no Snoop to be found!
“He’s gone!” they all admitted, the children falling into tears, while the older people looked troubled.
“They could hardly have stolen him,” Mr. Bobbsey reflected, “and the conductor is sure not one of those boys went in another car, for they all left the train at Ramsley’s.”
“I don’t care!” cried Freddie, aloud, “I’ll just have every one of them arrested when we get to Auntie’s. I knowed they had Snoop in their boxes.”
How Snoop could be “in boxes” and how the boys could be found at Auntie’s were two much mixed points, but no one bothered Freddie about such trifles in his present grief.
“Why doan you call dat kitty cat?” suggested Dinah, for all this time no one had thought of that.
“I couldn’t,” answered Freddie, “’cause he ain’t here to call.” And he went on crying.
“Snoop! Snoop! Snoop Cat!” called Dinah, but there was no familiar “me-ow” to answer her.
“Now, Freddie boy,” she insisted, “if dat cat is alibe he will answer if youse call him, so just you stop a-sniffing and come along. Dere’s a good chile,” and she patted him in her old way. “Come wit Dinah and we will find Snoop.”
With a faint heart the little fellow started to call, beginning at the front door and walking slowly along toward the rear.
“Stoop down now and den,” ordered Dinah, “cause he might be hiding, you know.”
Freddie had reached the rear door and he stopped.
“Now jist gib one more good call” said Dinah, and Freddie did.
“Snoop! Snoop!” he called.
“Me-ow,” came a faint answer.
“Oh, I heard him!” cried Freddie.
“So did I!” declared Dinah.
Instantly all the other Bobbseys were on the scene.
“He’s somewhere down here,” said Dinah. “Call him, Freddie!”
“Snoop! Snoop!” called the boy again.
“Me-ow—me-ow!” came a distant answer.
“In the stove!” declared Bert, jerking open the door of the stove, which, of course, was not used in summer, and bringing out the poor, frightened, little cat.
CHAPTER III
Railroad Tennis
“Oh, poor little Snoop!” whispered Freddie, right into his kitten’s ear. “I’m so glad I got you back again!”
“So are we all,” said a kind lady passenger who had been in the searching party. “You have had quite some trouble for a small boy, with two animals to take care of.”
Everybody seemed pleased that the mischievous boys’ pranks had not hurt the cat, for Snoop was safe enough in the stove, only, of course, it was very dark and close in there, and Snoop thought he surely was deserted by all his good friends. Perhaps he expected Freddie would find him, at any rate he immediately started in to “purr-rr,” in a cat’s way of talking, when Freddie took him in his arms, and fondled him.
“We had better have our lunch now,” suggested Mrs. Bobbsey, “I’m sure the children are hungry.”
“It’s just like a picnic,” remarked Flossie, when Dinah handed around the paper napkins and Mrs. Bobbsey served out the chicken and cold-tongue sandwiches. There were olives and celery too, besides apples and early peaches from Uncle Daniel’s farm.
“Let us look at the timetable, see where we are now, and then see where we will be when we finish,” proposed Bert.
“Oh yes,” said Nan, “let us see how many miles it takes to eat a sandwich.”
Mr. Bobbsey offered one to the conductor, who just came to punch tickets.
“This is not the regular business man’s five-minute lunch, but the five-mile article seems more enjoyable,” said Mr. Bobbsey.
“Easier digested,” agreed the conductor, accepting a sandwich. “You had good chickens out at Meadow Brook,” he went on, complimenting the tasty morsel he was chewing with so much relish.
“Yes, and ducks,” said Freddie, which remark made everybody laugh, for it brought to mind the funny adventure of little white Downy,
