CHAPTER II
WHAT THE FARMER TOLD
"Well, where in the world have you children been?"
"Didn't you know we'd be worried about you?"
"Did you get lost again?"
Mother Martin, Grandpa Martin and Grandma Martin took turns asking thesethree questions as Ted and Jan drove up to the farmhouse in the darknessa little later.
"You said you wouldn't stay late," went on Mother Martin, as theCurlytops got out of the goat-wagon.
"We didn't mean to, Mother," said Ted.
"Oh, but we're so scared!" exclaimed Jan, and as Grandma Martin put herarms about the little girl she felt Jan's heart beating faster thanusual.
"Why, what is the matter?" asked the old lady.
"Me wants a wide wif Nicknack!" demanded Baby William, as he stoodbeside his mother in the doorway.
"No, Trouble. Not now," answered Ted. "Nicknack is tired and has to havehis supper. Is there any supper left for us?" he asked eagerly.
"Well, I guess we can find a cold potato, or something like it, for suchtramps as you," laughed Grandpa Martin. "But where on earth have youbeen, and what kept you?"
Then Ted put Nicknack in the barn. But when he came back he and Janbetween them told of having stayed playing later than they meant to.
"Well, you got home only just in time," said Mother Martin as she tookthe children to the dining-room for a late supper. "It's starting torain now."
And so it was, the big drops pelting down and splashing on the windows.
"But what frightened you, Jan?" asked Grandma Martin.
"It was a queer blue light on Star Island."
"A light on Star Island!" exclaimed her grandfather. "Nonsense! Nobodystays on the island after dark unless it's a fisherman or two, and thefish aren't biting well enough now to make anyone stay late to try tocatch them. You must have dreamed it--or made-believe."
"No, we really saw it!" declared Ted. "It was a fliskering blue light."
"Well, if there's any such thing there as a 'fliskering' blue lightwe'll soon find out what it is," said Grandpa Martin.
"How?" asked Ted, his eyes wide open in wonder.
"By going there to see what it is. I'm going to take you two Curlytopsto camp on Star Island, and if there's anything queer there we'll seewhat it is."
"Oh, are we really going to live on Star Island?" gasped Janet.
"Camping out with grandpa! Oh, what fun!" cried Ted. "Do you mean it?"and he looked anxiously at the farmer, fearing there might be some jokeabout it.
"Oh, I really mean it," said Grandpa Martin. "Though I hardly believeyou saw a real light on the island. It must have been a firefly."
"Lightning bugs aren't that color," declared Ted. "It was a blue light,almost like Fourth of July. But tell us about camping, Grandpa!"
"Yes, please do," begged Jan.
And while the children are eating their late supper, and Grandpa Martinis telling them his plans, I will stop just a little while to make mynew readers better acquainted with the Curlytops and their friends.
You have already met Theodore, or Teddy or Ted Martin, and his sisterJanet, or Jan. With their mother, they were spending the long summervacation on Cherry Farm, the country home of Grandpa Martin outside thetown of Elmburg, near Clover Lake. Mr. Richard Martin, or Dick, asGrandpa Martin called him, owned a store in Cresco, where he lived withhis family. Besides Ted and Jan there was Baby William, aged about threeyears. He was called Trouble, for the reason I have told you, thoughMother Martin called him "Dear Trouble" to make up for the fun Ted andJan sometimes poked at him.
Then there was Nora Jones, the maid who helped Mrs. Martin with thecooking and housework. And I must not forget Skyrocket, a dog, norTurnover, a cat. These did not help with the housework--though Isuppose you might say they did, too, in a way, for they ate the scrapsfrom the table and this helped to save work.
In the first book of this series, called "The Curlytops at Cherry Farm,"I had the pleasure of telling you how Jan and Ted, with their father,mother and Nora went to grandpa's place in the country to spend thehappy vacation days. On the farm, which was named after the number ofcherry trees on it, the Curlytops found a stray goat which they wereallowed to keep, and they got a wagon which Nicknack (the name they gavetheir new pet) drew with them in it.
Having the goat made up for having to leave the dog and the cat at home,and Nicknack made lots of good times for Ted and Jan. In the book youmay read of the worry the children carried because Grandpa Martin hadlost money on account of a flood at his farm, and so could not help whenthere was a fair and collection for the Crippled Children's Home.
But, most unexpectedly, the cherries helped when Mr. Sam Sander, thelollypop man, bought them from Grandpa Martin, and found a way of makingthem into candy. And when Ted and Jan and Trouble were lost in thewoods once, the lollypop man----
But I think you would rather read the story for yourself in the otherbook. I will just say that the Curlytops were still at Cherry Farm,though Father Martin had gone away for a little while. And now, havingtold you about the family, I'll go back where I left off, and we'll seewhat is happening.
"Yes," said Grandpa Martin, "I think I will take you Curlytops to campon Star Island. Camping will do you good. You'll learn lots in the woodsthere. And won't it be fun to live in a tent?"
"Oh, won't it though!" cried Ted, and the shine in Jan's eyes and theglow on her red cheeks showed how happy she was.
"But I'd like to know what that blue light was," said the little girl.
"Oh, don't worry about that!" laughed Grandpa Martin. "I'll get thatblue light and hang it in our tent for a lantern."
I think I mentioned that Jan and Ted had such wonderful curling hairthat even strangers, seeing them the first time, called them the"Curlytops." And Ted, who was aged seven years, with his sister just ayear younger (their anniversaries coming on exactly the same day) didnot in the least mind being called this. He and Jan rather liked it.
"Let's don't go to bed yet," said Jan to her brother, as they finishedsupper and went from the dining-room into the sitting-room, where theywere allowed to play and have good times if they did not get too rough.And they did not often do this.
"All right. It _is_ early," Ted agreed. "But what can we do?"
"Let's pretend we have a camp here," went on Jan.
"Where?" asked Ted.
"Right in the sitting-room," answered Jan. "We can make-believe thecouch is a tent, and we can crawl under it and go to sleep."
"I wants to go to sleeps there!" cried Trouble. "I wants to go to sleepsright now!"
"Shall we take him back to mother?" asked Ted, looking at his sister."If he's sleepy now he won't want to play."
"I isn't too sleepy to play," objected Baby William. "I can go to sleepsunder couch if you wants me to," he added.
"Oh, that'll be real cute!" cried Janet. "Come on, Ted, let's do it! Wecan make-believe Trouble is our little dog, or something like that, towatch over our tent, and he can go to sleep----"
"Huh! how's he going to _watch_ if he goes to _sleep_?" Ted demanded.
"Oh, well, he can make-believe go to sleep or make-believe watch, eitherone," explained Janet.
"Yes, I s'pose he could do that," agreed Teddy.
Baby William opened his mouth wide and yawned.
"I guess he'll do some _real_ sleeping," said Janet with a laugh. "Comeon, Trouble, before you get your eyes so tight shut you can't open 'emagain. Come on, we'll play camping!" and she led the way into thesitting room and over toward the big couch at one end.
Many a good time the children had had in this room, and the old couch,pretty well battered and broken now, had been in turn a fort, asteamboat, railroad car, and an automobile. That was according to theparticular make-believe game the children were playing. Now the oldcouch was to be a tent, and Jan and Ted moved some chairs, which wouldbe part of the pretend-camp, up in front of it.
"It'll be a lot of fun when we go camping for real," said Teddy, as
hehelped his sister spread one of Grandma Martin's old shawls over thebacks of some chairs. This was to be a sort of second tent where theycould make-believe cook their meals.
"Yes, we'll have grand fun," agreed Jan. "No, you mustn't go to sleep upthere, Trouble!" she called to the little fellow, for he had crawled upon top of the couch and had stretched himself out as though to take anap.
"Why?" he asked.
"'Cause the tent part is under it," explained his sister. "That's thetop of the tent where you are. You can't go to sleep on _top_ of a tent.You might fall off."
"I can fall off now!" announced Trouble, as he suddenly thought ofsomething. Then he gave a wiggle and rolled off the seat, bumping intoTed, who had stooped down to put a rug under the couch-tent.
"Ouch!" cried Ted. "Look out what you're doing, Trouble! You bumped myhead."
"I--I bumped _my_ head!" exclaimed the little fellow, rubbing histangled hair.
"He didn't mean to," said Janet. "You mustn't roll off that way,Trouble. You might be hurt. Come now, go to sleep under the couch.That's inside the tent you know."
She showed him where Ted had spread the rug, as far back under the couchas he could reach, and this looked to Trouble like a nice place.
"I go to sleeps in there!" he said, and under the couch he crawled,growling and grunting.
"What are you doing that for?" asked Ted, in some surprise.
"I's a bear!" exclaimed Baby William. "I's a bad bear! Burr-r-r-r!" andhe growled again.
"Oh, you mustn't do that!" objected Janet. "We don't want any bears inour camp!"
"Course we can have 'em!" cried Ted. "That'll be fun! We'll play Troubleis a bear 'stead of a dog, and I can hunt him. Only I ought to havesomething for a gun. I know! I'll get grandpa's Sunday cane!" and hestarted for the hall.
"Oh, no. I don't want to play bear and hunting!" objected Janet.
"Why not?"
"'Cause it's too--too--scary at night. Let's play something nice andquiet. Let Trouble be our watch dog, and we can be in camp and he canbark and scare something."
"What'll he scare?" asked Ted.
Meanwhile Baby William was crawling as far back under the couch as hecould, growling away, though whether he was pretending to be a bear, alion or only a dog no one knew but himself.
"What do you want him to scare?" asked Ted of his sister.
"Oh--oh--well, chickens, maybe!" she answered.
"Pooh! Chickens aren't any fun!" cried Ted. "If Trouble is going to be adog let him scare a wild bull, or something like that. Anyhow chickensdon't come to camp."
"Well, neither does wild bulls!" declared Janet.
"Yes, they do!" cried Ted, and it seemed as if there would be so muchtalk that the children would never get to playing anything. "Don't you'member how daddy told us about going camping, and in the night a wildbull almost knocked down the tent."
"Well, that was real, but this is only make-believe," said Janet. "LetTrouble scare the chickens."
"All right," agreed Ted, who was nearly always kind to his sister. "Goon and growl, Trouble. You're a dog and you're going to scare thechickens out of camp."
They waited a minute but Trouble did not growl.
"Why don't you make a noise?" asked Janet.
Trouble gave a grunt.
"What's the matter?" asked Ted.
"I--I can't growl 'cause I'm all stuck under here," answered the voiceof the little fellow, from far under the couch. "I can't wiggle!"
"Oh, dear!" cried Janet.
Teddy stooped and looked beneath the couch.
"He's caught on some of the springs that stick down," he said. "I'llpoke him out."
He caught hold of Trouble's clothes and pulled the little fellow loose.But Trouble cried--perhaps because he was sleepy--and then his mothercame and got him, leaving Teddy and Janet to play by themselves, whichthey did until they, too, began to feel sleepy.
"You'll want to go to bed earlier than this when you go camping, myCurlytops," said Grandpa Martin, as the children came out of thesitting-room.
"Are you really going to take them camping?" asked Mother Martin afterJan and Ted had gone upstairs to bed.
"I really am. There are some tents in the barn. I own part of StarIsland and there's no nicer place to camp. You'll come, too, and so willDick when he comes back from Cresco. We'll take Nora along to do thecooking. Will you come, Mother?" and the Curlytops' grandfather lookedat his gray-haired wife.
"No, I'll stay on Cherry Farm and feed the hired men," she answered witha smile.
"Why do they call it Star Island?" asked Ted's mother.
"Well, once upon a time, a good many years ago," said Grandpa Martin, "ashooting star, or meteor, fell blazing on the island, and that's how itgot its name."
"Maybe it was a part of the star shining that the children sawto-night," said Grandma Martin. "Though I don't see how it could be,for it fell many years ago."
"Maybe," agreed her husband.
None of them knew what a queer part that fallen star was to have in thelives of those who were shortly to go camping on the island.
Early the next morning after breakfast, Ted and Jan went out to the barnto get Nicknack to have a ride.
"Where is you? I wants to come, too!" cried the voice of their littlebrother, as they were putting the harness on their goat.
"Oh, there's Trouble," whispered Ted. "Shall we take him with us, Jan?"
"Yes, this time. We're not going far. Grandma wants us to go to thestore for some baking soda."
"All right, we'll drive down," returned Ted. "Come on, Trouble!" hecalled.
"I's tummin'," answered Baby William. "I's dot a tookie."
"He means cookie," said Jan, laughing.
"I know it," agreed Ted. "I wish he'd bring me one."
"Me too!" exclaimed Janet.
"I's dot a 'ot of tookies," went on Trouble, who did not always talk insuch "baby fashion." When he tried to he could speak very well, but hedid not often try.
"Oh, he's got his whole apron _full_ of cookies!" cried Jan. "Where didyou get them?" she asked, as her little brother came into the barn.
"Drandma given 'em to me, an' she said you was to have some," announcedthe little boy, as he let the cookies slide out of his apron to a boxthat stood near the goat-wagon.
Then Baby William began eating a cookie, and Jan and Ted did also, forthey, too, were hungry, though it was not long after breakfast.
"Goin' to wide?" asked Trouble, his mouth full of cookie.
"Yes, we're going for a ride," answered Jan. "Oh, Ted, get a blanket orsomething to put over our laps. It's awful dusty on the road to-day,even if it did rain last night. It all dried up, I guess."
"All right, I'll get a blanket from grandpa's carriage. And you'd betterget a cushion for Trouble."
"I will," said Janet, and her brother and sister left Baby William alonewith the goat for a minute or two.
When Jan came back with the cushion she went to get another cookie, butthere were none.
"Why Trouble Martin!" she cried, "did you eat them _all_?"
"All what?"
"All the cookies!"
"I did eat one and Nicknack--he did eat the west. He was hungry, he was,and he did eat the west ob 'em. I feeded 'em to him. Nicknack was ahungry goat," said Trouble, smiling.
"I should think he was hungry, to eat up all those cookies! I only hadone!" cried Jan.
"What! Did Nicknack get at the cookies?" cried Ted, coming back with alight lap robe.
"Trouble gave them to him," explained Janet. "Oh dear! I was so hungryfor another!"
"I'll ask grandma for some," promised Ted, and he soon came back withhis hands full of the round, brown molasses cookies.
"Hello, Curlytops, what can I do for you to-day?" asked the storekeepera little later, when the three children had driven up to his front door."Do you want a barrel of sugar put in your wagon or a keg of saltmack'rel? I have both."
"We want baking soda," answered Jan.
"And
you shall have the best I've got. Where are you going--off to lookfor the end of the rainbow and get the pot of gold at the end?" he askedjokingly.
"No, we're not going far to-day," answered Ted.
"Well, stop in when you're passing this way again," called out thestorekeeper as Ted turned Nicknack around for the homeward trip. "I'malways glad to see you."
"Maybe you won't see us now for quite a while," answered Jan proudly.
"No? Why not? You're not going to leave Cherry Farm I hope."
Ted stopped Nicknack that they might better explain.
"We're going camping with grandpa on Star Island."
"Where's that you're going?" asked a farmer who had just come out of thestore after buying some groceries.
"Camping on Star Island in Clover Lake," repeated Ted.
"Huh! I wouldn't go there if I were you," said the farmer, shaking hishead.
"Why not?" asked Ted. "Is it because of the blue light?" and he lookedat his sister to see if she remembered.
"I don't know anything about a blue light," the farmer answered. "But ifI were your grandfather I wouldn't take you there camping," and the managain shook his head.
"Why not?" asked Janet, her eyes opening wide in surprise.
"Well, I'll tell you why," went on the farmer. "I was over on StarIsland fishing the other day, and I saw a couple of tramps, or maybegypsies, there. I didn't like the looks of the men, and that's why Iwouldn't go there camping if I were you or your grandpa," and the farmershook his head again as he unhitched his team of horses.