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April 7, 2025 15 mins
Caught in a blizzard and swept into unexpected adventures, the Bobbsey Twins face cold weather and warm-hearted lessons at Cedar Camp. Discover hundreds of ad-free audiobooks, soothing sounds for sleep and meditation, and more—unwind and learn at www.adfreebooks.com!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read by
Joe C. Cook. Wild Cat Bert Bobbsey started off bravely
enough from the cabin of Missus Bemby to go for
help for the old woman, so that food might be
taken to her bare cupboard. And I'll have Daddy bring

(00:22):
a sledge or something so Nan can ride home to
camp on it, thought Bert, as he trudged along through
the snow. It's hard walking. I wish I had a
pair of snow shoes. He had started away from the
lonely cabin as I told you two chapters back. With him.
He took a little package of lunch, not very much,

(00:43):
for he had felt sure he would soon reach Cedar
camp by following the line of the brook. Nor was
there much to be got from miss Bimby's bear cupboard,
even though much snow had fallen. Bert hoped the bed
of the brook could be made out whence he came
to it. It lay some distance from the cabin, he thought.

(01:03):
The Bobbsey twin boy turned after trudging a little way
from the cabin, and waved his hands at Missus Bemby
and Nan, who stood near a window watching him. Your
brother's a brave little chap, said Missus Bimby. I do
hope he finds help and brings it back to us.
I hope so, too, specially something for you to eat,

(01:25):
said Nan. Oh well, we've a little of the rabbit
left yet, said the old woman. But my tea is
most gone, and I need it strong on account of
my nerves. If it wasn't for my rheumatis, I'd put
on my things and go with Bert, and i'd take
you along. Though I fear it's going to snow more,
I hope it doesn't before Bert gets back to camp,

(01:47):
Nan said, I shouldn't want him lost all alone, nor
I deary, crooned Missus Bimby. But he's a brave lad,
and I trust he'll get along all right. Though it
has been a bad storm, a storm, she muttered, She
put more wood on the fire, for though the wind
had gone down a little and the snow was not
falling so rapidly, it was still cold. But the blazing

(02:10):
wood threw out a grateful heat, and Nan and Missus
Bimby sat about the stove waiting for the help that
Bert was to send. Bert felt a little lonely as
he plunged into the woods and lost sight of the cabin.
Though it was daylight and the woods were not dark
because of the white snow, still Bert felt a little lonesome.

(02:31):
He wished Nan had come with him, but I guess
a girl couldn't get along, he said to himself as
he plunged through drift after drift. Indeed, it was hard
work for Bert sturdy as he was to wait along,
especially as he had no boots, not having expected a
storm when he and Nan started after chestnuts. Now let

(02:52):
me see Bert Bobbsey talking to himself half aloud to
make his trip seem less lonesome. The first thing I
want to do is to find a brook. I can
follow that back to camp. I'm pretty sure. But it's
a good way from here, I guess, he remembered, having
seen the brook just before he and Nan reached the
first chestnut grove, where they found the squirrels and chipmunks

(03:15):
had taken most of the supply, making the children go
farther on, and then the Bobbsey twins had rather lost
sight of the stream of water. Bert knew it might
be almost hidden from sight under overhang banks of snow,
but he knew if he could come upon the water course,
it would be the surest thing to know to get
back to camp. Sure. As he trudged along into and

(03:38):
out of drifts, he looked eagerly about for a sign
of the brook, which, as it went on, widened and
ran into the mill pond. Near Cedar Camp. Bert was
all by himself in the snowy woods. The cabin where
his sister and missus Binby waited for him to bring help,
was lost to sight amid the trees. For the first
time since leaving Cedar Camp, Bert began to feel lonesome

(04:00):
and afraid. Bert was all by himself in the snowy woods.
It was so still and quiet in the woods, not
a sound. No birds fluttered through the trees or called aloud.
The birds that had not flown south were doubtless keeping
under shelter until they dared venture out to look for food,
which some of them would never find. There isn't even

(04:22):
a crow, said Bert aloud, and his voice in that
white stillness almost startled him by his loudness. He reached
the top of the little hill, where there was not
quite so much snow, the wind having blown it off,
and there Bert stopped for a moment, looking about. It
was a lonesome and dreary scene that lay before him,

(04:42):
not a house in sight, only a stretch of snow
and trees, and the wind howled mournfully through the bare
leafless branches. Well there's no use standing here, murmured Bert
to himself. I've got to travel on and bring help
to Nan and the old lady. I'm glad Nan has
some shell anyhow, and I suppose Mother will be worrying

(05:02):
about us. But we couldn't help it. Nobody would guess
a storm would come up so quickly. Throwing back his
shoulders as he had seen men do when they had
some hard task before them, Bert started off again. Through
the snow. He trudged, tossing the white flakes aside with
his small but sturdy legs. All at once, on the
white expanse in front of him, Bert saw a movement.

(05:25):
At first, he thought it was just some loose snow
blown about by the wind, which came in fitful gusts.
But as he looked a second time, he saw that
it was not the wind. It's some animal, exclaimed the boy,
speaking aloud, for he wanted company, and like the men,
of desert wilderness. He fell naturally into the habit of
talking to himself. It's some animal. Having said this, Bert

(05:49):
came to a stop, for he knew there might be
many sorts of animals in the woods. I wonder what
it is, he whispered somehow or other. Whisper seemed more
the sort of voice to use in that lonesome place.
A moment later he saw a patch of brown and
two big eyes appeared to be thrust out of a
hole in the snow. A rabbit a bunny, cried Bert,

(06:13):
and he did not whisper this time. As he shouted.
Bert sprang forward through the snow and toward the brown
rabbit that had so unexpectedly appeared. Whether it was the
boy's shout or his quick movement or both was not certain,
but the rabbit was frightened and dashed away over the snow,
sometimes sinking down almost out of sight, and again, by

(06:33):
some means keeping on the surface of the snow, which
was patched harder in some places than any other. If
I could only get to you, gasped Bert, for his
speed through the snow was making him pant and his
breath come short. I'll get you and take you back
to Nan and Missus Benby. They won't have enough to
eat unless I do, maybe, for it may take a
long time for me to get back to camp. Bert

(06:55):
had no weapon. He could not even pick up a stone,
for they were all covered from sight by the mass
of white snow. But the boy had an idea that
he could catch the rabbit alive. Bert was not a
cruel boy, and under circumstances he never would have dreamed
of trying to hurt or catch a bunny. But now
he felt that the lives of his sister and Missus

(07:16):
Bemby might depend on this game. I'll get you, I'll
run you down, mothered Bert. Now, a rabbit is a
very fast moving animal. Out west. There's a kind called
jack rabbits, and they can go faster than the average dog.
Only a greyhound or other long legged dog can beat
a jack rabbit running. But this bunny was not a

(07:37):
jack rabbit, being the common wild rabbit of the woods
and fields. Still, it could go faster than could Bert,
and in the snow at that every now and again
Bert would get so near the bunny that he felt
sure that the next moment he would be able to
get hold of the long years. But every time the
rabbit would give a desperate jump and get beyond the

(07:58):
boy's reach. Whew, exclaimed Bert, as he was forced to
stop because his legs were so tired and because his
breath was so short. I don't wonder hunters have to
use guns. They never could get much game just by
chasing after it. It wouldn't be of any use to
set a trap for I haven't time, and I haven't
anything to bait it with. Besides, I guess you're so

(08:20):
smart you'd never be caught in it. As Bert came
to a stop on top of another little hill, where
the snow was partly blown away, the rabbit also halted.
It looked back at the boy. Probably the bunny was
just as tired as was Bert. If only I had
something to throw at you, murmured the boy. I can't
find any stones, but I can take a stick. There

(08:43):
were trees near at hand, and from the low branches
of one of these, Bert broke off a number of
pieces of dead wood. They cracked like pistol shots, and
turning around to look at the rabbit, Bert saw it
scooting away over the snow. Probably the little furry creature
thought some hunter was shooting at it. Well, I guess
i'll have to give up, said the boy, half aloud.

(09:05):
I'll only get lost chasing after you. As it is.
I guess I've come most a mile out of my way.
He threw the stick he had broken off, but he
did not come anywhere near hitting the brown bunny. All, well,
you're safe. I won't chase you any further, said Bert.
I wouldn't have chased you now and scared you most
to death if the folks back in the shack weren't
so low on food. Maybe I can find something else.

(09:28):
Bert floundered about in the snow, following his tracks back
before they should be filled and so hidden from sight.
He was about half way to the place where he
had surprised the rabbit when he heard a chattering in a
tree over his head. A squirrel, exclaimed the boy, and
a gray one too, or I miss my guess. He
kept very still, listening Again above the noise of the

(09:51):
storm was heard the sharp squealing chatter of a squirrel,
and looking up over his head, Bert saw the animal.
It was a large gray squirrel with a ta almost
as big as its whole body. The squirrel sat up
on a limb, looking down at the boy. It may
have been angry or frightened, and it seemed to be
scolding Bert as it chattered at him. Gray squirrels are

(10:13):
not such excited scolders as the little red chaps are,
but this one did very well. If you know what's
good for you, you'll go back into your nest and
stay there. Bert said, I can't get you, and you
ought to know it, for I haven't a gun, and
I never could throw up a stick and knock you down.
You'd be good eating if I could. Bert went on,
for he had often heard his father tell of broiled squirrels.

(10:34):
Bert could see a hole in the tree halfway up
the trunk, and he guessed that here the squirrel had
his winter nests. It would be well lined with dried
leaves and soft grass, and perhaps some cotton from the
milkweed pods. Thus the squirrels keep warm, wrapping their big
bushy tails about them. Well, I guess i'll say goodbye
to you, went on Bert as he turned aside from

(10:55):
the squirrel in the tree and resumed his trudging through
the snow. The weather was cold, and Bert was cold. Likewise,
also he was tired, his legs ached, and his shoulders
pained him. For walking through the snow is not easy work,
as you who have tried it. No, however, he knew
that he must keep bravely on, and so after turning

(11:16):
once or twice making sure he could not see the cabin,
he went along faster. It was because of his speed
that an accident happened to Bert, which might have been
a very serious one. He was traveling with his head
down to keep the falling snow out of his face,
when he suddenly felt himself falling down. Down he went,

(11:37):
as though he had stepped into some big hole or
off some high cliff. He gave a cry of alarm
and threw out both hands to grasp something to save himself,
but there was nothing to grasp. Down, down went poor Bert.
It was a good thing that there was so much
snow on the ground. The piles and drifts of white
flakes were like so many heaps of feathers, and Bert

(11:57):
was thankful when at last, after sliding, slipping, falling, and tumbling,
he came to a stop, half buried in a deep drift.
He was somewhat shaken up, and he dropped his package
of lunch, But at first he didn't think he was
much hurt until he tried to move his left leg.
Then such a pain shot through the boy that he
had to cry aloud. He shut his eyes and leaned

(12:19):
back against the pile of snow into which he had fallen.
The first flash of pain passed, and he began to
feel a little better. But a terrible thought came to him.
What if my leg is broken? Said Bert, half aloud.
I can't walk. I can't go for help. I'll have
to stay here, daddy, or nobody will know where to
find me, not even Nan or missus Bimby. Oh this

(12:40):
is terrible, but he knew he must be brave, for
he had to help not only himself, but his sister
and the old woman in the cabin. Flinching his teeth
to keep back the cry of pain, which he felt
would come. When he moved his leg again, Bert shifted
it a little to one side. The spasm of pain came,
but not so bad at first. Maybe it's only broken,

(13:02):
a little, thought the boy, and I can crawl if
I can't walk. He'd read of hunters and trappers who
with a broken or badly hurt leg had crawled miles
over the snow to get help. Bert wanted to be
as brave as these heroes, but when he moved his
leg for the third time and found the pain not
quite so bad, he began to take heart. He brushed

(13:22):
away the snow from both legs and looked at them.
They appeared to be all right, but his left one
felt a little queer, and it was not until he
managed to pull himself up by means of a stunted
bush showing through the snow, that Bert knew his leg
was not broken. It was strained a little, and it
hurt some when he bore his weight on it, but
he found that he could at least walk if he

(13:44):
could not run, and he was thankful for this. He
looked up toward the place from where he'd fallen and
saw that, without knowing it, he had stepped over the
edge of a steep hill. The snow had hidden the
edge from Bert, and he'd plunged right over it. Where's
my luck, he asked aloud, and then he saw the package,
which had fallen to one side of the place where

(14:05):
he'd plunged into the drift. Bert picked it up and then,
thankful that his accident was no worse. He went on again.
I guess maybe the brook is here, he said, for
he noticed that he was down in a valley, and
he knew that water always sough at low levels. I'll
walk along here, said Bert. He was so frightened thinking
of what might have happened if he'd been crippled and

(14:26):
unable to walk, that he did not feel hungry, though
it was some time since breakfast. On he trudged through
the snow, looking for signs of the brook, which he
hoped would lead him to Cedar Camp. It was while
he was passing through a clump of woods that Bert
received another fright, one that caused him to run on
as fast as he could in spite of his aching leg.

(14:47):
He had gone half way through the clump of trees
and was wondering if he would ever come to a brook,
when suddenly he heard a noise in the clump of bushes.
The noise sounded louder than usual because it was all
so still and quiet near him. Before Bert could guess
what caused the sound, he saw pushing its way through
the underbrush, a tawny animal with black spots underneath, with

(15:13):
little tufts of hair on its ears. At once Bert
knew what this was, a wild cat or a lynx.
For a moment, Bert was so frightened that he just
stood still looking at the wild cat. And then as
the animal gave a sort of snarl and growl, the
boy turned with a yell of fright and ran off

(15:33):
through the snow as fast as he could go. End
of chapter nineteen.
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