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org snowball bullets. About the time that Bert Bobbsey was
running through the snow to get away from the wildcat,
Flossie and Freddie were having a scare of their own,
some miles distant from him, though in the same wood,
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a round cedar camp. The two smaller Bobbsey twins had
gone off without letting their father and mother know, Taking
with them a lunch, they tramped through the forest until
they came to a lonely place, and had not yet
caught sight of their father, who'd started off ahead with
old Jim Bimby and Tom Case. Right here, the small
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twins heard a growl and saw movement in the bushes.
What's that, asked Flossie, shrinking closer to Freddy. I I
don't know, Freddie answered, trying to think of something to
make him brave. Maybe it's a bear, A bear, questioned
his sister. Yep. Freddy went on, his eyes, never moving
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from the bush that seemed to hide some animal. Maybe
it's a bear like the one we found the skin
of in the attic. It it can't be the same
one coming back for his skin can it, asked Flossie.
Course not, declared Freddy. How could a bear go round
without his skin on? Well, a bear's skin is just
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the same as our clothes are to us, Flossi went on.
And sometimes when we go swim and we don't have
very many clothes on. Well, a bear is different, said Freddy.
Oh look, suddenly, cried the little girl, and pointing to
the bush with one hand, she clung to Freddy's arm
with the other. He's coming out, He's coming out, she exclaimed.
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A shaggy head could be seen thrusting itself from the bushes,
and the children were wondering what sort of animal could
it be, for it did not look like a When
with a joyful bark, there burst out in front of them,
the shaggy dog, belonging to Tom Case Rover. Rover was
the name of the dog, rushed towards Flossie and Freddy,
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leaping joyfully and wagging his tail. He had made friends
with the children as soon as they came to Cedar camp,
and they loved Rover. Oh hello, cried Flossi, as if
greeting an old friend. He's glad to see us, and
we're glad to see him, said Freddie. This seemed to
be true, though I think Flossie and Freddy were more
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pleased to see Rover than he was to see them,
For the dog knew how to find his way home
and even trace and find his master. If need be while.
To tell you the truth, Flossi and Freddy were lost,
though they did not know it yet, but they were
soon to find this out. Did you come looking for us,
asked Flossi as she patted the shaggy animal. I guess
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he did, Freddy said, I guess he'd rather come with
us than Daddy and the others. Though we'll take Rover
to em, won't we, yes, agreed Flossie. But we must
hurry up and catch em. Freddy. We want to see
missus Bemby and tell her about the nice warm bear robe. Shush,
don't speak too loud, cautioned Freddy, looking over his shoulder.
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Why not, Flossie wanted to know, I mean about the
bear robe. Her brother went on. There might be some
bears in the woods, and if they heard there was
the skin of one of em at the cabin, maybe
they wouldn't like it. Maybe that's so, agreed Flossie, also
looking around but anyhow, Rover drived the bears away, wouldn't
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you Rover? The dog barked and wagged his tail, which
was the only answer he could give. It satisfied the children,
and soon they started off again, making their way through
the snow, hoping they would soon catch up with their father,
mister Case and mister Bimby. Rover accompanied Flossi and Freddy,
sometimes ahead of them and sometimes behind. The dog had
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started out, as he often did, to follow his master,
but had lagged behind, perhaps to run after a rabbit
or squirrel. Then he'd come across the tracks of the
children and had gone to them, knowing they were friends
of his. I'm hungry, said Flossie. After a while, Let's
sit under a Christmas tree and eat Freddy all right,
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agreed her brother, always willing to do this. They were
just then in a clump of evergreen trees, and under
some the snow was not as deep as it was
in the open. In fact, the children found one tree
with no snow under it at all. So thick were
the branches and so close to the ground did they
come crawling into this little nest, where the ground was
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covered with the dry needles from the pines and other trees.
Flossy and Freddy opened the package of lunch they had
brought with them. Rovers, smelling the food, crawled into the
shelter after them, and Flossy and Freddy shared their lunch
with the dog, who even ate the crumbs off the ground.
We must, indeed everything, said Freddy, when part of the
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lunch had been disposed of, Robert getting his share, Why not,
asked FLOSSI can't you eat all you want when you're hungry.
It's best to save some, Freddy said. Maybe we'll get
stuck in the snow and can't get anything more to
eat for a while, and then we'll be glad to
have this. That's so, agreed Flossie. After thinking it over,
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I guess I'm not so very hungry. But Rover is.
He's terribly hungry, Freddy, see him look at the lunch. Indeed,
the dog seemed to be following with hungry eyes every
motion of the little boy who was wrapping up again
that part of the lunch not eaten by him and
his sister. They saved about half of it. Rover sniffed
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and snuffed as only a dog can, but he made
no effort to take the lunch that Freddy placed in
the crotch of the evergreen tree, which made such a
nice shelter for him and his sister. Don't you take it,
Rover cautioned, fled FOSSi, shaking her finger at him. Rover
thumped his tail on the ground, perhaps to show that
he would be good in mind. It's nice and warm
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in here, Freddie remarked. After a while, I wish we
could stay here longer, Flossy, Can't we not if we
want to go to Miss Bembi's, Freddie answered, we have
to get out and walk some more. And it's snowing
again too. Whether it was or not that children could
not quite be certain, for the wind was blowing, and
if the flakes were not falling from the sky, they
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were blowing up off the ground. It was almost the same, anyhow,
for there was a fine shower of the cold white
flakes in the air, and it was much more cozy
and warm under the tree than out in the open.
Let's stay here a little longer, begged Flossi. Rover likes
it here, don't you, she asked, as she reached out
her hand and patted the shaggy back of the dog.
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And from the manner in which Rover thumped his tail
on the ground, you could tell that he did indeed
like to be with the little Bobbsey twins under the
shelter of the tree. I know what we can do,
said Freddie, after thinking a moment. I know what we
can do to have some fun, what, asked Flossie, always
ready for anything of the sort. We'll throw a lot
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of these pine colds outside, and Rover will chase after
them and bring them back, went on Freddy. He likes
to run out in the snow, and after we play
that a while, maybe it will be nicer outside. All right,
agreed FLOSSI we'll throw pine cones. There were many of
these on the pine needle covered ground beneath the sheltering tree.
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The cones were really the clusters of seeds from the tree,
and they'd become hard and dry, so they made excellent
things to throw for a dog to bring back. Rover
liked to race after sticks when thrown by the children,
and the pine cones were ever so much better than sticks.
There were so many of them too. I'll throw first,
and then it will be your turn, Flossy, Freddy said
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here Rover he called to the dog as he picked
up several of the cones. Always ready for a lark
of this sort, Rover leaped to his feet and stood
at attention. Freddy bent aside some of the branches and
tossed a pine cone out of the opening. It fell
in a bank of snow some distance away. For Freddy
was a good thrower for a little boy, and the
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pine cone, being light, did not sink down in the
snow as a stone would have done. Bow wow, barked
Rover as he dashed out after the pine cone. That
was his way of saying he would bring it back
as quickly as he could. And as Rover rushed from
under the little green tint of the pine tree, Flossy
gave a cry of surprise. What's the matter, asked Freddy,
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turning around to look at his sister. Rover knocked me down,
she answered, with a laugh, And surely enough, there she was,
sprawling on the brown pine needles which covered the ground
under the tree. He just bumped into me and knocked
me over. Rover was not used to playing with children,
you see, and he was a bit rough, but he
didn't mean to be. Flossi sat up still laughing, for
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she was not in the least hurt. By this time,
Rover had brought back the pine cone that Freddy had
tossed out. Good dog, Rover, cried Freddie, patting the animal
as he laid down the cone and wagged his tail.
Now it's your turn to throw one, Flossy, Freddy said,
all right, Flossi answered, but look out. He doesn't knock
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you down, Freddy. I'm looking out, Freddy said, and he
quickly moved over to one side of the space under
the tree while Flossi threw out her cone. Flossi was
not quite so good a thrower of sticks and stones
or pine cones as was her brother, but she did
pretty well. Though her cone did not go as far
as Freddy's had. It sank further down into the snow.
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Maybe the cone was a heavier one, or it may
have fallen in a softer place in the snow. Anyhow,
it went quite deep into a drift, and Rover had
to dig with his fore paws to get it so
he could take it in his mouth. Oh look at him,
cried Flossie, as the dog digging away made the snow
fly in a shower back of him. He's like a
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snowplow on the railroad once in a big storm. Flossie
and Freddy had seen the railroad snowplow, pushed by two locomotives,
cut through a high drift, and the way Rover scattered
the snow made the little girl think of the snowplow.
Bring it here, Rover cried Freddie, for it would be
his turn to throw a cone next oow ow barked
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the dog, and then with a final dive into the drift,
he got the brown cone in his mouth and came
racing back with it covered with snow. As he was
he crawled under the shelter to be petted and talked
kindly to by Freddy and Flossy. Then, just as he
probably did when he came out of the water in
the summertime, Rover gave himself a shake to get rid
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of the snowflakes. Oh oh, laughed Flossie, holding her hands
over her face. Stop it, Rover, you're getting me all snow.
But Rover kept it up until he had gotten off
all the snow, and then he raced out again after
more cones as the children threw them. If Bert Bobbsey
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could have known where his little sister and brother were
with Braver Rover beside them. I'm sure he would have
wished to join them, for Bert was about this time
running away from the wild cat that had suddenly burst
through the bushes. You're not going to get me, said
Bert to himself, as he clutched his package of lunch
and raced on as well as he could. The pain
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in his leg bothered him, but he was not going
to stop for a thing like that and let a
wildcat maul him on. He ran through the snow, taking
the easiest path he could find. He looked back over
his shoulder once or twice to find the wildcat bounding
lightly along after him. And after he had looked back
and had seen the size of the animal and noticed
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that there was only one, somehow or other, Bert became braver.
He had an idea that perhaps he might drive this
beast away. Wild Cats, or bobcats as they're sometimes called,
being also known as the BAILNKX, are not as large
as a good sized dog. They weigh about thirty pounds,
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and though they have sharp teeth and claws, they very
seldom attack persons, only when they're disturbed or fear that
someone is going to harm their little ones or take
away their food. Do bobcats run after persons? And this
one must have thought Bert was going to do it
some harm for the animals. Certainly chase the lad ho
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said Bert to himself as he looked back. You're not
so big. Maybe you've got sharp teeth and claws, but
if you don't get near me, you can't hurt me.
I'm going to make you go back. Bert had a
sudden idea of how he might do this with snowball bullets.
All about him was snow piles of it, and Bert
had often taken part in snowball fights at home. He
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was a good thrower, and once he had snowballed a
savage dog that had run at Flossy and Freddy and
had caused the animal to run yelping away. I'm going
to snowball this wild cat, decided Bert. He ran on
a little further until he came to a small clearing
where the trees stood in an irregular ring around an
open place. There, Bert decided to make a stand and
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see if he could not drive the chasing wild cat away.
And if he won't go and comes after me, thought Bert,
I can climb a tree he did not know or
else had forgotten, that wild cats themselves are very good
tree climbers. Reaching the other side of the clearing, Bert
laid his package of lunch down on a firm place
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in the snow, and then rapidly began to make some
hard round balls. He packed them with all his might
between his mittened hands, for he knew a soft snowball
would not be of much use against a wild cat.
He had and in some distance ahead of the animal,
and when it ran up to the edge of the clearing,
Bert had several snowballs ready. Come on, now, see how
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you like that, cried the boy. He threw one snowball bullet,
but he was so excited that it went high over
the head of the bobcat. The next one struck in
the snow at the feet of the animal, But the
third one hit right on the nose. Good shot, cried Bert.
The wild cat uttered a snarl and a growl and
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stopped for a moment. Perhaps it had never before chased
anyone who threw snowballs. Have another, cried Bert, and the
next white bullet struck it on the side. The bobcat
leapt up in the air and then Bert threw another ball,
which hid it on the head. This was too much
for the creature. With a loud howl, it turned and
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ran back into the woods, and Bert breathed easier. Well,
I guess as long as I can throw snowballs, you
won't get me, he said to himself, as he picked
up the package of lunch and hurried on. End of
chapter twenty