The Bobbsey Twins of Lakeport Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  CHAPTER I - A MYSTERIOUS HOUSE

  CHAPTER II - THE OLD-FASHIONED KEY

  CHAPTER III - THE SEARCH BEGINS

  CHAPTER IV - THE SECRET TRAP DOOR

  CHAPTER V - FREDDIE’S ADVENTURE

  CHAPTER VI - THE PROWLER

  CHAPTER VII - A KITE RIDE

  CHAPTER VIII - TWO BOY DETECTIVES

  CHAPTER IX - THE HIDDEN ENTRANCE

  CHAPTER X - CATCHING A GHOST

  CHAPTER XI - A RUINED CAMP TRIP

  CHAPTER XII - A MIXED UP GET-TOGETHER

  CHAPTER XIII - A RUNAWAY PET

  CHAPTER XIV - HOPEFUL HUNTERS

  CHAPTER XV - A NEW CLUE

  CHAPTER XVI - THE TWINS’ TRICK

  CHAPTER XVII - A CONFESSION

  CHAPTER XVIII - THE TREASURE

  THE BOBBSEY TWINS

  Copyright © 1961 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  All rights reserved.

  Published in 2004 by Grosset & Dunlap, a division of Penguin Young

  Readers Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

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  Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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  S.A.

  eISBN : 978-1-101-07587-6

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  CHAPTER I

  A MYSTERIOUS HOUSE

  “ONE, two, three! Pull!”

  There was a ripping sound as another plank of the tree house came loose. Bert and Freddie Bobbsey tossed it to the ground.

  “Only one more,” said six-year-old Freddie, tugging hard. He braced himself against the trunk of the tree which had been struck and split by lightning.

  Waiting on the ground below were Bert’s twin sister Nan, twelve, and blond Flossie, Freddie’s twin. The girls were piling the lumber against the garage. Later a new house would be built in another tree.

  “Watch it!” cried Bert suddenly, as Freddie slipped.

  The little boy clutched wildly for a limb but missed it. He fell headfirst—into Nan’s arms. The impact knocked them both to the ground. Freddie skinned one knee. Nan banged her elbow.

  “Oh, Freddie, you looked like a rocket coming down!” said Flossie, giggling. Then she became serious as her mother and father hurried to the children’s side. “I know another house that’s going to be knocked down,” Flossie said. “That spooky old house by our school.”

  “Why do you say it’s spooky?” Mrs. Bobbsey asked. She looked young and pretty standing beside her tall, athletic husband.

  Freddie gave the answer. “Danny Rugg says it’s haunted!”

  “Really?” Bert asked from the tree. “You know Danny is always trying to scare you and Flossie. I wouldn’t believe him.”

  Freddie did not answer. Instead, he said, “It will be fun to watch the house being torn down. They bring a great big ball on a crane and wham! They knock the walls down like this!” He cocked his fist and struck at the air with such force that he lost his balance and sat down hard on the grass.

  As his older sister Nan helped him up she said teasingly, “That house really went down fast, Freddie!”

  It was a Saturday morning in spring. The Bobbsey family was busy in the spacious yard which surrounded their rambling white house on a quiet street in Lakeport. The younger twins had helped clear the flower beds of fallen leaves while Mrs. Bobbsey and Nan were setting out new plants. Bert and his father had taken over the job of pruning the dead branches from the trees and bushes.

  Now Mr. Bobbsey put down his long pruning shears. “You children must be talking about the old Marden house,” he remarked. “When I was a boy that was a farm. But Lakeport has grown so much, the house is right in town!”

  “Did the Mardens build the house, Dick?” Mrs. Bobbsey asked with interest.

  “Yes. Old Mr. Marden had been ambassador to Great Britain, and when he retired he came to Lakeport. He bought several acres of land and put up that house. It was once a show place.”

  “Well, I think it’s spooky now!” Flossie remarked with a little shudder.

  “Why does Danny say that?” Nan asked curiously.

  Danny Rugg was the same age as Bert and Nan. He was not popular with the other children because he was always playing mean tricks on them.

  “Danny says that ghosts float in and out of those broken windows upstairs,” Flossie reported, her eyes wide. “And he says if you go past there at night you can hear queer noises!”

  Mr. Bobbsey rumpled Flossie’s yellow curls. “Now, my little sweet fairy, you know there is no such thing as a ghost. The house is old and run down, but that’s no reason to say it’s spooky!”

  Her father was fond of calling Flossie by this nickname. He had nicknamed Freddie his “little fireman” because Freddie liked to play with toy fire engines. Ever since he was a very small boy Freddie had said he was going to be a fireman when he grew up.

  The discussion about the old house was interrupted when a jolly-looking woman stepped out onto the kitchen porch. She was Dinah Johnson, who helped Mrs. Bobbsey with the housework. Her husband Sam drove a truck at Mr. Bobbsey’s lumberyard. Dinah and Sam lived in an apartment on the third floor of the Bobbsey house and were very popular with the whole family.

  “How would you all like a picnic lunch?” Dinah called out.

  “Oh, that would be fun!” Flossie exclaimed, running up to the porch. “May I help carry it out?”

  Mrs. Bobbsey smiled as she pulled off her gardening gloves. “That’s a splendid idea, Dinah. We can cook the hamburgers out here on the grill.”

  “I guess I’d better get my fire engine,” Freddie said importantly. “We might have a fire, and you’d need me to put it out!”

  He ran off and in a few minutes returned pulling a small red fire truck. It had a pumper attachment which squirted water.

  In the meantime Bert brought a bag of charcoal from the garage. Soon he and his father had a fire going under the grill. Nan and Flossie covered the picnic table with a gay paper tablecloth, then set out paper plates, napkins, plastic forks, and cups.

  “Will you cook the hamburgers, Dick?” Mrs. Bobbsey suggested.

  Grinning, the twins’ father slipped on the big white apron which Dinah held out and began to place the meat patties on the grill. Dinah went back to the kitchen and returned with a large bowl of potato salad. Nan and Flossie followed her, carrying a plate of buns and a relish dish of pickles and olives.

  Now they joined the group clustered around the grill. “Umm, Daddy,” Flossie cried, “they look bee-yoo-ti-ful!”

  “Bring the platter, Nan,” Mr. Bobbsey requested. “The burgers are ready.”

  Nan held out the large plate, and her father piled it high with delicious-looking, sizzling hamburgers.

  “Now I’ll put out the fire!” Freddie cried, running up with his toy engine. Lifting the small hose high he aimed it at the smoking grill.

  But instead of reaching the charcoal, the stream of water went across the grill and hit Flossie’s bare knees ! She squealed and turned to run. As she did, the little girl bumped into Nan. The plate of hamburgers teetered dangerously.

  “Oh!” Nan exclaimed, trying to ke
ep her balance and not spill everything. The hamburgers slid about on the platter but, miraculously, only one fell to the ground.

  “Say, sis, you’re quite a juggler!” Bert exclaimed when Nan finally set the platter on the table.

  The others laughed and praised Nan for saving the food. Freddie giggled as he bit into his juicy sandwich and said, “These are good juggleburgers!”

  When the last bit of lunch had been eaten, Mrs. Bobbsey spoke up. “This talk about the Marden house reminds me that I haven’t been to see Mrs. Marden for a long time. I think I’ll call on her this afternoon.”

  “Does she live in Lakeport?” Nan asked in surprise.

  “Yes. She’s an old lady now. Her husband was the grandson of the Mr. Marden who built the house. He died a few years ago. When the house was sold to the school last year, Mrs. Marden moved into a nursing home on the outskirts of town.”

  “Ask her if there’s a ghost in her old house,” Freddie spoke up.

  His mother smiled. After she had left, the twins helped Dinah put away the picnic dishes. Then Bert said to the other children, “How about going over to take a look at the old house? Maybe we can find out what Danny’s talking about!”

  “Ooh! Do you think we should?” Flossie was still a little doubtful.

  “Don’t be a scaredycat, Flossie I” Freddie said.

  Flossie made a face at her twin, then ran down to the sidewalk. “All right,” she called. “Come on!”

  The others followed, and before long they were approaching the school. “Look!” Nan cried. “What are those men doing?”

  In the open space between the school and the abandoned house, stood two young men. One was looking through a small telescope mounted on a tripod. The other held a pole and what looked like a long tape measure.

  “I think they’re surveyors,” Bert replied. “Let’s watch them work.”

  Noticing the children’s curious expressions, one of the young men called out, “We’re surveying for the addition to the school.”

  “This is our school,” Flossie said as they reached the surveyors. Then glancing at the old Marden home, she asked, “Aren’t you afraid of the haunted house?”

  The young man shook his head and laughed. “Tim here,” he said, nodding toward his companion, “has heard some strange sounds around the house, but I think they were just made by a couple of boys playing spook.”

  “We thought we’d go in and look around,” Bert explained.

  “I’m afraid you can’t do that, sonny,” the surveyor remarked. “The house is kept locked so vandals can’t get in.”

  Seeing the children’s disappointed faces, he laughed and added, “Keep your eyes open, and maybe the ghost will come out. Meanwhile, how would you like to help Tim and me?”

  “Oh, yes!” Freddie and Flossie exclaimed in chorus. “That would be fun!”

  Tim gave the small twins the pole to which the steel tape was attached and told them to walk toward the old house. “Then Joe will signal you which way to move.”

  Freddie and Flossie walked as far as the tape would permit. Then they turned to watch Joe who was peering through the telescope. “This is great,” Freddie called. “I’m not going to be a fireman when I grow up. I’m going to be a surveyor!”

  Joe waved his right hand, indicating the twins were to move the pole in that direction. Flossie fastened her eyes on the telescope. She did not see a little depression in the ground and stepped backward into it. Down she went, flat on her back !

  In falling Flossie kept hold of the pole and by doing this pulled Freddie with her. Tim ran toward the tangle of legs, arms, pole, and metal tape. He helped both children to their feet.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked anxiously.

  Freddie and Flossie shook their heads. Then Freddie spoke up. “I don’t think I’ll be a surveyor after all,” he announced with a grin.

  Tim laughed. “Don’t let one little fall discourage you,” he advised. “You’ve been a big help to Joe and me.”

  Bert and Nan looked longingly at the old house. “I wish we could get in and look around,” Bert said.

  “I do too,” Nan agreed. “I’d like to prove that there’s nothing spooky about it!”

  The twins discussed the old house as they walked toward their home. “Maybe Mother can tell us more about it,” Flossie suggested.

  When they reached home the children found Dinah in the kitchen getting ready to make cookies. “Your mother’s not back yet,” she told them, “and your father’s gone downtown.”

  “What kind of cookies are you going to bake, Dinah?” Flossie asked.

  “Chocolate walnut ones,” the cook replied, “and if anybody around here wants to crack the nuts the cookies’ll be done sooner!”

  Flossie giggled. “I like to crack nuts. I’ll help you !”

  Nan volunteered to crack nuts too, and soon the girls were busy at the kitchen table, while Dinah bustled around mixing the batter in a large yellow bowl. Bert and Freddie wandered out to the yard.

  Presently a car pulled into the drive, and in another minute Mrs. Bobbsey came in the back door followed by the boys.

  “Mother says she has news for us,” Bert said as Nan and Flossie looked up from their task.

  “What is it?” Flossie asked, jumping up and throwing her arms about her mother.

  Mrs. Bobbsey was silent for a moment as she looked around at the children’s eager faces. Then she said smilingly, “I have a mystery for you to solve!”

  CHAPTER II

  THE OLD-FASHIONED KEY

  “A MYSTERY?” Nan exclaimed. “Please, tell us what it is!”

  “Yes, Mommy,” Flossie echoed, hopping excitedly from one foot to the other. “What is it?”

  The four children followed their mother into the living room and clustered about her as she sat down.

  “Well,” Mrs. Bobbsey began, “you remember I told you Mrs. Marden is a very old lady now and her memory is failing.”

  “That’s too bad,” said Flossie sympathetically. “Can’t she remember anything?”

  Mrs. Bobbsey smiled and hugged her small daughter. “Oh, yes, but she has difficulty recalling where she puts things. She told me jokingly that sometimes when she’s looking for her glasses, she finds they are already on her nose !”

  Flossie giggled, but Freddie put in impatiently, “But what’s the mystery, Mother?”

  “Well, it seems that some very valuable souvenirs which Mrs. Marden treasured have disappeared !”

  “What are they?”

  “Where are they?”

  “Do they have anything to do with the ghost?”

  The questions came thick and fast. Mrs. Bobbsey held up her hands. “If you’ll listen, I’ll tell you all about it,” she promised with a smile.

  When the children were quiet again, their mother went on with her story. “You recall Daddy told you that the Mr. Marden who built the house next to the school had been ambassador to Great Britain?”

  The twins nodded eagerly.

  “Well, when Mr. Marden left England he was presented with two very valuable tokens by the royal family. One was a beautiful cameo brooch surrounded by diamonds.”

  “What’s a cameo?” Flossie asked.

  “A cameo,” Mrs. Bobbsey explained, “is made by carving a shell or precious stone which has layers of different colors. It is carved so that a figure of one color stands out against a background of another color.”

  “That sounds pretty,” Nan commented.

  “The other thing Mrs. Marden misplaced,” said Mrs. Bobbsey, “was a collection of rare obsidional coins.”

  “What are obsid’nal coins?” Freddie wanted to know. “A special kind of money?”

  “Money?” Mrs. Bobbsey smiled. “I think it would be a good idea for Bert to look up obsidional coins in our book on coins. Mrs. Marden wasn’t very clear about them, but she is sure they are rare and valuable.”

  At this moment Mr. Bobbsey came into the room and was told the story of the
missing articles. “I’d like to know what those coins are too,” he remarked. “Get the book, Bert.”

  Bert went to the bookshelves and returned with a thick volume. He leafed through the pages. “Here they are,” he cried. “They’re also called siege coins or coins of necessity. They were made in Europe by cities and towns under siege to pay off the defending troops.”

  “How old are they, Bert?” Mr. Bobbsey asked.

  “Here are some pictures of coins from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.” Bert held out the book so the others could see the illustrations.

  “Why, the coins are four-sided !” Nan cried in astonishment.

  “Yes,” Bert agreed as he read on. “They were made from any material the authorities could find—melted—down statues and church silver. Often they were irregularly shaped.”

  “I’d love to see some coins like that,” Nan said eagerly. “Where did Mrs. Marden keep them? And when did they disappear?”

  Mrs. Bobbsey looked distressed. “Mrs. Marden said she put them away in a very safe place in the old house, but she hasn’t been able to remember where!”

  “Oh Mother, how dreadful!” Nan exclaimed. “What can she do?”

  Mrs. Bobbsey smiled. “I told Mrs. Marden you twins enjoy solving mysteries, and she said—”

  “What?” they asked eagerly.

  “That perhaps you would hunt for the lost gifts for her!”

  “Great!” Bert cried out. “It sounds like a real mystery!”

  “Do you mean we’d have to go into that spooky house?” Flossie asked, shivering a little.

  “How can we?” Nan queried. “The surveyors said it was locked!”

  Mr. Bobbsey spoke up. “I should think your school principal, Mr. Tetlow, would give you permission to go in if you explained the situation,” he suggested.

  Gray-haired Mr. Tetlow, although strict in discipline, was well liked by most of the children. The four twins were very fond of him.