"You put him up to do that--to douse me with water!" cried Danny angrily.

"I did not," said Bert quietly. "It was just an accident. I'm sorry---"

"You are not! I say you did that on purpose--or you told Freddie to, and I'm going to pay you back!"

"I tell you it was an accident," insisted Bert. "But if you want to think Freddie did it on purpose I can't stop you."

"Well, I'm going to hit you just the same," growled Danny, and he stepped toward Bert.

"You'd better look out," said Bert, with just a little smile.

"There's still a lot of water in this hose," and he brought the nozzle around in front, ready to squirt on Danny if the bad boy should come too near.

Danny came to a stop.

"Don't you dare put any more water on me!" cried the bully. "If you do, I'll----" He doubled up his fists and glared at Bert.

"Then don't you come any nearer if you don't want to get wet,"

said Bert. "This hose might sprinkle you by accident, the same as it did when Freddie had it," he added.

"Huh! I know what kind of an accident that was!" spoke Danny, with a sneer.

"You'd better get out of the way," went on Bert quietly. "I want to sprinkle that flower bed near where you are, and if you'll there you might get wet, and it wouldn't be my fault."

"I'll fix you!" growled Danny, springing forward. Bert got ready with the hose, and there might have been more trouble, except that Sam, the colored man, came out on the lawn. He saw that something out of the ordinary was going on, and breaking into a run he called out:

"Am anyt'ing de mattah, Ma.s.sa Bert? Am yo' habin' trouble wif anybody?"

"Well, I guess it's all over now," said Bert, as he saw Danny turn and walk toward the gate.

"If yo' need any help, jest remembah dat I'm around," spoke Sam, with a wide grin that showed his white teeth in his black, but kindly face. "I'll be right handy by, Ma.s.sa Bert, yes, I will!"

"All right," said Bert, as he went on watering the flowers.

"Huh! You needn't think I'm afraid of you!" boasted Danny, but he kept on out of the gate just the same. Sam went back to his work, of weeding the vegetable garden and Bert watered the flowers.

Pretty soon Freddie came back.

"Did--did Danny do anything to you?" the little fellow wanted to know.

"No, Freddie, but the hose did something to him," said Bert.

"Oh, did it wet him again?"

"That's what it did."

"Ha! Ha!" laughed Freddie. "I wish I'd been here to see it, Bert."

"Well, why did you run?"

"Oh, I--I thought maybe--mamma might want me," answered Freddie, but Bert understood, and smiled. Then he let Freddie finish watering the flowers, after which Freddie played he was a fireman, saving houses from burning by means of the hose.

Snap, the trick dog came running out, followed by Flossie, who had just been washed and combed, her mother having put a clean dress on her.

"Oh, Freddie," said the little girl, "let's make Snap do some tricks. See if he will jump over the stream of water from the hose."

"All right," agreed her little brother. "I'll squirt the water out straight, and you stand on one side of it and call Snap over.

Then he'll jump."

Flossie tried this, but at first the dog did not seem to want to do this particular trick. He played soldier, said his prayers, stood on his hind legs, and turned a somersault. But he would not jump over the water.

"Come, Snap, Snap!" called Flossie. "Jump!"

Snap raced about and barked, and seemed to be having all sorts of fun, but jump he would not until he got ready. Then, when he did, Freddie accidentally lowered the nozzle and Snap was soaked.

But the dog did not mind the water in the least. In fact he seemed to like it, for the day was warm, and he stood still and let Freddie wet him all over. Then Snap rolled about on the lawn, Freddie and Flossie taking turns sprinkling.

And, as might be expected, considerable water got on the two children, and when Snap shook himself, as he often did, to get some of the drops off his s.h.a.ggy coat, he gave Flossie and her clean dress a regular shower bath.

Nan, coming from the house saw this. She ran up to Flossie, who had the hose just then, crying:

"Flossie Bobbsey! Oh, you'll get it when mamma sees you! She cleaned you all up, and now look at yourself!"

"She can't see--there's no looking gla.s.s here," said Freddie, with a laugh.

"And you're just as bad!" cried Nan. "You'd both better go in the house right away, and stop playing with the hose."

"We're through, anyhow," said Freddie. "You ought to see Snap jump over the water."

"Oh, you children!" cried Nan, with a shake of her head. She seemed like a little mother to them at times, though she was only four years older.

Mrs. Bobbsey was very sorry to see Flossie so wet and bedraggled, and said:

"You should have known better than to play with water with a clean dress on, Flossie. Now I must punish you. You will have to stay in the house for an hour, and so will Freddie."

Poor little Bobbsey twins! But then it was not a very severe punishment, and really some was needed. It was hard when two of their little playmates came and called for them to come out. But Mrs. Bobbsey insisted on the two remaining in until the hour was at an end.

Then, when they had on dry garments, and could go out, there was no one with whom to play.

"I'm not going to squirt the hose ever again," said Freddie.

"Neither am I," said his sister. "Never, never!"

Snap didn't say anything. He lay on the porch asleep, being cooled off after his sport with the water.

"I--I wish we had our cat, Snoop, back," said Flossie. "Then we wouldn't have played in the water."

"That's so," agreed Freddie. "I wonder where he can be?"

They asked their father that night if any of the railroad men had seen their pet, but he said none had, and added: