When they got back to where the teachers and princ.i.p.al were, Bert and the boys who had gone fishing had returned. They had one or two small fish.

"I'm going to have mamma cook them for my supper," said Bert, proudly holding up those he had caught.

"They're too small--there won't be anything left of them after they're cleaned," said Nan, who was quite a little housekeeper.

"Oh, yes, there will," declared her brother "I'm going fishing again to-morrow, and catch more."

Mr. Tetlow was going about among the teachers, asking if all their pupils were on hand, ready for the march back. Danny Rugg and some of his close friends were missing.

"They ought not to have gone off so far." said Mr. Tetlow, as he blew several times on the whistle. Soon Danny and the other boys were seen coming from a distant part of the grove. One of the boys, Harry White, looked very pale, and not at all well.

"What is the matter?" asked Mr. Tetlow, and he looked curiously at Danny and the others, and sniffed the air as though he smelled something.

"I--I guess I ate too many--apples," said Harry, in a faint voice.

"We found an orchard, and---"

"I told you not to go into orchards, and take fruit," said Mr.

Tetlow, severely.

"The man said we could," remarked Danny. "We asked him."

"Then you should not have eaten so many," said Mr. Tetlow. "I can't see how ripe apples which are the only kind there are this time of year--could make you ill unless you ate too many," and he looked at Danny and Harry sharply. But they did not answer.

The march home was not as joyful as the one to the grove had been, for most of the children were tired. But they all had had a fine time, and there were many requests of the teachers to have another picnic the next week.

"Oh, we can't have them every week, my dears," said Miss Franklin, who had charge of Flossie, Freddie and some others in the kindergarten cla.s.s. "Besides, it will soon be too cool to go out in the woods.

In a little while we will have ice and snow, and Thanksgiving and Christmas."

"That will be better than picnics," said Freddie. "I'm going to have a new sled."

"I'm going to get a new doll, that can walk," declared Flossie, and then she and the others talked about the coming holidays.

At school several days in the following week little was talked of except the picnic, the snake scare from the old tree root, the catching of the fish, and the illness of Harry White, for that boy was quite sick by the time town was reached, and Mr. Tetlow called a carriage to send him home.

"And I can guess what made him sick too," said Bert to Nan, privately.

"What?" she asked.

"Smoking cigarettes."

"How do you know?"

"Because when I and some of the other fellows were fishing we saw Danny and his crowd smoking in the woods. They offered us some, but we wouldn't take any. Harry said he was sick then, but Danny only laughed at him."

"That Danny Rugg is a bad boy," said Nan, severely. But she was soon to see how much meaner Danny could be.

Workmen had recently finished putting some new water pipes, and a place for the children to drink, in the school yard, and one morning, speaking to the whole school, Mr. Tetlow made a little speech, warning the children not to play with the faucets, and spray the water about, as some had done, in fun.

"Whoever is caught playing with the faucets in the yard after this will be severely punished," he said.

As it happened, Flossie and Freddie were not at school that day, Freddie having a slight sore throat. His mother kept him home, and Flossie would not go without him. So they did not hear the warning, and Bert and Nan did not think to tell the smaller children of it.

Two days later Freddie was well enough to go back to cla.s.s, and Flossie accompanied him. It was at the morning recess when, as Freddie went to get a drink at one of the new faucets, Danny saw him. A gleam of mischief came into the eyes of the school bully.

"Want to see the water squirt, Freddie?" asked Danny. "That's a new kind of faucet. It squirts awful far."

"Does it?" asked Freddie, innocently. "How do you make it?" He had no idea it was forbidden fun.

"Just put your thumb over the hole, and turn the water on," directed Danny. "You, too, Flossie. It won't hurt you."

Danny looked all around, thinking he was un.o.bserved as he gave this bad advice. Naturally, Freddie and Flossie, being so young, suspected nothing. They covered the opening of the faucet with their thumbs, and turned on the water. It spurted in a fine spray, and they laughed in glee. That they wet each other did not matter.

Danny, seeing the success of his trick, walked off as he saw Mr.

Tetlow coming. The Bobbsey twins were so intent on spurting the water that they did not observe the princ.i.p.al until he was close to them. Then they started as he called out sharply:

"Freddie! Flossie! Stop that! You know that it is forbidden! Go to my office at once and I will come and see you later, You will be punished for this!"

With tears in their eyes the little twins obeyed. They could not understand it.

CHAPTER XII

THE CHILDREN'S PARTY

When Mr. Tetlow, a little later, entered his office he found Flossie and Freddie standing by one of the windows, looking out on the other children marching to their cla.s.srooms. They had cried a little, but had stopped now.

"I am very sorry to have to punish you two twins," said the princ.i.p.al, "but I had given strict orders that no one was to play with that water. Why did you do it?"

"Because," answered Flossie.

"Danny Rugg told us to," added Freddle. "He said it was a new kind of faucet."

"Now be careful," warned Mr. Tetlow. Often before he had heard pupils say that someone else told them to break certain rules.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," said Freddie, eagerly, "Danny told us to do it."

"But didn't you know it was forbidden?"

"No, sir," answered Flossie.

"Why, I spoke of it in all the rooms."

"We wasn't here yesterday or the day before," said Flossie. "Freddie was sick."