The Curlytops on Star Island/Chapter 12
CHAPTER XII
THE CURLYTOPS GO SWIMMING
"Trouble make a cake—Trouble make a nice cake for Jan an' Ted," murmured Baby William to himself. Certainly he thought he was going to do that—make a nice cake—but it did not turn out just that way.
Trouble's hat, being of felt, held water just as a dish or a basin would have done, but the little fellow had to hold it very carefully in his lap between his knees as he sat on the table, or he would have squeezed his hat and the water would have spilled out. But when Trouble really wanted to do anything he could be very careful. And he wanted, very much this time, to make that cake.
So, when he had the water in his hat he began to dip up some flour from the bag with a large spoon.
When the little fellow thought he had enough flour sifted into the water in his hat he began to stir it, just as he had seen Nora stir her cake batter. Around and around he stirred it, and then he found that his cake was much too wet. He had not enough flour in it, just as, sometimes, when he and Jan made mud pies, the did not have enough sand or dirt in the water to make the stuff for the pies as thick as they wanted it.
So Trouble stirred in more flour. And then, just as you can easily guess, he made it too thick, and had to put in more water.
By this time Troubles small hat was almost full of flour and water, and some dough began to run over the edges, down on his little bare legs, and also on his rompers and on the table and even to the floor of the kitchen tent.
Trouble did not like that. He wanted to get his cake mixed before Nora came back, so she could bake it in the oven for him. For he knew cakes must be baked to make them good to eat, and he really hoped, knowing no better, that his cake would be good enough to eat.
"Trouble make a big cake," he said, as he slowly put a little more water into his hat, and stirred the dough some more. He splashed some of the flour and water on the end of his stubby nose, and wiped it off on the back of his hand. Then, as he kept on stirring, some more of the dough splashed on his cheeks, and he had to wipe that off. So that, by this time, Baby William had on his hands and face at least as much dough as there was in the spoon.
But finally the little mischief-maker got the dough in his hat just about thick enough—not too much flour and not too much water in it. When this point was reached he knew that it was time to get ready for the baking part—putting the dough in the pans so it would go into the oven.
Trouble wanted to do as much toward making his own cake as he could without asking Nora to help. So now he thought he could put the dough in the baking pans himself. But they were on the table beyond his reach. He must get up to reach them.
So Trouble got up, and then
Well, you can just imagine what happened. He forgot that he was holding in his lap the hat full of dough and as soon as he stood up of course that slipped from his lap and the table and went splashing all over the floor.
"Squee-squish-squash!" the hat full of dough dropped.
"Oh!" exclaimed Trouble. "Oh!"
His feet were covered with the white flour and water. Some splashed on Nora's chair near the table, some splashed on the table legs and more spread over the tent floor and ran in little streams toward the far edges. And, in the midst of it, like a little island in the middle of a lake of dough, was Trouble's new hat. Only now you could hardly tell which was the hat and which was the dough.
"Trouble's cake all gone!" said the little fellow sadly, and just as he said that back came Nora. She gave one look inside her nice, clean tent-kitchen—at least it had been clean when she left it—and then she cried:
"Oh, Trouble Martin! What have you gone and done?"
"Trouble make a cake but it spill," he said slowly, climbing down from the table.
"Spill! I should say it did spill!" cried Nora. "Oh, what a sight you are! And what will your mother say!"
"What is it now, Nora?" asked Mrs. Martin, who heard the noise in the kitchen.
"Oh, it's Trouble, as you might guess. He's tried to make a cake. But—such a mess!"
Mrs. Martin looked in. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, but, as that is rather hard to do, she did neither. She just stood and looked at Trouble. He had picked up his hat, which still had a little of the paste in it, and this was now dripping down the front of his rompers.
"Well, it's clean dirt, not like the time he was stuck in the mud of the brook at home, that's one consolation," said Nora at last. Nora had a good habit of trying to make the best of everything.
"Yes, it's clean dirt and it will wash off," agreed Mother Martin. "But, oh, Trouble! You are such a sight! And so is Nora's kitchen."
"Oh, well, I don't mind cleaning up," said the good-natured maid. "Come on, Trouble, I'll let your mother wash you and then I'll finish the cake."
"Make a cake for Trouble?" asked Baby William.
"Yes, I guess I'll have to, since you couldn't make one for yourself," laughed Nora. "Never mind, you'll be a man when you grow up and you won't have to mess around a kitchen. Here you are!" and she caught him up, all doughy as he was, and carried him to the big tent where his mother soon had him washed and in clean clothes.
Then Nora cleaned up the kitchen and made some real cakes and cookies which Ted and Jan, as well as Trouble, ate a little later. The Curlytops laughed when told of Trouble's attempt to make a cake, and for a long time after that whenever they were telling any of their friends about the queer things their baby brother did, they always told first about the cake he made in his hat one day.
"Oh, Ted, I know what let's do!" cried Janet one day, about a week after Trouble had played with the flour and water.
"What?" asked her brother. "Go fishing?"
"No, I don't like fishing. Anyhow we went fishing once, and I don't like to see the worms wiggle. Let's make a little play tent for ourselves in the woods."
"We haven't any cloth."
"We can make one of leaves and branches, just like the bower we made for Nicknack before grandpa put up the little board barn for him."
"Yes, we can do that," agreed Ted. "It'll be fun. Come on."
A little later the two Curlytops were cutting down branches from low trees, sticking the ends into the soft ground, and tying the leafy tops together with string. This made a sort of tent, and though there were holes in it, where the leaves did not quite come together, it made a shady place.
Jan brought in her dolls, and Ted his sailboat and other toys, and there the two children played for some little time. Trouble was not with them.
"But he'll be along pretty soon," remarked Janet, "and he'll want part of the tent for his. Is it big enough for three, Teddy?"
"Well, we can make Trouble a little bower for himself right next door. He'll want to bring in a lot of old stones and mud pies anyhow, and we don't want them. We'll make a little bower for him when he comes along."
So, waiting for their little brother to hunt them out, which he always did sooner or later if they went off to play without him, Ted and Jan had fun in the little leafy house they had made for themselves.
They were having a good time, and were wondering if Grandpa Martin would ever find the queer ragged man or if they would see the strange blue light again, when Jan suddenly gave a scream.
"What's the matter?" asked Ted.
"Something tickled the back of my neck," explained his sister. "Maybe it's a big worm, or a caterpillar! Look, Ted, will you?"
Teddy turned to look, but, as he did so, he gave a cry of surprise.
"It's a goat! It's our goat! It's Nicknack!" yelled Teddy. "He's stuck his head right through the bower and, oh, Jan! he's eating it!"
And so Nicknack was. His head was half-way through the side of the tree-tent nearest Jan and the goat was chewing some of the green leaves. It was Nicknack's whiskers that had tickled Jan on the back of her neck.
"Whoa there, Nicknack!" called Ted, as the goat from the outside pushed his way farther into the tent. "Whoa, there! You'll upset this place in a minute!"
And so it seemed Nicknack would do, for he was hungrily eating the leaves of the branches from which Jan and Ted had made their playhouse.
"How'd he get loose?" asked Jan.
"I don't know," Ted answered. "I tied him good and tight by his rope. I wonder if"
Just then a voice called:
"Wait for me, Nicknack! Wait for me!"
"It's Trouble!" cried Jan and Ted together.
Ted looked out through the hole the goat had eaten in the side of the bower, and saw Baby William toddling toward him.
"Did you let Nicknack loose?" demanded Ted.
"Ess, I did," answered Trouble. "I cutted his wope with a knife, I did. I wants a wide. Wait for me, Nicknack!"
The goat was in no hurry to get away, for he liked to eat the green leaves, and Ted, coming out of the bower, which was almost ready to fall down now that the goat was half-way inside it, saw where the rope, fast around his pet's horns, had been cut.
"You mustn't do that, Trouble," Ted said to his little brother. "You mustn't cut Nicknack's rope. He might run away into the lake."
"Trouble wants a wide."
"Well, we'll give you a ride," added Jan. "But did mother or Nora give you the knife to cut the rope?"
"No. Trouble got knife off en table."
"Oh, you must never do that!" cried Jan. "You might fall on the sharp knife and cut yourself. Trouble was bad!"
The little fellow had really taken a knife from the table, and had sawed away with it on Nicknack's rope until he had cut it through. Then Nicknack had wandered over to the green bower to get something to eat, and Trouble, dropping the knife, had followed.
Mrs. Martin, to punish Baby William so he would remember not to take knives again, would not let him have a goat ride, and he cried very hard when Ted and Jan went off without him. But even little boys must learn not to do what is wrong, and Trouble was no different from any others.
One afternoon, when the Curlytops had been wandering around the woods of the island, looking to see if any berries were yet ripe, they came back to camp rather tired and warm.
"I know what would be nice for you," said Nora, who came to the flap doorway of the kitchen tent. "Yes, I know two things that would be nice for you."
"What?" asked Jan, fanning herself with her sunbonnet.
"I hope it's something good to eat," sighed Teddy, as he sat down in the shade.
"Part of it," answered Nora. "How would you like some cool lemonade—that is, when you are not so warm," she added quickly, for Teddy had jumped up on hearing this, and was about to make a rush for the kind cook. "You must always rest a bit, when you are so warm from running, walking or playing, before you take a cold drink of anything."
"But have you any lemonade?" asked Janet, for she, too, was tired and thirsty.
"I'll make some, and you may have it when you are not so heated," went on the cook. "And I'll get some sweet crackers for you."
"That's nice, " said Janet. "Are they the two things you were going to tell us to do, Nora?"
"No, I'll count the lemonade and crackers as one," went on the cook with a smile. "The other thing I was going to tell you to do is to take Nicknack and have a ride. That will cool you off if you go in the shade,"
"Oh, so it will!" cried Ted. "Well do it! And can we take the lemonade in a bottle, and the crackers in a bag, and put them in the goat-wagon?"
"Do you mean to give the crackers and lemonade a ride, too?" asked Mother Martin, who came out of her tent just then.
"No, but we can take them with us, and have a little picnic in the woods," explained Teddy. "We didn't find any berries, and so we didn't have any picnic."
"All right, Nora, give them the lemonade and crackers to take with them," said Mrs. Martin, smiling at the Curlytops.
"I'll go and make the cool drink now," said the cook.
"And I'll get the crackers," said the children's mother.
"And we'll go and get Nicknack and harness him to the cart," added Ted.
He and Janet were soon on their way to the little leafy bower where the goat was kept, for it was so warm on Star Island that the goat did not stay more than half the time in the stable Grandpa Martin had made for him.
"Here, Nicknack! where are you?" called Teddy, as he neared the bower.
"Here, Nicknack!" called Janet.
But the goat did not answer. Nearly always, when he was called to in that way, he did, giving a loud "Baa-a-a-a-a!" that could be heard a long way.
"Oh, Nicknack isn't here!" cried Jan, when she saw the empty place. "Maybe he's run away, Ted."
"He must be on the island somewhere," said the little boy. "He can't row a boat and get off, and he doesn't like to swim, I guess, though he did fall into the water once."
"But where is he?" asked Janet.
"We'll look, "Teddy said.
So the children peered about in the bushes, but not a sign of Nicknack could they see. They called and called, but the goat did not bleat back to them.
"Oh, where can. he be?" asked Janet, and her eyes filled with tears, for she loved the pet animal very much.
"We'll look," said Teddy. "And if we can't find him we'll ask grandpa to help us look."
They wandered about, but not going too far from the leafy bower, and, all at once, Ted cried:
"Hark! I hear him!"
"So do I!" added Janet. "Oh, where is he?"
"Listen!" returned her brother.
They both listened, hardly breathing, so as to make as little noise as possible. Once more they heard the cry of the goat:
"Baa-a-a-a-a-a!" went Nicknack. "Baa-a-a-a!"
"He's over this way!" cried Teddy, and he started to run to the left.
"No, I think he's here," and Janet pointed to the right.
"What's the matter, Curlytops?" asked Mrs. Martin, who came out just then to see what was keeping the children.
"We can hear Nicknack, but we can't see him," answered Ted.
Mrs. Martin listened to the goat's call.
"I think he's down this path," she said, and she took one midway between those Ted and Janet would have taken. "Come along!" she called back to the two children. "We'll soon find Nicknack."
"Here, Nicknack! Here, Nicknack!" called Ted.
"Come on, we want you to give us a ride!" added Janet.
But though the goat answered, as he nearly always did, his voice sounded afar off, and he did not come running to see his little friends.
"Oh, I wonder if anything is the matter with him? "asked Ted.
"We'll soon see," said Mrs. Martin.
Just then the barking of a dog was heard.
"Oh, I wonder if that's Skyrocket?" asked Janet.
"No, we left our dog home," said Mrs. Martin. "That sounds like a strange dog, and he seems to be barking at Nicknack. Come on, children. We'll see what the matter is!"
They hurried on, and, in a little while, they saw what had happened. Nicknack was caught in a thick bush by the rope around his horns. He had pulled the rope loose from his leafy bower, and it had dragged along after him as he wandered away. Then the end of the rope had become tangled in a thick bush and the goat could not pull it loose. He was held as tightly as if tied.
In front of him, but far enough away so the goat could not butt him with his horns, which Nicknack tried to do, was a big, and not very nice-looking, dog. This dog was barking fiercely at Nicknack, and the goat could not make him go away.
"Oh, Mother! don't let the dog hurt our goat!" begged Janet.
"I'll drive him away," cried Ted, catching up a stone.
"No, you had better let me do it," said Mrs. Martin. She picked up a stick and walked toward the dog, but he did not wait for her to get very close. With a last howl and a bark at Nicknack, the dog ran away, jumped into the lake and swam off toward shore. Then the rope was loosed and Nicknack, who was badly frightened, was led back by Ted and Jan and hitched to the wagon. He then gave them a fine ride. The dog was a stray one, which had swum over from the mainland, Grandpa Martin said.
Ted and Janet took the lemonade and crackers with them in the goat-wagon and had a nice little picnic in the woods.
"What can we do to-day?" asked Janet, as she and Teddy finished breakfast in the tent one morning, and, after playing about on the beach of the lake, wanted some other fun.
"Let's go swimming!" cried Teddy.
"And take Trouble with us," added his sister.
In their bathing suits and with Nora on the bank to watch them, the children were soon splashing in the cool water. Ted could swim a little bit, and Jan was just learning.
"Come on out where it's a little deeper," Ted urged his sister. "It isn't up to your knees here, and you can't swim in such shallow water."
"I'm afraid to go out," she said.
"Afraid of what?"
"Big fish or a crab."
"Pooh! those little crabs won't bite you, and when we splash around we scare away all the fish. They wouldn't bite you anyhow."
"Maybe a water snake would."
"No, it wouldn't," declared Ted. "Come on and see me swim."
So Jan waded out a little way with him. Ted was just taking a few strokes, really swimming quite well for so small a boy, when, all at once, he heard a cry from his sister.
"Oh, Ted! Ted!" she called. "Come on in, quick. A big fish is goin' to bite you!"
Ted gave one look over his shoulder and saw something with a pointed nose, long whiskers and two bright eyes swimming toward him.
"Oh!" yelled Ted, and he began running for shore as fast as he could splash through the water.