The Bobbsey Twins at Home Part 31

"Don't let her hear you say that," whispered Tommy. "She's in the next room, and she doesn't like to think of calling in a doctor. She says she hasn't any money to pay him."

"But that's not right," Bert began. "She ought to----"

Just then Harry nudged his cousin, and winked his eye in a way Bert understood. So Bert did not finish what he had started to say. Instead he remarked:

"Is there anything we can do for you, Tommy?"

"No, thank you, I guess not," answered the other. "I'm all right now, and I don't believe I'll take cold."

When Bert and Harry were outside and on their way home, Bert asked:

"What did you punch me for in there?"

"I didn't want you to talk so much about a doctor. I guess they haven't any money to pay one."

"No, I guess they haven't."

"But what's the matter with my paying for one to make a visit?" asked Harry. "Dad gave me some money to spend when I came on this visit, and I have most of it left. You've been doing all the treating. And you gave Tommy that suit; so I want to pay for a doctor's visit."

"We'll ask mother about it," said Bert. "I guess it would be better to have a doctor see Mrs. Todd."

Mrs. Bobbsey said it was very kind of Harry to think of using his pocket money to pay for a doctor for the sick.

"But you will not need to," she said. "There are physicians paid by the city to visit the poor. But I think we will have our own Dr. Young call and see her. The city physicians have enough to do in the Winter when there is so much illness. I'll send Dr. Young, and pay him myself."

Afterward Dr. Young told Mrs. Bobbsey that Mrs. Todd was not dangerously ill. She needed a tonic, perhaps, and this he gave her.

"But what she needs, most of all," he said, "is to get into a better house. It is not healthful down there. And she needs more and better food."

"Then I'll look after her," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "I belong to a club, the ladies of which are glad to help the poor. We will make Mrs. Todd our special case. I'll see what we can do about getting her into a better house, too. She is a very good woman and Mr. Bobbsey says he never had a better errand boy than Tommy."

Mrs. Bobbsey and the members of her club did many things for Mrs. Todd and Tommy. They planned to have them move into another house, but as the weather was very cold they decided that it was better for Mrs. Todd that she should wait a bit before making the change. Mrs. Bobbsey often sent good food to Tommy's grandmother. Sometimes Bert or Nan took the basket, and, when the weather was nice, Flossie and Freddie were allowed to go.

One Sat.u.r.day afternoon about a week after the country visitors had gone home, when Dinah had finished baking bread, cake and pies, Mrs. Bobbsey said:

"I wish Mrs. Todd had some of these good things. But I haven't time to go down there to-day, and Bert and Nan are away."

"Let us go, Mother," begged Flossie. "Freddie and I can carry the basket easily."

"Well, I suppose you could," said Mrs. Bobbsey slowly. "It isn't very cold out to-day, though it looks as if it would snow. But perhaps it won't until you get back. You know the way to Mrs. Todd's now, and it isn't too far for you. But hurry back."

The little twins promised, and were soon on their way. They had often gone on long walks by themselves, for they knew their way fairly well about the city, and down toward Tommy's house there were few wagons or automobiles, so it was safe for them.

Carrying the basket of good things Flossie and Freddie were soon at the place where Mrs. Todd lived.

"You are good little ones to come so far to bring an old woman something to eat," said Mrs. Todd, with a smile, when she opened the door. "Come in and sit by the fire to get warm."

"We can't stay very long," said Flossie.

But she and Freddie stayed longer than they meant to, for Mrs. Todd knew many stories and she told the little twins two or three as they sat by the fire.

"Oh, it's snowing--snowing hard!" said Freddie suddenly, as he looked out of the window when Mrs. Todd had finished a story about a little red hen.

"Then we must hurry home," said Flossie.

They put on their wraps and overshoes and, bidding Mrs. Todd good-bye, off they went. But they had no sooner got outdoors than they found themselves in a bad storm. The wind was blowing hard, and the white flakes were swirling all around them.

"Why--why, I can hardly see!" cried Flossie. "It's just like a fog."

"And--and it's hard to breathe," said Freddie. "The wind blows right down my mouth."

"We could walk backwards and then it wouldn't," said Flossie, and they tried that for a while.

The children had been out in storms before, but they could not remember ever having been in one where the snow was so thick. As Flossie had said, she could hardly see because there were so many flakes coming down.

"Take hold of my hand, Freddie, and don't let go," said Flossie to her brother. "We don't want to get lost."

Along the street they walked as best they could, sometimes going backward so the wind would not blow in their faces so hard, and when they walked with their faces to the wind they held down their heads.

"Are we 'most home?" asked Flossie after a while.

"Well, I don't see our house," replied Freddie. "We've come far enough to be there, too."

They walked on a little farther and then Freddie stopped.

"What's the matter?" asked Flossie.

"I can't see any houses, or anything," answered her brother. "I--I guess we've come the wrong way, Flossie. I don't know where we are."

"Do you mean we--we're lost, Freddie?"

"I'm afraid so."

CHAPTER XXI

THE STRANGE MAN

The two Bobbsey twins stood in the snowstorm, looking at each other.

Though they were both brave they were rather worried now, for they did not know which way to go to get home. If there had been no snow it would have been easy, but the white flakes were so thick that they could hardly see ten feet ahead of them.

"What are we going to do, Freddie?" Flossie asked.

"Well, I don't know," he answered. "I guess we'll just have to keep on walking until we come to a house, and then we can ask which way our home is. Maybe somebody in the house will take us home."

"But we can't see any houses. How can we ask?" said Flossie, and her voice was trembling.