Part 21 (1/2)

”What's--the--matter--there?” called Dorothy, in a very drowsy voice, from her window at the other end of the roof.

”What are you boys after?” called Uncle William, from a middle window.

”Anything the matter?” asked Aunt Sarah, anxiously, from the spare room.

”Got a burgulor?” shrieked Freddie, from the nursery.

”Do you want any help?” offered Susan, her head out of the top-floor window.

All these questions came so thick and fast on the heads of Bert and Harry that the boys had no idea of answering them. Certainly the bird was nowhere to be seen, and they did not feel like advertising their ”April-fool game” to the whole house, so they decided to crawl into bed again and let others do the same.

The window in the boys' room was a bay, and each time the pecking disturbed them they thought the sound came from a different part of the window. Bert said it was the one at the left, so where the ”bird”

called from was left a mystery.

But neither boy had time to close his eyes before the noise started up again!

”Well, if that isn't a ghost it certainly is a ban-shee, as Dinah said,” whispered Bert. ”I'm going out to Uncle William's room and tell him. Maybe he will have better luck than we had,” and so saying, Bert crept out into the hall and down two doors to his uncle's room.

Uncle William had also heard the sound.

”Don't make a particle of noise,” cautioned the uncle, ”and we can go up in the cupola and slide down a post so quietly the bird will not hear us,” and as he said this, he, in his bath robe, went cautiously up the attic stairs, out of a small window, and slid down the post before Bert had time to draw his own breath.

But there was no bird to be seen anywhere!

”I heard it this very minute!” declared Harry, from the window.

”It might be bats!” suggested Uncle William. ”But listen! I thought I heard the girls laughing,” and at that moment an audible t.i.tter was making its way out of Nan's room!

”That's Dorothy's doings!” declared Uncle William, getting ready to laugh himself. ”She's always playing tricks,” and he began to feel about the outside ledge of the bay window.

But there was nothing there to solve the mystery.

”A tick-tack!” declared Harry, ”I'll bet, from the girls' room!” and without waiting for another word he jumped out of his window, ran along the roof to Nan's room, and then grabbed something.

”Here it is!” he called, confiscating the offending property. ”You just wait, girls!” he shouted in the window. ”If we don't give you a good ducking in the ocean for this to-morrow!”

The laugh of the three girls in Nan's room made the joke on the boys more complete, and as Uncle William went back to his room he declared to Mrs. Bobbsey and Aunt Emily that his girl, Dorothy, was more fun than a dozen boys, and he would match her against that number for the best piece of good-natured fun ever played.

”A bird!” sneered Bert, making fun of himself for being so easily fooled.

”A girls' game of tick-tack!” laughed Harry, making up his mind that if he did not ”get back at Dorothy,” he would certainly have to haul in his colors as captain of the Boys' Brigade of Meadow Brook; ”for she certainly did fool me,” he admitted, turning over to sleep at last.

CHAPTER XVII

OLD FRIENDS

”Now, Aunt Sarah,” pleaded Nan the next morning, ”you might just as well wait and go home on the excursion train. All Meadow Brook will be down, and it will be so much pleasanter for you. The train will be here by noon and leave at three o'clock.”