“Skywocket nice dog!” exclaimed Trouble. “Me ’ike dis dog, too!”
“Yes, you like a good many things,” laughed Mrs. Martin, as she smoothed out Baby William’s hair. “You like to get in the dirt, too!”
Good-byes were said to the ice-cream boy and his mother, and when a supply of lollypops had been bought for Ted, Jan and Trouble, Mr. Martin started the automobile, and once more they were on their way to Silver Lake.
Nothing more worth telling you about happened until they reached the place where the Curlytops expected to have such good times with Uncle Ben on the water. The only little thing that really did happen was that Trouble dropped his lollypop when they were almost at the lake, and he wanted his father to stop the machine and get his bit of candy on a stick.
But as Trouble had eaten more than half of the lollypop, and as it was wet and sticky and had dropped in the dust, Mrs. Martin did not think it would be a good thing to give it back to Trouble.
“I’ll give you another when we get to Silver Lake,” she said, and with that the little fellow was satisfied.
On chugged the automobile, up hill and down, through the woods, now and then passing through small towns, and finally Mr. Martin said:
“There it is!”
“What?” asked Ted and Jan both at once.
“Silver Lake!” answered their father. “See it just ahead of you, at the bottom of the hill, sparkling in the sun!”