Janet had no such idea. She wouldn’t desert Ted in trouble.
While the little fellow is down in the old, dry well, trying to think of a way to get out, and while Janet is also puzzling her head over the same matter, I will take just a moment to let my new readers know something about the Curlytops.
I have told you the reason for their nickname. They had been christened in this order: Theodore Baradale Martin, who was called Ted or Teddy, except when he had done something wrong, and then he heard his full name spoken. Next came Janet Louise Martin, which was shortened into Janet or Jan. She was just a year younger than Ted. Last of all was William Anthony Martin. He was “Trouble,” you know.
Mr. Richard Martin, the father of Trouble and the Curlytops, was the owner of a large, general store in Cresco, in one of our eastern states. In the first book of this series, called “The Curlytops at Cherry Farm,” I related how the children went to visit Grandpa Martin on his wonderful farm, and I told you what happened after they reached there. During other vacation seasons the children traveled to Star Island, they were snowed in, visited Uncle Frank’s ranch, and camped on Silver Lake with Uncle Ben. The children had some queer pets, as you may learn by reading another book, and they had many playmates with whom they had jolly times. After a trip to the woods, the children found something in the sand, as told in the book just before this, called “The Curlytops at Sunset Beach.”
After the summer at the shore the Martin family returned to Cresco. Through the long winter Janet and Ted played in the snow. Then came spring. Now it was summer again and the long vacation had arrived.
“And it means a lot of work, too,” sighed Mrs. Martin, on the last day of school. “I’m sure I don’t know what the children will do with so much time on their hands!”
But this did not worry Ted, Janet or Trouble. They knew they could have fun, and one of the ways hit on by Ted and his sister was to play “diamond mine,” as we find them doing at the old well when this story opens.
“Do you think you can get out, Ted?” his sister called anxiously down into the depths of the dark well.
“I don’t know,” was Ted’s answer. “But don’t go away. I’m going to try to climb up, Jan.”
“How you going to climb up?” the little girl wanted to know.