“I’ll help mother cook,” offered Nan.
“There will be a woman at the camp to cook,” Mr. Bobbsey explained. “I wrote up and engaged the wife of one of the lumbermen,” he said. “I thought you’d like a little rest from looking after housework even in camp,” he said to his wife.
“Thank you, I will,” she said. “It will be quite nice to be in the woods in winter; especially the Christmas tree woods, where there is so much greenery.”
On went the automobile, driven by Mr. Bobbsey. Lakeport was left behind and they were on a country road. The weather was fine, with hardly a cloud in the sky, and Mr. Bobbsey was glad that he had taken his family on this little trip.
It looked as though they were going to have good luck all the way. Noon came and saw them more than half over their journey, and as yet no mishaps had befallen them. There was no tire trouble and the engine of the big automobile seemed glad to work as hard as it could going up hill and on the level with the Bobbsey twins.
Mr. Bobbsey planned to get to Cedar Camp before dark, and he would have done so but for a little accident. They had left the town of Bunkport, which was the last village before the North Woods was reached, when the motor began to chug in a queer manner.
“What’s that?” asked Mrs. Bobbsey. “One of the cylinders seems to be missing.”
The Bobbsey twins knew what this meant. That one of the parts of the automobile engine was not working properly.
“Oh, Daddy!” exclaimed Freddie.
“I guess the spark plug needs cleaning,” said Mr. Bobbsey. “But we won’t stop for that now. I think we can reach Cedar Camp, and then I’ll have plenty of time to take it out and look at it.”