“I’ll go!” cried Nan, making a dash for the hall.
Bert was also ready to answer the ring, but his twin sister was a little bit ahead of him. And Flossie and Freddie were not far behind Bert, who ran out into the front hall in time to see Nan talking to the driver of an express wagon.
“Does Mr. Richard Bobbsey live here?” asked the expressman.
“Yes, sir,” answered Nan.
“But he isn’t home from the office yet,” added Bert.
“Well, I guess that won’t matter,” went on the man, with a laugh. “I have a box here for him. The charges are paid so I will leave it, if one of you will sign the receipt for it.”
“I’ll sign,” offered Nan, as she had often heard her mother say.
The box was set down in the front hall. It was of wood, and seemed quite heavy.
“What’s in it?” asked Bert.
“I don’t know,” the expressman answered. “Maybe it has a fortune in gold in it. Anyhow, there’s something that rattles. And a letter came to the office, asking us to deliver the box just before supper this evening. Maybe it has something good to eat in it.”