“Well, I wanted to see what made it,” went on Freddie. “I heard a noise and it woke me up.”
“Did the noise wake you, too, Mother?” asked Nan.
“Well, some noise did, but I think it was Freddie falling out of bed that I heard,” answered Mrs. Bobbsey.
“I didn’t fall out of bed!” insisted Freddie. “I got out all right, and then, in the dark, I fell over one of these old boxes. It was a noise like one of these broken boxes being dragged over the floor that I heard. There it goes again!” he cried, pointing to a dark corner of the cabin. “Listen!”
Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey each held a flashlight now, but the beams were turned away from the corner toward which Freddie pointed so that it was quite dark over there. Truly enough, a noise had come from there.
Quickly Mr. Bobbsey pointed his light in that direction and an instant later there was a scurrying of feet and a rattle of wood.
“Look! It’s a dog!” cried Freddie.
“Or maybe a skunk!” shouted Bert. “Better be careful!”
“No, that wasn’t a skunk,” said his father. “It was a dog, and he seemed to be dragging that broken box, which would have made the noise which Freddie heard.”
The dog had quickly run out, and when Mr. Bobbsey went over to the corner, where it seemed to have been hiding during the excitement, the reason for it all was explained.