"Oh, here they are!" suddenly exclaimed a voice back of Mr. Bobbsey and the others.
Turning, Bert saw his mother, with Aunt Sarah, Flossie, Freddie and Nan. They had come up the hill to look down into the valley and see what all the excitement was about.
"Yes, here we are!" cried Mr. Bobbsey. "Isn't this great? It's a sham battle."
"What for?" asked his wife, and she had to speak loudly to be heard above the rattle and bang of the guns.
"For moving pictures," answered Mr. Bobbsey, pointing to the men with the cameras, for now three or four of them were at work, taking views of the "fight" from different places.
"Mercy! What a racket!" exclaimed Aunt Sarah.
"Oh, I don't like it!" cried Flossie, covering her ears with her chubby hands. "Take me away, mamma; I'm afraid of the guns!"
"Pooh! There's nothing to be scared of!" exclaimed Freddie. "I'm going to be a soldier when I grow up, and shoot a gun."
"You can't play with me if you do," declared Flossie, when the bang of the cannon stopped for a moment, leaving the air quiet.
"I don't want to play with girls—I'm going to be a fighting soldier!" declared Freddie. "Hi! Hark to the guns! Boom! Boom!" and he jumped up and down as the cannon thundered again.