Snap barked and wagged his tail, looking rather pained at being asked such a question.
"No, indeedy, Snap couldn't take off a big freezer like dat," declared Dinah. "It wasn't Snap."
"Then who could it have been?" asked Nan. Everyone had stopped eating while this talk went on. "Who could have taken our ice cream?"
"Dat's what I don't know, honey," answered the colored cook. "Dat's why I comed in heah to tell yo' mamma. I 'spects, Mrs. Bobbsey, dat we'd better phonograph fo' de police."
"Phonograph—I guess you mean telephone; don't you, Dinah?" asked
Mrs. Bobbsey, with a smile.
"Yes'm, dat's what I done mean. Or else maybe we kin send mah man
Sam down to de Station house fo' 'em."
"No, I had better telephone, in case it is necessary. But perhaps I had better take a look out there. Perhaps the man from the store may have set the cream off to one side."
"No'm, he didn't do dat. I took p'ticlar notice where he set it. Dere's a wet ring-mark on de porch where de freezer was, 'count of de salty water leakin' out. An' dat wet ring-mark am all dat's left ob de cream, dar now!" and Dinah, standing with her hands on her hips, looked at the startled children, whose mouths were just ready for the ice cream.
"Well, I'm going to have a look, anyhow," said Bert. "Come on, Charley. Maybe, after all, that Danny Rugg is up to some of his tricks."
"I'm with you, Bert!" cried Charley. "But we ought to have some sort of a light. It's dark out."