“Where’s Mother?” he asked Norah, who came into the hall to get her vanilla.
“Upstairs,” she answered. “What have you been doing, Bobby? Your face is as red as a beet.”
Bobby dashed upstairs without answering, and met Meg in the upstairs hall.
“Where’s Mother?” he asked again.
“Up in the attic, hunting for some red flannel to make a new tongue for Dot’s teddy bear,” replied Meg. “What do you want, Bobby?”
Bobby was already half-way up the attic stairs and Meg flew after him. Mother Blossom and the twins were looking over the contents of one of the rag bags in the middle of the attic floor and they were surprised when Bobby rushed toward them crying, “They’ve found the tramps, Mother! They ’rested two of them and one used to work for Mr. Bennett! The clerk in the grocery store says so!”
“Why, Bobby!” said Mother Blossom, reaching up and pulling her “big boy” as she often called Bobby, into her lap. “Why, Bobby, dear! Tell me about it, quick.”
Meg sat down on the floor to listen and Dot and Twaddles hung over Mother Blossom’s shoulder.
“I don’t know much about it,” said Bobby excitedly. “But the grocery store clerk told me the constable arrested two tramps this afternoon. He said folks said they might know something about the fire. And Daddy said so that night.”
“What night?” asked Dot curiously.