Freddy Goes to Florida by Walter R. Brooks Page B

of waiting, and when they had heard the first two yells they had started down the road to see what was going on. They had not seen Percy come out of the door, and when he saw them and let out his terrible yell, they had been much more scared than he was. Indeed, Mrs. Wiggins was quite faint and had to lie down for a few minutes by the road-side while Charles and Henrietta fanned her with their wings.
    â€œI’m all of a flutter!” she said. “Oh my, oh my! Just put your hoof on my side and feel how my heart beats, Hank. What a dreadful experience!”
    But pretty soon she was able to get up and be helped into the house.
    The burglars had left all the things they had stolen behind them in their flight, but as the animals had no matches, and as it was late, they decided not to do anything about them until morning. So they all curled up comfortably on the floor and went to sleep.

XVI
    Alice did not sleep very well that night. She had a stomach-ache. And she had a stomach-ache because she had eaten two chocolates and a caramel and a horehound drop that Robert had given her out of a bag of candy that he had found by the road-side. Robert had offered Emma some too, but she had very sensibly refused it. Candy doesn’t agree with ducks.
    So, as she couldn’t sleep, no matter how hard she tried, Alice got up before daylight and went out into the woods. The cool morning air made her feel sleepy, so she thought she would try again, and, having found a sheltered spot under a big pine, she tucked her head under her wing and dozed off. When she woke up, the sun was shining and the swallows were pouring like smoke out of the chimney in search of their breakfast.
    Alice called to one of them and asked him about the burglars.
    â€œThey’ve been here about a month,” said the swallow. “They go out every night and rob the farmers’ houses, and then come back and sleep all day. They usually get back about this time every morning, so you animals had better look out.”
    â€œI don’t think they will be back this morning,” said Alice. “But tell me, did they dig up the gold we found when we were here before?”
    â€œNo,” said the swallow. “They haven’t touched it.”
    â€œThank you,” said Alice. “That was all I wanted to know. Good-morning.” And she hurried back to tell the others that their treasure was safe.
    But when she got back to the house, she stopped in amazement on the threshold. Her sister, Emma, was waddling importantly up and down with a bracelet set with big blue sapphires round her neck and a beautiful bag, all made of little links of pure gold, tucked under her wing. The four mice, with diamond rings round their necks like collars, were playing tag in a corner, and they sparkled and glittered like little streaks of fire as they chased one another. Henrietta looked very queenly with a hoop of rubies set on her head like a crown. She was bending down and trying to see herself in the little mirror set in the cover of a powder box, which she had snapped open with her claw. But Mrs. Wiggins was most gorgeous of all. There was a rope of pearls about her big neck, and a platinum wrist watch on her left ankle. She had hung an emerald necklace on each horn, and they hung down and bobbed and dangled beside her broad, pleasant face like enormous ear-rings. And she had powdered her wide, black nose until it was as white as flour. She looked truly reckless.
    Alice, after a moment’s astonishment, entered into the fun. She found a thin, gold chain with a diamond and pearl locket which she hung round her neck, and then she went over to where Henrietta was still admiring herself in the powder-box cover, and asked if she might have some powder for her bill.
    â€œThere isn’t any left,” said Henrietta.
    â€œI’m sorry, Alice,” said Mrs. Wiggins. “I’m afraid I used it all up. There’s so much of me to powder, you