By the time the Bobbsey twins and their friends had almost reached Meadow Brook, on their way back, they had met several persons--men or boys--who spoke of having heard of the escape of the circus animals. When the children came up the gravel walk of the farmhouse, Mrs. Bobbsey, seeing them from the side porch, where she was sitting, stringing beans for supper, called out: "Well you are back early. Did you get many berries?" "We didn't get any, mother," said Nan. "We--" "It's wild animals!" burst out Freddie, unable to keep quiet any longer. "A lion, a tiger and a bear! They got away from the circus, and they--they--" "What's all this?" interrupted Aunt Sarah, coming out with her sewing in her hands. Then, by turns, with many interruptions from Freddie, the story was told. Dinah listened with wide-opened eyes, and if she could have turned pale I think she would have done so. But of course she could not, for she was the color of a chocolate cake, and had to stay that way. "Oh, I don't believe a word of it!" exclaimed Uncle Daniel, when he heard the tale. "Every time a circus comes to town there is a story of wild animals escaping, but I've never seen any yet. I don't believe it at all!" But the children did, and later, when Uncle Daniel came back from a visit to the village store that evening, he had to admit that several persons had spoken to him about the wild beasts being loose. "Hadn't you better see if your shot gun is loaded?" his wife asked him. "Well, I will, if it will make you feel any easier," he agreed. "But there's no danger of any of them coming near here, even if they have escaped, which I don't believe." The children were rather frightened that night, and would not go far from the porch to play in the moonlight, which they usually did before going to bed. Of course Bert and Harry were not as frightened as were Flossie and Freddie, but they looked nervously over their shoulders at the dark places under the bushes as they passed them. Freddie, true to his promise, got out his toy fire engine, and filled the tank with water, winding up the spring that worked the pump and sent out the stream from the little rubber hose. "Now I'm ready for a lion or a tiger or a bear," he said. "Well, don't dream of them," said his mother. "Now it's time for bed." Whether the talk of the circus animals had made Freddie nervous, or whether he did dream of them, he could not clearly tell afterward. All he knew was that he did not sleep well, and, some time after going to bed he awakened with a start. There was no light in his room, but the moon shone in. He could look across to where Flossie was asleep in her crib. Then Freddie heard a noise. It came from outside and sounded like: "Wuff!" "Oh! Oh!" whispered Freddie to himself. "That's him! That's one of the wild animals! It's a bear! That's how bears go--'wuff!' Oh, it's come, and what shall I do!" He sat up in bed listening. He heard the noise again! "Wuff! Wuff!"