By turns Flossie and Freddie told their story, Freddie doing the "Wuff! Wuff!" part very earnestly, until Flossie begged him to stop, as he "skeered" her. Dinah, too, came waddling into the room, bringing a candle which dripped grease down on her bare feet. The grease was hot, and as Dinah felt it, she gave a yell which was almost as startling as was Freddie's. "Oh, what is it?" cried Mrs. Bobbsey. "Candle grease done splashed on mah toe, an' burnt me," Dinah explained, as she stood on one foot, and held the other on top of it to ease the pain. "There it is! There it is!" suddenly cried Freddie. "There's the bear!" and he leaned so far out of the window that Bert had to catch his little brother by his night gown to save him from a possible fall. Mrs. Bobbsey and Aunt Sarah looked out, and saw a big black object come into the moonlight. "Oh, it _is_ a bear!" declared Mrs. Bobbsey. "It does look like some strange beast," agreed Aunt Sarah. "I wish Mr. Bobbsey were here," said the lumber merchant's wife. "Uncle Daniel will fix him!" declared Freddie. "Uncle Daniel's got a gun. Mamma, can't I take my fire engine and squirt water on that bear?" "No, indeed!" answered Mrs. Bobbsey. "Get back to bed right away." "Dan, you'd better see what it is," said Aunt Sarah, as her husband, half dressed, was heard out in the hall. "There _is_ some animal under the lilac bush." "I'll soon have him out of that," said the farmer. He had his gun with him, and while the children watched from the window, they saw him step out of the kitchen door. "Oh, he's going to shoot!" cried Freddie in a shrill whisper, as he watched his uncle. "I don't want to hear him!" murmured Flossie, as she got into her crib, and pulled the bed clothes over her ears. But Bert, Nan and the others watched. Then, just as Uncle Daniel raised the gun, to shoot at something black which he saw beneath the lilac bush, an animal rushed out, and gave a howl. Hardly had that died away than there sounded a loud: "Bow! Wow! Wow!" This was repeated several times. "Oh, it's only a dog!" cried Bert. "Is it Snap?" Freddie wanted to know. "No, it's a big black stray dog," answered Bert. "No wonder Freddie thought it was a bear," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "Now it's all over, go back to bed, and sleep in peace." And it was only a dog that had caused all the excitement. The animal ran out into the moonlight, stood a moment looking at Uncle Daniel with the gun, and then gave more barks. It was as if he said he did not like to be chased away in that fashion. "Well, it's a good thing I didn't shoot him," said Uncle Daniel as he came back into the house. "Whose dog was it?" asked his wife. "Snook's big black one. He was hunting for a bone, I guess, and he must have sniffed and snuffed when the dirt got up his nose. That woke Freddie. It was only a dog." "Only a dog!" murmured Freddie. "I thought it was a bear!"