"There go the drums!" Nan declared. "We must be careful to get down the
lane without being seen." This was easily managed, and now the girls
and boys met at the end of the lane.

"Hurrah! hurrah!" shouted the boys, beating the drums and blowing their
horns to welcome the girls.

"Oh, don't you look fine!" exclaimed Harry, who was captain of the boys.

"And don't you too!" Nan answered, for indeed the boys had such funny
big hats on and so many flags and other red-white-and-blue things, that
they too made a fine appearance.

"And Freddie!" exclaimed the girls. "Isn't he a lovely Uncle Sam!"

Freddie was dressed in the striped suit Uncle Sam always wears, and had
on his yellow curls a tall white hat. He was to ride in Jack Hopkins'
goat wagon.

"Fall in!" called Harry, and at the word all the companies fell in line.

"Cadets first," ordered the captain.

Then Flossie walked the very first one. After her came Nan and her
company. (No one noticed that Nettie's eyes were a little red from
crying. She had been so disappointed at first when she thought she
couldn't go in the parade.) After the girls came Freddie as Uncle Sam,
in the goat wagon led by Bert (for fear the goat might run away), then
fifteen boys, all with drums or fifes or some other things with which
to make a noise. Roy was in the second division with his wagon, and
last of all came the funniest thing.

A boy dressed up like a bear with a big sign on him:

TEDDY!

He had a gun under his arm and looked too comical for anything.

It was quite warm to wear a big fur robe and false face, but under this
was Jack Hopkins, the bear Teddy, and he didn't mind being warm when he
made everybody laugh so.

"Right foot, left foot, right foot, forward march!" called Nan, and the
procession started up the path straight for the Bobbsey house.

"Goodness gracious, sakes alive! Do come see de childrens! Ha, ha! Dat
sure am a parade!" called Dinah, running through the house to the front
door to view the procession.

"Oh, isn't it just beautiful!" Martha echoed close at Dinah's heels.

"My!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey; "how did they ever get made up so pretty!"

"And look at Flossie!" exclaimed Aunt Sarah.

"And see Freddie!" put in Uncle Daniel.

"Oh, we must get the camera!" Mr. Bobbsey declared, while the whole
household, all excited, stood out on the porch when the parade advanced.

Such drumming and such tooting of fifes and horns!

Freddie's chariot wa