s now in line with the front stoop, and he raised
his tall hat to the ladies like a real Uncle Sam.

"Oh, the bear! the bear!" called everybody, as they saw "Teddy" coming
up.

"That's great," continued Uncle Daniel.

By this time Mr. Bobbsey had returned with the camera.

"Halt!" called Harry, and the procession stood still.

"Look this way. There now, all ready," said Mr. Bobbsey, and snap went
the camera on as pretty a picture as ever covered a plate.

"Right wheel! forward march!" called Nan again, and amid drumming and
tooting the procession started off to parade through the center of
Meadow Brook.

CHAPTER X

A GREAT DAY

Never before had such a parade been seen in the little country place,
and all along the road cheer after cheer greeted our young friends, for
even the few old soldiers who lived in Meadow Brook enjoyed the
children's Fourth of July fun.

By lunch time the procession had covered all the ground planned, so
from the postoffice the cadets and regulars started back over the shady
country road.

And at home they found a surprise awaiting them!

Ice cream on the lawn for everybody in the parade.

Aunt Sarah and Uncle Daniel had set out all the garden benches, and
with the two kinds of ice cream made by Dinah and Martha, besides the
cookies and jumbles Aunt Sarah supplied, with ice-cold lemonade that
John passed around, surely the tired little soldiers and cadets had
splendid refreshment!

"My goat almost runned away!" lisped Freddie. "But I held on tight like
a real fireman."

"And mine wanted to stop and eat grass in the middle of the big
parade," Roy told them.

"Now eat up your ice cream. Nettie, have some more? Jack, you surely
need two plates after carrying that bear skin," said Uncle Daniel.

The youngsters did not have to be urged to eat some more of the good
things, and so it took quite a while to "finish up the rations," as
Uncle Daniel said.

"They're goin' to shoot the old cannon off, father," Harry told Uncle
Daniel, "and we're all going over on the pond bank to see them, at
three o'clock."

"They're foolish to put powder in that old cracked gun," remarked Uncle
Daniel. "Take care, if you go over, that you all keep at a safe
distance."

It was not long until three o'clock, and then when all the
red-white-and-blue things had been stored away for another year, the
boys hurried off to see Peter Burns fire the old cannon.

Quite a crowd of people had gathered ab