



Produced by Annie R. McGuire. This book was produced from
scanned images of public domain material from the Internet
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[Illustration: Book Cover]




[Illustration: "EXCUSE ME," SAID THE STRANGER, "BUT WE HAVE TO BE VERY
PARTICULAR HERE."]




BIKEY
THE SKICYCLE

& OTHER TALES
of JIMMIEBOY

       *       *       *       *       *

_By_
JOHN KENDRICK BANGS

_Author of_
"Uncle Sam Trustee," "Mr. Munchausen,"
"House Boat on the Styx," etc.


ILLUSTRATED BY PETER NEWELL

[Illustration]

       *       *       *       *       *

_New York_
RIGGS PUBLISHING COMPANY
MCMII




COPYRIGHT, 1902, BY
RIGGS PUBLISHING CO.




TABLE _of_ CONTENTS


[Illustration]

                                                                    PAGE
  I.  Bikey the Skicycle                                              11
  II.  The Imp of the Telephone                                       81
  III.  Caught in Toy Town                                           161
  IV.  Totherwayville, the Animal Town                               179
  V.  An Electrical Error                                            197
  VI.  In the Brownie's House                                        213
  VII.  Jimmieboy--and Something                                     231
  VIII.  Jimmieboy's Fire Works                                      247
  IX.  High-Jinks in the Barn                                        265
  X.  Jimmieboy's Valentine                                          275
  XI.  The Magic Sled                                                291
  XII.  The Stupid Little Apple Tree                                 309




ILLUSTRATIONS


[Illustration]

  "Excuse me," said the stranger, "but we have to
      be very particular here"                          See Frontispiece
  Before him stood the Imp                                Facing page 74
  "At last!" ejaculated the Imp                                      124
  The Electric Custard                                               150
  "No wonder it wouldn't say anything," he cried                     186
  "I'm very glad to see you Sharkey," said the Lobster               234
  "Your ears would be frozen solid"                                  270
  "Hullo! said his papa, where have you been?"                       298




BIKEY THE SKICYCLE




I

_HOW IT ALL CAME ABOUT_


Jimmieboy's father had bought him a bicycle, and inasmuch as it was
provided with a bag of tools and a nickel plated bell the small youth
was very much pleased with the gift.

"It's got rheumatic tires, too," he said, when describing it to one of
his little friends.

"What's that?" asked the boy.

"Big pieces of hose pipe," said Jimmieboy. "They run all around the
outside of the wheel and when you fill 'em up with wind and screw 'em up
tight so's the wind can't get out, papa says, you can go over anything
easy as a bird."

"I s'pose," said the little friend, "it's sort of like sailing, maybe.
The wind keeps blowing inside o' those pipes and that makes the wheels
go round."

"I guess that's it," returned Jimmieboy.

"But I don't see why they call 'em rheumatic," said the other boy.

"Nor I don't, either," said Jimmieboy, "unless it's because they move a
little stiff at first."

It was not long, however, before Jimmieboy discovered that his father
had made a mistake when he said that the pneumatic tire would enable a
bicycle to ride over anything, for about a week later Jimmieboy tried to
ride over the shaft of a lawn mower with his wheel, with disastrous
results. The boy took a header, and while he himself was not hurt beyond
a scratch or two and a slight shaking up, which took away his appetite,
the wonderful rubber tire was badly battered. What was worse, the
experience made Jimmieboy a little afraid of his new possession, and for
some time it lay neglected.

A few nights ago, however, Jimmieboy's interest in his wheel was aroused
once more, and to-day it is greater than ever, and it all came about in
this way. His father and mother had gone out to make some calls and the
youngster was spending a few minutes of solitude over a very fine fairy
book that had recently been sent to him. While he was gazing at a
magnificent picture of Jack slaying two giants with his left hand and
throttling a dragon with his right, there came a sudden tinkling of a
bell.

"Somebody's at the telephone," thought Jimmieboy, and started to go to
it, when the ringing sound came again, but from a part of the house
entirely away from the neighborhood of the telephone.

"Humph," said Jimmieboy. "That's queer