Freddie Bobbsey

“ Johnson, her husband, kept the lawns so nice and green for the
children to play on.
Just now Freddie Bobbsey would have been very glad, indeed, to be playing on that same lawn instead of being on his brother's bicycle, rolling toward the team of lumber horses, who were coming straight for him.
"Oh, look at Freddie! Look at Freddie!" screamed Flossie, dropping the two book straps which she had at last found. "Save him, Nan! Bert! Oh, Freddie!"
"I 'clar t' goodness!" exclaimed fat Dinah in the kitchen. "Dem chillens am up t' some mo' trouble!"
"Freddie, steer to one side! Steer out of the way!" ”

“ Some sat on my cheeks, though, and melted, and it's those what you see, Freddie Bobbsey, and not tears at all! I hardly ever cry, so there!"
"You cried when I busted your doll," Freddie said.
"Well, that was a good while ago," Flossie insisted, "and I was only a little girl. I hardly ever cry since I've growed up."
"No, I guess that's right," Freddie said. "She's 'bout as brave as me," he went on to the man. ”

“ Bobbsey's lumberyard was nearly burned out. Freddie Bobbsey was very fond of a toy fire engine he had been given for Christmas, and his father often called Freddie a "little fireman," just as Flossie was named a "fairy."
"Well, if it's only a make-believe fire we can sit here and cool off," went on Nan. "What were you doing, Flossie?" she asked her little sister.
"Oh, I was having a race with our cat Snoop; but I guess I beat, 'cause
Snoop didn't get here to the porch before I did."
"Yes, you won the race all right," laughed Bert. "But it's too hot for any more running games. ”

“ Freddie never forgot that. Of course the fire was almost out, and it was only one of the small hose lines that the fireman let the little fellow help hold, but, for all that, Freddie was very happy.
"Did you write to the circus people to-day about our silver cup, and that trick dog?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey of her husband, that night.
"I declare, I didn't!" he exclaimed. "The fire upset me so that it slipped my mind. I'll do it the first thing to-morrow. There is no special hurry. How is the dog, by the way?" ”

“ Mr. Bobbsey himself came hurrying down the street, from the direction of his lumber office. He seemed much excited, and his hat was on crooked, as though he had not taken time to put it on straight.
"Is everything all right?" he called to his wife. "None of the children hurt?"
"No, none of them," she answered with a smile. Mr. Bobbsey could see that for himself now, since Freddie and Flossie were going up the walk together, Freddie tying one of the book straps around the dog's neck, while Nan and Bert followed behind them, with Mrs. Bobbsey. ”

“ Meanwhile, I'll be searching around here for him, and I'll get some of the men to look with me."
"All right," agreed James, hurrying off. While he was gone Mr. Bobbsey looked around the many lumber piles near the bundles of shingles where Freddie had last been seen. But no little boy was in sight, being, as we know, fast asleep, with the big yard cat, under the pile of boards which had fallen in the shape of a little play-house.
"This is queer," thought Mr. Bobbsey. "Freddie never goes home by himself after he has come to see me without telling me that he is going. I wonder where he is." ”

“ Freddie said.
“Well, I’m going in,” Bert declared. “I want to see what’s there. Nothing can hurt you,” he went on. “Even if a pirate was there once he’s gone now.”
“You go in first, and then maybe I will,” Freddie suggested. So Bert disappeared into the blackness. Freddie was just going to ask if everything was all right when Bert suddenly shouted:
“Oh! Oh! I’m falling! Oh, Freddie!”
Then the older boy’s voice died away and Freddie was left alone, outside the pirate’s cave.
[Pg 224]
CHAPTER XXI FLOSSIE’S TARTS
Freddie Bobbsey was a resourceful little lad for his age. ”

“ Sometimes a cat will put her head in a tin can to get whatever there may be in it to eat. And the edges of the tin catch on her ears just as yours were caught, Freddie. So be careful after this."
Freddie promised that he would, and then the hiding game went on. Only Freddie, you may be sure, did not look behind the piano again, and no one hid there.
"Oh, your party was perfectly lovely, Nan!" said the girls and boys when they had finished their games, and had eaten the good things Mrs. Bobbsey set on the table. ”

“ Then he shook him very gently.
"Oh!" cried Freddie. "Oh! Wha—what do you want? Let me sleep! It isn't time to get up yet."
"Freddie, I want you to wake up," said Bert.
"Who is talking?" came from across the hallway, in Mr. Bobbsey's voice.
"I'm talking, papa," answered Bert. He ran to the doorway of his parents' bedchamber. "I've just found out who the ghost is," he continued.
"The ghost?" Mr. Bobbsey leaped up. "Where is it?"
"In bed now. It was Freddie, walking in his sleep. He was asking for another piece of strawberry shortcake." ”

“ Mr. Bobbsey did not call his little boy "fireman" now. That was a pet name, and used only when Freddie had been good, and he had been a little bad now, though perhaps he did not mean to.
"I—I cut the line to get a piece of rope," said Freddie.
"What did you want a piece of rope for?" asked his father.
"I wanted to make a lasso to lasso Indians as Bert's going to do," Freddie answered. "I wanted a piece of clothes line for a lasso. But I didn't mean to make the clothes come down." ”

“ Bobbsey found it hard to imagine that such a thing could happen.
But one look up at the swaying basket dangling from the runaway balloon showed him the faces of Flossie and Freddie looking down at the earth which seemed to be dropping away from them.
"Oh, my children! My children! Flossie! Freddie!" cried Mrs. Bobbsey, tears streaming down her cheeks, as she raised her hands toward the swiftly rising balloon.
"Get them down!"
"We'll catch 'em if they jump!"
"Get a ladder!"
"Have the man in the aeroplane go after them!" ”

“ Bobbsey came out to see who had come in, and with her came a boy about Bert's age. At the sight of him Freddie cried:
"Why, it isn't company. It's cousin Harry!"
"Oh, Freddie! What happened to you?" his mother asked.
"I—I fell down in a puddle," said the little boy. "But I couldn't help it, Mother. Oh, Harry, I'm glad you've come!" Freddie went on. "We can slide down hill—— Oh, no, we can't either," he said quickly. "All the snow is melted. But Bert made a hill in our back yard and when it snows again we'll have lots of fun on it. ”

“ Bobbsey to the brakeman, who had brought in the news.
"Yes, sir. Our engineer stopped just in time."
"If we had hit him we'd gone off the track," said Freddy.
"No, we wouldn't," declared Flossie, who seemed bound to start a dispute. Perhaps she was so tired that she was fretful.
"Say, can't you two stop disputing all the while?" asked Bert, in a low voice. "You make papa and mamma nervous."
"Well, an elephant is big, anyhow," said Freddie.
"So he is, little Fat Fireman," said Nan, "Come and sit with me, and we can see the men catch the monkeys." ”

“ Ho, Bert! I want you!" called Mrs. Bobbsey.
"I guess she's going to scold us for making the hay slide on Flossie and Freddie," said Bert, rather anxiously.
"Well, we couldn't help it," replied his sister. "We didn't know it was so slippery. Yes, Mother; we're coming!" she answered, as Mrs. Bobbsey called again.
But, to the relief of Nan and Bert, their mother did not scold them. She just said:
"You must be a little more careful when you're playing where Flossie and Freddie are. They are younger than you, and don't so well know how to look out for themselves. You must look out for them. ”

“ Presently there was a rumble of thunder, not so loud, however, but that Mrs. Bobbsey heard the ringing of the front doorbell at the same time.
“I wonder who that is at this time of night, and out in all this storm,” she said to herself, as she arose and walked through the front hall. Before she reached the door she heard the patter of bare feet in the upper hall.
“Mother, did you hear the bell ring?” asked Freddie.
“I heard it! I haven’t been asleep yet,” called Flossie. “Is that daddy come home? I want to kiss him!”
“No, it can’t be your father—he has a key,” said Mrs. Bobbsey. ”

“ But as the ice-boat was too far away for the older Bobbseys to make their voices heard by Flossie and Freddie, Mr. Bobbsey and the others could only wave their hands.
"We must catch that boat!" cried Bert "No telling what it will do to them if it upsets. Come on! Run, everybody!"
He set off as fast as he could go, his father with him, while Mrs. Bobbsey and Nan came along more slowly.
"I guess they want us to come back and get them," said Freddie. "They must be tired. Well, I'll steer the boat back and we'll give them a ride. Won't it be fun, Flossie?" ”

“ She can't sew as much as she used to, but some ladies and myself are looking after her. Oh, I don't like to think of the danger Flossie and Freddie were in on that hill!"
"Oh, well, maybe they wouldn't have been hurt much," said Bert.
"Just the same, I think they would be safer on a little hill of their own," said Mr. Bobbsey. "Can't you find one for them, Bert?"
"Yes, I guess I could make a hill in the back yard for them."
"Make a hill? Why, Bert Bobbsey, nobody can make a hill!" cried Freddie. "It just has to grow." ”

“ Bobbsey. "It takes a great deal of work to make a moving picture play now-a-days, and often a company will build a whole house, only to set fire to it, or tear it down to make a good picture."
"If they set a house on fire," broke in Freddie, "I could put it out with my fire engine, and I'd be in the movies then."
"Oh, you and your fire engine!" laughed Bert, ruffling up his little brother's hair. "You think you can do anything with it."
"Well, I stopped the turkey gobbler from eating up Snoop," Freddie cried. ”

“ But I think I'll keep you two tots here, because——"
"We might get lost again—we get lost lots of times," said Freddie with a smile. "It's nice here. I like it!" and, very much at home, he looked around the office of the store owner. It was almost closing time, and Mr. Whipple was wondering whether in case the children's father did not come it would not be better to take them to his own home, when the clerk came back from the elevated station with Mr. Bobbsey himself.
"Oh, Daddy!" cried Flossie and Freddie. ”

“ Mr. Bobbsey spoke too late. Freddie's heel kicked over the glass, and the lemonade spilled right into Mrs. Bobbsey's lap.
"Oh, Freddie!" cried Bert.
"Never mind—it's an old dress," laughed Mrs. Bobbsey, "and there's more lemonade. Accidents will happen on picnics. Never mind, Freddie."
The cricket was "shooed" away by Nan, Freddie's glass was filled again, and the picnic went on merrily. Soon it was time to go back to the boat. ”

“ Freddie played with his fire engine to his heart's content, and, though he managed to get pretty wet himself, no one else suffered much.
And, a few days before Frank was to go back to his guardian Mr. Bobbsey gave the children another treat. They were taken to a nice moving picture show at Rosedale where the circus had been.
After some funny reels had been shown, there was flashed on the screen a schoolhouse, with the children clustering about the teacher.
"Oh, it's us! It's us!" whispered Nan. "Those are our pictures!"
"So they are!" agreed Bert. And they were. ”

“ Freddie said, thinking of the beautiful peaches in the Meadow Brook orchard that had not been quite ripe when the Bobbseys left the country for the seaside.
Numbers of people were crowded around the station when the boys got there, as the summer season was fast waning, so that Bert and Freddie had hard work to get a place near the platform for their cart.
"That's the train!" cried Bert. "Now watch out so that we don't miss them in the crowd," and the older brother jumped out of the cart to watch the faces as they passed along.
"There he is," cried Freddie, clapping his hands. "Harry! Harry! ”

“ But I want that silver cup very much, too. I hope your father finds it."
"But there never could be another Snoop," cried Flossie. "Could there, Freddie? And we could get another silver cup."
"Don't be silly," advised Bert, rather shortly.
"Oh, don't talk that way to them," said Nan. "They do love that cat so. Never mind, Flossie and Freddie. I'm sure we'll find him soon. Here comes papa."
Mr. Bobbsey came back, looking somewhat worried.
"Did you find her?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey anxiously.
"No," he replied, with a shake of his head. "She was the circus fat lady all right. ”

“ Bobbsey. "You see, children who have trials learn to appreciate more keenly than we, who have everything we need. That appreciation shows in their eyes, and so they seem closer to you, as you say."
"Oh! oh! oh!" screamed Freddie, "I think my duck is choked. He's got his head out the hole. Take Snoop, quick, Bert, till I get Downy in again," and the poor little fellow looked as scared as did the duck with his "head out of the hole."
"He can't get it in again," cried Freddie, pushing gently on the little lump of down with the queer yellow bill—the duck's head. ”

“ Bert and Harry raced away, to see who would first get to a certain point, while Freddie stayed with his little chums. Pretty soon, however, Freddie felt cold.
"I'm going in my father's office to get warm," he said to Johnnie Wilson who was with him. "Come on."
The two little chaps were soon in the warm office of the lumber yard. Freddie saw Tommy Todd come in, having been on an errand to the post-office for Mr. Bobbsey.
"Hello, Tommy!" called Freddie, who was warming his hands at the stove. "Why don't you go skating?"
"Haven't any skates," was the answer, and Tommy smiled. ”