CHAPTER XIV
FREDDIE'S FISH
Although she was a little worried about Freddie, Mrs. Bobbsey felt quitesure nothing very serious could happen to him. He would not go nearenough the railing of the deck to fall over, for he and Flossie, as wellas Bert and Nan, had promised not to do this while they were on the_Swallow_. And if the little boy had gone "downstairs," as Flossie said,he could be in no danger there.
"Even if he went to the motor room," thought Mrs. Bobbsey, "he couldcome to no harm, for there is a man there all the while looking afterthe engine. But I must find him."
Flossie was still sobbing a little, and looking about the deck as if, bysome chance, her doll might still be there.
"Tell me how it happened, Flossie," said Mrs. Bobbsey.
Her husband was down in the cabin, talking to Captain Crane and CousinJasper. The cook was getting things ready for supper, one of the men wassteering, and another was looking after the engine. Nan and Bert were upin the bow of the boat, watching the waves and an occasional seagullflying about, and Flossie was with her mother. The only one of herfamily Mrs. Bobbsey did not know about was Freddie.
"It happened this way," said Flossie. "I was playing up here with myrubber doll, making believe she was a princess, and I was putting a goldand diamond dress on her, when Freddie came up with a lot of string. Iasked him what he was going to do, and he said he was going to fish, andhe asked me if I had a piece of cookie."
"What did he want of a piece of cookie?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey.
"He wanted it to fasten on his line for bait for the fishes, he said,"went on Flossie. "But I didn't have any cookie. I did have some beforethat, and so did Freddie. The cook gave them to us, but I did eat all mypiece up and so did Freddie. So I didn't have any for his fishline."
"Then what happened?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey, as she started down thecompanionway to look for Freddie.
"Well, Freddie asked me to go and get some more cookie from the cook,and I did, 'cause I was hungry and I wanted to eat more. But I couldn'tfind the cook, and when I came back upstairs again, and outdoors--hereon deck, I mean--I saw Freddie grab up my doll, and run down the otherstairs."
"Oh, well, maybe he only took it in fun," said Mrs. Bobbsey, and she wasnot at all worried now, feeling sure Freddie was safe, though he mightbe in some sort of mischief.
"Anyhow he took my doll," Flossie went on. "And he wouldn't bring herback to me when I told him to. Then I--I cried."
"Yes, I heard you," said her mother. "But you mustn't be such a baby,Flossie. Of course it wasn't right for Freddie to take your doll, butyou shouldn't have cried about a little thing like that. I'll tell himhe mustn't plague you."
"But, Mother! he was going to throw my doll into the ocean, I'm sure hewas."
"Oh, no, Flossie! Freddie wouldn't do a thing like that!"
"But I saw him tying a string to her, and I'm sure he was going to throwher into the ocean."
"Well, then he could pull her out again."
"Yes, but I don't want my doll in the ocean. The ocean is salty, and ifsalty water gets in her eyes it might spoil them."
Mrs. Bobbsey wanted to laugh, but she did not dare, for that would havemade Flossie feel worse than ever.
"What makes you think Freddie was going to toss your doll into theocean?" asked Flossie's mother.
"'Cause, before that he wanted me to do it to give her a bath. He had along string and he said, 'let's tie it to the rubber doll and let herswim in the ocean.'"
"No, he mustn't do that, of course," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "And I'll tellhim so when I find him. But perhaps he didn't do it, Flossie."
"Oh, yes he did!" said the little girl. "When he ran downstairs with mydoll, and wouldn't come back when I hollered at him, he was tying astring on her then. Oh, dear!"
"Never mind! I'll get your doll back," Mrs. Bobbsey said. "But first wemust find Freddie."
"He went down those stairs," said Flossie, pointing to a flight that ledto the motor room, where the engine was chug-chugging away, sending the_Swallow_ over the waves. "He went down there."
The engine room of the motor boat was a clean place, not like the engineroom on a steamboat, filled with coal dust and a lot of machinery, andMrs. Bobbsey knew it would be all right for her and Flossie to go downthere and see what Freddie was doing.
"Now don't cry any more," Flossie's mother told her, giving the littlegirl a handkerchief on which to dry her tears. "We'll get your dollback, and I'll have to scold Freddie a little, I think."
"Maybe you can't find him," said Flossie.
"Oh, yes I can," her mother declared.
"You can't find him if he is hiding away."
"I don't think he will dare hide if he hears me calling him."
"Maybe he will if he's got my doll," pouted Flossie.
"Now, Flossie, you mustn't talk that way. I don't believe Freddie meantto be naughty. He was only heedless."
"Well, I want my doll!"
It was no easy matter for little Flossie to get down into the engineroom of the motor boat. The little iron stairway was very steep, and thesteps seemed to be very far apart.
"Let me help you, Flossie," said her mother. "I don't want you to falland get yourself dirty."
"Oh, Mother, it isn't a bit dirty down here!" the little girl returned."Why, it's just as clean as it can be!"
"Still, there may be some oil around."
"I'll be very careful. But please let me go down all by myself,"answered the little girl.
She was getting at that age now when she liked to do a great many thingsfor herself. Often when there was a muddy place to cross in the street,instead of taking hold of somebody's hand Flossie would make a leapacross the muddy place by herself.
Knowing how much her little girl was disturbed over the loss of herdoll, Mrs. Bobbsey, at this time, allowed her to have her own way. Andslowly and carefully the stout little girl lowered herself from one stepof the iron ladder to the next until she stood on the floor of theengine room.
"Now, I got down all right, didn't I?" she remarked triumphantly.
"Yes, my dear, you came down very nicely," the mother answered.
Down in the engine room a man was oiling the machinery. He looked up asMrs. Bobbsey and Flossie came down the stairs.
"Have you seen my little boy?" asked Freddie's mother. "My little girlsays he came down here."
"So he did," answered the engineer. "I asked him if he was coming tohelp me run the boat, and he said he would a little later. He hadsomething else to do now, it seems."
"What?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey.
"Well, he said he wanted to go fishing. And as I knew you wouldn't wanthim leaning over the rail I showed him where he could fish out of one ofthe portholes of the storeroom. A porthole is one of the round windows,"the engineer said, so Flossie would know what he was talking about. "Iopened one of the ports for him, and said he could drop his line out ofthat. Then he couldn't come to any harm."
"Did he have a line?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey.
"Yes, a good, strong one. I guess he must have got it off Captain Crane.He's a fisherman himself, the captain is, and he has lots of hooks andlines on board."
"Oh, I hope Freddie didn't have a hook!" cried Mrs. Bobbsey.
"No'm," answered the engineer. "I didn't see any, and I don't think hedid have any. He just had a long string, and I thought all he was goingto do was to dangle it out of the porthole in the storeroom. He couldn'tcome to any harm there, I knew, and I could keep my eye on him once in awhile."
"Did he have my rubber doll?" asked Flossie.
"I didn't see any doll," answered the engineer. "But he's in there now,"he went on. "You can ask him yourself."
Looking out of the engine room, Freddie could be seen farther back inthe motor boat, in a place where boxes and barrels of food, and thingsfor the boat, were kept. One of the side ports was open, and Freddie'shead was stuck out of this, so he could not see his mother and Flossieand the engineer looking at him.
"Well, I'm
glad he's all right," said Mrs. Bobbsey with a sigh ofrelief. "Thank you for looking after him."
"Oh, I like children," said the man with a smile. "I have some littleones of my own at home."
Mrs. Bobbsey and Flossie went into the storeroom. Freddie did not hearthem, for his head was still out of the round window. There was nodanger of his falling out, for he could not have got his shouldersthrough, so Mrs. Bobbsey was not frightened, even though the little boywas leaning right over deep water, through which the _Swallow_ wasgliding.
"Oh, where is my doll?" asked Flossie, looking about and not seeing it."I want my rubber doll!"
"I'll ask Freddie," said Mrs. Bobbsey, and then, in a louder voice, shecalled:
"Freddie! Freddie! Where is Flossie's doll? You mustn't take it awayfrom her. I shall have to punish you for this!"
For a moment it seemed as if the little boy had not heard what hismother had said. Then, when she called him again, he pulled his head infrom the porthole and whispered:
"Please don't make a noise, Mother! I'm fishing, and a noise alwaysscares the fish away!"
"But, Freddie, fishing or not, you mustn't take Flossie's playthings,"his mother went on.
Freddie did not answer for a moment. He had wound around his hand partof a heavy cord, which Mrs. Bobbsey knew was a line used to catch bigfish. Freddie was really trying to catch something, it seemed.
"Is there a hook on that line?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey, fearing, after all,that her little boy might have found one.
"Oh, no, Mother, there's no hook," Freddie answered. "I just tiedon----" And then a queer look came over his face. His hand, with theline wound around it, was jerked toward the open porthole and the littleboy cried:
"Oh, I got a fish! I got a fish! I got a big fish!"
The Bobbsey Twins on the Deep Blue Sea Page 14
