The Bobbsey Twins in a Great City

by Laura Lee Hope

  CHAPTER IX

  IN THE STORE

  Mr. Bobbsey bought his tickets, put his change in his pocket, and turnedto gather his little party together to take them through the gate, pastthe ticket chopper.

  "Why, where are Freddie and Flossie?" he asked.

  Mrs. Bobbsey, Nan, Bert, none of them, had seen the little twins rush pastthe ticket chopper and on to the train. All began to turn here and thereexcitedly, looking about for the blue-eyed boy and girl.

  "Now, now," said Mr. Bobbsey, "don't worry. You, Bert, and your mother andNan will wait here at the head of the stairs, while I go down to thestreet and see if the children went down there again. I'll not be gonelong. If they are not close at hand, I'll come back to you before makingfurther search. Now, as I said, don't worry. In a city children arealways quickly found."

  Mr. Bobbsey did as he said, but, of course, saw nothing of Freddie andFlossie, who were now having a very nice ride and a very good time indeedon the elevated express train.

  By this time the ticket chopper, the agent who sold tickets, the stationporter and several persons who were waiting to take a train, had heardfrom Nan and Bert what had happened. These people offered all sorts ofadvice, but Mr. Bobbsey thought it best to listen to that of the ticketagent, who, of course, would know more about the elevated trains thanpersons who only rode on them two or three times a day.

  The ticket chopper had seen the children rush by him and on to the train,but they had gone by so quickly that he had not been able to stop them,and, as there were a good many people on the platform, he did not know towhom they belonged. So he told the ticket seller and Mr. Bobbsey thatFlossie and Freddie had taken the last express train that had passed thestation.

  "It would have been easy enough to stop them if you'd only known it atfirst," said the ticket seller; "but they've got the start of you now, andafter Sixty-sixth Street these express trains make only a few stops beforethey reach the end of the line. But I can telephone to one of the ticketsellers at one of the uptown stations and have him meet the train and takethe children off."

  "What will he do with them?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey.

  "Oh, he'll keep 'em safe till you folks get there. The trains run prettyclose together at this hour of the day. Your husband can get uptown after'em so quick that they won't have to wait long."

  "What shall we do?" asked Bert.

  "We will all go on together," answered his father. "I wish we had taken anautomobile to go to the hotel, and then this would not have happened. ButFlossie and Freddie would have been disappointed if they had not had thefirst ride in an elevated train. However, I'm sure it will all come outright."

  The ticket agent went into his little office to telephone on ahead, andhave Flossie and Freddie taken from the train and held until their parentscould claim them. Meanwhile Mr. Bobbsey and the others waited until thiswas done before getting on the train that was to take them far uptown inNew York.

  Something was the matter with the telephone in the first station which theticket seller called up. He could not get the agent there to talk to himover the wire until the train in which Flossie and Freddie were riding,had whizzed on, after making a short stop.

  "Well, I'll catch them at the next station where the train stops," theagent said. This time he managed to get in touch with the agent there, butwhen the latter understood, and ran out to hail the train, it was alreadyin motion and could not be stopped.

  "Well, the third time is always lucky," said the ticket seller who hadoffered to do what he could to help Mr. Bobbsey. "I'll be sure to catchthem now."

  He talked over the telephone to another agent and this one answered backthat the train was just then pulling out of his station.

  "But I'll yell at one of the guards," this agent called into the telephoneinstrument, "and tell him to put the children off at the next stop. I'lldo that," and he rushed out to try to call to one of the trainmen.

  "That will be One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Street," said the first agent,as he came out of his little office. "That's the best I can do. Your twolittle children will be put off the train when it makes the stop there,and the ticket agent will look after them until you get there. You canwait for the next express, or you can take a local train here and changeto the express at Sixty-sixth Street."

  When the next train came along, they got on, eager and anxious to catch upto the missing children. In order not to be bothered with thehand-baggage, Mr. Bobbsey had called a taxicab and had had the chauffeurtake it to the hotel were they were to stop, which was an uptown hotel,near enough to Central Park for Flossie and Freddie to walk over to seethe monkeys as often as they wished.

  Meanwhile the two runaway children--who really did not mean to runaway--were in the express train speeding along. After their firstsurprise at finding themselves alone, they were not frightened, butcontinued to look out of the windows and to wonder at the many sights theysaw.

  "Well, we'll be at the end of this run some time," said the guard, who hadbeen talking with Flossie and Freddie.

  "What will you do with us then?" the little boy asked.

  "Turn you over to the agent, unless we have some other word about you,"the trainman answered. "Wait, we're going to stop here, and there may be amessage." He hurried out on the platform.

  As the train was leaving that station Flossie and Freddie saw the ticketagent run out, waving his hand, and they heard him shout something totheir guard. When the latter came into their car again he said to Flossieand Freddie:

  "That message was about you two. The agent said two lost children were onthis train and that they were to be put off at the next station and leftuntil their father came for them. You're the only lost children I knowof."

  "And we're not lost so _very_ much," said Flossie slowly. "'Cause _we_ arehere. It's Daddy and the rest who are lost."

  "Well, they'll soon be along--coming on the next train," said the guard."I'll turn you over to the agent at One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Streetand you'll be all right."

  This was done. The train came to a stop; many passengers got off and akind woman took Flossie and Freddie in charge and saw that they got insidethe elevated station, where the agent, who had been telephoned to, knewabout them and was expecting them.

  "Now, just sit right down here and be comfortable," the agent said to theBobbsey twins. "You'll be all right, and your folks will soon come foryou. I have to sit in the office and sell tickets."

  The kind woman called a good-bye to the children and went away; so Flossieand Freddie were left by themselves in the elevated railroad station atOne Hundred and Twenty-fifth Street.

  For a while they sat quietly, watching the people come in to buy ticketsor get off trains. The agent did not pay much attention to them, beingvery busy, for it was toward the close of day when the rush was like themorning, greater than at other times.

  "Say! What's that?" suddenly asked Flossie, holding up her chubby hand totell Freddie to stop whistling, which he was trying to do.

  "What's what?" he asked, looking at his sister.

  "I hear music," went on Flossie.

  "So do I!" exclaimed Freddie.

  They both listened, and from somewhere outside they heard the sound again.

  "It's a hand organ!" cried Flossie.

  "No, it's a hand _piano!_" said Freddie. "Hear how jiggily the tune is."

  "Well, it's the same thing," Flossie insisted, "I wonder if there's amonkey with it."

  "Let's go downstairs and see," proposed Freddie.

  Once Flossie or Freddie made up their minds to do a thing it was almost asgood as done--that is, if it were not too hard. This time It seemed easyto do. They looked toward the little office in which the ticket seller hadshut himself. He was busy selling tickets.

  "He'll not see us," whispered Freddie. "Besides, we're coming right backas soon as we see the monkey."

  "And we'll give him some peanuts," added Flossie. "You can buy some withyour five cents, Freddie. And we won't give them _all_ to the monkey. Iwa
nt some."

  "So do I. Come on, we'll go down."

  The agent seemed to have forgotten them. At any rate his door was closedand he could not see them. None of the passengers, hurrying in to buytickets, paid any attention to the Bobbsey twins. So, hand in hand,Flossie and Freddie went out of the station, and down the long stairs towhere they could hear the music of the hand piano.

  It was being played by an Italian man in the street, almost under theelevated station, and, as Flossie leaned over the stair railing to lookdown, she cried out:

  "Oh, there is a monkey, Freddie! The man has it on a string!"

  "That's good. Do you see peanuts anywhere?"

  "Yes, there are some at that stand near the bottom of the stairs. Don'tlose your five cents!"

  "I won't!"

  Freddie hurried down with Flossie. He bought a bag of peanuts, and thechildren hastened across the street to where a little crowd of boys andgirls stood in front of the hurdy-gurdy, or hand piano, listening to themusic and watching the monkey. This will draw a crowd, even in New York,where there are many more and stranger sights to be seen.

  "Oh, isn't he cute!" cried Flossie, tapping her feet on the sidewalk intime to the music.

  "He's coming over this way," said Freddie. "I'm going to give him apeanut."

  "But don't let him get the whole bag."

  "I won't. Here, Jacko! Have a peanut!" and Freddie held out one to thehurdy-gurdy monkey.

  The long-tailed animal lost no time in making a grab for it, and soon hewas chewing it hungrily. The man grinding out the music shook the cordwhich was fast to a collar around the monkey's neck. What the street pianoman wanted was pennies and five-cent pieces put in the monkey's red cap.Peanuts were good for Jacko, but money was better for his master.

  The monkey well knew what the jerks meant on the cord around his neck.They meant that he must scramble around in the crowd and hold out his capfor pennies. The monkey would much rather have eaten peanuts, but evenmonkeys can not do as they like in this world.

  So, with a chattering sound, and with another look at Freddie, who tossedhim a peanut, the monkey, catching the dainty in one paw, started to tryto collect some money.

  But he must have been a hungry little monkey, for, when he looked atFlossie, and saw on her hat what he thought were red cherries, that monkeymade up his mind to get some of them if he could. Though the cherries weremade of celluloid, they looked very real, and they might have fooled evena boy or a girl, to say nothing of a monkey.

  So with a quick bound Jacko--which seems to be the name of all thoselong-tailed chaps--was perched on Flossie's shoulder, tearing at her hatwith two paws, trying to pull off what he thought were ripe, red cherries.

  "Oh! Oh!" screamed Flossie. "Oh, stop!"

  "Wait till I get hold of him!" cried Freddie.

  "Come away! Come away froma de littlea gal!" yelled the piano Italian.Some in the crowd laughed and others screamed.

  The monkey kept pulling and tearing at Flossie's hat until he had pulledit from her head and then, jumping down off her shoulder to the ground,the animal crouched under the piano and began pulling off the redcherries. But one bite told him they were not real, and then, perhapsfrightened at what he had done and fearing he would be punished, themonkey tried to run away.

  But he was held by the string on his collar, and the Italian, perhapsafraid that he would be made to pay for Flossie's hat, which his monkeyhad torn to pieces, pulled Jacko to him, perched him on his shoulder andhurried away, wheeling the street piano.

  "Oh, Freddie! Freddie! What shall I do?" cried Flossie, as she looked ather sadly torn hat.

  "It's a shame," said a woman in the crowd.

  "You'll need a new hat, little girl," said another woman.

  That gave Freddie an idea. If his sister needed a new hat he was the oneto help her get it. He looked up and down the street. Across the way was alarge drygoods store, in one of the windows of which were many hats andother things for girls and ladies to wear.

  "Come on, Flossie!" cried Freddie, clasping her hand. "I'll take youthere."

  "Where?" she asked. Tears had come into her eyes when the monkey tore hernice, new hat. But she did not really cry. "Where are you going to takeme, Freddie?" she asked.

  "Over to that big store; and we'll buy a new hat for you," said the littlefellow. "Then we'll go back to the station and wait for Daddy and therest. Come on. I'll get you a new hat."

  Flossie wondered how Freddie was going to do it, but she did not ask.Leaving the torn hat in the street, she went with her brother. He led theway into the big store, which, though it was not one of the large ones ofNew York, was much bigger than any in Lakeport.

  "Well, little ones, what can I do for you?" asked one of the tall men inthe store, as Flossie and Freddie strolled in. "Are you with yourparents?"

  "No, sir, we're all alone," spoke up Freddie. "We were lost on an expresstrain, but we're waiting for my father and mother and Bert and Nan. But amonkey chewed up Flossie's hat and I want a new one for her. You sellhats, don't you?"