Part 20 (1/2)

”They are not around here,” said Dorothy. ”Now, mother, give the old woman some change to make up for my trespa.s.sing.”

Aunt Emily took a coin from her chatelaine.

”Thank the lady! Good lady,” exclaimed the old gypsy. ”Lady find her babies; babies play--see!” (And she pretended to look into the future with some dirty cards.) ”Babies play in woods. Natalie sees babies picking flowers.”

Now, how could anybody ever guess that the old gypsy had just come down from picking dandelions by the lake, where she really had seen Freddie and Flossie on the island?

And how could anybody know that she was too wicked to tell Aunt Emily this, but was waiting until night, to bring the children back home herself, and get a reward for doing so?

She had seen the boat drift away and she knew the little ones were helpless to return home unless someone found them.

Mrs. Bobbsey and the boys were now coming up from the beach.

What, at first, seemed only a mishap, now looked like a very serious matter.

”We must go to the woods,” insisted Dorothy. ”Maybe that old woman knew they were in the woods.”

But as such things always happen, the searchers went to the end of the woods, far away from the island. Of course they all called loudly, and the boys gave the familiar yodel, but the noise of the ocean made it impossible for the call to reach Freddie and Flossie.

”Oh, I'm so afraid they are drowned!” exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey, breaking down and crying.

”No, mamma,” insisted Nan, ”I am sure they are not. Flossie is so afraid of the water, and Freddie always minds Flossie. They must be playing somewhere. Maybe they are home by this time,” and so it was agreed to go back to the house and if the little ones were not there--then----

”But they must be there,” insisted Nellie, starting on a run over the swampy grounds toward the Cliffs.

And all this time Freddie and Flossie were quite unconcerned playing on the island.

”Oh, there's a man!” shouted Freddie, seeing someone in the woods.

”Maybe it's Friday. Say there, Mister!” he shouted. ”Say, will you help us get to land?”

The man heard the child's voice and hurried to the edge of the lake.

”Wall, I declare!” he exclaimed, ”if them babies ain't lost out there.

And here comes their boat. Well, I'll just fetch them in before they try to swim out,” he told himself, swinging into the drifting boat, and with the stout stick he had in his hand, pus.h.i.+ng off for the little island.

The island was quite near to sh.o.r.e on that side, and it was only a few minutes' work for the man to reach the children.

”What's your name?” he demanded, as soon as he touched land.

”Freddie Bobbsey,” spoke up the little fellow, bravely, ”and we live at the Cliffs.”

”You do, eh? Then it was your brothers who brought my cow home, so I can pay them back by taking you home now. I can't row to the far sh.o.r.e with this stick, so we'll have to tramp it through the woods.

Come along.” and carefully he lifted the little ones into the boat, pus.h.i.+ng to the woods, and started off to walk the round-about way, through the woods, to the bridge, then along the road back to the Cliffs, where a whole household was in great distress because of the twins' absence.

CHAPTER XVI

DOROTHY'S DOINGS