Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Emmy and the PG Online Distributed
Proofreading Team
[Transcriber's note: An illustration was included in the original text
that did not belong in the story. It appeared in the first chapter after
the paragraph ending "But they are pretty good skaters for such small
children." The omitted text reads [Illustration: AT SEVEN O'CLOCK A SUPPER
WAS SERVED.--P. 129.]]
The Bobbsey Twins
in a Great City
BY
LAURA LEE HOPE
AUTHOR OF "THE BOBBSEY TWINS," "THE BUNNY
BROWN SERIES," "THE OUTDOOR GIRLS
SERIES," ETC.
_ILLUSTRATED_
NEW YORK
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS
[Illustration: THE CHILDREN WERE DELIGHTED WITH THE STORE CAMP.
_The Bobbsey Twins in a Great City. Frontispiece_--(_Page_ 165)]
=BOOKS BY LAURA LEE HOPE=
12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Price, per volume,
=THE BOBBSEY TWINS SERIES=
THE BOBBSEY TWINS
THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE
THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON A HOUSEBOAT
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT MEADOW BROOK
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT HOME
THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN A GREAT CITY
THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON BLUEBERRY ISLAND
=THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES=
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON GRANDPA'S FARM
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE PLAYING CIRCUS
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CAMP REST-A-WHILE
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE BIG WOODS
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON AN AUTO TOUR
=THE OUTDOOR GIRLS SERIES=
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS OF DEEPDALE
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT RAINBOW LAKE
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A MOTOR CAR
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A WINTER CAMP
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN FLORIDA
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT OCEAN VIEW
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS ON PINE ISLAND
GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK.
COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY
GROSSET & DUNLAP.
THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN A GREAT CITY
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE ICE-BOAT 1
II. BUILDING THE "BIRD" 13
III. A RUNAWAY 28
IV. THE OLD WOODCHOPPER 36
V. GLORIOUS NEWS. 46
VI. ON TO NEW YORK 59
VII. ON THE EXPRESS TRAIN 68
VIII. A LONG RIDE 80
IX. IN THE STORE 90
X. LOST UNDERGROUND 104
XI. FREDDIE AND THE TURTLE 116
XII. IN THE THEATRE 127
XIII. THE "RESCUE" OF FREDDIE 137
XIV. THE STORE CAMP 153
XV. SAD NEWS 161
XVI. THE BIG ELEPHANT 170
XVII. CALLED HOME 181
XVIII. A QUEER RIDE 191
XIX. THE GOAT 202
XX. MR. BOBBSEY COMES BACK 214
XXI. UNCLE JACK'S REAL NAME 225
XXII. REUNITED 233
=THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN A GREAT CITY=
CHAPTER I
THE ICE-BOAT
"Oh, there comes my skate off again! Freddie, have you got any paste in
your pocket?"
"Paste, Flossie! What good would paste be to fasten on your skate?"
"I don't know, but it might do _some_ good. I can't make the strap hold it
on any more," and a plump little girl shook back her flaxen, curling hair,
which had slipped from under her cap and was blowing into her eyes, sat
down on a log near the shore of the frozen lake and looked sorrowfully at
the shining skate which had become loosened from her shoe.
"Come on, Flossie!" called the small, plump boy, just about the size of
his sister, and with her same kind of light hair and blue eyes. "There go
Bert, Nan and Tommy Todd 'way ahead of us. We'll never catch up to 'em if
you sit here. Come on!"
"I can't help sitting here, Freddie Bobbsey! How am I going to skate on
only one skate?" asked the little girl.
"Put on the other, and come along."
"I have put it on, lots of times, but it comes off every time I skate a
little bit. That's why I want some paste. Maybe I could paste the strap
fast around my shoe."
"I don't believe you could, Flossie," and this time the small, plump boy
stopped skating around in a ring--"grinding the bar," as it is called--and
glided toward his sister seated on the log. "Anyhow, I haven't any paste.
What made you think I had?"
"Oh, you carry so much stuff in your pockets I thought maybe you'd have
paste."
"I might if it was summer, Flossie, and I was making kites with Bert. But
I haven't any paste now."
"Then have you got a postage stamp?"
"A postage stamp? Of course not! What good would a postage stamp be to
fasten your skate strap?"
"Well, a postage stamp has paste on it, hasn't it? Anyhow, it's sticky,
'cause I got some on my tongue once, and I just know if I could only
fasten down the end of this skate strap, to keep it from flopping up, and
coming out of the buckle, I'd be all right. It's the flopping end that
comes loose."
"Well, pooh! a postage stamp wouldn't be any good!" cried Freddie. "If you
did stick it on it wouldn't last more than three strokes. A postage stamp
wouldn't go far at all!"
"Some postage stamps do!" exclaimed Flossie. "Mother got one on a letter
the other day and it had stuck itself on half-way round the world--she
told me so. And if a stamp sticks half-way around the world I should think
it would stick while I skated down to the end of the lake."
"Huh! That's different!" half grunted Freddie, for, just then, he was
stooping over tightening one of his straps. "Anyhow, I haven't got a
stamp."
"Well, maybe you could fix my skate so it wouldn't come off," suggested
Flossie. "I've tried and tried, but I can't, and I don't want to stay here
all alone."
"Why Flossie Bobbsey! I'm with you!"
"I know, but Nan and Bert are away down at the other end, with Tommy Todd,
and Bert is going to buy hot chocolates. I know he is, 'cause he said so.
I don't want to miss them."
"Me neither! Wait and I'll see if I can't fix your skate, Flossie."
Freddie was small--he and Flossie were the smaller pair of Bobbsey
twins--but he was a sturdy little chap, and living out of doors, and
playing games with his older brother Bert had taught Freddie how to do
many things. He put Flossie's skate on her shoe, tightened the strap, and
then made it still tighter by putting some pieces of wood under the
leather loop.
"There!" he exclaimed, as he stood up, having been kneeling in the snow on
the edge of the lake. "I guess that will hold, Flossie. Now come on, and
we'll see how fast we can skate."
Together the brother and sister started off. This time Flossie's skate
seemed to be all right, needing neither paste nor a postage stamp to hold
it on, and in a little while the smaller twins had caught up to Bert and
Nan, their brother and sister, who, with a boy neighbor, named Tommy Todd,
had slowed up to wait for them.
"What kept you?" asked Nan. "Did you try to do some fancy skating,
Flossie?"
"I guess Freddie stopped to see if there wasn't a crack in the ice where
he could get some water to play fireman," remarked Bert with a smile, for
his small brother was very fond of this game, and his best-liked toy was a
small fire engine, which, when a spring was wound, could squirt real
water.
"No, I didn't stop at any cracks!" exclaimed Freddie earnestly. "Cracks in
the ice is dangerous--Daddy said so. It was Flossie's skate."
"That's right--it kept coming off," explained the blue-eyed girl. "But
Freddie fixed it, and he didn't have to use a postage stamp, either. Did
you, Freddie?"
"Nope."
"Well, I guess they know what it means, but we don't!" laughed Nan, taking
her small sister's hand. "Come on, now, you little twins. I We waited for
you, so we could all have hot chocolate together. You didn't get cold, I
hope, stopping to fix your skate, Flossie?"
"Nope! I'm as warm as butter!"
"What does she mean by that?" asked Tommy Todd. "I often hear my
grandmother say she's as warm as toast, but _butter_----"
"Well, when it's Winter, like it is now, you have to warm your butter so
you can spread it on your bread," explained Flossie. "So I'm as warm as
butter now."
"I wish I was!" cried Bert. "I'm getting a chill standing here waiting for
you two! Come on, now. Skate lively, and we'll soon be there," and he
pointed to a little candy and soda-water stand near the lower end of Lake
Metoka, on the frozen surface of which the children were skating.
In the little cabin, which in Winter was built over the stand to make a
warm place for skaters, hot chocolate and other drinks could be had, and
Bert had promised to treat his brother and sisters, as well as Tommy
Todd.
"Don't skate too fast," begged Flossie. "My skate _might_ come off again,
though Freddie fixed it pretty good."
"If it comes off again I'll skate and carry you on my back the rest of the
way!" cried Bert. "I want something hot to drink. But mind you!" he cried,
as he saw a mischievous look on his little sister's face, "don't dare make
your skate come off on purpose! I don't want to carry you unless I have
to."
"All right, Bert. I'll skate as fast as I can," promised Flossie.
The five started off, Tommy Todd skating beside Flossie to help her if she
should need it. Tommy was a sort of chum of both pairs of twins, sometimes
going with the older ones, Nan and Bert, and again with Flossie and
Freddie. In fact, he played with these latter more often than with Nan and
her twin, for Flossie and Freddie had played a large part in helping Tommy
at one time, as I'll explain a little later.
It was a fine Winter's day, not too cold, and the sun was shining from a
clear sky, but not warmly enough to melt the ice. The steel skates of the
five children rang out a merry tune as they clicked over the frozen
surface of the lake.
"Hurrah! Here we are!" cried Bert at last, as he skated on ahead and sat
down on a bench in front of the "Chocolate Cabin," as they called the
place. He began taking off his skates.
"Come on!" he called to the others. "I'll order the chocolate for you and
have it cooling," for there was more trouble with Flossie's skate and Nan
had stopped to help her fix it.
"Don't order chocolate for me, Bert!" called Nan. "I want malted milk. The
chocolate is too sweet."
"Guess you're afraid of your complexion, Sis!" laughed Bert, as he went
inside the little wooden house.
"Oh, Flossie, take both your skates off and walk the rest of the way,"
advised Nan, after she had tried, without much success, to fix the
troublesome strap. "We'll get there sooner."
"All right," agreed Flossie. "It's a bother--this skate. I'm going to get
a new pair."
"Maybe a new strap is all you need," said Tommy. "You can get one in
there," and he nodded toward the little cabin.
A little later the five children were seated on stools in front of the
counter, sipping the warm drinks which made their cheeks glow with
brighter color and caused a deeper sparkle in their eyes.
"This is great!" cried Tommy Todd.
"That's what!" murmured Freddie, his nose deep in his cup.
"Don't forget about my strap," came from Flossie.
"Oh, yes," agreed Bert. "We don't want to have to drag you all the way
home." The man who sold the chocolate and candy in the cabin also had
skate straps for sale and one was soon found that would do for Flossie.
"Now my skate won't come off!" she cried, as once more they were on the
ice. "I can skate as good as you, Freddie Bobbsey!"
"Let's have a race!" proposed Freddie. "Bert and Nan can give Flossie and
me a head start, 'cause they're bigger than us. Will you?" he asked his
brother.
"Yes, I guess so. A race will get us home quicker, and we're a little
late."
"We'll let Flossie and Freddie start ahead of me," suggested Tommy, who,
being a little elder than the two smaller twins, was a little better
skater.
"All right," agreed Bert. "Any way you like. Go ahead, Floss and Fred.
Skate on until I tell you to wait. Then I'll give Tommy a starting place
and, when we're all ready, I'll give the word to begin."
Flossie and Freddie, hand in hand, skated ahead a little way. But
Freddie's skate went over a little piece of wood on the ice and he tripped
and fell, pulling Flossie down with him. The two plump twins were in a
heap on the ice.
"Hurt yourself?" asked Bert, as he started toward them, to help them up.
"No--no--I--I guess not," answered Flossie, who was the first to get up.
"We're all right," replied Freddie. "The ice was soft right there."
"I guess it's because they're so fat, that they're soft, like a feather
pillow," laughed Tommy. "They're getting fatter every day."
"That's what they are," agreed Nan with a smile. "But they are pretty good
skaters for such small children."
"Everybody ready?" asked Bert, when the two small twins had taken their
places, and Tommy Todd was between them and Bert and Nan.
"All right," answered Freddie.
"I am, too," came from Tommy.
"Then go!" cried Bert, suddenly.
The skating race was started. Merrily clicked the runners on the hard ice,
leaving long white streaks where the children passed over. Flossie and
Freddie were skating as fast and as hard as they could.
"They are very anxious to win," said Nan, who was skating beside her
brother.
"Yes, but they can't keep going as fast as that all the way home."
"You're going to let them win, aren't you?" asked Nan.
"Sure I am! But they're so sharp we don't dare lag much behind. We must
make a spurt toward the end, and pretend we did our best to beat them.
Tommy Todd may come in ahead of them, though."
"We can skate up to him and tell him not to," suggested Nan.
"Good idea!" declared Bert. "We'll do it."
The older twins skated a little faster to overtake Tommy, who was some
distance behind Flossie and Freddie, when suddenly Nan gave a cry and
clutched Bert by the arm.
"Look!" she exclaimed, pointing with her hand.
"An ice-boat," remarked Bert. "And going fast, too!"
"Yes, but see! It's coming right toward Flossie and Freddie, and they're
skating with their heads down, and don't see it! Oh, Bert! Yell at them!
Tell them to look out! Yell at the man in the ice-boat!"
It did indeed seem a time of danger, for a swift ice-boat--one with big
white sails and runners, like large skates under it, was skimming over the
frozen lake straight for the smaller twins.