CHAPTER XV
FOUND AGAIN
"Where can he be?" asked Bert.
"I saw him but a moment ago," said Aunt Sarah.
"An' he jest had hold ob mah hand!" cried Dinah. "Oh, mah honey lambam done et up by de ragin' lion what goes about seekin' who he kindevouer! Oh landy!"
"Quiet, Dinah, please," said Uncle Daniel. For Dinah had called out soloudly that many in the crowd turned to look at her.
"But I wants Freddie--mah honey lamb!" the loving colored woman wenton. "I wants him an' he's losted!"
"We'll find him," said Uncle Daniel. "Now whom was he with when wecame out of the tent?"
"He had hold of my hand," said Bert, "but he pulled away and said hewanted to walk with Dinah."
"De lubbin honey lamb!" crooned Dinah.
"Did he come with you, Dinah?" went on Uncle Daniel, trying to findout exactly who had seen Freddie last.
"Yais, sah, he done comed wif me fo' a little while in de crowd, an'den he slid away--he just seem t' melt away laik," explained the cook.
"Which way did he go?" Uncle Daniel wanted to know.
"Which way? I dunno," Dinah answered.
"Oh, perhaps he went back to the animal tent," suggested Mrs. Bobbsey.She was not really frightened as yet. Often before Freddie had beenlost, but he had generally been found within a few minutes. But he hadnever before been lost at a circus. This time he seemed to have meltedaway in the big crowd.
"Let's go back to the animal tent," suggested Uncle Daniel. "Freddiewas so taken with feeding the elephants peanuts that he may have goneback to do that. We'll look."
"Oh, if only dem ugly lions or tigers habn't got him!" sighed Dinah.
"The wild animals couldn't get him, 'cause they're shut up in cages,aren't they?" asked Flossie.
"Yes, dear," Nan said to her, not wanting her little sister to befrightened. "No wild animals could get Freddie."
"We'll soon find him," declared Bert.
"We'll help you look," spoke Tom Mason. "Come on, Harry."
The three boys started to push their way back through the crowd towardthe animal tent.
"Now don't you three get lost," said Uncle Daniel.
"We won't!" answered Bert, "but we're going to find Freddie!"
"Oh, where can the darling be?" gasped Aunt Sarah, looking around atthe crowd all about her.
"What is it? What's the matter?" asked several ladies.
"A little boy is lost--my nephew," Aunt Sarah explained.
"Oh, isn't that too bad!" cried the sympathetic ladies. "We hope youfind him!"
Back into the animal tent the Bobbseys and their relatives and friendspushed their way. It was not easy to work back through the crowd thatwas anxious to get away, now that the afternoon performance of thecircus was over.
"He must be in there," said Uncle Daniel. "We'll find him."
Carefully he looked through the crowd of persons who were still in theanimal tent. A number had remained, with their children, to getanother look at the elephants, lions and tigers. Men were feeding someof the animals, now that there was a little quiet spell, and this wasinteresting to the youngsters.
"He doesn't seem to be here," said Aunt Sarah, as she peered throughher spectacles.
"Oh, he must be!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey. "He can't have gone on aheadof us, and if he turned back he would have to come into this tent."
"Oh, isn't it too bad!" exclaimed Nan, looking at her brother Bert, asthough he could help. But Bert, Harry and Tom, though they had quicklymade a round of the circle of animal cages, had come back to say thatthey found no trace of Freddie.
"I know what to do, mamma," spoke up Flossie.
"What, dear?" asked her mother, hardly knowing what she was saying.
"We ought to get a policeman," went on Flossie. "Policemans can findlosted people. One found me once."
"That isn't a bad idea," spoke Uncle Daniel. "I think perhaps I hadbetter speak to some of the town constables who are on duty here."
"Suppose we look in the big main tent," said Tom Mason. "Freddie mayhave wandered back in there to try and turn a somersault on one of thetrapezes."
"Yes, it wouldn't do any harm to take a look," agreed Uncle Daniel."We'll go in the big tent."
Into that large canvas house they went. Men were busy putting awaysome of the articles used for the animal tricks, and the balls, hoopsknives and things the Japanese jugglers had used.
"Oh, where can he be?" murmured Mrs. Bobbsey.
"Something the matter, ma'am?" asked the ring-master, in his shinytall hat, as he cracked his long whip. "Is someone lost?"
"Yes, my little boy Freddie, and we are so worried about him!"
"Well, don't worry," said the ring-master kindly. "Boys, and girlstoo, are lost every day at our circus performances, but they arealways found all right. Don't worry. I'll have some of the men huntfor him. And you folks come with me. It's just possible he has beenfound and taken to the lost tent."
"The lost tent!" exclaimed Uncle Daniel. "Have you lost a tent, too?"
"No, but we have a sort of headquarters tent, or office, where alllost children are taken as soon as the circus men find them. A womanin the tent takes care of the little ones until their folks come forthem. Your boy may be there waiting for you."
To the lost tent went the Bobbseys. They found two or three youngstersthere, crying for their fathers or mothers, but Freddie was not amongthem.
"Oh, he isn't here!" cried Mrs. Bobbsey, and tears were in her eyesnow. "I wish his father were here," she went on. "He would know whatto do."
"Now don't you worry, ma'am," said the ring-master again. "We'llsurely find him for you. He may have gone in one of the side shows, tosee the fat lady, or the strong man. I'll have those places searchedfor you."
The ring-master did send some of his men to look in the side-showtents, but they came back to say that no one like Freddie had beenseen. By this time Mrs. Bobbsey and Aunt Sarah were almost franticwith fright. Nan was crying, and even Bert, brave as he was, lookedworried. A number of persons who had come to the circus offered tohelp look for Freddie, but, though they searched all over, the littlefat fellow could not be found.
"Oh, dear! What shall we do!" cried Mrs. Bobbsey.
"Dat ugly ole lion--" began Dinah, when Nan gave a scream.
"Oh, what is it, child?" asked Aunt Sarah.
"Look. There's Freddie!" cried Nan. "There he comes!" and she pointedto her little brother being led toward them by a boy about Bert's age.