CHAPTER IX
WASHINGTON AT LAST
The startled cries of Mrs. Bobbsey alarmed a number of other women onthe tower platform, and some one asked:
"Did your little boy fall off?"
"I don't know what happened to him!" said Mrs. Bobbsey, who was nowalmost crying. "He was here a moment ago, and now he's gone!"
"He couldn't have fallen off!" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey. "Some one wouldhave seen him. I think he must have gone down by himself in the littleelevator. I'll ask the man."
The elevator, just then, was at the bottom of the tower, but it was soonon its way up, and Mrs. Bobbsey fairly rushed at the man as he openedthe door.
"Where is my little boy? Oh, have you seen my little boy?" she cried.
"Well, I don't know, lady," answered the elevator man. "What sort oflittle boy was he?"
"He has blue eyes and light hair and--"
"Let me explain," Mr. Bobbsey spoke quietly. "My little boy, Freddie,was out on the tower platform with us looking at the view, a few minutesago, and now we can't find him. We thought perhaps he slipped in here byhimself and rode down with you."
"Well, he might have slipped into my elevator when I wasn't looking,"answered the man. "I took two or three little boys down on the lastload, but I didn't notice any one in particular. Better get in and rideto the ground floor. Maybe the superintendent or the head elevator mancan tell you better than I. Get in and ride down with me."
"Oh, yes, and please hurry!" begged Mrs. Bobbsey. "Oh, what can havehappened to Freddie?"
"I think you'll find him all right," said the elevator man. "No accidenthas happened or I'd have heard of it."
"Yes; don't worry!" advised Mr. Bobbsey.
But Mrs. Bobbsey could not help worrying, and Nan, Bert and Flossie werevery much frightened. They were almost crying. Even though the Bobbseysgot in an express elevator after getting out of the small, slower one,it could not go down fast enough to suit Freddie's mother. When theground floor was reached she was the first to rush out.
One look around the big corridor of the Woolworth Building showed Mrs.Bobbsey that something had happened over near one of the elevators.There was a crowd there, and, for a moment, she was very muchfrightened. But the next second she saw Freddie himself, with a crowd ofmen around him, and they were all laughing.
"Oh, Freddie! where did you go and what have you been doing?" cried hisfrightened mother as she caught him up in her arms.
"I've been having rides in the elevator," announced the small boy. "Andit went as fast as anything! I rode up and down lots of times!"
"Yes, that's what he did," said the elevator man, with a laugh. "Ididn't pay much attention to him at first, but when I saw that he wasstaying in my car trip after trip, I asked him at what floor he wantedto get out. He said he didn't want to get out at all--that he liked me,and liked to stay in and ride!"
And at this the crowd laughed again.
"And is that what you have been doing, Freddie--riding up and down inthe elevator?" asked Mr. Bobbsey.
"Yes, and I liked it!" exclaimed Freddie. "I wished Flossie was withme."
"I'm here now!" said the "little fat fairy," laughing. "I can ride withyou now, Freddie."
"No! There has been enough of riding," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "And you gaveme a bad fright, Freddie. Why did you wander away?"
"'Cause I liked an elevator ride better than staying up so high wherethe wind blew," explained the little fellow.
And when they asked him more about it he said he had just slipped awayfrom them while they were on the tower platform, gone back into the roomand ridden down in the elevator with the other passengers. No onerealized that Freddie was traveling all by himself, the elevator manthinking the blue-eyed and golden-haired boy was with a lady who had twoother children by the hands.
Freddie rode to the ground floor, and then he just stayed in the expresselevator, riding up and down and having a great time, until the secondelevator man began to question him.
"Well, don't ever do it again," said Mr. Bobbsey, and Freddie promisedthat he would not.
After this there was a lunch, and then they all went up to Bronx Park,traveling in the subway, or the underground railway, which seems strangeto so many visitors to New York. But the Bobbsey twins had traveled thatway before, so they did not think it very odd.
"It's just like a big, long tunnel," said Bert, and so the subway is.
The Bronx Park is not such a nice place to visit in winter as it is insummer, but the children enjoyed it, and they spent some time in theelephant house, watching the big animals. There was also a hippopotamusthere, and oh! what a big mouth he had. The keeper went in between thebars of the hippo's cage, with a pail full of bran mash, and cried:
"Open your mouth, boy!"
"Oh, look!" cried Bert.
And, as they looked, the hippopotamus opened his great, big red jaws aswide as he could, and the man just turned the whole pail full of softbran into the hippo's mouth!
"Oh, what a big bite!" cried Freddie, and every one laughed.
"Does he always eat that way?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey of the keeper.
"Well, I generally feed him that way when there are visitors here," wasthe answer. "The children like to see the big red mouth open wide. Andhere's something else he does."
After the hippo, which is a short name for hippopotamus, had swallowedthe pail full of bran mash, the keeper took up a loaf of bread from abox which seemed to have enough loaves in it for a small bakery, andcried: "Open again, old fellow!"
Wide open went the big mouth, and right into it the man tossed a wholeloaf of bread. And the hippo closed his jaws and began chewing the wholeloaf of bread as though it were Only a single bite.
"Oh my!" cried Freddie and Flossie, and Freddie added: "If he came to aparty you'd have to make an awful lot of sandwiches!"
"I should say so!" laughed the keeper. "One sandwich would hardly fillhis hollow tooth, if he had one."
The children spent some little time in the Bronx Park, and enjoyed everymoment. They liked to watch the funny monkeys, and see the buffaloes,which stayed outdoors even though it was quite cold.
The Bobbsey twins spent four days in New York, and every day was adelight to them. They had many other little adventures, but none quiteso "scary" as the one where Freddie slipped away to ride in theelevator.
Finally, Mr. Bobbsey's business was finished, and one evening he said:
"To-morrow we go to Washington."
"Hurray!" exclaimed Bert. "Then I can see Billy Martin."
"And I can see Nell. I like her very much," added Nan.
"And I'm going to see the big monument!" cried Freddie.
Early the next morning the Bobbsey family took a train at the bigPennsylvania Station to go to Washington. Nothing very strange happenedon that trip except that a lady in the same car where the twins rode hada beautiful little white dog, and Flossie and Freddie made friends withit at once, and had lots of fun playing with the animal.
"Washington! Washington!" called the trainman, after a ride of aboutfive hours. "All out for Washington!"
"Here at last, and I am glad of it," sighed Mrs. Bobbsey. "I shall beglad to have supper at the hotel and get to bed. I am tired!"
But the children did not seem to be tired. They had enjoyed every momentof the trip. In an automobile they rode to their hotel, and soon were intheir rooms, for Mr. Bobbsey had engaged three with a nice bath. He haddecided it would be best to stay at a hotel rather than at the Martins'house, because there were so many Bobbseys; but they expected to visittheir friends very often.
It was evening when the Bobbseys arrived in Washington, and too late togo sight-seeing. But on the way to the hotel in the automobile they hadpassed the Capitol, with the wonderful lights showing on the dome,making it look as though it had taken a bath in moon-beams.
"Oh, it's just lovely here!" exclaimed Nan, with a happy little sigh asthey went down to supper, or "dinner" as it is generally called, eventhough it is eaten
at night.
"Scrumptious!" agreed Bert.
The Bobbsey family had a little table all to themselves at one side ofthe room, and a waiter came up to serve them, Mr. Bobbsey giving theorder.
Nan and Bert and Flossie and Freddie looked about. It was not the firsttime they had stopped at a big hotel, but there was always something newand strange and interesting to be seen.
Bert, who had been gazing about the room, began to look at the dishes,knives and forks the waiter was putting on the table. Suddenly thedark-haired boy took hold of the sugar bowl and turned it over,spilling out all the lumps.
"Why Bert! you shouldn't do that," exclaimed his father.
"I want to see what's on the bottom of this bowl," Bert said. "It looksjust like the one Miss Pompret lost, and if it's the same I'll get ahundred dollars! Oh, look, it is the same! Nan, I've found her lostsugar bowl!" cried Bert.