The Bobbsey Twins in a Great City Page 11

  CHAPTER XI

  FREDDIE AND THE TURTLE

  Bert Bobbsey looked all around the big underground subway station beforehe answered Nan. Then he took off his cap to scratch his head, as he oftendid while thinking. Next he looked down at Flossie and Freddie.

  If he thought he was going to find the two little twins in a fright atwhat Nan had said about being lost, Bert was mistaken. The twoflaxen-haired tots were looking down the long platform, into the gloom ofthe long tunnel of the subway.

  "Aren't they funny, Freddie?" asked Flossie.

  "Yep, awfully funny," was Freddie's answer.

  "What's funny?" asked Bert, wishing he could see something at which tolaugh.

  "Those red and green lights down the track," explained Freddie. "Theyblink so funny and come up and go out----"

  "Just like winking at you," said Flossie. "I like it down here. It isn'tlike the dark tunnels we went in on the steam cars."

  "Well, I'm glad _somebody_ likes it," said Bert to Nan. "But say, how dowe get out of here?"

  "I'm sure I don't know," she said. "When I ran after Flossie I didn't lookwhich way I was going."

  "I didn't, either. Queer how we could get lost in a place like this," andBert seemed worried and spoke more loudly than he intended. Freddie heardwhat his brother said and looked up quickly.

  "Are we _really_ lost?" he asked.

  "It seems so," answered Nan. "I ran after you two, and we have walkedabout so many platforms and up and down so many stairs that I can't see orremember the place where Father told us to wait for him."

  "Well, there's no danger, that's sure," said Bert. "It's a queer place tobe lost in--a subway station. I was never in one before, but if we stayhere long enough Dad is sure to find us. Here comes somebody now, lookingfor us, I guess."

  A man in a blue suit, carrying a red lantern, and with white numbers oneither side of his cap, walked toward the four twins.

  "Is your name Bobbsey?" he asked.

  "Yes; but how did you know?" was Bert's question.

  "Your father sent me to look for you. He guessed you must have wanderedaway, and he thought it best to stay where he told you to wait, and letone of us find you. A lot of men are hunting up and down the differentplatforms for you."

  "Well, I'm glad you found us!" sighed Nan. "We didn't know what to do."

  "Just come with me," said the subway guard. "I'll take you to yourfather," and he did, leading the children down a long platform and over asort of bridge, then down a flight of steps. Though they did not know it,the twins had wandered quite a distance from the place Mr. Bobbsey hadleft them.

  The subway station was a rambling place, with several doors to go in byand come out of, a number of platforms and stairways, and wiser personsthan four small children could easily become confused there.

  When Mr. Bobbsey came back, after buying his magazine, and could not findhis children, he guessed what had happened, and wisely asked a guard tomake a search, instead of doing it himself.

  "For I don't come to New York often enough to be sure of finding my wayaround in all the odd nooks and corners," said the lumber merchant.

  "And it wasn't a circus poster at all!" said Freddie, after Flossie hadtold what had caused her to wander away. "It was only about chewing gum."

  Speaking of chewing gum made Flossie remember she was thirsty, and afterMr. Bobbsey had thanked the man with the red lantern, and had explained toFreddie that it was used to stop trains in case of an accident, theBobbsey party went up out of the underground station and into a candystore.

  "I know what I'm going to have!" exclaimed Freddie.

  "So do I!" cried Flossie.

  "Chocolate soda!"

  "Yes! And I want plenty of cream on top!"

  "Suppose they haven't got any chocolate soda?" remarked Mr. Bobbsey, witha twinkle in his eye.

  "Oh, I know they've got chocolate soda," remonstrated his little son."They always have chocolate soda at soda fountains! Don't they, Flossie?"

  "Of course they do! I don't think it would be a real soda fountain if theydidn't have chocolate soda," replied the little girl.

  "I think I'm going to have an orange phosphate," said Bert.

  "And that is just what I am going to have too," added Nan.

  "Phosphate!" cried Freddie in wonder. "I wouldn't drink any phosphate!That's what they make matches of."

  "Oh, just hear that!" cried Bert, laughing. "Freddie thinks they makematches of phosphate."

  "They do, too!" answered the little boy.

  "You are thinking of phosphorus, Freddie," explained Mr. Bobbsey. "That isdifferent, and it is poisonous." Then the drinks were ordered and quicklyserved.

  "And now I want to go to see the big fish!" said Freddie, sipping the lastdrops of his sweet drink. "Are there any animals in the 'quarium, Daddy?"

  "Well, there aren't any lions or tigers," answered Mr. Bobbsey. "We'll goto see them later in Bronx Park. But, of course, fish are animals. Itwon't take me long to run into City Hall and see my friend. Then we'll goto the Aquarium."

  Left on the top steps of the City Hall building, this time the Bobbseytwins were found safely there when their father came out, and a littlelater they were on their way to Battery Park in a Broadway street car,that ran on the ground.

  "We've ridden under the ground in the subway, over the ground in theelevated and now we're riding _on_ the ground," said Nan. "New York is afunny place!"

  The Aquarium, as those of you know who have seen it, is in the round,brown stone building, on a point of land almost the very end of the islandof Manhattan. It is where the North and East rivers come together to formNew York Bay, and, years ago, this building was where the immigrants, orpeople who came to the United States from other countries, were kept for awhile until they could be sent out West, or down South, or wherever theywanted to go.

  Now it is a place where many fish, big, little, ugly and beautiful, areshown in tanks of water so the boys and girls can see what strange thingsare in the ocean, rivers and lakes of this world.

  Led by Mr. Bobbsey, Bert and Nan, with Flossie and Freddie trailing onbehind, walked around the big building, looking in the glass tanks whereinswam the fish.

  "What's over there?" asked Freddie, pointing to where a crowd of peoplewere standing near some pools in the middle of the floor.

  "Oh, different big fish--a sea lion, alligators and turtles," said Mr.Bobbsey.

  "Let's look at the sea lion!" called Flossie.

  "I want to see a swimming turtle," said Freddie. "I had a mud turtle once,but he went away."

  "You shall see everything," promised Mr. Bobbsey.

  They went over to the pool, where a number of large alligators, and onecrocodile, were lying in or out of the water. Some were lazily swimmingabout, and the crocodile was asleep out on the stone ledge, with his bigmouth wide open.

  "He's waiting for some one to come along and feed him," said Bert.

  "I guess he'd eat a lot," laughed Freddie, looking at the rows of bigteeth in the crocodile's mouth.

  They passed on to the pool of the sea lion. That sleek, brown animal wasswimming about like a big fish, now and then stopping under one of thepipes where the water ran into his pool, and holding his mouth under thelittle stream as though taking a drink. Now and then he barked like a dog.

  Around the stone ledge, or wall of the pool, was a wire grating, and nearthe floor was a sort of pipe running all around, so the smaller childrencould step up on this to look in--something which the big folk did nothave to do.

  "Be careful!" cried Nan, as Flossie leaned well over the edge to get abetter look at the sea lion. "You might fall in."

  "She could get a ride on his back if she did," said Freddie.

  "Well, I'm not going to!" exclaimed Flossie, drawing back, a littlefrightened, as the seal splashed the water right under her, some dropsgoing in her face.

  They watched the seal for a while, went over to the other tanks, wheresome sturgeon and other big fish swam about, and
then Freddie called:

  "I want to see the big turtles! Where are they?"

  "Over here," said Mr. Bobbsey, leading the way toward the south end of thebuilding near the tank, where the green moray--a sort of big eel--waslying half in and half out of a piece of sewer pipe put in his tank tomake him feel more at home. "There are the big turtles," and Mr.Bobbsey lifted Flossie up over the rail so she could look down moreeasily.

  There were some very large turtles in the tank, swimming by moving theirbroad flippers. Sometimes they would swim about close to the white tiledbottom of the tank, but the water was clear, so they could be seen easily.Again the turtles would rise to the top, so that their big, hard shellswere out of water, like a raft which the boys build to play with when thecity's vacant lots or country meadows are flooded in the Spring.

  In one end of the tank was a big turtle--the largest of all--swimming byhimself, and overhead, hung by a wire from the room, was a stuffed one,larger yet. This, so a sign near it said, was a "leather-back turtle," andwhen alive had weighed eight hundred and fifty pounds.

  "Whew!" whistled Bert, looking at the big, stuffed fellow. "He could swimaround with two or three boys on _his_ back."

  "I'd like to have had a ride on him," cried Freddie. "But this one ispretty big, too!" and he pointed down at the large swimming turtle, which,just then, stuck his head up out of the water. He seemed to be nearly ayard long and almost as broad.

  "Oh!" screamed Flossie, as she saw the big turtle so close to her. "Can heget out of the water, Daddy?"

  "No, indeed," laughed Mr. Bobbsey.

  "I can't see him very good," said Freddie, and he gave a little jump upfrom the foot-rail on which he was standing.

  Freddie must have jumped up harder and farther than he had any idea of,for before Bert, who was standing near his little brother, could put out ahand to hold him, the flaxen-haired twin had fairly dived over the rail,and down into the tank he fell with a great splash.

  No, not such a great splash, either, for Freddie did not fall directlyinto the water. Instead, only his two fat legs and feet went in, for thesmall boy landed, sitting right up on the broad back of the big turtle!Right down on the turtle's back fell Freddie Bobbsey!