“Oh, I’m not worried,” answered Mr. Bobbsey, with a smile.  “But it is time for us to go, and I want them.  Did you see them—­two little ones—­about so high,” and he held his hand a short distance above the stone floor.  “They have light hair and blue eyes.”

The porter thought for a moment.  Then he said: 

“Well, to tell yo’ de truff, boss, we has about seben hundred blue-eyed an’ light-haired chilluns in heah ebery day, and we has de same number ob dark ones, so it’s mighty hard t’ ’member ’em all.”

“Yes, I suppose so.  Well, I’ll walk about I dare say I shall find them.”

“I’ll tell some ob de udder men,” offered the porter.  “We often has t’ pick up lost little ones an’ take ’em to de waitin’ room.  Ef yo’ doan’t find yo’ tots yo’se’f, stop in dere.”

“I will,” said Mr. Bobbsey, and he was about to walk on when the porter called to him: 

“Heah comes a light-haired, blue-eyed gal now, an’ she’s runnin’ like she’s in a hurry.  Maybe she’s yo’rs.”

Mr. Bobbsey looked up in time to see Flossie running toward him from the front part of the station.  She seemed much excited, and when she neared her father she called: 

“Oh, Daddy! guess what happened!”

“I’m afraid I haven’t time,” said Mr. Bobbsey quickly, “We must hurry away.  Where is Freddie?”

“That’s what I mean!  Guess what happened to him,” went on Flossie, who was rather out of breath.

“I can’t,” said Mr. Bobbsey.  “Tell me quickly, Flossie.  Is he hurt?”

“Oh, no; he’s all right.  But he’s gone off down the street, and he went into a store where there was a lot of bugs in the window, and he says he’s going to buy some.  I want some bugs, too!”

“What in the world is she talking about?” asked Mrs. Bobbsey, who from where she sat had seen her husband and little girl and had hurried on to join them.

“She says Freddie went down the street,” explained Mr. Bobbsey, “and that he——­”

“Yep!  He went in a store with a lot of bugs in the window!” said Flossie again.  “They’re great big bugs and they walk around and around and around!” and she shook her flaxen head as hard as she could, as she often did when excited.

“What in the world do you mean?” asked Nan, who, with Bert, now joined their father.

“Freddie must have gone outside the depot to go down a street,” said Bert.  “Maybe she means he went into an animal store, where they sell monkeys and parrots.”

“No, they weren’t any monkeys—­nor parrots, either,” said Flossie.  “But some of the big bugs were green like a parrot.  And we didn’t go outdoors, either.”

“Then show us where you did go,” ordered Mr. Bobbsey quickly.  “I think we can find Freddie that way.  Did you go into the store with him?” he asked his little girl.

“Nope.  I ran back to get the money to buy the bugs that crawl around and around and around, and go in a little door all by theirselves!” said Flossie, who was not breathing so fast now.