“Then please be quick.  He may fall off and the turtle may bite him or drown him,” said Freddie’s father.

“Well, the turtle could give him a bad bite,” returned the Aquarium man.  “But if he holds on a little longer I’ll get your boy.”

The man jumped up on the ledge of the pool and made his way to the piece of wood that held up the heavy wire screen which divided the turtle pool into two parts, keeping the one big turtle away from the others.  All this while Freddie sat on the shell of the big turtle, his chubby legs dangling in the water, and his hands grasping the edges of the shell behind the front flippers.  The turtle’s neck was so short that it could not turn its head to bite Freddie, nor could the big flippers reach him.  As they had no claws on the ends, they would have done no harm, anyhow, if they had brushed him.

The greatest danger was that the turtle might suddenly sink down to the bottom of the pool, and, though it was not very deep, it was deep enough to have let Freddie drown.

Even though the small boy could swim, the turtle might attack him, or knock his head under water, which would have been a great danger to Flossie’s brother.  But, so far, the turtle did not show any wish to sink below the water.  It was frightened, that was certain, for it splashed about in the pool and swam as fast as it could, carrying Freddie with it.  Freddie was such a small chap, and the turtle was so large, that it did not mind the weight on its back.  But there was no telling when it would sink down.

“Take me off!  Take me off!” cried Freddie again.

“That’s all right,” said the Aquarium man.  “Don’t be afraid, little boy.  The turtle won’t hurt you, and we’ll soon have you off his back.  He won’t bite you, and you’re having a fine ride!”

Freddie, it seemed, had not thought of that before.

“That’s so!” he exclaimed, and his face did not show much fright now.  “I am having a ride, ain’t I?”

Flossie heard this, and then, instead of being afraid her brother would be hurt, she cried out: 

“Oh, I want a turtle ride, too!”

“No!” exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey, who was not so worried, now that he saw the Aquarium man on his way to get Freddie.  “One turtle ride is enough for the family.  Hold fast, Freddie!” he called, as the turtle came around on the side of the pool near to where the Bobbseys stood.

By this time the man was out on the middle of the wooden piece that held the heavy wire netting, and as the turtle swam near that the man leaned over and quickly lifted Freddie from the swimming creature’s back.

“There you are, my boy!” cried the man, as he held Freddie out to another attendant who had come to help.  “Now you’re all right except for wet feet, and we can dry them for you in the engine room.”

“We have to keep the boilers going in Winter to warm the water for the tropical fish,” said the man to Mr. Bobbsey.  “Take your little boy there and we’ll dry his shoes and stockings.”