Mr. Bobbsey looked and called Freddie’s name, but the little fellow, being sound asleep, did not hear.

Then Mr. Bobbsey told several of his men about the little lost boy, and they began searching for him.  No one thought of looking under the pile of boards, for there were many such in the yard.  And so Freddie remained hidden.

When he was not to be found Mr. Bobbsey grew more and more anxious, and he hoped that James would come back to say that Freddie was safe at home.

But when the watchman came back he said: 

“Your other children are playing in the yard of your house, Mr. Bobbsey.  Bert, Nan and Flossie are there.  But Freddie isn’t with them.”

“Maybe he is in the house, getting something to eat,” said Mr. Bobbsey.

“No, I hardly think so,” answered James, “for when I was going past the house, on the other side of the street so they wouldn’t see me, a little boy, who plays with Freddie, came running along.  He called to Nan, this other little boy did, to know where Freddie was.”

“And what did Nan say?”

“She said Freddie was down at the lumber yard.”

“Then he can’t have gone home, or Nan would know it.  He must be around here somewhere.  I—­I hope he didn’t go near the lake.  And yet he might, with his idea of boats.”

“Oh, I don’t believe he would do that, Mr. Bobbsey,” said James.  “We’ll find him.”

Mr. Bobbsey and the men scattered through the lumber yard, looking on all sides of the many piles.  But still no one thought of looking under the boards that had slid off the stack upon which Freddie had climbed.  For it did not seem as though any one could be beneath them.

“Well, I don’t know what to do,” said Mr. Bobbsey, after a bit.  “I guess I’ll blow the big fire whistle, and get all the men from the shops and every place to help us look.  This is too bad!”

Besides the lumber yard Mr. Bobbsey owned a mill, or shop, where boards were made into doors, windows and other parts of houses.  Many men worked in this shop.

All this while Freddie was peacefully sleeping under the lumber, with Sawdust curled up near him, purring happily.

Finally, Freddie awakened again, and as he sat up and rubbed his eyes he could not, for a moment, remember where he was:  Then he looked down and saw Sawdust, and he said: 

“Oh, I’m in my little lumber play-house yet.  I must get out.  Where did you get in, Sawdust?  Maybe I can get out the way you came in.  Show me where it was.”

Sawdust mewed.  Perhaps she knew that Freddie was in trouble, though she did not quite understand all that he said.  At any rate the big cat walked over toward a large crack, and squeezed her way through it to the outside.

“That’s too small for me,” said Freddie, for he could not get even one foot through the opening.  “I’ll have to find a bigger place.”

He looked all over but there was none.  Then he called out as loudly as he could: