The Bobbsey Twins on the Deep Blue Sea

Chapter 7

Mrs. Bobbsey hardly knew what to do for a moment. She just stood and looked at Flossie as if she had not understood what the little girl had said. Then Freddies mother spoke.

You say he went down a big pipe? she asked.

Yes, Mother, answered Flossie. We were playing hide-and-go-seek, and it was my turn to blind. I hollered ready or not Im coming! and when I opened my eyes to go to find Freddie, I saw him going down a big, round pipe.

What sort of pipe? asked Mrs. Bobbsey, thinking her little boy might have crawled in some place on deck to hide, and that to Flossie it looked like a pipe.

It was a pipe sticking up like a smokestack, Flossie went on, and it was painted red inside.

Oh, you mean a ventilator pipe! cried Mrs. Bobbsey. If Freddie crawled down in one of those hell have a dreadful fall! Flossie, call your father!

Flossie did not exactly know what a ventilator pipe was, but Ill tell you that it is a big iron thing, like a funnel, that lets fresh air from above down into the boiler room where the firemen have to stay to make steam to push the ship along. But, though Flossie did not quite know what a ventilator pipe was, she knew her mother was much frightened, or she would not have wanted Mr. Bobbsey to come.

Flossie saw her father about halfway down the deck, talking to some other men, and, running up to him, she cried:

Freddies down in a want-you-later pipe!

A want-you-later pipe? repeated Mr. Bobbsey. What in the world do you mean, Flossie?

Well, thats what mother said, went on the little girl. Me and Freddie were playing hide-and-go-seek, and he hid down in a pipe painted red, and mother said it was a want-you-later. And she wants you now!

A want-you-later pipe! exclaimed one of the men. Oh, she must mean a ventilator. It does sound like that to a little girl.

Yes, thats it, said Flossie. And please come quick to mother, will you, Daddy?

Mr. Bobbsey set off on a run toward his wife, and some of the other men followed, one of them taking hold of Flossies hand.

Oh, d**k! cried Mrs. Bobbsey as her husband reached her, something dreadful has happened! Freddie is down a ventilator pipe, and I dont know what to do!

Neither did Mr. Bobbsey for a moment or two, and as the men came crowding around him, one of them bringing up Flossie, a cry was heard, coming from one of the red-painted pipes not far away. It was not a loud cry, sounding in fact, as if the person calling were down in a cellar.

Come and get me out! Come and get me out! the voice begged, and when Flossie heard it she said:

Thats him! Thats Freddie now. Oh, hes down in the pipe yet!

Which pipe? asked Mr. Bobbsey.

Flossie pointed to a ventilator not far away. Mr. Bobbsey and the men ran toward it, and, as they reached it, they could hear, coming out of the big opening that was shaped somewhat like a funnel, a voice of a little boy, saying:

Come and get me out! Im stuck!

Mr. Bobbsey put his head down inside the pipe and looked around. There he saw Freddie, doubled up into a little ball, trying to get himself loose. Flossies brother was, indeed, stuck in the pipe, which was smaller below than it was at the openingtoo small, in fact, to let the little boy slip through. So he was in no danger of falling.

Oh, Freddie! what made you get in there? asked his father, as he reached in, and, after pulling and tugging a bit, managed to get him out. What made you do it?

I was hiding away from Flossie, answered the little fellow. I crawled in the pipe, and then I waited for her to come and find me. She didnt know where I was.

Yes, I did so know where you went, declared Flossie. I saw you crawl into the pipe, and I didnt peek, either. I just opened my eyes and I saw you go into the pipe, and I was scared and I ran and told mother.

Well, if you didnt peek its all right, Freddie said. It was a good place to hide. I waited and waited for you to come and find me and then I thought you were going to let me come on in home free, and I tried to get out. But I couldntI was stuck.

I should say you were! laughed Mr. Bobbsey. He could laugh now, and so could Mrs. Bobbsey, though, at first, they were very much frightened, thinking Freddie might have been hurt.

Dont crawl in there again, little fireman, said one of the men with whom Mr. Bobbsey had been talking, and who knew the pet name of Flossies brother. This pipe wasnt big enough to let you fall through, but some of the ventilator pipes might be, and then youd fall all the way through to the boiler room. Dont hide in any more pipes on the steamer.

I wont, Freddie promised, for he had been frightened when he found that he was stuck in the pipe and couldnt get out. Come on, Flossie; its your turn to hide now, he said.

I dont want to play hide-and-go-seek any more, the little girl said. Id rather play with my doll.

If I had my fire engine Id play fireman, Freddie said, for he did not care much about a doll.

How would you like to go down to the engine room with me, and see where you might have fallen if the ventilator pipe hadnt been too small to let you through? asked Mr. Bobbsey.

Id like it, Freddie said. I like engines.

So his father took him away down into the hold, or lower part of the boat, and showed him where the firemen put coal on the fire. There Freddie saw ventilator pipes, like the one he had hid in, reaching from the boiler room up to the deck, so the firemen could breathe cool, fresh air. And there were also pipes like it in the engine room.

Freddie watched the shining wheels go spinning round and he heard the hiss of steam as it turned the big propeller at the back of the ship, and pushed the vessel through the waters of the deep blue sea.

Now well go up on deck, said Mr. Bobbsey, when Freddie had seen all he cared to in the engine room. Its cooler there.

Freddie and his father found several women talking to Mrs. Bobbsey, who was telling them what had happened to her little boy, and Bert and Nan were also listening.

I wonder what Freddie will do next? said Bert to his older sister. First he catches a ladys hat for a fish, and then he nearly gets lost down a big pipe.

I hope he doesnt fall overboard, returned Nan.

So do I, agreed Bert. And when we get on a smaller ship, if we go on a voyage with Cousin Jasper, well have to look after Flossie and Freddie, or they will surely fall into the water.

Are we really, truly going on a voyage with Cousin Jasper, do you think? Nan asked.

Well, I heard father and mother talking about it, and they seemed to think maybe wed take a trip on the ocean, went on Bert.

I hope we do! exclaimed Nan. I just love the water!

So do I! her brother said. When I get big Im going to have a ship of my own.

Will you take me for a sail? asked Nan.

Course I will! Bert quickly promised.

The excitement caused by Freddies hiding in the ventilator pipe soon passed, and then the Bobbsey family and the other passengers on the ship enjoyed the fine sail. The weather was clear and the sea was not rough, so nearly every one was out on deck.

I wonder if well see any shipwrecks, remarked Bert a little later, as the four Bobbsey twins were sitting in a shady place not far from Mrs. Bobbsey, who was reading her book. She had told the children to keep within her sight.

A shipwreck would be nice to see if nobody got drowned, observed Nan. And maybe we could rescue some of the people!

When theres a shipwreck, said Freddie, who seemed to have been thinking about it, they have to get in the little boats, like this one, and he pointed to a lifeboat not far away.

Thats an awful little boat to go on the big ocean in, said Flossie.

Its safe, though, Bert said. Its got things in it to make it float, even if its half full of water. It cant sink any more than our raft could sink.

Our raft nearly did sink, said Flossie.

No, it only got stuck on a mud bank, answered Bert. I was the one that sank down in my bare feet, and he laughed as he remembered that time.

Well, anyhow, we had fun, said Freddie.

Oh, look! suddenly cried Nan. Theres a small boat nowout there on the ocean. Maybe theres been a shipwreck, Bert!

Bert and the other Bobbsey twins looked at the object to which Nan pointed. Not far from the steamer was a small boat with three or four men in it, and they seemed to be in some sort of trouble. They were beating the water with oars and poles, and something near the boat was lashing about, making the waves turn into foam.

That isnt a shipwreck! cried Bert. Thats a fishermans boat!

And something is after it! said Nan. Oh, Bert! maybe a whale is trying to sink the fishermans boat!

By this time Mrs. Bobbsey and a number of other passengers were crowding to the rail, looking at the small boat. The men in it did, indeed, seem to be fighting off something in the water that was trying to damage their boat.

Its a big shark! cried one of the steamship sailors. The fishermen have caught a big shark and theyre trying to kill it before it sinks their boat. Say, its a great, big shark! Look at it lash the water into foam! Those men may be hurt!

A shark! A shark! cried the passengers, and from all over the ship they came running to where they could see what was happening to the small boat.