the platform, he did not know to
whom they belonged. So he told the ticket seller and Mr. Bobbsey that
Flossie and Freddie had taken the last express train that had passed the
station.

"It would have been easy enough to stop them if you'd only known it at
first," said the ticket seller; "but they've got the start of you now, and
after Sixty-sixth Street these express trains make only a few stops before
they reach the end of the line. But I can telephone to one of the ticket
sellers at one of the uptown stations and have him meet the train and take
the children off."

"What will he do with them?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey.

"Oh, he'll keep 'em safe till you folks get there. The trains run pretty
close together at this hour of the day. Your husband can get uptown after
'em so quick that they won't have to wait long."

"What shall we do?" asked Bert.

"We will all go on together," answered his father. "I wish we had taken an
automobile to go to the hotel, and then this would not have happened. But
Flossie and Freddie would have been disappointed if they had not had the
first ride in an elevated train. However, I'm sure it will all come out
right."

The ticket agent went into his little office to telephone on ahead, and
have Flossie and Freddie taken from the train and held until their parents
could claim them. Meanwhile Mr. Bobbsey and the others waited until this
was done before getting on the train that was to take them far uptown in
New York.

Something was the matter with the telephone in the first station which the
ticket seller called up. He could not get the agent there to talk to him
over the wire until the train in which Flossie and Freddie were riding,
had whizzed on, after making a short stop.

"Well, I'll catch them at the next station where the train stops," the
agent said. This time he managed to get in touch with the agent there, but
when the latter understood, and ran out to hail the train, it was already
in motion and could not be stopped.

"Well, the third time is always lucky," said the ticket seller who had
offered to do what he could to help Mr. Bobbsey. "I'll be sure to catch
them now."

He talked over the telephone to another agent and this one answered back
that the train was just then pulling out of his station.

"But I'll yell at one of the guards," this agent called into the telephone
instrument, "and tell him to put the children off at the next stop. I'll
do that," and he rushed out to t