die's head the men carefully but quickly lifted away the boards, and
the little boy could come out.

"Oh Freddie!" cried his father. "I was so worried about you! What
happened?"

Then Freddie told of having climbed up on the lumber pile, and of its
having toppled over with him, but not hurting him in the least.

"It was just like a play-house," he said. "And I heard a scratching and
thought it was a rat. But it was Sawdust."

"I saw the cat come out from under the lumber," said Tommy. "But I did
not know Freddie was there until I heard him calling. I was coming to
you to ask if you had any work for me this Saturday, as there isn't any
school. I need to work to earn money for my grandmother."

"Work? Of course I can give you work," said Mr. Bobbsey, who had Freddie
in his arms. "You deserve a good reward for finding Freddie for us, and
you shall have it. I'm glad I didn't have to call out all the men, for
if I had blown the big whistle Mrs. Bobbsey would have heard it, and
she would have thought there was a fire."

So Tommy Todd was rewarded for having found where the lost Freddie was.
The fresh air boy was given some easy work to do, for which he was well
paid, and besides this, Mr. Bobbsey gave the grandmother five dollars to
buy the food and the clothing which she needed very much.

"I'm glad I happened to come past the lumber pile where you were," said
Tommy a little later, when he was taking Freddie home, for Mr. Bobbsey
sent Tommy along to see that the little chap did not get lost again.

"I'm glad, too," said Freddie. "I'm not going to climb up on lumber
piles any more. But we've got to make that boat, Tommy, and sail off to
find your father."

"Yes, I wish we could find him, but I'm afraid we can't. Anyhow it will
be Winter soon and it isn't any fun going to sea in the Winter, so my
grandmother says. Maybe we'd better wait until it's Summer again before
we think of the ship."

"Well, maybe we had, Tommy."

CHAPTER XIII

THE FIRST FROST

Mrs. Bobbsey was quite surprised when Tommy brought Freddie home, and
she was more surprised when she heard what had happened, and how Freddie
had been caught under the lumber.

"Dear me, I am glad they found you, Freddie!" she cried, kissing him.

"And so Tommy found you; did he?" asked Nan, smiling at the boy whom
they had met in the train the day the fresh air children came home from
the country.

"Yes," Tommy answered. "I was going on an errand for