"That's all right," called Mr. Bobbsey. "He may come in. What is it,
Tommy?" he asked kindly, as the clerk stepped aside.

"I've come to do the errands, to earn the quarter you gave me
yesterday," said the fresh air boy, as he came in.

"Oh, there's no hurry about that," returned Mr. Bobbsey. "I don't know
what errands I want done to-day."

"Well, I'd like to do some," Tommy said. "I'd like to earn that money,
and then, maybe, you'd have some more errands for me to run, afterward,
so I could earn more money. I need it very much, and Mr. Fitch hasn't
any work for me to-day. I want to do all I can before school opens,"
Tommy went on, "'cause it gets dark early in the afternoon now, and my
grandmother doesn't like to have me out too late."

"That's right. How is your grandmother, Tommy?"

"She--she's sick," was the answer, and Tommy's voice sounded as though
he had been crying, or was just going to do so.

"Sick? That's too bad!"

"That's why I want some more errands to do, so I can earn money for her.
She was hungry when I got home yesterday, and I spent that money you
gave me--all but the five cents for car fare--to buy her things to eat.
There wasn't anything in the house."

"Oh, come now! That's too bad!" said Mr. Bobbsey. "We must look into
this. Here, Freddie, you and Johnnie and Tommie go down to the corner
and get some ice cream. It's a hot day," and he held out some money to
Tommy. "I'll let you carry it," he said, "as the other boys might lose
it. Get three ten cent plates of cream."

Tommy seemed to hang back.

"Could I have this one ten cent piece all for myself?" he asked.

"Why, of course you may. There is a dime for each of you. Don't you like
ice cream?"

"Oh, yes indeed. But I'd rather save this for my grandmother. I'm not
very warm."

"Now look here!" said Mr. Bobbsey with a laugh. "You spend that money
for yourself and for Freddie and Johnnie. I'll see that your grandmother
is taken care of. I'm going to telephone to my wife, now, to go down to
see her."

"Oh, all right, thank you!" cried Tommy. And then, when he had hurried
off down to the ice cream store with Freddie and Johnnie, Mr. Bobbsey
called up his wife at home and asked her to see Mrs. Todd.

Mrs. Bobbsey went to the little house on Lombard Street at once. She
found Tommy's grandmother to be a nice woman, but quite ill from having
worked too hard during the hot weather. She was very feeble.

"But I must keep a home for T