“They are playing with Laddie,” said Mrs. Bobbsey.  “I’ll get them.”

The two younger Bobbsey twins felt sorry that their father had to go away, but they were told he would soon be back again.  But as Flossie and Freddie were having such fun playing with Laddie, they did not really think much about Mr. Bobbsey going away, except for five minutes or so.

“Give our love to Uncle Jack,” said Freddie, as he kissed his father, and started back for the Whipple rooms, where he and Laddie were building a bridge of books for the toy train of cars to cross a river, which was made of a piece of broken looking glass.

“And here’s an extra kiss I’ll give you for him,” said Flossie, as she hugged her father in bidding him good-bye.  “I love Uncle Jack.”

So Mr. Bobbsey went back to Lakeport, and Mrs. Bobbsey got ready to take Nan and Bert to the Natural History Museum.  At first it had been planned to take Flossie and Freddie, but, as they said they did not care much about stuffed animals, and as they were having such fun with Laddie, Mrs. Whipple told Mrs. Bobbsey she would look after the smaller twins and give them their lunch.

“Then I’ll leave them with you,” said the mother of Flossie and Freddie.  “I hope they will be no trouble.”

“I’m sure they’ll be all right,” said Laddie’s aunt.  “Don’t worry about them.”

So Flossie, Freddie and Laddie built the bridge of books, and on it safely ran the toy locomotive and cars over the river of shiny looking glass.

When they grew tired of this game they played automobile.  To do that Laddie had to turn an old rocker upside down and stick on one leg a broken drum he had left from his Christmas toys.  The drum was the steering wheel, and it made enough noise, when pounded on with a stick, to pretend it was an automobile horn.

Flossie and Freddie rode in the back part of the overturned chair, and Laddie sat in front of them and made believe he was a chauffeur of a taxicab, running about the streets of New York.

As Laddie knew the names of many places where the real taxicabs stop, he could call them out from time to time.  So that Flossie and Freddie went to the Grand Central Terminal, to Central Park, to the Public Library and many other places (make-believe, of course) in the queer pretend automobile.

“Oh, I’m going to stop off at the Public Liberry!” called out Flossie, while the play was going on.

“What you going to stop off at the Public Liberry for?” asked Freddie.

“I’m going to get a great big picture book,” returned the little girl.

“’Bout Cinderella?” questioned her brother.

“No.  I’m going to get a picture book with all kinds of stories in it.”

“We can’t stop now!” yelled out Laddie.  “We’re three blocks past the liberry already.”

“Well, then I won’t bother,” answered Flossie.

After that they played steamboat, a tin horn being the whistle, which was tooted every time the boat stopped or started.  This game was great fun, and the children played it for some time until down in the street Laddie heard the tooting of fire engines and the clanging of bells.