But, to the relief of Nan and Bert, their mother did not scold them. She
just said:

"You must be a little more careful when you're playing where Flossie and
Freddie are. They are younger than you, and don't so well know how to
look out for themselves. You must look out for them. But now I want you
to go down to daddy's office."

"What do you want us to do?" asked Nan.

"Here is a letter that he ought to have right away," went on Mrs.
Bobbsey. "It came to the house by mistake. It should have gone to
daddy's lumber office, but the postman left it while I was out, and
Dinah was out in the barn with you children, so she could not tell him
to carry it on down town. So I wish you'd take it to daddy. He has been
expecting it for some time. It's about some business, and I don't want
to open the letter and telephone what's in it. But if you two will just
run down with it--"

"Of course we will!" cried Bert. "It'll be fun!"

"And may we stay a little while?" asked Nan.

"Yes, if you don't bother daddy. Here is the letter."

A little later Nan and Bert were in their father's office. The clerks
knew the children and smiled at them, and the stenographer, who wrote
Mr. Bobbsey's letters on the clicking typewriter machine, took the twins
through her room into their father's private office.