boy caught his small brother just in time, or there might have been a
bumped nose.

"Hi there, Freddie, what's the matter?" asked Bert, with a laugh. "Is
our dog Snap chasing you, or have you been playing a trick on our cat
Snoop?"

"I--I--I'm a--a fireman!" panted Freddie. for he, too, was out of breath
from running. "I'm a fireman, and I--I've got to get the engine. There's
a big, big fire!" and his eyes opened wide and round.

"A big fire--really?" asked Nan quickly.

"Course not! He's only making believe!" replied Bert.

"Well, I thought maybe he might have seen some boys start a bonfire
somewhere," explained Nan. "They sometimes do."

"I know they do," admitted Bert. "And I hope they don't start one near
daddy's lumberyard."

"There was a fire down in the lumber once!" exclaimed Freddie. He was
too young to have seen it, but he had heard his father and mother talk
about the time Mr. Bobbsey's lumberyard was nearly burned out. Freddie
Bobbsey was very fond of a toy fire engine he had been given for
Christmas, and his father often called Freddie a "little fireman," just
as Flossie was named a "fairy."

"Well, if it's only a make-believe fire we can sit here and cool off,"
went on Nan. "What were you doing, Flossie?" she asked her little