"I'll get it!" cried Freddie, eager to show what a little man
he was. He made his way to the cooler without accident, and then,
moving slowly, taking hold of the seat on the way back, so as not
to spill the water, he brought the silver cup brimful to the fat
lady.

"Oh, what a beautiful cup," she said, as she took it.

"And it cost a lot of money, too," said Flossie. "It's ours--our
birthday cup, and when I grow up I'm going to have a bracelet made
from my half."

"That will be nice," said the fat lady, as she prepared to drink.

But she never got more than a sip of the water Freddie had so kindly
brought her, for, no sooner did her lips touch the cup than there
was a grinding, shrieking sound, a jar to the railway coach, and the
train came to such a sudden stop that many passengers were thrown
from their seats.

Flossie and Freddie sat down suddenly in the aisle, but they were
so fat that they did not mind it in the least. As surprised as he
was, Freddie noticed that the fat lady was so large that she could
not be thrown out of her seat no matter how suddenly the train
stopped The little Bobbsey boy saw the water from the cup spill
all over the fat lady, and she held the silver vessel in her big,
pudgy hand, looking curiously at it, as though wondering what had
so quickly become of the water.

"It's a wreck--the train's off the track!" a man exclaimed.