Mrs. Bobbsey placed Baby May in the hammock, where the little thing crowed and cooed in her happiness at feeling well again. Freddie was with his mother. Nan had taken Flossie down to a store to buy her a new hair ribbon. Bert had gone fishing with some of the boys.
“De telafoam am ringin’,” announced Dinah, coming to the back door and calling to Mrs. Bobbsey. “Somebody done want yo’, Mrs. Bobbsey.”
“I’ll come right in, Dinah. Freddie, you watch Baby May a little while, and don’t swing the hammock.”
“No’m, I won’t,” Freddie promised.
He sat beside the baby, smiling at her, for she was so pretty and cute, and letting May catch hold of one of his fingers. Then, as Freddie looked toward the street he saw something—or rather, some one. And that some one was an old lady in a faded shawl. Freddie insisted afterward that the shawl was faded.
At any rate, an old lady passed the Bobbsey house, and when she saw a baby swinging in a hammock in the side yard, with a little boy sitting beside the hammock, a strange look came over her face.
“Oh!” softly murmured Freddie. “Oh, it’s the same old woman!”
As he spoke thus to himself the old woman put her hand on the closed gate, and seemed about to push it open.
“Don’t come in here! Don’t you come in!” screamed Freddie, in such a loud voice that he frightened Baby May and she began to cry.
“Don’t you come in!” Freddie shouted again.