“Hush!” cautioned Bert.
Then their fears came to a sudden end, for the voice of Mr. Bobbsey was heard in the kitchen asking:
“Where are you, Mary? I forgot my front-door key, and came in the back way.”
“I didn’t know the back door was open,” remarked Mrs. Bobbsey, while Bert, no longer worried, said to Nan:
“It’s all right. It’s dad. I’m going back to bed.”
“Oh,” said Nan. “All right!”
The two older Bobbsey twins went to their rooms. Flossie and Freddie had gone back to their beds and were now slumbering peacefully, lulled by the patter of rain drops.
“How did you get in the back door if it was locked?” asked Mrs. Bobbsey of her husband, as he took off his dripping rubber coat.
“I always leave an extra back-door key out over the side window ledge,” he answered, “so if I forget my latch key I can get in. That’s what I did to-night. But what were you doing in the front hall?” he asked.
“The front doorbell rang,” his wife replied. “Was it you ringing it?” she went on quickly.