“Then time is going awfully slow!” commented Bert, looking in from the hall. “I wish Daddy would hurry! I want to see him open his birthday box.”
“Don’t be too sure that is a box for Daddy’s birthday,” remarked Mrs. Bobbsey. “It may be something about business.”
“If it was business they would send it to him at his office,” came from Nan.
“Besides,” added Bert, “the expressman said they got a letter asking ’em to deliver the box before supper this evening, and everybody knows we always give Daddy his presents at supper on the night before his birthday.”
“So we do,” agreed Mrs. Bobbsey. “But not every one knows that, Bert. However, if you children have any presents for your father perhaps you had better be getting them ready. I suppose you are going to give him something, aren’t you?” she asked, with a smile.
Instead of answering, the four twins looked one at the other. Each one was trying to keep a secret, but it was not easy. But before they could reply there was heard from the hall below the noise of a door opening.
“There’s Daddy now!” cried Bert.
“Wait for me!” begged Flossie, as she saw the others make a dash out of the room.
“Let me go first!” begged Freddie, and he was so anxious to get ahead of Bert that he stooped down and crawled between the legs of his brother, just as Bert was in the doorway of his mother’s room.
So eager was Freddie, and such a shove did he give himself to crawl through Bert’s legs that, before he knew what was happening, the fat little lad had slipped, rolled to the top of the stairs, and then he rolled all the way down, bumping from step to step.