"No, Freddie. I'll keep your secret."
But of course Dorothy knew there was no ship which so little a boy as Freddie could get in order to go sailing across the sea. But she did not want him to feel disappointed, and she knew better than to laugh at him. Freddie was very much in earnest.
Dorothy Minturn spent two happy weeks with the Bobbsey twins. She and they had many good times, and more than once Freddie asked the seashore cousin if she had yet found a ship for him and Tommy.
At last Dorothy thought it best to tell Freddie that there were no ships which she could get for him.
"Well, that's too bad," said Freddie, after thinking about it for several seconds. "If I can't buy a ship, and if you can't get one for me, Dorothy, I know what I can do."
"What?" she asked.
"I can make one. My papa has lots of boards in his lumber yard. I'll go down there and make a ship for Tommy and me."
The next day Freddie asked his mother if he might not go down to his father's yard. As the way was safe, and as he had often gone before, Mrs. Bobbsey said he might go this time. Off trudged Freddie, with some nails in one pocket and pieces of string in another.
"I can use a stone for a hammer," he said, "and nail some boards together to make a ship. That's what I'll do."
Freddie first went to his father's office, which he always did, so Mr. Bobbsey would know his son was at the yard. This time it happened that Mr. Bobbsey was very busy. He looked at Freddie for a moment, and then said: