"What is it? What's the matter?" asked several ladies.
"A little boy is lost—my nephew," Aunt Sarah explained.
"Oh, isn't that too bad!" cried the sympathetic ladies. "We hope you find him!"
Back into the animal tent the Bobbseys and their relatives and friends pushed their way. It was not easy to work back through the crowd that was anxious to get away, now that the afternoon performance of the circus was over.
"He must be in there," said Uncle Daniel. "We'll find him."
Carefully he looked through the crowd of persons who were still in the animal tent. A number had remained, with their children, to get another look at the elephants, lions and tigers. Men were feeding some of the animals, now that there was a little quiet spell, and this was interesting to the youngsters.
"He doesn't seem to be here," said Aunt Sarah, as she peered through her spectacles.
"Oh, he must be!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey. "He can't have gone on ahead of us, and if he turned back he would have to come into this tent."
"Oh, isn't it too bad!" exclaimed Nan, looking at her brother Bert, as though he could help. But Bert, Harry and Tom, though they had quickly made a round of the circle of animal cages, had come back to say that they found no trace of Freddie.
"I know what to do, mamma," spoke up Flossie.