“Oh, no, Flossie! Freddie wouldn’t do a thing like that!”
“But I saw him tying a string to her, and I’m sure he was going to throw her into the ocean.”
“Well, then he could pull her out again.”
“Yes, but I don’t want my doll in the ocean. The ocean is salty, and if salty water gets in her eyes it might spoil them.”
Mrs. Bobbsey wanted to laugh, but she did not dare, for that would have made Flossie feel worse than ever.
“What makes you think Freddie was going to toss your doll into the ocean?” asked Flossie’s mother.
“‘Cause, before that he wanted me to do it to give her a bath. He had a long string and he said, ’let’s tie it to the rubber doll and let her swim in the ocean.’”
“No, he mustn’t do that, of course,” said Mrs. Bobbsey. “And I’ll tell him so when I find him. But perhaps he didn’t do it, Flossie.”
“Oh, yes he did!” said the little girl. “When he ran downstairs with my doll, and wouldn’t come back when I hollered at him, he was tying a string on her then. Oh, dear!”
“Never mind! I’ll get your doll back,” Mrs. Bobbsey said. “But first we must find Freddie.”