"Maybe they want us to come back," suggested Freddie. But as the ice-boat was too far away for the older Bobbseys to make their voices heard by Flossie and Freddie, Mr. Bobbsey and the others could only wave their hands.
"We must catch that boat!" cried Bert "No telling what it will do to them if it upsets. Come on! Run, everybody!"
He set off as fast as he could go, his father with him, while Mrs. Bobbsey and Nan came along more slowly.
"I guess they want us to come back and get them," said Freddie. "They must be tired. Well, I'll steer the boat back and we'll give them a ride. Won't it be fun, Flossie?"
"Ye-yes, maybe. If you can do it."
"Do what?"
"Steer the ice-boat back."
"Of course I can do it!" cried Freddie. "I can squirt water from my fire engine, can't I? And that isn't any harder than this."
Freddie did not know so much about ice-boats as he thought he did, and when he had crawled back to the tiller, still held fast in a loop of the rope, the small boy found it harder
