"Oh, I don't use it for bikes," said the man. "We haven't any. I use it for my garden tools."
"Oh," said Fatty. "Well—thank you for letting us get our ball. We'll be going now."
They went out into the road and crossed over to talk. "Hasn't got a bike! But that boy at the shop distinctly said that the man at Kosy-Kot bought a hooter," said Bets indignantly. "He must have got a bike. Why should he pretend he hasn't got one? "
"It's a bit suspicious," said Pip. They walked on, puzzled. Suddenly, round the corner, they heard the noise of a hooter! Parp-parp! Parp-parp! The children clutched at one another, thrilled. A hooter! Perhaps it belonged to tihe man with odd eyes! Perhaps it would be his bicycle coming round the corner!
But, round the corner, ridden at a tremendous pace, came a child on a tricycle. He ran right into Fatty, who gave a yell, and hopped round on one leg, holding his right foot in his hand.
"You little idiot! What did you come round the corner like that for?" yelled Fatty.
"Well, I hooted!" said the little boy indignantly. "Didn't you hear me? I hooted like this."
And he pressed the rubber hooter on his tricycle and it parp-parped loudly. "It's a new hooter," he said. "My Daddy bought it for me. You should have got out of the way when you heard me coming round the comer."
"We weren't expecting a tricycle," said Pip. "We thought the hooter was on a bike, coming along the road, not on the pavement."
"Well, I'm sorry," said the little boy, beginning to pedal again. "But I did hoot. I hoot at every corner. Like this."