"You must tell me about that some time," said Mrs. Whipple. "But Laddie's other uncle isn't lost at sea, so far as we know. It's too sad a story to tell to children. But Mr. Whipple has a brother, who is also a brother to Laddie's mother, but this brother has long been lost."
"How'd he get lost?" asked Freddie. "Did he go to the store and couldn't find his way back?"
"No, my child. It was different from that. I'll tell you, perhaps, another time. Go on with your play now."
So Laddie, Freddie and Flossie went back to their "store," and had lots of fun. Then they played other games, using Freddie's fire engine and Laddie's train of cars, and even Flossie's doll, who rode as a passenger.
"Well, what'll we do next?" asked Freddie, when he and Laddie had taken turns squirting water from the fire engine in the bath room.
"Let's play automobile," said Laddie. "I can get——"
He stopped talking and seemed to be listening.
"What's the matter?" asked Flossie, as Laddie hurried to a window that looked down into a side street.
"It's a fire!" cried Laddie. "I can hear the puffers! Come on! It's right down this side street!"
Flossie and Freddie looked out of the window long enough to see a crowd of people in front of a store not far from the hotel, which was on a corner. And in the street, which was a side one, as Laddie had said, were a number of fire engines.