"Sort of excuse for going in," suggested Nell.
"Do they have ice cream cones?" asked Flossie. "I want something to eat."
"I don't believe they have anything to eat in here," said Nell. "But we can get that later, Flossie. Now you and Freddie be nice when we go in, and after we come out I'll get you some ice cream."
"I'll be good!" promised Flossie.
"So'll I," agreed Freddie. "But I want a whistle, and if they have a little fire engine I want that."
"You don't want much!" laughed Bert.
"Well, let's go in!" suggested Billy.
So, with the two boys in the lead, followed by Nell and Nan and Flossie and Freddie, the children entered the second-hand and souvenir store.
A bell on the door rang with a loud clang as Billy opened it, and when the children stepped inside the shop an old man with a black, curly beard and long black hair that seemed as if it had never been combed, came out from a back room.
"What you want to buy, little childrens?" he asked. "I got a lot of nice things, cheap! Very cheap!"