The Mystery of the Blinking Eye

unpack, maybe change your clothes if you wish, then decide where to dine?”
    “That would be a deli for me!” Bob said.
    Mart exploded. “Not with my appetite! We might end up with a sandwich, a piece of pie, and a glass of milk or a cup of coffee. I want more than that, to eat. Don’t you?”
    “He probably does,” Trixie said. “If you want to go to a delicatessen, Bob, we’ll go there for lunch sometime. There are lots of them around. If we’re going to the movie tonight, though, I think it’ll be a good idea to find a restaurant that’s nearer. What movie would you like to see? If you name it, it’s sure to be playing someplace in Manhattan.”
    “How wonderfully wonderful!” Barbara exclaimed. “May we just watch the theaters as we walk along, then decide which movie?”
    Trixie turned to the others. “Will that be all right?” When they nodded their heads, she asked Honey, “Don’t you think they’d like to go to that French restaurant on Fifty-seventh Street for dinner?”
    “We can try it,” Honey answered.
    Trixie and Honey already had unpacked their own bags, so they waited in the living room while Diana went to Barbara’s room with her.
    “It didn’t take me long to unpack,” Trixie said. “I didn’t bring many clothes with me. Did you?”
    “No, but if I were as beautiful as Di, I’d want lots of clothes.”
    “You are, too, Honey, every bit as pretty. Di brought two suitcases with her. It’ll take her a while to unpack.”
    “Yes, it will. And—about being beautiful—you don’t realize how pretty you’re getting to be, Trixie Belden. Let’s take a walk. I’m so jumpy. My insides are like Fourth of July sparklers. I suppose part of it is because I’m so glad the twins and Ned are here.”
    “Oh, let’s do walk. I can’t possibly sit still. I have the queerest feeling that we’re just at the beginning of the biggest adventure yet!”
    The girls walked south along Central Park West, then turned on one of the side streets to go around the block.
    “When you talk about the ‘biggest adventure yet,’ the sparklers inside of me turn to ice. I’m shivering. We’ve had some pretty scary things happen, Trixie. I don’t want the twins and Ned to have anything unpleasant spoil their visit. We have to take them on a super tour.”
    “A lot of people think of New York City as being full of nothing but taxis, high buildings, and gangsters. Say, Honey, look at this odd little shop!”
    Trixie paused in front of the window of a small antique store. Through the glass they could see a motley collection of articles: vases, lamp bases, old guns, antique jewelry.
    The girls put their hands to their eyes and peered into the room back of the window display.
    “There isn’t a thing in there as nice as the antiques we had in our show at Sleepyside,” Trixie said. “Did you ever see such a conglomeration as this?”
    “I’ve never seen anything like that queer little statue over on the left side. Do you see it? It’s carved wood. Isn’t it odd?”
    “That’s right. It’s so ugly it’s darling! Let’s go inside so I can see it better.”
    “You aren’t actually thinking of buying it, are you?” Honey asked in surprise.
    “I don’t know till I find out what it costs and, at least, not till I see it closer. I like it.”
    Inside the shop, Honey whispered, “It’s scary in here. The light’s so dim. Here comes the owner.”
    At Trixie’s request, the man, swarthy and dark, took the small image from the window. Trixie held it in her hands, turned it over, and examined its rough brown surface. “What is it supposed to be?”
    “Some kind of an Incan idol, I guess,” the man said. “I don’t really know what this one is. My friend who owns this place gets lots of queer stuff from South America. I’m just staying in the shop for him for an hour or two. He’ll be back after a while if you want to come back again. A man left this idol for him shortly after he left, and I just stuck it in the window.” Trixie stood the small statue in the palm of her hand, amused at its grotesque expression. “I just have to have it,” she announced to Honey. “How much is it?” she asked the man.
    “I don’t know,” the man answered. “Nothing in here has a price tag on it. My friend told me he gets what he can for things. What do you think it’s worth?”
    “You’re the one to say.”
    He named a figure. Then, as Trixie gasped, he came down a little, then a little