"Say, he is a good goat," said Freddie, when they were half-way down the block.
"Sure he's a good goat!" agreed the boy, whose name was Mike. "There ain't none better."
It was a fine day, even if it was Winter. The sun was shining brightly, so it was not cold. What snow there was in New York, before the Bobbseys came on their visit, had either melted or been cleaned off the streets so one would hardly know there had been a storm.
"I wish we had a goat," said Freddie, when the ride was almost over.
[Illustration: "I WISH WE HAD A GOAT," SAID FREDDY.
_The Bobbsey Twins in a Great City. Page_ 216]
"So do I," agreed Flossie. "Let's ask Daddy to buy one," she suggested.
"I'm goin' to sell dis goat," put in Mike.
"'Cause I'm going to work. You see I won't have time to look after him. I bought him off a feller what moved away, an' I keeps de goat in Sullivan's livery stable. But I have to pay a dollar a month, an' so I began givin' de boys an' girls around here rides for two cents to pay for Billy's keep. But I can't do dat when I goes to work, so me mudder says I must sell 'im. I don't want to, but I has to."
Flossie looked at Freddie and Freddie looked at Flossie on hearing this. Neither of them said a word, but any one who knew them could easily have told that they were thinking of the same thing--the goat.
"Well, I'll ride you back to where youse got in me wagon," said Mike, "and then your nickel's about used up."
"Oh, I've got another!" cried Freddie eagerly. "We want more ride. Don't we, Flossie?"
So they rode up and down the block again, and when that was over Flossie and Freddie spent some time talking to Mike.
By this time Mrs. Bobbsey had ended her visit and had come out to look for her children.
"I thought I told you not to go off the steps," she said. They were down the street looking at the goat.
"Well, we didn't mean to," admitted Freddie. "But we did so much want a goat ride."
"And we had ten cents' worth!" laughed Flossie.
Mrs. Bobbsey smiled. It was very hard to be cross with these small twins. They never meant to do wrong, and, I suppose, taking a ride up and down the block was not so very bad.
"Good-bye!" called Freddie to Mike, the goat boy, as Mrs. Bobbsey led her children away.