Howling Halloween Ⅱ: Harrowing Halloween

Jib and Jab

Jib and Jab headed downstairs into the basement for the construction toys section of the expo. There were many tables of toys, but most of them were in their boxes. The only toys out of their boxes were very large Lego displays. One was Jackson Square from the French Quarter in New Orleans, and another was Rockefeller Center. There was an entire Disney section, with a model of Disneyland™ and a Steamboat Willie™ display.

Jib and Jab walked over to the Disney display and trade to play with some of the minifigures, but the stall attendant yelled at them. "Those are for display only!" He shooed them off.

"This isn't even a little fun, what good at toys in boxes?" Jab asked.

"Or toys we can't play with, only look at?" Jib said. "What's the fun in that?"

"Let's see what the action figure area is like?" said Jab. "Maybe we can find some toys that we can play with."

The action figure area was out in the back patio. That patio was covered by a roof, and head white posts and beams with wisterias climbing all over them. It was beautiful, but kind of a weird place to have a toy expo. People had a hard time getting from table-to-table, and it was very crowded. Jib and Jab tried to push and sneak their way through, but kept coming to dead-ends where little rails or fences blocked their path. The whole expo was crowded, but this was the most crowded place so far.

"Want to hear my idea, Jab?" Jib asked.

"Yessir, Jibby Jib."

"Let's hop this fence and head down into the discount section!" The discount section was off the patio between the house and the stables. That was were the cheapest action figures were. "We can get more bang for our buck over there!"

They hopped the fence and nearly landed on an old mummys head. "Yo, watch where you are going ya little ankle biters!" The mummy yelled as they ran away. They nearly crashed into a toy table but something caught their attention.

"Check out this kicking rad toy soldier!" Jib said as he picked up a doll in an old, Napoleon-era soldiers uniform. It had white pants, a blue jacket with white bandoliers, and a curly afro.

"He's missing a hat, Jib!" Jab said. "Check it, his hair is like mine!" Jab touched his own afro and saw a twinkle in the soldiers eye.

"Yeah," said the stalls owner. "He's missing his hat and his gun. That's why he's a discount. He's a really old toy, he's from the 19th century. He represents a French soldier from Africa or the Carribean. Pretty cool, right?"

"Do you know the soldier's name?" Jib said, mesmerized by the toy's quality.

"Let me see," the toy seller took his glasses, which were hanging on a string around his neck, and put them on his nose. He inspected the toy carefully and found some writing on the bottom of the toys boot. "It says here Guillaume Billot."

"'Guillaume' is French for 'William'," said Jib. "I know, coz I speak Cajun."

"Billot is my own last name... I think this doll is meant to be mine. Well how much is he?" asked Jab.

"For you, monsieur, $5. He is your namesake and likeness."

Jab and the seller made the exchange and Jab was excited to hold the doll. It really did resemble him, with the small afro and the blue jacket. "That's an awesome toy, brother," Jib said. "Should we head back?"

"Maybe we can go to the antique section and see if we can get a hat for this doll," Jab suggested.

"Jab, that plan is perfect."

They headed back through the patio and into the house, past the foyer and into the baby section, the antique toys were just past the baby section in the dining room of the mansion. As they entered the baby section they noticed Pierre, Patricia and Dark Sky talking to a tall man with a really tall stove pipe hat.

"Hey, that's those three. What the heck are they doing with that guy?" Jib said. They looked over and it seemed like Dark Sky and the tall man were pointing in their direction. "Hey, I got a bad feeling about this."

"Me, too, let's head over here." Jib and Jab ran to the opposite side of the room, where it was more crowded and it would be easier to get lost in the crowd. They turned around and the man in the hat appeared to be making exactly in their direction.

Jab noticed a twinkle in his doll's eye, and an arm popping out to one side pointing.

"Quick, this way," Jab said, ducking into the antique toy section. They ran down a crowded row of toys. On one side, was a large collection of antique piggy banks, and on another, a collection of antique dolls, such as Shirley Temple, Betty Boop, and Blythe. They ran down the middle of the hall and when they looked back, it seemed the tall-hatted man was still after them.

Jab noticed the doll's eye twinkle again, and this time the doll was pointing for them to jump under a stall table. They did. The man in the hat ran right past them without even seeing them.

The man in the hat came back to where they were. "They gotta be around here somewhere," He said. Jib and Jab were hiding under the table and could see the mans purple and black cape at the bottom of the table. He stopped right at their table and he seemed to bend, like he was going to look under the table.

"Just what do you think you are doing?" The stall owner yelled at the man in the hat. "What's for sale is above the table. What's under there is my business. If you have questions, you can ask me, not go poking around in my stuff."

The man in the hat huffed. "Have you seen two little ghosts, by chance? They were holding a doll that is very important to me, I would like to purchase it from them. The ghosts are about this tall, one with a straw hat like a Cajun, and the other with a curly afro."

"Nope, haven't any ghosts like that," The stall man said. "Are you gonna buy something? If not, maybe it's time for you to take off?"

The man in the hat huffed again, lingered a moment, but then walked away. Jib and Jab stayed under the table for several moments, scared to come out.

"You can come out now," the stall man said. "He's gone." They slowly came out, and saw the stall man, an older man with a bushy white beard and a bald head.

"How did you know? Jib asked.

Of course I saw you get under my table, but I also saw him chasing you down," The man took out a pipe and started smoking it. "I knew you two were good kids because I saw that doll. Do you mind if I have a look?"

Jab handed the doll to the man, who inspected it closely. "This is an old doll, an antique. Guillaume Billot was a soldier in Napoleon's time. He later left Napoleon's army and fought in the Haitian Revolution. This is a great doll, and I have just the thing for you guys." The old man ruffled through a box of knick knacks on his table and took out a tall, short-brimmed hat and an old musket with a bayonet on it. "There you go, a hat and a rifle for the soldier."

"Wow, these fit perfectly," Jab said. "But I don't have any money."

"Ah, that's fine. Keep it," The man said. "Just promise not to lose these pieces."

"I won't lose these, I promise," Jab said, "Thank you so much for saving us from that scary guy. And thank you for the doll parts. It means a lot to me."

"Ah, it was nothing," The old man said. "Now run along, before that man comes back."