But Tommy was bashful, and the attention he had thus drawn upon himself made him blush. He was a timid lad and he shrank away now, evidently fearing Shell.

I think the best Watsonian explanation is that shopkeepers aren't quite right in the head. They know that most players intend to rob them blind, but don't understand how the successful ones are doing it.

With this view, they made a Guy Faux, or dummy figure of a boy, dressed in coat and cap; such as might in a poor light be mistaken for a living figure.

The competition features a terrifyingly large aerial dirt course, a street skills event held in a commandeered indoor skate park, vendor booths, live punk/metal/hip-hop bands and more riding talent than you can shake a tacoed wheel at.