“You ain’t never seen him, Miss Nancy?” asked the boy, anxiously.
“Not that I know of,” replied the girl.
“Well! I tried to find out who he was, and nobody around the office seemed to know. He’d never been there before. But if he comes again I’m goin’ to get on his trail,” declared Scorch, nodding emphatically.
“How’ll you do that?” asked Jennie, quickly.
“I don’t know. But I’ll follow him out if I have to,” said Scorch. “And he’ll have to be pretty smart to lose me.”
“Don’t you do anything, Scorch, to get yourself into trouble,” admonished Nancy.
“Shucks!” ejaculated Scorch. “I won’t get into trouble. Don’t you fear. But that gray man won’t get away from me again.”
The girls remained a while longer, getting better acquainted with Norah, and with the brood of younger O’Briens. There was the livestock in the back yard to look over, too; and Norah made tea and cut a cake, doing the honors of the house because Mrs. O’Brien was not at home.
“She does her scrubbin’ at the offices Saturday afternoon instead of at night. Then we have her home Saturday evenings,” said Norah, proudly. “And Patrick Sarsfield does not go to school Saturday evenings.”
“Oh, say!” ejaculated the red-haired boy. “Call me ‘Scorch.’ ‘Patrick Sarsfield’ makes me feel top-heavy. I’d soon get round-shouldered carrying that around.”