He uttered the name almost caressingly. Dick was silently chuckling over the astonishing success of the scheme he had originated. He realized that matters had by this time reached a stage that insured success sooner or later.
Mr. Nocker held one of the boy’s diminutive hands in his, and led him to a bench which looked very new. Undoubtedly, it had been placed there recently by the special orders of the owner of the place, so that he and the child could sit and chat during the brief visit Billy was allowed to pay him each day.
“Some time, Billy,” he was saying, “I must meet your mother. She has been very kind to let you visit a lonely old man like me every day. I am sure she must be a very nice little lady, though I have only seen her at a distance.”
Another fierce nudge from Dick’s elbow and directed in the region of Leslie’s side announced how pleased the other was on hearing this confession.
“My mamma is an angel,” they heard Billy stoutly assert. “The nicest mamma in all the world. And I always tell her how good you are to me. She said some time she hoped to thank you herself, sir.”
“And she shall, Billy, she shall,” declared the deacon, smiling grimly, and evidently enjoying a new sensation.
Finally the clock in the church tower in town struck the hour. Billy immediately jumped from his seat on the bench.
“Oh! my mamma made me promise to come back when the clock struck, so I must be going.”
“I’ll walk as far as the fence with you then, Billy,” said Mr. Nocker, looking quite forlorn. “Try and get your mother’s consent to stay longer tomorrow, please.”
“I will, sir,” replied the little fellow, promptly; “because I like to be over here with you.”