“Oh, this is nice,” Josiah said quickly, fearing lest his friends might think he was making invidious comparisons; and just then the twins and Jimmy came running up to greet their host of the previous summer, thus bringing to a speedy conclusion what might have been a very awkward conversation.
The dilapidated houses, and the clothes hanging on lines from one side of the court to the other, as if to shut out the light of the sun, gave to Josiah a feeling of homesickness similar to that which he had felt when catching a last glimpse of Towser.
To remain on the principal streets where he could look in the shop windows, or on the waterfront and gaze at the vessels, would have been pleasant; but there was such a wide difference between the buildings of Baker’s Court and the Shindle farm-house, that he would have been quite contented had he known his father was coming after him that same day.
Mrs. Bartlett and Mrs. Green received him cordially, and yet he was far from being comfortable in mind.
The small, stuffy kitchen was not like his mother’s, and he could hardly believe food coming from it would taste as sweet.
The room which he was to share with Bob and Tom was far from being as inviting as his own; and the air, although it was late in the season, seemed oppressively warm.
Very likely Tom and Bob would have made almost the same comparisons in favor of the farm; but Josiah tried earnestly to prevent any show of discontent, and, after doing full justice to the lunch hastily prepared by Mrs. Bartlett, the boys went into the street once more, leaving behind the twins and Jimmy to play with the hedgehog quills at imminent risk of injuring their eyes, or making painful punctures in their skin.
Once in the business portion of the city again, there was so much to attract Josiah’s attention that he entirely forgot the disagreeable impressions of the court; and the three flitted about from window to window to the delight of Master Shindle and the perplexity of his hosts, who found it extremely difficult to keep at a respectful distance the numerous acquaintances who followed in the hope of having some sport at the expense of the boy from the country.
“That is great!” he said when Tom and Bob gave in detail the programme they had arranged for his entertainment.
The party was to visit Coney Island, the park, and, as a rare treat, it had been decided to spend that very evening at the theatre, to which end three gallery tickets had already been purchased.