At the same time he would have felt uncomfortable in mind had he gone on this pleasuring alone, knowing it would afford the match-girl so much enjoyment; and he began to talk very loudly to her regarding the vehicles in the street, the pedestrians on the sidewalk, or anything which met his gaze at the instant, in order to prevent her from becoming suspicious as to the true state of affairs.
Fortunately Sadie was so excited that she would hardly have paid attention had the excursion been delayed an hour; and when the three boys finally emerged from the door-way, Bill Foss looking decidedly ill-tempered, she had no idea her coming had caused either embarrassment or ill-feeling.
“I suppose she’ll have to go, now the thing’s fixed,” Bill had said when the interview was brought to an end; “but I won’t walk along the streets with her, that’s all there is about it.”
“You don’t have to,” Bob said soothingly. “Josiah an’ she can take care of themselves, an’ we’ll keep a little ways ahead so’s nobody’ll know Sadie’s with us at all.”
In pursuance of this plan Bill walked rapidly, and more than once before the pier was reached did it become necessary for Bob and Tom to urge their country friend to quicken his pace.
“We want to take the next boat,” the latter said impatiently, “an’ you’ll have time enough to look into the store windows when we get back. If you don’t make him come fast, Sadie, we’ll never get there.”
This threat was sufficient to cause the match-girl to urge Josiah on when he was tempted to stop at any unusual display, and they had ample time in which to make arrangements for the trip on the steamer.
Bob and Tom had proposed to assume all expenses of the day’s outing, and to that end the former stepped toward the ticket-office; but Josiah objected, saying in a whisper as he forced some coins into his friend’s hand:—
“I agreed to stand what Sadie cost, so you must take this.”
“I sha’n’t do anything of the kind. Tom an’ I are treatin’ this time, an’ we’re goin’ to do it in the best shape we know how.”