"Show you!" Huntington laughed. "You'll have your hands full, my boy, riding with him. Why, he won everything in sight in the bicycle-races on the Mott Haven team when he was in college. He was as good as a professional then, and I don't believe he's forgotten it all yet. Throw out your chest, Connie, and let the lady admire your medals."
Billy's face fell, and he looked at Merry dubiously. "Let's walk," he said.
"No, you don't!" Cosden insisted. "This was your idea, and now we'll see it through. Come on."
There was a complete reversal in the boy's spirits. The way Cosden handled the wheel showed clearly enough that bicycle-riding was second nature to him, and Billy's interest in the trip had obviously waned. But Merry had already mounted and was starting on behind Cosden, so nothing remained for him but to follow. Down past the tennis-courts, out onto Front Street, winding through the closely-packed buildings of the town itself, past Parliament House and Pembroke Hall, with its magnificent group of Royal Palms, then around the harbor, they soon found themselves riding between gardens and great trees on either side, which protected the coraline houses, with their curious tiled roofs, from the glare of the sun and the inquisitive gaze of the passers-by.
"Can you take that hill without dismounting?" Cosden challenged Merry, as they approached a steep rise in the road.
"Try me!" she answered gaily.
"Oh, what's the use in tiring Merry all out?" Billy protested. "This isn't an endurance test; we're out for fun."
"We'll wait for you," the girl taunted him laughingly, and the two shot ahead for the hill. The boy muttered something about Mr. Cosden which undoubtedly would have been much to the point had it been heard, and pedaled hard to make up for their start, but he reached the top of the incline in considerably poorer condition than either of the others.
"Whew!" Billy puffed, "let's stop a minute; there's a dandy view from here."
"Shall we rest?" Cosden asked Merry.