The travellers had concluded to defer their journey one day longer, that they might have a better opportunity to see Boston; and when Oscar approached them, they were trying to persuade Alfred to stay away from school, and accompany them in their rambles.

They immediately extended the same invitation to Oscar.

Both he and Alfred felt very much inclined to accede to their proposition, but they were pretty sure that it would be useless to ask their parents' consent to absent themselves from school for such a purpose.

The point to be settled was, whether it would be safe to play truant for the day.

Seeing that they hesitated, the oldest boy, whose name was Joseph, began to urge the matter still more earnestly.
"What are you afraid of ?" he said; "come along, it's no killing affair to stay away from school just for one day.