She knew that Phil was trying to arrange to walk home with her.

This would be his last opportunity to walk with her, and while she knew that he would respect her promise to her father enough not to infringe on it by talking openly of his regard for her, his constant hints and allusions would keep her uncomfortable.

He seemed to take it for granted that she was bound to come around to this point of view some day, and regard him as the one the stars had destined for her.
So it was merely to escape a tete-a-tete with Phil which made her walk along beside Alex, and put out a hand to draw Mary Ware to the other side.

She linked arms with her as they pushed through the crowd, and started down the road four abreast.

But the fences were lined with buggies and wagons, and the scraping wheels and backing horses kept them constantly separating and dodging back and forth across the road, more often singly than in pairs.
By the time they reached the gap in the fence where the path through the woods began, the others had caught up with them, and they all scrambled through in a bunch.