The remains of the whale of a melon were there to convince him.

They were trifling remains, but they sufficed, and the six fuming halves of pennygrabs were confirmatory.

The scout departed rapidly, to return a moment later with two other boys.

One of the latter led a dog.
The three newcomers, with a nice observance of etiquette, surveyed the revellers from a distance.

Lacking decent provocation, they might not approach a group so plainly engaged upon affairs of its own--unless they went aggressively, and this it did not yet seem wise to do.