hey arrived quite close to the rude wharf, where the boat would
stop long enough to deliver the goods intended for the village and take
in some fresh cargo to be handed out at one of the hamlets further on.

As the boat came in a number of people were collected on the wharf
waiting to receive their goods, because to this out-of-the-way place
the canal-boat served instead of a carrier's cart; therefore all kinds
of things--from bags of corn, tons of coal, sacks of potatoes, down to
small packages--were sent and received by this route, and the arrival of
bargee and his boat made quite a break in the uneventful lives of the
inhabitants of that remote, far-scattered district. They chatted,
laughed, shouted, and bandied jokes with each other and the bargeman,
who had sprung from his craft the moment she was made fast to the wharf,
and stamped about, up and down, as if he was glad to find himself with
plenty of elbow-room once more.

In the hubbub and general bustle the children had little or no
difficulty in stealing unobserved on board the barge. They had been on
her once before with a friendly old bargeman but recently retired to
give place to a younger, more active man, who was a stranger on the
route, consequently did not know the little folks from Firgrove. Darby
drew Joan behind him, and making straight below for the bunker, called
by courtesy the cabin, they curled themselves up on an old rug in its
farthest, darkest corner, where, worn out with excitement and fatigue,
they soon fell fast asleep.

CHAPTER VII.

HILL DIFFICULTY.

"He was a rat, and she was a rat,
And down in one hole they did dwell;
And both were as black as a witch's cat,
And they loved one another well.

"He smelt the cheese, and she smelt the cheese,
And they both pronounced it good;
And both remarked it would greatly add
To the charms of their daily food."

--_Anon._

The cargo for Ashville had been discharged, the stuff for Shendon stowed
away. A fresh horse waited on the path; the gathering of people had
scattered, carrying their goods and their gossip with them. The boy was
feasting upon a hunch of bread and cheese, as a change from devouring
his story. Bargee was in the act of stepping on board when a man laid a
hand on his arm, and a rough voice arrested his steps. Two persons were
standing beside him.

"Say, mate, will you give me an' my wife a lift as