did as Ted bade her, and packed her little box with her few
treasures, and put on her Sunday clothes, and wondered with all her might
however Edmund Masters would be so good as his word.

But she trusted him and doubted not that things would fall out as he said.
She knew that _The Provider_ sailed for home that night, and guessed her
lover meant taking her along with him. Indeed, once out of 'Passage
House,' she didn't intend to lose sight of him again. She kept calm and
watchful as the sun turned west and the day began to sink. Not a sound had
come up to her, but she'd heard her aunt shuffling about the passage once
or twice; and once, the old woman, fearful of her silence, had looked in
and found her rayed in her Sunday best.

She thought Christie had changed her mind, and was going to William
Bassett. So she locked her in again and ran down to tell Jimmy, who was
below just going to have his tea.

But a good many hours passed before her husband heard the news after all,
for, when his wife got below, he'd just heard the ferry bell calling him
from t'other side the river and gone down to his boat and put across.

For when folk came to the little landing-stage at Greenway they rang the
ferry bell, lifted up on the high post there, and that brought Fox across
to 'em till the hour of dusk. And if they called him after that, they had
got to pay double.

Jimmy reckoned it was dusk enough by now to make the fare pay twice over,
and he was well used to having arguments on that subject as the evenings
began to draw in. But this time he had a surprise--the surprise of his
life, in fact--for coming alongside the Greenway steps and telling whoever
'twas to hurry up, a voice from above bade him to moor the boat, and come
and lend a hand with a box.

"'Twill be a shilling more if you've got a box," said Jimmy, and the man
up top answered.

"You can charge what you please."

Then Fox made fast and went up the steps, to find the biggest chap he ever
set eyes upon waiting for him.

"You ought to pay double fare yourself," he said, "and where's your box?"

Then the big man calmly gripped him by his neck-cloth as if he was a
kitten and, while he did so, another chap appeared from behind the post
that held the ferry bell.

'Twas Edmund Masters, and he explained the situation to Fox in a few
words.

"Being an old blackguard above law and order, Jimmy Fox, you give honest
men the trouble to teach you manners and explain that