behind, and were henceforward on a
river. If the wind favoured us we were to sail.

"A canal's nothing to a river," said Mr. Rowe, "same as a river's
nothing to the sea," and when Fred had some difficulty in keeping his
hat on in the gusty street (mine was in use as a fruit-basket), and
the barge-master said it was a "nice fresh morning," I felt that life
on Linnet Island would have been tame indeed compared to the hopes and
fears of a career which depended on the winds and waves.

And when the boom went up the barge's mast, and the tightly corded
roll of dark canvas began to struggle for liberty, and writhe and flap
with throttling noises above our heads, and when Mr. Rowe wrestled
with it and the driver helped him, and Fred and I tried to, and were
all but swept overboard in consequence, whilst the barge-master
encouraged himself by strange and savage sounds--and when the sunshine
caught our nut-brown sail just as she spread gallantly to the breeze,
our excitement grew till we both cried in one breath,

"This is something _like_ being at sea!"

CHAPTER XI.

MR. ROWE ON BARGE-WOMEN--THE RIVER--NINE ELMS--A MYSTERIOUS
NOISE--ROUGH QUARTERS--A CHEAP SUPPER--JOHN'S BERTH--WE MAKE OUR
ESCAPE--OUT INTO THE WORLD.

Mr. Rowe is quite right. A canal is nothing to a river.

There was a wide piece of water between us and one of the banks now,
and other barges went by us, some sailing, some towing only, and two
or three with women at the rudder, and children on the deck.

"I wouldn't have my wife and fam'ly on board for something!" said Mr.
Rowe grimly.

"Have you got a family, Mr. Rowe?" I inquired.

"Yes, sir," said the barge-master. "I have, like other folk. But women
and children's best ashore."

"Of course they are," said I.

"If you was to turn over in your mind what they _might_ be good for
now," he continued, with an unfathomable eye on the mistress of a
passing canal-boat, "you'd say washing the decks and keeping the pots
clean. And they don't do it as well as a man--not by half."

"They seem to steer pretty well," said I.

"I've served in very different vessels to what I'm in now," said Mr.
Rowe, avoiding a reply, "and I _may_ come as low as a monkey-barge and
coal; but I'm blessed if ever I see myself walk on the towing-path and
leave the missus in command on board."

At this moment a barge came sailing alongside of us.

"Oh look!" cried Fred, "it's got a white horse painted on the sail."