as the firm's
business goes we're all three in the same boat. We settled that last
night."

"So there's nothing more to be said," added Joyce complacently.

I looked from one to the other. Then I laughed and shrugged my
shoulders. "No," I said, "I suppose there isn't."

Through the interminable slums of Plaistow and East Ham we drew out in
the squalid region of Barking Creek, and I looked down on the mud and
the dirty brown water with a curious feeling of satisfaction. It was
like meeting an old friend again after a long separation. The lower
Thames, with its wharves, its warehouses, and its never-ceasing
traffic, had always had a strange fascination for me; and in the old
days, when I wanted to come to Town from Leigh or Port Victoria, I had
frequently sailed my little six-tonner, the _Penguin_, right up as far
as the Tower Bridge. I could remember now the utter amazement with
which George had always regarded this proceeding.

"Are you feeling pretty strong this morning?" asked Tommy, breaking a
long silence. "The _Betty's_ lying out in the Ray, and the only way of
getting at her will be to tramp across the mud. There's no water for
another four hours. We shall have to take turns carrying Joyce."

"You won't," said Joyce. "I shall take off my shoes and stockings and
tramp too. I suppose you've got some soap on board."

"You'll shock Leigh terribly if you do," said Tommy. "It's a beautiful
respectable place nowadays--all villas and trams and picture
palaces--rather like a bit of Upper Tooting."

"It doesn't matter," said Joyce. "I've got very nice feet and ankles,
and I'm sure it's much less immoral than being carried in turns. Don't
you think so, Neil?"

"Certainly," I said gravely. "No properly-brought-up girl would
hesitate for a moment."

We argued over the matter at some length: Tommy maintaining that he
was the only one of the three who knew anything about the minds of
really respectable people--a contention which Joyce and I indignantly
disputed. As far as I can remember, we were still discussing the point
when the train ran into Leigh station and pulled up at the platform.

"Here you are," said Tommy, handing me a basket. "You freeze on to
this; it's our lunch. I want to get a couple more cans of paraffin
before we go on board. There is some, but it's just as well to be on
the safe side."

We left the station, and walking a few yards down the hill, pulled up
at a large wooden building which bore th