'ny
'bout here at night-time."

"Nor in the daytime either," I added, pushing the boat off from the
bank.

"And that's a fact, sir," he remarked, settling down to the oars.
"There was one gent round here this morning askin' his way, but except
for him we bin remarkable quiet."

"What sort of a gent?" I demanded with interest.

"Smallish, 'e was, sir, an' very civil spoken. Wanted to get to
Tilbury."

"Did he ask who the boat belonged to, by any chance?"

Mr. Gow reflected for a moment. "Now you come to mention it, sir, I
b'lieve 'e did. Not as I should have told 'im anything, even if I'd
known. I don't hold with answerin' questions."

"You're quite right, Mr. Gow," I observed, catching hold of the
stern of the _Betty_. "It's a habit that gets people into a lot of
trouble--especially in the Law Courts."

We clambered on board, and while my companion made the dinghy fast,
I went down into the cabin, and proceeded to rout out the lockers in
search of provisions. I discovered a slab of pressed beef, and some
rather stale bread and cheese, which I set out on the table, wondering
to myself, as I did so, whether the inquisitive stranger of the
morning was in any way connected with my affairs. It couldn't have
been Latimer, for that gentleman was very far from being "smallish," a
remark which applied equally well to our mutual friend with the scar.
I was still pondering over the question when I heard Mr. Gow drop down
into the fo'c's'le, and summond him through the connecting door to
come and join the feast.

He accepted my invitation with some embarrassment, as became a "paid
hand," but a bottle of Bass soon put him at his ease. We began by
discussing various nautical topics, such as the relative merits of a
centre-board or a keel for small boats, and whether whisky or beer was
really the better drink when one was tired and wet through. It was not
until we had finished our meal and were sitting outside enjoying our
pipes that I broached the question that was at the back of my mind.

"Look here, Gow," I said abruptly, "were you speaking seriously when
you suggested that launch ran you down on purpose?"

His face darkened, and then a curious look of slow cunning stole into
it.

"Mebbe they did, and mebbe they didn't," he answered. "Anyway, I
reckon they wouldn't have bin altogether sorry to see me at the bottom
o' the river."

"But why?" I persisted. "What on earth have you been doing to them?"

Mr. Gow was s