"Oh, I do hope he'll let us! It would be such fun!" added Aldred.
"We want to know if you'll hire out your small boat," said Francis to the ferryman. "What would you charge to let us have it for an hour, or perhaps a little longer?"
Pritchard stroked the short, grey stubble on his chin reflectively.
"Are you sure you can manage a boat amongst you?" he queried.
"Of course!" answered Francis, rather loftily. "We all know how to row; we're as accustomed to the river as you are yourself."
"I don't know about that," said Pritchard, smiling. "You haven't got fifty years at the back of you yet. It'll take a fairly strong arm to pull the lot of you, especially against the tide. The boat's bespoke for half-past four too."
Francis complacently felt his muscles, as if to suggest that he was quite equal to the occasion.
"Say what you want for it," he replied.
"We'll undertake to bring it back in heaps of time," interposed Godfrey.