"And is this boat your own?"
"It is, signor. Our father died three years ago, leaving us his boat."
"And where do you usually ply?"
"Anywhere, signor, just as the fancy seizes us. Sometimes one place is good, sometimes another."
"And where do you live?"
"We don't live anywhere, signor. When night comes, and business is over, we tie up the boat to a post, wrap ourselves up, and go to sleep at the bottom. It costs nothing, and we are just as comfortable there as we should be on straw in a room."
"Then you must be saving money."
"Yes; we are laying money by. Some day, I suppose, we shall marry, and our wives must have homes. Besides, sometimes we are lazy and don't work. One must have some pleasure, you know."
"Would you like to enter service?"
"No, signor. We prefer being our own masters; to take a fare or leave it as we please."