"I cannot say, Betsy; if I had known I should have gone to meet them. They cannot drive here from Pitsea, but must walk; and, of course, I would have been there if I had been sure of their coming that way. But I should think most likely that they will drive to the haven and come up by boat."
"There is a new barge coming up the creek," Joshua said. "You can see that she is new by her spars and sails."
"That's so, boy," Bill agreed. "She has got a flag I haven't seen before at her masthead. It is white, and I think there are some red letters on it—her name, I suppose. 'Tis not often that a new barge comes up to Pitsea. She is a fine-looking craft," he went on, as a turning in the creek brought her wholly into view. "A first-class barge, I should say. Yes, there is no doubt about her being new. I should say, from the look of her spars, she cannot have made many trips up and down the river."
"She has got a party on board," Mrs. Nibson said presently. "There are two women and a child. Perhaps it's them, Bill. They may have some friend in the barge line, and he has offered to bring them down, seeing that this is a difficult place to get at."
"I believe you are right, Betsy. They are too far off to see their faces, but they are certainly not barge people."
"They are waving their handkerchiefs!" Betsy exclaimed; "it is them, sure enough. Well, we have wondered how they would come down, but we never thought of a barge."
The three hurried along the bank to meet the barge. Walter danced and waved his hat and shouted loudly to them as they approached.
"You did not expect to see us arrive in a barge, Mrs. Nibson," Hilda called out as they came abreast of them.
"No, indeed, miss; we talked it over together as to how you would come, but we never thought of a barge."
"It belongs to a friend of ours, and we thought that it would be a pleasant way of coming. She is a new boat. You must come on board and have a look at her before we land."