"To Bill?" Joshua exclaimed. "You don't mean it, miss."
"I do mean it," she said; "this is his barge."
"Well, I shouldn't have thought that Bill was that artful!" Joshua exclaimed almost indignantly. "Fancy his keeping it from the missis and me that he had been and bought a new barge! But she is a fine one, there aint no doubt about that."
"Come forward and look at your cabin, Joshua. I think you will say that it is more comfortable than usual."
"Well, I am blowed!" the boy ejaculated, as he followed her down the ladder and looked round. "Why, it is a palace, that is wot it is; it is more comfortable than the master's cabin aft in most barges. And what a bed! Why, it is soft enough for a hemperor."
"There are no sheets, Joshua. They told me that the men never use sheets in barges."
"Lor' bless you! no, ma'am. We mostly stretch ourselves on the locker and roll ourselves up in a blanket, if we are lucky enough to have one. Why, I don't know as I shan't be afraid of getting into that bed, though I does take a header in the water every morning. There are lockers on both sides, too, and a basin. Who ever heard of such a thing as a basin? Why, miss, we allus washes in the pail on deck."
"Well, I should think that it would be a good deal more comfortable to wash down here in a basin on a cold morning."
"Well, I suppose it might, miss; it be sharp sometimes outside. Why, there is oilcloth all over the floor, and a mat to wipe one's feet at the bottom of the ladder, and a rug by the side of the bed! I never did see such things. Bill must have gone clean off his chump. Well, I am blessed!"
"It is Miss Covington who has given Bill the barge and seen to its being fitted up," Netta said, "and she has done her best to make your cabin as comfortable as possible, because you have been so kind to Walter."