"Is that young chap a companion of yours, my dear?"
"Oh, dear no," said I, "only he showed us the way here."
"Don't have nothing to do with him," she whispered "he's a bad un."
In spite of this warning, however, as there was no policeman to be seen, and the boy would keep up with us, I asked him the way to Victoria Dock.
It was not so easy to get to the ships as I had expected. There were gates to pass through, and they were kept by a porter. He let some people in and turned others back.
"Have you got an order to see the docks?" asked the boy.
I confessed that we had not, but added that we wanted very much to get in.
"My eyes!" said the bad boy, doubling himself in a fit of amusement, "I believe you're both going for stowaways."
"What do you mean by stowaways?" I asked.
"Stowaways is chaps that hides aboard vessels going out of port, to get their passage free gratis for nothing."