"Yes, sir."
"Why this crush of traffic?"
"It's market day, sir."
"Thanks. I didn't expect to see such a crowd. Have you a parcels office, where I can leave some baggage?"
"Yes, sir."
"Hang on to this bag, then. There are three boxes in the van. You'll need a barrow—they're heavy!"
By this time, the man who knew so little of important Nuttonby—which held 3,005 inhabitants in the 1911 census, having increased by two since 1901—had risen, and was collecting a fisherman's outfit, and some odds and ends of personal belongings. He followed the porter, who, on eyeing the rods and pannier, and with some knowledge of "county" manners, had accepted the stranger as entitled to hold a first-class ticket. Sure enough, the boxes were heavy. The guard had to assist in handling them.
"By gum!" said the porter, when he tried to lift the first on to a trolley.
"Books," explained the traveler.
"I thought mebbe they wuz lead," said the porter.