'What is the height of that bank yonder, at Burgess's?'
'How can I tell, sir. It is three-quarters of a mile away.'
'Very poor eye—very poor. Take the glass.'
I took the glass, and presently said—'I can't tell. I suppose that that bank is about a foot and a half high.'
'Foot and a half! That's a six-foot bank. How high was the bank along here last trip?'
'I don't know; I never noticed.'
'You didn't? Well, you must always do it hereafter.'
'Why?'
'Because you'll have to know a good many things that it tells you. For one thing, it tells you the stage of the river—tells you whether there's more water or less in the river along here than there was last trip.'
'The leads tell me that.' I rather thought I had the advantage of him there.