"By the way," asked Roche. "Why didn't you take a header in true nautical style?"
"Because I wasn't quite such an ass," replied Peter. "The water was shallow—we'll have to keep clear of that side of the river, sir—and, if I had dived, I would have butted my head see? So I just waded in."
CHAPTER V
Down Stream
The Milford Sea Scouts had a most pleasant afternoon's ramble round Oxford, with Mr. Jackson's scouts. They saw as much as anyone could possibly expect to see and appreciate in so short a space of time.
"I can't help envying you, Armitage," said the Oxford Scoutmaster towards the end of the afternoon. "There's nothing like a sea life. Knocking about on a river is very good sport, but, when all's said and done, it doesn't come up to a sea voyage. You don't get the lift of the ocean and the stinging salt breezes and all that sort of thing here."
"You've been afloat a good deal, I take it?" asked Mr. Armitage.
"Yes—before the war," replied Mr. Jackson. He offered no further information, but it was a case of being hard hit. Previous to "joining up" he had a small yacht on the Crouch. This he sold for a mere song before he donned khaki, only to find, on being demobilized four years later, that the price of all types of craft had risen so enormously that he was compelled to abandon any idea of purchasing another yacht.
"Do you know the East Coast?" asked Mr. Armitage.