They proceeded in silence for a time.
"The mast's gone now," said William, "all crashin' down on the deck before the terrible hurricane wot sweeps all before it. I thought it was goin' to crash on your brave head, mate."
"Yes, Will—I mean skipper," said Joan.
She was quite satisfactory. She entered into the spirit of a thing and had the additional advantage of not demanding a prominent rôle.
The Vicar had come up to them. He looked at William with disapproval.
"Fine day, young man," he said breezily.
"Awful," said William gruffly, "blowin' an' hurricanin' an' lashin' at everything. Come on, mate."
They left the Vicar staring after them.
"I wonder," he said to the landscape, "whether that boy is deficient or merely impudent?"
He was still wondering when they vanished from sight. They reached the river.