AFLOAT ON THE DOGGER BANK.
A Story of Adventure in the North Sea and in China.
By H. C. Moore, Author of 'Britons at Bay,' &c.
CHAPTER I.
'I want a North Sea fisherman's outfit.'
'Yes, sir,' the Grimsby shopkeeper answered cheerfully, suspecting that his young, gentlemanly-looking customer required the things for a fancy-dress entertainment or theatricals. In two or three minutes he had produced for inspection a jersey, thick trousers—commonly called 'fear-noughts'—heavy top-boots, and a set of oilskins.
'I will try them on,' the lad said, and, retiring behind a screen, changed his clothes. Then he looked round for a glass, anxious to satisfy himself that he had the appearance of a North Sea fisherman. The shopkeeper, unasked, assured him that he had, and, as there was no one else there who could be consulted, the youth purchased the outfit.
'Do my other things up in a parcel,' he said to the shopkeeper. 'I will keep these on.'
'But it's raining hard, sir,' the man exclaimed, not believing that his customer wanted the clothes for real use.
'I don't mind that at all. I want a little of the newness rubbed off. Now I come to think of it, I might just as well have had a second-hand outfit.'