Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1900-1930, 1900-05-10
CHAPTER XXII.

Early on this fair morning the welcome
sunlight is all around us, touching here
and there on the red roofs half hidden
among the willows and elms, making the
old-fashioned inn and the iyied bridge
quite picturesque, and striking into the
clear water so that we can see shoals of
small fish darting this way and that over
the beds Of green weed. And here is
Miss Peggy herself, as radiant as the
dawn, her eyes shining and without NAL
ice; a placid content upon her tranquil
lips.
$50 this is the last day of our voy-
age?" she says.
THE last full day. We shall leave a
few miles to do tomorrow, so as to get
INTO Reading about noon.'
oFNhen one looks back" she says, rath-
a.. pensively, "all those places we have
sem appear to be very far away now.
Doesn't it seem ages since we saw Wind
sor Castle, with the royal standard high
up in the pale blue sky? Do you remem-
Der the fearful rain at Oxford, and the
fioods?"
"And Mr.. A'Becket? yes. Tell me, did
you ever answer the letter he was so
kind as to send you about the antiqui-
ties of Gloucester
"Well, l did not" she says, hastily.
Don't you think your wife will do that
for me? She ought. The information
was for the whole party
At breakfast there was clearly a fore
shadowing of the end; for already these
good people were beginning to talk of
the chief impressions produced by this
long water-ramble Of ours. Miss Peggy's
fixed ideas seemed to be the -emoteness
and the silence of those so,lIudes through
which we had passed. and the profusion
of wild flowers. Mrs. Threepenny- bit, On
the other hand, had some fancy that in
these rural wanderings you got to under
stand something Of the hold that the
Church of England has on the national
mind, the prominence Of it even in the
landscape-the small, venerable, strong,
square lowered building dominating the
tiniest village, the great cathedral the
principal feature and the proudest pos
session Of the town.
AS we glided along through the haw
thorn-scented air our chief difficulty was
to tell whether we were on & river or a
canal, for the Kennel and Avon canal and
the river Kennel intertwist themselves
in a remarkable manner and seem to
have all their chief characteristics in
common.
About midday we came in sight of
Newbury, the pink houses of which look
ed very pleasant among the golden mead
owS and the various greens Of poplar and
maple.
We had delightful stroll in the after
noon along the banks of the winding wat
erway that is sometimes the canal and
sometimes the Kennel, and sometimes
both combined. That night was our last
on board, and yet it cannot be said wev
were a particularly mournful company.
Tomorrow we should be back in the
Thames again, at Reading. Should we
take her down to Kingston, whence we
had started, and find her quarters there?
Or should we send her up the river to
Henley, with view to the Forthcoming
regatta?
Il will settle that matter for you," said
Col. Cameron, as we sat at dinner. "Or
rather I have settled it for you. l am
going to buy this boat"
Really" says one Of us, who seems to
think he might have been consulted.
81 will explain" says this tall High1
lander, with great equanimity. Just be-
low the belt Of wood at Inverfask there
is a quiet little bay, very fairly protect
ed bS rocks-in fact, close to the shore
it is perfectly sheltered. I propose to an
chor buoy some way out, and have
wire rope, connecting it with the land;
then. you perceive, by means of travel
er, you could run this boat along when
ever yeu WISHED, and you would be out
at sea safe and securea small foatingl
home that would he very convenient for!
hundred things. You might want toI