rney took
hours and hours and hours; and for miles, literally for miles, dreadful
boys ran with us on the shore, in that AWFUL Thames mud, going in UP TO
THE WAIST--they had their trousers turned back, and they went up to
their hips in that indescribable Thames mud, their faces always turned
to us, and screaming, exactly like carrion creatures, screaming "'Ere
y'are sir, 'ere y'are sir, 'ere y'are sir," exactly like some foul
carrion objects, perfectly obscene; and paterfamilias on board,
laughing when the boys went right down in that awful mud, occasionally
throwing them a ha'penny. And if you'd seen the intent look on the
faces of these boys, and the way they darted in the filth when a coin
was flung--really, no vulture or jackal could dream of approaching
them, for foulness. I NEVER would go on a pleasure boat again--never.'

Gerald watched her all the time she spoke, his eyes glittering with
faint rousedness. It was not so much what she said; it was she herself
who roused him, roused him with a small, vivid pricking.

'Of course,' he said, 'every civilised body is bound to have its
vermin.'

'Why?' cried Ursula. 'I don't have vermin.'

'And it's not that--it's the QUALITY of the whole thing--paterfamilias
laughing and thinking it sport, and throwing the ha'pennies, and
materfamilias spreading her fat little knees and eating, continually
eating--' replied Gudrun.

'Yes,' said Ursula. 'It isn't the boys so much who are vermin; it's the
people themselves, the whole body politic, as you call it.'

Gerald laughed.

'Never mind,' he said. 'You shan't go on the launch.'

Gudrun flushed quickly at his rebuke.

There were a few moments of silence. Gerald, like a sentinel, was
watching the people who were going on to the boat. He was very
good-looking and self-contained, but his air of soldierly alertness was
rather irritating.

'Will you have tea here then, or go across to the house, where there's
a tent on the lawn?' he asked.

'Can't we have a rowing boat, and get out?' asked Ursula, who was
always rushing in too fast.

'To get out?' smiled Gerald.

'You see,' cried Gudrun, flushing at Ursula's outspoken rudeness, 'we
don't know the people, we are almost COMPLETE strangers here.'

'Oh, I can soon set you up with a few acquaintances,' he said easily.

Gudrun looked at him, to see if it were ill-meant. Then she smiled at
him.

'Ah,' she said, 'you know what we mean. Can't we go up there, and
explore tha