y as skipper to take "Lorelei" through the town
that she might be ready to start from the other side after luncheon.
There would be delays at swing-bridges, and time would be lost if the
party remained on board, and tried to see the place afterwards. If I
trusted Hendrik to act as captain and chauffeur in one, something would
go wrong, and I should be blamed. Nevertheless, I did not relish the
thought of seeing Starr march off in triumph with the ladies while I
remained behind to work, and lunch on a cheese sandwich. I was tempted
to shift responsibility upon Hendrik's shoulders to-day, and on other
days to come; but as we slowed up for the sluice, or lock, something
inside me would have no self-indulgence. To be sure, I am playing my
part for a purpose, but while I play it, I must play well; and it was
the conscientious captain who advised his passengers to get out, told
them how to find the best inn, and what they were to see when they had
lunched.

"The hotel is in the Markt Platz," I said, "and you must have a good
look at the old Weigh House while you're on the spot. It will be your
first Weigh House, and it's really a good one, with a splendid relief by
Eggers, and a delightful outside staircase. Then there's the Stadhuis,
too, and if you care for old stained glass, the work of the brothers
Crabeth in the Groote Kerk----"

"But aren't you going with us?" asked Miss Rivers.

I explained why I could not.

"Oh dear, and we can't speak Dutch!" she sighed. "Fancy a procession
straggling through a strange town, wanting to know everything, and not
able to utter a word."

"Nonsense, Phil, we can get on perfectly well," said Miss Van Buren,
mutinous-eyed. "I've learned things out of the phrase-book. You can't
expect a skipper to be a guide as well."

This was a stab, and I think it pleased her; but I laughed.

"I shall often be able to go with you, I hope, Miss Rivers," I said. "In
many places the boat will start from the same spot where she gets in;
then I shall be free and at your service."

I had to see them off without me, Miss Van Buren walking with Starr; and
the only one who threw me a backward glance was Tibe. But the task I had
before me was easier than I expected. There were fewer barges in waiting
than on most days. Here and there a tip to a bridge-master (a gulden
stuck conspicuously in my eye, like a silver monocle, just long enough
to suggest a different destination) worked wonders, and in an hour I