what Mr. Starr said
was an Early Christian egg; I had wrenched my ankle badly on a bit of
banana peel; Lady MacNairne's smart coat was spoilt by some mud which a
small Urkian boy had thrown at her, and Mr. Starr must have felt that,
if he didn't instantly perform a miracle, he would be blamed by us all
for everything.

"We might get a sailing-boat," he said, when he had thought passionately
for a few minutes.

We snapped at the idea, and a moment later we were on our way to the
harbor to find out.

Now was the time that I became a person of importance. Owing to my
studies, in which Mr. van Buren has encouraged me so kindly, I know
enough Dutch to ask for most things I want, and to understand whether
people mean to let me have them or not, which seems odd, considering
that I deliberately made up my mind not to learn a word when Nell almost
dragged me to Holland. Under Mr. Starr's guidance, and at his dictation,
I interviewed every sailor we met lounging about the harbor.

It was very discouraging at first. The men were all sure that no
sailing-boat could get to Enkhuisen, as the wind was exactly in the
wrong quarter; but just as our hearts were on their way down to the
boots Tibe had gnawed so much, a brown young man, with crisp black curls
and ear-rings, said we could go to Kampen if we liked. It would take
four or five hours, and we should have to sleep there, taking the
steamer when it started back in the morning. Kampen was beautiful, he
told us, with old buildings and water-gates; but even if it hadn't been,
we were convinced that it must be better than Urk; so we joyously
engaged a large fishing-boat owned by the brown man and his still
browner father.

We made poor Mr. Starr go back alone to the inn and break it to the
landlord that we were not going to stay, after all; but he paid for the
rooms, so the old man was delighted that he could go on with his
cleaning in peace.

Now we began to be quite happy and excited. Mr. Starr brought us bread
and cheese from the inn to eat on board, and presently we were all
packed away in the fishing-boat, which smelt interestingly of ropes and
tar.

Nell and I sat on the floor, where we could feel as well as hear the
knocking of the little waves against the planks which alone separated us
from the water.

There was not much breeze to begin with, for the winds seemed to be
resting after their orgy of yesterday, and just as the old bronze statue
and the young bronze s