25. TWO FISHERS ABROAD 



Mate to a longshore fisherman is not light work 

 for one whose early youth has been misspent in 

 study. Even Jim, who was bred up to it, has often 

 an ache in his bones. While we were hauling the 

 hooked mackerel aboard, hand over hand, and 

 prices were fair, he said that if we could afford it 

 we would have an autumn holiday together. When 

 prices fell, and fish were left to rot on the beach, 

 he declared that we, being fishermen, of all men 

 deserved a holiday. And when the mackerel 

 season closed with small profit, then we made up 

 our minds to have the holiday, whether we could 

 afford it or not. We framed estimates, all of them 

 hazy. Jim took golden sovereigns from a place 

 of hiding upstairs, and I drew two months' fishing 

 pay and a little more besides. 



We strolled about London, and after three or 

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