160 BROADLAND SPORT 



sipped our grog on a garden chair, listening to the rowdy 

 voices within the house and the weird cries of the waterfowl 

 which filled the air without. 



As had been feared, the landlord's chuckers-out did 

 appear on the scene and bundled the whole company off the 

 premises at ten o'clock p.m. to the minute, but not before 

 several of them had secured stone jars of beer and other 

 refreshments, with which they intended to continue their 

 merriment and debauchery far into the night. Prominent 

 amongst them we could hear the would-be reciter of " The 

 Lifeboat." He had apparently annexed a stone jar of old 

 beer, which was claimed by a man from another boat, and 

 an altercation ensued amusing in the extreme to listeners. 

 One hiccupped out snatches of the recitation in a 

 confused jumble, the other used bad language and abusive 

 epithets, whilst both tugged hard at the two-handled jar, 

 disputing its ownership. Suddenly a splash announced the 

 fact that there was a man overboard, whom we were 

 perfectly correct in assuming was the gentleman interested 

 in the lifeboat. He was fished out, however, with boat- 

 hooks, amidst much laughter and expressions of mock 

 condolence, after which the party, excepting those who were 

 visiting the Nautilus, broke up into little groups and made 

 their way to the cabins of their respective craft for a 

 iinal nightcap before turning in. Having one of the largest 

 cabins, we invited several of the quieter members to accom- 

 pany us on board, and when we were seated comfortably in cosy 

 corners of the cushioned lounge, the conversation immediately 

 turned to the subject that was ever uppermost in our minds 

 namely, sport. 



Amongst our guests was the son of a Broadland squire, 

 one of the few that had managed to live upon his own 

 acres and farm them in spite of the depressing times. He was 

 a keen sportsman in every branch of the art and had known 

 all the broads and waterways from childhood. With the 

 natural grace and easy confidence of a Norfolk gentleman 

 he soon grasped the topics of conversation which interested 



