One sees a good many funny incidents up the river in connection with towing. One of the most common is the sight of a couple of towers, walking briskly along, deep in an animated discussion, while the man in the boat, a hundred yards behind them, is vainly shrieking to them to stop, and making frantic signs of distress with a scull. Something has gone wrong; the rudder has come off, or the boat-hook has slipped overboard, or his hat has dropped into the water and is floating rapidly down stream.

He calls to them to stop, quite gently and politely at first.

“Hi! stop a minute, will you?” he shouts cheerily. “I’ve dropped my hat overboard.”

Then: “Hi! Tom⁠—Dick! can’t you hear?” not quite so affably this time.

Then: “Hi! Confound you , you dunder-headed idiots! Hi! stop! Oh you⁠—!”