Chapter Five. Nowhere to Stay
We went to Magna Carta Island. Some people believe that King John agreed to the famous document here, inside a small house. I don't know if it really happened here or on the other side of the river at Runnymede. But I think an island is a safer place to meet a clever king like John.
People also say that King Henry VIII often met his sweetheart, and future wife, Anne Boleyn, near here. Of course he met her in other places around the country too. It was a real problem for other people. Everywhere they went they saw Henry and Anne.
We went up the river and passed the small village of Datchet.
‘Do you remember the first time we came here?' George asked. I can never forget it. It was ten o'clock on the Saturday evening of the Bank Holiday weekend in August. We three arrived, tired and hungry, with our hamper, bags, rugs and coats. We needed somewhere to stay for the night. We walked along the road and came to a pretty pub with flowers round the door. But I didn't like the flowers so we didn't stop. I liked the flowers at the next pub but Harris thought the man outside was strange. We walked quite far up the road, then we met another man. We asked him the way to a hotel. The only two were behind us. So we turned round and went back to the first pub.
‘We'd like three beds, please,' George said to the landlord there.
‘I'm very sorry. All our beds are taken,' he answered.
‘Oh, we can sleep on a chair or a table,' Harris said. ‘We don't mind.'
‘Those are taken too, I'm afraid.' Surprised, we picked up our things and went to the other pub. It was the same there.
‘What shall we do?' George asked. ‘There must be a place we can stay.'
‘Well, you could try above the shop across the road,' the landlord said.
We didn't wait for him to finish. We ran across the road. The shop was full: there were three beds and nine people sleeping in them. The shop next to it was full too. Then a kind old lady told us about her friend. She sometimes had a free room. She offered to take us there. It took a long time to get there because the old lady walked very slowly. On the way she told us all about her health problems. Her friend's house was full. She sent us to a neighbour who sent us to another neighbour. Everywhere was full.
Harris sat down on the hamper. He was ready to die there. He asked us to kiss his mother for him and say goodbye to his family. Then a small boy, carrying a bottle of beer, came along the road.
‘Hey, do you know any empty houses? Or old people who live alone?' George asked. Maybe we can throw them out of their beds for the night.'
‘A pigsty would be alright too,' I said.
‘I'm sorry, I don't know any empty houses or where there's a pigsty. But you can come home with me, if you want,' the boy said. ‘My mother has a room.'
‘Oh, thank you!' we said and all put our arms round him to thank him. We were too heavy for the boy, however, and he fell with us on top of him. Harris was too happy to stand. He took the boy's bottle and drank half of it before he could get up. Then he ran down the road and left all the bags for George and me.
The boy lived in a small house. His mother, a kind woman, gave us supper. We ate everything she put in front of us and drank two pots of tea before going to bed.
The room had two beds, a low bed only wide enough for one person and the boy's small bed. George and I shared the low bed. Harris slept in the boy's bed.
George and I didn't sleep well and woke up first in the morning. Harris was sleeping with his legs over the end of the bed. We used them to put our towels on while we washed.
We didn't stop at Datchet this time. We went further up the river and then stopped for lunch. We took some cold meat out of the hamper and then looked for the mustard. There wasn't any. Normally I don't like it but today, because I couldn't have any, I really wanted some. Harris felt the same. We were ready to pay any price for a teaspoon of mustard.
Of course people say they'll pay any price but it isn't really true. I heard a story about a fellow who was walking up a mountain in Switzerland. He was really thirsty and offered everything he had for a beer. Finally he arrived at a small pub and asked for some beer. But when they told him the price he was really angry. He even wrote to the newspapers!
We were disappointed and ate our lunch without mustard and without speaking. We were a little happier when George found a tin of pineapple at the bottom of the hamper. We all liked pineapple very much. We immediately looked for a knife to open the tin. There wasn't one in the hamper. We looked in the other bags too and took everything out. We looked everywhere in the boat. Nothing.
Then Harris took out a small pocketknife and tried to open the tin. The knife broke and Harris cut himself. Then George tried to open it with scissors and nearly lost an eye. I tried with a piece of wood and fell into the water. We were all angry now.
Harris got out of the boat to look for a stone and I took the mast. It was George's job to hold the tin, Harris's to hold the stone on it and mine to hit the stone with the end of the mast.
George was very lucky that day. The mast went through his hat and not his head. He still tells the story and brings out the hat to show people. And Harris was not badly hurt.
Harris threw away the stone and I hit the tin with the mast until my arms hurt. Then Harris took my place and then George. We hit the tin again and again but we couldn't open it. Finally Harris picked it up and threw it into the middle of the river. We returned to the boat and left without looking back.
We had tea in a quiet place and then went through the next lock. It was evening and the wind was stronger. We were surprised to find it wasn't against us. Normally you can be sure it will be; when you leave in the morning and when you come back in the evening. But not that evening. We knew it was a mistake so we didn't say anything about it. We put up our sail quickly. The boat flew through the water. I steered.
Sailing is wonderful. It's the nearest thing to flying. The wind carries you through the air. Your heart beats fast and you feel part of Nature.
We were the only boat on the river, except for a fishing boat in the distance. We came nearer and we could see three old men in it. Their boat was in the middle of the river. They were fishing quietly while the sun went down behind them. And then we hit them. We didn't see it happen: we were behind our sail. But we felt it and certainly heard them. The three old men fell off their seats. They lay at the bottom of their boat among their fish. They got up slowly and took fish out of their pockets and boots. They said some terrible things about us and our future families. We were surprised by the variety of the language they used.
‘They should thank us for making their day a bit more interesting,' said Harris. Then he added, ‘It's not right for old men to speak like that.'
George decided to steer: ‘I think it's better,' he said. He did a very good job and brought us safely to the town of Marlow. It's a busy little place with a few interesting old things to see. The countryside around it is very pleasant for walking too. We stayed the night there and slept on the boat.
The next morning we got up quite early and swam before breakfast. On the way back to the boat Montmorency saw a cat. Cats are the only thing Montmorency and I don't agree about. I like them; he doesn't. When Montmorency sees a cat he always runs after it. He enjoys adventure and danger. He's that sort of dog.
I was once outside a shop. There were dogs of all types and sizes
there. They were sitting quietly, or sleeping, while they were waiting. A young woman arrived with her dog and left it there too. It was a dog like Montmorency. I thought it was a quiet, good dog. But then it looked to the left, looked to the right and bit the dog next to it on the leg. Then it bit another dog and another. Soon all the dogs were barking and jumping at each other. The young woman's dog was very pleased.
When the young woman came back, her dog was sweet and quiet again. She picked it up and it looked at her with big sad eyes.
‘My poor little baby! Are you alright? Have these big horrible dogs hurt you?' she asked. She was very angry with the other dogs.
