IN SWEDEN 71

good bit above that, then you can come down little by little,
and maybe, seeing the horses are really good ones, they may
advance a bit. I am not used to a horse deal, and will
leave it to you to make the bargain. We are sorry to part
with the animals, but they might die on the voyage, or get
so injured as to be worthless; and, moreover, we shall have
no use for them there. ‘Therefore, as we must sell we are
ready to take the best terms we can get.”

When they returned to the inn, after an absence of two
hours, they found that the landlord had sold the horses for
a sum nearly approaching their value, the gentlemen being
as anxious to purchase them as they were to sell. ‘The next
day they bought three or four rolls of west country cloth
and a supply of clothes suitable to their condition, together
with trunks for their carriage. All these were sent down to
the ship in the course of the afternoon, and they themselves
embarked late in the evening, as she was to set sail at
daybreak.

The lads, accustomed to spacious and airy rooms, were
quite taken aback at the small and stuffy cabin allotted to
their joint use, and slept but badly, for the loading of the
ship continued by torchlight, until within an hour of the
time of their departure. After tossing about for some hours
in their narrow beds they were glad to go on deck and to
plunge their heads into a pail of water, and were then, after
combing their long hair, able to take an interest in what
was passing round them. ‘The sailors were busy stowing
away the cargo last received, tidying the decks, and coiling
down the ropes. ‘There were but few persons on the quay,
for those who had been engaged in loading the cargo had
gone off to bed as soon as the last bale was on board.

In half an hour the sailors began to hoist the sails, the
hawsers were thrown off, and with a gentle wind blowing aft
the ship glided along past the shore, being helped by the
tide, which had begun to ebb half an hour before. The