‘Nah.’ The lad slipped and slithered his way down. ‘I’m not that mucky.’ He looked back at Harry. ‘You’re not a schoolteacher, are you?’

‘No. Why? Should you be at school?’

‘Yeh, but I’m leaving at Christmas so it don’t matter.’

Harry put his hands in his pockets. ‘Have you got a job to go to?’

‘Nah, that’s why I’m muckin’ about here. If I’d got a job I wouldn’t be here, would I?’

He stood up, naked and straight, and put both arms out in front of him, his hands and fingers pointing forward. He took a deep breath and the other young lads stopped what they were doing to watch him. ‘Don’t forget you can’t swim, Stan,’ one of them shouted.

The swimmer let out the breath. ‘I know! I’m just going to learn. Now will you shurrup!’

With that he took another breath, lifted up on to his toes and dived in.

Harry moved closer and he too held his breath. Young varmint. He was about to take off his own boots when the lad surfaced, spluttering, and began a doggy paddle towards the bank. ‘Telled you, didn’t I?’ he shouted, breathless but triumphant. ‘Telled you I could swim!’

Harry grinned and turned away. The boy was a survivor.

He hurried now, as time was getting short and he wanted to get home tonight, but could he find his way back to Market Place in time to catch the carrier? He had to ask directions more than once and finally resorted to running, reaching Market Place just as the carrier was moving off. Harry called out for him to wait.

‘I’d given you up,’ the driver remonstrated. ‘Thought you were stopping!’

Harry climbed up beside him. ‘No,’ he panted. ‘I think I might have come back ’long way round. I’d no idea Hull was so big. Oh!’ He took a breath. ‘Some of ’housing …’ He shook his head despondently. ‘Anyway, I’ve got a job and somewhere reasonable for us to live. I start at one of ’mills on Monday morning, so we’ve got from now until Saturday to pack up and arrange ’hire of a wagon to come back in again.’

The carrier nodded his head and pursed his lips. ‘I know somebody in Patrington who hires out carts and wagons. I’ll give you his address, and you can drop him a postcard if you want him.’

Harry thanked him, but privately thought that he would ask around Holmpton first and try to get some help with loading their few items of furniture. Ellen’s brother Billy might be agreeable, or maybe a labourer willing to earn a copper or two. Charity begins at home, he believed, and there were many local farm workers who were struggling.