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66

Once more on ship board we bathed and changed out clothes, and went on deck to enjoy the prospect of arriving missionaries with many bundles stewing about cabins. The head coolie from the Kuling Estate office was to bring out three trunks to the boat, and by eleven he had not put in his appearance. Louise and I donned hats and started out to look for him. We had just stepped onto the hulk when a man with a head coolie label on his hat came hurrying along. I stopped him. "What did you bring to the boat?" I asked. "Three huge trunks," said he. "They're mine," said I, "Where are they?" "Coming, down there in the sampan." "Get them on board and we'll talk business," said I, and we returned to the boat. The trunks soon arrived and Dorothy went below and had them stowed near a doorway from which we would disembark, and when they came up I had the money ready for the men, who were rather pleased at a liberal tip.

The boat left at one just as we sat down to tiffin, and I delayed long enough getting to my soup to get a picture I wanted of the city and hi hills and old pagoda. The junks on the river here have an endless fascination for me, and raise again the old problem of the relation of beauty to efficiency. We made good time down river. Early in the afternoon we passed the entrance to P'o Yang lake, and saw the Big Orphan therein. About sunset we passed the Little Orphan farther down the river, and so on we went passing mountains and temples and pagodas and cities, and watching a sunset such as never was [[strikethrough]] neverwas [[/strikethrough]] before and never will be again. Just after supper we slowed for Anking, and then went on into the night.

Monday, 24 August

When we got out on deck we found ourselves standing at Wuhu, waiting for a San Peh boat to clear from the hulk. About eight o'clock it got away and we made a big circle downstream so as to come up to the hulk, and then made fast. After some little dealy they began loading rice, carrying in the great sacks coolie by coolie. At Kiukiang there is a work shortage, and at Wuhu a labor shortage, so we had too few coolies for the work and it dragged along all day. Normally we should have been in Nanking by noon. We hoped to clear by noon and get