They say that boats are often picked up stove in and broken, and that none know what had become of their occupants, and that bodies, gashed and hewn, are often found floating in the river.
"How horrible," the girl said; "your tale makes me shiver, Martha; I would you had said nothing about it till we were on land again.
"Do not be afraid, Edith," the lady said cheerfully; "we shall soon be safe at Westminster." There were now only two or three boats to be seen on the river.

They were nearing the end of their journey now, and the great pile of the Abbey could be seen through the darkness.

A boat with several men in it was seen rowing across the river towards the Lambeth side.

It was awkwardly managed.
"Look out!" the steersman of the boat coming down stream shouted; "you will run into us if you don't mind." An order was given in the other boat, the men strained to their oars, and in an instant the boat ran with a crash into the side of the other, cutting it down to the water's edge.

For a minute there was a wild scene of confusion; the women shrieked, the watermen shouted, and, thinking that it was an accident, strove, as the boat sank from under them, to climb into that which had run them down.