Mr Gedge
The clerk who records both what a cargo weighs and, when asked, what it is.
Look closer at the illustration ↗Mr Gedge works at the Tallow Cut toll office at Pennywhistle. He wears round spectacles and carries a ledger and a striped gauging rod. He measures Patience at four points, then uses the boat’s own gauging book to calculate the weight she carries.
The cargo must also have a class. After consulting the printed list, he enters the church bell under metals and metal goods not otherwise enumerated. Ada pays the toll, and he gives her a ticket.
Pip asks for the bell to be entered as itself too. In the Remarks column he writes its destination, its passing time and that it is in good order. Then he works the gates so Patience can pass from one company’s water into the other’s.
People they know
Ada Brimble · From the illustrated world of Candlebury Ada Brimble
The carrier whose boat he gauges
Mr Gedge gauges Patience, classifies the church bell and gives Ada a ticket when she pays the toll.
Pip Hobday · From the illustrated world of Candlebury Pip Hobday
The passenger who asks for a fuller entry
Pip asks Mr Gedge to record the bell as itself, as well as entering its cargo class. He adds its destination and condition in the Remarks column.
Places in their stories
Along the canal
Locks, towpaths and the quieter journey to Little Tallowmere.
Stories
The Narrow Boat to Little Tallowmere
Travel with Ada Brimble, Pip and a new church bell aboard Patience, along the canal to Little Tallowmere.
With Ada Brimble, Pip Hobday, Dorothea, Ruth Coker, Josiah Coker, Mr Gedge