That was wisdom I had taught them; I had learned it myself years ago from my Uncle Podger. "Always before beginning to pack," my Uncle would say, "make a list." He was a methodical man. "Take a piece of paper"--he always began at the beginning--"put down on it everything you can possibly require, then go over it and see that it contains nothing you can possibly do without. Imagine yourself in bed; what have you got on? Very well, put it down--together with a change. You get up; what do you do? Wash yourself. What do you wash yourself with? Soap; put down soap. Go on till you have finished. Then take your clothes. Begin at your feet; what do you wear on your feet? Boots, shoes, socks; put them down. Work up till you get to your head. What else do you want besides clothes? A little brandy; put it down. A corkscrew, put it down. Put down everything, then you don't forget anything." That is the plan he always pursued himself. The list made, he would go over it carefully, as he always advised, to see that he had forgotten nothing. Then he would go over it again, and strike out everything it was possible to dispense with. Then he would lose the list. Said George: "Just sufficient for a day or two we will take with us on our bikes. The bulk of our luggage we must send on from town to town." "We must be careful," I said; "I knew a man once--" Harris looked at his watch. "We'll hear about him on the boat," said Harris; "I have got to meet Clara at Waterloo Station in half an hour." "It won't take half an hour," I said; "it's a true story, and--" "Don't waste it," said George: "I am told there are rainy evenings in the Black Forest; we may be glad of it. What we have to do now is to finish this list." Now I come to think of it, I never did get off that story; something always interrupted it. And it really was true. CHAPTER III Harris's one fault--Harris and the Angel--A patent bicycle lamp--The ideal saddle--The "Overhauler"--His eagle eye--His method--His cheery confidence--His simple and inexpensive tastes--His appearance--How to get rid of him--George as prophet--The gentle art of making oneself disagreeable in a foreign tongue--George as a student of human nature--He proposes an experiment--His Prudence--Harris's support secured, upon conditions. On Monday afternoon Harris came round; he had a cycling paper in his hand. I said: "If you take my advice, you will leave it alone." Harris said: "Leave what alone?" I said: "That brand-new, patent, revolution in cycling, record-breaking, Tomfoolishness, whatever it may be, the advertisement of which you have there in your hand." He said: "Well, I don't know; there will be some steep hills for us to negotiate; I guess we shall want a good brake." I said: "We shall want a brake, I agree; what we shall not want is a mechanical surprise that we don't understand, and that never acts when it is wanted." "This thing," he said, "acts automatically."