The boat-builder himself came up then, and assured us, on his word, as a practical man, that the thing really was a boat - was, in fact, THE boat, the "double sculling skiff" selected to take us on our trip down the river.
Survint alors le patron, qui nous donna sa parole d’homme d’expérience que la chose était bien un canot – voire meme le canot en double seuil que nous avions choisi pour notre excursion sur la Tamise.