Mary Barton Chapter XXVIII - ''John Cropper, Ahoy!''

In which Mary Barton embarks upon a weary and anxious river journey in pursuit of a vital hope, only to see it vanish as the ship carrying William Wilson sails inexorably away, leaving her desolate and lost on the shore. Surrounded by the bleakness of the evening and the indifferent bustle of the landing-place, she finds herself at the mercy of rough but not unkind strangers, their harsh words mingling with a reluctant tenderness that guides her onward.