" He ain’t a Coot not really,” said Bill. “He ain’t got a head on him no better’n a squashed frog. I see him all right but he don’t know nothing. Fishing he were on the gravel reach.”
“Catching anything?” asked Pete, who, detective or no detective, was still a fisherman.
“Perch,” said Bill.
“Oh, never mind the fish,” said Dorothea. “Had any boats been cast off?”
“He tell me to keep my shadow off the water,” said Bill. “So I creep up and give him one of my sandwiches and when I ask if any boats been cast off, why Tommy he say ‘How do you know?’ “
“Go on. Go on,” said Dorothea, reaching out for one of the little black paper flags all ready on its pin.
“I say I don’t know but I want to know and Tommy he say it weren’t his fault and I say when were it and what boat and Tommy he said it were his Dad’s row-boat and he give it Tommy to tie up and Tommy he tie it to a stick what broke and he have to go in swimming to catch it. "

― Arthur Ransome , The Big Six (Swallows and Amazons, #9)