"I fear so, mother."
"Fear! if you are not sure, speak out. Can't you see that I must know, or—or drop dead in my chair!"
"They were wrecked. My brother, my poor, poor brother would not abandon the vessel. They were compelled to leave him."
"They—who?"
"Every soul on board—no, I remember a negro and a little boy stayed with him."
"And the man Nelson Thrasher left my son on the stormy seas to die?"
"No, no, he only went with the rest; besides, he did not know, 'till I told him, that David was my brother, or your son."
"And they left him alone on the high seas to starve or drown," said the old woman, hoarsely. "Katharine Allen, never mention that man's name to me while you live. If you see him passing my house, give warning, that I may turn away and not curse him."
"Oh! mother, mother!"