“And did you find them?” asked Chet, eagerly.
“I did, lad, and I’ve got news for you.”
“About my father?”
“Aye, Chet.”
“Was it the Betsey Andrews that went down? Is my father among the men?”
“Yes, it was the Betsey Andrews that was caught in the ice. She drifted for months before she got a squeeze that finished her. Then the crew went ashore, and did what they could to save themselves.”
“But my father—is he—alive?”
“Yes,—or he was, the last that was heard of him.”
“He isn’t with the men you found?”
“No, they are on board, and you can listen to their story later. After the whaler went to pieces, another vessel came along—a small ship bound for Nova Scotia, the Evans, and she took six of the crew with her, and among those was your father.”