"That is right!" replied Tommy.
"Where is he wanted?" asked the wheelsman, who had given the name of Boswell. "Why didn't you bring the sick boy out with you?"
"Because we thought it better to take the surgeon to him!" replied Tommy. "The boy really wasn't able to be moved!"
"Fever?" asked Boswell.
Tommy hesitated a moment before replying. He was in doubt as to just how much he ought to tell Boswell. The fellow seemed to be friendly enough, and might be useful in case the lads were arrested for piracy, as, if he saw fit, he could testify that Jamison was not carrying out his agreement with them, but, instead, was planning to maroon them on a barren island in the gulf. Owing to these considerations it seemed best to keep on good terms with the fellow, and yet Tommy did not care to describe in full what had taken place at the cabin.
"No, the boy isn't sick of fever," Tommy finally answered. "He received a wound on the head and lies unconscious."
Both boys thought they saw Boswell give a quick start, but in a moment his face was as impassive as ever.
"Do you know what Jamison was up to?" asked Sam after a short pause.
Boswell looked keenly at the boy before answering.
"I only know what he told me!" be replied.