“The pirates got her!” was Alex’s reply, and there were actually tears in his eyes as he spoke.
During this short conversation between the two boys, Uncle Zeke had stood, trembling, by the heap of embers, gazing from boy to boy and from bear to dog.
“Ah nebber did cotton to no bulldog!” he said.
“Where did you get that?” asked Clay, forgetting for a moment what Alex’s reply meant to the party.
“That’s Uncle Zeke,” answered Alex with a grin. “He rowed Teddy and I across the river.”
“Ah’m goin’ to hab two dollahs!” put in the negro.
Clay again turned toward Alex, his manner showing great excitement.
“Tell me about it!” he said kindly.
Alex told the story, already well known to the reader, in as few words as possible. Clay did not interrupt him, and at the close stood looking out on the river with a very grave face.
“We’ve got to get her back!” Alex shouted in a moment. “We’ve just got to get the Rambler back!”