“What did you hear along after midnight, say an hour or two after midnight?”
“Nothing special,” answered the boy.
“Did you hear anything that sounded like an explosion?” the old man went on, “—something like the explosion of a boiler?”
“Why, I heard something of that kind,” Alex replied, wondering what the old gentleman was getting at. “Did you hear that, too?”
“Yes, I heard it,” answered the old gentleman, drawing his long beard through his fingers and fixing his grave eyes on those of the lad. “Yes, I heard it,” he repeated, “and I’ve heard it a good many nights when there wasn’t any one else awake to hear it—when there wasn’t any one else astir in the village but me, and no boat tied up at the mouth of Wolf Creek. Did you see anything?” he added eagerly.
“What would you expect me to see?” asked Alex, with a smile.
“I ain’t saying anything about that,” replied the old gentleman. “I’m asking you a plain simple question. Did you see anything just before that explosion?”
“No, I didn’t,” the boy answered, “but two of my chums did.”
The merchant leaned forward with suspicion in his eyes.
“You’re not lying about this?” he asked.