BOON ISLAND.
Shortly after midnight, when he and Sidney were in the watch-room alone, Captain Eph told all he knew concerning the accident.
"When we found Sammy it looked to me as if he was pretty far gone; but yet I took note of everything to be seen, with the hope of gettin' an idee as to how the trouble came about. The top part of the raft was made of heavy timbers, which appeared as if they'd been thrown there the last thing because he'd seen that it would be jest as easy to take 'em along, an' he was kind'er between the two biggest. Now it's possible that in movin' 'round he got jammed badly; but Uncle Zenas claims he tried to swim after the dory an' over-worked himself, though I can't figger it out that way, for if he'd started after the boat he'd most likely drowned, in case of strainin' himself."
"Hasn't he said anything since you found him?" Sidney asked when the old keeper ceased speaking.
"Only after we got him into bed. He groaned now an' then in the dory, an' if it hadn't been for that we'd never been able to make out whether he was dead or alive. Was you lonesome here all by yourself, Sonny?"
"Yes, sir, and I made a fool of myself by crying at first. When I got over that it seemed as if the minutes were as long as hours, and I wondered how I would get through the night. The worst of it all was that I didn't believe you could get back to-night, and I knew if a storm came you wouldn't be able to land on the ledge."
"We'll get the storm all right, Sonny, more's the pity, for I made up my mind I'd go ashore for a doctor, providin' Sammy wasn't actin' any different by mornin', if the weather was sich that a boat would live from here to the mainland an' back."
The conversation was interrupted at this point by Uncle Zenas, who came to report that Mr. Peters had opened his eyes, swallowed a few mouthfuls of coffee, and then, apparently, sank into deep slumber again.