After his father had given the parcel into his care, Frank went on to say, events transpired exactly as he had anticipated. Most of the passengers were robbed, and those that objected to being despoiled tranquilly, murdered. Amongst these were his father, whom the ruffians killed more out of spite from not finding the valuables they expected on him. He, Frank, escaped through the kindness of one of the sailors, who took a fancy to him, and hid him up aloft in the ship’s foretop when the men who had possession of the ship would have killed him.
“This sailor,” said Frank, “was just like that gentleman there,” pointing to Seth.
“Waal neow, that’s curious,” said Seth. “Was his name Sam?”
“It was,” said the boy.
“This is curious,” said Seth, looking round at the rest; “it is really. I wouldn’t be at all surprised as how that’s my brother Sam I haven’t heerd on for this many a year, or seed, although he’s a seafarin’ man like myself, an’ I oughter to ’ave run across his jib afore now. Depend on it, Rawlings, that the reason the boy stuck to me so when he hadn’t got his wits, and came for to rescue me aboard the Susan Jane, and arterwards, was on account of my likeness to Sam.”
And as nobody could say him nay, it may be mentioned here that that was Seth’s fervent belief ever after.
The last recollection that Frank had of the ship and the mutineers was of an orgie on board the Dragon King in the height of a storm, and of one of the murderous villains finding out his retreat in the foretop, where the sailor who protected him lashed him to the rigging, so that he could not tumble on deck if he should fall asleep. He remembered a man with gleaming eyes and great white teeth swearing at him, and making a cut at him with a drawn sword. After that, all was a complete blank to him till he had just now opened his eyes and recognised Ernest.
“An’ yer don’t recollect being picked up at sea an’ taken aboard the Susan Jane, and brought here, nor nuthin’?” inquired Seth.
“Nothing whatever,” said Frank, who showed himself to be a remarkably intelligent boy now that he had recovered his senses. “I don’t remember anything that happened in the interval.”
“Waal, that is curious,” observed Seth.