No one was with them, as no watch was needed when Tom had Miantonimo with him.
The Indian boy looked wistfully at Tom, whose gravity he had noticed, and asked:
“Why is my brother sad? Why does he not smile as he did yesterday? Is he in pain or sorrow?”
“Miantonimo,” said Tom, “far away, near the shores of the ocean, my mother and sister dwell. They know not where I am. They mourn for me. Perhaps they think I am dead. Do you wonder that I am sad?”
Miantonimo looked grave.
“Can you not be happy with me?” he asked. “You are like a brother to me.”
“Dear Miantonimo, I like you. You saved my life. But you cannot take the place of my mother and sister.”
“Why, then, did you leave them?”
“They are poor. I left home to seek gold, far away by the great western sea. I wished to bring it home that they might not want.”
Miantonimo looked up, and his face was sad.