“Goodness me! Haven’t you had any word, yet?” worried Paul.
“I’ve been thinking that I’d better hand him over to the Captain, if we have to go without finding another owner,” said Uncle Tom, pretending not to hear Paul’s question.
This caused a disquieting silence although the boys were very fond of Captain Ed; still each one had secretly hoped to take the pig home himself, if no other home had been found.
Uncle Tom laughed heartily for he read their thoughts correctly, and felt that he had taken an unfair advantage of them. So, he took the bundle of letters from his pocket and motioned the children to be seated.
The letters proved that the owner of the trick pig was the only passenger injured when the Katahdin was wrecked, and if he had not tried to save the life of his beloved pet—his only source of livelihood, he would have been spared some broken ribs. But, upon hearing the frightened squeals coming from the pig that was kept in a crate, the poor man endeavoured to drag the box on deck and thus was struck by a falling spar.
The crew carried him to the lifeboat but he wanted to go back for his pig! They held him fast, however, and sent him to the hospital for attention. In his delirium he called and called for his pig, ordering it to perform or calling it by endearing names when an act was well done.
The nurses noted this and reported to the doctor and the kindly doctor in turn reported to the authorities. Then, after hope had almost gone, came the letter from Uncle Tom. To say the poor man felt joy and relief at hearing that his pet was alive and so well cared for, was putting it mildly. The letter he sent Uncle Tom was simply overflowing with gratitude.
Before the Islanders left Maine to return to their city home, Uncle Tom came for them to hurry back with him to Rosemary and meet the owner of Katahdin.
Here, the pale but happy man shook hands with the children and thanked them repeatedly for what they had unconsciously done for him.
“You see, when I first went on that boat, I wanted Pico—that’s his right name—in my state-room with me but the steamship company wouldn’t allow it, so they put him in a crate and put the poor thing down in the room with the freight! Ah, me! How Pico must have suffered from fright that time when the ship hit those rocks! And after, when he was in the sea!”