“He beat me,” he muttered finally.
“Beat you, did he? What for?”
“’Cause I wanted to go home.”
“Where do you live?” asked Nelson, taking up the role of examiner.
“Mullen’s Cove.”
“Where’s that?”
“Long Island.”
“Oh, Long Island, eh? Folks living?”
“My mother is,” answered the runaway. “My father died three years ago. He was first mate on the Independence.”
“Fisherman?”