“What dat?” asked Sam, looking curiously from one boy to the other.
“Nothing, Sam,” said Grant quickly. “Don’t you remember the fire?”
“De fire?” said Sam, completely mystified. “Wha’ fire?”
“On the Josephine,” exclaimed John. “Don’t you know that she burned to the water’s edge?”
“Ah does remember dat fire now,” said Sam eagerly, a gleam of understanding showing in his face. “She done come out ob de hatchway, didn’t she?”
“It did,” agreed Grant. “After that don’t you remember how we all jumped into the boats and rowed away? Don’t you remember that?”
“’Deed Ah don’t,” said Sam. “Ah don’t remembah a thing about dat ar.”
“Are you sure?” demanded John sharply.
“Sho’ Ah is,” exclaimed Sam sincerely. It did not seem to the four boys that he could be fooling, his manner seemed so earnest.
For some moments no one on the little boat spoke a word. The boys sat and looked at Sam, and he sat and looked at them and at the boat and the boundless ocean stretching on every side as far as the eye could see. Not a sign of life could be seen on it anywhere. There was no trace of the other boats that had set out from the burning brig and it was impossible to conjecture what had happened to them.