An' all the time et kep' gettin' hotter an'
hotter, till Sam were fairly runnin' to waste wi' sweatin'. At las'
he pops hes head out'n the windey for fresh air, an' cries out--
"'Hulloa! here's a stashun.'
"Well, the train pulls up, an' Sam says to the stranger--
"'Look 'ee here. Wud 'ee mind keepin' your eye 'pon th' ould man
while I runs out to get a drink? I reckoned I knawed thirst afore
this,' he says, 'but I were mistook.'
"The stranger was very willin', and away Sam goes.
"He warn't away more'n a minnit; but when he comes back an' takes a
look at the platform, my! Sir! there warn't no trace of the train to
be seen--not a vestment. You see, they don't blaw no whissle in
Spain when the train goes; an' there was poor Sam left stranded.
"Well, he tellygrafs o' cou'se to the nex' stashun, an' in less 'n an
hour back comes an answer to say as they searched the train when et
stopped, an' there warn't no corpse there, nor chest, nor nuthin'.
An' ef you'll believe me, sir," concluded Caleb, bending forward and
touching his master's knee, "th' ould Commodore ha'n't niver been
found fro' that day to this. Et 'most broke Sam's heart; an', as he
said to me wan time, 'For all I knaws 'twas the devil; and for all I
knaws th' ould maaster be travellin' roun' Spain to this day; but ef
so,' says he, 'I reckon by this time he's like Patty Ward's pig--no
lavender.
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