‘I very nearly was,’ Sam said ruefully. ‘But a passer-by must have fished me out, and I’m afraid I can’t tell you much of what happened after that, because someone had stripped me of my clothing and everything I possessed so that when they took me to the hospital no one had any idea that I was a seaman off one of the ships. The Mary Anne had been due to sail on the evening tide, and no doubt she did so, with Captain Able believing I had jumped ship as seamen sometimes do. I was unconscious for ten days, but at the end of that time I came round to find myself in a hospital bed, with absolutely no idea how I got there, or even who I was. Fortunately for me, because I didn’t speak the language, one of the doctors was an American and he and I got quite friendly. He told me about his family back in the States, but of course I couldn’t reciprocate because I could remember nothing of my life before I opened my eyes to find myself in hospital. The doctor, however, was sure that I would recover my memory, and one day, when I was taking a walk around the town, I saw a boy of about your age, Jimmy, pushing a little girl on a swing. The sight of those two children disturbed me, though I could not have said why. They were in a playground with two or three swings, a slide and a sort of roundabout, and whilst I was watching them the little girl jumped off the swing and came hurtling through the air, and I caught her, and the moment I held her in my arms my memory came flooding back. I remembered everything: my darling Grace dying, taking a berth aboard the Mary Anne, and leaving you children in the care of the Huxtables. I stood the little girl down very carefully and she ran back to the swing, and after that I just sat down on the dusty earth and tried to make sense of what had happened. My American doctor friend had told me not to try too hard but simply to open my mind to thoughts of the past, and over the next few days that was what I did. The memories came at their own pace and would not be hurried, but when I remembered that Grace had died I knew I must come back home as soon as possible. My arrangement with the Huxtables had included my sending money home to cover the rent and other expenses, and of course I had not done so for some time.’

Jimmy beamed at his father. ‘So you never knew Mrs Huxtable ill-treated us,’ he said.

Sam shook his head. ‘And I promise you, Jimmy, that had I known, nothing would have prevented me from sorting her out.’

‘I knew it!’ Jimmy said exultantly. ‘I knew you wouldn’t let us down. Well, we both knew, didn’t we, Mo?’