the cabin - boy had been traveling around all summer long with his captain ; but when they began to prepare to set sail in the fall , he grew restless and did not want to go along . the captain liked him , for though he was no more than a boy , he was quite at home on deck , was a big , tall lad , and did not mind lending a hand when need arose ; then , too , he did as much work as an able seaman , and was so full of fun that he kept the whole crew in good humor . and so the captain did not like to lose him . but the youth said out and out that he was not minded to take to the blue pond in the fall ; though he was willing to stay on board till the ship was loaded and ready to sail . one sunday , while the crew was ashore , and the captain had gone to a farm - holding near the forest , in order to bargain for small timber and log wood -- presumably on his own account -- for a deck load , the youth had been left to guard the ship . but you must know that he was a sunday child , and had found a four - leaf clover ; and that was the reason he had the second sight . he could see those who are invisible , but they could not see him . but the boy told them to throw the last cord of wood overboard , billet by billet , and no two billets at once . and when the last billet of wood fell , they heard a deep groaning , as though some one were dying hard , and when all was quiet once more , the whole sea was the color of blood , as far as eye could reach . when they reached land , the captain and the quartermasters spoke of writing to their wives . " that is something you might just as well let be , " said the cabin - boy , " seeing that you no longer have any wives . " 
they were killed .
why did the cabin-boy say the captain and quartermasters would not have wives any longer ?
why did the cabin-boy say the captain and quartermasters would not have wives any longer ?