may be that of any one of us, my lads," he
observed. "I do not ask how they were prepared to meet their God, but
how are you prepared? Even if you are living pure and blameless lives,
have you made peace with Tim according to the only way He has offered to
reconcile you to Himself? Have you a living faith in the atoning blood
of Jesus shed for you? He wishes you to be reconciled to Him, and He
has offered to you the easiest and simplest way, the only way by which
you can be so. Remember, `now is the accepted time,' `now is the day of
salvation.' It is God tells you this. If you put off that day it may
be too late--for He says nothing about to-morrow. Some of you may say
that you lead hard lives, have little enjoyment, and much suffering, and
that that must satisfy God and give you a right to heaven. God does not
tell you that; but He says, `Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved. He that believeth not is condemned.' Oh lads, if you
knew of the love of Jesus for you, and how He longs for you all to be
saved, you could not stand aloof from Him as you do, and try to keep Him
out of your thoughts, and do nothing to please or serve Him. I speak to
young and old, for He loves the youngest boy on board here as well as
the oldest, and His blood, which cleanseth from all sin, will wash away
the sins of the greatest criminal as completely as it will cleanse the
most harmless youngster, though he, too, needs to be washed as much as
the other." Such was the substance of Captain Irvine's discourse on the
Sunday after the storm. Archy had attended, and the words were
continually haunting him. Max, as usual, had kept away.

"I wonder you can stand that sort of thing," he said to Archy, when he
next met him. "I have no fancy for those discourses of the skipper; but
if you want to curry favour with him, by all means go, just as old
Andrew and Dr Sinclair, and some others do. They have prayers with him
every morning in his cabin. You will not turn psalm-singer, I hope,
lad."

"I don't suppose I shall," answered Archy. "But still I should not like
to be washed overboard, as Bill and Ned were the other night."

"As to that, you must run your chance as others do," answered Max. "I
don't let such things trouble me."

Archy could not help letting them trouble him, though.

The next day the whole crew were busily employed in getting the whale
boats ready and the gear fitted. There were seven boats in