give worlds to have command of so
fine a vessel."

"Let them have it, then," said Bourne; "but I was content to end my
days in the old ship. That was glory enough for me, and they (meaning
his owner and his friends) would not let me do it."

Captain W---- shook him warmly by the hand, and promised to call
again.

Bourne murmured: "I may never see you again. I feel the end is very
near. My general health is good, but what ails me is a sore heart. Tell
them, W----, if I should die before seeing you again, that I trusted in
God and His Son, that the parsons say preached the gospel of sorrow. My
cup is full of that. So that I would be satisfied to meet death
willingly could I catch but one glimpse before it comes of the ship
that has been my home all my life, brought up my bairns, and kept a
comfortable abode ashore for me."

His friend parted from him with a sad heart, believing that no earthly
power could save him, for he saw that he was encompassed by the shadow
of doom, and that the triumph of death would soon overtake him.

The following morning the _Grasshopper_ ensign flew half-mast. Poor
Bourne had passed the portal beyond which he was to find peace. His
last message to his mate and steward were: "I shall soon be dead. Say
'so long' for me to my wife and the owner. Tell them my heart broke,
for I could not bear the loss of my boys and the parting from the canny
little brig. Tell them I bear no ill-will to anybody, and that I expect
to meet them beyond the river in a better land."

These words were the last spoken by the grief-stricken old mariner, who
in the plenitude of his manhood would have scorned the idea of openly
giving way to emotion. His officers sat by him until he quietly slipped
his moorings.

III

CAPTAIN MACGREGOR

Captain Alexander Macgregor, as his name betokens, was a Scotchman, who
had left his native land with credentials which gave him the reputation
of being not only learned but one of the most expert mariners that ever
walked a quarterdeck. For many years he had traded to all parts of the
world in command of various sized vessels owned in Scotland, and had
earned the confidence of his employers by the deeds he had accomplished
in making them large profits. His old owner was perturbed when it
became known that his services had been sought for elsewhere, and
secured, owing to monetary inducements such as no worthy Scot could
refuse, for Scottish shipmasters at that time were s