slave-trade. For two years they made
prosperous voyages between Jamaica and the coast of Guinea, helping to
found the fortunes of some of the best known families of America by
importing slaves.

After a year, however, John Paul tired of the business, and sold his
share of the ship to the captain for about one thousand guineas. He was
not yet twenty-one, but his seafaring life had already made him fairly
well-to-do. He planned to go home and see his family in Scotland, and
took passage in the brig _John o' Gaunt_.

Life on shipboard was full of perils then, and very soon after the brig
had cleared the Windward Islands the terrible scourge of yellow fever
was found to be on the vessel. Within a few days the captain, the mate,
and all of the crew but five had died of the disease. John Paul was
fully exposed to it, but he and the five men escaped it. He was the only
one of those left who knew anything about navigation, so he took
command, and after a stormy passage, with a crew much too small to
handle the brig, he managed to bring her safely to Whitehaven with all
her cargo. He handled her as skilfully as he had the small yawl in
Solway Firth.

The owners of the _John o' Gaunt_ were delighted and gave John Paul and
his five sailors the ten per cent. share of the cargo which the salvage
laws entitled them to. In addition they offered him the command of a
splendid full-rigged new merchantman which was to sail between England
and America, and a tenth share of all profits. It was a very fine offer
to a man who had barely come of age, but the youth had shown that he
had few equals as a mariner.

Good fortune shone upon him. He had no sooner sailed up the Rappahannock
again and landed at the plantation where his brother lived than he
learned that the rich old Virginian, William Jones, had recently died
and in his will had named him as one of his heirs. He had always
cherished a fancy for the sturdy, black-haired boy who had made him that
visit. The will provided that John Paul should add the planter's name to
his own. The young captain did not object to this, and so henceforth he
was known as John Paul Jones.

Scores of stories are told of the young captain's adventures. He loved
danger, and it was his nature to enjoy a fight with men or with the
elements. On a voyage to Jamaica he met with serious trouble. Fever
again reduced the crew to six men, and Jones was the only officer able
to be on deck. A huge negro named Maxwe