at
Mr Welton, junior, was hastily tying a rope round his waist.

"Hallo! Jim," he cried, "surely you don't mean to risk your life for a
dog?"

"There's no risk about it, father. Why should I leave a poor dog to
drown when it will only cost a ducking at the worst? You know I can
swim like a cork, and I ain't easily cooled down."

"You shan't do it if I can prevent," cried the mate, rushing at his
reckless son.

But Jim was too nimble for him. He ran to the stern of the vessel,
leaped on the bulwarks, flung the end of the coil of rope among the men,
and shouting, "Hold on taut, boys!" sprang into the sea.

The men did "hold on" most powerfully; they did more, they hauled upon
the rope, hand over hand, to a "Yo-heave-ho!" from Jerry MacGowl, which
put to shame the roaring gale, and finally hauled Jim Welton on board
with a magnificent Newfoundland dog in his arms, an event which was
greeted with three enthusiastic cheers!

CHAPTER FOUR.

A NEW CHARACTER INTRODUCED.

The gale was a short-lived one. On the following morning the wind had
decreased to a moderate breeze, and before night the sea had gone down
sufficiently to allow the boat of Mr Jones's sloop to come alongside of
the floating light.

Before Jim Welton bade his friends good-bye, he managed to have an
earnest and private talk with each of them. Although he had never been
connected with the Gull, he had frequently met with the men of that
vessel, and, being one of those large-hearted sympathetic men who
somehow worm themselves into the affection and confidence of most of
their friends and comrades, he had something particular to say to each,
either in reference to wives and families on shore, or to other members
of that distracting section of the human family which, according to Mr
Welton senior, lay at the foundation of all mischief.

But young Welton did not confine himself to temporal matters. It has
already been hinted that he had for some time been in the habit of
attending prayer-meetings, but the truth was that he had recently been
led by a sailor's missionary to read the Bible, and the precious Word of
God had been so blessed to his soul, that he had seen his own lost
condition by nature, and had also seen, and joyfully accepted, Jesus
Christ as his all-sufficient Saviour. He had come to "know the truth,"
and "the truth had set him free;" free, not only from spiritual death
and the power of sin, but free from that unmanly shame whi