"The best an' the worst men i' the ship!" gasped Joe Slag, amid laughter and hearty congratulations. He was probably right, for it was the young Wesleyan minister and Ned Jarring who had effected this gallant rescue. The performance of a good action has undoubtedly a tendency to elevate, as the perpetration of a bad one has to demoralise. From that day forward Black Ned felt that he had acquired a certain character which might be retained or lost. Without absolutely saying that he became a better man in consequence, we do assert that he became more respectable to look at, and drank less! Thus the voyage progressed until the good ship _Lapwing_ sailed in among some of the innumerable islands of the Southern seas. STORY ONE, CHAPTER 6. Darkness, whether physical, mental, or spiritual, is probably the greatest evil that man has had to contend with since the fall. At all events, the physical and mental forms of it were the cause of the good ship _Lapwing_ sailing one night straight to destruction. It happened thus. A pretty stiff breeze, amounting almost to half a gale, was blowing on the night in question, and the emigrant ship was running before it under close-reefed topsails. For some days previously the weather had been "dirty," and the captain had found it impossible to obtain an observation, so that he was in the dark as to the exact part of the ocean, in which he was sailing. In an open sea this is not of serious moment, but when one is nearing land, or in the neighbourhood of islands, it becomes cause for much anxiety. To make matters worse, the ship had been blown considerably out of her course, and, worst of all, the night was so intensely dark that it was not possible to see more than a few yards beyond the flying jibboom. The captain and mate, with several of the men, stood on the forecastle peering anxiously out into the darkness. "I don't like the look o' things at all," muttered the captain to the chief mate. "Perhaps it would be well, sir, to lay-to till daylight," suggested the mate. Whether the captain agreed with his chief officer or not was never known, for just then a dull sound was heard which sent a thrill to the bravest heart on board. "Breakers ahead!" cried the look-out, as in duty bound, but he was instantly contradicted by the mate, who shouted that they were on the starboard beam, while another voice roared that they were on the port-bow. The helm was instantly put hard a-port, and immediately after the order was given "hard a-starboard," for it was discovered that the sound of breakers came from both sides of the vessel. They were, obviously, either running in a narrow strait between two islands, or into a bay. In the first case the danger was imminent, in the second case, destruction was almost inevitable. "Clear the anchor, and stand by to let go!" cried the captain, in loud sharp tones, for he felt that there was no room to turn and retreat. The order was also given to take in all sail.