must do so," said Hixon; "come along, mates; I
know Peter will look after the captain," and they set off.

After Peter had moistened the captain's lips, and made his bed as
comfortable as he could, he said, "Shall I read to you, sir?"

"What have you got to read? How can you have any books here?" asked the
captain.

Peter drew his Bible out of the canvas slung round his neck, and showed
it to the captain. The cover, of course, was drenched with sea-water,
but the inside was quite dry.

"Yes, you may," was the answer; "when a man is sick as I am it is a good
book to listen to, and I am fit for nothing else."

Peter made no reply, but began to read. He came to the account of
Lazarus and the rich man.

"What does Abraham's bosom mean?" asked the captain.

"Heaven, sir," answered Peter; "it must be a glorious place, for Christ
has gone before to prepare it for those who love Him."

"I hope when I die I shall go there," murmured the captain, more to
himself than Peter; "I have not been a bad man, or done much harm to any
one, and have tried to do my duty, and have never got drunk at sea; and
I hope I have done some good in my time, so I should think God would let
me into heaven."

Peter prayed that he might give a right answer. "God says, sir, in His
book, that `there is none that doeth good, no, not one,' and that `He
gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.' The rich man we have been reading
about does not seem to have done much harm, and very likely he thought
himself pretty good, and yet he went to hell."

"Then how is a man ever to get to heaven?" asked the captain, somewhat
petulantly.

"God says, `Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.'
He wants us to take Him at His word. He tells us that our own good
deeds are as filthy rags, and that we must trust to the sacrifice of
Christ, to His blood shed for us; and thus we shall be clothed with His
righteousness, with His pure and spotless robe; and so God will not look
upon our iniquities, because He has accepted Christ's punishment instead
of what we deserved, and we shall therefore not be punished."

Thus Peter continued to place the loving Gospel before his captain. The
latter listened, often asking some more questions. At last he put his
hands before his eyes, and murmured, "It's wonderful that a mere boy
should know all this, and be able to explain it so clearly.