by his side and
tried to quiet him, but in vain. He continued beating his hands in the
air, trying to keep off the ghostly train, till, at last, with one awful
howl, he fell back dead.

And that was the end of Meeson. And the works that he published, and the
money that he made, and the house that he built, and the evil that he
did--are they not written in the Book of the Commercial Kings?

"Well," said Augusta faintly to herself when she had got her breath back
a little, "I am glad that it is over; anyway, I do hope that I may never
be called on to nurse the head of another publishing company."

"Auntie! auntie!" gasped Dick, "why do the gentleman shout so?"

Then, taking the frightened child by the hand, Augusta made her way
through the rain to the other hut, in order to tell the two sailors what
had come to pass. It had no door, and she paused on the threshold to
prospect. The faint foggy light was so dim that at first she could see
nothing. Presently, however, her eyes got accustomed to it, and she made
out Bill and Johnnie sitting opposite to each other on the ground.
Between them was the breaker of rum. Bill had a large shell in his had,
which he had just filled from the cask; for Augusta saw him in the act of
replacing the spigot.

"My go!--curse you, my go!" said Johnnie, as Bill lifted the shell of
spirits to his lips. "You've had seven goes and I've only had six!"

"You be blowed!" said Bill, swallowing the liquor in a couple of great
gulps. "Ah! that's better! Now I'll fill for you, mate: fair does, I
says, fair does and no favour," and he filled accordingly.

"Mr. Meeson is dead," said Augusta, screwing up her courage to interrupt
this orgie.

The two men stared at her in drunken surprise, which Johnnie broke.

"Now is he, Miss?" he said, with a hiccough: "is he? Well, a good job
too, says I; a useless old landlubber he was. I doubt he's off to a
warmer place than this 'ere Kerguelen Land, and I drinks his health,
which, by-the-way, I never had the occasion to do before. Here's to
the health of the departed," and he swallowed the shellfull of rum at
a draught.

"Your sentiment I echoes," said Bill. "Johnnie, the shell; give us the
shell to drink the 'ealth of the dear departed."

Then Augusta returned to her hut with a heavy heart. She covered up the
dead body as best she could, telling little Dick that Mr. Meeson was gone
by-by, and then sat down in that chill and awful company. It was very
depr