d away to a calm which continued
nearly twenty-four hours. Then an air sprang up from the east and
gradually gained in strength to a whole sail breeze. The captain had
shown alarming signs of sudden recovery during the early hours of the
fourth day. The _delirium tremens_ had apparently left him, and he
became subdued and attractively rational. Munroe, who did not possess
much intelligence, knowledge or ambition, expressed his satisfaction
that the drunken beggar was about to resume control, as he was sick of
being both skipper and mate. As a matter of fact, responsibility did
not sit lightly on this frivolous officer, and it may be that he knew
the measure of his capacity. Ralph heard all the mate had to say, and
quietly remarked:

"They haven't left him yet. He's only at the cunning, dangerous stage."

"What do you mean, Ralph?" said Munroe (for in spite of his reputed
semi-idiotcy Ralph was supposed to possess intuitive foresight).

"I mean what I say. Now's the time to watch him, or he may have any one
of us by the throat before we know where we are. I'll be the first
he'll go for," said Ralph, in broad vernacular; "he used to like me,
but now that he's taken on to drink I feel that he wants to kill me."

At midnight on the fourth day from sailing Ralph had just relieved the
wheel, and Macgregor had come on deck, and commenced to walk the
quarterdeck in his usual dignified style. The vessel was being sailed
by the wind, and his eyes became fixed aloft, watching, as was his
custom, whether she was properly steered. At last he broke silence by
shouting out:

"Hard up! Don't you see the rocks right ahead?" Then he sprang at Ralph
like a tiger, and had nearly torn his clothes off him before other
members of the crew came to his aid. The captain's strength was
superhuman. It took four men to get him into his berth and lash him
securely down, and in a few minutes he died in a screaming fit of
madness.

It was promptly arranged that the body should, if possible, be landed
in England, and as there was blowing a whole sail breeze from the east,
her tail was put to it and then a heated discussion arose as to the
proper course to steer for Tynemouth Castle. The mate said W. by N.
Ralph insisted W. by S. from their position would land her right under
the castle foot. As both stubbornly maintained they were right, it was
agreed to come to a compromise by steering W. by N. one watch and W. by
S. the next, and so on until t