The Maid at the Helm

Overview

The voyage of the "Minnehaha" ends in disaster, and everyone, with the exception of Captain Barker, his daughter Elizabeth, and the mate, Bill, perish. Picked up by the whaler "Dakota" all seems well at first but Bill, half-crazy from exposure, becomes insanely jealous of the ship’s Captain Treavor. He accosts Elizabeth, who fights him off with Treavor coming to her aid. At one point he overpowers the remainder of the crew by taking them unawares and orders the ship to be put under way. Elizabeth, however, releases her father and the crew and retakes the ship. With Bill safely captured and bound with ropes the men give rousing cheers of thanksgiving for preservation from a sudden death.