The old fisherman had two sons. Ben was a strong, finely developed fellow, but Ned, his hunchbacked brother, never envied him, until both fell in love with Mary Cresswood, and she chose Ben. With the birth of Ben's and Mary's child, however, the enmity between the brothers ceased. Not long after this, Ben becomes infatuated with a gypsy and agrees to join her camp. Ned, with the help of his father, gets Ben out on the open sea in a small boat, hoping thus to imprison him until the gypsies shall have gone. A storm comes up, and in a quarrel which ensues, the boat is overturned and Ned is swept away. Ben reaches a point of rock where his brother is clinging, but the deformed boy has only a few moments left to live. Before he dies he wins Ben's promise to be faithful to his wife and child.