Captain Ben Bobstay, a retired mariner, is fishing from the dock of a seaside resort. Mrs. Brownlow sends her two little children, Tommy and Molly, down to have him spin a yarn to them. Captain Ben begins and recounts the story of his early love (in the same village) for beautiful Mehitabel Lee. He tells of her father’s opposition to his love, and the intention of forcing Mehitabel to marry a rich man. The old salt then spins the tale of ‘his running off to sea, his adventures with the Hottentots after a ship wreck, where he is about to wed the princess who saved him when the vision of Mehitabel Lee comes to him and makes him remain true to his love. Then he escapes by a daring ruse. He is captured by pirates, and they are about to slay him when the chief’s daughter offers to marry him, and make him a partner with her father. Again Mehitabel’s image appears, and he stays steadfast. He flings himself into the sea where he swims for hours, and is rescued by a British Admiral who has a beautiful daughter. This damsel falls a victim to the salt’s fatal gift of beauty, and her father is persuaded to offer her to Ben. Mehitabel’s image intrudes once more, and Ben refuses. At last he lands safe and sound back in the quaint village, and he goes to Mehitabel’s house to find that she has indeed married the rich man, and he is taunted by her cruel father. As he is finishing his romance, the mother of the two children walks down the dock, and observes the portrait of Mehitabel which is in old Captain Ben’s watch. She shows him a duplicate of the picture in an old-fashioned miniature in her locket, about her neck. The old captain is dumbfounded but she laughs and insists that he come up with her to the veranda of their summer cottage. He follows her, and as he gets on the veranda a big limousine whizzes up, out pops the young husband, helping a quaint little old lady from it, with bound boxes and he leads her up the steps. “It is Grandma,” cry the children, and the daughter kisses the little old lady rapturously. Then she leads her to old Captain Ben. It is Mehitabel Lee. The old man rubs his eyes, and the two wipe their eyes. Captain Ben gallantly leads her to a seat on the veranda, and the daughter whispering takes the children inside, and beckons her husband to follow. The old one-time sweethearts are left alone to tell each other the tales of their past. “Where have you been?” asks grandmother Mehitabel.