Show SYNOPSIS at U years of age admiral sir peter nephew Ill chard glyn fell deeply in loe at first bight with lady arabella stormont who spurned his attentions the lad an orphan was given a berth as midshipman on the ajax by hia uncle giles vernon nephew of sir thomas vernon became the bove pal they attended a theater where nephew saw lady arabella vernon met philip overton next in line for sir thomas vernon s estate they started a duel which was in vernon overton and beaw s nephew found themselves attracted by pretty lady arabella the ajax in battle defeated 1 rench warships in the mediterranean richard glyn got 2 prize money lie was called home by lady hawkshaw as he was about to blow in his earnings with ernon CHAPTER IV continued aej that night I 1 made a strange and terrible discovery lady arabella was a gamester ga of the most desperate character in ready money as far as her allowance as a minor permitted and in promises to pay when she came into hr fortune as far as such promises would be accepted but they were not much favored by the gentle men and ladles who played with her tor the chances ot her marrying before her majority were so great that her I 1 0 U e were not considered of much and found few takers even when accompanied by lady arabella s most brilliant smiles for your true gamester Is impervious to smiles or frowns insensible to beauty m short all his faculties are concentrated on the odd trick A great mob of fine people came and there was a supper and many wax lights and all the accessories of a fashionable rout I 1 wandered about knowing no one but observant of all I 1 noticed that a very clever device was hit upon by lady arabella and others who like high play which lady hawkshaw disliked very much the stakes were nominally very small but in reality they were very large shil angs actually signifying pounds all ot the people who practiced this were la one of the lower rooms while sir peter who was allowed to play six tenny whist and those who in good faith observed lady hawkshaw s wishes were in a room to themselves I 1 must not forget to mention among the notable things at this rout ladya hawkshaw Hawks baw s turban it was a con of feathers flowers beads and every other species of ornament the whole capped the celebrated 1 tiara which bad been bought from the portuguese and the diamond necklace beamed upon her black velvet bosom sir peter seemed quite enchanted with her appearance as she loomed a head tallar than any woman in the rooms and evidently considered her a combi nation of venus and minerva not that the pair ceased squabbling on count I 1 think they disagreed vio bently on every detail of the party and sir peter was routed at every point among those who did not play was daphne then quite as tall as I 1 and well info her sixteenth ear I 1 could not but acknowledge her to be a pret ty slip of a girl and we sat in a cor ner and I 1 told her about our bloody doings on the abat ajat until she stopped her ears and begged me to desist I 1 regarded daphne with condescension then but perceived that sho was sharp of wit and nimble of tongue much more more so than her cousin lady arabella after a while I 1 left daphne and went back to watch lady arabella Ar abelli I 1 soon saw that she was a very poor blaer and lost continually but thit only whetted her appetite for the game presently a gentleman entered and walking about although he deemed to be known to everybody present approached me it was capt overton as handsome as distrait as on tho first and only time I 1 bad seen him much to my surprise be recognized recognised me and came up and spoke to me making me a very handsome hind some compit mant upon the performances of the alax and Is my cousin mr vernon here to ne asked smiling I 1 reeled I 1 supposed not ae bad re no card when we had parted that morning and I 1 knew of none flace 1 I shall be very gleto biet him aid overton 7 think him a fine fel low la spit of our disagreement I 1 tee you 1 I have no aeta tor play strange te acy 00 oo not try to acquire it he aldi it ie wrong you my depend upon jt but indulgence tolt wake be lieve it to be time you jook at looking i I 1 we to hoar sin men thoad la a 0 bieh A S V A a aw 1 n si li in and well bred sinners as I 1 saw around mo who never alluded to it except ol 01 as it were on sunday when they all declared themselves miserable sinners or that occasion anly overton then sauntered over toward lady arabella who teemed to recognize his approach by instinct she turned to him her cards in her hands and flushed deeply he gazed at her stern ly as in reproof and after a slight remark or two moved off to her evi dent chagrin daphne being near me then I 1 said to her with a forced laugh what Is the meaning I 1 beg ou to tell me of the pantomime between lady arabella and capt overton daphne hesitated and then said capt overton was one of the gay est men about london until a year or two ago since then it is said he has turned lle it is believed he goes to mr wesleye meetings although he has never been actually caught there he lives plainly and some say he gives his means to the poor he will not go to the races any more nor play and he does not like to see arabella play what has he to do with arabella nothing that I 1 know of except that she likes him he does not like to see any one play now although be gamed very high himself at one time I 1 had seen no particular marks of in on overton s part toward lady arabella but watching her I 1 saw in a very little while the deepest sort of interest on her part toward him she even left the card table tor him and kept fast hold of him I 1 recalled the wiy she bad striven to attract his attention at the play that night more than two years before and my jeal oua soul was illuminated with the knowledge that she was infatuated with overton and I 1 was right some time afterward whom should I 1 see walking in but giles vernon lady hawkshaw received him most graciously I 1 went up to him and asked how came you here did you think dicky that I 1 meant to let you keep up a close blockade of the lovely arabella no indeed I 1 got a card at seven clock this even ing by working all day tor it and I 1 mean to reconnoiter recon the ground as well as ou I 1 thought when be saw lady ara bella with overton that even giles vernons Ver assurance would scarcely be equal to accosting her he marched I 1 could not but acknowledge her to be a pretty slip of a girl himself up with all the coolness in the world claiming kinship boldly with overton who coulden couldn t forbear smiling and immediately began to try tor favor in marabellas Ara bellas eyes but here I 1 saw what I 1 never did before or since with giles vernon a woman who was utterly indifferent to him and actually seemed to dislike him she scarcely noticed him at first and when he would not be rebuffed was 0 o saucy to him that I 1 wondered he stood for it for a minute dut stand it he did with the evident de termination to conquer her indifference or dislike whichever it might be overton seized tho excuse of giles approach to escape and left the bouse which did not causo lady arabella to like gilea any better she returned to the card table giles with hor and by the exercise of the most exquisite ingenuity he managed to lose some money to her which somewhat restored her good humor at last the rout was over and soon after midnight all had gone I 1 was shown to a bedroom with only a parti alon wall between mo and sir peter and lady so I 1 had the benefit of the nightly lecture lady hawkshaw gae sir peter with the most unfailing regularity on this particular night ahoy came nearer agreeing than usual both of them ats bussing cussing I 1 ady marabellas Ara bellas marked fondness tor play and lady hawl haw told of a late escapade of lady marabellas Ara bellas in which a certain ace of clubs was played by her the said ice of clubs being fashioned out of black court plaster and white card board when detected lady arabella professed to the whole thing a joep but as nor adversary at the time was a very old lady whose eyesight was notoriously detective tec tive it took of I aidy ara bolla fl wit and youth to carry it off successfully which however she did As for br trinkets lady ara balla as abw lys buying them and al aye taking at distaste to them so she alleged and lady hawkshaw sue the took the place of shillings at the card table sir peter groaned at this and remarked that the oarl her father was the worst gamester be knew incept her grandfather I 1 not remember any more I 1 tried to avoid beriah afat they were cioe but every word was distinctly audible to me until at this point I 1 fell asleep and dreamed that lady hawkshaw was appointed to command the ajax and I 1 was to report on board next day CHAPTER V I 1 spent several weeks in sir peter a house and strange weeks they were in many respects I 1 never had the leaea complaint to make of the kindness of sir peter or lady hawkshaw except that lady hawkshaw insisted on in resting my money all except ten pounds she gave me charging me to be careful with it but sir peter secretly lent me a considerable sum to be repaid at my majority Si was actively at war with all the women folk in the household from his lady down except little ne lie assumed to conduct everything in a large town house in berkely square exactly as it he were on the alax 74 he desired to have the lazy london servants called promptly at two bells five in the morn ing and to put them to holystoning holy stoning and swabbing off the decks as he called it of course the servants rebelled and sir peter denounced them as mutineers muti and would have dearly liked to put them all in double irons he divided the scullions scull ions and chambermaids into watches and when they laughed in his face threat ened them with the articles of war he wished everything in the house stowed away in the last compass sible and when lady hawkshaw had her routs sir peter watch in hand superintended super intended the removal of the fur kiture from the reception rooms which he called clearing for action and dis charged any servant who was not smart at his duty he had a room which he called his study fitted up with all the odds and ends he had collected during 40 years in the davs and here he held whit might be called drumhead court martl als and dis rated the domestic staff fined them swore at them and bitterly regretted that the land law did not admit of any proper discipline whatever it may be imagined what a scene of discord this created although sir peter was of so kind and generous a nature that the servants took more from him than from most masters and indeed rather diverted themselves with his fines and punishments and when dismissed declined to leave his service much to his wrath and chagrin the acme was reached when he attempted to put the cook in the brig as he called a dank cellar which he determined to utilize for mutineers muti as on board ship the cook a huge creature three times as big as sir peter boarded him in his own lar den and brandishing a rolling pin that was quite as dangerous as a cut lass announced that she would no longer submit to be governed by the articles of war as administered by sir peter she was sustained by a vociferous ci chorus of housemaids house maids and kitchen girls who flocked behind her the men rather choosing to remain in the background and grinning sad to say admiral sir peter hawkshaw was conquered by the virago with the rolling pin and was forced to surrender to the mutineers muti which he did with a very bad grace at that juncture lady hawkshaw hove in sight and bearing down upon the company from below stairs dispersed them all with one wave of her hand sir peter complained bitterly and lady hawkshaw promised bof bring them to summary punishment but she warned sir peter that his methods were becoming as intolerable to her as to the rest of the family and sir peter after a round or two for the honor of his flag hauled down his col ore this became especially necessary as his retirement was at hand consequent more upon an obstinate rheumatism that fixed itself upon him than his age there was doubt whether he would get the which he certainly well deserved on his retirement there was some sort of hitch about 1 although after the capture of the two french ships had been promoted to the office of ad lady hawkshaw however went down to the admiralty n a coach with six horses and three footmen and four outsiders outriders out riders and marching in upon the first lord opened fire on him with the result that sir peter was gazetted the very next week little daphne who had always sub to sir peters whims did so more than ever after he hid been vanquished by the took and sir peter swore twenty times a week that daphne had the stuff in her to mike s sea officer of the first order TO CONTINUED |