Show THE LOVES 0 f the LADY ARABELLA by MOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL copyright lom bobba SYNOPSIS r fc L at 14 years of age admiral sir peter bas s nephew ml deeply in love y at elret sight with lady arabella stor tj mont who spurned hla attentions the V lad an orphan was given a berth as ald hapman on the ajax by his uncle allea t nephew of sir thomas f became the boys pal they attended a theater where hawkshaw a nephew saw lady arabella vernon met philip overton next in line for sir thomas vernon s estate they started a duel which was in y vernon overton and hawks haws nephew found themselves attract t td by pretty lady arabella CHAPTER III continued the frenchmen thought they had us we heard afterward that a prize crew was already told oft to take us into coranna corunna Cor unna but no man or boy on the ajax dreamed ot giving up the ship the ajax was cleared for action in eleven minutes and with four ensigns flying we headed or the ship of the line which was waiting for us with 1 her topsails top sails shivering the ajax had been lately coppered and with all sail to royals set legged it at a lively gait in spite ot the heavy sea which occasionally caused our lower deck guns to roll their noses in the water As we wallowed toward the ship ot the line which was the indomitable the frigate the neuv cring for a position on our starboard quarter to rake u seeing this the ajax came up a little into the wind which brought our broadside to bear directly 1 on the and she hedged off a little the steadiness coolness and pre caslon with which the ship was han died astonished my young mind I 1 knew very well that it we were de feared sir peter hawkshaw would yu stand no show of leniency for there was no doubt that owing to our new as copper we could easily have out sailed y the frenchmen but sir peter pre to outfight them even against i desperate odds the officers and men had entire con A in sir peter and in the ship H t and went into action wah the heart i est goodwill imaginably the people 9 were amused by two powder monkeys f coming to blows in the magazine passage over which one would be en titled to the larger share ot prize money the gaiety gayety of the men was contagious every mans face wore a grin and when the word was given to take in the royals and send down the yards furl all stay sails and the flying lib they literally rushed into the rig gang with an aye aye sir that seemed to the deck the admiral who had been on the abridge left t and went below pres antly he came up he was in his best with a gold hilled sword his order of the bath on his breast and he wore a cocked hat As he passed me mr buxton who was stepping along briskly said pardon me sir peter but a french musket wants no better target than a cocked hat sir replied sir peter I 1 have al ways fought in a cocked hat and silk I 1 stockings as becomes a gentleman and I 1 shall always fight in a cocked hat and silk stockings damme mr buxton passed on laughing js now I 1 had taken the opportunity i after we had sighted the frenchman to run below and put on my newest uniform with silk stockings and to f get out several cambric pocket hand kerchiefs and I 1 bad also scented my a self liberally with some attar of rose tuf 4 which I 1 had bought in portsmouth F sir peter putting his fingers to his fy nose sniffed the attar of rose and speedily identifying me he surveyed me calmly all over while I 1 blushed and found myself unai to stand still under his searching gaze when he spoke however it was in words of praise nephew you have the right idea it Is a holiday when we meet the ene ay and officers should dress accord angly mr buxton who was standing near sneaked off a little he bad on an old coat euch as I 1 had never seen him wear and had removed hla stock aad tied a red silk around his neck he certainly did not loek quite the gentleman tho in being then about halt a calle distant bore up and fired a shot to windward which was an invitation to come on and take a licking or give one the ajax was no misled into t the rashness of coming on with the S hanging on her quarter but byj bluffing up suddenly tor she answered her helm beautifully sho brought the frigate directly under her guns and thai fetched the indomitable as as she could trot the ajax opened the ball with ont of her long twenty fears sir peter and ai pointing the gun and immediately after the whole roared out had if struck the frigate full it would have sent her to abe bottom but by hauling b the wind she only received about halt the discharge that however waa terrible her was cut off and hung 0 er her side in a mass of torn rigging her roeln mast was wounded and it was plain that our broadside had killed and wounded many men and had als mounted several guns her wheel however was uninjured and in an in conceivably short time the wreck of the mast had been cut away and wearing with the wind in her favor she got into a raking position on our port quarter and gave us a broadside that raked us from stern to stem the savage which dwells in man had made me perfectly indifferent to the loss of life anthe french ship but when a man dropped dead at my side I 1 fel into a of rage and I 1 roust honestly admit of fear sly sta alon was amidships and I 1 recalled with a dreadful sinking of the heart that it was commonly known as the slaughter house from abe execution generally done there I 1 looked down and saw the mans blood soaking into the sand with which the deck was plentifully st and I 1 richard glyn longed to desert my station and run below but aa I 1 turned I 1 caught sight of giles vernon a little distance away from me he was smiling and waving his aliat liat and he cried out see boys the big un is coming to take her punishment the indomitable bad then approached pro ached to within a quarter of a mile and as a heavy sea was kicked up by the wind and all three of the ships were rolling extremely she bluffed up to deliver her broadside and at that moment three thundering cheers broke from the throats on the ajax and they were instantly answered by a we were so near that every shot told cheer as great from the frenchman owing to the sharp roll most of the french shot went a little too high just above the heads of the marines who were drawn up in the waist of the ship my paroxysm of fear still held me but when I 1 saw these men with the one proud word gibraltar writ ten on their hats standing steadily as it at parade in abe midst of the hur of fire the men as cool as their officers shame seized me tor my cow ardace from that on I 1 gradually mas my alarms I 1 here mention a strange thing as long as I 1 was a coward at heart I 1 was also a villain for it one single shot could have kent the frenchmans French mans body to the sea and bis soul to hell I 1 would have fired that shot bit when I 1 was released from the nightmare of fear a feeling of morcy stole into my soul I 1 began to feel for our brave enemy and to wish that we might capture him with as little loss as possible the cannonade now increased but the wind which Is usually deadened continued to rise and both the heavy ships were almost rolling their yard arms in the water the tables fire was exceedingly steady but not well directed while after ten minutes of a close fire it was seen that we were fast shooting her spars out of her the frigate much disabled by the loss of her mast had fallen off to leeward and never got close enough i again to be of any assistance to her consort the people began to clamor to get alongside and alongside we got afia we the indomitable occasionally casio nally to prevent being raked his metal began to tell and we were much cut up aloft besides hav ing been hulled repeatedly but we came on steadily the man at the wheel bad nearly all his clothes torn off him by a splinter but with the spirit of a seaman he stood at his post unflinchingly never letting go of the for one moment when wo were within a couple of pistol shots the frenchman opened a smart musketry fire sir peter had left the bridge for a moment and was crossing the deck when a ball went through bis hat knocking it off and tearing it to pieces he stooped down picked it up and then called out to a powder boy who was passing go to my cabin and tn the upper drawer ol 01 the locker to the left of my bed place you will see two cocked hate bring me the newest one hanged it not wear a decent hat in spite of the frenchman and this man was ruled by his wife we hove to about a cable s length from the frenchman and then the fight began in earnest we were so near that every shot told the french man made creat neav alth his main TV vr deck lattery and our salle and rigging soon were so cut up that wo came foul a few minutes later we were jammed fast but nobody on cither ship wished it otherwise the main yard swung dl erectly over our poop and capt gull ford himself mado it baet to our alz aen rigging the frenchman how ever was not yet beaten at the guns and the firing was so heavy on both sides that a pall of smoke enveloped both ships this was to our addan tage for tho frigate having got some sail on the stump of her mizzenmast now approached but the wind drifted the smoke so between her and the two fighting ships that she could not in the dim twilight plainly discern friend from foe especially as both were painted black and we swung together with the sea and wind when the smoke drifted oft the gallant but un fortunate found herself dl erectly under our broadside we gave her one round from our main battery and she troubled us no more of my own feelings I 1 can only say that I 1 welcomed the return of my cour ago so rapturously I 1 felt capable of heroic things occasionally I 1 lecog sir peter as he flirted flitted past he seemed everywhere at once and I 1 perceived that although capt gull ford was technically fighting the ship sir peter wag by no means an idle spectator my gun was on the er side all the time and several of the guns on that side became als abbed and officers were wounded or killed it brought giles vernon quite close to me through tho smoke and the fast falling darkness lighted only by the red flash of tha guns and the glare of the battle lanterns I 1 could see his face he never lost his smile and his ringing voice always led the cheering presently tho frenchmans French mans fire slackened and then a dull rumbling sound was beard in the depths of the indomitable followed by a roar and streams of light from the the forward magazine had exploded and it seemed in the awful crash and blaze as it all the masts and spars went skyward with the rags of the sails and i solemn hush and silence followed the explosion in another instant I 1 heard sit peters sharp olce shouting call all hands to board boatswain cheer the men up with the pipe I 1 and then the clear notes of the boat swains pipe floated out into the darkness and with a 5 ell the men gathered at the bulwarks bulwa on tho french ship they appeared to be dazed by the ex and we could see only a few officers running about and trying to collect the men in another instant I 1 saw mr bux ton leap upon the hammock netting and about to spring when a figure be hind him seized him by the coat tails and dragging him backward ha meas ared his length on tho deck the fig ure was giles vernon after me he cried to the first lieutenant and the next moment lie made bis spring and landed the first man on the indomitable s deck As soon as the ship was given up we hauled up our courses and ran off a little rove new braces and made ready to capture the frigate which al though badly cut up showed no dispo to surrender and stood gallant ly by her consort in halt an hour we were ready to go into action again it necessary with another ship ot the line we got within range the sea bad gone down much and giving the xanthippe xantippe Xan tippe our broadside brought down the tricolor which the frenchmen had nailed to the stump of the mizzen mast she proved to have on board near a million sterling which with the indomitable was the richest prize taken in tor years preceding the admiral and captain got 11 sterling each the senior officers received 2500 sterling each the juniors got 2 sterling the mid and petty officers 1500 sterling and eiery seaman got sterling and the landsman landsmen lands men and boys sterling in prize money and I 1 say it with diffidence we got much more in glory tor the two french ships were not only beaten but beaten in tho most manner sir peter ever after kept the anniversary as bis day of glory putting on the same uniform and cocked hat be had j worn and going to church it on shore with lady hawkshaw on bis arm and giving thanks in a loud voice TO BG CONTINUED |