Show E rm m aa I 1 A 21 L S STORY IRY OEM THE LOVES 10 a T LIS 0 of f the LADY Y ARABELLA RABELLA LA by MOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL u copyright 16 bobba merriu merrill co J SYNOPSIS kt U U 14 years ol 01 age admiral sir peter hawkshaw Hawk a nephew fell deeply in love at first sight ath w th tady I 1 ady arabella stor mont who spurned his attentions the lad an orphan was given a berth as m d shipman on the ajax by his uncle G les vernon nephew of sir tl TI omas vernon became the boys boy a pal they attended a theater where s nephew saw lady arabella arabelia vernon met phil p over ton next in line for S r thomas vernon a estate they started a duel which v m as in vernon overton and hawk a shaw haw s nept ew found e es attract ed by pretty lady arabella CHAPTER ill III continued the frenchmen thought they had us we beard heard afterward that a prize crew was already told off to take us into corunna coranna but no man or boy on the ajax dreamed ot of giving up the ship fhe rhe ajax was cleared for action in eleven minutes and with four ensigns flying we headed for the ship 0 of the line which was waiting for us with her topsails shivering the ajax had been lately coppered and with all sail to royals set legged it at a lively gait in spite of the heavy sea which occasionally caused our low lower erdeck deck guns to roll their noses in the water As we wallowed toward the ship of 0 f the line which was the indomitable the frigate the xantippe was maneus ering for a position on our starboard quarter to rake us seeing this the ajax came up a little into the wind which brought our broadside to bear directly on the xantippe and she hedged off a little the steadiness coolness and pre cislon with which the ship was han ban died astonished my young mind I 1 knew very well that if we were de dip feared sir peter hawkshaw would stand no show of leniency tor for there was no doubt that owing to our new copper we could easily have out sailed the frenchmen but sir peter pre berred to outfight them even against desperate odds the officers and men had entire con indence in sir peter and in the ship and vent went into action wi h the hearal est good goodwill will imaginable the people were amused by two powder monkeys coming to blows in the magazine passage over which one would be en titled to the larger share of prize money the 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 sta stay sails and the flying jib they literally rushed into the rig ging with an aye aye sir that seemed to shake the deck 4 the admiral who had been on the bridge left it and went below pres antly he came up he was in his best uniform with a 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 stockings as becomes a gentleman and I 1 shall always fight in a cocked hat and silk stockings damme mr buxton passed on laughing now I 1 had taken the opportunity after we had sighted the frenchman to run below and put on my newest uniform with silk stockings and to get out several cambric pocket hand ban d kerchiefs and I 1 had also scented my self liberally with some attar of rose which I 1 had bought in portsmouth sir peter putting his fingers to his nose sniffed the attar of rose and speedily identifying me he surveyed me calmly all over while I 1 blushed and found mys myself if anao una 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 my and officers should dress accord angly mr buxton who was standing dear near sneaked off a little he had on an old coat such as I 1 had never seen him wear and had removed his stock and tied a red silk handkerchief around his neck he ile certainly did not look quite the gentleman the in able being then about halt half a mile distant bore up and fired a shot to windward which was an invitation to come on and take a licking or ghe one the ajax was not misled into the rashness of coming on with the xantippe hanging on her quarter bu lulling up suddenly tor for she answered her helm beautifully she brought the frigate directly under her guns and that fetched the indomitable as fast as she could trot the ajax opened the ball with one of her long twenty fours ours sir peter himself and pointing the gun and immediately after the whole broadside roared out had it struck the figgate full it would have sent her to the bottom but by hauling quickly by the wind she only received about halt half the discharge that however was terrible her mizzenmast was cut off and hung over her side la in a mass u ot of torn rigging her mainmast was as wounded and it was plain that our broadside had killed and wounded many men and had dis mounted several guns her wheel however was uninjured and in an in conceivably short time the wreck ol 01 the mast had been cut away and wearing with the wind in her favor she got into a raking position on oil our port quarter and gave gae us a broadside that raked us from stern to stem the savage which dwells in man had made me perfectly indifferent to the loss ot of life on the french ship but when a man dropped dead at my side I 1 te fe I 1 into a passion of rage and I 1 must honestly admit of fear my sta tion was amidships and I 1 recalled with a dreadful sinking of the heart that it was commonly known as the slaughter house from the execution generally done there I 1 looked down and saw the mans man 5 blood soaking into the sand with which the deck was plentifully strewed and I 1 mchard richard glyn longed to desert my station and run below but as I 1 turned I 1 caught sight of giles vernon a little distance away from me ine he ile was smiling and waving his hat and be he cried out see bos bost the big un is coming to take her punishment the indomitable had then al ap pro preached 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 bio adside and at that moment three thundering cheers broke from the throats on the ajax and they were instantly answered by a A 0 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 ot 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 if at parade in the midst of the hur ot of fire the men as cool as their officers shame seized me for my cow ard ce froin from that on I 1 gradually teas 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 tor for if one single shot could have bent the frenchman s body to the sea and his soul to hell I 1 would have fired that shot but when I 1 was released from the nightmare of fear a feeling of m rcy stole stoie 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 table tables s fire was exceedingly steady but not well directed while after ten minutes of a close fire it was seen that we ne were fast shooting ting her spars out of her the frigate much disabled by the loss of her mast had fallen off never got close enough again to be of any assistance to her consort the ajas people began to clamor to get alongside and alongside we got As we neared the indomitable oc casio nally yawing 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 had nearly all his clothes torn off him by a 9 splinter but with the spirit of a true seaman he stood at his post unflinchingly never letting go of 0 the spokes for one moment when we were within a couple of pistol shots the frenchman opened a smart musketry fire sir peter bad had left the bridge for a moment and was crossing crosing cros ing the deck when a ball went through his 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 in the upper drawer of the locker to the left of my bed place you will see two cocked hats bring me the newest one hanged if not wear a decent hat in spite of the frenchman and this man was ruled by his wife we hove to about a cable cables s length from the frenchman and then the fight began in earnest we were so near that every shot told the french man mail made great olav with his main deck battery and our sails and soon so cut up that when we came foul a few minutes later were jammed fast bit b it nobody on either ship wished it otherwise ahe frenchman French mans s main mainyard yard swung ai 11 erectly over our poop and capt gull ford himself made it fast to our zen rigging the frenchman how ever was not yet beaten at the guns and the firing was so heavy on both sides that a pal pall of smoke enveloped both ships this was to our addan tage tor for the 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 off the gallant but un fo xantippe found herself dl ill erectly under our broadside we gave her one cound from our main battery and she troubled us no more of my own feelings I 1 can only say that I 1 w welcomed the return of my cour age so rapturously I 1 felt capable of heroic things occasionally I 1 lecog nihed sir peter is he flitted past he seemed everywhere at once and I 1 perceived that although capt guil gull foid ford was technically fighting the ship sir peter was by no means an idle spectator my gun was on the er side all the time and several of the guns on that hat side became d s abbed and officers were wounded or killed it brought giles vernoa vernon quite close to me through the smoke and the fast falling darkness lighted only by the red flash of the guns and the glare of the battle lanterns I 1 could see bis his face he never lost his sm ie and his ringing voice always led the cheering presently the French frenchman mans s fire slackened and then a dill rumbling sound was heard in the depths of the indomitable followed by a roar and streams of light from the tore hatch 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 a solemn hush and silence followed the explosion in another instant I 1 heard sir peter peters s sharp vo ce shouting call all hands to hoard board boatswain cheer the men up with mith the pipe and then the clear notes of the boat swain a pipe floated out into the dark ness and with a yell the men gathered at the bulwarks on the 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 coattails coat tails and dragging him backward he meag j ared his length on the deck the fig ure wa giles vemon vernon after me he cried to the first lieutenant and the next moment he made his 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 disposition to surrender and stood gallant ly by her consort in bait half an hour we were ready to go into action again if necessary with another ship of the line me got within range the se sea a h bad a d gone down much and giving the xantippe our broadside brought down the tricolor which the frenchmen had nailed to the stump ot of the mizzen mast she proved to have on board near a million sterling which with the indomitable was the richest prize taken in for years preceding the admiral and captain got 11 sterling each the senior officers rec received elied 2500 sterling each the juniors got ca 2 sterling the mid and petty officers 1500 sterling and every seaman got sterling and the landsmen and bos sterling in prize money and I 1 say it with diffidence we got much more in glory tor for the two french ships were not only beaten but beaten in the most seamanlike manner sir peter ever after kept the anniversary as his day ot of glory putting on the same uniform and cocked hat he had worn and going to church if on shore with lady hawkshaw on bis his arm and giving thanks in a loud voice TO BE CONTIN CONTINUED UrD |