Richland beacon., 1880-04-17
THE YOUNG DESERTEH.
By WILLIAM COMSTOCK.

A great favorite in our frigate a.
particularly in the maintop, was Won,
Paul Edwards-as he was registered; -:
.he p'lrser's books; though there WEI.
hlnts now and then thrown ont thai l..
real rame was Stanley, and that he va,
the scion Of noted English family. +.
was said that very early in life he :,
duarrcled with his high-born rela,iv.
and left them. Since then he had ,.-
SUED rowing life with little prcs,rc.
of ever being other than "a poor nlIr..
ing of the Storm" wearing out Ills liio
on the rolling pillows, and finally sink
ing into an obscure grave, unhoncred
and unknown.
At least Paul seemed to have no am
bition to be anything more than an act
i've and enterprising maintop-man, first
on the yard in a storm and the last to
leave the post of danger, whatever it
might happen to be.
He was still quite young, not more
than 10. Had he no motherNno sisters
no brother? Had he no yearning for
the companions of his childhood?
If go, he never mentioned them. 9th
er young seamen would sometimes
speak Of kind sister, brother or a
sweetheart whom they had left behind
Ihem. but Paul Edwards was silent as
the grave in relation to his antecedents
and the people among whom his early
years had been passed. One might have
imagined that he wao child of the
sea, one who had never been on shore
at all; for he never made mention of
the land or anything that grew upon it.
All his thOughts-an his conversation
were o. the sea.
This might have continued to be the
case with Paul Edwards till old age
blunted his faculties, and the wheel ut
the cistern could no longer turn round.
If nature had not implanted in the two
sexes q mutual regard. if feminine
beauty had not an attraction which
nothing else earthly can withstand.
We lay at Callao. The crew had lib
erty on shore. A part of them went at
time, spending forty-eight hours in
Callao and Lima.
Naren the maintop-men took their
turn On shore, Paul was of the number.
In the evening Paul and several 9TH
ers visited the theater in Lima and wit
messed the performance of Rolla -
avery different play from our Pizarro:
or. the Death OF Ro!la."
When, in the last scene, the High
Priest of the Sun stabbed himself w;.h
an arrow, there was a general laugh
among the audience, as the suicidal &C.
clesiastic had been from the first the
persistent enemy of Cora.
But Paul could easily distinguish
from this general merriment a slight
cry as of terror or sympathy, and, me-
chanically turning his head to see from
whom it proceeded, his eyes enconn-
tered the loveliest features that he had
ever looked upon.
It was the countenance of young
Spanish beauty from which the momen-
tary trouble was just passing away, like
a thin cloud from the morning star; and,
as if suddenly recollecting that what
she had witnessed was only simulated
suffering, her features were Lit up by
smile. She would, probably. have said,
if questioned on the subject, that she
was laughing ut her own folly.
Paul did not speculate on ne subject.
He had. simply witnessed Spanish
beauty in two phases-the sad and the
mirthful. All this passed in amoment,
and yet on the mind Cf the young top
man it left an impression never to Oe
eradicared.
The immediate result was that when,
at the end OF their forty eight hours,
the mai1topmen returned to che ship,
Paul was not among them. At first it
was surmised that he had been robbed
and murdered, as the officers averred,
one and all, that he would never be
voluntary deserter.
But scarcely two weeks had passed
when tall Spaniard or Cholar came
off to us in his canoe and obtained an
interview with the Captain of the frig-
ate.
"That man is after blood money"
said Bill Regan, Captain of the main
op, after having watched the motions
of the stranger few moments.
Scarcely had the informer left when
the boatswain's whistle rang through
the ship, and the name of VS.
was loudly called.
W s. made Ms appearance III
the gangway, and the Captain conferred
with him long time.
As it was remembered that Paul Ed
wards was last seen in the company of
this VS., the crew inferred
that the Cholar in his canoe had come
on board to inform against Paul. and
had mentioned the fact that W
S. knew where he was concealed.
Be that as it may, the master-at-arms
and boatswain's mate went on shore
that verge day, and returned in the
evening with Paul in their company.