The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-10-21
CHAPTER !
ALL AT SEA.


ALL AT SEA.
a sail on the larboard bowl" shouted
the lookout, clinging to the fore-top-
gallant stays Of the armed cruiser Sea
Hawk.
Can you make her out2" called up
Captain Ralph Denham, tall, we'll
built, handsome young man, in the un-
dress naval uniform peculiar to Colo
nial officers in the service of England.
This was in the year 1895, when the
ties between the motherland and the
American Colonies were strong; out
side foes forcing them to unite for mu-
tual protection, and causing them to
overlook the differences that were yet
to rend them asunder.
In reply to the Captains question,
Can you make her out?" the lookout
took a longer and more careful view OF
the strange craft that had attracted his
attention; then he called out:
,, She lies low down, sir. Seems to
have rakish masts, and is heading to-
wards Montauk."
} AS the reader knows, Montauk is the
extreme southeastern peninsula of Long
Island, where the cliffs rise boldly up
from the sea, and where, even at this
early date, fires were kept burning at
night for the guidance Of ships sailing
into the Sound, or seeking from Allan
tic storms the protection Of the Great
Bay to the north.
Captain Denham turned to the
smooth-faced young man standing near
and in a voice in which authority and
courtesy were blended said:
Lieutenant Dayton, take glass, go
aloft, and see if you can make out the
stranger"
AYE. aye. sir" replied the handsome
youth, and, taking telescope from the
stand at the head Of the companion
way, he sprang into the mizzen- mast
shrouds and went up easily and swiftly
till he stood on the topgallant-yard.
with one arm thrown lightly around the
stay.
There was a soft, warm breeze blow
ing from the south. 1t scarcely ruilled
the surface Of the sea, but it filed the
upper sails on the tapering masts, caus-
ing the stately vessel to glide with a
wonderfully graceful motion, as if pro-
PEELED by some invisible power.
well, Dayton called up the Cap
tain, who was now standing impatiently
ny luc dG lAC hACCl, "AdS - ollS.
. "A war ship, sir, replied the young
officer.
!. Her fag?"
She flies none. Every stitch Of can
vas is spread, and she comes from the
south"
And is making for Montauk?"
yes, sir"
That is very strar Se," muttered the
Captain.
He took turn on the quarterback,
then picking up telescope he looked in
the direction of the stranger. now visi.
BILE to the unaided eye as a white speck
on the far-off horizon, where the blue
sky and the blue ocean met.
After an eager survey Of some min.
utes the Captain called out to Lieuten.
ant Dayton again:
Did you ever see the Adventure Gal
ley"
"Where:"
Last year, in New York" The Lieu.
tenant looked again at the stranger
and added, with some excitement: And
that is the Adventure Galley or he'
ghost"
All right. Mr.. Dayton" said the
Captain. Come down."
The young officer descended with o
speed that to a landsman would have
seemed downright recklessness.
But there were no landsmen on the
Sea Hawk.
. Her crew, one hundred and thirty in
number, were all in the prime Of life.
Stafwart, bearded and bronzed, yet as
neat in their attire as if ready for in
spection.
The uniformity of their dress would
have told the stranger that they were
not mere sailors. But even the un-
practiced eye could see this was not
merchant ship.
Every pin was polished; every brass
article shone like mirror; every rope
was taut and in place. The decks were
as clean and white as good house.
wife's kitchen floor, and such parts az
were painted looked as If they had just
been under the brush.
About the masts, in well-oiled racks,
were boarding pixies ranged ready to
hand, and beneath them, with grap-
ping hooks attached, were neatly
coiled ropes.
On either side there were ten port
holes, through which-now that the
ports were open-twenty great guns
looked out.
!; But these formidable weapons were
dwarfed by a long brass swivel gun
amidships, which must have been the
particular pet Of the sailors, for it's ex-
posed surface shone like mass Of gold
Briefly, the Sea Hawk was a cruiser,
fitted out under the directions Of Colo
mel Richard Livingstone-then in COM
mand OF the New York Colonial militia
and intended to destroy the pirates,
who at that time were plundering the
neighboring seas, and even making
marauding expeditions into the peace
full bays and harbors on the coast.
Two years prior to the date OF our
story, Colonel Livingstone had commits
stoned Captain William Kidd to protect
the commerce OF the Colonies from
piracy, put as that gentleman sailed
away and was never seen again, the
general belief was that Captain William
Kidd had gone to the bottom in some
storm, or, still more sad, may have
have fallen a victim TO the pirates he
was sent out to suppress.
One thing was certain, the depreda-
tions on the seas still continued, and,
as a consequence, the Sea Hawk was
fitted out and placed under the COM
mand &c the gallant young sailor, Cap
tain Ralph Denham, Of Sag Harbor,
Long Island.
At that time New York was compara-
lively of much less commercial import
ance than ut nrAcent nnd tha hava of
eastern Long Island were moro ire
quently visited by ships than the beau
tiful harbor into which the Hudson
apoyrtnc