The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-04-09
THE OLD MAID CAPTAIN.


as she sat sewing in the cozy ladies'
cabin of the vessel to which she be-
longed, land yet was never wrecked.
No ship | have been on ever lost so
much as spar while was aboard. Yes,
my life has been very commonplace.
There has been no romance connected
with it, Stop. though; | did play a very
small part in romance once. That
happened fully 20 years ago. l some
times wonder if itSvasn't all dream.
1t seems stranger to me now than it did
even then" The stewardess paused,
with PARKWAY look in her eyes.
When was young went on sailing
'essels instead of steamers" she con-
tinued. About 20 years ago visited
some friends in the country after a
7oyage, and then came to New York to
find a ship. The agent went to told me
that l could go as stewardess on ship
bound to Australia. The skipper said
he, lis good man, but he's irregular old
maid | said | didn't mind old maids,
and so it was settled that l was to go
with the old maid captain The next
day l went aboard and reported to my
new captain. He was called Harris. He
was short and rather slightly built, with
mild gray eyes, but with full, heavy
black beard. He seemed about 35 years
old. His hands were small and delicate,
and his voice was high and just trifle
shrill, and he walked up and down the
deck with a mincing sort of gait.
Thinks l, Capt. Harris, if you wasn't
a skipper you'd have made first-rate
single woman | regularly despised
him until the first storm came on. Then
he went on deck and handled the ship
in such a way that l saw he was the
best navigator had ever sailed under
After that began to think better of the
old maid captain. never saw a captain
so considerate of his men. If one of
them was the least bit sick, the captain
would go into the forecastle and look
after him as tenderly as any nurse. And
when the weather was bad, he would
not let the mates make the men do any
work that WASH really necessary. The
mates used to make fun of the captain
behind his back for being SO considerate
of his men, but somehow | thought it
was a good trait in him.
Il began to watch the captain closely,
and l,soon made up my mind that there
was some mystery about that man.
Once on pleasant evening | came on
deck and saw the captain looking at the
red sunset with tears in his eyes. An
other time, when | thought he was on
deck, | went into the after cabin for
something, and | found him there.
What do you think he was doing? Why,
he was sewing, and crying into the
bargain. They are right in calling you
the old maid captain thinks |.
"The mate, Mr.. Wood, was tall, fine
looking down-easter. The captain
seemed to like him, but thought how
much he mustenvy his size and strength.
The captain, though, was much the
smarter man of the two. The mate,
somehow, seemed to take fancy to me.
| was young in those days. He was al
ways running into the cabin on some
preteXt to see me. But | never en-
couraged him. You see, was engaged
to be the mate of another mate; and
that mate, poor fellow, was lost at sea
a few years aftenward. Although the
captain didn't seem to care much about
me, he didn't fancy the mates taking
liking to me. That used to puzzle me.
"One morning when we were in the
South Pacific, some one cried out that
there was a small boat With several
people in it in sight on the lee bow. We
bore away for the boat, and pretty soon
it was alongside the ship. Five men and
little boy climbed up from the boat to
our deck, and we gave them warm well
come. The boy couldn't have been over
eight years old. He was bright-look-
ing little fellow, with long curly hair.
Capt. Harris took to him at once. He
carried the child into the after cabin
and put him in his own berth, and took
him something to eat, while the rescued
men were telling us how they came to be
in the the open boat. They belonged to
a bark which was bound to New York,
but had sprung leak and had foun-
dered the day before. The crew left the
vessel in two boats just before she went
down, but when she did go under she
swamped one of the boats, and the cap
tain and seven men were thrown into
the water and drowned. The other boat,
with the mate in charge, managed to
keep afoat until we came up with it.
"The mate of the wrecked vessel, Mr..
Bradley. was a gray-haired, rough-look-
ing man, but he seemed to have kind
heart. Early in the evening. when he
was sitting in the forward cabin with
the second mate and myself, he told us
that the little boy. who was still in the
after cabin with Capt Harris, had been
shipwrecked twice before. The little
fellow was the son of sea captaiS, and
had been going to sea with his father
and mother ever since he was born.
About four years before, when the ship
on which this seagoing family were,
was nearing the English channel, a
heavy fog set in. The second mate was
in charge of the deck. and the captain,
with his wife and boy and the mate,
were at dinner. The captains wife hap
pened to think of something in the gal
ley that she wanted, and she went for
ward for it. Just then a big steamer
doomed up suddenly in the fog, and,
without any warning, struck the ship
sft and smashed in the cabin. The poor
captain was crushed to death, but the