Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-07-01
ON THE IRON DUKE.
BY CHARLES b. LEWIS.

My story properly begins in one OF the
land counties of England, and there ar
scores of people yet living who can relate
all the particulars up to a certain point.
AS a beginning, a %rector's son fell in love
with a country gentleman's daughter. The
young man, though brought up under the
g~entlest influences, was all that was bad
at the age of 20. He was a roysterer, 4
poacher, a gambler, a race track man and
outlawed by his family. Like many an
other scamp, he was good looking and had
a captivating way, and Mary Sinclair was
by no means his first conquest. She was
the daughter of a rich gentleman and a
girl far above George Early in the social
scale and perhaps she took to him because
there was no one to speak a word in hi.
favor. At any rate, they were in love be.
fore her parents suspected anything Of the
sort, and they made the discovery just in
time to prevent an elopement and a great
scandal.
Her father tried threats, but they would
not work on the %rector's son. Then he
tried to bride him to leave the country,
but was only laughed at. Folks said that
the young man really desired to marry the
girl, and that perhaps they would have
come out all right in the end, but the Sin
Glars had other prospects for the daughter
and bitterly opposed the match. So OBJ
stinate was tho girl and so determined the
young man that she was locked up in her
room, and he was sent to Jail on some
charge that might otherwise have been
overlooked, 1t was while he was in limbo
that it was decided to send her out to ia
maica in charge of an aunt to pass a year
among relatives. Inside of a week their
passage had been secured on the Iron Duke,
a sailing ship, and the craft was ready to
sail.
l was an apprentice ON board of the Iron
Duke, and so l can give you full particu-
lars of what may be called the last half OF
the story. There were five passengers in
all, being Mary Sinclair, her aunt, a Mr..
Mosher and his wife and a young man
named Brown. The girl fought against
the decision of her father and vowed that
she would drown herself at tho first oppor-
tunity. For this reason the father accom-
panied her on board and told the story to
the captain and gave her into his charge.
Mary was quiet enough, however. Shs
was even gay as we hauled out Of dock at
Liverpool and took the towline of a tug.
What had caused the change in her no one
knew, but the aunt and the captain agreed
that she had probably decided to submit
to the inevitable with the best grace pos
sible. On the day before we hauled out Of
dock, which was the day Mary came
aboard, / was sent to a certain sailors
boarding house on an GRAND, and while
there l saw the boatswain of our ship in
close and suspicious conversation with .
strange young man whom | knew to be a
landsman.
l saw money pass between them and
overheard q few words of their converse
ton; but, being busy, the affair went out
of my mind. What called it up again was
the sight of the young landsman OF
decks as one of our crew three hours later,
while the one eyed man, whom ! knew
had signed articles, had taken his depar-
ture. An exchange of men had been made
for money, as is often done just as a ship
Ia leaving port, but it was mono Of my
business, and l had nothing to say. 1t
was the presence of George Early on the
deck of the Iron Duke which had wrought
the sudden change in Mary Sinclair, but
Of that mont Of US knew anything. The
aunt did not know the young man by
sight, and so no was safe in planning as
he did.
A ships crew is made up Of able sea-
men, ordinary sealEen and landsmen, and
until the watches are set and the officers
get to remember faces and names most
any sort of shift car be made. Early had
taken tho place Of a landsman, of which
tyun hOl tnop chipnoI ona oc ha uyo0
young, strong and active there was III
doubt Of his pulling through, though he
would be made a drudge Of and have no
sympathy from the officers. We were
hardly clear Of the docks when l heard the
captain and mate speaking of him and
wondering who he was and what had driv.
en- a smart young nan like him to sea,
and that made me take notice of him and
get In his way for a word or two. The
apprentices did not berth with the fore
castle hands, but in the house with the
carpenter and sailmaker, and were con-
sidered as belonging aft. The young man
was glad enough to meet my advances half
way, and in the course Of a couple of days
l knew the reason why.
After q conversation during his watch
off duty, in which he praised and flattered
me without stint, he asked me to carry a
note from him to Mary Sinclair. was
surprised that q common sailor should even
know the name of a passenger, but he told
me a slick story and worked on my SYM
pathies, and / finally agreed to do 1t. 1t
was an easy thing for a boy who was rum
ming about the ship and In the cabin on err
rands to hand a note to a passenger, and
the girl put herself in my way to receive
II, as II she were expecting some such
thing. A few hours later l carried her
written answer back to Early. and moth.