The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1898-05-13
ON THE IRON DUKE.
BIZ CHARLES B. LEWIS.

BIZ CHARLES B. LEWIS.
My story properly begins in one of the
land counties of England, and there arc
scores of people yet living who can relate
| all tho particulars up to a certain point
AS beginning, rector's son fell in lovo
with country gentleman daughter. The
young man, though brought up under tho
gentlest influences, was all that was bad
| at the age of 20. He was a roysterer, a
poacher gambler, u race track man and
uutlawed by his family. Like many an
other scamp, he was good looking and had
| q captivating way, and Mary Sinclair was
by no means his first conquest. She was
the daughter of q rich gentleman and
| 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 his
| favor. At any rate, they were in love be-
fore her parents suspected anything of tho
sort, and they made tho discovery just III
time to prevent an elopement and great
scandal.
Her father tried threats, but they would
| not work on the reGtor's son. Then he
tried to bribc him to leave tho country,
but was only laughed at. Folks said that
the young man really desired to marry tho
girl, and that perhaps they would have
come out all right in the end, but the Sin
clairs had other prospects for the daughter
and bitterly opposed the match. So OBJ
stinate was the girl and so determined tho
| 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
, Tod 70 nd ont n 7
maica in charge of an aunt to pass year
| among relatives Inside of a week their
| passage had been secured on tho Iron Duke
q sailing ship, and the craft was ready to
| sail.
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, 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 the 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. She
was even gay as we naulcd Oae 81 +'eeh 1T
| Liverpool and took tho towline of IL tug
| 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 VIC hauled out of
| dock, which was the day Mary came
| aboard, was sont to Il certain sailors
| boarding house on an errand, and whil'
| there l saw the boatswain of our ship in
close and suspicious conversation with
| strange young man whom l knew to be Ii
| landsman.
| l saw money pass between them and
| overheard q few words Of their convcrsa-
ton; but, being busy, the affair went out
| of my mind. What called it up again was
tho sight of the young landsman on our
| decks as one of our crew three hours later
while tho ono eyed man, whom l knew
| had signed articles, had taken his depar-
| ture An exchange of men had been made
| for money, as is often done just as ship
| is leaving port, but it was none of my
business, and 1 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 none of US knew anything. The
aunt did not know tho young man by
sight, and SO he was safe in planning as
he did.
A ships crew Is made up Of able sea-
men, ordinary seamen and landsmen, and
| until the watches are set and the officers
get to remember faces and names most
| any sort of shift can BIO made. Early had
taken tho place of n landsman, of which
two had been shipped, and as he was
| young, strong and active there was no
doubt of his pulling through, though he
| would be made drudge of and have no
sympathy from the officers. We were
hardly clear of tho docks when Iheard the
captain and mato speaking of him and
wondering who he was and what had driv-
en- a smart young man like him to sea,
and that made me take notice of him and
get in his Way for q word or two. The
apprentices did not berth with the fore
castle haniE but in the house with the
carpenter nr,d sailmaker, and were con-
sidered as kH,onging aft The young man
was glad eii,lgh to meet my advances half
way, and In che course Of a couple of days
l knew the 1sason why.
After cY1versation during his watch
off duty, liz which he praised and flattered
me without Qtint, he asked me to carry
note from him to Mary Sinclair. l was
| SURPRISED thiE a common sailor should even
know the nHtue of a passenger, but he told
mo slick B7ory and worked on my sym
| I
was an easy ghing for boy who was run
ming about the ship and in the cabin on er-
rands to hand note to passenger, and
the girl put herself in my way to receive
it. rs If she were expecting some such
thing. A few hours later l carried her
written answer back to Early, and moth
ing moro passed between them Tor week
do not know what plan the young man
had when no broke Jail to join the ship,
but take it that it was nothing worse than
to follow her to Jamaica and make her his
wife If such 1t was, it might have been
carried out without a tragedy but for our
second mate. in whose watch Early was
drafted All ordinary or able scamen are
antagonistic to landsmen on general prin
ciples, and all mates drive them around
without mercy.
That Early did his best have no doubt
but the mate was not satisfied with that
| and took every occasion to abuse him. we
were only a week out and the mate hac
shown his hand three or four times when
climax came. In the early morning
watch he gave some order which was not
readily understood and promptly obeyod
and as a result brutally assaulted two or
thrco men of his watch. Early was of the
number, and they pitched into tho mate
and nearly killed him. For this they were
nut in irons to be tried when the ship
reached jana ca.
1t may hav been that the uncalled for
brutality of the mate aroused the sympa-
thies of the entire crew or the change OF
plans made by Early won them over. They
were an average lot of sailors, of mixed
nationaljties, and the men had been in
irons only two or three days when heard
| epouuh t0 satisfy mo that mischief was
brewing.
l went to tho chief mate with scraps OF
, conversation 1 had heard and received Il
kick and a curse fIc my pains. A few
, hours later was sure that the crew con-
templated open mutiny; but, afraid OF the
reception the captain might give me,
, held my tongue. Two nights later in the
,, second mates watch, he was seized from
| L.rl,i.,a and thrnyyr nynrEnarl Mhnn ILC