Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-15
A SEVERE PUNISHMENT
Endured by Naval Officer for
Violating UnWritten Law.
AVOIDED BY HIS sHIPMATEs
0stracized Man Tried to Obtain
Transfer, but Failed.
ALMOST LOST HIS MIND
During Heavy Storm the Despised
Officer Effected Heroic Res
cue-Died in Hospital.
Written for The Star.

Written for The Star.
The captain had invited a couple of Off
GERS from the wardroom to dine with him,
and after dinner he seemed loath to dismiss
them, for the captain of man-of-war
is lonely creature, and his opportunities
for social intercourse with the other Off
GERS on board his ship are limited.
He can have, of course, on board his
own ship no equals, and no companions.
Between him and his officers great gulf
is fixed His cabin Is a hermitage and
his autocratic power is beset with lone
liness The captain was speaking of this
and said:
Until became a captain and got
ship I never realized what it was to feel
myself isolated from my fellows Why.
gentlemen. sometimes 1 feel like man
sent to Coventry. Ever shipmates with
man sent to Coventry? Well. 1 hope you
never will be. I was once, and never want
to be again
ut was on one of the old steam frigates,
and the man we will call Pendon-for this
was not his name: We knew he was to
join and the wardroom officers had held
consultation In regard to what should
be done. Pendon's case was notorious in
the navy then. Not a public matter, you
dal which was whispered through the SER
vice. He had violated an unwritten law,
the violation of which is never forgiven
in the service. We knew in a vague way
that in ordering him to the ship the de-
partment did not expect that his bed
would be one of roses. The wishes of the
department aside, we knew that we had
only one thing to do and we did 1t. We
sent him to Coventry.
He Joined the very day we sailed from
New York and I shall never forget the
room.
AS he fn&o
conscious of his fate, sudden silence fell
upon the mess, a silence Immediately sue
ceeded by buzz of conversation in which
each man engaged his neighbor. leaving
out only the unfortunate victim under the
ban. There was for him no word of greet
Ing. no word Of any sort.
He made a remark of no Importance to
che officer on his right. 1t was COM
monplace about the weather, or the ship,
or the service-I have forgotten what-but
It called for no answer~and received none
The officer addressed merely gave him a
quick, blank look and went on talking to
some one else.
snubbed by Fellow officers.
Il saw him flush, glance keenly about
the table with little gasp and stop eating
AFTER little he resumed his meal, pulled
himself together and. watching his oppor-
tunity when there was a lull in the con-
versation. called across the table in a
less:
Well. Blandford, this is the first time
we nave peen shipmates since we left the
academy after our graduation. Rather
strange tnat we have not been together
before, isn't It? Then addressing the com
pany with a nervous little laugh. he con-
tinued: 'Blandford used to say he was 20.
ing to resign after a year or two 90 into
business and make million; but. Won see
ne Is mere like the rest of us still wearing
the livery of our respected Uncle Samuel
inns little speech was a bold challenge
to fate, sally Of the garrison to test the
situation and know the worst at once. We
p1t1ed Blandford more than we did our or
dained victim. for the two had been room
ma mates at annapolis, and close friends until
the exigencfes OF the service sent them
asunder. and this was q direct appeaI TO
Blandford to be mercifu1 for old times
sake: You could see that 1t cut him to the
heart to refuse the appeal.
In the dead silence which greeted Pen
don's little speech his forced laugh died
away into something like growl and his
forced smile into a frown. He had re-
ceived his sentence, but doggedly refused
70 accept It,. Suddenly he went on with
his meal. Once he savagely berated a
wardroom boy for some trifiing dereliction
and twice he flung sneering remarks at the
mess.
"Petulantly. almost insolently, he made
some inquiries Of the first lieutenant
the ship-inquiries which were answered
coldly and formally in the fewest possi-
BILE words. If we had any idea of relent-
Ing before his conduct now drove that idea
from our heads and steeled our hearts He
savagely flung to us gage Of battle and
we picked 1t up. From that hour the man
was doomed.
After dinner, when the smoking lamps
were lighted and we sat about on the gun
deck, Pendon walked about on the out
skirts Of the little cluster made by orr
chairs and puffed with assumed careless
ness at his cigar. Now and then he would
cast a furtive look al some member of the
group He was evidently planning a course
of action. Finally he drew chair close
to an open port and sat facing 1t, looking
out at the moon-lit sea with his back to
the company. 1t was hard work CARRYING
on a conversation with the consciousness
of that figure ever before us-so near us
and yet so far away-and gradually we
dropped off to the wardroom and then to
our own rooms leaving the outcast to his
reveries.
Bearing His Heavy Cross.
1.-THE next day everything went smoothly.
Pendon made no effort to open a CONVERSE
ton with any of his messmates, address,
ing them only officially and then as sell
dom as possible. By the end of the week
We had become used to the situation and
felt not the slightest constraint when Pen
don was present. Habit is a great thing.
quickly formed as 1t Is powerful and in
sidiously turns itself into second nature
stood watch and attended to his other
duties Pendon came to be to us as a piece
Of wardroom furniture, or part of the me-
chanical appliances of the ship Only
Blandford. his old chum, felt the perpetual
pressure of his presence and grew taciturn
and fretful under the strain.
80 we loitered across the ocean and. in
due time, arrived at Villefranche We knew
well enough what would happen at the first
port we made; we knew that Pendon would
apply for his detachment and we also knew
in that subtle and mysterious way in which
such things become known aboard ship that
he would not get 1t.
His crime was a purely personal and
private one, of which the department had
no official knowledge, and could scarcely
have taken cognizance of 1t If it had It was
somehow understood that that conglomera-
ton Of powers, traditions, customs and SEN
timents which make up the real Navy De-
partment and the real navy. and are In
dependent Of the coming and going of
presidents and secretaries. had decreed and
prepared his punishment. And we had sent
him to Coventry in obedience to the customs
and traditions in such cases made and pro-
vided, and which. for aught know, may
have come down from the days OF the Vfk-
ings.
"Pendon forwarded his application tor de-