The Ordway new era., 1909-04-23
CHAPTER ".


We took the XantIppe home-the
Indomptable went TO the bottom OF the
Bay OF Biscay-but before our prize
money was settled up We were on
again: Sir Peter dearly loved cruising
in blue water. II was near two years
before We got back to England to
spend that prize-money; for. except
the captain and Mr.. Buxton and some
of the married officers, | know OF no
one who saved any. Sir Peter, | un-
derstood afterward. spent much Of his
in a diamond necklace and tiara for
Lady Hawkshaw, in which he was
most egregiously cheated by Portu
guese money lender, and the balance
he put into scheme for acclimating
elephants In England. which was to
make him as rich as Croesus: but he
lost s1.O00 on the venture, besides
his prize-money. In those two years
! grew more and more fond OF Giles
Vernon. We generally contrived to
have our watch together. and we were
intimate as only shipmates could be.
He talked much OF what he meant to
do when he got ashore with money to
spend, and assured me he had never
had above ego Of his own in his life.
In the course OF many nights spent
In standing watch together. when the
old Ajax was sailing like a witch
for she was a capital sailer at that
time-he told me much about his early
youth, and l confided to him the story
of Betty Green. Giles career had
been the common one of the younger
branches of good family. His father
had been a clergyman, and. dying, left
several daughters, who married re-
specially, and this one son, who was
put in the sea service very young. At
that time several lives stood between
Giles and the title and estates of Sir
Thomas Vernon, and other lives stood
between Giles and Overton; but those
had passed away, leaving these two
distant kinslnen as heirs to a man that
seemed rightfully to have earned his
title of wicked Sir Thomas" l asked
Giles If he knew why Sir Thomas. who
so cordially hated his heirs. had never
married. Giles replied that Sir
Thomas showed no inclination to mar
ry until he was near 40. Then his
reputation was so well established
that he was generally looked askant
upon; his character for truth was bad
and at cards was worse. But he had
induced lady of rank and wealth to
become engaged to be married to him.
His treatment of her was so infamous
that her whole family had declared
war against him, and had succeeded in
breaking off several very desirable al
liances he would have liked to make
OF course a man of his rank and
wealth could find some woman-alas,
to take him; but Sir Thomas was
bent on money, with an inclination to-
ward rank, and was the last man on
earth to marry unless he had a sub
stantial inducement; and several more
years had passed without his being
able to effect the sort OF marriage he
desired. Meanwhile, his health had
broken down, and he was now . shat.
tered man and prey for the doctors.
All this was very interesting to me.
especially as Sir Thomas two heirs
would one day have the experience of
shooting at each other and possibly
deciding the matter of heirship by the
elimination Of one or the other from
the question.
We both got promotion, of course,
and that brought US into the gunroom;
but we were as intimate there as in
our REFER days in the cockpit. On a
glorious October morning in 1899, our
anchor kissed the ground in Ports.
mouth harbor.
When we reached Portsmouth, the
news Of our good fortune had pre-
ceded US, and we were welcomed with
open arms by men, women, and chill.
dren-especially the women. All the
prize-money brought back by any sin
gle ship during the war was insig.
nificant compared with ours. The
men were seized with kind Of mad.
ness for spending their money. The
spectacle of IN ordinary seaman pa.
rading the streets Of Portsmouth
with . gold-laced hat, . gold-headed
stick. and watches and jewelry hung
an over him was common enough, and
- vas sars to be an Ajax man. Sad