The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1910-05-31
THE BLUE OCEANS DAUGHTER

Frequently, one might almost say
he 0ttually, when cruising on the
Hiram and Susan she wore the ordi-
nary dress OF a sailor. She wore it
without consciousness of immodesty
or improperly, almost without
thought Of II, IT was convenient and
IL suited her. II she had had other
standards by which TO measure her
sell she might have appreciated the
situation better.
She had been loved by many men.
out they were mostly the rough sail
ors, the mates and officers of her
iatheTs ship, but none Of them had
hdu the least power 10 awaken the
most fugitive emotions in her heart,
and the present mate, owen Conant
was not more successful than the
UlheIs- Love- when II came, would
De great awakening to her.
The father and daughter conversed in
!oW tones as they paced the weary
watch. II was significant OF Susan's ca
paclueS that as they tramped 10 and
no on the deck her father often felt the
touch OF steel impinging against him,
which showed that the belt she wore
carried pistols and cut-ass.
there were only thirty in the crew Of
TIE hiram and Susan, which since the
beginning OF the war had carried a let
ter Of marQue. Capt Hiram Hubball
was peaceful trader, but he was not
above picking up the ,windfails that for
tune cast athwart his PROV, and with
the thrift OF his ancestry he had al
ready added considerably to the sea
ventures of his ordinary trade by TAX
The British. and he had fought one
smart brush with a rather heavier phi
VateeT OF the enemy. which he had sue
ces$fully beaten OF.
The long course OF the war, which
had dragged on through seven years,
had told heavily upon American seamen,
and the present crew OF the merchant
man had been recruited mainly IN Bor-
4 nh - L.
tcSen and a more rascally crowd 81
di1ckguards and cutthroats Captain
hiram had never commanded.
Needs must when there are no
others, he thought philOsophically,
and he determined that before the
slip reached Boston he would have
tanned some OF the more turbulent spir-
it's and let them know what IL was 70
For the same reason II had been diff
icult 70 get officers, and the Hiram
and Susan had sailed with but three.
one OF them, the second mate, had
gone with tnc best men in a small
prize which .ad been captured the week
before. This left but the captain and
the first mate, owen Conant. who was
eminently fitted for some higher COM
mand. but who had remained attached
TO the ship for several years because nc
was even more attached 20 the ship
masters daughter.
Under such circumstances the boat
swain would have been called upon TO
take a watch. but the best candidate
who had presented himself for this posi-
tion at Bordeaux had been a French
man, whose name on this cruise was
Francois
He was a good enough seaman. a
who concealed beneath MS grace and
pleasant address rs black a heart as
ever filled the human bosom What his
career had been, what his history Cap
ST. al l.
surmised, however, after few days
contact with the man that there were
dark passages in II which nobody would
be permitted TO learn II the boatswain
could help it.
Only a certain quality Of authority
which the man possessed that made MIN
valuable influence in controlling his
rascally crew had enabled Captain
Hiram 10 tolerate him al all. but be
was the best man forward Of the mast,
undoubtedly. in an assemblsge in which
Greeks and Levantiues and other for
elgnerS made up the great majority.
SO FAR. however, there had been no
open outbreak upon the part Of the
boatsWain-
Indeed. for a certain reason he had
=tri-en 20 gain the favor OF his superior
WSa a high idea of his own charms,
ard with an utter indifference 10 the
relative stations Of himself and the cap
tain daughter, he had plainly striven
10 iugratiate himself with the latter.
some what 10 Susan's amusement. more
TO her disgust.
Susan. who entered fully into her faith
er's difficulties and perplexities. had re-
Trained from disclosing the fact that the
bOatswain had made advances 10 her
She felt abundantly able 20 take care Of
herself and there was not the sIIEhtee
reason for annoying Captain Hiram with
such a recital His anger would have
been fearful. indeed. and he would have
wreaked II 70 the fun upon the boat
swain.
It was the day Of the cato MINERALS.
and Susan had no doubt that her father
would cause Francois to be fogged half
to death This would serve no purpose
save 20 turn a latent into an active en-
envy. and with the crew then on board
the Hiram and Susan il vas q POSSIBLE
ity not 20 be sneered at
Indeed. II was quite evident that
should the expected boat-attack be made
that night from the British frigate 20
windward Il could only be repulsed by
the united efforts Of every man on the
ship. Therefore. adding TO her other
good qualities OF q manly stamp the art
OF retiCenCe. Susan said nothing.
For a long time the few awake on the
trader kept careful watch. but 1t was not
until FIVE bells in the first watch that
anything happened.