The Hunted Sloop; or, On and Off Soundings

"The Hunted Sloop; or, On and Off Soundings," serialized in this April 1899 issue of this Boston-based pulp magazine, is a maritime adventure by Professor J. H. Ingraham set during the War of 1812. The narrative follows young sailor William (tattooed with initials "W.A.") as he arranges passage aboard Captain David Derrick's merchant sloop, the Blue-Jay, sailing from Boston eastward toward Kennebec. The captain, a widowed fifty-year-old vessel owner obsessed with consulting his pocket watch, assembles six passengers including a trader, a returned prisoner from Dartmoor, a milliner, a wealthy farmer (Squire Fairfield), and a young woman educated in Boston—daughter of one-armed Major Sweatland. The chapters detail the vessel's preparation for departure and the crew's anticipation of favorable winds for the voyage, establishing the setup for coastal adventure amid wartime naval tensions.