Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 377 — page 3: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

0a ene = * A ~ > Pik). Se A CHAPTER Il. THE FLAGLESS CRUISER, A VESSEL was gliding swiftly along over the ‘blue waters of the Gulf, at a time prior to the beginning of the present century. The land was not far distant, and ber course lay along the winding sbores of Florida, then a most dangerous locality for an honest craft to be found in. What nationality the vessel belonged to was not discernible, for she carried nocolors; but her build and rig indicated that she was an Ameri- can, while ber armed decks gave the suggestion of her being a cruiser, and the very rakish look she wore was suggestive of piracy es her call- ing. Fes huli was very sharp and narrow, lay low araidships, but rose quite high in bow and stern, and her masts were exceedingly tall, slender, and raked well aft. . The amount of canvas the tall masts and long spars showed she could carry, was indicative of a vessel which depended upon speed in her -cruising, an idea that her trim, sharp hull car- ried out. Her armament consisted of but four pivot- uns, all of heavy caliber, and so mounted as to orm a broadside that was most formidable for _@ vessel of her size. Muskets, boarding-pikes, pistols and cutlasses were in racks along the bulwarks, every rope was in its place, the decks as clean as a New England housewife’s kitchen, and her crew, of fifty men, neatly attired in white duck pants, blue jackets and red skull-caps, seemed to know their place, The wind, though light, sent her along at a merry pace, under matusail, foresail and jib, and all on board seemed to be lazily enjoying the balmy afternoon and the forest-clad shores of Florida. Upon the quarter-deck stood three individuals who were evidently ber officers, two of them being men of middle age, the third a youth un- der twenty, and the latter wore therank of ca tain, for gold lace, and a gold tassel adorned his blue jacket and red cap, where those who stood near bim had silver. . The face of the youth was a study, for in it dwelt beauty of expression, perfection of fea- ture and stern manliness so blended as to win re- spect and love, and command admiration and awe at the same time. His form was above the medium hight, slen- der, graceful, and withel full of latent power and activity. :, His bands and feet were very small, his movements quick and firm, and the eyes were 80 full of pathos and fire, so finely blended, that one could hardly tell which was paramount. About his slender waist was a sash of gold ‘thread, and in it were stuck two pistols, gold- mounted, while by a chain of linked blocks of gold bung a Turkish cimeter, the bilt studded with precious stones. His two lieutenants were men with strong faces, evidently old sailors, and. one of them seemed to look up to the young captain with respect, which his character, as well as his rank commanded; but the otber was a man whose countenance was unreadable, yet looked ‘treacherous, Suddenly tbe startling cry came from the dookout aloft: ‘* Sail bo!” There was no need of the youthful captain askin 7 . ** W hereaway ? The sail ni visible to all, for it shot sud- denly out from a wooded point of land into full ‘view. An armed vessel, not more than half the size of the schooner, and with a far smaller crew, her men were seen at their guns and allready for action, At ber peak floated the American flag, and there was no doubting the fact that she had long before sighted the large schooner and was coming out to fight her. ‘Put the schooaer under increased sail, Senor Sutro, and helmsman, let her fall off sharp,” ordered the yung oflicer, “You willrun from them, Captain Bonodel?” asked the second lieutenant, with a lock of some impatience. ‘* Certainly, Mr. Merton.” ‘¢Sbe could not bold her own against us for five minutes, sir.” ‘*T am well aware of that, sir.” The lieutenant shook his head, and seeing it, ‘the youthful captain remarked: ‘Mr. Merton, I thought that you knew that ‘may intention was to fight no craft, and that I ‘ “’ ¢ i \ Bonodel, the Boy Rover. was neitber cruising the seas as a pirate or smuggler, but for an avowed purpose.’ ‘“] do, sir; but yonder craft has dogged our steps so persistently that I hoped you would be willing to give her a lesson,” ‘* No, I shall do no such thing, and I under- stand, that being an Englishman, vou would like me to fire upon the American flag; but I shall not under any circumstances, do so,” ‘* Not if she fires upon us?” ‘*No, sir— Ha! there comes a shot now, and it is for us to show our colors.” ‘“Vll guarantee if you ruu up the black flag she will quickly turn and run,” ‘* This schooner bas no flag, sir, as you know, Mr. Merton, so let me have no more of this in- terference upon your part,” and the young cap- tain turned away to wutch the effect of the shot from the little vessel, which was evidently an American cruiser, The first shot failing in its intention, a second was fired, and it cut the head off the man at the wheel, and then sped on its way. Springing to the place of the slain seaman, Captain Bonodel called out: ‘Forward there! send two men to this wheel!” The order was promptly obeyed just as a third shot came, cutting away the maintop- mast, which came to the deck with a crash. But still the schooner held on her way, her men anxious to go to quarters, yet held in check by the eye of their youthful commander. Seeing that her fire was not returned the cruiser spread more gail, to gain on the schoon- er, and opened hotly from her bow gun, which was a thirty-two-pounder, mounted upon a pivot. ‘*With a vessel, armament and crew that ean sink yonder American cruiser in a few mo- ments, we are running like whipped curs,” growled Lieutenant Merton, as he walked for- ward among the men. His words reached the ears of Captain Bono- del, but no impression seemed made upon him by them, for his face remained impassive, and he calmly watched the little cruiser, coming on under full sail in chase, ‘*'We are gaining, Senor Sutro, and will soon run out of range— Ha! he seesit, and weare to get a broadside,” he added quickly, as he saw ne cruiser fall rapid)y off to present ber broad- side, ‘*Down all to the deck!” he shouted, as the smoke burst from the muzzles of the guns, and in obedience every man threw himself flat upon his face, though the daring captain, a mere boy in years, never moved, or changed a muscle. x crashing of timbers, the flying of pprintere, cries, curses and groans, and the iron bail had passed on and Jeft its red mark, ‘* Ho, lads! will you he murdered through the command of yonder boy? ‘Up and follow me, and we will float the black flag over this deck, and hurl every man into the sea who will not follow our cruise to fortune,” The words came from the lips of the fault- finding lieutenant, Merton, and, drawing bis cutlass be ran aft, followed by fully one-half the crew, ‘Hal is this mutinyf’ cried the young cap- tain, turning toward the men: rushing aft, armed with pistols and eutlasses, and led by the treacherous lieutenant, *‘ Ay, mutiny it is, boy, and into the sea you go, lrst of all,” fairly yelled the enraged mutineer leader, It was a critical moment, for the schooner had been crippled by the loss of her maintop- mast, and Lieutenant Sutro and several of the men were in the rigging, endeavoring to repair the damage, while a gun bad been dismounted amidships, and three or four of the erew lay dead upon the decks, cut down by the cruiser’s broadside, Aft with him were only the two men at the wheel, and astern, not a mile distant, the cruiser was rushing on in chase, while mutiny reigned rampant on the flying craft at whose peak no flag floated. But Mark Bonodel, boy though he was, stood undismayed in face of the fearful peril, while Merton and his mutineers advanced upon him. Then, as he saw that he must act and rompt- ly, he sprung to the pivot gun ahenehale aft of amidsbips, turned it upon the mutineers and ap- plied the lighted end of his cigarrito to the priming. ‘* Perish by your Own madness, you accursed mutineers!” cried the plosion came, . The maddened traitors too late saw their danger, and shrunk back, tbeir leader now al- young captain as the ex- more sail set, and the fleet schooner dropping 3 most i to the gun’s muzzle, vainly striving to tbrow himself below its range, as the red smoke burst forth and hurled a load of grape upon the treacherous crew, while in its flight it also cut oe several who had not joined in the mu- tiny. The scene that followed the discharge of the pe was fearful, for a dozen men lay dead and ying upon the decks, others had sprung over- board into the sea; and crouching in dismay along the bulwarks were those who had remain- ed true, and yet knew not what would be the next act of their young captain, now standing like a mad tiger at bay. ‘* Ho, lads! bave you bad enough of your treachery?’ he called out, ina stern voice, ‘* Ay, ay, sir,” came the cheerful response, while to the side of Bonodel sprung the Sencr Sutro, and the men he had with him in the rig- ging, the lieutenant crying: , ‘By the dogs of war, &, tain Bonodel, bus you quelled that mutiny before I coud get to erton and bis band to you, and have blown their master, the devil. 4 Ho, lads! throw the bodies of these traitors into the sea, and spring to your posts of duty, or yonder fleet cruiser will knock us out of the water,’ and the faithful officer went forward among the men, who were gled enough to have the matter end as it bad, while the Flagless Schooner swept on her way, leaving those among the mutineers who had sprung overboard to find a watery grave, or to be picked up by the pursuing cruiser, bei) fy CHAPTER III. THE INDIAN PILOT, NOTWITHSTANDING the very great danger which the young captain had found himself and bis vessel in, his nerve and prompt action bad quickly made him master of the situation, and once more forced thcse under him to acknow- ledge him as the ruling spirit. The discontented seamen on board, really about half the crew, had been urged on by Merton the lieutenant, who, upon seeing vessel after vessel go by, which be knew to be richly freighted, and not captured by the schooner’s commander, who also fled from war vessels of all nationalities, had determined to bimself take command at some convenient time and become what he bad been before—a pirate. He had shipped, with the rest of the crew, for the performance of some mysterious duty, though what that duty was, he could not guess. Thescbooner had proven herself the fastest craft be had ever seen, and yet ber speed had ~ been of no avail in the eyes of the lieutenant, Merchant vessels, carrying any flag, bad all been brought to, boarded by the schooner’s cap- tain, who, after a conversation with their cap- tains, had allowed them to go on their way un- molested. Above the schooner no flag had ever been hoist- ed, nor bad sbe ever fired a gun, except to bring a vessel to, or in practice, while, though a match for any craft of her size, she had shown her beels to even little coast-guard gunboats, and when fired upon had never returned the fire. The officers and crew bad been liberally paid their wages agreed upon, their stores were never allowed to grow scant, and tbey were well treated; but this did not explain the mys- tery, and some of the crew grew nervous and were fit subjects for the treacherous lieutenant to work upon, Their commander bad shown himself a thor- ough seaman, and he had enlisted them to aid him in seizing the schooner from the pirate known as the Sea Monster, and they knew him to be fearless and daring, but bad not expected tbat he would face them in a general mutiny. His rapid quelling of their uprising had utter- ly cowed them, and in silence tbe traitors sub- mitted to the chaffing of their shipmates who bad not joined them. 5 ; With his crew in perfect subjection once more, Captain Bonodel devoted his attention to \ escaping from the cruiser, and it was not very” long before he began to drop his pursuers astern. The cruiser however hung on well and kept _ up a constant fire, which did more or less dam age, for those on board bad seen that somethin was wrong on the flagless vesse], and the firine of the heavy gun and turmoil soon told them that there was a mutiny in progress, ard the: hoped for the speedy capture of the mysteriors craft which they bad often before chased, end knew to be creating almost a supernatural drecd of her upon the bigh seas. Great disappointment therefore wes felt upGie. ' the cruiser when they saw the mutiny quelled, é e Gom eS ' tDOOKS: GO ~*~) : 4 ay