Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 933 — page 2: what you’re looking at

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

Pa — -— ee $$ ee SS oo The Two Midshipmen; Ry THE YOUNG éokaare omaneea FIRST CRUISE. A Romance of the Old Frigate, United States, in the Barbary War. BY T. J, FLANAGAN, AUTHOR OF ‘‘ MIDSHIPMAN DARE,” ‘‘ THE CRUISE OF THE OCEAN QUEEN,” ETC., ETC, CHAPTER I, A BOY AND A BRUTE, On a bitter, snowy night, in the winter of 1800-1801, a man and a boy were making their way through the lower part of the City of New York toward the water front. -s I have said making their way, but that is not the proper mode of expressing it, for the man was dragging thé boy along by the orm, stop- ping every now and then to strike him, **Run away, will ye? How d’ye like that ?” ‘* That” was a brutal kick which the man dealt the boy, while holding him at arm’s- length. ‘*Stop that, you brute!” exclaimed a voice from behind, and the next instant the boy was snatched from the grasp of his astonished companion, The latter uttered an angry oath as he turned on the intermeddler. ‘‘©Ourse you! I'll break—” he began, raising his clinched fist, but at the sight of the brass buttons shining underneath the half-open great- coat, stopped short, growling: ‘« Can't a man chastise his own son?” ‘* Perhaps, It depends whether he does it as @ man or a brute.” ‘* Well, he’s mine, anyhow. Come here, you young rip!” | ‘* Oh, please, sir, don’t let him take me!” im- a the youth. ‘‘ He'll kill me! I know he will! Street-lamps were a luxury unthought of at that period, and it was o y when the man stepped forward to the boy again that the rescuer got a glimpse of his fave. They were standing near a chandlery shop, and when the man moved forward he came into the light streaming through the shop window, | The person in the great-coat started on seeing that face, and, with a sarcastic laugh, asked: ‘* And so you are this lad’s father?” ** Yes, I am!” sullenly. This doggedly uttered assertion did not a pear to convince the boy’s rescuer, who, with the same sarcastic laugh, stepped into the light, saying : ; Sunith, Smith, what a lying scoundrel you are |’ The man thus addressed started back in alarm, ‘* Darrel!” he exclaimed, in utter amaze, ** Darrel Dare, if you please.” Smith did not speak. He seemed to stand in fear of Dare, and shrunk back out of the light, while the other stood looking at him for a mo- ‘men* in silent Hn ag pa ‘* This unfortunate lad is, of course, your son just as much as I was once your nephew! Isit not so?” . : Smith muttered an inaudible reply, and Dare céntinued: ' ® | ** Be off, you scoundrel! ‘ Be off, before [ run you through, as you deserve!” and the young man laid his hand on his sword-hilt as he spoke —exposing the undress uniform of a naval offi- cer. Smith slunk away, abashed, but with a vicious look on his sinister face. ‘*Come, my lad,” said the officer, taking the boy by the band. ‘*Good heavens! Why, you must be freez- ing!” he exclaimed, as the boy’s shivering hand touched his own. He led the way into the chandlery shop, where he was greeted with a respectful: ‘* Stormy night, captain!” ‘‘ Very stormy indeed, Mr. Brown, Please give this lad a pair of gloves—something good and warm,” Captain Dare, notwithstanding the title, was a young man—much younger than he looked. all, finely—magnificently formed and hand- some, the heavy, tawny mustache adorning his - : ' 4 d R* : iB t a ; : «i yA Fo » + + & " , hi v4 t 7 ~~. ae r zi d ~ aed + re BAS 3 ’ ee “ ee The Two Midshipmen. o~ ee en upper lip helped to give him the appearance of twenty-eight or thirty, while in reality he was barely twenty-one. The boy was about fifteen years of age, with a frank, open countenance and honest, fearless blue eyes, that won the captain’s pity and liking at once. So, when Mr. Brown, having fitted on the gloves, looked significantly at the lad’s tattered shoes and clothes, and said: ‘* Anything else, captain?” He nodded, saying: ‘* Yes, you may as well make it an entire out- fit, seeing how it’s needed,” Mr. Brown, who could supply anything from a needle to an anchor, soon had the lad neatly and warmly clad ‘‘ from top to toe,” as he ex- pressed it. ‘* Worse off than I was, when I first reached here,” mused the captain, pityingly, as he watched the boy being dressed, ‘* What shall I do with him?’ was his next thought, and calling Mr. Erown aside, he ar- ranged for the boy’s care for the night, ‘* J will see what can be done for him when I get home,” decided the young officer. ‘* Mean- time, give him a hot supper and take good care of him until I call to-morrow,” ‘* Now, my lad,” he continued, turning to the boy, ‘* Mr. Brown will take good care of you for the present. What is your name?” ‘‘ James Lawrence, sir, but I was generally called Laurie, to distinguish me from my cousin of the same name. He lived with us for a while, and the name stuck to me,” Captain Dare was interested, but he was also in a hurry to get home, ‘¢ Well, Laurie, be a good boy, and we'll see what can be donefor you. [’mina great hurry now, or I should stay and hear your story.” “I don’t know how to thank you, sir—” be- een the boy, as the captain bade him good- night. ** And therefore, being a sensible lad, ~ a will not try,” laughed the captain, adding earnestly : ** [t’s deeds, deed$, not words, that the world respects!” and with a hasty ‘‘ good-night” to Mr, Brown, he left the store, The streets were deserted, even in the lower part of the city, and Captain Dare had a long, onesome and difficult journey to make before reaching his destination, which was in what was then called the ‘‘ Out-ward.” At length the captain reached the handsome residence of Captain King, of the then young United States Navy, and was war re- ceived by all, and lovingly by onie--Mieasky ng. Emily—Captain King’s sister—was a beauti- ful en of seventeen, and engaged to be married to Captain Dare in the following autumn, ‘* How late you are! What detained you?” she asked, ; **Oh, I met an old acquaintance—had quite a little adventure,” replied Dare, and he proceed- ed to relate the story of his meeting with Smith. ‘* So he’s still in the land of the living?” said Captain King, adding: **T wonder who the boy is?” “*T will try to find out to-morrow. * I’m in- terested in the lad, for bis situation reminds me strongly of my own when I first met—” Captain Dare paused and looked significantly at Emily, causing her to blush, and every one else to smile, ‘*T have heard some interesting news to-day,” he continued, ‘There is an expedition fitting out—or about to—against the erian pirates, They’ve been doing pretty much as they eee with every nation since Barbarossa, the famous eae pirate, started them in the business in 1516, ‘* Yes, they’ve never been thoroughly thrashed yet,” assented Captain King, while the ladies began to look interested and apprehensive, ‘*No; but they will be, this time,” returned Dare, proudly. ‘‘Think of that pirdte king— fof, after murdering the native prince, he had himself ab upsert ve g—think of him having 80,000 Christian slaves at work for three years, building a mole to protect his ships!” ‘« Well?’ said Captain King, who guessed what was coming. ‘* Well, they’ve seized some of our ships, and we're going to teach them a lesson they won’t forget ina hurry. I haveasked to be appointed to the United States.” ‘* Darrel!” cried Emily, reproachfully, and be- traying alarm, ) ‘* Hold on now, Emily, Let me explain why I did so. You know I’m only ‘captain’ by courtesy, so to speak. The fact of my being ‘ , ' ‘ — - TaN + > 7 a ee ‘ 4, ‘ jv rT oa ial —— )) = ve fe ae oes i \ ) . ‘ 1) oa / ¢ bus 4 sie ed er. (| (| ‘ i “ 4 »~ ? * ‘ y 7 = £ he | " te 7 .- 22 Cra > 5 2 . “a. TE owner of The Hawk procured for me the ran: of captuin, but I am really nothing more than a lieutenant, on the Government lists. In this af- fair, | may have an opportunity to really win the title which I now wrongfully bear.’ ‘Come, come, Darrel! not as bad as that!” interposed his friend, warmly. , ‘‘ You won the rank, and would have got itif you were not al- ready a captain, after t.e last cruise. You are talking sheer nonsense,” ‘** Perhaps, Still, { didn’t get it—I wasn’t in a position to get it,” returned the othe, quietly, and on the plea that he bad severui |.ciers to write, he sought the library, Here he was quickly joined by Emily. What he said, and how, has no bearing on this story, but, eventually, Captain Dare suc- ceeded in quelling ber fears as to the dangers to which he would be exposed if appointed an -offi- cer of the expedition. ‘‘ For, vou know, I’m not appointed yet,” he said, in conclusion, ‘* And I shall pray that you may not be!” was the prompt rejoinder. CHAPTER [I, ON BOARD THE FRIGATE, Next day Captain Dare called at the chand- lery shop, where he found Laurie looking quite happy and at home, ‘Now tell me how you came to be with Smith,” said the captain, and the boy told his story. His father, who was captain of a merchant- man, had left port nearly ten years prior to the opening of our story, and had never been heard from again, Mrs, Lawrence had @ little money, but this was soon exhausted, and, step by step, they drifted downward, until at length, worn out by ote struggle for existence, the good mother ‘*That was only two months ago,” continued Laurie, his tears beginning to flow, ‘** and then Mr. Smith said he’d take care of me,” ** And how did he do it?” ‘* He wanted me to beg and steal, and because I wouldn’t do it he would beat and starve me untill’d beg forhim. hen he’dask me again to steal—so I ran away from him the first time I gota chance, but he caught me last night.” ** No mystery about this,” thought the young captain, ‘* Nobody paid to have this boy put out of the way as was my case,” and aloud: ** Well, you can stay here for the present, As goon as my own affairs are settled, we will see what can be done for you, my lad,” To himself he said: “If I don’t get the appointment, I'll put him on The Hawk. ‘* Where was your mother buried?” Dare ask- ed as he arose to go, with a vague idea of hav- ng the body removed if it was in the pauper. -ground, as was more than likely. **T don’t know, sir!” “Eh? You don’t know?” ‘‘ No, sir. Smith promised to bring me to her grave, but he never did it. **T was working for a grocer in Cedar street, and had to sleep fn the store, I was home Sun- Poe ba and when I last saw mother she wasn’t feeling very ill, but, when I came home the next Sunday morning, Smith met me at the door, and told me she was dead and buried. ‘‘Mother didn’t remember my employer’s name, so they couldn’t send for me when she was dying.” Tears stood in the lad’s eyes, and it was with an effort he continued: **Smith hired a room from mother and that, helped us, and he knew all.about our troubles so when the man I worked for got drunk an discharged me, two days afterward, [ was glad to stay with Smith.” ° “* Merely a thieving, ing ulation—he never would work himself,” thought the captain, and aloud: ‘* Well, Laurie, if I run across the scoundrel I'll find out about your mother. Keep indoors as much as possible, but if he interferes with you, call on the first man} you see, and send for me. Going out, Captain Dare met Mr, Brown, to whom he said: ‘*Can’t you give our young friend something to do for the present?” Anxious to oblige the young but famous cap- tain who bought all his ship’s stores from him, thechandler suddenly remembered that he need- ed a boy, and thus tae homeless, persecuted waif of ye rien G now possessed employment, a home, and at | one efficient friend,