The Boy Captain of the Black Swallow — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

THE HEROINE, 7 - how it was I got overset. Inover was knocked down before. I ain all sound again, though. Let us go and have a drink together.” “Don’t tempt my son to liquor, Ben,” said a tall man with a massive frame, huge grey-and- black whiskers, a pale cheek, and wild, sunken eyes, clad in the coarsest costume of a fisher- man; “he don’t drink. J drink. enough for both, and rather than see him tip the can to his mouwth I would bury him! If you want to drink, Bill Denham’s at hand for any man’s amount of liquor.” “Don’t he drink grog?” -eried Ben, with surprise, | “Nota bit. You might as well ask him to drink salt water.” “Then that is what makes him so strong. But if the young ’un won’t liquor, the old ’un MeGOL TS; With these words Ben took the arm of the old man, and together, and followed by half a score of the crowd, they pressed into the low, dark tap-room. Arthur, as soon as his father had stepped up, drew back, and, in hopes that he would get another glimpse at the pretty Letty, walked round the north end of the house, where was a side-door, by which she had re-entered. He had the boldness to approach it, for he remem- bered that she wished to see him. Lie looked watehfully for some time up at the windows, and was about to despair of seeing her without directly asking for her, when the door, which was ajar, was opened softly, and she appeared in it, beckoning to him. He flew to obey the signal. . *“ Come in, Arthur.” He entered, and she closed the door hastily, as if to prevent his coming in from being observed ; but as the loiterers were by this time either in front of the inn or in the tap, there was little danger of this discovery. "Now, Arthur, I want you to tell me truly what you made that schooner for,” she said, gravely, laying two fingers upon his wrist, and looking archly and inguiringly up into his face, though he was too diffident to return the look, for he could not look into her eyes an instant, “For my mother, Miss Linn.” “Don’t, pray, call me ‘miss P Letty.” * Letty, then,” he said, with as near an approach to playfulness as his bashfuiness would allow, for bashful he was, as any youth would have been who had scarcely in his life spoken to a pretty girl. The inn had two classes of eustomers, and possessed, as it were, two characters. One corner fronting the river was devoted to the use of a common Sailors’ and fishermen’s tap- room. Here they caine to drink, smoke, and talk over the war; but they seldom had access to any other part of the house. On the south side of the inn was the “ genteel front door,” as Adam used to call it. Here alighted the iraveller, and here went in the merchant and other townsfolks to get a glass of Adam's spirits and water and read the My name is news. For their accommodation was a snug room denominated “ the parlour.” It had white fringed curtains to the windows, was adorned with a map of the Commonwealth of Massa- chusetts, pictures of Commodore Preble and General Washington in black frames, and over the mantelpiece was the genealogy of the Linns, done in needlework by the fair fingers of Letty. Thereupon it was clearly shown that Letty was descended, in the seventh generation, from a Scottish knight, Sir Archibald Lynne, whose youngest son eame over with Sir William Pepperell. Adam’s frequent allusions to this distinguished relation got for him the sobriquet of ‘Sir Archy,” by which he was better known than by his Christian name of Adam, and, sooth to say, he well liked to be so called. In this room Letty herself waited upon the guests, with a captivating grace that won the hearts of all the old gentlemen, and bewildered the brains of the youths. Among the latter was a dissipated young man, the son of a wealthy ship-owner, who had so rapidly run his father into debt that he was at length limited to a small sum per annum. He was good- looking, but free and quarrelsome, He had been two voyages to India in his father’s ships, and in costume affected the sailor by wearing a blue roundabout worked with silk, and orna- mented with numerous buttons made of bright fourpenny pieces. He dressed something be- tween a buck and a sailor, assuming the swagger of the latter. He was a young man without principle, reckless of the good opinions of the townspeople, and given to a lawless way of life. He was a frequenter of the Crow and Anchor Inn, especially since Letty had become its mistress. Her beauty impressed him, and he commenced her acquaintance hy fulsome flattery, looks, and presents, the first of which she laughed at, and the last refused with con- tempt. With that instinctive penetration and intuitive judgment of character with which nature has endowed the sex for their protec- tion, she saw at once his depravity of heart and the profligacy of his sentiments. The more coolly she treated him, the stronger was his passion for her; and to passion cupidity being united, he resolved that he would marry her if he could, for he had heard that she would have at least twelve thousand dollars besides the inn when her father died. This idea taking possession of his mind, he resolved to achieve it. He forced himself whenever he could into her presence, and at length boldly offered her his hand, supposing, of course, she would be glad to marry into the family of the Thurrels, for the young man’s name was Talbert Thurrel. Her scornful refusal irritated him, and inspired him with sentiments of revenge. He, however, had presence of mind enough to disguise his mortification and disappointment under an air of careless indifference, saying. with a light laugh: ce Well, my pretty one, there are other maidens as fair as Letty Linn! §o let him that wins you wear you.” Comichboo CS (©) =|