BACK TO PETTICOATS

Southland Times, Issue 18816, 8 May 1920, Page 3

BACK TO PETTICOATS

GIRL’S LONG VOYAGE AS A CABIN BOY. As a tramp steamer home from a trip to the Far East berthed at the Bristol quays the master sought advice coneekxdng a god aboard who had “signed on” as cabin' boy sad sustained the masquerade for many weeks. “Pot her ashore and leave the rest to ns,” suggested a police officer. It was followed; the girl was arrested- for wsndreiug without visible means of subsistence; she was passed to the care of kindly ladies, who saw that she. was suitably provided for and all west wefl. -“So far as appearances went, she made ar better boy thou a girl,” declared one of the sailors*. “About 17 yean of age, and of robust build, rite was a loose-fimbed, slouching boy, as careless and happy-go-lucky as the average sea cub. Her features were chubby, and over her cloae cropped hair she wtete her peaked cap at a jaunty tilt. She pecked up sailor’s ways after being some months on a voyage. Her voice, had roughened; yet though she. had. the rough-and-tumble ways you would expect in a fed taking to the sea, rite was a well-behaved fere. No one could say a word against her on that score. She was a good deal reserved at times. Her name as & boy? Ah, there Fm beat! I think some called her ‘BilL’ A crew hits upon a name which takes their fancy, and it sticks.”. It: seems that the “eaten boy” signed on at Cardiff, where her relatives live. Ambition for travel and adventure had been stimulated by story books. She procured a boy’s suit, well worn and roomy as to fit, and, after cutting her hair, dressed in it before steal-; lag unobeerved from her home. She swaggered down Bute street to the docks, where she sought a ship that was foreign bound. By chance she bit upon a tramp steamer where a boy was needed, and it was soon outward bound, so that she had no fear offering hauled bock to her. home. The'vesselmade various, caffe and in time tnrfelled far East. During this period the girl lived the ordinary fife of a'sailor, doing’her work’ satisfactorily, and soon accustomed herself to her surroundings. Nothing occurred to wony her until the vessel had reached the Sues Canal, when the mate’s suspicions were aTouaed. He spoke to the captain, and the seniors held consultation. The cabin boy was sent for and questioned, and the masquerade had to be confessed. Forth with special cabin quarters were set apart for the adventurer, and as Bristol was the first port to foe touched the captain decided to put her off there, first consulting the police so that they might do what was essential in her interests. Her old “mates” were amased by the turn events had taken, but the girl adapted herself to the new situation with a broad smile and a shrug of the shoulders. "She was a game boy to (he last,” said the sailor. "She looked a clumsy girl in petticoats when she was in an upstair room in the Bridewell Court waiting for the ladies.”