night, I found myself at a town called Open Gates, quite a
distance on the wrong road. They informed me that I should have changed
trains some distance back. "Why in ---- didn't you tell me to?" was my
reply. A free ride back and a new start was made in the right direction,
and, finally, I brought up at a town called Newport. There the "line of
rails," as they are called, ended. Twelve miles from Cardiff only, and
"me luggage" and I had to take another road, and "me luggage" could not
be found and no one knew anything about it. Now, what puzzles me to this
day is what the "booking" meant. And I have never been able to find
out, although it is the English custom. I went to a cook-shop and
remained in Newport a couple of days, and in the meantime there were
many inquiries about the "Young Hamerican's luggage." It was finally
located, and when I changed cars the first time I learned that it was my
duty to have it placed in the luggage car. While I was on my way to Open
Gates, the chest was left on the platform, where I had last seen it. In
the course of time a continuation of the journey was made, and at last
Cardiff was reached. Hunting up an old acquaintance, he took me to a
nice, quiet boarding-place.

CHAPTER XIV

PRETTY JENNIE BELL

My friend had introduced me to the landlord's wife and the only two
boarders in the house. They had resumed a four-handed game of cards.
Something familiar about the landlady's face attracted my attention.
"Have I not seen you before?" I asked.

"Quite likely," she replied.

Then I remembered all about her. She had been a notorious woman of the
street in Liverpool. Many a time she had stopped me and my shipmates on
the Bute Road and asked us to treat her. Sailors are very liberal when
ashore, and very few girls are refused a drink. In England their
favourite tipple is "two pen'orth o' gin and a bit o' sugar, please."
The gin they drink, but the two little cubes of sugar are placed in
their pockets to be eaten when there is no prospect of a free drink.

The next morning my very sociable hostess had a friendly chat with me.
For old acquaintance' sake I must take her to the public-house next door
and buy the gin. That place was quite respectable, but, like all
public-houses in England, women would patronize it with as much freedom
as men. I was simply paralyzed by an introduction I got to a very pretty
young woman, by the proprietor's wife. "This is an old lover of mine,
and h