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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/18264-8.txt b/18264-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c78c3ce --- /dev/null +++ b/18264-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8088 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Within The Enemy's Lines, by Oliver Optic + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Within The Enemy's Lines + SERIES: The Blue and the Gray--Afloat + +Author: Oliver Optic + +Release Date: June 15, 2006 [EBook #18264] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES *** + + + + +Produced by Louise Hope, David Garcia, Juliet Sutherland +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images +generously made available by The Kentuckiana Digital Libra + + + + + + +The Blue and the Gray Series + + TAKEN BY THE ENEMY + WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES + ON THE BLOCKADE In Press + +Lee and Shepard Publishers Boston + + + + + [Illustration: + "He saw Two Men making their way through the Grove."--Page 28.] + + + + + The + + BLUE AND THE GRAY + + Series + + [Illustration] + + By Oliver Optic + + WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES + + + + + _The Blue and the Gray Series_ + + WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES + + by + OLIVER OPTIC + + Author of +"The Army and Navy Series," "Young America Abroad," +"The Great Western Series," "The Woodville Stories," +"The Starry Flag Series," "The Boat Club Stories," +"The Onward and Upward Series," "The Yacht-Club Series," +"The Lake Shore Series," "The Riverdale Series," +"The Boat-Builder Series," "Taken by the Enemy," etc. + + + + + BOSTON 1890 + Lee and Shepard Publishers +10 Milk Street Next "The Old South Meeting House" + + NEW YORK Chas. T. Dillingham + 718 and 720 Broadway + + + + + Copyright, 1889, + by Lee and Shepard + _All rights reserved._ + + WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES. + + + + + A MON JEUNE AMI, +(que je n'ai jamais vu, et que je ne connais pas,) + + Monsieur Lucien Bing, + de Paris, France, + + En Reconnaissance de la Bonté de son Père, +Cette Historiette de la Guerre Civile en Amerique + Est affectueusement Dédié. + + + + +PREFACE + + +"WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES" is the second volume of "The Blue and the +Gray Series." Like its predecessor, of course, its scenes are connected +with the war of the Rebellion; and perhaps the writer ought to be +thankful that he is not required in such a work to rise to the dignity +of history, but he believes that all his events were possible, and that +every one of them has had its parallel in the actual occurrences of the +historic period of which he writes. In fact, some of the experiences of +the actors in the terrible drama of a quarter of a century ago would +pass more readily for fiction than for reality, and detailed on the +pages of a story would be deemed impossible by the conservative reader. + +The nation has passed out of its ordeal of fire, and an excellent spirit +on the part of both parties to the great strife is still growing and +strengthening, in spite of an occasional exhibition of folly on both +sides on the part of those who have not outlived the bitterness of the +past, and who probably will not outlive it. The time will certainly come +when the memories of the conflict, the repetition of the stories of the +war, and even the partisan praise bestowed upon the heroes of both +sides, will excite no more ill feeling than does an allusion to the +War of the Roses in England. + +In this country the advocate of either side will tell his story, relate +his history, and jingle his verse in his own way, and from his own +standpoint. Those upon the other side will be magnanimous enough to +tolerate him, at least in silence. Histories, romances, poems, and plays +relating to the war, are produced in greater numbers as the gap between +the days of battle and the days of peace widens; but the old fires are +not rekindled, the old bitterness still slumbers, and the Great United +Nation still lives on in perfect peace. + +The author hopes he has done nothing on these pages to impair the +growing harmony between the two sections which have happily become +one, or to impregnate the minds of those who have been born since the +strife ended with any of its bitterness. He has endeavored to make +as high-toned men on the one side as the other, with the same moral +sentiment in the one party as the other, and to exhibit their only +difference in the one great question of Union or Disunion. + + Dorchester, May 2, 1889. + + + + +CONTENTS + + Page +CHAPTER I. +An Unexpected Visitor 15 + +CHAPTER II. +A Difference of Opinion 27 + +CHAPTER III. +The dignified Naval Officer 37 + +CHAPTER IV. +Corny Passford plays Another Part 48 + +CHAPTER V. +Captain Carboneer and his Party 59 + +CHAPTER VI. +The Cabin of the Florence 70 + +CHAPTER VII. +Midshipman Christy Passford 81 + +CHAPTER VIII. +Arranging the Signals 92 + +CHAPTER IX. +The Approach of the Vampire 103 + +CHAPTER X. +A Shot from the Long Gun 114 + +CHAPTER XI. +The Battle alongside the Bellevite 125 + +CHAPTER XII. +The Prisoner of War 136 + +CHAPTER XIII. +After the Battle 146 + +CHAPTER XIV. +The Beginning of a Chase 157 + +CHAPTER XV. +A Chase off the Bermudas 168 + +CHAPTER XVI. +The Confederate Steamer Yazoo 179 + +CHAPTER XVII. +A Satisfactory Order 190 + +CHAPTER XVIII. +Lieutenant Passford in Command 201 + +CHAPTER XIX. +Some Trouble on Board the Teaser 212 + +CHAPTER XX. +Coming to the Point 223 + +CHAPTER XXI. +On a Dark and Foggy Night 234 + +CHAPTER XXII. +A Variety of Night Signals 245 + +CHAPTER XXIII. +Another Night Expedition 256 + +CHAPTER XXIV. +Lieutenant Passford on a Mission 206 + +CHAPTER XXV. +Christy becomes a Victim 278 + +CHAPTER XXVI. +The Action on the Deck of the Teaser 289 + +CHAPTER XXVII. +A Visit from Colonel Homer Passford 300 + +CHAPTER XXVIII. +An Enterprise for a Dark Night 311 + +CHAPTER XXIX. +The New Mate of the Cotton Schooner 322 + +CHAPTER XXX. +The Prize-Master of the Judith 333 + + + + +WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES + + + + +CHAPTER I + +AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR + + +"Cornelius!" exclaimed Captain Passford, as a young man of nineteen was +shown into the library of the magnificent dwelling of the millionnaire +at Bonnydale, on the Hudson. + +"Cornelius Passford, Uncle Horatio," replied the young man, as the +captain rushed to him and extended his hand. + +"I think there can be no mistake about it; and I should have been no +more surprised if Mr. Jefferson Davis had been ushered into my library +at this moment," continued Captain Passford, still retaining the hand of +his nephew. "I understood that you were a soldier in the Confederate +army." + +"I was a soldier; but I am not one just now," replied the visitor, with +some embarrassment in his manner, though the circumstances were strange +enough to account for it. + +"How are your father and mother and Miss Gerty, Corny?" asked the uncle +of the visitor, giving the young man the name by which he was generally +called both at home and in the family of his uncle. + +"They were all very well when I left them," replied Corny, looking on +the floor, as though he was not altogether satisfied with himself. + +"Of course, you brought letters from your father and Gerty?" + +"No, sir; I brought no letters," replied Corny, and, more than before, +he looked as though he was not enjoying his present visit. + +"No letters!" exclaimed Captain Passford, evidently surprised beyond +measure at the apparent want of kindly feeling on the part of members +of his brother's family in the South. + +"Not a letter, Uncle Horatio," answered Corny, bracing himself up, as +though he realized that he was not presenting a demeanor such as he +thought the occasion required of him. + +"This is very strange," added Captain Passford, with a cloud playing on +his fine features. + +"It is war between the North and the South, Uncle Horatio, and I suppose +my father did not feel like writing any letters. Gerty never writes any +letters if she can help it," Corny explained. + +"But Gerty used to write to Florry about once a week." + +"Did she? I didn't know it. She never would write to me when I was +away from home," said Corny, who seemed to be very anxious not to say +anything that was not consistent with the present situation, whatever +it was. + +"When I parted with my brother on board of the Bellevite, both of us +shed tears as we realized that war made enemies of us; but each of us +promised to do all he could for the other in case of need. I am very +sure that there was not the slightest unkind feeling between us. Of +course, I did not expect him to write me the war news, but I think he +could have written a few lines without any allusion to the war," said +Captain Passford, pained at this want of filial affection on the part +of his brother. + +At that moment the bell for tea rang, and the captain invited his nephew +to the table with him. The host was saddened by the absence of news from +his brother, of any kindly expression from one who was of the same blood +as himself. He was not quite satisfied with Corny's manner, or with the +little he seemed to be willing to say about the rest of the family. It +was certainly very strange that the young man should be there at all, +and his awkwardness and confusion made the visit seem still more +singular. + +It was possible that the young man had just arrived and was fatigued +by the trials and perils of his trip, for he must have come by some +roundabout way; and very likely he felt nervous and uneasy in the midst +of people who were loyal to the government and the Union. Captain +Passford decided to say nothing more to his nephew at present as to +the occasion and the manner of his visit to Bonnydale, and during the +evening meal he avoided all allusion to the war, so far as it was +possible to do so. Mrs. Passford and Florry received him very kindly, +but following the example of the head of the family, they spoke only of +domestic affairs, and of the relations of the two families as they had +been before the war. + +Between the brothers Homer and Horatio Passford, even from their early +boyhood, a remarkably strong fraternal affection had subsisted. Both of +them were high-toned men, and both of them had always been faithful in +the discharge of every duty to God and man. Each of them had a wife, a +son and a daughter, and two happier families could not have been found +on the face of the earth. They were not only devoted to each other, each +within its own circle, but the two families were as nearly one as it was +possible to be. + +Captain Horatio had formerly been a shipmaster, and had accumulated +an immense fortune. Homer was less fortunate in this respect, and his +tastes were somewhat different from those of his brother. He wanted to +be a planter, and with the financial assistance of his brother, he went +into the business of raising cotton near Mobile, in Alabama. But years +before the war, he had paid off every dollar of his indebtedness to +Horatio, and had made a comfortable fortune besides. The two families +had visited each other as much an possible, and the captain, with his +little family, had been almost to the plantation in the Bellevite, the +magnificent steam-yacht of the Northerner. + +During the preceding winter, Captain Passford, his wife and son, had +visited most of the islands of the Atlantic; but the health of Miss +Florry was considerably impaired, and the doctors would not permit her +to make this sea-voyage, but recommended her to keep quiet in some +southern locality. She had therefore passed the winter at Glenfield, +which was the name of Homer Passford's plantation. On his return from +this long cruise, the owner of the Bellevite obtained his first news +that war existed between the North and the South from the pilot. The +three members of the family on board of the steamer were greatly +distressed over the fact that Florry was still at the home of her +uncle in Alabama, within the enemy's lines. + +Without going on shore, Captain Passford decided to arm his yacht, which +was large enough for a man-of-war, and hasten to Mobile Bay to bring +back his daughter. He was in doubt with regard to the political feeling +of Homer, but believed that he would still adhere to the government and +the Union. It was a part of his mission to bring his brother and his +family to his own home at Bonnydale. Mrs. Passford was sent on shore in +a tug, and Christy, the son, was to go with her; but the young man, just +entering his seventeenth year, protested against being left at home, and +as the captain believed that a patriotic citizen ought to be willing to +give his all, even his sons, to his country, the young man went with his +father. The mother was as devoted to her country as the father, and +terrible as was the ordeal, she consented to part with him for such a +duty. + +By an event fortunate for him, Captain Passford succeeded in obtaining +an armament for his vessel, as well as an abundant supply of ammunition; +and the vessel was refitted for the perilous service in which she was +to be engaged. At Nassau, Christy made the acquaintance of a young man +who proved to be of great service to the expedition, and the Bellevite +reached her destination in safety, though not without some rather +exciting incidents. + +Captain Passford found that his brother was sincerely and devotedly +attached to the Southern cause. They discussed the great question for +hours upon hours, each striving to convert the other to his own views, +but with no success on the part of either. Homer Passford was a +religious man, conscientious in the discharge of every duty, and nothing +less could be said of his Northern brother. In a short time the owner of +the Bellevite found that he had fallen into a "hornet's nest," for the +planter did not believe that he ought to allow the steam-yacht to be +taken to New York to become a part of the navy of the Union. He declared +his convictions to his brother, who was compelled to regard the planter +as an enemy in spite of the relations subsisting between them. Both of +them placed their duty to their own country above every other +consideration. + +Captain Passford was obliged to get his daughter out of his brother's +house by stealth, and to make his escape with the Bellevite as best he +could. + +Major Lindley Pierson, in command of Fort Gaines, at the entrance to +Mobile Bay, had permitted the steamer to pass, having been deceived by +his younger brother. He had been a frequent visitor at the mansion of +Homer Passford, attracted there, it appeared, by the lovely daughter of +the planter's brother, remaining there for the winter. Perhaps on her +account, perhaps with the fear that the Bellevite was not what she had +appeared to be, he had gone to the vicinity of Glenfield to inquire into +the mission of the steamer. + +Homer Passford, acting upon his convictions, gave information which +resulted in an attempt to capture the Bellevite. Christy, not informed +in regard to the plans of his father to depart at once in the steamer, +was "Taken by the Enemy," and had some very stirring adventures in the +bay. But the steamer escaped from the numerous enemies that awaited her, +and Christy got on board of her at the last minute. The Bellevite ran +the gantlet of the forts in a dense fog, and brought Miss Florry in +safety to her home at Bonnydale. + +Corny Passford, whose unexpected arrival at Bonnydale had excited the +astonishment of his uncle, was a year older than Christy, and had +enlisted in the Confederate service at the insistence of Major Pierson. +Without knowing anything in particular about the matter, his uncle +believed, at his visit to Glenfield, that Corny was as earnestly devoted +to the Southern cause as his father, judging entirely from the fact that +he had enlisted as a soldier. + +Corny had a good appetite, and a good supper was set before him. He ate +like a hungry boy, and the fact that he was within the enemy's lines did +not seem to have any influence upon him. His aunt helped him till he +seemed to be filled to repletion, for she thought he must have been +accustomed of late only to the most indifferent fare. After supper, he +followed his uncle back to the library; but he seemed less embarrassed +than before. + +"Where is Christy, Uncle Horatio?" asked Corny, as he seated himself in +the library. "I have not seen him yet; and as I was away at the fort +when you went to Glenfield, I did not see him then." + +"I don't know where he is just now, though he is in or about the house +most of the time," replied the captain. "Are you still in the army, +Corny?" + +"No, sir, I am here. I did not like the service very well, and I thought +I should like the navy better. The reason why I did not like it as well +as at first was because I was no longer in Major Pierson's battalion," +replied Corny, looking at his uncle as though he expected a question +from him. + +"Then Major Pierson is no longer in the army?" added the captain. + +"Oh, yes, he is; but I think he was the maddest man in the army soon +after you left." + +"Indeed! Why was he so mad?" + +"Because he was removed from command of Fort Gaines for letting you pass +it in your steamer." + +"Then he is still in the service?" asked Captain Passford. + +"Yes, sir; he is a good officer, and he will make his way, if he was +guilty of a blunder in letting the Bellevite pass the fort." + +"Then you intend to be a sailor, Corny?" + +"Yes, sir; in fact, I am a sailor now. I had been in your yacht so +much that I knew something about the ropes, and I had no difficulty in +getting transferred, as sailors were wanted more than soldiers," replied +Corny, who seemed to be studying the figures in the carpet. + +"But if you went into the navy, how do you happen to be in New York?" +asked Captain Passford. + +"I suppose you remember the Dauphine, which was fitting out when you +were in Mobile Bay?" continued Corny. + +"I heard the name, and was told that she was one of the vessels that +tried to prevent the escape of the Bellevite." + +"I was sent on board of her; but, in coming out of the bay, she was +captured by a Federal vessel, and sent to New York. I hid myself when +the crew were taken off, and came in her here," replied Corny, still +studying the carpet. + +Captain Passford had not heard of the capture of the Dauphine. He was +not quite satisfied with the story of his nephew. But he was obliged to +go to the city, and he handed the guest over to his wife and daughter. +Corny wanted to see Christy, and Mrs. Passford had begun to be uneasy +that he did not return at dark. Corny went out to find him. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION + + +The Bellevite lay in the river, off the estate of Captain Passford, +though at a little distance below the mansion, from the windows of which +she could not be seen. Corny walked down the avenue and over the hill, +in the direction of the anchorage of the steamer. The boat-house was +near the mansion, and to the float attached to it a variety of small +craft were made fast. But the water was not deep enough there for the +Bellevite. Corny had been to Bonnydale, and passed many weeks there, +so that he was familiar with the localities. + +As he passed the boat-house, he noticed that the Florence, which was +Christy's favorite sailing craft, was not at her moorings, and he +concluded that his cousin was away in her on some excursion. When he +reached the boundary line of the estate, he discovered the sailboat with +her bow on the beach, though her mainsail was still set. A gentle breeze +was blowing, with which the Florence could make good headway; but there +seemed to be no one on board of her. Corny watched her for some time, +waiting for the appearance of Christy. It was not an easy matter to +climb the high fence which bounded the estate, and the planter's son +could hail the boat, and be taken on board of her as soon as she got +under way again. + +But Christy did not appear, and it was getting darker and darker every +minute. Something must have attracted the attention of the skipper on +shore, and he had doubtless landed. But while Corny was waiting for his +cousin, he saw two men making their way through the grove on the other +side of the fence towards the river. One of them he recognized, and gave +a peculiar whistle, which drew the two men in the direction from which +it came. + +"Is that you, major?" asked Corny, in a low tone. + +"Hush! You are a simpleton, Corny!" exclaimed one of the men, as he came +up to the palisades of the fence. "Didn't I tell you not to call me by +name?" + +"I didn't call you by name," replied Corny, smartly. + +"You called me major, and that is about the same thing," added the +speaker on the other side of the fence. + +"The woods are full of majors now, both in the North and the South, and +no one knows you especially by that name. But I will remember in future, +Mr. Mulgate," replied Corny. + +"That sounds better, Neal. If we lose the game it will be by your +blundering," continued the major, or Mulgate, as he preferred to be +called on the present occasion. + +"I suppose you have no talent for blundering, Mulgate; and that is the +reason why you happen to be here at the present moment," retorted Corny, +not at all pleased with the speech of the other. + +"None of your impudence, Neal!" said Mulgate, sharply. + +"If you lose the game, you say that it will be by my blundering, +Mulgate," continued Corny. "That makes it seem as though I was to bear +the responsibility of a failure; and I don't like the looks of things. +If I am to be responsible for a failure, I ought to have something to +say about the manner of conducting the enterprise." + +"Shut up, Neal! We have no time to talk nonsense of that sort. I am to +conduct the enterprise, and you are to obey my orders. That is the whole +of it," replied Mulgate, impatient at the position taken by the young +man. "You are still under my command, and you will obey me or take the +consequences. Now to business: what have you learned?" + +"Nothing at all," answered Corny, rather sullenly. + +"What have you been about? Haven't you discovered anything?" + +"Nothing at all; I have but just arrived here. I took supper with my +uncle, and told him the fish story you invented for me." + +"Did he believe it?" + +"I don't know whether he did or not; but he and the rest of the family +treated me very handsomely, which made me feel meaner than a dead +catfish." + +"Never mind your feelings; you are here to assist in a great enterprise, +and you are expected to do your duty to your country without regard to +your own notions. Report what you have done." + +"I haven't done anything but introduce myself into the house, and +explain how I happen to be here," replied Corny, as he proceeded to +give the details of his meeting with his uncle. + +"Is Miss Florry at home?" asked Mulgate, in a more gentle tone, as +though he had a deeper interest in the direction he had indicated. + +"She is at home, and was at the supper table with us." + +"How does she seem to be?" asked the stranger. + +"First rate; she is as jolly as though no one ever heard of such a thing +as war," replied Corny, with enthusiasm. + +"Did she say anything about her stay at Glenfield?" inquired Mulgate, +whose interest seemed to mount to the pitch of anxiety. + +"Not a word; she did not even hint at Glenfield, or anything connected +with it," answered Corny; and, after the sharp tones of the other, he +seemed to take pleasure in thorning him with negative answers. + +"Did she say anything about me?" + +"Not a word." + +"Didn't she mention my name?" + +"She did not." + +"Didn't she ask about my health, or want to know where I was?" + +"Florry did not allude to you in any manner. If she wanted to know where +you were, she did not say a word about it to me," replied Corny, in the +most decided tones. + +It was still light enough to see that there was something like a frown +on the brow of Mr. Mulgate. He had evidently believed that the daughter +of the millionnaire of Bonnydale was interested in him, and his +inquiries indicated that he expected her to ask about him; but she had +not made the remotest allusion to him. Besides, she was as jolly as she +had been at Glenfield, when war was a matter of the future, which few +believed would ever be realized. She had not grown thin and pale during +her absence from him, and she did not appear to be wasting her sweetness +in pining for him. + +"What in the world are you talking about, Mulgate?" suddenly demanded +his companion on his side of the fence. "I thought we were here for +business, and you are talking about some girl." + +"She is the lady of whom I spoke to you; she spent the last winter with +her uncle at the Glenfield Plantation. I am interested in her," replied +Mulgate, as though he had given a sufficient excuse for the questions he +had put to Corny. + +"Are we to capture her and take her back to the State of Alabama?" +demanded the other, who seemed to be a gentleman of forty at least. + +"I don't know; that depends; but, Captain Carboneer, I hope you will be +my friend in this little matter," added Mulgate. + +"I don't know any thing about the little matter; but I am not willing +to jeopardize the enterprise that brings us here to help you out with +a love affair," replied the older gentleman. "There will be time enough +for you to look for a wife after the war is over, and you have more time +to attend to the affair." + +"Mr. Mulgate, I should like to know something more about your intentions +before we go any farther," interposed Corny, in a tone so decided that +Mulgate had to listen to him, especially as he had obtained so little +sympathy from the elderly gentleman. + +"Speak quick then, for we have no time to spare," added Mulgate. + +"Do I understand from what you have said that you intend to take Florry +Passford back to the South with you?" asked Corny, with his teeth +closely pressed together, so that it was rather difficult for him to +speak intelligibly. + +"I answer, as I did before, that I don't know what I shall do; that +depends," replied Mulgate evasively. + +"Depends upon what?" + +"I have no time to discuss that matter now," added Mulgate, turning to +his companion. + +"But I have time to say that I will ruin the whole enterprise if you +mean to commit an outrage such as you appear to have in your mind," +replied Corny, as vigorously as though he had been the military equal +of the one he had called "major" by accident. + +"Do you mean to be a traitor to your country, Neal?" demanded Mulgate +angrily. + +"Neither to my country nor to my uncle." + +"Your uncle is a Yankee, and is doing all he can to subjugate the free +South. He has no rights which we are bound to respect," said Mulgate +fiercely. + +"This will never do," interposed Captain Carboneer; and this may or may +not have been his real name. "We are getting into a disagreement at the +very first step of our enterprise." + +"I don't know you, Captain Carboneer, but I wish to be understood as +meaning every word I have said; and I will wreck this enterprise, if +I am shot for it, rather than allow my cousin to be carried off in +connection with it," protested Corny stoutly. "I will do my duty +faithfully; but I will not assist in robbing my uncle of his daughter." + +"You are quite right, young man; and I would rather be sent to the fort +as a prisoner of war than take part in such an enterprise," added +Captain Carboneer, in mild but forcible tones. + +"You astonish me, captain!" said Mulgate. "Why do you talk about an +outrage? I claim to be a gentleman, and to be above any such villainy as +you and Corny suggest. I do not propose to rob Captain Passford of his +daughter. What I may do depends--depends upon the consent of the lady. +If she is willing to go with me"-- + +"She is not willing to go with you; and she never will be willing to go +with you," Corny interposed. "I don't know what you are thinking about, +Mr. Mulgate; but Florry cares no more about you than she does about +Uncle Pedro, my father's house-servant. She saw you both at Glenfield, +and I can't tell which she likes best." + +"We had better drop the subject," added Captain Carboneer. + +"Drop it, then," replied Mulgate sullenly. "Get over the fence, Corny. +Nobody is using that sailboat, and we may as well take it for a while." + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE DIGNIFIED NAVAL OFFICER + + +Corny climbed over the high palisade fence, with the assistance of +Mulgate, and the party walked to the sailboat at the beach below. By +this time it was dark, though the gloom was not very dense under a clear +sky. + +"Do you know anything about this boat, Corny?" asked Mulgate, as the +trio approached the handsome craft, for such she was beyond a doubt. + +The crusty tones of the speaker indicated that he had not yet recovered +from the set-back he had plainly received in the late conversation, +though he denied that he had any evil intentions in regard to Miss +Florry. + +"I do; I know all about her," replied Corny. + +"Well, why don't you tell what you know?" demanded Mulgate. + +"What do you wish to know about her?" inquired Corny, who was disposed +to maintain his equality in spite of the military rank of his companion, +which he had incautiously betrayed in the beginning. + +"Whose boat is it?" asked Mulgate. + +"She belongs to my cousin, Christy Passford." + +"Where is he now?" + +"I don't know, sir." + +"Was he at the house when you were there?" + +"He was not; and his mother had become rather anxious because he did not +return to supper," replied Corny, becoming a little more pliable. + +"This is a rather large boat, Captain Carboneer," added Mulgate, as he +surveyed the trim sloop. "She is rather too large for our purpose." + +"She will answer very well," replied the captain, as he applied his +shoulder to the stem of the craft to ascertain how heavily she rested +upon the beach. "Now, do you know whether there is any person on board +of that steamer?" + +"Of course, I don't know anything about it," said Mulgate. + +"I am sure I don't," added Corny. + +"I sent you up here to ascertain all about the Bellevite," continued +Mulgate, rather sharply. + +"I have not had time to find out anything," Corny explained, with some +indignation in his tones. + +"Corny has done as well as he could in the time he has had to do it in," +interposed Captain Carboneer. "I think you are inclined to stir up bad +blood with this young man, Mulgate. It appears now that you have a +purpose of your own to accomplish, and that Corny will not allow you +to carry it out." + +"My first purpose is the same as your own," replied Mulgate. + +"You admit that you have a second object; and I cannot tell when you +will decide to make it your principal purpose," added Captain Carboneer. +"I am not satisfied with the situation. I have done everything I can to +accomplish our patriotic object. You endanger it by your crusty manner +to this young man, who seems to be willing to do his duty; and he is in +a position to be of great service to our enterprise." + +"If you think it is necessary, I will take off my cap to this young +man," said Mulgate, with a sneer in his tones. + +"Be reasonable, Mulgate." + +"What can I do more than I have done?" demanded the military gentleman, +as his title indicated that he was. + +"The first thing to do on your part is to renounce this idea of taking +a lady passenger with you in the steamer," replied Captain Carboneer, in +a very decided tone. "Women are not permitted on board of naval vessels, +especially in time of war." + +"I don't think I have any idea to renounce," muttered Mulgate. + +"You certainly hinted that you desired to take a lady on board, and +convey her to our destination," said the captain, rather earnestly. + +"Not against her will, as you and Corny will have it," protested +Mulgate. + +"Do you renounce that plan or that idea, whatever it may be?" + +"I do not renounce it. If the lady is willing to go with me, as I +believe she will be, I know of no reason why she should not go as a +passenger," argued Mulgate. + +"I think we had better abandon the enterprise in the beginning, for I +think we can be of more service to our country at liberty than within +the walls of Fort Lafayette," added the captain, with not a little +disgust mingled with his indignation. + +Whatever his object in visiting this locality, he was clearly a +high-toned gentleman, and the idea of prosecuting a love adventure +in connection with what he regarded as a highly patriotic duty was +repulsive to his nature. He found by trial that the Florence was not +grounded very hard on the beach, for the tide was rising, and he drew +the boat farther up from the water, as he turned to walk away from the +spot. + +"Am I to understand that you retire from this enterprise, Captain +Carboneer?" asked Mulgate. + +"Am I to understand that you renounce your scheme to carry off a woman +as a part of the enterprise?" demanded the captain. + +"I do not renounce it, though I have no intention to carry off a woman, +as you put it. The most I have asked is that she be permitted to go as a +passenger of her own free will," replied Mulgate. + +"She never will go with him of her own free will," interposed Corny. + +"I will not have a woman on board of the vessel, whether she goes +willingly or otherwise. Do you renounce that scheme entirely?" + +"I think you are driving me into a small corner, Captain Carboneer." + +"After what you have said before, I think I am fully justified in what I +require. With your private affairs, I have nothing to do. If you choose +to marry this young lady, I have nothing to say about that; but no woman +can be a passenger in a war vessel under my command. After I have landed +you at Bermuda or Nassau, I shall not attempt to run the blockade, which +is now enforced, in order to land you and the lady. Besides, we may be +in action at any time after we get under way." + +"Then if I do not yield the point, you intend to leave me to carry out +this enterprise alone?" demanded Mulgate. + +"In that case, I wish to go with you, Captain Carboneer," added Corny, +with emphasis. "But I want it understood that I shall not leave +Bonnydale without telling my uncle to look out for his daughter." + +"Then you mean to be a traitor, Corny?" said Mulgate angrily. + +"Call it what you like." + +"All this is absurd, Mulgate," interposed Captain Carboneer. "Without my +resources, you can do nothing at all, and it would be foolish for you to +attempt the capture of the vessel. You are not a sailor or a navigator, +and you could do nothing with the vessel if you succeeded in getting her +to sea." + +"I have no doubt I could find a hundred men in New York, including +half a score of navigators, to assist me in this enterprise," replied +Mulgate. + +"I have another steamer in view, though the Bellevite is vastly superior +to anything I know of in speed and general fitness. Do as you think +best, Mulgate; and I shall be able to explain in a satisfactory manner +my failure to obtain this vessel." + +"The fault will be mine, I suppose," muttered Mulgate. + +"The court-martial will decide that point," replied the captain. + +Mulgate seemed to be buried in his own reflections, no doubt suggested +by the last remark of the other. Possibly he considered that the failure +of such an important enterprise because he had insisted upon bringing +a lady into the affair would not sound well at home. Whatever he was +thinking about, he was greatly agitated, and Captain Carboneer walked in +the direction of the road, half a mile from the river. He had no time to +consider the matter: he must yield at once, or abandon the scheme. + +"I will do anything you ask, Captain Carboneer!" he shouted, forgetting, +in his excitement, the demand for secrecy. + +The naval officer, as his conversation indicated that he was, turned and +retraced his steps to the beach. He did not seem to be at all excited +because his associate had changed his mind, for in his judgment it would +have been worse than madness for him to persist in his intentions. + +"I have stated the case as I understand it, and I have nothing more to +say, Mulgate," said he. + +"I renounce my scheme, and I will not ask that the lady be a passenger +even to Bermuda or Nassau," replied Mulgate, though not without a +considerable display of emotion. + +"Very well; that is enough. Nothing more need be said about your +purpose, since you have renounced it. Now we will visit the Bellevite, +and learn what we can in regard to her," said the naval officer, in his +usual quiet manner, and whether he was a Confederate or a Unionist, one +could hardly have failed to be impressed by his dignified deportment. + +At the request of Captain Carboneer, Mulgate climbed to the forward deck +of the Florence. She was twenty-eight feet long, and her deck covered +more than half of her length. She had a very large cabin for a boat of +her size, which was fitted up with berths, with a cook-room forward of +it, for Christy Passford was often absent a week in her. + +"I think Corny had better go back to the house, and keep an eye on +Christy, so as to make sure that he does not disturb us," suggested +Mulgate, as the planter's son was about to go on board of the yacht. + +"I think we shall want him, and he had better be with us," replied the +captain, as one would speak when he expected to be obeyed. + +Corny climbed up the stem of the Florence. He had never seen the captain +before, and had not even been informed who and what he was; but he +appeared to be a more important person than Mulgate, and he did not wait +for the latter to argue his point. He had sailed in the Florence very +often, and he knew all about her. He took a boathook, and planted its +point on the beach, in readiness to shove off. + +"Not yet, Corny," said the naval officer, as he sprang lightly to the +deck of the sailboat. "Let us see where we are before we do anything." + +Captain Carboneer seated himself on one of the cushioned seats in the +standing-room, and looked about him. A steamer towing a multitude of +canal boats was approaching, and he waited for it to pass. Then no +steamer or other craft was to be seen on the river. + +"So far as I have been able to discover, there are only two men on board +of the Bellevite, and I think we have not a moment to lose," said the +naval officer, when he saw that the river was clear of everything that +might interfere with his plans. "But we must go on board of her, and +make sure of everything before we commit ourselves." + +"As you said, Captain Carboneer, I am no sailor; and you don't think of +taking the steamer out of the river alone?" added Mulgate. + +"I have not come here on a fool's errand, Major Pierson," replied the +captain. "We are alone now, and we may call things by their right +names." + +"But I don't care to have my name used in this vicinity," interposed +this gentleman, when addressed by his own name. + +"Your wish in this respect shall be respected, Mr. Mulgate. I was about +to say that I had a ship's company all ready to take possession of this +craft, to handle her at sea, and even to fight a battle if necessary." + +"But where are your ship's company?" asked Mulgate, as he wished still +to be called. + +"I will produce them at the right time. Now you may shove her off, +Corny," added the captain, as he took the wheel. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +CORNY PASSFORD PLAYS ANOTHER PART + + +Captain Carboneer brought the Florence about, and headed her across the +river. The Bellevite was moored a short distance from the estate down +the stream. + +"I have been up here before to-day," said the naval officer, as the boat +moved away from the shore, assuring him that no one could be near enough +to hear what he said. + +"We only reached New York yesterday, and I don't see how you can have +picked up a ship's company in that time," replied Mulgate. + +"I sent the men before I came myself. I have stationed them in various +places on the river, where I can get them when I want them; and I shall +want them before the sun rises to-morrow morning," replied the captain. + +"To-night!" exclaimed Mulgate, who seemed to be astounded at the +revelation. + +"Yes, to-night; in a few hours from now. I have obtained all the +information I could in regard to the steamer, and what we do must be +done at once. The Bellevite, as they call her now, has not yet been +handed over to the government, though she has been accepted. They are +waiting for something, though I don't know what, and she may be sent +to the navy yard to-morrow; and then it will be too late for us to do +anything." + +"But to-night--that is rather hurried," added Mulgate, musing. + +Very likely he was thinking of the beautiful Miss Florry in the elegant +mansion a short distance up the river. Without a doubt he was Major +Pierson, since the naval officer had addressed him by this name and +title. He had often met the young lady at Glenfield Plantation, and +possibly his sudden visit to the North had not been without some thought +of her. However it may have been with her, he was at least very much +interested in Miss Florry. + +The fact that she was a "Yankee" did not make her less beautiful, and it +did not make her any the less the daughter of a millionnaire. No one +could say that he was mercenary, however, and no one could say why he +was not as deeply interested in the daughter of the planter, for she +was hardly less beautiful, though her father was not considered a +millionnaire, to say nothing of a ten-millionnaire. Major Pierson did +not tell what he was thinking about; but he was certainly astounded and +badly set back when the naval officer intimated that the capture of the +Bellevite might be undertaken that night. + +"You can see for yourself that we must strike at once, or there may be +nothing to strike at," replied Captain Carboneer. + +"But we shall have no time to work up the case," suggested the major. + +"The case is all worked up, and there is nothing more to work up," +replied the captain, as he headed the boat for the steamer. + +Major Pierson said no more, but he was as much dissatisfied with the +promptness of the naval officer as though he had said it in so many +words. It would be difficult to imagine how he expected to manage his +case with Miss Florry, since he could not enter the house without +betraying his identity. Perhaps he intended to lie in wait for her in +the grounds of the estate, and trust that her interest in him would +induce her to keep his secret. + +"Is that you, Christy?" called a voice from the steamer, as the Florence +approached the Bellevite. + +"Answer him, Corny," said Captain Carboneer, in a low voice. "Say 'yes,' +and ask who it is that speaks." + +"Yes," repeated Corny. "Who are you?" + +"Sampson," replied the man on board of the steamer. + +"And who is with him," added the captain. + +"Are you alone on board?" demanded Corny, varying his speech a little +from his instructions. + +"No; Warping is on board, but he has gone to sleep in the pilot-house. +Do you want him?" + +"No; but you wish to take a couple of friends on board to obtain the +measure of a gun-carriage," continued Captain Carboneer. + +"No; I don't want Warping; I only wanted to know if he was on board," +repeated Corny. "I have a couple of friends here who want to measure a +gun-carriage to-night, for they have to leave in the morning." + +"Very well, young man; you understand yourself very well," said the +captain, in tones of approval. + +By this time Captain Carboneer had brought the boat alongside the +accommodation steps, the lower part of which were hoisted up to prevent +any water tramps from coming on board without permission. But when Corny +had delivered the last message, the steps were lowered, and the Florence +made fast to them. Corny was told to lead the way, and act as though he +were Christy Passford, and owned the ship in his own right. + +The planter's son went up the steps, and the other two followed him, +though the naval officer had really ascertained all he wished to know. +There were only two ship-keepers on board, and they would be no obstacle +in the way of the ship's company to which the captain had alluded. But +the leader of the enterprise had another object in view, though it was +only secondary in its nature. He was afraid to overburden the mind of +Corny, and he said nothing more. + +"Is everything all right on board, Sampson?" asked Corny, as he stepped +down upon the deck of the vessel. + +"All right, Christy," replied the man. + +"I am glad to hear it. Is there anything new?" + +"Nothing at all, Christy. I have been overhauling the boilers a little +to-day for the want of something to do, and they are in first-rate +condition. As you told me to-day that we might expect the order to +report at the navy yard at any minute, I thought I would have everything +as nearly ready as it could be." + +"You have done very well, Sampson," added Corny, approvingly. "We are +to get under way early in the morning, and if father gets home he will +start the steamer as soon as he comes. He went to the city this evening, +and probably he will bring the order with him," continued Corny, making +use of the information he had obtained in the house. + +"Where is this long gun, my man?" asked Captain Carboneer, taking a +measure from his pocket. + +"Forward, sir," replied Sampson, as he led the way. + +The captain kept some distance behind the ship-keeper, and took Corny by +the arm to detain him. + +"Tell him to get up steam at once," whispered the leader of the party, +as he hastened forward to the long midship gun, where he proceeded to +take his measurements as though he were in real earnest, though it was +so dark that he could not possibly see the marks on his tape, even if he +tried to do so. + +"You say that everything is ready to start the fires, Sampson?" said +Corny, as soon as he had a chance to speak to the ship-keeper. + +"Everything is ready, Christy, and I have only to touch the match to the +shavings to make a beginning," replied Sampson. "Is there any news about +my appointment in the engine-room, Christy?" + +"Not yet, Sampson; but the papers will soon come, and I am almost +willing to guarantee your appointment." + +"Mr. Vapoor has already spoken a good word for me." + +"All right, Sampson; then you are sure of the position. I am very sure +that we shall get the order before morning to move the steamer over +to the navy yard, and I think you had better start the fires at once, +Sampson," continued Corny, making himself as much at home on board of +the steamer as though he had really been the person he was supposed +to be. + +"All right, Christy; and if the order don't come as soon as you expect +it, we can bank the fires, and no harm will be done," replied the oiler, +for such was his position on board, though he was evidently expecting +something better. + +By this time Captain Carboneer had finished taking the measure of the +gun-carriage, though he had not been able to see anything. But he had +been through all the forms, and that answered his purpose just as well. +He declared that he had no further business on board, and the trio went +to the accommodation ladder. Sampson had called his sleeping companion, +and already the black smoke began to pour out of the smokestack. + +"That was all very handsomely done," said Major Pierson, as they stepped +on board of the Florence. + +"Everything worked very well; but it was all owing to the fact that the +ship-keeper thought that Corny was some other person," replied the +captain. + +"I know that he took him for Christy Passford, and I have had some +experience with Christy," replied the major, recalling his attempts to +prevent the Bellevite from escaping from Mobile Bay. "He is a smart +fellow, as the Yankees would say, and it is fortunate that he is not +here at the present time." + +"He can't be very far off," suggested Corny. "He was expected back to +supper, and I wanted to see him, for he is my cousin. He must be about +here somewhere." + +"Never mind whether he is or not; we have finished our business here, +and the harvest is ripe for the sickle. We will leave this boat just +where we found it, for I have a rowboat a little farther down the +river," continued Captain Carboneer. + +"I suppose I ought to return to my uncle's house," suggested Corny. +"If they miss me they will be looking about here to ascertain what has +become of me." + +"I think you had better not try to relieve their anxiety to-night. +If they are worried about you, they will get over it in the morning +when they find the steamer is missing," said Captain Carboneer, with +something like a chuckle in his tones when he pictured the surprise of +the "Yankees" in making the discovery that the Bellevite had taken to +herself wings, and sped on her way to the South. + +"I don't think they will worry about me," added Corny, laughing. "I was +afraid they might think I was here to capture the city of New York, or +something of that sort." + +"I think you had better not undeceive them to-night," replied the +captain, as he ran the yacht upon the beach near where he had found her. + +"Everything looks exceedingly well for our enterprise." + +"If you get that steamer into Mobile Bay"-- + +"I don't intend to get her into the bay; that would be folly, and I +shall run no risks among the blockaders, for a single shot might give +her back to her present owners." + +"No matter; if you only get her, and she is under the flag of the +Confederacy, it will put me back where I was when she went into the +bay by a Yankee trick," added Major Pierson. + +"After the war, if you wish to see the young lady, you will have more +time to attend to the affair, and I shall wish you every success then," +said the captain lightly. + +"How long do you think the war will last, Captain Carboneer?" asked the +major, in this connection. + +"Possibly it may last a year, though if we can break up that blockade, +it will not last six months longer." + +The trio landed on the beach, and the naval officer made sure that the +Florence was securely fixed in the gravel. The party walked down stream, +embarked in the boat of which the captain had spoken. It was pulled by +two men, and after they had gone about a mile, the captain began to blow +a boatswain's whistle which he took from his pocket. + +But they had hardly jumped down on the beach before Christy Passford +opened the cabin door of the yacht, and crept out with the utmost care. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +CAPTAIN CARBONEER AND HIS PARTY + + +As Captain Carboneer blew his whistle, a mile below the moorings of the +Bellevite, an occasional response came from the shore. Everything was +remarkably quiet on the river, though at long intervals a steamer passed +on its way up or down the stream. The signals made by the naval officer +were not loud, and the replies, made without the aid of any instrument, +were quite feeble. One might have taken them for some frolic on the part +of the boys. + +"I don't quite understand this business," said Major Pierson, after he +had listened a while to the signals. "I suppose from the answers you +get, that your men are all along the river, and the woods seem to be +full of them." + +"I have no doubt they are all here," replied Captain Carboneer. "I have +been in this vicinity all day, and I have made good use of my time. +I believe the Bellevite belongs to the Confederacy, and it shall be +no fault of mine if the goods are not delivered in good order and +condition." + +"My father was confident that he should obtain her at Nassau, though he +was mistaken," added the major. + +"But when she went within our lines, we were all satisfied that she was +ours. I have not yet been able to understand why she was permitted to +escape." + +"If you mean by that to cast any blame upon those who did their best +to prevent her escape, Captain Carboneer, you wrong them grossly," +said Major Pierson. "She came on a friendly visit to the plantation of +Colonel Passford; but this gentleman, though the owner of the steamer +was his own brother, promptly gave information of her presence in the +creek, and did all he could to have her captured. No man could have +sacrificed more to his patriotism than he did." + +"I do not reflect on him or on any one; I only wonder how the Bellevite +contrived to escape when several steamers were sent out to capture her," +added the captain. + +"The son of the owner of the Bellevite was a prisoner of mine, for when +I had my brother arrested for desertion, this young man was with him. +The only mistake I made was in not putting him in irons. The captain of +my tug proved to be a traitor to the Confederacy, and this fellow, with +Christy Passford, did the most of the mischief in preventing the capture +of the steamer." + +"I was told that he was a smart boy," added the naval officer. + +"He is all of that; and I think it was very fortunate that he did not +happen to be at home when we visited the Bellevite just now," said Major +Pierson, who evidently had a proper respect for the abilities of the +millionnaire's son. + +"I do not see that his presence in his father's mansion, if he had been +there, could have made any difference," added the captain, as he sounded +his whistle again, and heard a faint response from the shore. "As long +as he was not actually on board of the steamer, he was harmless." + +"Perhaps he was, though I have the feeling that it would have been +otherwise. There was a whistle from the shore." + +"I heard it, and I understand it. Haslett has done his whole duty, +I judge," replied Captain Carboneer. + +"Who is Haslett?" asked the major curiously. "I never heard of him +before." + +"He is to be the first lieutenant of the Bellevite." + +"You seem to have a full supply of officers and men, Captain Carboneer," +added Major Pierson, apparently a little disconcerted. "I do not see +that I am of the least use here, for you seem to have done everything +without consulting me." + +"In naval matters I have; but I give you full credit for the planning of +the enterprise," replied the captain, in his softest tones. + +"When I was removed from my command because I allowed the steamer to +pass the forts, I felt that a great injustice had been done to me. I did +all I could to effect the capture of the vessel, but the attempt was a +failure," argued the major. "The shot hole through the bow of the Belle +utterly wrecked her, and the force on board of her could do nothing, and +Christy Passford had brought my own tug to bear against me. Why, the +Bellevite actually saved the force on board of the Belle from drowning. +A violent gale came up, and that did a great deal to nullify all our +efforts. But I think I did my whole duty." + +"I have no doubt of it, Major Pierson; and for that reason you were sent +on this mission; and I am confident that the success of the enterprise +will restore you to your former command, or give you another quite as +good," said Captain Carboneer, as consolation to the military arm of the +expedition. + +"But I cannot see that I have been of any use to this enterprise, and I +might as well have staid at home." + +"You are too modest by half, major. You planned the expedition, and +suggested that Corny should take part in it, as he would have the +_entrée_ to the residence of Captain Passford. But, being a mere boy, +he could not be sent alone, and your services were likely to be of +the most important character. It is no fault of yours that we found +everything made ready for us, as it were. It might have been quite +different, and the burden of the action might have rested upon you. +It is all right as it is." + +"I am satisfied," added the major, "though I think it was no more than +right that you should have consulted me in regard to your methods, of +which I am still profoundly ignorant. In getting up the scheme, I based +everything on the fact that Corny could go into his uncle's house and +obtain all the information we needed." + +"The scheme was well concocted; and I shall have the pleasure of +reporting to the government that the military arm of the expedition +conducted the enterprise to a perfect success, the naval force only +doing the duty pointed out by the military." + +"You are very kind, Captain Carboneer," said Major Pierson, who could +not well help being entirely satisfied, and even greatly pleased, with +this happy showing of the final result. + +"By daylight in the morning we shall be outside of Sandy Hook, I expect. +We have no time to waste, and you can see for yourself how the affair of +the young lady would have complicated our operations." + +"How do you intend to convey these men, who seem to be scattered all +along the shores of the river, to the steamer?" + +"They understand my signals, and they will all be ready within an hour +to take a small steamer which will pick them up." + +"But where is the steamer?" + +"She is farther down the river. As you seem to be a little sensitive to +the fact that I have not consulted you in regard to the naval operations +of this enterprise, I can tell you in a few words all there is of them," +continued Captain Carboneer. "As you are aware, as soon as our plan was +matured by you, I left Mobile with Lieutenant Haslett, though you knew +nothing about him, for Nassau. We had no difficulty in getting out of +the bay, for the blockade was not then enforced. At Nassau I engaged a +couple of English engineers, and a few other officers, with thirty +seamen, mostly English, who were looking for prize-money. I had to take +my force to Quebec, for no steamer offered for New York. I sent them all +here in small parties, and Haslett posted them along the river when I +told him they would be needed to-night." + +"I did not leave Mobile till two weeks later with Corny," added the +major. "But I got here sooner than you did." + +"You were more fortunate in finding a steamer. I believe I have a +capital crew, though I shall obtain more men at Bermuda, or some other +port. There are plenty of good English sailors who are willing to fight +on either side if there is a good showing for prize-money; and I have +no doubt I shall capture a dozen vessels before we reach the Bermudas, +which will fully satisfy them, especially as the government will pay +the value of all vessels we are compelled to burn on the high seas." + +"You will have the advantage over everything that floats, for I was told +that the Bellevite made twenty knots an hour, and had done twenty-two," +said Major Pierson. "At what time do you think you will get on board of +the steamer?" + +"By one or two in the morning, I hope; but it will depend upon the +steamer Haslett engages, though he told me he had bargained for an old +one with a walking-beam; but that will answer our purpose. I believe he +had to buy her, though she was of no great value." + +At a creek which appeared to be the rendezvous of the conspirators, +the boat left the river; but there was no steamer, though quite a number +of men had gathered there. Leaving the party in the boat to follow out +the remaining details of their enterprise, which, by this time, in the +absence of anything like an obstacle, they regarded as so many mere +formalities, it becomes necessary to make another visit to the mansion +of Captain Passford. This gentleman had gone to the city upon important +business connected with the fitting out of the Bellevite, and he had not +returned when the clock in the great hall struck ten, which was at about +the time Captain Carboneer and his companions went into the creek five +miles down the river. + +"There is no knowing when your father will come home, Florry," said Mrs. +Passford, as she suspended her work on a stocking she was knitting for +the soldiers. "But I can't imagine what has become of Christy. He never +stays out as late as this unless he tells us of it beforehand." + +"I am really worried about him, mother," replied the beautiful daughter, +looking up from the stocking on which she was employed. "He went away in +the Florence, and something may have happened to him." + +"I think not, Florry: there has been no storm, or heavy blow, and +he thinks he is as safe in his boat as he is on shore," added Mrs. +Passford, with an effort to control the fears of the daughter. "He may +have gone down to the city. He is very indignant at the delay in giving +the order to have the steamer sent to the navy yard, and wherever he is, +I am confident he is doing something in connection with the steamer." + +"I wish I knew whether the Florence was at the boathouse," continued +Florry. "He said he was going out in the boat; but perhaps he did not. +Perhaps he is with father." + +"There is the front-door bell," added Mrs. Passford, with a start. +"It cannot be your father or Christy, for both of them have latch-keys. +Who could come here at this time in the evening?" + +"Mr. Paul Vapoor," said the man-servant, who answered the bell. + +The gentleman announced walked into the sitting-room without any +ceremony, for he had long been a familiar visitor. He was dressed in +the full uniform of a chief engineer of the navy. Removing his cap, he +politely bowed to the two ladies; and any one who was looking might have +seen that Miss Florry blushed a little when she saw him; and very likely +if Major Pierson had witnessed the roses on her fair cheek, he might +possibly have concluded that it would have been useless to postpone the +capture of the Bellevite to enable him to fortify his position near her. + +"I beg your pardon, ladies, for calling so late," said Mr. Vapoor, as he +drew a long envelope from his pocket. "But I thought Christy might wish +to see what is in this envelope before he retired." + +"Why, what is in it?" asked Mrs. Passford. + +"Christy's commission as a midshipman in the navy." + +"But Christy is not at home, and we are somewhat anxious about him," +added the mother, stating the facts in regard to her son. + +Paul Vapoor volunteered to go in search of him, and left the house. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE CABIN OF THE FLORENCE + + +If Captain Carboneer had felt any especial interest in the Florence as +a sailing yacht, he might have desired to see the cabin of the craft, +which had always been the delight of Christy Passford. He had expended +a great deal of his pocket-money upon the arrangement and furnishing of +the cabin of his yacht, not only because he spent a considerable portion +of his vacation hours in it, but because it had been a perpetual study +with him to enlarge and improve it. + +It is very difficult to get three pints of liquid into a quart measure, +and it was a conundrum of this sort that Christy was studying upon +when he tried to make a parlor, bedroom, and dining-saloon of the very +limited space in the forward part of the Florence. Though he could +hardly get the three pints into the quart measure, he had done the best +he could, and succeeded to a rather remarkable degree. But spite of the +miracle which had been wrought in the cabin, Captain Carboneer did not +even try the door of the apartment when he and his companions went on +board of the yacht. He was so absorbed in the enterprise in which he was +engaged, that his indifference to the miracle of the cabin may be +excused. + +Even the double doors of the cabin were of handsome wood, elaborately +polished; and they were not secured with the usual appliance of a +padlock, but were provided with an expensive mortise-lock, which could +be operated upon either side. If Captain Carboneer had tried to open +that door, he would have found that it was fastened; but perhaps he +could not have discovered that it had been secured upon the inside. +Unless, therefore, he had taken the trouble to break open the door, he +could not have ascertained that Christy Passford was actually in the +cabin. + +Possibly, if he had opened the door by any means, he would not have +discovered that the proprietor of the boat was in this dainty apartment, +for the skipper had taken a great deal of pains to conceal himself so +that he should not be seen, even if the intruders in the Florence had +succeeded in opening the doors without the aid of the key in his pocket. +Though he had two very nice berths in the cabin, miraculously arranged +as to space, Christy did not occupy one on the present occasion, for in +that case the unbidden visitors would have seen him if their curiosity +had led them to force the doors. + +When the cook of the Florence, usually the skipper of the craft, was +engaged in the practice of the culinary art, he seated himself on what +looked like a box in front of the stove. But the interior of this box +was really a part of the cabin, for it contained the feet of any one +occupying the berth on the starboard side. The cookroom had no end of +bins, lockers and drawers to contain the variety of provisions and +stores necessary to get up a dinner for the skipper and his guests, when +he had any. And even all these places could not contain everything that +was needed on board. Under the two berths were large, though not very +deep, lockers, one of which contained the jib-topsail of the craft, and +other spare sails, while the opposite one was the fuel locker of the +sloop. + +As the boat had not been used for a long time in cruising, the fuel +receptacle was empty, though a spare gaff-topsail had been thrown +into it. This locker was big enough to admit the body-corporate of +the skipper. It was not a particularly clean place, for a portion of it +had been economized for the stowage of the charcoal, which the skipper +preferred to wood. But he did not rebel at the blackness of the retreat +he had chosen, for he wore his boating dress, which was hardly stylish +enough for a dude or a dandy. + +But Skipper Passford did not crawl into this black hole for the fun of +the thing. He had been spending his time in waiting for a movement to be +made in regard to the Bellevite. He staid in the house all the forenoon, +and, after lunch, he sailed down the river in the Florence, though with +no object in doing so beyond passing the time. Not far from the beach +where he had afterwards left the yacht, he discovered a boat rowed by +two men with a third in the stern sheets. + +The breeze was quite gentle, though the Florence would sail at a very +tolerable speed when there was the least apology for a wind. She was +doing so on the present occasion, and Christy had stretched himself out +on the cushioned seat, with the spokes of the wheel where he could steer +without any exertion, or next to none. The idleness of his days since +his return from the eventful cruise of the Bellevite seemed to have +infected him with an unnatural indolence. + +He felt as though he was rather more than half asleep when he saw the +boat with the two oarsmen. It was going up the river, while he was going +down. He had to luff a little to keep clear of the oars, but he did not +move from his half-recumbent posture. When the boat was alongside, he +glanced idly and carelessly at the person in the stern sheets. Instantly +he was wide awake, though he did not change his position. The person +looked like a gentleman, and Christy was sure that he had seen him +before. A couple of minutes of earnest cudgelling of his brain assured +him that he had seen the stranger in Nassau; that he was one of the many +who wanted to purchase the Bellevite, ostensibly for a merchant vessel, +but really for the Confederate navy. + +After he had run a short distance farther down the river, Christy came +about, the boat being some distance from him, but the gentleman soon +landed and walked up the river on the shore, or very near it. In a short +time, he was joined by another person, whose form looked familiar to the +skipper of the Florence. He could not identify him, for he was not near +enough to him to see his face. A puff of air came from across the river, +and the Florence darted ahead, and Christy was soon out of sight of the +two strangers. + +Near the boundary of his father's estate, he ran the yacht on the sandy +beach, letting her strike the sand hard enough to stick where she was +for half an hour, though she was not likely to get adrift, for the +gentle breeze was blowing her farther on the shore as the tide rose. + +Christy hauled down the jib of the sloop, and then seated himself, or +rather reclined upon the cushions, though in such a position that he +could see the shore, or any persons who came upon it. No one was in +sight, and he had no one to watch. The swash of a great steamer passing +in the channel made his boat roll heavily for a moment, with the forward +part of the bottom resting on the sand. For the want of something better +to think of, he began to put conundrums to himself in the absence of any +other person to perplex with them. What was the gentleman that wanted to +buy a steamer in Nassau doing up the Hudson? This was the principal one: +he could not answer it. He gave it up; as the French have it, he had to +"throw his tongue to the dogs," having no use for it in this connection. + +But while he was dreaming of the possible mission of the stranger, +he heard voices on the beach. Not deeming it wise to show himself, he +rolled off the cushion upon the floor of the standing-room, and then +fixed himself in a position where he could see and hear what passed +between the speakers. He could see without being seen. It did not +require a second look for him to decide that the second person on the +beach was Major Pierson, though his companion called him Mulgate. + +If Christy had been interested before, he was excited now. The two +speakers were within earshot of the boat, and in the stillness of the +scene he could hear every word that was said. In a few moments he was in +full possession of the statements of the captain and the major in regard +to their intentions; and it appeared that the gentleman he had seen in +Nassau still desired to obtain a steamer. + +Before it was dark, Christy was astonished to behold his cousin Corny on +the other side of the fence; and he readily understood that he was to +take part in the enterprise in hand. As yet the listener had obtained +but little more than the information in regard to the intention of the +visitors. When he found that they were disposed to take possession of +the Florence, and make their visit to the Bellevite in her, the skipper +retired from the standing-room of the boat to the cabin, where he locked +the door, and put the key in his pocket. When he realized that they +really meant to come on board, he crawled into the space under the +starboard berth, and arranged the sail so that it would conceal him +in case the intruders pushed their investigation into the cabin. + +When he had completed his preparations, he was quite satisfied that +he should not be discovered. The trio came on board, and Christy fixed +himself so that he could hear every word that was said, for there was a +small opening under the berth through which the superfluous length of a +pair of oars could be thrust when not in use. + +Christy, without the remotest suspicion on the part of the plotters +that they could be heard by any living being, and especially not by so +dangerous a character as Christy had proved himself to be to the peace +and dignity of the Confederacy, heard all that was said, and he obtained +a full idea of the intentions of the conspirators. When they went on +board of the Bellevite, he was so excited that he could no longer remain +in his prison, but came out, and crept up the accommodation ladder to +the deck of the steamer. But he was careful not to show himself, and, +having a key to the cabin, he went into it, locking the door after him. +Then he had a chance to think. + +What should he do? He had no force at hand to beat off such a party as +Captain Carboneer mentioned. They might carry out their plot that very +night, as they had talked of doing. Perhaps it would be executed at +once, even while he was on board, and he would then be a prisoner. This +idea was too galling to be considered, and he left the cabin to visit +the wardroom. Going still farther forward, he was surprised to hear the +roar of the flames in the furnaces below. It looked at that moment as +though the Bellevite was doomed to sail under a Confederate flag. But if +he could do nothing more, he could save himself, even if he had to jump +into the river and swim to the shore. + +Christy lost no time in making his way to the main deck of the vessel; +but he was careful to avoid the visitors. He went back to the cabin, and +went on deck from it. Then he discovered that the trio were in the act +of descending the accommodation steps. Mounting the rail he saw them +embark in the Florence, and sail down the river. Dismounting from the +rail, he hastened to the engine-room, where he found Sampson getting the +engine ready to be put in motion. + +"Ah, Christy, I thought you had gone," said the oiler. + +"Who were those two men who were on board?" asked Christy, not a little +excited. + +"They were two gentlemen you brought on board, Christy," replied +Sampson, innocently enough. + +"That I brought on board!" exclaimed the skipper of the Florence. + +"Yes, sir: and I thought you had gone ashore with them," added the +oiler. + +"I brought no men on board, Sampson! What are you talking about?" +demanded Christy impatiently. + +"Didn't you bring two gentlemen on board, and didn't one of them want to +measure the carriage of the big gun?" + +"No! I did not! I have not seen you before now this evening," protested +Christy. + +"Then I have lost my senses. Didn't you tell me to get up steam, because +the steamer would be moved to the navy yard before daylight in the +morning?" demanded Sampson, bewildered by the denial of the young man. + +"I see now," added Christy. "You mistook Corny for me." + +Sampson gave him all the details of the visit of the strangers. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +MIDSHIPMAN CHRISTY PASSFORD + + +"In a word, Sampson, an attempt will be made to-night to capture the +Bellevite, and you have been getting up steam for the conspirators," +said Christy, when the ship-keeper had finished his narrative of the +visit of the trio to the ship. + +"Is that so?" exclaimed Sampson, opening his mouth and his eyes very +wide at the same time. "Why, I had no more doubt that the young man who +was talking to me was Christy than I have that he is talking to me now." + +"You had better look at me again, and be sure that you make no mistake," +replied Christy, rather disgusted at the failure of the man to identify +him. + +"I never once thought that it was not you. When the sailboat came +alongside, I knew it was the Florence, and I supposed you were in her," +pleaded Sampson. "But I spoke to you, as I supposed, when the boat came +alongside." + +"Did you? What did you say?" asked Christy. + +"I said 'Is that you, Christy?' And you said 'Yes.'" + +"Of course I did! What else could I say after you had told the enemy +just how to proceed. You could not have expected any other answer." + +"I suppose I was very stupid; but I hope no harm has been done, for they +have not got the steamer yet," added Sampson, very much disconcerted at +the blunder he had made, though an older officer than Christy might have +had more charity for the ship-keeper. + +Seen in broad daylight, there was no striking resemblance between Corny +and Christy, though they were of about the same size, and had some +traits in common. As Corny and his companions came in the Florence, +it was not very strange that Sampson should take it for granted that +Christy was one of the evening visitors. The voices of the two cousins +were not unlike, and the sound was all he had to guide his judgment. +Then he was not in the enemy's country, and he could hardly have been +on the lookout for an enemy several miles up the river. + +"Certainly no harm has been done, Sampson; but it is yet to be decided +whether or not the Bellevite is to go into the navy of the United States +or the navy of the Confederate States," added Christy, leaving the +engine-room. + +"If we have snuffed the whole thing, I don't believe this steamer will +ever wear anything but the Stars and Stripes," said Sampson stoutly; and +there could be no doubt in regard to his loyalty, judging from his +speech, though that is not always to be trusted in time of war. + +"Bellevite, ahoy!" shouted some one at the foot of the accommodation +steps. + +"Have they come again so soon?" asked Sampson, as he rushed to the rail. +"It is only a small canoe." + +"Is Christy on board?" called the visitor alongside. + +"That is Mr. Vapoor: tell him I am on board," added Christy. + +"Christy is on board, sir," replied Sampson to the hail. "Will you come +on board, sir?" + +Paul Vapoor would and did come on board, and Christy gave him a hearty +welcome, for he was more glad to see him than he had ever been before in +his life. + +"Where have you been all day and all the evening, Christy?" asked the +engineer. "Your mother and sister are very much worried about you, for +they have not seen you for a long time, and they fear that something has +happened to you." + +"Something is likely to happen to me and all the rest of us who expect +to go to sea in this steamer," replied Christy, as he proceeded to +inform his friend as briefly as he could of the great event of the +evening. + +"Well, if we are not in the enemy's country, the enemy are in ours," +replied Paul. "What is to be done?" + +"That is what I have been thinking of. I listened very attentively to +all that passed between Major Pierson and Captain Carboneer, and I am +satisfied that the latter has a considerable force somewhere on the +river, and their headquarters are at the mouth of a creek five miles +down the river." + +"How many have they?" asked the engineer. + +"I don't know; they did not mention the number in figures, but they have +enough to work the ship, and even to fight her," replied Christy, very +seriously. + +"That means forty or fifty, at least," added Paul. "This looks like a +heavy matter, and it is quite time that something was done about it." + +"But what shall we do is the question," said Christy anxiously. "We have +two men on board beside ourselves, and we can hardly expect to hold our +own against fifty." + +"Who is this Captain Carboneer?" + +"I saw him at Nassau, and he looked like a man of decision and +character. I don't know anything about him, but I have no doubt he is +a naval officer, both from the circumstances and from what I heard. +I should say that he knows what he is about. You said that my father +has not yet returned from the city?" + +"He had not come at ten o'clock, and if he comes at all, the late train +does not arrive till after twelve." + +"It may be too late to do anything at that time," said Christy. "But I +don't mean to give up the ship." + +"Good! I am with you on that point, Christy. I called at your house to +inform you that you had been appointed a midshipman in the navy, and you +are likely to have a chance to christen your commission to-night. This +was all the rank they could give you, though you will really be a passed +midshipman, and be a master very soon." + +Christy was delighted with this news, though he had no time to make a +demonstration of delight over it. He had narrowly escaped being the +third officer of the Bellevite the year before, because his father did +not believe in putting him forward as fast as his abilities would have +warranted him in doing. Captain Breaker and Paul Vapoor had made the +application for a position in the navy; for his father would not do it, +for the reason that he did not wish to ask any favors for a member of +his own family. + +"I thank you and Captain Breaker for all you have done for me, Paul, and +I hope I shall be able to give a good account of myself. But we have no +time to talk about that now. Captain Carboneer was waiting for a steamer +which his naval associate, Lieutenant Haslett, was to charter or buy for +the use of the party," said Christy, as he led the way to the forward +deck of the steamer. + +He and the engineer mounted the top-gallant forecastle, and looked +intently down the river. The tide was coming in, so that the vessel, in +coming up to her cable, pointed in that direction. But they could see +nothing, not a craft of any description. Then Christy led the way to +the long gun mounted amidships. He sighted across the piece, and, in a +moment more, his mind seemed to have settled on the policy to be pursued +in the present dangerous emergency. Perhaps the capture of a steamer +under such circumstances was a thing unheard of at that time, but +doubtless it looked simple enough to those who were engaged in the +enterprise. + +"Do you think of engaging the enemy at long range, Christy?" asked Paul, +with a smile on his fine face, as seen by the light of the lantern which +Sampson had brought to the place. + +"I think of beating them off in any way we can," replied the middy, +as his friends all called him from that time. "I have the gun pointing +to a certain object on the river, which Captain Carboneer's steamer must +pass. He can't help putting his craft where the muzzle of this piece +will cover it; and if we pull the lock-string at that instant, the shot +will knock his steamer all to pieces, and spill the conspirators into +the river." + +"If you hit her," suggested Paul. + +"You can't very well help hitting her. Just squint along that gun, and +see where the shot will bring up." + +Paul complied with this request, and took a long look over the great +gun. + +"I should say that it was pointed a little too high," said he. + +"Perhaps it is; I have not fixed it just as I mean to have it. We will +put in the charge before we do that," added Christy, who was now as +self-possessed as though there was no excitement attending the operation +he was arranging. + +"Do you know what steamer Captain Carbine will have?" asked Paul. + +"Not Carbine; Carboneer. No, I don't know what steamer he will have; +only that she is an old one, and has a walking-beam," replied Christy. + +"That is rather indefinite, midshipman," added Paul, with a smile. "You +can't always tell what a steamer is by looking at her, especially in the +night; and a walking-beam is not a novelty on a steamer upon this river. +You may send that shot through the wrong vessel; and if you should +happen to kill a dozen or two of loyal citizens of the State of New +York, they might be mean enough to hang you, or send you to the State +prison for life for it. It won't do to fire off a shotted gun like that +baby without knowing pretty well what you are shooting at." + +"That is a long argument, Paul; and I have not the remotest idea of +doing any such thing as you describe. I am going to know what we are +firing at before we pull the lock-string," replied Christy, rather +impatiently. "But we have no time to dig up mare's nests. We will get +up the ammunition and load this gun; then we will do the rest of the +business." + +As ship-keeper and a member of the engineer's department for the last +year, Sampson knew where everything was to be found. With all the usual +precautions, the magazine was opened, and ammunition enough for three +charges was conveyed to the deck, Warping having been called in to +assist in the work. The gun was carefully loaded under the direction of +Christy, who had been fully instructed and drilled in the duty. It was +pointed as nearly as practicable to the point in the channel which the +hostile steamer must pass, though the aim was to be rectified at the +last moment. + +Paul went to his stateroom and took off his handsome uniform, replacing +it with a suit of his working garments. Then he hastened to the engine, +examined it, and satisfied himself that it was in good condition for the +office which was soon to be required of it. He gave Sampson particular +directions for his duty, and then went down the accommodation steps with +the midshipman. + +"What are you going to do next, Christy?" asked Paul, for the young +naval officer had been too busy with his preparations to develop his +plan in full. + +"We will go ashore first, and I will take the Florence to the +boat-house," replied Christy. "The next thing to be done is to make +a reconnoissance down the river." + +"Why not go down in the Florence?" suggested Paul. + +"Because that would be too simple and innocent altogether," replied the +middy; and perhaps he felt some of the dignity of his new rank. "I think +we had better see without being seen, especially as Captain Carboneer +has seen and sailed the sloop. I have no doubt he has a sharp, nautical +eye, and that he will recognize her. He might be rash enough to capture +her, and thus deprive the United States Navy of two young, but able and +hopeful officers, to say nothing of bottling them up so that he could +make short work of the Bellevite." + +"You are right, Christy, as you always are. But see your mother before +you do anything, and I will obey orders. She worries about you." + +They landed and hastened to the mansion. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +ARRANGING THE SIGNALS + + +Mrs. Passford was astounded at the news brought in by her son, and Miss +Florry was terrified when informed that Major Pierson was not far from +the mansion. But Paul Vapoor assured the latter that there was no +danger, and Christy convinced his mother, who had a great deal of +confidence in him, that he was fully equal to the occasion. + +"But I do not see that you can beat off the assailants if they happen +to get alongside of the Bellevite," suggested Mrs. Passford. "There are +only four of you at the most." + +"I hope for re-enforcements," replied Christy, as he rang a bell for +a servant. "Beeks and Thayer, two of the quartermasters, live in the +village; Mr. Watts, the chief steward, and three others of the old +ship's company, live near here, and I think we can raise half a dozen +more, making ten in all." + +"I know where to find half a dozen coal-passers," added Paul. + +"Then we shall do very well if we succeed in finding all these," added +Christy, as the man-servant came to the door. + +"Call up all the stablemen, and have two horses saddled as quick as +possible," continued Christy to the man. + +"What's that for, Christy?" asked Paul, who had succeeded in quieting +the fears of Miss Florry. + +He was not altogether inexperienced in this duty, for the young lady +had been alarmed more than once on board of the steam yacht, and he was +always more successful than any other person at these times. + +"I can't stop to talk it all over, Paul; but if you will trust me, +I will tell you as we go along what I think of doing," replied Christy. + +"All right, midshipman; I belong to the engine department, and we always +obey orders even if the ship goes down," added Paul, laughing. + +"I am willing enough to tell you, but I have not the time to spin a long +yarn, and perhaps answer objections, just now. We will mount the horses +as soon as they come to the door, and drum up the force we have +mentioned." + +Christy continued by giving Paul the names of those he was to visit and +summon to the deck of the Bellevite, and then they were to meet at a +given place. They mounted the two fleet horses which Christy had +selected for the occasion, and dashed off to the town, a short distance +from the river. The middy found the two quartermasters, who boarded in +the same house. They were to go on board of the steamer at once; but +Beeks was to bring a canoe from the boat-house to the point on the shore +nearest to the Bellevite before he went on board. Both of these men were +cautioned not to say anything about any person they might see, and the +same instruction was given to all the others whose services were +required. + +Mr. Watts had not retired when Christy called at his house, and he was +duly startled by the information the young officer gave him. He was as +ready to take part in the enterprise as even the middy himself, and he +was conducted to the place where Paul was to meet the leader. He had +more calls to make than Christy, and they had to wait some time for him; +but when he did come, he reported that he had found and sent on board +all the firemen and coal-passers he had named, and a few more, besides +the old sailors who had sailed for years in the yachts of the owner of +the Bellevite. + +The services of about a dozen had been procured, but half of these +were to do duty in connection with the engine, and the party so hastily +gathered were not strong enough to beat off the force of the enemy if +they attempted to board the vessel. + +"Now, Paul, I want you to understand the whole affair before we go any +farther; and I wish you would go on board and take the command there," +said the midshipman, as soon as the engineer had reported the result of +his mission. + +"But are you not going to be on board, Christy? I don't pretend to be a +sailor or a gunner," said Paul. + +"I shall go on board as soon as I can," replied Christy. "You will find +a boat on the shore, near the steamer, and you will go on board in that; +but have the boat sent back for me." + +"All right, Christy; I will obey orders," added Paul, as he dismounted +from his horse. + +"Mr. Watts will take your horse, and ride with me down the shore. We can +see the river all the way, for we shall not stick to the road when it +leads us away from it. As soon as we discover the steamer that is to +bring up the enemy, I will run my horse back to this point, and go on +board." + +"That is all easy enough," added Paul. + +"Easy enough; but I can form no idea as to when the steamer will come. +We may have to wait till morning for it, and perhaps the plan of the +enemy will fail, and they will not come at all." + +"If they don't come to-night, they never will; and there will be time +enough for the home guard to scour the woods, and arrest all suspicious +persons." + +"I said what I did so that you need not be impatient if you have to +wait a long time. You will have a watch kept from the moment you get +on board, and no stranger is to be allowed to put a foot on the deck. +Captain Carboneer may send some one of his party to see that everything +is working right on board for his side of the affair." + +"I will do that." + +"See that the steam is well up, so that we can move off in good time if +we find it necessary to get under way," continued Christy. + +"I thought that was a settled point, and the ship was to be taken down +the river in any case," said Paul. + +"I supposed so myself in the beginning; but if it is not necessary to +run away, I don't care to do so. Let Boxie see that the cable is buoyed +and ready to run out at a moment's notice." + +"All right, midshipman," replied Paul, as he hastened to the boat. + +"Why does he call you midshipman?--that is a new name," said the chief +steward. + +"He brought me the news this evening that I had been appointed in the +navy with that rank," replied Christy. "Now we will ride down the river. +Do you happen to know what time it is, Mr. Watts?" + +"I don't know, but I think it is about half-past eleven. I am not much +of an equestrian," replied the steward, as he mounted the horse, "for I +have been to sea all my life; but I think I can stay on if the beast +don't run away with me." + +"He is perfectly gentle, and he will not run away with you. We have no +occasion to ride fast, and we may not have to go more than two or three +miles." + +They rode along the river for a few minutes, and then Christy reined in +his steed and dismounted. He went to the water side, at a point where +there was a bend, and carefully examined the surroundings, both above +and below. He could not see the Bellevite in the darkness, for he had +directed the engineer to allow no light to be shown on board of her. +He had brought a little mathematics into his calculations, and he had +pointed the big gun of the steamer so as to cover the craft with the +walking-beam when she came in sight around this turn of the stream. By +this plan she was sure to come into the range of the piece, no matter on +which side of the channel she was moving. + +"Now, Mr. Watts, I have a further duty for you to perform," said +Christy, as he explained his plan to the steward. "We shall go down the +river till we meet this steamer which conveys the enemy. As you are a +sailor as well as a caterer, you have a nautical eye, and when you have +seen this steamer you will know her again." + +"Trust me for that. If it is the old tub I think it is, I know her +already," answered the steward. + +"What steamer do you think it is?" + +"The old Vampire; and if you give her much of a rap, she will go to the +bottom without the least difficulty." + +"I don't care where she goes to, provided she don't put her passengers +on board of the Bellevite. But I am taking you down the river with me in +order that you may see her and know her." + +"I shall know her as soon as I see her." + +"As I said before, I shall run my horse back and get aboard of the +Bellevite as soon as I am satisfied that the enemy are moving up the +river," continued Christy. + +"I am afraid I shall not be able to keep up with you if you run your +horse," suggested the steward. + +"I don't want you to keep up with me. You can come along as leisurely as +you please, though you must not let the enemy get ahead of you." + +"If the enemy are in the old Vampire, I could keep ahead of her on +foot." + +"You had better keep ahead of her on your horse about a quarter of a +mile, or more; but your main duty will be here. I have brought with me +half a dozen Roman candles, and I am going to fix them in the ground on +this spot. Here is a bunch of matches," said Christy, handing it to him. + +The steward watched the midshipman while he planted the fireworks in the +sand, and particularly marked the spot where they were located, for his +companion told him he was to fire them, and he must be ready to do so +without any delay. + +"A boy could do that and like the fun of it," said Mr. Watts, laughing +at the simple duty he was to perform. + +"But it is the time that you are to do it, and the boy might be +skylarking, or become impatient. This signal of the fireworks is to +assure us at the right moment that the Vampire, if it should be she, +is in the place where I expect her to be." + +"I understand it perfectly." + +"After I leave you, another steamer may come along, and get to this +point ahead of the Vampire; and I should be very sorry to blow her out +of the water, or sink her under it. You are to let us know by this +signal that it is the Vampire, and no other, that is coming round the +bend. You had better leave your horse a short distance from the river, +for that gun will make every pane of glass within a mile of it shake +when it is discharged." + +"You may be sure that I will not be on his back at that time." + +"Still further: I have planted six candles in the sand. You will light +only one of them when the steamer begins to round the bend. That will be +enough to inform us of the fact on board of the Bellevite." + +"What are the others for?" asked the steward, taking a memorandum-book +from his pocket as though he intended to write his instructions. + +"It is not necessary to write it. We shall not be able to see what +effect the shot produces after we fire. If the Vampire, always supposing +she is the one, is not hurt, light a second candle--only one of them. If +she should be disabled, you will light two candles." + +Christy repeated what he had said, and was careful not to give the +steward too much to remember. As soon as the matter was fully +understood, the middy mounted his horse, and they proceeded on their +mission down the river. After they had ridden about three miles, Mr. +Watts insisted that the steamer was coming, and that it was the Vampire. + +"I don't see anything," added Christy. + +"Neither do I; but I know that the Vampire is coming up the river. If +you listen, you will hear a hoarse puffing; and nothing but that old ark +could make such a wheezy noise," replied the steward. + +The middy heard it and was satisfied. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE APPROACH OF THE VAMPIRE + + +The Vampire, as the steward had no doubt it was, could not be less than +a mile distant from the spot where the two horsemen had halted in the +road. Christy was very familiar with this portion of the river, and +after he had listened a few moments, he was satisfied from the direction +of the sound he heard, that a mile was very nearly the exact distance. +The approaching steamer had to come around a small bend, the arc of +which made just a mile. + +"I don't wish to blow up a dozen or twenty loyal citizens, and I must +make sure in some way that Captain Carboneer's party is on board of that +steamer," said Christy, as he led his horse into a field, and tied him +to a tree, the steward following his example. + +"That would be a very bad thing to do," added Mr. Watts, as they walked +back to the river. "But I don't see why it is necessary to blow up even +any rebels on the present occasion. If that naval officer has forty men, +as you think he has, a shot from that long gun would make terrible havoc +among them if you succeeded in hitting her. You might kill half of +them." + +"If we do they, and not we, will be responsible for it," added Christy, +somewhat appalled by the suggestion of his companion. + +"If you have steam up on board of the Bellevite, why not get under way +and run down the river," continued Mr. Watts. + +"Perhaps I am a coward, but I am afraid to do that," replied the +midshipman, thoughtfully. + +"We all know that you are no coward, Christy, and if you don't send a +shot into the Vampire, it will not be because you are afraid." + +"Although I know the river as well as any pilot in this vicinity, I +should not dare to run the Bellevite at full speed around such a bend +as the one off this spot," Christy explained. "We have not above half a +dozen trained sailors who know how to handle a cutlass on board, and all +the others will be needed in working the steamer. The coal-passers would +be good for nothing in repelling boarders." + +"You think Captain Carboneer would board the steamer, do you?" + +"I have no doubt he would. He is a naval officer, and he knows what +he is about. There are several ways that he might get a hold on the +Bellevite, and, if he got alongside of her, I am afraid it would be all +up with us, and we should have a fair chance to see the inside of a +Confederate prison. I am afraid to run the risk you suggest, Mr. Watts." + +"You know best, and I don't mean to interfere; I only thought I would +suggest the idea," added the steward, as they reached the bank of the +river again. + +After he had secured his horse, Christy had lighted a match and looked +at his watch. It was a quarter of one, and still the puffing of the +Vampire came from the same direction. It was plain enough to him that +the old tub was not a racer. But she showed herself beyond the bend in +about a quarter of an hour, indicating that her rate of speed, or rather +of slowness, was not more than four statute miles an hour. But this was +simply confirmation of what the steward had said on the subject. Yet she +was coming, though it was too dark on the river to see her in detail. +Though he strained his eyes to the utmost, Christy could not discover +any men on her forward deck. + +"I think you had better move back where you cannot be seen," said the +midshipman, in a low tone, to his companion. + +"Do you wish me to leave you alone, Christy?" asked the steward, +surprised at the request. + +"That is just what I wish, for I don't care to have any one on board of +the Vampire see more than one person at this point," replied Christy, +still gazing through the gloom at the approaching steamer. + +"Excuse me, Christy; but what are you going to do? I prefer to be within +supporting distance of you." + +"I don't think I shall need any support. I am going to hail the Vampire, +and ask if Captain Carboneer is on board," replied the midshipman, +quietly. + +"You are going to hail her!" exclaimed Mr. Watts. "Are you mad, Christy? +I should say that you were." + +"You shall be your own judge on that point." + +"But the moment you use the name of Captain Carboneer, they will take +the alarm, and the next thing will be a bullet through your head." + +"I will take the risk of that," answered Christy. "But you need not go +far from the river on this dark night. There is a clump of bushes this +side of the road, and you may get behind it." + +The steward was not at all satisfied with the situation, but he complied +with the request of the midshipman, and concealed himself behind the +bushes. Christy took a position on the very verge of the water. The +progress of the Vampire was made at the expense of a hideous noise, and +she was a craft not at all adapted to the purpose of the conspirators. +The middy watched her with the most intense interest as she approached +the point where he was stationed. There was no light to be seen on +board, and there appeared to be no men on her lower deck; but she had a +cabin and other rooms, in which a force as large as that of the captain +could be concealed. + +"Steamer, ahoy!" shouted Christy, as soon as the Vampire was abreast of +the spot he occupied. + +No answer came to this hail, and the midshipman repeated it, louder than +before. + +"On shore!" replied a voice from the forward deck. + +"Come up to the shore, and take me on board, will you?" continued +Christy, disguising his voice to some extent the better to answer his +purpose. + +"Who is it?" demanded the person on board who acted as speaker; and +Christy could see his form very distinctly, as he stood at an open +gangway, and was the only person in sight on the lower deck. + +"Brigster," replied Christy, chewing up the word he coined so that the +man could not possibly make it out. + +"Are you alone, Brewster?" demanded the speaker from the steamer. + +This was a hard question, and with less information than he had obtained +while in his cabin on board of the Florence, he would not have dared to +reply to it. But he knew something of the plan of the conspirators, and +he felt competent to answer. + +"Three more back in the road," replied Christy, promptly; and he said +three so as to give the idea that the force on board might be increased +by this number. "Is Captain Carboneer on board of that steamer?" asked +the midshipman, coming to his main point. + + [Illustration: "Steamer, Ahoy!" shouted Christy.--Page 107.] + +"He is, and we are all here but four," replied the speaker on the deck; +and Christy was satisfied that the captain was the person by this time, +for his language and his voice indicated that he was an educated man. + +"We had no boat, and we could not get across the river to the creek," +added Christy, to increase the confidence of the leader of the +expedition. "But we saw a boat half at mile up the river, and we +will come off there, if you say so." + +"All right; come on board as soon as you can," added Captain Carboneer, +as he walked away from the gangway. + +Mindful of the peril of the situation, Christy walked leisurely back +from the river, and soon joined Mr. Watts, who had been near enough to +hear the conversation between the captain and the midshipman. + +"That was done very handsomely, Christy," said the steward. + +"There was no great difficulty in handling such a matter when one knew +all about the plot as I did. The fault on the other side was that they +did not examine the cabin of the Florence before they discussed their +plans in the standing-room," replied Christy, as he unfastened his +horse, and sprang upon his back. "I have no time to spare now." + +"There is nothing more to be done here, I believe," added Mr. Watts. + +"Not a thing. You can ride back to the place where the Roman candles +are planted, and you need not hurry about it, for the Vampire don't +make more than four miles an hour. Now be particular to carry out my +instructions to the letter, Mr. Watts; and you can see that a great deal +depends upon which signal you may have occasion to give," added the +midshipman. + +"I understand what I am to do perfectly, and I will do my duty +faithfully, you may be sure," replied the steward, as he mounted +his horse. + +Christy did not wait for him, but put his steed into a dead run on +the moment. The road was only a cart-path, and it was so soft that the +horse's hoofs made no noise to betray his movements to the enemy. He +urged the willing beast to his utmost speed, for he was as much at home +in the saddle as he was in the rigging of a ship. Before the Vampire had +made another eighth of a mile, he had reached the place where the boat +had been left for his use. What to do with his horse was a question, for +the report of the big gun would set him crazy. But he knew that the men +must be at the house, and he turned the animal loose, satisfied that he +would go to the stable without any guidance. + +Springing into the boat, he pulled to the Bellevite. At the +accommodation steps, he was challenged by Sampson, who demanded like +one in authority who and what he was, for the experience of the evening +had greatly sharpened his wits. + +"Who is it?" he demanded, in a tone which implied his intention to have +a satisfactory answer. "Advance and give the word." + +"Give the word!" exclaimed Christy. "I have no word to give." + +"Then you can't come on board," replied Sampson dogmatically. + +"I am Christy Passford, and I have not heard about any word," protested +the midshipman. + +"You can't pour molasses down my back again," replied Sampson, with a +self-satisfied air. + +"Don't be a fool, Sampson," added Christy, as he climbed upon the steps, +the lower part of which had been hoisted up. + +"I have been a fool once, and I don't mean to be again," replied the +sentinel. "On deck, there! Bring a lantern out of the engine-room!" + +"Don't bring a lantern in sight!" protested Christy impatiently. + +"What's the row there, Sampson?" called Paul Vapoor, mounting the rail, +and looking through the darkness at the steps, down which the vigilant +sentinel had descended more than half way to the water. + +"This fellow says he is Christy Passford; and I don't know whether it is +Christy or not," replied Sampson. + +"Is that you, Christy?" asked Paul. + +"Of course it is," replied the middy. "We are wasting time." + +"He hasn't the word," added the sentinel. + +"Pass him, Sampson; he is all right," said the engineer; and Christy +rushed up the steps, and leaped down upon the deck of the steamer. + +"I gave out a word for all who had to leave the ship for any purpose +during the evening," Paul explained. + +"Never mind that now," interposed the midshipman in command. "Have you +plenty of steam on?" + +"Enough to give her fifteen knots," replied the engineer. "The cable +is buoyed, and the long gun loaded. I believe everything is in perfect +order to carry out your instructions, though we did not point the gun +when we loaded it, for I thought you would prefer to do that yourself," +the engineer reported. + +"All right, Paul," added Christy. "The steamer, whose name is the +Vampire, is on her way up the river, and I should say she would reach +the bend in about half an hour. Mr. Watts is down there, and I have +arranged certain signals with him." + +The midshipman made a careful examination for himself of the ship. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +A SHOT FROM THE LONG GUN + + +Christy Passford, as soon as he found that all the other preparations +for the decisive event had been made, turned his attention to the aiming +of the long gun. He had practised with it somewhat before; and in the +ambitious spirit of a boy, he had often amused himself by sighting over +the top of the piece. + +There was no sort of duty on board of a vessel, even a war steamer, in +which he had not done his best to make himself a proficient. He had done +duty as an engineer, and even as a fireman. He had taken his trick at +the wheel as a quartermaster, and there was nothing he had not done, +unless it was to command a vessel, and he had done that on a small +scale. Doubtless he had no inconsiderable portion of a boy's vanity, +and he believed that he could do anything that anybody else could do; +or if he was satisfied that he could not, he studied and practised till +he did believe it. + +Be it vanity or pride, Christy certainly believed in himself to a very +liberal extent, though his character was fortunately leavened with a +large lump of modesty. What he believed, he believed for himself, and +acted upon it for himself; so that he was not inclined to boast of his +accomplishments, and permitted others to find out what he was rather +than made it known in words himself. But his father had found it +necessary to restrain him to some extent, and he had not pushed him +forward as rapidly as he might have done till the dread notes of war +were heard on the land and the sea; and then he thought it would be +wrong to hold him back. + +When Christy sighted along the great gun, he believed he could hit the +Vampire almost to a certainty; but he was not self-sufficient, and did +not often believe that he knew a thing better than any other person, and +he was not above taking the advice and instruction of others. It was +dark, but Christy had fixed upon an object at the bend below, of which +he intended to make use in firing the gun. It was a tree which painted +its outline on the horizon, and the decisive moment was to come when +the Vampire was in range with this tree. He adjusted the gun just as he +wanted it, and he was satisfied it would do just what he required of it. + +He was not inclined to act on his own judgment and skill alone, and he +called Boxie, the old sheet-anchorman, who had been the captain of a gun +years before the midshipman was born, and pointed out the tree to him, +asking him to sight along the gun. He explained his plan to the old +salt, and then asked his opinion. + +"You have aimed it too high, Mr. Passford," said the veteran, after he +had squinted a long time along the piece. + +"How is it otherwise?" asked Christy. + +"It is all right, sir; but the shot will pass over the steamer. Drop the +muzzle a trifle, and the shot will hull her, if you pull the lockstring +at the right time." + +"I shall see that the string is pulled at the right time; thank you, +Boxie," added Christy, without depressing the gun as the old man +suggested, for he had a theory of his own which he intended to carry +out. + +"But the ship may change her position a trifle," added Boxie. + +"Of course, I mean to sight the gun again at the very moment we fire," +replied Christy, looking at his watch, though he was obliged to go into +the engine-room to see what time it was. + +It was after two, and the Vampire had had time enough to make the bend. +Christy wondered if Captain Carboneer was not looking for the four men +he had promised to put on board of the old steamer; but some promises +are better broken than kept, and the midshipman thought this was one of +them, though he did not consider the present occasion as any excuse for +lies, or the failure to keep his word, in the indefinite future. + +The acting commander of the Bellevite--for such the middy was, and +no one disputed his authority--began to be very nervous at the +non-appearance of the enemy. He was afraid that some mishap had befallen +the Vampire; either that she had gone to the bottom or got aground, +though he had heard Captain Carboneer say that he was a pilot for this +part of the river. + +Christy had mounted the gun carriage ready to take his final aim, and he +had been there at least half an hour. He was watching the point where +the Roman candles had been planted, and he had perfect confidence in +the judgment and fidelity of Mr. Watts. Boxie was stationed at the +lock-string, and held it in his hand, ready to speed the great shot +on its errand of destruction; but he hoped the midshipman would depress +the muzzle of the gun before he was called upon to pull the string. The +other sailors who had served on board of the Bellevite, and had been +drilled in handling the guns, were all in their stations, ready to load +the piece again as quickly as possible after it had been discharged. + +The silence had become intense and painful to all, for apart from +the messenger of death and devastation which was about to be hurled at +the Vampire, the Bellevite was in danger of being captured, and had a +resolute enemy in front of her. The safety of the pet steamer depended +upon the skill and judgment of a mere boy, though everybody on board had +entire confidence in him. But the supreme moment came soon enough. + + [Illustration: "Christy sprang to the Gun."--Page 119.] + +A hardly perceptible light at the point he was so closely watching, +first attracted the attention of Christy,--perhaps the lighting of the +steward's match. An instant later, the fireworks blazed up, and lighted +up the smooth surface of the sleeping river. No doubt the conspirators, +who had chosen darkness because their deeds were evil, were astounded to +see so much light suddenly thrown upon their enterprise. + +Christy sprang to the gun, took a hasty sight, which satisfied him that +the position of the gun had not changed a particle. As the dark outline +of the Vampire passed in range of the selected tree, the midshipman +sprang down from the gun-carriage. + +"Fire!" shouted he, in a determined though not very loud tone. + +It was a tremendous explosion, and the echoes rolled out from the hills +as though they were armed with heavy guns, and were taking part in the +conflict. Probably the rattling windows and the shaking frames of the +houses roused all the sleepers within a mile of the ship. + +The Bellevite was enveloped in the smoke from the discharge, and though +Christy mounted the carriage again to obtain a better view, he could see +nothing, for there was not wind enough to sweep it away at once. But the +young commander watched, with almost as much interest and anxiety as +before, the signal station he had established. But there was no occasion +for desperate haste, for the gun was ready for use a second time if the +first shot had failed to do its work. On the other hand, if the Vampire +was disabled, she would stay where she was, or drift down the river with +the turn of the tide, and it was just about "full sea" at this time. + +The smoke was very aggravating to the midshipman, but he could not help +himself. The light air swept it away in time, and, with his strained +eyes, Christy discovered that two Roman candles were burning at the +signal station. + +"Did you hit her, Christy?" asked Paul Vapoor, leaping on the +gun-carriage. + +"I did," replied the midshipman, trying to control a certain feeling of +exultation that took possession of his mind, for he did not consider +that some of the party below might have been killed by the shot. + +"I suppose you don't know anything about the effect of the shot yet?" +added Paul. + +"I only know that the Vampire is disabled." + +"How do you know that, for I can't see anything?" + +"Do you see those two blue lights burning at the side of the river?" +asked Christy, as he pointed to the place. + +"I see them, and they light up the river like a flash of lightning." + +"They mean that the steamer is disabled; and for that reason she can't +come any nearer than she is now." + +"But those villains will make their way to the shore, and there are +boats enough about here to enable them to get alongside, and lay us +aboard. This is not the end of the affair," said the engineer, very +seriously. + +"Decidedly not; but I hope to have further information in the course of +a few minutes," replied Christy. + +"Bellevite, ahoy!" shouted some one on shore. + +"That is Mr. Watts; send Sampson on shore after him, and we shall +soon know the condition of affairs on board of the Vampire," added the +midshipman. "I told the steward to ride up as fast as he could after he +had satisfied himself that the steamer was disabled." + +Sampson was gone but a few minutes, during which time Christy and +Paul consulted in regard to the next step to be taken, and the question +was promptly decided. The boat in which Sampson had gone to the shore +returned not only with the steward, but also with Mrs. Passford and Miss +Florry. + +"What does this mean, mother?" asked Christy, astonished to see his +mother and sister come on board. + +"It means that we were alarmed, and could not stay in the house any +longer," said Florry, taking it upon herself to answer. + +"Your father has not come home yet, Christy, and I don't think he will +come to-night, for he said he might not be able to return in the last +train," added Mrs. Passford. "We came down to the shore with two of the +men, and saw Mr. Watts when he arrived on the horse." + +"And I shall take the responsibility of having advised the ladies to go +on board of the Bellevite," interposed the steward. + +"But you have not reported upon the condition of the enemy after the +shot hit the Vampire, Mr. Watts," said Christy, impatiently. + +"The shot struck her walking-beam, smashed it all to pieces, and cleaned +it off completely. Of course, that disabled her. Very likely some of the +party on board of the Vampire are hurt, for the pieces did not all drop +into the water." + +"Now, in regard to the ladies?" suggested the midshipman. + +"It is for you to decide, Mr. Passford, whether or not the enemy are +likely to renew the attempt to capture the steamer. But it seemed to me, +whether they do anything more or not, it is not quite safe for the +ladies to be alone in the house with the servants, for these fellows +will be prowling about here in either case." + +"I would not stay in the house for all the world!" protested Miss +Florry; and probably she thought that one of the prowlers would be Major +Pierson. + +"You are quite right, Mr. Watts; I was not as thoughtful as you were," +replied Christy, who took in the situation with this suggestion. "What +were they doing on board of the Vampire, Mr. Watts?" + +"I did not wait to observe their movements, but the boat began to drift +down the river." + +"Beg pardon, Mr. Passford, but the ship is swinging around, and you will +not be able to use that gun as it points now," said Boxie, touching his +hat to the young commander. + +"Stand by your engine, Paul; we will get under way at once. Boxie, cast +off the cable, and let it run out. You buoyed it, did you not?" said +Christy, with a sudden renewal of energy, as he hastened to the +pilot-house, where Beeks and Thayer had been sent before. + +"I buoyed the cable, sir," replied the sheet-anchorman. + +"Then cast it off. Sampson, open the cabin for the ladies," added +Christy, as he disappeared in the pilot-house. + +But the ladies preferred to go into the engine-room. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE BATTLE ALONGSIDE THE BELLEVITE + + +The signal lights at the bend of the river had burned out, and nothing +could be seen in that direction. The turn of the tide had carried the +wreck of the Vampire, if she was a wreck, down the stream, and beyond +what the steward had reported, nothing was known in regard to her. Mr. +Watts possessed himself of the single fact that her walking-beam had +been carried away by the shot, and he had not waited to ascertain +anything more. She was disabled, and he had been instructed to hasten up +the river as soon as he had assured himself of this fact, and made the +signal. + +As the extent of the calamity to the enemy was unknown, the young +commander began to have some painful doubts in regard to the immediate +future. He had given the order to slip the cable, and he could hear the +rattle of the chain as it passed out through the hawse-hole. It was +evident enough to him that he had to run the gantlet of the party on +board of the Vampire in descending the river. As the shot had hit the +walking-beam of the steamer, it was not probable that she was seriously +injured in her hull, if at all. + +Some of the enemy had doubtless been hurt by the fall of the pieces of +machinery, but Christy could not believe that the conspirators were +disabled, as the vessel was. The enemy might make an attempt to board +the Bellevite as she passed down the river, for the accident must have +rendered the party more desperate than before. In the face of a failure +to capture the Bellevite at her anchorage, which had seemed so easy a +matter to the leaders of the expedition, they would be ready to take any +chances of success that came in their way. + +"Cable all out, sir," reported Boxie. + +Not without some heavy doubts, Christy rang the bell to go ahead. He +had no one in the pilot-house with whom he could consult except the two +quartermasters, for Paul was in charge of the engine, and he could no +more leave it than the midshipman could leave the wheel. The propeller +began to turn, and the ship gathered headway. To add to the +responsibility of the young commander, his mother and sister had just +come on board, and were now seated on the sofa in the engine-room. + +The Bellevite was moving down the river, and the only thing Christy +could do was to brace himself up to meet whatever might happen on the +trip. He did this at once, and a moment later he rang to go ahead at +full speed. He was approaching the bend of the river, and in a minute +or two more he would be able to see the Vampire. But Captain Carboneer +could no more see through the headland at the bend than he could, and +he hoped that the leader of the enemy had not yet discovered that the +Bellevite was under way. + +The steamer increased her speed on the instant in response to the +signal, and she rushed forward at a velocity that would be fatal to the +Vampire if she happened to be in her path. But Christy was not disposed +to make an issue with the enemy when they met; he intended to defend the +Bellevite, if she was attacked, to the extent of his ability and small +force. + +"There she is!" exclaimed Beeks, as the Bellevite began to change her +course to go around the bend. + +Christy saw the Vampire as soon as the quartermaster, and he was glad +to find that she had drifted to the left bank of the river as far as +the depth of water would permit. As her engine was disabled, she had +no means of propulsion with which she could help herself. It was not +improbable that she was aground. She was not armed with a single heavy +gun, or with any gun, and she was entirely harmless. + +Christy breathed more freely when he realized the situation of the +Vampire. Probably she was provided with one or more boats, and it was +possible that Captain Carboneer might attempt to board the Bellevite as +soon as he discovered her. The deck of the steam-yacht was not very far +above the water, and if a boat full of desperate men could get alongside +of the ship, it would not be a very difficult matter for them to mount +the side. + +"Port a little," said Christy to the quartermasters at the wheel. "Keep +her well over to the west shore. Steady." + +A moment later the steamer had her course for passing the Vampire, and +Christy left the pilot-house to obtain a better view of the situation +and movements of the enemy. It was not so dark as to prevent him from +seeing all that was going on upon her deck, for the Bellevite had to +pass within pistol-shot of her to avoid getting aground on the edge of +the channel. + +Sampson and the rest of the old ship's company gathered near him, where +they could see over the rail. The oiler, as Paul Vapoor had instructed +him to do, had armed all these men with a cutlass and a revolver, and +very likely some or all of them would have been glad to make use of +them. + +"They are loading into a boat on the port side of the Vampire, sir, and +it looks as though they intended to do something without delay," said +Sampson; and, as the steamer had come about since she was disabled, this +was the side nearest to the shore. + +"I see that they are hurrying some movement with all their might," +replied the midshipman, watching with the most intense interest the +operations of the enemy. "Sampson, get out half a dozen sixty-pound, +solid shot, and put them on the plankshear, twenty feet apart. Take all +hands with you, and hurry up." + +The oiler asked no questions, though he might have been excused for +wondering what the young commander intended to do with shot without +powder. In a few minutes the shot were in place, as Christy had +directed. The midshipman was watching with all his eyes the movement of +the enemy, and, as the Bellevite approached the position of the wreck, +the boat darted out from the other side of her. It began to be exciting +for the middy, loaded with the responsibility of the safety of the +steamer, though he seemed to be as cool as Boxie himself, who had seen +some sea fights in his day. + +Christy leaped on the rail of the ship, where he could obtain a full +view of the situation. The boat was approaching with all the speed the +oarsmen could command, and they seemed to be experienced hands. There +could be no doubt of the intentions of the enemy, and the midshipman +drew his heavy naval revolver from his pocket. + +"Stand by to repel boarders!" he called to the seamen. "Pass up one of +those shot, Sampson. Have a hand mount the rail, each with a shot, at +the points where you have placed them." + +"The ladies wish to know what is going on, Christy," said Paul, coming +from the engine-room. + +"I have no time to talk now," replied Christy impatiently, as he saw the +approaching boat within ten feet of the side of the steamer. "Tell them +to stay where they are, and not come on deck!" + +The boat was not a large one, and it did not contain more than a dozen +men; but the fine form of Captain Carboneer could be seen, as he stood +up in the stern sheets. Those who were not pulling the oars began to +discharge revolvers at the men now mounted on the rail; but the motion +of the boat and the ship seemed to defeat their aim, and no one was hit +so far as was known. + +"When the boat comes alongside, let the man who is in the right place +for it drop his shot into it. Be careful of it, and don't waste the +iron," shouted Christy, when the decisive moment came. + +"All ready, sir," responded the men along the rail. + +"You are the man, Boxie! You are in the right place for the first shot," +added the midshipman. + +Boxie was next to him, and it would be Christy's turn next if the old +man failed to do good work with his shot. The boat came alongside, and +a bowman fastened his boathook at the side of the ship, and held it in +place. At the same moment Boxie let drive his sixty-pound shot; but he +ought to have waited an instant longer, for the missile dropped +harmlessly into the river. + +The bowman had not obtained a good hold, and he lost it, so that the +boat began to drift astern. Captain Carboneer shouted his orders, and +the man got a new hold, and this time it was at the painter of the boat +in which Sampson had brought off Mr. Watts and the ladies. It had been +forgotten in the excitement of the moment, but the rope afforded a good +hold to several men who had grasped it. + +At this thrilling moment, a man wearing a frock-coat discharged a +revolver at Christy, who was standing on the rail above him, and then, +seizing the painter in the hands of the men, he climbed briskly to the +accommodation steps, which had been hoisted up, but not taken on board. + +Christy was in the most dangerous position on board, for he seemed to +be the target for all who could use their revolvers. But the young +commander was not asleep, though he had given no order for the last +minute or two. The boat was directly under him, and he had put his +pistol in his hip-pocket, in order to take up the solid shot at his +feet. It was heavy, but he lifted it over his head without any +difficulty, and launched it into the boat with all the force he could +give to it. + +"On deck, there! Let go that painter!" shouted Christy, as he pitched +his missile from his hands. + +He was in a position so favorable for the operation that he could not +well miss his aim, and the shot crashed through the bottom of the boat, +carrying down one of the enemy with it. It did not make a round hole in +the bottom of the boat, it was afterwards ascertained, as it might if +it had been fired from one of the broadside guns, but it tore off the +planking, and made a hole as big as the head of a flour-barrel. + +"Lay hold of that man on the accommodation ladder!" shouted Christy, +without waiting to observe the effect of his shot, for the man who had +succeeded in mounting the side was armed with a dangerous weapon, which +he was likely to use as soon as he found the opportunity. + +The men forward of the point where the boat had come alongside had been +ordered aft, and a couple of them dragged the venturesome officer, as +his frock-coat indicated that he was, to the deck. Christy was almost +sure this man was Haslett, who had certainly set a bold example to his +companions in the boat. He was quickly secured, and by no gentle hands. +His hands were tied behind him, and he was made fast to the rail, where +he was likely to be harmless during the rest of the trip. + +It was no easy matter for a boat to make fast to a steamer going ten +knots an hour at least, and if the painter of the boat had not been +carelessly left where it could be of service to the assailants, the +affair would have ended with Boxie's unsuccessful cast of the shot. But +as soon as the painter was let go, an order which Sampson hastened to +execute, the enemy's hold upon the ship was lost, though they were using +boathooks and other implements to make sure of their grasp. The boat was +left behind by the ship, though not till the hole had been stove in her +bottom. + +"Beg pardon, Mr. Passford, for missing my heave with the shot," said +Boxie, on the deck; and the veteran's heart seemed to be almost broken +by his failure. + +"You are very excusable, Boxie; one can't expect to hit every time, +and you did very well," replied Christy, who had suddenly passed from +painful doubt and uncertainty to exultation and exaltation at the +victory achieved. "We are all right now." + +"But the enemy are not," added Sampson, who had mounted the rail after +he had secured the prisoner. "They are all afloat." + +"They will get ashore in some way, or back to the Vampire," replied +Christy, and he descended to the deck, and hastened to the engine-room. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE PRISONER OF WAR + + +"What in the world have you been doing, Christy?" asked Mrs. Passford, +as her son entered the engine-room; and her anxiety was visible in her +tones and looks as she spoke. + +"We have been repelling boarders, mother," replied the middy, his face +wreathed in smiles. + +"What do you mean by that, my son?" inquired his mother. + +"Well, mother, you are the daughter of a distinguished naval officer, +and it seems to me you must understand what repelling boarders means," +answered the young commander, laughing merrily; and no one in the +engine-room could fail to see that he was in the highest state of +exhilaration, now that the safety of the ship had been assured. + +"Of course, I know what it means," added the lady. + +"And I don't mean boarders at the hotel, who are repelled by strong +butter and tough steaks," chuckled Christy. + +"I wish you would explain yourself, my son." + +"I will, mother mine. The fellows we fired at when we were at anchor +have just attempted to board the Bellevite, and thus obtain possession +of her, as they failed to do in Mobile Bay, as well as at our anchorage +in the Hudson." And he proceeded to explain in detail all that had +occurred on board and alongside. + +"My dear boy, I had no idea that you had been engaged in a battle!" +exclaimed the fond mother. + +"It wasn't much of a battle, though a good many pistol-shots were fired +at us; but a sixty-pound shot did the business on our side, and we left +the enemy, or a portion of them, paddling in the river, and trying to +keep their heads above water. But I must not stay here, for I have to +look out for the steering of the ship," continued Christy, as he moved +towards the door. + +"You whipped them out, did you, midshipman?" added the engineer. + +"We did; and there isn't any doubt of it. I shouldn't wonder if some of +them had lost the number of their mess. But I think it is settled for +the present that Captain Carboneer don't go to sea in the Bellevite. By +the way, I had forgotten that we took a prisoner, and perhaps he will be +willing to tell us something more about his enterprise." + +"Who is the prisoner?" asked Mrs. Passford. + +"He is an officer, I judge, for he wore a frock-coat." + +"The party could not have had a great many officers. It was not the +captain, was it?" + +"No; I am sure it is not he. I think it must be the naval officer whom +Captain Carboneer called Haslett; but I have not seen him except as he +was shinning up the painter of the boat. You can go on deck if you like, +mother and Florry, or you may come with me into the pilot-house," added +Christy. + +The engineer had to remain on duty, and Miss Florry mildly objected to +leaving her present comfortable position on the sofa of the engine-room; +but as her mother wished to go with her brother, she felt obliged to go +with her. + +Christy gave his mother and sister places on the sofa abaft of the +wheel, and then looked into the position of the steamer. But the two +quartermasters had so often steered the steamer up and down the river +that they had done very well, and there was no especial need of the +midshipman as a pilot. The Bellevite was not going at anything like her +best speed, or at her usual rate at sea. As she was going, it was about +a four-hours' run to New York, and Christy was not in a hurry to get to +his destination. + +"Beeks, we have a prisoner, and I should like to take his measure," said +Christy to the senior quartermaster. "You may go aft and ask Sampson to +bring him into the pilot-house." + +"Bring him into the pilot-house," repeated the man, as he left the +apartment. + +"What are you going to do with your prisoner, Christy?" asked Mrs. +Passford. + +"I shall hand him over to the proper officers, and they can do what they +please with him," replied the middy. "I don't want him: do you, mother?" + +"What should I want of him?" + +"Perhaps you want him, Florry?" asked Christy of his sister. + +"I am sure I don't," she replied, pouting. + +"Perhaps you will want him when you have seen him," added the middy +roguishly. + +At this moment Sampson appeared at the door of the pilot-house, +conducting his prisoner, whose hands were still tied behind him. Christy +did not see him at first, for he was looking at his sister; but her +pretty face suddenly turned crimson, and her brother heard the sound of +footsteps in the apartment. + +As soon as he saw the prisoner, he started back in astonishment, though +perhaps there was no particular reason to be surprised. It was not Mr. +Haslett, as he had supposed, and it certainly was not Captain Carboneer. +But it was Major Lindley Pierson, late commandant of Fort Gaines. +Christy had not expected to meet him, and that was the only reason why +he was astonished. + +"Major Pierson!" exclaimed the midshipman, as soon as he had in some +degree recovered from his astonishment. "I believe we have met before +somewhere." + +"Without a doubt we have, Captain Passford," replied the major, who no +longer belonged to the Mulgate family. + +"Not a captain, if you please; but I am none the less glad to see you on +that account. This is really a very unexpected pleasure." + +"And quite as unexpected to me, I assure you, especially to meet the +ladies," added the prisoner as he bowed low to Mrs. Passford and her +daughter. "I had hoped I might meet Mrs. and Miss Passford before I +returned to the South." + +"And you had even hoped to take one of them back with you as a passenger +in the Bellevite," Christy interpolated, with great good nature. + +Major Pierson looked at him with a start, and it was his turn to be +astonished. He was a prisoner, but he had the privilege of wondering how +Christy knew so much about his affairs. + +"Captain Carboneer is a very obstinate man, and did not take kindly to +the carrying of lady passengers in a man-of-war; but I think he was +right, though my view may be of no consequence to you," added the young +officer. "I have the highest opinion of Captain Carboneer, for he is a +solid, substantial man. By the way. Major Pierson, who is he?" + +"He is Captain Carboneer," replied the major discreetly. + +"Perhaps he is Captain Carboneer; I don't know: things are not always +what they seem, and I find that persons are not, either. Hasn't that +been your experience, Mr. Mulgate--I beg your pardon, Major Pierson?" + +The prisoner frowned, and gave a fierce glance at the midshipman, as +though he felt like annihilating him with a look. But he evidently +considered just then that he was in the presence of the ladies, and +perhaps that the flash of his eagle eye would not kill his tormentor, +as the young man seemed to have become. + +"I am your prisoner, or somebody's prisoner, Captain Passford, and the +tables are turned against me. Of course, you don't expect me to give +information that will be of use to the enemies of my country." + +"Of course not." + +"When you were my prisoner, I think I treated you like a gentleman," +added Major Pierson. + +"I think you did, sir; and that reminds me that your hands are tied +behind you. You were so kind as to release me from my bonds when I was +in your power"-- + +"And it was the stupidest thing I ever did in my life," interposed the +prisoner, with some bitterness. + +"I am not familiar with the events of your life, and I cannot gainsay +your remark." + +"You did not scruple to turn our own guns against us." + +"As you would have done if you had succeeded in capturing the +Bellevite," added Christy, smartly. "This time makes twice that you did +not capture her." + +"The third time may not fail." + +"It may not; but I must be as magnanimous as you were. Sampson, release +the gentleman." + +"Thank you, Captain Passford; that is no more than I did for you when +you were in the same situation." + +"But I suppose you will not undertake to capture this ship after I +have done as well by you as you did by me. I intend to treat you like a +gentleman, though the fortunes of war are against you. Now, perhaps you +will not object to answering a question or two, in which there can be no +treason." + +"I must be my own judge of the questions," replied the major, rather +haughtily. + +"Certainly, sir; and I shall not insist upon your answering any +question. Was any one on board of the Vampire killed in this affair?" + +"No one was killed." + +"Were any wounded?" + +"I am sorry to say that three were injured by the falling of the pieces +of the walking-beam." + +"Seriously?" + +"Two slightly, and one severely." + +"Thank you, major." + +"Of course, I am not informed of the fate of those in the boat when it +was sunk," added the prisoner. + +"I think no one was badly hurt in that part of the affair," said +Christy. + +"Perhaps it will be of interest to you to know that Private Passford, +formerly of my command, was the one who was severely wounded on board of +the Vampire." + +"Corny!" exclaimed Mrs. Passford. + +"I am sorry to say that he was struck on the shoulder by a fragment of +the machinery," replied the major, very politely, as he bowed low to the +lady. + +"Poor Corny!" ejaculated Miss Florry. "Is he very badly wounded, Major +Pierson?" + +"I do not know how seriously, but I am afraid he cannot use that +shoulder for a long time." replied the prisoner, fixing a look of +admiration upon her, as if he were glad to have the privilege of looking +at her without causing any remark. + +"I am so sorry for him. Corny was always real good to me when I have +been at Glenfield," added the fair girl, and she actually shed some +sympathetic tears as she thought of his wounded shoulder. "Can we not +do something for him, mother?" + +"I shall be very glad to have him removed to the house, and I will take +care of him till he gets well. I don't know whether this can be done or +not. Perhaps Major Pierson can inform me." + +"If your kind hearts prompt you to do this for one who is in arms +against the government, I have no doubt it can be managed. He can +give his parole, and that will make it all right." + +"He is my nephew, and I would do as much for him as I would for my own +son," replied Mrs. Passford heartily. + +"And I as much as I would for my brother," added Miss Florry. + +Everything was pleasant so far, though all the Passfords were worried +about poor Corny, who had been with the ladies only the evening before. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +AFTER THE BATTLE + + +It was six o'clock in the morning when the Bellevite let go her anchor +off Twentieth Street, as the young commander decided to do after some +consultation with Paul Vapoor, who was his senior in years if not in +wisdom. He did not suppose the steamer would be allowed to anchor at the +Navy Yard without orders to that effect. His father had not returned +from the city. Though he held no office, Captain Passford was as busy +with public affairs as though he had been the collector of the port. + +No one but the ladies had slept any during the trip; but they had been +on deck some time when the steamer anchored. Christy had been very much +in doubt as to what he should do with the Bellevite when he reached his +destination, and he was glad to see his mother when she came out of the +cabin. Though he was still hardly more than a boy, he believed in his +mother, and it had not yet occurred to him that he knew more than she +did. He stated his difficulty to her, for Paul had been as much in doubt +as the midshipman. + +"I think it is a very easy question to answer, Christy," replied Mrs. +Passford, with a smile. "Where have you anchored?" + +"Off Union Square, or very near it, I should think," replied Christy. + +"You know that your father stays at the St. James Hotel when he is in +the city," she added. "The only thing you can do is to find him, and let +him decide what is to be done with the Bellevite." + +"I did not think of that," added the midshipman. "I will get out a boat +at once, and go on shore." + +"Florry and I will go with you," continued Mrs. Passford. "We have +nothing to do here, and I should like to return to Bonnydale as soon as +possible. But what will you do with your prisoner, Christy?" + +"I shall do nothing with him. Sampson is in charge of him, and I am sure +he will not take his eye off the major while he remains on board." + +The port-quarter boat was lowered into the water, and a couple of the +old sailors took their places in her. The ladies were assisted to their +seats, and Christy, after he had informed the engineer that he was in +command during his absence, leaped into the boat, and it was pulled to +the nearest pier. A carriage was called, and the party were driven to +the hotel. It was half-past six, and Christy was informed that his +father had not yet come down. Word was sent up to him, and the son went +to his room, where he found him only half dressed. + +"I did not expect to see you at this time in the morning, my son," said +the owner of the Bellevite. "How did you come down so early?" + +"I came in the Bellevite; and she is at anchor in the stream off +Twentieth Street, father," replied Christy. + +"In the Bellevite!" exclaimed Captain Passford, with the nearest thing +to a frown that ever appeared on his brow in the presence of any member +of his family. "I don't quite understand how"-- + +"An attempt was made to capture her last night, father, and I thought it +best to make sure of her," interposed the midshipman. + +"To capture her!" ejaculated Captain Passford, suspending his toilet, +and gazing into the face of his son. "I think you must have dreamed +that, Christy." + +"Perhaps I did, father; but we captured one prisoner of rank in my +dream, and he is on board now, closely guarded by Sampson," replied +Christy, laughing in his excitement. "Mother and Florry were on board, +and they are down in the parlor waiting to see you." + +"Do you mean that an attempt was really made to capture the Bellevite +last night?" asked the captain, as if unable to credit the astounding +intelligence. + +"Of course I can prove all I say by many witnesses. Mr. Watts is on +board, and he has been dreaming too if I have. Paul Vapoor is another +dreamer, to say nothing of eight or ten more on board," added Christy. + +Captain Passford completed dressing himself about as quick as he had +probably ever done since he became a millionnaire, and attended Christy +down to the parlor, where he gave his wife and daughter an affectionate +reception. + +"But our boy tells me that some one has been trying to obtain possession +of the Bellevite, Julia; and it seems to me hardly possible that such an +attempt should be made so far up the river," said Captain Passford, as +soon as he was able to allude to the subject. + +"But it is quite true, Horatio; and our boy has behaved like a hero, if +he is our son," replied the lady, bestowing a glance of pride upon the +midshipman. + +"He says he has a prisoner on board," added the captain. + +"And who do you think that prisoner is, Horatio?" asked Mrs. Passford. + +"Is it Jeff Davis?" he inquired, with a smile. + +"Not exactly; but it is Major Lindley Pierson." + +"Indeed? Then I begin to see through the matter," replied Captain +Passford. "He failed to obtain the steamer in Mobile Bay, and he came +up here after her. But I should like to hear the particulars of this +affair." + +"And poor Corny Passford was wounded in the shoulder," said Florry, who +had hardly spoken before. + +"You don't mean that you had a fight, Christy?" demanded the captain, +looking quite serious. + +"Not much of a fight, father; we fired the long gun once, and disabled +an old steamer, and we sunk a boat that was trying to lay us aboard." + +"Then it was a more serious affair than I had supposed." + +"But, father, I think we had better be going on board; and I can tell +you the story on the way just as well as here," suggested Christy. + +"But you must have your breakfast before you go, for there is nothing to +eat on board of the steamer," replied Captain Passford, as he led the +way down into the restaurant. + +While they were waiting for the meal to be served, the captain went to +the house of a military officer, with whom he was intimately acquainted, +and requested him to take the prisoner off his hands. After the meagre +details of the affair he gave, the officer offered to put a company on +board of the steamer for her protection; but the captain thought this +was unnecessary. + +After the breakfast, the party took a carriage for the pier. On the way +the captain ordered a supply of cooked provisions to be sent down to the +boat for the use of the men on board of the Bellevite. With this supply +the party went on board. On the way Christy had told his story, and by +the time they went on board Captain Passford had learned all about the +affair. + +He had received the order to deliver the steamer at the Navy Yard on the +following Monday, and he decided to return to Bonnydale in her. Enough +of the former members of the ship's company could be obtained in a few +hours to hold the vessel against any enemy that was likely to appear +in the river. As the owner was now on board, the engineer put on full +steam, and she reached her anchorage, as indicated by the buoy of the +cable which had been slipped. It was hauled in, and the Bellevite was +replaced in her former position. + +The tremendous report of the great gun in the small hours of the morning +had startled all the people in the vicinity, though it was not till they +left their beds that the news was conveyed to them. A party in the town +just below the scene of the disaster to the Vampire had been collected, +and they had taken a steamer to explore the river in search of the bold +actors in the affair, as soon as the facts were known in the vicinity. +The steamer had been running up and down the river since six in the +morning. + +When the Bellevite passed up the river, she was promptly recognized +by the investigating party on board of the Alert, which followed the +steamer up to her anchorage. She came alongside some time after the crew +had fished up the cable; but Captain Passford warned her to keep off as +soon as he discovered her intention to come alongside. She was a small +steamer, and had at least twenty men on her deck, so that the captain +thought it necessary to learn her object before she came any nearer. + +A boat with two men was sent from the Alert, and one of them was +permitted to come on board. This one proved to be Captain Mainhill, with +whom the owner of the Bellevite was well acquainted. He was a wealthy +and patriotic man, though rather too old to be engaged in active service +for his country. + +"I thought you might be representatives of the Southern Confederacy, and +I was rather shy of you," said Captain Passford, as he took the hand of +his neighbor. "I should not have been so cautious if I had met you last +evening." + +"We have been looking for the gentlemen who were engaged in this attempt +to capture the Bellevite," added Captain Mainhill. + +"I hope you have found them, or some of them," replied the owner. + +"Only a single one of them; and he is badly wounded. We have scoured +the river for miles without finding any trace of the enemy. I think they +landed on the east shore, and went over to the railroad, where they +probably took the first train that came along," replied Captain +Mainhill. + +"Of course, they saw the Bellevite going down the river, and perhaps +they have gone down to New York to finish the job they begun here," +suggested Captain Passford. "Do you know if the enemy lost any of their +number when the boat was smashed?" + +But Captain Mainhill knew nothing about the affair on the river beyond +the fact that an attempt had been made to capture the Bellevite, and he +had not ascertained that more than one was injured. + +"We found the Vampire aground half a mile below where the shot disabled +her," continued the leader of the expedition. "Her machinery was badly +smashed. She never was good for much, and she is good for nothing now." + +"Did the enemy carry off the one who was wounded?" asked Captain +Passford, prompted by his wife. + +"No; he seems to have been too badly damaged for that; they left him +at the house of a workingman near the river, and I suppose he is there +now," replied Captain Mainhill. "I don't know that there is anything +more that we can do, and we may as well go home to breakfast." + +"Do you know where the wounded person is to be found?" asked Captain +Passford. + +"I do; and I have seen him. He is suffering a good deal of pain; but he +is as plucky as a mad snake, and he would not say a word in answer to my +questions." + +"I shall be greatly obliged to you, Captain Mainhill, if you will land +me as near as you can to the house where this wounded man is, and show +me where it is. Mrs. Passford will go with me," said the owner. + +"Very glad indeed to do it," replied the leader of the searching party. + +Captain Passford instructed some of the men on board to summon all the +former ship's company of the Bellevite on board at once that could be +found, and then went on board of the Alert with his wife. They were +landed in a boat just below the bend, and Captain Mainhill conducted +them to the house where Corny was said to be. + +They found him there, and the poor fellow was glad enough to see them. +No doctor had been called, and nothing had been done to alleviate his +pain; but he was immediately removed to the mansion at Bonnydale, with +his own consent, and Dr. Linscott was sent for. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE BEGINNING OF A CHASE + + +Major Pierson still remained on board of the Bellevite, for no officer +had been sent on board for him, as expected; and he was under the +efficient care of Sampson. He was subjected to no restraint, and he took +his breakfast with the engineer. But he was not a welcome visitor on +board, and Captain Passford would have been very glad to get rid of him. + +The owner sought him the next time he came on board, when he was not so +busy as he had been before. But he said nothing to him about his mission +at the North, and treated him as a guest rather than a prisoner. For +reasons of his own, though not difficult to conjecture, he was very +anxious to make a good appearance before the father of Miss Florry, +and he was a gentleman in his manners. + +"Major Pierson, I am sorry to do anything that may be unpleasant to +you, but I have not the means of holding you as a prisoner," said the +captain, after they had been talking of indifferent subjects for a time. + +"I realize that I am a prisoner of war, subject to such restraint as my +captors impose upon me," replied the major. + +"If you will allow yourself to be paroled, it will settle your status +for the present," added Captain Passford. + +"As a guest at your house?" asked the major, his face suddenly +brightening up. "I shall be very happy to give my parole." + +"Not at my house, if you please, Major Pierson; it would not be +convenient at the present time," replied the owner, astonished at the +suggestion, + +"Then you will excuse me if I decline to accept a parole," replied the +prisoner, biting his lip as though he was not pleased with the reply. +"As a guest in your house, I should not wish you to have any solicitude +in regard to me." + +"Very well, major; I cannot object to your decision," added the captain, +as he touched his hat and left the prisoner to the attentions of +Sampson. + +He was kept on board of the Bellevite, now re-enforced by the return of +about twenty of her former crew, so that regular watches were kept, and +there was no chance for the prisoner to escape, and none for Captain +Carboneer to capture the steamer. Dr. Linscott soon relieved Corny of +his pain, but it was many weeks before he was fit to leave the house, +and then he was paroled. Captain Passford could never ascertain what had +become of the crew intended for the Bellevite, though it was supposed, +as they separated, that they found their way to some port where they +could ship for their chosen service. + +On the Monday following the attempt to capture her, the Bellevite +was taken to the Navy Yard, and she was prepared for service. It was +understood that her former officers and crew would be appointed to her, +for they were accustomed to the vessel, and could do better with her +than any other. Paul Vapoor and Christy Passford had already received +their commissions and orders. Captain Breaker had been restored to his +former rank, and was to be the commander of the Bellevite. + +It was two months before the ship was ready to go into commission. +Important alterations had been made below, and the armament had been +taken from her deck, substituting for it a Parrot midship piece, of +eight-inch bore, and carrying a one hundred and fifty pound shot, two +sixty-pounders, and two thirty-pounders. This was a heavy armament, but +the ship was strong enough to bear it. + +Joel Dashington and Ethan Blowitt were appointed as masters, and were +to be the first and second lieutenants, while Christy Passford was the +third. Leon Bolter was made a first assistant engineer, and Fred Faggs +the second. Sampson obtained his place as a first-class fireman, with +the expectation of soon becoming an assistant engineer, for he was well +qualified for the position. + +Captain Passford, though he had offered his services in any capacity in +which he might be needed, had been induced to withdraw his application +for the reason that he could be of more service to the cause at home +than he could in the field or at sea. He was a man of influence, and he +was needed in civil life. He was even able to do more as an adviser and +counsellor than in any public office, though he filled several of the +latter in the earlier part of the war. He furnished no inconsiderable +part of the money needed at particular times, and he was only less +valuable on account of his money than he was for his patriotism and +good judgment. + +"Now, Christy, remember that you are an officer of the United States, +and make yourself worthy of the place you occupy," said his father to +Christy, on the evening of his last day at home. "Study your duty, and +then perform it faithfully. Perhaps I can tell you something of more +value than good advice is generally considered to be." + +"I shall try to follow your good advice, father; and I mean to do my +duty; and it will not be for the want of trying if I fail," replied +Christy. + +"You have sailed with Captain Breaker a great deal when you were in +a different relation to him. Now I must warn you that he has his duty +to do, and I hope you will not expect to be favored, or ask him for +privileges not granted to other officers," continued the late owner +of the Bellevite. + +"I am sure I expect him to be impartial with his officers." + +"I meant to have seen Breaker this afternoon before I came home; but I +had not time to go to the ship. For some of my own affairs I have had +three agents in England. I wrote them some time ago to obtain all the +information they could in regard to vessels, especially steamers, that +cleared for any ports of the British Possessions near the United +States," continued Captain Passford, taking a letter from his pocket. +"Two weeks ago an iron steamer sailed from a port in Ireland for the +Bermudas. This letter will tell you all about it, and you will hand it +to Captain Breaker, and give him my explanation." + +The midshipman put the letter into his pocket without reading it. In his +chamber he looked it over, and found that it meant business, and he was +delighted with the idea of having something to do before he reached the +port for which the ship was bound, for the inactivity of the blockade +was not wholly to his mind. He slept as soundly as usual, for already he +had come to regard war as the business in which he was engaged, and he +had but little sickly sentiment over it. + +It was a tearful parting with his mother and sister before he took the +train with his father, and it was a sad one with his father when he went +off to the Bellevite in the boat. But neither of them shed any tears, +for both felt that they were called upon to discharge their duty to +their country. + +Captain Breaker had always trained his officers and seamen to perform +their duty in conformity with the discipline of the navy so far as it +was practicable to do so, and consequently his ship's company were very +nearly at home from the beginning of the voyage. He had received his +sealed orders, and at noon the Bellevite went down the bay on her +mission to the South, though no one on board knew where the ship was +bound. The crew had been re-enforced by as many men as she had usually +carried, and the first day was a very busy one in putting everything in +order. Christy had handed the letter his father had given him to the +captain, and after dinner he spoke of it. + +"Did you read this letter, Mr. Passford?" asked the captain. + +"I did, sir; my father told me to read it," replied Christy. + +"It appears that a very fast steamer loaded with a valuable cargo sailed +from Belfast eleven days ago, clearing for the Bermudas. We shall all be +very happy to pay our respects to her; but I can say nothing till I have +opened my orders to-morrow," said Captain Breaker. + +"If she sailed eleven days ago from Belfast, she ought to be well +up with the Bermudas, if she is as fast as represented, sir," added +Christy, hoping the orders would permit the Bellevite to look out for +the Killbright, as she was called. + +The next day, as the observations indicated the latitude in which the +sealed orders were to be opened, the seal of the official envelope was +broken. Captain Breaker read the letter, and a smile came over his +bronzed face. The orders were evidently to his satisfaction; and +Christy, who was on duty near him, remembered what his father had said +to him, and asked no question, as he would have been likely to do under +other circumstances. But the commander was kind enough to call his +officers to him, and inform them of the duty assigned to the ship. + +The government had received information which indicated the approach +to our shores of a considerable fleet of blockade runners, and the +Bellevite, on account of her reputed fast sailing, was to cruise for +a given time off the coast in search of these blockade runners. + +"I have no doubt these blockade runners will go into the Bermudas, +especially the Killbright. If we go into St. George, we shall not be +allowed to sail till twenty-four hours after this fast vessel leaves," +said Captain Breaker. "On the other hand, if we are seen off the port, +she will not come out." + +"I don't see, then, that we can do anything about it, Captain Breaker," +added Mr. Dashington. + +"Captain Passford's correspondent thinks the Killbright is intended for +the Confederate Navy, and that she is commanded by a naval officer sent +out for the purpose," continued the captain. + +But no satisfactory measures could be devised for overcoming the +difficulties on both hands, and the steamer sped on her way. In two +days more she was in sight of the Bermudas. It was almost dark when the +lookout sighted a steamer coming out from the islands. By the order of +the captain, the engine was stopped, and the steamer rested silently on +a calm sea. + +"I don't think she has seen us yet," said Captain Breaker. "If she had, +she would have come about and run back into the harbor." + +"She keeps on her course," added Mr. Dashington. + +"If she has the reputation of being a very fast vessel, very likely she +believes that she can run away from us," suggested Mr. Blowitt. + +"As I don't believe the vessel floats that can outsail the Bellevite, +I shall give her time to get well away from the port before the screw +turns again," said the captain. + +"Mr. Passford," called he a little later. + +"On duty, sir," replied Christy, touching his cap to the commander. + +"You will have the midship gun charged with a solid shot, and have it +ready for use at once." + +As the steamer in the distance still kept on her course, the screw of +the Bellevite was started. The chief engineer was called upon deck, and +the situation explained to him. + +"We shall want all the speed we can get out of her, Mr. Vapoor," said +the captain. + +"We shall have no trouble in making twenty-two knots, sir, with the sea +as it is now," replied the engineer. + +"That steamer means to go into the Cape Fear River," said Mr. Blowitt, +when the chase had laid her course. "If she was going in at Savannah, +or round into the Gulf, she would go more to the south." + +"I think you are right; but she has room enough to run away from us if +she can," added the captain. + +It was a busy time in the fireroom, but there was nothing to do on deck +but watch the steamer. She had actually lighted the green light on the +starboard, and evidently did not expect to be overhauled, even if her +commander had noticed the presence of the Bellevite. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +A CHASE OFF THE BERMUDAS + + +All the officers on board of the Bellevite who had never been in the +navy had spent their long vacation in the study and practice of gunnery +and naval tactics; and the men had been carefully drilled by a competent +officer as soon as they reported for duty. But a considerable number of +the latter had served for years on board of men-of-war, and a few were +sheet-anchor men. The latter are sailors who have spent the greater part +of their lives in the national sea-service, and they were competent to +teach many of the junior officers. + +Every day after the ship went into commission, both officers and +seamen were drilled, and the captain declared that they had all made +satisfactory proficiency. He was ready to meet an enemy with them; +but then the ship's company of the steam-yacht were of the very best +material. They were all intelligent men, and sailors to begin with, so +that the task of qualifying them for active duty was not very laborious. + +Christy was even better fitted for his duties than many of the older +officers, for he was not only full of enthusiasm, but he was skilful and +scientific, as a rule. He neither asked nor expected any favors on +account of former relations with the captain and other officers, and he +was determined to make his way by merit rather than by favor. Besides, +he had already been under fire, and he had an idea how it felt. Though +he was as prudent and careful as circumstances might require, he had +proved that he was as brave as a lion, and that shot and shell were not +likely to drive him from the post of duty. + +Every man was in his place at the midship gun, seventeen of them, +including the powder-boy, and Christy gave the orders for loading the +piece as though he had been in the navy all his life. The other guns, +the broadsides, were loaded at the same time. But just now Paul Vapoor +was the most important man on board, and he was rapidly making himself +felt in the increasing speed of the Bellevite. Captain Breaker estimated +that the steamer which had just come out of port was all of five miles +ahead. It was only seven o'clock in the early darkness of this latitude. +Whether the chase was the Killbright or not, it was impossible to make +out in the darkness. + +If it was the Killbright, Captain Passford's correspondent wrote that +she was capable of making twenty knots an hour, as she had been built +more for speed than anything else, though she could hardly be a +profitable commercial venture. But even accepting this speed as the +difficulty to be overcome, the Bellevite would probably overhaul her in +two or three hours. The engineer felt that his reputation and that of +the ship were at stake, and could not think of such a thing as failure +in the first actual encounter with the enemy. + +"We are gaining on her without the ghost of a doubt, Mr. Passford," said +Boxie, who was ready for duty at the gun. + +"No doubt of that, Tom Boxie," replied the third lieutenant. "But she is +taking it very coolly. She has not yet even put out her lights." + +"I suppose you know why she hasn't, Mr. Passford," added the captain of +the gun. + +"I am sure I don't know," replied Christy. "If I was in command of that +steamer, and wanted to do just what she does, I should not proceed as +she does. But I am nothing but a boy." + +"But you have got a long head on your shoulders, Mr. Passford, and I +should like to know, if you please, what you would do." + +"I would put her lights out before I winked twice." + +"Right, Mr. Passford!" exclaimed the sheet-anchor man. "I am glad to +hear you say that. The trouble with most of the boys is, when they go to +sea to fight the battles of their country, they are as reckless as young +wildcats." + +"I think it is possible to use proper caution without being a coward, +Tom Boxie; and my father gave me a lesson on that subject not long ago." + +"Eight bells, sir; and that steamer has had a good hour of running so +far. I will wager my day's grub that we are two knots nearer to her than +when she laid her course," added Boxie, delighted with the situation. + +"I have no doubt of it. I think they are beginning to see it on board of +her. There go her lights! She has not a ghost of a glow in sight; and I +suppose there is going to be some monkeying about it, if she has +ascertained that she cannot run away from us." + +"Most likely, sir; but this is not a good night to play tricks, for we +have a bright night and a smooth sea." + +"As that steamer has such a reputation for speed, I have no doubt they +put a very valuable cargo on board of her; probably she has a good +supply of arms in her hold." + +"So much the better for us, Mr. Passford. We don't fight for +prize-money, but when a man gets to be as old as I am, a good round sum +of money don't come amiss to him. But I am sorry to see that it looks +like a change of weather," continued the sheet-anchor man, as he hitched +up his trousers, and took a survey of the heavens. + +The wind began to come from the west after it had been almost a dead +calm since noon. It looked as though a heavy shower was coming up, and +clouds of mist and fog swept over the ocean. The usual lookouts had been +doubled, but, in spite of all precautions, the Bellevite lost sight of +the chase when she could not have been more than a mile from her. But +this weather was to be expected in this changeable latitude. Captain +Breaker was as perplexed as any one, however skilful, must have been in +the same situation. It was impossible to know what the chase would do, +though it was plain enough, since she put out her lights, that she would +change her course. + +It was over six hundred miles to Cape Hatteras, and she had room enough +to manoeuvre in any manner she pleased. The change in the weather hardly +amounted to a storm, and probably it would be all over in a few hours. +But the chase might turn to any point of the compass, and the Bellevite +was as likely to pursue in the wrong as the right direction. But the +first thing the commander ordered the chief engineer to do was to save +his coal; though he held to his course, and the ship continued at a +moderate speed till daylight. + +As the wise ones had predicted, the shower was of brief duration. As +soon as it was light enough to see, and the fog banks had been swept +away, a sharp lookout was kept for the chase. If she was ahead, she had +outsailed her pursuer; but Captain Breaker was sure she had not done +this, for she could not have had confidence enough in her heels to adopt +such a course. + +"Sail, ho!" yelled a man on the cross-trees, a few minutes later. + +"Where away?" called the officer of the deck. + +"On the port beam, sir." + +Several officers mounted the rigging to obtain a sight of the reported +sail. She was at least ten miles off, and no one could make out whether +or not it was the chase of the night before. The captain ordered the +ship to be headed to the southward, and, after she had gone on this +course an hour, there was another hail from the cross-trees. + +"Sail is a steamer, sir!" reported the lookout. + +With the aid of the spyglasses, a long streak of black smoke could be +made out of the dark clouds that were retreating in that direction. +A little later it was demonstrated that she was headed for the coast +of the United States. Whether it was the chase they sought or not, she +needed looking after. The course was laid in a direction to intercept +the steamer, for her inky smoke indicated that she was not American. + +In another hour she could be very distinctly made out, though the chase +had not been so clearly made out the night before as to enable the +officers to identify her. Paul Vapoor was in his element again, and the +Bellevite was doing her best. The two vessels were approaching each +other, and Boxie suggested that there would be "music" in less than an +hour. + +The people on board of the strange steamer must have been as much in the +dark in regard to the caliber of the naval vessel as those on board of +the Bellevite were in respect to their confident rival. The chase was a +long craft, it could be seen now, with two masts and two smokestacks, +all of which raked in the most dashing style. She was rather low in the +water, and, if it had been in the days of the pirates, the stranger +would have been a fair ideal of the freebooter's ship. + +"She keeps on just as though she intended to mind her own business, and +leave the Bellevite to do the same," said Boxie, as Christy took his +place near the midship gun. + +"I have no doubt the Bellevite knows her business in this case, and that +she will attend to it in due time," added the lieutenant. + +"Good!" exclaimed the sheet-anchor man, suddenly. + +This exclamation was called forth by a flag, which was run up at the +peak, and which proved to be that of the Confederacy as soon as it was +spread out to the breeze. + +"She is plucky, anyhow," added Christy. + +"There is no lack of pluck in the South. But I wonder what she means by +setting that rag." + +"Beeks, hoist the ensign at the peak," said the captain, and the +brilliant banner was spread in the morning air. + +"I reckon both sides understand the situation now. I don't know the +captain of that craft, but he is an able fellow, and probably got his +education in the old navy, and not in the new one, where he is serving +now," continued Boxie. + +"I think it is easy enough to see what he means," replied Christy. "He +ascertained last night that, fast as his vessel is, he cannot outsail +the Bellevite; and there is really only one thing he can do, and that is +to fight." + +The lieutenant had hardly spoken the words before there was a puff of +smoke from one side of the chase, and a heavy report came across the +water. But the two steamers were still a long distance apart, and the +shot fell short, to the satisfaction of the captain. The chase had been +obliged to come to in order to bring her gun to bear, and she had lost +a little time in doing so. It could be easily seen on board of both +steamers that the Bellevite was gaining rapidly on the other. + +"Mr. Passford, I am as sure of capturing that vessel as though I had +her now, and I do not wish to injure her any more than is necessary," +said Captain Breaker, as he sighted the Parrot, and devoted especial +attention to her. "She is a very fast steamer, and she will be very +valuable in our navy in picking up just such vessels as she is herself." + +Perhaps it was impudence for him to do so, but Christy could not help +casting his eye along the gun. All possible precautions were taken to +secure a correct aim, and then the lieutenant gave the order to "Fire!" + +"Hit her, sir!" shouted one of the lookout men aloft, who could see over +the cloud of smoke. + +"Where did it strike her?" demanded the captain. + +"Right in the broadside, abreast of the forward smokestack, sir! She has +stopped her screw!" added the lookout. + +"Mr. Dashington, get the ship astern of the chase at once," continued +the captain to the first lieutenant. + +This was the work of at least half an hour; but the Bellevite was +running for the stern of the other steamer, as though she intended to +cut her in two lengthwise. The chase lay helpless on the water, unable +to bring her broadside guns to bear on her enemy. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE CONFEDERATE STEAMER YAZOO + + +It was impossible to discover the nature or extent of the injury the +chase had received from the shot from the midship gun; but she had been +disabled, though it might be but slightly. The Bellevite dashed on, as +though impatient to obtain possession of her prey. All the glasses on +board were brought to bear on the injured vessel, which all hands +regarded as already a prize. + +The glasses did not reveal any considerable havoc in the side of the +steamer, and the shot hole could easily be plugged when necessary; but +the commander of the craft did not yet give up the ship, for he seemed +to be engaged in hoisting her foresail and jibs, evidently with the +intention of bringing her about so that he could use his guns. The wind +was very light, and his chances of accomplishing his purpose were not +very brilliant. + +"Mr. Dashington, you will call all hands, and be ready to board the +prize in three divisions when we run abreast of her," said Captain +Breaker. "Let Mr. Passford command the forward division; Mr. Blowitt, +the waist; and Mr. Calvert, the quarter." + +The boarders were mustered at once, as there was no occasion to fire +again at the prize. Each officer arranged his men, and spoke some +stirring words to them. Men in the tops were supplied with muskets, +and all with revolvers and cutlasses. It was not believed that all +this force would be necessary to capture the prize, but there was some +evidence that she had a fighting crew on board, and the captain prepared +for the worst. + +As the Bellevite came nearer to the prize, the sound of hammers was +heard, and it appeared that the engineers were engaged in an effort to +repair the mischief which had been done to the engine. It was still +impossible to see how many men she had on board, but Captain Breaker did +not estimate that she had a full ship's company, for vessels intended +for war purposes, escaping as this one doubtless had, did not usually +take their force on board at the beginning of the cruise. + + [Illustration: "Christy and Beeks on the Steamer's Deck."--Page 181.] + +The three divisions of boarders were all in readiness, and all they +feared was that there would be little for them to do on board the enemy. +Captain Breaker was in the fore rigging where he could observe all that +was done on the decks of both vessels. The Bellevite went ahead with all +speed till the signal was given to slow down. The sea was not heavy, and +the captain laid her alongside of the prize. + +"Do you surrender?" demanded the commander in a loud tone, but with his +usual dignity. + +"I do not surrender!" replied the captain of the steamer. + +"Boarders away!" shouted Captain Breaker. + +Christy Passford was the first to leap upon the rail of the other +vessel, and then he dropped in the same instant upon her deck. At that +moment he was conscious that the steamer under him was moving, though +it might be the shaking which the Bellevite gave her when she came +alongside. On the deck of the prize, as he still taught himself to +consider her, he saw not more than thirty men; and with nearly three +times that number on the other side, it did not look as if it could be +a very hotly contested battle. + +As Christy jumped down from the rail, Beeks followed him, and he was not +a little surprised to find that they were alone. But there was no enemy +at hand upon whom he could flesh his cutlass, and he sprang upon the +rail again. He found that his impression had been correct, for the +vessel was moving. She had already left a gap a dozen feet wide between +the Bellevite and herself. + +It appeared that the machinery had been repaired, and that it was now +capable of doing all that it had done before. The steamer was the +Killbright, for the lieutenant saw the name painted in several places +about her forward deck. She had suddenly shot ahead very unexpectedly +to the captors, as they supposed they were, alongside of her. A puff +of wind had been favoring her before, and she darted away towards the +northwest. As she began to move, the lock-strings of her port battery +were pulled as rapidly as possible. + +It would have been impossible to help hitting the Bellevite, with the +three guns fired into her at so short a distance. But the cloud of smoke +that enveloped both vessels prevented the captain from taking in the +situation. The crew of the Killbright were ordered to reload their guns +instantly. Whatever was to happen in the near or distant future, it +was evident that the dangerous steamer had not yet been captured, and +Christy did not think of her as a prize any more just then. + +The Killbright crowded on all the steam she could obtain, and she +rapidly increased the distance between herself and the Bellevite. She +fired her three broadside guns continually, but it was clear to Christy +that the men had not been trained to this business, or they might +perhaps have sunk the naval vessel by this time. + +The Bellevite fired her two broadside guns, and they made terrible havoc +in the upper works of the Killbright. But the strangest thing of all to +the young lieutenant, caught on board of the anticipated prize, was that +the Bellevite did not go ahead, and give the boarding parties a chance +to get on the deck of the enemy. + +"I don't understand it, Beeks," said Christy as he found himself by the +side of the quartermaster. "Why don't the ship give chase?" + +"I think she must be disabled, sir," replied the warrant officer. + +"What could have disabled her?" + +"I suppose she might be hit as well as this vessel," replied Beets, no +better pleased with the situation than his companion in trouble. "They +fired three shots into her while she was alongside." + +"She must have been hit in a bad place, or she would have been alongside +of us before this time. But here we are." + +The third lieutenant and quartermaster felt very much like prisoners, +though they had no evidence that the Killbright was a ship-of-war, +except that she had hoisted the Confederate flag, and fired upon the +Bellevite. But the rakish-looking steamer continued on her course, while +the Bellevite had not moved since the first broadside. She had already +made a mile, and the shots from her enemy did not seem to disable her. + +She continued to run with all her speed, and the lieutenant felt the +deck quiver as though it was in danger of being shaken out of her. But +she was not followed by the Bellevite, and things began to look dark +and somewhat cheerless to Christy. The firing came to an end, for the +distance was becoming too great for it to be effectual on either side. + +"If we had not jumped down from the rail when we boarded, we might have +escaped this scrape," said Beeks, who was even more disgusted than his +companion. + +"It is no use to growl about it," added Christy, laughing. "Here we are, +and we can't help ourselves at present." + +"I suppose they will let us go, won't they?" inquired the quartermaster. + +"Let us go where?" + +"Let us go back where we came from," replied Beeks, who seemed to be +quite muddled by his misfortune. + +"You don't expect them to put you on board of the Bellevite again, +do you?" + +"Well, no; not exactly; but this steamer is nothing but a blockade +runner, and such craft don't take prisoners." + +"I hardly know what she is yet; she is a blockade runner, but she +appeals to be something more than that. She hoisted the Confederate +flag, and her people stood by their guns like brave men. I count myself +as a prisoner of war," said Christy, to the increased disgust of his +companion. + +"What do you suppose they will do with us?" asked Beeks, looking as +though he had not a friend in the world, though he had always been a +very brave and active fellow when there was anything to do. + +"I don't know, but I suppose she will run the blockade into the Cape +Fear River, and we may be taken up to Wilmington." + +While they were talking about it, they saw a group of officers coming to +the forward deck, where they had remained since they came on board. They +appeared to be examining the steamer to ascertain what damage she had +sustained. Her bulwarks had been torn off, and she had suffered not a +little from shot; but she did not appear to be very seriously damaged. +At the head of the party was one who had a uniform, and dignity enough +to be the commander of the ship. + +"Who are those two men forward?" asked this gentleman, as he called the +attention of the others to the two strangers. + +No one knew who they were, and the captain continued to advance, looking +very sharply at Christy, or at his uniform. The lieutenant thought he +had seen the gentleman before, for it was quite impossible entirely to +forget one with so much character in his face. + +"I am afraid I shall be obliged to call upon you, sir, to explain how +you and your companion happen to be here, for I was not before aware of +your presence." + +"I shall cheerfully explain, Captain Carboneer," replied Christy, +recognizing the captain, and bowing politely. + +"Ah, you know me? But I have not the pleasure of your acquaintance, +so far as I can remember," added the captain. + +"We met under some disadvantages so far as you are concerned, for I had +the satisfaction of seeing you, though you did not see me," replied the +lieutenant, looking very good-natured in spite of his situation as a +prospective prisoner. + +"I must beg you to explain still further, Mr.--I have not the pleasure +of knowing your name." + +"Passford, sir, Christopher Passford, midshipman in the United States +Navy, and at present third lieutenant of the steamer Bellevite, which +you can hardly make out at this moment, though I remember that you have +seen her before," answered Christy, telling the whole story, as indeed +his uniform had already done, so far as his rank was concerned. + +"I am very happy to meet you under present circumstances, Mr. Passford, +though I am not yet informed where I met you before." + +"Perhaps you did not exactly meet me, Captain Carboneer; but, at any +rate, we were in the same boat together." + +"I suppose we met, if at all, on the Hudson, in connection with the +Bellevite. Your people have not been as fortunate to-day with their +gunnery practice as on that occasion," suggested the captain. + +"Now, Captain Carboneer, will you kindly inform me in regard to the +status of this vessel? Is she a naval vessel, or simply a blockade +runner?" + +"She is both; and I am sorry for your sake to inform you that you are a +prisoner of war." + +"I supposed I was." + +"Perhaps you will be willing to inform me what became of Major Pierson +and Corny Passford--the latter a cousin of yours, I believe?" + +"Like myself, the major is a prisoner of war. Corny was injured in the +disaster to the Vampire, as you are aware; he is also a prisoner, but on +parole, remaining at my father's house to be healed." + +"I have to regret to-day more than ever before that we failed to capture +the Bellevite, for I find that she is even faster than the Yazoo," added +the captain. + +"The Yazoo?" + +"Formerly the Killbright, but now the Yazoo." + +At this moment an officer came up and spoke to Captain Carboneer. As +both of them looked aft, Christy did the same, and, after studying the +speck he saw on the ocean, he was satisfied that it was the Bellevite, +coming down upon the Yazoo with all her speed. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +A SATISFACTORY ORDER + + +Whatever had happened to the Bellevite, it was plain enough now to +Christy that she had repaired the injury, for the speck in the distance +was assuming the form of a steamer. The discovery was not calculated to +fan the hopes of Captain Carboneer and his officers, though the two +Unionists on board of the Yazoo were elated. The chase was continued +till the middle of the afternoon, when the Bellevite opened fire with +her heavy midship gun. + +"Mr. Passford, your ship has opened fire upon us, and I will not compel +you to expose yourself to it," said Captain Carboneer, as one of the +shots from the Bellevite dropped into the water near the Yazoo. "You are +at liberty to retire to any part of the vessel you desire, with your +companion." + +"Thank you, sir; you are very kind; and as I don't care to be shot by my +friends, I will go below," replied Christy. + +It was hardly safer below than on deck, and it was not likely that the +resolute commander of the Yazoo would allow her to be captured as long +as he could make any resistance. Christy got the idea from the decision +he had observed in the face and expression of Captain Carboneer, that +the only way to capture the steamer would be to knock her to pieces. He +expected to be saved from the fate of a prisoner of war, but he was not +ready to believe that the Yazoo would be sent to the North as a prize. +She had not half the force of the Bellevite, either in men or guns, +and it had been proved that her speed could not save her. But all the +chances of accidents were to be incurred, and no one could predict the +final result. + +Christy and Beeks went below, and seated themselves in the wardroom of +the ship. It looked as though it had been altered from the dining-saloon +of a passenger steamer for its present use. But the vessel was an +elegant affair, and Christy thought it was evident from what he saw +that she had been built for a steam-yacht by some British magnate. She +was not more than two-thirds as large as the Bellevite. + +The sound of the firing indicated that the Bellevite was gaining on the +chase even more rapidly than in the morning. At the end of a couple of +hours more she seemed to be within a mile, or perhaps less. The Yazoo +was shaking in every fibre of her steel body, and it was plain that +Captain Carboneer was straining her to the utmost to effect his escape. + +"It is beginning to warm up a little," said Beeks, as he tried to look +out at one of the round ports of the wardroom. + +"It will be hotter than this before we see the end of it," replied +Christy. "Can you see anything?" + +"Not a thing; of course the Bellevite is astern of us," added Beeks. +"But the Yazoo is not using her guns." + +"How can she? She has not fired a shot for some time, and she cannot +without coming to. I should say she might as well do one thing as +another. She can't run away from the Bellevite, and she may as well +take her chances in a fight as a run." + +"But the Bellevite does not seem to be handling her great gun at a very +lively rate," suggested Beeks. + +"I suppose Captain Breaker wants to save all he can of the Yazoo, and +he knows that he can knock her all to pieces when he decides that it is +necessary." + +"What is all that racket on deck?" asked Beeks. + +"Probably they are getting a couple of stern chasers ready for use," +answered Christy; and this explanation was soon proved to be correct by +the report of a gun at the stern of the Yazoo. + +For the next half-hour, the firing from the Bellevite was more rapid, +and several crashes, produced by the striking of shot, were heard. It +was soon apparent that one of the stern chasers had been disabled; and +after a while the other ceased its noise. Beeks was so excited that +he left the wardroom, and found his way into what proved to be the +captain's cabin. More than one shot had come into it, and made no little +havoc. He found a port there through which he obtained a view of the +Bellevite. Whatever damage had been done to her, her engine was in +perfect order, for she was driving ahead at her best speed. + +The quartermaster reported what he had seen to Christy, though it proved +nothing except that the Bellevite was all right, but everything began +to look more hopeful to the occupants of the wardroom. They had only to +wait, for they could do nothing. The pursuer had ceased to discharge her +guns, and those of the Yazoo were useless under present circumstances. + +The situation was becoming more exciting on the deck of the Yazoo, +judging by the sounds that came from it. Then it was evident that the +Bellevite had returned to her former tactics, and was coming alongside +with the intention of boarding. Loud yells and fierce cries followed, +and then came the noise of a hand-to-hand struggle on the deck. It was +of short duration, for the ship's company of the Yazoo were outnumbered +at least two to one. + +"I suppose we may go on deck now," said Beeks. + +"I should judge that the fight was over," replied Christy, as he led the +way out of the wardroom. + +At the companion-way they found two sailors assisting Captain Carboneer +to his cabin. His face was covered with blood, and he looked very pale. +The surgeon was close by him. Christy felt sincerely sorry for the +commander, for he was a noble and upright man. His protest had prevented +Major Pierson from attempting to carry out whatever plan he had in his +mind for the abduction of Florry Passford, and the young officer felt +grateful to him. + +"Ah, Mr. Passford, the luck is on your side again," said the wounded +commander, when he saw Christy. + +"Of course, I rejoice that it is so, but I am sincerely sorry that you +are wounded," replied Christy. "I must thank you for your interference +in behalf of my sister in opposition to the scheme of Major Pierson." + +"How could you know anything about that?" asked the commander, bracing +himself up. + +"I heard the whole of it." + +"I see; but I did not consider that Major Pierson contemplated any +ruffianism," added Captain Carboneer, as the surgeon urged him to go +into his cabin. + +Christy hastened on deck, and was warmly received by his fellow-officers +there. He reported on board to Captain Breaker without any delay, and +was warmly congratulated on his escape. He returned to his duty at once. +Paul Vapoor was inclined to hug him when he met him. + +"I felt like a prisoner of war," said Christy, when he had told his +brief story. "The Bellevite was disabled, and I supposed it was all up +with me." + +"A shot from the Killbright damaged our rudder, so that we could not +steer her; though we repaired the mischief after a considerable delay," +replied the engineer. "But we have the prize." + +"She was intended for a cruiser, and they call her the Yazoo." + +"Whatever her name, she will not be a cruiser on that side." + +The captured vessel was carefully surveyed; she had been considerably +damaged in the contest, but she was still seaworthy, and Mr. Blowitt was +appointed prize-master to take her to New York. All the arrangements +were speedily completed, and, when the prize had sailed for her +destination, Christy became the acting second lieutenant. + +For the next month the Bellevite cruised in search of such craft as +the Killbright, and then she took her place on the blockade off Mobile +Bay, to which she had been ordered. Mr. Blowitt and the prize-crew had +returned, and all the damage done by the guns of the Yazoo had been +repaired, so that the Bellevite was in as good condition as when she +left the Navy Yard at Brooklyn. She captured several schooners, but no +very important prize. Many of the officers were disgusted with the +inactivity of the service. + +In a letter from his father, Christy obtained the information that the +Bellevite was likely to be ordered to duty as a cruiser, for which her +great speed adapted her better than any other vessel in the navy. This +was cheering news to the discontented ones. But before any orders to +this effect was received, the ship was ordered to proceed to Pensacola, +where a very fast steamer was said to be awaiting an opportunity to get +to sea. + +The position of the steamer was ascertained with no little difficulty; +but it was protected by the guns of the forts. Captain Breaker desired +to obtain better information in regard to the Teaser, as the negroes +said she was called. She was quite small, and carried only a single long +gun, and it was suspected that she was a privateer. On the evening of +the Bellevite's arrival, the weather was rainy, foggy, and thick. It was +just the night for a blockade runner, and the captain believed that an +attempt would be made to get out at this time. + +The Unionists held Fort Pickens, and the Confederates the forts on the +mainland. The negroes said the Teaser was anchored at the mouth of the +lagoon, or very near it. This was not very definite, even if it were +accepted as true. It was very important that the Teaser should not be +permitted to get out of the bay, for she might do a great deal of +mischief to the shipping of the nation. + +"I don't believe the stories of the negroes," said Captain Breaker, as +he was discussing the situation with his officers. "I know the port very +well, and I have no idea where the mouth of the lagoon is, or even if it +has any mouth in Pensacola Bay." + +"Wherever the Teaser may be waiting her chance, this is a good night for +a start," replied Mr. Dashington. + +"Of course the officers of Fort Pickens are on the lookout for the saucy +little craft," added Mr. Blowitt. + +"Captain Westover is still on board, and you are to send him to the +fort, are you not, Captain Breaker?" asked Christy. + +"Yes; as soon as he is ready to go," replied the captain. "He has given +all the information he has in regard to the Teaser; but he has not seen +her to-day, and he does not believe she is in the lower bay, but that +she is somewhere in the vicinity of the Navy Yard." + +"If you will excuse me, Captain Breaker, I don't believe she means to +come out by the main channel, for her people know that the eyes of the +officers of Fort Pickens are wide open," suggested Christy, with a good +deal of diffidence. + +"How do you think she will come out, Mr. Passford?" asked the captain, +with a smile. + +"By Santa Rosa Sound, sir," replied the third lieutenant. + +"Possibly you are right, Mr. Passford, though I do not think you are," +added the commander, thoughtfully. "Santa Rosa Sound is about forty +miles long, and there is hardly water enough in it, up and down, to +float a raft, to say nothing of a steamer." + +But later in the day, the captain called Christy aside, and had a long +talk with him, the charts open before them. It certainly did not look +like a very hopeful enterprise to take a steamer through such a sound as +that described. + +"But we have no correct information in regard to the anchorage of the +Teaser, and I have decided to obtain it if possible. I propose to send +you to look into the matter, Mr. Passford," added the captain, settling +the question in that way. "Select your own boat and crew. But if the +Teaser gets by Fort Pickens, we may have to chase her to sea, and if on +your return you do not find the Bellevite, you and your men will remain +at Fort Pickens." + +Christy was entirely satisfied with this order. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +LIEUTENANT PASSFORD IN COMMAND + + +Christy felt as much honored by the confidence reposed in him by the +captain as though he had been appointed to the command of a steamer. +But he had more than once proved that he could be safely trusted, and +demonstrated that he had judgment, discretion, and skill beyond his +years. He was not only brave and resolute, but he was faithful and +patriotic. + +He went about among the ship's company and selected the men he desired +to assist him in his enterprise, and requested those chosen to say +nothing about the matter, for the lieutenant was aware that he should +have more volunteers than he could accommodate in the largest of the +boats. All would want to go, and the young officer would be teased and +coaxed, and all sorts of influence brought to bear upon him to permit +this and that one to be of the party. It was easier to be silent than +it was to reply to all the applications. + +Christy selected a large whaleboat for the service in which he was to +be employed, and he had his own reasons for the choice he made. He had +received unlimited authority to adopt his own measures. The only point +that was strongly impressed upon his mind by the captain was that the +Teaser must be captured. + +After supper the order was given to the third lieutenant to convey +Captain Westover back to the fort, or to land him at the usual place +near it. Nothing was thought of the order, though perhaps some of +the officers considered a dozen seamen, all armed with cutlasses and +revolvers, a large boat's crew for such a service. It was very thick +weather, and Captain Westover begged Christy not to land him within the +enemy's lines, which he promised not to do. + +The men gave way, and the boat went off into the gloom of the evening. +Beeks gave his whole attention to the course of the boat, and Lieutenant +Passford was engaged in a very earnest conversation with the military +passenger. The landing-place seemed to be reached too soon, for Christy +had not finished his business. He landed with him, and together they +went to the fort, where the young officer had a conversation with the +commander of the force there. + +"I hope you will not get into hot water, Mr. Passford," said Captain +Westover, as he came to the sallyport with him. + +"I cannot say that I shall not," replied Christy, "but I shall do the +best I can to report on board of the ship with the force intrusted to +me; and I hope I shall have the Teaser with me." + +"I hope you will. There are several small steamers up in the bay; but I +have not the least idea where you will have to look for the Teaser, for +we at the fort have not seen any such steamer lately." + +"There can be no doubt of her existence, Captain Westover, for the +Bellevite was sent here to look out for her, as her speed is said to +be remarkable. But, good-night, captain." + +"Good-night, lieutenant; success to you, and a safe return," added the +captain. + +"Thank you," answered Christy, as he hurried down to the landing-place. + +Among those whom the lieutenant had selected was a master's mate by the +name of Flint, who had assisted on board of the Bellevite in the affair +with the Vampire. He was a modest, quiet man, who made no especial +figure among his shipmates, though he had strongly attracted the +attention of his officer. Next to Christy he was the highest in rank, +and the second in command. Beeks was the next man selected, and he had +done all that was necessary in the preparation of the boat, including +putting into it slyly a supply of provisions, and a number of articles +which the lieutenant had designated. + +On his return to the boat, Christy found his crew in excellent order, +for he had instructed Flint to allow no noise or disorder, as sailors +and young men generally are somewhat given to skylarking when not under +the eye of a commissioned officer. Christy took his place with Flint +in the stern sheets of the boat, and ordered Beeks, who was acting as +coxswain, to shove off and give way. + +"I have no instructions yet, sir," replied Beeks, as he obeyed the +order, and headed the boat away from the shore. + +"We have to make two miles east by south, and that course will carry +us parallel with the shore of Santa Rosa Island, variation included," +replied Christy, who had been a diligent student of the chart, and had +written down all that it was important for him to remember, though he +had one of his own charts, or a piece of one, in the boat. + +"East by south, sir," replied Beeks, as he put the whaleboat on the +required course. + +Thus far, Christy had kept his own counsel, and not whispered a word +of his intentions even to the master's mate. He had no motive for such +heroic concealment of his plan, but he had not had the time to discuss +it with any person. Besides, though he had decided upon his course +in the beginning, he was too much in the dark himself to lay down a +definite plan; and his course must depend largely upon the information +he obtained from time to time. + +He had examined the charts and the Coast Pilot very carefully; and the +facts he had obtained from the latter rather staggered him in regard to +the idea he had advanced that the Teaser might go out through Santa Rosa +Sound. It was not navigable for vessels with a draught of over four +feet, and it would have to be a very small man-of-war that could float +in that depth. Though it was now the time of the spring tides, they did +not add more than six inches to the height of the mean tide, which was +but a couple of inches over two feet. + +Even before he took his place in the boat alongside the ship, he had +come to the conclusion that the Teaser, if she proved to be anything +more than a toy boat, could not go to sea through the sound, and she +was not likely to attempt it. He had said as much as this to Captain +Breaker, who reminded him that he was to ascertain if possible what the +craft intended to do, if he succeeded in finding her. + +Flint did not manifest any desire to know more than the law allowed, +and he asked no questions in regard to the enterprise in which he was +engaged. In fact, one reason why he was chosen was because he had an +excellent habit of minding his own business. Possibly Christy was more +particular on this point than an older officer would have been. + +"I think we have made two miles, Mr. Passford," said Beeks, when the men +had pulled about an hour. "Of course, I cannot be sure of the distance +run, for I can only guess at it." + +"Run up to the shore, then, and let us see how far off we are," added +Christy. + +In a few minutes the bottom of the boat struck on the sand, and it was +forced up far enough to permit the lieutenant to go on shore. Like most +of the islands in this part of the gulf, Santa Rosa was nothing but +sand, which in the eastern end is of a peculiar reddish hue. It is +little more than a sand spit for its whole length, though in some places +the wind has piled up mounds, or dunes. + +"Come with me, if you please, Flint," said Christy, as he leaped to the +shore. + +Flint followed him, as usual asking no questions, and, if he had any +curiosity in regard to the purposes of his leader, he did not manifest +it. The lieutenant glanced at the trend of the shore, and then walked at +right angles with it. No part of the island was inhabited, or even +occupied, except Fort Pickens and a Union camp. It was a dismal place, +especially in the fog and darkness. + +A short walk brought the explorers to the waters of Pensacola Bay. It +was in vain that they tried to penetrate the gloom and the mist, and +nothing could be seen. Flint expressed himself to this effect. + +"I did not expect to see anything," replied Christy. "I only came across +here to find how wide the island was at this point. I am satisfied that +we are about where I supposed we were. Half a mile to the westward of us +the island is more than double the breadth it is here." + +"I see, sir; if you had found it much wider than it is, you would have +known that you had not gone far enough in the boat," replied Flint. + +"Precisely so; I wanted to find where we were before I changed the +course in going farther to the eastward," added Christy. + +Flint made no further remark, and they returned to the boat, and seated +themselves in their places. The lieutenant gave the order to shove off. + +"We are in no hurry, Beeks; if the men are tired, you can stop longer to +rest them," continued the commander of the expedition. + +The men scouted the idea of being tired after a pull of two miles in a +comparatively smooth sea. Christy told them that they might have some +very heavy work to do before they returned to the ship, and he did not +wish to use up their strength unnecessarily. + +"Now, keep her east by north for a couple of miles, Beeks," continued +Christy. "That will be as far as we have occasion to go in this +direction. Don't hurry them; take it easy, for it will not be high tide +till half-past twelve, and we may have more time than we shall know how +to use." + +The crew pulled very leisurely, and it was over an hour before Beeks +estimated that they had made the two miles. As before, Christy and Flint +were landed, and they walked across the island. But their walk was not +even half the length of the last one; and the spit was so narrow at this +place that the lieutenant was confident he had struck the point he +intended. + +"This is our base of operations," said Christy, as he stood on the shore +of the bay. "We have got along very well so far, for it is not time yet +for the music to begin, if it is to begin at all. What are you about, +Flint?" + +The master's mate had lain down on the sand at the water's edge, and +his companion was very much puzzled by his attitude. He wondered if his +companion had the stomach-ache, and was not able to stand up. + +"I beg your pardon, Lieutenant Passford, but if you will kindly be quiet +for a moment, I hope to be able to answer your question," replied Flint, +in a low tone. + +Christy complied with the request, and as he did so, he thought he heard +a noise in the distance, though he was not sure of it. He listened with +all his ears, and some confused sounds came to him; but he could make +nothing of them. + +"I heard some sort of a noise," said Flint, rising from his recumbent +position. "But I can make nothing of what I hear. If there was a fresh +breeze, I should say that it was the surf." + +"I heard it, too; but I am bothered to make out what it is. Did you get +an idea of any kind?" asked Christy. + +"It sounded as though something of a gang of men were at work off in +this direction," replied Flint, pointing east of north. "I am almost +sure I heard the blows of hammers, or something like them." + +"The noise I heard might have been almost anything," added Christy. + +"What is there off in that direction?" asked Flint, pointing again. + +"About north of us is Town Point, and just beyond it is Old Navy Cove," +said the lieutenant, who had been up the bay in the Bellevite on an +excursion, and who had studied up all the localities. + +"Possibly they are repairing a vessel there," suggested Flint. + +"They would not do that over there, and certainly not on a dark night," +argued Christy. "But we will soon find out all about it." + +He led the way back to the boat, which he had ordered Beeks to have +carried on the shore. Then they proceeded to bear it across the island +to the bay, where it was put into the water again. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +SOME TROUBLE ON BOARD THE TEASER + + +It was not a difficult thing for so many men to carry the whaleboat +across the island, and they were disposed to make merry over the novelty +of the task; but they had been instructed not to speak a loud word after +the party left the south side of the island. The noise to which Christy +and Flint had listened indicated that something was going on, though +they could not decide what it was. In the stillness of the night, and +in the absence of any roar of breakers, sounds could be heard a long +distance, though whether they came one mile or two, they could not +determine. + +"Get out those cloths, Beeks," said Christy, as soon as the boat had +been put into the water. "Every oar must be very carefully muffled, and +you will see that it is properly done." + +"I will have it done in a few minutes, sir," replied the acting +coxswain. + +"As I said before, we are in no hurry, and you may take your time to do +it properly," added the lieutenant. + +"Those sounds are still to be heard," said Flint, who had been a short +distance from the boat to listen for them. + +"I hear them," replied Christy, walking away from the boat to continue +the investigation while they were waiting. "Some kind of a job is in +progress at no great distance from us. From how far off do you calculate +that those sounds come?" + +"I think they must come a mile; and I don't believe I can guess any +nearer to it than that, though it is possible they come two miles. +I know little or nothing of the region about here. Suppose we should go +a mile north-northeast from this spot, what should we find there, Mr. +Passford?" asked Flint, apparently greatly interested in the question. + +"It would be a point on Pensacola Bay, about half-way between this +island, where we stand, and Town Point," replied Christy. "I should say +it would be in the channel leading into Santa Rosa Sound." + +"Precisely so!" exclaimed Flint, in an energetic whisper. "That's the +way they are going to take the Teaser out, and they are doing something +over there to prepare her for the trip in shallow water." + +The master's mate was not aware that Christy had suggested to the +captain this way of escape for the Teaser, and he had abandoned the idea +himself. Flint had reached his conclusion from his own premises. They +discussed the matter for some time, though it was impossible to arrive +at any conclusion for the want of data on which to base their reasoning. + +"All ready, sir," reported Beeks, coming up to them at this moment. + +"How far is the entrance to the sound from Fort Pickens, Mr. Passford?" +asked Flint. + +"About four miles." + +"Then why should they choose such a night as this for their work?" + +"The Bellevite, floating in four fathoms of water on the other side of +the island, could shell them out if they were seen, as they certainly +would be from Fort Pickens," replied Christy. + +"That makes it plain enough," added Flint, as they walked towards the +boat. + +"But I am not quite willing to believe yet that the Teaser will go out +through the sound. If she could get through at all, it would only be +after getting aground no end of times, and if to-morrow should be a +clear day, she could be seen anywhere on her course," persisted Christy. +"She cannot expect to make eight or ten knots an hour in that shallow +water." + +The lieutenant ordered the men into the boat, after she was shoved off +the beach. They worked with such care that not a sound came from her. +The oars were shipped, and the sailors began to row. As instructed, they +pulled very slowly, though such work could not be done in perfect +silence. + +"Look out for that binnacle, Beeks," said Christy. "The light from it +may betray us." + +"You have not given me the course, sir," replied the coxswain, as he +obeyed the order. + +"North-northeast," added Christy, as he settled back in the stern +sheets. + +No one was allowed to speak in the boat, and the lieutenant set the +example of silence. But he kept his ears wide open, though the little +noise made by the oars and the rippling of the water prevented him from +hearing anything at first. It was so dark that one could hardly see +another in the boat. It was in vain that Christy watched in the gloom +for the glow of a light; for all was nearly total darkness in every +direction. + +In about half an hour they began to hear the sounds which had attracted +their attention on the island, and they proceeded from directly ahead, +indicating that the operations, whatever they were, came from the +entrance to the sound. The workmen were not likely to hear the approach +of the boat while they were making so much noise themselves. In addition +to the sounds they had heard before, they recognized the noise of +escaping steam. + +This last discovery made it certain that a steamer was there, though the +listeners could not know whether it was the Teaser or not. Both of the +officers of the expedition, in the uselessness of their eyes, made the +best use they could of their ears. Christy listened to ascertain if +there was more than one steamer present. In a whisper he asked Flint to +consider this question. There was no doubling of the sounds to indicate +more than one steamer. + +For ten minutes more Christy listened and was silent; but he was doing +some very heavy thinking, for by this time the boat was very near the +scene of operations, if it could be a scene in that dense darkness. +Every sound, even to the speech of the men, could be distinctly heard. +Still nothing could be seen, and Christy knew that there was a point of +nearness where something could be discerned even in any gloom of night. +He permitted the boat to continue on its course, till he could very +dimly make out an object ahead. + +"Way enough," he whispered to Beeks. + +The coxswain raised both hands, and made a gesture with them, which +was the signal for the men to cease rowing. The sounds were now more +tangible. Occasionally there were a few raps with a hammer, but the most +of them were the orders of the person in charge. + +"I don't believe there are more than a dozen men there," whispered +Flint. + +"More than that, I should say; but even if there are two dozen, it is +all the same. Take off the mufflers from the oars, Beeks," continued +Christy. "Then give way with a will, and run for whatever may come in +sight." + +Beeks obeyed the order, and in a couple of minutes the boat was driving +into the gloom at her ordinary speed. Something came into view a moment +later, and it was a small steamer. + +"Boat, ahoy!" shouted some one from the steamer. + +"On board of the steamer!" replied Christy. + +"Are you the pilot?" demanded the speaker from the vessel. + +"Ay, ay, sir," responded the lieutenant. + +"I shall not want you now," continued the man on the steamer. + +"How is that?" demanded Christy, as though this was an entirely +unexpected reply. + +"I have concluded to make my way out through the sound, Gilder." + +"Then my name is Gilder," added Christy, in a low tone. + +"I have a plan of my own, and I reckon I shall make it go," proceeded +the captain of the steamer. "The Teaser don't draw much water, and I +know how to help her over the shoal places." + +"When do you expect to get through the sound?" asked Christy. + +"I don't know when; but I shall get through." + +"But you will find a blockader at the east end of the island; and then +you will be as badly off as you are now," argued Christy. + +"I don't believe there is any blockader there. Who are all those men in +the boat with you, Gilder?" + +"They belong to the water guard," replied Christy, at a venture, and he +thought that would describe them as well as any terms at his command. +"They expected you to go out by the main channel to-night." + +"No lie in that," chuckled Flint. + +"I wish they would come on board of the Teaser and help me out, for my +men won't work." + +"How many men have you?" asked the lieutenant. + +"Just fifteen; the rest of my crew were to come on board at midnight, +half an hour before high tide. But the men I have with me won't work, +and I shall not be ready for them, I am afraid." + +"What is the reason they won't work?" + +"They say they shipped to fight the Yankees, and they are not going to +do such work as lighting up the steamer." + +"Perhaps we can bring them to their senses," said Christy, as he ordered +Beeks to give way again. + +A few strokes of the oars enabled the officers in the stern sheets to +obtain a full view of the Teaser, and she looked like a trim little +steamer of about two hundred tons. She was rather long, and she had a +very sharp bow. The reports gave her the reputation of being a very fast +sailer. + +"Let every man have his arms in order," said Christy impressively, in a +low tone. "Give way with a will, and when you unship your oars have your +weapons ready, though I hardly think you will have to use them at +present." + +As the boat dashed towards the little steamer, the sounds of an +altercation came over the water. The angry voice of the captain, if +the late speaker was the captain, and several others were heard in a +dispute; and as the boat came alongside the report of a pistol indicated +that the belligerents were in earnest. + +Christy sprang upon the deck of the Teaser, with his revolver in his +hand. Half a dozen men stood in a group by the side of the engine-room, +confronting the man who had done the talking with the boat, as Christy +knew by the sound of his voice. + +"We are not held by any papers we signed!" protested one of the men +forward. "We are willing to do our duty, Captain Folkner, but we did not +ship to burrow through the sand, and run the risk of being captured by +the Yankees. We shipped to run the blockade, and that risk is in the +papers." + +"I shall take my vessel out as I think best, Lonley; and my men are not +to dictate to me what I am to do," replied Captain Folkner angrily. + +"I am willing to leave it to Captain Gilder. You know as well as I do +that the rest of the ship's company would not come on board till the +Teaser was outside of Santa Rosa Island. We appeal to you, Captain +Gilder," said Lonley. + +"Why do you object to going out through Santa Rosa Sound?" asked +Christy, willing to do the fair thing, since the mutineers had appealed +to him. + +"The Teaser draws ten feet of water with her coal in, and she cannot get +through the sound in a week, if ever." + +"Are you willing to go to sea by running the blockade, Lonley?" + +"Perfectly willing; and so are the whole ship's company." + +"But I won't take the risk of running the blockade. They put a fast +steamer on there to-day, and it is useless," replied Captain Folkner. + +The situation was certainly interesting to Christy and his companions. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +COMING TO THE POINT + + +Captain Folkner of the Teaser was evidently somewhat timid, and he had +heard of the arrival of the Bellevite. Just now the large ships-of-war +which had been there were absent on their duty, though they were +expected to return at any time. There was liable to be some +unpleasantness at any time between Fort Pickens and Fort Barrancas; +but everything was quiet just now. + +Flint had come on board of the Teaser with Christy, but none of the +boat's crew had attended them. The situation was very novel to the +lieutenant, and he did not feel competent to arbitrate between the +contending parties. Besides, he was not willing to believe that he could +be entirely impartial, for he had a personal and patriotic interest in +the issue of the quarrel. + +The seamen, under the leadership of Lonley, who appeared to be an +officer, were the more powerful party, and the more to be dreaded. He +was disposed to decide against them, if he could get them out of the way +by doing so. They were willing to leave the matter to him, and he began +at last to see his way through it. + +"The captain of a ship is the authority to be respected, Lonley," said +he, when he had made up his mind what to do. + +"We might as well bury ourselves in the sands as try to go through +there," replied the leader of the mutiny, who seemed to be a very +intelligent man, and Christy concluded from his language and manner +that he was not a common sailor. + +"That may be; but the captain is supreme on the deck of his own ship," +argued Christy. + +"We are not on the high seas, and the Teaser has not yet gone into +commission. It was only this afternoon in Pensacola that Captain Folkner +told his ship's company that he was going to burrow through the sand in +Santa Rosa Sound. We all said we would not go with him; but a dozen of +us came down with him when he told us that he had a way to float the +steamer through, and he was sure it would work. We did not understand +that we were to become mud-diggers. When we got here, we were satisfied +that his plan amounted to nothing, and would not work." + +"I am satisfied that it will work," interposed Captain Folkner. + +"The agreement in the articles was to run the blockade. If we got +through the sound, it would take a week of constant drudgery, which +we did not ship to do." + +"Are you ready to do duty on board of the Teaser when she is in deep +water, Lonley?" asked Christy. + +"Every one of us; and every one of the party on shore!" protested the +leader. + +"Will that satisfy you, Captain Folkner?" continued Christy, appealing +to him. + +"It would if I had the steamer in deep water," replied the captain. "But +how am I to get her into deep water if my crew will not work?" + +"Run the blockade, according to the articles!" exclaimed Lonley. + +"When are the rest of the ship's company to join you?" asked Christy of +the leader of the mutineers. + +"They are coming down in boats at midnight or later; and we shall join +them then and wait till the ship is ready to take us on board. They will +come across from Pensacola to Navy Cove, and then walk till they come to +the Teaser." + +"All right," said the lieutenant. "I will land you at Navy Cove, and you +can wait there till the rest of the crew come." + +"I am perfectly satisfied with that arrangement," replied Lonley. + +"But I am not," interposed the captain, angrily. "What can I do without +any crew to help get the steamer through the sound?" + +"I have men enough to take care of you and the Teaser, Captain Folkner; +and the men in the boat will do everything that is required to be done +on board of the Teaser." + +"That's another thing," replied the captain, appeased by the implied +promise. + +"I can hardly blame your men because they are not willing to go through +the sound with a steamer drawing ten feet of water when there is not +more than six feet of water to float her," said Christy. "Besides, if +you do not get to the other end of the sound before morning, you will +be seen by some of the blockaders, and they could blow this steamer to +pieces, and kill half your people in a few minutes." + +"It may be dangerous, but so is running the blockade," added the +captain. + +"Going out in a dark night and spending a week in sight of the +blockaders are two different things. But we need not discuss the matter +any more. I will put your men on the point yonder, and then I will +return and help you out of your present difficulty. Am I to take off the +men in the engine department?" asked Christy, as he went to the side +where the boat was. + +"No; the engineers and firemen are all right, for they were not called +upon to do any work out of the vessel." + +Christy and Flint stepped into the boat, and the crew followed them. +There were twelve of them, and the lieutenant thought they were all good +seamen. He did not like to have them reserved for use in the Confederate +Navy; but he could not help himself then, and he soon landed the party +on the point. The situation had been explained to the crew of the boat, +and they had avoided saying anything to commit themselves. + +Though it involved a risk to do it, Christy had dressed in an ordinary +suit of clothes for the occasion, and the party wore nothing by which +they could be identified as sailors of the navy. As soon as the boat had +landed its passengers, it returned to the Teaser at the best speed the +crew could produce. + +"I had no idea that you had a plan like this in your head, Mr. +Passford," said Flint, as soon as the boat was clear of Town Point. + +"I did not know it myself, Flint. It has all grown out of the +circumstances as we found them," replied Christy. "But I did intend, if +I found the Teaser without a fighting crew on board of her, to capture +her if the situation warranted such a step." + +"But you came prepared for just this thing," suggested Flint. + +"I came prepared for anything. I hoped we might be able to capture the +Teaser, but I did not expect it." + +"I suppose you expect to do it now." + +"Yes, I do; and I ought to be broken if I don't do it. I am sorry to let +all those men enter the rebel navy; and that is all that vexes me at the +present moment." + +"Perhaps they can be picked up to-morrow, or later to-night," suggested +Flint. "From what I heard, I think she was to have a fighting crew of +about forty men. Of course they will try to join the steamer to-night +or to-morrow; and why not let them do it?" chuckled Flint. + +"We will attend to this affair first, but I like the idea." + +They reached the Teaser in due time, and all hands went on board of her. +Captain Folkner, with a couple of men he had contrived to retain, with +two firemen, was at work on his apparatus to float a vessel drawing ten +feet in six feet of water or less. Alongside he had a hundred or more of +empty barrels which he was sinking under the sides by hauling them down +with a line under the bottom of the vessel. He did the work partly with +his windlass worked by steam, and he had lifted the bow of the Teaser at +least three feet out of water. + +Captain Folkner expatiated with enthusiasm on his plan, and explained +the details to the lieutenant. Christy saw that he had considerable +mechanical genius, but he certainly lacked a balance-wheel. The officer +had set him down as a timid man, but this conversation assured him that +the captain was a brave man. He was carried away with his idea, though +it was plain that he had not examined the question in all its bearings. + +"When I have lifted the steamer four feet, she can go through the sound, +for I have taken a boat through that drew six feet. With your men to +help me, I shall get the casks down by midnight, and then all we have +to do is to go ahead," continued the enthusiast. + +"Precisely so; and the Teaser is a screw steamer," added Christy. + +"Of course she is; you have known her for two months, Gilder." + +"When she has been lifted up four feet, she is to go ahead," repeated +Christy, in the tone of a musing man. + +"That is what I said; she is to go ahead." + +"But what is to drive her ahead? Is she expected to go of herself?" + +"Go of herself? Of course not. She is to be driven ahead by her engine +as she always is," replied Captain Folkner, suspending the work upon +which he was engaged, and trying to see the face of the pilot through +the darkness. "How do steamers generally go ahead?" + +"If they are screw steamers, they are propelled by the pressure of the +blades of the screw," answered Christy. + +"And that is just the way the Teaser will be propelled through the +sound," replied Captain Folkner. "This steamer is to be a privateer, and +I own her. She has cost me about all the money I have in the world, and +I don't want to lose her before I get to sea. If I can get into blue +water with her, I am not at all concerned but that she will run away +from anything afloat." + +"How many knots can she do in a smooth sea?" + +"Eighteen, and perhaps more." + +"Then she is not fast enough for that blockader outside. I saw her +at Mobile when she was a big steam-yacht, and they said she had done +twenty-two knots more than once." + +"I don't believe a word of it; and I am willing to take my chances to +run away from her in the Teaser, if I can get out." + +"If she is good for eighteen knots, it will not take her more than about +two hours to run through the sound," added Christy, very much amused at +the talk of the captain and owner. + +"I don't expect her to go at full speed in that shallow water," said the +enthusiast. + +"Do you expect her to go at all when she is hoisted four feet out of +water?" asked Christy, hardly able to keep from laughing. + +Captain Folkner was silent for a moment, during which Christy thought +he must have obtained a new idea, for it looked as though he had not +thought of the working of the screw after all his flotation schemes had +been successful. + +"I reckon the propeller will have hold enough on the water to make her +go right along, Gilder. I don't reckon you need make any trouble about +that," added the man of mechanical ability, rather sheepishly. + +Christy had brought his boat's crew on deck, and directed Flint how to +post them. He thought he had paid proper respect to the talent of the +enthusiast in listening to his theory, and that it was about time to +bring the adventure to an issue. + +"I shall not make any trouble about the screw, Captain Folkner, for I +don't think we shall have any difficulty about it. But I believe we had +better not hoist it any higher out of water," added Christy. "I mean +that I think we had better go out of the bay by the main channel." + + [Illustration: + "He placed one of his men on each side of the Captain."--Page 233.] + +"That means to run the blockade?" said the captain. + +"That's the idea." + +"Gilder, I want you to understand that I command this steamer," +continued Captain Folkner, angrily. + +"Right, with a little correction: You did command her, and I command her +now," replied Christy, as he placed one of his men on each side of the +captain. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +ON A DARK AND FOGGY NIGHT + + +"I reckon I don't quite understand you, Gilder," said Captain Folkner, +very nervously. "I thought I was still in command of the Teaser." + +"I shall not blame you for thinking so; but you are utterly mistaken all +the same," added Christy. + +"Did you come here to take the command out of my hands? Is that the +reason why you sent all my men to Town Point?" demanded the captain, +getting an idea of the situation. + +"If you had been a magician, you could not have come any nearer to the +truth." + +"Who are you? I thought you were Gilder." + +"I am not Gilder, though I found it convenient to answer to that name. +It is reported that the Teaser is a very fast steamer, and I wanted +her." + +"Do you mean to say that you are a pirate?" asked Captain Folkner, +stepping back as if to emphasize his disgust at such a person. "I have +told you that the Teaser is a privateer, and it seems that you want her +more than I do; but I don't believe it." + +"Privateers and pirates are about the same in this age of the world. +I am neither a pirate nor a privateer. Permit me to introduce myself +more precisely than I have thought it wise to do before. I am Lieutenant +Passford, of the United States steamer Bellevite; and I take possession +of the Teaser as a lawful prize. I think we need not discuss the matter +any longer, especially as the tide is high enough by this time to run +out of the bay. Disarm him." + +"Say, what sort of a joke is this?" demanded the captain. + +"If you are good-natured enough to regard it as a joke, I have not the +least objection," replied Christy. "But I shall be under the painful +necessity of confining you in your stateroom for the present, and I hope +you will make yourself as happy as possible, Captain Folkner." + +The lieutenant directed Flint to have the prisoner conveyed to his +stateroom, and to have a man stationed at the door to see that he did +not escape, or do any mischief. The sentinel was to keep his eye on him +all the time, and not allow the room to be closed for a moment. The most +reliable man of the party was selected for this duty, for the captain, +in a fit of desperation over the loss of his vessel, which was his +fortune, might attempt some reckless act. + +Accompanied by six men, Christy visited the engine-room, where nearly +all the hands remaining on board were employed. If there was to be +any trouble at all in completing the capture, it would be in this +department. Everything was in working order, and an engineer was on +duty, for the engine had been used in dragging the casks under the +bottom of the vessel. + +Beeks was directed to arrest the men on duty, and the engine was handed +over to Sampson, who had been brought for such a position if the +expedition needed him in that capacity. But there was only an assistant +engineer and several firemen on duty, and these were disposed of without +any delay. They were all conducted to the wardroom, where they were +disarmed and a guard placed over them. A couple of sailors were detailed +to serve as firemen, and the work of taking possession was completed. + +For the first time the lieutenant had an opportunity to examine the +prize, as she would be if he succeeded in getting her out of the bay. +She was certainly a fine little steamer, and, with the heavy gun mounted +on a pivot, she would have been capable of doing a great deal of +mischief among the unprotected merchant ships of the nation. + +When he visited the cabin, he found two colored men there, one of whom +appeared to be a very intelligent fellow. He was very polite to the +lieutenant, and it was evident that he had no personal interest in the +success of the Teaser in the business for which she had been fitted out. +He was the cabin steward, and he had heard everything that had been said +in regard to the vessel since he came on board of her. + +"What is your name, my man?" asked Christy, addressing the steward. + +"My name is Davis Talbot; but no one ever calls me anything but Dave," +replied the man, with a cheerful smile, as though he was not at all +disconcerted by the change which had come about in the ownership of the +Teaser. + +"How long have you been on board of this steamer, Dave?" asked the +officer, much pleased with the intelligent face of the steward. + +"About two months, sir." + +"Where did this steamer come from?" + +"Captain Folkner bought her somewhere in the West Indies, and brought +her here before the blockade was fairly established." + +"Then she is an English-built steamer?" + +"I suppose she is, sir; but I don't know anything about it." + +"Then she has been here a long while. What has Captain Folkner been +doing all this time?" asked Christy curiously. + +"Inventing, sir," replied Dave, chuckling. + +"I see; he has that on the brain." + +"The government threatened to take his vessel if he did not fit her out +and take her to sea. Then he hurried up, and got a crew ready; but they +had a quarrel last night, and most of the men would not come on board." + +"Yes; I know all about that," added Christy, as he looked at his watch +by the light of the shaded lamp in the cabin. "I suppose you insist upon +serving the Confederacy, Dave?" + +"I don't insist on anything, sir; I go where the ship takes me, and I +don't mean to quarrel with anybody." + +"In other words, will it be necessary to put you under guard?" asked +Christy. + +"I don't think it would do me any good, sir," replied Dave, laughing. + +"Which side do you belong on?" demanded the officer, rather impatiently. + +"I belong on Dave's side, sir." + +"Which is Dave's side?" + +"The side of freedom," replied the steward, with some embarrassment. +"I don't know you, sir; you don't wear the uniform of a Yankee or a +rebel, and the darkey gets crushed between the upper and the nether +millstone." + +"Then to make the matter plainer to you, I am the third lieutenant of +the United States steamer Bellevite, and I have captured this vessel as +an officer of the United States Navy," replied Christy. + +"That's all I want to know: the darkey knows where to go, when it is +safe to go there," replied Dave. + +"Then if it is safe for you to go to the pilot-house, you may come with +me," added the lieutenant, as he led the way to the deck. + +Beeks, with the men who had not been assigned to other duty, was cutting +away the ropes that held the casks in place, and had already turned +adrift all the raft of them alongside. All the rubbish the nautical +inventor had collected to carry out his famous scheme of floating the +vessel through the sound was cleared from the deck, and cut loose from +the side. + +"I think everything is clear, sir," reported Beeks, as Christy appeared +on deck with Dave. + +"Stand by to get up the anchor, then," added the lieutenant. + +"No anchor down, sir," interposed Dave. "She is made fast to the buoy." + +"So much the better. I suppose Captain Folkner did not trouble himself +about the forts, Dave, did he?" Christy inquired. + +"Yes, sir, he did; Captain Folkner never slept a wink when he did not +have Fort Pickens on his stomach for a nightmare," replied Dave, with +a chuckle. + +"But Fort Pickens is all of four miles from the entrance to the channel +of the sound." + +"He was in mortal terror of the guns, all the same." + +"How was it in regard to Fort Barrancas and Fort McRae?" + +"Of course they would not fire on his vessel; if he went out in a fog +or dark night, he was to burn a blue light; and I reckon you can do the +same thing, though I don't believe it could be seen to-night from the +forts," replied Dave, who appeared to be willing to make a good use of +his knowledge. + +"Then I don't think we shall have much trouble in getting out of the +bay," added Christy, as he went to the pilot-house, attended by Dave. + +Since the lieutenant had declared as unequivocally as he desired who and +what he was, the steward did all he could to assist his new master. He +had served Captain Folkner for two months, for he said the commander had +lived on board all this time, and he had heard everything that passed +between him and his officers and others with whom he had relations. +He was about as well informed as though he had been an officer of the +vessel in whom the captain confided all his affairs. He did not wait to +have his knowledge dragged out of him, but he volunteered such +information as he saw that the occasion required. + +He was a mulatto, and had plenty of good blood in his veins, though it +was corrupted with that of the hated race. He appeared to be about forty +years of age, and his knowledge of the affairs of the locality could +hardly have been better if he had been a white man, with a quick +perception, a reasoning intellect, and a retentive memory. It was the +rule with Union officers, soldiers, and sailors to trust the negroes, +making proper allowance for their general ignorance and stupidity, and +for particular circumstances. But some of them, even many of them, were +brighter than might be expected from their situation and antecedents. + +The binnacle from the whaleboat had been brought into the pilot-house, +and Christy compared it with the compass in the Teaser's apparatus, +after Dave had lighted it. There was no disagreement, and as the tide +was still coming in, the head of the steamer was pointed to the +westward, which would be her first course down the bay. + +The lieutenant felt that everything depended upon the working of the +steamer, and he was a total stranger to her peculiarities, if she had +any, as most vessels have. Taking Beeks with him, he began at the stem +and followed the rail entirely around the steamer, feeling with a +boat-hook along the sides. Sundry ropes, fenders, and pieces of lumber +were dislodged, and everything put in order about the main deck. Then +he visited the engine-room, and learned from Sampson that he had a full +head of steam. This careful inspection completed, he ordered the +quartermaster to cast off the fast at the buoy. + +Taking his place in the pilot-house with Beeks, he rang the bell to go +ahead. The Teaser started on quite a different voyage from what she had +been intended for. Christy had studied up his courses and distances, and +had imprinted the chart of the lower part of the bay on his brain. For +the first part of the run, there was no obstacle, and no difficulty in +regard to the course. + +The fog and the darkness were so dense that not a thing could be seen +in any direction; but he rang for full speed as soon as the Teaser was +under way. A leadsman had been stationed on each side of the forecastle, +though there was no present occasion for their services. Christy thought +everything was going extremely well, and he was reasonably confident +that he should succeed in his plan. + +"Steamer, ahoy!" shouted a voice, coming out of the dense fog. + +"That must be the patrol boat," said Dave, in a low tone. + +Christy could not make any reply that would be satisfactory to the +patrol, and he decided not to answer the hail. He had rather expected +to be challenged in this way. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +A VARIETY OF NIGHT SIGNALS + + +The dip of the oars of the guard-boat could be distinctly heard in +the pilot-house, and it was probable that the men in it could see the +Teaser. But Christy was not much concerned about the situation, and he +was not much disposed to give any attention to the boat. + +"Stop her, or we will fire into you!" yelled the officer in charge of +the guard-boat. + +Even this menace did not induce the lieutenant to ring his bell to stop +the engine. The boat was doubtless full of men, and as he could not give +straight answers to all the questions that might be put to him, it might +provoke a fight to attempt to do so, and he decided not to incur the +risk. His prisoners might make trouble if he reduced the guard in charge +of them, as he would be obliged to do to beat off the attack of the +boat. + +"What is this boat here for, Dave?" asked Christy, as he peered through +the gloom to obtain a glance at the craft. + +"To keep the people at Fort Pickens from sending out any armed force," +replied the intelligent contraband. + +"Do they think a boat full of men could do that?" + +"No, sir; but they could give the forts on the other side warning." + +The sounds from the boat had come from the starboard bow of the steamer, +and it looked as though the guard-boat had intercepted her by accident, +since it was impossible that they could have seen the Teaser in the fog +and gloom. As the steamer dashed ahead at full speed, the sound of the +oars came from a point on the beam. But the boat seemed to be wasting +her time, for nothing had been done since the threat to fire into the +steamer. + +"If a vessel is going to run out she has to satisfy this boat that she +is all right," said Dave. + +But he had hardly spoken before a volley of musket-balls passed over the +Teaser; and perhaps the officer in the boat intended that they should +pass over her. At any rate no harm was done by them. Then a rocket +darted from the boat up into the air, which could be dimly seen from +the pilot-house. + +"What steamer is that?" shouted a hoarse voice out of the gloom. + +"The Teaser!" yelled Christy, with all the voice he could command. + +The boat did not fire again; and if it had done so the steamer was out +of its reach. But a minute later the boom of a great gun came across the +bay. Fort Barrancas had evidently opened fire in response to the rocket, +which had no doubt been sent up as a signal to notify the garrison that +a vessel was going out or coming in, and that her movements were not +regular. The first shot was followed by others, and a shot dropped into +the water near the Teaser. + +"Let the leadsmen sound, Beeks," said Christy. The order was repeated, +and the reports were made known in the pilot-house. Sampson seemed to +be testing the capacity of the engine, for he was doing his best in the +matter of speed; but the Teaser behaved under the strain to which he +subjected her as though she had been very strongly built. + +"By the mark eight," chimed the leadsman on the port side. + +That was water enough to float a seventy-four, and there was no let-up +in the speed. In fact, it would not have been convenient to reduce the +speed while the guard-boat could be at no great distance from the flying +steamer. This was the report for the next mile at least, and Christy +felt that the enemy was at a safe distance from him. + +"And a half six!" shouted the port leadsman, with energy, as though he +understood the effect his report would produce. + +Christy rang to slow her down. The depth of water was the only directory +he had in addition to the distance run, which was very indefinite +without a knowledge of the speed of the vessel. + +"By the mark six!" shouted the port leadsman, who was on the side +nearest to the island of Santa Rosa. + +This did not induce the pilot to take any further action, and the Teaser +continued on her course at less than half speed. Christy looked at his +watch by the light of the binnacle lamps. It was half-past eleven, +and the Teaser appeared, as well as he could calculate it, with the +necessary allowances, to have made at least sixteen knots on the run +from the sound channel. + +"And a quarter five!" cried the leadsman of the land side. + +Christy spoke to Sampson through the tube, and the result was a further +reduction in the speed of the steamer, Beeks, who was at one side of +the wheel while the lieutenant was at the other, seemed to be a little +nervous as the depth diminished; and if he had spoken his thought, he +would have expressed his surprise that his superior officer was running +the steamer so near the shore, with the apparent intention of going +still nearer. + +"Mark under water three!" yelled the leadsman on the port side, while +the one on the starboard gave "By the mark four." + +"Shoaling fast," said Beeks. + +"Yes; but as expected," replied Christy. + +"Steamer, ahoy!" shouted a voice on the port side. + +"On shore!" replied Christy promptly. + +"What steamer is that?" demanded the shore speaker. + +"The Teaser, prize to the United States ship Bellevite," answered the +lieutenant. + +"Boga-hobble-good!" continued the man on shore. + +"Rabble-gabble-weed!" responded Christy. + +"There's a Chinaman on shore there; but I am glad you speak his +language," said Beeks, trying to repress his laughter. + +"You are all right as to position!" shouted the islander. + +"The guard-boat must be about a mile astern of me," added Christy. + +"We will take care of that," replied the shore speaker. + +Christy rang to stop the engine, which was done, though the steamer +continued to go ahead under the impetus of her former headway. The +leadsman on the port side reported two fathoms a little later, and then +there was a ring to back her, for there could not be more than two foot +of water under the keel. At this moment the peal of a twelve-pounder +came from the shore, and a little later the bursting of a shell was +heard astern of the Teaser. + +Beeks was very much perplexed by the strange speech which had passed +between the lieutenant and the shore, and now by the discharge of the +gun on the island; but he was a well-disciplined quartermaster, and he +asked no questions. + +"I don't think that boat will come any farther this way," said Christy, +as a second report from the gun reached his ears. + +"Then I suppose the shots we hear are directed at the boat," added +Beeks. + +"They can hardly be directed at anything out in that fog and darkness; +but I don't think the guard will be willing to take the risk of a chance +shell bursting near them," added Christy. + +"On board the Teaser!" shouted a voice quite near the bow of the +steamer. + +"In the boat!" replied Christy. "Sound that bell slowly, Beeks, to let +him know where we are." + +The ripple of oars was presently heard, and a boat came out of the +gloom, rowed by two soldiers, with an officer in the stern. It came up +to the forward gangway, and the person in the stern climbed on board. +The boat did not wait for him, but pulled directly back to the island. + +"I am glad to see you, Captain Westover," said Christy, as the officer +came into the pilot-house. + +"And I am equally glad to see you, lieutenant," replied the captain. +"You seem to have been successful in your undertaking?" + +"Successful so far, and I think the worst of it is over now." + +As soon as Beeks heard the name of Captain Westover, he understood all +that had been dark before. Even the Chinese lingo must have been agreed +upon. The army and the navy officer had been very busy in talking over +something when they came in the boat from the Bellevite, and after they +landed on the island. What they had been talking about was plain enough +now. + +Captain Westover had not much confidence in the expectations of the +young naval officer when he expressed a hope that he might capture the +Teaser; but he had promised to render all the assistance in his power. +He had agreed to be on the shore of the island if the Teaser presented +herself, and thus assure the lieutenant of his position on the bay. He +had done more than this, for he had brought out a couple of guns and a +section of artillerists to beat off the guard-boat if it interfered with +the operations of the navy. + +Christy had taken a course from the entrance of the sound, half way +between the island and Town Point, west-southwest. He knew that the +distance was about four miles; but he could not know, except by +sounding, when he came to the island, and he had bargained with the army +officer to be on the lookout for him. Captain Westover had heard the +noise of the Teaser, and had hailed her, thus assuring the lieutenant +that his calculation had been correct, and that he was in the vicinity +of Fort Pickens. + +"I had no idea that you would accomplish anything, lieutenant," said +Captain Westover. + +"I found everything laid out just as I should have wished it to be," +replied Christy. "We had plenty of information that the steamer would +run out the first favorable night; and nothing could have been more +favorable for blockade running than this fog and darkness." + +"But nothing has been seen of this steamer from the fort." + +"Where was she fitted out, Dave?" asked Christy, turning to the steward. + +"Up by Emanuel Point, sir, about a mile above the town," replied Dave. + +"Then she has not shown herself in the lower bay." + +The conversation was interrupted by the roll of a drum on the shore. + +"There you are, lieutenant," said the captain with a smile. "When you +are ready to go ahead, don't wait on my account, for I will go on board +of the ship." + +"But what is the drum for?" asked the lieutenant, who was in the dark in +his turn. + +"I am not much of a sailor, lieutenant, but I have sent a drummer to +follow the shore to the west end of the island, and you will know by the +racket he makes where the island is, and how far off it is," replied the +army officer. + +"I am much obliged to you, Captain Westover; that will be a safe guide +for me," said Christy, as he rang to go ahead. + +He gave out the course west by north, and he thought he should be able +to keep within hail of the island, though, as he could see nothing, +it would be difficult to tell when he reached the northwest corner of +it. If he continued on this course too long, he was likely to scrape +acquaintance with Fort McRae, for there would be nothing in the +soundings to indicate the approach to this dangerous neighbor. + +Nothing more was heard of the guard-boat, though the section of +artillery continued to discharge shells into the fog for a short time. +On the other side of the bay Fort Barrancas kept up its fire at long +intervals, and Fort Pickens could not reply without the danger of +putting a shot into the Teaser after her recent reformation. The steamer +kept on her course at half speed; but in ten minutes the sound of the +drum fell astern of her, when the drummer could go no farther. + +"Heave over the wheel, Beeks," said Christy. + +Then he rang the bell to go ahead at full speed. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +ANOTHER NIGHT EXPEDITION + + +With the drum still beating on the shore, the Teaser rounded the +northwestern point of the island, when the wheel was heaved over. +Christy was entirely confident in regard to the navigation, for he had +steered the Bellevite through the same channel when on an excursion a +year before. But he had daylight and sunshine at that time instead of +fog and gloom as on the present occasion. + +"Buoy on the starboard, sir!" reported the leadsman on that side. + +"Buoy on the port hand!" cried the man on the other side, a minute +later. + +"We are all right," added the lieutenant. "We are between the middle +ground and the island. The buoy on the port is the southwest point of +the island." + +The Bellevite was not the only man-of-war that lay off Pensacola, for +the Brooklyn and other vessels were there to assist in the defence of +Fort Pickens, which the enemy were determined to capture if possible. +The government had done everything within its means to "hold the fort," +though an army of about ten thousand men had been gathered in the +vicinity to reduce it. The dry-dock which had floated near Warrenton, +and which the Confederates intended to sink in the channel, had been +burned, and a force of Unionists, including the Zouaves, called "The Pet +Lambs," had been quartered on the island of Santa Rosa. It had looked +for several days as though the enemy were preparing for a movement in +retaliation for the destruction of the dry-dock, which was a bad +set-back for them. + +The getting to sea of the Teaser had no connection with this movement, +it appeared afterwards, and if Lieutenant Passford's enterprise had been +carried out only an hour or two later, he would have found the situation +quite different. He had sent the most of Captain Folkner's force on +board ashore, and had it all his own way afterwards. He was sorry to +leave these men, and the rest of the ship's company of the Teaser, to +assist in fighting the battles of the Confederacy, and he was filled +with the hope that they might yet be captured. + +As soon as the Teaser was well to the southward of the island, Christy +gave two short and a long blast on the steam whistle, which was the +signal he had agreed to make when he approached the Bellevite, though +Captain Breaker had laughed at him when he suggested that he might +return in the prize. The same signal was made in reply, and repeated +several times to aid him in finding the ship. The water was +comparatively smooth, and the prize came alongside the Bellevite, +where it was made fast. + +The lieutenant's first duty was to report to the captain of the +Bellevite, and taking Dave with him, he hastened on board. He found +Captain Breaker on deck, for there was a feeling in the fleet and in the +fort that some important event was about to transpire in the vicinity. + +"I am glad to see you, Mr. Passford," said he; and possibly it +occurred to him that he had sent the young man on a difficult mission, +practically within the enemy's lines. "You have brought the prize with +you, I see; and I was before informed of the fact that you had her by +the signal whistles." + +"Yes, sir; the Teaser is alongside. She is not a vessel of the +Confederate Navy, but was fitted out on private account. She is a +privateer," replied Christy. + +"So much the better that you have captured her," added the captain. +"Did you have a severe fight, Mr. Passford?" + +"We had no fight at all, sir. I was instructed to avoid a fight if +possible, and I have done so. Not a blow has been struck or a shot +fired, sir." + +"I will hear your report in detail later, Mr. Passford, when the prize +is in a better situation than now. Have you any prisoners?" asked +Captain Breaker. + +"Only the captain and the engineers, sir. This man with me is Dave, +and he was a steward on board of the Teaser. He has given me valuable +information, and I have not regarded him as a prisoner," replied the +lieutenant. + +"I understand," said the commander, with a smile, as he saw the yellow +hue of the steward's face. "We will not regard him as a prisoner. But +you may send the others on board." + +Captain Folkner was in no better humor than before, and a berth in the +steerage was assigned to him. The other prisoners were sent on board, +and Captain Breaker had ordered Christy to anchor the prize near the +Bellevite. + +"I don't feel as though I had quite finished my work," said Christy, +as he walked towards the gangway to obey the order. + +"What more is there to do?" asked the commander. + +"It would take me a little time to tell the story of my trip into the +bay, sir, and I think you would not understand what more is to be done +until you have heard it," replied Christy. + +"Then I will hear you before you anchor the Teaser," said the captain, +leading the way to his cabin. + +The lieutenant narrated the events of his trip across Santa Rosa Island. +Captain Breaker was not a little amused at his scheme to get rid of the +portion of the crew of the privateer before he captured her. + +"I never suspected that you were the possessor of so much audacity, +Christy," said he, when the lieutenant had put him in possession of all +the facts. + +"I did not know that I had more than my fair share, sir, and I don't +know what I have done that is at all audacious," replied Christy, very +meekly. + +"It is a very dark and foggy night, but I don't believe that I have +another officer who would have cheek enough to pretend to be a pilot +in Pensacola Bay, and to be in possession of the guard-boat at the same +time." + +"Captain Folkner put the idea into my head, and I think I should have +been an idiot not to make use of it, considering the nature of my +mission on board of the Teaser." + +"It is a wonder that no one knew you were not Gilder." + +"The men in the guard-boat did not expose me, and admitted by their +silence that I was the person I claimed to be," replied Christy, with +a twinkle of the eyes. + +"Your scheme would have failed ninety-nine times out of a hundred." + +"If it had failed, I had force enough to clean out the enemy on board, +so that I ran no risk; but I was ordered to avoid a fight, and I did +so," argued Christy. + +"You were exceedingly fortunate; and the next time you try such a trick, +it may lead you into a rebel prison." + +"It was not my fault that the ship's company of the Teaser were at issue +among themselves, and I should have been an imbecile to fail to profit +by it." + +"I approve all you have done, Mr. Passford." + +"Thank you, sir. Though I was of Captain Folkner's opinion that the +sound was the best way out of the bay in the first place, I abandoned +that view before I started on the expedition. I was sorry that I could +not indorse Captain Folkner's opinion, and that I was obliged to take +sides with his men," said Christy, chuckling. + +"I understand your position perfectly. Now, what do you mean by +finishing your work, Mr. Passford?" asked Captain Breaker, curiously. +"We have the Teaser, and we ought to be satisfied with your brilliant +success." + +"I am not quite satisfied, sir." + +"You ought to be." + +"We put twelve men ashore at Town Point rather than have a fight with +them; and I have the feeling that we have a mortgage on those men, +to say nothing of thirty more at Pensacola who were to join the Teaser. +I told them they could get on board of their steamer from the island. +I shall be sorry to disappoint them, for I suppose the whole forty or +more are counting on a handsome allowance of prize money to be made for +them by the Teaser. I should be sorry to disappoint them," continued +Christy, chuckling all the time. + +"Precisely so! I suppose you would be greatly grieved to blast their +hopes, and you propose to take them on board of the steamer." + +"That is the idea, sir. Taking a more patriotic view of the question, +it would be a great pity to allow forty good sailors to waste their +energies in the service of the Confederacy." + +"Undoubtedly it would," said Captain Breaker, his brow knitting under +his earnest thought. "What do you propose to do? Explain your plan +fully, Mr. Passford." + +"The principal of the malcontents on board of the Teaser was a man by +the name of Lonley," Christy explained. "We left them at the point where +the rest of the Teaser's crew were to join them. They are all anxious +to get to sea in the Teaser, and I have no doubt they will come down +to-night." + +"I should think they would," the captain assented. "But they will expect +to find the steamer in the sound, and not outside of the island. If the +Teaser could get through the sound at all, she would not be where you +intend to put her." + +"I told Lonley to get upon the island, and be on the lookout for the +Teaser; and as they have to come from Pensacola in a boat, it will be as +easy for them to go to the island as to land at the point. Very likely +they will get the Times to bring them off, or some other steamer," +Christy argued. + +"It is certainly very desirable to capture these men, for it will do so +much to weaken the enemy; but I am afraid you are a little too audacious +in some of your movements, Mr. Passford," replied Captain Breaker, with +a softening smile. + +"I beg you will not consider that I am asking for the command of the +Teaser, Captain Breaker, if she is sent upon this duty," returned the +lieutenant, somewhat set back at the prudence of the commander. + +"I think I had better send Mr. Blowitt in command of the Teaser, and you +shall go as his first officer," added the captain. + +"I have no objection, even in my heart, to this arrangement," replied +Christy. + +"But I shall have to send the prize to New York, and I will appoint you +prize-master," continued the captain, afraid that he was disappointing +the ambitious young officer. "You have done exceedingly well, Christy, +and I shall not fail to mention you favorably in my report; and you will +write out yours as soon as possible." + +Christy would not allow himself to think that he was unappreciated +because an older officer was appointed to conduct the enterprise he +suggested. He was ready to do his whole duty either as principal or +subordinate. Mr. Blowitt was summoned from his stateroom, and forty +men, including all who had taken part in the capture of the prize, +were detailed to man the Teaser. The second lieutenant was one of the +jolliest men on board, but he weighed nearly two hundred pounds, and he +was not as active on this account in boat service as some others. He was +an excellent officer, and had been in command of a steamer, though he +had never before been in the navy. + +At three o'clock in the morning the fasts of the Teaser were cast off, +and she backed away from the Bellevite. She was to proceed to a point +about six miles to the eastward, which was beyond the camp of the "Pet +Lambs." Here she was to look out for the Teaser's crew. + +She had not made half this distance when all hands heard rapid and +continued firing on Santa Rosa Island. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +LIEUTENANT PASSFORD ON A MISSION + + +The officers on board of the Teaser could not explain the occasion of +the firing on the island, though it sounded as though an engagement of +some sort was in progress. It had been foggy during the preceding day, +and if any movement on the part of the enemy had been indicated it could +not have been seen on board of the ships off the entrance to the bay. + +"I hope this business we are to do this morning will not take us long," +said Mr. Blowitt. "We may be wanted on board, and I should not like to +be absent from the Bellevite if she is to take part in an engagement of +any kind." + +"And I am sure I should not," added Christy. "I should not be surprised +if the enemy made an attempt to capture Pickens; but even if they storm +it in the darkness, I do not see that the ships can do anything until +they are able to see what they are to do." + +"But this affair may keep us away from the ship for a day or two," +suggested the second lieutenant. + +"I don't think so, sir; I believe you will be on board again before +seven bells in the morning watch," replied Christy. "The ship's company +of the Teaser were to be somewhere on the shores of the sound where they +could be taken on board." + +"But the men you landed at the point believed that the Teaser was to +get out through the sound," replied Mr. Blowitt. "They took you for the +pilot Gilder, and you did not tell them that you intended to run the +blockade." + +"Of course I did not; if I had, they would have remained on board. But +the guard-boat attempted to stop us, and the artillery on the island +fired into it, though it is probable that they did not hit it in the +dense fog," Christy explained. "Our men may have learned from the +guard-boat that we took the steamer out through the main channel." + +"If they did they probably learned that the Teaser went out with the +assistance of the garrison at the fort," suggested Mr. Blowitt. + +"I am confident that the officer of the guard-boat would have no means +of knowing that fact," argued Christy. "Of course, he heard the firing +in the neighborhood of the fort, and he would naturally conclude that +they were firing upon the steamer to prevent her from running out." + +"That may be; but, to tell you the truth, Mr. Passford, I am afraid we +shall not find these men," added the second lieutenant. "From the firing +we hear, I should judge that a movement of some kind is in progress, and +our men may be better informed than you expect." + +"Of course, they may be; but I expect to find these men at some point +along the shore," replied Christy, who thought the second lieutenant was +just a little obstinate in not accepting his theory in full. + +The steamer continued on her course to the eastward, and nothing more +passed between the two principal officers in regard to the crew from +Pensacola. But Flint was quite as confident as the third lieutenant that +the forty men, more or less, would be captured. The noise of the firing +could no longer be heard, and then Christy suggested that the whistle be +sounded as a signal to the men if they were in the vicinity. + +The depth of water was three or four fathoms close up to this part +of the island. The soundings indicated that the steamer was as near +as it was prudent to go in the dense fog. Christy was sure that the +privateer's crew could not have gone any farther to the eastward by this +time, and the screw was stopped, while all hands made an anxious use of +their ears to detect any sounds that came from the shore. But nothing +could be heard at first, and Mr. Blowitt again intimated that they were +engaged in a "wild-goose chase." But he had hardly uttered this cooling +reflection before Beeks came aft to report that a number of pistol +shots, as he thought they were, had been heard in the distance. + +"Nobody can tell what they mean," said the sceptical Mr. Blowitt. "They +may be a part of the affair we heard going on soon after we left the +ship." + +"In what direction were the shots, Beeks?" asked Christy. + +"They sounded as though they were about half a mile or less to the +westward of us," replied the quartermaster. + +"Blow the whistle in short blasts, Beeks," added Mr. Blowitt, who seemed +to have gathered a little faith from the report of the quartermaster. + +The order was obeyed, and Beeks again reported that pistol shots had +been heard from the westward. The third lieutenant was in a hurry to +have the business finished, for he felt confident that the Bellevite +would soon be engaged in an affair of more importance than picking up +a couple of score of prisoners. He ordered the steamer to come about, +and move to the westward; but after she had been under way about five +minutes, he rang to stop her, and then sounded the whistles again. +Several pistol shots responded to this signal. Again he started the +screw, and pointed the bow of the Teaser squarely to the north. + +The steamer moved very slowly, and two men sounded all the time till +they reported "by the mark two," when there could not have been more +than three feet of water under the keel of the vessel. The screw was +stopped and backed so that she might not run upon any shoal place ahead +of her, and the officers waited with interest and anxiety for further +action on the part of the party on shore. By this time no one doubted +that there were men on this part of the island; but whether they were +the crew of the privateer or not was yet to be proved. + +"Steamer, ahoy!" shouted some one on the shore. + +"On the island!" replied Christy, as he was instructed to do by his +superior. + +"What steamer is that?" demanded the speaker on the island. + +Whoever he was, he could not help knowing that a steamer was there, for +the engineer had begun to blow off steam as soon as the screw stopped, +though neither party could see the other in the fog and darkness. + +"The Teaser," replied Christy. "Who are you?" + +"We are the ship's company of the Teaser, and we want to get on board," +replied the speaker. "Is Captain Folkner on board?" + +"He is on board--of the Bellevite," the third lieutenant would have +finished the sentence if he had told the whole truth, for he uttered +only the first part of the sentence. + +"All right. The first and second lieutenants are with us. Is Gilder on +board?" + +"He is; and he wants to get back to the other side of the inland," +answered Christy, who considered it his duty to make his replies as +suitable to the occasion as possible. "Who is speaking?" + +"Lieutenant Lonley," replied the man; and Christy knew him, though he +did not know his rank before. "He wants to see Gilder before he goes on +board. Tell him to come on shore in his canoe." + +"What is that for?" demanded Christy, rather surprised at the unexpected +request. + +"I want to see him on particular business; I have a message for him, +which I cannot deliver in presence of any other person," replied Lonley. + +"All right; you shall see him soon," answered Christy. + +"Get out the boats to take us on board," continued Lonley. "Send them +about a mile to the eastward, where we have left our bags." + +"All right," repeated Christy. + +But he said what he did not believe, for everything did not look right +to him. He could not understand why the bags of the men should be a mile +to the eastward. He could not imagine what business Lonley could have +with Gilder or his representative; and if he had any, why it should be +necessary to meet him on the island. + +"Of course you don't expect me to carry on the programme that fellow has +marked out," said Mr. Blowitt. "I don't quite like the looks of the +things that we can't see, Mr. Passford." + +"Neither do I, Mr. Blowitt," replied the third lieutenant frankly. + +"I shall not send a boat from the steamer till I understand this matter +a great deal better than I do now, and especially I shall not send the +boats a mile to the eastward," added the second lieutenant. + +"Of course it is possible that my plan has miscarried already," added +Christy. + +"I shall do everything I can to carry out your plan, as I am instructed +to do by the captain; but I have the feeling, in spite of myself, that +we are crawling into a hornet's nest," added Mr. Blowitt, with some +anxiety in his tones. "You will call all hands quietly, and be ready to +repel boarders. It is well to be prepared for whatever may come. The +firing at the west end of the island indicated that something was going +on, and perhaps these men on the shore know about it." + +Christy obeyed the order promptly, and the next minute, every seaman on +board was ready with his cutlass and revolver to meet an attack. But no +sound came from the shore just then, and the officers were in a state of +uncertainty in regard to the situation which allowed them to do nothing. +They waited for half an hour, when the leadsman reported that the water +was shoaling, which indicated that the Teaser was drifting towards the +island. + +"On board the Teaser!" shouted Lonley, so distinctly that he could +hardly have been more than three hundred feet from the steamer. + +"On shore," replied Christy, prompted by Mr. Blowitt. + +"I am waiting for Gilder! Why don't he come on shore?" shouted Lonley, +his impatience apparent in his tones. + +"Where are all the men?" demanded Christy, as requested by the second +lieutenant. + +"They have gone a mile to the eastward where they left their bags." + +"We will run down in the steamer for them," added Mr. Blowitt, talking +through Christy. + +"Don't do that!" protested the speaker on shore. "There is a Yankee +steamer off in that direction. We heard her steam an hour ago." + +"All right!" replied Christy. + +"That settles the matter in my mind," said Mr. Blowitt. "They are trying +to play what they call a Yankee trick upon us. When we send our boats to +the eastward, we shall send them into a trap. If the boats are to bring +off forty men, they will expect them to go with only men enough to pull +the oars; and when they get possession of them, they expect to retake +the Teaser." + +"I think you are right, Mr. Blowitt," replied Christy, who began to +believe that his scheme was rapidly approaching a failure, though he did +not give it up just yet. + +"This Lonley is still on the shore near us," said Mr. Blowitt. "I should +very much like to know what has been going on to-night on the island, +and it may be that he knows all about it. As you are the representative +of Gilder, Mr. Passford, you may take the canoe that is astern, and have +a talk with Lonley at close quarters, if you don't object." + +"I should have proposed it myself if I had not feared that the idea +would be charged to my audacity," replied Christy. "I will take only +Flint with me, as he was with me before." + +The canoe was brought up to the gangway, and Flint took his place at the +oars. Mr. Blowitt charged the young officer in the most serious manner +not to run any risks, and the boat was shoved off. It required but a few +strokes of the oars to bring it into shoal water by the beach. Only a +single man could be seen on the shore, and this one must be Lonley. +There seemed to be no risk, and Christy landed. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +CHRISTY BECOMES A VICTIM + + +Everything was perfectly still on the island, and only a single man +was in sight; but Christy put his hand upon his revolver as he went +on shore. Though he had never been a fighting young man, he had the +impression that he should not tamely submit to the assault of an enemy, +or run away from any single man that stood up in front of him. He had +always been prudent, even while he had been daring, and he hardly needed +the solemn admonition of the second lieutenant to be extremely cautious. + +"Is that you, Captain Gilder?" asked the man on the shore, who stood a +little way from the waterside. + +"Yes; and I take it for granted that you are Lonley," replied Christy, +advancing towards the other. "You have done all the talking this night, +and I ought to know you." + +"All the talking except what you have done, and I ought to know you," +replied Lonley. "I am Lieutenant Lonley, of the Teaser, and our men are +all ready to go on board." + +"And Captain Folkner is all ready to have them go on board," returned +Christy, who had no doubt of the truth of what he said, though he +understood that he was telling a "story" all the same. + +"I have no doubt he is. But I don't quite understand how you happen to +be on this side of the island, and so far to the westward at this time +in the morning. We expected to find the Teaser burrowing through the +sound, and we had about made up our minds to take possession of her and +run the blockade, as other Christians do. We did not believe she would +get through the sound in a week, if she ever did." + +"I succeeded in persuading Captain Folkner that he had better come out +by the main channel; and that is the way we did come out, and that +explains how we happen to be here at this time in the morning," replied +Christy, very cheerfully. + +"You must have very strong powers of persuasion, Captain Gilder," said +Lonley, laughing. + +"I have in a case such as this was," added the lieutenant, with a +chuckle, as he thought of the particular kind of persuasion he had +used upon the captain of the privateer. + +"I would give a good deal if I had just such powers, for they are +sometimes of very great service to an officer." + +"You are quite right, Mr. Lonley. I suppose you are the first lieutenant +of the Teaser." + +"No, I am not; kissing goes by favor, and the captain's brother is the +first; and he is no more fit for his position than the captain is for +his duty. I was in hope that the government would take possession of +the steamer, and send her to sea properly officered," added Lonley, +very good-naturedly. + +"Good officers are quite necessary in the service," suggested Christy. +"I have no doubt you will fill the bill, and be all that could be +possibly desired." + +"Thank you, Captain Gilder. Did you have any trouble in getting out of +the bay?" + +"No, none at all. By the way, Mr. Lonley, we have been hearing firing at +the west end of the island to-night. Do you know what it means?" + +"The first thing was to clean out that regiment of Zouaves; and I have +no doubt that has been done before now; and our boys may get a hack at +Pickens. A big force was landed in the fog, and the Yankees will not +stay on this island much longer," replied Lonley. + +His information was entirely correct, though his prediction was not +equally reliable. + +"I was sure there was fighting going on over there," added Christy. +"You seem to be all alone, Mr. Lonley. Where are all your men?" + +"I told you before you came ashore that I had sent them all over to the +place where they had left their bags, about a mile to the eastward of +us. I suppose Captain Folkner has sent the boats over there for them +before this time?" + +"He was inclined to run over in the steamer," added Christy. + +"I hope he did not do that," said the privateersman, with a good deal +more energy than the other thought the occasion warranted. "I warned you +that there was a Yankee gunboat over that way." + +"The Teaser has not gone over that way," replied Christy. + +"If she has, she will be gobbled up by that gunboat, and all my men with +her." + +"I persuaded Captain Folkner not to do it," added the Bellevite's +officer, very quietly. + +"He ought to have done just what I asked him to do; and that was to send +his boats over to the place named for the men." + +"And I persuaded him to do that also," continued Christy, as +unblushingly as though he had not been strictly in the habit of +telling the truth all his lifetime. + +"Good for you, Captain Gilder!" exclaimed Lonley, grasping the hand of +his companion as though he had been his brother. "You beat all the men +I ever knew on power of persuasion; and when I get the command of the +Teaser, as I expect to have before this year ends, I shall want you to +serve as my first lieutenant." + +"Thank you, Lieutenant Lonley; you are very kind; and if I ever go into +the privateering service, I shall certainly go in with you," replied +Christy. + +"An officer with your power of persuasion will be invaluable to me," +replied Lonley, still holding the hand of the other. "If I were gifted +in this respect as you are, Captain Gilder, do you know what I would +do?" + +"I am sure I have not the least idea, unless it would be to persuade +Jeff Davis to send you a commission as a captain in the regular navy," +said Christy, laughing at the idea. + +"I am afraid I should have too little cheek to attempt to do that, for +the president is a rather obstinate man, and I fear he would not see the +point. Besides, I am a very modest man, though you may not have observed +this shining trait in my character. No; I am too diffident to ask for a +place I have not won by service." + +"Then what would you do in the way of persuasion?" asked Christy, though +he wondered why he was prolonging the interview. + +"I should use my powers of persuasion upon you, Captain Gilder, in the +first place." + +"I don't think it would be of any use, for I am too well posted in that +way of doing it to be influenced," replied Christy, trying to withdraw +his hand from the grasp of the privateersman. "I must go on board of the +Teaser again when you have delivered your message to me, as that was +what you wished to see me for." + +"I did say I had a message for you, didn't I? Well, upon my life, I have +quite forgot what it was, but it was from President Jefferson Davis, +and he was particular that I should deliver it to you to-night or this +morning. Isn't it very strange that I should forget a message of so much +importance that it could not be trusted to writing?" + +"Passing strange, I should say," answered Christy, who began to +understand that he had fallen into a trap of some sort. "While you are +thinking of it, I will go on board, and persuade Captain Folkner not to +run the Teaser to the eastward if he should take it into his head to do +so. I had no idea there was a Yankee gunboat in that direction, and I +don't believe the captain had. Besides, he don't know where he is in +this fog, and he needs me." + +As he spoke, Christy tried to withdraw his hand from the grasp of +Lonley, as he had not succeeded in doing before when he tried. But the +privateersman suddenly fell upon him, and both of them went down. A +tremendous struggle followed, but before it was decided, two men rushed +out of the gloom, and took part in the affair; and they soon settled the +matter in favor of the Confederacy, much to the chagrin of the second +lieutenant of the Bellevite. + + [Illustration: "A tremendous struggle followed."--Page 284.] + +Flint had remained in the canoe, which had been partly drawn up on +the beach; but the moment he sprang out upon the sand to go to the +assistance of his officer, he was set upon by two men and secured. Both +of them were deprived of their weapons, and their hands tied behind +them. Beyond a doubt the lieutenant and the master's mate were prisoners +before they had any clear idea of the situation. + +"Are you there, Mr. Folkner?" called Lonley, as soon as the prisoners +were secured, speaking now in an energetic tone, as he had not before. + +"I am here," replied a man who seemed to be in a boat not far from the +spot. "You have kept me a long time waiting for you!" + +"I wanted to give the Yankee boats time to get at least a mile from +the Teaser before anything was done. Shove off now, and make things as +lively as you can," said Lonley. "Go to your places in the boats," +he continued to four men who had assisted in the capture of the two +officers. + +By this time Christy had a chance to see that he was a victim of a trick +which was to eventuate in the recapture of the Teaser; and he was sorry +that he was not the only victim, as he looked at Flint. He realized too +that the scheme had been very well planned, though he was really happy +in the belief that it would be a failure in the end. Lonley seemed to +be the leading spirit in the affair, and managed the details. He had +intended that the boats should be sent from the Teaser to a point at +least a mile off. + +He had taken it for granted that the steamer would come to pick them +up, or in other words, to capture the forty prisoners. If he was weak +in accepting as the truth Christy's statement that the boats had +been actually sent away, as desired, he could see no reason why the +Yankee officer should try to deceive him. It appeared now that the +privateersmen had two boats, which had been brought across the island +for the purpose. Lonley had naturally wished that only a few men should +be on board, and concluded that it would be an easy matter to capture +the steamer, and then to secure the men in the boats when they returned +from the eastward. + +The four men on shore, who had been put in a place where they could +assist Lonley, hastened to the boats, and they shoved off, pulling as +silently as though the oars had been muffled, as probably they had been. +In a moment more they disappeared in the darkness and fog. + +"I think I have improved a great deal in the art of persuasion," +said Lonley, as the boats disappeared. "I suppose I persuaded you +as effectually as you did Captain Folkner." + +"You have done very well, Mr. Lonley," replied Christy, in a patronizing +tone, for he was determined that his companion should derive no +satisfaction from seeing him cast down by his misfortune. + +"You informed me a little while ago that Captain Folkner was on board +of the Teaser; and I wish to ask if you are uniformly in the habit of +speaking the truth?" continued Lonley. + +"Well, that depends upon circumstances. If I have not done so, you +cannot expect me to contradict myself." + +"You claimed that you were Captain Gilder." + +"Hardly, my excellent friend: when Captain Folkner addressed me by that +name, I did not object to it." + +"That was just as much a lie as though you had claimed it in so many +words," protested Lonley. + +"I admit it; and I hardly expect a true patriot to tell the truth to +the enemy. If I remember rightly, you told me yourself that your men +had gone to the eastward where they had left their bags. I don't believe +that your conscience reproached you when they showed themselves in the +boats." + +At this moment pistol shots were heard on the water. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +THE ACTION ON THE DECK OF THE TEASER + + +As the Teaser was but a short distance from the shore, Christy had no +doubt that the attempt to board her had been made by this time. Mr. +Blowitt had quite as many men on board of the steamer as could have been +contained in the two boats, and he was not much concerned about the +result of the attack, especially as he knew that the second lieutenant +was fully prepared and on the lookout for it. The only thing that +Christy regretted was that he was not on board of the Teaser to take +part in the affair of repelling boarders. + +"There seems to be some music in the air," said Lonley, after he had +listened for a few moments to the sounds that came from the direction of +the steamer. + +"To return to the subject of the morality of telling stories, your men +do not seem to be a mile to the eastward, where their bags were left," +added Christy good-naturedly. + +"You had a glance at them in the boats, though the darkness and fog were +rather too thick for you to count them," replied Lonley, chuckling over +the deception he had practised upon the lieutenant of the Bellevite. + +"Yes, I saw them, and I concluded that they could not be where their +bags were." + +"All is fair in war." + +"That seems to be the generally received maxim, and he is the smartest +man who the most thoroughly deceives the enemy," added Christy, who +found himself tolerably well satisfied with the situation, though he was +a prisoner. + +"That is so, and of course I can find no fault with you for deceiving +me," returned Lonley, chuckling as though he was even better satisfied +with the situation than his companion. + +"Thank you, Mr. Lonley; you are magnanimous, and with equal sincerity +I can say that I have no fault to find with you," replied the Union +officer. "But I have my doubts whether, after this, either of us will be +likely to believe what the other says. But, for my part, I wish to say +that I don't believe in telling anything but necessary and patriotic +lies." + +"That is my view of the matter exactly; and if there is any man that +despises a liar, I am that man," said Lonley warmly. "But it seems to +me they are making a good deal of a racket off there," he added, as the +noise of pistol shots and the clash of cutlasses came over the smooth +waters of the gulf. + +"They seem to be at it quite earnestly," replied Christy. + +"By the way, how many men did you leave on board of the Teaser?" asked +the privateersman, whose manner seemed to have suddenly become +considerably changed. + +"How many men?" repeated the lieutenant of the Bellevite. + +"That is the question I asked," replied the lieutenant of the Teaser. + +"I suppose you would not believe me if I should tell you," answered +Christy. + +"I judge that you can speak the truth if you try," added Lonley, with +more asperity than the occasion seemed to require. + +"I know that I could," said Christy, very decidedly; "and I may add that +I was in the habit of doing so on all occasions before this cruel war +began." + +"Then suppose you try to do so just now, and tell me how many men your +people had on board of the Teaser." + +"You must excuse me for the present, for I do not like to make +statements to one who will not believe what I say," answered Christy, +rather facetiously. + +"You are a prisoner now." + +"I am painfully aware of the fact, but I doubt if the government service +will suffer very much in my absence from duty." + +"You are too modest by half, Mr.--but I have not even the pleasure of +knowing your name, and conversation is annoying under such +circumstances." + +"I am simply Midshipman Passford, at your service." + +"Only a midshipman!" exclaimed Lonley. "Upon my word, you ought to be a +commodore. Passford? Possibly you are a cousin of Colonel Passford of +Glenfield." + +"Colonel Passford is my uncle. Do you know him?" asked Christy. + +"I do know him; and there is not a finer man or a truer patriot in the +South than Colonel Passford. He is loading a schooner with cotton, and +he offered me the command of it. Then you are his nephew, I have heard +of you." + +"I hope my uncle is quite well, for I have not heard from him for +several weeks, or since I left New York." + +"I saw him ten days ago, and he was very well then. I am very happy +to have made a prisoner of his enterprising nephew, who appears to be +capable of doing our cause a great deal of mischief," replied Lonley, +looking earnestly in the direction of the Teaser. + +"Thank you, Mr. Lonley; I certainly intend to do it all the mischief I +can in a legitimate way. I am speaking the truth now," said Christy. + +"But you have not answered my question in regard to the number of men on +board of the Teaser when you left her." + +"And you will excuse me for the present if I do not answer it," added +the Union lieutenant. + +"Very well, Mr. Passford; I cannot compel you to answer it, though doing +so would do no harm to your cause, for I should judge that the question +of the hour is settled." + +"What is the question of the hour, Mr. Lonley?" + +"The question is which side is in possession of the Teaser, yours or +mine," replied the privateersman, still gazing out into the gloom. + +"Is that question settled?" asked Christy, with interest. + +"Of course I don't know, but I should think that it was. We hear no +more pistol shots and no more clashing of cutlasses," replied Lonley, +uneasily. "But I expected to hear the triumphal shout of our men when +they had carried the deck of the Teaser." + +"I have not heard anything like a triumphal shout," added Christy, very +quietly. "It is barely possible that your men have not carried the deck +of the Teaser." + +"Of course, it is possible they have not; but I don't believe they have +failed," replied Lonley. + +The privateersman listened for a few minutes in silence. He appeared +to be entirely confident that the victory must be with his men. He +evidently believed that the captors of the Teaser had sent her two boats +off to a distance of a mile, and thus weakened whatever force she had on +board of her. He did not seem to have any idea that the party he had +met in Pensacola Bay had been increased in numbers, or that the officer +in command had reported to the ship to which they belonged. Christy +realized what Lonley was thinking about, and he clearly believed that +the Teaser had been left in charge of not more than a dozen or fifteen +men, reduced by at least six then on boat duty. + +"Help! help!" shouted a man in the water at no great distance from the +shore. + +"What does that mean?" said Lonley, springing to his feet. + +"It is a call for help, and, as my hands are tied behind me, I cannot +respond to it, as I would gladly do, be the man who needs it friend or +enemy," replied Christy. "There is the canoe in which we came ashore, +Lieutenant Lonley, and you can use that." + +The privateersman sprang into the boat, shoved it off, and pulled in +the direction from which the appeal came. He disappeared in the fog in a +moment; but a little later was seen again approaching the shore. He had +not taken the sufferer into the boat, but he had clung to it. As he got +upon his feet, Christy saw that there were two of them, for one helped +the other up the beach. + +"What does this mean?" demanded Lonley, very much excited. "Have you run +away from the others?" + +"No, sir; but we were beaten in the fight, our boats captured, and all +hands taken prisoners except us two," replied the uninjured of the two +men. + +Lieutenant Lonley, whatever his views of the morality of lying to the +enemy, uttered an exclamation which grated very harshly on the ears of +Lieutenant Passford. The result, as stated by the man who had swum to +the shore, was as unwelcome as it was unexpected. He had not deemed a +defeat even possible. He learned from the guard-boat that the steamer +had been captured. He had spent the time after he was landed with his +companions at Town Point, and organized his force for the recapture of +the Teaser. The failure of the final attack was as severe upon him as +the loss of his vessel had been upon Captain Folkner. + +"Who are you?" demanded Lonley, when he had in some measure recovered +from the shock which the failure gave him. + +"I am Levick, the boatswain; and this is Lieutenant Folkner, who was +wounded in the shoulder in the first of it," replied the man. "He was +knocked from the rail into the water when we boarded, and he held on to +an oar. When the fight was over, and we had lost it, I slipped into the +water, and helped the lieutenant along on his oar, till I was about used +up, and then I called for help." + +"Are you much hurt, Mr. Folkner?" asked Lonley of the injured officer. + +"I don't know; my shoulder feels numb, and I can't use my arm," replied +Folkner. "But I can use my legs, and I think that is what we had better +be doing." + +"I don't understand it," protested Lonley, very much dissatisfied with +the result of the action, as may well be supposed. "I was sure you would +carry her deck at once." + +"I was as sure as you were, Lonley; but I believe they had fifty men +all ready for us. They let us leap on deck without much opposition, and +then they surrounded us, and took us by surprise, for I did not suppose, +after what you said, that they had a dozen men," replied the wounded +lieutenant. + +"I did not suppose they had even a dozen men left on board," Lonley +explained, with humiliation in his tones. + +"I staid in the boat till I had seen all my men on deck," continued Mr. +Folkner. "They surrounded our force, and tumbled them into the hold as +though they had been pigs, slashing them with their cutlasses if they +tried to get out. I saw the fat officer in command of the enemy; he was +very active, and I leaped on deck, determined to cross weapons with him. +But he hit me in the shoulder with his cutlass, and I lost my hold on +the rail." + +"You ought to have led your men, not followed them," said Lonley +bitterly. + +"That is easy enough for you to say; but I wanted to be where I could +see my men," retorted the first lieutenant, of whom the second had a +very mean opinion, perhaps because he got his position on account of +being the captain's brother. + +"Whether I did right or not, I can tell you all one thing; and that is, +that we shall be prisoners if we stay here any longer. They have got our +men under the hatches, and they have ordered out a boat to look for an +officer they sent ashore." + +"We can do nothing here, and we may as well put ourselves in safer +quarters, for we have two prisoners to lose," said Lonley. "Mr. +Passford, I shall have to trouble you to march to the other side of +the island." + +"I am your prisoner, Mr. Lonley, and I must obey your orders, though +I am sorry to be away from my ship in the hour of victory," replied +Christy submissively. + +But he felt that his plan had been fully carried out. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +A VISIT FROM COLONEL HOMER PASSFORD + + +With his arms securely tied behind him, Christy realized that he could +make no resistance to his captors. Flint was in the same unfortunate +situation, and both of them had been deprived of their revolvers. But +in spite of his unpleasant surroundings, the young lieutenant felt that +the balance of advantage was on the side of the Union. If the government +was deprived of the services of a midshipman and a master's mate, a +dangerous privateer had been captured, and about forty prisoners had +been taken from the employ of the Confederacy. In the face of this +decided gain, Christy felt that he had no right to complain. + +By this time the light of day had begun to have some effect on the +darkness and fog, though the gloom seemed to be hardly less. Lonley +directed his two prisoners to walk side by side behind the wounded +lieutenant, while he and Levick took their places in the rear. The +second lieutenant of the Teaser was duly impressed by what the first +had said about a probable visit to the island in search of the missing +midshipman, and he directed Folkner to march as rapidly as he could. He +took the control of the party out of the hands of his superior, and very +likely he wished he had done so sooner. + +Folkner, as he had before suggested, still had the use of his legs, and +he certainly used them well, for he travelled like a man who was in a +hurry; but both Christy and Flint were in excellent condition, though +they had been on active duty all night, and they had no difficulty in +keeping up with their leader. + +Lonley and Levick were both armed, and they kept their weapons in +readiness for immediate use, for the former recognized the enterprising +character of the young officer in front of him, and knew that he would +escape if he could. But Christy did not feel called to take any +desperate chances in order to restore himself at once to the service of +his country, and he and his companion in captivity marched along very +quietly. The two armed men soon dropped several paces to the rear, so +that the lieutenant could listen to the details of the action on the +deck of the Teaser. The prisoners could not hear what was said, and they +started a conversation on their own account. + +"We are in a bad box," said Flint. "I did not expect to come out of the +little end of the horn in this way." + +"You must take a broader view of the situation than that," replied +Christy. "The Teaser is certainly a prize of the Bellevite, with as many +as forty prisoners. That is the result of our night's work, though we +are counted out just now in the business of crowing over the success of +our side. That is the way to look at it; and this view makes me quite +satisfied with the night's work." + +"I did not see it in that light, and I suppose you are right, Mr. +Passford," replied Flint. + +"And you will not lose your share of the prize-money for the Yazoo or +the Teaser," added Christy, though, as the son of a millionnaire, he +felt no interest at all in the spoils of war. + +"What do you suppose will be done with us, sir?" asked the master's +mate. + +"I have not the least idea, any more than you have; but I have no doubt +we shall be kept in close confinement, and I don't believe we shall live +as well in our prison, wherever it may be, as we do on board of the +Bellevite. But I am rather fond of johnny-cake, and I don't expect to +starve on bacon." + +"Don't you think it was a mistake to send us ashore in the canoe on the +part of Mr. Blowitt?" asked Flint, rather timidly. + +"If it was, it was as much my mistake as it was his. But I don't think +it was a mistake. I cannot say that we did not succeed in the action on +the deck of the steamer because we were sent ashore," replied Christy. + +"I don't see how that can be," replied Flint. + +"In the first place, Lonley wanted me to come on shore, and asked that +I should do so. On the strength of what I said to him, he believed that +our boats had been sent to the eastward, and that induced him to make +the advance he did. After he had told us where to find the men, he had +good reason to believe that the boats would be sent for them. We did not +fall into the trap he set for us. I think it is all right as it is; but +whether it is or not, it's no use to grumble about it." + +"I did not mean to grumble; and I am willing to believe that everything +has been for the best," replied Flint, apparently resolved to be +satisfied, as his superior officer was, whether he felt so or not. + +Folkner led the way in a northwesterly direction, and evidently knew +where he was going. When they had been marching about half an hour, +the party heard the report of fire-arms in the rear of them; but the +discharges were at regular intervals, and did not sound as though they +came from a battle. A little later, they heard loud shouts. + +"That is the party who are out in search of us," said Christy. + +"That is so, Mr. Passford; the sounds are only signals, and they are +intended to notify you that your friends are in search of you," added +Lonley, hastening up to the advance of the party. "I should be very +sorry to do such a thing, but if you shout, or do anything to inform +that party where you are, it will be my duty to shoot you." + +"I am not disposed to be rash, Mr. Lonley. If our friends overtake your +party, it will not be my fault," replied Christy. + +"You do not expect me to shoot you in that case, I hope?" added the +privateersman. + +"I did not know but that your revolver might go off by accident." + +"You may be assured that it will not; I claim to be a gentleman and a +Christian, and I intend to be fair even to my enemies." + +"I beg your pardon for my thoughtless remark. I have no occasion to +complain of you. I shall endeavor to be a gentleman and a Christian +also, though I intend to do my best in fighting my country's battles; +and I am not disposed to talk politics with you under present +circumstances." + +The march was continued for some time longer, and the signals in +the rear were repeated till increasing light enabled the prisoners to +see that they were approaching Pensacola Bay. Not a little to their +astonishment, the shore seemed to be alive with soldiers, and they +learned that a battle, or something like one, had been fought on the +island. The Confederate forces had been sent to attack Wilson's Zouaves, +in camp to the eastward of the fort. Some very severe fighting had been +done in the darkness and fog, with heavy losses on both sides. + +The Zouaves had been re-enforced from the fort, and with marines from +the ships. Though the Confederates claimed the victory, it was clear +enough to the two prisoners from the south side of the island that the +Southern troops were retreating from the field. A soldier who fought +with them wrote to a paper in Georgia: "I scarcely know whether we +achieved a victory, or suffered a defeat." He also said that in the +fog and darkness: "We shot down our friends in numbers." + +A few prisoners had been captured by the enemy, including two officers. +But Folkner led the way to a point on the bay not very near the steamers +which had brought over the expedition from the mainland. The Confederate +troops embarked in the steamers and launches by which they had come; but +the Union troops followed them to the end. Their steamers were aground, +and a merciless fire was poured into them by the pursuing companies. + +"They are having hot work of it over there," said Lonley, as they came +to a boat on the shore. "But that is not our affair, and it is quite +proper for us to keep out of the way of the flying bullets." + +Christy and Flint were directed to take seats in the boat, and the +lieutenant and boatswain manned the oars. They were not out of the +reach of the bullets of the Federal troops, and the oarsmen pulled with +all their might for a time. It was five miles to Pensacola, but the +privateersmen landed their prisoners there. They were committed to a +sort of guard-house; but in the afternoon they were sent to Mobile with +about twenty others, who had been captured in the battle of the night +before. + +There was not a great number of prisoners in the city, and it was +intended to remove them to other quarters arranged for their +accommodation. + +Christy and Flint were confined in an unoccupied warehouse, and were fed +tolerably well, and they were supplied with some kind of dried grass for +beds. It was not at all like the luxurious stateroom of the lieutenant +on board of the Bellevite, or even the quarters of Flint; but they were +determined to make the best of it. Flint had become reconciled to his +situation, and Christy was even cheerful. + +After he had been in the warehouse a few days, Christy was not a little +surprised to receive a visit from his uncle, Colonel Passford. He was +not surprised at the kindness of the planter in making the visit, but +that he should know so soon that he was a prisoner of war, for he had +fully decided not to make any appeal to his uncle; and he could not +imagine how he had discovered his situation. + +"I am glad to see you, Christy," said Colonel Passford, extending his +hand, which Christy took without any hesitation. + +"And I suppose you are glad to see me here," added the nephew, with a +smile. + +"While I am glad to see you deprived of the power to injure the cause I +love, and to which I have pledged all that I have and all that I am, I +am sorry that you should be in trouble, Christy. I hope I have Christian +feeling enough to keep me from rejoicing at the misfortunes of any +person, and especially of my brother's son. I can say sincerely that +I am sorry you are in trouble," said the colonel solemnly. + +"Oh, I am not in trouble, Uncle Homer!" exclaimed Christy, laughing. +"I have done my duty to my country, my conscience is clean, and I am +not to be upset by an accident like this. I am really happy in the +consciousness that I have been faithful to the cause of my country." + + [Illustration: "I am glad to see you, Christy."--Page 308.] + +"I wish you had been; but we will not talk about that, for I suppose you +and your father have the same views," replied the planter, looking very +sad. + +"I don't believe we should agree if we talked about it for a year, and +we had better give the subject the go-by. But how are Aunt Lydia and +Gerty?" + +"Both are very well. I hope your father is in good health, as well as +your mother and sister." + +"All very well." + +"I have not heard a word from any of you for about five months," +continued Colonel Passford. "In fact, not since you were here in May." + +"We got home all right, and the Bellevite is a man-of-war now. She +captured one valuable prize off the coast of Carolina, and another at +Pensacola," replied Christy cheerfully. + +"She ought never to have been allowed to leave Mobile Bay," added the +colonel. + +"Your people certainly did everything they could to prevent her from +leaving, and I hope you don't blame yourselves for letting her go. What +about Corny, sir?" asked Christy. + +"Major Pierson was very much to blame for permitting the Bellevite to +pass the forts when she came in, and he lost his command. But he has +devoted all his life to redeem his fault by her recapture. He took Corny +with him, and a naval officer; I only know that the attempt to recapture +her failed from the fact that the Bellevite is now on the blockade." + +Finding that his uncle knew nothing of the events which had transpired +at Bonnydale, Christy told him all about them, informing him at the end +that Corny was a prisoner of war on parole at his father's house, +recovering from his wound. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +AN ENTERPRISE FOR A DARK NIGHT + + +"Corny wounded!" exclaimed Colonel Passford, rising with no little +emotion from the box on which he had seated himself. + +"Not seriously, Uncle Homer," added Christy. + +"But how was he wounded? I have heard of no battle in the vicinity of +New York till now, though our papers contain some news from outside," +continued the planter. + +"It was hardly a battle," replied Christy. "Captain Carboneer had +brought a crew for a steamer through Canada, I believe, for the purpose +of capturing the Bellevite as she lay at Bonnydale. Major Pierson and +Corny were to assist him; and the major wished Captain Carboneer to take +Florry on board of her, and convey her to the South, when he had taken +possession of the steamer; but the naval officer was too high-toned to +do anything of the kind." + +"I did not suppose Major Pierson could do such a thing," added the +planter, biting his lips. + +"But the major insisted that he did not mean to take her against her +own will. Captain Carboneer bought an old steamer, put his men on board +of her, and started up the river to make the capture. I knew they were +coming, and was ready for them. We fired only one shot at the old +steamer, which smashed her walking-beam, and disabled her. A piece of +the machinery struck Corny, and injured him in the shoulder. The doctor +says he is not permanently injured, though it will be months before he +is able to use his arm. He was paroled, and mother is taking as good +care of him as though I had been wounded." + +"I am thankful it is not worse," added the colonel, with a sigh of +relief. "What became of Major Pierson?" + +"I don't know, but I suppose he is a prisoner in Fort Lafayette. He +refused to give his parole when he found he could not be a guest at +Bonnydale. Captain Carboneer obtained the command of a steamer, but it +was captured by the Bellevite, and probably he is with the major in the +fort." + +The planter asked a great many questions in regard to the affair on the +Hudson, and Christy answered them. He gave some of the particulars of +the capture of the Teaser, and mentioned the name of Lonley, who had +told him that Colonel Passford had offered him the command of a schooner +he had loaded with cotton to run the blockade; but the planter said +nothing to indicate that he had ever heard of the privateersman. + +"The Bellevite has been very fortunate so far, and she seems to have a +charmed existence," added the colonel. + +"That is only because she is well handled," replied Christy, laughing. + +"And you seem to be equally fortunate, Christy, for you have twice been +the means of saving your father's steamer. Corny has done nothing, is +wounded, and practically a prisoner. But, Christy, the tide will turn, +for Heaven is always on the side of a just cause," added the planter +solemnly. + +"I believe it, uncle; and that will be the reason why the Union will +prevail in the end. Besides, Napoleon believed that Heaven was always +on the side of the stronger battalions." + +"That was an impious remark; and Heaven, by its own mysterious ways, +will conduct the just cause of the South to a successful ending, and the +Confederate States of America will be an honored member of the family of +nations." + +"I think we had better not talk politics, even though we mix in a little +religion," suggested Christy. + +"As your father has been kind to my boy, wounded and a prisoner in the +midst of enemies, I ought to do something for you, Christy," continued +Colonel Passford, looking on the floor. + +"Not at all, Uncle Homer; I am not wounded as Corny is, and there is +no need of doing anything for me," interposed Christy, laughing in the +serious face of the planter. + +"I can get you paroled, and then I shall be glad to have you remain at +Glenfield until you are exchanged," said the planter. + +"I shall not accept a parole, Uncle Homer," replied Christy promptly. + +"Not accept a parole!" exclaimed the colonel. "Corny did so." + +"If I were wounded, as Corny is, I would accept it." + +"I hope you don't mean to try to escape, Christy," added his uncle, with +a look of deep concern on his dignified face, as he looked about the +apartment in which his nephew was confined. + +"I don't say that I shall; if I did say so, you would have our guard +doubled, and ready to shoot me if they saw my head at a window," +answered Christy with earnestness. + +"You seem to think I am a heathen; but you forget that you are an active +enemy of my country," added the planter, with a pained expression. + +"I don't forget it, uncle; but I am not half as active as I hope to be +before this thing ends. I believe you would see me shot or hung by the +neck till I was dead if it were for the benefit of what you call your +country." + +"I hope and pray that I may never be placed in a situation to see +anything of that kind." + +"I know you are earnest, honest, and sincere, Uncle Homer, and no +partiality to your own kindred would permit you to shirk what you +consider to be your duty. I find no fault with you; and I believe my +father would be equally firm," said Christy warmly. + +"I think you understand me, my boy; but do not attempt any rash project. +I cannot prevent the guard from shooting you if you attempt to escape." + +"I prefer to keep my own counsels in a matter of this kind, Uncle Homer. +Give my love to Aunt Lydia and Gerty, for I suppose I am not likely to +see them, as I am liable to be sent away any day." + +"Oh, yes, you will see them, for they shall call upon you here as soon +as they return from Montgomery, where they have gone for a few days." + +"It will be very kind of them to do so," added Christy, though he did +not believe he should be "at home" when they came. + +"I do not wish you were wounded, my dear boy, but if you were, we would +do all that your father and mother are doing for poor Corny," replied +Colonel Passford fervently, "Now, promise me, Christy, that you will not +attempt to escape." + +"I can't make any promises, uncle." + +"I will do the best I can to have your condition improved, and see that +you have a better diet, if I send your food from a hotel." + +"You are very kind, uncle, and I know that you will do all that your +duty will permit you to do for me." + +"But I shall live in fear and trembling if I leave you without your +promise to refrain from daring exploits. Just consider, my dear boy; you +are in the fourth story of this warehouse, and the guard-room is below +you. You have really no chance at all of success, and a fall or a shot +may kill or disable you for life." + +"I do not say that I shall try to escape, uncle." + +"And you do not say that you will not try to escape." + +For half an hour longer Colonel Passford endeavored to induce his nephew +to give the desired promise; but he remained obstinate to the end; +and his uncle was compelled to leave him, to enter upon the fear and +trembling in which he was to live while his enterprising nephew remained +a prisoner. But he promised to call upon him every day, and to write to +his wife and daughter to return at once. + +"I think I shall not wait for him to call," said Christy to Flint, +as soon as he had gone. + +"Do you expect to get out of this place, Mr. Passford?" asked the +master's mate, with lively interest. + +"This very night!" replied Christy, in an energetic whisper, as he put +his finger on his lips to indicate that nothing more was to be said on +the subject. + +The second lieutenant of the Bellevite had not been confined in the +warehouse three days without considering his chances of escape, and +the means of accomplishing such a purpose. He had looked the building +over with the greatest care. The room the prisoners occupied was next +to the roof. The rear windows opened upon a narrow alley, and he had +ascertained by looking out at them that the warehouse was one of a long +block. He had been in Mobile a great deal while the family were visiting +at Glenfield, and he had been careful to notice the location when he was +conducted to it with the others. + +At the end of the loft next to the main street were thirty or forty +other prisoners, with whom Christy and Flint had been on good terms, +though they belonged to the army, and seemed to be inclined to keep +by themselves. They had been exhausted by hard service, and they had +nothing to do but eat and sleep, though the former occupation did not +occupy any great amount of their spare time. But as soon as it was +fairly dark, they stretched themselves on their beds of vines and weeds, +and most of them were soon asleep. + +The evening that followed the day on which Colonel Passford visited his +nephew was dark, foggy, rainy, and as gloomy as even a blockade runner +might ask. Christy seated himself under one of the rear windows of the +loft, which appeared to have been intended only for storage, and was +only from seven to eight feet between studs. Flint placed himself at the +side of his companion, as he was requested to do. + +"This is just the kind of a night we want," said Christy, in a whisper, +for he could hear the tramp of a sentinel outside the door of the loft. + +"I should as soon think of getting out if we were buried a hundred feet +under ground as to think of getting out of this place," replied Flint, +who was hardly as enterprising as his officer, though he was always +ready to follow when he was well led. "There is a guard at the door, +Mr. Passford." + +"He may stay there; we don't want anything of him," replied Christy. + +"I see no other way out of this den, unless we jump down into the +street; but I will follow you, sir, if I fall a hundred feet in doing +it," protested the master's mate. + +"You shall not fall six inches, and you will have no opportunity to do +so. But if you are all ready to follow my lead, we may as well begin at +once," added Christy, who had expected that it would require some +persuasion to induce his companion to join him. + +The first thing the midshipman did was to take off his shoes, and to +require Flint to do the same. With these in their hands, Christy paced +off twenty steps, which brought him, according to a calculation he +had made in the daylight, under a scuttle that led to the roof of the +warehouse. Stationing the master's mate as a mark, he laid off five +paces at right angles with the first line from the party-wall. It was as +dark as Egypt, and the scuttle could not be seen; but the operator had +located it mathematically, and was confident as to its position. Flint +was planted under the opening, with the shoes of both at his side. + +The master's mate was nearly six feet in his stocking feet as he stood, +and Christy whispered to him the next thing in his scheme. With the aid +of his willing assistant, the midshipman was mounted on the shoulders of +the former, where he stood up like an athlete in the gloom, though he +almost instantly obtained a hold above with his hands. He unfastened the +scuttle, and slid it off the aperture with the greatest care. Then he +drew himself up with his strong hands, and was on the roof. Then Flint +passed up the shoes, as he reached down for them. Seating himself on one +side of the frame, he braced his feet against the other side, and +grasped the hands of the mate. It did not work. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +THE NEW MATE OF THE COTTON SCHOONER + + +Christy had given himself credit for more physical strength, or Flint +for less weight, than the circumstances warranted, and found that he +could not draw up his companion as he intended. He made several efforts +to accomplish his purpose, but he failed every time. The fear of making +a noise cramped his efforts to some extent. + +"Let go, Mr. Passford," whispered Flint, when he realized that his +avoirdupois was too much for the young officer. "I will get that box, +and then I can manage it myself." + +"All right; but don't make a particle of noise," added Christy. + +It required some time for the mate to find the box in the darkness, but +he had it in position at last, standing upon one end. Mounting it, he +found that his head was on a level with the roof, and he could easily +draw himself up; but he did not do so at once. + +"What are you waiting for, Flint?" asked Christy, rather impatiently. + +"If I leave the box where it is, the guard will see where we have gone +when they inspect the prison at ten o'clock," replied Flint. + +"That's so; I did not have the box in my plan, and that would tell the +guard where to look for us," replied Christy. "We must make a line, and +haul it up after you." + +"Here are two big handkerchiefs," added Flint, as he removed his +neck-cloth, and passed up his pocket handkerchief with it. + +Christy tied the handkerchiefs together with great care, adding two more +of his own to the length, which he thought would reach the box, Flint +made it fast to the broken end of a board on the side, and then, without +the least difficulty or noise, sprang lightly to the roof of the +warehouse. With the aid of his companion, Christy drew up the box, +careful that it should not strike against the frame of the scuttle. The +door was closed, though of course they were unable to hook it on the +inside, as they had found it; but the guard were not likely to notice +that it was not fastened before morning. + +"What next, Mr. Passford?" asked the master's mate, after they had +rested for a few minutes from their labors, though they had not been +very arduous. + +"The next thing is to get down into the street, where we shall be as +safe as though we were as patriotic, over the left, as my Uncle Homer. +The burden of the work is done, but I hope we shall be able to kill two +birds with one stone," replied Christy, though his meaning was +mysterious to his companion. + +"It don't seem to me that we are much better off than we were in the +loft," suggested the mate. + +"I believe we are, though I don't think we had better indulge in any +long speeches just now. We have a favorable night, and we must make the +best of it. I don't intend to be seen in this town in the morning, but +we have the whole night before us." + +"There will be a lively time looking for us to-morrow, for I don't think +they will be willing that you should get off, though it won't make much +difference to them about me." + +"They would not be willing to part with you, my friend." + +"But you made yourself rather noted in helping the Bellevite out last +May, and they will have a history of the loss of the Teaser in the +newspapers in due time, if they have not had it already; and they will +not like it a bit when they find that you have stepped out." + +"They are welcome to their own reflections," replied the lieutenant. + +"And they will send a searching party out to your uncle's estate at +Glenfield; but of course we shall not go near there," said Flint. + +"That is just where I am going," replied Christy, decidedly, "for that +is where I expect to kill one of the birds with the stone I fire. But we +had better be moving, for we have a long tramp before us." + +The midshipman led the way, and though the roof, which was nearly flat, +was wet with the falling rain, they walked, still in their stockinged +feet, to the farther end of the block. Neither of them wore his uniform, +as they remained as they had dressed for the duty they were to do on +board of the Teaser. This was a point in their favor in the course they +were to pursue, for their uniform would have betrayed them as soon as +they were seen. + +Before they reached the end of the block of warehouses, they had found +and tried all the scuttles on the roof, but they had not discovered one +which had been left unfastened. At the last one this became a serious +question. The scuttle at the end warehouse was securely hooked on the +inside; but neither of the pair felt discouraged at this circumstance. +Looking about them they found a piece of joist about ten feet long, +which might have been left there when the building was finished. Christy +examined the scuttle with the greatest care, to determine on which side +the hooks were placed. + +While he was doing this, Flint detached a couple of bricks from the +party-wall, which were used as a fulcrum for the lever, made of the +joist. The building was not inhabited, and there was little to be feared +at that height above the street from any noise they might make. Flint +sat down on the end of the lever, and the scuttle flew up at once, the +staple drawn out of the wood. + +The master's mate was the first to enter; and he "hung off" to the floor +below. Then he assisted Christy to descend, and to close the scuttle +after him. Acting upon their belief that all the warehouses were +constructed on the same plan, they easily found the door by which they +reached the staircase. On the lower floor, they opened a window and +passed out into the alley in the rear of the building. They were on the +ground, and Christy soon ascertained where he was. He made his way to a +wharf where he was fortunate enough to find a boat. + +This locality seemed to be entirely deserted, and there was no one to +challenge them, and no one appeared to take any notice of them on the +way. It was not yet nine o'clock, and many stores were open, one of +which they entered and bought a cooked ham and a large supply of bread. +The woman in charge asked no questions, though Christy talked about a +fishing trip to blind her. The boat they found was a very good one, and +as it was the property of the enemy, Christy had no scruples in regard +to confiscating it. He had money enough in his pocket to pay for it, but +as the owner did not appear to dispute his taking possession of it, he +dispensed with this ceremony. + +Taking the oars which they found in the boat, they pulled away from the +wharf without interruption from any source. Christy took his bearings +as well as he could, and they passed out into the fog and darkness, +to which experience within a few days had accustomed them both. They +crossed the Alabama River, and then followed the land to the southward. +Striking across an inlet they reached the land again, and by midnight +they reached a point of land where Christy felt entirely at home. He +recognized it by the dilapidated wharf, from which he had embarked in +the Leopard. + +It was still a long pull to Glenfield, and they went ashore to partake +of a little refreshment. Flint was a smoker, and he had some dry matches +which enabled them to make a fire, more for its light than its heat. The +ham was good and so was the bread to hungry men like the fugitives. At +the end of an hour by the midshipman's watch, they felt like new men, +and they resumed their places in the boat, and pulled two hours longer, +which brought them to the inlet at Glenfield. At the rude pier where the +Bellevite had been moored lay a topsail schooner. + +"I don't find any fault, Mr. Passford, but it seems to me that it is +rather dangerous for you to come here," said Flint, in a low tone, as +soon as they had made out the schooner at the wharf. "I can't see what +you are to make by it; and your uncle would hand you over to the rebel +officers as readily as he would eat his breakfast." + +"I have no doubt he would do so; but I don't intend to give him the +chance to do so," replied Christy, resting on his oar. "You see this +schooner. She is loaded with cotton, and she is going to run the +blockade about this time. I intend to take passage in her." + +"Then you knew about this vessel?" asked Flint curiously. + +"I did; and that is the particular reason why I came here. Lonley told +me that my uncle had offered him the command of the schooner; and now +that he has lost his position on board of the Teaser, I have no doubt +he has already applied for the berth that was offered to him. I am +confident that he has seen my uncle, and it must have been he who told +him that I was a prisoner." + +"I begin to understand you now, Mr. Passford," added Flint. + +"If you do, we will say no more about it just now, for there may be some +one within earshot of us," replied Christy. + +Nothing more was said, and the boat cautiously approached the schooner. +No one appeared to be on board of her, and the fugitives found that she +was loaded with cotton, even carrying a deck-load of this staple of the +South, the price of which had bounded up to an enormous figure in the +markets of the world. In the early morning the clouds and the fog were +swept away, and the sun came out. Christy found a hiding-place on the +other side of the creek, in a dense mass of bushes, where the boat was +drawn out of the water. + +A spot which commanded a full view of the schooner had been selected, +the boat was turned upside down so as to afford a shelter, and the weary +Unionists went to sleep, for they were not likely to be disturbed on +this side of the creek. It was noon when they woke, and it looked as +though something was going on at the vessel. About half a dozen negroes +were to be seen on the deck-load of cotton; and a little later in the +day, Colonel Passford and Lonley were observed talking together. But +nothing was done that day, and the night came on. Christy was not +satisfied with his information, and as soon as it was dark, the boat +was launched, and the fugitives pulled over to the schooner. + +"Who's in dat boat?" shouted a negro, showing himself at the rail of the +vessel. + +"I am," replied Christy, rather indefinitely. + +"Be you de new mate, sar?" demanded the man. + +"I am," answered Christy, at a venture. + +"We done wait free days for you, an' Massa Lonley be mighty glad to see +you." + +"Where is Captain Lonley now?" asked the lieutenant. + +"Stoppin' wid Massa colonel. He done tole me to call him if de mate +come. Dis nigger gwine to do dat," added the man. + +"Stop a little," added Christy, as he climbed on board of the vessel, +followed by Flint. "How many men have you on board?" + +"Six men wid de cook." + +"Are these men sailors?" + +"Dey all done work aboard a vessel, but dey ain't much sailors." + +"All free niggers?" + +"No, sar; wish dey was." + +"Where are the rest of the men?" + +"In de fo'castle, sar. De capin specks de mate come to-night, an' I +reckon we's gwine down de bay right off den." + +"Go and call the captain then," added Christy, as confidently as though +he had stood on his own ground. + +The negro hastened away as fast as his legs would carry him, and in +a few minutes Colonel Passford and Captain Lonley came on board. The +latter seemed to be hung on wires, he was so active; and even before he +saluted the new mate, he called all hands and directed them to hoist the +mainsail. + +"I am glad to see you, Fetters," said the captain, extending his hand to +him. "I expected you yesterday." + +"My business was such that I could not leave," replied Christy. + +It was very dark, and the captain did not recognize him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +THE PRIZE-MASTER OF THE JUDITH + + +The weather had been clear all day, with quite a fresh breeze, and the +same conditions prevailed after dark. Colonel Passford seemed to have a +great deal to say to Captain Lonley, now that the time for sailing had +come, and he occupied the attention of the latter so that neither of +them could observe the new mate, if he were disposed to do so. As soon +as Christy perceived the _rôle_ which circumstances had laid out for +him, he put his hand into a slush-tub he found in the waist, and +anointed his face with the filthy stuff. There was just color enough in +the compound of grease and dirt to change his complexion, if it had been +light enough to observe his physiognomy. Flint did the same thing. + +"You will have to take your chances when you come to the entrance of the +bay," said Colonel Passford, nervously. "This cargo is worth a fortune, +and we are in sore need of the supplies which its value will purchase +for us." + +"I think I understand the matter perfectly, colonel," replied Lonley, +who did not seem to take kindly to any advice from a landsman. + +"Do not take any unnecessary risks, Captain Lonley, for more than the +value of the cotton is at stake," continued the planter. + +"I have a plan of my own which I am confident will take me through the +blockade all right," added the captain. + +"You must remember that my brother's steamer is on the blockade, and +that she makes over twenty knots an hour." + +"I shall pretend to be a prize of the Bellevite long enough to distract +the attention of the fleet," added Lonley, impatiently. + +"I don't understand these things, and I shall leave you to manage the +affair as you think best; but I beg you will use all proper caution," +continued Colonel Passford. "Here are the ship's papers. You will give +the one on the top to the officer from the fort, and he will cause you +no delay." + +Lonley took the papers, and thrust them into his pocket without any +reply. Christy had taken charge of the hoisting of the mainsail without +waiting for any special orders, and Flint was doing his best to assist +him. The negroes, though not expert seamen, knew the ropes of a +schooner, and they did very well with Flint in their midst. + +"We are going to have a fresh breeze, Fetters," said Captain Lonley, +as the new mate came near him. + +"It looks like it now," added Christy, changing his voice as much as he +could, and as he had done before when he spoke to the captain. + +"If things are not favorable when you get to the forte, I think you had +better anchor inside of the point," suggested the planter, who could not +be blamed for being deeply interested in the fate of his cotton, and the +fortune which was locked up in it. + +"Of course, I shall have to do that if necessary; but I don't like to do +that, for every blockader will watch her all the time if I do," replied +Captain Lonley, still maintaining his respectful demeanor, though it +seemed to be hard work. + +By this time the mainsail was set, and was banging in the lively breeze. +The negro sailors seemed to have become weary with wasting the day +in the sailing of the schooner, and they worked with a good deal of +enthusiasm. + +"Now set the foresail, Fetters. I don't think we can carry the +topsails," said the captain. "Isn't that a white man with the hands?" +asked he, as the men went to the foremast. + +"That's a man I brought along with me," replied Christy. "He is an able +seaman, and he is very anxious to get to some port outside where he can +obtain a berth as mate." + +"All right; I thought the work was going on exceedingly well, and his +presence explains it," added the captain. + +"He owns the boat in which we came over here, and I think we had better +hoist it on deck," said the mate. + +"All right; do so, Fetters. I suppose you have nothing on your hands?" + +"Nothing very particular," replied Christy. + +"I am instructed to buy a fast steamer if I can find one, even if I have +to go to England to obtain her. What do you say to taking the berth of +first officer in her, Fetters, for I know that you are a sailor, and +that you have pluck enough to fire a gun?" + +"Such a position would suit me first rate," replied Christy, with proper +enthusiasm. + +Still Lonley did not recognize his voice, and he took especial pains +that he should not. But this state of things could not long continue. If +the Unionist went into the cabin where there was a light, he could not +help betraying himself. It was necessary to provide against this or any +similar emergency very soon. He had already arranged his plan, and it +was his purpose to carry it into execution as soon as the vessel was +fully clear of the creek. + +The boat was hoisted on the deck; the fore and main sail were set, and +everything was in readiness for a departure. Colonel Passford, after +repeating some of his admonition to the captain, shook hands with him, +and stepped down upon the wharf. Lonley gave the order to stand by the +jib, and cast off the fasts. The two principal sails filled on the +starboard tack, the jib went up in the twinkling of an eye under the +direction of Flint, and the schooner began to gather headway. The +captain was at the helm, for he would trust no other there, and Christy +went forward. + +"Set the fore topmast staysail," said the mate; but he was willing the +crew should execute the order in their own way, for he called the +master's mate to him. "The biggest job is yet to be done," he added, +in a low tone. + +"What is that?" asked Flint. + +"To get possession of the vessel," replied Christy, impressively. + +"That will be an easy matter, with nothing but niggers on board," added +Flint. + +They talked together for a few minutes, and the plan was arranged. Flint +saw that the fore topmast staysail was properly set and trimmed. The two +Unionists on board did not even know the name of the schooner, but she +gathered headway as she approached the mouth of the creek, and went +along at a very satisfactory rate. The mate of the vessel and his fellow +fugitive then went aft to be ready for the decisive action in which they +were to engage. But they had hardly reached the quarter-deck before the +schooner was hailed by a boat. + +"Schooner, ahoy! On board the Judith!" shouted a man. + +"In the boat!" replied the captain. "Who's there?" + +"Fetters!" responded the boatman. + +"Fetters!" exclaimed Captain Lonley, apparently bewildered by the reply. +"It seems to me that Fetterses are plenty to-night." + +But this was all he was permitted to say, for the stroke of a handspike, +in the hands of Flint, fell upon his head at this instant, and he +dropped upon the quarter-deck like a log. At the same moment, Christy +sprang to the wheel, and the schooner was not allowed to broach to. She +dashed on her course, increasing her speed every moment, without heeding +the boat that had hailed her. In the darkness, the genuine Fetters, as +doubtless he was in the boat, could not have seen in what manner Captain +Lonley had been disposed of, and all the crew were forward, so that they +were no wiser. + +"Judith, ahoy!" repeated the genuine and only true Fetters, at the top +of his lungs, as the schooner hurried off on her course. "I am Fetters, +the mate!" + +"All right!" replied Christy. "I will see you in the morning. Come on +board at six o'clock." + +Mr. Fetters said no more, and probably he concluded that the Judith had +gone to get firewood for the galley, to fill her water-casks, or for +some similar purpose. The fictitious Mr. Fetters kept his place at the +wheel. The binnacle had been lighted by the cook, and he knew the exact +course for the entrance to the bay. He felt that he was in possession of +the Judith and her valuable cargo; and he had become so hardened in his +patriotic duty that he felt no compunction of conscience because the +vessel and cotton had been wrested from his uncle. + +As Colonel Passford had not scrupled to attempt to capture the +magnificent steamer of his own brother, it would be a poor rule that +would not work both ways. Besides, the proceeds of the sale of the cargo +were to be expended in the purchase of supplies, and a steamer to carry +them, for the use of the Confederacy. His uncle, from his elevated +standpoint of duty, would have an opportunity to consider the +application of his stringent views on the other side of the question. + +"I hope he is not dead," said Christy, as Flint bent over the prostrate +form of the captain. + +"I don't know; but I am going to take him below, and lock him up in his +stateroom, where the crew will not see him," replied Flint. + +"That is right; and I would help you if I could leave the wheel long +enough," replied Christy. + +"I can handle him alone; but see that none of the sailors come aft while +I am about it," added the master's mate, as he dragged the form to the +companion-way. + +In such a work as he had on his hands, he had the strength of two men. +Without any great difficulty, he dragged the body to the cabin, and then +into one of the two staterooms he found, which was lighted. It was a +more difficult task, for Lonley was a heavy man, but he placed the form +in the berth. His first duty was to examine very carefully the pockets +of the captain. He secured the file of papers first, and then drew a +large naval revolver from each of his hip pockets. Then he took his +papers from his pocket-book, but left his money, watch, and other +valuables where he found them. + +After a careful examination of the insensible form, he was satisfied +that he was not dead, though he might yet die from the blow he had +received. He locked the door of the room, and went on deck. He gave one +of the revolvers to Christy, and retained the other, handing over to him +also all the papers he had taken. + +"This is the biggest venture we have undertaken yet," said Flint, as he +seated himself by Christy. + +"But everything has gone well so far," replied the lieutenant. "If you +are not promoted for this and the Teaser affair, Flint, it shall not be +for the want of any recommendation on my part." + +"Thank you, Mr. Passford; you are very kind. I hope your services will +be recognized in the same manner," returned the master's mate. + +"I don't care so much for myself, and I should not cry if I were never +to become anything more than a midshipman." + +"All I have done has been to obey your orders, and follow your lead; +and if anybody is promoted for the two affairs in which we have been +engaged, you are surely the one who is entitled to it." + +"Well, we will do our duty, whether we are promoted or not," added +Christy. + +It was not more than nine o'clock in the evening when the Judith came +out of the creek, and in about four hours she was approaching Fort +Morgan. She was still within the enemy's lines, and her acting captain +was disposed to do everything in a regular manner, especially as he +had the means of doing so. He had not the same risk to run in getting +through the blockading fleet that Captain Lonley would have had, and +he promptly decided to take his chances without waiting for a dark +and foggy night. A boat came off from the inner side of the fort, and +Christy ordered Flint to bring her to. + +The permit to pass the forts was in due form, and signed by the proper +officials. The officer in the boat examined it carefully by the light +of a lantern, and declared that he was satisfied with it. Then he asked +some questions, which the acting commander of the Judith answered. The +toughest inquiry he made was as to how he expected to get through the +blockaders in a clear night like that. Christy assured him that he had a +plan which he was confident would carry him through without difficulty. + +The schooner filled away again, and passed through the main channel; +and in another hour she was in the midst of the Union fleet. There was +a rattling of drums, a hissing of steam, and energetic commands heard as +soon as the Judith was made out in the darkness, and doubtless a vision +of prize-money flitted through the brains of officers and seamen. But +Christy soon impaired the vividness of these fancies by ordering the +foresail of the schooner to be taken in, and then the fore topmast +staysail. The expectant ships' companies were not willing to believe +that the vessel had come out for the purpose of surrendering. + +"Schooner, ahoy!" shouted the officer of a boat sent off by the nearest +blockader. "What vessel is that?" + +"The Judith, prize to the United States steamer Bellevite," replied +Christy, "Kindly inform me where the Bellevite lies." + +In another half-hour, Christy had dropped his anchor a cable's length +from the Bellevite. Instructing Flint to ascertain the condition of +Lonley, the lieutenant went on board of her to make his report, using +the boat they had captured at Mobile, pulled by two of the negroes. + +"I have come on board, Captain Breaker," said Christy, as he met the +commander, who had come on deck at the alarm. + +"I see you have," replied the captain, grasping him by the hand. "I have +been terribly worried about you, Christy." + +"I am all right, sir; and so is Mr. Flint, who was with me. We have +brought off a schooner of two hundred tons, loaded with cotton," +continued Christy, as modestly as the circumstances would permit. + +"I am very anxious to hear your report, Mr. Passford," said the +commander. + +"Excuse me, sir, but the captain of that schooner is badly wounded, and +needs Dr. Linscott as soon as possible." + +The surgeon was sent on board of the Judith. As Paul Vapoor caught a +sight of the returned third lieutenant, he hugged him as though he had +been separated from him for years instead of a few days. His welcome +was quite as cordial, though not as demonstrative, from the rest of the +officers. Then he went to the cabin with the captain, where he reported +all that had transpired since he had been separated from his companions +on board of the Teaser. He was warmly commended for his bravery and +skill, and Captain Breaker assured him that he should be remembered +in the reports to the department. + +Captain Lonley was conveyed on board of the Bellevite, where he was +committed to the sick bay. He had recovered his senses, but it was +likely, the surgeon said, that it would be a month before his health was +restored. The Teaser had not yet been sent away; but the next day the +third lieutenant was appointed prize-master of the steamer, and Flint of +the schooner, for he had been the master of a coaster, and was competent +for the position. + +A considerable crew was put on board of the Teaser, and both vessels +were sent to New York instead of Key West. The steamer was expected to +tow the Judith when necessary, and defend her if she was attacked. But +both arrived at their destination without any mishap, and both were +condemned; the Teaser was purchased by the government, for she was +likely to be a very useful vessel on account of her speed and light +draught. + +Christy had a brief leave of absence after he had served as a witness +against the captured vessels. He had seen his father, mother, and sister +on his arrival, and they were as proud of him as though he had been +made a rear-admiral. Captain Breaker had written to his father of his +disappearance on Santa Rosa Island, and had no doubt he had been made +a prisoner within the enemy's lines. Christy brought the news of his +escape himself, which made him even doubly welcome at Bonnydale. +Certainly the young lieutenant had never been so happy before in his +life. + +Captain Passford was a man of great influence, though he held no +position in authority. At the first opportunity he obtained to talk with +him, Christy made a strong plea in favor of the promotion of Flint. The +late owner of the Bellevite knew him well. The master's mate had been a +schoolmaster, and was very well educated; but he had a taste for the +sea. He had made several foreign voyages, and had bought a schooner +then, of which he went as master. But he had sold his vessel to great +advantage, and, having nothing to do, he shipped as third officer of the +Bellevite. + +Sampson, who had come home as chief engineer of the Teaser, was also +remembered by Christy, who interceded for his promotion, or rather +appointment. The government promptly obtained possession from the court +of the prize-steamer, and the repairs and alterations upon her were +begun at once. She had proved herself to be a fast sailer, and had +logged sixteen knots, so that much was expected of her. + +Captain Passford, after his son had pleaded so earnestly for the +promotion of the master's mate and the fireman, asked Christy what he +expected in the way of promotion for himself. The young officer did not +ask for any promotion, he was abundantly satisfied with his present +rank, and he rather preferred to retain it. His father laughed, and +declared that he was very glad of it, for he had some delicacy in asking +favors for a member of his own family. + +Corny still remained at the house of his uncle; and he was as +thoroughbred a rebel as his father, though he said next to nothing +about his "cause." At a later period both he and Major Pierson were duly +exchanged; but the gallant officer had come to the conclusion that Miss +Florry Passford was very far from being infatuated with him. + +As the Bronx, which was the name given to the Teaser at the suggestion +of Captain Passford, was to be ready about as soon as the legal +proceedings would permit of the departure of the officers and seamen of +the Bellevite, they were ordered to return to their ship in her. Flint's +commission as a master, and Sampson's as an assistant engineer, were +received. Christy's companion in the night expeditions had not expected +to be anything more than a midshipman, and he was immeasurably delighted +at his good fortune. Then it appeared that other influences than that of +Captain Passford had been employed, for Christy, almost in spite of +himself, was promoted to the rank of master, his commission antedating +that of Flint. + +Mr. Blowitt was appointed to the command of the Bronx, with Master +Passford as first lieutenant, and Master Flint as second; and Christy +was to take her to the Gulf. She was to be used at the discretion of the +flag officer after she had delivered her passengers on board of the +Bellevite, and received her new commander. + +The Bronx was soon ready for sea with her new ship's company, and sailed +for her destination, where Christy was to make some further inquiries +into operations ON THE BLOCKADE. + + + + +_OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS._ + +THE BLUE AND THE GRAY + +SERIES + +Illustrated. With Emblematic Dies. Each volume bound in Blue and Gray. +Per volume, $1.50. + + TAKEN BY THE ENEMY. + + WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES. + + The opening of a new series of books from the pen of Oliver Optic + is bound to arouse the highest anticipation in the minds of boy and + girl readers. There never has been a more interesting writer in the + field of juvenile literature than Mr. W. T. Adams, who, under his + well-known pseudonym, is known and admired by every boy and girl + in the country, and by thousands who have long since passed the + boundaries of youth, yet who remember with pleasure the genial, + interesting pen that did so much to interest, instruct and entertain + their younger years. The present volume opens "The Blue and the Gray + Series," a title that is sufficiently indicative of the nature and + spirit of the series, of which the first volume is now presented, + while the name of Oliver Optic is sufficient warrant of the + absorbing style of narrative. "Taken by the Enemy," the first book + of the series, is as bright and entertaining as any work that Mr. + Adams has yet put forth, and will be as eagerly perused as any that + has borne his name. It would not be fair to the prospective reader + to deprive him of the zest which comes from the unexpected, by + entering into a synopsis of the story. A word, however, should be + said in regard to the beauty and appropriateness of the binding, + which makes it a most attractive volume.--_Boston Budget._ + + "Taken by the Enemy" has just come from the press, an announcement + that cannot but appeal to every healthy boy from ten to fifteen + years of age in the country. "No writer of the present day." says + the Boston _Commonwealth_, "whose aim has been to hit the boyish + heart, has been as successful as Oliver Optic. There is a period in + the life of every youth, just about the time that he is collecting + postage-stamps, and before his legs are long enough for a bicycle, + when he has the Oliver Optic fever. He catches it by reading a few + stray pages somewhere, and then there is nothing for it but to let + the matter take its course. Relief comes only when the last page of + the last book is read; and then there are relapses whenever a new + book appears until one is safely on through the teens. The boys will + be delighted to know, therefore, that 'Taken by the Enemy' is but + the first of six books to come out in rapid succession, all based on + the thrilling incidents of the late war."--_Literary News._ + + +_OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS._ + +THE BOAT-BUILDER SERIES + +Completed in Six Volumes. Illustrated. +Per Vol., $1.25. + +1. ALL ADRIFT; + Or, The Goldwing Club. +2. SNUG HARBOR; + Or, The Champlain Mechanics. +3. SQUARE AND COMPASS; + Or, Building the House. +4. STEM TO STERN; + Or, Building the Boat. +5. ALL TAUT; + Or, Rigging the Boat. +6. READY ABOUT; + Or, Sailing the Boat. + + The series includes in six successive volumes the whole art of + boat-building, boat-rigging, boat-managing, and practical hints to + make the ownership of a boat pay. A great deal of useful information + will be given in this Boat-Building series, and in each book a very + interesting story is sure to be interwoven with the information. + Every reader will be interested at once in "Dory," the hero of + "All Adrift," and one of the characters to be retained in the future + volumes of the series, at least there are already several of his + recently made friends who do not want to lose sight of him, and this + will be the case of pretty much every boy who makes his acquaintance + in "All Adrift." + + * * * * * + * * * * + * * * * * + +Errata Noted by Transcriber: + +En Reconnaissance de la Bonté de son Père, + _text reads "Pére" (with acute accent for grave)_ +and to be above any such villainy + _text reads "villany"_ +"He is on board--of the Bellevite," the third lieutenant + _text reads "lientenant"_ + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Within The Enemy's Lines, by Oliver Optic + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES *** + +***** This file should be named 18264-8.txt or 18264-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/2/6/18264/ + +Produced by Louise Hope, David Garcia, Juliet Sutherland +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images +generously made available by The Kentuckiana Digital Libra + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Within The Enemy's Lines + SERIES: The Blue and the Gray--Afloat + +Author: Oliver Optic + +Release Date: June 15, 2006 [EBook #18264] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES *** + + + + +Produced by Louise Hope, David Garcia, Juliet Sutherland +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images +generously made available by The Kentuckiana Digital Libra + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class = "mynote"> +The Frontispiece ("He saw two men...") has been placed between the +Preface and the <a href = "#toc">Table of Contents</a>.<br> +Invisible punctuation— chiefly quotation marks— has been +silently supplied. Other typographical errors are marked in the text +with <ins class = "correction" title = "like this">mouse-hover +popups</ins>. +</div> + +<p class = "illustration"> +<img src = "images/cover.jpg" width = "392" height = "597" +alt = "book cover: The Blue and the Gray by Oliver Optic: Within the Enemy's Lines" +title = "The Blue and the Gray by Oliver Optic: Within the Enemy's Lines"> +</p> + +<div class = "outline chapter"> +<h2 class = "smallcaps">The Blue and the Gray Series</h2> + +<hr class = "tiny"> + +<table> +<tr><td> +TAKEN BY THE ENEMY<br> +WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES<br> +ON THE BLOCKADE <span class = "smallcaps">In Press</span> +</td></tr> +</table> + +<hr class = "tiny"> + +<h3 class = "smallcaps">Lee and Shepard Publishers Boston</h3> +</div> + + +<p class = "illustration chapter"> +<img src = "images/titlepage.png" width = "325" height = "479" +alt = "title page: The Blue and the Gray Series / by Oliver Optic / Within the Enemy's Lines" +title = "The Blue and the Gray Series / by Oliver Optic / Within the Enemy's Lines"> +</p> + + +<h4 class = "chapter ital">The Blue and the Gray Series</h4> + +<hr class = "tiny"> + +<h2>WITHIN<br> +THE ENEMY’S LINES</h2> + +<h6>BY</h6> + +<h4>OLIVER OPTIC</h4> + +<h6>AUTHOR OF "THE ARMY AND NAVY SERIES," "YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD,"<br> +"THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES," "THE WOODVILLE STORIES," "THE<br> +STARRY FLAG SERIES," "THE BOAT-CLUB STORIES," "THE<br> +ONWARD AND UPWARD SERIES," "THE YACHT-CLUB<br> +SERIES," "THE LAKE-SHORE SERIES," "THE<br> +RIVERDALE SERIES," "THE BOAT-<br> +BUILDER SERIES," "TAKEN<br> +BY THE ENEMY," ETC.</h6> + +<hr class = "mid"> + +<h5 class = "extended">BOSTON 1890<br> +LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS</h5> +<h6>10 MILK STREET NEXT "THE OLD SOUTH MEETING HOUSE"<br> +NEW YORK CHAS. T. DILLINGHAM<br> +718 AND 720 BROADWAY</h6> + + +<h6 class = "chapter smallcaps">Copyright, 1889,<br> +By Lee and Shepard.</h6> + +<hr class = "tiny"> + +<h5 class = "ital">All rights reserved.</h5> + +<hr class = "tiny"> + +<h6>WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES.</h6> + + + + +<h5 class = "chapter">A MON JEUNE AMI,</h5> + +<h6>(QUE JE N'AI JAMAIS VU, ET QUE JE NE CONNAIS PAS,)</h6> + +<h4 class = "boldf">Monsieur Lucien Bing,</h4> + +<h6>DE PARIS, FRANCE,</h6> + +<h6 class = "smallcaps">En Reconnaissance de la +Bonté de son <ins class = "correction" title = +"text reads 'Pére'">Père</ins>,<br> +Cette Historiette de la Guerre Civile en Amerique<br> +Est affectueusement Dédié.</h6> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">7</span> +<h4 class = "chapter">PREFACE</h4> + + +<p>"<span class = "smallcaps">Within the Enemy's Lines</span>" is the +second volume of "The Blue and the Gray Series." Like its predecessor, +of course, its scenes are connected with the war of the Rebellion; and +perhaps the writer ought to be thankful that he is not required in such +a work to rise to the dignity of history, but he believes that all his +events were possible, and that every one of them has had its parallel in +the actual occurrences of the historic period of which he writes. In +fact, some of the experiences of the actors in the terrible drama of a +quarter of a century ago would pass more readily for fiction than for +reality, and detailed on the pages of a story would be deemed impossible +by the conservative reader.</p> + +<p>The nation has passed out of its ordeal of fire, and an excellent +spirit on the part of both parties to the great strife is still growing +and strengthening, +<span class = "pagenum">8</span> +in spite of an occasional exhibition of folly on both sides on the part +of those who have not outlived the bitterness of the past, and who +probably will not outlive it. The time will certainly come when the +memories of the conflict, the repetition of the stories of the war, and +even the partisan praise bestowed upon the heroes of both sides, will +excite no more ill feeling than does an allusion to the War of the Roses +in England.</p> + +<p>In this country the advocate of either side will tell his story, +relate his history, and jingle his verse in his own way, and from his +own standpoint. Those upon the other side will be magnanimous enough to +tolerate him, at least in silence. Histories, romances, poems, and plays +relating to the war, are produced in greater numbers as the gap between +the days of battle and the days of peace widens; but the old fires are +not rekindled, the old bitterness still slumbers, and the Great United +Nation still lives on in perfect peace.</p> + +<p>The author hopes he has done nothing on these pages to impair the +growing harmony between the two sections which have happily become one, +or to impregnate the minds of those who have been born since the strife +ended with any of its +<span class = "pagenum">9</span> +bitterness. He has endeavored to make as high-toned men on the one side +as the other, with the same moral sentiment in the one party as the +other, and to exhibit their only difference in the one great question of +Union or Disunion.</p> + +<p class = "inset"> +<span class = "smallcaps">Dorchester</span>, May 2, 1889.</p> + + + + +<p class = "illustration section"> +<img src = "images/frontis.png" width = "326" height = "508" +alt = "illustration of quoted scene"><br> +<span class = "caption"> +"<span class = "smallcaps">He saw Two Men making their way through the +Grove</span>."—Page 28.</span> +</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">11</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "toc">CONTENTS</a></h4> + +<table> +<tr> +<td></td> +<td class = "number smallcaps" width = "20%">page</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapI">CHAPTER I.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">An Unexpected Visitor</td> +<td class = "number">15</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapII">CHAPTER II.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">A Difference of Opinion</td> +<td class = "number">27</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapIII">CHAPTER III.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">The dignified Naval Officer</td> +<td class = "number">37</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapIV">CHAPTER IV.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">Corny Passford plays Another Part</td> +<td class = "number">48</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapV">CHAPTER V.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">Captain Carboneer and his Party</td> +<td class = "number">59</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapVI">CHAPTER VI.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">The Cabin of the Florence</td> +<td class = "number">70</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapVII">CHAPTER VII.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">Midshipman Christy Passford</td> +<td class = "number">81</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapVIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">Arranging the Signals</td> +<td class = "number">92</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapIX">CHAPTER IX.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">The Approach of the Vampire</td> +<td class = "number">103</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapX">CHAPTER X.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname"> +<span class = "pagenum">12</span> +A Shot from the Long Gun</td> +<td class = "number">114</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXI">CHAPTER XI.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">The Battle alongside the Bellevite</td> +<td class = "number">125</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXII">CHAPTER XII.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">The Prisoner of War</td> +<td class = "number">136</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">After the Battle</td> +<td class = "number">146</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">The Beginning of a Chase</td> +<td class = "number">157</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXV">CHAPTER XV.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">A Chase off the Bermudas</td> +<td class = "number">168</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">The Confederate Steamer Yazoo</td> +<td class = "number">179</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXVII">CHAPTER XVII.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">A Satisfactory Order</td> +<td class = "number">190</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">Lieutenant Passford in Command</td> +<td class = "number">201</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXIX">CHAPTER XIX.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">Some Trouble on Board the Teaser</td> +<td class = "number">212</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXX">CHAPTER XX.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">Coming to the Point</td> +<td class = "number">223</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXXI">CHAPTER XXI.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname"> +<span class = "pagenum">13</span> +On a Dark and Foggy Night</td> +<td class = "number">234</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXXII">CHAPTER XXII.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">A Variety of Night Signals</td> +<td class = "number">245</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXXIII">CHAPTER XXIII.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">Another Night Expedition</td> +<td class = "number">256</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXXIV">CHAPTER XXIV.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">Lieutenant Passford on a Mission</td> +<td class = "number">206</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXXV">CHAPTER XXV.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">Christy becomes a Victim</td> +<td class = "number">278</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXXVI">CHAPTER XXVI.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">The Action on the Deck of the Teaser</td> +<td class = "number">289</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXXVII">CHAPTER XXVII.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">A Visit from Colonel Homer Passford</td> +<td class = "number">300</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">An Enterprise for a Dark Night</td> +<td class = "number">311</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXXIX">CHAPTER XXIX.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">The New Mate of the Cotton Schooner</td> +<td class = "number">322</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class = "chapnum" colspan = "2"> +<a class = "plain" href = "#chapXXX">CHAPTER XXX.</a> +</td></tr> +<tr> +<td class = "chapname">The Prize-Master of the Judith</td> +<td class = "number">333</td> +</tr> +</table> + + +<span class = "pagenum">15</span> +<h3 class = "chapter">WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES</h3> + +<hr class = "mid"> + + +<h4 class = "section"><a name = "chapI">CHAPTER I</a></h4> + +<h6>AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR</h6> + + +<p><span class = "smallcaps">"Cornelius!"</span> exclaimed Captain +Passford, as a young man of nineteen was shown into the library of the +magnificent dwelling of the millionnaire at Bonnydale, on the +Hudson.</p> + +<p>"Cornelius Passford, Uncle Horatio," replied the young man, as the +captain rushed to him and extended his hand.</p> + +<p>"I think there can be no mistake about it; and I should have been no +more surprised if Mr. Jefferson Davis had been ushered into my library +at this moment," continued Captain Passford, still retaining the hand of +his nephew. "I understood that you were a soldier in the Confederate +army."</p> + +<p>"I was a soldier; but I am not one just now," replied the visitor, +with some embarrassment in +<span class = "pagenum">16</span> +his manner, though the circumstances were strange enough to account +for it.</p> + +<p>"How are your father and mother and Miss Gerty, Corny?" asked the +uncle of the visitor, giving the young man the name by which he was +generally called both at home and in the family of his uncle.</p> + +<p>"They were all very well when I left them," replied Corny, looking on +the floor, as though he was not altogether satisfied with himself.</p> + +<p>"Of course, you brought letters from your father and Gerty?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir; I brought no letters," replied Corny, and, more than +before, he looked as though he was not enjoying his present visit.</p> + +<p>"No letters!" exclaimed Captain Passford, evidently surprised beyond +measure at the apparent want of kindly feeling on the part of members of +his brother's family in the South.</p> + +<p>"Not a letter, Uncle Horatio," answered Corny, bracing himself up, as +though he realized that he was not presenting a demeanor such as he +thought the occasion required of him.</p> + +<p>"This is very strange," added Captain Passford, with a cloud playing +on his fine features.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">17</span> +"It is war between the North and the South, Uncle Horatio, and I suppose +my father did not feel like writing any letters. Gerty never writes any +letters if she can help it," Corny explained.</p> + +<p>"But Gerty used to write to Florry about once a week."</p> + +<p>"Did she? I didn't know it. She never would write to me when I was +away from home," said Corny, who seemed to be very anxious not to say +anything that was not consistent with the present situation, whatever it +was.</p> + +<p>"When I parted with my brother on board of the Bellevite, both of us +shed tears as we realized that war made enemies of us; but each of us +promised to do all he could for the other in case of need. I am very +sure that there was not the slightest unkind feeling between us. Of +course, I did not expect him to write me the war news, but I think he +could have written a few lines without any allusion to the war," said +Captain Passford, pained at this want of filial affection on the part of +his brother.</p> + +<p>At that moment the bell for tea rang, and the captain invited his +nephew to the table with him. The host was saddened by the absence of +news from +<span class = "pagenum">18</span> +his brother, of any kindly expression from one who was of the same blood +as himself. He was not quite satisfied with Corny's manner, or with the +little he seemed to be willing to say about the rest of the family. It +was certainly very strange that the young man should be there at all, +and his awkwardness and confusion made the visit seem still more +singular.</p> + +<p>It was possible that the young man had just arrived and was fatigued +by the trials and perils of his trip, for he must have come by some +roundabout way; and very likely he felt nervous and uneasy in the midst +of people who were loyal to the government and the Union. Captain +Passford decided to say nothing more to his nephew at present as to the +occasion and the manner of his visit to Bonnydale, and during the +evening meal he avoided all allusion to the war, so far as it was +possible to do so. Mrs. Passford and Florry received him very kindly, +but following the example of the head of the family, they spoke only of +domestic affairs, and of the relations of the two families as they had +been before the war.</p> + +<p>Between the brothers Homer and Horatio Passford, even from their +early boyhood, a remarkably +<span class = "pagenum">19</span> +strong fraternal affection had subsisted. Both of them were high-toned +men, and both of them had always been faithful in the discharge of every +duty to God and man. Each of them had a wife, a son and a daughter, and +two happier families could not have been found on the face of the earth. +They were not only devoted to each other, each within its own circle, +but the two families were as nearly one as it was possible +to be.</p> + +<p>Captain Horatio had formerly been a shipmaster, and had accumulated +an immense fortune. Homer was less fortunate in this respect, and his +tastes were somewhat different from those of his brother. He wanted to +be a planter, and with the financial assistance of his brother, he went +into the business of raising cotton near Mobile, in Alabama. But years +before the war, he had paid off every dollar of his indebtedness to +Horatio, and had made a comfortable fortune besides. The two families +had visited each other as much an possible, and the captain, with his +little family, had been almost to the plantation in the Bellevite, the +magnificent steam-yacht of the Northerner.</p> + +<p>During the preceding winter, Captain Passford, his wife and son, had +visited most of the islands of +<span class = "pagenum">20</span> +the Atlantic; but the health of Miss Florry was considerably impaired, +and the doctors would not permit her to make this sea-voyage, but +recommended her to keep quiet in some southern locality. She had +therefore passed the winter at Glenfield, which was the name of Homer +Passford's plantation. On his return from this long cruise, the owner of +the Bellevite obtained his first news that war existed between the North +and the South from the pilot. The three members of the family on board +of the steamer were greatly distressed over the fact that Florry was +still at the home of her uncle in Alabama, within the enemy's lines.</p> + +<p>Without going on shore, Captain Passford decided to arm his yacht, +which was large enough for a man-of-war, and hasten to Mobile Bay to +bring back his daughter. He was in doubt with regard to the political +feeling of Homer, but believed that he would still adhere to the +government and the Union. It was a part of his mission to bring his +brother and his family to his own home at Bonnydale. Mrs. Passford was +sent on shore in a tug, and Christy, the son, was to go with her; but +the young man, just entering his +<span class = "pagenum">21</span> +seventeenth year, protested against being left at home, and as the +captain believed that a patriotic citizen ought to be willing to give +his all, even his sons, to his country, the young man went with his +father. The mother was as devoted to her country as the father, and +terrible as was the ordeal, she consented to part with him for such a +duty.</p> + +<p>By an event fortunate for him, Captain Passford succeeded in +obtaining an armament for his vessel, as well as an abundant supply of +ammunition; and the vessel was refitted for the perilous service in +which she was to be engaged. At Nassau, Christy made the acquaintance of +a young man who proved to be of great service to the expedition, and the +Bellevite reached her destination in safety, though not without some +rather exciting incidents.</p> + +<p>Captain Passford found that his brother was sincerely and devotedly +attached to the Southern cause. They discussed the great question for +hours upon hours, each striving to convert the other to his own views, +but with no success on the part of either. Homer Passford was a +religious man, conscientious in the discharge of every duty, and nothing +less could be said of his Northern brother. In a short time the owner of +the Bellevite +<span class = "pagenum">22</span> +found that he had fallen into a "hornet's nest," for the planter did not +believe that he ought to allow the steam-yacht to be taken to New York +to become a part of the navy of the Union. He declared his convictions +to his brother, who was compelled to regard the planter as an enemy in +spite of the relations subsisting between them. Both of them placed +their duty to their own country above every other consideration.</p> + +<p>Captain Passford was obliged to get his daughter out of his brother's +house by stealth, and to make his escape with the Bellevite as best he +could.</p> + +<p>Major Lindley Pierson, in command of Fort Gaines, at the entrance to +Mobile Bay, had permitted the steamer to pass, having been deceived by +his younger brother. He had been a frequent visitor at the mansion of +Homer Passford, attracted there, it appeared, by the lovely daughter of +the planter's brother, remaining there for the winter. Perhaps on her +account, perhaps with the fear that the Bellevite was not what she had +appeared to be, he had gone to the vicinity of Glenfield to inquire into +the mission of the steamer.</p> + +<p>Homer Passford, acting upon his convictions, gave information which +resulted in an attempt to +<span class = "pagenum">23</span> +capture the Bellevite. Christy, not informed in regard to the plans of +his father to depart at once in the steamer, was "Taken by the Enemy," +and had some very stirring adventures in the bay. But the steamer +escaped from the numerous enemies that awaited her, and Christy got on +board of her at the last minute. The Bellevite ran the gantlet of the +forts in a dense fog, and brought Miss Florry in safety to her home at +Bonnydale.</p> + +<p>Corny Passford, whose unexpected arrival at Bonnydale had excited the +astonishment of his uncle, was a year older than Christy, and had +enlisted in the Confederate service at the insistence of Major Pierson. +Without knowing anything in particular about the matter, his uncle +believed, at his visit to Glenfield, that Corny was as earnestly devoted +to the Southern cause as his father, judging entirely from the fact that +he had enlisted as a soldier.</p> + +<p>Corny had a good appetite, and a good supper was set before him. He +ate like a hungry boy, and the fact that he was within the enemy's lines +did not seem to have any influence upon him. His aunt helped him till he +seemed to be filled to repletion, for she thought he must have been +accustomed +<span class = "pagenum">24</span> +of late only to the most indifferent fare. After supper, he followed his +uncle back to the library; but he seemed less embarrassed than +before.</p> + +<p>"Where is Christy, Uncle Horatio?" asked Corny, as he seated himself +in the library. "I have not seen him yet; and as I was away at the fort +when you went to Glenfield, I did not see him then."</p> + +<p>"I don't know where he is just now, though he is in or about the +house most of the time," replied the captain. "Are you still in the +army, Corny?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir, I am here. I did not like the service very well, and I +thought I should like the navy better. The reason why I did not like it +as well as at first was because I was no longer in Major Pierson's +battalion," replied Corny, looking at his uncle as though he expected a +question from him.</p> + +<p>"Then Major Pierson is no longer in the army?" added the captain.</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, he is; but I think he was the maddest man in the army soon +after you left."</p> + +<p>"Indeed! Why was he so mad?"</p> + +<p>"Because he was removed from command of +<span class = "pagenum">25</span> +Fort Gaines for letting you pass it in your steamer."</p> + +<p>"Then he is still in the service?" asked Captain Passford.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; he is a good officer, and he will make his way, if he was +guilty of a blunder in letting the Bellevite pass the fort."</p> + +<p>"Then you intend to be a sailor, Corny?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; in fact, I am a sailor now. I had been in your yacht so +much that I knew something about the ropes, and I had no difficulty in +getting transferred, as sailors were wanted more than soldiers," replied +Corny, who seemed to be studying the figures in the carpet.</p> + +<p>"But if you went into the navy, how do you happen to be in New York?" +asked Captain Passford.</p> + +<p>"I suppose you remember the Dauphine, which was fitting out when you +were in Mobile Bay?" continued Corny.</p> + +<p>"I heard the name, and was told that she was one of the vessels that +tried to prevent the escape of the Bellevite."</p> + +<p>"I was sent on board of her; but, in coming out of the bay, she was +captured by a Federal +<span class = "pagenum">26</span> +vessel, and sent to New York. I hid myself when the crew were taken off, +and came in her here," replied Corny, still studying the carpet.</p> + +<p>Captain Passford had not heard of the capture of the Dauphine. He was +not quite satisfied with the story of his nephew. But he was obliged to +go to the city, and he handed the guest over to his wife and daughter. +Corny wanted to see Christy, and Mrs. Passford had begun to be uneasy +that he did not return at dark. Corny went out to find him.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">27</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapII">CHAPTER II</a></h4> + +<h6>A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION</h6> + + +<p>The Bellevite lay in the river, off the estate of Captain Passford, +though at a little distance below the mansion, from the windows of which +she could not be seen. Corny walked down the avenue and over the hill, +in the direction of the anchorage of the steamer. The boat-house was +near the mansion, and to the float attached to it a variety of small +craft were made fast. But the water was not deep enough there for the +Bellevite. Corny had been to Bonnydale, and passed many weeks there, so +that he was familiar with the localities.</p> + +<p>As he passed the boat-house, he noticed that the Florence, which was +Christy's favorite sailing craft, was not at her moorings, and he +concluded that his cousin was away in her on some excursion. When he +reached the boundary line of the estate, he discovered the sailboat with +her bow on the beach, though her mainsail was still set. A +<span class = "pagenum">28</span> +gentle breeze was blowing, with which the Florence could make good +headway; but there seemed to be no one on board of her. Corny watched +her for some time, waiting for the appearance of Christy. It was not an +easy matter to climb the high fence which bounded the estate, and the +planter's son could hail the boat, and be taken on board of her as soon +as she got under way again.</p> + +<p>But Christy did not appear, and it was getting darker and darker +every minute. Something must have attracted the attention of the skipper +on shore, and he had doubtless landed. But while Corny was waiting for +his cousin, he saw two men making their way through the grove on the +other side of the fence towards the river. One of them he recognized, +and gave a peculiar whistle, which drew the two men in the direction +from which it came.</p> + +<p>"Is that you, major?" asked Corny, in a low tone.</p> + +<p>"Hush! You are a simpleton, Corny!" exclaimed one of the men, as he +came up to the palisades of the fence. "Didn't I tell you not to call me +by name?"</p> + +<p>"I didn't call you by name," replied Corny, smartly.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">29</span> +"You called me major, and that is about the same thing," added the +speaker on the other side of the fence.</p> + +<p>"The woods are full of majors now, both in the North and the South, +and no one knows you especially by that name. But I will remember in +future, Mr. Mulgate," replied Corny.</p> + +<p>"That sounds better, Neal. If we lose the game it will be by your +blundering," continued the major, or Mulgate, as he preferred to be +called on the present occasion.</p> + +<p>"I suppose you have no talent for blundering, Mulgate; and that is +the reason why you happen to be here at the present moment," retorted +Corny, not at all pleased with the speech of the other.</p> + +<p>"None of your impudence, Neal!" said Mulgate, sharply.</p> + +<p>"If you lose the game, you say that it will be by my blundering, +Mulgate," continued Corny. "That makes it seem as though I was to bear +the responsibility of a failure; and I don't like the looks of things. +If I am to be responsible for a failure, I ought to have something to +say about the manner of conducting the enterprise."</p> + +<p>"Shut up, Neal! We have no time to talk +<span class = "pagenum">30</span> +nonsense of that sort. I am to conduct the enterprise, and you are to +obey my orders. That is the whole of it," replied Mulgate, impatient at +the position taken by the young man. "You are still under my command, +and you will obey me or take the consequences. Now to business: what +have you learned?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing at all," answered Corny, rather sullenly.</p> + +<p>"What have you been about? Haven't you discovered anything?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing at all; I have but just arrived here. I took supper with my +uncle, and told him the fish story you invented for me."</p> + +<p>"Did he believe it?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know whether he did or not; but he and the rest of the +family treated me very handsomely, which made me feel meaner than a dead +catfish."</p> + +<p>"Never mind your feelings; you are here to assist in a great +enterprise, and you are expected to do your duty to your country without +regard to your own notions. Report what you have done."</p> + +<p>"I haven't done anything but introduce myself into the house, and +explain how I happen to be +<span class = "pagenum">31</span> +here," replied Corny, as he proceeded to give the details of his meeting +with his uncle.</p> + +<p>"Is Miss Florry at home?" asked Mulgate, in a more gentle tone, as +though he had a deeper interest in the direction he had indicated.</p> + +<p>"She is at home, and was at the supper table with us."</p> + +<p>"How does she seem to be?" asked the stranger.</p> + +<p>"First rate; she is as jolly as though no one ever heard of such a +thing as war," replied Corny, with enthusiasm.</p> + +<p>"Did she say anything about her stay at Glenfield?" inquired Mulgate, +whose interest seemed to mount to the pitch of anxiety.</p> + +<p>"Not a word; she did not even hint at Glenfield, or anything +connected with it," answered Corny; and, after the sharp tones of the +other, he seemed to take pleasure in thorning him with negative +answers.</p> + +<p>"Did she say anything about me?"</p> + +<p>"Not a word."</p> + +<p>"Didn't she mention my name?"</p> + +<p>"She did not."</p> + +<p>"Didn't she ask about my health, or want to know where I was?"</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">32</span> +"Florry did not allude to you in any manner. If she wanted to know where +you were, she did not say a word about it to me," replied Corny, in the +most decided tones.</p> + +<p>It was still light enough to see that there was something like a +frown on the brow of Mr. Mulgate. He had evidently believed that the +daughter of the millionnaire of Bonnydale was interested in him, and his +inquiries indicated that he expected her to ask about him; but she had +not made the remotest allusion to him. Besides, she was as jolly as she +had been at Glenfield, when war was a matter of the future, which few +believed would ever be realized. She had not grown thin and pale during +her absence from him, and she did not appear to be wasting her sweetness +in pining for him.</p> + +<p>"What in the world are you talking about, Mulgate?" suddenly demanded +his companion on his side of the fence. "I thought we were here for +business, and you are talking about some girl."</p> + +<p>"She is the lady of whom I spoke to you; she spent the last winter +with her uncle at the Glenfield Plantation. I am interested in her," +replied +<span class = "pagenum">33</span> +Mulgate, as though he had given a sufficient excuse for the questions he +had put to Corny.</p> + +<p>"Are we to capture her and take her back to the State of Alabama?" +demanded the other, who seemed to be a gentleman of forty at least.</p> + +<p>"I don't know; that depends; but, Captain Carboneer, I hope you will +be my friend in this little matter," added Mulgate.</p> + +<p>"I don't know any thing about the little matter; but I am not willing +to jeopardize the enterprise that brings us here to help you out with a +love affair," replied the older gentleman. "There will be time enough +for you to look for a wife after the war is over, and you have more time +to attend to the affair."</p> + +<p>"Mr. Mulgate, I should like to know something more about your +intentions before we go any farther," interposed Corny, in a tone so +decided that Mulgate had to listen to him, especially as he had obtained +so little sympathy from the elderly gentleman.</p> + +<p>"Speak quick then, for we have no time to spare," added Mulgate.</p> + +<p>"Do I understand from what you have said that you intend to take +Florry Passford back to +<span class = "pagenum">34</span> +the South with you?" asked Corny, with his teeth closely pressed +together, so that it was rather difficult for him to speak +intelligibly.</p> + +<p>"I answer, as I did before, that I don't know what I shall do; that +depends," replied Mulgate evasively.</p> + +<p>"Depends upon what?"</p> + +<p>"I have no time to discuss that matter now," added Mulgate, turning +to his companion.</p> + +<p>"But I have time to say that I will ruin the whole enterprise if you +mean to commit an outrage such as you appear to have in your mind," +replied Corny, as vigorously as though he had been the military equal of +the one he had called "major" by accident.</p> + +<p>"Do you mean to be a traitor to your country, Neal?" demanded Mulgate +angrily.</p> + +<p>"Neither to my country nor to my uncle."</p> + +<p>"Your uncle is a Yankee, and is doing all he can to subjugate the +free South. He has no rights which we are bound to respect," said +Mulgate fiercely.</p> + +<p>"This will never do," interposed Captain Carboneer; and this may or +may not have been his real name. "We are getting into a disagreement at +the very first step of our enterprise."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">35</span> +"I don't know you, Captain Carboneer, but I wish to be understood as +meaning every word I have said; and I will wreck this enterprise, if I +am shot for it, rather than allow my cousin to be carried off in +connection with it," protested Corny stoutly. "I will do my duty +faithfully; but I will not assist in robbing my uncle of his +daughter."</p> + +<p>"You are quite right, young man; and I would rather be sent to the +fort as a prisoner of war than take part in such an enterprise," added +Captain Carboneer, in mild but forcible tones.</p> + +<p>"You astonish me, captain!" said Mulgate. "Why do you talk about an +outrage? I claim to be a gentleman, and to be above any such <ins class += "correction" title = "text reads 'villany'">villainy</ins> as you and +Corny suggest. I do not propose to rob Captain Passford of his daughter. +What I may do depends—depends upon the consent of the lady. If she +is willing to go with me"—</p> + +<p>"She is not willing to go with you; and she never will be willing to +go with you," Corny interposed. "I don't know what you are thinking +about, Mr. Mulgate; but Florry cares no more about you than she does +about Uncle Pedro, my father's house-servant. She saw you both at +Glenfield, and I can't tell which she likes best."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">36</span> +"We had better drop the subject," added Captain Carboneer.</p> + +<p>"Drop it, then," replied Mulgate sullenly. "Get over the fence, +Corny. Nobody is using that sailboat, and we may as well take it for a +while."</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">37</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapIII">CHAPTER III</a></h4> + +<h6>THE DIGNIFIED NAVAL OFFICER</h6> + + +<p>Corny climbed over the high palisade fence, with the assistance of +Mulgate, and the party walked to the sailboat at the beach below. By +this time it was dark, though the gloom was not very dense under a clear +sky.</p> + +<p>"Do you know anything about this boat, Corny?" asked Mulgate, as the +trio approached the handsome craft, for such she was beyond a doubt.</p> + +<p>The crusty tones of the speaker indicated that he had not yet +recovered from the set-back he had plainly received in the late +conversation, though he denied that he had any evil intentions in regard +to Miss Florry.</p> + +<p>"I do; I know all about her," replied Corny.</p> + +<p>"Well, why don't you tell what you know?" demanded Mulgate.</p> + +<p>"What do you wish to know about her?" inquired +<span class = "pagenum">38</span> +Corny, who was disposed to maintain his equality in spite of the +military rank of his companion, which he had incautiously betrayed in +the beginning.</p> + +<p>"Whose boat is it?" asked Mulgate.</p> + +<p>"She belongs to my cousin, Christy Passford."</p> + +<p>"Where is he now?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know, sir."</p> + +<p>"Was he at the house when you were there?"</p> + +<p>"He was not; and his mother had become rather anxious because he did +not return to supper," replied Corny, becoming a little more +pliable.</p> + +<p>"This is a rather large boat, Captain Carboneer," added Mulgate, as +he surveyed the trim sloop. "She is rather too large for our +purpose."</p> + +<p>"She will answer very well," replied the captain, as he applied his +shoulder to the stem of the craft to ascertain how heavily she rested +upon the beach. "Now, do you know whether there is any person on board +of that steamer?"</p> + +<p>"Of course, I don't know anything about it," said Mulgate.</p> + +<p>"I am sure I don't," added Corny.</p> + +<p>"I sent you up here to ascertain all about the Bellevite," continued +Mulgate, rather sharply.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">39</span> +"I have not had time to find out anything," Corny explained, with some +indignation in his tones.</p> + +<p>"Corny has done as well as he could in the time he has had to do it +in," interposed Captain Carboneer. "I think you are inclined to stir up +bad blood with this young man, Mulgate. It appears now that you have a +purpose of your own to accomplish, and that Corny will not allow you to +carry it out."</p> + +<p>"My first purpose is the same as your own," replied Mulgate.</p> + +<p>"You admit that you have a second object; and I cannot tell when you +will decide to make it your principal purpose," added Captain Carboneer. +"I am not satisfied with the situation. I have done everything I can to +accomplish our patriotic object. You endanger it by your crusty manner +to this young man, who seems to be willing to do his duty; and he is in +a position to be of great service to our enterprise."</p> + +<p>"If you think it is necessary, I will take off my cap to this young +man," said Mulgate, with a sneer in his tones.</p> + +<p>"Be reasonable, Mulgate."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">40</span> +"What can I do more than I have done?" demanded the military gentleman, +as his title indicated that he was.</p> + +<p>"The first thing to do on your part is to renounce this idea of +taking a lady passenger with you in the steamer," replied Captain +Carboneer, in a very decided tone. "Women are not permitted on board of +naval vessels, especially in time of war."</p> + +<p>"I don't think I have any idea to renounce," muttered Mulgate.</p> + +<p>"You certainly hinted that you desired to take a lady on board, and +convey her to our destination," said the captain, rather earnestly.</p> + +<p>"Not against her will, as you and Corny will have it," protested +Mulgate.</p> + +<p>"Do you renounce that plan or that idea, whatever it may be?"</p> + +<p>"I do not renounce it. If the lady is willing to go with me, as I +believe she will be, I know of no reason why she should not go as a +passenger," argued Mulgate.</p> + +<p>"I think we had better abandon the enterprise in the beginning, for I +think we can be of more service to our country at liberty than within +the +<span class = "pagenum">41</span> +walls of Fort Lafayette," added the captain, with not a little disgust +mingled with his indignation.</p> + +<p>Whatever his object in visiting this locality, he was clearly a +high-toned gentleman, and the idea of prosecuting a love adventure in +connection with what he regarded as a highly patriotic duty was +repulsive to his nature. He found by trial that the Florence was not +grounded very hard on the beach, for the tide was rising, and he drew +the boat farther up from the water, as he turned to walk away from the +spot.</p> + +<p>"Am I to understand that you retire from this enterprise, Captain +Carboneer?" asked Mulgate.</p> + +<p>"Am I to understand that you renounce your scheme to carry off a +woman as a part of the enterprise?" demanded the captain.</p> + +<p>"I do not renounce it, though I have no intention to carry off a +woman, as you put it. The most I have asked is that she be permitted to +go as a passenger of her own free will," replied Mulgate.</p> + +<p>"She never will go with him of her own free will," interposed +Corny.</p> + +<p>"I will not have a woman on board of the +<span class = "pagenum">42</span> +vessel, whether she goes willingly or otherwise. Do you renounce that +scheme entirely?"</p> + +<p>"I think you are driving me into a small corner, Captain +Carboneer."</p> + +<p>"After what you have said before, I think I am fully justified in +what I require. With your private affairs, I have nothing to do. If you +choose to marry this young lady, I have nothing to say about that; but +no woman can be a passenger in a war vessel under my command. After I +have landed you at Bermuda or Nassau, I shall not attempt to run the +blockade, which is now enforced, in order to land you and the lady. +Besides, we may be in action at any time after we get under way."</p> + +<p>"Then if I do not yield the point, you intend to leave me to carry +out this enterprise alone?" demanded Mulgate.</p> + +<p>"In that case, I wish to go with you, Captain Carboneer," added +Corny, with emphasis. "But I want it understood that I shall not leave +Bonnydale without telling my uncle to look out for his daughter."</p> + +<p>"Then you mean to be a traitor, Corny?" said Mulgate angrily.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">43</span> +"Call it what you like."</p> + +<p>"All this is absurd, Mulgate," interposed Captain Carboneer. "Without +my resources, you can do nothing at all, and it would be foolish for you +to attempt the capture of the vessel. You are not a sailor or a +navigator, and you could do nothing with the vessel if you succeeded in +getting her to sea."</p> + +<p>"I have no doubt I could find a hundred men in New York, including +half a score of navigators, to assist me in this enterprise," replied +Mulgate.</p> + +<p>"I have another steamer in view, though the Bellevite is vastly +superior to anything I know of in speed and general fitness. Do as you +think best, Mulgate; and I shall be able to explain in a satisfactory +manner my failure to obtain this vessel."</p> + +<p>"The fault will be mine, I suppose," muttered Mulgate.</p> + +<p>"The court-martial will decide that point," replied the captain.</p> + +<p>Mulgate seemed to be buried in his own reflections, no doubt +suggested by the last remark of the other. Possibly he considered that +the failure of such an important enterprise because he had insisted +<span class = "pagenum">44</span> +upon bringing a lady into the affair would not sound well at home. +Whatever he was thinking about, he was greatly agitated, and Captain +Carboneer walked in the direction of the road, half a mile from the +river. He had no time to consider the matter: he must yield at once, or +abandon the scheme.</p> + +<p>"I will do anything you ask, Captain Carboneer!" he shouted, +forgetting, in his excitement, the demand for secrecy.</p> + +<p>The naval officer, as his conversation indicated that he was, turned +and retraced his steps to the beach. He did not seem to be at all +excited because his associate had changed his mind, for in his judgment +it would have been worse than madness for him to persist in his +intentions.</p> + +<p>"I have stated the case as I understand it, and I have nothing more +to say, Mulgate," said he.</p> + +<p>"I renounce my scheme, and I will not ask that the lady be a +passenger even to Bermuda or Nassau," replied Mulgate, though not +without a considerable display of emotion.</p> + +<p>"Very well; that is enough. Nothing more need be said about your +purpose, since you have renounced it. Now we will visit the Bellevite, +<span class = "pagenum">45</span> +and learn what we can in regard to her," said the naval officer, in his +usual quiet manner, and whether he was a Confederate or a Unionist, one +could hardly have failed to be impressed by his dignified +deportment.</p> + +<p>At the request of Captain Carboneer, Mulgate climbed to the forward +deck of the Florence. She was twenty-eight feet long, and her deck +covered more than half of her length. She had a very large cabin for a +boat of her size, which was fitted up with berths, with a cook-room +forward of it, for Christy Passford was often absent a week in her.</p> + +<p>"I think Corny had better go back to the house, and keep an eye on +Christy, so as to make sure that he does not disturb us," suggested +Mulgate, as the planter's son was about to go on board of the yacht.</p> + +<p>"I think we shall want him, and he had better be with us," replied +the captain, as one would speak when he expected to be obeyed.</p> + +<p>Corny climbed up the stem of the Florence. He had never seen the +captain before, and had not even been informed who and what he was; but +he appeared to be a more important person than Mulgate, +<span class = "pagenum">46</span> +and he did not wait for the latter to argue his point. He had sailed in +the Florence very often, and he knew all about her. He took a boathook, +and planted its point on the beach, in readiness to shove off.</p> + +<p>"Not yet, Corny," said the naval officer, as he sprang lightly to the +deck of the sailboat. "Let us see where we are before we do +anything."</p> + +<p>Captain Carboneer seated himself on one of the cushioned seats in the +standing-room, and looked about him. A steamer towing a multitude of +canal boats was approaching, and he waited for it to pass. Then no +steamer or other craft was to be seen on the river.</p> + +<p>"So far as I have been able to discover, there are only two men on +board of the Bellevite, and I think we have not a moment to lose," said +the naval officer, when he saw that the river was clear of everything +that might interfere with his plans. "But we must go on board of her, +and make sure of everything before we commit ourselves."</p> + +<p>"As you said, Captain Carboneer, I am no sailor; and you don't think +of taking the steamer out of the river alone?" added Mulgate.</p> + +<p>"I have not come here on a fool's errand, Major +<span class = "pagenum">47</span> +Pierson," replied the captain. "We are alone now, and we may call things +by their right names."</p> + +<p>"But I don't care to have my name used in this vicinity," interposed +this gentleman, when addressed by his own name.</p> + +<p>"Your wish in this respect shall be respected, Mr. Mulgate. I was +about to say that I had a ship's company all ready to take possession of +this craft, to handle her at sea, and even to fight a battle if +necessary."</p> + +<p>"But where are your ship's company?" asked Mulgate, as he wished +still to be called.</p> + +<p>"I will produce them at the right time. Now you may shove her off, +Corny," added the captain, as he took the wheel.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">48</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapIV">CHAPTER IV</a></h4> + +<h6>CORNY PASSFORD PLAYS ANOTHER PART</h6> + + +<p>Captain Carboneer brought the Florence about, and headed her across +the river. The Bellevite was moored a short distance from the estate +down the stream.</p> + +<p>"I have been up here before to-day," said the naval officer, as the +boat moved away from the shore, assuring him that no one could be near +enough to hear what he said.</p> + +<p>"We only reached New York yesterday, and I don't see how you can have +picked up a ship's company in that time," replied Mulgate.</p> + +<p>"I sent the men before I came myself. I have stationed them in +various places on the river, where I can get them when I want them; and +I shall want them before the sun rises to-morrow morning," replied the +captain.</p> + +<p>"To-night!" exclaimed Mulgate, who seemed to be astounded at the +revelation.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">49</span> +"Yes, to-night; in a few hours from now. I have obtained all the +information I could in regard to the steamer, and what we do must be +done at once. The Bellevite, as they call her now, has not yet been +handed over to the government, though she has been accepted. They are +waiting for something, though I don't know what, and she may be sent to +the navy yard to-morrow; and then it will be too late for us to do +anything."</p> + +<p>"But to-night—that is rather hurried," added Mulgate, +musing.</p> + +<p>Very likely he was thinking of the beautiful Miss Florry in the +elegant mansion a short distance up the river. Without a doubt he was +Major Pierson, since the naval officer had addressed him by this name +and title. He had often met the young lady at Glenfield Plantation, and +possibly his sudden visit to the North had not been without some thought +of her. However it may have been with her, he was at least very much +interested in Miss Florry.</p> + +<p>The fact that she was a "Yankee" did not make her less beautiful, and +it did not make her any the less the daughter of a millionnaire. No one +could say that he was mercenary, however, and no one +<span class = "pagenum">50</span> +could say why he was not as deeply interested in the daughter of the +planter, for she was hardly less beautiful, though her father was not +considered a millionnaire, to say nothing of a ten-millionnaire. Major +Pierson did not tell what he was thinking about; but he was certainly +astounded and badly set back when the naval officer intimated that the +capture of the Bellevite might be undertaken that night.</p> + +<p>"You can see for yourself that we must strike at once, or there may +be nothing to strike at," replied Captain Carboneer.</p> + +<p>"But we shall have no time to work up the case," suggested the +major.</p> + +<p>"The case is all worked up, and there is nothing more to work up," +replied the captain, as he headed the boat for the steamer.</p> + +<p>Major Pierson said no more, but he was as much dissatisfied with the +promptness of the naval officer as though he had said it in so many +words. It would be difficult to imagine how he expected to manage his +case with Miss Florry, since he could not enter the house without +betraying his identity. Perhaps he intended to lie in wait for her in +the grounds of the estate, and trust that her +<span class = "pagenum">51</span> +interest in him would induce her to keep his secret.</p> + +<p>"Is that you, Christy?" called a voice from the steamer, as the +Florence approached the Bellevite.</p> + +<p>"Answer him, Corny," said Captain Carboneer, in a low voice. "Say +'yes,' and ask who it is that speaks."</p> + +<p>"Yes," repeated Corny. "Who are you?"</p> + +<p>"Sampson," replied the man on board of the steamer.</p> + +<p>"And who is with him," added the captain.</p> + +<p>"Are you alone on board?" demanded Corny, varying his speech a little +from his instructions.</p> + +<p>"No; Warping is on board, but he has gone to sleep in the +pilot-house. Do you want him?"</p> + +<p>"No; but you wish to take a couple of friends on board to obtain the +measure of a gun-carriage," continued Captain Carboneer.</p> + +<p>"No; I don't want Warping; I only wanted to know if he was on board," +repeated Corny. "I have a couple of friends here who want to measure a +gun-carriage to-night, for they have to leave in the morning."</p> + +<p>"Very well, young man; you understand yourself +<span class = "pagenum">52</span> +very well," said the captain, in tones of approval.</p> + +<p>By this time Captain Carboneer had brought the boat alongside the +accommodation steps, the lower part of which were hoisted up to prevent +any water tramps from coming on board without permission. But when Corny +had delivered the last message, the steps were lowered, and the Florence +made fast to them. Corny was told to lead the way, and act as though he +were Christy Passford, and owned the ship in his own right.</p> + +<p>The planter's son went up the steps, and the other two followed him, +though the naval officer had really ascertained all he wished to know. +There were only two ship-keepers on board, and they would be no obstacle +in the way of the ship's company to which the captain had alluded. But +the leader of the enterprise had another object in view, though it was +only secondary in its nature. He was afraid to overburden the mind of +Corny, and he said nothing more.</p> + +<p>"Is everything all right on board, Sampson?" asked Corny, as he +stepped down upon the deck of the vessel.</p> + +<p>"All right, Christy," replied the man.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">53</span> +"I am glad to hear it. Is there anything new?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing at all, Christy. I have been overhauling the boilers a +little to-day for the want of something to do, and they are in +first-rate condition. As you told me to-day that we might expect the +order to report at the navy yard at any minute, I thought I would have +everything as nearly ready as it could be."</p> + +<p>"You have done very well, Sampson," added Corny, approvingly. "We are +to get under way early in the morning, and if father gets home he will +start the steamer as soon as he comes. He went to the city this evening, +and probably he will bring the order with him," continued Corny, making +use of the information he had obtained in the house.</p> + +<p>"Where is this long gun, my man?" asked Captain Carboneer, taking a +measure from his pocket.</p> + +<p>"Forward, sir," replied Sampson, as he led the way.</p> + +<p>The captain kept some distance behind the ship-keeper, and took Corny +by the arm to detain him.</p> + +<p>"Tell him to get up steam at once," whispered +<span class = "pagenum">54</span> +the leader of the party, as he hastened forward to the long midship gun, +where he proceeded to take his measurements as though he were in real +earnest, though it was so dark that he could not possibly see the marks +on his tape, even if he tried to do so.</p> + +<p>"You say that everything is ready to start the fires, Sampson?" said +Corny, as soon as he had a chance to speak to the ship-keeper.</p> + +<p>"Everything is ready, Christy, and I have only to touch the match to +the shavings to make a beginning," replied Sampson. "Is there any news +about my appointment in the engine-room, Christy?"</p> + +<p>"Not yet, Sampson; but the papers will soon come, and I am almost +willing to guarantee your appointment."</p> + +<p>"Mr. Vapoor has already spoken a good word for me."</p> + +<p>"All right, Sampson; then you are sure of the position. I am very +sure that we shall get the order before morning to move the steamer over +to the navy yard, and I think you had better start the fires at once, +Sampson," continued Corny, making himself as much at home on board of +the +<span class = "pagenum">55</span> +steamer as though he had really been the person he was supposed +to be.</p> + +<p>"All right, Christy; and if the order don't come as soon as you +expect it, we can bank the fires, and no harm will be done," replied the +oiler, for such was his position on board, though he was evidently +expecting something better.</p> + +<p>By this time Captain Carboneer had finished taking the measure of the +gun-carriage, though he had not been able to see anything. But he had +been through all the forms, and that answered his purpose just as well. +He declared that he had no further business on board, and the trio went +to the accommodation ladder. Sampson had called his sleeping companion, +and already the black smoke began to pour out of the smokestack.</p> + +<p>"That was all very handsomely done," said Major Pierson, as they +stepped on board of the Florence.</p> + +<p>"Everything worked very well; but it was all owing to the fact that +the ship-keeper thought that Corny was some other person," replied the +captain.</p> + +<p>"I know that he took him for Christy Passford, and I have had some +experience with Christy," +<span class = "pagenum">56</span> +replied the major, recalling his attempts to prevent the Bellevite from +escaping from Mobile Bay. "He is a smart fellow, as the Yankees would +say, and it is fortunate that he is not here at the present time."</p> + +<p>"He can't be very far off," suggested Corny. "He was expected back to +supper, and I wanted to see him, for he is my cousin. He must be about +here somewhere."</p> + +<p>"Never mind whether he is or not; we have finished our business here, +and the harvest is ripe for the sickle. We will leave this boat just +where we found it, for I have a rowboat a little farther down the +river," continued Captain Carboneer.</p> + +<p>"I suppose I ought to return to my uncle's house," suggested Corny. +"If they miss me they will be looking about here to ascertain what has +become of me."</p> + +<p>"I think you had better not try to relieve their anxiety to-night. If +they are worried about you, they will get over it in the morning when +they find the steamer is missing," said Captain Carboneer, with +something like a chuckle in his tones when he pictured the surprise of +the "Yankees" in making the discovery that the Bellevite had +<span class = "pagenum">57</span> +taken to herself wings, and sped on her way to the South.</p> + +<p>"I don't think they will worry about me," added Corny, laughing. "I +was afraid they might think I was here to capture the city of New York, +or something of that sort."</p> + +<p>"I think you had better not undeceive them to-night," replied the +captain, as he ran the yacht upon the beach near where he had found +her.</p> + +<p>"Everything looks exceedingly well for our enterprise."</p> + +<p>"If you get that steamer into Mobile Bay"—</p> + +<p>"I don't intend to get her into the bay; that would be folly, and I +shall run no risks among the blockaders, for a single shot might give +her back to her present owners."</p> + +<p>"No matter; if you only get her, and she is under the flag of the +Confederacy, it will put me back where I was when she went into the bay +by a Yankee trick," added Major Pierson.</p> + +<p>"After the war, if you wish to see the young lady, you will have more +time to attend to the affair, and I shall wish you every success then," +said the captain lightly.</p> + +<p>"How long do you think the war will last, +<span class = "pagenum">58</span> +Captain Carboneer?" asked the major, in this connection.</p> + +<p>"Possibly it may last a year, though if we can break up that +blockade, it will not last six months longer."</p> + +<p>The trio landed on the beach, and the naval officer made sure that +the Florence was securely fixed in the gravel. The party walked down +stream, embarked in the boat of which the captain had spoken. It was +pulled by two men, and after they had gone about a mile, the captain +began to blow a boatswain's whistle which he took from his pocket.</p> + +<p>But they had hardly jumped down on the beach before Christy Passford +opened the cabin door of the yacht, and crept out with the utmost +care.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">59</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapV">CHAPTER V</a></h4> + +<h6>CAPTAIN CARBONEER AND HIS PARTY</h6> + + +<p>As Captain Carboneer blew his whistle, a mile below the moorings of +the Bellevite, an occasional response came from the shore. Everything +was remarkably quiet on the river, though at long intervals a steamer +passed on its way up or down the stream. The signals made by the naval +officer were not loud, and the replies, made without the aid of any +instrument, were quite feeble. One might have taken them for some frolic +on the part of the boys.</p> + +<p>"I don't quite understand this business," said Major Pierson, after +he had listened a while to the signals. "I suppose from the answers you +get, that your men are all along the river, and the woods seem to be +full of them."</p> + +<p>"I have no doubt they are all here," replied Captain Carboneer. "I +have been in this vicinity all day, and I have made good use of my time. +I +<span class = "pagenum">60</span> +believe the Bellevite belongs to the Confederacy, and it shall be no +fault of mine if the goods are not delivered in good order and +condition."</p> + +<p>"My father was confident that he should obtain her at Nassau, though +he was mistaken," added the major.</p> + +<p>"But when she went within our lines, we were all satisfied that she +was ours. I have not yet been able to understand why she was permitted +to escape."</p> + +<p>"If you mean by that to cast any blame upon those who did their best +to prevent her escape, Captain Carboneer, you wrong them grossly," said +Major Pierson. "She came on a friendly visit to the plantation of +Colonel Passford; but this gentleman, though the owner of the steamer +was his own brother, promptly gave information of her presence in the +creek, and did all he could to have her captured. No man could have +sacrificed more to his patriotism than he did."</p> + +<p>"I do not reflect on him or on any one; I only wonder how the +Bellevite contrived to escape when several steamers were sent out to +capture her," added the captain.</p> + +<p>"The son of the owner of the Bellevite was a +<span class = "pagenum">61</span> +prisoner of mine, for when I had my brother arrested for desertion, this +young man was with him. The only mistake I made was in not putting him +in irons. The captain of my tug proved to be a traitor to the +Confederacy, and this fellow, with Christy Passford, did the most of the +mischief in preventing the capture of the steamer."</p> + +<p>"I was told that he was a smart boy," added the naval officer.</p> + +<p>"He is all of that; and I think it was very fortunate that he did not +happen to be at home when we visited the Bellevite just now," said Major +Pierson, who evidently had a proper respect for the abilities of the +millionnaire's son.</p> + +<p>"I do not see that his presence in his father's mansion, if he had +been there, could have made any difference," added the captain, as he +sounded his whistle again, and heard a faint response from the shore. +"As long as he was not actually on board of the steamer, he was +harmless."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he was, though I have the feeling that it would have been +otherwise. There was a whistle from the shore."</p> + +<p>"I heard it, and I understand it. Haslett has done his whole duty, I +judge," replied Captain Carboneer.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">62</span> +"Who is Haslett?" asked the major curiously. "I never heard of him +before."</p> + +<p>"He is to be the first lieutenant of the Bellevite."</p> + +<p>"You seem to have a full supply of officers and men, Captain +Carboneer," added Major Pierson, apparently a little disconcerted. "I do +not see that I am of the least use here, for you seem to have done +everything without consulting me."</p> + +<p>"In naval matters I have; but I give you full credit for the planning +of the enterprise," replied the captain, in his softest tones.</p> + +<p>"When I was removed from my command because I allowed the steamer to +pass the forts, I felt that a great injustice had been done to me. I did +all I could to effect the capture of the vessel, but the attempt was a +failure," argued the major. "The shot hole through the bow of the Belle +utterly wrecked her, and the force on board of her could do nothing, and +Christy Passford had brought my own tug to bear against me. Why, the +Bellevite actually saved the force on board of the Belle from drowning. +A violent gale came up, and that did a great deal to nullify all our +efforts. But I think I did my whole duty."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">63</span> +"I have no doubt of it, Major Pierson; and for that reason you were sent +on this mission; and I am confident that the success of the enterprise +will restore you to your former command, or give you another quite as +good," said Captain Carboneer, as consolation to the military arm of the +expedition.</p> + +<p>"But I cannot see that I have been of any use to this enterprise, and +I might as well have staid at home."</p> + +<p>"You are too modest by half, major. You planned the expedition, and +suggested that Corny should take part in it, as he would have the +<i>entrée</i> to the residence of Captain Passford. But, being a +mere boy, he could not be sent alone, and your services were likely to +be of the most important character. It is no fault of yours that we +found everything made ready for us, as it were. It might have been quite +different, and the burden of the action might have rested upon you. It +is all right as it is."</p> + +<p>"I am satisfied," added the major, "though I think it was no more +than right that you should have consulted me in regard to your methods, +of which I am still profoundly ignorant. In getting +<span class = "pagenum">64</span> +up the scheme, I based everything on the fact that Corny could go into +his uncle's house and obtain all the information we needed."</p> + +<p>"The scheme was well concocted; and I shall have the pleasure of +reporting to the government that the military arm of the expedition +conducted the enterprise to a perfect success, the naval force only +doing the duty pointed out by the military."</p> + +<p>"You are very kind, Captain Carboneer," said Major Pierson, who could +not well help being entirely satisfied, and even greatly pleased, with +this happy showing of the final result.</p> + +<p>"By daylight in the morning we shall be outside of Sandy Hook, I +expect. We have no time to waste, and you can see for yourself how the +affair of the young lady would have complicated our operations."</p> + +<p>"How do you intend to convey these men, who seem to be scattered all +along the shores of the river, to the steamer?"</p> + +<p>"They understand my signals, and they will all be ready within an +hour to take a small steamer which will pick them up."</p> + +<p>"But where is the steamer?"</p> + +<p>"She is farther down the river. As you seem +<span class = "pagenum">65</span> +to be a little sensitive to the fact that I have not consulted you in +regard to the naval operations of this enterprise, I can tell you in a +few words all there is of them," continued Captain Carboneer. "As you +are aware, as soon as our plan was matured by you, I left Mobile with +Lieutenant Haslett, though you knew nothing about him, for Nassau. We +had no difficulty in getting out of the bay, for the blockade was not +then enforced. At Nassau I engaged a couple of English engineers, and a +few other officers, with thirty seamen, mostly English, who were looking +for prize-money. I had to take my force to Quebec, for no steamer +offered for New York. I sent them all here in small parties, and Haslett +posted them along the river when I told him they would be needed +to-night."</p> + +<p>"I did not leave Mobile till two weeks later with Corny," added the +major. "But I got here sooner than you did."</p> + +<p>"You were more fortunate in finding a steamer. I believe I have a +capital crew, though I shall obtain more men at Bermuda, or some other +port. There are plenty of good English sailors who are willing to fight +on either side if there is a good +<span class = "pagenum">66</span> +showing for prize-money; and I have no doubt I shall capture a dozen +vessels before we reach the Bermudas, which will fully satisfy them, +especially as the government will pay the value of all vessels we are +compelled to burn on the high seas."</p> + +<p>"You will have the advantage over everything that floats, for I was +told that the Bellevite made twenty knots an hour, and had done +twenty-two," said Major Pierson. "At what time do you think you will get +on board of the steamer?"</p> + +<p>"By one or two in the morning, I hope; but it will depend upon the +steamer Haslett engages, though he told me he had bargained for an old +one with a walking-beam; but that will answer our purpose. I believe he +had to buy her, though she was of no great value."</p> + +<p>At a creek which appeared to be the rendezvous of the conspirators, +the boat left the river; but there was no steamer, though quite a number +of men had gathered there. Leaving the party in the boat to follow out +the remaining details of their enterprise, which, by this time, in the +absence of anything like an obstacle, they regarded as so many mere +formalities, it becomes necessary to make another visit to the mansion +of Captain +<span class = "pagenum">67</span> +Passford. This gentleman had gone to the city upon important business +connected with the fitting out of the Bellevite, and he had not returned +when the clock in the great hall struck ten, which was at about the time +Captain Carboneer and his companions went into the creek five miles down +the river.</p> + +<p>"There is no knowing when your father will come home, Florry," said +Mrs. Passford, as she suspended her work on a stocking she was knitting +for the soldiers. "But I can't imagine what has become of Christy. He +never stays out as late as this unless he tells us of it +beforehand."</p> + +<p>"I am really worried about him, mother," replied the beautiful +daughter, looking up from the stocking on which she was employed. "He +went away in the Florence, and something may have happened to him."</p> + +<p>"I think not, Florry: there has been no storm, or heavy blow, and he +thinks he is as safe in his boat as he is on shore," added Mrs. +Passford, with an effort to control the fears of the daughter. "He may +have gone down to the city. He is very indignant at the delay in giving +the order to have the steamer sent to the navy yard, and +<span class = "pagenum">68</span> +wherever he is, I am confident he is doing something in connection with +the steamer."</p> + +<p>"I wish I knew whether the Florence was at the boathouse," continued +Florry. "He said he was going out in the boat; but perhaps he did not. +Perhaps he is with father."</p> + +<p>"There is the front-door bell," added Mrs. Passford, with a start. +"It cannot be your father or Christy, for both of them have latch-keys. +Who could come here at this time in the evening?"</p> + +<p>"Mr. Paul Vapoor," said the man-servant, who answered the bell.</p> + +<p>The gentleman announced walked into the sitting-room without any +ceremony, for he had long been a familiar visitor. He was dressed in the +full uniform of a chief engineer of the navy. Removing his cap, he +politely bowed to the two ladies; and any one who was looking might have +seen that Miss Florry blushed a little when she saw him; and very likely +if Major Pierson had witnessed the roses on her fair cheek, he might +possibly have concluded that it would have been useless to postpone the +capture of the Bellevite to enable him to fortify his position near +her.</p> + +<p>"I beg your pardon, ladies, for calling so late," +<span class = "pagenum">69</span> +said Mr. Vapoor, as he drew a long envelope from his pocket. "But I +thought Christy might wish to see what is in this envelope before he +retired."</p> + +<p>"Why, what is in it?" asked Mrs. Passford.</p> + +<p>"Christy's commission as a midshipman in the navy."</p> + +<p>"But Christy is not at home, and we are somewhat anxious about him," +added the mother, stating the facts in regard to her son.</p> + +<p>Paul Vapoor volunteered to go in search of him, and left the +house.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">70</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapVI">CHAPTER VI</a></h4> + +<h6>THE CABIN OF THE FLORENCE</h6> + + +<p>If Captain Carboneer had felt any especial interest in the Florence +as a sailing yacht, he might have desired to see the cabin of the craft, +which had always been the delight of Christy Passford. He had expended a +great deal of his pocket-money upon the arrangement and furnishing of +the cabin of his yacht, not only because he spent a considerable portion +of his vacation hours in it, but because it had been a perpetual study +with him to enlarge and improve it.</p> + +<p>It is very difficult to get three pints of liquid into a quart +measure, and it was a conundrum of this sort that Christy was studying +upon when he tried to make a parlor, bedroom, and dining-saloon of the +very limited space in the forward part of the Florence. Though he could +hardly get the three pints into the quart measure, he had done the best +he could, and succeeded to a rather remarkable +<span class = "pagenum">71</span> +degree. But spite of the miracle which had been wrought in the cabin, +Captain Carboneer did not even try the door of the apartment when he and +his companions went on board of the yacht. He was so absorbed in the +enterprise in which he was engaged, that his indifference to the miracle +of the cabin may be excused.</p> + +<p>Even the double doors of the cabin were of handsome wood, elaborately +polished; and they were not secured with the usual appliance of a +padlock, but were provided with an expensive mortise-lock, which could +be operated upon either side. If Captain Carboneer had tried to open +that door, he would have found that it was fastened; but perhaps he +could not have discovered that it had been secured upon the inside. +Unless, therefore, he had taken the trouble to break open the door, he +could not have ascertained that Christy Passford was actually in the +cabin.</p> + +<p>Possibly, if he had opened the door by any means, he would not have +discovered that the proprietor of the boat was in this dainty apartment, +for the skipper had taken a great deal of pains to conceal himself so +that he should not be seen, even if the intruders in the Florence had +<span class = "pagenum">72</span> +succeeded in opening the doors without the aid of the key in his pocket. +Though he had two very nice berths in the cabin, miraculously arranged +as to space, Christy did not occupy one on the present occasion, for in +that case the unbidden visitors would have seen him if their curiosity +had led them to force the doors.</p> + +<p>When the cook of the Florence, usually the skipper of the craft, was +engaged in the practice of the culinary art, he seated himself on what +looked like a box in front of the stove. But the interior of this box +was really a part of the cabin, for it contained the feet of any one +occupying the berth on the starboard side. The cookroom had no end of +bins, lockers and drawers to contain the variety of provisions and +stores necessary to get up a dinner for the skipper and his guests, when +he had any. And even all these places could not contain everything that +was needed on board. Under the two berths were large, though not very +deep, lockers, one of which contained the jib-topsail of the craft, and +other spare sails, while the opposite one was the fuel locker of the +sloop.</p> + +<p>As the boat had not been used for a long time in cruising, the fuel +receptacle was empty, though +<span class = "pagenum">73</span> +a spare gaff-topsail had been thrown into it. This locker was big enough +to admit the body-corporate of the skipper. It was not a particularly +clean place, for a portion of it had been economized for the stowage of +the charcoal, which the skipper preferred to wood. But he did not rebel +at the blackness of the retreat he had chosen, for he wore his boating +dress, which was hardly stylish enough for a dude or a dandy.</p> + +<p>But Skipper Passford did not crawl into this black hole for the fun +of the thing. He had been spending his time in waiting for a movement to +be made in regard to the Bellevite. He staid in the house all the +forenoon, and, after lunch, he sailed down the river in the Florence, +though with no object in doing so beyond passing the time. Not far from +the beach where he had afterwards left the yacht, he discovered a boat +rowed by two men with a third in the stern sheets.</p> + +<p>The breeze was quite gentle, though the Florence would sail at a very +tolerable speed when there was the least apology for a wind. She was +doing so on the present occasion, and Christy had stretched himself out +on the cushioned seat, with the spokes of the wheel where he could steer +without +<span class = "pagenum">74</span> +any exertion, or next to none. The idleness of his days since his return +from the eventful cruise of the Bellevite seemed to have infected him +with an unnatural indolence.</p> + +<p>He felt as though he was rather more than half asleep when he saw the +boat with the two oarsmen. It was going up the river, while he was going +down. He had to luff a little to keep clear of the oars, but he did not +move from his half-recumbent posture. When the boat was alongside, he +glanced idly and carelessly at the person in the stern sheets. Instantly +he was wide awake, though he did not change his position. The person +looked like a gentleman, and Christy was sure that he had seen him +before. A couple of minutes of earnest cudgelling of his brain assured +him that he had seen the stranger in Nassau; that he was one of the many +who wanted to purchase the Bellevite, ostensibly for a merchant vessel, +but really for the Confederate navy.</p> + +<p>After he had run a short distance farther down the river, Christy +came about, the boat being some distance from him, but the gentleman +soon landed and walked up the river on the shore, or very near it. In a +short time, he was joined by another +<span class = "pagenum">75</span> +person, whose form looked familiar to the skipper of the Florence. He +could not identify him, for he was not near enough to him to see his +face. A puff of air came from across the river, and the Florence darted +ahead, and Christy was soon out of sight of the two strangers.</p> + +<p>Near the boundary of his father's estate, he ran the yacht on the +sandy beach, letting her strike the sand hard enough to stick where she +was for half an hour, though she was not likely to get adrift, for the +gentle breeze was blowing her farther on the shore as the tide rose.</p> + +<p>Christy hauled down the jib of the sloop, and then seated himself, or +rather reclined upon the cushions, though in such a position that he +could see the shore, or any persons who came upon it. No one was in +sight, and he had no one to watch. The swash of a great steamer passing +in the channel made his boat roll heavily for a moment, with the forward +part of the bottom resting on the sand. For the want of something better +to think of, he began to put conundrums to himself in the absence of any +other person to perplex with them. What was the gentleman that wanted to +buy a steamer in Nassau doing up the Hudson? This was the +<span class = "pagenum">76</span> +principal one: he could not answer it. He gave it up; as the French have +it, he had to "throw his tongue to the dogs," having no use for it in +this connection.</p> + +<p>But while he was dreaming of the possible mission of the stranger, he +heard voices on the beach. Not deeming it wise to show himself, he +rolled off the cushion upon the floor of the standing-room, and then +fixed himself in a position where he could see and hear what passed +between the speakers. He could see without being seen. It did not +require a second look for him to decide that the second person on the +beach was Major Pierson, though his companion called him Mulgate.</p> + +<p>If Christy had been interested before, he was excited now. The two +speakers were within earshot of the boat, and in the stillness of the +scene he could hear every word that was said. In a few moments he was in +full possession of the statements of the captain and the major in regard +to their intentions; and it appeared that the gentleman he had seen in +Nassau still desired to obtain a steamer.</p> + +<p>Before it was dark, Christy was astonished to behold his cousin Corny +on the other side of the +<span class = "pagenum">77</span> +fence; and he readily understood that he was to take part in the +enterprise in hand. As yet the listener had obtained but little more +than the information in regard to the intention of the visitors. When he +found that they were disposed to take possession of the Florence, and +make their visit to the Bellevite in her, the skipper retired from the +standing-room of the boat to the cabin, where he locked the door, and +put the key in his pocket. When he realized that they really meant to +come on board, he crawled into the space under the starboard berth, and +arranged the sail so that it would conceal him in case the intruders +pushed their investigation into the cabin.</p> + +<p>When he had completed his preparations, he was quite satisfied that +he should not be discovered. The trio came on board, and Christy fixed +himself so that he could hear every word that was said, for there was a +small opening under the berth through which the superfluous length of a +pair of oars could be thrust when not in use.</p> + +<p>Christy, without the remotest suspicion on the part of the plotters +that they could be heard by any living being, and especially not by so +dangerous a character as Christy had proved himself +<span class = "pagenum">78</span> +to be to the peace and dignity of the Confederacy, heard all that was +said, and he obtained a full idea of the intentions of the conspirators. +When they went on board of the Bellevite, he was so excited that he +could no longer remain in his prison, but came out, and crept up the +accommodation ladder to the deck of the steamer. But he was careful not +to show himself, and, having a key to the cabin, he went into it, +locking the door after him. Then he had a chance to think.</p> + +<p>What should he do? He had no force at hand to beat off such a party +as Captain Carboneer mentioned. They might carry out their plot that +very night, as they had talked of doing. Perhaps it would be executed at +once, even while he was on board, and he would then be a prisoner. This +idea was too galling to be considered, and he left the cabin to visit +the wardroom. Going still farther forward, he was surprised to hear the +roar of the flames in the furnaces below. It looked at that moment as +though the Bellevite was doomed to sail under a Confederate flag. But if +he could do nothing more, he could save himself, even if he had to jump +into the river and swim to the shore.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">79</span> +Christy lost no time in making his way to the main deck of the vessel; +but he was careful to avoid the visitors. He went back to the cabin, and +went on deck from it. Then he discovered that the trio were in the act +of descending the accommodation steps. Mounting the rail he saw them +embark in the Florence, and sail down the river. Dismounting from the +rail, he hastened to the engine-room, where he found Sampson getting the +engine ready to be put in motion.</p> + +<p>"Ah, Christy, I thought you had gone," said the oiler.</p> + +<p>"Who were those two men who were on board?" asked Christy, not a +little excited.</p> + +<p>"They were two gentlemen you brought on board, Christy," replied +Sampson, innocently enough.</p> + +<p>"That I brought on board!" exclaimed the skipper of the Florence.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir: and I thought you had gone ashore with them," added the +oiler.</p> + +<p>"I brought no men on board, Sampson! What are you talking about?" +demanded Christy impatiently.</p> + +<p>"Didn't you bring two gentlemen on board, and +<span class = "pagenum">80</span> +didn't one of them want to measure the carriage of the big gun?"</p> + +<p>"No! I did not! I have not seen you before now this evening," +protested Christy.</p> + +<p>"Then I have lost my senses. Didn't you tell me to get up steam, +because the steamer would be moved to the navy yard before daylight in +the morning?" demanded Sampson, bewildered by the denial of the young +man.</p> + +<p>"I see now," added Christy. "You mistook Corny for me."</p> + +<p>Sampson gave him all the details of the visit of the strangers.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">81</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapVII">CHAPTER VII</a></h4> + +<h6>MIDSHIPMAN CHRISTY PASSFORD</h6> + + +<p>"In a word, Sampson, an attempt will be made to-night to capture the +Bellevite, and you have been getting up steam for the conspirators," +said Christy, when the ship-keeper had finished his narrative of the +visit of the trio to the ship.</p> + +<p>"Is that so?" exclaimed Sampson, opening his mouth and his eyes very +wide at the same time. "Why, I had no more doubt that the young man who +was talking to me was Christy than I have that he is talking to me +now."</p> + +<p>"You had better look at me again, and be sure that you make no +mistake," replied Christy, rather disgusted at the failure of the man to +identify him.</p> + +<p>"I never once thought that it was not you. When the sailboat came +alongside, I knew it was the Florence, and I supposed you were in her," +pleaded Sampson. "But I spoke to you, as I supposed, when the boat came +alongside."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">82</span> +"Did you? What did you say?" asked Christy.</p> + +<p>"I said 'Is that you, Christy?' And you said 'Yes.'"</p> + +<p>"Of course I did! What else could I say after you had told the enemy +just how to proceed. You could not have expected any other answer."</p> + +<p>"I suppose I was very stupid; but I hope no harm has been done, for +they have not got the steamer yet," added Sampson, very much +disconcerted at the blunder he had made, though an older officer than +Christy might have had more charity for the ship-keeper.</p> + +<p>Seen in broad daylight, there was no striking resemblance between +Corny and Christy, though they were of about the same size, and had some +traits in common. As Corny and his companions came in the Florence, it +was not very strange that Sampson should take it for granted that +Christy was one of the evening visitors. The voices of the two cousins +were not unlike, and the sound was all he had to guide his judgment. +Then he was not in the enemy's country, and he could hardly have been on +the lookout for an enemy several miles up the river.</p> + +<p>"Certainly no harm has been done, Sampson; +<span class = "pagenum">83</span> +but it is yet to be decided whether or not the Bellevite is to go into +the navy of the United States or the navy of the Confederate States," +added Christy, leaving the engine-room.</p> + +<p>"If we have snuffed the whole thing, I don't believe this steamer +will ever wear anything but the Stars and Stripes," said Sampson +stoutly; and there could be no doubt in regard to his loyalty, judging +from his speech, though that is not always to be trusted in time of +war.</p> + +<p>"Bellevite, ahoy!" shouted some one at the foot of the accommodation +steps.</p> + +<p>"Have they come again so soon?" asked Sampson, as he rushed to the +rail. "It is only a small canoe."</p> + +<p>"Is Christy on board?" called the visitor alongside.</p> + +<p>"That is Mr. Vapoor: tell him I am on board," added Christy.</p> + +<p>"Christy is on board, sir," replied Sampson to the hail. "Will you +come on board, sir?"</p> + +<p>Paul Vapoor would and did come on board, and Christy gave him a +hearty welcome, for he was more glad to see him than he had ever been +before in his life.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">84</span> +"Where have you been all day and all the evening, Christy?" asked the +engineer. "Your mother and sister are very much worried about you, for +they have not seen you for a long time, and they fear that something has +happened to you."</p> + +<p>"Something is likely to happen to me and all the rest of us who +expect to go to sea in this steamer," replied Christy, as he proceeded +to inform his friend as briefly as he could of the great event of the +evening.</p> + +<p>"Well, if we are not in the enemy's country, the enemy are in ours," +replied Paul. "What is to be done?"</p> + +<p>"That is what I have been thinking of. I listened very attentively to +all that passed between Major Pierson and Captain Carboneer, and I am +satisfied that the latter has a considerable force somewhere on the +river, and their headquarters are at the mouth of a creek five miles +down the river."</p> + +<p>"How many have they?" asked the engineer.</p> + +<p>"I don't know; they did not mention the number in figures, but they +have enough to work the ship, and even to fight her," replied Christy, +very seriously.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">85</span> +"That means forty or fifty, at least," added Paul. "This looks like a +heavy matter, and it is quite time that something was done +about it."</p> + +<p>"But what shall we do is the question," said Christy anxiously. "We +have two men on board beside ourselves, and we can hardly expect to hold +our own against fifty."</p> + +<p>"Who is this Captain Carboneer?"</p> + +<p>"I saw him at Nassau, and he looked like a man of decision and +character. I don't know anything about him, but I have no doubt he is a +naval officer, both from the circumstances and from what I heard. I +should say that he knows what he is about. You said that my father has +not yet returned from the city?"</p> + +<p>"He had not come at ten o'clock, and if he comes at all, the late +train does not arrive till after twelve."</p> + +<p>"It may be too late to do anything at that time," said Christy. "But +I don't mean to give up the ship."</p> + +<p>"Good! I am with you on that point, Christy. I called at your house +to inform you that you had been appointed a midshipman in the navy, and +you are likely to have a chance to christen your +<span class = "pagenum">86</span> +commission to-night. This was all the rank they could give you, though +you will really be a passed midshipman, and be a master very soon."</p> + +<p>Christy was delighted with this news, though he had no time to make a +demonstration of delight over it. He had narrowly escaped being the +third officer of the Bellevite the year before, because his father did +not believe in putting him forward as fast as his abilities would have +warranted him in doing. Captain Breaker and Paul Vapoor had made the +application for a position in the navy; for his father would not do it, +for the reason that he did not wish to ask any favors for a member of +his own family.</p> + +<p>"I thank you and Captain Breaker for all you have done for me, Paul, +and I hope I shall be able to give a good account of myself. But we have +no time to talk about that now. Captain Carboneer was waiting for a +steamer which his naval associate, Lieutenant Haslett, was to charter or +buy for the use of the party," said Christy, as he led the way to the +forward deck of the steamer.</p> + +<p>He and the engineer mounted the top-gallant forecastle, and looked +intently down the river. The tide was coming in, so that the vessel, in +<span class = "pagenum">87</span> +coming up to her cable, pointed in that direction. But they could see +nothing, not a craft of any description. Then Christy led the way to the +long gun mounted amidships. He sighted across the piece, and, in a +moment more, his mind seemed to have settled on the policy to be pursued +in the present dangerous emergency. Perhaps the capture of a steamer +under such circumstances was a thing unheard of at that time, but +doubtless it looked simple enough to those who were engaged in the +enterprise.</p> + +<p>"Do you think of engaging the enemy at long range, Christy?" asked +Paul, with a smile on his fine face, as seen by the light of the lantern +which Sampson had brought to the place.</p> + +<p>"I think of beating them off in any way we can," replied the middy, +as his friends all called him from that time. "I have the gun pointing +to a certain object on the river, which Captain Carboneer's steamer must +pass. He can't help putting his craft where the muzzle of this piece +will cover it; and if we pull the lock-string at that instant, the shot +will knock his steamer all to pieces, and spill the conspirators into +the river."</p> + +<p>"If you hit her," suggested Paul.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">88</span> +"You can't very well help hitting her. Just squint along that gun, and +see where the shot will bring up."</p> + +<p>Paul complied with this request, and took a long look over the great +gun.</p> + +<p>"I should say that it was pointed a little too high," +said he.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps it is; I have not fixed it just as I mean to have it. We +will put in the charge before we do that," added Christy, who was now as +self-possessed as though there was no excitement attending the operation +he was arranging.</p> + +<p>"Do you know what steamer Captain Carbine will have?" asked Paul.</p> + +<p>"Not Carbine; Carboneer. No, I don't know what steamer he will have; +only that she is an old one, and has a walking-beam," replied +Christy.</p> + +<p>"That is rather indefinite, midshipman," added Paul, with a smile. +"You can't always tell what a steamer is by looking at her, especially +in the night; and a walking-beam is not a novelty on a steamer upon this +river. You may send that shot through the wrong vessel; and if you +should happen to kill a dozen or two of loyal citizens of the State of +New York, they might be mean enough +<span class = "pagenum">89</span> +to hang you, or send you to the State prison for life for it. It won't +do to fire off a shotted gun like that baby without knowing pretty well +what you are shooting at."</p> + +<p>"That is a long argument, Paul; and I have not the remotest idea of +doing any such thing as you describe. I am going to know what we are +firing at before we pull the lock-string," replied Christy, rather +impatiently. "But we have no time to dig up mare's nests. We will get up +the ammunition and load this gun; then we will do the rest of the +business."</p> + +<p>As ship-keeper and a member of the engineer's department for the last +year, Sampson knew where everything was to be found. With all the usual +precautions, the magazine was opened, and ammunition enough for three +charges was conveyed to the deck, Warping having been called in to +assist in the work. The gun was carefully loaded under the direction of +Christy, who had been fully instructed and drilled in the duty. It was +pointed as nearly as practicable to the point in the channel which the +hostile steamer must pass, though the aim was to be rectified at the +last moment.</p> + +<p>Paul went to his stateroom and took off his +<span class = "pagenum">90</span> +handsome uniform, replacing it with a suit of his working garments. Then +he hastened to the engine, examined it, and satisfied himself that it +was in good condition for the office which was soon to be required of +it. He gave Sampson particular directions for his duty, and then went +down the accommodation steps with the midshipman.</p> + +<p>"What are you going to do next, Christy?" asked Paul, for the young +naval officer had been too busy with his preparations to develop his +plan in full.</p> + +<p>"We will go ashore first, and I will take the Florence to the +boat-house," replied Christy. "The next thing to be done is to make a +reconnoissance down the river."</p> + +<p>"Why not go down in the Florence?" suggested Paul.</p> + +<p>"Because that would be too simple and innocent altogether," replied +the middy; and perhaps he felt some of the dignity of his new rank. "I +think we had better see without being seen, especially as Captain +Carboneer has seen and sailed the sloop. I have no doubt he has a sharp, +nautical eye, and that he will recognize her. He might +<span class = "pagenum">91</span> +be rash enough to capture her, and thus deprive the United States Navy +of two young, but able and hopeful officers, to say nothing of bottling +them up so that he could make short work of the Bellevite."</p> + +<p>"You are right, Christy, as you always are. But see your mother +before you do anything, and I will obey orders. She worries about +you."</p> + +<p>They landed and hastened to the mansion.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">92</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapVIII">CHAPTER VIII</a></h4> + +<h6>ARRANGING THE SIGNALS</h6> + + +<p>Mrs. Passford was astounded at the news brought in by her son, and +Miss Florry was terrified when informed that Major Pierson was not far +from the mansion. But Paul Vapoor assured the latter that there was no +danger, and Christy convinced his mother, who had a great deal of +confidence in him, that he was fully equal to the occasion.</p> + +<p>"But I do not see that you can beat off the assailants if they happen +to get alongside of the Bellevite," suggested Mrs. Passford. "There are +only four of you at the most."</p> + +<p>"I hope for re-enforcements," replied Christy, as he rang a bell for +a servant. "Beeks and Thayer, two of the quartermasters, live in the +village; Mr. Watts, the chief steward, and three others of the old +ship's company, live near here, and I think we can raise half a dozen +more, making ten in all."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">93</span> +"I know where to find half a dozen coal-passers," added Paul.</p> + +<p>"Then we shall do very well if we succeed in finding all these," +added Christy, as the man-servant came to the door.</p> + +<p>"Call up all the stablemen, and have two horses saddled as quick as +possible," continued Christy to the man.</p> + +<p>"What's that for, Christy?" asked Paul, who had succeeded in quieting +the fears of Miss Florry.</p> + +<p>He was not altogether inexperienced in this duty, for the young lady +had been alarmed more than once on board of the steam yacht, and he was +always more successful than any other person at these times.</p> + +<p>"I can't stop to talk it all over, Paul; but if you will trust me, I +will tell you as we go along what I think of doing," replied +Christy.</p> + +<p>"All right, midshipman; I belong to the engine department, and we +always obey orders even if the ship goes down," added Paul, +laughing.</p> + +<p>"I am willing enough to tell you, but I have not the time to spin a +long yarn, and perhaps answer objections, just now. We will mount the +<span class = "pagenum">94</span> +horses as soon as they come to the door, and drum up the force we have +mentioned."</p> + +<p>Christy continued by giving Paul the names of those he was to visit +and summon to the deck of the Bellevite, and then they were to meet at a +given place. They mounted the two fleet horses which Christy had +selected for the occasion, and dashed off to the town, a short distance +from the river. The middy found the two quartermasters, who boarded in +the same house. They were to go on board of the steamer at once; but +Beeks was to bring a canoe from the boat-house to the point on the shore +nearest to the Bellevite before he went on board. Both of these men were +cautioned not to say anything about any person they might see, and the +same instruction was given to all the others whose services were +required.</p> + +<p>Mr. Watts had not retired when Christy called at his house, and he +was duly startled by the information the young officer gave him. He was +as ready to take part in the enterprise as even the middy himself, and +he was conducted to the place where Paul was to meet the leader. He had +more calls to make than Christy, and they had to wait some time for him; +but when he did come, he +<span class = "pagenum">95</span> +reported that he had found and sent on board all the firemen and +coal-passers he had named, and a few more, besides the old sailors who +had sailed for years in the yachts of the owner of the Bellevite.</p> + +<p>The services of about a dozen had been procured, but half of these +were to do duty in connection with the engine, and the party so hastily +gathered were not strong enough to beat off the force of the enemy if +they attempted to board the vessel.</p> + +<p>"Now, Paul, I want you to understand the whole affair before we go +any farther; and I wish you would go on board and take the command +there," said the midshipman, as soon as the engineer had reported the +result of his mission.</p> + +<p>"But are you not going to be on board, Christy? I don't pretend to be +a sailor or a gunner," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"I shall go on board as soon as I can," replied Christy. "You will +find a boat on the shore, near the steamer, and you will go on board in +that; but have the boat sent back for me."</p> + +<p>"All right, Christy; I will obey orders," added Paul, as he +dismounted from his horse.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Watts will take your horse, and ride with +<span class = "pagenum">96</span> +me down the shore. We can see the river all the way, for we shall not +stick to the road when it leads us away from it. As soon as we discover +the steamer that is to bring up the enemy, I will run my horse back to +this point, and go on board."</p> + +<p>"That is all easy enough," added Paul.</p> + +<p>"Easy enough; but I can form no idea as to when the steamer will +come. We may have to wait till morning for it, and perhaps the plan of +the enemy will fail, and they will not come at all."</p> + +<p>"If they don't come to-night, they never will; and there will be time +enough for the home guard to scour the woods, and arrest all suspicious +persons."</p> + +<p>"I said what I did so that you need not be impatient if you have to +wait a long time. You will have a watch kept from the moment you get on +board, and no stranger is to be allowed to put a foot on the deck. +Captain Carboneer may send some one of his party to see that everything +is working right on board for his side of the affair."</p> + +<p>"I will do that."</p> + +<p>"See that the steam is well up, so that we can move off in good time +if we find it necessary to get under way," continued Christy.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">97</span> +"I thought that was a settled point, and the ship was to be taken down +the river in any case," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"I supposed so myself in the beginning; but if it is not necessary to +run away, I don't care to do so. Let Boxie see that the cable is buoyed +and ready to run out at a moment's notice."</p> + +<p>"All right, midshipman," replied Paul, as he hastened to the +boat.</p> + +<p>"Why does he call you midshipman?—that is a new name," said the +chief steward.</p> + +<p>"He brought me the news this evening that I had been appointed in the +navy with that rank," replied Christy. "Now we will ride down the river. +Do you happen to know what time it is, Mr. Watts?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know, but I think it is about half-past eleven. I am not +much of an equestrian," replied the steward, as he mounted the horse, +"for I have been to sea all my life; but I think I can stay on if the +beast don't run away with me."</p> + +<p>"He is perfectly gentle, and he will not run away with you. We have +no occasion to ride fast, and we may not have to go more than two or +three miles."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">98</span> +They rode along the river for a few minutes, and then Christy reined in +his steed and dismounted. He went to the water side, at a point where +there was a bend, and carefully examined the surroundings, both above +and below. He could not see the Bellevite in the darkness, for he had +directed the engineer to allow no light to be shown on board of her. He +had brought a little mathematics into his calculations, and he had +pointed the big gun of the steamer so as to cover the craft with the +walking-beam when she came in sight around this turn of the stream. By +this plan she was sure to come into the range of the piece, no matter on +which side of the channel she was moving.</p> + +<p>"Now, Mr. Watts, I have a further duty for you to perform," said +Christy, as he explained his plan to the steward. "We shall go down the +river till we meet this steamer which conveys the enemy. As you are a +sailor as well as a caterer, you have a nautical eye, and when you have +seen this steamer you will know her again."</p> + +<p>"Trust me for that. If it is the old tub I think it is, I know her +already," answered the steward.</p> + +<p>"What steamer do you think it is?"</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">99</span> +"The old Vampire; and if you give her much of a rap, she will go to the +bottom without the least difficulty."</p> + +<p>"I don't care where she goes to, provided she don't put her +passengers on board of the Bellevite. But I am taking you down the river +with me in order that you may see her and know her."</p> + +<p>"I shall know her as soon as I see her."</p> + +<p>"As I said before, I shall run my horse back and get aboard of the +Bellevite as soon as I am satisfied that the enemy are moving up the +river," continued Christy.</p> + +<p>"I am afraid I shall not be able to keep up with you if you run your +horse," suggested the steward.</p> + +<p>"I don't want you to keep up with me. You can come along as leisurely +as you please, though you must not let the enemy get ahead of you."</p> + +<p>"If the enemy are in the old Vampire, I could keep ahead of her on +foot."</p> + +<p>"You had better keep ahead of her on your horse about a quarter of a +mile, or more; but your main duty will be here. I have brought with me +half a dozen Roman candles, and I am going to fix them in the ground on +this spot. Here is a +<span class = "pagenum">100</span> +bunch of matches," said Christy, handing it to him.</p> + +<p>The steward watched the midshipman while he planted the fireworks in +the sand, and particularly marked the spot where they were located, for +his companion told him he was to fire them, and he must be ready to do +so without any delay.</p> + +<p>"A boy could do that and like the fun of it," said Mr. Watts, +laughing at the simple duty he was to perform.</p> + +<p>"But it is the time that you are to do it, and the boy might be +skylarking, or become impatient. This signal of the fireworks is to +assure us at the right moment that the Vampire, if it should be she, is +in the place where I expect her to be."</p> + +<p>"I understand it perfectly."</p> + +<p>"After I leave you, another steamer may come along, and get to this +point ahead of the Vampire; and I should be very sorry to blow her out +of the water, or sink her under it. You are to let us know by this +signal that it is the Vampire, and no other, that is coming round the +bend. You had better leave your horse a short distance from the river, +for that gun will make every pane of glass within a mile of it shake +when it is discharged."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">101</span> +"You may be sure that I will not be on his back at that time."</p> + +<p>"Still further: I have planted six candles in the sand. You will +light only one of them when the steamer begins to round the bend. That +will be enough to inform us of the fact on board of the Bellevite."</p> + +<p>"What are the others for?" asked the steward, taking a +memorandum-book from his pocket as though he intended to write his +instructions.</p> + +<p>"It is not necessary to write it. We shall not be able to see what +effect the shot produces after we fire. If the Vampire, always supposing +she is the one, is not hurt, light a second candle—only one of +them. If she should be disabled, you will light two candles."</p> + +<p>Christy repeated what he had said, and was careful not to give the +steward too much to remember. As soon as the matter was fully +understood, the middy mounted his horse, and they proceeded on their +mission down the river. After they had ridden about three miles, Mr. +Watts insisted that the steamer was coming, and that it was the +Vampire.</p> + +<p>"I don't see anything," added Christy.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">102</span> +"Neither do I; but I know that the Vampire is coming up the river. If +you listen, you will hear a hoarse puffing; and nothing but that old ark +could make such a wheezy noise," replied the steward.</p> + +<p>The middy heard it and was satisfied.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">103</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapIX">CHAPTER IX</a></h4> + +<h6>THE APPROACH OF THE VAMPIRE</h6> + + +<p>The Vampire, as the steward had no doubt it was, could not be less +than a mile distant from the spot where the two horsemen had halted in +the road. Christy was very familiar with this portion of the river, and +after he had listened a few moments, he was satisfied from the direction +of the sound he heard, that a mile was very nearly the exact distance. +The approaching steamer had to come around a small bend, the arc of +which made just a mile.</p> + +<p>"I don't wish to blow up a dozen or twenty loyal citizens, and I must +make sure in some way that Captain Carboneer's party is on board of that +steamer," said Christy, as he led his horse into a field, and tied him +to a tree, the steward following his example.</p> + +<p>"That would be a very bad thing to do," added Mr. Watts, as they +walked back to the river. +<span class = "pagenum">104</span> +"But I don't see why it is necessary to blow up even any rebels on the +present occasion. If that naval officer has forty men, as you think he +has, a shot from that long gun would make terrible havoc among them if +you succeeded in hitting her. You might kill half of them."</p> + +<p>"If we do they, and not we, will be responsible for it," added +Christy, somewhat appalled by the suggestion of his companion.</p> + +<p>"If you have steam up on board of the Bellevite, why not get under +way and run down the river," continued Mr. Watts.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps I am a coward, but I am afraid to do that," replied the +midshipman, thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>"We all know that you are no coward, Christy, and if you don't send a +shot into the Vampire, it will not be because you are afraid."</p> + +<p>"Although I know the river as well as any pilot in this vicinity, I +should not dare to run the Bellevite at full speed around such a bend as +the one off this spot," Christy explained. "We have not above half a +dozen trained sailors who know how to handle a cutlass on board, and all +the others will be needed in working the steamer. The coal-passers would +be good for nothing in repelling boarders."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">105</span> +"You think Captain Carboneer would board the steamer, do you?"</p> + +<p>"I have no doubt he would. He is a naval officer, and he knows what +he is about. There are several ways that he might get a hold on the +Bellevite, and, if he got alongside of her, I am afraid it would be all +up with us, and we should have a fair chance to see the inside of a +Confederate prison. I am afraid to run the risk you suggest, Mr. +Watts."</p> + +<p>"You know best, and I don't mean to interfere; I only thought I would +suggest the idea," added the steward, as they reached the bank of the +river again.</p> + +<p>After he had secured his horse, Christy had lighted a match and +looked at his watch. It was a quarter of one, and still the puffing of +the Vampire came from the same direction. It was plain enough to him +that the old tub was not a racer. But she showed herself beyond the bend +in about a quarter of an hour, indicating that her rate of speed, or +rather of slowness, was not more than four statute miles an hour. But +this was simply confirmation of what the steward had said on the +subject. Yet she was coming, though it was too +<span class = "pagenum">106</span> +dark on the river to see her in detail. Though he strained his eyes to +the utmost, Christy could not discover any men on her forward deck.</p> + +<p>"I think you had better move back where you cannot be seen," said the +midshipman, in a low tone, to his companion.</p> + +<p>"Do you wish me to leave you alone, Christy?" asked the steward, +surprised at the request.</p> + +<p>"That is just what I wish, for I don't care to have any one on board +of the Vampire see more than one person at this point," replied Christy, +still gazing through the gloom at the approaching steamer.</p> + +<p>"Excuse me, Christy; but what are you going to do? I prefer to be +within supporting distance of you."</p> + +<p>"I don't think I shall need any support. I am going to hail the +Vampire, and ask if Captain Carboneer is on board," replied the +midshipman, quietly.</p> + +<p>"You are going to hail her!" exclaimed Mr. Watts. "Are you mad, +Christy? I should say that you were."</p> + +<p>"You shall be your own judge on that point."</p> + +<p>"But the moment you use the name of Captain +<span class = "pagenum">107</span> +Carboneer, they will take the alarm, and the next thing will be a bullet +through your head."</p> + +<p>"I will take the risk of that," answered Christy. "But you need not +go far from the river on this dark night. There is a clump of bushes +this side of the road, and you may get behind it."</p> + +<p>The steward was not at all satisfied with the situation, but he +complied with the request of the midshipman, and concealed himself +behind the bushes. Christy took a position on the very verge of the +water. The progress of the Vampire was made at the expense of a hideous +noise, and she was a craft not at all adapted to the purpose of the +conspirators. The middy watched her with the most intense interest as +she approached the point where he was stationed. There was no light to +be seen on board, and there appeared to be no men on her lower deck; but +she had a cabin and other rooms, in which a force as large as that of +the captain could be concealed.</p> + +<p>"Steamer, ahoy!" shouted Christy, as soon as the Vampire was abreast +of the spot he occupied.</p> + +<p>No answer came to this hail, and the midshipman repeated it, louder +than before.</p> + +<p>"On shore!" replied a voice from the forward deck.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">108</span> +"Come up to the shore, and take me on board, will you?" continued +Christy, disguising his voice to some extent the better to answer his +purpose.</p> + +<p>"Who is it?" demanded the person on board who acted as speaker; and +Christy could see his form very distinctly, as he stood at an open +gangway, and was the only person in sight on the lower deck.</p> + +<p>"Brigster," replied Christy, chewing up the word he coined so that +the man could not possibly make it out.</p> + +<p>"Are you alone, Brewster?" demanded the speaker from the steamer.</p> + +<p>This was a hard question, and with less information than he had +obtained while in his cabin on board of the Florence, he would not have +dared to reply to it. But he knew something of the plan of the +conspirators, and he felt competent to answer.</p> + +<p>"Three more back in the road," replied Christy, promptly; and he said +three so as to give the idea that the force on board might be increased +by this number. "Is Captain Carboneer on board of that steamer?" asked +the midshipman, coming to his main point.</p> + +<p class = "illustration"> +<img src = "images/pic108.png" width = "321" height = "500" +alt = "illustration of quoted scene"><br> +<span class = "caption"> +"<span class = "smallcaps">Steamer, Ahoy!" shouted +Christy</span>.—Page 107.</span> +</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">109</span> +"He is, and we are all here but four," replied the speaker on the deck; +and Christy was satisfied that the captain was the person by this time, +for his language and his voice indicated that he was an educated +man.</p> + +<p>"We had no boat, and we could not get across the river to the creek," +added Christy, to increase the confidence of the leader of the +expedition. "But we saw a boat half at mile up the river, and we will +come off there, if you say so."</p> + +<p>"All right; come on board as soon as you can," added Captain +Carboneer, as he walked away from the gangway.</p> + +<p>Mindful of the peril of the situation, Christy walked leisurely back +from the river, and soon joined Mr. Watts, who had been near enough to +hear the conversation between the captain and the midshipman.</p> + +<p>"That was done very handsomely, Christy," said the steward.</p> + +<p>"There was no great difficulty in handling such a matter when one +knew all about the plot as I did. The fault on the other side was that +they did not examine the cabin of the Florence before they discussed +their plans in the standing-room," replied +<span class = "pagenum">110</span> +Christy, as he unfastened his horse, and sprang upon his back. "I have +no time to spare now."</p> + +<p>"There is nothing more to be done here, I believe," added Mr. +Watts.</p> + +<p>"Not a thing. You can ride back to the place where the Roman candles +are planted, and you need not hurry about it, for the Vampire don't make +more than four miles an hour. Now be particular to carry out my +instructions to the letter, Mr. Watts; and you can see that a great deal +depends upon which signal you may have occasion to give," added the +midshipman.</p> + +<p>"I understand what I am to do perfectly, and I will do my duty +faithfully, you may be sure," replied the steward, as he mounted his +horse.</p> + +<p>Christy did not wait for him, but put his steed into a dead run on +the moment. The road was only a cart-path, and it was so soft that the +horse's hoofs made no noise to betray his movements to the enemy. He +urged the willing beast to his utmost speed, for he was as much at home +in the saddle as he was in the rigging of a ship. Before the Vampire had +made another eighth of a mile, he had reached the place where +<span class = "pagenum">111</span> +the boat had been left for his use. What to do with his horse was a +question, for the report of the big gun would set him crazy. But he knew +that the men must be at the house, and he turned the animal loose, +satisfied that he would go to the stable without any guidance.</p> + +<p>Springing into the boat, he pulled to the Bellevite. At the +accommodation steps, he was challenged by Sampson, who demanded like one +in authority who and what he was, for the experience of the evening had +greatly sharpened his wits.</p> + +<p>"Who is it?" he demanded, in a tone which implied his intention to +have a satisfactory answer. "Advance and give the word."</p> + +<p>"Give the word!" exclaimed Christy. "I have no word to give."</p> + +<p>"Then you can't come on board," replied Sampson dogmatically.</p> + +<p>"I am Christy Passford, and I have not heard about any word," +protested the midshipman.</p> + +<p>"You can't pour molasses down my back again," replied Sampson, with a +self-satisfied air.</p> + +<p>"Don't be a fool, Sampson," added Christy, as he climbed upon the +steps, the lower part of which had been hoisted up.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">112</span> +"I have been a fool once, and I don't mean to be again," replied the +sentinel. "On deck, there! Bring a lantern out of the engine-room!"</p> + +<p>"Don't bring a lantern in sight!" protested Christy impatiently.</p> + +<p>"What's the row there, Sampson?" called Paul Vapoor, mounting the +rail, and looking through the darkness at the steps, down which the +vigilant sentinel had descended more than half way to the water.</p> + +<p>"This fellow says he is Christy Passford; and I don't know whether it +is Christy or not," replied Sampson.</p> + +<p>"Is that you, Christy?" asked Paul.</p> + +<p>"Of course it is," replied the middy. "We are wasting time."</p> + +<p>"He hasn't the word," added the sentinel.</p> + +<p>"Pass him, Sampson; he is all right," said the engineer; and Christy +rushed up the steps, and leaped down upon the deck of the steamer.</p> + +<p>"I gave out a word for all who had to leave the ship for any purpose +during the evening," Paul explained.</p> + +<p>"Never mind that now," interposed the midshipman in command. "Have +you plenty of steam on?"</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">113</span> +"Enough to give her fifteen knots," replied the engineer. "The cable is +buoyed, and the long gun loaded. I believe everything is in perfect +order to carry out your instructions, though we did not point the gun +when we loaded it, for I thought you would prefer to do that yourself," +the engineer reported.</p> + +<p>"All right, Paul," added Christy. "The steamer, whose name is the +Vampire, is on her way up the river, and I should say she would reach +the bend in about half an hour. Mr. Watts is down there, and I have +arranged certain signals with him."</p> + +<p>The midshipman made a careful examination for himself of the +ship.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">114</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapX">CHAPTER X</a></h4> + +<h6>A SHOT FROM THE LONG GUN</h6> + + +<p>Christy Passford, as soon as he found that all the other preparations +for the decisive event had been made, turned his attention to the aiming +of the long gun. He had practised with it somewhat before; and in the +ambitious spirit of a boy, he had often amused himself by sighting over +the top of the piece.</p> + +<p>There was no sort of duty on board of a vessel, even a war steamer, +in which he had not done his best to make himself a proficient. He had +done duty as an engineer, and even as a fireman. He had taken his trick +at the wheel as a quartermaster, and there was nothing he had not done, +unless it was to command a vessel, and he had done that on a small +scale. Doubtless he had no inconsiderable portion of a boy's vanity, and +he believed that he could do anything that anybody else could do; or if +he was satisfied that he +<span class = "pagenum">115</span> +could not, he studied and practised till he did believe it.</p> + +<p>Be it vanity or pride, Christy certainly believed in himself to a +very liberal extent, though his character was fortunately leavened with +a large lump of modesty. What he believed, he believed for himself, and +acted upon it for himself; so that he was not inclined to boast of his +accomplishments, and permitted others to find out what he was rather +than made it known in words himself. But his father had found it +necessary to restrain him to some extent, and he had not pushed him +forward as rapidly as he might have done till the dread notes of war +were heard on the land and the sea; and then he thought it would be +wrong to hold him back.</p> + +<p>When Christy sighted along the great gun, he believed he could hit +the Vampire almost to a certainty; but he was not self-sufficient, and +did not often believe that he knew a thing better than any other person, +and he was not above taking the advice and instruction of others. It was +dark, but Christy had fixed upon an object at the bend below, of which +he intended to make use in firing the gun. It was a tree which painted +its outline +<span class = "pagenum">116</span> +on the horizon, and the decisive moment was to come when the Vampire was +in range with this tree. He adjusted the gun just as he wanted it, and +he was satisfied it would do just what he required of it.</p> + +<p>He was not inclined to act on his own judgment and skill alone, and +he called Boxie, the old sheet-anchorman, who had been the captain of a +gun years before the midshipman was born, and pointed out the tree to +him, asking him to sight along the gun. He explained his plan to the old +salt, and then asked his opinion.</p> + +<p>"You have aimed it too high, Mr. Passford," said the veteran, after +he had squinted a long time along the piece.</p> + +<p>"How is it otherwise?" asked Christy.</p> + +<p>"It is all right, sir; but the shot will pass over the steamer. Drop +the muzzle a trifle, and the shot will hull her, if you pull the +lockstring at the right time."</p> + +<p>"I shall see that the string is pulled at the right time; thank you, +Boxie," added Christy, without depressing the gun as the old man +suggested, for he had a theory of his own which he intended to carry +out.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">117</span> +"But the ship may change her position a trifle," added Boxie.</p> + +<p>"Of course, I mean to sight the gun again at the very moment we +fire," replied Christy, looking at his watch, though he was obliged to +go into the engine-room to see what time it was.</p> + +<p>It was after two, and the Vampire had had time enough to make the +bend. Christy wondered if Captain Carboneer was not looking for the four +men he had promised to put on board of the old steamer; but some +promises are better broken than kept, and the midshipman thought this +was one of them, though he did not consider the present occasion as any +excuse for lies, or the failure to keep his word, in the indefinite +future.</p> + +<p>The acting commander of the Bellevite—for such the middy was, +and no one disputed his authority—began to be very nervous at the +non-appearance of the enemy. He was afraid that some mishap had befallen +the Vampire; either that she had gone to the bottom or got aground, +though he had heard Captain Carboneer say that he was a pilot for this +part of the river.</p> + +<p>Christy had mounted the gun carriage ready to take his final aim, and +he had been there at least +<span class = "pagenum">118</span> +half an hour. He was watching the point where the Roman candles had been +planted, and he had perfect confidence in the judgment and fidelity of +Mr. Watts. Boxie was stationed at the lock-string, and held it in his +hand, ready to speed the great shot on its errand of destruction; but he +hoped the midshipman would depress the muzzle of the gun before he was +called upon to pull the string. The other sailors who had served on +board of the Bellevite, and had been drilled in handling the guns, were +all in their stations, ready to load the piece again as quickly as +possible after it had been discharged.</p> + +<p>The silence had become intense and painful to all, for apart from the +messenger of death and devastation which was about to be hurled at the +Vampire, the Bellevite was in danger of being captured, and had a +resolute enemy in front of her. The safety of the pet steamer depended +upon the skill and judgment of a mere boy, though everybody on board had +entire confidence in him. But the supreme moment came soon enough.</p> + +<p class = "illustration"> +<img src = "images/pic118.png" width = "322" height = "498" +alt = "illustration of quoted scene"><br> +<span class = "caption"> +"<span class = "smallcaps">Christy sprang to the Gun</span>."—Page +119.</span> +</p> + +<p>A hardly perceptible light at the point he was so closely watching, +first attracted the attention of Christy,—perhaps the lighting of +the steward's +<span class = "pagenum">119</span> +match. An instant later, the fireworks blazed up, and lighted up the +smooth surface of the sleeping river. No doubt the conspirators, who had +chosen darkness because their deeds were evil, were astounded to see so +much light suddenly thrown upon their enterprise.</p> + +<p>Christy sprang to the gun, took a hasty sight, which satisfied him +that the position of the gun had not changed a particle. As the dark +outline of the Vampire passed in range of the selected tree, the +midshipman sprang down from the gun-carriage.</p> + +<p>"Fire!" shouted he, in a determined though not very loud tone.</p> + +<p>It was a tremendous explosion, and the echoes rolled out from the +hills as though they were armed with heavy guns, and were taking part in +the conflict. Probably the rattling windows and the shaking frames of +the houses roused all the sleepers within a mile of the ship.</p> + +<p>The Bellevite was enveloped in the smoke from the discharge, and +though Christy mounted the carriage again to obtain a better view, he +could see nothing, for there was not wind enough to sweep it away at +once. But the young commander +<span class = "pagenum">120</span> +watched, with almost as much interest and anxiety as before, the signal +station he had established. But there was no occasion for desperate +haste, for the gun was ready for use a second time if the first shot had +failed to do its work. On the other hand, if the Vampire was disabled, +she would stay where she was, or drift down the river with the turn of +the tide, and it was just about "full sea" at this time.</p> + +<p>The smoke was very aggravating to the midshipman, but he could not +help himself. The light air swept it away in time, and, with his +strained eyes, Christy discovered that two Roman candles were burning at +the signal station.</p> + +<p>"Did you hit her, Christy?" asked Paul Vapoor, leaping on the +gun-carriage.</p> + +<p>"I did," replied the midshipman, trying to control a certain feeling +of exultation that took possession of his mind, for he did not consider +that some of the party below might have been killed by the shot.</p> + +<p>"I suppose you don't know anything about the effect of the shot yet?" +added Paul.</p> + +<p>"I only know that the Vampire is disabled."</p> + +<p>"How do you know that, for I can't see anything?"</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">121</span> +"Do you see those two blue lights burning at the side of the river?" +asked Christy, as he pointed to the place.</p> + +<p>"I see them, and they light up the river like a flash of +lightning."</p> + +<p>"They mean that the steamer is disabled; and for that reason she +can't come any nearer than she is now."</p> + +<p>"But those villains will make their way to the shore, and there are +boats enough about here to enable them to get alongside, and lay us +aboard. This is not the end of the affair," said the engineer, very +seriously.</p> + +<p>"Decidedly not; but I hope to have further information in the course +of a few minutes," replied Christy.</p> + +<p>"Bellevite, ahoy!" shouted some one on shore.</p> + +<p>"That is Mr. Watts; send Sampson on shore after him, and we shall +soon know the condition of affairs on board of the Vampire," added the +midshipman. "I told the steward to ride up as fast as he could after he +had satisfied himself that the steamer was disabled."</p> + +<p>Sampson was gone but a few minutes, during which time Christy and +Paul consulted in regard +<span class = "pagenum">122</span> +to the next step to be taken, and the question was promptly decided. The +boat in which Sampson had gone to the shore returned not only with the +steward, but also with Mrs. Passford and Miss Florry.</p> + +<p>"What does this mean, mother?" asked Christy, astonished to see his +mother and sister come on board.</p> + +<p>"It means that we were alarmed, and could not stay in the house any +longer," said Florry, taking it upon herself to answer.</p> + +<p>"Your father has not come home yet, Christy, and I don't think he +will come to-night, for he said he might not be able to return in the +last train," added Mrs. Passford. "We came down to the shore with two of +the men, and saw Mr. Watts when he arrived on the horse."</p> + +<p>"And I shall take the responsibility of having advised the ladies to +go on board of the Bellevite," interposed the steward.</p> + +<p>"But you have not reported upon the condition of the enemy after the +shot hit the Vampire, Mr. Watts," said Christy, impatiently.</p> + +<p>"The shot struck her walking-beam, smashed it all to pieces, and +cleaned it off completely. Of +<span class = "pagenum">123</span> +course, that disabled her. Very likely some of the party on board of the +Vampire are hurt, for the pieces did not all drop into the water."</p> + +<p>"Now, in regard to the ladies?" suggested the midshipman.</p> + +<p>"It is for you to decide, Mr. Passford, whether or not the enemy are +likely to renew the attempt to capture the steamer. But it seemed to me, +whether they do anything more or not, it is not quite safe for the +ladies to be alone in the house with the servants, for these fellows +will be prowling about here in either case."</p> + +<p>"I would not stay in the house for all the world!" protested Miss +Florry; and probably she thought that one of the prowlers would be Major +Pierson.</p> + +<p>"You are quite right, Mr. Watts; I was not as thoughtful as you +were," replied Christy, who took in the situation with this suggestion. +"What were they doing on board of the Vampire, Mr. Watts?"</p> + +<p>"I did not wait to observe their movements, but the boat began to +drift down the river."</p> + +<p>"Beg pardon, Mr. Passford, but the ship is swinging around, and you +will not be able to use +<span class = "pagenum">124</span> +that gun as it points now," said Boxie, touching his hat to the young +commander.</p> + +<p>"Stand by your engine, Paul; we will get under way at once. Boxie, +cast off the cable, and let it run out. You buoyed it, did you not?" +said Christy, with a sudden renewal of energy, as he hastened to the +pilot-house, where Beeks and Thayer had been sent before.</p> + +<p>"I buoyed the cable, sir," replied the sheet-anchorman.</p> + +<p>"Then cast it off. Sampson, open the cabin for the ladies," added +Christy, as he disappeared in the pilot-house.</p> + +<p>But the ladies preferred to go into the engine-room.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">125</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXI">CHAPTER XI</a></h4> + +<h6>THE BATTLE ALONGSIDE THE BELLEVITE</h6> + + +<p>The signal lights at the bend of the river had burned out, and +nothing could be seen in that direction. The turn of the tide had +carried the wreck of the Vampire, if she was a wreck, down the stream, +and beyond what the steward had reported, nothing was known in regard to +her. Mr. Watts possessed himself of the single fact that her +walking-beam had been carried away by the shot, and he had not waited to +ascertain anything more. She was disabled, and he had been instructed to +hasten up the river as soon as he had assured himself of this fact, and +made the signal.</p> + +<p>As the extent of the calamity to the enemy was unknown, the young +commander began to have some painful doubts in regard to the immediate +future. He had given the order to slip the cable, and he could hear the +rattle of the chain as it passed out through the hawse-hole. It was +evident +<span class = "pagenum">126</span> +enough to him that he had to run the gantlet of the party on board of +the Vampire in descending the river. As the shot had hit the +walking-beam of the steamer, it was not probable that she was seriously +injured in her hull, if at all.</p> + +<p>Some of the enemy had doubtless been hurt by the fall of the pieces +of machinery, but Christy could not believe that the conspirators were +disabled, as the vessel was. The enemy might make an attempt to board +the Bellevite as she passed down the river, for the accident must have +rendered the party more desperate than before. In the face of a failure +to capture the Bellevite at her anchorage, which had seemed so easy a +matter to the leaders of the expedition, they would be ready to take any +chances of success that came in their way.</p> + +<p>"Cable all out, sir," reported Boxie.</p> + +<p>Not without some heavy doubts, Christy rang the bell to go ahead. He +had no one in the pilot-house with whom he could consult except the two +quartermasters, for Paul was in charge of the engine, and he could no +more leave it than the midshipman could leave the wheel. The propeller +<span class = "pagenum">127</span> +began to turn, and the ship gathered headway. To add to the +responsibility of the young commander, his mother and sister had just +come on board, and were now seated on the sofa in the engine-room.</p> + +<p>The Bellevite was moving down the river, and the only thing Christy +could do was to brace himself up to meet whatever might happen on the +trip. He did this at once, and a moment later he rang to go ahead at +full speed. He was approaching the bend of the river, and in a minute or +two more he would be able to see the Vampire. But Captain Carboneer +could no more see through the headland at the bend than he could, and he +hoped that the leader of the enemy had not yet discovered that the +Bellevite was under way.</p> + +<p>The steamer increased her speed on the instant in response to the +signal, and she rushed forward at a velocity that would be fatal to the +Vampire if she happened to be in her path. But Christy was not disposed +to make an issue with the enemy when they met; he intended to defend the +Bellevite, if she was attacked, to the extent of his ability and small +force.</p> + +<p>"There she is!" exclaimed Beeks, as the Bellevite +<span class = "pagenum">128</span> +began to change her course to go around the bend.</p> + +<p>Christy saw the Vampire as soon as the quartermaster, and he was glad +to find that she had drifted to the left bank of the river as far as the +depth of water would permit. As her engine was disabled, she had no +means of propulsion with which she could help herself. It was not +improbable that she was aground. She was not armed with a single heavy +gun, or with any gun, and she was entirely harmless.</p> + +<p>Christy breathed more freely when he realized the situation of the +Vampire. Probably she was provided with one or more boats, and it was +possible that Captain Carboneer might attempt to board the Bellevite as +soon as he discovered her. The deck of the steam-yacht was not very far +above the water, and if a boat full of desperate men could get alongside +of the ship, it would not be a very difficult matter for them to mount +the side.</p> + +<p>"Port a little," said Christy to the quartermasters at the wheel. +"Keep her well over to the west shore. Steady."</p> + +<p>A moment later the steamer had her course for passing the Vampire, +and Christy left the pilot-house +<span class = "pagenum">129</span> +to obtain a better view of the situation and movements of the enemy. It +was not so dark as to prevent him from seeing all that was going on upon +her deck, for the Bellevite had to pass within pistol-shot of her to +avoid getting aground on the edge of the channel.</p> + +<p>Sampson and the rest of the old ship's company gathered near him, +where they could see over the rail. The oiler, as Paul Vapoor had +instructed him to do, had armed all these men with a cutlass and a +revolver, and very likely some or all of them would have been glad to +make use of them.</p> + +<p>"They are loading into a boat on the port side of the Vampire, sir, +and it looks as though they intended to do something without delay," +said Sampson; and, as the steamer had come about since she was disabled, +this was the side nearest to the shore.</p> + +<p>"I see that they are hurrying some movement with all their might," +replied the midshipman, watching with the most intense interest the +operations of the enemy. "Sampson, get out half a dozen sixty-pound, +solid shot, and put them on the plankshear, twenty feet apart. Take all +hands with you, and hurry up."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">130</span> +The oiler asked no questions, though he might have been excused for +wondering what the young commander intended to do with shot without +powder. In a few minutes the shot were in place, as Christy had +directed. The midshipman was watching with all his eyes the movement of +the enemy, and, as the Bellevite approached the position of the wreck, +the boat darted out from the other side of her. It began to be exciting +for the middy, loaded with the responsibility of the safety of the +steamer, though he seemed to be as cool as Boxie himself, who had seen +some sea fights in his day.</p> + +<p>Christy leaped on the rail of the ship, where he could obtain a full +view of the situation. The boat was approaching with all the speed the +oarsmen could command, and they seemed to be experienced hands. There +could be no doubt of the intentions of the enemy, and the midshipman +drew his heavy naval revolver from his pocket.</p> + +<p>"Stand by to repel boarders!" he called to the seamen. "Pass up one +of those shot, Sampson. Have a hand mount the rail, each with a shot, at +the points where you have placed them."</p> + +<p>"The ladies wish to know what is going on, Christy," said Paul, +coming from the engine-room.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">131</span> +"I have no time to talk now," replied Christy impatiently, as he saw the +approaching boat within ten feet of the side of the steamer. "Tell them +to stay where they are, and not come on deck!"</p> + +<p>The boat was not a large one, and it did not contain more than a +dozen men; but the fine form of Captain Carboneer could be seen, as he +stood up in the stern sheets. Those who were not pulling the oars began +to discharge revolvers at the men now mounted on the rail; but the +motion of the boat and the ship seemed to defeat their aim, and no one +was hit so far as was known.</p> + +<p>"When the boat comes alongside, let the man who is in the right place +for it drop his shot into it. Be careful of it, and don't waste the +iron," shouted Christy, when the decisive moment came.</p> + +<p>"All ready, sir," responded the men along the rail.</p> + +<p>"You are the man, Boxie! You are in the right place for the first +shot," added the midshipman.</p> + +<p>Boxie was next to him, and it would be Christy's turn next if the old +man failed to do good work with his shot. The boat came alongside, +<span class = "pagenum">132</span> +and a bowman fastened his boathook at the side of the ship, and held it +in place. At the same moment Boxie let drive his sixty-pound shot; but +he ought to have waited an instant longer, for the missile dropped +harmlessly into the river.</p> + +<p>The bowman had not obtained a good hold, and he lost it, so that the +boat began to drift astern. Captain Carboneer shouted his orders, and +the man got a new hold, and this time it was at the painter of the boat +in which Sampson had brought off Mr. Watts and the ladies. It had been +forgotten in the excitement of the moment, but the rope afforded a good +hold to several men who had grasped it.</p> + +<p>At this thrilling moment, a man wearing a frock-coat discharged a +revolver at Christy, who was standing on the rail above him, and then, +seizing the painter in the hands of the men, he climbed briskly to the +accommodation steps, which had been hoisted up, but not taken on +board.</p> + +<p>Christy was in the most dangerous position on board, for he seemed to +be the target for all who could use their revolvers. But the young +commander was not asleep, though he had given no order for the last +minute or two. The boat was +<span class = "pagenum">133</span> +directly under him, and he had put his pistol in his hip-pocket, in +order to take up the solid shot at his feet. It was heavy, but he lifted +it over his head without any difficulty, and launched it into the boat +with all the force he could give to it.</p> + +<p>"On deck, there! Let go that painter!" shouted Christy, as he pitched +his missile from his hands.</p> + +<p>He was in a position so favorable for the operation that he could not +well miss his aim, and the shot crashed through the bottom of the boat, +carrying down one of the enemy with it. It did not make a round hole in +the bottom of the boat, it was afterwards ascertained, as it might if it +had been fired from one of the broadside guns, but it tore off the +planking, and made a hole as big as the head of a flour-barrel.</p> + +<p>"Lay hold of that man on the accommodation ladder!" shouted Christy, +without waiting to observe the effect of his shot, for the man who had +succeeded in mounting the side was armed with a dangerous weapon, which +he was likely to use as soon as he found the opportunity.</p> + +<p>The men forward of the point where the boat had come alongside had +been ordered aft, and a +<span class = "pagenum">134</span> +couple of them dragged the venturesome officer, as his frock-coat +indicated that he was, to the deck. Christy was almost sure this man was +Haslett, who had certainly set a bold example to his companions in the +boat. He was quickly secured, and by no gentle hands. His hands were +tied behind him, and he was made fast to the rail, where he was likely +to be harmless during the rest of the trip.</p> + +<p>It was no easy matter for a boat to make fast to a steamer going ten +knots an hour at least, and if the painter of the boat had not been +carelessly left where it could be of service to the assailants, the +affair would have ended with Boxie's unsuccessful cast of the shot. But +as soon as the painter was let go, an order which Sampson hastened to +execute, the enemy's hold upon the ship was lost, though they were using +boathooks and other implements to make sure of their grasp. The boat was +left behind by the ship, though not till the hole had been stove in her +bottom.</p> + +<p>"Beg pardon, Mr. Passford, for missing my heave with the shot," said +Boxie, on the deck; and the veteran's heart seemed to be almost broken +by his failure.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">135</span> +"You are very excusable, Boxie; one can't expect to hit every time, and +you did very well," replied Christy, who had suddenly passed from +painful doubt and uncertainty to exultation and exaltation at the +victory achieved. "We are all right now."</p> + +<p>"But the enemy are not," added Sampson, who had mounted the rail +after he had secured the prisoner. "They are all afloat."</p> + +<p>"They will get ashore in some way, or back to the Vampire," replied +Christy, and he descended to the deck, and hastened to the +engine-room.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">136</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXII">CHAPTER XII</a></h4> + +<h6>THE PRISONER OF WAR</h6> + + +<p>"What in the world have you been doing, Christy?" asked Mrs. +Passford, as her son entered the engine-room; and her anxiety was +visible in her tones and looks as she spoke.</p> + +<p>"We have been repelling boarders, mother," replied the middy, his +face wreathed in smiles.</p> + +<p>"What do you mean by that, my son?" inquired his mother.</p> + +<p>"Well, mother, you are the daughter of a distinguished naval officer, +and it seems to me you must understand what repelling boarders means," +answered the young commander, laughing merrily; and no one in the +engine-room could fail to see that he was in the highest state of +exhilaration, now that the safety of the ship had been assured.</p> + +<p>"Of course, I know what it means," added the lady.</p> + +<p>"And I don't mean boarders at the hotel, who +<span class = "pagenum">137</span> +are repelled by strong butter and tough steaks," chuckled Christy.</p> + +<p>"I wish you would explain yourself, my son."</p> + +<p>"I will, mother mine. The fellows we fired at when we were at anchor +have just attempted to board the Bellevite, and thus obtain possession +of her, as they failed to do in Mobile Bay, as well as at our anchorage +in the Hudson." And he proceeded to explain in detail all that had +occurred on board and alongside.</p> + +<p>"My dear boy, I had no idea that you had been engaged in a battle!" +exclaimed the fond mother.</p> + +<p>"It wasn't much of a battle, though a good many pistol-shots were +fired at us; but a sixty-pound shot did the business on our side, and we +left the enemy, or a portion of them, paddling in the river, and trying +to keep their heads above water. But I must not stay here, for I have to +look out for the steering of the ship," continued Christy, as he moved +towards the door.</p> + +<p>"You whipped them out, did you, midshipman?" added the engineer.</p> + +<p>"We did; and there isn't any doubt of it. I shouldn't wonder if some +of them had lost the number of their mess. But I think it is settled +<span class = "pagenum">138</span> +for the present that Captain Carboneer don't go to sea in the Bellevite. +By the way, I had forgotten that we took a prisoner, and perhaps he will +be willing to tell us something more about his enterprise."</p> + +<p>"Who is the prisoner?" asked Mrs. Passford.</p> + +<p>"He is an officer, I judge, for he wore a frock-coat."</p> + +<p>"The party could not have had a great many officers. It was not the +captain, was it?"</p> + +<p>"No; I am sure it is not he. I think it must be the naval officer +whom Captain Carboneer called Haslett; but I have not seen him except as +he was shinning up the painter of the boat. You can go on deck if you +like, mother and Florry, or you may come with me into the pilot-house," +added Christy.</p> + +<p>The engineer had to remain on duty, and Miss Florry mildly objected +to leaving her present comfortable position on the sofa of the +engine-room; but as her mother wished to go with her brother, she felt +obliged to go with her.</p> + +<p>Christy gave his mother and sister places on the sofa abaft of the +wheel, and then looked into the position of the steamer. But the two +quartermasters +<span class = "pagenum">139</span> +had so often steered the steamer up and down the river that they had +done very well, and there was no especial need of the midshipman as a +pilot. The Bellevite was not going at anything like her best speed, or +at her usual rate at sea. As she was going, it was about a four-hours' +run to New York, and Christy was not in a hurry to get to his +destination.</p> + +<p>"Beeks, we have a prisoner, and I should like to take his measure," +said Christy to the senior quartermaster. "You may go aft and ask +Sampson to bring him into the pilot-house."</p> + +<p>"Bring him into the pilot-house," repeated the man, as he left the +apartment.</p> + +<p>"What are you going to do with your prisoner, Christy?" asked Mrs. +Passford.</p> + +<p>"I shall hand him over to the proper officers, and they can do what +they please with him," replied the middy. "I don't want him: do you, +mother?"</p> + +<p>"What should I want of him?"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you want him, Florry?" asked Christy of his sister.</p> + +<p>"I am sure I don't," she replied, pouting.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you will want him when you have seen him," added the middy +roguishly.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">140</span> +At this moment Sampson appeared at the door of the pilot-house, +conducting his prisoner, whose hands were still tied behind him. Christy +did not see him at first, for he was looking at his sister; but her +pretty face suddenly turned crimson, and her brother heard the sound of +footsteps in the apartment.</p> + +<p>As soon as he saw the prisoner, he started back in astonishment, +though perhaps there was no particular reason to be surprised. It was +not Mr. Haslett, as he had supposed, and it certainly was not Captain +Carboneer. But it was Major Lindley Pierson, late commandant of Fort +Gaines. Christy had not expected to meet him, and that was the only +reason why he was astonished.</p> + +<p>"Major Pierson!" exclaimed the midshipman, as soon as he had in some +degree recovered from his astonishment. "I believe we have met before +somewhere."</p> + +<p>"Without a doubt we have, Captain Passford," replied the major, who +no longer belonged to the Mulgate family.</p> + +<p>"Not a captain, if you please; but I am none the less glad to see you +on that account. This is really a very unexpected pleasure."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">141</span> +"And quite as unexpected to me, I assure you, especially to meet the +ladies," added the prisoner as he bowed low to Mrs. Passford and her +daughter. "I had hoped I might meet Mrs. and Miss Passford before I +returned to the South."</p> + +<p>"And you had even hoped to take one of them back with you as a +passenger in the Bellevite," Christy interpolated, with great good +nature.</p> + +<p>Major Pierson looked at him with a start, and it was his turn to be +astonished. He was a prisoner, but he had the privilege of wondering how +Christy knew so much about his affairs.</p> + +<p>"Captain Carboneer is a very obstinate man, and did not take kindly +to the carrying of lady passengers in a man-of-war; but I think he was +right, though my view may be of no consequence to you," added the young +officer. "I have the highest opinion of Captain Carboneer, for he is a +solid, substantial man. By the way. Major Pierson, who is he?"</p> + +<p>"He is Captain Carboneer," replied the major discreetly.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he is Captain Carboneer; I don't know: things are not always +what they seem, and +<span class = "pagenum">142</span> +I find that persons are not, either. Hasn't that been your experience, +Mr. Mulgate—I beg your pardon, Major Pierson?"</p> + +<p>The prisoner frowned, and gave a fierce glance at the midshipman, as +though he felt like annihilating him with a look. But he evidently +considered just then that he was in the presence of the ladies, and +perhaps that the flash of his eagle eye would not kill his tormentor, as +the young man seemed to have become.</p> + +<p>"I am your prisoner, or somebody's prisoner, Captain Passford, and +the tables are turned against me. Of course, you don't expect me to give +information that will be of use to the enemies of my country."</p> + +<p>"Of course not."</p> + +<p>"When you were my prisoner, I think I treated you like a gentleman," +added Major Pierson.</p> + +<p>"I think you did, sir; and that reminds me that your hands are tied +behind you. You were so kind as to release me from my bonds when I was +in your power"—</p> + +<p>"And it was the stupidest thing I ever did in my life," interposed +the prisoner, with some bitterness.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">143</span> +"I am not familiar with the events of your life, and I cannot gainsay +your remark."</p> + +<p>"You did not scruple to turn our own guns against us."</p> + +<p>"As you would have done if you had succeeded in capturing the +Bellevite," added Christy, smartly. "This time makes twice that you did +not capture her."</p> + +<p>"The third time may not fail."</p> + +<p>"It may not; but I must be as magnanimous as you were. Sampson, +release the gentleman."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Captain Passford; that is no more than I did for you when +you were in the same situation."</p> + +<p>"But I suppose you will not undertake to capture this ship after I +have done as well by you as you did by me. I intend to treat you like a +gentleman, though the fortunes of war are against you. Now, perhaps you +will not object to answering a question or two, in which there can be no +treason."</p> + +<p>"I must be my own judge of the questions," replied the major, rather +haughtily.</p> + +<p>"Certainly, sir; and I shall not insist upon your answering any +question. Was any one on board of the Vampire killed in this +affair?"</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">144</span> +"No one was killed."</p> + +<p>"Were any wounded?"</p> + +<p>"I am sorry to say that three were injured by the falling of the +pieces of the walking-beam."</p> + +<p>"Seriously?"</p> + +<p>"Two slightly, and one severely."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, major."</p> + +<p>"Of course, I am not informed of the fate of those in the boat when +it was sunk," added the prisoner.</p> + +<p>"I think no one was badly hurt in that part of the affair," said +Christy.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps it will be of interest to you to know that Private Passford, +formerly of my command, was the one who was severely wounded on board of +the Vampire."</p> + +<p>"Corny!" exclaimed Mrs. Passford.</p> + +<p>"I am sorry to say that he was struck on the shoulder by a fragment +of the machinery," replied the major, very politely, as he bowed low to +the lady.</p> + +<p>"Poor Corny!" ejaculated Miss Florry. "Is he very badly wounded, +Major Pierson?"</p> + +<p>"I do not know how seriously, but I am afraid he cannot use that +shoulder for a long time." +<span class = "pagenum">145</span> +replied the prisoner, fixing a look of admiration upon her, as if he +were glad to have the privilege of looking at her without causing any +remark.</p> + +<p>"I am so sorry for him. Corny was always real good to me when I have +been at Glenfield," added the fair girl, and she actually shed some +sympathetic tears as she thought of his wounded shoulder. "Can we not do +something for him, mother?"</p> + +<p>"I shall be very glad to have him removed to the house, and I will +take care of him till he gets well. I don't know whether this can be +done or not. Perhaps Major Pierson can inform me."</p> + +<p>"If your kind hearts prompt you to do this for one who is in arms +against the government, I have no doubt it can be managed. He can give +his parole, and that will make it all right."</p> + +<p>"He is my nephew, and I would do as much for him as I would for my +own son," replied Mrs. Passford heartily.</p> + +<p>"And I as much as I would for my brother," added Miss Florry.</p> + +<p>Everything was pleasant so far, though all the Passfords were worried +about poor Corny, who had been with the ladies only the evening +before.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">146</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXIII">CHAPTER XIII</a></h4> + +<h6>AFTER THE BATTLE</h6> + + +<p>It was six o'clock in the morning when the Bellevite let go her +anchor off Twentieth Street, as the young commander decided to do after +some consultation with Paul Vapoor, who was his senior in years if not +in wisdom. He did not suppose the steamer would be allowed to anchor at +the Navy Yard without orders to that effect. His father had not returned +from the city. Though he held no office, Captain Passford was as busy +with public affairs as though he had been the collector of the port.</p> + +<p>No one but the ladies had slept any during the trip; but they had +been on deck some time when the steamer anchored. Christy had been very +much in doubt as to what he should do with the Bellevite when he reached +his destination, and he was glad to see his mother when she came out of +the cabin. Though he was still hardly more than +<span class = "pagenum">147</span> +a boy, he believed in his mother, and it had not yet occurred to him +that he knew more than she did. He stated his difficulty to her, for +Paul had been as much in doubt as the midshipman.</p> + +<p>"I think it is a very easy question to answer, Christy," replied Mrs. +Passford, with a smile. "Where have you anchored?"</p> + +<p>"Off Union Square, or very near it, I should think," replied +Christy.</p> + +<p>"You know that your father stays at the St. James Hotel when he is in +the city," she added. "The only thing you can do is to find him, and let +him decide what is to be done with the Bellevite."</p> + +<p>"I did not think of that," added the midshipman. "I will get out a +boat at once, and go on shore."</p> + +<p>"Florry and I will go with you," continued Mrs. Passford. "We have +nothing to do here, and I should like to return to Bonnydale as soon as +possible. But what will you do with your prisoner, Christy?"</p> + +<p>"I shall do nothing with him. Sampson is in charge of him, and I am +sure he will not take his eye off the major while he remains on +board."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">148</span> +The port-quarter boat was lowered into the water, and a couple of the +old sailors took their places in her. The ladies were assisted to their +seats, and Christy, after he had informed the engineer that he was in +command during his absence, leaped into the boat, and it was pulled to +the nearest pier. A carriage was called, and the party were driven to +the hotel. It was half-past six, and Christy was informed that his +father had not yet come down. Word was sent up to him, and the son went +to his room, where he found him only half dressed.</p> + +<p>"I did not expect to see you at this time in the morning, my son," +said the owner of the Bellevite. "How did you come down so early?"</p> + +<p>"I came in the Bellevite; and she is at anchor in the stream off +Twentieth Street, father," replied Christy.</p> + +<p>"In the Bellevite!" exclaimed Captain Passford, with the nearest +thing to a frown that ever appeared on his brow in the presence of any +member of his family. "I don't quite understand how"—</p> + +<p>"An attempt was made to capture her last night, father, and I thought +it best to make sure of her," interposed the midshipman.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">149</span> +"To capture her!" ejaculated Captain Passford, suspending his toilet, +and gazing into the face of his son. "I think you must have dreamed +that, Christy."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps I did, father; but we captured one prisoner of rank in my +dream, and he is on board now, closely guarded by Sampson," replied +Christy, laughing in his excitement. "Mother and Florry were on board, +and they are down in the parlor waiting to see you."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean that an attempt was really made to capture the Bellevite +last night?" asked the captain, as if unable to credit the astounding +intelligence.</p> + +<p>"Of course I can prove all I say by many witnesses. Mr. Watts is on +board, and he has been dreaming too if I have. Paul Vapoor is another +dreamer, to say nothing of eight or ten more on board," added +Christy.</p> + +<p>Captain Passford completed dressing himself about as quick as he had +probably ever done since he became a millionnaire, and attended Christy +down to the parlor, where he gave his wife and daughter an affectionate +reception.</p> + +<p>"But our boy tells me that some one has been +<span class = "pagenum">150</span> +trying to obtain possession of the Bellevite, Julia; and it seems to me +hardly possible that such an attempt should be made so far up the +river," said Captain Passford, as soon as he was able to allude to the +subject.</p> + +<p>"But it is quite true, Horatio; and our boy has behaved like a hero, +if he is our son," replied the lady, bestowing a glance of pride upon +the midshipman.</p> + +<p>"He says he has a prisoner on board," added the captain.</p> + +<p>"And who do you think that prisoner is, Horatio?" asked Mrs. +Passford.</p> + +<p>"Is it Jeff Davis?" he inquired, with a smile.</p> + +<p>"Not exactly; but it is Major Lindley Pierson."</p> + +<p>"Indeed? Then I begin to see through the matter," replied Captain +Passford. "He failed to obtain the steamer in Mobile Bay, and he came up +here after her. But I should like to hear the particulars of this +affair."</p> + +<p>"And poor Corny Passford was wounded in the shoulder," said Florry, +who had hardly spoken before.</p> + +<p>"You don't mean that you had a fight, +<span class = "pagenum">151</span> +Christy?" demanded the captain, looking quite serious.</p> + +<p>"Not much of a fight, father; we fired the long gun once, and +disabled an old steamer, and we sunk a boat that was trying to lay us +aboard."</p> + +<p>"Then it was a more serious affair than I had supposed."</p> + +<p>"But, father, I think we had better be going on board; and I can tell +you the story on the way just as well as here," suggested Christy.</p> + +<p>"But you must have your breakfast before you go, for there is nothing +to eat on board of the steamer," replied Captain Passford, as he led the +way down into the restaurant.</p> + +<p>While they were waiting for the meal to be served, the captain went +to the house of a military officer, with whom he was intimately +acquainted, and requested him to take the prisoner off his hands. After +the meagre details of the affair he gave, the officer offered to put a +company on board of the steamer for her protection; but the captain +thought this was unnecessary.</p> + +<p>After the breakfast, the party took a carriage for the pier. On the +way the captain ordered a supply of cooked provisions to be sent down to +the +<span class = "pagenum">152</span> +boat for the use of the men on board of the Bellevite. With this supply +the party went on board. On the way Christy had told his story, and by +the time they went on board Captain Passford had learned all about the +affair.</p> + +<p>He had received the order to deliver the steamer at the Navy Yard on +the following Monday, and he decided to return to Bonnydale in her. +Enough of the former members of the ship's company could be obtained in +a few hours to hold the vessel against any enemy that was likely to +appear in the river. As the owner was now on board, the engineer put on +full steam, and she reached her anchorage, as indicated by the buoy of +the cable which had been slipped. It was hauled in, and the Bellevite +was replaced in her former position.</p> + +<p>The tremendous report of the great gun in the small hours of the +morning had startled all the people in the vicinity, though it was not +till they left their beds that the news was conveyed to them. A party in +the town just below the scene of the disaster to the Vampire had been +collected, and they had taken a steamer to explore the river in search +of the bold actors in the affair, as soon +<span class = "pagenum">153</span> +as the facts were known in the vicinity. The steamer had been running up +and down the river since six in the morning.</p> + +<p>When the Bellevite passed up the river, she was promptly recognized +by the investigating party on board of the Alert, which followed the +steamer up to her anchorage. She came alongside some time after the crew +had fished up the cable; but Captain Passford warned her to keep off as +soon as he discovered her intention to come alongside. She was a small +steamer, and had at least twenty men on her deck, so that the captain +thought it necessary to learn her object before she came any nearer.</p> + +<p>A boat with two men was sent from the Alert, and one of them was +permitted to come on board. This one proved to be Captain Mainhill, with +whom the owner of the Bellevite was well acquainted. He was a wealthy +and patriotic man, though rather too old to be engaged in active service +for his country.</p> + +<p>"I thought you might be representatives of the Southern Confederacy, +and I was rather shy of you," said Captain Passford, as he took the hand +of his neighbor. "I should not have been so cautious if I had met you +last evening."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">154</span> +"We have been looking for the gentlemen who were engaged in this attempt +to capture the Bellevite," added Captain Mainhill.</p> + +<p>"I hope you have found them, or some of them," replied the owner.</p> + +<p>"Only a single one of them; and he is badly wounded. We have scoured +the river for miles without finding any trace of the enemy. I think they +landed on the east shore, and went over to the railroad, where they +probably took the first train that came along," replied Captain +Mainhill.</p> + +<p>"Of course, they saw the Bellevite going down the river, and perhaps +they have gone down to New York to finish the job they begun here," +suggested Captain Passford. "Do you know if the enemy lost any of their +number when the boat was smashed?"</p> + +<p>But Captain Mainhill knew nothing about the affair on the river +beyond the fact that an attempt had been made to capture the Bellevite, +and he had not ascertained that more than one was injured.</p> + +<p>"We found the Vampire aground half a mile below where the shot +disabled her," continued the leader of the expedition. "Her machinery +was +<span class = "pagenum">155</span> +badly smashed. She never was good for much, and she is good for nothing +now."</p> + +<p>"Did the enemy carry off the one who was wounded?" asked Captain +Passford, prompted by his wife.</p> + +<p>"No; he seems to have been too badly damaged for that; they left him +at the house of a workingman near the river, and I suppose he is there +now," replied Captain Mainhill. "I don't know that there is anything +more that we can do, and we may as well go home to breakfast."</p> + +<p>"Do you know where the wounded person is to be found?" asked Captain +Passford.</p> + +<p>"I do; and I have seen him. He is suffering a good deal of pain; but +he is as plucky as a mad snake, and he would not say a word in answer to +my questions."</p> + +<p>"I shall be greatly obliged to you, Captain Mainhill, if you will +land me as near as you can to the house where this wounded man is, and +show me where it is. Mrs. Passford will go with me," said the owner.</p> + +<p>"Very glad indeed to do it," replied the leader of the searching +party.</p> + +<p>Captain Passford instructed some of the men +<span class = "pagenum">156</span> +on board to summon all the former ship's company of the Bellevite on +board at once that could be found, and then went on board of the Alert +with his wife. They were landed in a boat just below the bend, and +Captain Mainhill conducted them to the house where Corny was said +to be.</p> + +<p>They found him there, and the poor fellow was glad enough to see +them. No doctor had been called, and nothing had been done to alleviate +his pain; but he was immediately removed to the mansion at Bonnydale, +with his own consent, and Dr. Linscott was sent for.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">157</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXIV">CHAPTER XIV</a></h4> + +<h6>THE BEGINNING OF A CHASE</h6> + + +<p>Major Pierson still remained on board of the Bellevite, for no +officer had been sent on board for him, as expected; and he was under +the efficient care of Sampson. He was subjected to no restraint, and he +took his breakfast with the engineer. But he was not a welcome visitor +on board, and Captain Passford would have been very glad to get rid of +him.</p> + +<p>The owner sought him the next time he came on board, when he was not +so busy as he had been before. But he said nothing to him about his +mission at the North, and treated him as a guest rather than a prisoner. +For reasons of his own, though not difficult to conjecture, he was very +anxious to make a good appearance before the father of Miss Florry, and +he was a gentleman in his manners.</p> + +<p>"Major Pierson, I am sorry to do anything that +<span class = "pagenum">158</span> +may be unpleasant to you, but I have not the means of holding you as a +prisoner," said the captain, after they had been talking of indifferent +subjects for a time.</p> + +<p>"I realize that I am a prisoner of war, subject to such restraint as +my captors impose upon me," replied the major.</p> + +<p>"If you will allow yourself to be paroled, it will settle your status +for the present," added Captain Passford.</p> + +<p>"As a guest at your house?" asked the major, his face suddenly +brightening up. "I shall be very happy to give my parole."</p> + +<p>"Not at my house, if you please, Major Pierson; it would not be +convenient at the present time," replied the owner, astonished at the +suggestion,</p> + +<p>"Then you will excuse me if I decline to accept a parole," replied +the prisoner, biting his lip as though he was not pleased with the +reply. "As a guest in your house, I should not wish you to have any +solicitude in regard to me."</p> + +<p>"Very well, major; I cannot object to your decision," added the +captain, as he touched his hat and left the prisoner to the attentions +of Sampson.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">159</span> +He was kept on board of the Bellevite, now re-enforced by the return of +about twenty of her former crew, so that regular watches were kept, and +there was no chance for the prisoner to escape, and none for Captain +Carboneer to capture the steamer. Dr. Linscott soon relieved Corny of +his pain, but it was many weeks before he was fit to leave the house, +and then he was paroled. Captain Passford could never ascertain what had +become of the crew intended for the Bellevite, though it was supposed, +as they separated, that they found their way to some port where they +could ship for their chosen service.</p> + +<p>On the Monday following the attempt to capture her, the Bellevite was +taken to the Navy Yard, and she was prepared for service. It was +understood that her former officers and crew would be appointed to her, +for they were accustomed to the vessel, and could do better with her +than any other. Paul Vapoor and Christy Passford had already received +their commissions and orders. Captain Breaker had been restored to his +former rank, and was to be the commander of the Bellevite.</p> + +<p>It was two months before the ship was ready to +<span class = "pagenum">160</span> +go into commission. Important alterations had been made below, and the +armament had been taken from her deck, substituting for it a Parrot +midship piece, of eight-inch bore, and carrying a one hundred and fifty +pound shot, two sixty-pounders, and two thirty-pounders. This was a +heavy armament, but the ship was strong enough to bear it.</p> + +<p>Joel Dashington and Ethan Blowitt were appointed as masters, and were +to be the first and second lieutenants, while Christy Passford was the +third. Leon Bolter was made a first assistant engineer, and Fred Faggs +the second. Sampson obtained his place as a first-class fireman, with +the expectation of soon becoming an assistant engineer, for he was well +qualified for the position.</p> + +<p>Captain Passford, though he had offered his services in any capacity +in which he might be needed, had been induced to withdraw his +application for the reason that he could be of more service to the cause +at home than he could in the field or at sea. He was a man of influence, +and he was needed in civil life. He was even able to do more as an +adviser and counsellor than in any public office, though he filled +several of the latter in the earlier part of the war. He furnished no +inconsiderable +<span class = "pagenum">161</span> +part of the money needed at particular times, and he was only less +valuable on account of his money than he was for his patriotism and good +judgment.</p> + +<p>"Now, Christy, remember that you are an officer of the United States, +and make yourself worthy of the place you occupy," said his father to +Christy, on the evening of his last day at home. "Study your duty, and +then perform it faithfully. Perhaps I can tell you something of more +value than good advice is generally considered to be."</p> + +<p>"I shall try to follow your good advice, father; and I mean to do my +duty; and it will not be for the want of trying if I fail," replied +Christy.</p> + +<p>"You have sailed with Captain Breaker a great deal when you were in a +different relation to him. Now I must warn you that he has his duty to +do, and I hope you will not expect to be favored, or ask him for +privileges not granted to other officers," continued the late owner of +the Bellevite.</p> + +<p>"I am sure I expect him to be impartial with his officers."</p> + +<p>"I meant to have seen Breaker this afternoon before I came home; but +I had not time to go to the ship. For some of my own affairs I have had +three agents in England. I wrote them some time +<span class = "pagenum">162</span> +ago to obtain all the information they could in regard to vessels, +especially steamers, that cleared for any ports of the British +Possessions near the United States," continued Captain Passford, taking +a letter from his pocket. "Two weeks ago an iron steamer sailed from a +port in Ireland for the Bermudas. This letter will tell you all about +it, and you will hand it to Captain Breaker, and give him my +explanation."</p> + +<p>The midshipman put the letter into his pocket without reading it. In +his chamber he looked it over, and found that it meant business, and he +was delighted with the idea of having something to do before he reached +the port for which the ship was bound, for the inactivity of the +blockade was not wholly to his mind. He slept as soundly as usual, for +already he had come to regard war as the business in which he was +engaged, and he had but little sickly sentiment over it.</p> + +<p>It was a tearful parting with his mother and sister before he took +the train with his father, and it was a sad one with his father when he +went off to the Bellevite in the boat. But neither of them shed any +tears, for both felt that they were called upon to discharge their duty +to their country.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">163</span> +Captain Breaker had always trained his officers and seamen to perform +their duty in conformity with the discipline of the navy so far as it +was practicable to do so, and consequently his ship's company were very +nearly at home from the beginning of the voyage. He had received his +sealed orders, and at noon the Bellevite went down the bay on her +mission to the South, though no one on board knew where the ship was +bound. The crew had been re-enforced by as many men as she had usually +carried, and the first day was a very busy one in putting everything in +order. Christy had handed the letter his father had given him to the +captain, and after dinner he spoke of it.</p> + +<p>"Did you read this letter, Mr. Passford?" asked the captain.</p> + +<p>"I did, sir; my father told me to read it," replied Christy.</p> + +<p>"It appears that a very fast steamer loaded with a valuable cargo +sailed from Belfast eleven days ago, clearing for the Bermudas. We shall +all be very happy to pay our respects to her; but I can say nothing till +I have opened my orders to-morrow," said Captain Breaker.</p> + +<p>"If she sailed eleven days ago from Belfast, she +<span class = "pagenum">164</span> +ought to be well up with the Bermudas, if she is as fast as represented, +sir," added Christy, hoping the orders would permit the Bellevite to +look out for the Killbright, as she was called.</p> + +<p>The next day, as the observations indicated the latitude in which the +sealed orders were to be opened, the seal of the official envelope was +broken. Captain Breaker read the letter, and a smile came over his +bronzed face. The orders were evidently to his satisfaction; and +Christy, who was on duty near him, remembered what his father had said +to him, and asked no question, as he would have been likely to do under +other circumstances. But the commander was kind enough to call his +officers to him, and inform them of the duty assigned to the ship.</p> + +<p>The government had received information which indicated the approach +to our shores of a considerable fleet of blockade runners, and the +Bellevite, on account of her reputed fast sailing, was to cruise for a +given time off the coast in search of these blockade runners.</p> + +<p>"I have no doubt these blockade runners will go into the Bermudas, +especially the Killbright. If we go into St. George, we shall not be +allowed +<span class = "pagenum">165</span> +to sail till twenty-four hours after this fast vessel leaves," said +Captain Breaker. "On the other hand, if we are seen off the port, she +will not come out."</p> + +<p>"I don't see, then, that we can do anything about it, Captain +Breaker," added Mr. Dashington.</p> + +<p>"Captain Passford's correspondent thinks the Killbright is intended +for the Confederate Navy, and that she is commanded by a naval officer +sent out for the purpose," continued the captain.</p> + +<p>But no satisfactory measures could be devised for overcoming the +difficulties on both hands, and the steamer sped on her way. In two days +more she was in sight of the Bermudas. It was almost dark when the +lookout sighted a steamer coming out from the islands. By the order of +the captain, the engine was stopped, and the steamer rested silently on +a calm sea.</p> + +<p>"I don't think she has seen us yet," said Captain Breaker. "If she +had, she would have come about and run back into the harbor."</p> + +<p>"She keeps on her course," added Mr. Dashington.</p> + +<p>"If she has the reputation of being a very fast +<span class = "pagenum">166</span> +vessel, very likely she believes that she can run away from us," +suggested Mr. Blowitt.</p> + +<p>"As I don't believe the vessel floats that can outsail the Bellevite, +I shall give her time to get well away from the port before the screw +turns again," said the captain.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Passford," called he a little later.</p> + +<p>"On duty, sir," replied Christy, touching his cap to the +commander.</p> + +<p>"You will have the midship gun charged with a solid shot, and have it +ready for use at once."</p> + +<p>As the steamer in the distance still kept on her course, the screw of +the Bellevite was started. The chief engineer was called upon deck, and +the situation explained to him.</p> + +<p>"We shall want all the speed we can get out of her, Mr. Vapoor," said +the captain.</p> + +<p>"We shall have no trouble in making twenty-two knots, sir, with the +sea as it is now," replied the engineer.</p> + +<p>"That steamer means to go into the Cape Fear River," said Mr. +Blowitt, when the chase had laid her course. "If she was going in at +Savannah, or round into the Gulf, she would go more to the south."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">167</span> +"I think you are right; but she has room enough to run away from us if +she can," added the captain.</p> + +<p>It was a busy time in the fireroom, but there was nothing to do on +deck but watch the steamer. She had actually lighted the green light on +the starboard, and evidently did not expect to be overhauled, even if +her commander had noticed the presence of the Bellevite.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">168</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXV">CHAPTER XV</a></h4> + +<h6>A CHASE OFF THE BERMUDAS</h6> + + +<p>All the officers on board of the Bellevite who had never been in the +navy had spent their long vacation in the study and practice of gunnery +and naval tactics; and the men had been carefully drilled by a competent +officer as soon as they reported for duty. But a considerable number of +the latter had served for years on board of men-of-war, and a few were +sheet-anchor men. The latter are sailors who have spent the greater part +of their lives in the national sea-service, and they were competent to +teach many of the junior officers.</p> + +<p>Every day after the ship went into commission, both officers and +seamen were drilled, and the captain declared that they had all made +satisfactory proficiency. He was ready to meet an enemy with them; but +then the ship's company of the steam-yacht were of the very best +material. They were all intelligent men, and sailors to begin with, so +<span class = "pagenum">169</span> +that the task of qualifying them for active duty was not very +laborious.</p> + +<p>Christy was even better fitted for his duties than many of the older +officers, for he was not only full of enthusiasm, but he was skilful and +scientific, as a rule. He neither asked nor expected any favors on +account of former relations with the captain and other officers, and he +was determined to make his way by merit rather than by favor. Besides, +he had already been under fire, and he had an idea how it felt. Though +he was as prudent and careful as circumstances might require, he had +proved that he was as brave as a lion, and that shot and shell were not +likely to drive him from the post of duty.</p> + +<p>Every man was in his place at the midship gun, seventeen of them, +including the powder-boy, and Christy gave the orders for loading the +piece as though he had been in the navy all his life. The other guns, +the broadsides, were loaded at the same time. But just now Paul Vapoor +was the most important man on board, and he was rapidly making himself +felt in the increasing speed of the Bellevite. Captain Breaker estimated +that the steamer which had just come out of port was +<span class = "pagenum">170</span> +all of five miles ahead. It was only seven o'clock in the early darkness +of this latitude. Whether the chase was the Killbright or not, it was +impossible to make out in the darkness.</p> + +<p>If it was the Killbright, Captain Passford's correspondent wrote that +she was capable of making twenty knots an hour, as she had been built +more for speed than anything else, though she could hardly be a +profitable commercial venture. But even accepting this speed as the +difficulty to be overcome, the Bellevite would probably overhaul her in +two or three hours. The engineer felt that his reputation and that of +the ship were at stake, and could not think of such a thing as failure +in the first actual encounter with the enemy.</p> + +<p>"We are gaining on her without the ghost of a doubt, Mr. Passford," +said Boxie, who was ready for duty at the gun.</p> + +<p>"No doubt of that, Tom Boxie," replied the third lieutenant. "But she +is taking it very coolly. She has not yet even put out her lights."</p> + +<p>"I suppose you know why she hasn't, Mr. Passford," added the captain +of the gun.</p> + +<p>"I am sure I don't know," replied Christy. "If I was in command of +that steamer, and wanted +<span class = "pagenum">171</span> +to do just what she does, I should not proceed as she does. But I am +nothing but a boy."</p> + +<p>"But you have got a long head on your shoulders, Mr. Passford, and I +should like to know, if you please, what you would do."</p> + +<p>"I would put her lights out before I winked twice."</p> + +<p>"Right, Mr. Passford!" exclaimed the sheet-anchor man. "I am glad to +hear you say that. The trouble with most of the boys is, when they go to +sea to fight the battles of their country, they are as reckless as young +wildcats."</p> + +<p>"I think it is possible to use proper caution without being a coward, +Tom Boxie; and my father gave me a lesson on that subject not long +ago."</p> + +<p>"Eight bells, sir; and that steamer has had a good hour of running so +far. I will wager my day's grub that we are two knots nearer to her than +when she laid her course," added Boxie, delighted with the +situation.</p> + +<p>"I have no doubt of it. I think they are beginning to see it on board +of her. There go her lights! She has not a ghost of a glow in sight; and +I suppose there is going to be some monkeying +<span class = "pagenum">172</span> +about it, if she has ascertained that she cannot run away +from us."</p> + +<p>"Most likely, sir; but this is not a good night to play tricks, for +we have a bright night and a smooth sea."</p> + +<p>"As that steamer has such a reputation for speed, I have no doubt +they put a very valuable cargo on board of her; probably she has a good +supply of arms in her hold."</p> + +<p>"So much the better for us, Mr. Passford. We don't fight for +prize-money, but when a man gets to be as old as I am, a good round sum +of money don't come amiss to him. But I am sorry to see that it looks +like a change of weather," continued the sheet-anchor man, as he hitched +up his trousers, and took a survey of the heavens.</p> + +<p>The wind began to come from the west after it had been almost a dead +calm since noon. It looked as though a heavy shower was coming up, and +clouds of mist and fog swept over the ocean. The usual lookouts had been +doubled, but, in spite of all precautions, the Bellevite lost sight of +the chase when she could not have been more than a mile from her. But +this weather was to be expected in this changeable latitude. Captain +<span class = "pagenum">173</span> +Breaker was as perplexed as any one, however skilful, must have been in +the same situation. It was impossible to know what the chase would do, +though it was plain enough, since she put out her lights, that she would +change her course.</p> + +<p>It was over six hundred miles to Cape Hatteras, and she had room +enough to manœuvre in any manner she pleased. The change in the +weather hardly amounted to a storm, and probably it would be all over in +a few hours. But the chase might turn to any point of the compass, and +the Bellevite was as likely to pursue in the wrong as the right +direction. But the first thing the commander ordered the chief engineer +to do was to save his coal; though he held to his course, and the ship +continued at a moderate speed till daylight.</p> + +<p>As the wise ones had predicted, the shower was of brief duration. As +soon as it was light enough to see, and the fog banks had been swept +away, a sharp lookout was kept for the chase. If she was ahead, she had +outsailed her pursuer; but Captain Breaker was sure she had not done +this, for she could not have had confidence enough in her heels to adopt +such a course.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">174</span> +"Sail, ho!" yelled a man on the cross-trees, a few minutes later.</p> + +<p>"Where away?" called the officer of the deck.</p> + +<p>"On the port beam, sir."</p> + +<p>Several officers mounted the rigging to obtain a sight of the +reported sail. She was at least ten miles off, and no one could make out +whether or not it was the chase of the night before. The captain ordered +the ship to be headed to the southward, and, after she had gone on this +course an hour, there was another hail from the cross-trees.</p> + +<p>"Sail is a steamer, sir!" reported the lookout.</p> + +<p>With the aid of the spyglasses, a long streak of black smoke could be +made out of the dark clouds that were retreating in that direction. A +little later it was demonstrated that she was headed for the coast of +the United States. Whether it was the chase they sought or not, she +needed looking after. The course was laid in a direction to intercept +the steamer, for her inky smoke indicated that she was not American.</p> + +<p>In another hour she could be very distinctly made out, though the +chase had not been so clearly made out the night before as to enable the +officers to identify her. Paul Vapoor was in his element +<span class = "pagenum">175</span> +again, and the Bellevite was doing her best. The two vessels were +approaching each other, and Boxie suggested that there would be "music" +in less than an hour.</p> + +<p>The people on board of the strange steamer must have been as much in +the dark in regard to the caliber of the naval vessel as those on board +of the Bellevite were in respect to their confident rival. The chase was +a long craft, it could be seen now, with two masts and two smokestacks, +all of which raked in the most dashing style. She was rather low in the +water, and, if it had been in the days of the pirates, the stranger +would have been a fair ideal of the freebooter's ship.</p> + +<p>"She keeps on just as though she intended to mind her own business, +and leave the Bellevite to do the same," said Boxie, as Christy took his +place near the midship gun.</p> + +<p>"I have no doubt the Bellevite knows her business in this case, and +that she will attend to it in due time," added the lieutenant.</p> + +<p>"Good!" exclaimed the sheet-anchor man, suddenly.</p> + +<p>This exclamation was called forth by a flag, which was run up at the +peak, and which proved +<span class = "pagenum">176</span> +to be that of the Confederacy as soon as it was spread out to the +breeze.</p> + +<p>"She is plucky, anyhow," added Christy.</p> + +<p>"There is no lack of pluck in the South. But I wonder what she means +by setting that rag."</p> + +<p>"Beeks, hoist the ensign at the peak," said the captain, and the +brilliant banner was spread in the morning air.</p> + +<p>"I reckon both sides understand the situation now. I don't know the +captain of that craft, but he is an able fellow, and probably got his +education in the old navy, and not in the new one, where he is serving +now," continued Boxie.</p> + +<p>"I think it is easy enough to see what he means," replied Christy. +"He ascertained last night that, fast as his vessel is, he cannot +outsail the Bellevite; and there is really only one thing he can do, and +that is to fight."</p> + +<p>The lieutenant had hardly spoken the words before there was a puff of +smoke from one side of the chase, and a heavy report came across the +water. But the two steamers were still a long distance apart, and the +shot fell short, to the satisfaction of the captain. The chase had been +obliged to come to in order to bring her gun to +<span class = "pagenum">177</span> +bear, and she had lost a little time in doing so. It could be easily +seen on board of both steamers that the Bellevite was gaining rapidly on +the other.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Passford, I am as sure of capturing that vessel as though I had +her now, and I do not wish to injure her any more than is necessary," +said Captain Breaker, as he sighted the Parrot, and devoted especial +attention to her. "She is a very fast steamer, and she will be very +valuable in our navy in picking up just such vessels as she is +herself."</p> + +<p>Perhaps it was impudence for him to do so, but Christy could not help +casting his eye along the gun. All possible precautions were taken to +secure a correct aim, and then the lieutenant gave the order to +"Fire!"</p> + +<p>"Hit her, sir!" shouted one of the lookout men aloft, who could see +over the cloud of smoke.</p> + +<p>"Where did it strike her?" demanded the captain.</p> + +<p>"Right in the broadside, abreast of the forward smokestack, sir! She +has stopped her screw!" added the lookout.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Dashington, get the ship astern of the +<span class = "pagenum">178</span> +chase at once," continued the captain to the first lieutenant.</p> + +<p>This was the work of at least half an hour; but the Bellevite was +running for the stern of the other steamer, as though she intended to +cut her in two lengthwise. The chase lay helpless on the water, unable +to bring her broadside guns to bear on her enemy.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">179</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXVI">CHAPTER XVI</a></h4> + +<h6>THE CONFEDERATE STEAMER YAZOO</h6> + + +<p>It was impossible to discover the nature or extent of the injury the +chase had received from the shot from the midship gun; but she had been +disabled, though it might be but slightly. The Bellevite dashed on, as +though impatient to obtain possession of her prey. All the glasses on +board were brought to bear on the injured vessel, which all hands +regarded as already a prize.</p> + +<p>The glasses did not reveal any considerable havoc in the side of the +steamer, and the shot hole could easily be plugged when necessary; but +the commander of the craft did not yet give up the ship, for he seemed +to be engaged in hoisting her foresail and jibs, evidently with the +intention of bringing her about so that he could use his guns. The wind +was very light, and his chances of accomplishing his purpose were not +very brilliant.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">180</span> +"Mr. Dashington, you will call all hands, and be ready to board the +prize in three divisions when we run abreast of her," said Captain +Breaker. "Let Mr. Passford command the forward division; Mr. Blowitt, +the waist; and Mr. Calvert, the quarter."</p> + +<p>The boarders were mustered at once, as there was no occasion to fire +again at the prize. Each officer arranged his men, and spoke some +stirring words to them. Men in the tops were supplied with muskets, and +all with revolvers and cutlasses. It was not believed that all this +force would be necessary to capture the prize, but there was some +evidence that she had a fighting crew on board, and the captain prepared +for the worst.</p> + +<p>As the Bellevite came nearer to the prize, the sound of hammers was +heard, and it appeared that the engineers were engaged in an effort to +repair the mischief which had been done to the engine. It was still +impossible to see how many men she had on board, but Captain Breaker did +not estimate that she had a full ship's company, for vessels intended +for war purposes, escaping as this one doubtless had, did not usually +take their force on board at the beginning of the cruise.</p> + +<p class = "illustration"> +<img src = "images/pic180.png" width = "323" height = "502" +alt = "illustration of quoted scene"><br> +<span class = "caption"> +"<span class = "smallcaps">Christy and Beeks on the Steamer's +Deck</span>."—Page 181.</span> +</p> + +<p>The three divisions of boarders were all in readiness, +<span class = "pagenum">181</span> +and all they feared was that there would be little for them to do on +board the enemy. Captain Breaker was in the fore rigging where he could +observe all that was done on the decks of both vessels. The Bellevite +went ahead with all speed till the signal was given to slow down. The +sea was not heavy, and the captain laid her alongside of the prize.</p> + +<p>"Do you surrender?" demanded the commander in a loud tone, but with +his usual dignity.</p> + +<p>"I do not surrender!" replied the captain of the steamer.</p> + +<p>"Boarders away!" shouted Captain Breaker.</p> + +<p>Christy Passford was the first to leap upon the rail of the other +vessel, and then he dropped in the same instant upon her deck. At that +moment he was conscious that the steamer under him was moving, though it +might be the shaking which the Bellevite gave her when she came +alongside. On the deck of the prize, as he still taught himself to +consider her, he saw not more than thirty men; and with nearly three +times that number on the other side, it did not look as if it could be a +very hotly contested battle.</p> + +<p>As Christy jumped down from the rail, Beeks +<span class = "pagenum">182</span> +followed him, and he was not a little surprised to find that they were +alone. But there was no enemy at hand upon whom he could flesh his +cutlass, and he sprang upon the rail again. He found that his impression +had been correct, for the vessel was moving. She had already left a gap +a dozen feet wide between the Bellevite and herself.</p> + +<p>It appeared that the machinery had been repaired, and that it was now +capable of doing all that it had done before. The steamer was the +Killbright, for the lieutenant saw the name painted in several places +about her forward deck. She had suddenly shot ahead very unexpectedly to +the captors, as they supposed they were, alongside of her. A puff of +wind had been favoring her before, and she darted away towards the +northwest. As she began to move, the lock-strings of her port battery +were pulled as rapidly as possible.</p> + +<p>It would have been impossible to help hitting the Bellevite, with the +three guns fired into her at so short a distance. But the cloud of smoke +that enveloped both vessels prevented the captain from taking in the +situation. The crew of the Killbright were ordered to reload their guns +instantly. Whatever was to happen in the near +<span class = "pagenum">183</span> +or distant future, it was evident that the dangerous steamer had not yet +been captured, and Christy did not think of her as a prize any more just +then.</p> + +<p>The Killbright crowded on all the steam she could obtain, and she +rapidly increased the distance between herself and the Bellevite. She +fired her three broadside guns continually, but it was clear to Christy +that the men had not been trained to this business, or they might +perhaps have sunk the naval vessel by this time.</p> + +<p>The Bellevite fired her two broadside guns, and they made terrible +havoc in the upper works of the Killbright. But the strangest thing of +all to the young lieutenant, caught on board of the anticipated prize, +was that the Bellevite did not go ahead, and give the boarding parties a +chance to get on the deck of the enemy.</p> + +<p>"I don't understand it, Beeks," said Christy as he found himself by +the side of the quartermaster. "Why don't the ship give chase?"</p> + +<p>"I think she must be disabled, sir," replied the warrant officer.</p> + +<p>"What could have disabled her?"</p> + +<p>"I suppose she might be hit as well as this +<span class = "pagenum">184</span> +vessel," replied Beets, no better pleased with the situation than his +companion in trouble. "They fired three shots into her while she was +alongside."</p> + +<p>"She must have been hit in a bad place, or she would have been +alongside of us before this time. But here we are."</p> + +<p>The third lieutenant and quartermaster felt very much like prisoners, +though they had no evidence that the Killbright was a ship-of-war, +except that she had hoisted the Confederate flag, and fired upon the +Bellevite. But the rakish-looking steamer continued on her course, while +the Bellevite had not moved since the first broadside. She had already +made a mile, and the shots from her enemy did not seem to disable +her.</p> + +<p>She continued to run with all her speed, and the lieutenant felt the +deck quiver as though it was in danger of being shaken out of her. But +she was not followed by the Bellevite, and things began to look dark and +somewhat cheerless to Christy. The firing came to an end, for the +distance was becoming too great for it to be effectual on either +side.</p> + +<p>"If we had not jumped down from the rail when we boarded, we might +have escaped this +<span class = "pagenum">185</span> +scrape," said Beeks, who was even more disgusted than his companion.</p> + +<p>"It is no use to growl about it," added Christy, laughing. "Here we +are, and we can't help ourselves at present."</p> + +<p>"I suppose they will let us go, won't they?" inquired the +quartermaster.</p> + +<p>"Let us go where?"</p> + +<p>"Let us go back where we came from," replied Beeks, who seemed to be +quite muddled by his misfortune.</p> + +<p>"You don't expect them to put you on board of the Bellevite again, do +you?"</p> + +<p>"Well, no; not exactly; but this steamer is nothing but a blockade +runner, and such craft don't take prisoners."</p> + +<p>"I hardly know what she is yet; she is a blockade runner, but she +appeals to be something more than that. She hoisted the Confederate +flag, and her people stood by their guns like brave men. I count myself +as a prisoner of war," said Christy, to the increased disgust of his +companion.</p> + +<p>"What do you suppose they will do with us?" asked Beeks, looking as +though he had not a friend in the world, though he had always been a +very +<span class = "pagenum">186</span> +brave and active fellow when there was anything to do.</p> + +<p>"I don't know, but I suppose she will run the blockade into the Cape +Fear River, and we may be taken up to Wilmington."</p> + +<p>While they were talking about it, they saw a group of officers coming +to the forward deck, where they had remained since they came on board. +They appeared to be examining the steamer to ascertain what damage she +had sustained. Her bulwarks had been torn off, and she had suffered not +a little from shot; but she did not appear to be very seriously damaged. +At the head of the party was one who had a uniform, and dignity enough +to be the commander of the ship.</p> + +<p>"Who are those two men forward?" asked this gentleman, as he called +the attention of the others to the two strangers.</p> + +<p>No one knew who they were, and the captain continued to advance, +looking very sharply at Christy, or at his uniform. The lieutenant +thought he had seen the gentleman before, for it was quite impossible +entirely to forget one with so much character in his face.</p> + +<p>"I am afraid I shall be obliged to call upon +<span class = "pagenum">187</span> +you, sir, to explain how you and your companion happen to be here, for I +was not before aware of your presence."</p> + +<p>"I shall cheerfully explain, Captain Carboneer," replied Christy, +recognizing the captain, and bowing politely.</p> + +<p>"Ah, you know me? But I have not the pleasure of your acquaintance, +so far as I can remember," added the captain.</p> + +<p>"We met under some disadvantages so far as you are concerned, for I +had the satisfaction of seeing you, though you did not see me," replied +the lieutenant, looking very good-natured in spite of his situation as a +prospective prisoner.</p> + +<p>"I must beg you to explain still further, Mr.—I have not the +pleasure of knowing your name."</p> + +<p>"Passford, sir, Christopher Passford, midshipman in the United States +Navy, and at present third lieutenant of the steamer Bellevite, which +you can hardly make out at this moment, though I remember that you have +seen her before," answered Christy, telling the whole story, as indeed +his uniform had already done, so far as his rank was concerned.</p> + +<p>"I am very happy to meet you under present +<span class = "pagenum">188</span> +circumstances, Mr. Passford, though I am not yet informed where I met +you before."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you did not exactly meet me, Captain Carboneer; but, at any +rate, we were in the same boat together."</p> + +<p>"I suppose we met, if at all, on the Hudson, in connection with the +Bellevite. Your people have not been as fortunate to-day with their +gunnery practice as on that occasion," suggested the captain.</p> + +<p>"Now, Captain Carboneer, will you kindly inform me in regard to the +status of this vessel? Is she a naval vessel, or simply a blockade +runner?"</p> + +<p>"She is both; and I am sorry for your sake to inform you that you are +a prisoner of war."</p> + +<p>"I supposed I was."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you will be willing to inform me what became of Major +Pierson and Corny Passford—the latter a cousin of yours, I +believe?"</p> + +<p>"Like myself, the major is a prisoner of war. Corny was injured in +the disaster to the Vampire, as you are aware; he is also a prisoner, +but on parole, remaining at my father's house to be healed."</p> + +<p>"I have to regret to-day more than ever before +<span class = "pagenum">189</span> +that we failed to capture the Bellevite, for I find that she is even +faster than the Yazoo," added the captain.</p> + +<p>"The Yazoo?"</p> + +<p>"Formerly the Killbright, but now the Yazoo."</p> + +<p>At this moment an officer came up and spoke to Captain Carboneer. As +both of them looked aft, Christy did the same, and, after studying the +speck he saw on the ocean, he was satisfied that it was the Bellevite, +coming down upon the Yazoo with all her speed.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">190</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXVII">CHAPTER XVII</a></h4> + +<h6>A SATISFACTORY ORDER</h6> + + +<p>Whatever had happened to the Bellevite, it was plain enough now to +Christy that she had repaired the injury, for the speck in the distance +was assuming the form of a steamer. The discovery was not calculated to +fan the hopes of Captain Carboneer and his officers, though the two +Unionists on board of the Yazoo were elated. The chase was continued +till the middle of the afternoon, when the Bellevite opened fire with +her heavy midship gun.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Passford, your ship has opened fire upon us, and I will not +compel you to expose yourself to it," said Captain Carboneer, as one of +the shots from the Bellevite dropped into the water near the Yazoo. "You +are at liberty to retire to any part of the vessel you desire, with your +companion."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, sir; you are very kind; and as I don't care to be shot by +my friends, I will go below," replied Christy.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">191</span> +It was hardly safer below than on deck, and it was not likely that the +resolute commander of the Yazoo would allow her to be captured as long +as he could make any resistance. Christy got the idea from the decision +he had observed in the face and expression of Captain Carboneer, that +the only way to capture the steamer would be to knock her to pieces. He +expected to be saved from the fate of a prisoner of war, but he was not +ready to believe that the Yazoo would be sent to the North as a prize. +She had not half the force of the Bellevite, either in men or guns, and +it had been proved that her speed could not save her. But all the +chances of accidents were to be incurred, and no one could predict the +final result.</p> + +<p>Christy and Beeks went below, and seated themselves in the wardroom +of the ship. It looked as though it had been altered from the +dining-saloon of a passenger steamer for its present use. But the vessel +was an elegant affair, and Christy thought it was evident from what he +saw that she had been built for a steam-yacht by some British magnate. +She was not more than two-thirds as large as the Bellevite.</p> + +<p>The sound of the firing indicated that the Bellevite +<span class = "pagenum">192</span> +was gaining on the chase even more rapidly than in the morning. At the +end of a couple of hours more she seemed to be within a mile, or perhaps +less. The Yazoo was shaking in every fibre of her steel body, and it was +plain that Captain Carboneer was straining her to the utmost to effect +his escape.</p> + +<p>"It is beginning to warm up a little," said Beeks, as he tried to +look out at one of the round ports of the wardroom.</p> + +<p>"It will be hotter than this before we see the end of it," replied +Christy. "Can you see anything?"</p> + +<p>"Not a thing; of course the Bellevite is astern of us," added Beeks. +"But the Yazoo is not using her guns."</p> + +<p>"How can she? She has not fired a shot for some time, and she cannot +without coming to. I should say she might as well do one thing as +another. She can't run away from the Bellevite, and she may as well take +her chances in a fight as a run."</p> + +<p>"But the Bellevite does not seem to be handling her great gun at a +very lively rate," suggested Beeks.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">193</span> +"I suppose Captain Breaker wants to save all he can of the Yazoo, and he +knows that he can knock her all to pieces when he decides that it is +necessary."</p> + +<p>"What is all that racket on deck?" asked Beeks.</p> + +<p>"Probably they are getting a couple of stern chasers ready for use," +answered Christy; and this explanation was soon proved to be correct by +the report of a gun at the stern of the Yazoo.</p> + +<p>For the next half-hour, the firing from the Bellevite was more rapid, +and several crashes, produced by the striking of shot, were heard. It +was soon apparent that one of the stern chasers had been disabled; and +after a while the other ceased its noise. Beeks was so excited that he +left the wardroom, and found his way into what proved to be the +captain's cabin. More than one shot had come into it, and made no little +havoc. He found a port there through which he obtained a view of the +Bellevite. Whatever damage had been done to her, her engine was in +perfect order, for she was driving ahead at her best speed.</p> + +<p>The quartermaster reported what he had seen to Christy, though it +proved nothing except that the +<span class = "pagenum">194</span> +Bellevite was all right, but everything began to look more hopeful to +the occupants of the wardroom. They had only to wait, for they could do +nothing. The pursuer had ceased to discharge her guns, and those of the +Yazoo were useless under present circumstances.</p> + +<p>The situation was becoming more exciting on the deck of the Yazoo, +judging by the sounds that came from it. Then it was evident that the +Bellevite had returned to her former tactics, and was coming alongside +with the intention of boarding. Loud yells and fierce cries followed, +and then came the noise of a hand-to-hand struggle on the deck. It was +of short duration, for the ship's company of the Yazoo were outnumbered +at least two to one.</p> + +<p>"I suppose we may go on deck now," said Beeks.</p> + +<p>"I should judge that the fight was over," replied Christy, as he led +the way out of the wardroom.</p> + +<p>At the companion-way they found two sailors assisting Captain +Carboneer to his cabin. His face was covered with blood, and he looked +very pale. The surgeon was close by him. Christy felt sincerely sorry +for the commander, for he was a noble and upright man. His protest had +prevented +<span class = "pagenum">195</span> +Major Pierson from attempting to carry out whatever plan he had in his +mind for the abduction of Florry Passford, and the young officer felt +grateful to him.</p> + +<p>"Ah, Mr. Passford, the luck is on your side again," said the wounded +commander, when he saw Christy.</p> + +<p>"Of course, I rejoice that it is so, but I am sincerely sorry that +you are wounded," replied Christy. "I must thank you for your +interference in behalf of my sister in opposition to the scheme of Major +Pierson."</p> + +<p>"How could you know anything about that?" asked the commander, +bracing himself up.</p> + +<p>"I heard the whole of it."</p> + +<p>"I see; but I did not consider that Major Pierson contemplated any +ruffianism," added Captain Carboneer, as the surgeon urged him to go +into his cabin.</p> + +<p>Christy hastened on deck, and was warmly received by his +fellow-officers there. He reported on board to Captain Breaker without +any delay, and was warmly congratulated on his escape. He returned to +his duty at once. Paul Vapoor was inclined to hug him when he met +him.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">196</span> +"I felt like a prisoner of war," said Christy, when he had told his +brief story. "The Bellevite was disabled, and I supposed it was all up +with me."</p> + +<p>"A shot from the Killbright damaged our rudder, so that we could not +steer her; though we repaired the mischief after a considerable delay," +replied the engineer. "But we have the prize."</p> + +<p>"She was intended for a cruiser, and they call her the Yazoo."</p> + +<p>"Whatever her name, she will not be a cruiser on that side."</p> + +<p>The captured vessel was carefully surveyed; she had been considerably +damaged in the contest, but she was still seaworthy, and Mr. Blowitt was +appointed prize-master to take her to New York. All the arrangements +were speedily completed, and, when the prize had sailed for her +destination, Christy became the acting second lieutenant.</p> + +<p>For the next month the Bellevite cruised in search of such craft as +the Killbright, and then she took her place on the blockade off Mobile +Bay, to which she had been ordered. Mr. Blowitt and the prize-crew had +returned, and all the damage done by the guns of the Yazoo had been +repaired, so +<span class = "pagenum">197</span> +that the Bellevite was in as good condition as when she left the Navy +Yard at Brooklyn. She captured several schooners, but no very important +prize. Many of the officers were disgusted with the inactivity of the +service.</p> + +<p>In a letter from his father, Christy obtained the information that +the Bellevite was likely to be ordered to duty as a cruiser, for which +her great speed adapted her better than any other vessel in the navy. +This was cheering news to the discontented ones. But before any orders +to this effect was received, the ship was ordered to proceed to +Pensacola, where a very fast steamer was said to be awaiting an +opportunity to get to sea.</p> + +<p>The position of the steamer was ascertained with no little +difficulty; but it was protected by the guns of the forts. Captain +Breaker desired to obtain better information in regard to the Teaser, as +the negroes said she was called. She was quite small, and carried only a +single long gun, and it was suspected that she was a privateer. On the +evening of the Bellevite's arrival, the weather was rainy, foggy, and +thick. It was just the night for a blockade runner, and the captain +believed that an attempt would be made to get out at this time.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">198</span> +The Unionists held Fort Pickens, and the Confederates the forts on the +mainland. The negroes said the Teaser was anchored at the mouth of the +lagoon, or very near it. This was not very definite, even if it were +accepted as true. It was very important that the Teaser should not be +permitted to get out of the bay, for she might do a great deal of +mischief to the shipping of the nation.</p> + +<p>"I don't believe the stories of the negroes," said Captain Breaker, +as he was discussing the situation with his officers. "I know the port +very well, and I have no idea where the mouth of the lagoon is, or even +if it has any mouth in Pensacola Bay."</p> + +<p>"Wherever the Teaser may be waiting her chance, this is a good night +for a start," replied Mr. Dashington.</p> + +<p>"Of course the officers of Fort Pickens are on the lookout for the +saucy little craft," added Mr. Blowitt.</p> + +<p>"Captain Westover is still on board, and you are to send him to the +fort, are you not, Captain Breaker?" asked Christy.</p> + +<p>"Yes; as soon as he is ready to go," replied the captain. "He has +given all the information he has in regard to the Teaser; but he has not +seen +<span class = "pagenum">199</span> +her to-day, and he does not believe she is in the lower bay, but that +she is somewhere in the vicinity of the Navy Yard."</p> + +<p>"If you will excuse me, Captain Breaker, I don't believe she means to +come out by the main channel, for her people know that the eyes of the +officers of Fort Pickens are wide open," suggested Christy, with a good +deal of diffidence.</p> + +<p>"How do you think she will come out, Mr. Passford?" asked the +captain, with a smile.</p> + +<p>"By Santa Rosa Sound, sir," replied the third lieutenant.</p> + +<p>"Possibly you are right, Mr. Passford, though I do not think you +are," added the commander, thoughtfully. "Santa Rosa Sound is about +forty miles long, and there is hardly water enough in it, up and down, +to float a raft, to say nothing of a steamer."</p> + +<p>But later in the day, the captain called Christy aside, and had a +long talk with him, the charts open before them. It certainly did not +look like a very hopeful enterprise to take a steamer through such a +sound as that described.</p> + +<p>"But we have no correct information in regard to the anchorage of the +Teaser, and I have decided +<span class = "pagenum">200</span> +to obtain it if possible. I propose to send you to look into the matter, +Mr. Passford," added the captain, settling the question in that way. +"Select your own boat and crew. But if the Teaser gets by Fort Pickens, +we may have to chase her to sea, and if on your return you do not find +the Bellevite, you and your men will remain at Fort Pickens."</p> + +<p>Christy was entirely satisfied with this order.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">201</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXVIII">CHAPTER XVIII</a></h4> + +<h6>LIEUTENANT PASSFORD IN COMMAND</h6> + + +<p>Christy felt as much honored by the confidence reposed in him by the +captain as though he had been appointed to the command of a steamer. But +he had more than once proved that he could be safely trusted, and +demonstrated that he had judgment, discretion, and skill beyond his +years. He was not only brave and resolute, but he was faithful and +patriotic.</p> + +<p>He went about among the ship's company and selected the men he +desired to assist him in his enterprise, and requested those chosen to +say nothing about the matter, for the lieutenant was aware that he +should have more volunteers than he could accommodate in the largest of +the boats. All would want to go, and the young officer would be teased +and coaxed, and all sorts of influence brought to bear upon him to +permit this and that one to be of +<span class = "pagenum">202</span> +the party. It was easier to be silent than it was to reply to all the +applications.</p> + +<p>Christy selected a large whaleboat for the service in which he was to +be employed, and he had his own reasons for the choice he made. He had +received unlimited authority to adopt his own measures. The only point +that was strongly impressed upon his mind by the captain was that the +Teaser must be captured.</p> + +<p>After supper the order was given to the third lieutenant to convey +Captain Westover back to the fort, or to land him at the usual place +near it. Nothing was thought of the order, though perhaps some of the +officers considered a dozen seamen, all armed with cutlasses and +revolvers, a large boat's crew for such a service. It was very thick +weather, and Captain Westover begged Christy not to land him within the +enemy's lines, which he promised not to do.</p> + +<p>The men gave way, and the boat went off into the gloom of the +evening. Beeks gave his whole attention to the course of the boat, and +Lieutenant Passford was engaged in a very earnest conversation with the +military passenger. The landing-place seemed to be reached too soon, for +Christy +<span class = "pagenum">203</span> +had not finished his business. He landed with him, and together they +went to the fort, where the young officer had a conversation with the +commander of the force there.</p> + +<p>"I hope you will not get into hot water, Mr. Passford," said Captain +Westover, as he came to the sallyport with him.</p> + +<p>"I cannot say that I shall not," replied Christy, "but I shall do the +best I can to report on board of the ship with the force intrusted to +me; and I hope I shall have the Teaser with me."</p> + +<p>"I hope you will. There are several small steamers up in the bay; but +I have not the least idea where you will have to look for the Teaser, +for we at the fort have not seen any such steamer lately."</p> + +<p>"There can be no doubt of her existence, Captain Westover, for the +Bellevite was sent here to look out for her, as her speed is said to be +remarkable. But, good-night, captain."</p> + +<p>"Good-night, lieutenant; success to you, and a safe return," added +the captain.</p> + +<p>"Thank you," answered Christy, as he hurried down to the +landing-place.</p> + +<p>Among those whom the lieutenant had selected +<span class = "pagenum">204</span> +was a master's mate by the name of Flint, who had assisted on board of +the Bellevite in the affair with the Vampire. He was a modest, quiet +man, who made no especial figure among his shipmates, though he had +strongly attracted the attention of his officer. Next to Christy he was +the highest in rank, and the second in command. Beeks was the next man +selected, and he had done all that was necessary in the preparation of +the boat, including putting into it slyly a supply of provisions, and a +number of articles which the lieutenant had designated.</p> + +<p>On his return to the boat, Christy found his crew in excellent order, +for he had instructed Flint to allow no noise or disorder, as sailors +and young men generally are somewhat given to skylarking when not under +the eye of a commissioned officer. Christy took his place with Flint in +the stern sheets of the boat, and ordered Beeks, who was acting as +coxswain, to shove off and give way.</p> + +<p>"I have no instructions yet, sir," replied Beeks, as he obeyed the +order, and headed the boat away from the shore.</p> + +<p>"We have to make two miles east by south, and that course will carry +us parallel with the shore of +<span class = "pagenum">205</span> +Santa Rosa Island, variation included," replied Christy, who had been a +diligent student of the chart, and had written down all that it was +important for him to remember, though he had one of his own charts, or a +piece of one, in the boat.</p> + +<p>"East by south, sir," replied Beeks, as he put the whaleboat on the +required course.</p> + +<p>Thus far, Christy had kept his own counsel, and not whispered a word +of his intentions even to the master's mate. He had no motive for such +heroic concealment of his plan, but he had not had the time to discuss +it with any person. Besides, though he had decided upon his course in +the beginning, he was too much in the dark himself to lay down a +definite plan; and his course must depend largely upon the information +he obtained from time to time.</p> + +<p>He had examined the charts and the Coast Pilot very carefully; and +the facts he had obtained from the latter rather staggered him in regard +to the idea he had advanced that the Teaser might go out through Santa +Rosa Sound. It was not navigable for vessels with a draught of over four +feet, and it would have to be a very small man-of-war that could float +in that depth. Though it was now +<span class = "pagenum">206</span> +the time of the spring tides, they did not add more than six inches to +the height of the mean tide, which was but a couple of inches over two +feet.</p> + +<p>Even before he took his place in the boat alongside the ship, he had +come to the conclusion that the Teaser, if she proved to be anything +more than a toy boat, could not go to sea through the sound, and she was +not likely to attempt it. He had said as much as this to Captain +Breaker, who reminded him that he was to ascertain if possible what the +craft intended to do, if he succeeded in finding her.</p> + +<p>Flint did not manifest any desire to know more than the law allowed, +and he asked no questions in regard to the enterprise in which he was +engaged. In fact, one reason why he was chosen was because he had an +excellent habit of minding his own business. Possibly Christy was more +particular on this point than an older officer would have been.</p> + +<p>"I think we have made two miles, Mr. Passford," said Beeks, when the +men had pulled about an hour. "Of course, I cannot be sure of the +distance run, for I can only guess at it."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">207</span> +"Run up to the shore, then, and let us see how far off we are," added +Christy.</p> + +<p>In a few minutes the bottom of the boat struck on the sand, and it +was forced up far enough to permit the lieutenant to go on shore. Like +most of the islands in this part of the gulf, Santa Rosa was nothing but +sand, which in the eastern end is of a peculiar reddish hue. It is +little more than a sand spit for its whole length, though in some places +the wind has piled up mounds, or dunes.</p> + +<p>"Come with me, if you please, Flint," said Christy, as he leaped to +the shore.</p> + +<p>Flint followed him, as usual asking no questions, and, if he had any +curiosity in regard to the purposes of his leader, he did not manifest +it. The lieutenant glanced at the trend of the shore, and then walked at +right angles with it. No part of the island was inhabited, or even +occupied, except Fort Pickens and a Union camp. It was a dismal place, +especially in the fog and darkness.</p> + +<p>A short walk brought the explorers to the waters of Pensacola Bay. It +was in vain that they tried to penetrate the gloom and the mist, and +nothing could be seen. Flint expressed himself to this effect.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">208</span> +"I did not expect to see anything," replied Christy. "I only came across +here to find how wide the island was at this point. I am satisfied that +we are about where I supposed we were. Half a mile to the westward of us +the island is more than double the breadth it is here."</p> + +<p>"I see, sir; if you had found it much wider than it is, you would +have known that you had not gone far enough in the boat," replied +Flint.</p> + +<p>"Precisely so; I wanted to find where we were before I changed the +course in going farther to the eastward," added Christy.</p> + +<p>Flint made no further remark, and they returned to the boat, and +seated themselves in their places. The lieutenant gave the order to +shove off.</p> + +<p>"We are in no hurry, Beeks; if the men are tired, you can stop longer +to rest them," continued the commander of the expedition.</p> + +<p>The men scouted the idea of being tired after a pull of two miles in +a comparatively smooth sea. Christy told them that they might have some +very heavy work to do before they returned to the ship, and he did not +wish to use up their strength unnecessarily.</p> + +<p>"Now, keep her east by north for a couple of +<span class = "pagenum">209</span> +miles, Beeks," continued Christy. "That will be as far as we have +occasion to go in this direction. Don't hurry them; take it easy, for it +will not be high tide till half-past twelve, and we may have more time +than we shall know how to use."</p> + +<p>The crew pulled very leisurely, and it was over an hour before Beeks +estimated that they had made the two miles. As before, Christy and Flint +were landed, and they walked across the island. But their walk was not +even half the length of the last one; and the spit was so narrow at this +place that the lieutenant was confident he had struck the point he +intended.</p> + +<p>"This is our base of operations," said Christy, as he stood on the +shore of the bay. "We have got along very well so far, for it is not +time yet for the music to begin, if it is to begin at all. What are you +about, Flint?"</p> + +<p>The master's mate had lain down on the sand at the water's edge, and +his companion was very much puzzled by his attitude. He wondered if his +companion had the stomach-ache, and was not able to stand up.</p> + +<p>"I beg your pardon, Lieutenant Passford, but if you will kindly be +quiet for a moment, I hope to +<span class = "pagenum">210</span> +be able to answer your question," replied Flint, in a low tone.</p> + +<p>Christy complied with the request, and as he did so, he thought he +heard a noise in the distance, though he was not sure of it. He listened +with all his ears, and some confused sounds came to him; but he could +make nothing of them.</p> + +<p>"I heard some sort of a noise," said Flint, rising from his recumbent +position. "But I can make nothing of what I hear. If there was a fresh +breeze, I should say that it was the surf."</p> + +<p>"I heard it, too; but I am bothered to make out what it is. Did you +get an idea of any kind?" asked Christy.</p> + +<p>"It sounded as though something of a gang of men were at work off in +this direction," replied Flint, pointing east of north. "I am almost +sure I heard the blows of hammers, or something like them."</p> + +<p>"The noise I heard might have been almost anything," added +Christy.</p> + +<p>"What is there off in that direction?" asked Flint, pointing +again.</p> + +<p>"About north of us is Town Point, and just beyond it is Old Navy +Cove," said the lieutenant, +<span class = "pagenum">211</span> +who had been up the bay in the Bellevite on an excursion, and who had +studied up all the localities.</p> + +<p>"Possibly they are repairing a vessel there," suggested Flint.</p> + +<p>"They would not do that over there, and certainly not on a dark +night," argued Christy. "But we will soon find out all +about it."</p> + +<p>He led the way back to the boat, which he had ordered Beeks to have +carried on the shore. Then they proceeded to bear it across the island +to the bay, where it was put into the water again.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">212</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXIX">CHAPTER XIX</a></h4> + +<h6>SOME TROUBLE ON BOARD THE TEASER</h6> + + +<p>It was not a difficult thing for so many men to carry the whaleboat +across the island, and they were disposed to make merry over the novelty +of the task; but they had been instructed not to speak a loud word after +the party left the south side of the island. The noise to which Christy +and Flint had listened indicated that something was going on, though +they could not decide what it was. In the stillness of the night, and in +the absence of any roar of breakers, sounds could be heard a long +distance, though whether they came one mile or two, they could not +determine.</p> + +<p>"Get out those cloths, Beeks," said Christy, as soon as the boat had +been put into the water. "Every oar must be very carefully muffled, and +you will see that it is properly done."</p> + +<p>"I will have it done in a few minutes, sir," replied the acting +coxswain.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">213</span> +"As I said before, we are in no hurry, and you may take your time to do +it properly," added the lieutenant.</p> + +<p>"Those sounds are still to be heard," said Flint, who had been a +short distance from the boat to listen for them.</p> + +<p>"I hear them," replied Christy, walking away from the boat to +continue the investigation while they were waiting. "Some kind of a job +is in progress at no great distance from us. From how far off do you +calculate that those sounds come?"</p> + +<p>"I think they must come a mile; and I don't believe I can guess any +nearer to it than that, though it is possible they come two miles. I +know little or nothing of the region about here. Suppose we should go a +mile north-northeast from this spot, what should we find there, Mr. +Passford?" asked Flint, apparently greatly interested in the +question.</p> + +<p>"It would be a point on Pensacola Bay, about half-way between this +island, where we stand, and Town Point," replied Christy. "I should say +it would be in the channel leading into Santa Rosa Sound."</p> + +<p>"Precisely so!" exclaimed Flint, in an energetic +<span class = "pagenum">214</span> +whisper. "That's the way they are going to take the Teaser out, and they +are doing something over there to prepare her for the trip in shallow +water."</p> + +<p>The master's mate was not aware that Christy had suggested to the +captain this way of escape for the Teaser, and he had abandoned the idea +himself. Flint had reached his conclusion from his own premises. They +discussed the matter for some time, though it was impossible to arrive +at any conclusion for the want of data on which to base their +reasoning.</p> + +<p>"All ready, sir," reported Beeks, coming up to them at this +moment.</p> + +<p>"How far is the entrance to the sound from Fort Pickens, Mr. +Passford?" asked Flint.</p> + +<p>"About four miles."</p> + +<p>"Then why should they choose such a night as this for their +work?"</p> + +<p>"The Bellevite, floating in four fathoms of water on the other side +of the island, could shell them out if they were seen, as they certainly +would be from Fort Pickens," replied Christy.</p> + +<p>"That makes it plain enough," added Flint, as they walked towards the +boat.</p> + +<p>"But I am not quite willing to believe yet that +<span class = "pagenum">215</span> +the Teaser will go out through the sound. If she could get through at +all, it would only be after getting aground no end of times, and if +to-morrow should be a clear day, she could be seen anywhere on her +course," persisted Christy. "She cannot expect to make eight or ten +knots an hour in that shallow water."</p> + +<p>The lieutenant ordered the men into the boat, after she was shoved +off the beach. They worked with such care that not a sound came from +her. The oars were shipped, and the sailors began to row. As instructed, +they pulled very slowly, though such work could not be done in perfect +silence.</p> + +<p>"Look out for that binnacle, Beeks," said Christy. "The light from it +may betray us."</p> + +<p>"You have not given me the course, sir," replied the coxswain, as he +obeyed the order.</p> + +<p>"North-northeast," added Christy, as he settled back in the stern +sheets.</p> + +<p>No one was allowed to speak in the boat, and the lieutenant set the +example of silence. But he kept his ears wide open, though the little +noise made by the oars and the rippling of the water prevented him from +hearing anything at first. It +<span class = "pagenum">216</span> +was so dark that one could hardly see another in the boat. It was in +vain that Christy watched in the gloom for the glow of a light; for all +was nearly total darkness in every direction.</p> + +<p>In about half an hour they began to hear the sounds which had +attracted their attention on the island, and they proceeded from +directly ahead, indicating that the operations, whatever they were, came +from the entrance to the sound. The workmen were not likely to hear the +approach of the boat while they were making so much noise themselves. In +addition to the sounds they had heard before, they recognized the noise +of escaping steam.</p> + +<p>This last discovery made it certain that a steamer was there, though +the listeners could not know whether it was the Teaser or not. Both of +the officers of the expedition, in the uselessness of their eyes, made +the best use they could of their ears. Christy listened to ascertain if +there was more than one steamer present. In a whisper he asked Flint to +consider this question. There was no doubling of the sounds to indicate +more than one steamer.</p> + +<p>For ten minutes more Christy listened and was silent; but he was +doing some very heavy thinking, +<span class = "pagenum">217</span> +for by this time the boat was very near the scene of operations, if it +could be a scene in that dense darkness. Every sound, even to the speech +of the men, could be distinctly heard. Still nothing could be seen, and +Christy knew that there was a point of nearness where something could be +discerned even in any gloom of night. He permitted the boat to continue +on its course, till he could very dimly make out an object ahead.</p> + +<p>"Way enough," he whispered to Beeks.</p> + +<p>The coxswain raised both hands, and made a gesture with them, which +was the signal for the men to cease rowing. The sounds were now more +tangible. Occasionally there were a few raps with a hammer, but the most +of them were the orders of the person in charge.</p> + +<p>"I don't believe there are more than a dozen men there," whispered +Flint.</p> + +<p>"More than that, I should say; but even if there are two dozen, it is +all the same. Take off the mufflers from the oars, Beeks," continued +Christy. "Then give way with a will, and run for whatever may come in +sight."</p> + +<p>Beeks obeyed the order, and in a couple of minutes the boat was +driving into the gloom at her +<span class = "pagenum">218</span> +ordinary speed. Something came into view a moment later, and it was a +small steamer.</p> + +<p>"Boat, ahoy!" shouted some one from the steamer.</p> + +<p>"On board of the steamer!" replied Christy.</p> + +<p>"Are you the pilot?" demanded the speaker from the vessel.</p> + +<p>"Ay, ay, sir," responded the lieutenant.</p> + +<p>"I shall not want you now," continued the man on the steamer.</p> + +<p>"How is that?" demanded Christy, as though this was an entirely +unexpected reply.</p> + +<p>"I have concluded to make my way out through the sound, Gilder."</p> + +<p>"Then my name is Gilder," added Christy, in a low tone.</p> + +<p>"I have a plan of my own, and I reckon I shall make it go," proceeded +the captain of the steamer. "The Teaser don't draw much water, and I +know how to help her over the shoal places."</p> + +<p>"When do you expect to get through the sound?" asked Christy.</p> + +<p>"I don't know when; but I shall get through."</p> + +<p>"But you will find a blockader at the east end of the island; and +then you will be as badly off as you are now," argued Christy.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">219</span> +"I don't believe there is any blockader there. Who are all those men in +the boat with you, Gilder?"</p> + +<p>"They belong to the water guard," replied Christy, at a venture, and +he thought that would describe them as well as any terms at his command. +"They expected you to go out by the main channel to-night."</p> + +<p>"No lie in that," chuckled Flint.</p> + +<p>"I wish they would come on board of the Teaser and help me out, for +my men won't work."</p> + +<p>"How many men have you?" asked the lieutenant.</p> + +<p>"Just fifteen; the rest of my crew were to come on board at midnight, +half an hour before high tide. But the men I have with me won't work, +and I shall not be ready for them, I am afraid."</p> + +<p>"What is the reason they won't work?"</p> + +<p>"They say they shipped to fight the Yankees, and they are not going +to do such work as lighting up the steamer."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps we can bring them to their senses," said Christy, as he +ordered Beeks to give way again.</p> + +<p>A few strokes of the oars enabled the officers in +<span class = "pagenum">220</span> +the stern sheets to obtain a full view of the Teaser, and she looked +like a trim little steamer of about two hundred tons. She was rather +long, and she had a very sharp bow. The reports gave her the reputation +of being a very fast sailer.</p> + +<p>"Let every man have his arms in order," said Christy impressively, in +a low tone. "Give way with a will, and when you unship your oars have +your weapons ready, though I hardly think you will have to use them at +present."</p> + +<p>As the boat dashed towards the little steamer, the sounds of an +altercation came over the water. The angry voice of the captain, if the +late speaker was the captain, and several others were heard in a +dispute; and as the boat came alongside the report of a pistol indicated +that the belligerents were in earnest.</p> + +<p>Christy sprang upon the deck of the Teaser, with his revolver in his +hand. Half a dozen men stood in a group by the side of the engine-room, +confronting the man who had done the talking with the boat, as Christy +knew by the sound of his voice.</p> + +<p>"We are not held by any papers we signed!" protested one of the men +forward. "We are willing +<span class = "pagenum">221</span> +to do our duty, Captain Folkner, but we did not ship to burrow through +the sand, and run the risk of being captured by the Yankees. We shipped +to run the blockade, and that risk is in the papers."</p> + +<p>"I shall take my vessel out as I think best, Lonley; and my men are +not to dictate to me what I am to do," replied Captain Folkner +angrily.</p> + +<p>"I am willing to leave it to Captain Gilder. You know as well as I do +that the rest of the ship's company would not come on board till the +Teaser was outside of Santa Rosa Island. We appeal to you, Captain +Gilder," said Lonley.</p> + +<p>"Why do you object to going out through Santa Rosa Sound?" asked +Christy, willing to do the fair thing, since the mutineers had appealed +to him.</p> + +<p>"The Teaser draws ten feet of water with her coal in, and she cannot +get through the sound in a week, if ever."</p> + +<p>"Are you willing to go to sea by running the blockade, Lonley?"</p> + +<p>"Perfectly willing; and so are the whole ship's company."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">222</span> +"But I won't take the risk of running the blockade. They put a fast +steamer on there to-day, and it is useless," replied Captain +Folkner.</p> + +<p>The situation was certainly interesting to Christy and his +companions.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">223</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXX">CHAPTER XX</a></h4> + +<h6>COMING TO THE POINT</h6> + + +<p>Captain Folkner of the Teaser was evidently somewhat timid, and he +had heard of the arrival of the Bellevite. Just now the large +ships-of-war which had been there were absent on their duty, though they +were expected to return at any time. There was liable to be some +unpleasantness at any time between Fort Pickens and Fort Barrancas; but +everything was quiet just now.</p> + +<p>Flint had come on board of the Teaser with Christy, but none of the +boat's crew had attended them. The situation was very novel to the +lieutenant, and he did not feel competent to arbitrate between the +contending parties. Besides, he was not willing to believe that he could +be entirely impartial, for he had a personal and patriotic interest in +the issue of the quarrel.</p> + +<p>The seamen, under the leadership of Lonley, who appeared to be an +officer, were the more powerful +<span class = "pagenum">224</span> +party, and the more to be dreaded. He was disposed to decide against +them, if he could get them out of the way by doing so. They were willing +to leave the matter to him, and he began at last to see his way +through it.</p> + +<p>"The captain of a ship is the authority to be respected, Lonley," +said he, when he had made up his mind what to do.</p> + +<p>"We might as well bury ourselves in the sands as try to go through +there," replied the leader of the mutiny, who seemed to be a very +intelligent man, and Christy concluded from his language and manner that +he was not a common sailor.</p> + +<p>"That may be; but the captain is supreme on the deck of his own +ship," argued Christy.</p> + +<p>"We are not on the high seas, and the Teaser has not yet gone into +commission. It was only this afternoon in Pensacola that Captain Folkner +told his ship's company that he was going to burrow through the sand in +Santa Rosa Sound. We all said we would not go with him; but a dozen of +us came down with him when he told us that he had a way to float the +steamer through, and he was sure it would work. We did not understand +that we were to become mud-diggers. When we got +<span class = "pagenum">225</span> +here, we were satisfied that his plan amounted to nothing, and would not +work."</p> + +<p>"I am satisfied that it will work," interposed Captain Folkner.</p> + +<p>"The agreement in the articles was to run the blockade. If we got +through the sound, it would take a week of constant drudgery, which we +did not ship to do."</p> + +<p>"Are you ready to do duty on board of the Teaser when she is in deep +water, Lonley?" asked Christy.</p> + +<p>"Every one of us; and every one of the party on shore!" protested the +leader.</p> + +<p>"Will that satisfy you, Captain Folkner?" continued Christy, +appealing to him.</p> + +<p>"It would if I had the steamer in deep water," replied the captain. +"But how am I to get her into deep water if my crew will not work?"</p> + +<p>"Run the blockade, according to the articles!" exclaimed Lonley.</p> + +<p>"When are the rest of the ship's company to join you?" asked Christy +of the leader of the mutineers.</p> + +<p>"They are coming down in boats at midnight or later; and we shall +join them then and wait till the ship is ready to take us on board. They +will +<span class = "pagenum">226</span> +come across from Pensacola to Navy Cove, and then walk till they come to +the Teaser."</p> + +<p>"All right," said the lieutenant. "I will land you at Navy Cove, and +you can wait there till the rest of the crew come."</p> + +<p>"I am perfectly satisfied with that arrangement," replied Lonley.</p> + +<p>"But I am not," interposed the captain, angrily. "What can I do +without any crew to help get the steamer through the sound?"</p> + +<p>"I have men enough to take care of you and the Teaser, Captain +Folkner; and the men in the boat will do everything that is required to +be done on board of the Teaser."</p> + +<p>"That's another thing," replied the captain, appeased by the implied +promise.</p> + +<p>"I can hardly blame your men because they are not willing to go +through the sound with a steamer drawing ten feet of water when there is +not more than six feet of water to float her," said Christy. "Besides, +if you do not get to the other end of the sound before morning, you will +be seen by some of the blockaders, and they could blow this steamer to +pieces, and kill half your people in a few minutes."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">227</span> +"It may be dangerous, but so is running the blockade," added the +captain.</p> + +<p>"Going out in a dark night and spending a week in sight of the +blockaders are two different things. But we need not discuss the matter +any more. I will put your men on the point yonder, and then I will +return and help you out of your present difficulty. Am I to take off the +men in the engine department?" asked Christy, as he went to the side +where the boat was.</p> + +<p>"No; the engineers and firemen are all right, for they were not +called upon to do any work out of the vessel."</p> + +<p>Christy and Flint stepped into the boat, and the crew followed them. +There were twelve of them, and the lieutenant thought they were all good +seamen. He did not like to have them reserved for use in the Confederate +Navy; but he could not help himself then, and he soon landed the party +on the point. The situation had been explained to the crew of the boat, +and they had avoided saying anything to commit themselves.</p> + +<p>Though it involved a risk to do it, Christy had dressed in an +ordinary suit of clothes for the occasion, and the party wore nothing by +which they +<span class = "pagenum">228</span> +could be identified as sailors of the navy. As soon as the boat had +landed its passengers, it returned to the Teaser at the best speed the +crew could produce.</p> + +<p>"I had no idea that you had a plan like this in your head, Mr. +Passford," said Flint, as soon as the boat was clear of Town Point.</p> + +<p>"I did not know it myself, Flint. It has all grown out of the +circumstances as we found them," replied Christy. "But I did intend, if +I found the Teaser without a fighting crew on board of her, to capture +her if the situation warranted such a step."</p> + +<p>"But you came prepared for just this thing," suggested Flint.</p> + +<p>"I came prepared for anything. I hoped we might be able to capture +the Teaser, but I did not expect it."</p> + +<p>"I suppose you expect to do it now."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I do; and I ought to be broken if I don't do it. I am sorry to +let all those men enter the rebel navy; and that is all that vexes me at +the present moment."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps they can be picked up to-morrow, or later to-night," +suggested Flint. "From what I +<span class = "pagenum">229</span> +heard, I think she was to have a fighting crew of about forty men. Of +course they will try to join the steamer to-night or to-morrow; and why +not let them do it?" chuckled Flint.</p> + +<p>"We will attend to this affair first, but I like the idea."</p> + +<p>They reached the Teaser in due time, and all hands went on board of +her. Captain Folkner, with a couple of men he had contrived to retain, +with two firemen, was at work on his apparatus to float a vessel drawing +ten feet in six feet of water or less. Alongside he had a hundred or +more of empty barrels which he was sinking under the sides by hauling +them down with a line under the bottom of the vessel. He did the work +partly with his windlass worked by steam, and he had lifted the bow of +the Teaser at least three feet out of water.</p> + +<p>Captain Folkner expatiated with enthusiasm on his plan, and explained +the details to the lieutenant. Christy saw that he had considerable +mechanical genius, but he certainly lacked a balance-wheel. The officer +had set him down as a timid man, but this conversation assured him that +the captain was a brave man. He was carried away with his idea, +<span class = "pagenum">230</span> +though it was plain that he had not examined the question in all its +bearings.</p> + +<p>"When I have lifted the steamer four feet, she can go through the +sound, for I have taken a boat through that drew six feet. With your men +to help me, I shall get the casks down by midnight, and then all we have +to do is to go ahead," continued the enthusiast.</p> + +<p>"Precisely so; and the Teaser is a screw steamer," added Christy.</p> + +<p>"Of course she is; you have known her for two months, Gilder."</p> + +<p>"When she has been lifted up four feet, she is to go ahead," repeated +Christy, in the tone of a musing man.</p> + +<p>"That is what I said; she is to go ahead."</p> + +<p>"But what is to drive her ahead? Is she expected to go of +herself?"</p> + +<p>"Go of herself? Of course not. She is to be driven ahead by her +engine as she always is," replied Captain Folkner, suspending the work +upon which he was engaged, and trying to see the face of the pilot +through the darkness. "How do steamers generally go ahead?"</p> + +<p>"If they are screw steamers, they are propelled +<span class = "pagenum">231</span> +by the pressure of the blades of the screw," answered Christy.</p> + +<p>"And that is just the way the Teaser will be propelled through the +sound," replied Captain Folkner. "This steamer is to be a privateer, and +I own her. She has cost me about all the money I have in the world, and +I don't want to lose her before I get to sea. If I can get into blue +water with her, I am not at all concerned but that she will run away +from anything afloat."</p> + +<p>"How many knots can she do in a smooth sea?"</p> + +<p>"Eighteen, and perhaps more."</p> + +<p>"Then she is not fast enough for that blockader outside. I saw her at +Mobile when she was a big steam-yacht, and they said she had done +twenty-two knots more than once."</p> + +<p>"I don't believe a word of it; and I am willing to take my chances to +run away from her in the Teaser, if I can get out."</p> + +<p>"If she is good for eighteen knots, it will not take her more than +about two hours to run through the sound," added Christy, very much +amused at the talk of the captain and owner.</p> + +<p>"I don't expect her to go at full speed in that shallow water," said +the enthusiast.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">232</span> +"Do you expect her to go at all when she is hoisted four feet out of +water?" asked Christy, hardly able to keep from laughing.</p> + +<p>Captain Folkner was silent for a moment, during which Christy thought +he must have obtained a new idea, for it looked as though he had not +thought of the working of the screw after all his flotation schemes had +been successful.</p> + +<p>"I reckon the propeller will have hold enough on the water to make +her go right along, Gilder. I don't reckon you need make any trouble +about that," added the man of mechanical ability, rather sheepishly.</p> + +<p>Christy had brought his boat's crew on deck, and directed Flint how +to post them. He thought he had paid proper respect to the talent of the +enthusiast in listening to his theory, and that it was about time to +bring the adventure to an issue.</p> + +<p>"I shall not make any trouble about the screw, Captain Folkner, for I +don't think we shall have any difficulty about it. But I believe we had +better not hoist it any higher out of water," added Christy. "I mean +that I think we had better go out of the bay by the main channel."</p> + +<p class = "illustration"> +<img src = "images/pic232.png" width = "322" height = "503" +alt = "illustration of quoted scene"><br> +<span class = "caption"> +"<span class = "smallcaps">He placed one of his men on each side of the +Captain</span>."—Page 233.</span> +</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">233</span> +"That means to run the blockade?" said the captain.</p> + +<p>"That's the idea."</p> + +<p>"Gilder, I want you to understand that I command this steamer," +continued Captain Folkner, angrily.</p> + +<p>"Right, with a little correction: You did command her, and I command +her now," replied Christy, as he placed one of his men on each side of +the captain.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">234</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXXI">CHAPTER XXI</a></h4> + +<h6>ON A DARK AND FOGGY NIGHT</h6> + + +<p>"I reckon I don't quite understand you, Gilder," said Captain +Folkner, very nervously. "I thought I was still in command of the +Teaser."</p> + +<p>"I shall not blame you for thinking so; but you are utterly mistaken +all the same," added Christy.</p> + +<p>"Did you come here to take the command out of my hands? Is that the +reason why you sent all my men to Town Point?" demanded the captain, +getting an idea of the situation.</p> + +<p>"If you had been a magician, you could not have come any nearer to +the truth."</p> + +<p>"Who are you? I thought you were Gilder."</p> + +<p>"I am not Gilder, though I found it convenient to answer to that +name. It is reported that the Teaser is a very fast steamer, and I +wanted her."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean to say that you are a pirate?" asked Captain Folkner, +stepping back as if to emphasize +<span class = "pagenum">235</span> +his disgust at such a person. "I have told you that the Teaser is a +privateer, and it seems that you want her more than I do; but I don't +believe it."</p> + +<p>"Privateers and pirates are about the same in this age of the world. +I am neither a pirate nor a privateer. Permit me to introduce myself +more precisely than I have thought it wise to do before. I am Lieutenant +Passford, of the United States steamer Bellevite; and I take possession +of the Teaser as a lawful prize. I think we need not discuss the matter +any longer, especially as the tide is high enough by this time to run +out of the bay. Disarm him."</p> + +<p>"Say, what sort of a joke is this?" demanded the captain.</p> + +<p>"If you are good-natured enough to regard it as a joke, I have not +the least objection," replied Christy. "But I shall be under the painful +necessity of confining you in your stateroom for the present, and I hope +you will make yourself as happy as possible, Captain Folkner."</p> + +<p>The lieutenant directed Flint to have the prisoner conveyed to his +stateroom, and to have a man stationed at the door to see that he did +not escape, +<span class = "pagenum">236</span> +or do any mischief. The sentinel was to keep his eye on him all the +time, and not allow the room to be closed for a moment. The most +reliable man of the party was selected for this duty, for the captain, +in a fit of desperation over the loss of his vessel, which was his +fortune, might attempt some reckless act.</p> + +<p>Accompanied by six men, Christy visited the engine-room, where nearly +all the hands remaining on board were employed. If there was to be any +trouble at all in completing the capture, it would be in this +department. Everything was in working order, and an engineer was on +duty, for the engine had been used in dragging the casks under the +bottom of the vessel.</p> + +<p>Beeks was directed to arrest the men on duty, and the engine was +handed over to Sampson, who had been brought for such a position if the +expedition needed him in that capacity. But there was only an assistant +engineer and several firemen on duty, and these were disposed of without +any delay. They were all conducted to the wardroom, where they were +disarmed and a guard placed over them. A couple of sailors were detailed +to serve as firemen, and the work of taking possession was +completed.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">237</span> +For the first time the lieutenant had an opportunity to examine the +prize, as she would be if he succeeded in getting her out of the bay. +She was certainly a fine little steamer, and, with the heavy gun mounted +on a pivot, she would have been capable of doing a great deal of +mischief among the unprotected merchant ships of the nation.</p> + +<p>When he visited the cabin, he found two colored men there, one of +whom appeared to be a very intelligent fellow. He was very polite to the +lieutenant, and it was evident that he had no personal interest in the +success of the Teaser in the business for which she had been fitted out. +He was the cabin steward, and he had heard everything that had been said +in regard to the vessel since he came on board of her.</p> + +<p>"What is your name, my man?" asked Christy, addressing the +steward.</p> + +<p>"My name is Davis Talbot; but no one ever calls me anything but +Dave," replied the man, with a cheerful smile, as though he was not at +all disconcerted by the change which had come about in the ownership of +the Teaser.</p> + +<p>"How long have you been on board of this +<span class = "pagenum">238</span> +steamer, Dave?" asked the officer, much pleased with the intelligent +face of the steward.</p> + +<p>"About two months, sir."</p> + +<p>"Where did this steamer come from?"</p> + +<p>"Captain Folkner bought her somewhere in the West Indies, and brought +her here before the blockade was fairly established."</p> + +<p>"Then she is an English-built steamer?"</p> + +<p>"I suppose she is, sir; but I don't know anything about it."</p> + +<p>"Then she has been here a long while. What has Captain Folkner been +doing all this time?" asked Christy curiously.</p> + +<p>"Inventing, sir," replied Dave, chuckling.</p> + +<p>"I see; he has that on the brain."</p> + +<p>"The government threatened to take his vessel if he did not fit her +out and take her to sea. Then he hurried up, and got a crew ready; but +they had a quarrel last night, and most of the men would not come on +board."</p> + +<p>"Yes; I know all about that," added Christy, as he looked at his +watch by the light of the shaded lamp in the cabin. "I suppose you +insist upon serving the Confederacy, Dave?"</p> + +<p>"I don't insist on anything, sir; I go where +<span class = "pagenum">239</span> +the ship takes me, and I don't mean to quarrel with anybody."</p> + +<p>"In other words, will it be necessary to put you under guard?" asked +Christy.</p> + +<p>"I don't think it would do me any good, sir," replied Dave, +laughing.</p> + +<p>"Which side do you belong on?" demanded the officer, rather +impatiently.</p> + +<p>"I belong on Dave's side, sir."</p> + +<p>"Which is Dave's side?"</p> + +<p>"The side of freedom," replied the steward, with some embarrassment. +"I don't know you, sir; you don't wear the uniform of a Yankee or a +rebel, and the darkey gets crushed between the upper and the nether +millstone."</p> + +<p>"Then to make the matter plainer to you, I am the third lieutenant of +the United States steamer Bellevite, and I have captured this vessel as +an officer of the United States Navy," replied Christy.</p> + +<p>"That's all I want to know: the darkey knows where to go, when it is +safe to go there," replied Dave.</p> + +<p>"Then if it is safe for you to go to the pilot-house, you may come +with me," added the lieutenant, as he led the way to the deck.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">240</span> +Beeks, with the men who had not been assigned to other duty, was cutting +away the ropes that held the casks in place, and had already turned +adrift all the raft of them alongside. All the rubbish the nautical +inventor had collected to carry out his famous scheme of floating the +vessel through the sound was cleared from the deck, and cut loose from +the side.</p> + +<p>"I think everything is clear, sir," reported Beeks, as Christy +appeared on deck with Dave.</p> + +<p>"Stand by to get up the anchor, then," added the lieutenant.</p> + +<p>"No anchor down, sir," interposed Dave. "She is made fast to the +buoy."</p> + +<p>"So much the better. I suppose Captain Folkner did not trouble +himself about the forts, Dave, did he?" Christy inquired.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, he did; Captain Folkner never slept a wink when he did not +have Fort Pickens on his stomach for a nightmare," replied Dave, with a +chuckle.</p> + +<p>"But Fort Pickens is all of four miles from the entrance to the +channel of the sound."</p> + +<p>"He was in mortal terror of the guns, all the same."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">241</span> +"How was it in regard to Fort Barrancas and Fort McRae?"</p> + +<p>"Of course they would not fire on his vessel; if he went out in a fog +or dark night, he was to burn a blue light; and I reckon you can do the +same thing, though I don't believe it could be seen to-night from the +forts," replied Dave, who appeared to be willing to make a good use of +his knowledge.</p> + +<p>"Then I don't think we shall have much trouble in getting out of the +bay," added Christy, as he went to the pilot-house, attended by +Dave.</p> + +<p>Since the lieutenant had declared as unequivocally as he desired who +and what he was, the steward did all he could to assist his new master. +He had served Captain Folkner for two months, for he said the commander +had lived on board all this time, and he had heard everything that +passed between him and his officers and others with whom he had +relations. He was about as well informed as though he had been an +officer of the vessel in whom the captain confided all his affairs. He +did not wait to have his knowledge dragged out of him, but he +volunteered such information as he saw that the occasion required.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">242</span> +He was a mulatto, and had plenty of good blood in his veins, though it +was corrupted with that of the hated race. He appeared to be about forty +years of age, and his knowledge of the affairs of the locality could +hardly have been better if he had been a white man, with a quick +perception, a reasoning intellect, and a retentive memory. It was the +rule with Union officers, soldiers, and sailors to trust the negroes, +making proper allowance for their general ignorance and stupidity, and +for particular circumstances. But some of them, even many of them, were +brighter than might be expected from their situation and +antecedents.</p> + +<p>The binnacle from the whaleboat had been brought into the +pilot-house, and Christy compared it with the compass in the Teaser's +apparatus, after Dave had lighted it. There was no disagreement, and as +the tide was still coming in, the head of the steamer was pointed to the +westward, which would be her first course down the bay.</p> + +<p>The lieutenant felt that everything depended upon the working of the +steamer, and he was a total stranger to her peculiarities, if she had +any, as most vessels have. Taking Beeks with him, he began at the stem +and followed the rail entirely +<span class = "pagenum">243</span> +around the steamer, feeling with a boat-hook along the sides. Sundry +ropes, fenders, and pieces of lumber were dislodged, and everything put +in order about the main deck. Then he visited the engine-room, and +learned from Sampson that he had a full head of steam. This careful +inspection completed, he ordered the quartermaster to cast off the fast +at the buoy.</p> + +<p>Taking his place in the pilot-house with Beeks, he rang the bell to +go ahead. The Teaser started on quite a different voyage from what she +had been intended for. Christy had studied up his courses and distances, +and had imprinted the chart of the lower part of the bay on his brain. +For the first part of the run, there was no obstacle, and no difficulty +in regard to the course.</p> + +<p>The fog and the darkness were so dense that not a thing could be seen +in any direction; but he rang for full speed as soon as the Teaser was +under way. A leadsman had been stationed on each side of the forecastle, +though there was no present occasion for their services. Christy thought +everything was going extremely well, and he was reasonably confident +that he should succeed in his plan.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">244</span> +"Steamer, ahoy!" shouted a voice, coming out of the dense fog.</p> + +<p>"That must be the patrol boat," said Dave, in a low tone.</p> + +<p>Christy could not make any reply that would be satisfactory to the +patrol, and he decided not to answer the hail. He had rather expected to +be challenged in this way.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">245</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXXII">CHAPTER XXII</a></h4> + +<h6>A VARIETY OF NIGHT SIGNALS</h6> + + +<p>The dip of the oars of the guard-boat could be distinctly heard in +the pilot-house, and it was probable that the men in it could see the +Teaser. But Christy was not much concerned about the situation, and he +was not much disposed to give any attention to the boat.</p> + +<p>"Stop her, or we will fire into you!" yelled the officer in charge of +the guard-boat.</p> + +<p>Even this menace did not induce the lieutenant to ring his bell to +stop the engine. The boat was doubtless full of men, and as he could not +give straight answers to all the questions that might be put to him, it +might provoke a fight to attempt to do so, and he decided not to incur +the risk. His prisoners might make trouble if he reduced the guard in +charge of them, as he would be obliged to do to beat off the attack of +the boat.</p> + +<p>"What is this boat here for, Dave?" asked +<span class = "pagenum">246</span> +Christy, as he peered through the gloom to obtain a glance at the +craft.</p> + +<p>"To keep the people at Fort Pickens from sending out any armed +force," replied the intelligent contraband.</p> + +<p>"Do they think a boat full of men could do that?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir; but they could give the forts on the other side +warning."</p> + +<p>The sounds from the boat had come from the starboard bow of the +steamer, and it looked as though the guard-boat had intercepted her by +accident, since it was impossible that they could have seen the Teaser +in the fog and gloom. As the steamer dashed ahead at full speed, the +sound of the oars came from a point on the beam. But the boat seemed to +be wasting her time, for nothing had been done since the threat to fire +into the steamer.</p> + +<p>"If a vessel is going to run out she has to satisfy this boat that +she is all right," said Dave.</p> + +<p>But he had hardly spoken before a volley of musket-balls passed over +the Teaser; and perhaps the officer in the boat intended that they +should pass over her. At any rate no harm was done by +<span class = "pagenum">247</span> +them. Then a rocket darted from the boat up into the air, which could be +dimly seen from the pilot-house.</p> + +<p>"What steamer is that?" shouted a hoarse voice out of the gloom.</p> + +<p>"The Teaser!" yelled Christy, with all the voice he could +command.</p> + +<p>The boat did not fire again; and if it had done so the steamer was +out of its reach. But a minute later the boom of a great gun came across +the bay. Fort Barrancas had evidently opened fire in response to the +rocket, which had no doubt been sent up as a signal to notify the +garrison that a vessel was going out or coming in, and that her +movements were not regular. The first shot was followed by others, and a +shot dropped into the water near the Teaser.</p> + +<p>"Let the leadsmen sound, Beeks," said Christy. The order was +repeated, and the reports were made known in the pilot-house. Sampson +seemed to be testing the capacity of the engine, for he was doing his +best in the matter of speed; but the Teaser behaved under the strain to +which he subjected her as though she had been very strongly built.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">248</span> +"By the mark eight," chimed the leadsman on the port side.</p> + +<p>That was water enough to float a seventy-four, and there was no +let-up in the speed. In fact, it would not have been convenient to +reduce the speed while the guard-boat could be at no great distance from +the flying steamer. This was the report for the next mile at least, and +Christy felt that the enemy was at a safe distance from him.</p> + +<p>"And a half six!" shouted the port leadsman, with energy, as though +he understood the effect his report would produce.</p> + +<p>Christy rang to slow her down. The depth of water was the only +directory he had in addition to the distance run, which was very +indefinite without a knowledge of the speed of the vessel.</p> + +<p>"By the mark six!" shouted the port leadsman, who was on the side +nearest to the island of Santa Rosa.</p> + +<p>This did not induce the pilot to take any further action, and the +Teaser continued on her course at less than half speed. Christy looked +at his watch by the light of the binnacle lamps. It was half-past +eleven, and the Teaser appeared, as +<span class = "pagenum">249</span> +well as he could calculate it, with the necessary allowances, to have +made at least sixteen knots on the run from the sound channel.</p> + +<p>"And a quarter five!" cried the leadsman of the land side.</p> + +<p>Christy spoke to Sampson through the tube, and the result was a +further reduction in the speed of the steamer, Beeks, who was at one +side of the wheel while the lieutenant was at the other, seemed to be a +little nervous as the depth diminished; and if he had spoken his +thought, he would have expressed his surprise that his superior officer +was running the steamer so near the shore, with the apparent intention +of going still nearer.</p> + +<p>"Mark under water three!" yelled the leadsman on the port side, while +the one on the starboard gave "By the mark four."</p> + +<p>"Shoaling fast," said Beeks.</p> + +<p>"Yes; but as expected," replied Christy.</p> + +<p>"Steamer, ahoy!" shouted a voice on the port side.</p> + +<p>"On shore!" replied Christy promptly.</p> + +<p>"What steamer is that?" demanded the shore speaker.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">250</span> +"The Teaser, prize to the United States ship Bellevite," answered the +lieutenant.</p> + +<p>"Boga-hobble-good!" continued the man on shore.</p> + +<p>"Rabble-gabble-weed!" responded Christy.</p> + +<p>"There's a Chinaman on shore there; but I am glad you speak his +language," said Beeks, trying to repress his laughter.</p> + +<p>"You are all right as to position!" shouted the islander.</p> + +<p>"The guard-boat must be about a mile astern of me," added +Christy.</p> + +<p>"We will take care of that," replied the shore speaker.</p> + +<p>Christy rang to stop the engine, which was done, though the steamer +continued to go ahead under the impetus of her former headway. The +leadsman on the port side reported two fathoms a little later, and then +there was a ring to back her, for there could not be more than two foot +of water under the keel. At this moment the peal of a twelve-pounder +came from the shore, and a little later the bursting of a shell was +heard astern of the Teaser.</p> + +<p>Beeks was very much perplexed by the strange +<span class = "pagenum">251</span> +speech which had passed between the lieutenant and the shore, and now by +the discharge of the gun on the island; but he was a well-disciplined +quartermaster, and he asked no questions.</p> + +<p>"I don't think that boat will come any farther this way," said +Christy, as a second report from the gun reached his ears.</p> + +<p>"Then I suppose the shots we hear are directed at the boat," added +Beeks.</p> + +<p>"They can hardly be directed at anything out in that fog and +darkness; but I don't think the guard will be willing to take the risk +of a chance shell bursting near them," added Christy.</p> + +<p>"On board the Teaser!" shouted a voice quite near the bow of the +steamer.</p> + +<p>"In the boat!" replied Christy. "Sound that bell slowly, Beeks, to +let him know where we are."</p> + +<p>The ripple of oars was presently heard, and a boat came out of the +gloom, rowed by two soldiers, with an officer in the stern. It came up +to the forward gangway, and the person in the stern climbed on board. +The boat did not wait for him, but pulled directly back to the +island.</p> + +<p>"I am glad to see you, Captain Westover," said Christy, as the +officer came into the pilot-house.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">252</span> +"And I am equally glad to see you, lieutenant," replied the captain. +"You seem to have been successful in your undertaking?"</p> + +<p>"Successful so far, and I think the worst of it is over now."</p> + +<p>As soon as Beeks heard the name of Captain Westover, he understood +all that had been dark before. Even the Chinese lingo must have been +agreed upon. The army and the navy officer had been very busy in talking +over something when they came in the boat from the Bellevite, and after +they landed on the island. What they had been talking about was plain +enough now.</p> + +<p>Captain Westover had not much confidence in the expectations of the +young naval officer when he expressed a hope that he might capture the +Teaser; but he had promised to render all the assistance in his power. +He had agreed to be on the shore of the island if the Teaser presented +herself, and thus assure the lieutenant of his position on the bay. He +had done more than this, for he had brought out a couple of guns and a +section of artillerists to beat off the guard-boat if it interfered with +the operations of the navy.</p> + +<p>Christy had taken a course from the entrance of +<span class = "pagenum">253</span> +the sound, half way between the island and Town Point, west-southwest. +He knew that the distance was about four miles; but he could not know, +except by sounding, when he came to the island, and he had bargained +with the army officer to be on the lookout for him. Captain Westover had +heard the noise of the Teaser, and had hailed her, thus assuring the +lieutenant that his calculation had been correct, and that he was in the +vicinity of Fort Pickens.</p> + +<p>"I had no idea that you would accomplish anything, lieutenant," said +Captain Westover.</p> + +<p>"I found everything laid out just as I should have wished it to be," +replied Christy. "We had plenty of information that the steamer would +run out the first favorable night; and nothing could have been more +favorable for blockade running than this fog and darkness."</p> + +<p>"But nothing has been seen of this steamer from the fort."</p> + +<p>"Where was she fitted out, Dave?" asked Christy, turning to the +steward.</p> + +<p>"Up by Emanuel Point, sir, about a mile above the town," replied +Dave.</p> + +<p>"Then she has not shown herself in the lower bay."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">254</span> +The conversation was interrupted by the roll of a drum on the shore.</p> + +<p>"There you are, lieutenant," said the captain with a smile. "When you +are ready to go ahead, don't wait on my account, for I will go on board +of the ship."</p> + +<p>"But what is the drum for?" asked the lieutenant, who was in the dark +in his turn.</p> + +<p>"I am not much of a sailor, lieutenant, but I have sent a drummer to +follow the shore to the west end of the island, and you will know by the +racket he makes where the island is, and how far off it is," replied the +army officer.</p> + +<p>"I am much obliged to you, Captain Westover; that will be a safe +guide for me," said Christy, as he rang to go ahead.</p> + +<p>He gave out the course west by north, and he thought he should be +able to keep within hail of the island, though, as he could see nothing, +it would be difficult to tell when he reached the northwest corner of +it. If he continued on this course too long, he was likely to scrape +acquaintance with Fort McRae, for there would be nothing in the +soundings to indicate the approach to this dangerous neighbor.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">255</span> +Nothing more was heard of the guard-boat, though the section of +artillery continued to discharge shells into the fog for a short time. +On the other side of the bay Fort Barrancas kept up its fire at long +intervals, and Fort Pickens could not reply without the danger of +putting a shot into the Teaser after her recent reformation. The steamer +kept on her course at half speed; but in ten minutes the sound of the +drum fell astern of her, when the drummer could go no farther.</p> + +<p>"Heave over the wheel, Beeks," said Christy.</p> + +<p>Then he rang the bell to go ahead at full speed.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">256</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXXIII">CHAPTER XXIII</a></h4> + +<h6>ANOTHER NIGHT EXPEDITION</h6> + + +<p>With the drum still beating on the shore, the Teaser rounded the +northwestern point of the island, when the wheel was heaved over. +Christy was entirely confident in regard to the navigation, for he had +steered the Bellevite through the same channel when on an excursion a +year before. But he had daylight and sunshine at that time instead of +fog and gloom as on the present occasion.</p> + +<p>"Buoy on the starboard, sir!" reported the leadsman on that side.</p> + +<p>"Buoy on the port hand!" cried the man on the other side, a minute +later.</p> + +<p>"We are all right," added the lieutenant. "We are between the middle +ground and the island. The buoy on the port is the southwest point of +the island."</p> + +<p>The Bellevite was not the only man-of-war that lay off Pensacola, for +the Brooklyn and other vessels +<span class = "pagenum">257</span> +were there to assist in the defence of Fort Pickens, which the enemy +were determined to capture if possible. The government had done +everything within its means to "hold the fort," though an army of about +ten thousand men had been gathered in the vicinity to reduce it. The +dry-dock which had floated near Warrenton, and which the Confederates +intended to sink in the channel, had been burned, and a force of +Unionists, including the Zouaves, called "The Pet Lambs," had been +quartered on the island of Santa Rosa. It had looked for several days as +though the enemy were preparing for a movement in retaliation for the +destruction of the dry-dock, which was a bad set-back for them.</p> + +<p>The getting to sea of the Teaser had no connection with this +movement, it appeared afterwards, and if Lieutenant Passford's +enterprise had been carried out only an hour or two later, he would have +found the situation quite different. He had sent the most of Captain +Folkner's force on board ashore, and had it all his own way afterwards. +He was sorry to leave these men, and the rest of the ship's company of +the Teaser, to assist in fighting the battles of the Confederacy, and he +was +<span class = "pagenum">258</span> +filled with the hope that they might yet be captured.</p> + +<p>As soon as the Teaser was well to the southward of the island, +Christy gave two short and a long blast on the steam whistle, which was +the signal he had agreed to make when he approached the Bellevite, +though Captain Breaker had laughed at him when he suggested that he +might return in the prize. The same signal was made in reply, and +repeated several times to aid him in finding the ship. The water was +comparatively smooth, and the prize came alongside the Bellevite, where +it was made fast.</p> + +<p>The lieutenant's first duty was to report to the captain of the +Bellevite, and taking Dave with him, he hastened on board. He found +Captain Breaker on deck, for there was a feeling in the fleet and in the +fort that some important event was about to transpire in the +vicinity.</p> + +<p>"I am glad to see you, Mr. Passford," said he; and possibly it +occurred to him that he had sent the young man on a difficult mission, +practically within the enemy's lines. "You have brought the prize with +you, I see; and I was before informed of the fact that you had her by +the signal whistles."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">259</span> +"Yes, sir; the Teaser is alongside. She is not a vessel of the +Confederate Navy, but was fitted out on private account. She is a +privateer," replied Christy.</p> + +<p>"So much the better that you have captured her," added the captain. +"Did you have a severe fight, Mr. Passford?"</p> + +<p>"We had no fight at all, sir. I was instructed to avoid a fight if +possible, and I have done so. Not a blow has been struck or a shot +fired, sir."</p> + +<p>"I will hear your report in detail later, Mr. Passford, when the +prize is in a better situation than now. Have you any prisoners?" asked +Captain Breaker.</p> + +<p>"Only the captain and the engineers, sir. This man with me is Dave, +and he was a steward on board of the Teaser. He has given me valuable +information, and I have not regarded him as a prisoner," replied the +lieutenant.</p> + +<p>"I understand," said the commander, with a smile, as he saw the +yellow hue of the steward's face. "We will not regard him as a prisoner. +But you may send the others on board."</p> + +<p>Captain Folkner was in no better humor than before, and a berth in +the steerage was assigned to +<span class = "pagenum">260</span> +him. The other prisoners were sent on board, and Captain Breaker had +ordered Christy to anchor the prize near the Bellevite.</p> + +<p>"I don't feel as though I had quite finished my work," said Christy, +as he walked towards the gangway to obey the order.</p> + +<p>"What more is there to do?" asked the commander.</p> + +<p>"It would take me a little time to tell the story of my trip into the +bay, sir, and I think you would not understand what more is to be done +until you have heard it," replied Christy.</p> + +<p>"Then I will hear you before you anchor the Teaser," said the +captain, leading the way to his cabin.</p> + +<p>The lieutenant narrated the events of his trip across Santa Rosa +Island. Captain Breaker was not a little amused at his scheme to get rid +of the portion of the crew of the privateer before he captured her.</p> + +<p>"I never suspected that you were the possessor of so much audacity, +Christy," said he, when the lieutenant had put him in possession of all +the facts.</p> + +<p>"I did not know that I had more than my fair +<span class = "pagenum">261</span> +share, sir, and I don't know what I have done that is at all audacious," +replied Christy, very meekly.</p> + +<p>"It is a very dark and foggy night, but I don't believe that I have +another officer who would have cheek enough to pretend to be a pilot in +Pensacola Bay, and to be in possession of the guard-boat at the same +time."</p> + +<p>"Captain Folkner put the idea into my head, and I think I should have +been an idiot not to make use of it, considering the nature of my +mission on board of the Teaser."</p> + +<p>"It is a wonder that no one knew you were not Gilder."</p> + +<p>"The men in the guard-boat did not expose me, and admitted by their +silence that I was the person I claimed to be," replied Christy, with a +twinkle of the eyes.</p> + +<p>"Your scheme would have failed ninety-nine times out of a +hundred."</p> + +<p>"If it had failed, I had force enough to clean out the enemy on +board, so that I ran no risk; but I was ordered to avoid a fight, and I +did so," argued Christy.</p> + +<p>"You were exceedingly fortunate; and the next +<span class = "pagenum">262</span> +time you try such a trick, it may lead you into a rebel prison."</p> + +<p>"It was not my fault that the ship's company of the Teaser were at +issue among themselves, and I should have been an imbecile to fail to +profit by it."</p> + +<p>"I approve all you have done, Mr. Passford."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, sir. Though I was of Captain Folkner's opinion that the +sound was the best way out of the bay in the first place, I abandoned +that view before I started on the expedition. I was sorry that I could +not indorse Captain Folkner's opinion, and that I was obliged to take +sides with his men," said Christy, chuckling.</p> + +<p>"I understand your position perfectly. Now, what do you mean by +finishing your work, Mr. Passford?" asked Captain Breaker, curiously. +"We have the Teaser, and we ought to be satisfied with your brilliant +success."</p> + +<p>"I am not quite satisfied, sir."</p> + +<p>"You ought to be."</p> + +<p>"We put twelve men ashore at Town Point rather than have a fight with +them; and I have the feeling that we have a mortgage on those men, to +say nothing of thirty more at Pensacola who +<span class = "pagenum">263</span> +were to join the Teaser. I told them they could get on board of their +steamer from the island. I shall be sorry to disappoint them, for I +suppose the whole forty or more are counting on a handsome allowance of +prize money to be made for them by the Teaser. I should be sorry to +disappoint them," continued Christy, chuckling all the time.</p> + +<p>"Precisely so! I suppose you would be greatly grieved to blast their +hopes, and you propose to take them on board of the steamer."</p> + +<p>"That is the idea, sir. Taking a more patriotic view of the question, +it would be a great pity to allow forty good sailors to waste their +energies in the service of the Confederacy."</p> + +<p>"Undoubtedly it would," said Captain Breaker, his brow knitting under +his earnest thought. "What do you propose to do? Explain your plan +fully, Mr. Passford."</p> + +<p>"The principal of the malcontents on board of the Teaser was a man by +the name of Lonley," Christy explained. "We left them at the point where +the rest of the Teaser's crew were to join them. They are all anxious to +get to sea in the Teaser, and I have no doubt they will come down +to-night."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">264</span> +"I should think they would," the captain assented. "But they will expect +to find the steamer in the sound, and not outside of the island. If the +Teaser could get through the sound at all, she would not be where you +intend to put her."</p> + +<p>"I told Lonley to get upon the island, and be on the lookout for the +Teaser; and as they have to come from Pensacola in a boat, it will be as +easy for them to go to the island as to land at the point. Very likely +they will get the Times to bring them off, or some other steamer," +Christy argued.</p> + +<p>"It is certainly very desirable to capture these men, for it will do +so much to weaken the enemy; but I am afraid you are a little too +audacious in some of your movements, Mr. Passford," replied Captain +Breaker, with a softening smile.</p> + +<p>"I beg you will not consider that I am asking for the command of the +Teaser, Captain Breaker, if she is sent upon this duty," returned the +lieutenant, somewhat set back at the prudence of the commander.</p> + +<p>"I think I had better send Mr. Blowitt in command of the Teaser, and +you shall go as his first officer," added the captain.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">265</span> +"I have no objection, even in my heart, to this arrangement," replied +Christy.</p> + +<p>"But I shall have to send the prize to New York, and I will appoint +you prize-master," continued the captain, afraid that he was +disappointing the ambitious young officer. "You have done exceedingly +well, Christy, and I shall not fail to mention you favorably in my +report; and you will write out yours as soon as possible."</p> + +<p>Christy would not allow himself to think that he was unappreciated +because an older officer was appointed to conduct the enterprise he +suggested. He was ready to do his whole duty either as principal or +subordinate. Mr. Blowitt was summoned from his stateroom, and forty men, +including all who had taken part in the capture of the prize, were +detailed to man the Teaser. The second lieutenant was one of the +jolliest men on board, but he weighed nearly two hundred pounds, and he +was not as active on this account in boat service as some others. He was +an excellent officer, and had been in command of a steamer, though he +had never before been in the navy.</p> + +<p>At three o'clock in the morning the fasts of the Teaser were cast +off, and she backed away from +<span class = "pagenum">266</span> +the Bellevite. She was to proceed to a point about six miles to the +eastward, which was beyond the camp of the "Pet Lambs." Here she was to +look out for the Teaser's crew.</p> + +<p>She had not made half this distance when all hands heard rapid and +continued firing on Santa Rosa Island.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">267</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXXIV">CHAPTER XXIV</a></h4> + +<h6>LIEUTENANT PASSFORD ON A MISSION</h6> + + +<p>The officers on board of the Teaser could not explain the occasion of +the firing on the island, though it sounded as though an engagement of +some sort was in progress. It had been foggy during the preceding day, +and if any movement on the part of the enemy had been indicated it could +not have been seen on board of the ships off the entrance to the +bay.</p> + +<p>"I hope this business we are to do this morning will not take us +long," said Mr. Blowitt. "We may be wanted on board, and I should not +like to be absent from the Bellevite if she is to take part in an +engagement of any kind."</p> + +<p>"And I am sure I should not," added Christy. "I should not be +surprised if the enemy made an attempt to capture Pickens; but even if +they storm it in the darkness, I do not see that the ships can do +anything until they are able to see what they are to do."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">268</span> +"But this affair may keep us away from the ship for a day or two," +suggested the second lieutenant.</p> + +<p>"I don't think so, sir; I believe you will be on board again before +seven bells in the morning watch," replied Christy. "The ship's company +of the Teaser were to be somewhere on the shores of the sound where they +could be taken on board."</p> + +<p>"But the men you landed at the point believed that the Teaser was to +get out through the sound," replied Mr. Blowitt. "They took you for the +pilot Gilder, and you did not tell them that you intended to run the +blockade."</p> + +<p>"Of course I did not; if I had, they would have remained on board. +But the guard-boat attempted to stop us, and the artillery on the island +fired into it, though it is probable that they did not hit it in the +dense fog," Christy explained. "Our men may have learned from the +guard-boat that we took the steamer out through the main channel."</p> + +<p>"If they did they probably learned that the Teaser went out with the +assistance of the garrison at the fort," suggested Mr. Blowitt.</p> + +<p>"I am confident that the officer of the guard-boat +<span class = "pagenum">269</span> +would have no means of knowing that fact," argued Christy. "Of course, +he heard the firing in the neighborhood of the fort, and he would +naturally conclude that they were firing upon the steamer to prevent her +from running out."</p> + +<p>"That may be; but, to tell you the truth, Mr. Passford, I am afraid +we shall not find these men," added the second lieutenant. "From the +firing we hear, I should judge that a movement of some kind is in +progress, and our men may be better informed than you expect."</p> + +<p>"Of course, they may be; but I expect to find these men at some point +along the shore," replied Christy, who thought the second lieutenant was +just a little obstinate in not accepting his theory in full.</p> + +<p>The steamer continued on her course to the eastward, and nothing more +passed between the two principal officers in regard to the crew from +Pensacola. But Flint was quite as confident as the third lieutenant that +the forty men, more or less, would be captured. The noise of the firing +could no longer be heard, and then Christy suggested that the whistle be +sounded as a signal to the men if they were in the vicinity.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">270</span> +The depth of water was three or four fathoms close up to this part of +the island. The soundings indicated that the steamer was as near as it +was prudent to go in the dense fog. Christy was sure that the +privateer's crew could not have gone any farther to the eastward by this +time, and the screw was stopped, while all hands made an anxious use of +their ears to detect any sounds that came from the shore. But nothing +could be heard at first, and Mr. Blowitt again intimated that they were +engaged in a "wild-goose chase." But he had hardly uttered this cooling +reflection before Beeks came aft to report that a number of pistol +shots, as he thought they were, had been heard in the distance.</p> + +<p>"Nobody can tell what they mean," said the sceptical Mr. Blowitt. +"They may be a part of the affair we heard going on soon after we left +the ship."</p> + +<p>"In what direction were the shots, Beeks?" asked Christy.</p> + +<p>"They sounded as though they were about half a mile or less to the +westward of us," replied the quartermaster.</p> + +<p>"Blow the whistle in short blasts, Beeks," +<span class = "pagenum">271</span> +added Mr. Blowitt, who seemed to have gathered a little faith from the +report of the quartermaster.</p> + +<p>The order was obeyed, and Beeks again reported that pistol shots had +been heard from the westward. The third lieutenant was in a hurry to +have the business finished, for he felt confident that the Bellevite +would soon be engaged in an affair of more importance than picking up a +couple of score of prisoners. He ordered the steamer to come about, and +move to the westward; but after she had been under way about five +minutes, he rang to stop her, and then sounded the whistles again. +Several pistol shots responded to this signal. Again he started the +screw, and pointed the bow of the Teaser squarely to the north.</p> + +<p>The steamer moved very slowly, and two men sounded all the time till +they reported "by the mark two," when there could not have been more +than three feet of water under the keel of the vessel. The screw was +stopped and backed so that she might not run upon any shoal place ahead +of her, and the officers waited with interest and anxiety for further +action on the part of the party on shore. By this time no one doubted +that there were men on this part of the island; but whether +<span class = "pagenum">272</span> +they were the crew of the privateer or not was yet to be proved.</p> + +<p>"Steamer, ahoy!" shouted some one on the shore.</p> + +<p>"On the island!" replied Christy, as he was instructed to do by his +superior.</p> + +<p>"What steamer is that?" demanded the speaker on the island.</p> + +<p>Whoever he was, he could not help knowing that a steamer was there, +for the engineer had begun to blow off steam as soon as the screw +stopped, though neither party could see the other in the fog and +darkness.</p> + +<p>"The Teaser," replied Christy. "Who are you?"</p> + +<p>"We are the ship's company of the Teaser, and we want to get on +board," replied the speaker. "Is Captain Folkner on board?"</p> + +<p>"He is on board—of the Bellevite," the third <ins class = +"correction" title = "text reads 'lientenant'">lieutenant</ins> would +have finished the sentence if he had told the whole truth, for he +uttered only the first part of the sentence.</p> + +<p>"All right. The first and second lieutenants are with us. Is Gilder +on board?"</p> + +<p>"He is; and he wants to get back to the other +<span class = "pagenum">273</span> +side of the inland," answered Christy, who considered it his duty to +make his replies as suitable to the occasion as possible. "Who is +speaking?"</p> + +<p>"Lieutenant Lonley," replied the man; and Christy knew him, though he +did not know his rank before. "He wants to see Gilder before he goes on +board. Tell him to come on shore in his canoe."</p> + +<p>"What is that for?" demanded Christy, rather surprised at the +unexpected request.</p> + +<p>"I want to see him on particular business; I have a message for him, +which I cannot deliver in presence of any other person," replied +Lonley.</p> + +<p>"All right; you shall see him soon," answered Christy.</p> + +<p>"Get out the boats to take us on board," continued Lonley. "Send them +about a mile to the eastward, where we have left our bags."</p> + +<p>"All right," repeated Christy.</p> + +<p>But he said what he did not believe, for everything did not look +right to him. He could not understand why the bags of the men should be +a mile to the eastward. He could not imagine what business Lonley could +have with Gilder or his representative; +<span class = "pagenum">274</span> +and if he had any, why it should be necessary to meet him on the +island.</p> + +<p>"Of course you don't expect me to carry on the programme that fellow +has marked out," said Mr. Blowitt. "I don't quite like the looks of the +things that we can't see, Mr. Passford."</p> + +<p>"Neither do I, Mr. Blowitt," replied the third lieutenant +frankly.</p> + +<p>"I shall not send a boat from the steamer till I understand this +matter a great deal better than I do now, and especially I shall not +send the boats a mile to the eastward," added the second lieutenant.</p> + +<p>"Of course it is possible that my plan has miscarried already," added +Christy.</p> + +<p>"I shall do everything I can to carry out your plan, as I am +instructed to do by the captain; but I have the feeling, in spite of +myself, that we are crawling into a hornet's nest," added Mr. Blowitt, +with some anxiety in his tones. "You will call all hands quietly, and be +ready to repel boarders. It is well to be prepared for whatever may +come. The firing at the west end of the island indicated that something +was going on, and perhaps these men on the shore know +about it."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">275</span> +Christy obeyed the order promptly, and the next minute, every seaman on +board was ready with his cutlass and revolver to meet an attack. But no +sound came from the shore just then, and the officers were in a state of +uncertainty in regard to the situation which allowed them to do nothing. +They waited for half an hour, when the leadsman reported that the water +was shoaling, which indicated that the Teaser was drifting towards the +island.</p> + +<p>"On board the Teaser!" shouted Lonley, so distinctly that he could +hardly have been more than three hundred feet from the steamer.</p> + +<p>"On shore," replied Christy, prompted by Mr. Blowitt.</p> + +<p>"I am waiting for Gilder! Why don't he come on shore?" shouted +Lonley, his impatience apparent in his tones.</p> + +<p>"Where are all the men?" demanded Christy, as requested by the second +lieutenant.</p> + +<p>"They have gone a mile to the eastward where they left their +bags."</p> + +<p>"We will run down in the steamer for them," added Mr. Blowitt, +talking through Christy.</p> + +<p>"Don't do that!" protested the speaker on +<span class = "pagenum">276</span> +shore. "There is a Yankee steamer off in that direction. We heard her +steam an hour ago."</p> + +<p>"All right!" replied Christy.</p> + +<p>"That settles the matter in my mind," said Mr. Blowitt. "They are +trying to play what they call a Yankee trick upon us. When we send our +boats to the eastward, we shall send them into a trap. If the boats are +to bring off forty men, they will expect them to go with only men enough +to pull the oars; and when they get possession of them, they expect to +retake the Teaser."</p> + +<p>"I think you are right, Mr. Blowitt," replied Christy, who began to +believe that his scheme was rapidly approaching a failure, though he did +not give it up just yet.</p> + +<p>"This Lonley is still on the shore near us," said Mr. Blowitt. "I +should very much like to know what has been going on to-night on the +island, and it may be that he knows all about it. As you are the +representative of Gilder, Mr. Passford, you may take the canoe that is +astern, and have a talk with Lonley at close quarters, if you don't +object."</p> + +<p>"I should have proposed it myself if I had not feared that the idea +would be charged to my +<span class = "pagenum">277</span> +audacity," replied Christy. "I will take only Flint with me, as he was +with me before."</p> + +<p>The canoe was brought up to the gangway, and Flint took his place at +the oars. Mr. Blowitt charged the young officer in the most serious +manner not to run any risks, and the boat was shoved off. It required +but a few strokes of the oars to bring it into shoal water by the beach. +Only a single man could be seen on the shore, and this one must be +Lonley. There seemed to be no risk, and Christy landed.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">278</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXXV">CHAPTER XXV</a></h4> + +<h6>CHRISTY BECOMES A VICTIM</h6> + + +<p>Everything was perfectly still on the island, and only a single man +was in sight; but Christy put his hand upon his revolver as he went on +shore. Though he had never been a fighting young man, he had the +impression that he should not tamely submit to the assault of an enemy, +or run away from any single man that stood up in front of him. He had +always been prudent, even while he had been daring, and he hardly needed +the solemn admonition of the second lieutenant to be extremely +cautious.</p> + +<p>"Is that you, Captain Gilder?" asked the man on the shore, who stood +a little way from the waterside.</p> + +<p>"Yes; and I take it for granted that you are Lonley," replied +Christy, advancing towards the other. "You have done all the talking +this night, and I ought to know you."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">279</span> +"All the talking except what you have done, and I ought to know you," +replied Lonley. "I am Lieutenant Lonley, of the Teaser, and our men are +all ready to go on board."</p> + +<p>"And Captain Folkner is all ready to have them go on board," returned +Christy, who had no doubt of the truth of what he said, though he +understood that he was telling a "story" all the same.</p> + +<p>"I have no doubt he is. But I don't quite understand how you happen +to be on this side of the island, and so far to the westward at this +time in the morning. We expected to find the Teaser burrowing through +the sound, and we had about made up our minds to take possession of her +and run the blockade, as other Christians do. We did not believe she +would get through the sound in a week, if she ever did."</p> + +<p>"I succeeded in persuading Captain Folkner that he had better come +out by the main channel; and that is the way we did come out, and that +explains how we happen to be here at this time in the morning," replied +Christy, very cheerfully.</p> + +<p>"You must have very strong powers of persuasion, Captain Gilder," +said Lonley, laughing.</p> + +<p>"I have in a case such as this was," added the +<span class = "pagenum">280</span> +lieutenant, with a chuckle, as he thought of the particular kind of +persuasion he had used upon the captain of the privateer.</p> + +<p>"I would give a good deal if I had just such powers, for they are +sometimes of very great service to an officer."</p> + +<p>"You are quite right, Mr. Lonley. I suppose you are the first +lieutenant of the Teaser."</p> + +<p>"No, I am not; kissing goes by favor, and the captain's brother is +the first; and he is no more fit for his position than the captain is +for his duty. I was in hope that the government would take possession of +the steamer, and send her to sea properly officered," added Lonley, very +good-naturedly.</p> + +<p>"Good officers are quite necessary in the service," suggested +Christy. "I have no doubt you will fill the bill, and be all that could +be possibly desired."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Captain Gilder. Did you have any trouble in getting out +of the bay?"</p> + +<p>"No, none at all. By the way, Mr. Lonley, we have been hearing firing +at the west end of the island to-night. Do you know what it means?"</p> + +<p>"The first thing was to clean out that regiment +<span class = "pagenum">281</span> +of Zouaves; and I have no doubt that has been done before now; and our +boys may get a hack at Pickens. A big force was landed in the fog, and +the Yankees will not stay on this island much longer," replied +Lonley.</p> + +<p>His information was entirely correct, though his prediction was not +equally reliable.</p> + +<p>"I was sure there was fighting going on over there," added Christy. +"You seem to be all alone, Mr. Lonley. Where are all your men?"</p> + +<p>"I told you before you came ashore that I had sent them all over to +the place where they had left their bags, about a mile to the eastward +of us. I suppose Captain Folkner has sent the boats over there for them +before this time?"</p> + +<p>"He was inclined to run over in the steamer," added Christy.</p> + +<p>"I hope he did not do that," said the privateersman, with a good deal +more energy than the other thought the occasion warranted. "I warned you +that there was a Yankee gunboat over that way."</p> + +<p>"The Teaser has not gone over that way," replied Christy.</p> + +<p>"If she has, she will be gobbled up by that gunboat, and all my men +with her."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">282</span> +"I persuaded Captain Folkner not to do it," added the Bellevite's +officer, very quietly.</p> + +<p>"He ought to have done just what I asked him to do; and that was to +send his boats over to the place named for the men."</p> + +<p>"And I persuaded him to do that also," continued Christy, as +unblushingly as though he had not been strictly in the habit of telling +the truth all his lifetime.</p> + +<p>"Good for you, Captain Gilder!" exclaimed Lonley, grasping the hand +of his companion as though he had been his brother. "You beat all the +men I ever knew on power of persuasion; and when I get the command of +the Teaser, as I expect to have before this year ends, I shall want you +to serve as my first lieutenant."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Lieutenant Lonley; you are very kind; and if I ever go +into the privateering service, I shall certainly go in with you," +replied Christy.</p> + +<p>"An officer with your power of persuasion will be invaluable to me," +replied Lonley, still holding the hand of the other. "If I were gifted +in this respect as you are, Captain Gilder, do you know what I +would do?"</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">283</span> +"I am sure I have not the least idea, unless it would be to persuade +Jeff Davis to send you a commission as a captain in the regular navy," +said Christy, laughing at the idea.</p> + +<p>"I am afraid I should have too little cheek to attempt to do that, +for the president is a rather obstinate man, and I fear he would not see +the point. Besides, I am a very modest man, though you may not have +observed this shining trait in my character. No; I am too diffident to +ask for a place I have not won by service."</p> + +<p>"Then what would you do in the way of persuasion?" asked Christy, +though he wondered why he was prolonging the interview.</p> + +<p>"I should use my powers of persuasion upon you, Captain Gilder, in +the first place."</p> + +<p>"I don't think it would be of any use, for I am too well posted in +that way of doing it to be influenced," replied Christy, trying to +withdraw his hand from the grasp of the privateersman. "I must go on +board of the Teaser again when you have delivered your message to me, as +that was what you wished to see me for."</p> + +<p>"I did say I had a message for you, didn't I? Well, upon my life, I +have quite forgot what it +<span class = "pagenum">284</span> +was, but it was from President Jefferson Davis, and he was particular +that I should deliver it to you to-night or this morning. Isn't it very +strange that I should forget a message of so much importance that it +could not be trusted to writing?"</p> + +<p>"Passing strange, I should say," answered Christy, who began to +understand that he had fallen into a trap of some sort. "While you are +thinking of it, I will go on board, and persuade Captain Folkner not to +run the Teaser to the eastward if he should take it into his head to do +so. I had no idea there was a Yankee gunboat in that direction, and I +don't believe the captain had. Besides, he don't know where he is in +this fog, and he needs me."</p> + +<p>As he spoke, Christy tried to withdraw his hand from the grasp of +Lonley, as he had not succeeded in doing before when he tried. But the +privateersman suddenly fell upon him, and both of them went down. A +tremendous struggle followed, but before it was decided, two men rushed +out of the gloom, and took part in the affair; and they soon settled the +matter in favor of the Confederacy, much to the chagrin of the second +lieutenant of the Bellevite.</p> + +<p class = "illustration"> +<img src = "images/pic284.png" width = "325" height = "504" +alt = "illustration of quoted scene"><br> +<span class = "caption"> +"<span class = "smallcaps">A tremendous struggle +followed</span>."—Page 284.</span> +</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">285</span> +Flint had remained in the canoe, which had been partly drawn up on the +beach; but the moment he sprang out upon the sand to go to the +assistance of his officer, he was set upon by two men and secured. Both +of them were deprived of their weapons, and their hands tied behind +them. Beyond a doubt the lieutenant and the master's mate were prisoners +before they had any clear idea of the situation.</p> + +<p>"Are you there, Mr. Folkner?" called Lonley, as soon as the prisoners +were secured, speaking now in an energetic tone, as he had not +before.</p> + +<p>"I am here," replied a man who seemed to be in a boat not far from +the spot. "You have kept me a long time waiting for you!"</p> + +<p>"I wanted to give the Yankee boats time to get at least a mile from +the Teaser before anything was done. Shove off now, and make things as +lively as you can," said Lonley. "Go to your places in the boats," he +continued to four men who had assisted in the capture of the two +officers.</p> + +<p>By this time Christy had a chance to see that he was a victim of a +trick which was to eventuate in the recapture of the Teaser; and he was +sorry that +<span class = "pagenum">286</span> +he was not the only victim, as he looked at Flint. He realized too that +the scheme had been very well planned, though he was really happy in the +belief that it would be a failure in the end. Lonley seemed to be the +leading spirit in the affair, and managed the details. He had intended +that the boats should be sent from the Teaser to a point at least a mile +off.</p> + +<p>He had taken it for granted that the steamer would come to pick them +up, or in other words, to capture the forty prisoners. If he was weak in +accepting as the truth Christy's statement that the boats had been +actually sent away, as desired, he could see no reason why the Yankee +officer should try to deceive him. It appeared now that the +privateersmen had two boats, which had been brought across the island +for the purpose. Lonley had naturally wished that only a few men should +be on board, and concluded that it would be an easy matter to capture +the steamer, and then to secure the men in the boats when they returned +from the eastward.</p> + +<p>The four men on shore, who had been put in a place where they could +assist Lonley, hastened to the boats, and they shoved off, pulling as +silently +<span class = "pagenum">287</span> +as though the oars had been muffled, as probably they had been. In a +moment more they disappeared in the darkness and fog.</p> + +<p>"I think I have improved a great deal in the art of persuasion," said +Lonley, as the boats disappeared. "I suppose I persuaded you as +effectually as you did Captain Folkner."</p> + +<p>"You have done very well, Mr. Lonley," replied Christy, in a +patronizing tone, for he was determined that his companion should derive +no satisfaction from seeing him cast down by his misfortune.</p> + +<p>"You informed me a little while ago that Captain Folkner was on board +of the Teaser; and I wish to ask if you are uniformly in the habit of +speaking the truth?" continued Lonley.</p> + +<p>"Well, that depends upon circumstances. If I have not done so, you +cannot expect me to contradict myself."</p> + +<p>"You claimed that you were Captain Gilder."</p> + +<p>"Hardly, my excellent friend: when Captain Folkner addressed me by +that name, I did not object to it."</p> + +<p>"That was just as much a lie as though you had claimed it in so many +words," protested Lonley.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">288</span> +"I admit it; and I hardly expect a true patriot to tell the truth to the +enemy. If I remember rightly, you told me yourself that your men had +gone to the eastward where they had left their bags. I don't believe +that your conscience reproached you when they showed themselves in the +boats."</p> + +<p>At this moment pistol shots were heard on the water.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">289</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXXVI">CHAPTER XXVI</a></h4> + +<h6>THE ACTION ON THE DECK OF THE TEASER</h6> + + +<p>As the Teaser was but a short distance from the shore, Christy had no +doubt that the attempt to board her had been made by this time. Mr. +Blowitt had quite as many men on board of the steamer as could have been +contained in the two boats, and he was not much concerned about the +result of the attack, especially as he knew that the second lieutenant +was fully prepared and on the lookout for it. The only thing that +Christy regretted was that he was not on board of the Teaser to take +part in the affair of repelling boarders.</p> + +<p>"There seems to be some music in the air," said Lonley, after he had +listened for a few moments to the sounds that came from the direction of +the steamer.</p> + +<p>"To return to the subject of the morality of telling stories, your +men do not seem to be a mile +<span class = "pagenum">290</span> +to the eastward, where their bags were left," added Christy +good-naturedly.</p> + +<p>"You had a glance at them in the boats, though the darkness and fog +were rather too thick for you to count them," replied Lonley, chuckling +over the deception he had practised upon the lieutenant of the +Bellevite.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I saw them, and I concluded that they could not be where their +bags were."</p> + +<p>"All is fair in war."</p> + +<p>"That seems to be the generally received maxim, and he is the +smartest man who the most thoroughly deceives the enemy," added Christy, +who found himself tolerably well satisfied with the situation, though he +was a prisoner.</p> + +<p>"That is so, and of course I can find no fault with you for deceiving +me," returned Lonley, chuckling as though he was even better satisfied +with the situation than his companion.</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Mr. Lonley; you are magnanimous, and with equal sincerity +I can say that I have no fault to find with you," replied the Union +officer. "But I have my doubts whether, after this, either of us will be +likely to believe what the other says. But, for my part, I wish to say +that +<span class = "pagenum">291</span> +I don't believe in telling anything but necessary and patriotic +lies."</p> + +<p>"That is my view of the matter exactly; and if there is any man that +despises a liar, I am that man," said Lonley warmly. "But it seems to me +they are making a good deal of a racket off there," he added, as the +noise of pistol shots and the clash of cutlasses came over the smooth +waters of the gulf.</p> + +<p>"They seem to be at it quite earnestly," replied Christy.</p> + +<p>"By the way, how many men did you leave on board of the Teaser?" +asked the privateersman, whose manner seemed to have suddenly become +considerably changed.</p> + +<p>"How many men?" repeated the lieutenant of the Bellevite.</p> + +<p>"That is the question I asked," replied the lieutenant of the +Teaser.</p> + +<p>"I suppose you would not believe me if I should tell you," answered +Christy.</p> + +<p>"I judge that you can speak the truth if you try," added Lonley, with +more asperity than the occasion seemed to require.</p> + +<p>"I know that I could," said Christy, very +<span class = "pagenum">292</span> +decidedly; "and I may add that I was in the habit of doing so on all +occasions before this cruel war began."</p> + +<p>"Then suppose you try to do so just now, and tell me how many men +your people had on board of the Teaser."</p> + +<p>"You must excuse me for the present, for I do not like to make +statements to one who will not believe what I say," answered Christy, +rather facetiously.</p> + +<p>"You are a prisoner now."</p> + +<p>"I am painfully aware of the fact, but I doubt if the government +service will suffer very much in my absence from duty."</p> + +<p>"You are too modest by half, Mr.—but I have not even the +pleasure of knowing your name, and conversation is annoying under such +circumstances."</p> + +<p>"I am simply Midshipman Passford, at your service."</p> + +<p>"Only a midshipman!" exclaimed Lonley. "Upon my word, you ought to be +a commodore. Passford? Possibly you are a cousin of Colonel Passford of +Glenfield."</p> + +<p>"Colonel Passford is my uncle. Do you know him?" asked Christy.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">293</span> +"I do know him; and there is not a finer man or a truer patriot in the +South than Colonel Passford. He is loading a schooner with cotton, and +he offered me the command of it. Then you are his nephew, I have heard +of you."</p> + +<p>"I hope my uncle is quite well, for I have not heard from him for +several weeks, or since I left New York."</p> + +<p>"I saw him ten days ago, and he was very well then. I am very happy +to have made a prisoner of his enterprising nephew, who appears to be +capable of doing our cause a great deal of mischief," replied Lonley, +looking earnestly in the direction of the Teaser.</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Mr. Lonley; I certainly intend to do it all the mischief +I can in a legitimate way. I am speaking the truth now," said +Christy.</p> + +<p>"But you have not answered my question in regard to the number of men +on board of the Teaser when you left her."</p> + +<p>"And you will excuse me for the present if I do not answer it," added +the Union lieutenant.</p> + +<p>"Very well, Mr. Passford; I cannot compel you to answer it, though +doing so would do no harm to +<span class = "pagenum">294</span> +your cause, for I should judge that the question of the hour is +settled."</p> + +<p>"What is the question of the hour, Mr. Lonley?"</p> + +<p>"The question is which side is in possession of the Teaser, yours or +mine," replied the privateersman, still gazing out into the gloom.</p> + +<p>"Is that question settled?" asked Christy, with interest.</p> + +<p>"Of course I don't know, but I should think that it was. We hear no +more pistol shots and no more clashing of cutlasses," replied Lonley, +uneasily. "But I expected to hear the triumphal shout of our men when +they had carried the deck of the Teaser."</p> + +<p>"I have not heard anything like a triumphal shout," added Christy, +very quietly. "It is barely possible that your men have not carried the +deck of the Teaser."</p> + +<p>"Of course, it is possible they have not; but I don't believe they +have failed," replied Lonley.</p> + +<p>The privateersman listened for a few minutes in silence. He appeared +to be entirely confident that the victory must be with his men. He +evidently believed that the captors of the Teaser had sent +<span class = "pagenum">295</span> +her two boats off to a distance of a mile, and thus weakened whatever +force she had on board of her. He did not seem to have any idea that the +party he had met in Pensacola Bay had been increased in numbers, or that +the officer in command had reported to the ship to which they belonged. +Christy realized what Lonley was thinking about, and he clearly believed +that the Teaser had been left in charge of not more than a dozen or +fifteen men, reduced by at least six then on boat duty.</p> + +<p>"Help! help!" shouted a man in the water at no great distance from +the shore.</p> + +<p>"What does that mean?" said Lonley, springing to his feet.</p> + +<p>"It is a call for help, and, as my hands are tied behind me, I cannot +respond to it, as I would gladly do, be the man who needs it friend or +enemy," replied Christy. "There is the canoe in which we came ashore, +Lieutenant Lonley, and you can use that."</p> + +<p>The privateersman sprang into the boat, shoved it off, and pulled in +the direction from which the appeal came. He disappeared in the fog in a +moment; but a little later was seen again approaching the shore. He had +not taken the sufferer into +<span class = "pagenum">296</span> +the boat, but he had clung to it. As he got upon his feet, Christy saw +that there were two of them, for one helped the other up the beach.</p> + +<p>"What does this mean?" demanded Lonley, very much excited. "Have you +run away from the others?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir; but we were beaten in the fight, our boats captured, and +all hands taken prisoners except us two," replied the uninjured of the +two men.</p> + +<p>Lieutenant Lonley, whatever his views of the morality of lying to the +enemy, uttered an exclamation which grated very harshly on the ears of +Lieutenant Passford. The result, as stated by the man who had swum to +the shore, was as unwelcome as it was unexpected. He had not deemed a +defeat even possible. He learned from the guard-boat that the steamer +had been captured. He had spent the time after he was landed with his +companions at Town Point, and organized his force for the recapture of +the Teaser. The failure of the final attack was as severe upon him as +the loss of his vessel had been upon Captain Folkner.</p> + +<p>"Who are you?" demanded Lonley, when he had +<span class = "pagenum">297</span> +in some measure recovered from the shock which the failure gave him.</p> + +<p>"I am Levick, the boatswain; and this is Lieutenant Folkner, who was +wounded in the shoulder in the first of it," replied the man. "He was +knocked from the rail into the water when we boarded, and he held on to +an oar. When the fight was over, and we had lost it, I slipped into the +water, and helped the lieutenant along on his oar, till I was about used +up, and then I called for help."</p> + +<p>"Are you much hurt, Mr. Folkner?" asked Lonley of the injured +officer.</p> + +<p>"I don't know; my shoulder feels numb, and I can't use my arm," +replied Folkner. "But I can use my legs, and I think that is what we had +better be doing."</p> + +<p>"I don't understand it," protested Lonley, very much dissatisfied +with the result of the action, as may well be supposed. "I was sure you +would carry her deck at once."</p> + +<p>"I was as sure as you were, Lonley; but I believe they had fifty men +all ready for us. They let us leap on deck without much opposition, and +then they surrounded us, and took us by surprise, +<span class = "pagenum">298</span> +for I did not suppose, after what you said, that they had a dozen men," +replied the wounded lieutenant.</p> + +<p>"I did not suppose they had even a dozen men left on board," Lonley +explained, with humiliation in his tones.</p> + +<p>"I staid in the boat till I had seen all my men on deck," continued +Mr. Folkner. "They surrounded our force, and tumbled them into the hold +as though they had been pigs, slashing them with their cutlasses if they +tried to get out. I saw the fat officer in command of the enemy; he was +very active, and I leaped on deck, determined to cross weapons with him. +But he hit me in the shoulder with his cutlass, and I lost my hold on +the rail."</p> + +<p>"You ought to have led your men, not followed them," said Lonley +bitterly.</p> + +<p>"That is easy enough for you to say; but I wanted to be where I could +see my men," retorted the first lieutenant, of whom the second had a +very mean opinion, perhaps because he got his position on account of +being the captain's brother.</p> + +<p>"Whether I did right or not, I can tell you all one thing; and that +is, that we shall be prisoners if +<span class = "pagenum">299</span> +we stay here any longer. They have got our men under the hatches, and +they have ordered out a boat to look for an officer they sent +ashore."</p> + +<p>"We can do nothing here, and we may as well put ourselves in safer +quarters, for we have two prisoners to lose," said Lonley. "Mr. +Passford, I shall have to trouble you to march to the other side of the +island."</p> + +<p>"I am your prisoner, Mr. Lonley, and I must obey your orders, though +I am sorry to be away from my ship in the hour of victory," replied +Christy submissively.</p> + +<p>But he felt that his plan had been fully carried out.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">300</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXXVII">CHAPTER XXVII</a></h4> + +<h6>A VISIT FROM COLONEL HOMER PASSFORD</h6> + + +<p>With his arms securely tied behind him, Christy realized that he +could make no resistance to his captors. Flint was in the same +unfortunate situation, and both of them had been deprived of their +revolvers. But in spite of his unpleasant surroundings, the young +lieutenant felt that the balance of advantage was on the side of the +Union. If the government was deprived of the services of a midshipman +and a master's mate, a dangerous privateer had been captured, and about +forty prisoners had been taken from the employ of the Confederacy. In +the face of this decided gain, Christy felt that he had no right to +complain.</p> + +<p>By this time the light of day had begun to have some effect on the +darkness and fog, though the gloom seemed to be hardly less. Lonley +directed his two prisoners to walk side by side behind the wounded +lieutenant, while he and Levick took +<span class = "pagenum">301</span> +their places in the rear. The second lieutenant of the Teaser was duly +impressed by what the first had said about a probable visit to the +island in search of the missing midshipman, and he directed Folkner to +march as rapidly as he could. He took the control of the party out of +the hands of his superior, and very likely he wished he had done so +sooner.</p> + +<p>Folkner, as he had before suggested, still had the use of his legs, +and he certainly used them well, for he travelled like a man who was in +a hurry; but both Christy and Flint were in excellent condition, though +they had been on active duty all night, and they had no difficulty in +keeping up with their leader.</p> + +<p>Lonley and Levick were both armed, and they kept their weapons in +readiness for immediate use, for the former recognized the enterprising +character of the young officer in front of him, and knew that he would +escape if he could. But Christy did not feel called to take any +desperate chances in order to restore himself at once to the service of +his country, and he and his companion in captivity marched along very +quietly. The two armed men soon dropped several paces to the rear, so +that the +<span class = "pagenum">302</span> +lieutenant could listen to the details of the action on the deck of the +Teaser. The prisoners could not hear what was said, and they started a +conversation on their own account.</p> + +<p>"We are in a bad box," said Flint. "I did not expect to come out of +the little end of the horn in this way."</p> + +<p>"You must take a broader view of the situation than that," replied +Christy. "The Teaser is certainly a prize of the Bellevite, with as many +as forty prisoners. That is the result of our night's work, though we +are counted out just now in the business of crowing over the success of +our side. That is the way to look at it; and this view makes me quite +satisfied with the night's work."</p> + +<p>"I did not see it in that light, and I suppose you are right, Mr. +Passford," replied Flint.</p> + +<p>"And you will not lose your share of the prize-money for the Yazoo or +the Teaser," added Christy, though, as the son of a millionnaire, he +felt no interest at all in the spoils of war.</p> + +<p>"What do you suppose will be done with us, sir?" asked the master's +mate.</p> + +<p>"I have not the least idea, any more than you have; but I have no +doubt we shall be kept in +<span class = "pagenum">303</span> +close confinement, and I don't believe we shall live as well in our +prison, wherever it may be, as we do on board of the Bellevite. But I am +rather fond of johnny-cake, and I don't expect to starve on bacon."</p> + +<p>"Don't you think it was a mistake to send us ashore in the canoe on +the part of Mr. Blowitt?" asked Flint, rather timidly.</p> + +<p>"If it was, it was as much my mistake as it was his. But I don't +think it was a mistake. I cannot say that we did not succeed in the +action on the deck of the steamer because we were sent ashore," replied +Christy.</p> + +<p>"I don't see how that can be," replied Flint.</p> + +<p>"In the first place, Lonley wanted me to come on shore, and asked +that I should do so. On the strength of what I said to him, he believed +that our boats had been sent to the eastward, and that induced him to +make the advance he did. After he had told us where to find the men, he +had good reason to believe that the boats would be sent for them. We did +not fall into the trap he set for us. I think it is all right as it is; +but whether it is or not, it's no use to grumble about it."</p> + +<p>"I did not mean to grumble; and I am willing +<span class = "pagenum">304</span> +to believe that everything has been for the best," replied Flint, +apparently resolved to be satisfied, as his superior officer was, +whether he felt so or not.</p> + +<p>Folkner led the way in a northwesterly direction, and evidently knew +where he was going. When they had been marching about half an hour, the +party heard the report of fire-arms in the rear of them; but the +discharges were at regular intervals, and did not sound as though they +came from a battle. A little later, they heard loud shouts.</p> + +<p>"That is the party who are out in search of us," said Christy.</p> + +<p>"That is so, Mr. Passford; the sounds are only signals, and they are +intended to notify you that your friends are in search of you," added +Lonley, hastening up to the advance of the party. "I should be very +sorry to do such a thing, but if you shout, or do anything to inform +that party where you are, it will be my duty to shoot you."</p> + +<p>"I am not disposed to be rash, Mr. Lonley. If our friends overtake +your party, it will not be my fault," replied Christy.</p> + +<p>"You do not expect me to shoot you in that case, I hope?" added the +privateersman.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">305</span> +"I did not know but that your revolver might go off by accident."</p> + +<p>"You may be assured that it will not; I claim to be a gentleman and a +Christian, and I intend to be fair even to my enemies."</p> + +<p>"I beg your pardon for my thoughtless remark. I have no occasion to +complain of you. I shall endeavor to be a gentleman and a Christian +also, though I intend to do my best in fighting my country's battles; +and I am not disposed to talk politics with you under present +circumstances."</p> + +<p>The march was continued for some time longer, and the signals in the +rear were repeated till increasing light enabled the prisoners to see +that they were approaching Pensacola Bay. Not a little to their +astonishment, the shore seemed to be alive with soldiers, and they +learned that a battle, or something like one, had been fought on the +island. The Confederate forces had been sent to attack Wilson's Zouaves, +in camp to the eastward of the fort. Some very severe fighting had been +done in the darkness and fog, with heavy losses on both sides.</p> + +<p>The Zouaves had been re-enforced from the fort, and with marines from +the ships. Though the +<span class = "pagenum">306</span> +Confederates claimed the victory, it was clear enough to the two +prisoners from the south side of the island that the Southern troops +were retreating from the field. A soldier who fought with them wrote to +a paper in Georgia: "I scarcely know whether we achieved a victory, or +suffered a defeat." He also said that in the fog and darkness: "We shot +down our friends in numbers."</p> + +<p>A few prisoners had been captured by the enemy, including two +officers. But Folkner led the way to a point on the bay not very near +the steamers which had brought over the expedition from the mainland. +The Confederate troops embarked in the steamers and launches by which +they had come; but the Union troops followed them to the end. Their +steamers were aground, and a merciless fire was poured into them by the +pursuing companies.</p> + +<p>"They are having hot work of it over there," said Lonley, as they +came to a boat on the shore. "But that is not our affair, and it is +quite proper for us to keep out of the way of the flying bullets."</p> + +<p>Christy and Flint were directed to take seats in the boat, and the +lieutenant and boatswain manned +<span class = "pagenum">307</span> +the oars. They were not out of the reach of the bullets of the Federal +troops, and the oarsmen pulled with all their might for a time. It was +five miles to Pensacola, but the privateersmen landed their prisoners +there. They were committed to a sort of guard-house; but in the +afternoon they were sent to Mobile with about twenty others, who had +been captured in the battle of the night before.</p> + +<p>There was not a great number of prisoners in the city, and it was +intended to remove them to other quarters arranged for their +accommodation.</p> + +<p>Christy and Flint were confined in an unoccupied warehouse, and were +fed tolerably well, and they were supplied with some kind of dried grass +for beds. It was not at all like the luxurious stateroom of the +lieutenant on board of the Bellevite, or even the quarters of Flint; but +they were determined to make the best of it. Flint had become reconciled +to his situation, and Christy was even cheerful.</p> + +<p>After he had been in the warehouse a few days, Christy was not a +little surprised to receive a visit from his uncle, Colonel Passford. He +was not surprised at the kindness of the planter in making +<span class = "pagenum">308</span> +the visit, but that he should know so soon that he was a prisoner of +war, for he had fully decided not to make any appeal to his uncle; and +he could not imagine how he had discovered his situation.</p> + +<p>"I am glad to see you, Christy," said Colonel Passford, extending his +hand, which Christy took without any hesitation.</p> + +<p>"And I suppose you are glad to see me here," added the nephew, with a +smile.</p> + +<p>"While I am glad to see you deprived of the power to injure the cause +I love, and to which I have pledged all that I have and all that I am, I +am sorry that you should be in trouble, Christy. I hope I have Christian +feeling enough to keep me from rejoicing at the misfortunes of any +person, and especially of my brother's son. I can say sincerely that I +am sorry you are in trouble," said the colonel solemnly.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I am not in trouble, Uncle Homer!" exclaimed Christy, laughing. +"I have done my duty to my country, my conscience is clean, and I am not +to be upset by an accident like this. I am really happy in the +consciousness that I have been faithful to the cause of my country."</p> + +<p class = "illustration"> +<img src = "images/pic308.png" width = "319" height = "504" +alt = "illustration of quoted scene"><br> +<span class = "caption"> +"<span class = "smallcaps">I am glad to see you, +Christy</span>."—Page 308.</span> +</p> + +<p>"I wish you had been; but we will not talk +<span class = "pagenum">309</span> +about that, for I suppose you and your father have the same views," +replied the planter, looking very sad.</p> + +<p>"I don't believe we should agree if we talked about it for a year, +and we had better give the subject the go-by. But how are Aunt Lydia and +Gerty?"</p> + +<p>"Both are very well. I hope your father is in good health, as well as +your mother and sister."</p> + +<p>"All very well."</p> + +<p>"I have not heard a word from any of you for about five months," +continued Colonel Passford. "In fact, not since you were here in +May."</p> + +<p>"We got home all right, and the Bellevite is a man-of-war now. She +captured one valuable prize off the coast of Carolina, and another at +Pensacola," replied Christy cheerfully.</p> + +<p>"She ought never to have been allowed to leave Mobile Bay," added the +colonel.</p> + +<p>"Your people certainly did everything they could to prevent her from +leaving, and I hope you don't blame yourselves for letting her go. What +about Corny, sir?" asked Christy.</p> + +<p>"Major Pierson was very much to blame for permitting the Bellevite to +pass the forts when she +<span class = "pagenum">310</span> +came in, and he lost his command. But he has devoted all his life to +redeem his fault by her recapture. He took Corny with him, and a naval +officer; I only know that the attempt to recapture her failed from the +fact that the Bellevite is now on the blockade."</p> + +<p>Finding that his uncle knew nothing of the events which had +transpired at Bonnydale, Christy told him all about them, informing him +at the end that Corny was a prisoner of war on parole at his father's +house, recovering from his wound.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">311</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII</a></h4> + +<h6>AN ENTERPRISE FOR A DARK NIGHT</h6> + + +<p>"Corny wounded!" exclaimed Colonel Passford, rising with no little +emotion from the box on which he had seated himself.</p> + +<p>"Not seriously, Uncle Homer," added Christy.</p> + +<p>"But how was he wounded? I have heard of no battle in the vicinity of +New York till now, though our papers contain some news from outside," +continued the planter.</p> + +<p>"It was hardly a battle," replied Christy. "Captain Carboneer had +brought a crew for a steamer through Canada, I believe, for the purpose +of capturing the Bellevite as she lay at Bonnydale. Major Pierson and +Corny were to assist him; and the major wished Captain Carboneer to take +Florry on board of her, and convey her to the South, when he had taken +possession of the steamer; but the naval officer was too high-toned to +do anything of the kind."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">312</span> +"I did not suppose Major Pierson could do such a thing," added the +planter, biting his lips.</p> + +<p>"But the major insisted that he did not mean to take her against her +own will. Captain Carboneer bought an old steamer, put his men on board +of her, and started up the river to make the capture. I knew they were +coming, and was ready for them. We fired only one shot at the old +steamer, which smashed her walking-beam, and disabled her. A piece of +the machinery struck Corny, and injured him in the shoulder. The doctor +says he is not permanently injured, though it will be months before he +is able to use his arm. He was paroled, and mother is taking as good +care of him as though I had been wounded."</p> + +<p>"I am thankful it is not worse," added the colonel, with a sigh of +relief. "What became of Major Pierson?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know, but I suppose he is a prisoner in Fort Lafayette. He +refused to give his parole when he found he could not be a guest at +Bonnydale. Captain Carboneer obtained the command of a steamer, but it +was captured by the Bellevite, and probably he is with the major in the +fort."</p> + +<p>The planter asked a great many questions in +<span class = "pagenum">313</span> +regard to the affair on the Hudson, and Christy answered them. He gave +some of the particulars of the capture of the Teaser, and mentioned the +name of Lonley, who had told him that Colonel Passford had offered him +the command of a schooner he had loaded with cotton to run the blockade; +but the planter said nothing to indicate that he had ever heard of the +privateersman.</p> + +<p>"The Bellevite has been very fortunate so far, and she seems to have +a charmed existence," added the colonel.</p> + +<p>"That is only because she is well handled," replied Christy, +laughing.</p> + +<p>"And you seem to be equally fortunate, Christy, for you have twice +been the means of saving your father's steamer. Corny has done nothing, +is wounded, and practically a prisoner. But, Christy, the tide will +turn, for Heaven is always on the side of a just cause," added the +planter solemnly.</p> + +<p>"I believe it, uncle; and that will be the reason why the Union will +prevail in the end. Besides, Napoleon believed that Heaven was always on +the side of the stronger battalions."</p> + +<p>"That was an impious remark; and Heaven, by its own mysterious ways, +will conduct the just +<span class = "pagenum">314</span> +cause of the South to a successful ending, and the Confederate States of +America will be an honored member of the family of nations."</p> + +<p>"I think we had better not talk politics, even though we mix in a +little religion," suggested Christy.</p> + +<p>"As your father has been kind to my boy, wounded and a prisoner in +the midst of enemies, I ought to do something for you, Christy," +continued Colonel Passford, looking on the floor.</p> + +<p>"Not at all, Uncle Homer; I am not wounded as Corny is, and there is +no need of doing anything for me," interposed Christy, laughing in the +serious face of the planter.</p> + +<p>"I can get you paroled, and then I shall be glad to have you remain +at Glenfield until you are exchanged," said the planter.</p> + +<p>"I shall not accept a parole, Uncle Homer," replied Christy +promptly.</p> + +<p>"Not accept a parole!" exclaimed the colonel. "Corny did so."</p> + +<p>"If I were wounded, as Corny is, I would accept it."</p> + +<p>"I hope you don't mean to try to escape, Christy," added his uncle, +with a look of deep +<span class = "pagenum">315</span> +concern on his dignified face, as he looked about the apartment in which +his nephew was confined.</p> + +<p>"I don't say that I shall; if I did say so, you would have our guard +doubled, and ready to shoot me if they saw my head at a window," +answered Christy with earnestness.</p> + +<p>"You seem to think I am a heathen; but you forget that you are an +active enemy of my country," added the planter, with a pained +expression.</p> + +<p>"I don't forget it, uncle; but I am not half as active as I hope to +be before this thing ends. I believe you would see me shot or hung by +the neck till I was dead if it were for the benefit of what you call +your country."</p> + +<p>"I hope and pray that I may never be placed in a situation to see +anything of that kind."</p> + +<p>"I know you are earnest, honest, and sincere, Uncle Homer, and no +partiality to your own kindred would permit you to shirk what you +consider to be your duty. I find no fault with you; and I believe my +father would be equally firm," said Christy warmly.</p> + +<p>"I think you understand me, my boy; but do not attempt any rash +project. I cannot prevent the guard from shooting you if you attempt to +escape."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">316</span> +"I prefer to keep my own counsels in a matter of this kind, Uncle Homer. +Give my love to Aunt Lydia and Gerty, for I suppose I am not likely to +see them, as I am liable to be sent away any day."</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, you will see them, for they shall call upon you here as +soon as they return from Montgomery, where they have gone for a few +days."</p> + +<p>"It will be very kind of them to do so," added Christy, though he did +not believe he should be "at home" when they came.</p> + +<p>"I do not wish you were wounded, my dear boy, but if you were, we +would do all that your father and mother are doing for poor Corny," +replied Colonel Passford fervently, "Now, promise me, Christy, that you +will not attempt to escape."</p> + +<p>"I can't make any promises, uncle."</p> + +<p>"I will do the best I can to have your condition improved, and see +that you have a better diet, if I send your food from a hotel."</p> + +<p>"You are very kind, uncle, and I know that you will do all that your +duty will permit you to do for me."</p> + +<p>"But I shall live in fear and trembling if I leave you without your +promise to refrain from daring exploits. Just consider, my dear boy; you +<span class = "pagenum">317</span> +are in the fourth story of this warehouse, and the guard-room is below +you. You have really no chance at all of success, and a fall or a shot +may kill or disable you for life."</p> + +<p>"I do not say that I shall try to escape, uncle."</p> + +<p>"And you do not say that you will not try to escape."</p> + +<p>For half an hour longer Colonel Passford endeavored to induce his +nephew to give the desired promise; but he remained obstinate to the +end; and his uncle was compelled to leave him, to enter upon the fear +and trembling in which he was to live while his enterprising nephew +remained a prisoner. But he promised to call upon him every day, and to +write to his wife and daughter to return at once.</p> + +<p>"I think I shall not wait for him to call," said Christy to Flint, as +soon as he had gone.</p> + +<p>"Do you expect to get out of this place, Mr. Passford?" asked the +master's mate, with lively interest.</p> + +<p>"This very night!" replied Christy, in an energetic whisper, as he +put his finger on his lips to indicate that nothing more was to be said +on the subject.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">318</span> +The second lieutenant of the Bellevite had not been confined in the +warehouse three days without considering his chances of escape, and the +means of accomplishing such a purpose. He had looked the building over +with the greatest care. The room the prisoners occupied was next to the +roof. The rear windows opened upon a narrow alley, and he had +ascertained by looking out at them that the warehouse was one of a long +block. He had been in Mobile a great deal while the family were visiting +at Glenfield, and he had been careful to notice the location when he was +conducted to it with the others.</p> + +<p>At the end of the loft next to the main street were thirty or forty +other prisoners, with whom Christy and Flint had been on good terms, +though they belonged to the army, and seemed to be inclined to keep by +themselves. They had been exhausted by hard service, and they had +nothing to do but eat and sleep, though the former occupation did not +occupy any great amount of their spare time. But as soon as it was +fairly dark, they stretched themselves on their beds of vines and weeds, +and most of them were soon asleep.</p> + +<p>The evening that followed the day on which +<span class = "pagenum">319</span> +Colonel Passford visited his nephew was dark, foggy, rainy, and as +gloomy as even a blockade runner might ask. Christy seated himself under +one of the rear windows of the loft, which appeared to have been +intended only for storage, and was only from seven to eight feet between +studs. Flint placed himself at the side of his companion, as he was +requested to do.</p> + +<p>"This is just the kind of a night we want," said Christy, in a +whisper, for he could hear the tramp of a sentinel outside the door of +the loft.</p> + +<p>"I should as soon think of getting out if we were buried a hundred +feet under ground as to think of getting out of this place," replied +Flint, who was hardly as enterprising as his officer, though he was +always ready to follow when he was well led. "There is a guard at the +door, Mr. Passford."</p> + +<p>"He may stay there; we don't want anything of him," replied +Christy.</p> + +<p>"I see no other way out of this den, unless we jump down into the +street; but I will follow you, sir, if I fall a hundred feet in doing +it," protested the master's mate.</p> + +<p>"You shall not fall six inches, and you will +<span class = "pagenum">320</span> +have no opportunity to do so. But if you are all ready to follow my +lead, we may as well begin at once," added Christy, who had expected +that it would require some persuasion to induce his companion to join +him.</p> + +<p>The first thing the midshipman did was to take off his shoes, and to +require Flint to do the same. With these in their hands, Christy paced +off twenty steps, which brought him, according to a calculation he had +made in the daylight, under a scuttle that led to the roof of the +warehouse. Stationing the master's mate as a mark, he laid off five +paces at right angles with the first line from the party-wall. It was as +dark as Egypt, and the scuttle could not be seen; but the operator had +located it mathematically, and was confident as to its position. Flint +was planted under the opening, with the shoes of both at his side.</p> + +<p>The master's mate was nearly six feet in his stocking feet as he +stood, and Christy whispered to him the next thing in his scheme. With +the aid of his willing assistant, the midshipman was mounted on the +shoulders of the former, where he stood up like an athlete in the gloom, +though he almost instantly obtained a hold above with his +<span class = "pagenum">321</span> +hands. He unfastened the scuttle, and slid it off the aperture with the +greatest care. Then he drew himself up with his strong hands, and was on +the roof. Then Flint passed up the shoes, as he reached down for them. +Seating himself on one side of the frame, he braced his feet against the +other side, and grasped the hands of the mate. It did not work.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">322</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXXIX">CHAPTER XXIX</a></h4> + +<h6>THE NEW MATE OF THE COTTON SCHOONER</h6> + + +<p>Christy had given himself credit for more physical strength, or Flint +for less weight, than the circumstances warranted, and found that he +could not draw up his companion as he intended. He made several efforts +to accomplish his purpose, but he failed every time. The fear of making +a noise cramped his efforts to some extent.</p> + +<p>"Let go, Mr. Passford," whispered Flint, when he realized that his +avoirdupois was too much for the young officer. "I will get that box, +and then I can manage it myself."</p> + +<p>"All right; but don't make a particle of noise," added Christy.</p> + +<p>It required some time for the mate to find the box in the darkness, +but he had it in position at last, standing upon one end. Mounting it, +he found that his head was on a level with the roof, and he could easily +draw himself up; but he did not do so at once.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">323</span> +"What are you waiting for, Flint?" asked Christy, rather +impatiently.</p> + +<p>"If I leave the box where it is, the guard will see where we have +gone when they inspect the prison at ten o'clock," replied Flint.</p> + +<p>"That's so; I did not have the box in my plan, and that would tell +the guard where to look for us," replied Christy. "We must make a line, +and haul it up after you."</p> + +<p>"Here are two big handkerchiefs," added Flint, as he removed his +neck-cloth, and passed up his pocket handkerchief with it.</p> + +<p>Christy tied the handkerchiefs together with great care, adding two +more of his own to the length, which he thought would reach the box, +Flint made it fast to the broken end of a board on the side, and then, +without the least difficulty or noise, sprang lightly to the roof of the +warehouse. With the aid of his companion, Christy drew up the box, +careful that it should not strike against the frame of the scuttle. The +door was closed, though of course they were unable to hook it on the +inside, as they had found it; but the guard were not likely to notice +that it was not fastened before morning.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">324</span> +"What next, Mr. Passford?" asked the master's mate, after they had +rested for a few minutes from their labors, though they had not been +very arduous.</p> + +<p>"The next thing is to get down into the street, where we shall be as +safe as though we were as patriotic, over the left, as my Uncle Homer. +The burden of the work is done, but I hope we shall be able to kill two +birds with one stone," replied Christy, though his meaning was +mysterious to his companion.</p> + +<p>"It don't seem to me that we are much better off than we were in the +loft," suggested the mate.</p> + +<p>"I believe we are, though I don't think we had better indulge in any +long speeches just now. We have a favorable night, and we must make the +best of it. I don't intend to be seen in this town in the morning, but +we have the whole night before us."</p> + +<p>"There will be a lively time looking for us to-morrow, for I don't +think they will be willing that you should get off, though it won't make +much difference to them about me."</p> + +<p>"They would not be willing to part with you, my friend."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">325</span> +"But you made yourself rather noted in helping the Bellevite out last +May, and they will have a history of the loss of the Teaser in the +newspapers in due time, if they have not had it already; and they will +not like it a bit when they find that you have stepped out."</p> + +<p>"They are welcome to their own reflections," replied the +lieutenant.</p> + +<p>"And they will send a searching party out to your uncle's estate at +Glenfield; but of course we shall not go near there," said Flint.</p> + +<p>"That is just where I am going," replied Christy, decidedly, "for +that is where I expect to kill one of the birds with the stone I fire. +But we had better be moving, for we have a long tramp +before us."</p> + +<p>The midshipman led the way, and though the roof, which was nearly +flat, was wet with the falling rain, they walked, still in their +stockinged feet, to the farther end of the block. Neither of them wore +his uniform, as they remained as they had dressed for the duty they were +to do on board of the Teaser. This was a point in their favor in the +course they were to pursue, for their uniform would have betrayed them +as soon as they were seen.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">326</span> +Before they reached the end of the block of warehouses, they had found +and tried all the scuttles on the roof, but they had not discovered one +which had been left unfastened. At the last one this became a serious +question. The scuttle at the end warehouse was securely hooked on the +inside; but neither of the pair felt discouraged at this circumstance. +Looking about them they found a piece of joist about ten feet long, +which might have been left there when the building was finished. Christy +examined the scuttle with the greatest care, to determine on which side +the hooks were placed.</p> + +<p>While he was doing this, Flint detached a couple of bricks from the +party-wall, which were used as a fulcrum for the lever, made of the +joist. The building was not inhabited, and there was little to be feared +at that height above the street from any noise they might make. Flint +sat down on the end of the lever, and the scuttle flew up at once, the +staple drawn out of the wood.</p> + +<p>The master's mate was the first to enter; and he "hung off" to the +floor below. Then he assisted Christy to descend, and to close the +scuttle after him. Acting upon their belief that all the warehouses +<span class = "pagenum">327</span> +were constructed on the same plan, they easily found the door by which +they reached the staircase. On the lower floor, they opened a window and +passed out into the alley in the rear of the building. They were on the +ground, and Christy soon ascertained where he was. He made his way to a +wharf where he was fortunate enough to find a boat.</p> + +<p>This locality seemed to be entirely deserted, and there was no one to +challenge them, and no one appeared to take any notice of them on the +way. It was not yet nine o'clock, and many stores were open, one of +which they entered and bought a cooked ham and a large supply of bread. +The woman in charge asked no questions, though Christy talked about a +fishing trip to blind her. The boat they found was a very good one, and +as it was the property of the enemy, Christy had no scruples in regard +to confiscating it. He had money enough in his pocket to pay for it, but +as the owner did not appear to dispute his taking possession of it, he +dispensed with this ceremony.</p> + +<p>Taking the oars which they found in the boat, they pulled away from +the wharf without interruption from any source. Christy took his +bearings +<span class = "pagenum">328</span> +as well as he could, and they passed out into the fog and darkness, to +which experience within a few days had accustomed them both. They +crossed the Alabama River, and then followed the land to the southward. +Striking across an inlet they reached the land again, and by midnight +they reached a point of land where Christy felt entirely at home. He +recognized it by the dilapidated wharf, from which he had embarked in +the Leopard.</p> + +<p>It was still a long pull to Glenfield, and they went ashore to +partake of a little refreshment. Flint was a smoker, and he had some dry +matches which enabled them to make a fire, more for its light than its +heat. The ham was good and so was the bread to hungry men like the +fugitives. At the end of an hour by the midshipman's watch, they felt +like new men, and they resumed their places in the boat, and pulled two +hours longer, which brought them to the inlet at Glenfield. At the rude +pier where the Bellevite had been moored lay a topsail schooner.</p> + +<p>"I don't find any fault, Mr. Passford, but it seems to me that it is +rather dangerous for you to come here," said Flint, in a low tone, as +soon as +<span class = "pagenum">329</span> +they had made out the schooner at the wharf. "I can't see what you are +to make by it; and your uncle would hand you over to the rebel officers +as readily as he would eat his breakfast."</p> + +<p>"I have no doubt he would do so; but I don't intend to give him the +chance to do so," replied Christy, resting on his oar. "You see this +schooner. She is loaded with cotton, and she is going to run the +blockade about this time. I intend to take passage in her."</p> + +<p>"Then you knew about this vessel?" asked Flint curiously.</p> + +<p>"I did; and that is the particular reason why I came here. Lonley +told me that my uncle had offered him the command of the schooner; and +now that he has lost his position on board of the Teaser, I have no +doubt he has already applied for the berth that was offered to him. I am +confident that he has seen my uncle, and it must have been he who told +him that I was a prisoner."</p> + +<p>"I begin to understand you now, Mr. Passford," added Flint.</p> + +<p>"If you do, we will say no more about it just now, for there may be +some one within earshot of us," replied Christy.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">330</span> +Nothing more was said, and the boat cautiously approached the schooner. +No one appeared to be on board of her, and the fugitives found that she +was loaded with cotton, even carrying a deck-load of this staple of the +South, the price of which had bounded up to an enormous figure in the +markets of the world. In the early morning the clouds and the fog were +swept away, and the sun came out. Christy found a hiding-place on the +other side of the creek, in a dense mass of bushes, where the boat was +drawn out of the water.</p> + +<p>A spot which commanded a full view of the schooner had been selected, +the boat was turned upside down so as to afford a shelter, and the weary +Unionists went to sleep, for they were not likely to be disturbed on +this side of the creek. It was noon when they woke, and it looked as +though something was going on at the vessel. About half a dozen negroes +were to be seen on the deck-load of cotton; and a little later in the +day, Colonel Passford and Lonley were observed talking together. But +nothing was done that day, and the night came on. Christy was not +satisfied with his information, and as soon as it was dark, the boat was +launched, and the fugitives pulled over to the schooner.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">331</span> +"Who's in dat boat?" shouted a negro, showing himself at the rail of the +vessel.</p> + +<p>"I am," replied Christy, rather indefinitely.</p> + +<p>"Be you de new mate, sar?" demanded the man.</p> + +<p>"I am," answered Christy, at a venture.</p> + +<p>"We done wait free days for you, an' Massa Lonley be mighty glad to +see you."</p> + +<p>"Where is Captain Lonley now?" asked the lieutenant.</p> + +<p>"Stoppin' wid Massa colonel. He done tole me to call him if de mate +come. Dis nigger gwine to do dat," added the man.</p> + +<p>"Stop a little," added Christy, as he climbed on board of the vessel, +followed by Flint. "How many men have you on board?"</p> + +<p>"Six men wid de cook."</p> + +<p>"Are these men sailors?"</p> + +<p>"Dey all done work aboard a vessel, but dey ain't much sailors."</p> + +<p>"All free niggers?"</p> + +<p>"No, sar; wish dey was."</p> + +<p>"Where are the rest of the men?"</p> + +<p>"In de fo'castle, sar. De capin specks de mate come to-night, an' I +reckon we's gwine down de bay right off den."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">332</span> +"Go and call the captain then," added Christy, as confidently as though +he had stood on his own ground.</p> + +<p>The negro hastened away as fast as his legs would carry him, and in a +few minutes Colonel Passford and Captain Lonley came on board. The +latter seemed to be hung on wires, he was so active; and even before he +saluted the new mate, he called all hands and directed them to hoist the +mainsail.</p> + +<p>"I am glad to see you, Fetters," said the captain, extending his hand +to him. "I expected you yesterday."</p> + +<p>"My business was such that I could not leave," replied Christy.</p> + +<p>It was very dark, and the captain did not recognize him.</p> + + + + +<span class = "pagenum">333</span> +<h4 class = "chapter"><a name = "chapXXX">CHAPTER XXX</a></h4> + +<h6>THE PRIZE-MASTER OF THE JUDITH</h6> + + +<p>The weather had been clear all day, with quite a fresh breeze, and +the same conditions prevailed after dark. Colonel Passford seemed to +have a great deal to say to Captain Lonley, now that the time for +sailing had come, and he occupied the attention of the latter so that +neither of them could observe the new mate, if he were disposed to do +so. As soon as Christy perceived the <i>rôle</i> which +circumstances had laid out for him, he put his hand into a slush-tub he +found in the waist, and anointed his face with the filthy stuff. There +was just color enough in the compound of grease and dirt to change his +complexion, if it had been light enough to observe his physiognomy. +Flint did the same thing.</p> + +<p>"You will have to take your chances when you come to the entrance of +the bay," said Colonel Passford, nervously. "This cargo is worth a +fortune, +<span class = "pagenum">334</span> +and we are in sore need of the supplies which its value will purchase +for us."</p> + +<p>"I think I understand the matter perfectly, colonel," replied Lonley, +who did not seem to take kindly to any advice from a landsman.</p> + +<p>"Do not take any unnecessary risks, Captain Lonley, for more than the +value of the cotton is at stake," continued the planter.</p> + +<p>"I have a plan of my own which I am confident will take me through +the blockade all right," added the captain.</p> + +<p>"You must remember that my brother's steamer is on the blockade, and +that she makes over twenty knots an hour."</p> + +<p>"I shall pretend to be a prize of the Bellevite long enough to +distract the attention of the fleet," added Lonley, impatiently.</p> + +<p>"I don't understand these things, and I shall leave you to manage the +affair as you think best; but I beg you will use all proper caution," +continued Colonel Passford. "Here are the ship's papers. You will give +the one on the top to the officer from the fort, and he will cause you +no delay."</p> + +<p>Lonley took the papers, and thrust them into +<span class = "pagenum">335</span> +his pocket without any reply. Christy had taken charge of the hoisting +of the mainsail without waiting for any special orders, and Flint was +doing his best to assist him. The negroes, though not expert seamen, +knew the ropes of a schooner, and they did very well with Flint in their +midst.</p> + +<p>"We are going to have a fresh breeze, Fetters," said Captain Lonley, +as the new mate came near him.</p> + +<p>"It looks like it now," added Christy, changing his voice as much as +he could, and as he had done before when he spoke to the captain.</p> + +<p>"If things are not favorable when you get to the forte, I think you +had better anchor inside of the point," suggested the planter, who could +not be blamed for being deeply interested in the fate of his cotton, and +the fortune which was locked up in it.</p> + +<p>"Of course, I shall have to do that if necessary; but I don't like to +do that, for every blockader will watch her all the time if I do," +replied Captain Lonley, still maintaining his respectful demeanor, +though it seemed to be hard work.</p> + +<p>By this time the mainsail was set, and was banging in the lively +breeze. The negro sailors seemed +<span class = "pagenum">336</span> +to have become weary with wasting the day in the sailing of the +schooner, and they worked with a good deal of enthusiasm.</p> + +<p>"Now set the foresail, Fetters. I don't think we can carry the +topsails," said the captain. "Isn't that a white man with the hands?" +asked he, as the men went to the foremast.</p> + +<p>"That's a man I brought along with me," replied Christy. "He is an +able seaman, and he is very anxious to get to some port outside where he +can obtain a berth as mate."</p> + +<p>"All right; I thought the work was going on exceedingly well, and his +presence explains it," added the captain.</p> + +<p>"He owns the boat in which we came over here, and I think we had +better hoist it on deck," said the mate.</p> + +<p>"All right; do so, Fetters. I suppose you have nothing on your +hands?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing very particular," replied Christy.</p> + +<p>"I am instructed to buy a fast steamer if I can find one, even if I +have to go to England to obtain her. What do you say to taking the berth +of first officer in her, Fetters, for I know that you are a sailor, and +that you have pluck enough to fire a gun?"</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">337</span> +"Such a position would suit me first rate," replied Christy, with proper +enthusiasm.</p> + +<p>Still Lonley did not recognize his voice, and he took especial pains +that he should not. But this state of things could not long continue. If +the Unionist went into the cabin where there was a light, he could not +help betraying himself. It was necessary to provide against this or any +similar emergency very soon. He had already arranged his plan, and it +was his purpose to carry it into execution as soon as the vessel was +fully clear of the creek.</p> + +<p>The boat was hoisted on the deck; the fore and main sail were set, +and everything was in readiness for a departure. Colonel Passford, after +repeating some of his admonition to the captain, shook hands with him, +and stepped down upon the wharf. Lonley gave the order to stand by the +jib, and cast off the fasts. The two principal sails filled on the +starboard tack, the jib went up in the twinkling of an eye under the +direction of Flint, and the schooner began to gather headway. The +captain was at the helm, for he would trust no other there, and Christy +went forward.</p> + +<p>"Set the fore topmast staysail," said the mate; +<span class = "pagenum">338</span> +but he was willing the crew should execute the order in their own way, +for he called the master's mate to him. "The biggest job is yet to be +done," he added, in a low tone.</p> + +<p>"What is that?" asked Flint.</p> + +<p>"To get possession of the vessel," replied Christy, impressively.</p> + +<p>"That will be an easy matter, with nothing but niggers on board," +added Flint.</p> + +<p>They talked together for a few minutes, and the plan was arranged. +Flint saw that the fore topmast staysail was properly set and trimmed. +The two Unionists on board did not even know the name of the schooner, +but she gathered headway as she approached the mouth of the creek, and +went along at a very satisfactory rate. The mate of the vessel and his +fellow fugitive then went aft to be ready for the decisive action in +which they were to engage. But they had hardly reached the quarter-deck +before the schooner was hailed by a boat.</p> + +<p>"Schooner, ahoy! On board the Judith!" shouted a man.</p> + +<p>"In the boat!" replied the captain. "Who's there?"</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">339</span> +"Fetters!" responded the boatman.</p> + +<p>"Fetters!" exclaimed Captain Lonley, apparently bewildered by the +reply. "It seems to me that Fetterses are plenty to-night."</p> + +<p>But this was all he was permitted to say, for the stroke of a +handspike, in the hands of Flint, fell upon his head at this instant, +and he dropped upon the quarter-deck like a log. At the same moment, +Christy sprang to the wheel, and the schooner was not allowed to broach +to. She dashed on her course, increasing her speed every moment, without +heeding the boat that had hailed her. In the darkness, the genuine +Fetters, as doubtless he was in the boat, could not have seen in what +manner Captain Lonley had been disposed of, and all the crew were +forward, so that they were no wiser.</p> + +<p>"Judith, ahoy!" repeated the genuine and only true Fetters, at the +top of his lungs, as the schooner hurried off on her course. "I am +Fetters, the mate!"</p> + +<p>"All right!" replied Christy. "I will see you in the morning. Come on +board at six o'clock."</p> + +<p>Mr. Fetters said no more, and probably he concluded that the Judith +had gone to get firewood +<span class = "pagenum">340</span> +for the galley, to fill her water-casks, or for some similar purpose. +The fictitious Mr. Fetters kept his place at the wheel. The binnacle had +been lighted by the cook, and he knew the exact course for the entrance +to the bay. He felt that he was in possession of the Judith and her +valuable cargo; and he had become so hardened in his patriotic duty that +he felt no compunction of conscience because the vessel and cotton had +been wrested from his uncle.</p> + +<p>As Colonel Passford had not scrupled to attempt to capture the +magnificent steamer of his own brother, it would be a poor rule that +would not work both ways. Besides, the proceeds of the sale of the cargo +were to be expended in the purchase of supplies, and a steamer to carry +them, for the use of the Confederacy. His uncle, from his elevated +standpoint of duty, would have an opportunity to consider the +application of his stringent views on the other side of the +question.</p> + +<p>"I hope he is not dead," said Christy, as Flint bent over the +prostrate form of the captain.</p> + +<p>"I don't know; but I am going to take him below, and lock him up in +his stateroom, where the crew will not see him," replied Flint.</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">341</span> +"That is right; and I would help you if I could leave the wheel long +enough," replied Christy.</p> + +<p>"I can handle him alone; but see that none of the sailors come aft +while I am about it," added the master's mate, as he dragged the form to +the companion-way.</p> + +<p>In such a work as he had on his hands, he had the strength of two +men. Without any great difficulty, he dragged the body to the cabin, and +then into one of the two staterooms he found, which was lighted. It was +a more difficult task, for Lonley was a heavy man, but he placed the +form in the berth. His first duty was to examine very carefully the +pockets of the captain. He secured the file of papers first, and then +drew a large naval revolver from each of his hip pockets. Then he took +his papers from his pocket-book, but left his money, watch, and other +valuables where he found them.</p> + +<p>After a careful examination of the insensible form, he was satisfied +that he was not dead, though he might yet die from the blow he had +received. He locked the door of the room, and went on deck. He gave one +of the revolvers to Christy, and +<span class = "pagenum">342</span> +retained the other, handing over to him also all the papers he had +taken.</p> + +<p>"This is the biggest venture we have undertaken yet," said Flint, as +he seated himself by Christy.</p> + +<p>"But everything has gone well so far," replied the lieutenant. "If +you are not promoted for this and the Teaser affair, Flint, it shall not +be for the want of any recommendation on my part."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Mr. Passford; you are very kind. I hope your services +will be recognized in the same manner," returned the master's mate.</p> + +<p>"I don't care so much for myself, and I should not cry if I were +never to become anything more than a midshipman."</p> + +<p>"All I have done has been to obey your orders, and follow your lead; +and if anybody is promoted for the two affairs in which we have been +engaged, you are surely the one who is entitled to it."</p> + +<p>"Well, we will do our duty, whether we are promoted or not," added +Christy.</p> + +<p>It was not more than nine o'clock in the evening when the Judith came +out of the creek, and in about four hours she was approaching Fort +Morgan. She was still within the enemy's lines, +<span class = "pagenum">343</span> +and her acting captain was disposed to do everything in a regular +manner, especially as he had the means of doing so. He had not the same +risk to run in getting through the blockading fleet that Captain Lonley +would have had, and he promptly decided to take his chances without +waiting for a dark and foggy night. A boat came off from the inner side +of the fort, and Christy ordered Flint to bring her to.</p> + +<p>The permit to pass the forts was in due form, and signed by the +proper officials. The officer in the boat examined it carefully by the +light of a lantern, and declared that he was satisfied with it. Then he +asked some questions, which the acting commander of the Judith answered. +The toughest inquiry he made was as to how he expected to get through +the blockaders in a clear night like that. Christy assured him that he +had a plan which he was confident would carry him through without +difficulty.</p> + +<p>The schooner filled away again, and passed through the main channel; +and in another hour she was in the midst of the Union fleet. There was a +rattling of drums, a hissing of steam, and energetic commands heard as +soon as the Judith +<span class = "pagenum">344</span> +was made out in the darkness, and doubtless a vision of prize-money +flitted through the brains of officers and seamen. But Christy soon +impaired the vividness of these fancies by ordering the foresail of the +schooner to be taken in, and then the fore topmast staysail. The +expectant ships' companies were not willing to believe that the vessel +had come out for the purpose of surrendering.</p> + +<p>"Schooner, ahoy!" shouted the officer of a boat sent off by the +nearest blockader. "What vessel is that?"</p> + +<p>"The Judith, prize to the United States steamer Bellevite," replied +Christy, "Kindly inform me where the Bellevite lies."</p> + +<p>In another half-hour, Christy had dropped his anchor a cable's length +from the Bellevite. Instructing Flint to ascertain the condition of +Lonley, the lieutenant went on board of her to make his report, using +the boat they had captured at Mobile, pulled by two of the negroes.</p> + +<p>"I have come on board, Captain Breaker," said Christy, as he met the +commander, who had come on deck at the alarm.</p> + +<p>"I see you have," replied the captain, grasping him by the hand. "I +have been terribly worried about you, Christy."</p> + +<p><span class = "pagenum">345</span> +"I am all right, sir; and so is Mr. Flint, who was with me. We have +brought off a schooner of two hundred tons, loaded with cotton," +continued Christy, as modestly as the circumstances would permit.</p> + +<p>"I am very anxious to hear your report, Mr. Passford," said the +commander.</p> + +<p>"Excuse me, sir, but the captain of that schooner is badly wounded, +and needs Dr. Linscott as soon as possible."</p> + +<p>The surgeon was sent on board of the Judith. As Paul Vapoor caught a +sight of the returned third lieutenant, he hugged him as though he had +been separated from him for years instead of a few days. His welcome was +quite as cordial, though not as demonstrative, from the rest of the +officers. Then he went to the cabin with the captain, where he reported +all that had transpired since he had been separated from his companions +on board of the Teaser. He was warmly commended for his bravery and +skill, and Captain Breaker assured him that he should be remembered in +the reports to the department.</p> + +<p>Captain Lonley was conveyed on board of the Bellevite, where he was +committed to the sick bay. +<span class = "pagenum">346</span> +He had recovered his senses, but it was likely, the surgeon said, that +it would be a month before his health was restored. The Teaser had not +yet been sent away; but the next day the third lieutenant was appointed +prize-master of the steamer, and Flint of the schooner, for he had been +the master of a coaster, and was competent for the position.</p> + +<p>A considerable crew was put on board of the Teaser, and both vessels +were sent to New York instead of Key West. The steamer was expected to +tow the Judith when necessary, and defend her if she was attacked. But +both arrived at their destination without any mishap, and both were +condemned; the Teaser was purchased by the government, for she was +likely to be a very useful vessel on account of her speed and light +draught.</p> + +<p>Christy had a brief leave of absence after he had served as a witness +against the captured vessels. He had seen his father, mother, and sister +on his arrival, and they were as proud of him as though he had been made +a rear-admiral. Captain Breaker had written to his father of his +disappearance on Santa Rosa Island, and had no doubt he had been made a +prisoner within the enemy's lines. Christy brought the news of his +escape +<span class = "pagenum">347</span> +himself, which made him even doubly welcome at Bonnydale. Certainly the +young lieutenant had never been so happy before in his life.</p> + +<p>Captain Passford was a man of great influence, though he held no +position in authority. At the first opportunity he obtained to talk with +him, Christy made a strong plea in favor of the promotion of Flint. The +late owner of the Bellevite knew him well. The master's mate had been a +schoolmaster, and was very well educated; but he had a taste for the +sea. He had made several foreign voyages, and had bought a schooner +then, of which he went as master. But he had sold his vessel to great +advantage, and, having nothing to do, he shipped as third officer of the +Bellevite.</p> + +<p>Sampson, who had come home as chief engineer of the Teaser, was also +remembered by Christy, who interceded for his promotion, or rather +appointment. The government promptly obtained possession from the court +of the prize-steamer, and the repairs and alterations upon her were +begun at once. She had proved herself to be a fast sailer, and had +logged sixteen knots, so that much was expected of her.</p> + +<p>Captain Passford, after his son had pleaded so +<span class = "pagenum">348</span> +earnestly for the promotion of the master's mate and the fireman, asked +Christy what he expected in the way of promotion for himself. The young +officer did not ask for any promotion, he was abundantly satisfied with +his present rank, and he rather preferred to retain it. His father +laughed, and declared that he was very glad of it, for he had some +delicacy in asking favors for a member of his own family.</p> + +<p>Corny still remained at the house of his uncle; and he was as +thoroughbred a rebel as his father, though he said next to nothing about +his "cause." At a later period both he and Major Pierson were duly +exchanged; but the gallant officer had come to the conclusion that Miss +Florry Passford was very far from being infatuated with him.</p> + +<p>As the Bronx, which was the name given to the Teaser at the +suggestion of Captain Passford, was to be ready about as soon as the +legal proceedings would permit of the departure of the officers and +seamen of the Bellevite, they were ordered to return to their ship in +her. Flint's commission as a master, and Sampson's as an assistant +engineer, were received. Christy's companion in the night expeditions +had not expected to be anything more +<span class = "pagenum">349</span> +than a midshipman, and he was immeasurably delighted at his good +fortune. Then it appeared that other influences than that of Captain +Passford had been employed, for Christy, almost in spite of himself, was +promoted to the rank of master, his commission antedating that of +Flint.</p> + +<p>Mr. Blowitt was appointed to the command of the Bronx, with Master +Passford as first lieutenant, and Master Flint as second; and Christy +was to take her to the Gulf. She was to be used at the discretion of the +flag officer after she had delivered her passengers on board of the +Bellevite, and received her new commander.</p> + +<p>The Bronx was soon ready for sea with her new ship's company, and +sailed for her destination, where Christy was to make some further +inquiries into operations <span class = "smallcaps">On the +Blockade</span>.</p> + + +<hr class = "chapter"> + +<h5 class = "ital">OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS.</h5> + +<h2>THE BLUE AND THE GRAY</h2> + +<h4>SERIES</h4> + +<h6>Illustrated. With Emblematic Dies. Each volume bound in Blue and +Gray. Per volume, $1.50.</h6> + +<p class = "booktitle"> +TAKEN BY THE ENEMY.</p> + +<p class = "booktitle"> +WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES.</p> + +<hr class = "mid"> + +<p class = "advert"> +The opening of a new series of books from the pen of Oliver Optic is +bound to arouse the highest anticipation in the minds of boy and girl +readers. There never has been a more interesting writer in the field of +juvenile literature than Mr. W. T. Adams, who, under his well-known +pseudonym, is known and admired by every boy and girl in the country, +and by thousands who have long since passed the boundaries of youth, yet +who remember with pleasure the genial, interesting pen that did so much +to interest, instruct and entertain their younger years. The present +volume opens "The Blue and the Gray Series," a title that is +sufficiently indicative of the nature and spirit of the series, of which +the first volume is now presented, while the name of Oliver Optic is +sufficient warrant of the absorbing style of narrative. "Taken by the +Enemy," the first book of the series, is as bright and entertaining as +any work that Mr. Adams has yet put forth, and will be as eagerly +perused as any that has borne his name. It would not be fair to the +prospective reader to deprive him of the zest which comes from the +unexpected, by entering into a synopsis of the story. A word, however, +should be said in regard to the beauty and appropriateness of the +binding, which makes it a most attractive volume.—<i>Boston +Budget.</i></p> + +<p class = "advert"> +"Taken by the Enemy" has just come from the press, an announcement that +cannot but appeal to every healthy boy from ten to fifteen years of age +in the country. "No writer of the present day." says the Boston +<i>Commonwealth</i>, "whose aim has been to hit the boyish heart, has +been as successful as Oliver Optic. There is a period in the life of +every youth, just about the time that he is collecting postage-stamps, +and before his legs are long enough for a bicycle, when he has the +Oliver Optic fever. He catches it by reading a few stray pages +somewhere, and then there is nothing for it but to let the matter take +its course. Relief comes only when the last page of the last book is +read; and then there are relapses whenever a new book appears until one +is safely on through the teens. The boys will be delighted to know, +therefore, that 'Taken by the Enemy' is but the first of six books to +come out in rapid succession, all based on the thrilling incidents of +the late war."—<i>Literary News.</i></p> + + +<hr class = "section"> + +<h5 class = "ital">OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS.</h5> + +<h3>THE BOAT-BUILDER SERIES</h3> + +<h6>Completed in Six Volumes. Illustrated.<br> +Per Vol., $1.25.</h6> + +<hr class = "mid"> + +<p class = "booktitle"> +1. ALL ADRIFT;</p> +<p class = "booksub"> +Or, The Goldwing Club.</p> +<p class = "booktitle"> +2. SNUG HARBOR;</p> +<p class = "booksub"> +Or, The Champlain Mechanics.</p> +<p class = "booktitle"> +3. SQUARE AND COMPASS;</p> +<p class = "booksub"> +Or, Building the House.</p> +<p class = "booktitle"> +4. STEM TO STERN;</p> +<p class = "booksub"> +Or, Building the Boat.</p> +<p class = "booktitle"> +5. ALL TAUT;</p> +<p class = "booksub"> +Or, Rigging the Boat.</p> +<p class = "booktitle"> +6. READY ABOUT;</p> +<p class = "booksub"> +Or, Sailing the Boat.</p> + +<hr class = "mid"> + +<p class = "advert"> +The series includes in six successive volumes the whole art of +boat-building, boat-rigging, boat-managing, and practical hints to make +the ownership of a boat pay. A great deal of useful information will be +given in this Boat-Building series, and in each book a very interesting +story is sure to be interwoven with the information. Every reader will +be interested at once in "Dory," the hero of "All Adrift," and one of +the characters to be retained in the future volumes of the series, at +least there are already several of his recently made friends who do not +want to lose sight of him, and this will be the case of pretty much +every boy who makes his acquaintance in "All Adrift."</p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Within The Enemy's Lines, by Oliver Optic + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES *** + +***** This file should be named 18264-h.htm or 18264-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/2/6/18264/ + +Produced by Louise Hope, David Garcia, Juliet Sutherland +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images +generously made available by The Kentuckiana Digital Libra + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Within The Enemy's Lines + SERIES: The Blue and the Gray--Afloat + +Author: Oliver Optic + +Release Date: June 15, 2006 [EBook #18264] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES *** + + + + +Produced by Louise Hope, David Garcia, Juliet Sutherland +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images +generously made available by The Kentuckiana Digital Libra + + + + + + +The Blue and the Gray Series + + TAKEN BY THE ENEMY + WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES + ON THE BLOCKADE In Press + +Lee and Shepard Publishers Boston + + + + + [Illustration: + "He saw Two Men making their way through the Grove."--Page 28.] + + + + + The + + BLUE AND THE GRAY + + Series + + [Illustration] + + By Oliver Optic + + WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES + + + + + _The Blue and the Gray Series_ + + WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES + + by + OLIVER OPTIC + + Author of +"The Army and Navy Series," "Young America Abroad," +"The Great Western Series," "The Woodville Stories," +"The Starry Flag Series," "The Boat Club Stories," +"The Onward and Upward Series," "The Yacht-Club Series," +"The Lake Shore Series," "The Riverdale Series," +"The Boat-Builder Series," "Taken by the Enemy," etc. + + + + + BOSTON 1890 + Lee and Shepard Publishers +10 Milk Street Next "The Old South Meeting House" + + NEW YORK Chas. T. Dillingham + 718 and 720 Broadway + + + + + Copyright, 1889, + by Lee and Shepard + _All rights reserved._ + + WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES. + + + + + A MON JEUNE AMI, +(que je n'ai jamais vu, et que je ne connais pas,) + + Monsieur Lucien Bing, + de Paris, France, + + En Reconnaissance de la Bonte de son Pere, +Cette Historiette de la Guerre Civile en Amerique + Est affectueusement Dedie. + + + + +PREFACE + + +"WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES" is the second volume of "The Blue and the +Gray Series." Like its predecessor, of course, its scenes are connected +with the war of the Rebellion; and perhaps the writer ought to be +thankful that he is not required in such a work to rise to the dignity +of history, but he believes that all his events were possible, and that +every one of them has had its parallel in the actual occurrences of the +historic period of which he writes. In fact, some of the experiences of +the actors in the terrible drama of a quarter of a century ago would +pass more readily for fiction than for reality, and detailed on the +pages of a story would be deemed impossible by the conservative reader. + +The nation has passed out of its ordeal of fire, and an excellent spirit +on the part of both parties to the great strife is still growing and +strengthening, in spite of an occasional exhibition of folly on both +sides on the part of those who have not outlived the bitterness of the +past, and who probably will not outlive it. The time will certainly come +when the memories of the conflict, the repetition of the stories of the +war, and even the partisan praise bestowed upon the heroes of both +sides, will excite no more ill feeling than does an allusion to the +War of the Roses in England. + +In this country the advocate of either side will tell his story, relate +his history, and jingle his verse in his own way, and from his own +standpoint. Those upon the other side will be magnanimous enough to +tolerate him, at least in silence. Histories, romances, poems, and plays +relating to the war, are produced in greater numbers as the gap between +the days of battle and the days of peace widens; but the old fires are +not rekindled, the old bitterness still slumbers, and the Great United +Nation still lives on in perfect peace. + +The author hopes he has done nothing on these pages to impair the +growing harmony between the two sections which have happily become +one, or to impregnate the minds of those who have been born since the +strife ended with any of its bitterness. He has endeavored to make +as high-toned men on the one side as the other, with the same moral +sentiment in the one party as the other, and to exhibit their only +difference in the one great question of Union or Disunion. + + Dorchester, May 2, 1889. + + + + +CONTENTS + + Page +CHAPTER I. +An Unexpected Visitor 15 + +CHAPTER II. +A Difference of Opinion 27 + +CHAPTER III. +The dignified Naval Officer 37 + +CHAPTER IV. +Corny Passford plays Another Part 48 + +CHAPTER V. +Captain Carboneer and his Party 59 + +CHAPTER VI. +The Cabin of the Florence 70 + +CHAPTER VII. +Midshipman Christy Passford 81 + +CHAPTER VIII. +Arranging the Signals 92 + +CHAPTER IX. +The Approach of the Vampire 103 + +CHAPTER X. +A Shot from the Long Gun 114 + +CHAPTER XI. +The Battle alongside the Bellevite 125 + +CHAPTER XII. +The Prisoner of War 136 + +CHAPTER XIII. +After the Battle 146 + +CHAPTER XIV. +The Beginning of a Chase 157 + +CHAPTER XV. +A Chase off the Bermudas 168 + +CHAPTER XVI. +The Confederate Steamer Yazoo 179 + +CHAPTER XVII. +A Satisfactory Order 190 + +CHAPTER XVIII. +Lieutenant Passford in Command 201 + +CHAPTER XIX. +Some Trouble on Board the Teaser 212 + +CHAPTER XX. +Coming to the Point 223 + +CHAPTER XXI. +On a Dark and Foggy Night 234 + +CHAPTER XXII. +A Variety of Night Signals 245 + +CHAPTER XXIII. +Another Night Expedition 256 + +CHAPTER XXIV. +Lieutenant Passford on a Mission 206 + +CHAPTER XXV. +Christy becomes a Victim 278 + +CHAPTER XXVI. +The Action on the Deck of the Teaser 289 + +CHAPTER XXVII. +A Visit from Colonel Homer Passford 300 + +CHAPTER XXVIII. +An Enterprise for a Dark Night 311 + +CHAPTER XXIX. +The New Mate of the Cotton Schooner 322 + +CHAPTER XXX. +The Prize-Master of the Judith 333 + + + + +WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES + + + + +CHAPTER I + +AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR + + +"Cornelius!" exclaimed Captain Passford, as a young man of nineteen was +shown into the library of the magnificent dwelling of the millionnaire +at Bonnydale, on the Hudson. + +"Cornelius Passford, Uncle Horatio," replied the young man, as the +captain rushed to him and extended his hand. + +"I think there can be no mistake about it; and I should have been no +more surprised if Mr. Jefferson Davis had been ushered into my library +at this moment," continued Captain Passford, still retaining the hand of +his nephew. "I understood that you were a soldier in the Confederate +army." + +"I was a soldier; but I am not one just now," replied the visitor, with +some embarrassment in his manner, though the circumstances were strange +enough to account for it. + +"How are your father and mother and Miss Gerty, Corny?" asked the uncle +of the visitor, giving the young man the name by which he was generally +called both at home and in the family of his uncle. + +"They were all very well when I left them," replied Corny, looking on +the floor, as though he was not altogether satisfied with himself. + +"Of course, you brought letters from your father and Gerty?" + +"No, sir; I brought no letters," replied Corny, and, more than before, +he looked as though he was not enjoying his present visit. + +"No letters!" exclaimed Captain Passford, evidently surprised beyond +measure at the apparent want of kindly feeling on the part of members +of his brother's family in the South. + +"Not a letter, Uncle Horatio," answered Corny, bracing himself up, as +though he realized that he was not presenting a demeanor such as he +thought the occasion required of him. + +"This is very strange," added Captain Passford, with a cloud playing on +his fine features. + +"It is war between the North and the South, Uncle Horatio, and I suppose +my father did not feel like writing any letters. Gerty never writes any +letters if she can help it," Corny explained. + +"But Gerty used to write to Florry about once a week." + +"Did she? I didn't know it. She never would write to me when I was +away from home," said Corny, who seemed to be very anxious not to say +anything that was not consistent with the present situation, whatever +it was. + +"When I parted with my brother on board of the Bellevite, both of us +shed tears as we realized that war made enemies of us; but each of us +promised to do all he could for the other in case of need. I am very +sure that there was not the slightest unkind feeling between us. Of +course, I did not expect him to write me the war news, but I think he +could have written a few lines without any allusion to the war," said +Captain Passford, pained at this want of filial affection on the part +of his brother. + +At that moment the bell for tea rang, and the captain invited his nephew +to the table with him. The host was saddened by the absence of news from +his brother, of any kindly expression from one who was of the same blood +as himself. He was not quite satisfied with Corny's manner, or with the +little he seemed to be willing to say about the rest of the family. It +was certainly very strange that the young man should be there at all, +and his awkwardness and confusion made the visit seem still more +singular. + +It was possible that the young man had just arrived and was fatigued +by the trials and perils of his trip, for he must have come by some +roundabout way; and very likely he felt nervous and uneasy in the midst +of people who were loyal to the government and the Union. Captain +Passford decided to say nothing more to his nephew at present as to +the occasion and the manner of his visit to Bonnydale, and during the +evening meal he avoided all allusion to the war, so far as it was +possible to do so. Mrs. Passford and Florry received him very kindly, +but following the example of the head of the family, they spoke only of +domestic affairs, and of the relations of the two families as they had +been before the war. + +Between the brothers Homer and Horatio Passford, even from their early +boyhood, a remarkably strong fraternal affection had subsisted. Both of +them were high-toned men, and both of them had always been faithful in +the discharge of every duty to God and man. Each of them had a wife, a +son and a daughter, and two happier families could not have been found +on the face of the earth. They were not only devoted to each other, each +within its own circle, but the two families were as nearly one as it was +possible to be. + +Captain Horatio had formerly been a shipmaster, and had accumulated +an immense fortune. Homer was less fortunate in this respect, and his +tastes were somewhat different from those of his brother. He wanted to +be a planter, and with the financial assistance of his brother, he went +into the business of raising cotton near Mobile, in Alabama. But years +before the war, he had paid off every dollar of his indebtedness to +Horatio, and had made a comfortable fortune besides. The two families +had visited each other as much an possible, and the captain, with his +little family, had been almost to the plantation in the Bellevite, the +magnificent steam-yacht of the Northerner. + +During the preceding winter, Captain Passford, his wife and son, had +visited most of the islands of the Atlantic; but the health of Miss +Florry was considerably impaired, and the doctors would not permit her +to make this sea-voyage, but recommended her to keep quiet in some +southern locality. She had therefore passed the winter at Glenfield, +which was the name of Homer Passford's plantation. On his return from +this long cruise, the owner of the Bellevite obtained his first news +that war existed between the North and the South from the pilot. The +three members of the family on board of the steamer were greatly +distressed over the fact that Florry was still at the home of her +uncle in Alabama, within the enemy's lines. + +Without going on shore, Captain Passford decided to arm his yacht, which +was large enough for a man-of-war, and hasten to Mobile Bay to bring +back his daughter. He was in doubt with regard to the political feeling +of Homer, but believed that he would still adhere to the government and +the Union. It was a part of his mission to bring his brother and his +family to his own home at Bonnydale. Mrs. Passford was sent on shore in +a tug, and Christy, the son, was to go with her; but the young man, just +entering his seventeenth year, protested against being left at home, and +as the captain believed that a patriotic citizen ought to be willing to +give his all, even his sons, to his country, the young man went with his +father. The mother was as devoted to her country as the father, and +terrible as was the ordeal, she consented to part with him for such a +duty. + +By an event fortunate for him, Captain Passford succeeded in obtaining +an armament for his vessel, as well as an abundant supply of ammunition; +and the vessel was refitted for the perilous service in which she was +to be engaged. At Nassau, Christy made the acquaintance of a young man +who proved to be of great service to the expedition, and the Bellevite +reached her destination in safety, though not without some rather +exciting incidents. + +Captain Passford found that his brother was sincerely and devotedly +attached to the Southern cause. They discussed the great question for +hours upon hours, each striving to convert the other to his own views, +but with no success on the part of either. Homer Passford was a +religious man, conscientious in the discharge of every duty, and nothing +less could be said of his Northern brother. In a short time the owner of +the Bellevite found that he had fallen into a "hornet's nest," for the +planter did not believe that he ought to allow the steam-yacht to be +taken to New York to become a part of the navy of the Union. He declared +his convictions to his brother, who was compelled to regard the planter +as an enemy in spite of the relations subsisting between them. Both of +them placed their duty to their own country above every other +consideration. + +Captain Passford was obliged to get his daughter out of his brother's +house by stealth, and to make his escape with the Bellevite as best he +could. + +Major Lindley Pierson, in command of Fort Gaines, at the entrance to +Mobile Bay, had permitted the steamer to pass, having been deceived by +his younger brother. He had been a frequent visitor at the mansion of +Homer Passford, attracted there, it appeared, by the lovely daughter of +the planter's brother, remaining there for the winter. Perhaps on her +account, perhaps with the fear that the Bellevite was not what she had +appeared to be, he had gone to the vicinity of Glenfield to inquire into +the mission of the steamer. + +Homer Passford, acting upon his convictions, gave information which +resulted in an attempt to capture the Bellevite. Christy, not informed +in regard to the plans of his father to depart at once in the steamer, +was "Taken by the Enemy," and had some very stirring adventures in the +bay. But the steamer escaped from the numerous enemies that awaited her, +and Christy got on board of her at the last minute. The Bellevite ran +the gantlet of the forts in a dense fog, and brought Miss Florry in +safety to her home at Bonnydale. + +Corny Passford, whose unexpected arrival at Bonnydale had excited the +astonishment of his uncle, was a year older than Christy, and had +enlisted in the Confederate service at the insistence of Major Pierson. +Without knowing anything in particular about the matter, his uncle +believed, at his visit to Glenfield, that Corny was as earnestly devoted +to the Southern cause as his father, judging entirely from the fact that +he had enlisted as a soldier. + +Corny had a good appetite, and a good supper was set before him. He ate +like a hungry boy, and the fact that he was within the enemy's lines did +not seem to have any influence upon him. His aunt helped him till he +seemed to be filled to repletion, for she thought he must have been +accustomed of late only to the most indifferent fare. After supper, he +followed his uncle back to the library; but he seemed less embarrassed +than before. + +"Where is Christy, Uncle Horatio?" asked Corny, as he seated himself in +the library. "I have not seen him yet; and as I was away at the fort +when you went to Glenfield, I did not see him then." + +"I don't know where he is just now, though he is in or about the house +most of the time," replied the captain. "Are you still in the army, +Corny?" + +"No, sir, I am here. I did not like the service very well, and I thought +I should like the navy better. The reason why I did not like it as well +as at first was because I was no longer in Major Pierson's battalion," +replied Corny, looking at his uncle as though he expected a question +from him. + +"Then Major Pierson is no longer in the army?" added the captain. + +"Oh, yes, he is; but I think he was the maddest man in the army soon +after you left." + +"Indeed! Why was he so mad?" + +"Because he was removed from command of Fort Gaines for letting you pass +it in your steamer." + +"Then he is still in the service?" asked Captain Passford. + +"Yes, sir; he is a good officer, and he will make his way, if he was +guilty of a blunder in letting the Bellevite pass the fort." + +"Then you intend to be a sailor, Corny?" + +"Yes, sir; in fact, I am a sailor now. I had been in your yacht so +much that I knew something about the ropes, and I had no difficulty in +getting transferred, as sailors were wanted more than soldiers," replied +Corny, who seemed to be studying the figures in the carpet. + +"But if you went into the navy, how do you happen to be in New York?" +asked Captain Passford. + +"I suppose you remember the Dauphine, which was fitting out when you +were in Mobile Bay?" continued Corny. + +"I heard the name, and was told that she was one of the vessels that +tried to prevent the escape of the Bellevite." + +"I was sent on board of her; but, in coming out of the bay, she was +captured by a Federal vessel, and sent to New York. I hid myself when +the crew were taken off, and came in her here," replied Corny, still +studying the carpet. + +Captain Passford had not heard of the capture of the Dauphine. He was +not quite satisfied with the story of his nephew. But he was obliged to +go to the city, and he handed the guest over to his wife and daughter. +Corny wanted to see Christy, and Mrs. Passford had begun to be uneasy +that he did not return at dark. Corny went out to find him. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION + + +The Bellevite lay in the river, off the estate of Captain Passford, +though at a little distance below the mansion, from the windows of which +she could not be seen. Corny walked down the avenue and over the hill, +in the direction of the anchorage of the steamer. The boat-house was +near the mansion, and to the float attached to it a variety of small +craft were made fast. But the water was not deep enough there for the +Bellevite. Corny had been to Bonnydale, and passed many weeks there, +so that he was familiar with the localities. + +As he passed the boat-house, he noticed that the Florence, which was +Christy's favorite sailing craft, was not at her moorings, and he +concluded that his cousin was away in her on some excursion. When he +reached the boundary line of the estate, he discovered the sailboat with +her bow on the beach, though her mainsail was still set. A gentle breeze +was blowing, with which the Florence could make good headway; but there +seemed to be no one on board of her. Corny watched her for some time, +waiting for the appearance of Christy. It was not an easy matter to +climb the high fence which bounded the estate, and the planter's son +could hail the boat, and be taken on board of her as soon as she got +under way again. + +But Christy did not appear, and it was getting darker and darker every +minute. Something must have attracted the attention of the skipper on +shore, and he had doubtless landed. But while Corny was waiting for his +cousin, he saw two men making their way through the grove on the other +side of the fence towards the river. One of them he recognized, and gave +a peculiar whistle, which drew the two men in the direction from which +it came. + +"Is that you, major?" asked Corny, in a low tone. + +"Hush! You are a simpleton, Corny!" exclaimed one of the men, as he came +up to the palisades of the fence. "Didn't I tell you not to call me by +name?" + +"I didn't call you by name," replied Corny, smartly. + +"You called me major, and that is about the same thing," added the +speaker on the other side of the fence. + +"The woods are full of majors now, both in the North and the South, and +no one knows you especially by that name. But I will remember in future, +Mr. Mulgate," replied Corny. + +"That sounds better, Neal. If we lose the game it will be by your +blundering," continued the major, or Mulgate, as he preferred to be +called on the present occasion. + +"I suppose you have no talent for blundering, Mulgate; and that is the +reason why you happen to be here at the present moment," retorted Corny, +not at all pleased with the speech of the other. + +"None of your impudence, Neal!" said Mulgate, sharply. + +"If you lose the game, you say that it will be by my blundering, +Mulgate," continued Corny. "That makes it seem as though I was to bear +the responsibility of a failure; and I don't like the looks of things. +If I am to be responsible for a failure, I ought to have something to +say about the manner of conducting the enterprise." + +"Shut up, Neal! We have no time to talk nonsense of that sort. I am to +conduct the enterprise, and you are to obey my orders. That is the whole +of it," replied Mulgate, impatient at the position taken by the young +man. "You are still under my command, and you will obey me or take the +consequences. Now to business: what have you learned?" + +"Nothing at all," answered Corny, rather sullenly. + +"What have you been about? Haven't you discovered anything?" + +"Nothing at all; I have but just arrived here. I took supper with my +uncle, and told him the fish story you invented for me." + +"Did he believe it?" + +"I don't know whether he did or not; but he and the rest of the family +treated me very handsomely, which made me feel meaner than a dead +catfish." + +"Never mind your feelings; you are here to assist in a great enterprise, +and you are expected to do your duty to your country without regard to +your own notions. Report what you have done." + +"I haven't done anything but introduce myself into the house, and +explain how I happen to be here," replied Corny, as he proceeded to +give the details of his meeting with his uncle. + +"Is Miss Florry at home?" asked Mulgate, in a more gentle tone, as +though he had a deeper interest in the direction he had indicated. + +"She is at home, and was at the supper table with us." + +"How does she seem to be?" asked the stranger. + +"First rate; she is as jolly as though no one ever heard of such a thing +as war," replied Corny, with enthusiasm. + +"Did she say anything about her stay at Glenfield?" inquired Mulgate, +whose interest seemed to mount to the pitch of anxiety. + +"Not a word; she did not even hint at Glenfield, or anything connected +with it," answered Corny; and, after the sharp tones of the other, he +seemed to take pleasure in thorning him with negative answers. + +"Did she say anything about me?" + +"Not a word." + +"Didn't she mention my name?" + +"She did not." + +"Didn't she ask about my health, or want to know where I was?" + +"Florry did not allude to you in any manner. If she wanted to know where +you were, she did not say a word about it to me," replied Corny, in the +most decided tones. + +It was still light enough to see that there was something like a frown +on the brow of Mr. Mulgate. He had evidently believed that the daughter +of the millionnaire of Bonnydale was interested in him, and his +inquiries indicated that he expected her to ask about him; but she had +not made the remotest allusion to him. Besides, she was as jolly as she +had been at Glenfield, when war was a matter of the future, which few +believed would ever be realized. She had not grown thin and pale during +her absence from him, and she did not appear to be wasting her sweetness +in pining for him. + +"What in the world are you talking about, Mulgate?" suddenly demanded +his companion on his side of the fence. "I thought we were here for +business, and you are talking about some girl." + +"She is the lady of whom I spoke to you; she spent the last winter with +her uncle at the Glenfield Plantation. I am interested in her," replied +Mulgate, as though he had given a sufficient excuse for the questions he +had put to Corny. + +"Are we to capture her and take her back to the State of Alabama?" +demanded the other, who seemed to be a gentleman of forty at least. + +"I don't know; that depends; but, Captain Carboneer, I hope you will be +my friend in this little matter," added Mulgate. + +"I don't know any thing about the little matter; but I am not willing +to jeopardize the enterprise that brings us here to help you out with +a love affair," replied the older gentleman. "There will be time enough +for you to look for a wife after the war is over, and you have more time +to attend to the affair." + +"Mr. Mulgate, I should like to know something more about your intentions +before we go any farther," interposed Corny, in a tone so decided that +Mulgate had to listen to him, especially as he had obtained so little +sympathy from the elderly gentleman. + +"Speak quick then, for we have no time to spare," added Mulgate. + +"Do I understand from what you have said that you intend to take Florry +Passford back to the South with you?" asked Corny, with his teeth +closely pressed together, so that it was rather difficult for him to +speak intelligibly. + +"I answer, as I did before, that I don't know what I shall do; that +depends," replied Mulgate evasively. + +"Depends upon what?" + +"I have no time to discuss that matter now," added Mulgate, turning to +his companion. + +"But I have time to say that I will ruin the whole enterprise if you +mean to commit an outrage such as you appear to have in your mind," +replied Corny, as vigorously as though he had been the military equal +of the one he had called "major" by accident. + +"Do you mean to be a traitor to your country, Neal?" demanded Mulgate +angrily. + +"Neither to my country nor to my uncle." + +"Your uncle is a Yankee, and is doing all he can to subjugate the free +South. He has no rights which we are bound to respect," said Mulgate +fiercely. + +"This will never do," interposed Captain Carboneer; and this may or may +not have been his real name. "We are getting into a disagreement at the +very first step of our enterprise." + +"I don't know you, Captain Carboneer, but I wish to be understood as +meaning every word I have said; and I will wreck this enterprise, if +I am shot for it, rather than allow my cousin to be carried off in +connection with it," protested Corny stoutly. "I will do my duty +faithfully; but I will not assist in robbing my uncle of his daughter." + +"You are quite right, young man; and I would rather be sent to the fort +as a prisoner of war than take part in such an enterprise," added +Captain Carboneer, in mild but forcible tones. + +"You astonish me, captain!" said Mulgate. "Why do you talk about an +outrage? I claim to be a gentleman, and to be above any such villainy as +you and Corny suggest. I do not propose to rob Captain Passford of his +daughter. What I may do depends--depends upon the consent of the lady. +If she is willing to go with me"-- + +"She is not willing to go with you; and she never will be willing to go +with you," Corny interposed. "I don't know what you are thinking about, +Mr. Mulgate; but Florry cares no more about you than she does about +Uncle Pedro, my father's house-servant. She saw you both at Glenfield, +and I can't tell which she likes best." + +"We had better drop the subject," added Captain Carboneer. + +"Drop it, then," replied Mulgate sullenly. "Get over the fence, Corny. +Nobody is using that sailboat, and we may as well take it for a while." + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE DIGNIFIED NAVAL OFFICER + + +Corny climbed over the high palisade fence, with the assistance of +Mulgate, and the party walked to the sailboat at the beach below. By +this time it was dark, though the gloom was not very dense under a clear +sky. + +"Do you know anything about this boat, Corny?" asked Mulgate, as the +trio approached the handsome craft, for such she was beyond a doubt. + +The crusty tones of the speaker indicated that he had not yet recovered +from the set-back he had plainly received in the late conversation, +though he denied that he had any evil intentions in regard to Miss +Florry. + +"I do; I know all about her," replied Corny. + +"Well, why don't you tell what you know?" demanded Mulgate. + +"What do you wish to know about her?" inquired Corny, who was disposed +to maintain his equality in spite of the military rank of his companion, +which he had incautiously betrayed in the beginning. + +"Whose boat is it?" asked Mulgate. + +"She belongs to my cousin, Christy Passford." + +"Where is he now?" + +"I don't know, sir." + +"Was he at the house when you were there?" + +"He was not; and his mother had become rather anxious because he did not +return to supper," replied Corny, becoming a little more pliable. + +"This is a rather large boat, Captain Carboneer," added Mulgate, as he +surveyed the trim sloop. "She is rather too large for our purpose." + +"She will answer very well," replied the captain, as he applied his +shoulder to the stem of the craft to ascertain how heavily she rested +upon the beach. "Now, do you know whether there is any person on board +of that steamer?" + +"Of course, I don't know anything about it," said Mulgate. + +"I am sure I don't," added Corny. + +"I sent you up here to ascertain all about the Bellevite," continued +Mulgate, rather sharply. + +"I have not had time to find out anything," Corny explained, with some +indignation in his tones. + +"Corny has done as well as he could in the time he has had to do it in," +interposed Captain Carboneer. "I think you are inclined to stir up bad +blood with this young man, Mulgate. It appears now that you have a +purpose of your own to accomplish, and that Corny will not allow you +to carry it out." + +"My first purpose is the same as your own," replied Mulgate. + +"You admit that you have a second object; and I cannot tell when you +will decide to make it your principal purpose," added Captain Carboneer. +"I am not satisfied with the situation. I have done everything I can to +accomplish our patriotic object. You endanger it by your crusty manner +to this young man, who seems to be willing to do his duty; and he is in +a position to be of great service to our enterprise." + +"If you think it is necessary, I will take off my cap to this young +man," said Mulgate, with a sneer in his tones. + +"Be reasonable, Mulgate." + +"What can I do more than I have done?" demanded the military gentleman, +as his title indicated that he was. + +"The first thing to do on your part is to renounce this idea of taking +a lady passenger with you in the steamer," replied Captain Carboneer, in +a very decided tone. "Women are not permitted on board of naval vessels, +especially in time of war." + +"I don't think I have any idea to renounce," muttered Mulgate. + +"You certainly hinted that you desired to take a lady on board, and +convey her to our destination," said the captain, rather earnestly. + +"Not against her will, as you and Corny will have it," protested +Mulgate. + +"Do you renounce that plan or that idea, whatever it may be?" + +"I do not renounce it. If the lady is willing to go with me, as I +believe she will be, I know of no reason why she should not go as a +passenger," argued Mulgate. + +"I think we had better abandon the enterprise in the beginning, for I +think we can be of more service to our country at liberty than within +the walls of Fort Lafayette," added the captain, with not a little +disgust mingled with his indignation. + +Whatever his object in visiting this locality, he was clearly a +high-toned gentleman, and the idea of prosecuting a love adventure +in connection with what he regarded as a highly patriotic duty was +repulsive to his nature. He found by trial that the Florence was not +grounded very hard on the beach, for the tide was rising, and he drew +the boat farther up from the water, as he turned to walk away from the +spot. + +"Am I to understand that you retire from this enterprise, Captain +Carboneer?" asked Mulgate. + +"Am I to understand that you renounce your scheme to carry off a woman +as a part of the enterprise?" demanded the captain. + +"I do not renounce it, though I have no intention to carry off a woman, +as you put it. The most I have asked is that she be permitted to go as a +passenger of her own free will," replied Mulgate. + +"She never will go with him of her own free will," interposed Corny. + +"I will not have a woman on board of the vessel, whether she goes +willingly or otherwise. Do you renounce that scheme entirely?" + +"I think you are driving me into a small corner, Captain Carboneer." + +"After what you have said before, I think I am fully justified in what I +require. With your private affairs, I have nothing to do. If you choose +to marry this young lady, I have nothing to say about that; but no woman +can be a passenger in a war vessel under my command. After I have landed +you at Bermuda or Nassau, I shall not attempt to run the blockade, which +is now enforced, in order to land you and the lady. Besides, we may be +in action at any time after we get under way." + +"Then if I do not yield the point, you intend to leave me to carry out +this enterprise alone?" demanded Mulgate. + +"In that case, I wish to go with you, Captain Carboneer," added Corny, +with emphasis. "But I want it understood that I shall not leave +Bonnydale without telling my uncle to look out for his daughter." + +"Then you mean to be a traitor, Corny?" said Mulgate angrily. + +"Call it what you like." + +"All this is absurd, Mulgate," interposed Captain Carboneer. "Without my +resources, you can do nothing at all, and it would be foolish for you to +attempt the capture of the vessel. You are not a sailor or a navigator, +and you could do nothing with the vessel if you succeeded in getting her +to sea." + +"I have no doubt I could find a hundred men in New York, including +half a score of navigators, to assist me in this enterprise," replied +Mulgate. + +"I have another steamer in view, though the Bellevite is vastly superior +to anything I know of in speed and general fitness. Do as you think +best, Mulgate; and I shall be able to explain in a satisfactory manner +my failure to obtain this vessel." + +"The fault will be mine, I suppose," muttered Mulgate. + +"The court-martial will decide that point," replied the captain. + +Mulgate seemed to be buried in his own reflections, no doubt suggested +by the last remark of the other. Possibly he considered that the failure +of such an important enterprise because he had insisted upon bringing +a lady into the affair would not sound well at home. Whatever he was +thinking about, he was greatly agitated, and Captain Carboneer walked in +the direction of the road, half a mile from the river. He had no time to +consider the matter: he must yield at once, or abandon the scheme. + +"I will do anything you ask, Captain Carboneer!" he shouted, forgetting, +in his excitement, the demand for secrecy. + +The naval officer, as his conversation indicated that he was, turned and +retraced his steps to the beach. He did not seem to be at all excited +because his associate had changed his mind, for in his judgment it would +have been worse than madness for him to persist in his intentions. + +"I have stated the case as I understand it, and I have nothing more to +say, Mulgate," said he. + +"I renounce my scheme, and I will not ask that the lady be a passenger +even to Bermuda or Nassau," replied Mulgate, though not without a +considerable display of emotion. + +"Very well; that is enough. Nothing more need be said about your +purpose, since you have renounced it. Now we will visit the Bellevite, +and learn what we can in regard to her," said the naval officer, in his +usual quiet manner, and whether he was a Confederate or a Unionist, one +could hardly have failed to be impressed by his dignified deportment. + +At the request of Captain Carboneer, Mulgate climbed to the forward deck +of the Florence. She was twenty-eight feet long, and her deck covered +more than half of her length. She had a very large cabin for a boat of +her size, which was fitted up with berths, with a cook-room forward of +it, for Christy Passford was often absent a week in her. + +"I think Corny had better go back to the house, and keep an eye on +Christy, so as to make sure that he does not disturb us," suggested +Mulgate, as the planter's son was about to go on board of the yacht. + +"I think we shall want him, and he had better be with us," replied the +captain, as one would speak when he expected to be obeyed. + +Corny climbed up the stem of the Florence. He had never seen the captain +before, and had not even been informed who and what he was; but he +appeared to be a more important person than Mulgate, and he did not wait +for the latter to argue his point. He had sailed in the Florence very +often, and he knew all about her. He took a boathook, and planted its +point on the beach, in readiness to shove off. + +"Not yet, Corny," said the naval officer, as he sprang lightly to the +deck of the sailboat. "Let us see where we are before we do anything." + +Captain Carboneer seated himself on one of the cushioned seats in the +standing-room, and looked about him. A steamer towing a multitude of +canal boats was approaching, and he waited for it to pass. Then no +steamer or other craft was to be seen on the river. + +"So far as I have been able to discover, there are only two men on board +of the Bellevite, and I think we have not a moment to lose," said the +naval officer, when he saw that the river was clear of everything that +might interfere with his plans. "But we must go on board of her, and +make sure of everything before we commit ourselves." + +"As you said, Captain Carboneer, I am no sailor; and you don't think of +taking the steamer out of the river alone?" added Mulgate. + +"I have not come here on a fool's errand, Major Pierson," replied the +captain. "We are alone now, and we may call things by their right +names." + +"But I don't care to have my name used in this vicinity," interposed +this gentleman, when addressed by his own name. + +"Your wish in this respect shall be respected, Mr. Mulgate. I was about +to say that I had a ship's company all ready to take possession of this +craft, to handle her at sea, and even to fight a battle if necessary." + +"But where are your ship's company?" asked Mulgate, as he wished still +to be called. + +"I will produce them at the right time. Now you may shove her off, +Corny," added the captain, as he took the wheel. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +CORNY PASSFORD PLAYS ANOTHER PART + + +Captain Carboneer brought the Florence about, and headed her across the +river. The Bellevite was moored a short distance from the estate down +the stream. + +"I have been up here before to-day," said the naval officer, as the boat +moved away from the shore, assuring him that no one could be near enough +to hear what he said. + +"We only reached New York yesterday, and I don't see how you can have +picked up a ship's company in that time," replied Mulgate. + +"I sent the men before I came myself. I have stationed them in various +places on the river, where I can get them when I want them; and I shall +want them before the sun rises to-morrow morning," replied the captain. + +"To-night!" exclaimed Mulgate, who seemed to be astounded at the +revelation. + +"Yes, to-night; in a few hours from now. I have obtained all the +information I could in regard to the steamer, and what we do must be +done at once. The Bellevite, as they call her now, has not yet been +handed over to the government, though she has been accepted. They are +waiting for something, though I don't know what, and she may be sent +to the navy yard to-morrow; and then it will be too late for us to do +anything." + +"But to-night--that is rather hurried," added Mulgate, musing. + +Very likely he was thinking of the beautiful Miss Florry in the elegant +mansion a short distance up the river. Without a doubt he was Major +Pierson, since the naval officer had addressed him by this name and +title. He had often met the young lady at Glenfield Plantation, and +possibly his sudden visit to the North had not been without some thought +of her. However it may have been with her, he was at least very much +interested in Miss Florry. + +The fact that she was a "Yankee" did not make her less beautiful, and it +did not make her any the less the daughter of a millionnaire. No one +could say that he was mercenary, however, and no one could say why he +was not as deeply interested in the daughter of the planter, for she +was hardly less beautiful, though her father was not considered a +millionnaire, to say nothing of a ten-millionnaire. Major Pierson did +not tell what he was thinking about; but he was certainly astounded and +badly set back when the naval officer intimated that the capture of the +Bellevite might be undertaken that night. + +"You can see for yourself that we must strike at once, or there may be +nothing to strike at," replied Captain Carboneer. + +"But we shall have no time to work up the case," suggested the major. + +"The case is all worked up, and there is nothing more to work up," +replied the captain, as he headed the boat for the steamer. + +Major Pierson said no more, but he was as much dissatisfied with the +promptness of the naval officer as though he had said it in so many +words. It would be difficult to imagine how he expected to manage his +case with Miss Florry, since he could not enter the house without +betraying his identity. Perhaps he intended to lie in wait for her in +the grounds of the estate, and trust that her interest in him would +induce her to keep his secret. + +"Is that you, Christy?" called a voice from the steamer, as the Florence +approached the Bellevite. + +"Answer him, Corny," said Captain Carboneer, in a low voice. "Say 'yes,' +and ask who it is that speaks." + +"Yes," repeated Corny. "Who are you?" + +"Sampson," replied the man on board of the steamer. + +"And who is with him," added the captain. + +"Are you alone on board?" demanded Corny, varying his speech a little +from his instructions. + +"No; Warping is on board, but he has gone to sleep in the pilot-house. +Do you want him?" + +"No; but you wish to take a couple of friends on board to obtain the +measure of a gun-carriage," continued Captain Carboneer. + +"No; I don't want Warping; I only wanted to know if he was on board," +repeated Corny. "I have a couple of friends here who want to measure a +gun-carriage to-night, for they have to leave in the morning." + +"Very well, young man; you understand yourself very well," said the +captain, in tones of approval. + +By this time Captain Carboneer had brought the boat alongside the +accommodation steps, the lower part of which were hoisted up to prevent +any water tramps from coming on board without permission. But when Corny +had delivered the last message, the steps were lowered, and the Florence +made fast to them. Corny was told to lead the way, and act as though he +were Christy Passford, and owned the ship in his own right. + +The planter's son went up the steps, and the other two followed him, +though the naval officer had really ascertained all he wished to know. +There were only two ship-keepers on board, and they would be no obstacle +in the way of the ship's company to which the captain had alluded. But +the leader of the enterprise had another object in view, though it was +only secondary in its nature. He was afraid to overburden the mind of +Corny, and he said nothing more. + +"Is everything all right on board, Sampson?" asked Corny, as he stepped +down upon the deck of the vessel. + +"All right, Christy," replied the man. + +"I am glad to hear it. Is there anything new?" + +"Nothing at all, Christy. I have been overhauling the boilers a little +to-day for the want of something to do, and they are in first-rate +condition. As you told me to-day that we might expect the order to +report at the navy yard at any minute, I thought I would have everything +as nearly ready as it could be." + +"You have done very well, Sampson," added Corny, approvingly. "We are +to get under way early in the morning, and if father gets home he will +start the steamer as soon as he comes. He went to the city this evening, +and probably he will bring the order with him," continued Corny, making +use of the information he had obtained in the house. + +"Where is this long gun, my man?" asked Captain Carboneer, taking a +measure from his pocket. + +"Forward, sir," replied Sampson, as he led the way. + +The captain kept some distance behind the ship-keeper, and took Corny by +the arm to detain him. + +"Tell him to get up steam at once," whispered the leader of the party, +as he hastened forward to the long midship gun, where he proceeded to +take his measurements as though he were in real earnest, though it was +so dark that he could not possibly see the marks on his tape, even if he +tried to do so. + +"You say that everything is ready to start the fires, Sampson?" said +Corny, as soon as he had a chance to speak to the ship-keeper. + +"Everything is ready, Christy, and I have only to touch the match to the +shavings to make a beginning," replied Sampson. "Is there any news about +my appointment in the engine-room, Christy?" + +"Not yet, Sampson; but the papers will soon come, and I am almost +willing to guarantee your appointment." + +"Mr. Vapoor has already spoken a good word for me." + +"All right, Sampson; then you are sure of the position. I am very sure +that we shall get the order before morning to move the steamer over +to the navy yard, and I think you had better start the fires at once, +Sampson," continued Corny, making himself as much at home on board of +the steamer as though he had really been the person he was supposed +to be. + +"All right, Christy; and if the order don't come as soon as you expect +it, we can bank the fires, and no harm will be done," replied the oiler, +for such was his position on board, though he was evidently expecting +something better. + +By this time Captain Carboneer had finished taking the measure of the +gun-carriage, though he had not been able to see anything. But he had +been through all the forms, and that answered his purpose just as well. +He declared that he had no further business on board, and the trio went +to the accommodation ladder. Sampson had called his sleeping companion, +and already the black smoke began to pour out of the smokestack. + +"That was all very handsomely done," said Major Pierson, as they stepped +on board of the Florence. + +"Everything worked very well; but it was all owing to the fact that the +ship-keeper thought that Corny was some other person," replied the +captain. + +"I know that he took him for Christy Passford, and I have had some +experience with Christy," replied the major, recalling his attempts to +prevent the Bellevite from escaping from Mobile Bay. "He is a smart +fellow, as the Yankees would say, and it is fortunate that he is not +here at the present time." + +"He can't be very far off," suggested Corny. "He was expected back to +supper, and I wanted to see him, for he is my cousin. He must be about +here somewhere." + +"Never mind whether he is or not; we have finished our business here, +and the harvest is ripe for the sickle. We will leave this boat just +where we found it, for I have a rowboat a little farther down the +river," continued Captain Carboneer. + +"I suppose I ought to return to my uncle's house," suggested Corny. +"If they miss me they will be looking about here to ascertain what has +become of me." + +"I think you had better not try to relieve their anxiety to-night. +If they are worried about you, they will get over it in the morning +when they find the steamer is missing," said Captain Carboneer, with +something like a chuckle in his tones when he pictured the surprise of +the "Yankees" in making the discovery that the Bellevite had taken to +herself wings, and sped on her way to the South. + +"I don't think they will worry about me," added Corny, laughing. "I was +afraid they might think I was here to capture the city of New York, or +something of that sort." + +"I think you had better not undeceive them to-night," replied the +captain, as he ran the yacht upon the beach near where he had found her. + +"Everything looks exceedingly well for our enterprise." + +"If you get that steamer into Mobile Bay"-- + +"I don't intend to get her into the bay; that would be folly, and I +shall run no risks among the blockaders, for a single shot might give +her back to her present owners." + +"No matter; if you only get her, and she is under the flag of the +Confederacy, it will put me back where I was when she went into the +bay by a Yankee trick," added Major Pierson. + +"After the war, if you wish to see the young lady, you will have more +time to attend to the affair, and I shall wish you every success then," +said the captain lightly. + +"How long do you think the war will last, Captain Carboneer?" asked the +major, in this connection. + +"Possibly it may last a year, though if we can break up that blockade, +it will not last six months longer." + +The trio landed on the beach, and the naval officer made sure that the +Florence was securely fixed in the gravel. The party walked down stream, +embarked in the boat of which the captain had spoken. It was pulled by +two men, and after they had gone about a mile, the captain began to blow +a boatswain's whistle which he took from his pocket. + +But they had hardly jumped down on the beach before Christy Passford +opened the cabin door of the yacht, and crept out with the utmost care. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +CAPTAIN CARBONEER AND HIS PARTY + + +As Captain Carboneer blew his whistle, a mile below the moorings of the +Bellevite, an occasional response came from the shore. Everything was +remarkably quiet on the river, though at long intervals a steamer passed +on its way up or down the stream. The signals made by the naval officer +were not loud, and the replies, made without the aid of any instrument, +were quite feeble. One might have taken them for some frolic on the part +of the boys. + +"I don't quite understand this business," said Major Pierson, after he +had listened a while to the signals. "I suppose from the answers you +get, that your men are all along the river, and the woods seem to be +full of them." + +"I have no doubt they are all here," replied Captain Carboneer. "I have +been in this vicinity all day, and I have made good use of my time. +I believe the Bellevite belongs to the Confederacy, and it shall be +no fault of mine if the goods are not delivered in good order and +condition." + +"My father was confident that he should obtain her at Nassau, though he +was mistaken," added the major. + +"But when she went within our lines, we were all satisfied that she was +ours. I have not yet been able to understand why she was permitted to +escape." + +"If you mean by that to cast any blame upon those who did their best +to prevent her escape, Captain Carboneer, you wrong them grossly," +said Major Pierson. "She came on a friendly visit to the plantation of +Colonel Passford; but this gentleman, though the owner of the steamer +was his own brother, promptly gave information of her presence in the +creek, and did all he could to have her captured. No man could have +sacrificed more to his patriotism than he did." + +"I do not reflect on him or on any one; I only wonder how the Bellevite +contrived to escape when several steamers were sent out to capture her," +added the captain. + +"The son of the owner of the Bellevite was a prisoner of mine, for when +I had my brother arrested for desertion, this young man was with him. +The only mistake I made was in not putting him in irons. The captain of +my tug proved to be a traitor to the Confederacy, and this fellow, with +Christy Passford, did the most of the mischief in preventing the capture +of the steamer." + +"I was told that he was a smart boy," added the naval officer. + +"He is all of that; and I think it was very fortunate that he did not +happen to be at home when we visited the Bellevite just now," said Major +Pierson, who evidently had a proper respect for the abilities of the +millionnaire's son. + +"I do not see that his presence in his father's mansion, if he had been +there, could have made any difference," added the captain, as he sounded +his whistle again, and heard a faint response from the shore. "As long +as he was not actually on board of the steamer, he was harmless." + +"Perhaps he was, though I have the feeling that it would have been +otherwise. There was a whistle from the shore." + +"I heard it, and I understand it. Haslett has done his whole duty, +I judge," replied Captain Carboneer. + +"Who is Haslett?" asked the major curiously. "I never heard of him +before." + +"He is to be the first lieutenant of the Bellevite." + +"You seem to have a full supply of officers and men, Captain Carboneer," +added Major Pierson, apparently a little disconcerted. "I do not see +that I am of the least use here, for you seem to have done everything +without consulting me." + +"In naval matters I have; but I give you full credit for the planning of +the enterprise," replied the captain, in his softest tones. + +"When I was removed from my command because I allowed the steamer to +pass the forts, I felt that a great injustice had been done to me. I did +all I could to effect the capture of the vessel, but the attempt was a +failure," argued the major. "The shot hole through the bow of the Belle +utterly wrecked her, and the force on board of her could do nothing, and +Christy Passford had brought my own tug to bear against me. Why, the +Bellevite actually saved the force on board of the Belle from drowning. +A violent gale came up, and that did a great deal to nullify all our +efforts. But I think I did my whole duty." + +"I have no doubt of it, Major Pierson; and for that reason you were sent +on this mission; and I am confident that the success of the enterprise +will restore you to your former command, or give you another quite as +good," said Captain Carboneer, as consolation to the military arm of the +expedition. + +"But I cannot see that I have been of any use to this enterprise, and I +might as well have staid at home." + +"You are too modest by half, major. You planned the expedition, and +suggested that Corny should take part in it, as he would have the +_entree_ to the residence of Captain Passford. But, being a mere boy, +he could not be sent alone, and your services were likely to be of +the most important character. It is no fault of yours that we found +everything made ready for us, as it were. It might have been quite +different, and the burden of the action might have rested upon you. +It is all right as it is." + +"I am satisfied," added the major, "though I think it was no more than +right that you should have consulted me in regard to your methods, of +which I am still profoundly ignorant. In getting up the scheme, I based +everything on the fact that Corny could go into his uncle's house and +obtain all the information we needed." + +"The scheme was well concocted; and I shall have the pleasure of +reporting to the government that the military arm of the expedition +conducted the enterprise to a perfect success, the naval force only +doing the duty pointed out by the military." + +"You are very kind, Captain Carboneer," said Major Pierson, who could +not well help being entirely satisfied, and even greatly pleased, with +this happy showing of the final result. + +"By daylight in the morning we shall be outside of Sandy Hook, I expect. +We have no time to waste, and you can see for yourself how the affair of +the young lady would have complicated our operations." + +"How do you intend to convey these men, who seem to be scattered all +along the shores of the river, to the steamer?" + +"They understand my signals, and they will all be ready within an hour +to take a small steamer which will pick them up." + +"But where is the steamer?" + +"She is farther down the river. As you seem to be a little sensitive to +the fact that I have not consulted you in regard to the naval operations +of this enterprise, I can tell you in a few words all there is of them," +continued Captain Carboneer. "As you are aware, as soon as our plan was +matured by you, I left Mobile with Lieutenant Haslett, though you knew +nothing about him, for Nassau. We had no difficulty in getting out of +the bay, for the blockade was not then enforced. At Nassau I engaged a +couple of English engineers, and a few other officers, with thirty +seamen, mostly English, who were looking for prize-money. I had to take +my force to Quebec, for no steamer offered for New York. I sent them all +here in small parties, and Haslett posted them along the river when I +told him they would be needed to-night." + +"I did not leave Mobile till two weeks later with Corny," added the +major. "But I got here sooner than you did." + +"You were more fortunate in finding a steamer. I believe I have a +capital crew, though I shall obtain more men at Bermuda, or some other +port. There are plenty of good English sailors who are willing to fight +on either side if there is a good showing for prize-money; and I have +no doubt I shall capture a dozen vessels before we reach the Bermudas, +which will fully satisfy them, especially as the government will pay +the value of all vessels we are compelled to burn on the high seas." + +"You will have the advantage over everything that floats, for I was told +that the Bellevite made twenty knots an hour, and had done twenty-two," +said Major Pierson. "At what time do you think you will get on board of +the steamer?" + +"By one or two in the morning, I hope; but it will depend upon the +steamer Haslett engages, though he told me he had bargained for an old +one with a walking-beam; but that will answer our purpose. I believe he +had to buy her, though she was of no great value." + +At a creek which appeared to be the rendezvous of the conspirators, +the boat left the river; but there was no steamer, though quite a number +of men had gathered there. Leaving the party in the boat to follow out +the remaining details of their enterprise, which, by this time, in the +absence of anything like an obstacle, they regarded as so many mere +formalities, it becomes necessary to make another visit to the mansion +of Captain Passford. This gentleman had gone to the city upon important +business connected with the fitting out of the Bellevite, and he had not +returned when the clock in the great hall struck ten, which was at about +the time Captain Carboneer and his companions went into the creek five +miles down the river. + +"There is no knowing when your father will come home, Florry," said Mrs. +Passford, as she suspended her work on a stocking she was knitting for +the soldiers. "But I can't imagine what has become of Christy. He never +stays out as late as this unless he tells us of it beforehand." + +"I am really worried about him, mother," replied the beautiful daughter, +looking up from the stocking on which she was employed. "He went away in +the Florence, and something may have happened to him." + +"I think not, Florry: there has been no storm, or heavy blow, and +he thinks he is as safe in his boat as he is on shore," added Mrs. +Passford, with an effort to control the fears of the daughter. "He may +have gone down to the city. He is very indignant at the delay in giving +the order to have the steamer sent to the navy yard, and wherever he is, +I am confident he is doing something in connection with the steamer." + +"I wish I knew whether the Florence was at the boathouse," continued +Florry. "He said he was going out in the boat; but perhaps he did not. +Perhaps he is with father." + +"There is the front-door bell," added Mrs. Passford, with a start. +"It cannot be your father or Christy, for both of them have latch-keys. +Who could come here at this time in the evening?" + +"Mr. Paul Vapoor," said the man-servant, who answered the bell. + +The gentleman announced walked into the sitting-room without any +ceremony, for he had long been a familiar visitor. He was dressed in +the full uniform of a chief engineer of the navy. Removing his cap, he +politely bowed to the two ladies; and any one who was looking might have +seen that Miss Florry blushed a little when she saw him; and very likely +if Major Pierson had witnessed the roses on her fair cheek, he might +possibly have concluded that it would have been useless to postpone the +capture of the Bellevite to enable him to fortify his position near her. + +"I beg your pardon, ladies, for calling so late," said Mr. Vapoor, as he +drew a long envelope from his pocket. "But I thought Christy might wish +to see what is in this envelope before he retired." + +"Why, what is in it?" asked Mrs. Passford. + +"Christy's commission as a midshipman in the navy." + +"But Christy is not at home, and we are somewhat anxious about him," +added the mother, stating the facts in regard to her son. + +Paul Vapoor volunteered to go in search of him, and left the house. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE CABIN OF THE FLORENCE + + +If Captain Carboneer had felt any especial interest in the Florence as +a sailing yacht, he might have desired to see the cabin of the craft, +which had always been the delight of Christy Passford. He had expended +a great deal of his pocket-money upon the arrangement and furnishing of +the cabin of his yacht, not only because he spent a considerable portion +of his vacation hours in it, but because it had been a perpetual study +with him to enlarge and improve it. + +It is very difficult to get three pints of liquid into a quart measure, +and it was a conundrum of this sort that Christy was studying upon +when he tried to make a parlor, bedroom, and dining-saloon of the very +limited space in the forward part of the Florence. Though he could +hardly get the three pints into the quart measure, he had done the best +he could, and succeeded to a rather remarkable degree. But spite of the +miracle which had been wrought in the cabin, Captain Carboneer did not +even try the door of the apartment when he and his companions went on +board of the yacht. He was so absorbed in the enterprise in which he was +engaged, that his indifference to the miracle of the cabin may be +excused. + +Even the double doors of the cabin were of handsome wood, elaborately +polished; and they were not secured with the usual appliance of a +padlock, but were provided with an expensive mortise-lock, which could +be operated upon either side. If Captain Carboneer had tried to open +that door, he would have found that it was fastened; but perhaps he +could not have discovered that it had been secured upon the inside. +Unless, therefore, he had taken the trouble to break open the door, he +could not have ascertained that Christy Passford was actually in the +cabin. + +Possibly, if he had opened the door by any means, he would not have +discovered that the proprietor of the boat was in this dainty apartment, +for the skipper had taken a great deal of pains to conceal himself so +that he should not be seen, even if the intruders in the Florence had +succeeded in opening the doors without the aid of the key in his pocket. +Though he had two very nice berths in the cabin, miraculously arranged +as to space, Christy did not occupy one on the present occasion, for in +that case the unbidden visitors would have seen him if their curiosity +had led them to force the doors. + +When the cook of the Florence, usually the skipper of the craft, was +engaged in the practice of the culinary art, he seated himself on what +looked like a box in front of the stove. But the interior of this box +was really a part of the cabin, for it contained the feet of any one +occupying the berth on the starboard side. The cookroom had no end of +bins, lockers and drawers to contain the variety of provisions and +stores necessary to get up a dinner for the skipper and his guests, when +he had any. And even all these places could not contain everything that +was needed on board. Under the two berths were large, though not very +deep, lockers, one of which contained the jib-topsail of the craft, and +other spare sails, while the opposite one was the fuel locker of the +sloop. + +As the boat had not been used for a long time in cruising, the fuel +receptacle was empty, though a spare gaff-topsail had been thrown +into it. This locker was big enough to admit the body-corporate of +the skipper. It was not a particularly clean place, for a portion of it +had been economized for the stowage of the charcoal, which the skipper +preferred to wood. But he did not rebel at the blackness of the retreat +he had chosen, for he wore his boating dress, which was hardly stylish +enough for a dude or a dandy. + +But Skipper Passford did not crawl into this black hole for the fun of +the thing. He had been spending his time in waiting for a movement to be +made in regard to the Bellevite. He staid in the house all the forenoon, +and, after lunch, he sailed down the river in the Florence, though with +no object in doing so beyond passing the time. Not far from the beach +where he had afterwards left the yacht, he discovered a boat rowed by +two men with a third in the stern sheets. + +The breeze was quite gentle, though the Florence would sail at a very +tolerable speed when there was the least apology for a wind. She was +doing so on the present occasion, and Christy had stretched himself out +on the cushioned seat, with the spokes of the wheel where he could steer +without any exertion, or next to none. The idleness of his days since +his return from the eventful cruise of the Bellevite seemed to have +infected him with an unnatural indolence. + +He felt as though he was rather more than half asleep when he saw the +boat with the two oarsmen. It was going up the river, while he was going +down. He had to luff a little to keep clear of the oars, but he did not +move from his half-recumbent posture. When the boat was alongside, he +glanced idly and carelessly at the person in the stern sheets. Instantly +he was wide awake, though he did not change his position. The person +looked like a gentleman, and Christy was sure that he had seen him +before. A couple of minutes of earnest cudgelling of his brain assured +him that he had seen the stranger in Nassau; that he was one of the many +who wanted to purchase the Bellevite, ostensibly for a merchant vessel, +but really for the Confederate navy. + +After he had run a short distance farther down the river, Christy came +about, the boat being some distance from him, but the gentleman soon +landed and walked up the river on the shore, or very near it. In a short +time, he was joined by another person, whose form looked familiar to the +skipper of the Florence. He could not identify him, for he was not near +enough to him to see his face. A puff of air came from across the river, +and the Florence darted ahead, and Christy was soon out of sight of the +two strangers. + +Near the boundary of his father's estate, he ran the yacht on the sandy +beach, letting her strike the sand hard enough to stick where she was +for half an hour, though she was not likely to get adrift, for the +gentle breeze was blowing her farther on the shore as the tide rose. + +Christy hauled down the jib of the sloop, and then seated himself, or +rather reclined upon the cushions, though in such a position that he +could see the shore, or any persons who came upon it. No one was in +sight, and he had no one to watch. The swash of a great steamer passing +in the channel made his boat roll heavily for a moment, with the forward +part of the bottom resting on the sand. For the want of something better +to think of, he began to put conundrums to himself in the absence of any +other person to perplex with them. What was the gentleman that wanted to +buy a steamer in Nassau doing up the Hudson? This was the principal one: +he could not answer it. He gave it up; as the French have it, he had to +"throw his tongue to the dogs," having no use for it in this connection. + +But while he was dreaming of the possible mission of the stranger, +he heard voices on the beach. Not deeming it wise to show himself, he +rolled off the cushion upon the floor of the standing-room, and then +fixed himself in a position where he could see and hear what passed +between the speakers. He could see without being seen. It did not +require a second look for him to decide that the second person on the +beach was Major Pierson, though his companion called him Mulgate. + +If Christy had been interested before, he was excited now. The two +speakers were within earshot of the boat, and in the stillness of the +scene he could hear every word that was said. In a few moments he was in +full possession of the statements of the captain and the major in regard +to their intentions; and it appeared that the gentleman he had seen in +Nassau still desired to obtain a steamer. + +Before it was dark, Christy was astonished to behold his cousin Corny on +the other side of the fence; and he readily understood that he was to +take part in the enterprise in hand. As yet the listener had obtained +but little more than the information in regard to the intention of the +visitors. When he found that they were disposed to take possession of +the Florence, and make their visit to the Bellevite in her, the skipper +retired from the standing-room of the boat to the cabin, where he locked +the door, and put the key in his pocket. When he realized that they +really meant to come on board, he crawled into the space under the +starboard berth, and arranged the sail so that it would conceal him +in case the intruders pushed their investigation into the cabin. + +When he had completed his preparations, he was quite satisfied that +he should not be discovered. The trio came on board, and Christy fixed +himself so that he could hear every word that was said, for there was a +small opening under the berth through which the superfluous length of a +pair of oars could be thrust when not in use. + +Christy, without the remotest suspicion on the part of the plotters +that they could be heard by any living being, and especially not by so +dangerous a character as Christy had proved himself to be to the peace +and dignity of the Confederacy, heard all that was said, and he obtained +a full idea of the intentions of the conspirators. When they went on +board of the Bellevite, he was so excited that he could no longer remain +in his prison, but came out, and crept up the accommodation ladder to +the deck of the steamer. But he was careful not to show himself, and, +having a key to the cabin, he went into it, locking the door after him. +Then he had a chance to think. + +What should he do? He had no force at hand to beat off such a party as +Captain Carboneer mentioned. They might carry out their plot that very +night, as they had talked of doing. Perhaps it would be executed at +once, even while he was on board, and he would then be a prisoner. This +idea was too galling to be considered, and he left the cabin to visit +the wardroom. Going still farther forward, he was surprised to hear the +roar of the flames in the furnaces below. It looked at that moment as +though the Bellevite was doomed to sail under a Confederate flag. But if +he could do nothing more, he could save himself, even if he had to jump +into the river and swim to the shore. + +Christy lost no time in making his way to the main deck of the vessel; +but he was careful to avoid the visitors. He went back to the cabin, and +went on deck from it. Then he discovered that the trio were in the act +of descending the accommodation steps. Mounting the rail he saw them +embark in the Florence, and sail down the river. Dismounting from the +rail, he hastened to the engine-room, where he found Sampson getting the +engine ready to be put in motion. + +"Ah, Christy, I thought you had gone," said the oiler. + +"Who were those two men who were on board?" asked Christy, not a little +excited. + +"They were two gentlemen you brought on board, Christy," replied +Sampson, innocently enough. + +"That I brought on board!" exclaimed the skipper of the Florence. + +"Yes, sir: and I thought you had gone ashore with them," added the +oiler. + +"I brought no men on board, Sampson! What are you talking about?" +demanded Christy impatiently. + +"Didn't you bring two gentlemen on board, and didn't one of them want to +measure the carriage of the big gun?" + +"No! I did not! I have not seen you before now this evening," protested +Christy. + +"Then I have lost my senses. Didn't you tell me to get up steam, because +the steamer would be moved to the navy yard before daylight in the +morning?" demanded Sampson, bewildered by the denial of the young man. + +"I see now," added Christy. "You mistook Corny for me." + +Sampson gave him all the details of the visit of the strangers. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +MIDSHIPMAN CHRISTY PASSFORD + + +"In a word, Sampson, an attempt will be made to-night to capture the +Bellevite, and you have been getting up steam for the conspirators," +said Christy, when the ship-keeper had finished his narrative of the +visit of the trio to the ship. + +"Is that so?" exclaimed Sampson, opening his mouth and his eyes very +wide at the same time. "Why, I had no more doubt that the young man who +was talking to me was Christy than I have that he is talking to me now." + +"You had better look at me again, and be sure that you make no mistake," +replied Christy, rather disgusted at the failure of the man to identify +him. + +"I never once thought that it was not you. When the sailboat came +alongside, I knew it was the Florence, and I supposed you were in her," +pleaded Sampson. "But I spoke to you, as I supposed, when the boat came +alongside." + +"Did you? What did you say?" asked Christy. + +"I said 'Is that you, Christy?' And you said 'Yes.'" + +"Of course I did! What else could I say after you had told the enemy +just how to proceed. You could not have expected any other answer." + +"I suppose I was very stupid; but I hope no harm has been done, for they +have not got the steamer yet," added Sampson, very much disconcerted at +the blunder he had made, though an older officer than Christy might have +had more charity for the ship-keeper. + +Seen in broad daylight, there was no striking resemblance between Corny +and Christy, though they were of about the same size, and had some +traits in common. As Corny and his companions came in the Florence, +it was not very strange that Sampson should take it for granted that +Christy was one of the evening visitors. The voices of the two cousins +were not unlike, and the sound was all he had to guide his judgment. +Then he was not in the enemy's country, and he could hardly have been +on the lookout for an enemy several miles up the river. + +"Certainly no harm has been done, Sampson; but it is yet to be decided +whether or not the Bellevite is to go into the navy of the United States +or the navy of the Confederate States," added Christy, leaving the +engine-room. + +"If we have snuffed the whole thing, I don't believe this steamer will +ever wear anything but the Stars and Stripes," said Sampson stoutly; and +there could be no doubt in regard to his loyalty, judging from his +speech, though that is not always to be trusted in time of war. + +"Bellevite, ahoy!" shouted some one at the foot of the accommodation +steps. + +"Have they come again so soon?" asked Sampson, as he rushed to the rail. +"It is only a small canoe." + +"Is Christy on board?" called the visitor alongside. + +"That is Mr. Vapoor: tell him I am on board," added Christy. + +"Christy is on board, sir," replied Sampson to the hail. "Will you come +on board, sir?" + +Paul Vapoor would and did come on board, and Christy gave him a hearty +welcome, for he was more glad to see him than he had ever been before in +his life. + +"Where have you been all day and all the evening, Christy?" asked the +engineer. "Your mother and sister are very much worried about you, for +they have not seen you for a long time, and they fear that something has +happened to you." + +"Something is likely to happen to me and all the rest of us who expect +to go to sea in this steamer," replied Christy, as he proceeded to +inform his friend as briefly as he could of the great event of the +evening. + +"Well, if we are not in the enemy's country, the enemy are in ours," +replied Paul. "What is to be done?" + +"That is what I have been thinking of. I listened very attentively to +all that passed between Major Pierson and Captain Carboneer, and I am +satisfied that the latter has a considerable force somewhere on the +river, and their headquarters are at the mouth of a creek five miles +down the river." + +"How many have they?" asked the engineer. + +"I don't know; they did not mention the number in figures, but they have +enough to work the ship, and even to fight her," replied Christy, very +seriously. + +"That means forty or fifty, at least," added Paul. "This looks like a +heavy matter, and it is quite time that something was done about it." + +"But what shall we do is the question," said Christy anxiously. "We have +two men on board beside ourselves, and we can hardly expect to hold our +own against fifty." + +"Who is this Captain Carboneer?" + +"I saw him at Nassau, and he looked like a man of decision and +character. I don't know anything about him, but I have no doubt he is +a naval officer, both from the circumstances and from what I heard. +I should say that he knows what he is about. You said that my father +has not yet returned from the city?" + +"He had not come at ten o'clock, and if he comes at all, the late train +does not arrive till after twelve." + +"It may be too late to do anything at that time," said Christy. "But I +don't mean to give up the ship." + +"Good! I am with you on that point, Christy. I called at your house to +inform you that you had been appointed a midshipman in the navy, and you +are likely to have a chance to christen your commission to-night. This +was all the rank they could give you, though you will really be a passed +midshipman, and be a master very soon." + +Christy was delighted with this news, though he had no time to make a +demonstration of delight over it. He had narrowly escaped being the +third officer of the Bellevite the year before, because his father did +not believe in putting him forward as fast as his abilities would have +warranted him in doing. Captain Breaker and Paul Vapoor had made the +application for a position in the navy; for his father would not do it, +for the reason that he did not wish to ask any favors for a member of +his own family. + +"I thank you and Captain Breaker for all you have done for me, Paul, and +I hope I shall be able to give a good account of myself. But we have no +time to talk about that now. Captain Carboneer was waiting for a steamer +which his naval associate, Lieutenant Haslett, was to charter or buy for +the use of the party," said Christy, as he led the way to the forward +deck of the steamer. + +He and the engineer mounted the top-gallant forecastle, and looked +intently down the river. The tide was coming in, so that the vessel, in +coming up to her cable, pointed in that direction. But they could see +nothing, not a craft of any description. Then Christy led the way to +the long gun mounted amidships. He sighted across the piece, and, in a +moment more, his mind seemed to have settled on the policy to be pursued +in the present dangerous emergency. Perhaps the capture of a steamer +under such circumstances was a thing unheard of at that time, but +doubtless it looked simple enough to those who were engaged in the +enterprise. + +"Do you think of engaging the enemy at long range, Christy?" asked Paul, +with a smile on his fine face, as seen by the light of the lantern which +Sampson had brought to the place. + +"I think of beating them off in any way we can," replied the middy, +as his friends all called him from that time. "I have the gun pointing +to a certain object on the river, which Captain Carboneer's steamer must +pass. He can't help putting his craft where the muzzle of this piece +will cover it; and if we pull the lock-string at that instant, the shot +will knock his steamer all to pieces, and spill the conspirators into +the river." + +"If you hit her," suggested Paul. + +"You can't very well help hitting her. Just squint along that gun, and +see where the shot will bring up." + +Paul complied with this request, and took a long look over the great +gun. + +"I should say that it was pointed a little too high," said he. + +"Perhaps it is; I have not fixed it just as I mean to have it. We will +put in the charge before we do that," added Christy, who was now as +self-possessed as though there was no excitement attending the operation +he was arranging. + +"Do you know what steamer Captain Carbine will have?" asked Paul. + +"Not Carbine; Carboneer. No, I don't know what steamer he will have; +only that she is an old one, and has a walking-beam," replied Christy. + +"That is rather indefinite, midshipman," added Paul, with a smile. "You +can't always tell what a steamer is by looking at her, especially in the +night; and a walking-beam is not a novelty on a steamer upon this river. +You may send that shot through the wrong vessel; and if you should +happen to kill a dozen or two of loyal citizens of the State of New +York, they might be mean enough to hang you, or send you to the State +prison for life for it. It won't do to fire off a shotted gun like that +baby without knowing pretty well what you are shooting at." + +"That is a long argument, Paul; and I have not the remotest idea of +doing any such thing as you describe. I am going to know what we are +firing at before we pull the lock-string," replied Christy, rather +impatiently. "But we have no time to dig up mare's nests. We will get +up the ammunition and load this gun; then we will do the rest of the +business." + +As ship-keeper and a member of the engineer's department for the last +year, Sampson knew where everything was to be found. With all the usual +precautions, the magazine was opened, and ammunition enough for three +charges was conveyed to the deck, Warping having been called in to +assist in the work. The gun was carefully loaded under the direction of +Christy, who had been fully instructed and drilled in the duty. It was +pointed as nearly as practicable to the point in the channel which the +hostile steamer must pass, though the aim was to be rectified at the +last moment. + +Paul went to his stateroom and took off his handsome uniform, replacing +it with a suit of his working garments. Then he hastened to the engine, +examined it, and satisfied himself that it was in good condition for the +office which was soon to be required of it. He gave Sampson particular +directions for his duty, and then went down the accommodation steps with +the midshipman. + +"What are you going to do next, Christy?" asked Paul, for the young +naval officer had been too busy with his preparations to develop his +plan in full. + +"We will go ashore first, and I will take the Florence to the +boat-house," replied Christy. "The next thing to be done is to make +a reconnoissance down the river." + +"Why not go down in the Florence?" suggested Paul. + +"Because that would be too simple and innocent altogether," replied the +middy; and perhaps he felt some of the dignity of his new rank. "I think +we had better see without being seen, especially as Captain Carboneer +has seen and sailed the sloop. I have no doubt he has a sharp, nautical +eye, and that he will recognize her. He might be rash enough to capture +her, and thus deprive the United States Navy of two young, but able and +hopeful officers, to say nothing of bottling them up so that he could +make short work of the Bellevite." + +"You are right, Christy, as you always are. But see your mother before +you do anything, and I will obey orders. She worries about you." + +They landed and hastened to the mansion. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +ARRANGING THE SIGNALS + + +Mrs. Passford was astounded at the news brought in by her son, and Miss +Florry was terrified when informed that Major Pierson was not far from +the mansion. But Paul Vapoor assured the latter that there was no +danger, and Christy convinced his mother, who had a great deal of +confidence in him, that he was fully equal to the occasion. + +"But I do not see that you can beat off the assailants if they happen +to get alongside of the Bellevite," suggested Mrs. Passford. "There are +only four of you at the most." + +"I hope for re-enforcements," replied Christy, as he rang a bell for +a servant. "Beeks and Thayer, two of the quartermasters, live in the +village; Mr. Watts, the chief steward, and three others of the old +ship's company, live near here, and I think we can raise half a dozen +more, making ten in all." + +"I know where to find half a dozen coal-passers," added Paul. + +"Then we shall do very well if we succeed in finding all these," added +Christy, as the man-servant came to the door. + +"Call up all the stablemen, and have two horses saddled as quick as +possible," continued Christy to the man. + +"What's that for, Christy?" asked Paul, who had succeeded in quieting +the fears of Miss Florry. + +He was not altogether inexperienced in this duty, for the young lady +had been alarmed more than once on board of the steam yacht, and he was +always more successful than any other person at these times. + +"I can't stop to talk it all over, Paul; but if you will trust me, +I will tell you as we go along what I think of doing," replied Christy. + +"All right, midshipman; I belong to the engine department, and we always +obey orders even if the ship goes down," added Paul, laughing. + +"I am willing enough to tell you, but I have not the time to spin a long +yarn, and perhaps answer objections, just now. We will mount the horses +as soon as they come to the door, and drum up the force we have +mentioned." + +Christy continued by giving Paul the names of those he was to visit and +summon to the deck of the Bellevite, and then they were to meet at a +given place. They mounted the two fleet horses which Christy had +selected for the occasion, and dashed off to the town, a short distance +from the river. The middy found the two quartermasters, who boarded in +the same house. They were to go on board of the steamer at once; but +Beeks was to bring a canoe from the boat-house to the point on the shore +nearest to the Bellevite before he went on board. Both of these men were +cautioned not to say anything about any person they might see, and the +same instruction was given to all the others whose services were +required. + +Mr. Watts had not retired when Christy called at his house, and he was +duly startled by the information the young officer gave him. He was as +ready to take part in the enterprise as even the middy himself, and he +was conducted to the place where Paul was to meet the leader. He had +more calls to make than Christy, and they had to wait some time for him; +but when he did come, he reported that he had found and sent on board +all the firemen and coal-passers he had named, and a few more, besides +the old sailors who had sailed for years in the yachts of the owner of +the Bellevite. + +The services of about a dozen had been procured, but half of these +were to do duty in connection with the engine, and the party so hastily +gathered were not strong enough to beat off the force of the enemy if +they attempted to board the vessel. + +"Now, Paul, I want you to understand the whole affair before we go any +farther; and I wish you would go on board and take the command there," +said the midshipman, as soon as the engineer had reported the result of +his mission. + +"But are you not going to be on board, Christy? I don't pretend to be a +sailor or a gunner," said Paul. + +"I shall go on board as soon as I can," replied Christy. "You will find +a boat on the shore, near the steamer, and you will go on board in that; +but have the boat sent back for me." + +"All right, Christy; I will obey orders," added Paul, as he dismounted +from his horse. + +"Mr. Watts will take your horse, and ride with me down the shore. We can +see the river all the way, for we shall not stick to the road when it +leads us away from it. As soon as we discover the steamer that is to +bring up the enemy, I will run my horse back to this point, and go on +board." + +"That is all easy enough," added Paul. + +"Easy enough; but I can form no idea as to when the steamer will come. +We may have to wait till morning for it, and perhaps the plan of the +enemy will fail, and they will not come at all." + +"If they don't come to-night, they never will; and there will be time +enough for the home guard to scour the woods, and arrest all suspicious +persons." + +"I said what I did so that you need not be impatient if you have to +wait a long time. You will have a watch kept from the moment you get +on board, and no stranger is to be allowed to put a foot on the deck. +Captain Carboneer may send some one of his party to see that everything +is working right on board for his side of the affair." + +"I will do that." + +"See that the steam is well up, so that we can move off in good time if +we find it necessary to get under way," continued Christy. + +"I thought that was a settled point, and the ship was to be taken down +the river in any case," said Paul. + +"I supposed so myself in the beginning; but if it is not necessary to +run away, I don't care to do so. Let Boxie see that the cable is buoyed +and ready to run out at a moment's notice." + +"All right, midshipman," replied Paul, as he hastened to the boat. + +"Why does he call you midshipman?--that is a new name," said the chief +steward. + +"He brought me the news this evening that I had been appointed in the +navy with that rank," replied Christy. "Now we will ride down the river. +Do you happen to know what time it is, Mr. Watts?" + +"I don't know, but I think it is about half-past eleven. I am not much +of an equestrian," replied the steward, as he mounted the horse, "for I +have been to sea all my life; but I think I can stay on if the beast +don't run away with me." + +"He is perfectly gentle, and he will not run away with you. We have no +occasion to ride fast, and we may not have to go more than two or three +miles." + +They rode along the river for a few minutes, and then Christy reined in +his steed and dismounted. He went to the water side, at a point where +there was a bend, and carefully examined the surroundings, both above +and below. He could not see the Bellevite in the darkness, for he had +directed the engineer to allow no light to be shown on board of her. +He had brought a little mathematics into his calculations, and he had +pointed the big gun of the steamer so as to cover the craft with the +walking-beam when she came in sight around this turn of the stream. By +this plan she was sure to come into the range of the piece, no matter on +which side of the channel she was moving. + +"Now, Mr. Watts, I have a further duty for you to perform," said +Christy, as he explained his plan to the steward. "We shall go down the +river till we meet this steamer which conveys the enemy. As you are a +sailor as well as a caterer, you have a nautical eye, and when you have +seen this steamer you will know her again." + +"Trust me for that. If it is the old tub I think it is, I know her +already," answered the steward. + +"What steamer do you think it is?" + +"The old Vampire; and if you give her much of a rap, she will go to the +bottom without the least difficulty." + +"I don't care where she goes to, provided she don't put her passengers +on board of the Bellevite. But I am taking you down the river with me in +order that you may see her and know her." + +"I shall know her as soon as I see her." + +"As I said before, I shall run my horse back and get aboard of the +Bellevite as soon as I am satisfied that the enemy are moving up the +river," continued Christy. + +"I am afraid I shall not be able to keep up with you if you run your +horse," suggested the steward. + +"I don't want you to keep up with me. You can come along as leisurely as +you please, though you must not let the enemy get ahead of you." + +"If the enemy are in the old Vampire, I could keep ahead of her on +foot." + +"You had better keep ahead of her on your horse about a quarter of a +mile, or more; but your main duty will be here. I have brought with me +half a dozen Roman candles, and I am going to fix them in the ground on +this spot. Here is a bunch of matches," said Christy, handing it to him. + +The steward watched the midshipman while he planted the fireworks in the +sand, and particularly marked the spot where they were located, for his +companion told him he was to fire them, and he must be ready to do so +without any delay. + +"A boy could do that and like the fun of it," said Mr. Watts, laughing +at the simple duty he was to perform. + +"But it is the time that you are to do it, and the boy might be +skylarking, or become impatient. This signal of the fireworks is to +assure us at the right moment that the Vampire, if it should be she, +is in the place where I expect her to be." + +"I understand it perfectly." + +"After I leave you, another steamer may come along, and get to this +point ahead of the Vampire; and I should be very sorry to blow her out +of the water, or sink her under it. You are to let us know by this +signal that it is the Vampire, and no other, that is coming round the +bend. You had better leave your horse a short distance from the river, +for that gun will make every pane of glass within a mile of it shake +when it is discharged." + +"You may be sure that I will not be on his back at that time." + +"Still further: I have planted six candles in the sand. You will light +only one of them when the steamer begins to round the bend. That will be +enough to inform us of the fact on board of the Bellevite." + +"What are the others for?" asked the steward, taking a memorandum-book +from his pocket as though he intended to write his instructions. + +"It is not necessary to write it. We shall not be able to see what +effect the shot produces after we fire. If the Vampire, always supposing +she is the one, is not hurt, light a second candle--only one of them. If +she should be disabled, you will light two candles." + +Christy repeated what he had said, and was careful not to give the +steward too much to remember. As soon as the matter was fully +understood, the middy mounted his horse, and they proceeded on their +mission down the river. After they had ridden about three miles, Mr. +Watts insisted that the steamer was coming, and that it was the Vampire. + +"I don't see anything," added Christy. + +"Neither do I; but I know that the Vampire is coming up the river. If +you listen, you will hear a hoarse puffing; and nothing but that old ark +could make such a wheezy noise," replied the steward. + +The middy heard it and was satisfied. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE APPROACH OF THE VAMPIRE + + +The Vampire, as the steward had no doubt it was, could not be less than +a mile distant from the spot where the two horsemen had halted in the +road. Christy was very familiar with this portion of the river, and +after he had listened a few moments, he was satisfied from the direction +of the sound he heard, that a mile was very nearly the exact distance. +The approaching steamer had to come around a small bend, the arc of +which made just a mile. + +"I don't wish to blow up a dozen or twenty loyal citizens, and I must +make sure in some way that Captain Carboneer's party is on board of that +steamer," said Christy, as he led his horse into a field, and tied him +to a tree, the steward following his example. + +"That would be a very bad thing to do," added Mr. Watts, as they walked +back to the river. "But I don't see why it is necessary to blow up even +any rebels on the present occasion. If that naval officer has forty men, +as you think he has, a shot from that long gun would make terrible havoc +among them if you succeeded in hitting her. You might kill half of +them." + +"If we do they, and not we, will be responsible for it," added Christy, +somewhat appalled by the suggestion of his companion. + +"If you have steam up on board of the Bellevite, why not get under way +and run down the river," continued Mr. Watts. + +"Perhaps I am a coward, but I am afraid to do that," replied the +midshipman, thoughtfully. + +"We all know that you are no coward, Christy, and if you don't send a +shot into the Vampire, it will not be because you are afraid." + +"Although I know the river as well as any pilot in this vicinity, I +should not dare to run the Bellevite at full speed around such a bend +as the one off this spot," Christy explained. "We have not above half a +dozen trained sailors who know how to handle a cutlass on board, and all +the others will be needed in working the steamer. The coal-passers would +be good for nothing in repelling boarders." + +"You think Captain Carboneer would board the steamer, do you?" + +"I have no doubt he would. He is a naval officer, and he knows what +he is about. There are several ways that he might get a hold on the +Bellevite, and, if he got alongside of her, I am afraid it would be all +up with us, and we should have a fair chance to see the inside of a +Confederate prison. I am afraid to run the risk you suggest, Mr. Watts." + +"You know best, and I don't mean to interfere; I only thought I would +suggest the idea," added the steward, as they reached the bank of the +river again. + +After he had secured his horse, Christy had lighted a match and looked +at his watch. It was a quarter of one, and still the puffing of the +Vampire came from the same direction. It was plain enough to him that +the old tub was not a racer. But she showed herself beyond the bend in +about a quarter of an hour, indicating that her rate of speed, or rather +of slowness, was not more than four statute miles an hour. But this was +simply confirmation of what the steward had said on the subject. Yet she +was coming, though it was too dark on the river to see her in detail. +Though he strained his eyes to the utmost, Christy could not discover +any men on her forward deck. + +"I think you had better move back where you cannot be seen," said the +midshipman, in a low tone, to his companion. + +"Do you wish me to leave you alone, Christy?" asked the steward, +surprised at the request. + +"That is just what I wish, for I don't care to have any one on board of +the Vampire see more than one person at this point," replied Christy, +still gazing through the gloom at the approaching steamer. + +"Excuse me, Christy; but what are you going to do? I prefer to be within +supporting distance of you." + +"I don't think I shall need any support. I am going to hail the Vampire, +and ask if Captain Carboneer is on board," replied the midshipman, +quietly. + +"You are going to hail her!" exclaimed Mr. Watts. "Are you mad, Christy? +I should say that you were." + +"You shall be your own judge on that point." + +"But the moment you use the name of Captain Carboneer, they will take +the alarm, and the next thing will be a bullet through your head." + +"I will take the risk of that," answered Christy. "But you need not go +far from the river on this dark night. There is a clump of bushes this +side of the road, and you may get behind it." + +The steward was not at all satisfied with the situation, but he complied +with the request of the midshipman, and concealed himself behind the +bushes. Christy took a position on the very verge of the water. The +progress of the Vampire was made at the expense of a hideous noise, and +she was a craft not at all adapted to the purpose of the conspirators. +The middy watched her with the most intense interest as she approached +the point where he was stationed. There was no light to be seen on +board, and there appeared to be no men on her lower deck; but she had a +cabin and other rooms, in which a force as large as that of the captain +could be concealed. + +"Steamer, ahoy!" shouted Christy, as soon as the Vampire was abreast of +the spot he occupied. + +No answer came to this hail, and the midshipman repeated it, louder than +before. + +"On shore!" replied a voice from the forward deck. + +"Come up to the shore, and take me on board, will you?" continued +Christy, disguising his voice to some extent the better to answer his +purpose. + +"Who is it?" demanded the person on board who acted as speaker; and +Christy could see his form very distinctly, as he stood at an open +gangway, and was the only person in sight on the lower deck. + +"Brigster," replied Christy, chewing up the word he coined so that the +man could not possibly make it out. + +"Are you alone, Brewster?" demanded the speaker from the steamer. + +This was a hard question, and with less information than he had obtained +while in his cabin on board of the Florence, he would not have dared to +reply to it. But he knew something of the plan of the conspirators, and +he felt competent to answer. + +"Three more back in the road," replied Christy, promptly; and he said +three so as to give the idea that the force on board might be increased +by this number. "Is Captain Carboneer on board of that steamer?" asked +the midshipman, coming to his main point. + + [Illustration: "Steamer, Ahoy!" shouted Christy.--Page 107.] + +"He is, and we are all here but four," replied the speaker on the deck; +and Christy was satisfied that the captain was the person by this time, +for his language and his voice indicated that he was an educated man. + +"We had no boat, and we could not get across the river to the creek," +added Christy, to increase the confidence of the leader of the +expedition. "But we saw a boat half at mile up the river, and we +will come off there, if you say so." + +"All right; come on board as soon as you can," added Captain Carboneer, +as he walked away from the gangway. + +Mindful of the peril of the situation, Christy walked leisurely back +from the river, and soon joined Mr. Watts, who had been near enough to +hear the conversation between the captain and the midshipman. + +"That was done very handsomely, Christy," said the steward. + +"There was no great difficulty in handling such a matter when one knew +all about the plot as I did. The fault on the other side was that they +did not examine the cabin of the Florence before they discussed their +plans in the standing-room," replied Christy, as he unfastened his +horse, and sprang upon his back. "I have no time to spare now." + +"There is nothing more to be done here, I believe," added Mr. Watts. + +"Not a thing. You can ride back to the place where the Roman candles +are planted, and you need not hurry about it, for the Vampire don't +make more than four miles an hour. Now be particular to carry out my +instructions to the letter, Mr. Watts; and you can see that a great deal +depends upon which signal you may have occasion to give," added the +midshipman. + +"I understand what I am to do perfectly, and I will do my duty +faithfully, you may be sure," replied the steward, as he mounted +his horse. + +Christy did not wait for him, but put his steed into a dead run on +the moment. The road was only a cart-path, and it was so soft that the +horse's hoofs made no noise to betray his movements to the enemy. He +urged the willing beast to his utmost speed, for he was as much at home +in the saddle as he was in the rigging of a ship. Before the Vampire had +made another eighth of a mile, he had reached the place where the boat +had been left for his use. What to do with his horse was a question, for +the report of the big gun would set him crazy. But he knew that the men +must be at the house, and he turned the animal loose, satisfied that he +would go to the stable without any guidance. + +Springing into the boat, he pulled to the Bellevite. At the +accommodation steps, he was challenged by Sampson, who demanded like +one in authority who and what he was, for the experience of the evening +had greatly sharpened his wits. + +"Who is it?" he demanded, in a tone which implied his intention to have +a satisfactory answer. "Advance and give the word." + +"Give the word!" exclaimed Christy. "I have no word to give." + +"Then you can't come on board," replied Sampson dogmatically. + +"I am Christy Passford, and I have not heard about any word," protested +the midshipman. + +"You can't pour molasses down my back again," replied Sampson, with a +self-satisfied air. + +"Don't be a fool, Sampson," added Christy, as he climbed upon the steps, +the lower part of which had been hoisted up. + +"I have been a fool once, and I don't mean to be again," replied the +sentinel. "On deck, there! Bring a lantern out of the engine-room!" + +"Don't bring a lantern in sight!" protested Christy impatiently. + +"What's the row there, Sampson?" called Paul Vapoor, mounting the rail, +and looking through the darkness at the steps, down which the vigilant +sentinel had descended more than half way to the water. + +"This fellow says he is Christy Passford; and I don't know whether it is +Christy or not," replied Sampson. + +"Is that you, Christy?" asked Paul. + +"Of course it is," replied the middy. "We are wasting time." + +"He hasn't the word," added the sentinel. + +"Pass him, Sampson; he is all right," said the engineer; and Christy +rushed up the steps, and leaped down upon the deck of the steamer. + +"I gave out a word for all who had to leave the ship for any purpose +during the evening," Paul explained. + +"Never mind that now," interposed the midshipman in command. "Have you +plenty of steam on?" + +"Enough to give her fifteen knots," replied the engineer. "The cable +is buoyed, and the long gun loaded. I believe everything is in perfect +order to carry out your instructions, though we did not point the gun +when we loaded it, for I thought you would prefer to do that yourself," +the engineer reported. + +"All right, Paul," added Christy. "The steamer, whose name is the +Vampire, is on her way up the river, and I should say she would reach +the bend in about half an hour. Mr. Watts is down there, and I have +arranged certain signals with him." + +The midshipman made a careful examination for himself of the ship. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +A SHOT FROM THE LONG GUN + + +Christy Passford, as soon as he found that all the other preparations +for the decisive event had been made, turned his attention to the aiming +of the long gun. He had practised with it somewhat before; and in the +ambitious spirit of a boy, he had often amused himself by sighting over +the top of the piece. + +There was no sort of duty on board of a vessel, even a war steamer, in +which he had not done his best to make himself a proficient. He had done +duty as an engineer, and even as a fireman. He had taken his trick at +the wheel as a quartermaster, and there was nothing he had not done, +unless it was to command a vessel, and he had done that on a small +scale. Doubtless he had no inconsiderable portion of a boy's vanity, +and he believed that he could do anything that anybody else could do; +or if he was satisfied that he could not, he studied and practised till +he did believe it. + +Be it vanity or pride, Christy certainly believed in himself to a very +liberal extent, though his character was fortunately leavened with a +large lump of modesty. What he believed, he believed for himself, and +acted upon it for himself; so that he was not inclined to boast of his +accomplishments, and permitted others to find out what he was rather +than made it known in words himself. But his father had found it +necessary to restrain him to some extent, and he had not pushed him +forward as rapidly as he might have done till the dread notes of war +were heard on the land and the sea; and then he thought it would be +wrong to hold him back. + +When Christy sighted along the great gun, he believed he could hit the +Vampire almost to a certainty; but he was not self-sufficient, and did +not often believe that he knew a thing better than any other person, and +he was not above taking the advice and instruction of others. It was +dark, but Christy had fixed upon an object at the bend below, of which +he intended to make use in firing the gun. It was a tree which painted +its outline on the horizon, and the decisive moment was to come when +the Vampire was in range with this tree. He adjusted the gun just as he +wanted it, and he was satisfied it would do just what he required of it. + +He was not inclined to act on his own judgment and skill alone, and he +called Boxie, the old sheet-anchorman, who had been the captain of a gun +years before the midshipman was born, and pointed out the tree to him, +asking him to sight along the gun. He explained his plan to the old +salt, and then asked his opinion. + +"You have aimed it too high, Mr. Passford," said the veteran, after he +had squinted a long time along the piece. + +"How is it otherwise?" asked Christy. + +"It is all right, sir; but the shot will pass over the steamer. Drop the +muzzle a trifle, and the shot will hull her, if you pull the lockstring +at the right time." + +"I shall see that the string is pulled at the right time; thank you, +Boxie," added Christy, without depressing the gun as the old man +suggested, for he had a theory of his own which he intended to carry +out. + +"But the ship may change her position a trifle," added Boxie. + +"Of course, I mean to sight the gun again at the very moment we fire," +replied Christy, looking at his watch, though he was obliged to go into +the engine-room to see what time it was. + +It was after two, and the Vampire had had time enough to make the bend. +Christy wondered if Captain Carboneer was not looking for the four men +he had promised to put on board of the old steamer; but some promises +are better broken than kept, and the midshipman thought this was one of +them, though he did not consider the present occasion as any excuse for +lies, or the failure to keep his word, in the indefinite future. + +The acting commander of the Bellevite--for such the middy was, and +no one disputed his authority--began to be very nervous at the +non-appearance of the enemy. He was afraid that some mishap had befallen +the Vampire; either that she had gone to the bottom or got aground, +though he had heard Captain Carboneer say that he was a pilot for this +part of the river. + +Christy had mounted the gun carriage ready to take his final aim, and he +had been there at least half an hour. He was watching the point where +the Roman candles had been planted, and he had perfect confidence in +the judgment and fidelity of Mr. Watts. Boxie was stationed at the +lock-string, and held it in his hand, ready to speed the great shot +on its errand of destruction; but he hoped the midshipman would depress +the muzzle of the gun before he was called upon to pull the string. The +other sailors who had served on board of the Bellevite, and had been +drilled in handling the guns, were all in their stations, ready to load +the piece again as quickly as possible after it had been discharged. + +The silence had become intense and painful to all, for apart from +the messenger of death and devastation which was about to be hurled at +the Vampire, the Bellevite was in danger of being captured, and had a +resolute enemy in front of her. The safety of the pet steamer depended +upon the skill and judgment of a mere boy, though everybody on board had +entire confidence in him. But the supreme moment came soon enough. + + [Illustration: "Christy sprang to the Gun."--Page 119.] + +A hardly perceptible light at the point he was so closely watching, +first attracted the attention of Christy,--perhaps the lighting of the +steward's match. An instant later, the fireworks blazed up, and lighted +up the smooth surface of the sleeping river. No doubt the conspirators, +who had chosen darkness because their deeds were evil, were astounded to +see so much light suddenly thrown upon their enterprise. + +Christy sprang to the gun, took a hasty sight, which satisfied him that +the position of the gun had not changed a particle. As the dark outline +of the Vampire passed in range of the selected tree, the midshipman +sprang down from the gun-carriage. + +"Fire!" shouted he, in a determined though not very loud tone. + +It was a tremendous explosion, and the echoes rolled out from the hills +as though they were armed with heavy guns, and were taking part in the +conflict. Probably the rattling windows and the shaking frames of the +houses roused all the sleepers within a mile of the ship. + +The Bellevite was enveloped in the smoke from the discharge, and though +Christy mounted the carriage again to obtain a better view, he could see +nothing, for there was not wind enough to sweep it away at once. But the +young commander watched, with almost as much interest and anxiety as +before, the signal station he had established. But there was no occasion +for desperate haste, for the gun was ready for use a second time if the +first shot had failed to do its work. On the other hand, if the Vampire +was disabled, she would stay where she was, or drift down the river with +the turn of the tide, and it was just about "full sea" at this time. + +The smoke was very aggravating to the midshipman, but he could not help +himself. The light air swept it away in time, and, with his strained +eyes, Christy discovered that two Roman candles were burning at the +signal station. + +"Did you hit her, Christy?" asked Paul Vapoor, leaping on the +gun-carriage. + +"I did," replied the midshipman, trying to control a certain feeling of +exultation that took possession of his mind, for he did not consider +that some of the party below might have been killed by the shot. + +"I suppose you don't know anything about the effect of the shot yet?" +added Paul. + +"I only know that the Vampire is disabled." + +"How do you know that, for I can't see anything?" + +"Do you see those two blue lights burning at the side of the river?" +asked Christy, as he pointed to the place. + +"I see them, and they light up the river like a flash of lightning." + +"They mean that the steamer is disabled; and for that reason she can't +come any nearer than she is now." + +"But those villains will make their way to the shore, and there are +boats enough about here to enable them to get alongside, and lay us +aboard. This is not the end of the affair," said the engineer, very +seriously. + +"Decidedly not; but I hope to have further information in the course of +a few minutes," replied Christy. + +"Bellevite, ahoy!" shouted some one on shore. + +"That is Mr. Watts; send Sampson on shore after him, and we shall +soon know the condition of affairs on board of the Vampire," added the +midshipman. "I told the steward to ride up as fast as he could after he +had satisfied himself that the steamer was disabled." + +Sampson was gone but a few minutes, during which time Christy and +Paul consulted in regard to the next step to be taken, and the question +was promptly decided. The boat in which Sampson had gone to the shore +returned not only with the steward, but also with Mrs. Passford and Miss +Florry. + +"What does this mean, mother?" asked Christy, astonished to see his +mother and sister come on board. + +"It means that we were alarmed, and could not stay in the house any +longer," said Florry, taking it upon herself to answer. + +"Your father has not come home yet, Christy, and I don't think he will +come to-night, for he said he might not be able to return in the last +train," added Mrs. Passford. "We came down to the shore with two of the +men, and saw Mr. Watts when he arrived on the horse." + +"And I shall take the responsibility of having advised the ladies to go +on board of the Bellevite," interposed the steward. + +"But you have not reported upon the condition of the enemy after the +shot hit the Vampire, Mr. Watts," said Christy, impatiently. + +"The shot struck her walking-beam, smashed it all to pieces, and cleaned +it off completely. Of course, that disabled her. Very likely some of the +party on board of the Vampire are hurt, for the pieces did not all drop +into the water." + +"Now, in regard to the ladies?" suggested the midshipman. + +"It is for you to decide, Mr. Passford, whether or not the enemy are +likely to renew the attempt to capture the steamer. But it seemed to me, +whether they do anything more or not, it is not quite safe for the +ladies to be alone in the house with the servants, for these fellows +will be prowling about here in either case." + +"I would not stay in the house for all the world!" protested Miss +Florry; and probably she thought that one of the prowlers would be Major +Pierson. + +"You are quite right, Mr. Watts; I was not as thoughtful as you were," +replied Christy, who took in the situation with this suggestion. "What +were they doing on board of the Vampire, Mr. Watts?" + +"I did not wait to observe their movements, but the boat began to drift +down the river." + +"Beg pardon, Mr. Passford, but the ship is swinging around, and you will +not be able to use that gun as it points now," said Boxie, touching his +hat to the young commander. + +"Stand by your engine, Paul; we will get under way at once. Boxie, cast +off the cable, and let it run out. You buoyed it, did you not?" said +Christy, with a sudden renewal of energy, as he hastened to the +pilot-house, where Beeks and Thayer had been sent before. + +"I buoyed the cable, sir," replied the sheet-anchorman. + +"Then cast it off. Sampson, open the cabin for the ladies," added +Christy, as he disappeared in the pilot-house. + +But the ladies preferred to go into the engine-room. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE BATTLE ALONGSIDE THE BELLEVITE + + +The signal lights at the bend of the river had burned out, and nothing +could be seen in that direction. The turn of the tide had carried the +wreck of the Vampire, if she was a wreck, down the stream, and beyond +what the steward had reported, nothing was known in regard to her. Mr. +Watts possessed himself of the single fact that her walking-beam had +been carried away by the shot, and he had not waited to ascertain +anything more. She was disabled, and he had been instructed to hasten up +the river as soon as he had assured himself of this fact, and made the +signal. + +As the extent of the calamity to the enemy was unknown, the young +commander began to have some painful doubts in regard to the immediate +future. He had given the order to slip the cable, and he could hear the +rattle of the chain as it passed out through the hawse-hole. It was +evident enough to him that he had to run the gantlet of the party on +board of the Vampire in descending the river. As the shot had hit the +walking-beam of the steamer, it was not probable that she was seriously +injured in her hull, if at all. + +Some of the enemy had doubtless been hurt by the fall of the pieces of +machinery, but Christy could not believe that the conspirators were +disabled, as the vessel was. The enemy might make an attempt to board +the Bellevite as she passed down the river, for the accident must have +rendered the party more desperate than before. In the face of a failure +to capture the Bellevite at her anchorage, which had seemed so easy a +matter to the leaders of the expedition, they would be ready to take any +chances of success that came in their way. + +"Cable all out, sir," reported Boxie. + +Not without some heavy doubts, Christy rang the bell to go ahead. He +had no one in the pilot-house with whom he could consult except the two +quartermasters, for Paul was in charge of the engine, and he could no +more leave it than the midshipman could leave the wheel. The propeller +began to turn, and the ship gathered headway. To add to the +responsibility of the young commander, his mother and sister had just +come on board, and were now seated on the sofa in the engine-room. + +The Bellevite was moving down the river, and the only thing Christy +could do was to brace himself up to meet whatever might happen on the +trip. He did this at once, and a moment later he rang to go ahead at +full speed. He was approaching the bend of the river, and in a minute +or two more he would be able to see the Vampire. But Captain Carboneer +could no more see through the headland at the bend than he could, and +he hoped that the leader of the enemy had not yet discovered that the +Bellevite was under way. + +The steamer increased her speed on the instant in response to the +signal, and she rushed forward at a velocity that would be fatal to the +Vampire if she happened to be in her path. But Christy was not disposed +to make an issue with the enemy when they met; he intended to defend the +Bellevite, if she was attacked, to the extent of his ability and small +force. + +"There she is!" exclaimed Beeks, as the Bellevite began to change her +course to go around the bend. + +Christy saw the Vampire as soon as the quartermaster, and he was glad +to find that she had drifted to the left bank of the river as far as +the depth of water would permit. As her engine was disabled, she had +no means of propulsion with which she could help herself. It was not +improbable that she was aground. She was not armed with a single heavy +gun, or with any gun, and she was entirely harmless. + +Christy breathed more freely when he realized the situation of the +Vampire. Probably she was provided with one or more boats, and it was +possible that Captain Carboneer might attempt to board the Bellevite as +soon as he discovered her. The deck of the steam-yacht was not very far +above the water, and if a boat full of desperate men could get alongside +of the ship, it would not be a very difficult matter for them to mount +the side. + +"Port a little," said Christy to the quartermasters at the wheel. "Keep +her well over to the west shore. Steady." + +A moment later the steamer had her course for passing the Vampire, and +Christy left the pilot-house to obtain a better view of the situation +and movements of the enemy. It was not so dark as to prevent him from +seeing all that was going on upon her deck, for the Bellevite had to +pass within pistol-shot of her to avoid getting aground on the edge of +the channel. + +Sampson and the rest of the old ship's company gathered near him, where +they could see over the rail. The oiler, as Paul Vapoor had instructed +him to do, had armed all these men with a cutlass and a revolver, and +very likely some or all of them would have been glad to make use of +them. + +"They are loading into a boat on the port side of the Vampire, sir, and +it looks as though they intended to do something without delay," said +Sampson; and, as the steamer had come about since she was disabled, this +was the side nearest to the shore. + +"I see that they are hurrying some movement with all their might," +replied the midshipman, watching with the most intense interest the +operations of the enemy. "Sampson, get out half a dozen sixty-pound, +solid shot, and put them on the plankshear, twenty feet apart. Take all +hands with you, and hurry up." + +The oiler asked no questions, though he might have been excused for +wondering what the young commander intended to do with shot without +powder. In a few minutes the shot were in place, as Christy had +directed. The midshipman was watching with all his eyes the movement of +the enemy, and, as the Bellevite approached the position of the wreck, +the boat darted out from the other side of her. It began to be exciting +for the middy, loaded with the responsibility of the safety of the +steamer, though he seemed to be as cool as Boxie himself, who had seen +some sea fights in his day. + +Christy leaped on the rail of the ship, where he could obtain a full +view of the situation. The boat was approaching with all the speed the +oarsmen could command, and they seemed to be experienced hands. There +could be no doubt of the intentions of the enemy, and the midshipman +drew his heavy naval revolver from his pocket. + +"Stand by to repel boarders!" he called to the seamen. "Pass up one of +those shot, Sampson. Have a hand mount the rail, each with a shot, at +the points where you have placed them." + +"The ladies wish to know what is going on, Christy," said Paul, coming +from the engine-room. + +"I have no time to talk now," replied Christy impatiently, as he saw the +approaching boat within ten feet of the side of the steamer. "Tell them +to stay where they are, and not come on deck!" + +The boat was not a large one, and it did not contain more than a dozen +men; but the fine form of Captain Carboneer could be seen, as he stood +up in the stern sheets. Those who were not pulling the oars began to +discharge revolvers at the men now mounted on the rail; but the motion +of the boat and the ship seemed to defeat their aim, and no one was hit +so far as was known. + +"When the boat comes alongside, let the man who is in the right place +for it drop his shot into it. Be careful of it, and don't waste the +iron," shouted Christy, when the decisive moment came. + +"All ready, sir," responded the men along the rail. + +"You are the man, Boxie! You are in the right place for the first shot," +added the midshipman. + +Boxie was next to him, and it would be Christy's turn next if the old +man failed to do good work with his shot. The boat came alongside, and +a bowman fastened his boathook at the side of the ship, and held it in +place. At the same moment Boxie let drive his sixty-pound shot; but he +ought to have waited an instant longer, for the missile dropped +harmlessly into the river. + +The bowman had not obtained a good hold, and he lost it, so that the +boat began to drift astern. Captain Carboneer shouted his orders, and +the man got a new hold, and this time it was at the painter of the boat +in which Sampson had brought off Mr. Watts and the ladies. It had been +forgotten in the excitement of the moment, but the rope afforded a good +hold to several men who had grasped it. + +At this thrilling moment, a man wearing a frock-coat discharged a +revolver at Christy, who was standing on the rail above him, and then, +seizing the painter in the hands of the men, he climbed briskly to the +accommodation steps, which had been hoisted up, but not taken on board. + +Christy was in the most dangerous position on board, for he seemed to +be the target for all who could use their revolvers. But the young +commander was not asleep, though he had given no order for the last +minute or two. The boat was directly under him, and he had put his +pistol in his hip-pocket, in order to take up the solid shot at his +feet. It was heavy, but he lifted it over his head without any +difficulty, and launched it into the boat with all the force he could +give to it. + +"On deck, there! Let go that painter!" shouted Christy, as he pitched +his missile from his hands. + +He was in a position so favorable for the operation that he could not +well miss his aim, and the shot crashed through the bottom of the boat, +carrying down one of the enemy with it. It did not make a round hole in +the bottom of the boat, it was afterwards ascertained, as it might if +it had been fired from one of the broadside guns, but it tore off the +planking, and made a hole as big as the head of a flour-barrel. + +"Lay hold of that man on the accommodation ladder!" shouted Christy, +without waiting to observe the effect of his shot, for the man who had +succeeded in mounting the side was armed with a dangerous weapon, which +he was likely to use as soon as he found the opportunity. + +The men forward of the point where the boat had come alongside had been +ordered aft, and a couple of them dragged the venturesome officer, as +his frock-coat indicated that he was, to the deck. Christy was almost +sure this man was Haslett, who had certainly set a bold example to his +companions in the boat. He was quickly secured, and by no gentle hands. +His hands were tied behind him, and he was made fast to the rail, where +he was likely to be harmless during the rest of the trip. + +It was no easy matter for a boat to make fast to a steamer going ten +knots an hour at least, and if the painter of the boat had not been +carelessly left where it could be of service to the assailants, the +affair would have ended with Boxie's unsuccessful cast of the shot. But +as soon as the painter was let go, an order which Sampson hastened to +execute, the enemy's hold upon the ship was lost, though they were using +boathooks and other implements to make sure of their grasp. The boat was +left behind by the ship, though not till the hole had been stove in her +bottom. + +"Beg pardon, Mr. Passford, for missing my heave with the shot," said +Boxie, on the deck; and the veteran's heart seemed to be almost broken +by his failure. + +"You are very excusable, Boxie; one can't expect to hit every time, +and you did very well," replied Christy, who had suddenly passed from +painful doubt and uncertainty to exultation and exaltation at the +victory achieved. "We are all right now." + +"But the enemy are not," added Sampson, who had mounted the rail after +he had secured the prisoner. "They are all afloat." + +"They will get ashore in some way, or back to the Vampire," replied +Christy, and he descended to the deck, and hastened to the engine-room. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE PRISONER OF WAR + + +"What in the world have you been doing, Christy?" asked Mrs. Passford, +as her son entered the engine-room; and her anxiety was visible in her +tones and looks as she spoke. + +"We have been repelling boarders, mother," replied the middy, his face +wreathed in smiles. + +"What do you mean by that, my son?" inquired his mother. + +"Well, mother, you are the daughter of a distinguished naval officer, +and it seems to me you must understand what repelling boarders means," +answered the young commander, laughing merrily; and no one in the +engine-room could fail to see that he was in the highest state of +exhilaration, now that the safety of the ship had been assured. + +"Of course, I know what it means," added the lady. + +"And I don't mean boarders at the hotel, who are repelled by strong +butter and tough steaks," chuckled Christy. + +"I wish you would explain yourself, my son." + +"I will, mother mine. The fellows we fired at when we were at anchor +have just attempted to board the Bellevite, and thus obtain possession +of her, as they failed to do in Mobile Bay, as well as at our anchorage +in the Hudson." And he proceeded to explain in detail all that had +occurred on board and alongside. + +"My dear boy, I had no idea that you had been engaged in a battle!" +exclaimed the fond mother. + +"It wasn't much of a battle, though a good many pistol-shots were fired +at us; but a sixty-pound shot did the business on our side, and we left +the enemy, or a portion of them, paddling in the river, and trying to +keep their heads above water. But I must not stay here, for I have to +look out for the steering of the ship," continued Christy, as he moved +towards the door. + +"You whipped them out, did you, midshipman?" added the engineer. + +"We did; and there isn't any doubt of it. I shouldn't wonder if some of +them had lost the number of their mess. But I think it is settled for +the present that Captain Carboneer don't go to sea in the Bellevite. By +the way, I had forgotten that we took a prisoner, and perhaps he will be +willing to tell us something more about his enterprise." + +"Who is the prisoner?" asked Mrs. Passford. + +"He is an officer, I judge, for he wore a frock-coat." + +"The party could not have had a great many officers. It was not the +captain, was it?" + +"No; I am sure it is not he. I think it must be the naval officer whom +Captain Carboneer called Haslett; but I have not seen him except as he +was shinning up the painter of the boat. You can go on deck if you like, +mother and Florry, or you may come with me into the pilot-house," added +Christy. + +The engineer had to remain on duty, and Miss Florry mildly objected to +leaving her present comfortable position on the sofa of the engine-room; +but as her mother wished to go with her brother, she felt obliged to go +with her. + +Christy gave his mother and sister places on the sofa abaft of the +wheel, and then looked into the position of the steamer. But the two +quartermasters had so often steered the steamer up and down the river +that they had done very well, and there was no especial need of the +midshipman as a pilot. The Bellevite was not going at anything like her +best speed, or at her usual rate at sea. As she was going, it was about +a four-hours' run to New York, and Christy was not in a hurry to get to +his destination. + +"Beeks, we have a prisoner, and I should like to take his measure," said +Christy to the senior quartermaster. "You may go aft and ask Sampson to +bring him into the pilot-house." + +"Bring him into the pilot-house," repeated the man, as he left the +apartment. + +"What are you going to do with your prisoner, Christy?" asked Mrs. +Passford. + +"I shall hand him over to the proper officers, and they can do what they +please with him," replied the middy. "I don't want him: do you, mother?" + +"What should I want of him?" + +"Perhaps you want him, Florry?" asked Christy of his sister. + +"I am sure I don't," she replied, pouting. + +"Perhaps you will want him when you have seen him," added the middy +roguishly. + +At this moment Sampson appeared at the door of the pilot-house, +conducting his prisoner, whose hands were still tied behind him. Christy +did not see him at first, for he was looking at his sister; but her +pretty face suddenly turned crimson, and her brother heard the sound of +footsteps in the apartment. + +As soon as he saw the prisoner, he started back in astonishment, though +perhaps there was no particular reason to be surprised. It was not Mr. +Haslett, as he had supposed, and it certainly was not Captain Carboneer. +But it was Major Lindley Pierson, late commandant of Fort Gaines. +Christy had not expected to meet him, and that was the only reason why +he was astonished. + +"Major Pierson!" exclaimed the midshipman, as soon as he had in some +degree recovered from his astonishment. "I believe we have met before +somewhere." + +"Without a doubt we have, Captain Passford," replied the major, who no +longer belonged to the Mulgate family. + +"Not a captain, if you please; but I am none the less glad to see you on +that account. This is really a very unexpected pleasure." + +"And quite as unexpected to me, I assure you, especially to meet the +ladies," added the prisoner as he bowed low to Mrs. Passford and her +daughter. "I had hoped I might meet Mrs. and Miss Passford before I +returned to the South." + +"And you had even hoped to take one of them back with you as a passenger +in the Bellevite," Christy interpolated, with great good nature. + +Major Pierson looked at him with a start, and it was his turn to be +astonished. He was a prisoner, but he had the privilege of wondering how +Christy knew so much about his affairs. + +"Captain Carboneer is a very obstinate man, and did not take kindly to +the carrying of lady passengers in a man-of-war; but I think he was +right, though my view may be of no consequence to you," added the young +officer. "I have the highest opinion of Captain Carboneer, for he is a +solid, substantial man. By the way. Major Pierson, who is he?" + +"He is Captain Carboneer," replied the major discreetly. + +"Perhaps he is Captain Carboneer; I don't know: things are not always +what they seem, and I find that persons are not, either. Hasn't that +been your experience, Mr. Mulgate--I beg your pardon, Major Pierson?" + +The prisoner frowned, and gave a fierce glance at the midshipman, as +though he felt like annihilating him with a look. But he evidently +considered just then that he was in the presence of the ladies, and +perhaps that the flash of his eagle eye would not kill his tormentor, +as the young man seemed to have become. + +"I am your prisoner, or somebody's prisoner, Captain Passford, and the +tables are turned against me. Of course, you don't expect me to give +information that will be of use to the enemies of my country." + +"Of course not." + +"When you were my prisoner, I think I treated you like a gentleman," +added Major Pierson. + +"I think you did, sir; and that reminds me that your hands are tied +behind you. You were so kind as to release me from my bonds when I was +in your power"-- + +"And it was the stupidest thing I ever did in my life," interposed the +prisoner, with some bitterness. + +"I am not familiar with the events of your life, and I cannot gainsay +your remark." + +"You did not scruple to turn our own guns against us." + +"As you would have done if you had succeeded in capturing the +Bellevite," added Christy, smartly. "This time makes twice that you did +not capture her." + +"The third time may not fail." + +"It may not; but I must be as magnanimous as you were. Sampson, release +the gentleman." + +"Thank you, Captain Passford; that is no more than I did for you when +you were in the same situation." + +"But I suppose you will not undertake to capture this ship after I +have done as well by you as you did by me. I intend to treat you like a +gentleman, though the fortunes of war are against you. Now, perhaps you +will not object to answering a question or two, in which there can be no +treason." + +"I must be my own judge of the questions," replied the major, rather +haughtily. + +"Certainly, sir; and I shall not insist upon your answering any +question. Was any one on board of the Vampire killed in this affair?" + +"No one was killed." + +"Were any wounded?" + +"I am sorry to say that three were injured by the falling of the pieces +of the walking-beam." + +"Seriously?" + +"Two slightly, and one severely." + +"Thank you, major." + +"Of course, I am not informed of the fate of those in the boat when it +was sunk," added the prisoner. + +"I think no one was badly hurt in that part of the affair," said +Christy. + +"Perhaps it will be of interest to you to know that Private Passford, +formerly of my command, was the one who was severely wounded on board of +the Vampire." + +"Corny!" exclaimed Mrs. Passford. + +"I am sorry to say that he was struck on the shoulder by a fragment of +the machinery," replied the major, very politely, as he bowed low to the +lady. + +"Poor Corny!" ejaculated Miss Florry. "Is he very badly wounded, Major +Pierson?" + +"I do not know how seriously, but I am afraid he cannot use that +shoulder for a long time." replied the prisoner, fixing a look of +admiration upon her, as if he were glad to have the privilege of looking +at her without causing any remark. + +"I am so sorry for him. Corny was always real good to me when I have +been at Glenfield," added the fair girl, and she actually shed some +sympathetic tears as she thought of his wounded shoulder. "Can we not +do something for him, mother?" + +"I shall be very glad to have him removed to the house, and I will take +care of him till he gets well. I don't know whether this can be done or +not. Perhaps Major Pierson can inform me." + +"If your kind hearts prompt you to do this for one who is in arms +against the government, I have no doubt it can be managed. He can +give his parole, and that will make it all right." + +"He is my nephew, and I would do as much for him as I would for my own +son," replied Mrs. Passford heartily. + +"And I as much as I would for my brother," added Miss Florry. + +Everything was pleasant so far, though all the Passfords were worried +about poor Corny, who had been with the ladies only the evening before. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +AFTER THE BATTLE + + +It was six o'clock in the morning when the Bellevite let go her anchor +off Twentieth Street, as the young commander decided to do after some +consultation with Paul Vapoor, who was his senior in years if not in +wisdom. He did not suppose the steamer would be allowed to anchor at the +Navy Yard without orders to that effect. His father had not returned +from the city. Though he held no office, Captain Passford was as busy +with public affairs as though he had been the collector of the port. + +No one but the ladies had slept any during the trip; but they had been +on deck some time when the steamer anchored. Christy had been very much +in doubt as to what he should do with the Bellevite when he reached his +destination, and he was glad to see his mother when she came out of the +cabin. Though he was still hardly more than a boy, he believed in his +mother, and it had not yet occurred to him that he knew more than she +did. He stated his difficulty to her, for Paul had been as much in doubt +as the midshipman. + +"I think it is a very easy question to answer, Christy," replied Mrs. +Passford, with a smile. "Where have you anchored?" + +"Off Union Square, or very near it, I should think," replied Christy. + +"You know that your father stays at the St. James Hotel when he is in +the city," she added. "The only thing you can do is to find him, and let +him decide what is to be done with the Bellevite." + +"I did not think of that," added the midshipman. "I will get out a boat +at once, and go on shore." + +"Florry and I will go with you," continued Mrs. Passford. "We have +nothing to do here, and I should like to return to Bonnydale as soon as +possible. But what will you do with your prisoner, Christy?" + +"I shall do nothing with him. Sampson is in charge of him, and I am sure +he will not take his eye off the major while he remains on board." + +The port-quarter boat was lowered into the water, and a couple of the +old sailors took their places in her. The ladies were assisted to their +seats, and Christy, after he had informed the engineer that he was in +command during his absence, leaped into the boat, and it was pulled to +the nearest pier. A carriage was called, and the party were driven to +the hotel. It was half-past six, and Christy was informed that his +father had not yet come down. Word was sent up to him, and the son went +to his room, where he found him only half dressed. + +"I did not expect to see you at this time in the morning, my son," said +the owner of the Bellevite. "How did you come down so early?" + +"I came in the Bellevite; and she is at anchor in the stream off +Twentieth Street, father," replied Christy. + +"In the Bellevite!" exclaimed Captain Passford, with the nearest thing +to a frown that ever appeared on his brow in the presence of any member +of his family. "I don't quite understand how"-- + +"An attempt was made to capture her last night, father, and I thought it +best to make sure of her," interposed the midshipman. + +"To capture her!" ejaculated Captain Passford, suspending his toilet, +and gazing into the face of his son. "I think you must have dreamed +that, Christy." + +"Perhaps I did, father; but we captured one prisoner of rank in my +dream, and he is on board now, closely guarded by Sampson," replied +Christy, laughing in his excitement. "Mother and Florry were on board, +and they are down in the parlor waiting to see you." + +"Do you mean that an attempt was really made to capture the Bellevite +last night?" asked the captain, as if unable to credit the astounding +intelligence. + +"Of course I can prove all I say by many witnesses. Mr. Watts is on +board, and he has been dreaming too if I have. Paul Vapoor is another +dreamer, to say nothing of eight or ten more on board," added Christy. + +Captain Passford completed dressing himself about as quick as he had +probably ever done since he became a millionnaire, and attended Christy +down to the parlor, where he gave his wife and daughter an affectionate +reception. + +"But our boy tells me that some one has been trying to obtain possession +of the Bellevite, Julia; and it seems to me hardly possible that such an +attempt should be made so far up the river," said Captain Passford, as +soon as he was able to allude to the subject. + +"But it is quite true, Horatio; and our boy has behaved like a hero, if +he is our son," replied the lady, bestowing a glance of pride upon the +midshipman. + +"He says he has a prisoner on board," added the captain. + +"And who do you think that prisoner is, Horatio?" asked Mrs. Passford. + +"Is it Jeff Davis?" he inquired, with a smile. + +"Not exactly; but it is Major Lindley Pierson." + +"Indeed? Then I begin to see through the matter," replied Captain +Passford. "He failed to obtain the steamer in Mobile Bay, and he came +up here after her. But I should like to hear the particulars of this +affair." + +"And poor Corny Passford was wounded in the shoulder," said Florry, who +had hardly spoken before. + +"You don't mean that you had a fight, Christy?" demanded the captain, +looking quite serious. + +"Not much of a fight, father; we fired the long gun once, and disabled +an old steamer, and we sunk a boat that was trying to lay us aboard." + +"Then it was a more serious affair than I had supposed." + +"But, father, I think we had better be going on board; and I can tell +you the story on the way just as well as here," suggested Christy. + +"But you must have your breakfast before you go, for there is nothing to +eat on board of the steamer," replied Captain Passford, as he led the +way down into the restaurant. + +While they were waiting for the meal to be served, the captain went to +the house of a military officer, with whom he was intimately acquainted, +and requested him to take the prisoner off his hands. After the meagre +details of the affair he gave, the officer offered to put a company on +board of the steamer for her protection; but the captain thought this +was unnecessary. + +After the breakfast, the party took a carriage for the pier. On the way +the captain ordered a supply of cooked provisions to be sent down to the +boat for the use of the men on board of the Bellevite. With this supply +the party went on board. On the way Christy had told his story, and by +the time they went on board Captain Passford had learned all about the +affair. + +He had received the order to deliver the steamer at the Navy Yard on the +following Monday, and he decided to return to Bonnydale in her. Enough +of the former members of the ship's company could be obtained in a few +hours to hold the vessel against any enemy that was likely to appear +in the river. As the owner was now on board, the engineer put on full +steam, and she reached her anchorage, as indicated by the buoy of the +cable which had been slipped. It was hauled in, and the Bellevite was +replaced in her former position. + +The tremendous report of the great gun in the small hours of the morning +had startled all the people in the vicinity, though it was not till they +left their beds that the news was conveyed to them. A party in the town +just below the scene of the disaster to the Vampire had been collected, +and they had taken a steamer to explore the river in search of the bold +actors in the affair, as soon as the facts were known in the vicinity. +The steamer had been running up and down the river since six in the +morning. + +When the Bellevite passed up the river, she was promptly recognized +by the investigating party on board of the Alert, which followed the +steamer up to her anchorage. She came alongside some time after the crew +had fished up the cable; but Captain Passford warned her to keep off as +soon as he discovered her intention to come alongside. She was a small +steamer, and had at least twenty men on her deck, so that the captain +thought it necessary to learn her object before she came any nearer. + +A boat with two men was sent from the Alert, and one of them was +permitted to come on board. This one proved to be Captain Mainhill, with +whom the owner of the Bellevite was well acquainted. He was a wealthy +and patriotic man, though rather too old to be engaged in active service +for his country. + +"I thought you might be representatives of the Southern Confederacy, and +I was rather shy of you," said Captain Passford, as he took the hand of +his neighbor. "I should not have been so cautious if I had met you last +evening." + +"We have been looking for the gentlemen who were engaged in this attempt +to capture the Bellevite," added Captain Mainhill. + +"I hope you have found them, or some of them," replied the owner. + +"Only a single one of them; and he is badly wounded. We have scoured +the river for miles without finding any trace of the enemy. I think they +landed on the east shore, and went over to the railroad, where they +probably took the first train that came along," replied Captain +Mainhill. + +"Of course, they saw the Bellevite going down the river, and perhaps +they have gone down to New York to finish the job they begun here," +suggested Captain Passford. "Do you know if the enemy lost any of their +number when the boat was smashed?" + +But Captain Mainhill knew nothing about the affair on the river beyond +the fact that an attempt had been made to capture the Bellevite, and he +had not ascertained that more than one was injured. + +"We found the Vampire aground half a mile below where the shot disabled +her," continued the leader of the expedition. "Her machinery was badly +smashed. She never was good for much, and she is good for nothing now." + +"Did the enemy carry off the one who was wounded?" asked Captain +Passford, prompted by his wife. + +"No; he seems to have been too badly damaged for that; they left him +at the house of a workingman near the river, and I suppose he is there +now," replied Captain Mainhill. "I don't know that there is anything +more that we can do, and we may as well go home to breakfast." + +"Do you know where the wounded person is to be found?" asked Captain +Passford. + +"I do; and I have seen him. He is suffering a good deal of pain; but he +is as plucky as a mad snake, and he would not say a word in answer to my +questions." + +"I shall be greatly obliged to you, Captain Mainhill, if you will land +me as near as you can to the house where this wounded man is, and show +me where it is. Mrs. Passford will go with me," said the owner. + +"Very glad indeed to do it," replied the leader of the searching party. + +Captain Passford instructed some of the men on board to summon all the +former ship's company of the Bellevite on board at once that could be +found, and then went on board of the Alert with his wife. They were +landed in a boat just below the bend, and Captain Mainhill conducted +them to the house where Corny was said to be. + +They found him there, and the poor fellow was glad enough to see them. +No doctor had been called, and nothing had been done to alleviate his +pain; but he was immediately removed to the mansion at Bonnydale, with +his own consent, and Dr. Linscott was sent for. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE BEGINNING OF A CHASE + + +Major Pierson still remained on board of the Bellevite, for no officer +had been sent on board for him, as expected; and he was under the +efficient care of Sampson. He was subjected to no restraint, and he took +his breakfast with the engineer. But he was not a welcome visitor on +board, and Captain Passford would have been very glad to get rid of him. + +The owner sought him the next time he came on board, when he was not so +busy as he had been before. But he said nothing to him about his mission +at the North, and treated him as a guest rather than a prisoner. For +reasons of his own, though not difficult to conjecture, he was very +anxious to make a good appearance before the father of Miss Florry, +and he was a gentleman in his manners. + +"Major Pierson, I am sorry to do anything that may be unpleasant to +you, but I have not the means of holding you as a prisoner," said the +captain, after they had been talking of indifferent subjects for a time. + +"I realize that I am a prisoner of war, subject to such restraint as my +captors impose upon me," replied the major. + +"If you will allow yourself to be paroled, it will settle your status +for the present," added Captain Passford. + +"As a guest at your house?" asked the major, his face suddenly +brightening up. "I shall be very happy to give my parole." + +"Not at my house, if you please, Major Pierson; it would not be +convenient at the present time," replied the owner, astonished at the +suggestion, + +"Then you will excuse me if I decline to accept a parole," replied the +prisoner, biting his lip as though he was not pleased with the reply. +"As a guest in your house, I should not wish you to have any solicitude +in regard to me." + +"Very well, major; I cannot object to your decision," added the captain, +as he touched his hat and left the prisoner to the attentions of +Sampson. + +He was kept on board of the Bellevite, now re-enforced by the return of +about twenty of her former crew, so that regular watches were kept, and +there was no chance for the prisoner to escape, and none for Captain +Carboneer to capture the steamer. Dr. Linscott soon relieved Corny of +his pain, but it was many weeks before he was fit to leave the house, +and then he was paroled. Captain Passford could never ascertain what had +become of the crew intended for the Bellevite, though it was supposed, +as they separated, that they found their way to some port where they +could ship for their chosen service. + +On the Monday following the attempt to capture her, the Bellevite +was taken to the Navy Yard, and she was prepared for service. It was +understood that her former officers and crew would be appointed to her, +for they were accustomed to the vessel, and could do better with her +than any other. Paul Vapoor and Christy Passford had already received +their commissions and orders. Captain Breaker had been restored to his +former rank, and was to be the commander of the Bellevite. + +It was two months before the ship was ready to go into commission. +Important alterations had been made below, and the armament had been +taken from her deck, substituting for it a Parrot midship piece, of +eight-inch bore, and carrying a one hundred and fifty pound shot, two +sixty-pounders, and two thirty-pounders. This was a heavy armament, but +the ship was strong enough to bear it. + +Joel Dashington and Ethan Blowitt were appointed as masters, and were +to be the first and second lieutenants, while Christy Passford was the +third. Leon Bolter was made a first assistant engineer, and Fred Faggs +the second. Sampson obtained his place as a first-class fireman, with +the expectation of soon becoming an assistant engineer, for he was well +qualified for the position. + +Captain Passford, though he had offered his services in any capacity in +which he might be needed, had been induced to withdraw his application +for the reason that he could be of more service to the cause at home +than he could in the field or at sea. He was a man of influence, and he +was needed in civil life. He was even able to do more as an adviser and +counsellor than in any public office, though he filled several of the +latter in the earlier part of the war. He furnished no inconsiderable +part of the money needed at particular times, and he was only less +valuable on account of his money than he was for his patriotism and +good judgment. + +"Now, Christy, remember that you are an officer of the United States, +and make yourself worthy of the place you occupy," said his father to +Christy, on the evening of his last day at home. "Study your duty, and +then perform it faithfully. Perhaps I can tell you something of more +value than good advice is generally considered to be." + +"I shall try to follow your good advice, father; and I mean to do my +duty; and it will not be for the want of trying if I fail," replied +Christy. + +"You have sailed with Captain Breaker a great deal when you were in +a different relation to him. Now I must warn you that he has his duty +to do, and I hope you will not expect to be favored, or ask him for +privileges not granted to other officers," continued the late owner +of the Bellevite. + +"I am sure I expect him to be impartial with his officers." + +"I meant to have seen Breaker this afternoon before I came home; but I +had not time to go to the ship. For some of my own affairs I have had +three agents in England. I wrote them some time ago to obtain all the +information they could in regard to vessels, especially steamers, that +cleared for any ports of the British Possessions near the United +States," continued Captain Passford, taking a letter from his pocket. +"Two weeks ago an iron steamer sailed from a port in Ireland for the +Bermudas. This letter will tell you all about it, and you will hand it +to Captain Breaker, and give him my explanation." + +The midshipman put the letter into his pocket without reading it. In his +chamber he looked it over, and found that it meant business, and he was +delighted with the idea of having something to do before he reached the +port for which the ship was bound, for the inactivity of the blockade +was not wholly to his mind. He slept as soundly as usual, for already he +had come to regard war as the business in which he was engaged, and he +had but little sickly sentiment over it. + +It was a tearful parting with his mother and sister before he took the +train with his father, and it was a sad one with his father when he went +off to the Bellevite in the boat. But neither of them shed any tears, +for both felt that they were called upon to discharge their duty to +their country. + +Captain Breaker had always trained his officers and seamen to perform +their duty in conformity with the discipline of the navy so far as it +was practicable to do so, and consequently his ship's company were very +nearly at home from the beginning of the voyage. He had received his +sealed orders, and at noon the Bellevite went down the bay on her +mission to the South, though no one on board knew where the ship was +bound. The crew had been re-enforced by as many men as she had usually +carried, and the first day was a very busy one in putting everything in +order. Christy had handed the letter his father had given him to the +captain, and after dinner he spoke of it. + +"Did you read this letter, Mr. Passford?" asked the captain. + +"I did, sir; my father told me to read it," replied Christy. + +"It appears that a very fast steamer loaded with a valuable cargo sailed +from Belfast eleven days ago, clearing for the Bermudas. We shall all be +very happy to pay our respects to her; but I can say nothing till I have +opened my orders to-morrow," said Captain Breaker. + +"If she sailed eleven days ago from Belfast, she ought to be well +up with the Bermudas, if she is as fast as represented, sir," added +Christy, hoping the orders would permit the Bellevite to look out for +the Killbright, as she was called. + +The next day, as the observations indicated the latitude in which the +sealed orders were to be opened, the seal of the official envelope was +broken. Captain Breaker read the letter, and a smile came over his +bronzed face. The orders were evidently to his satisfaction; and +Christy, who was on duty near him, remembered what his father had said +to him, and asked no question, as he would have been likely to do under +other circumstances. But the commander was kind enough to call his +officers to him, and inform them of the duty assigned to the ship. + +The government had received information which indicated the approach +to our shores of a considerable fleet of blockade runners, and the +Bellevite, on account of her reputed fast sailing, was to cruise for +a given time off the coast in search of these blockade runners. + +"I have no doubt these blockade runners will go into the Bermudas, +especially the Killbright. If we go into St. George, we shall not be +allowed to sail till twenty-four hours after this fast vessel leaves," +said Captain Breaker. "On the other hand, if we are seen off the port, +she will not come out." + +"I don't see, then, that we can do anything about it, Captain Breaker," +added Mr. Dashington. + +"Captain Passford's correspondent thinks the Killbright is intended for +the Confederate Navy, and that she is commanded by a naval officer sent +out for the purpose," continued the captain. + +But no satisfactory measures could be devised for overcoming the +difficulties on both hands, and the steamer sped on her way. In two +days more she was in sight of the Bermudas. It was almost dark when the +lookout sighted a steamer coming out from the islands. By the order of +the captain, the engine was stopped, and the steamer rested silently on +a calm sea. + +"I don't think she has seen us yet," said Captain Breaker. "If she had, +she would have come about and run back into the harbor." + +"She keeps on her course," added Mr. Dashington. + +"If she has the reputation of being a very fast vessel, very likely she +believes that she can run away from us," suggested Mr. Blowitt. + +"As I don't believe the vessel floats that can outsail the Bellevite, +I shall give her time to get well away from the port before the screw +turns again," said the captain. + +"Mr. Passford," called he a little later. + +"On duty, sir," replied Christy, touching his cap to the commander. + +"You will have the midship gun charged with a solid shot, and have it +ready for use at once." + +As the steamer in the distance still kept on her course, the screw of +the Bellevite was started. The chief engineer was called upon deck, and +the situation explained to him. + +"We shall want all the speed we can get out of her, Mr. Vapoor," said +the captain. + +"We shall have no trouble in making twenty-two knots, sir, with the sea +as it is now," replied the engineer. + +"That steamer means to go into the Cape Fear River," said Mr. Blowitt, +when the chase had laid her course. "If she was going in at Savannah, +or round into the Gulf, she would go more to the south." + +"I think you are right; but she has room enough to run away from us if +she can," added the captain. + +It was a busy time in the fireroom, but there was nothing to do on deck +but watch the steamer. She had actually lighted the green light on the +starboard, and evidently did not expect to be overhauled, even if her +commander had noticed the presence of the Bellevite. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +A CHASE OFF THE BERMUDAS + + +All the officers on board of the Bellevite who had never been in the +navy had spent their long vacation in the study and practice of gunnery +and naval tactics; and the men had been carefully drilled by a competent +officer as soon as they reported for duty. But a considerable number of +the latter had served for years on board of men-of-war, and a few were +sheet-anchor men. The latter are sailors who have spent the greater part +of their lives in the national sea-service, and they were competent to +teach many of the junior officers. + +Every day after the ship went into commission, both officers and +seamen were drilled, and the captain declared that they had all made +satisfactory proficiency. He was ready to meet an enemy with them; +but then the ship's company of the steam-yacht were of the very best +material. They were all intelligent men, and sailors to begin with, so +that the task of qualifying them for active duty was not very laborious. + +Christy was even better fitted for his duties than many of the older +officers, for he was not only full of enthusiasm, but he was skilful and +scientific, as a rule. He neither asked nor expected any favors on +account of former relations with the captain and other officers, and he +was determined to make his way by merit rather than by favor. Besides, +he had already been under fire, and he had an idea how it felt. Though +he was as prudent and careful as circumstances might require, he had +proved that he was as brave as a lion, and that shot and shell were not +likely to drive him from the post of duty. + +Every man was in his place at the midship gun, seventeen of them, +including the powder-boy, and Christy gave the orders for loading the +piece as though he had been in the navy all his life. The other guns, +the broadsides, were loaded at the same time. But just now Paul Vapoor +was the most important man on board, and he was rapidly making himself +felt in the increasing speed of the Bellevite. Captain Breaker estimated +that the steamer which had just come out of port was all of five miles +ahead. It was only seven o'clock in the early darkness of this latitude. +Whether the chase was the Killbright or not, it was impossible to make +out in the darkness. + +If it was the Killbright, Captain Passford's correspondent wrote that +she was capable of making twenty knots an hour, as she had been built +more for speed than anything else, though she could hardly be a +profitable commercial venture. But even accepting this speed as the +difficulty to be overcome, the Bellevite would probably overhaul her in +two or three hours. The engineer felt that his reputation and that of +the ship were at stake, and could not think of such a thing as failure +in the first actual encounter with the enemy. + +"We are gaining on her without the ghost of a doubt, Mr. Passford," said +Boxie, who was ready for duty at the gun. + +"No doubt of that, Tom Boxie," replied the third lieutenant. "But she is +taking it very coolly. She has not yet even put out her lights." + +"I suppose you know why she hasn't, Mr. Passford," added the captain of +the gun. + +"I am sure I don't know," replied Christy. "If I was in command of that +steamer, and wanted to do just what she does, I should not proceed as +she does. But I am nothing but a boy." + +"But you have got a long head on your shoulders, Mr. Passford, and I +should like to know, if you please, what you would do." + +"I would put her lights out before I winked twice." + +"Right, Mr. Passford!" exclaimed the sheet-anchor man. "I am glad to +hear you say that. The trouble with most of the boys is, when they go to +sea to fight the battles of their country, they are as reckless as young +wildcats." + +"I think it is possible to use proper caution without being a coward, +Tom Boxie; and my father gave me a lesson on that subject not long ago." + +"Eight bells, sir; and that steamer has had a good hour of running so +far. I will wager my day's grub that we are two knots nearer to her than +when she laid her course," added Boxie, delighted with the situation. + +"I have no doubt of it. I think they are beginning to see it on board of +her. There go her lights! She has not a ghost of a glow in sight; and I +suppose there is going to be some monkeying about it, if she has +ascertained that she cannot run away from us." + +"Most likely, sir; but this is not a good night to play tricks, for we +have a bright night and a smooth sea." + +"As that steamer has such a reputation for speed, I have no doubt they +put a very valuable cargo on board of her; probably she has a good +supply of arms in her hold." + +"So much the better for us, Mr. Passford. We don't fight for +prize-money, but when a man gets to be as old as I am, a good round sum +of money don't come amiss to him. But I am sorry to see that it looks +like a change of weather," continued the sheet-anchor man, as he hitched +up his trousers, and took a survey of the heavens. + +The wind began to come from the west after it had been almost a dead +calm since noon. It looked as though a heavy shower was coming up, and +clouds of mist and fog swept over the ocean. The usual lookouts had been +doubled, but, in spite of all precautions, the Bellevite lost sight of +the chase when she could not have been more than a mile from her. But +this weather was to be expected in this changeable latitude. Captain +Breaker was as perplexed as any one, however skilful, must have been in +the same situation. It was impossible to know what the chase would do, +though it was plain enough, since she put out her lights, that she would +change her course. + +It was over six hundred miles to Cape Hatteras, and she had room enough +to manoeuvre in any manner she pleased. The change in the weather hardly +amounted to a storm, and probably it would be all over in a few hours. +But the chase might turn to any point of the compass, and the Bellevite +was as likely to pursue in the wrong as the right direction. But the +first thing the commander ordered the chief engineer to do was to save +his coal; though he held to his course, and the ship continued at a +moderate speed till daylight. + +As the wise ones had predicted, the shower was of brief duration. As +soon as it was light enough to see, and the fog banks had been swept +away, a sharp lookout was kept for the chase. If she was ahead, she had +outsailed her pursuer; but Captain Breaker was sure she had not done +this, for she could not have had confidence enough in her heels to adopt +such a course. + +"Sail, ho!" yelled a man on the cross-trees, a few minutes later. + +"Where away?" called the officer of the deck. + +"On the port beam, sir." + +Several officers mounted the rigging to obtain a sight of the reported +sail. She was at least ten miles off, and no one could make out whether +or not it was the chase of the night before. The captain ordered the +ship to be headed to the southward, and, after she had gone on this +course an hour, there was another hail from the cross-trees. + +"Sail is a steamer, sir!" reported the lookout. + +With the aid of the spyglasses, a long streak of black smoke could be +made out of the dark clouds that were retreating in that direction. +A little later it was demonstrated that she was headed for the coast +of the United States. Whether it was the chase they sought or not, she +needed looking after. The course was laid in a direction to intercept +the steamer, for her inky smoke indicated that she was not American. + +In another hour she could be very distinctly made out, though the chase +had not been so clearly made out the night before as to enable the +officers to identify her. Paul Vapoor was in his element again, and the +Bellevite was doing her best. The two vessels were approaching each +other, and Boxie suggested that there would be "music" in less than an +hour. + +The people on board of the strange steamer must have been as much in the +dark in regard to the caliber of the naval vessel as those on board of +the Bellevite were in respect to their confident rival. The chase was a +long craft, it could be seen now, with two masts and two smokestacks, +all of which raked in the most dashing style. She was rather low in the +water, and, if it had been in the days of the pirates, the stranger +would have been a fair ideal of the freebooter's ship. + +"She keeps on just as though she intended to mind her own business, and +leave the Bellevite to do the same," said Boxie, as Christy took his +place near the midship gun. + +"I have no doubt the Bellevite knows her business in this case, and that +she will attend to it in due time," added the lieutenant. + +"Good!" exclaimed the sheet-anchor man, suddenly. + +This exclamation was called forth by a flag, which was run up at the +peak, and which proved to be that of the Confederacy as soon as it was +spread out to the breeze. + +"She is plucky, anyhow," added Christy. + +"There is no lack of pluck in the South. But I wonder what she means by +setting that rag." + +"Beeks, hoist the ensign at the peak," said the captain, and the +brilliant banner was spread in the morning air. + +"I reckon both sides understand the situation now. I don't know the +captain of that craft, but he is an able fellow, and probably got his +education in the old navy, and not in the new one, where he is serving +now," continued Boxie. + +"I think it is easy enough to see what he means," replied Christy. "He +ascertained last night that, fast as his vessel is, he cannot outsail +the Bellevite; and there is really only one thing he can do, and that is +to fight." + +The lieutenant had hardly spoken the words before there was a puff of +smoke from one side of the chase, and a heavy report came across the +water. But the two steamers were still a long distance apart, and the +shot fell short, to the satisfaction of the captain. The chase had been +obliged to come to in order to bring her gun to bear, and she had lost +a little time in doing so. It could be easily seen on board of both +steamers that the Bellevite was gaining rapidly on the other. + +"Mr. Passford, I am as sure of capturing that vessel as though I had +her now, and I do not wish to injure her any more than is necessary," +said Captain Breaker, as he sighted the Parrot, and devoted especial +attention to her. "She is a very fast steamer, and she will be very +valuable in our navy in picking up just such vessels as she is herself." + +Perhaps it was impudence for him to do so, but Christy could not help +casting his eye along the gun. All possible precautions were taken to +secure a correct aim, and then the lieutenant gave the order to "Fire!" + +"Hit her, sir!" shouted one of the lookout men aloft, who could see over +the cloud of smoke. + +"Where did it strike her?" demanded the captain. + +"Right in the broadside, abreast of the forward smokestack, sir! She has +stopped her screw!" added the lookout. + +"Mr. Dashington, get the ship astern of the chase at once," continued +the captain to the first lieutenant. + +This was the work of at least half an hour; but the Bellevite was +running for the stern of the other steamer, as though she intended to +cut her in two lengthwise. The chase lay helpless on the water, unable +to bring her broadside guns to bear on her enemy. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE CONFEDERATE STEAMER YAZOO + + +It was impossible to discover the nature or extent of the injury the +chase had received from the shot from the midship gun; but she had been +disabled, though it might be but slightly. The Bellevite dashed on, as +though impatient to obtain possession of her prey. All the glasses on +board were brought to bear on the injured vessel, which all hands +regarded as already a prize. + +The glasses did not reveal any considerable havoc in the side of the +steamer, and the shot hole could easily be plugged when necessary; but +the commander of the craft did not yet give up the ship, for he seemed +to be engaged in hoisting her foresail and jibs, evidently with the +intention of bringing her about so that he could use his guns. The wind +was very light, and his chances of accomplishing his purpose were not +very brilliant. + +"Mr. Dashington, you will call all hands, and be ready to board the +prize in three divisions when we run abreast of her," said Captain +Breaker. "Let Mr. Passford command the forward division; Mr. Blowitt, +the waist; and Mr. Calvert, the quarter." + +The boarders were mustered at once, as there was no occasion to fire +again at the prize. Each officer arranged his men, and spoke some +stirring words to them. Men in the tops were supplied with muskets, +and all with revolvers and cutlasses. It was not believed that all +this force would be necessary to capture the prize, but there was some +evidence that she had a fighting crew on board, and the captain prepared +for the worst. + +As the Bellevite came nearer to the prize, the sound of hammers was +heard, and it appeared that the engineers were engaged in an effort to +repair the mischief which had been done to the engine. It was still +impossible to see how many men she had on board, but Captain Breaker did +not estimate that she had a full ship's company, for vessels intended +for war purposes, escaping as this one doubtless had, did not usually +take their force on board at the beginning of the cruise. + + [Illustration: "Christy and Beeks on the Steamer's Deck."--Page 181.] + +The three divisions of boarders were all in readiness, and all they +feared was that there would be little for them to do on board the enemy. +Captain Breaker was in the fore rigging where he could observe all that +was done on the decks of both vessels. The Bellevite went ahead with all +speed till the signal was given to slow down. The sea was not heavy, and +the captain laid her alongside of the prize. + +"Do you surrender?" demanded the commander in a loud tone, but with his +usual dignity. + +"I do not surrender!" replied the captain of the steamer. + +"Boarders away!" shouted Captain Breaker. + +Christy Passford was the first to leap upon the rail of the other +vessel, and then he dropped in the same instant upon her deck. At that +moment he was conscious that the steamer under him was moving, though +it might be the shaking which the Bellevite gave her when she came +alongside. On the deck of the prize, as he still taught himself to +consider her, he saw not more than thirty men; and with nearly three +times that number on the other side, it did not look as if it could be +a very hotly contested battle. + +As Christy jumped down from the rail, Beeks followed him, and he was not +a little surprised to find that they were alone. But there was no enemy +at hand upon whom he could flesh his cutlass, and he sprang upon the +rail again. He found that his impression had been correct, for the +vessel was moving. She had already left a gap a dozen feet wide between +the Bellevite and herself. + +It appeared that the machinery had been repaired, and that it was now +capable of doing all that it had done before. The steamer was the +Killbright, for the lieutenant saw the name painted in several places +about her forward deck. She had suddenly shot ahead very unexpectedly +to the captors, as they supposed they were, alongside of her. A puff +of wind had been favoring her before, and she darted away towards the +northwest. As she began to move, the lock-strings of her port battery +were pulled as rapidly as possible. + +It would have been impossible to help hitting the Bellevite, with the +three guns fired into her at so short a distance. But the cloud of smoke +that enveloped both vessels prevented the captain from taking in the +situation. The crew of the Killbright were ordered to reload their guns +instantly. Whatever was to happen in the near or distant future, it +was evident that the dangerous steamer had not yet been captured, and +Christy did not think of her as a prize any more just then. + +The Killbright crowded on all the steam she could obtain, and she +rapidly increased the distance between herself and the Bellevite. She +fired her three broadside guns continually, but it was clear to Christy +that the men had not been trained to this business, or they might +perhaps have sunk the naval vessel by this time. + +The Bellevite fired her two broadside guns, and they made terrible havoc +in the upper works of the Killbright. But the strangest thing of all to +the young lieutenant, caught on board of the anticipated prize, was that +the Bellevite did not go ahead, and give the boarding parties a chance +to get on the deck of the enemy. + +"I don't understand it, Beeks," said Christy as he found himself by the +side of the quartermaster. "Why don't the ship give chase?" + +"I think she must be disabled, sir," replied the warrant officer. + +"What could have disabled her?" + +"I suppose she might be hit as well as this vessel," replied Beets, no +better pleased with the situation than his companion in trouble. "They +fired three shots into her while she was alongside." + +"She must have been hit in a bad place, or she would have been alongside +of us before this time. But here we are." + +The third lieutenant and quartermaster felt very much like prisoners, +though they had no evidence that the Killbright was a ship-of-war, +except that she had hoisted the Confederate flag, and fired upon the +Bellevite. But the rakish-looking steamer continued on her course, while +the Bellevite had not moved since the first broadside. She had already +made a mile, and the shots from her enemy did not seem to disable her. + +She continued to run with all her speed, and the lieutenant felt the +deck quiver as though it was in danger of being shaken out of her. But +she was not followed by the Bellevite, and things began to look dark +and somewhat cheerless to Christy. The firing came to an end, for the +distance was becoming too great for it to be effectual on either side. + +"If we had not jumped down from the rail when we boarded, we might have +escaped this scrape," said Beeks, who was even more disgusted than his +companion. + +"It is no use to growl about it," added Christy, laughing. "Here we are, +and we can't help ourselves at present." + +"I suppose they will let us go, won't they?" inquired the quartermaster. + +"Let us go where?" + +"Let us go back where we came from," replied Beeks, who seemed to be +quite muddled by his misfortune. + +"You don't expect them to put you on board of the Bellevite again, +do you?" + +"Well, no; not exactly; but this steamer is nothing but a blockade +runner, and such craft don't take prisoners." + +"I hardly know what she is yet; she is a blockade runner, but she +appeals to be something more than that. She hoisted the Confederate +flag, and her people stood by their guns like brave men. I count myself +as a prisoner of war," said Christy, to the increased disgust of his +companion. + +"What do you suppose they will do with us?" asked Beeks, looking as +though he had not a friend in the world, though he had always been a +very brave and active fellow when there was anything to do. + +"I don't know, but I suppose she will run the blockade into the Cape +Fear River, and we may be taken up to Wilmington." + +While they were talking about it, they saw a group of officers coming to +the forward deck, where they had remained since they came on board. They +appeared to be examining the steamer to ascertain what damage she had +sustained. Her bulwarks had been torn off, and she had suffered not a +little from shot; but she did not appear to be very seriously damaged. +At the head of the party was one who had a uniform, and dignity enough +to be the commander of the ship. + +"Who are those two men forward?" asked this gentleman, as he called the +attention of the others to the two strangers. + +No one knew who they were, and the captain continued to advance, looking +very sharply at Christy, or at his uniform. The lieutenant thought he +had seen the gentleman before, for it was quite impossible entirely to +forget one with so much character in his face. + +"I am afraid I shall be obliged to call upon you, sir, to explain how +you and your companion happen to be here, for I was not before aware of +your presence." + +"I shall cheerfully explain, Captain Carboneer," replied Christy, +recognizing the captain, and bowing politely. + +"Ah, you know me? But I have not the pleasure of your acquaintance, +so far as I can remember," added the captain. + +"We met under some disadvantages so far as you are concerned, for I had +the satisfaction of seeing you, though you did not see me," replied the +lieutenant, looking very good-natured in spite of his situation as a +prospective prisoner. + +"I must beg you to explain still further, Mr.--I have not the pleasure +of knowing your name." + +"Passford, sir, Christopher Passford, midshipman in the United States +Navy, and at present third lieutenant of the steamer Bellevite, which +you can hardly make out at this moment, though I remember that you have +seen her before," answered Christy, telling the whole story, as indeed +his uniform had already done, so far as his rank was concerned. + +"I am very happy to meet you under present circumstances, Mr. Passford, +though I am not yet informed where I met you before." + +"Perhaps you did not exactly meet me, Captain Carboneer; but, at any +rate, we were in the same boat together." + +"I suppose we met, if at all, on the Hudson, in connection with the +Bellevite. Your people have not been as fortunate to-day with their +gunnery practice as on that occasion," suggested the captain. + +"Now, Captain Carboneer, will you kindly inform me in regard to the +status of this vessel? Is she a naval vessel, or simply a blockade +runner?" + +"She is both; and I am sorry for your sake to inform you that you are a +prisoner of war." + +"I supposed I was." + +"Perhaps you will be willing to inform me what became of Major Pierson +and Corny Passford--the latter a cousin of yours, I believe?" + +"Like myself, the major is a prisoner of war. Corny was injured in the +disaster to the Vampire, as you are aware; he is also a prisoner, but on +parole, remaining at my father's house to be healed." + +"I have to regret to-day more than ever before that we failed to capture +the Bellevite, for I find that she is even faster than the Yazoo," added +the captain. + +"The Yazoo?" + +"Formerly the Killbright, but now the Yazoo." + +At this moment an officer came up and spoke to Captain Carboneer. As +both of them looked aft, Christy did the same, and, after studying the +speck he saw on the ocean, he was satisfied that it was the Bellevite, +coming down upon the Yazoo with all her speed. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +A SATISFACTORY ORDER + + +Whatever had happened to the Bellevite, it was plain enough now to +Christy that she had repaired the injury, for the speck in the distance +was assuming the form of a steamer. The discovery was not calculated to +fan the hopes of Captain Carboneer and his officers, though the two +Unionists on board of the Yazoo were elated. The chase was continued +till the middle of the afternoon, when the Bellevite opened fire with +her heavy midship gun. + +"Mr. Passford, your ship has opened fire upon us, and I will not compel +you to expose yourself to it," said Captain Carboneer, as one of the +shots from the Bellevite dropped into the water near the Yazoo. "You are +at liberty to retire to any part of the vessel you desire, with your +companion." + +"Thank you, sir; you are very kind; and as I don't care to be shot by my +friends, I will go below," replied Christy. + +It was hardly safer below than on deck, and it was not likely that the +resolute commander of the Yazoo would allow her to be captured as long +as he could make any resistance. Christy got the idea from the decision +he had observed in the face and expression of Captain Carboneer, that +the only way to capture the steamer would be to knock her to pieces. He +expected to be saved from the fate of a prisoner of war, but he was not +ready to believe that the Yazoo would be sent to the North as a prize. +She had not half the force of the Bellevite, either in men or guns, +and it had been proved that her speed could not save her. But all the +chances of accidents were to be incurred, and no one could predict the +final result. + +Christy and Beeks went below, and seated themselves in the wardroom of +the ship. It looked as though it had been altered from the dining-saloon +of a passenger steamer for its present use. But the vessel was an +elegant affair, and Christy thought it was evident from what he saw +that she had been built for a steam-yacht by some British magnate. She +was not more than two-thirds as large as the Bellevite. + +The sound of the firing indicated that the Bellevite was gaining on the +chase even more rapidly than in the morning. At the end of a couple of +hours more she seemed to be within a mile, or perhaps less. The Yazoo +was shaking in every fibre of her steel body, and it was plain that +Captain Carboneer was straining her to the utmost to effect his escape. + +"It is beginning to warm up a little," said Beeks, as he tried to look +out at one of the round ports of the wardroom. + +"It will be hotter than this before we see the end of it," replied +Christy. "Can you see anything?" + +"Not a thing; of course the Bellevite is astern of us," added Beeks. +"But the Yazoo is not using her guns." + +"How can she? She has not fired a shot for some time, and she cannot +without coming to. I should say she might as well do one thing as +another. She can't run away from the Bellevite, and she may as well +take her chances in a fight as a run." + +"But the Bellevite does not seem to be handling her great gun at a very +lively rate," suggested Beeks. + +"I suppose Captain Breaker wants to save all he can of the Yazoo, and +he knows that he can knock her all to pieces when he decides that it is +necessary." + +"What is all that racket on deck?" asked Beeks. + +"Probably they are getting a couple of stern chasers ready for use," +answered Christy; and this explanation was soon proved to be correct by +the report of a gun at the stern of the Yazoo. + +For the next half-hour, the firing from the Bellevite was more rapid, +and several crashes, produced by the striking of shot, were heard. It +was soon apparent that one of the stern chasers had been disabled; and +after a while the other ceased its noise. Beeks was so excited that +he left the wardroom, and found his way into what proved to be the +captain's cabin. More than one shot had come into it, and made no little +havoc. He found a port there through which he obtained a view of the +Bellevite. Whatever damage had been done to her, her engine was in +perfect order, for she was driving ahead at her best speed. + +The quartermaster reported what he had seen to Christy, though it proved +nothing except that the Bellevite was all right, but everything began +to look more hopeful to the occupants of the wardroom. They had only to +wait, for they could do nothing. The pursuer had ceased to discharge her +guns, and those of the Yazoo were useless under present circumstances. + +The situation was becoming more exciting on the deck of the Yazoo, +judging by the sounds that came from it. Then it was evident that the +Bellevite had returned to her former tactics, and was coming alongside +with the intention of boarding. Loud yells and fierce cries followed, +and then came the noise of a hand-to-hand struggle on the deck. It was +of short duration, for the ship's company of the Yazoo were outnumbered +at least two to one. + +"I suppose we may go on deck now," said Beeks. + +"I should judge that the fight was over," replied Christy, as he led the +way out of the wardroom. + +At the companion-way they found two sailors assisting Captain Carboneer +to his cabin. His face was covered with blood, and he looked very pale. +The surgeon was close by him. Christy felt sincerely sorry for the +commander, for he was a noble and upright man. His protest had prevented +Major Pierson from attempting to carry out whatever plan he had in his +mind for the abduction of Florry Passford, and the young officer felt +grateful to him. + +"Ah, Mr. Passford, the luck is on your side again," said the wounded +commander, when he saw Christy. + +"Of course, I rejoice that it is so, but I am sincerely sorry that you +are wounded," replied Christy. "I must thank you for your interference +in behalf of my sister in opposition to the scheme of Major Pierson." + +"How could you know anything about that?" asked the commander, bracing +himself up. + +"I heard the whole of it." + +"I see; but I did not consider that Major Pierson contemplated any +ruffianism," added Captain Carboneer, as the surgeon urged him to go +into his cabin. + +Christy hastened on deck, and was warmly received by his fellow-officers +there. He reported on board to Captain Breaker without any delay, and +was warmly congratulated on his escape. He returned to his duty at once. +Paul Vapoor was inclined to hug him when he met him. + +"I felt like a prisoner of war," said Christy, when he had told his +brief story. "The Bellevite was disabled, and I supposed it was all up +with me." + +"A shot from the Killbright damaged our rudder, so that we could not +steer her; though we repaired the mischief after a considerable delay," +replied the engineer. "But we have the prize." + +"She was intended for a cruiser, and they call her the Yazoo." + +"Whatever her name, she will not be a cruiser on that side." + +The captured vessel was carefully surveyed; she had been considerably +damaged in the contest, but she was still seaworthy, and Mr. Blowitt was +appointed prize-master to take her to New York. All the arrangements +were speedily completed, and, when the prize had sailed for her +destination, Christy became the acting second lieutenant. + +For the next month the Bellevite cruised in search of such craft as +the Killbright, and then she took her place on the blockade off Mobile +Bay, to which she had been ordered. Mr. Blowitt and the prize-crew had +returned, and all the damage done by the guns of the Yazoo had been +repaired, so that the Bellevite was in as good condition as when she +left the Navy Yard at Brooklyn. She captured several schooners, but no +very important prize. Many of the officers were disgusted with the +inactivity of the service. + +In a letter from his father, Christy obtained the information that the +Bellevite was likely to be ordered to duty as a cruiser, for which her +great speed adapted her better than any other vessel in the navy. This +was cheering news to the discontented ones. But before any orders to +this effect was received, the ship was ordered to proceed to Pensacola, +where a very fast steamer was said to be awaiting an opportunity to get +to sea. + +The position of the steamer was ascertained with no little difficulty; +but it was protected by the guns of the forts. Captain Breaker desired +to obtain better information in regard to the Teaser, as the negroes +said she was called. She was quite small, and carried only a single long +gun, and it was suspected that she was a privateer. On the evening of +the Bellevite's arrival, the weather was rainy, foggy, and thick. It was +just the night for a blockade runner, and the captain believed that an +attempt would be made to get out at this time. + +The Unionists held Fort Pickens, and the Confederates the forts on the +mainland. The negroes said the Teaser was anchored at the mouth of the +lagoon, or very near it. This was not very definite, even if it were +accepted as true. It was very important that the Teaser should not be +permitted to get out of the bay, for she might do a great deal of +mischief to the shipping of the nation. + +"I don't believe the stories of the negroes," said Captain Breaker, as +he was discussing the situation with his officers. "I know the port very +well, and I have no idea where the mouth of the lagoon is, or even if it +has any mouth in Pensacola Bay." + +"Wherever the Teaser may be waiting her chance, this is a good night for +a start," replied Mr. Dashington. + +"Of course the officers of Fort Pickens are on the lookout for the saucy +little craft," added Mr. Blowitt. + +"Captain Westover is still on board, and you are to send him to the +fort, are you not, Captain Breaker?" asked Christy. + +"Yes; as soon as he is ready to go," replied the captain. "He has given +all the information he has in regard to the Teaser; but he has not seen +her to-day, and he does not believe she is in the lower bay, but that +she is somewhere in the vicinity of the Navy Yard." + +"If you will excuse me, Captain Breaker, I don't believe she means to +come out by the main channel, for her people know that the eyes of the +officers of Fort Pickens are wide open," suggested Christy, with a good +deal of diffidence. + +"How do you think she will come out, Mr. Passford?" asked the captain, +with a smile. + +"By Santa Rosa Sound, sir," replied the third lieutenant. + +"Possibly you are right, Mr. Passford, though I do not think you are," +added the commander, thoughtfully. "Santa Rosa Sound is about forty +miles long, and there is hardly water enough in it, up and down, to +float a raft, to say nothing of a steamer." + +But later in the day, the captain called Christy aside, and had a long +talk with him, the charts open before them. It certainly did not look +like a very hopeful enterprise to take a steamer through such a sound as +that described. + +"But we have no correct information in regard to the anchorage of the +Teaser, and I have decided to obtain it if possible. I propose to send +you to look into the matter, Mr. Passford," added the captain, settling +the question in that way. "Select your own boat and crew. But if the +Teaser gets by Fort Pickens, we may have to chase her to sea, and if on +your return you do not find the Bellevite, you and your men will remain +at Fort Pickens." + +Christy was entirely satisfied with this order. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +LIEUTENANT PASSFORD IN COMMAND + + +Christy felt as much honored by the confidence reposed in him by the +captain as though he had been appointed to the command of a steamer. +But he had more than once proved that he could be safely trusted, and +demonstrated that he had judgment, discretion, and skill beyond his +years. He was not only brave and resolute, but he was faithful and +patriotic. + +He went about among the ship's company and selected the men he desired +to assist him in his enterprise, and requested those chosen to say +nothing about the matter, for the lieutenant was aware that he should +have more volunteers than he could accommodate in the largest of the +boats. All would want to go, and the young officer would be teased and +coaxed, and all sorts of influence brought to bear upon him to permit +this and that one to be of the party. It was easier to be silent than +it was to reply to all the applications. + +Christy selected a large whaleboat for the service in which he was to +be employed, and he had his own reasons for the choice he made. He had +received unlimited authority to adopt his own measures. The only point +that was strongly impressed upon his mind by the captain was that the +Teaser must be captured. + +After supper the order was given to the third lieutenant to convey +Captain Westover back to the fort, or to land him at the usual place +near it. Nothing was thought of the order, though perhaps some of +the officers considered a dozen seamen, all armed with cutlasses and +revolvers, a large boat's crew for such a service. It was very thick +weather, and Captain Westover begged Christy not to land him within the +enemy's lines, which he promised not to do. + +The men gave way, and the boat went off into the gloom of the evening. +Beeks gave his whole attention to the course of the boat, and Lieutenant +Passford was engaged in a very earnest conversation with the military +passenger. The landing-place seemed to be reached too soon, for Christy +had not finished his business. He landed with him, and together they +went to the fort, where the young officer had a conversation with the +commander of the force there. + +"I hope you will not get into hot water, Mr. Passford," said Captain +Westover, as he came to the sallyport with him. + +"I cannot say that I shall not," replied Christy, "but I shall do the +best I can to report on board of the ship with the force intrusted to +me; and I hope I shall have the Teaser with me." + +"I hope you will. There are several small steamers up in the bay; but I +have not the least idea where you will have to look for the Teaser, for +we at the fort have not seen any such steamer lately." + +"There can be no doubt of her existence, Captain Westover, for the +Bellevite was sent here to look out for her, as her speed is said to +be remarkable. But, good-night, captain." + +"Good-night, lieutenant; success to you, and a safe return," added the +captain. + +"Thank you," answered Christy, as he hurried down to the landing-place. + +Among those whom the lieutenant had selected was a master's mate by the +name of Flint, who had assisted on board of the Bellevite in the affair +with the Vampire. He was a modest, quiet man, who made no especial +figure among his shipmates, though he had strongly attracted the +attention of his officer. Next to Christy he was the highest in rank, +and the second in command. Beeks was the next man selected, and he had +done all that was necessary in the preparation of the boat, including +putting into it slyly a supply of provisions, and a number of articles +which the lieutenant had designated. + +On his return to the boat, Christy found his crew in excellent order, +for he had instructed Flint to allow no noise or disorder, as sailors +and young men generally are somewhat given to skylarking when not under +the eye of a commissioned officer. Christy took his place with Flint +in the stern sheets of the boat, and ordered Beeks, who was acting as +coxswain, to shove off and give way. + +"I have no instructions yet, sir," replied Beeks, as he obeyed the +order, and headed the boat away from the shore. + +"We have to make two miles east by south, and that course will carry +us parallel with the shore of Santa Rosa Island, variation included," +replied Christy, who had been a diligent student of the chart, and had +written down all that it was important for him to remember, though he +had one of his own charts, or a piece of one, in the boat. + +"East by south, sir," replied Beeks, as he put the whaleboat on the +required course. + +Thus far, Christy had kept his own counsel, and not whispered a word +of his intentions even to the master's mate. He had no motive for such +heroic concealment of his plan, but he had not had the time to discuss +it with any person. Besides, though he had decided upon his course +in the beginning, he was too much in the dark himself to lay down a +definite plan; and his course must depend largely upon the information +he obtained from time to time. + +He had examined the charts and the Coast Pilot very carefully; and the +facts he had obtained from the latter rather staggered him in regard to +the idea he had advanced that the Teaser might go out through Santa Rosa +Sound. It was not navigable for vessels with a draught of over four +feet, and it would have to be a very small man-of-war that could float +in that depth. Though it was now the time of the spring tides, they did +not add more than six inches to the height of the mean tide, which was +but a couple of inches over two feet. + +Even before he took his place in the boat alongside the ship, he had +come to the conclusion that the Teaser, if she proved to be anything +more than a toy boat, could not go to sea through the sound, and she +was not likely to attempt it. He had said as much as this to Captain +Breaker, who reminded him that he was to ascertain if possible what the +craft intended to do, if he succeeded in finding her. + +Flint did not manifest any desire to know more than the law allowed, +and he asked no questions in regard to the enterprise in which he was +engaged. In fact, one reason why he was chosen was because he had an +excellent habit of minding his own business. Possibly Christy was more +particular on this point than an older officer would have been. + +"I think we have made two miles, Mr. Passford," said Beeks, when the men +had pulled about an hour. "Of course, I cannot be sure of the distance +run, for I can only guess at it." + +"Run up to the shore, then, and let us see how far off we are," added +Christy. + +In a few minutes the bottom of the boat struck on the sand, and it was +forced up far enough to permit the lieutenant to go on shore. Like most +of the islands in this part of the gulf, Santa Rosa was nothing but +sand, which in the eastern end is of a peculiar reddish hue. It is +little more than a sand spit for its whole length, though in some places +the wind has piled up mounds, or dunes. + +"Come with me, if you please, Flint," said Christy, as he leaped to the +shore. + +Flint followed him, as usual asking no questions, and, if he had any +curiosity in regard to the purposes of his leader, he did not manifest +it. The lieutenant glanced at the trend of the shore, and then walked at +right angles with it. No part of the island was inhabited, or even +occupied, except Fort Pickens and a Union camp. It was a dismal place, +especially in the fog and darkness. + +A short walk brought the explorers to the waters of Pensacola Bay. It +was in vain that they tried to penetrate the gloom and the mist, and +nothing could be seen. Flint expressed himself to this effect. + +"I did not expect to see anything," replied Christy. "I only came across +here to find how wide the island was at this point. I am satisfied that +we are about where I supposed we were. Half a mile to the westward of us +the island is more than double the breadth it is here." + +"I see, sir; if you had found it much wider than it is, you would have +known that you had not gone far enough in the boat," replied Flint. + +"Precisely so; I wanted to find where we were before I changed the +course in going farther to the eastward," added Christy. + +Flint made no further remark, and they returned to the boat, and seated +themselves in their places. The lieutenant gave the order to shove off. + +"We are in no hurry, Beeks; if the men are tired, you can stop longer to +rest them," continued the commander of the expedition. + +The men scouted the idea of being tired after a pull of two miles in a +comparatively smooth sea. Christy told them that they might have some +very heavy work to do before they returned to the ship, and he did not +wish to use up their strength unnecessarily. + +"Now, keep her east by north for a couple of miles, Beeks," continued +Christy. "That will be as far as we have occasion to go in this +direction. Don't hurry them; take it easy, for it will not be high tide +till half-past twelve, and we may have more time than we shall know how +to use." + +The crew pulled very leisurely, and it was over an hour before Beeks +estimated that they had made the two miles. As before, Christy and Flint +were landed, and they walked across the island. But their walk was not +even half the length of the last one; and the spit was so narrow at this +place that the lieutenant was confident he had struck the point he +intended. + +"This is our base of operations," said Christy, as he stood on the shore +of the bay. "We have got along very well so far, for it is not time yet +for the music to begin, if it is to begin at all. What are you about, +Flint?" + +The master's mate had lain down on the sand at the water's edge, and +his companion was very much puzzled by his attitude. He wondered if his +companion had the stomach-ache, and was not able to stand up. + +"I beg your pardon, Lieutenant Passford, but if you will kindly be quiet +for a moment, I hope to be able to answer your question," replied Flint, +in a low tone. + +Christy complied with the request, and as he did so, he thought he heard +a noise in the distance, though he was not sure of it. He listened with +all his ears, and some confused sounds came to him; but he could make +nothing of them. + +"I heard some sort of a noise," said Flint, rising from his recumbent +position. "But I can make nothing of what I hear. If there was a fresh +breeze, I should say that it was the surf." + +"I heard it, too; but I am bothered to make out what it is. Did you get +an idea of any kind?" asked Christy. + +"It sounded as though something of a gang of men were at work off in +this direction," replied Flint, pointing east of north. "I am almost +sure I heard the blows of hammers, or something like them." + +"The noise I heard might have been almost anything," added Christy. + +"What is there off in that direction?" asked Flint, pointing again. + +"About north of us is Town Point, and just beyond it is Old Navy Cove," +said the lieutenant, who had been up the bay in the Bellevite on an +excursion, and who had studied up all the localities. + +"Possibly they are repairing a vessel there," suggested Flint. + +"They would not do that over there, and certainly not on a dark night," +argued Christy. "But we will soon find out all about it." + +He led the way back to the boat, which he had ordered Beeks to have +carried on the shore. Then they proceeded to bear it across the island +to the bay, where it was put into the water again. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +SOME TROUBLE ON BOARD THE TEASER + + +It was not a difficult thing for so many men to carry the whaleboat +across the island, and they were disposed to make merry over the novelty +of the task; but they had been instructed not to speak a loud word after +the party left the south side of the island. The noise to which Christy +and Flint had listened indicated that something was going on, though +they could not decide what it was. In the stillness of the night, and +in the absence of any roar of breakers, sounds could be heard a long +distance, though whether they came one mile or two, they could not +determine. + +"Get out those cloths, Beeks," said Christy, as soon as the boat had +been put into the water. "Every oar must be very carefully muffled, and +you will see that it is properly done." + +"I will have it done in a few minutes, sir," replied the acting +coxswain. + +"As I said before, we are in no hurry, and you may take your time to do +it properly," added the lieutenant. + +"Those sounds are still to be heard," said Flint, who had been a short +distance from the boat to listen for them. + +"I hear them," replied Christy, walking away from the boat to continue +the investigation while they were waiting. "Some kind of a job is in +progress at no great distance from us. From how far off do you calculate +that those sounds come?" + +"I think they must come a mile; and I don't believe I can guess any +nearer to it than that, though it is possible they come two miles. +I know little or nothing of the region about here. Suppose we should go +a mile north-northeast from this spot, what should we find there, Mr. +Passford?" asked Flint, apparently greatly interested in the question. + +"It would be a point on Pensacola Bay, about half-way between this +island, where we stand, and Town Point," replied Christy. "I should say +it would be in the channel leading into Santa Rosa Sound." + +"Precisely so!" exclaimed Flint, in an energetic whisper. "That's the +way they are going to take the Teaser out, and they are doing something +over there to prepare her for the trip in shallow water." + +The master's mate was not aware that Christy had suggested to the +captain this way of escape for the Teaser, and he had abandoned the idea +himself. Flint had reached his conclusion from his own premises. They +discussed the matter for some time, though it was impossible to arrive +at any conclusion for the want of data on which to base their reasoning. + +"All ready, sir," reported Beeks, coming up to them at this moment. + +"How far is the entrance to the sound from Fort Pickens, Mr. Passford?" +asked Flint. + +"About four miles." + +"Then why should they choose such a night as this for their work?" + +"The Bellevite, floating in four fathoms of water on the other side of +the island, could shell them out if they were seen, as they certainly +would be from Fort Pickens," replied Christy. + +"That makes it plain enough," added Flint, as they walked towards the +boat. + +"But I am not quite willing to believe yet that the Teaser will go out +through the sound. If she could get through at all, it would only be +after getting aground no end of times, and if to-morrow should be a +clear day, she could be seen anywhere on her course," persisted Christy. +"She cannot expect to make eight or ten knots an hour in that shallow +water." + +The lieutenant ordered the men into the boat, after she was shoved off +the beach. They worked with such care that not a sound came from her. +The oars were shipped, and the sailors began to row. As instructed, they +pulled very slowly, though such work could not be done in perfect +silence. + +"Look out for that binnacle, Beeks," said Christy. "The light from it +may betray us." + +"You have not given me the course, sir," replied the coxswain, as he +obeyed the order. + +"North-northeast," added Christy, as he settled back in the stern +sheets. + +No one was allowed to speak in the boat, and the lieutenant set the +example of silence. But he kept his ears wide open, though the little +noise made by the oars and the rippling of the water prevented him from +hearing anything at first. It was so dark that one could hardly see +another in the boat. It was in vain that Christy watched in the gloom +for the glow of a light; for all was nearly total darkness in every +direction. + +In about half an hour they began to hear the sounds which had attracted +their attention on the island, and they proceeded from directly ahead, +indicating that the operations, whatever they were, came from the +entrance to the sound. The workmen were not likely to hear the approach +of the boat while they were making so much noise themselves. In addition +to the sounds they had heard before, they recognized the noise of +escaping steam. + +This last discovery made it certain that a steamer was there, though the +listeners could not know whether it was the Teaser or not. Both of the +officers of the expedition, in the uselessness of their eyes, made the +best use they could of their ears. Christy listened to ascertain if +there was more than one steamer present. In a whisper he asked Flint to +consider this question. There was no doubling of the sounds to indicate +more than one steamer. + +For ten minutes more Christy listened and was silent; but he was doing +some very heavy thinking, for by this time the boat was very near the +scene of operations, if it could be a scene in that dense darkness. +Every sound, even to the speech of the men, could be distinctly heard. +Still nothing could be seen, and Christy knew that there was a point of +nearness where something could be discerned even in any gloom of night. +He permitted the boat to continue on its course, till he could very +dimly make out an object ahead. + +"Way enough," he whispered to Beeks. + +The coxswain raised both hands, and made a gesture with them, which +was the signal for the men to cease rowing. The sounds were now more +tangible. Occasionally there were a few raps with a hammer, but the most +of them were the orders of the person in charge. + +"I don't believe there are more than a dozen men there," whispered +Flint. + +"More than that, I should say; but even if there are two dozen, it is +all the same. Take off the mufflers from the oars, Beeks," continued +Christy. "Then give way with a will, and run for whatever may come in +sight." + +Beeks obeyed the order, and in a couple of minutes the boat was driving +into the gloom at her ordinary speed. Something came into view a moment +later, and it was a small steamer. + +"Boat, ahoy!" shouted some one from the steamer. + +"On board of the steamer!" replied Christy. + +"Are you the pilot?" demanded the speaker from the vessel. + +"Ay, ay, sir," responded the lieutenant. + +"I shall not want you now," continued the man on the steamer. + +"How is that?" demanded Christy, as though this was an entirely +unexpected reply. + +"I have concluded to make my way out through the sound, Gilder." + +"Then my name is Gilder," added Christy, in a low tone. + +"I have a plan of my own, and I reckon I shall make it go," proceeded +the captain of the steamer. "The Teaser don't draw much water, and I +know how to help her over the shoal places." + +"When do you expect to get through the sound?" asked Christy. + +"I don't know when; but I shall get through." + +"But you will find a blockader at the east end of the island; and then +you will be as badly off as you are now," argued Christy. + +"I don't believe there is any blockader there. Who are all those men in +the boat with you, Gilder?" + +"They belong to the water guard," replied Christy, at a venture, and he +thought that would describe them as well as any terms at his command. +"They expected you to go out by the main channel to-night." + +"No lie in that," chuckled Flint. + +"I wish they would come on board of the Teaser and help me out, for my +men won't work." + +"How many men have you?" asked the lieutenant. + +"Just fifteen; the rest of my crew were to come on board at midnight, +half an hour before high tide. But the men I have with me won't work, +and I shall not be ready for them, I am afraid." + +"What is the reason they won't work?" + +"They say they shipped to fight the Yankees, and they are not going to +do such work as lighting up the steamer." + +"Perhaps we can bring them to their senses," said Christy, as he ordered +Beeks to give way again. + +A few strokes of the oars enabled the officers in the stern sheets to +obtain a full view of the Teaser, and she looked like a trim little +steamer of about two hundred tons. She was rather long, and she had a +very sharp bow. The reports gave her the reputation of being a very fast +sailer. + +"Let every man have his arms in order," said Christy impressively, in a +low tone. "Give way with a will, and when you unship your oars have your +weapons ready, though I hardly think you will have to use them at +present." + +As the boat dashed towards the little steamer, the sounds of an +altercation came over the water. The angry voice of the captain, if +the late speaker was the captain, and several others were heard in a +dispute; and as the boat came alongside the report of a pistol indicated +that the belligerents were in earnest. + +Christy sprang upon the deck of the Teaser, with his revolver in his +hand. Half a dozen men stood in a group by the side of the engine-room, +confronting the man who had done the talking with the boat, as Christy +knew by the sound of his voice. + +"We are not held by any papers we signed!" protested one of the men +forward. "We are willing to do our duty, Captain Folkner, but we did not +ship to burrow through the sand, and run the risk of being captured by +the Yankees. We shipped to run the blockade, and that risk is in the +papers." + +"I shall take my vessel out as I think best, Lonley; and my men are not +to dictate to me what I am to do," replied Captain Folkner angrily. + +"I am willing to leave it to Captain Gilder. You know as well as I do +that the rest of the ship's company would not come on board till the +Teaser was outside of Santa Rosa Island. We appeal to you, Captain +Gilder," said Lonley. + +"Why do you object to going out through Santa Rosa Sound?" asked +Christy, willing to do the fair thing, since the mutineers had appealed +to him. + +"The Teaser draws ten feet of water with her coal in, and she cannot get +through the sound in a week, if ever." + +"Are you willing to go to sea by running the blockade, Lonley?" + +"Perfectly willing; and so are the whole ship's company." + +"But I won't take the risk of running the blockade. They put a fast +steamer on there to-day, and it is useless," replied Captain Folkner. + +The situation was certainly interesting to Christy and his companions. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +COMING TO THE POINT + + +Captain Folkner of the Teaser was evidently somewhat timid, and he had +heard of the arrival of the Bellevite. Just now the large ships-of-war +which had been there were absent on their duty, though they were +expected to return at any time. There was liable to be some +unpleasantness at any time between Fort Pickens and Fort Barrancas; +but everything was quiet just now. + +Flint had come on board of the Teaser with Christy, but none of the +boat's crew had attended them. The situation was very novel to the +lieutenant, and he did not feel competent to arbitrate between the +contending parties. Besides, he was not willing to believe that he could +be entirely impartial, for he had a personal and patriotic interest in +the issue of the quarrel. + +The seamen, under the leadership of Lonley, who appeared to be an +officer, were the more powerful party, and the more to be dreaded. He +was disposed to decide against them, if he could get them out of the way +by doing so. They were willing to leave the matter to him, and he began +at last to see his way through it. + +"The captain of a ship is the authority to be respected, Lonley," said +he, when he had made up his mind what to do. + +"We might as well bury ourselves in the sands as try to go through +there," replied the leader of the mutiny, who seemed to be a very +intelligent man, and Christy concluded from his language and manner +that he was not a common sailor. + +"That may be; but the captain is supreme on the deck of his own ship," +argued Christy. + +"We are not on the high seas, and the Teaser has not yet gone into +commission. It was only this afternoon in Pensacola that Captain Folkner +told his ship's company that he was going to burrow through the sand in +Santa Rosa Sound. We all said we would not go with him; but a dozen of +us came down with him when he told us that he had a way to float the +steamer through, and he was sure it would work. We did not understand +that we were to become mud-diggers. When we got here, we were satisfied +that his plan amounted to nothing, and would not work." + +"I am satisfied that it will work," interposed Captain Folkner. + +"The agreement in the articles was to run the blockade. If we got +through the sound, it would take a week of constant drudgery, which +we did not ship to do." + +"Are you ready to do duty on board of the Teaser when she is in deep +water, Lonley?" asked Christy. + +"Every one of us; and every one of the party on shore!" protested the +leader. + +"Will that satisfy you, Captain Folkner?" continued Christy, appealing +to him. + +"It would if I had the steamer in deep water," replied the captain. "But +how am I to get her into deep water if my crew will not work?" + +"Run the blockade, according to the articles!" exclaimed Lonley. + +"When are the rest of the ship's company to join you?" asked Christy of +the leader of the mutineers. + +"They are coming down in boats at midnight or later; and we shall join +them then and wait till the ship is ready to take us on board. They will +come across from Pensacola to Navy Cove, and then walk till they come to +the Teaser." + +"All right," said the lieutenant. "I will land you at Navy Cove, and you +can wait there till the rest of the crew come." + +"I am perfectly satisfied with that arrangement," replied Lonley. + +"But I am not," interposed the captain, angrily. "What can I do without +any crew to help get the steamer through the sound?" + +"I have men enough to take care of you and the Teaser, Captain Folkner; +and the men in the boat will do everything that is required to be done +on board of the Teaser." + +"That's another thing," replied the captain, appeased by the implied +promise. + +"I can hardly blame your men because they are not willing to go through +the sound with a steamer drawing ten feet of water when there is not +more than six feet of water to float her," said Christy. "Besides, if +you do not get to the other end of the sound before morning, you will +be seen by some of the blockaders, and they could blow this steamer to +pieces, and kill half your people in a few minutes." + +"It may be dangerous, but so is running the blockade," added the +captain. + +"Going out in a dark night and spending a week in sight of the +blockaders are two different things. But we need not discuss the matter +any more. I will put your men on the point yonder, and then I will +return and help you out of your present difficulty. Am I to take off the +men in the engine department?" asked Christy, as he went to the side +where the boat was. + +"No; the engineers and firemen are all right, for they were not called +upon to do any work out of the vessel." + +Christy and Flint stepped into the boat, and the crew followed them. +There were twelve of them, and the lieutenant thought they were all good +seamen. He did not like to have them reserved for use in the Confederate +Navy; but he could not help himself then, and he soon landed the party +on the point. The situation had been explained to the crew of the boat, +and they had avoided saying anything to commit themselves. + +Though it involved a risk to do it, Christy had dressed in an ordinary +suit of clothes for the occasion, and the party wore nothing by which +they could be identified as sailors of the navy. As soon as the boat had +landed its passengers, it returned to the Teaser at the best speed the +crew could produce. + +"I had no idea that you had a plan like this in your head, Mr. +Passford," said Flint, as soon as the boat was clear of Town Point. + +"I did not know it myself, Flint. It has all grown out of the +circumstances as we found them," replied Christy. "But I did intend, if +I found the Teaser without a fighting crew on board of her, to capture +her if the situation warranted such a step." + +"But you came prepared for just this thing," suggested Flint. + +"I came prepared for anything. I hoped we might be able to capture the +Teaser, but I did not expect it." + +"I suppose you expect to do it now." + +"Yes, I do; and I ought to be broken if I don't do it. I am sorry to let +all those men enter the rebel navy; and that is all that vexes me at the +present moment." + +"Perhaps they can be picked up to-morrow, or later to-night," suggested +Flint. "From what I heard, I think she was to have a fighting crew of +about forty men. Of course they will try to join the steamer to-night +or to-morrow; and why not let them do it?" chuckled Flint. + +"We will attend to this affair first, but I like the idea." + +They reached the Teaser in due time, and all hands went on board of her. +Captain Folkner, with a couple of men he had contrived to retain, with +two firemen, was at work on his apparatus to float a vessel drawing ten +feet in six feet of water or less. Alongside he had a hundred or more of +empty barrels which he was sinking under the sides by hauling them down +with a line under the bottom of the vessel. He did the work partly with +his windlass worked by steam, and he had lifted the bow of the Teaser at +least three feet out of water. + +Captain Folkner expatiated with enthusiasm on his plan, and explained +the details to the lieutenant. Christy saw that he had considerable +mechanical genius, but he certainly lacked a balance-wheel. The officer +had set him down as a timid man, but this conversation assured him that +the captain was a brave man. He was carried away with his idea, though +it was plain that he had not examined the question in all its bearings. + +"When I have lifted the steamer four feet, she can go through the sound, +for I have taken a boat through that drew six feet. With your men to +help me, I shall get the casks down by midnight, and then all we have +to do is to go ahead," continued the enthusiast. + +"Precisely so; and the Teaser is a screw steamer," added Christy. + +"Of course she is; you have known her for two months, Gilder." + +"When she has been lifted up four feet, she is to go ahead," repeated +Christy, in the tone of a musing man. + +"That is what I said; she is to go ahead." + +"But what is to drive her ahead? Is she expected to go of herself?" + +"Go of herself? Of course not. She is to be driven ahead by her engine +as she always is," replied Captain Folkner, suspending the work upon +which he was engaged, and trying to see the face of the pilot through +the darkness. "How do steamers generally go ahead?" + +"If they are screw steamers, they are propelled by the pressure of the +blades of the screw," answered Christy. + +"And that is just the way the Teaser will be propelled through the +sound," replied Captain Folkner. "This steamer is to be a privateer, and +I own her. She has cost me about all the money I have in the world, and +I don't want to lose her before I get to sea. If I can get into blue +water with her, I am not at all concerned but that she will run away +from anything afloat." + +"How many knots can she do in a smooth sea?" + +"Eighteen, and perhaps more." + +"Then she is not fast enough for that blockader outside. I saw her +at Mobile when she was a big steam-yacht, and they said she had done +twenty-two knots more than once." + +"I don't believe a word of it; and I am willing to take my chances to +run away from her in the Teaser, if I can get out." + +"If she is good for eighteen knots, it will not take her more than about +two hours to run through the sound," added Christy, very much amused at +the talk of the captain and owner. + +"I don't expect her to go at full speed in that shallow water," said the +enthusiast. + +"Do you expect her to go at all when she is hoisted four feet out of +water?" asked Christy, hardly able to keep from laughing. + +Captain Folkner was silent for a moment, during which Christy thought +he must have obtained a new idea, for it looked as though he had not +thought of the working of the screw after all his flotation schemes had +been successful. + +"I reckon the propeller will have hold enough on the water to make her +go right along, Gilder. I don't reckon you need make any trouble about +that," added the man of mechanical ability, rather sheepishly. + +Christy had brought his boat's crew on deck, and directed Flint how to +post them. He thought he had paid proper respect to the talent of the +enthusiast in listening to his theory, and that it was about time to +bring the adventure to an issue. + +"I shall not make any trouble about the screw, Captain Folkner, for I +don't think we shall have any difficulty about it. But I believe we had +better not hoist it any higher out of water," added Christy. "I mean +that I think we had better go out of the bay by the main channel." + + [Illustration: + "He placed one of his men on each side of the Captain."--Page 233.] + +"That means to run the blockade?" said the captain. + +"That's the idea." + +"Gilder, I want you to understand that I command this steamer," +continued Captain Folkner, angrily. + +"Right, with a little correction: You did command her, and I command her +now," replied Christy, as he placed one of his men on each side of the +captain. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +ON A DARK AND FOGGY NIGHT + + +"I reckon I don't quite understand you, Gilder," said Captain Folkner, +very nervously. "I thought I was still in command of the Teaser." + +"I shall not blame you for thinking so; but you are utterly mistaken all +the same," added Christy. + +"Did you come here to take the command out of my hands? Is that the +reason why you sent all my men to Town Point?" demanded the captain, +getting an idea of the situation. + +"If you had been a magician, you could not have come any nearer to the +truth." + +"Who are you? I thought you were Gilder." + +"I am not Gilder, though I found it convenient to answer to that name. +It is reported that the Teaser is a very fast steamer, and I wanted +her." + +"Do you mean to say that you are a pirate?" asked Captain Folkner, +stepping back as if to emphasize his disgust at such a person. "I have +told you that the Teaser is a privateer, and it seems that you want her +more than I do; but I don't believe it." + +"Privateers and pirates are about the same in this age of the world. +I am neither a pirate nor a privateer. Permit me to introduce myself +more precisely than I have thought it wise to do before. I am Lieutenant +Passford, of the United States steamer Bellevite; and I take possession +of the Teaser as a lawful prize. I think we need not discuss the matter +any longer, especially as the tide is high enough by this time to run +out of the bay. Disarm him." + +"Say, what sort of a joke is this?" demanded the captain. + +"If you are good-natured enough to regard it as a joke, I have not the +least objection," replied Christy. "But I shall be under the painful +necessity of confining you in your stateroom for the present, and I hope +you will make yourself as happy as possible, Captain Folkner." + +The lieutenant directed Flint to have the prisoner conveyed to his +stateroom, and to have a man stationed at the door to see that he did +not escape, or do any mischief. The sentinel was to keep his eye on him +all the time, and not allow the room to be closed for a moment. The most +reliable man of the party was selected for this duty, for the captain, +in a fit of desperation over the loss of his vessel, which was his +fortune, might attempt some reckless act. + +Accompanied by six men, Christy visited the engine-room, where nearly +all the hands remaining on board were employed. If there was to be +any trouble at all in completing the capture, it would be in this +department. Everything was in working order, and an engineer was on +duty, for the engine had been used in dragging the casks under the +bottom of the vessel. + +Beeks was directed to arrest the men on duty, and the engine was handed +over to Sampson, who had been brought for such a position if the +expedition needed him in that capacity. But there was only an assistant +engineer and several firemen on duty, and these were disposed of without +any delay. They were all conducted to the wardroom, where they were +disarmed and a guard placed over them. A couple of sailors were detailed +to serve as firemen, and the work of taking possession was completed. + +For the first time the lieutenant had an opportunity to examine the +prize, as she would be if he succeeded in getting her out of the bay. +She was certainly a fine little steamer, and, with the heavy gun mounted +on a pivot, she would have been capable of doing a great deal of +mischief among the unprotected merchant ships of the nation. + +When he visited the cabin, he found two colored men there, one of whom +appeared to be a very intelligent fellow. He was very polite to the +lieutenant, and it was evident that he had no personal interest in the +success of the Teaser in the business for which she had been fitted out. +He was the cabin steward, and he had heard everything that had been said +in regard to the vessel since he came on board of her. + +"What is your name, my man?" asked Christy, addressing the steward. + +"My name is Davis Talbot; but no one ever calls me anything but Dave," +replied the man, with a cheerful smile, as though he was not at all +disconcerted by the change which had come about in the ownership of the +Teaser. + +"How long have you been on board of this steamer, Dave?" asked the +officer, much pleased with the intelligent face of the steward. + +"About two months, sir." + +"Where did this steamer come from?" + +"Captain Folkner bought her somewhere in the West Indies, and brought +her here before the blockade was fairly established." + +"Then she is an English-built steamer?" + +"I suppose she is, sir; but I don't know anything about it." + +"Then she has been here a long while. What has Captain Folkner been +doing all this time?" asked Christy curiously. + +"Inventing, sir," replied Dave, chuckling. + +"I see; he has that on the brain." + +"The government threatened to take his vessel if he did not fit her out +and take her to sea. Then he hurried up, and got a crew ready; but they +had a quarrel last night, and most of the men would not come on board." + +"Yes; I know all about that," added Christy, as he looked at his watch +by the light of the shaded lamp in the cabin. "I suppose you insist upon +serving the Confederacy, Dave?" + +"I don't insist on anything, sir; I go where the ship takes me, and I +don't mean to quarrel with anybody." + +"In other words, will it be necessary to put you under guard?" asked +Christy. + +"I don't think it would do me any good, sir," replied Dave, laughing. + +"Which side do you belong on?" demanded the officer, rather impatiently. + +"I belong on Dave's side, sir." + +"Which is Dave's side?" + +"The side of freedom," replied the steward, with some embarrassment. +"I don't know you, sir; you don't wear the uniform of a Yankee or a +rebel, and the darkey gets crushed between the upper and the nether +millstone." + +"Then to make the matter plainer to you, I am the third lieutenant of +the United States steamer Bellevite, and I have captured this vessel as +an officer of the United States Navy," replied Christy. + +"That's all I want to know: the darkey knows where to go, when it is +safe to go there," replied Dave. + +"Then if it is safe for you to go to the pilot-house, you may come with +me," added the lieutenant, as he led the way to the deck. + +Beeks, with the men who had not been assigned to other duty, was cutting +away the ropes that held the casks in place, and had already turned +adrift all the raft of them alongside. All the rubbish the nautical +inventor had collected to carry out his famous scheme of floating the +vessel through the sound was cleared from the deck, and cut loose from +the side. + +"I think everything is clear, sir," reported Beeks, as Christy appeared +on deck with Dave. + +"Stand by to get up the anchor, then," added the lieutenant. + +"No anchor down, sir," interposed Dave. "She is made fast to the buoy." + +"So much the better. I suppose Captain Folkner did not trouble himself +about the forts, Dave, did he?" Christy inquired. + +"Yes, sir, he did; Captain Folkner never slept a wink when he did not +have Fort Pickens on his stomach for a nightmare," replied Dave, with +a chuckle. + +"But Fort Pickens is all of four miles from the entrance to the channel +of the sound." + +"He was in mortal terror of the guns, all the same." + +"How was it in regard to Fort Barrancas and Fort McRae?" + +"Of course they would not fire on his vessel; if he went out in a fog +or dark night, he was to burn a blue light; and I reckon you can do the +same thing, though I don't believe it could be seen to-night from the +forts," replied Dave, who appeared to be willing to make a good use of +his knowledge. + +"Then I don't think we shall have much trouble in getting out of the +bay," added Christy, as he went to the pilot-house, attended by Dave. + +Since the lieutenant had declared as unequivocally as he desired who and +what he was, the steward did all he could to assist his new master. He +had served Captain Folkner for two months, for he said the commander had +lived on board all this time, and he had heard everything that passed +between him and his officers and others with whom he had relations. +He was about as well informed as though he had been an officer of the +vessel in whom the captain confided all his affairs. He did not wait to +have his knowledge dragged out of him, but he volunteered such +information as he saw that the occasion required. + +He was a mulatto, and had plenty of good blood in his veins, though it +was corrupted with that of the hated race. He appeared to be about forty +years of age, and his knowledge of the affairs of the locality could +hardly have been better if he had been a white man, with a quick +perception, a reasoning intellect, and a retentive memory. It was the +rule with Union officers, soldiers, and sailors to trust the negroes, +making proper allowance for their general ignorance and stupidity, and +for particular circumstances. But some of them, even many of them, were +brighter than might be expected from their situation and antecedents. + +The binnacle from the whaleboat had been brought into the pilot-house, +and Christy compared it with the compass in the Teaser's apparatus, +after Dave had lighted it. There was no disagreement, and as the tide +was still coming in, the head of the steamer was pointed to the +westward, which would be her first course down the bay. + +The lieutenant felt that everything depended upon the working of the +steamer, and he was a total stranger to her peculiarities, if she had +any, as most vessels have. Taking Beeks with him, he began at the stem +and followed the rail entirely around the steamer, feeling with a +boat-hook along the sides. Sundry ropes, fenders, and pieces of lumber +were dislodged, and everything put in order about the main deck. Then +he visited the engine-room, and learned from Sampson that he had a full +head of steam. This careful inspection completed, he ordered the +quartermaster to cast off the fast at the buoy. + +Taking his place in the pilot-house with Beeks, he rang the bell to go +ahead. The Teaser started on quite a different voyage from what she had +been intended for. Christy had studied up his courses and distances, and +had imprinted the chart of the lower part of the bay on his brain. For +the first part of the run, there was no obstacle, and no difficulty in +regard to the course. + +The fog and the darkness were so dense that not a thing could be seen +in any direction; but he rang for full speed as soon as the Teaser was +under way. A leadsman had been stationed on each side of the forecastle, +though there was no present occasion for their services. Christy thought +everything was going extremely well, and he was reasonably confident +that he should succeed in his plan. + +"Steamer, ahoy!" shouted a voice, coming out of the dense fog. + +"That must be the patrol boat," said Dave, in a low tone. + +Christy could not make any reply that would be satisfactory to the +patrol, and he decided not to answer the hail. He had rather expected +to be challenged in this way. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +A VARIETY OF NIGHT SIGNALS + + +The dip of the oars of the guard-boat could be distinctly heard in +the pilot-house, and it was probable that the men in it could see the +Teaser. But Christy was not much concerned about the situation, and he +was not much disposed to give any attention to the boat. + +"Stop her, or we will fire into you!" yelled the officer in charge of +the guard-boat. + +Even this menace did not induce the lieutenant to ring his bell to stop +the engine. The boat was doubtless full of men, and as he could not give +straight answers to all the questions that might be put to him, it might +provoke a fight to attempt to do so, and he decided not to incur the +risk. His prisoners might make trouble if he reduced the guard in charge +of them, as he would be obliged to do to beat off the attack of the +boat. + +"What is this boat here for, Dave?" asked Christy, as he peered through +the gloom to obtain a glance at the craft. + +"To keep the people at Fort Pickens from sending out any armed force," +replied the intelligent contraband. + +"Do they think a boat full of men could do that?" + +"No, sir; but they could give the forts on the other side warning." + +The sounds from the boat had come from the starboard bow of the steamer, +and it looked as though the guard-boat had intercepted her by accident, +since it was impossible that they could have seen the Teaser in the fog +and gloom. As the steamer dashed ahead at full speed, the sound of the +oars came from a point on the beam. But the boat seemed to be wasting +her time, for nothing had been done since the threat to fire into the +steamer. + +"If a vessel is going to run out she has to satisfy this boat that she +is all right," said Dave. + +But he had hardly spoken before a volley of musket-balls passed over the +Teaser; and perhaps the officer in the boat intended that they should +pass over her. At any rate no harm was done by them. Then a rocket +darted from the boat up into the air, which could be dimly seen from +the pilot-house. + +"What steamer is that?" shouted a hoarse voice out of the gloom. + +"The Teaser!" yelled Christy, with all the voice he could command. + +The boat did not fire again; and if it had done so the steamer was out +of its reach. But a minute later the boom of a great gun came across the +bay. Fort Barrancas had evidently opened fire in response to the rocket, +which had no doubt been sent up as a signal to notify the garrison that +a vessel was going out or coming in, and that her movements were not +regular. The first shot was followed by others, and a shot dropped into +the water near the Teaser. + +"Let the leadsmen sound, Beeks," said Christy. The order was repeated, +and the reports were made known in the pilot-house. Sampson seemed to +be testing the capacity of the engine, for he was doing his best in the +matter of speed; but the Teaser behaved under the strain to which he +subjected her as though she had been very strongly built. + +"By the mark eight," chimed the leadsman on the port side. + +That was water enough to float a seventy-four, and there was no let-up +in the speed. In fact, it would not have been convenient to reduce the +speed while the guard-boat could be at no great distance from the flying +steamer. This was the report for the next mile at least, and Christy +felt that the enemy was at a safe distance from him. + +"And a half six!" shouted the port leadsman, with energy, as though he +understood the effect his report would produce. + +Christy rang to slow her down. The depth of water was the only directory +he had in addition to the distance run, which was very indefinite +without a knowledge of the speed of the vessel. + +"By the mark six!" shouted the port leadsman, who was on the side +nearest to the island of Santa Rosa. + +This did not induce the pilot to take any further action, and the Teaser +continued on her course at less than half speed. Christy looked at his +watch by the light of the binnacle lamps. It was half-past eleven, +and the Teaser appeared, as well as he could calculate it, with the +necessary allowances, to have made at least sixteen knots on the run +from the sound channel. + +"And a quarter five!" cried the leadsman of the land side. + +Christy spoke to Sampson through the tube, and the result was a further +reduction in the speed of the steamer, Beeks, who was at one side of +the wheel while the lieutenant was at the other, seemed to be a little +nervous as the depth diminished; and if he had spoken his thought, he +would have expressed his surprise that his superior officer was running +the steamer so near the shore, with the apparent intention of going +still nearer. + +"Mark under water three!" yelled the leadsman on the port side, while +the one on the starboard gave "By the mark four." + +"Shoaling fast," said Beeks. + +"Yes; but as expected," replied Christy. + +"Steamer, ahoy!" shouted a voice on the port side. + +"On shore!" replied Christy promptly. + +"What steamer is that?" demanded the shore speaker. + +"The Teaser, prize to the United States ship Bellevite," answered the +lieutenant. + +"Boga-hobble-good!" continued the man on shore. + +"Rabble-gabble-weed!" responded Christy. + +"There's a Chinaman on shore there; but I am glad you speak his +language," said Beeks, trying to repress his laughter. + +"You are all right as to position!" shouted the islander. + +"The guard-boat must be about a mile astern of me," added Christy. + +"We will take care of that," replied the shore speaker. + +Christy rang to stop the engine, which was done, though the steamer +continued to go ahead under the impetus of her former headway. The +leadsman on the port side reported two fathoms a little later, and then +there was a ring to back her, for there could not be more than two foot +of water under the keel. At this moment the peal of a twelve-pounder +came from the shore, and a little later the bursting of a shell was +heard astern of the Teaser. + +Beeks was very much perplexed by the strange speech which had passed +between the lieutenant and the shore, and now by the discharge of the +gun on the island; but he was a well-disciplined quartermaster, and he +asked no questions. + +"I don't think that boat will come any farther this way," said Christy, +as a second report from the gun reached his ears. + +"Then I suppose the shots we hear are directed at the boat," added +Beeks. + +"They can hardly be directed at anything out in that fog and darkness; +but I don't think the guard will be willing to take the risk of a chance +shell bursting near them," added Christy. + +"On board the Teaser!" shouted a voice quite near the bow of the +steamer. + +"In the boat!" replied Christy. "Sound that bell slowly, Beeks, to let +him know where we are." + +The ripple of oars was presently heard, and a boat came out of the +gloom, rowed by two soldiers, with an officer in the stern. It came up +to the forward gangway, and the person in the stern climbed on board. +The boat did not wait for him, but pulled directly back to the island. + +"I am glad to see you, Captain Westover," said Christy, as the officer +came into the pilot-house. + +"And I am equally glad to see you, lieutenant," replied the captain. +"You seem to have been successful in your undertaking?" + +"Successful so far, and I think the worst of it is over now." + +As soon as Beeks heard the name of Captain Westover, he understood all +that had been dark before. Even the Chinese lingo must have been agreed +upon. The army and the navy officer had been very busy in talking over +something when they came in the boat from the Bellevite, and after they +landed on the island. What they had been talking about was plain enough +now. + +Captain Westover had not much confidence in the expectations of the +young naval officer when he expressed a hope that he might capture the +Teaser; but he had promised to render all the assistance in his power. +He had agreed to be on the shore of the island if the Teaser presented +herself, and thus assure the lieutenant of his position on the bay. He +had done more than this, for he had brought out a couple of guns and a +section of artillerists to beat off the guard-boat if it interfered with +the operations of the navy. + +Christy had taken a course from the entrance of the sound, half way +between the island and Town Point, west-southwest. He knew that the +distance was about four miles; but he could not know, except by +sounding, when he came to the island, and he had bargained with the army +officer to be on the lookout for him. Captain Westover had heard the +noise of the Teaser, and had hailed her, thus assuring the lieutenant +that his calculation had been correct, and that he was in the vicinity +of Fort Pickens. + +"I had no idea that you would accomplish anything, lieutenant," said +Captain Westover. + +"I found everything laid out just as I should have wished it to be," +replied Christy. "We had plenty of information that the steamer would +run out the first favorable night; and nothing could have been more +favorable for blockade running than this fog and darkness." + +"But nothing has been seen of this steamer from the fort." + +"Where was she fitted out, Dave?" asked Christy, turning to the steward. + +"Up by Emanuel Point, sir, about a mile above the town," replied Dave. + +"Then she has not shown herself in the lower bay." + +The conversation was interrupted by the roll of a drum on the shore. + +"There you are, lieutenant," said the captain with a smile. "When you +are ready to go ahead, don't wait on my account, for I will go on board +of the ship." + +"But what is the drum for?" asked the lieutenant, who was in the dark in +his turn. + +"I am not much of a sailor, lieutenant, but I have sent a drummer to +follow the shore to the west end of the island, and you will know by the +racket he makes where the island is, and how far off it is," replied the +army officer. + +"I am much obliged to you, Captain Westover; that will be a safe guide +for me," said Christy, as he rang to go ahead. + +He gave out the course west by north, and he thought he should be able +to keep within hail of the island, though, as he could see nothing, +it would be difficult to tell when he reached the northwest corner of +it. If he continued on this course too long, he was likely to scrape +acquaintance with Fort McRae, for there would be nothing in the +soundings to indicate the approach to this dangerous neighbor. + +Nothing more was heard of the guard-boat, though the section of +artillery continued to discharge shells into the fog for a short time. +On the other side of the bay Fort Barrancas kept up its fire at long +intervals, and Fort Pickens could not reply without the danger of +putting a shot into the Teaser after her recent reformation. The steamer +kept on her course at half speed; but in ten minutes the sound of the +drum fell astern of her, when the drummer could go no farther. + +"Heave over the wheel, Beeks," said Christy. + +Then he rang the bell to go ahead at full speed. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +ANOTHER NIGHT EXPEDITION + + +With the drum still beating on the shore, the Teaser rounded the +northwestern point of the island, when the wheel was heaved over. +Christy was entirely confident in regard to the navigation, for he had +steered the Bellevite through the same channel when on an excursion a +year before. But he had daylight and sunshine at that time instead of +fog and gloom as on the present occasion. + +"Buoy on the starboard, sir!" reported the leadsman on that side. + +"Buoy on the port hand!" cried the man on the other side, a minute +later. + +"We are all right," added the lieutenant. "We are between the middle +ground and the island. The buoy on the port is the southwest point of +the island." + +The Bellevite was not the only man-of-war that lay off Pensacola, for +the Brooklyn and other vessels were there to assist in the defence of +Fort Pickens, which the enemy were determined to capture if possible. +The government had done everything within its means to "hold the fort," +though an army of about ten thousand men had been gathered in the +vicinity to reduce it. The dry-dock which had floated near Warrenton, +and which the Confederates intended to sink in the channel, had been +burned, and a force of Unionists, including the Zouaves, called "The Pet +Lambs," had been quartered on the island of Santa Rosa. It had looked +for several days as though the enemy were preparing for a movement in +retaliation for the destruction of the dry-dock, which was a bad +set-back for them. + +The getting to sea of the Teaser had no connection with this movement, +it appeared afterwards, and if Lieutenant Passford's enterprise had been +carried out only an hour or two later, he would have found the situation +quite different. He had sent the most of Captain Folkner's force on +board ashore, and had it all his own way afterwards. He was sorry to +leave these men, and the rest of the ship's company of the Teaser, to +assist in fighting the battles of the Confederacy, and he was filled +with the hope that they might yet be captured. + +As soon as the Teaser was well to the southward of the island, Christy +gave two short and a long blast on the steam whistle, which was the +signal he had agreed to make when he approached the Bellevite, though +Captain Breaker had laughed at him when he suggested that he might +return in the prize. The same signal was made in reply, and repeated +several times to aid him in finding the ship. The water was +comparatively smooth, and the prize came alongside the Bellevite, +where it was made fast. + +The lieutenant's first duty was to report to the captain of the +Bellevite, and taking Dave with him, he hastened on board. He found +Captain Breaker on deck, for there was a feeling in the fleet and in the +fort that some important event was about to transpire in the vicinity. + +"I am glad to see you, Mr. Passford," said he; and possibly it +occurred to him that he had sent the young man on a difficult mission, +practically within the enemy's lines. "You have brought the prize with +you, I see; and I was before informed of the fact that you had her by +the signal whistles." + +"Yes, sir; the Teaser is alongside. She is not a vessel of the +Confederate Navy, but was fitted out on private account. She is a +privateer," replied Christy. + +"So much the better that you have captured her," added the captain. +"Did you have a severe fight, Mr. Passford?" + +"We had no fight at all, sir. I was instructed to avoid a fight if +possible, and I have done so. Not a blow has been struck or a shot +fired, sir." + +"I will hear your report in detail later, Mr. Passford, when the prize +is in a better situation than now. Have you any prisoners?" asked +Captain Breaker. + +"Only the captain and the engineers, sir. This man with me is Dave, +and he was a steward on board of the Teaser. He has given me valuable +information, and I have not regarded him as a prisoner," replied the +lieutenant. + +"I understand," said the commander, with a smile, as he saw the yellow +hue of the steward's face. "We will not regard him as a prisoner. But +you may send the others on board." + +Captain Folkner was in no better humor than before, and a berth in the +steerage was assigned to him. The other prisoners were sent on board, +and Captain Breaker had ordered Christy to anchor the prize near the +Bellevite. + +"I don't feel as though I had quite finished my work," said Christy, +as he walked towards the gangway to obey the order. + +"What more is there to do?" asked the commander. + +"It would take me a little time to tell the story of my trip into the +bay, sir, and I think you would not understand what more is to be done +until you have heard it," replied Christy. + +"Then I will hear you before you anchor the Teaser," said the captain, +leading the way to his cabin. + +The lieutenant narrated the events of his trip across Santa Rosa Island. +Captain Breaker was not a little amused at his scheme to get rid of the +portion of the crew of the privateer before he captured her. + +"I never suspected that you were the possessor of so much audacity, +Christy," said he, when the lieutenant had put him in possession of all +the facts. + +"I did not know that I had more than my fair share, sir, and I don't +know what I have done that is at all audacious," replied Christy, very +meekly. + +"It is a very dark and foggy night, but I don't believe that I have +another officer who would have cheek enough to pretend to be a pilot +in Pensacola Bay, and to be in possession of the guard-boat at the same +time." + +"Captain Folkner put the idea into my head, and I think I should have +been an idiot not to make use of it, considering the nature of my +mission on board of the Teaser." + +"It is a wonder that no one knew you were not Gilder." + +"The men in the guard-boat did not expose me, and admitted by their +silence that I was the person I claimed to be," replied Christy, with +a twinkle of the eyes. + +"Your scheme would have failed ninety-nine times out of a hundred." + +"If it had failed, I had force enough to clean out the enemy on board, +so that I ran no risk; but I was ordered to avoid a fight, and I did +so," argued Christy. + +"You were exceedingly fortunate; and the next time you try such a trick, +it may lead you into a rebel prison." + +"It was not my fault that the ship's company of the Teaser were at issue +among themselves, and I should have been an imbecile to fail to profit +by it." + +"I approve all you have done, Mr. Passford." + +"Thank you, sir. Though I was of Captain Folkner's opinion that the +sound was the best way out of the bay in the first place, I abandoned +that view before I started on the expedition. I was sorry that I could +not indorse Captain Folkner's opinion, and that I was obliged to take +sides with his men," said Christy, chuckling. + +"I understand your position perfectly. Now, what do you mean by +finishing your work, Mr. Passford?" asked Captain Breaker, curiously. +"We have the Teaser, and we ought to be satisfied with your brilliant +success." + +"I am not quite satisfied, sir." + +"You ought to be." + +"We put twelve men ashore at Town Point rather than have a fight with +them; and I have the feeling that we have a mortgage on those men, +to say nothing of thirty more at Pensacola who were to join the Teaser. +I told them they could get on board of their steamer from the island. +I shall be sorry to disappoint them, for I suppose the whole forty or +more are counting on a handsome allowance of prize money to be made for +them by the Teaser. I should be sorry to disappoint them," continued +Christy, chuckling all the time. + +"Precisely so! I suppose you would be greatly grieved to blast their +hopes, and you propose to take them on board of the steamer." + +"That is the idea, sir. Taking a more patriotic view of the question, +it would be a great pity to allow forty good sailors to waste their +energies in the service of the Confederacy." + +"Undoubtedly it would," said Captain Breaker, his brow knitting under +his earnest thought. "What do you propose to do? Explain your plan +fully, Mr. Passford." + +"The principal of the malcontents on board of the Teaser was a man by +the name of Lonley," Christy explained. "We left them at the point where +the rest of the Teaser's crew were to join them. They are all anxious +to get to sea in the Teaser, and I have no doubt they will come down +to-night." + +"I should think they would," the captain assented. "But they will expect +to find the steamer in the sound, and not outside of the island. If the +Teaser could get through the sound at all, she would not be where you +intend to put her." + +"I told Lonley to get upon the island, and be on the lookout for the +Teaser; and as they have to come from Pensacola in a boat, it will be as +easy for them to go to the island as to land at the point. Very likely +they will get the Times to bring them off, or some other steamer," +Christy argued. + +"It is certainly very desirable to capture these men, for it will do so +much to weaken the enemy; but I am afraid you are a little too audacious +in some of your movements, Mr. Passford," replied Captain Breaker, with +a softening smile. + +"I beg you will not consider that I am asking for the command of the +Teaser, Captain Breaker, if she is sent upon this duty," returned the +lieutenant, somewhat set back at the prudence of the commander. + +"I think I had better send Mr. Blowitt in command of the Teaser, and you +shall go as his first officer," added the captain. + +"I have no objection, even in my heart, to this arrangement," replied +Christy. + +"But I shall have to send the prize to New York, and I will appoint you +prize-master," continued the captain, afraid that he was disappointing +the ambitious young officer. "You have done exceedingly well, Christy, +and I shall not fail to mention you favorably in my report; and you will +write out yours as soon as possible." + +Christy would not allow himself to think that he was unappreciated +because an older officer was appointed to conduct the enterprise he +suggested. He was ready to do his whole duty either as principal or +subordinate. Mr. Blowitt was summoned from his stateroom, and forty +men, including all who had taken part in the capture of the prize, +were detailed to man the Teaser. The second lieutenant was one of the +jolliest men on board, but he weighed nearly two hundred pounds, and he +was not as active on this account in boat service as some others. He was +an excellent officer, and had been in command of a steamer, though he +had never before been in the navy. + +At three o'clock in the morning the fasts of the Teaser were cast off, +and she backed away from the Bellevite. She was to proceed to a point +about six miles to the eastward, which was beyond the camp of the "Pet +Lambs." Here she was to look out for the Teaser's crew. + +She had not made half this distance when all hands heard rapid and +continued firing on Santa Rosa Island. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +LIEUTENANT PASSFORD ON A MISSION + + +The officers on board of the Teaser could not explain the occasion of +the firing on the island, though it sounded as though an engagement of +some sort was in progress. It had been foggy during the preceding day, +and if any movement on the part of the enemy had been indicated it could +not have been seen on board of the ships off the entrance to the bay. + +"I hope this business we are to do this morning will not take us long," +said Mr. Blowitt. "We may be wanted on board, and I should not like to +be absent from the Bellevite if she is to take part in an engagement of +any kind." + +"And I am sure I should not," added Christy. "I should not be surprised +if the enemy made an attempt to capture Pickens; but even if they storm +it in the darkness, I do not see that the ships can do anything until +they are able to see what they are to do." + +"But this affair may keep us away from the ship for a day or two," +suggested the second lieutenant. + +"I don't think so, sir; I believe you will be on board again before +seven bells in the morning watch," replied Christy. "The ship's company +of the Teaser were to be somewhere on the shores of the sound where they +could be taken on board." + +"But the men you landed at the point believed that the Teaser was to +get out through the sound," replied Mr. Blowitt. "They took you for the +pilot Gilder, and you did not tell them that you intended to run the +blockade." + +"Of course I did not; if I had, they would have remained on board. But +the guard-boat attempted to stop us, and the artillery on the island +fired into it, though it is probable that they did not hit it in the +dense fog," Christy explained. "Our men may have learned from the +guard-boat that we took the steamer out through the main channel." + +"If they did they probably learned that the Teaser went out with the +assistance of the garrison at the fort," suggested Mr. Blowitt. + +"I am confident that the officer of the guard-boat would have no means +of knowing that fact," argued Christy. "Of course, he heard the firing +in the neighborhood of the fort, and he would naturally conclude that +they were firing upon the steamer to prevent her from running out." + +"That may be; but, to tell you the truth, Mr. Passford, I am afraid we +shall not find these men," added the second lieutenant. "From the firing +we hear, I should judge that a movement of some kind is in progress, and +our men may be better informed than you expect." + +"Of course, they may be; but I expect to find these men at some point +along the shore," replied Christy, who thought the second lieutenant was +just a little obstinate in not accepting his theory in full. + +The steamer continued on her course to the eastward, and nothing more +passed between the two principal officers in regard to the crew from +Pensacola. But Flint was quite as confident as the third lieutenant that +the forty men, more or less, would be captured. The noise of the firing +could no longer be heard, and then Christy suggested that the whistle be +sounded as a signal to the men if they were in the vicinity. + +The depth of water was three or four fathoms close up to this part +of the island. The soundings indicated that the steamer was as near +as it was prudent to go in the dense fog. Christy was sure that the +privateer's crew could not have gone any farther to the eastward by this +time, and the screw was stopped, while all hands made an anxious use of +their ears to detect any sounds that came from the shore. But nothing +could be heard at first, and Mr. Blowitt again intimated that they were +engaged in a "wild-goose chase." But he had hardly uttered this cooling +reflection before Beeks came aft to report that a number of pistol +shots, as he thought they were, had been heard in the distance. + +"Nobody can tell what they mean," said the sceptical Mr. Blowitt. "They +may be a part of the affair we heard going on soon after we left the +ship." + +"In what direction were the shots, Beeks?" asked Christy. + +"They sounded as though they were about half a mile or less to the +westward of us," replied the quartermaster. + +"Blow the whistle in short blasts, Beeks," added Mr. Blowitt, who seemed +to have gathered a little faith from the report of the quartermaster. + +The order was obeyed, and Beeks again reported that pistol shots had +been heard from the westward. The third lieutenant was in a hurry to +have the business finished, for he felt confident that the Bellevite +would soon be engaged in an affair of more importance than picking up +a couple of score of prisoners. He ordered the steamer to come about, +and move to the westward; but after she had been under way about five +minutes, he rang to stop her, and then sounded the whistles again. +Several pistol shots responded to this signal. Again he started the +screw, and pointed the bow of the Teaser squarely to the north. + +The steamer moved very slowly, and two men sounded all the time till +they reported "by the mark two," when there could not have been more +than three feet of water under the keel of the vessel. The screw was +stopped and backed so that she might not run upon any shoal place ahead +of her, and the officers waited with interest and anxiety for further +action on the part of the party on shore. By this time no one doubted +that there were men on this part of the island; but whether they were +the crew of the privateer or not was yet to be proved. + +"Steamer, ahoy!" shouted some one on the shore. + +"On the island!" replied Christy, as he was instructed to do by his +superior. + +"What steamer is that?" demanded the speaker on the island. + +Whoever he was, he could not help knowing that a steamer was there, for +the engineer had begun to blow off steam as soon as the screw stopped, +though neither party could see the other in the fog and darkness. + +"The Teaser," replied Christy. "Who are you?" + +"We are the ship's company of the Teaser, and we want to get on board," +replied the speaker. "Is Captain Folkner on board?" + +"He is on board--of the Bellevite," the third lieutenant would have +finished the sentence if he had told the whole truth, for he uttered +only the first part of the sentence. + +"All right. The first and second lieutenants are with us. Is Gilder on +board?" + +"He is; and he wants to get back to the other side of the inland," +answered Christy, who considered it his duty to make his replies as +suitable to the occasion as possible. "Who is speaking?" + +"Lieutenant Lonley," replied the man; and Christy knew him, though he +did not know his rank before. "He wants to see Gilder before he goes on +board. Tell him to come on shore in his canoe." + +"What is that for?" demanded Christy, rather surprised at the unexpected +request. + +"I want to see him on particular business; I have a message for him, +which I cannot deliver in presence of any other person," replied Lonley. + +"All right; you shall see him soon," answered Christy. + +"Get out the boats to take us on board," continued Lonley. "Send them +about a mile to the eastward, where we have left our bags." + +"All right," repeated Christy. + +But he said what he did not believe, for everything did not look right +to him. He could not understand why the bags of the men should be a mile +to the eastward. He could not imagine what business Lonley could have +with Gilder or his representative; and if he had any, why it should be +necessary to meet him on the island. + +"Of course you don't expect me to carry on the programme that fellow has +marked out," said Mr. Blowitt. "I don't quite like the looks of the +things that we can't see, Mr. Passford." + +"Neither do I, Mr. Blowitt," replied the third lieutenant frankly. + +"I shall not send a boat from the steamer till I understand this matter +a great deal better than I do now, and especially I shall not send the +boats a mile to the eastward," added the second lieutenant. + +"Of course it is possible that my plan has miscarried already," added +Christy. + +"I shall do everything I can to carry out your plan, as I am instructed +to do by the captain; but I have the feeling, in spite of myself, that +we are crawling into a hornet's nest," added Mr. Blowitt, with some +anxiety in his tones. "You will call all hands quietly, and be ready to +repel boarders. It is well to be prepared for whatever may come. The +firing at the west end of the island indicated that something was going +on, and perhaps these men on the shore know about it." + +Christy obeyed the order promptly, and the next minute, every seaman on +board was ready with his cutlass and revolver to meet an attack. But no +sound came from the shore just then, and the officers were in a state of +uncertainty in regard to the situation which allowed them to do nothing. +They waited for half an hour, when the leadsman reported that the water +was shoaling, which indicated that the Teaser was drifting towards the +island. + +"On board the Teaser!" shouted Lonley, so distinctly that he could +hardly have been more than three hundred feet from the steamer. + +"On shore," replied Christy, prompted by Mr. Blowitt. + +"I am waiting for Gilder! Why don't he come on shore?" shouted Lonley, +his impatience apparent in his tones. + +"Where are all the men?" demanded Christy, as requested by the second +lieutenant. + +"They have gone a mile to the eastward where they left their bags." + +"We will run down in the steamer for them," added Mr. Blowitt, talking +through Christy. + +"Don't do that!" protested the speaker on shore. "There is a Yankee +steamer off in that direction. We heard her steam an hour ago." + +"All right!" replied Christy. + +"That settles the matter in my mind," said Mr. Blowitt. "They are trying +to play what they call a Yankee trick upon us. When we send our boats to +the eastward, we shall send them into a trap. If the boats are to bring +off forty men, they will expect them to go with only men enough to pull +the oars; and when they get possession of them, they expect to retake +the Teaser." + +"I think you are right, Mr. Blowitt," replied Christy, who began to +believe that his scheme was rapidly approaching a failure, though he did +not give it up just yet. + +"This Lonley is still on the shore near us," said Mr. Blowitt. "I should +very much like to know what has been going on to-night on the island, +and it may be that he knows all about it. As you are the representative +of Gilder, Mr. Passford, you may take the canoe that is astern, and have +a talk with Lonley at close quarters, if you don't object." + +"I should have proposed it myself if I had not feared that the idea +would be charged to my audacity," replied Christy. "I will take only +Flint with me, as he was with me before." + +The canoe was brought up to the gangway, and Flint took his place at the +oars. Mr. Blowitt charged the young officer in the most serious manner +not to run any risks, and the boat was shoved off. It required but a few +strokes of the oars to bring it into shoal water by the beach. Only a +single man could be seen on the shore, and this one must be Lonley. +There seemed to be no risk, and Christy landed. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +CHRISTY BECOMES A VICTIM + + +Everything was perfectly still on the island, and only a single man +was in sight; but Christy put his hand upon his revolver as he went +on shore. Though he had never been a fighting young man, he had the +impression that he should not tamely submit to the assault of an enemy, +or run away from any single man that stood up in front of him. He had +always been prudent, even while he had been daring, and he hardly needed +the solemn admonition of the second lieutenant to be extremely cautious. + +"Is that you, Captain Gilder?" asked the man on the shore, who stood a +little way from the waterside. + +"Yes; and I take it for granted that you are Lonley," replied Christy, +advancing towards the other. "You have done all the talking this night, +and I ought to know you." + +"All the talking except what you have done, and I ought to know you," +replied Lonley. "I am Lieutenant Lonley, of the Teaser, and our men are +all ready to go on board." + +"And Captain Folkner is all ready to have them go on board," returned +Christy, who had no doubt of the truth of what he said, though he +understood that he was telling a "story" all the same. + +"I have no doubt he is. But I don't quite understand how you happen to +be on this side of the island, and so far to the westward at this time +in the morning. We expected to find the Teaser burrowing through the +sound, and we had about made up our minds to take possession of her and +run the blockade, as other Christians do. We did not believe she would +get through the sound in a week, if she ever did." + +"I succeeded in persuading Captain Folkner that he had better come out +by the main channel; and that is the way we did come out, and that +explains how we happen to be here at this time in the morning," replied +Christy, very cheerfully. + +"You must have very strong powers of persuasion, Captain Gilder," said +Lonley, laughing. + +"I have in a case such as this was," added the lieutenant, with a +chuckle, as he thought of the particular kind of persuasion he had +used upon the captain of the privateer. + +"I would give a good deal if I had just such powers, for they are +sometimes of very great service to an officer." + +"You are quite right, Mr. Lonley. I suppose you are the first lieutenant +of the Teaser." + +"No, I am not; kissing goes by favor, and the captain's brother is the +first; and he is no more fit for his position than the captain is for +his duty. I was in hope that the government would take possession of +the steamer, and send her to sea properly officered," added Lonley, +very good-naturedly. + +"Good officers are quite necessary in the service," suggested Christy. +"I have no doubt you will fill the bill, and be all that could be +possibly desired." + +"Thank you, Captain Gilder. Did you have any trouble in getting out of +the bay?" + +"No, none at all. By the way, Mr. Lonley, we have been hearing firing at +the west end of the island to-night. Do you know what it means?" + +"The first thing was to clean out that regiment of Zouaves; and I have +no doubt that has been done before now; and our boys may get a hack at +Pickens. A big force was landed in the fog, and the Yankees will not +stay on this island much longer," replied Lonley. + +His information was entirely correct, though his prediction was not +equally reliable. + +"I was sure there was fighting going on over there," added Christy. +"You seem to be all alone, Mr. Lonley. Where are all your men?" + +"I told you before you came ashore that I had sent them all over to the +place where they had left their bags, about a mile to the eastward of +us. I suppose Captain Folkner has sent the boats over there for them +before this time?" + +"He was inclined to run over in the steamer," added Christy. + +"I hope he did not do that," said the privateersman, with a good deal +more energy than the other thought the occasion warranted. "I warned you +that there was a Yankee gunboat over that way." + +"The Teaser has not gone over that way," replied Christy. + +"If she has, she will be gobbled up by that gunboat, and all my men with +her." + +"I persuaded Captain Folkner not to do it," added the Bellevite's +officer, very quietly. + +"He ought to have done just what I asked him to do; and that was to send +his boats over to the place named for the men." + +"And I persuaded him to do that also," continued Christy, as +unblushingly as though he had not been strictly in the habit of +telling the truth all his lifetime. + +"Good for you, Captain Gilder!" exclaimed Lonley, grasping the hand of +his companion as though he had been his brother. "You beat all the men +I ever knew on power of persuasion; and when I get the command of the +Teaser, as I expect to have before this year ends, I shall want you to +serve as my first lieutenant." + +"Thank you, Lieutenant Lonley; you are very kind; and if I ever go into +the privateering service, I shall certainly go in with you," replied +Christy. + +"An officer with your power of persuasion will be invaluable to me," +replied Lonley, still holding the hand of the other. "If I were gifted +in this respect as you are, Captain Gilder, do you know what I would +do?" + +"I am sure I have not the least idea, unless it would be to persuade +Jeff Davis to send you a commission as a captain in the regular navy," +said Christy, laughing at the idea. + +"I am afraid I should have too little cheek to attempt to do that, for +the president is a rather obstinate man, and I fear he would not see the +point. Besides, I am a very modest man, though you may not have observed +this shining trait in my character. No; I am too diffident to ask for a +place I have not won by service." + +"Then what would you do in the way of persuasion?" asked Christy, though +he wondered why he was prolonging the interview. + +"I should use my powers of persuasion upon you, Captain Gilder, in the +first place." + +"I don't think it would be of any use, for I am too well posted in that +way of doing it to be influenced," replied Christy, trying to withdraw +his hand from the grasp of the privateersman. "I must go on board of the +Teaser again when you have delivered your message to me, as that was +what you wished to see me for." + +"I did say I had a message for you, didn't I? Well, upon my life, I have +quite forgot what it was, but it was from President Jefferson Davis, +and he was particular that I should deliver it to you to-night or this +morning. Isn't it very strange that I should forget a message of so much +importance that it could not be trusted to writing?" + +"Passing strange, I should say," answered Christy, who began to +understand that he had fallen into a trap of some sort. "While you are +thinking of it, I will go on board, and persuade Captain Folkner not to +run the Teaser to the eastward if he should take it into his head to do +so. I had no idea there was a Yankee gunboat in that direction, and I +don't believe the captain had. Besides, he don't know where he is in +this fog, and he needs me." + +As he spoke, Christy tried to withdraw his hand from the grasp of +Lonley, as he had not succeeded in doing before when he tried. But the +privateersman suddenly fell upon him, and both of them went down. A +tremendous struggle followed, but before it was decided, two men rushed +out of the gloom, and took part in the affair; and they soon settled the +matter in favor of the Confederacy, much to the chagrin of the second +lieutenant of the Bellevite. + + [Illustration: "A tremendous struggle followed."--Page 284.] + +Flint had remained in the canoe, which had been partly drawn up on +the beach; but the moment he sprang out upon the sand to go to the +assistance of his officer, he was set upon by two men and secured. Both +of them were deprived of their weapons, and their hands tied behind +them. Beyond a doubt the lieutenant and the master's mate were prisoners +before they had any clear idea of the situation. + +"Are you there, Mr. Folkner?" called Lonley, as soon as the prisoners +were secured, speaking now in an energetic tone, as he had not before. + +"I am here," replied a man who seemed to be in a boat not far from the +spot. "You have kept me a long time waiting for you!" + +"I wanted to give the Yankee boats time to get at least a mile from +the Teaser before anything was done. Shove off now, and make things as +lively as you can," said Lonley. "Go to your places in the boats," +he continued to four men who had assisted in the capture of the two +officers. + +By this time Christy had a chance to see that he was a victim of a trick +which was to eventuate in the recapture of the Teaser; and he was sorry +that he was not the only victim, as he looked at Flint. He realized too +that the scheme had been very well planned, though he was really happy +in the belief that it would be a failure in the end. Lonley seemed to +be the leading spirit in the affair, and managed the details. He had +intended that the boats should be sent from the Teaser to a point at +least a mile off. + +He had taken it for granted that the steamer would come to pick them +up, or in other words, to capture the forty prisoners. If he was weak +in accepting as the truth Christy's statement that the boats had +been actually sent away, as desired, he could see no reason why the +Yankee officer should try to deceive him. It appeared now that the +privateersmen had two boats, which had been brought across the island +for the purpose. Lonley had naturally wished that only a few men should +be on board, and concluded that it would be an easy matter to capture +the steamer, and then to secure the men in the boats when they returned +from the eastward. + +The four men on shore, who had been put in a place where they could +assist Lonley, hastened to the boats, and they shoved off, pulling as +silently as though the oars had been muffled, as probably they had been. +In a moment more they disappeared in the darkness and fog. + +"I think I have improved a great deal in the art of persuasion," +said Lonley, as the boats disappeared. "I suppose I persuaded you +as effectually as you did Captain Folkner." + +"You have done very well, Mr. Lonley," replied Christy, in a patronizing +tone, for he was determined that his companion should derive no +satisfaction from seeing him cast down by his misfortune. + +"You informed me a little while ago that Captain Folkner was on board +of the Teaser; and I wish to ask if you are uniformly in the habit of +speaking the truth?" continued Lonley. + +"Well, that depends upon circumstances. If I have not done so, you +cannot expect me to contradict myself." + +"You claimed that you were Captain Gilder." + +"Hardly, my excellent friend: when Captain Folkner addressed me by that +name, I did not object to it." + +"That was just as much a lie as though you had claimed it in so many +words," protested Lonley. + +"I admit it; and I hardly expect a true patriot to tell the truth to +the enemy. If I remember rightly, you told me yourself that your men +had gone to the eastward where they had left their bags. I don't believe +that your conscience reproached you when they showed themselves in the +boats." + +At this moment pistol shots were heard on the water. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +THE ACTION ON THE DECK OF THE TEASER + + +As the Teaser was but a short distance from the shore, Christy had no +doubt that the attempt to board her had been made by this time. Mr. +Blowitt had quite as many men on board of the steamer as could have been +contained in the two boats, and he was not much concerned about the +result of the attack, especially as he knew that the second lieutenant +was fully prepared and on the lookout for it. The only thing that +Christy regretted was that he was not on board of the Teaser to take +part in the affair of repelling boarders. + +"There seems to be some music in the air," said Lonley, after he had +listened for a few moments to the sounds that came from the direction of +the steamer. + +"To return to the subject of the morality of telling stories, your men +do not seem to be a mile to the eastward, where their bags were left," +added Christy good-naturedly. + +"You had a glance at them in the boats, though the darkness and fog were +rather too thick for you to count them," replied Lonley, chuckling over +the deception he had practised upon the lieutenant of the Bellevite. + +"Yes, I saw them, and I concluded that they could not be where their +bags were." + +"All is fair in war." + +"That seems to be the generally received maxim, and he is the smartest +man who the most thoroughly deceives the enemy," added Christy, who +found himself tolerably well satisfied with the situation, though he was +a prisoner. + +"That is so, and of course I can find no fault with you for deceiving +me," returned Lonley, chuckling as though he was even better satisfied +with the situation than his companion. + +"Thank you, Mr. Lonley; you are magnanimous, and with equal sincerity +I can say that I have no fault to find with you," replied the Union +officer. "But I have my doubts whether, after this, either of us will be +likely to believe what the other says. But, for my part, I wish to say +that I don't believe in telling anything but necessary and patriotic +lies." + +"That is my view of the matter exactly; and if there is any man that +despises a liar, I am that man," said Lonley warmly. "But it seems to +me they are making a good deal of a racket off there," he added, as the +noise of pistol shots and the clash of cutlasses came over the smooth +waters of the gulf. + +"They seem to be at it quite earnestly," replied Christy. + +"By the way, how many men did you leave on board of the Teaser?" asked +the privateersman, whose manner seemed to have suddenly become +considerably changed. + +"How many men?" repeated the lieutenant of the Bellevite. + +"That is the question I asked," replied the lieutenant of the Teaser. + +"I suppose you would not believe me if I should tell you," answered +Christy. + +"I judge that you can speak the truth if you try," added Lonley, with +more asperity than the occasion seemed to require. + +"I know that I could," said Christy, very decidedly; "and I may add that +I was in the habit of doing so on all occasions before this cruel war +began." + +"Then suppose you try to do so just now, and tell me how many men your +people had on board of the Teaser." + +"You must excuse me for the present, for I do not like to make +statements to one who will not believe what I say," answered Christy, +rather facetiously. + +"You are a prisoner now." + +"I am painfully aware of the fact, but I doubt if the government service +will suffer very much in my absence from duty." + +"You are too modest by half, Mr.--but I have not even the pleasure of +knowing your name, and conversation is annoying under such +circumstances." + +"I am simply Midshipman Passford, at your service." + +"Only a midshipman!" exclaimed Lonley. "Upon my word, you ought to be a +commodore. Passford? Possibly you are a cousin of Colonel Passford of +Glenfield." + +"Colonel Passford is my uncle. Do you know him?" asked Christy. + +"I do know him; and there is not a finer man or a truer patriot in the +South than Colonel Passford. He is loading a schooner with cotton, and +he offered me the command of it. Then you are his nephew, I have heard +of you." + +"I hope my uncle is quite well, for I have not heard from him for +several weeks, or since I left New York." + +"I saw him ten days ago, and he was very well then. I am very happy +to have made a prisoner of his enterprising nephew, who appears to be +capable of doing our cause a great deal of mischief," replied Lonley, +looking earnestly in the direction of the Teaser. + +"Thank you, Mr. Lonley; I certainly intend to do it all the mischief I +can in a legitimate way. I am speaking the truth now," said Christy. + +"But you have not answered my question in regard to the number of men on +board of the Teaser when you left her." + +"And you will excuse me for the present if I do not answer it," added +the Union lieutenant. + +"Very well, Mr. Passford; I cannot compel you to answer it, though doing +so would do no harm to your cause, for I should judge that the question +of the hour is settled." + +"What is the question of the hour, Mr. Lonley?" + +"The question is which side is in possession of the Teaser, yours or +mine," replied the privateersman, still gazing out into the gloom. + +"Is that question settled?" asked Christy, with interest. + +"Of course I don't know, but I should think that it was. We hear no +more pistol shots and no more clashing of cutlasses," replied Lonley, +uneasily. "But I expected to hear the triumphal shout of our men when +they had carried the deck of the Teaser." + +"I have not heard anything like a triumphal shout," added Christy, very +quietly. "It is barely possible that your men have not carried the deck +of the Teaser." + +"Of course, it is possible they have not; but I don't believe they have +failed," replied Lonley. + +The privateersman listened for a few minutes in silence. He appeared +to be entirely confident that the victory must be with his men. He +evidently believed that the captors of the Teaser had sent her two boats +off to a distance of a mile, and thus weakened whatever force she had on +board of her. He did not seem to have any idea that the party he had +met in Pensacola Bay had been increased in numbers, or that the officer +in command had reported to the ship to which they belonged. Christy +realized what Lonley was thinking about, and he clearly believed that +the Teaser had been left in charge of not more than a dozen or fifteen +men, reduced by at least six then on boat duty. + +"Help! help!" shouted a man in the water at no great distance from the +shore. + +"What does that mean?" said Lonley, springing to his feet. + +"It is a call for help, and, as my hands are tied behind me, I cannot +respond to it, as I would gladly do, be the man who needs it friend or +enemy," replied Christy. "There is the canoe in which we came ashore, +Lieutenant Lonley, and you can use that." + +The privateersman sprang into the boat, shoved it off, and pulled in +the direction from which the appeal came. He disappeared in the fog in a +moment; but a little later was seen again approaching the shore. He had +not taken the sufferer into the boat, but he had clung to it. As he got +upon his feet, Christy saw that there were two of them, for one helped +the other up the beach. + +"What does this mean?" demanded Lonley, very much excited. "Have you run +away from the others?" + +"No, sir; but we were beaten in the fight, our boats captured, and all +hands taken prisoners except us two," replied the uninjured of the two +men. + +Lieutenant Lonley, whatever his views of the morality of lying to the +enemy, uttered an exclamation which grated very harshly on the ears of +Lieutenant Passford. The result, as stated by the man who had swum to +the shore, was as unwelcome as it was unexpected. He had not deemed a +defeat even possible. He learned from the guard-boat that the steamer +had been captured. He had spent the time after he was landed with his +companions at Town Point, and organized his force for the recapture of +the Teaser. The failure of the final attack was as severe upon him as +the loss of his vessel had been upon Captain Folkner. + +"Who are you?" demanded Lonley, when he had in some measure recovered +from the shock which the failure gave him. + +"I am Levick, the boatswain; and this is Lieutenant Folkner, who was +wounded in the shoulder in the first of it," replied the man. "He was +knocked from the rail into the water when we boarded, and he held on to +an oar. When the fight was over, and we had lost it, I slipped into the +water, and helped the lieutenant along on his oar, till I was about used +up, and then I called for help." + +"Are you much hurt, Mr. Folkner?" asked Lonley of the injured officer. + +"I don't know; my shoulder feels numb, and I can't use my arm," replied +Folkner. "But I can use my legs, and I think that is what we had better +be doing." + +"I don't understand it," protested Lonley, very much dissatisfied with +the result of the action, as may well be supposed. "I was sure you would +carry her deck at once." + +"I was as sure as you were, Lonley; but I believe they had fifty men +all ready for us. They let us leap on deck without much opposition, and +then they surrounded us, and took us by surprise, for I did not suppose, +after what you said, that they had a dozen men," replied the wounded +lieutenant. + +"I did not suppose they had even a dozen men left on board," Lonley +explained, with humiliation in his tones. + +"I staid in the boat till I had seen all my men on deck," continued Mr. +Folkner. "They surrounded our force, and tumbled them into the hold as +though they had been pigs, slashing them with their cutlasses if they +tried to get out. I saw the fat officer in command of the enemy; he was +very active, and I leaped on deck, determined to cross weapons with him. +But he hit me in the shoulder with his cutlass, and I lost my hold on +the rail." + +"You ought to have led your men, not followed them," said Lonley +bitterly. + +"That is easy enough for you to say; but I wanted to be where I could +see my men," retorted the first lieutenant, of whom the second had a +very mean opinion, perhaps because he got his position on account of +being the captain's brother. + +"Whether I did right or not, I can tell you all one thing; and that is, +that we shall be prisoners if we stay here any longer. They have got our +men under the hatches, and they have ordered out a boat to look for an +officer they sent ashore." + +"We can do nothing here, and we may as well put ourselves in safer +quarters, for we have two prisoners to lose," said Lonley. "Mr. +Passford, I shall have to trouble you to march to the other side of +the island." + +"I am your prisoner, Mr. Lonley, and I must obey your orders, though +I am sorry to be away from my ship in the hour of victory," replied +Christy submissively. + +But he felt that his plan had been fully carried out. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +A VISIT FROM COLONEL HOMER PASSFORD + + +With his arms securely tied behind him, Christy realized that he could +make no resistance to his captors. Flint was in the same unfortunate +situation, and both of them had been deprived of their revolvers. But +in spite of his unpleasant surroundings, the young lieutenant felt that +the balance of advantage was on the side of the Union. If the government +was deprived of the services of a midshipman and a master's mate, a +dangerous privateer had been captured, and about forty prisoners had +been taken from the employ of the Confederacy. In the face of this +decided gain, Christy felt that he had no right to complain. + +By this time the light of day had begun to have some effect on the +darkness and fog, though the gloom seemed to be hardly less. Lonley +directed his two prisoners to walk side by side behind the wounded +lieutenant, while he and Levick took their places in the rear. The +second lieutenant of the Teaser was duly impressed by what the first +had said about a probable visit to the island in search of the missing +midshipman, and he directed Folkner to march as rapidly as he could. He +took the control of the party out of the hands of his superior, and very +likely he wished he had done so sooner. + +Folkner, as he had before suggested, still had the use of his legs, and +he certainly used them well, for he travelled like a man who was in a +hurry; but both Christy and Flint were in excellent condition, though +they had been on active duty all night, and they had no difficulty in +keeping up with their leader. + +Lonley and Levick were both armed, and they kept their weapons in +readiness for immediate use, for the former recognized the enterprising +character of the young officer in front of him, and knew that he would +escape if he could. But Christy did not feel called to take any +desperate chances in order to restore himself at once to the service of +his country, and he and his companion in captivity marched along very +quietly. The two armed men soon dropped several paces to the rear, so +that the lieutenant could listen to the details of the action on the +deck of the Teaser. The prisoners could not hear what was said, and they +started a conversation on their own account. + +"We are in a bad box," said Flint. "I did not expect to come out of the +little end of the horn in this way." + +"You must take a broader view of the situation than that," replied +Christy. "The Teaser is certainly a prize of the Bellevite, with as many +as forty prisoners. That is the result of our night's work, though we +are counted out just now in the business of crowing over the success of +our side. That is the way to look at it; and this view makes me quite +satisfied with the night's work." + +"I did not see it in that light, and I suppose you are right, Mr. +Passford," replied Flint. + +"And you will not lose your share of the prize-money for the Yazoo or +the Teaser," added Christy, though, as the son of a millionnaire, he +felt no interest at all in the spoils of war. + +"What do you suppose will be done with us, sir?" asked the master's +mate. + +"I have not the least idea, any more than you have; but I have no doubt +we shall be kept in close confinement, and I don't believe we shall live +as well in our prison, wherever it may be, as we do on board of the +Bellevite. But I am rather fond of johnny-cake, and I don't expect to +starve on bacon." + +"Don't you think it was a mistake to send us ashore in the canoe on the +part of Mr. Blowitt?" asked Flint, rather timidly. + +"If it was, it was as much my mistake as it was his. But I don't think +it was a mistake. I cannot say that we did not succeed in the action on +the deck of the steamer because we were sent ashore," replied Christy. + +"I don't see how that can be," replied Flint. + +"In the first place, Lonley wanted me to come on shore, and asked that +I should do so. On the strength of what I said to him, he believed that +our boats had been sent to the eastward, and that induced him to make +the advance he did. After he had told us where to find the men, he had +good reason to believe that the boats would be sent for them. We did not +fall into the trap he set for us. I think it is all right as it is; but +whether it is or not, it's no use to grumble about it." + +"I did not mean to grumble; and I am willing to believe that everything +has been for the best," replied Flint, apparently resolved to be +satisfied, as his superior officer was, whether he felt so or not. + +Folkner led the way in a northwesterly direction, and evidently knew +where he was going. When they had been marching about half an hour, +the party heard the report of fire-arms in the rear of them; but the +discharges were at regular intervals, and did not sound as though they +came from a battle. A little later, they heard loud shouts. + +"That is the party who are out in search of us," said Christy. + +"That is so, Mr. Passford; the sounds are only signals, and they are +intended to notify you that your friends are in search of you," added +Lonley, hastening up to the advance of the party. "I should be very +sorry to do such a thing, but if you shout, or do anything to inform +that party where you are, it will be my duty to shoot you." + +"I am not disposed to be rash, Mr. Lonley. If our friends overtake your +party, it will not be my fault," replied Christy. + +"You do not expect me to shoot you in that case, I hope?" added the +privateersman. + +"I did not know but that your revolver might go off by accident." + +"You may be assured that it will not; I claim to be a gentleman and a +Christian, and I intend to be fair even to my enemies." + +"I beg your pardon for my thoughtless remark. I have no occasion to +complain of you. I shall endeavor to be a gentleman and a Christian +also, though I intend to do my best in fighting my country's battles; +and I am not disposed to talk politics with you under present +circumstances." + +The march was continued for some time longer, and the signals in +the rear were repeated till increasing light enabled the prisoners to +see that they were approaching Pensacola Bay. Not a little to their +astonishment, the shore seemed to be alive with soldiers, and they +learned that a battle, or something like one, had been fought on the +island. The Confederate forces had been sent to attack Wilson's Zouaves, +in camp to the eastward of the fort. Some very severe fighting had been +done in the darkness and fog, with heavy losses on both sides. + +The Zouaves had been re-enforced from the fort, and with marines from +the ships. Though the Confederates claimed the victory, it was clear +enough to the two prisoners from the south side of the island that the +Southern troops were retreating from the field. A soldier who fought +with them wrote to a paper in Georgia: "I scarcely know whether we +achieved a victory, or suffered a defeat." He also said that in the +fog and darkness: "We shot down our friends in numbers." + +A few prisoners had been captured by the enemy, including two officers. +But Folkner led the way to a point on the bay not very near the steamers +which had brought over the expedition from the mainland. The Confederate +troops embarked in the steamers and launches by which they had come; but +the Union troops followed them to the end. Their steamers were aground, +and a merciless fire was poured into them by the pursuing companies. + +"They are having hot work of it over there," said Lonley, as they came +to a boat on the shore. "But that is not our affair, and it is quite +proper for us to keep out of the way of the flying bullets." + +Christy and Flint were directed to take seats in the boat, and the +lieutenant and boatswain manned the oars. They were not out of the +reach of the bullets of the Federal troops, and the oarsmen pulled with +all their might for a time. It was five miles to Pensacola, but the +privateersmen landed their prisoners there. They were committed to a +sort of guard-house; but in the afternoon they were sent to Mobile with +about twenty others, who had been captured in the battle of the night +before. + +There was not a great number of prisoners in the city, and it was +intended to remove them to other quarters arranged for their +accommodation. + +Christy and Flint were confined in an unoccupied warehouse, and were fed +tolerably well, and they were supplied with some kind of dried grass for +beds. It was not at all like the luxurious stateroom of the lieutenant +on board of the Bellevite, or even the quarters of Flint; but they were +determined to make the best of it. Flint had become reconciled to his +situation, and Christy was even cheerful. + +After he had been in the warehouse a few days, Christy was not a little +surprised to receive a visit from his uncle, Colonel Passford. He was +not surprised at the kindness of the planter in making the visit, but +that he should know so soon that he was a prisoner of war, for he had +fully decided not to make any appeal to his uncle; and he could not +imagine how he had discovered his situation. + +"I am glad to see you, Christy," said Colonel Passford, extending his +hand, which Christy took without any hesitation. + +"And I suppose you are glad to see me here," added the nephew, with a +smile. + +"While I am glad to see you deprived of the power to injure the cause I +love, and to which I have pledged all that I have and all that I am, I +am sorry that you should be in trouble, Christy. I hope I have Christian +feeling enough to keep me from rejoicing at the misfortunes of any +person, and especially of my brother's son. I can say sincerely that +I am sorry you are in trouble," said the colonel solemnly. + +"Oh, I am not in trouble, Uncle Homer!" exclaimed Christy, laughing. +"I have done my duty to my country, my conscience is clean, and I am +not to be upset by an accident like this. I am really happy in the +consciousness that I have been faithful to the cause of my country." + + [Illustration: "I am glad to see you, Christy."--Page 308.] + +"I wish you had been; but we will not talk about that, for I suppose you +and your father have the same views," replied the planter, looking very +sad. + +"I don't believe we should agree if we talked about it for a year, and +we had better give the subject the go-by. But how are Aunt Lydia and +Gerty?" + +"Both are very well. I hope your father is in good health, as well as +your mother and sister." + +"All very well." + +"I have not heard a word from any of you for about five months," +continued Colonel Passford. "In fact, not since you were here in May." + +"We got home all right, and the Bellevite is a man-of-war now. She +captured one valuable prize off the coast of Carolina, and another at +Pensacola," replied Christy cheerfully. + +"She ought never to have been allowed to leave Mobile Bay," added the +colonel. + +"Your people certainly did everything they could to prevent her from +leaving, and I hope you don't blame yourselves for letting her go. What +about Corny, sir?" asked Christy. + +"Major Pierson was very much to blame for permitting the Bellevite to +pass the forts when she came in, and he lost his command. But he has +devoted all his life to redeem his fault by her recapture. He took Corny +with him, and a naval officer; I only know that the attempt to recapture +her failed from the fact that the Bellevite is now on the blockade." + +Finding that his uncle knew nothing of the events which had transpired +at Bonnydale, Christy told him all about them, informing him at the end +that Corny was a prisoner of war on parole at his father's house, +recovering from his wound. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +AN ENTERPRISE FOR A DARK NIGHT + + +"Corny wounded!" exclaimed Colonel Passford, rising with no little +emotion from the box on which he had seated himself. + +"Not seriously, Uncle Homer," added Christy. + +"But how was he wounded? I have heard of no battle in the vicinity of +New York till now, though our papers contain some news from outside," +continued the planter. + +"It was hardly a battle," replied Christy. "Captain Carboneer had +brought a crew for a steamer through Canada, I believe, for the purpose +of capturing the Bellevite as she lay at Bonnydale. Major Pierson and +Corny were to assist him; and the major wished Captain Carboneer to take +Florry on board of her, and convey her to the South, when he had taken +possession of the steamer; but the naval officer was too high-toned to +do anything of the kind." + +"I did not suppose Major Pierson could do such a thing," added the +planter, biting his lips. + +"But the major insisted that he did not mean to take her against her +own will. Captain Carboneer bought an old steamer, put his men on board +of her, and started up the river to make the capture. I knew they were +coming, and was ready for them. We fired only one shot at the old +steamer, which smashed her walking-beam, and disabled her. A piece of +the machinery struck Corny, and injured him in the shoulder. The doctor +says he is not permanently injured, though it will be months before he +is able to use his arm. He was paroled, and mother is taking as good +care of him as though I had been wounded." + +"I am thankful it is not worse," added the colonel, with a sigh of +relief. "What became of Major Pierson?" + +"I don't know, but I suppose he is a prisoner in Fort Lafayette. He +refused to give his parole when he found he could not be a guest at +Bonnydale. Captain Carboneer obtained the command of a steamer, but it +was captured by the Bellevite, and probably he is with the major in the +fort." + +The planter asked a great many questions in regard to the affair on the +Hudson, and Christy answered them. He gave some of the particulars of +the capture of the Teaser, and mentioned the name of Lonley, who had +told him that Colonel Passford had offered him the command of a schooner +he had loaded with cotton to run the blockade; but the planter said +nothing to indicate that he had ever heard of the privateersman. + +"The Bellevite has been very fortunate so far, and she seems to have a +charmed existence," added the colonel. + +"That is only because she is well handled," replied Christy, laughing. + +"And you seem to be equally fortunate, Christy, for you have twice been +the means of saving your father's steamer. Corny has done nothing, is +wounded, and practically a prisoner. But, Christy, the tide will turn, +for Heaven is always on the side of a just cause," added the planter +solemnly. + +"I believe it, uncle; and that will be the reason why the Union will +prevail in the end. Besides, Napoleon believed that Heaven was always +on the side of the stronger battalions." + +"That was an impious remark; and Heaven, by its own mysterious ways, +will conduct the just cause of the South to a successful ending, and the +Confederate States of America will be an honored member of the family of +nations." + +"I think we had better not talk politics, even though we mix in a little +religion," suggested Christy. + +"As your father has been kind to my boy, wounded and a prisoner in the +midst of enemies, I ought to do something for you, Christy," continued +Colonel Passford, looking on the floor. + +"Not at all, Uncle Homer; I am not wounded as Corny is, and there is +no need of doing anything for me," interposed Christy, laughing in the +serious face of the planter. + +"I can get you paroled, and then I shall be glad to have you remain at +Glenfield until you are exchanged," said the planter. + +"I shall not accept a parole, Uncle Homer," replied Christy promptly. + +"Not accept a parole!" exclaimed the colonel. "Corny did so." + +"If I were wounded, as Corny is, I would accept it." + +"I hope you don't mean to try to escape, Christy," added his uncle, with +a look of deep concern on his dignified face, as he looked about the +apartment in which his nephew was confined. + +"I don't say that I shall; if I did say so, you would have our guard +doubled, and ready to shoot me if they saw my head at a window," +answered Christy with earnestness. + +"You seem to think I am a heathen; but you forget that you are an active +enemy of my country," added the planter, with a pained expression. + +"I don't forget it, uncle; but I am not half as active as I hope to be +before this thing ends. I believe you would see me shot or hung by the +neck till I was dead if it were for the benefit of what you call your +country." + +"I hope and pray that I may never be placed in a situation to see +anything of that kind." + +"I know you are earnest, honest, and sincere, Uncle Homer, and no +partiality to your own kindred would permit you to shirk what you +consider to be your duty. I find no fault with you; and I believe my +father would be equally firm," said Christy warmly. + +"I think you understand me, my boy; but do not attempt any rash project. +I cannot prevent the guard from shooting you if you attempt to escape." + +"I prefer to keep my own counsels in a matter of this kind, Uncle Homer. +Give my love to Aunt Lydia and Gerty, for I suppose I am not likely to +see them, as I am liable to be sent away any day." + +"Oh, yes, you will see them, for they shall call upon you here as soon +as they return from Montgomery, where they have gone for a few days." + +"It will be very kind of them to do so," added Christy, though he did +not believe he should be "at home" when they came. + +"I do not wish you were wounded, my dear boy, but if you were, we would +do all that your father and mother are doing for poor Corny," replied +Colonel Passford fervently, "Now, promise me, Christy, that you will not +attempt to escape." + +"I can't make any promises, uncle." + +"I will do the best I can to have your condition improved, and see that +you have a better diet, if I send your food from a hotel." + +"You are very kind, uncle, and I know that you will do all that your +duty will permit you to do for me." + +"But I shall live in fear and trembling if I leave you without your +promise to refrain from daring exploits. Just consider, my dear boy; you +are in the fourth story of this warehouse, and the guard-room is below +you. You have really no chance at all of success, and a fall or a shot +may kill or disable you for life." + +"I do not say that I shall try to escape, uncle." + +"And you do not say that you will not try to escape." + +For half an hour longer Colonel Passford endeavored to induce his nephew +to give the desired promise; but he remained obstinate to the end; +and his uncle was compelled to leave him, to enter upon the fear and +trembling in which he was to live while his enterprising nephew remained +a prisoner. But he promised to call upon him every day, and to write to +his wife and daughter to return at once. + +"I think I shall not wait for him to call," said Christy to Flint, +as soon as he had gone. + +"Do you expect to get out of this place, Mr. Passford?" asked the +master's mate, with lively interest. + +"This very night!" replied Christy, in an energetic whisper, as he put +his finger on his lips to indicate that nothing more was to be said on +the subject. + +The second lieutenant of the Bellevite had not been confined in the +warehouse three days without considering his chances of escape, and +the means of accomplishing such a purpose. He had looked the building +over with the greatest care. The room the prisoners occupied was next +to the roof. The rear windows opened upon a narrow alley, and he had +ascertained by looking out at them that the warehouse was one of a long +block. He had been in Mobile a great deal while the family were visiting +at Glenfield, and he had been careful to notice the location when he was +conducted to it with the others. + +At the end of the loft next to the main street were thirty or forty +other prisoners, with whom Christy and Flint had been on good terms, +though they belonged to the army, and seemed to be inclined to keep +by themselves. They had been exhausted by hard service, and they had +nothing to do but eat and sleep, though the former occupation did not +occupy any great amount of their spare time. But as soon as it was +fairly dark, they stretched themselves on their beds of vines and weeds, +and most of them were soon asleep. + +The evening that followed the day on which Colonel Passford visited his +nephew was dark, foggy, rainy, and as gloomy as even a blockade runner +might ask. Christy seated himself under one of the rear windows of the +loft, which appeared to have been intended only for storage, and was +only from seven to eight feet between studs. Flint placed himself at the +side of his companion, as he was requested to do. + +"This is just the kind of a night we want," said Christy, in a whisper, +for he could hear the tramp of a sentinel outside the door of the loft. + +"I should as soon think of getting out if we were buried a hundred feet +under ground as to think of getting out of this place," replied Flint, +who was hardly as enterprising as his officer, though he was always +ready to follow when he was well led. "There is a guard at the door, +Mr. Passford." + +"He may stay there; we don't want anything of him," replied Christy. + +"I see no other way out of this den, unless we jump down into the +street; but I will follow you, sir, if I fall a hundred feet in doing +it," protested the master's mate. + +"You shall not fall six inches, and you will have no opportunity to do +so. But if you are all ready to follow my lead, we may as well begin at +once," added Christy, who had expected that it would require some +persuasion to induce his companion to join him. + +The first thing the midshipman did was to take off his shoes, and to +require Flint to do the same. With these in their hands, Christy paced +off twenty steps, which brought him, according to a calculation he +had made in the daylight, under a scuttle that led to the roof of the +warehouse. Stationing the master's mate as a mark, he laid off five +paces at right angles with the first line from the party-wall. It was as +dark as Egypt, and the scuttle could not be seen; but the operator had +located it mathematically, and was confident as to its position. Flint +was planted under the opening, with the shoes of both at his side. + +The master's mate was nearly six feet in his stocking feet as he stood, +and Christy whispered to him the next thing in his scheme. With the aid +of his willing assistant, the midshipman was mounted on the shoulders of +the former, where he stood up like an athlete in the gloom, though he +almost instantly obtained a hold above with his hands. He unfastened the +scuttle, and slid it off the aperture with the greatest care. Then he +drew himself up with his strong hands, and was on the roof. Then Flint +passed up the shoes, as he reached down for them. Seating himself on one +side of the frame, he braced his feet against the other side, and +grasped the hands of the mate. It did not work. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +THE NEW MATE OF THE COTTON SCHOONER + + +Christy had given himself credit for more physical strength, or Flint +for less weight, than the circumstances warranted, and found that he +could not draw up his companion as he intended. He made several efforts +to accomplish his purpose, but he failed every time. The fear of making +a noise cramped his efforts to some extent. + +"Let go, Mr. Passford," whispered Flint, when he realized that his +avoirdupois was too much for the young officer. "I will get that box, +and then I can manage it myself." + +"All right; but don't make a particle of noise," added Christy. + +It required some time for the mate to find the box in the darkness, but +he had it in position at last, standing upon one end. Mounting it, he +found that his head was on a level with the roof, and he could easily +draw himself up; but he did not do so at once. + +"What are you waiting for, Flint?" asked Christy, rather impatiently. + +"If I leave the box where it is, the guard will see where we have gone +when they inspect the prison at ten o'clock," replied Flint. + +"That's so; I did not have the box in my plan, and that would tell the +guard where to look for us," replied Christy. "We must make a line, and +haul it up after you." + +"Here are two big handkerchiefs," added Flint, as he removed his +neck-cloth, and passed up his pocket handkerchief with it. + +Christy tied the handkerchiefs together with great care, adding two more +of his own to the length, which he thought would reach the box, Flint +made it fast to the broken end of a board on the side, and then, without +the least difficulty or noise, sprang lightly to the roof of the +warehouse. With the aid of his companion, Christy drew up the box, +careful that it should not strike against the frame of the scuttle. The +door was closed, though of course they were unable to hook it on the +inside, as they had found it; but the guard were not likely to notice +that it was not fastened before morning. + +"What next, Mr. Passford?" asked the master's mate, after they had +rested for a few minutes from their labors, though they had not been +very arduous. + +"The next thing is to get down into the street, where we shall be as +safe as though we were as patriotic, over the left, as my Uncle Homer. +The burden of the work is done, but I hope we shall be able to kill two +birds with one stone," replied Christy, though his meaning was +mysterious to his companion. + +"It don't seem to me that we are much better off than we were in the +loft," suggested the mate. + +"I believe we are, though I don't think we had better indulge in any +long speeches just now. We have a favorable night, and we must make the +best of it. I don't intend to be seen in this town in the morning, but +we have the whole night before us." + +"There will be a lively time looking for us to-morrow, for I don't think +they will be willing that you should get off, though it won't make much +difference to them about me." + +"They would not be willing to part with you, my friend." + +"But you made yourself rather noted in helping the Bellevite out last +May, and they will have a history of the loss of the Teaser in the +newspapers in due time, if they have not had it already; and they will +not like it a bit when they find that you have stepped out." + +"They are welcome to their own reflections," replied the lieutenant. + +"And they will send a searching party out to your uncle's estate at +Glenfield; but of course we shall not go near there," said Flint. + +"That is just where I am going," replied Christy, decidedly, "for that +is where I expect to kill one of the birds with the stone I fire. But we +had better be moving, for we have a long tramp before us." + +The midshipman led the way, and though the roof, which was nearly flat, +was wet with the falling rain, they walked, still in their stockinged +feet, to the farther end of the block. Neither of them wore his uniform, +as they remained as they had dressed for the duty they were to do on +board of the Teaser. This was a point in their favor in the course they +were to pursue, for their uniform would have betrayed them as soon as +they were seen. + +Before they reached the end of the block of warehouses, they had found +and tried all the scuttles on the roof, but they had not discovered one +which had been left unfastened. At the last one this became a serious +question. The scuttle at the end warehouse was securely hooked on the +inside; but neither of the pair felt discouraged at this circumstance. +Looking about them they found a piece of joist about ten feet long, +which might have been left there when the building was finished. Christy +examined the scuttle with the greatest care, to determine on which side +the hooks were placed. + +While he was doing this, Flint detached a couple of bricks from the +party-wall, which were used as a fulcrum for the lever, made of the +joist. The building was not inhabited, and there was little to be feared +at that height above the street from any noise they might make. Flint +sat down on the end of the lever, and the scuttle flew up at once, the +staple drawn out of the wood. + +The master's mate was the first to enter; and he "hung off" to the floor +below. Then he assisted Christy to descend, and to close the scuttle +after him. Acting upon their belief that all the warehouses were +constructed on the same plan, they easily found the door by which they +reached the staircase. On the lower floor, they opened a window and +passed out into the alley in the rear of the building. They were on the +ground, and Christy soon ascertained where he was. He made his way to a +wharf where he was fortunate enough to find a boat. + +This locality seemed to be entirely deserted, and there was no one to +challenge them, and no one appeared to take any notice of them on the +way. It was not yet nine o'clock, and many stores were open, one of +which they entered and bought a cooked ham and a large supply of bread. +The woman in charge asked no questions, though Christy talked about a +fishing trip to blind her. The boat they found was a very good one, and +as it was the property of the enemy, Christy had no scruples in regard +to confiscating it. He had money enough in his pocket to pay for it, but +as the owner did not appear to dispute his taking possession of it, he +dispensed with this ceremony. + +Taking the oars which they found in the boat, they pulled away from the +wharf without interruption from any source. Christy took his bearings +as well as he could, and they passed out into the fog and darkness, +to which experience within a few days had accustomed them both. They +crossed the Alabama River, and then followed the land to the southward. +Striking across an inlet they reached the land again, and by midnight +they reached a point of land where Christy felt entirely at home. He +recognized it by the dilapidated wharf, from which he had embarked in +the Leopard. + +It was still a long pull to Glenfield, and they went ashore to partake +of a little refreshment. Flint was a smoker, and he had some dry matches +which enabled them to make a fire, more for its light than its heat. The +ham was good and so was the bread to hungry men like the fugitives. At +the end of an hour by the midshipman's watch, they felt like new men, +and they resumed their places in the boat, and pulled two hours longer, +which brought them to the inlet at Glenfield. At the rude pier where the +Bellevite had been moored lay a topsail schooner. + +"I don't find any fault, Mr. Passford, but it seems to me that it is +rather dangerous for you to come here," said Flint, in a low tone, as +soon as they had made out the schooner at the wharf. "I can't see what +you are to make by it; and your uncle would hand you over to the rebel +officers as readily as he would eat his breakfast." + +"I have no doubt he would do so; but I don't intend to give him the +chance to do so," replied Christy, resting on his oar. "You see this +schooner. She is loaded with cotton, and she is going to run the +blockade about this time. I intend to take passage in her." + +"Then you knew about this vessel?" asked Flint curiously. + +"I did; and that is the particular reason why I came here. Lonley told +me that my uncle had offered him the command of the schooner; and now +that he has lost his position on board of the Teaser, I have no doubt +he has already applied for the berth that was offered to him. I am +confident that he has seen my uncle, and it must have been he who told +him that I was a prisoner." + +"I begin to understand you now, Mr. Passford," added Flint. + +"If you do, we will say no more about it just now, for there may be some +one within earshot of us," replied Christy. + +Nothing more was said, and the boat cautiously approached the schooner. +No one appeared to be on board of her, and the fugitives found that she +was loaded with cotton, even carrying a deck-load of this staple of the +South, the price of which had bounded up to an enormous figure in the +markets of the world. In the early morning the clouds and the fog were +swept away, and the sun came out. Christy found a hiding-place on the +other side of the creek, in a dense mass of bushes, where the boat was +drawn out of the water. + +A spot which commanded a full view of the schooner had been selected, +the boat was turned upside down so as to afford a shelter, and the weary +Unionists went to sleep, for they were not likely to be disturbed on +this side of the creek. It was noon when they woke, and it looked as +though something was going on at the vessel. About half a dozen negroes +were to be seen on the deck-load of cotton; and a little later in the +day, Colonel Passford and Lonley were observed talking together. But +nothing was done that day, and the night came on. Christy was not +satisfied with his information, and as soon as it was dark, the boat +was launched, and the fugitives pulled over to the schooner. + +"Who's in dat boat?" shouted a negro, showing himself at the rail of the +vessel. + +"I am," replied Christy, rather indefinitely. + +"Be you de new mate, sar?" demanded the man. + +"I am," answered Christy, at a venture. + +"We done wait free days for you, an' Massa Lonley be mighty glad to see +you." + +"Where is Captain Lonley now?" asked the lieutenant. + +"Stoppin' wid Massa colonel. He done tole me to call him if de mate +come. Dis nigger gwine to do dat," added the man. + +"Stop a little," added Christy, as he climbed on board of the vessel, +followed by Flint. "How many men have you on board?" + +"Six men wid de cook." + +"Are these men sailors?" + +"Dey all done work aboard a vessel, but dey ain't much sailors." + +"All free niggers?" + +"No, sar; wish dey was." + +"Where are the rest of the men?" + +"In de fo'castle, sar. De capin specks de mate come to-night, an' I +reckon we's gwine down de bay right off den." + +"Go and call the captain then," added Christy, as confidently as though +he had stood on his own ground. + +The negro hastened away as fast as his legs would carry him, and in +a few minutes Colonel Passford and Captain Lonley came on board. The +latter seemed to be hung on wires, he was so active; and even before he +saluted the new mate, he called all hands and directed them to hoist the +mainsail. + +"I am glad to see you, Fetters," said the captain, extending his hand to +him. "I expected you yesterday." + +"My business was such that I could not leave," replied Christy. + +It was very dark, and the captain did not recognize him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +THE PRIZE-MASTER OF THE JUDITH + + +The weather had been clear all day, with quite a fresh breeze, and the +same conditions prevailed after dark. Colonel Passford seemed to have a +great deal to say to Captain Lonley, now that the time for sailing had +come, and he occupied the attention of the latter so that neither of +them could observe the new mate, if he were disposed to do so. As soon +as Christy perceived the _role_ which circumstances had laid out for +him, he put his hand into a slush-tub he found in the waist, and +anointed his face with the filthy stuff. There was just color enough in +the compound of grease and dirt to change his complexion, if it had been +light enough to observe his physiognomy. Flint did the same thing. + +"You will have to take your chances when you come to the entrance of the +bay," said Colonel Passford, nervously. "This cargo is worth a fortune, +and we are in sore need of the supplies which its value will purchase +for us." + +"I think I understand the matter perfectly, colonel," replied Lonley, +who did not seem to take kindly to any advice from a landsman. + +"Do not take any unnecessary risks, Captain Lonley, for more than the +value of the cotton is at stake," continued the planter. + +"I have a plan of my own which I am confident will take me through the +blockade all right," added the captain. + +"You must remember that my brother's steamer is on the blockade, and +that she makes over twenty knots an hour." + +"I shall pretend to be a prize of the Bellevite long enough to distract +the attention of the fleet," added Lonley, impatiently. + +"I don't understand these things, and I shall leave you to manage the +affair as you think best; but I beg you will use all proper caution," +continued Colonel Passford. "Here are the ship's papers. You will give +the one on the top to the officer from the fort, and he will cause you +no delay." + +Lonley took the papers, and thrust them into his pocket without any +reply. Christy had taken charge of the hoisting of the mainsail without +waiting for any special orders, and Flint was doing his best to assist +him. The negroes, though not expert seamen, knew the ropes of a +schooner, and they did very well with Flint in their midst. + +"We are going to have a fresh breeze, Fetters," said Captain Lonley, +as the new mate came near him. + +"It looks like it now," added Christy, changing his voice as much as he +could, and as he had done before when he spoke to the captain. + +"If things are not favorable when you get to the forte, I think you had +better anchor inside of the point," suggested the planter, who could not +be blamed for being deeply interested in the fate of his cotton, and the +fortune which was locked up in it. + +"Of course, I shall have to do that if necessary; but I don't like to do +that, for every blockader will watch her all the time if I do," replied +Captain Lonley, still maintaining his respectful demeanor, though it +seemed to be hard work. + +By this time the mainsail was set, and was banging in the lively breeze. +The negro sailors seemed to have become weary with wasting the day +in the sailing of the schooner, and they worked with a good deal of +enthusiasm. + +"Now set the foresail, Fetters. I don't think we can carry the +topsails," said the captain. "Isn't that a white man with the hands?" +asked he, as the men went to the foremast. + +"That's a man I brought along with me," replied Christy. "He is an able +seaman, and he is very anxious to get to some port outside where he can +obtain a berth as mate." + +"All right; I thought the work was going on exceedingly well, and his +presence explains it," added the captain. + +"He owns the boat in which we came over here, and I think we had better +hoist it on deck," said the mate. + +"All right; do so, Fetters. I suppose you have nothing on your hands?" + +"Nothing very particular," replied Christy. + +"I am instructed to buy a fast steamer if I can find one, even if I have +to go to England to obtain her. What do you say to taking the berth of +first officer in her, Fetters, for I know that you are a sailor, and +that you have pluck enough to fire a gun?" + +"Such a position would suit me first rate," replied Christy, with proper +enthusiasm. + +Still Lonley did not recognize his voice, and he took especial pains +that he should not. But this state of things could not long continue. If +the Unionist went into the cabin where there was a light, he could not +help betraying himself. It was necessary to provide against this or any +similar emergency very soon. He had already arranged his plan, and it +was his purpose to carry it into execution as soon as the vessel was +fully clear of the creek. + +The boat was hoisted on the deck; the fore and main sail were set, and +everything was in readiness for a departure. Colonel Passford, after +repeating some of his admonition to the captain, shook hands with him, +and stepped down upon the wharf. Lonley gave the order to stand by the +jib, and cast off the fasts. The two principal sails filled on the +starboard tack, the jib went up in the twinkling of an eye under the +direction of Flint, and the schooner began to gather headway. The +captain was at the helm, for he would trust no other there, and Christy +went forward. + +"Set the fore topmast staysail," said the mate; but he was willing the +crew should execute the order in their own way, for he called the +master's mate to him. "The biggest job is yet to be done," he added, +in a low tone. + +"What is that?" asked Flint. + +"To get possession of the vessel," replied Christy, impressively. + +"That will be an easy matter, with nothing but niggers on board," added +Flint. + +They talked together for a few minutes, and the plan was arranged. Flint +saw that the fore topmast staysail was properly set and trimmed. The two +Unionists on board did not even know the name of the schooner, but she +gathered headway as she approached the mouth of the creek, and went +along at a very satisfactory rate. The mate of the vessel and his fellow +fugitive then went aft to be ready for the decisive action in which they +were to engage. But they had hardly reached the quarter-deck before the +schooner was hailed by a boat. + +"Schooner, ahoy! On board the Judith!" shouted a man. + +"In the boat!" replied the captain. "Who's there?" + +"Fetters!" responded the boatman. + +"Fetters!" exclaimed Captain Lonley, apparently bewildered by the reply. +"It seems to me that Fetterses are plenty to-night." + +But this was all he was permitted to say, for the stroke of a handspike, +in the hands of Flint, fell upon his head at this instant, and he +dropped upon the quarter-deck like a log. At the same moment, Christy +sprang to the wheel, and the schooner was not allowed to broach to. She +dashed on her course, increasing her speed every moment, without heeding +the boat that had hailed her. In the darkness, the genuine Fetters, as +doubtless he was in the boat, could not have seen in what manner Captain +Lonley had been disposed of, and all the crew were forward, so that they +were no wiser. + +"Judith, ahoy!" repeated the genuine and only true Fetters, at the top +of his lungs, as the schooner hurried off on her course. "I am Fetters, +the mate!" + +"All right!" replied Christy. "I will see you in the morning. Come on +board at six o'clock." + +Mr. Fetters said no more, and probably he concluded that the Judith had +gone to get firewood for the galley, to fill her water-casks, or for +some similar purpose. The fictitious Mr. Fetters kept his place at the +wheel. The binnacle had been lighted by the cook, and he knew the exact +course for the entrance to the bay. He felt that he was in possession of +the Judith and her valuable cargo; and he had become so hardened in his +patriotic duty that he felt no compunction of conscience because the +vessel and cotton had been wrested from his uncle. + +As Colonel Passford had not scrupled to attempt to capture the +magnificent steamer of his own brother, it would be a poor rule that +would not work both ways. Besides, the proceeds of the sale of the cargo +were to be expended in the purchase of supplies, and a steamer to carry +them, for the use of the Confederacy. His uncle, from his elevated +standpoint of duty, would have an opportunity to consider the +application of his stringent views on the other side of the question. + +"I hope he is not dead," said Christy, as Flint bent over the prostrate +form of the captain. + +"I don't know; but I am going to take him below, and lock him up in his +stateroom, where the crew will not see him," replied Flint. + +"That is right; and I would help you if I could leave the wheel long +enough," replied Christy. + +"I can handle him alone; but see that none of the sailors come aft while +I am about it," added the master's mate, as he dragged the form to the +companion-way. + +In such a work as he had on his hands, he had the strength of two men. +Without any great difficulty, he dragged the body to the cabin, and then +into one of the two staterooms he found, which was lighted. It was a +more difficult task, for Lonley was a heavy man, but he placed the form +in the berth. His first duty was to examine very carefully the pockets +of the captain. He secured the file of papers first, and then drew a +large naval revolver from each of his hip pockets. Then he took his +papers from his pocket-book, but left his money, watch, and other +valuables where he found them. + +After a careful examination of the insensible form, he was satisfied +that he was not dead, though he might yet die from the blow he had +received. He locked the door of the room, and went on deck. He gave one +of the revolvers to Christy, and retained the other, handing over to him +also all the papers he had taken. + +"This is the biggest venture we have undertaken yet," said Flint, as he +seated himself by Christy. + +"But everything has gone well so far," replied the lieutenant. "If you +are not promoted for this and the Teaser affair, Flint, it shall not be +for the want of any recommendation on my part." + +"Thank you, Mr. Passford; you are very kind. I hope your services will +be recognized in the same manner," returned the master's mate. + +"I don't care so much for myself, and I should not cry if I were never +to become anything more than a midshipman." + +"All I have done has been to obey your orders, and follow your lead; +and if anybody is promoted for the two affairs in which we have been +engaged, you are surely the one who is entitled to it." + +"Well, we will do our duty, whether we are promoted or not," added +Christy. + +It was not more than nine o'clock in the evening when the Judith came +out of the creek, and in about four hours she was approaching Fort +Morgan. She was still within the enemy's lines, and her acting captain +was disposed to do everything in a regular manner, especially as he +had the means of doing so. He had not the same risk to run in getting +through the blockading fleet that Captain Lonley would have had, and +he promptly decided to take his chances without waiting for a dark +and foggy night. A boat came off from the inner side of the fort, and +Christy ordered Flint to bring her to. + +The permit to pass the forts was in due form, and signed by the proper +officials. The officer in the boat examined it carefully by the light +of a lantern, and declared that he was satisfied with it. Then he asked +some questions, which the acting commander of the Judith answered. The +toughest inquiry he made was as to how he expected to get through the +blockaders in a clear night like that. Christy assured him that he had a +plan which he was confident would carry him through without difficulty. + +The schooner filled away again, and passed through the main channel; +and in another hour she was in the midst of the Union fleet. There was +a rattling of drums, a hissing of steam, and energetic commands heard as +soon as the Judith was made out in the darkness, and doubtless a vision +of prize-money flitted through the brains of officers and seamen. But +Christy soon impaired the vividness of these fancies by ordering the +foresail of the schooner to be taken in, and then the fore topmast +staysail. The expectant ships' companies were not willing to believe +that the vessel had come out for the purpose of surrendering. + +"Schooner, ahoy!" shouted the officer of a boat sent off by the nearest +blockader. "What vessel is that?" + +"The Judith, prize to the United States steamer Bellevite," replied +Christy, "Kindly inform me where the Bellevite lies." + +In another half-hour, Christy had dropped his anchor a cable's length +from the Bellevite. Instructing Flint to ascertain the condition of +Lonley, the lieutenant went on board of her to make his report, using +the boat they had captured at Mobile, pulled by two of the negroes. + +"I have come on board, Captain Breaker," said Christy, as he met the +commander, who had come on deck at the alarm. + +"I see you have," replied the captain, grasping him by the hand. "I have +been terribly worried about you, Christy." + +"I am all right, sir; and so is Mr. Flint, who was with me. We have +brought off a schooner of two hundred tons, loaded with cotton," +continued Christy, as modestly as the circumstances would permit. + +"I am very anxious to hear your report, Mr. Passford," said the +commander. + +"Excuse me, sir, but the captain of that schooner is badly wounded, and +needs Dr. Linscott as soon as possible." + +The surgeon was sent on board of the Judith. As Paul Vapoor caught a +sight of the returned third lieutenant, he hugged him as though he had +been separated from him for years instead of a few days. His welcome +was quite as cordial, though not as demonstrative, from the rest of the +officers. Then he went to the cabin with the captain, where he reported +all that had transpired since he had been separated from his companions +on board of the Teaser. He was warmly commended for his bravery and +skill, and Captain Breaker assured him that he should be remembered +in the reports to the department. + +Captain Lonley was conveyed on board of the Bellevite, where he was +committed to the sick bay. He had recovered his senses, but it was +likely, the surgeon said, that it would be a month before his health was +restored. The Teaser had not yet been sent away; but the next day the +third lieutenant was appointed prize-master of the steamer, and Flint of +the schooner, for he had been the master of a coaster, and was competent +for the position. + +A considerable crew was put on board of the Teaser, and both vessels +were sent to New York instead of Key West. The steamer was expected to +tow the Judith when necessary, and defend her if she was attacked. But +both arrived at their destination without any mishap, and both were +condemned; the Teaser was purchased by the government, for she was +likely to be a very useful vessel on account of her speed and light +draught. + +Christy had a brief leave of absence after he had served as a witness +against the captured vessels. He had seen his father, mother, and sister +on his arrival, and they were as proud of him as though he had been +made a rear-admiral. Captain Breaker had written to his father of his +disappearance on Santa Rosa Island, and had no doubt he had been made +a prisoner within the enemy's lines. Christy brought the news of his +escape himself, which made him even doubly welcome at Bonnydale. +Certainly the young lieutenant had never been so happy before in his +life. + +Captain Passford was a man of great influence, though he held no +position in authority. At the first opportunity he obtained to talk with +him, Christy made a strong plea in favor of the promotion of Flint. The +late owner of the Bellevite knew him well. The master's mate had been a +schoolmaster, and was very well educated; but he had a taste for the +sea. He had made several foreign voyages, and had bought a schooner +then, of which he went as master. But he had sold his vessel to great +advantage, and, having nothing to do, he shipped as third officer of the +Bellevite. + +Sampson, who had come home as chief engineer of the Teaser, was also +remembered by Christy, who interceded for his promotion, or rather +appointment. The government promptly obtained possession from the court +of the prize-steamer, and the repairs and alterations upon her were +begun at once. She had proved herself to be a fast sailer, and had +logged sixteen knots, so that much was expected of her. + +Captain Passford, after his son had pleaded so earnestly for the +promotion of the master's mate and the fireman, asked Christy what he +expected in the way of promotion for himself. The young officer did not +ask for any promotion, he was abundantly satisfied with his present +rank, and he rather preferred to retain it. His father laughed, and +declared that he was very glad of it, for he had some delicacy in asking +favors for a member of his own family. + +Corny still remained at the house of his uncle; and he was as +thoroughbred a rebel as his father, though he said next to nothing +about his "cause." At a later period both he and Major Pierson were duly +exchanged; but the gallant officer had come to the conclusion that Miss +Florry Passford was very far from being infatuated with him. + +As the Bronx, which was the name given to the Teaser at the suggestion +of Captain Passford, was to be ready about as soon as the legal +proceedings would permit of the departure of the officers and seamen of +the Bellevite, they were ordered to return to their ship in her. Flint's +commission as a master, and Sampson's as an assistant engineer, were +received. Christy's companion in the night expeditions had not expected +to be anything more than a midshipman, and he was immeasurably delighted +at his good fortune. Then it appeared that other influences than that of +Captain Passford had been employed, for Christy, almost in spite of +himself, was promoted to the rank of master, his commission antedating +that of Flint. + +Mr. Blowitt was appointed to the command of the Bronx, with Master +Passford as first lieutenant, and Master Flint as second; and Christy +was to take her to the Gulf. She was to be used at the discretion of the +flag officer after she had delivered her passengers on board of the +Bellevite, and received her new commander. + +The Bronx was soon ready for sea with her new ship's company, and sailed +for her destination, where Christy was to make some further inquiries +into operations ON THE BLOCKADE. + + + + +_OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS._ + +THE BLUE AND THE GRAY + +SERIES + +Illustrated. With Emblematic Dies. Each volume bound in Blue and Gray. +Per volume, $1.50. + + TAKEN BY THE ENEMY. + + WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES. + + The opening of a new series of books from the pen of Oliver Optic + is bound to arouse the highest anticipation in the minds of boy and + girl readers. There never has been a more interesting writer in the + field of juvenile literature than Mr. W. T. Adams, who, under his + well-known pseudonym, is known and admired by every boy and girl + in the country, and by thousands who have long since passed the + boundaries of youth, yet who remember with pleasure the genial, + interesting pen that did so much to interest, instruct and entertain + their younger years. The present volume opens "The Blue and the Gray + Series," a title that is sufficiently indicative of the nature and + spirit of the series, of which the first volume is now presented, + while the name of Oliver Optic is sufficient warrant of the + absorbing style of narrative. "Taken by the Enemy," the first book + of the series, is as bright and entertaining as any work that Mr. + Adams has yet put forth, and will be as eagerly perused as any that + has borne his name. It would not be fair to the prospective reader + to deprive him of the zest which comes from the unexpected, by + entering into a synopsis of the story. A word, however, should be + said in regard to the beauty and appropriateness of the binding, + which makes it a most attractive volume.--_Boston Budget._ + + "Taken by the Enemy" has just come from the press, an announcement + that cannot but appeal to every healthy boy from ten to fifteen + years of age in the country. "No writer of the present day." says + the Boston _Commonwealth_, "whose aim has been to hit the boyish + heart, has been as successful as Oliver Optic. There is a period in + the life of every youth, just about the time that he is collecting + postage-stamps, and before his legs are long enough for a bicycle, + when he has the Oliver Optic fever. He catches it by reading a few + stray pages somewhere, and then there is nothing for it but to let + the matter take its course. Relief comes only when the last page of + the last book is read; and then there are relapses whenever a new + book appears until one is safely on through the teens. The boys will + be delighted to know, therefore, that 'Taken by the Enemy' is but + the first of six books to come out in rapid succession, all based on + the thrilling incidents of the late war."--_Literary News._ + + +_OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS._ + +THE BOAT-BUILDER SERIES + +Completed in Six Volumes. Illustrated. +Per Vol., $1.25. + +1. ALL ADRIFT; + Or, The Goldwing Club. +2. SNUG HARBOR; + Or, The Champlain Mechanics. +3. SQUARE AND COMPASS; + Or, Building the House. +4. STEM TO STERN; + Or, Building the Boat. +5. ALL TAUT; + Or, Rigging the Boat. +6. READY ABOUT; + Or, Sailing the Boat. + + The series includes in six successive volumes the whole art of + boat-building, boat-rigging, boat-managing, and practical hints to + make the ownership of a boat pay. A great deal of useful information + will be given in this Boat-Building series, and in each book a very + interesting story is sure to be interwoven with the information. + Every reader will be interested at once in "Dory," the hero of + "All Adrift," and one of the characters to be retained in the future + volumes of the series, at least there are already several of his + recently made friends who do not want to lose sight of him, and this + will be the case of pretty much every boy who makes his acquaintance + in "All Adrift." + + * * * * * + * * * * + * * * * * + +Errata Noted by Transcriber: + +En Reconnaissance de la Bonte de son Pere, + _text reads "Pere" (with acute accent for grave)_ +and to be above any such villainy + _text reads "villany"_ +"He is on board--of the Bellevite," the third lieutenant + _text reads "lientenant"_ + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Within The Enemy's Lines, by Oliver Optic + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES *** + +***** This file should be named 18264.txt or 18264.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/2/6/18264/ + +Produced by Louise Hope, David Garcia, Juliet Sutherland +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images +generously made available by The Kentuckiana Digital Libra + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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