The Blue and the Gray Series

A VICTORIOUS UNION

BY

OLIVER OPTIC

AUTHOR OF "THE ARMY AND NAVY SERIES" "YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD,
FIRST

AND SECOND SERIES" "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 STORIES" "THE

BOAT-BUILDER SERIES" "TAKEN BY THE ENEMY" "WITHIN

THE ENEMY'S LINES" "ON THE BLOCKADE" "STAND

BY THE UNION" "FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHT"

"A MISSING MILLION" "A MILLIONAIRE AT

SIXTEEN" "A YOUNG KNIGHT-ERRANT"

"STRANGE SIGHTS ABROAD" ETC.

BOSTON

LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS

10 MILK STREET

1894

Copyright, 1893, by Lee and Shepard

All Rights Reserved

A Victorious Union

Type-Setting and Electrotyping by

C. J. Peters & Son, Boston

S. J. Parkhill & Co., Printers, Boston

To My Friend

FRANK L. HARRIS

WHO CAME FROM THE COLD OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS, WHERE HE

WAS A MEMBER OF THE HAYES EXPEDITION, AND WENT

INTO THE HEAT OF THE WAR OF THE REBEL-

LION, SERVING AS A NAVAL OFFICER

UNTIL THE END OF THE STRIFE,

TO WHOM I AM GREATLY INDEBTED FOR MUCH VALUABLE

INFORMATION RELATING TO HIS PROFESSION,

This Book

IS GRATEFULLY DEDICATED.

PREFACE

"A Victorious Union" is the sixth
and last of "The Blue and the Gray Series." While the volume is not
intended to be a connected historical narrative of the particular period
of the War of the Rebellion in which its scenes are laid, the incidents
accurately conform to the facts, and especially to the spirit, of the
eventful years in which they are placed, as recorded in the chronicles
of the great struggle, and as they exist in the memory of the writer. It
is more than thirty years since the war began, and thousands upon
thousands of the active participants in the strife as soldiers and
sailors, including nearly all the great commanders, have passed on to
their eternal reward. Thousands upon thousands of men and women have
been born and reached their maturity since the most tremendous war of
modern times ended in A Victorious Union. The knowledge of the stirring
events of those four years of conflict, and
6
of the patriotic spirit which inspired and underlaid them, has come, or
will come, to at least one-half the population of this vast nation of
sixty-five millions from the printed page or through the listening ear.
The other moiety, more or less, either as children or adults, lived in
the period of action, saw the gathering battalions, and heard or read
the daily reports from the ensanguined battle-fields.

In some of the States that remained loyal to the Union throughout the
long struggle, a military parade had been regarded by many as something
very much in the nature of a circus display, as "fuss and feathers,"
such as tickled the vanity of both officer and private. Military
organizations, except in our small regular army, were disparaged and
ridiculed. When the war came, the Northern people were unprepared for it
to a very great degree. The change of public opinion was as sudden as
the mighty event was precipitate. Then the soldier became the most
prominent and honored member of the community, and existing military
bodies became the nucleus of the armies that were to fight the battles
of the Republic.

During the last thirty years the military spirit has been kept alive
as a constituent element of
7
patriotism itself. The love of country has been diligently fostered and
nurtured in the young, and public opinion has been voiced and energized
in the statutes of many States, and in the educational machinery of many
municipalities. Over vast numbers of schoolhouses in our land floats the
American flag, the symbol of the Union and the principles that
underlie it.

The flag, the banner now of a reunited nation, means something more
than the sentiment of loyalty to the Union as the home of freedom; for
it implies the duty of defending the honor of that flag, the
representative idea of all we hold dear in Fatherland. In the East and
the West a considerable proportion of the high schools make military
tactics a part of their educational course. Companies, battalions, and
regiments of young men in their teens parade the streets of some of our
cities, showing in what manner the military spirit is kept alive, and,
at the same time, how the flag floating over our educational
institutions, which means so much more than ever before to our people,
is to be defended and perpetuated in the future.

The author of the six volumes of "The Blue and the Gray Series," as
well as of "The Army
8
and Navy Series," the latter begun in the heat of the war thirty years
ago, earnestly believes in keeping active in the minds of the young the
spirit of patriotism. In the present volume, as in those which have
preceded it, he has endeavored to present to his readers, not only a
hero who is brave, skilful, and ready to give his life for his country,
but one who is unselfishly patriotic; one who is not fighting for
promotion and prize-money, but to save the Union in whose integrity and
necessity he believes as the safeguard and substance of American
liberty.

Peace has reigned in our land for nearly thirty years, and the
asperities of a relentless war have been supplanted by better and more
brotherly relations between the North and the South. The writer would
not print a word that would disturb these improving conditions; and if
he has erred at all in picturing the intercourse between Americans as
enemies, he has made sure to do so in the interests of justice and
magnanimity on both sides.

In the series of which this volume is the last, the author has
confined his narrative of adventures to the navy. It has been suggested
to him that another series, relating exclusively to incidents
9
in the army, should follow. After forty years of labor in this
particular field, and having already exhausted the threescore and ten of
human life, he cannot be assured that he will live long enough to
complete such a series, though still in excellent health; but he intends
to make a beginning of the work as soon as other engagements will
permit.

William T. Adams.

Dorchester, March 16, 1893.

"Christy leaped upon the rail." Page
181.

CONTENTS

A VICTORIOUS UNION

CHAPTER I

THE MISSION TO MOBILE POINT

"I almost wish you were the second
or the third lieutenant of the Bellevite, instead of the executive
officer, Christy," said Captain Breaker, the commander of the steamer,
as they were seated together one day on the quarter-deck.

"Do I fail in the discharge of my duty in my present position,
Captain?" asked Christy, very much astonished, not to say startled, at
the remark of the commander.

"Not in the slightest degree, my dear boy!" returned Captain Breaker
with very decided emphasis. "You have served in your present capacity
for four months; and if you were fifty years old, and had twenty years
of naval experience behind you, it would be hardly possible for you to
16
be more correct and dignified in the performance of the details of your
office."

"I thank you, Captain, for the partial view you take of what I have
done," added Christy, taking off his cap and bowing to his superior.

"Well, you ought to be a good officer in any situation, my dear
fellow," continued the commander. "I doubt if there is another officer
in the navy who has enjoyed the advantages you have had in preparing
himself for the duties of his profession. You were brought up, so to
say, on board of the Bellevite. You were a good scholar in the first
place. Without including myself, you have had excellent teachers in
every department of science and philosophy, among whom your father was
one of the wisest. Poor Dashington was one of the best seamen that ever
trod a deck; and he took especial delight in showing you how to make
every knot and splice, as well as in instructing you in the higher
details of practical seamanship. Blowitt and myself assisted him, and
old Boxie, who gave his life to his country, was more than a grandfather
to you."

"I have certainly been very grateful to you and to them for all they
did for me," replied Christy
17
with a sad expression on his handsome face as the commander recalled the
three shipmates of both of them who slept in heroes' graves.

"Perhaps the brilliant genius of our engine-room did quite as much
for you as any other person, though not many years your senior."

"Paul Vapoor is my friend and crony; and if he had been my professor
in a college he could have done no more for me. I assure you, Captain,
that I keep alive my gratitude to all my instructors, including some you
have not mentioned."

"I was only explaining why you are what you ought to be, for you have
had very exceptional opportunities, better by far than any other officer
in the service. But it is altogether to your credit that you have used
those opportunities wisely and well."

"I should have been a blockhead if I had not."

"That is very true; but the mournful wrecks of wasted opportunities
strew the tracks of many, many young men. I think you can look back upon
as few of them as any one within my knowledge," said the commander,
bestowing a look of genuine affection upon his chief officer. "More than
once, even before we entered upon this terrible war, I
18
have told your father how happy he ought to be in having such a son as
you are."

"Come, come, Captain Breaker, you are praising me!" exclaimed Christy
impatiently.

"I am speaking only the simple truth, and I have very rarely said as
much as I say now. It was when you asked me if you had failed in the
discharge of the duties of your present position that I was led into
this line of remark; and I am sure you will not be spoiled by honest and
just praise," replied the captain.

"Then, to go back to the point where you began, why do you almost
wish that I were second or third lieutenant, instead of executive
officer, of the Bellevite, Captain?" continued Christy, rising from his
seat, and fixing an earnest gaze upon the face of the commander, for he
was very sensitive, and he could not help feeling that he had been
lacking in something that would make him a better executive officer than
he was.

"Mr. Ballard, the second lieutenant, and Mr. Walbrook, the third, are
gentlemen of the highest grade, and excellent officers; but they are
both somewhat wanting in dash and cool impetuosity."

19
"'Cool impetuosity' is very good, Captain," added Christy with a
laugh.

"But that is precisely what I mean, my boy, and no two words could
express the idea any better. You cannot carry an enemy by boarding with
the same precision you man the yards on a ceremonious occasion, or as a
regiment of soldiers go on dress parade. It requires vim, dash, spirit.
The officers named have this quality in a very considerable degree, yet
not enough of it. But what they lack more is ingenuity, fertility in
expedients, and the expansive view which enables them to take advantage
promptly of circumstances. You never lose your head, Christy."

"I never knew the gentlemen named to lose their heads, and I have
always regarded them as model officers," replied the first
lieutenant.

"And so they are: you are quite right, my dear boy; but it is
possible for them to be all you say, and yet, like the young man of
great possessions in the Scripture, to lack one thing. I should not dare
to exchange my second and third lieutenants for any others if I had the
opportunity."

"I confess that I do not understand you yet, Captain."

20
The commander rose from his seat, stretched himself, and then looked
about the deck. Taking his camp-stool in his hand he carried it over to
the port side of the quarter-deck, and planted it close to the bulwarks.
The second lieutenant was the officer of the deck, and was pacing the
planks on the starboard side, while the lookouts in the foretop and on
the top-gallant forecastle were attending closely to their duty,
doubtless with a vision of more prize money floating through their
brains.

The Bellevite, with the fires banked in the furnaces, was at anchor
off the entrance to Mobile Bay, about two miles east of Sand Island
Lighthouse, and the same distance south of the narrow neck of land on
the western extremity of which Fort Morgan is located. Her commander had
chosen this position for a purpose; for several weeks before, while the
Bellevite was absent on a special mission, a remarkably fast steamer
called the Trafalgar had run the blockade inward.

Captain Passford, Senior, through his agents in England, had some
information in regard to this vessel, which he had sent to Captain
Breaker. Unlike most of the blockade-runners built for this particular
21
service, she had been constructed in the most substantial manner for an
English millionaire, who had insisted that she should be built as strong
as the best of steel could make her, for he intended to make a voyage
around the world in her.

Unfortunately for the owner of the Trafalgar, who was a lineal
descendant of a titled commander in that great naval battle, he fell
from his horse in a fox chase, and was killed before the steamer was
fully completed. His heir had no taste for the sea, and the steamer was
sold at a price far beyond her cost; and the purchaser had succeeded in
getting her into Mobile Bay with a valuable cargo. She was of about
eight hundred tons burden, and it was said that she could steam twenty
knots an hour. She was believed to be the equal of the Alabama and the
Shenandoah. The Bellevite had been especially notified not to allow the
Trafalgar to escape. She had recently had her bottom cleaned, and her
engine put in perfect order for the service expected of her, for she was
the fastest vessel on the blockade.

When Captain Breaker had assured himself that he was out of hearing
of the officer of the deck, he invited Christy to take a seat at his
side. He spoke
22
in a low tone, and was especially careful that no officer should hear
him.

"Perhaps I meddle with what does not concern me, Christy; but I
cannot help having ideas of my own," said the commander, when he was
satisfied that no one but the executive officer could hear him. "There
is Fort Morgan, with Fort Gaines three miles from it on the other side
of the channel. Mobile Point, as it is called at this end of the neck,
extends many miles to the eastward. It is less than two miles wide where
it is broadest, and not over a quarter of a mile near Pilot Town."

"I have studied the lay of the land very carefully, for I have had
some ideas of my own," added Christy, as the commander paused.

"If Fort Morgan had been Fort Sumter, with bad memories clinging to
it, an effort would have been made to capture it, either by bombardment
by the navy, or by regular approaches on the part of the army,"
continued Captain Breaker. "They are still pounding away at Fort Sumter,
because there would be a moral in its capture and the reduction of
Charleston, for the war began there. Such an event would send a wave of
rejoicing through the North, though it would be of less real
23
consequence than the opening of Mobile Bay and the cleaning out of the
city of Mobile. Except Wilmington, it is the most pestilent resort for
blockade-runners on the entire coast."

"Then you think Fort Morgan can be reduced from the land side?" asked
Christy, deeply interested in the conversation.

"I have little doubt of it; and while I believe Farragut will resort
to his favorite plan of running by the forts here, as he has done by
those of the Mississippi, the army will be planted in the rear of both
these forts. As we have lain here for months, I have studied the
situation, and I want to know something more about the land on the east
of Mobile Point."

"I should say that it would be easy enough to obtain all the
information you desire in regard to it," suggested Christy.

"There is an unwritten tradition that the commander must not leave
his ship to engage in any duty of an active character, and I cannot
explore the vicinity of the fort myself."

"But you have plenty of officers for such duty."

"I have no doubt there are pickets, and perhaps a camp beyond the
rising ground, and the exploration
24
would be difficult and dangerous. The two officers I have mentioned
before lack the dash and ingenuity such an enterprise requires; and a
blunder might involve me in difficulty, for I have no orders to obtain
the information I desire."

"The officers named are prudent men within reasonable limits."

"They are; but I would give up my idea rather than trust either of
them with this duty," replied Captain Breaker very decidedly. "But I
have a further and nearer object in this exploration; in fact, examining
the ground would be only secondary."

"What is the real object, Captain?" asked the first lieutenant, his
curiosity fully awakened.

"I feel that it will be necessary to use extraordinary efforts to
capture the Trafalgar, for no steamer of her alleged speed has ever run
into or out of Mobile Bay. After I informed the flag-officer in regard
to her, which your father's information enabled me to do, the Bellevite
was especially charged with the duty of capturing her, if she had to
chase her all over the world."

"I have not much doubt that you will do it, Captain."

25
"I mean to do so if possible. Now these blockade-runners usually anchor
near the lower fleet, or under the guns of the fort in five fathoms of
water. Sometimes they remain there two or three days, waiting for a
favorable opportunity to run out. Perhaps the Trafalgar is there now. I
wish to know about it."

"I infer that you consider me fitted for this duty, Captain Breaker,"
said Christy earnestly.

"For that reason only I almost wished you were second or third
lieutenant, rather than first," replied the commander with some
earnestness in his manner.

There was no unwritten tradition that the first lieutenant should not
be sent on any duty.

CHAPTER II

THE DEPARTURE OF THE EXPEDITION

The conversation between the captain and the executive officer of the
Bellevite was continued till they were called to supper; but a decision
had been reached. On important occasions, as when several boats were
ordered upon an expedition, it was not unusual to send the first
lieutenant in command. Though only a single whaleboat would be required
for the enterprise in which the commander was so deeply interested, its
importance appeared to justify the selection of the executive officer to
conduct it; and Christy was directed to suit himself.

Of course the expedition was to be sent out at night, for the cover
of the darkness was necessary to render it effectual. In the afternoon
the wind had come around to the south-west, and already a slight fog had
obscured the Sand Island Lighthouse. It promised to be such a night as a
blockade-runner would select for getting to sea.

27
Christy was especially warned that the principal business of his
expedition was to obtain information in regard to the Trafalgar, though
it was probable that a new name had been given to her for the service in
which she was to be engaged. The examination of the surroundings of the
fort, the captain strongly impressed upon his mind, was entirely
subsidiary to the discovery of the intending blockade-runner. In fact,
the commander seemed to have serious doubts as to whether it was proper
for him even to reconnoitre without special orders for the use of the
army.

It was several months that Christy had been on board of the Bellevite
in his present capacity, and he had become very well acquainted with all
the petty officers and seamen of the ship's company, now composed of one
hundred and twenty men. After he had finished his supper he walked about
the spar-deck to refresh his memory by a sight at all of the men, and
selected those who were to take part in his enterprise.

One of the first persons he encountered in his promenade was the
third assistant engineer, Charles Graines, whom he had known as a boy,
before the war. He was not only a machinist, but a sailor,
28
having served in both capacities, though now only twenty-five years of
age. Through his father Christy had procured his appointment as an
engineer, and his assignment to the Bellevite. The young man was
exceedingly grateful to him for this service, and entirely devoted to
him.

Paul Vapoor, the chief engineer, spoke of Graines in the highest
terms, not only in his official capacity, but as a high-toned,
patriotic, and thoroughly reliable man. The moment the executive officer
put his eye on the assistant engineer, he decided that Graines should be
his right-hand man. As a matter of precaution the proposed expedition
was to be a profound secret, for there were white men and negroes about
the deck who had been picked up in various ways, and were retained till
they could be disposed of. They could not be trusted, and doubtless some
of them were Confederates at heart, if not engaged in secret
missions.

Christy invited Graines to the ward room for a conference. There were
several officers there, and they retired to the stateroom of the first
lieutenant, which is the forward one on the starboard side. The plan, as
it had been matured in the
29
mind of the one appointed to carry it out, was fully explained, and the
engineer was delighted to be chosen to take part in its execution. The
selection of the seamen to compose the expedition was not an easy
matter, though every sailor on board would have volunteered for such
duty if the opportunity had been presented to him.

Graines was not so familiar with the merits of the seamen as he was
with those of the men in the engineer department. It became necessary
for the executive officer to take another walk on the spar-deck, in
order to revive his recollection of the men; and he soon returned to the
stateroom with a complete list of those he had selected. The engineer
suggested an oiler by the name of Weeks as a most excellent man; and
Christy accepted him, completing the number from those of his own
choice. Seated at his desk, he wrote out the names of the ten men
chosen.

"Of course if we should be caught on shore in our ordinary uniforms
it would be all night with us," said Christy, as he completed the
writing out of the list. "I believe you have never seen the inside of a
Confederate prison, Mr. Graines."

"Never; though I came pretty near it once
30
while I was an oiler on board of the Hatteras," replied the
engineer.

"You have been fortunate, and I hope you will come out of this
excursion as well. I spent a short time in a Confederate lock-up; but I
did not like the arrangements, and I took leave of it one night. It was
in Mobile, and I don't care to be sent up there again. Therefore we must
clothe ourselves in the worst garments we can find; and I carry a suit
for just this purpose, though I have not had occasion to use it
lately."

"I have to wear old clothes when at work on the machinery, and I have
a plentiful supply on hand," added Graines. "Perhaps I could help out
some of the others."

"All the seamen have old clothes, and they will need no assistance in
arranging their wardrobes. Now, Mr. Graines, it will excite remark if I
instruct the ten men we have selected, and I must leave that part of the
work to you," continued Christy. "But all the instruction you need give
them is in regard to their dress, and require them to be at the main
chains on the starboard side at ten o'clock to-night precisely."

"As I have plenty of time I will take the men,
31
one at a time, to my room in the steerage, and instruct them," replied
the engineer.

"You can tell each one to send in the next one wanted. Above all,
make them promise not to speak to any person whatever in regard to the
expedition," said the executive officer as his companion retired.

Mr. Graines lost no time in discharging the important duty assigned
to him. Christy reported to the commander, as soon as he found an
opportunity to speak to him privately, what progress he had made in
carrying out the duty assigned to him. Captain Breaker looked over the
list of the men selected, and gave it his hearty approbation. He was a
man of elevated moral and religious character; he had always exercised a
sort of fatherly supervision over his ship's company, and he was better
acquainted with those under his command than most commanders.

"It looks as though it was going to be a good night for
blockade-runners, Mr. Passford," said Captain Breaker, as he looked over
to windward and saw the banks of fog, not yet very dense, rolling up
from the open gulf.

"It is not known, I suppose, whether or not the
32
Trafalgar has come down from Mobile?" inquired Christy.

"I have been unable to obtain any definite information; but a negro
who came off from the shore yesterday assured me there was a black
steamer at anchor between the Middle Ground and Mobile Point. That is
all the information I have been able to obtain, though I have examined
all who came on board during the last week. It is certainly time for the
Trafalgar to come out, as the Confederates are in great haste to
re-enforce the Alabama, the Shenandoah, and other cruisers; for these
vessels have made a tremendous impression upon our mercantile marine.
She has been in port long enough to rebuild her already, and I am
confident she must be ready for service."

"If I don't find her ready to come out to-night, would it not be well
to repeat my visit to the shore until we learn something about her?"
asked Christy.

"That is my purpose," replied the commander.

"I should like to have the scope of my powers as the officer of this
expedition a little more definitely defined, Captain Breaker," continued
the first lieutenant.

33
"I thought I had fully instructed you, Christy," answered the commander
with a smile.

"Am I to confine myself solely to the two points assigned
to me?"

"I don't understand what you have in your mind, my boy."

"I have nothing in my mind, Captain. I have not laid out any plan of
operations outside of the instructions you have given me, sir; and I do
not purpose to do so. If I had the intention to do anything but the duty
assigned to me, I should assuredly inform you of it, and obtain your
orders."

"I know you would, my dear boy."

"But if I see an opportunity to do anything for the benefit of my
country"—

"Such as the capture of a sloop of war," interposed the commander
with a suggestive laugh. "When you were sent to look out for a small
steamer, simply to obtain information in regard to her, in Pensacola
Bay, you went on your mission, and brought out the Teaser, which
afterwards became the Bronx, and rendered very valuable service to the
country under your command."

"I could not very well help doing so when I saw my opportunity,"
replied Christy, in an apologetic
34
tone, as though he had been reproved for exceeding his instructions.

"You did precisely right, Christy; and that act did more to make the
deservedly high reputation you have won than almost anything else you
have done, unless it was your achievements at Cedar Keys," added Captain
Breaker heartily.

"I am glad you have brought up the Teaser matter, Captain, for it
just illustrates what I have in my mind. If I see an opportunity to do
such a thing as that on the present occasion, I simply wish to know
whether or not I am to confine my operations to the strict letter of my
instructions. Of course, if so instructed, I shall obey my orders to the
letter."

"'The letter killeth, the spirit giveth life,' my boy. Your mission
always and everywhere is to serve your country, and you are to do this
on the present occasion. What I said about ingenuity in speaking of my
officers is covered in this case. If you can capture and send out the
Trafalgar, do it by all means, for that is the object in view in sending
off this expedition. Your head is level, Christy; and that is the reason
why I desired you to command this enterprise rather than either of the
other
35
officers. I can trust you, and you have full powers to act on your own
judgment."

"I thank you for your abundant confidence, Captain; and I shall
endeavor not to abuse it," replied Christy. "But it is not even remotely
possible that I shall capture the Trafalgar; yet sometimes unexpected
opportunities are presented, and the letter of my orders might prevent
me from embracing them. I am very glad to know where I stand."

The night came on, and with it more fog; but it was of that flitting
kind which settles down and then blows away. It seemed to come in banks
that were continually in motion. The men who were to go to the shore had
all been instructed, and at precisely ten o'clock they were seated in
the whaleboat, with Mr. Graines in the stern sheets. They were all armed
with two revolvers apiece, and there was a cutlass for each in the boat.
The men had not only changed their dress, but they had disguised
themselves, smooching their faces with coal dust, and tearing their
garments till they were in tatters.

Christy had dressed himself in his old garments, but added to them a
gray coat he had obtained on
36
board of a prize. The watch on deck had been ordered to the forecastle,
so that they need not too closely observe the crew of the whaleboat. The
chief of the expedition had quietly descended to the platform of the
after gangway, and when the boat dropped astern, he stepped into it,
selecting his place by the side of the engineer, who had taken the
tiller lines. The boat pulled away at once, with four hands at the oars,
and Mr. Graines headed it to the north-east by the compass, the side
lights of which were covered so that they should not betray the approach
of the boat to the shore, if any one was there.

On the way Christy gave the men full instructions in regard to their
conduct; and in less than an hour the party landed.

CHAPTER III

A BIVOUAC NEAR FORT MORGAN

The expedition landed about two miles east of Fort Morgan. The sea
was not heavy, as it sometimes is on these sand islands, and the
debarkation was effected without any difficulty. At this distance from
the defences of the bay not a person was to be seen. The fog banks still
swept over the waters of the gulf as during the latter part of the
afternoon, and if any number of persons had been near the shore, they
could hardly have been seen.

"We are all right so far, Mr. Graines," said Christy, as the bowmen
hauled up the boat on the beach.

"It is as quiet as a tomb in this vicinity," replied the engineer, as
he led the way to the shore.

"Now, my men, haul the boat out of the water. I think we need not use
any of our small force as boat-keepers, for we can hardly spare them for
this purpose, Mr. Graines," Christy proceeded very promptly.

38
"It does not look as though the boat, or anything else, would ever be
molested in this lonely locality," replied Graines, as the men lifted it
from the water.

"Now carry it back about half a cable from the shore," continued the
principal of the party. "If one or two strollers should happen this way,
they would not be able to put it into the water, though four men can
carry it very easily."

The whaleboat was borne to a spot indicated by the lieutenant, and
left as it had been taken from the surf. Everything in it was arranged
in order, so that it could be hastily put into the water if circumstance
demanded a hurried retreat from the scene of operations. Near the spot
was a post set up in the sand, which might have been one of the corners
of a shanty, or have been used years before by fishermen drying their
nets or other gear.

"Do you see that post, my men?" asked Christy, as he pointed to it,
not twenty feet from the spot where the boat had been deposited.

"Ay, ay, sir!" the seamen responded, in low tones, for they had been
warned not to speak out loud.

"That will be your guide in finding the boat if
39
we should get scattered," added the officer. "Now, do you see the two
stars about half way between the horizon and the zenith?"

"Ay, ay, sir!" answered Weeks, the oiler. "The Band of Orion."

"Quite right, Weeks," added Christy. "Fort Morgan lies about west of
us; and a course from there in the direction of the two stars will bring
you to the coast and the boat. Every man must act for himself to some
extent, and you are expected to be prudent, and use your own judgment.
It will not be safe for us to keep together, for a dozen men seen all at
once would be likely to awaken suspicion."

"If there is not a crowd of men over by the fort, we can hardly
expect to avoid coming together," suggested Weeks, who proved to be a
very intelligent man, with excellent judgment.

"I cannot tell whether or not we shall find any gathering of men in
the vicinity of the fort," replied Christy. "We shall be obliged to
govern ourselves according to circumstances. If you find any number of
people over there, you can mingle with them. Some of you are very good
scholars; but if any of you are disposed to indulge in fine
40
talk, don't do it. Make your speech correspond with your dress, and let
it be rough and rude, for that is the fashion among the laboring class
in this region."

"I suppose sea-slang will not be out of order," said Weeks.

"Not at all. Simply consider that you are sailors and laborers, and
do not forget it," answered Christy; and he was confident that he had
selected only those who were competent to conduct themselves as the
occasion might require. "Now, Mr. Graines, tell off five men—any
five."

The engineer called off five of the seamen, whose names he had
learned from the list given him by his superior officer.

"Now these five men will each choose his partner, who is to be his
companion while we are on shore, and who is to act with him," continued
Christy. "I do not know yet any better than you do what you are to do;
but if you are called upon to do any difficult or dangerous work,
remember that you are American seamen, and do your best for your
country. If you are required to do any fighting, as I do not expect you
will, our success depends upon your strong arms and your ready
wills.41
You will do your whole duty, whatever it may be, and do it like true
American sailors."

"Ay, ay, sir!" came in a unanimous voice from the knot of men, though
in subdued tones.

"Call the first name again, Mr. Graines," added Christy.

"Weeks," replied the engineer.

"Select your man, Weeks."

"Bingham," said the oiler.

The names of the other four men who had been selected were called in
turn, and each of them selected his partner, each one of course choosing
his best friend, if he had not already been appropriated.

"Now, my men, Weeks and Bingham, the first couple, to be called
simply 'One' when wanted, and they will answer to this designation, will
start first. The next couple, to be called 'Two,' will follow them; and
so on, the other pairs coming in order," continued Christy, designating
each by name and number. "Two will start in ten or fifteen minutes after
One, as nearly as you can guess at the time, for it is too dark to see
watches if you have them."

"Are we to choose our own courses?" asked Weeks.

42
"No; I was coming to that next. Each couple will stroll due north us
nearly as he can make it out, till they come to the waters of Mobile
Bay. If you see any houses or tents, avoid them, and keep clear of any
collection of people before you reach the vicinity of the fort. The bay
is the first point you are to reach; then follow the shore to the fort.
If you meet any person, talk to him in a friendly way, if necessary, and
be as good Confederates as any in this region, even inside of Fort
Morgan."

Weeks and Bingham took up the line of march in the direction
indicated, and soon disappeared beyond the rising ground in the middle
of the neck of land, which was here about three-eighths of a mile wide.
A quarter of an hour later Lane and McGrady followed them. While they
were waiting, each of the pairs gave a specimen of the dialect they
intended to use. McGrady was an Irishman, educated in the public schools
of the North, and his language was as good as that of any ordinary
American; but now he used a very rich brogue.

Every man followed his own fancy. Lane had lived in the South, and
"mought" and "fotch" came readily to his aid. The Crackers of Florida,
the backwoodsmen of North Carolina, the swaggering
43
Kentuckian, the wild Texan, were all represented; and Christy could
easily have believed he had a company of comedians under his command,
instead of a band of loyal Northerners.

The executive officer and the engineer had decided before this time
to keep together; and, as soon as they had seen the second couple
depart, they set out on their wandering march to the fort in a direction
different from that of the others of the party. They walked directly
towards the fort, for Christy intended to make his examination of the
ground to the eastward of the fortification, on his way to some spot
where he could ascertain what vessels were at anchor between the point
and the Middle Ground. He discharged this duty very faithfully; and
before he reached his objective point he was confident he could draw a
map of the region, with what information he had obtained before, which
would meet the requirements of Captain Breaker.

"What's that?" demanded Graines, suddenly placing his hand on the arm
of his companion, and stopping short, as they were approaching the crown
of the elevation.

A fire was burning on the ground in a depression
44
of the surface, which doubtless concealed its light from persons in the
vicinity of the fort, if there were any there. Around it could be seen
four men, as the two officers looked over the crest of the hill, who
appeared to be engaged in eating and drinking; and they were doing more
of the latter than of the former, for the bottle passed very frequently
from one to another.

"It looks like a bivouac on the part of those fellows," said Christy
in a low tone.

"But who and what are they?" asked Graines.

"They may be deserters from Fort Morgan, though if they were they
would hardly bivouac so near it," replied Christy, who did not seem to
his companion to be at all disturbed by the discovery of the men. "They
are more likely to be sailors from some intending blockade-runner at
anchor off the point, who have come on shore to make a night of it; and
they appear to have made considerable progress in the debauch."

"They are not soldiers, for you can see by the light of the fire that
they are not dressed in uniform," added the engineer.

"This is the third year of the war, and uniforms for the soldiers are
not particularly abundant in the Confederacy."

45
"We can't see the waters of the bay till we reach the top of the knoll
yonder, and we don't know whether there are any vessels at anchor there
or not. But we can easily avoid these fellows by keeping behind the
ridge till we get where they cannot see us."

"I don't know that we want to avoid them, for I should like very much
to know who and what they are. They must be tipsy to a greater or less
degree by this time, for they do twice as much drinking as eating,"
answered Christy, as he advanced a little way farther up the hill. "They
have a basket of food, and I do not believe they are mere tramps. They
are more likely to be engaged in some occupation which brought them to
this point, and I think we had better fraternize with them. They may be
able to give us some valuable information; and it looks as though they
were drunk enough to tell all they know without making any difficulty
about it."

"Do you think it is quite prudent, Mr. Passford, to approach them?"
asked the engineer.

"When we come on an excursion of this kind we have to take some risk.
If I were alone I should not hesitate to join them, and take my
46
chances, for they must know something about affairs in this vicinity,"
replied Christy in a quiet tone, so that his answer might not be
interpreted as a boast or a reproach to his companion.

"I am ready to follow you, Mr. Passford, wherever you go, and to
depend upon your judgment for guidance," said Graines very promptly. "If
it comes to a fight with those fellows, I beg you to understand that I
will do my full share of it, and obey your orders to the letter."

"Of course I have no doubt whatever in regard to your courage and
your readiness to do your whole duty, Mr. Graines," added Christy, as he
led the way to the summit of the elevation. "Now lay aside your grammar
and rhetoric, and we must be as good fellows as those bivouackers are
making themselves. We are simply sailors who have just escaped from a
captured blockade-runner."

"I don't see anything around the fire that looks like muskets," said
the engineer, as they descended from the elevation.

"I see nothing at all except the provision-basket and the bottles,"
replied Christy.

"But they may be armed for all that."

"We must take our chances. They are so busy
47
eating and drinking that they have not seen us yet. Perhaps we had
better be a little hilarious," continued the lieutenant, as he began to
sing, "We won't go home till morning," in which he was joined by his
companion as vigorously as the circumstances would permit.

Singing as they went, and with a rolling gait, they approached the
revellers.

CHAPTER IV

THE REVELATIONS OF THE REVELLERS

"'We won't go home till morning,'" sang the two counterfeit
revellers, as they approached the fire of the bivouackers.

The four carousel's sprang to their feet when the first strain
reached their ears. They were not as intoxicated as they might have
been, for they were able to stand with considerable firmness on their
feet, after the frequency with which the bottle had been passed among
them. They did not do what soldiers would naturally have done at such an
interruption, grasp their muskets, and it was probable they had no
muskets to grasp.

"'We won't go home till morning, till daylight doth appear,'"
continued the two officers, without halting in their march towards the
revellers.

"The two counterfeit revellers." Page
48.

No weapons of any kind were exhibited; but the tipplers stood as
though transfixed with astonishment or alarm where they had risen, but
were rather limp in their attitude. They evidently did
49
not know what to make of the interruption, and they appeared to be
waiting for further developments on the part of the intruders.

"It isn't mornin' yit, but we just emptied our bottle," said Christy,
with a swaggering and slightly reeling movement, and suiting his speech
to the occasion. "How are ye, shipmates?"

"Up to G, jolly tars," replied one of the men, with a broad grin on
his face. "We done got two full bottles left, at your sarvice."

"Much obleeged," returned the lieutenant, as he took the bottle the
reveller passed to him. "Here's success to us all in a heap, and success
to our side in the battle that's go'n' on."

"I'm with you up to the armpits," added Graines, as another of the
four handed him a bottle.

One sniff at the neck of the bottle was enough to satisfy Christy,
who was a practical temperance man of the very strictest kind, and he
had never drank a glass of anything intoxicating in all his life. The
bottle contained "apple-jack," or apple-brandy, the vilest fluid that
ever passed a tippler's gullet. He felt obliged to keep up his
character, taken for the occasion, and he retained the mouth of the
bottle at his lips long enough to answer the
50
requirement of the moment; but he did not open them, or permit a drop of
the nauseous and fiery liquor to pollute his tongue. It was necessary
for him to consider that he was struggling for the salvation of his
beloved country to enable him even to go through the form of "taking a
drink."

Graines was less scrupulous on the question of temperance, and he
took a swallow of the apple-jack; but that was enough for him, for he
had never tasted anything outside of the medicine-chest which was half
as noxious. If he had been compelled to keep up the drinking, he would
have realized that his punishment was more than he could bear.
Fortunately the tipplers had no tumblers, so that the guests were not
compelled to pour out the fluid and drink it off. All drank directly
from the bottles, so that the two officers could easily conceal in the
semi-darkness the extent of their indulgence.

"Who be you, strangers?" asked the man who had acted thus far as
spokesman of the party.

"My name is Tom Bulger, born and brought up in the island of Great
Abaco, and this feller is my friend and shipmate, Sam Riley," replied
51
Christy, twisting and torturing his speech as much as was necessary.
"Now who be you fellers?"

"Born and fetched up in Mobile: my name is Bird Riley; and I reckon
t'other feller is a first cousin of mine, for he's got the same name,
and he's almost as handsome as I am. Where was you born, Sam?"

"About ten miles up the Alabama, where my father was the overseer on
a plantation before the war," replied Graines as promptly as though he
had been telling the truth.

"Then you must be one of my cousins, for I done got about two hundred
and fifty on 'em in the State of Alabammy. Give us your fin, Sam."

Bird Riley and Sam shook hands in due and proper form, and the
relationship appeared to be fully established. The names of the three
other revellers were given, but the spokesman was disposed to do all the
talking, though he occasionally appealed to his companions to approve of
what he said. It was evident that he was the leading spirit of the
party, and that he controlled them. He was rather a bright fellow, while
the others were somewhat heavy and stupid in their understanding. The
bottles were again handed to the
52
guests, both of whom went through the form of drinking without taking a
drop of the vile stuff.

"What be you uns doin' here?" asked Bird Riley, after the ceremony
with the bottle had been finished.

"We was both tooken in a schooner that was gwine to run the
blockade," answered Christy. "We was comin' out'n Pass Christian, and
was picked up off Chand'leer [Chandeleur] Island, and fotched over hyer. We
didn't feel too much to hum after we lost our wages, and we done took a
whaleboat and came ashore here, with only one bottle of whiskey atween
us. That's all there is on't. Now, how comes you uns hyer?"

"I'm the mate of the topsail schooner West Wind, and t'others is the
crew; all but two we done left on board with the cap'n," replied Bird,
apparently with abundant confidence in his newly found friends.

"You left her?" asked Christy.

"That's just what we done do."

"Where is the West Wind now?" inquired Christy, deeply interested in
the subject at this point.

"She done come down from Mobile three days
53
ago, and done waited for a chance to run the blockade. Her hole is full
o' cotton, and she done got a deck-load too," answered Bird Riley
without any hesitation.

"Where does the West Wind keep herself now, Bird?"

"Just inside the p'int, astern of the Trafladagar."

"The Trafladagar?" repeated Christy.

"That's her name, or sunthin like it. I never see it writ out."

"She's a schooner, I reckon," continued Christy, concealing what
knowledge he possessed in regard to the vessel.

"She ain't no schooner, you bet; she's jest the finist steamer that
ever runned inter Mobile, and they've turned her into a cruiser," Bird
Riley explained.

"How big is she?"

"I heerd some un say she was about eight hun'ed tons: an' I'll bet
she'll pick up every Yankee craft that she gits a sight on."

"And you say the Trafladagar is at anchor off the p'int?" added
Christy, not daring to call the steamer by her true name.

54
"That's jest where she is; and the West Wind is hitched to her, like a
tandem team," replied Bird Riley. "Look yere, Tom Bulger, you don't make
love to that bottle as though you meant business. Take another drink,
and show you done got some manhood in yer."

The bottle went the rounds again, and the guests apparently took long
pulls; but really they did not taste a drop of the infernal liquid.

"That's good pizen, Bird Riley; but it is not jest the stingo that I
like best," said Christy, as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve in
proper form, for he did not like the smell of the fluid lightning that
clung to his lips.

"Whiskey suits me most; but they waste the corn makin' bread on't,
and there ain't much on't left to make the staff of life. Howsomever, we
don't choke to death on apple-jack, when we can get enough on't," argued
Bird Riley.

"Jest now you got a tandem team hitched up out on the Trafladagar and
the West Wind," continued Christy cautiously, and with apparent
indifference, drawing the mate of the schooner back to the matter in
which he was the most deeply interested. "What's this team hitched up
that
55
way for? Is the steamer go'n' to tow the schooner up to Mobile?"

"I reckon you're a little more'n half drunk, Tom Bulger," replied
Bird Riley, with a vigorous horse laugh. "Tow the schooner up to Mobile!
Didn't I tell yer the Trafladagar's been waiting here three days for a
good chance to run out?"

"You said that as true as you was born," added Graines, who thought
it necessary to say something, for he had been nearly silent from the
beginning.

"Sam Riley ain't quite so drunk as you be, Tom Bulger; an' he knows
what's what; and thar he shows the Riley blood in his carcass," chuckled
the mate.

"And you said the West Wind was loaded with cotton, in the hole and
on deck," added Graines, hoping to hurry the conference along a little
more rapidly.

"That's jest what I said. I reckon you ain't much used to apple-jack,
fur it fusticates your intelleck, and makes yer forget how old y'are.
Come, take another, jest to set your head up right," said Bird, passing
the bottle to Christy, who was doing his best to keep up the illusion by
talking very
56
thick, and swaying his body about like a drunken man.

Both the guests went through the ceremony of imbibing, which was only
a ceremony to them. The fire had exhausted its supply of fuel, and it
was fortunate that the darkness prevented the revellers from measuring
the quantity left in the bottles as they were returned to the owners, or
they might have seen that the strangers were not doing their share in
consuming the poison.

"Sam Riley does honor to the blood as runs in his body, for he ain't
no more drunk'n I am; an' he knows what we been talkin' about," said the
mate, who seemed to be greatly amused at the supposed effect of the
liquor upon Christy. "You won't know nothin' about the Trafladagar or
the West Wind in half an hour from now, Tom Bulger. I reckon it don't
make no difference to you about the tandem team, and to-morrer mornin'
you won't know how the team's hitched up."

"I don't think I will," replied Christy boozily, as he rolled over on
the sand, and then struggled for some time to resume his upright
position, to the great amusement of Bird Riley and his companions. "But
Sam Riley's got blood in him, the
57
best blood in Alabammy, and he kin tell you all about it if yer want ter
know. He kin stan' up agin a whole bottle o' apple-jack."

"I say, Cousin Bird, what's this tandem team hitched up fer?" asked
Graines, permitting his superior officer to carry out the illusion upon
which he had entered, in order more effectually to blind the mate, and
induce him to talk with entire freedom.

"I reckon you ain't too drunk to un'erstan' what I say, Sam, as
t'other feller is."

"I'm jest drunk enough to un'erstan' yer, Cousin Bird; but I cal'late
I won't know much about it by to-morrer mornin'," added Graines.

"Let's take another round, Sam; but I reckon Tom Bulger's got more'n
he can kerry now," continued the mate.

Bird took a long draught from the bottle, and then passed it to his
guest. Three of the four revellers had already toppled over at full
length on the ground; and Christy thought he could hurry matters by
doing the same thing, and he tumbled over all in a heap. Graines drank
nothing himself, though he contrived to spill a quantity of the fluid on
the ground, so that it might not
58
seem too light to his only remaining wakeful companion. The last dram of
Bird had been a very heavy one, and the engineer realized that he could
not hold out much longer.

"What's that tandem team fer?" asked Graines, in the thickest of
tones, while he swayed back and forth as Bird was doing by this
time.

"The Trafladagar's gwine to tow the West Wind out; and both on 'em's
sure to be tooken," stammered the mate. "We uns don't bleeve in't, and
so we runned away, and left Captain Sullendine to paddle his own punt.
They get off at three in the morn in'."

Bird Riley took another drink, and then he toppled over.

CHAPTER V

IN THE VICINITY OF THE CONFEDERATE FORT

It was a favorable night for running the blockade, for the fog had
settled down more densely upon the region in the vicinity of the ship
channel, though it occasionally lifted, and permitted those on board of
the Bellevite to see the tall tower of the Sand Island Lighthouse, which
had not been illuminated for three years. The mists were generally
thicker and remained longer towards daylight than at any other time, and
this was the evident reason why three o'clock in the morning had been
fixed upon for the departure of the Trafalgar and the West Wind in
tow.

The engineer's head was as clear as it had ever been, notwithstanding
the tipsy swaying and doubling-up of his body which he simulated, and he
realized that his companion and himself had obtained very important
revelations from the revellers. The hour at which the steamer was to
leave, evidently by arrangement with the officers of the fort, was
60
valuable knowledge, and he hoped they would be able to carry or send
seasonable warning of the time to the Bellevite, for she was the only
ship on the blockade that could be counted upon to overhaul the
Trafalgar, if the reports of her great speed had been correctly
given.

Both Christy and Graines had listened attentively to the revelations
of Bird Riley; but neither of them could understand why the four men,
including the mate, had deserted the West Wind only a few hours before
she was to depart on her voyage to Nassau, where she was believed to be
bound. The reason assigned by the tipsy mate was that she was going out
in tow of the steamer, and was sure to be taken by the blockaders. Both
of the listeners thought this fact improved her chances of getting clear
of any possible pursuers.

Bird Riley had fallen back on the ground; but he still continued to
talk, though his speech was very nearly incoherent. Graines was very
anxious to know what time it was, for the most important part of the
enterprise was to give the Bellevite timely notice of the coming of the
Trafalgar. He struck a match and lighted a cigar, offering one to the
mate, which he took and lighted. It was
61
half-past twelve by his watch, as he informed Bird, though he did so
more for the information of the lieutenant than of the mate.

"I reckon we are all about full enough to go to sleep, and we might
as well turn in," said Graines. "But I suppose you uns mean to sleep on
board of the West Wind."

"I don't reckon we'll do nothin' o' that sort," hiccoughed the mate.
"We done got a p'int to kerry, and I reckon we're gwine to
kerry it."

"All right," gobbled the engineer, who overdid his part, if anything.
"What's the p'int, shipmate?"

"Cap'n Sull'dine's sho't handed," replied the mate, his speech
turning somersets as he labored to utter the words, for he still had a
portion of his senses left.

"I see," added Graines, tumbling over, but regaining his
perpendicularity with a trying effort. "Only six men left after you four
done runned away."

"Six!" exclaimed Bird, raising himself up with a desperate struggle,
like a wounded hawk. "No six in it; only two left. He don't, can't no
how, go to sea with only two men. I'll pilot the schooner out by the
Belican Channel an' Mis'sip'
62
Sound. Cap'n Sull'dine 'n' I fit over it, an' I left, with most of the
crew. Hah, ha, ha! He done got 'nuff on't! Let's take a swigger, and
then we gwine to go to sleep, like the rest on 'em."

With no little difficulty Bird Riley got the bottle to his lips,
wasting no little of the liquor in the operation. He was entirely "full"
then. He handed the bottle to the engineer, and dropped over on his
back, overcome by his frequent potions. Graines did not find it
necessary to go through the form of putting the bottle to his lips
again, and after waiting a few minutes he was satisfied that the mate
was in a deep slumber, from which he was not likely to wake for several
hours.

But all the information he appeared to be capable of giving had been
imparted, and Graines rose to his feet as steady as he ever was in his
life, having taken hardly a swallow of the repulsive poison. He walked
away from the sleeping group on the ground, halting about twenty feet
from them. Christy saw him, for his eyes were open all the time, and he
had listened with intense interest to the conversation between the
engineer and the mate of the West Wind.

The lieutenant straightened himself up and
63
looked about him. The fire was entirely extinguished; the four men lay
with their feet to the embers, and not one of them showed any signs of
life. Carefully raising himself to his feet, so as not to disturb the
sleeper nearest to him, he crept away to the spot where his associate
awaited him. Christy led the way in the direction of the fort, but both
of them were silent till they reached the summit of the knoll which
concealed the inner bay from their vision, or would have done so if the
fog had not effectually veiled it from their sight.

"I suppose you heard all that was said, Mr. Passford, after you
ceased to lead the conversation," said Graines, as he glanced back at
the foot of the hollow where the revel had taken place.

"Every word of it; and I could insert a good deal of what might have
been read between the lines if the talk had been written out," replied
the lieutenant. "As you were the cousin of the mate, he seemed to be
more communicative to you than to me, and I thought it best to leave you
to conduct the conversation. You did it extremely well, Charley, and
there was no occasion for me to interfere. I find that you have no
little skill as a detective, as well as a sailor and an engineer, and I
64
shall make a good report of you to Captain Breaker. I could almost
believe that we were boys together again as we were carrying on the
farce this evening."

"Thank you, Christy—Mr. Passford," added Graines.

"You need not stand on ship formalities while we are alone, Charley.
But we must put together the threads we have gathered this evening, and,
if I mistake not, we shall make a net of them, into which the Trafalgar,
or whatever her new name may be, will tumble at no very distant time. It
appears that she is not to tow out the West Wind, for Captain Sullendine
cannot go to sea with only two men before the mast, and no mate."

"Bird Riley played his cards very well to accomplish the purpose he
had in view, which was to keep the West Wind from going to sea in tow of
the steamer," replied Graines, keeping up with the lieutenant, who had
taken a very rapid pace.

"I should say that the schooner would have a much better chance to
get through the blockaders in tow of the Trafalgar than in going on her
own hook. Bird is a big fellow in his own estimation; but it struck me
that Captain Sullendine had an
65
ignorant and self-willed fellow for a mate, and probably he took the
best one he could find; for I think good seamen, outside of the
Confederate navy, must be very scarce in the South."

"The fellow had a notion in his head that he could take the schooner
out by Pelican Channel, and he quarrelled with the captain on this
point. It occurred to me that he deserted his vessel on account of the
quarrel rather than for any other reason."

"We need not bother our heads with that question, for it does not
concern us; and we will leave the captain and his mate to fight it out
when they meet to-morrow, for it is plain enough that the West Wind
cannot go to sea with no mate and only two hands before the mast,"
returned Christy, who was hastening forward to discharge what he
considered his first duty thus far developed by the events of the night.
"What time is it now, Charley? I have a watch, but no matches."

The engineer's cigar had gone out when he lighted it before, and he
had put it in a pocket of his sack coat. Putting it in his mouth, he
struck a match, and consulted his watch.

"Quarter of one, Christy; and we have plenty
66
of time," he replied as he lighted his cigar; for he thought it would
help him to maintain his indifference in whatever event might be next in
order.

"But we have no time to spare," added the lieutenant, as he increased
the rapidity of his pace. "Our five pairs of men must have readied the
vicinity of the fort before this time, for we have had a long conference
with those spreeists."

"About an hour and a half; and the information we have obtained will
fully pay for the time used."

"No doubt of it; and we must hurry up in order to make a good use of
it," said Christy. "The fog is lifting just now, as it has been doing
all the evening, and we can see the fort. There are very few people
about; for it cannot be an uncommon event to see a blockade-runner get
under way."

It was not probable that any of the persons in sight were soldiers,
for they had abundant opportunity to see all there was to be seen within
the solid walls that sheltered them. The rapid pace at which the
lieutenant led his companion soon brought them to the group of people
near the shore of the channel leading to Pilot Town. The five pairs of
seamen were well scattered about, as they
67
had been instructed to be, and they did not appear to have attracted the
attention of the others in the vicinity.

Pair No. Three were the first of the party the officers encountered,
and no others appeared to be near them. One of them was smoking his
pipe, and both of them were taking it very easily. Not far from them was
a knot of men who seemed to be disturbed by some kind of an excitement.
As the couple encountered manifested no interest in the affair, Christy
concluded that they must know something about it, unless they were
extremely scrupulous in adhering to the orders given them.

"What is the row there, French?" asked Christy in a low and guarded
tone, though there was no stranger very near him.

"The man in the middle is the captain of that schooner you see off
the shore, sir. His mate and three of his crew have deserted the vessel,
and he can't go to sea without them," replied French.

"They say the steamer ahead is to tow the schooner out; but the
captain cannot go because he has only two men left," added Lines, the
other man of the pair.

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"Do you know where to find Nos. One and Two?" continued the leader of
the expedition.

"I do not, sir; for we keep clear of each other, as we were ordered,"
answered French, as he looked about him for the men designated.

"You two will separate, and find One and Two. Send them to me, and I
will wait here for them," added Christy; and the men departed on the
errand. "While I am waiting for them, Mr. Graines, you may go down to
that group, and pick up what information you can."

The engineer sauntered down the declivity, smoking his cigar, and
making himself as much at home on the enemy's territory as though he had
been the commander of the Confederate fort. Christy was not kept long in
waiting, and the first pair that reported to him were Weeks and Bingham.
No. One. The former was the oiler who had been selected on account of
his ingenuity and good judgment by Graines.

"Are you a sailor as well as a machinist, Weeks?" asked Christy.

"I am not much of a sailor, sir, though I have handled a schooner. I
have been a boatman more or less of the time all my life," replied the
oiler modestly.

69
By this time No. Two, Lane and McGrady, reported, but French and Lines
kept their distance, in conformity with the spirit of their orders.

"Nos. One and Two will return to the whaleboat, and Weeks will be in
command of the party," continued Christy. "The rest of you will obey him
as your officer. Is this understood?"

"Ay, ay, sir," responded the three men.

"Weeks, you will carry the boat to the water, and return to the ship
with all possible haste. Inform Captain Breaker that the Trafalgar will
sail at three o'clock in the morning. I will report to him later."

The four men started off as though they meant to obey this order to
the letter.

CHAPTER VI

CAPTAIN SULLENDINE OF THE WEST WIND

Weeks and his companions divided up as they had been ordered to do in
coming to the fort, and departed in different directions. The lieutenant
pointed out to them the locality of the bivouac where he had passed so
much of the evening, so that they might avoid it. It was about one
o'clock in the morning when they left, and Christy calculated that they
would reach the ship in an hour and a half, which would give the
commander ample time to get up steam from the banked fires, and move
down four or five miles to the southward of his present position.

The chief of the expedition had sent no message to the captain of the
Bellevite in regard to his own movements, but simply that he would
report to him later. He had already grasped an idea, though he had had
no time to work it up in detail. It looked practicable to him, and he
had jumped to a conclusion as soon as he was in possession
71
of the facts covering the situation in the vicinity of Fort Morgan.

With only a plan not yet matured in his mind, perhaps he had been
more rash than usual in sending away the whaleboat before he had
provided for his own retreat from the enemy's territory; but he had
considered this difficulty, and had come to the conclusion that the
Trafalgar must be captured if possible, even if he and his associates
were sent to a Confederate prison.

But he did not anticipate any such result. He had three pairs of the
seamen left; and the party still consisted of eight men, all well armed.
If the plan he had considered should fail, he had force enough to carry
a light boat from Pilot Town, or any other point on the inner shore, in
which they could make their escape to the Bellevite or some other
blockader. He did not feel, therefore, that he had "burned his bridges,"
and left open no means of retreat in case of disaster.

Christy and Graines were left alone in the darkness and the fog, a
bank of which was just then sweeping over the point; but they could hear
the violent talk of Captain Sullendine in the distance, as he declaimed
against the perfidy of his mate and
72
the three seamen just at the point where he needed them most. Evidently
he could not reconcile himself to the idea of being left behind by the
Trafalgar, which seemed to be inevitable under present
circumstances.

"The skipper of the West Wind seems to be in an ocean of trouble, and
he is apparently resolved not to submit to the misfortune which has
overtaken him," said Christy, as he led the way towards the knot of men
who were the auditors of the rebellious captain.

"He may jaw as much as he pleases, if it makes him feel any better,
but I don't see how he can help himself," replied Graines. "The schooner
looked like a rather large one when I got a sight of her just before I
came back to you, which I did as soon as I saw the four men leave
you."

"I sent Weeks as a messenger to Captain Breaker, to inform him that
the Trafalgar would sail at three in the morning," added Christy.

"I concluded that was the mission upon which you sent him," replied
the engineer; and, whatever doubts the lieutenant's action might have
raised in his mind, he asked no questions.

Every man on board of the Bellevite was well
73
acquainted with the record and reputation of the executive officer; and
he concluded at once that Christy had already arranged his method of
operations. It was not "in good form" to ask his superior any questions
in regard to his intentions.

"Did you go down to the shore, Charley?" asked Christy, as they
walked in that direction.

"I did not, but I went far enough to hear what the captain of the
West Wind was talking about. I had no orders, and as soon as I saw the
four men leave you, I thought I had better rejoin you," answered
Graines.

"Quite right," said the lieutenant as he halted; for they were as
near the group on the shore as it was prudent to go, for the fog was
lifting. "What did the captain say?"

"He offered ten dollars apiece for the recovery of the men who had
deserted, if they were brought back within two hours," replied Graines.
"He did an immense amount of heavy swearing; and it was plain that he
was mad all the way through, from the crown of his head to the sole of
his foot."

"Was any one inclined to accept his offer, and go in search of the
runaways?"

74
"I can't say, but I saw no one leave on that or any other mission. I was
there but a few minutes, and the fog dropped down on the party so that I
could not see them at all."

"We must join that assemblage, and we may be able to help Captain
Sullendine out of his dilemma," said Christy.

"Help him out of it!" exclaimed Graines.

"Not a word more, Charley. I have an idea or two left, but it is not
prudent to say a word about it here," replied the lieutenant cautiously.
"You know the cut of my jib in my present rig, and I want you to keep an
eye on me, for we must separate now. When you see me take off this old
soft hat with my left hand, and scratch my head with my right, moving
off a minute later, you will follow me. By that time I shall know what
we are to do."

"All right, Christy; I will follow the direction to the letter,"
added Graines.

"While you go off to the left of that pile of rubbish yonder, I will
go to the right of it. If you speak to any of our men, do so with the
utmost caution."

"They have been down there some time, and
75
they have full information in regard to what is going on in this
locality," suggested Graines.

"Use your own judgment, Charley, only be careful not to give us
away," replied the lieutenant, as he moved towards the pile of
rubbish.

A walk of a few minutes brought him to the group on the shore, which
consisted of not more than a dozen persons, and half of them belonged to
the Bellevite. Christy halted before he reached the assemblage, in order
to listen to the eloquence of the captain of the West Wind. He talked
very glibly; and it did not take his outside auditor long to perceive
that he had been drinking somewhat freely, though he was not what
non-temperance men would have called intoxicated.

"I use my men well, and give 'em enough to eat and drink, and what's
good enough," the nautical orator declaimed with a double-handed
gesture. "Why, my friends, I gave each of the villains that deserted the
schooner a bottle of apple-jack. I don't drink it myself, but it is good
enough for niggers and sailors; in fact, my men liked it better'n
whiskey, because it's stronger. They served me a mighty mean trick, and
I'll give ten dollars apiece to have 'em fetched back to me.
76
That's a good chance for some on you to make some money tonight."

His audience listened to him as they would have done to a preacher
with whom they had no sympathy, and no one was tempted by the reward to
go in search of the deserters. Christy moved up nearer to the speaker.
In his disguise, with his face smooched with some of the color he had
received as a present from Mr. Gilfleur, the French detective, with whom
he had been associated on his cruise some months before, he did not
appear at all different from most of those who listened to Captain
Sullendine. He had laid aside his gentlemanly gait and bearing, and
acted as though he had lately joined the "awkward squad."

"How d'e?" called the orator to him, as he saw him join the group of
listeners. "I see you come from the other side of the p'int."

"Well, is that agin the laws o' war?" demanded Christy.

"Not a bit on't," replied the captain pleasantly, as though his
potations of whiskey were still in full effect upon him. "If you come
from that way, have you seen anything of my four men that deserted the
schooner?"

77
"I wasn't lookin' for 'em; didn't know ye'd lost some men," replied
Christy, staring with his mouth half open at the orator. "Was one on 'em
the mate?"

"Yes!" exclaimed the captain eagerly.

"Well, I hain't seen nothin' on em," added Christy in a mumbling
tone.

"I'll bet you have!" protested the skipper of the West Wind. "How'd
you know one on 'em was the mate if you didn't see 'em?"

"I didn't know one on 'em was the mate; I only axed yer so's ter
know."

"I reckon you know sunthin about my men," persisted the captain; and
by this time the attention of all the party had been directed to
him.

"I don't know nothin' about yer men, and I hain't been interduced to
'em. If you want to ship a new crew, I'm ready to jine with yer."

"One man ain't enough," added the skipper.

"Some o' these men'll jine too, I reckon," suggested Christy, who had
proceeded in this manner in order to attract the attention of the
disconsolate master of the West Wind.

"I don't reckon they can ship, 'cause most on 'em belongs to the
Tallahatchie, and they can't leave."

78
"That's so," shouted several of the group, including some of the crew of
the Bellevite.

"What's the Talla-what-you-call-her?" demanded Christy.

"She's the steamer you can see when the fog lifts," answered Captain
Sullendine. "The Tallahatchie is her name. Are you a sailor, my lively
lad?"

"I reckon I know the bobstay from the mainmast."

"You know sumthin about my mate and men, my jolly tar, and I'll give
you five dollars apiece for any news on 'em that will help me to ketch
'em; and I'll ship you into the bargain, for I want more hands," the
captain proceeded in a more business-like manner, though at the expense
of his oratory.

Just at this moment three short and sharp whistles sounded from off
the shore, and about half of the skipper's audience turned upon their
heels and walked down to the water, where they embarked in a boat. They
were evidently members of the ship's company of the Tallahatchie, on
shore on leave, and the whistles were the signal for their return. The
remainder of the group, with two or
79
three exceptions, were the seamen of the blockader.

"Where'd you come from, my hearty?" demanded the captain of the
schooner, turning to Christy again.

"I was tooken in a blockader, eight on us. We done stole a whaleboat
and comed ashore," replied Christy, enlarging upon the story he had told
the bivouackers.

"Eight on you!" exclaimed the master of the schooner. "Where's the
rest on ye?"

"They're all about here somewhar, and I reckon I kin find em. They're
lookin for sunthin t'eat. They all want to ship, and the mate of the
Rattler's one on 'em," continued Christy, guiding himself by the
circumstances as they were developed to him.

"What's your name, my man?"

"My name's Jerry Sandman; and I ain't ashamed on't."

"Are your men all sailors, Jerry?"

"Every one on 'em."

"I want eight good men, Jerry, the mate bein' one on 'em."

"Then we kin fix you like a 'possum in a hole."

80
"I've got two boats on the shore; the deserters stole one on 'em, and I
come ashore in t'other arter 'em. I reckon I'll get a steamer in Nassau,
and I want all the good men I can find to man her. I'll ship the whole
on you. Find your men, Jerry, and fetch 'em down to the boats. I'll give
'em all sumthin t'eat. Now be lively about it," said Captain Sullendine,
as he walked away towards the shore.

"I'll find 'em in no time," replied Christy, as he removed his soft
hat with his left hand, and scratched his head with the other.

The rest of the party scattered, and Graines joined the
lieutenant.

CHAPTER VII

A POWERFUL ALLY OF THE BELLEVITERS

The seamen of the Bellevite had listened with intense interest to the
conversation between the commander of the West Wind and the lieutenant;
and there was not a single one of them who did not comprehend the
purpose of the chief of the expedition. They were greatly amused at the
manner in which Christy conducted himself, and especially at the mongrel
dialect he had used. It was a little difficult for them to realize that
the awkward fellow who was in conversation with the skipper of the
schooner was the gentlemanly, well-spoken officer they had been
accustomed to see on the quarter-deck of the Bellevite.

They separated as they had been instructed to do; but they were
careful not to go to any great distance from the spot, for they
understood that they should be wanted in a few minutes. Graines had not
spoken a word on this occasion, though he had done most of the talking
at the bivouac. He
82
was ready to do his part; but the skipper had addressed his companion
first, introducing the subject, and he had no opportunity to get in a
single word.

"I suppose you understand it all, Charley," said Christy as soon as
they were alone.

"I could not very well have helped doing so if I had tried. The only
thing that bothered me was when you appeared to be betraying yourself by
alluding to the mate," replied Graines.

"I did not do that by accident; but I desired to get the whole
attention of the captain, and I got it. The rest all followed in due
course. Now tell all the men to go down to the shore, and wait a little
distance from the two boats till you and I join them. Tell them all to
be hungry. Your name is Mr. Balker, the mate of the Rattler, the
blockade-runner from which we escaped in a whaleboat. My name is Jerry
Sandman, the second mate, for the want of a better. Tell them not to
forget any of these names," continued Christy.

"They heard the whole story, and they were deeply interested in it,
for they could not help seeing what was coming," added the engineer, as
he went to carry out the order he had just received.

83
The seamen still kept together in pairs, and Graines instructed them by
twos, impressing them with the necessity of remembering the names they
had heard in the lieutenant's story, which was a "story" in the double
sense of the word. As each couple received their lesson, they sauntered
in the direction of the shore.

"What's going to be done, Mr. Graines?" asked French, who was one of
the second pair the engineer instructed.

"That is none of your business, French. You are to remember the names
I have given you, and then obey orders," replied Graines rather sharply,
for it was a very unusual thing for a seaman, or even an officer, to ask
such a question of his superior; and the discipline of the Bellevite was
as exacting as it was kind and fatherly.

"Excuse me, Mr. Graines; I only wanted to be ready for whatever was
coming," pleaded French.

"Excused; but don't ask such questions. You listened to the
conversation between your officer and the captain of the schooner; and
if you cannot comprehend the meaning of it, ask Lines, and he will
explain it," added the engineer, "Where are Londall and Vogel?"

84
"Right by that pile of rubbish, sir," replied French, as he led the way
to the shore.

The last pair were instructed and sent with the others, and they
asked no questions. Graines joined the lieutenant, who had seated
himself on a log, and reported that all was going on right.

"As I said before, Charley, you will be the mate of the Rattler, and
will no doubt be engaged for the same position on board of the West
Wind. I will ship as second mate, if one of the two men now on board of
the vessel is not shipped as such, for I wish to be among the men," said
Christy, after looking about him to see that no one was within hearing
distance of them.

"I take it I shall not make a long voyage as mate," replied
Graines.

"Probably not, though I cannot tell how long you will have to serve
in that capacity. I purpose to have the Tallahatchie tow the schooner as
far down as practicable; but we shall doubtless have business on our
hands before it is time to cut the towline. Now we will wait upon the
captain."

They found him walking up and down the shore, apparently somewhat
excited; and doubtless he had not entire confidence in the promises of
"Jerry
85
Sandman." The six seamen had not joined Captain Sullendine on the shore,
but had placed themselves behind a coal shanty quite near the water.

"I've brought the mate down, Cap'n Sull'dine," Christy began, as he
and the engineer halted in front of the master of the schooner. "Here he
is, an' I reckon there ain't no better sailor in the great Confed'racy.
This yere is Mr. Balker."

"How are ye, Mr. Balker? You are just the man I want more'n I want my
supper. Now tell me something about yourself."

Graines invented a story suited to the occasion. Then the
conversation was about wages; and the candidate haggled for form's sake,
but finally accepted the lay the captain offered.

"By the way, Captain Sullendine, do you happen to have a second
mate?" asked the engineer when the terms were arranged.

"I had one; but he run away with Bird Riley. He wa'n't good for
nothin', and I'm glad he's gone," replied the skipper.

"The man you talked with is Jerry Sandman, and he was the other mate
of the Rattler. He isn't a showy fellow, but he was a first-class second
mate," continued Graines.

86
"Then I ship him as second mate;" and they arranged the wages without
much difficulty.

The six seamen were promptly shipped. The whole party then embarked
in the two boats, Captain Sullendine dividing them into two parties for
the purpose. The fog had settled down very densely upon the shore; but
the West Wind was easily found, and they went on board, where one boat
was hoisted up to the stern davits, and the other on the port
quarter.

"Here you be, Mr. Balker," said Captain Sullendine when the party
reached the quarter-deck; and he was so lively in his movements, and so
glib in his speech, as to provoke the suspicion that he had imbibed
again at the conclusion of his oration on shore. "Here, you, Sopsy!" he
continued in a loud voice.

A lantern was burning on the companion, which enabled the party to
see that the waist of the vessel was compactly packed with bales of
cotton. The schooner seemed to be of considerable size, and Christy
thought she must be loaded with a very large cargo of the precious
merchandise. In answer to the captain's call, Sopsy, who proved to be
the negro cook of the vessel, presented himself.

87
"All these people want something to eat, Sopsy. Let the crew eat in the
deck-house for'ad, and bring a lunch into the cabin right off,"
continued Captain Sullendine.

"Yis, sar," replied the cook with emphasis. "Git 'em quicker'n a man
kin swaller his own head. Libes dar a man wid soul so dead"—

"Never mind the varse, Sopsy," interposed the captain.

"Hurry up, Sopsy!"

"He don't say dat, Massa Cap'n," added the cook, as he shuffled off
over the bales of cotton.

"Hullo there, Bokes! Where are you, Bokes?" called the captain
again.

"On deck, Cap'n," replied a white man, crawling out from a small
opening in the bales.

"Wake up, Bokes! You ain't dead yet."

"No, sir; wide awake's a coon in a hencoop," added the man, who
appeared to be one of the two left on board by the deserters, the cook
being the other.

"Be alive, Bokes! Here, wait a minute!" and the captain ran down the
companion ladder to the cabin, from which he presently appeared with a
88
bottle in each hand. "Do you see them men on the cotton, Bokes?" he
asked, pointing with one of them at the six Belleviters, who stood where
they had taken their stations after hoisting up the quarter-boat.

"I see sunthin over thar," replied the seaman, who seemed to be
hardly awake yet.

"Them's the new crew I shipped to-night—six on 'em, or seven
with the second mate," added the captain. "Show 'em over to the
deck-house, and let 'em pick out their bunks."

"Seven on 'em; the cook and me makes nine, and they ain't but eight
berths in the deck-house, Cap'n," replied Bokes, who seemed to be afraid
of losing his own sleeping quarters.

"You can sleep on the deck, then. These are all good men, and they
must have good berths," added the captain. "You can sleep as well in the
scuppers as anywhere else, Bokes; and you ain't more'n half awake any
time."

"Must have my berth, Cap'n, or I go ashore," persisted the
seaman.

"Small loss anyhow," growled the captain.

"How is the cabin, Captain Sullendine?" interposed Graines.

89
"Two staterooms and four berths," replied the master.

"Then why can't the second mate take one of the berths in the cabin?"
suggested the new mate. "He is a first-rate fellow, and I reckon he's a
better sailor than I am, for he's been to sea about all his life."

"'Tain't reg'lar to have the second mate in the cabin. He'll have
t'eat with us if he bunks there," argued the master.

"He'll have to keep his watch on deck when we eat, and I reckon he'll
have to take his grub alone," reasoned the mate.

"I'd ruther live in the deck-house with the crew," said Christy.

"But there ain't no room thar," added Graines, who thought his
superior had made the remark simply to keep up his character.

"Let him come into the cabin, then," said Captain Sullendine, in
order to settle the question. "Now, Bokes, take this apple-jack, and
show the other six to the deck-house. Give 'em one or two drinks all
round. It'll do 'em good."

Bokes obeyed the order, after the master had lighted another lantern
for his use, and he went over the bales of cotton to the seamen.

90
Captain Sullendine remarked with great complacency that he always
treated his men well, gave them enough to eat and drink, and he thought
the apple-jack he had sent them would do them good. He liked to be
liberal with his crew, for he believed a tot of grog would go further
with them than "cussin' 'em;" and the two mates did not gainsay him,
though they believed in neither grog nor "cussin'."

Though Christy never drank a drop of intoxicating fluid under any
circumstances, and Graines almost never, both of them believed that
"apple-jack" had been a very serviceable ally during the night so far.
Rut they considered it useful only in the hands of the enemy, and they
were sorry to see the bottles sent forward for the use of Belleviters;
for they were afraid some of them might muddle and tangle their brains
with the fiery liquor.

"Come, mates, let's go down into the cabin now," continued the
captain, descending the ladder without waiting for them.

"I will go forward for a few minutes, Charley," whispered Christy in
the ear of the engineer, who followed the captain below.

When the lieutenant reached the deck-house he
91
found the men there, with Bokes in the act of taking a long pull at one
of the bottles, while French was holding the other.

"Here's the second mate," said the seaman with the bottle.

"You can keep the bottle you have, Bokes," said Christy. "Now go aft
with it." The sleepy sailor was willing enough to obey such a welcome
order, and the lieutenant took the other bottle to the side and emptied
it into the water. The men did not object, and the new second mate
joined the master in the cabin.

CHAPTER VIII

ON BOARD OF THE COTTON SCHOONER

Probably some, if not all, of the six men in the deck-house of the
West Wind were in the habit of taking intoxicating liquors when they
were ashore, and when it was served out on board of the ship in
conformity with the rules and traditions of the navy. The commander and
his executive officer labored for the promotion of total abstinence
among the officers and crew. More than the usual proportion of the men
commuted their "grog ration" for money, through the influence of the
principal officers.

While the commander of the present expedition accepted the aid of the
powerful ally, "apple-jack," in the service of his country, drinking
freely appeared to him to be about the same thing as going over to the
enemy; and he could not permit his men to turn traitors involuntarily,
when he knew they would not do so of their own free will and accord. He
had settled the liquor question
93
to his own satisfaction in the deck-house, returning the bottle to
French.

When Graines went below, a minute or two later than Captain
Sullendine, he saw his new superior in the act of tossing off another
glass of whiskey, as he concluded it was from the label on the bottle
which stood on the cabin table. He had been considerably exhilarated
before, and he was in a fair way to strengthen the ally of the loyalists
by carrying his powerful influence to the head of the commander of the
intending blockade-runner. The captain seated himself at the table, and
Christy saw that he had a flat bottle in his breast-pocket.

"Now, Mr. Balker, we had better seal up the bargain we've made with
forty drops from this bottle," said he, as he poured out a glass for
himself, regardless of the fact that he had just indulged; and at the
same time he pushed the bottle and another glass towards the new
mate.

Graines covered the lower part of the glass with his hand, and poured
a few drops into it. Putting some water with it from the pitcher, he
raised the tumbler in imitation of the captain.

"Here's success to the right side," added the
94
master, as he drank off the contents of the glass.

"I drink that toast with all my mind, heart, and soul," added the
engineer, with decided emphasis, though he knew that "the right side"
did not always convey the same idea.

"Help yourself, Mr.— I've forgot your name, Second Mate," he
added as he moved towards the companion ladder.

"Jerry Sandman, sir, and I will help myself to what I want," replied
Christy.

"That's right, Mr. Sandman; make yourself at home in this cabin. I
must go on deck and take a look at the Tallahatchie," added the master
as he went up the ladder, followed by Graines.

The lieutenant helped himself to a glass of water, after rinsing the
tumbler, for that was what he wanted. Sopsy the cook immediately
appeared, bearing a tray on which were several dishes of eatables, bread
and ham being the principal. The bottle was in his way; and after he had
drunk off half a tumblerful of its contents, he removed it to the
pantry. He proceeded to set the table.

"Oft in der chizzly night, 'fore slumber's yoke hab tooken me,"
hummed Sopsy as he worked at the table.

95
"Where is this schooner bound, Sopsy?" asked Christy.

"Bound to dat boon whar no trab'ler returns," replied the cook,
pausing in his occupation and staring the second mate full in the
face.

"That bourn is Nassau, I reckon," laughed the lieutenant.

"I s'pose she's gwine dar if she don't go to dat boon where no
trab'lers come back agin," answered Sopsy seriously. "Be you Meth'dis'
o' Bab'tis', Massa Mate?"

"Both, Sopsy."

"Can't be bof, Massa."

"Then I'm either one you like."

"That ain't right, Massa Secon' Mate, 'cordin' as you was brung up,"
said the cook, shaking his head violently, as though he utterly
disapproved of the mate's theology.

"I'm a theosophist, Sopsy."

"A seehossofist!" exclaimed the cook, dropping a plate in his
astonishment. "We don't hab none o' dem on shore in de Souf. I reckon
dey libs in de water."

"No; they live on the mountains."

"We hain't got no mount'ns down here, and
96
dat's de reason we don't hab none on 'em," added Sopsy as he went to the
pantry; but presently returned with a plate of pickles in one hand and
the whiskey bottle in the other. "Does dem sea-hosses drink whisker,
Massa Secon' Mate?"

"They never drink a drop of it."

"Dis colored pusson ain't no sea-hoss, and he do drink whiskey when
he kin git it," added the cook; and he half filled a tumbler with the
contents of the bottle, and drank it off at a single gulp.

He had hardly placed it on the table in the middle of the dishes
before the captain came below. His first step was to take a liberal
potation from the bottle. As he raised it to the swinging lamp, he
discovered that the fluid had been freely expended in his absence.

"You've punished this bottle all it deserves," said he when he
perceived that its level had been considerably lowered, and he did not
ask the new officer to join him. "That's all right, Mr. Sandman; but I
don't want you to take more than you can manage to-night, for we have a
big job on our hands, and we want our heads where we shall be able to
find them. Now go on deck, and learn what you
97
can about the vessel, for we hain't got but half an hour more before the
Tallahatchie goes to sea. We may have lots of music after we get
outside; but I reckon our steamer can outsail anything the Yankees have
got on the blockade. Don't drink no more, Mr. Sandman; and when we git
to Nassau you can have a reg'lar blowout."

"I won't touch another drop before we get out of the bay, Cap'n
Sullendine," protested Christy, without betraying the misdemeanor of the
cook, as doubtless it was.

"That's right, Mr. Sandman; we must all have our heads on our
shoulders to-night," said the captain, as he drank off the potion he had
prepared.

Christy wished to hold the commander to his own advice; but that
would have been fighting on the wrong side for him, and Sopsy escaped a
reprimand, if not a kick or two, by his forbearance. By this time the
bottle was nearly empty; but the skipper put it under lock and key in a
closet, which seemed to be well filled with others like it. Christy went
on deck, in obedience to the order he had received, and found the
engineer on the quarter-deck buried in the fog, which was just then more
dense than at any time before.

98
"The captain's pretty well set 'up,' isn't he Christy?" said Graines in
a low tone.

"About half seas over; but he knows what he is about, though he took
another heavy potion just now," replied the lieutenant.

"All right; I think we can manage this craft very well without him,"
added Graines with a smile, which could not be seen in the darkness.

But the conversation was interrupted at this point by the appearance
of the cook, whose legs were more tangled up by his tipples than his
master's. He delivered the request of Captain Sullendine that they
should come into the cabin, and partake of the lunch which had been set
out for them. As they moved towards the companion, they saw Sopsy creep
over to the alley where Bokes had been sleeping, and take up the bottle
of apple-jack Christy had given him, and drink from it. It was evident
to them that the cook could not be much longer in condition for any
duty.

The two mates went below as invited, and found the captain at the
table. He had brought out the bottle of whiskey, and was eating of the
dishes before him, but plainly with little relish.

"Have another little drink, Mr. Balker; but I
99
think Mr. Sandman had better not take anymore," said the master, whose
speech was rather thick by this time.

"Thank you, Captain Sullendine; I will do a little in that way, for
we are likely to have a very damp night of it," replied Graines, as he
helped himself, though he did not take ten drops.

"A little does one good; but it don't do to take too much when we
have very important business on our hands. After that one, Mr. Balker, I
advise you not to take any more till we get clear of the blockaders,"
added the skipper, as he emptied the bottle into his glass.

The ham on the table was of excellent quality, and the two mates ate
heartily of it, with the ship-bread. The last dose the captain had taken
appeared to cap the climax, and he could no longer eat, or talk so as to
be clearly understood. When the mates had finished their lunch, they saw
that the skipper had dropped asleep in his chair. They rose from their
places, and rattled the stools. The noise roused the sleeper, and he
sprang to his feet with a violent start.

"What's time'z it, Mr. Zbalker?" he demanded, catching hold of the
table to avoid falling on the cabin floor.

100
He seemed to be conscious that he was not presenting a perfectly regular
appearance to his new officers; and he dropped into his chair, making a
ludicrous effort to stiffen his muscles and put on his dignity, but it
was a failure.

"Quarter-past two, Captain Sullendine," replied Graines in answer to
the question.

"Most an hour more 'fore we git started," stammered the invalid. "I
didn't sleep none last night, I'm sleepy. I'm go'n to turn in for half
an hour, 'n then I'll be on deck ready for busi— ready for
buzness."

Graines assisted him to his stateroom, for he could not walk, and he
was afraid he would fall and hurt himself. He helped him into his berth,
and arranged him so that he could sleep it off, and he did not care if
he did not do so before the next day. He waited till he had dropped off
into a deep slumber, and then joined Christy in the cabin.

"If I had not been a temperance man before, I should be now," said
the lieutenant. "It is just as well that the captain is clean over the
bay, for we might have been obliged to shoot him if he had been
sober."

"But we could have taken possession of the
101
vessel in spite of him, if the steamer had not interfered," replied
Graines, as he led the way to the deck. "I don't see that we have
anything to do but wait for the moving of the waters, or for the moving
of the steamer. I suppose our men are all right forward."

"I have no doubt of it, though I have not seen them lately. I gave
one of the bottles of apple-jack the captain sent forward for them to
Bokes, and poured the contents of the other into Mobile Bay. I think we
had better go forward and look the vessel over," said Christy.

They had gone but a few steps before they stumbled over the body of
Sopsy, who had evidently succumbed to the quantity of firewater he had
consumed. He had assisted Bokes to empty the bottle given to him, and
both of them were too far gone to give an alarm if they discovered at
any time that something was wrong about the movements of the West
Wind.

They found the Belleviters lounging about on the cotton bales, some
of them asleep, and others carrying on a conversation in a low tone.
They were glad to see their officers, who told them the time for some
sort of action was rapidly approaching.
102
Then they went to the bow of the vessel, where they found that she was
anchored, though the chain had been hove short. The hawser by which she
was to be towed to sea was made fast to the bowsprit bitts, and led to
the stern of the steamer, where it was doubtless properly secured.

While they were looking over the bow, a boat approached from the
Tallahatchie, and an officer hailed, asking for Captain Sullendine.

"He is in the cabin; I am the mate," replied the engineer, "and the
captain has shipped a new crew, we are all right now."

"Weigh your anchor at three short whistles," added the officer.

"Understood, and all right," said the new mate.

The boat pulled back to the steamer.

CHAPTER IX

THE DEPARTURE OF THE TALLAHATCHIE

The fog, which had been coming and going during the whole of the
night, had now lifted so that everything in the vicinity of the fort
could be seen; but across the point, down the ship channel, it was
dense, dark, and black. The wind was fresh from the south-west, which
rolled up the fog banks, and then rolled them away. Such was the
atmospheric condition near Mobile Point, and Christy believed it was the
same at the southward. He thought it probable that the commander of the
Tallahatchie would wait for a more favorable time than the present
appeared to be before he got under way.

"All hands to the forecastle," he called to the men on the cotton
bales.

All of them, knowing his voice as well as they knew their own names,
hastened to answer to the call.

"We have to heave up the anchor with a windlass, Mr. Graines," said
he to the engineer. "We
104
had better get the hang of it while we have time to do so. Ship the
handspikes, my men."

Doubtless all of them had worked a windlass before, for every one of
them was an able seaman, which had been one of the elements in their
selection, and they went to work very handily. A turn or two was given,
which started the vessel ahead, showing that the anchor was not hove
entirely short. Graines went to the bow, and reported a considerable
slant of the cable with the surface of the water. Christy ordered the
six seamen to work the windlass, with French to take in the slack. They
continued to heave over with the handspikes for some time longer.

"Cable up and down, sir," reported Graines.

"Avast heaving!" added the lieutenant; and he had taken the command,
paying no attention to the fact that he was the second mate under the
new order of things, and the engineer did not remind him that he was the
chief officer. "Let off the cable a couple of notches, so that the
anchor will not break out. Make fast to the bitts, French, but don't
foul it with the towline."

"We are all right now," said Graines, as he moved aft from the heel
of the bowsprit.

105
"What time is it now?" asked the lieutenant. "Bring that lantern
forward, Lines."

"Ten minutes of three," replied the engineer, holding his watch up to
the light.

"The fog is settling down again, and I have no doubt the captain of
the steamer will get under way at about the hour named," said Christy,
putting his hand on the wire towline, and giving it a shake, to assure
himself that it was all clear. "Now, Mr. Graines, or rather, Mr. Balker,
as you are the mate and I am only the second mate, I think you had
better go aft and see that all goes well there."

"Very well, Mr. Sandman; I will leave you in charge of the
forecastle," replied the engineer, with a light laugh; but they had been
boys together, and understood each other perfectly.

"Captain Sullendine is the only dangerous man on board, and I think
you had better look after him," added Christy. "If there is any lock on
the door of his stateroom, it would be well to turn the key."

"I will look after him at once, sir," answered Graines, as he leaped
upon the cotton bales and made his way to the quarter-deck.

106
On the way he examined the condition of Sopsy, and found him snoring
like a roaring lion, in an uneasy position. He turned him over on his
side, and then went to the lair of Bokes, who was in the same condition;
and he concluded that neither of them would come to his senses for a
couple of hours at least.

Captain Sullendine had been assisted to a comfortable position when
he turned in, and he was sleeping with nothing to disturb him. There was
no lock on the door, and Graines could not turn the key. The interior of
the cabin was finished in the most primitive manner, for the vessel had
not been built to accommodate passengers. The door of the captain's
stateroom was made of inch and a half boards, with three battens, and
the handle was an old-fashioned bow-latch. There was a heavy bolt on the
inside, as though the apartment had been built to enable the master to
fortify himself in case of a mutiny.

The engineer could not fasten the door with any of the fixtures on
it; but it opened inward, as is generally the case on shipboard, and
this fact suggested to the ingenious officer the means of securing it
even more effectually than it could have
107
been done with a lock and key. In the pantry he found a rolling-pin,
which the cook must have left there for some other purpose.

This implement he applied to the bow-handle of the fixture on the
door. It would not fit the iron loop, but he whittled it down on one
side with his pocket-knife till he made it fit exactly in its place with
some hard pressure. But shaking the door might cause it to drop out, and
he completed the job by lashing it to the handle of the door with a
lanyard he had in his pocket. When he had finished his work he was
confident the captain could not get out of his room unless he broke down
the door, which he lacked the means to accomplish.

"West Wind, ahoy!" shouted some one from the stern of the steamer
before the engineer had completed his work in the cabin.

Christy thought that French's voice was a better imitation of Captain
Sullendine's than his own, and he directed him to reply to the hail,
telling him what to say.

"On board the Tallahatchie!" returned the seaman at the lieutenant's
dictation.

"Are you all ready?" shouted the same officer.

"All ready, sir!" replied French.

108
"Captain Rombold will get under way in five minutes!" called the speaker
on the stern of the steamer. "Wait for three short whistles, and then
heave up your anchor!"

"Understood, and all right," added the spokesman of the West
Wind.

"Captain Rombold!" exclaimed Christy to himself, as he heard for the
first time the name of the commander of the Tallahatchie.

The lieutenant, acting as the servant of the French detective at St.
George's in the Bermudas, had seen Captain Rombold, and had heard him
converse for an hour with Mr. Gilfleur, when he was in command of the
Dornoch, which had been captured by the Chateaugay, on board of which Christy
was a passenger. He was known to be a very able and brave officer, and
his defeat was owing more to the heavier metal of the loyal ship than to
any lack of skill or courage on the part of the Confederate commander.
The last the young officer knew about him, he was a prisoner of war in
New York, and had doubtless been exchanged for some loyal officer of
equal rank, for the enemy had plenty of them on hand.

"Man the windlass, my lads," said Christy in a
109
quiet tone, though he was still thinking of the commander of the steamer
which was to tow out the schooner.

While he was waiting for the three short whistles, Graines came
forward and reported in what manner he had secured the captain, and that
the two men on the cotton bales were still insensible.

"You may be sure the captain will not come out of his stateroom until
we let him out," added the engineer; and Christy proceeded to explain
what had passed between the schooner and the steamer.

"The Tallahatchie has one of the ablest commanders that sail the
ocean, for I have seen and know him," continued the lieutenant. "It is
Captain Rombold, now or formerly, of the British Navy. He is a gentleman
and a scholar, as well as a brave and skilful officer."

"Then Captain Breaker may have his hands full before he captures the
steamer," added the engineer.

"He certainly will; but a great deal depends upon the weight of the
Tallahatchie's metal."

"We shall soon have a chance to judge of that."

"I should like to know something more about
110
this steamer, though my father's letter gives us the principal details;
but we have no time now to examine her," continued Christy.

"Who's that?" demanded Graines, as he saw a man walking forward over
the bales of cotton.

It proved to be Bokes, who had slept off a part of the effects of the
debauch; but Sopsy had probably consumed a large portion of the contents
of his bottle.

"Does you uns happen to have any more apple-jack?" asked the fellow.
"Somehow I lost nigh all o' mine, and I'm sufferin', dyin' for a
drink."

"French, take him to the deck-house, and fasten him in," said Christy
in a low tone.

"Come with me, my hearty, and we'll see what there is in the
deck-house," said the seaman, as he took the man by the arm and led him
to the place indicated. "Now go in and find your bunk. Get into it, and
I will look for a bottle here."

"Dowse that glim in your fo'castle!"
Page 111.

Bokes crept to his bunk, and stretched himself out there. French took
the bottle the lieutenant had emptied into the bay, and gave it to him.
Then he closed the door, and finding a padlock and hasp on it, he locked
him in. Two of the three men who had remained on board of the
111
schooner were now prisoners; and Sopsy was considered as harmless as a
fishworm.

French had hardly reported what he had done before the three short
whistles were sounded, and Christy gave the order to heave up the
anchor.

"West Wind, ahoy!" shouted the same officer who had spoken
before.

"On board the steamer!" replied French, when he was directed to
reply.

"Dowse that glim on your fo'castle!" shouted the officer, as with a
liberal dose of profanity he demanded if they were all fools on board of
the schooner. "Put out every light on board!"

"Ay, ay, sir!" responded French, as Graines extinguished the lantern
on the forecastle; and Christy directed him to do the same with the
cabin lamp.

He looked at his watch before he put it out, and found it was
quarter-past three. The captain of the steamer had evidently waited for
a favorable moment to start on his perilous voyage, and the engineer
noticed when he went forward after he had secured Captain Sullendine,
that the fog was again settling down on the bay.

"On board the steamer!" shouted French, as
112
directed. "Anchor aweigh, sir!" Then a minute later, "All clear, and the
towline slack!"

From the sounds that came from the forward part of the steamer, it
was evident that she had heaved up her anchor before she gave the three
whistles for the schooner to do so.

"West Wind, ahoy!" called the officer from the Tallahatchie. "Stand
by your helm with your best man!"

Graines had just gone aft, and had taken the wheel of the vessel; but
Christy sent French to take his first trick at the helm. The tide was
still setting into the bay, and it was within half an hour of the flood.
The schooner was beginning to sway off from the shore as the tide struck
her, when the gong bell in the engine-room of the steamer was heard. She
went ahead very slowly, and straightened the towline. Christy took a
careful survey of its fastenings, to assure himself that it was all
right, and then mounted the cotton bales, to observe the progress of the
vessel.

Of course the steamer was under the direction of a skilful pilot,
doubtless the best that could be had, for the present venture was an
exceedingly important one to the Confederate cause. The
113
Tallahatchie was perhaps a better vessel than any of those which had
done so much mischief among the ships of the loyal American marine, and
in no manner could the Southern cause be more effectually assisted than
by these cruisers.

As the vessels headed to the southward, Christy went to the binnacle,
and watched the course.

CHAPTER X

THE CASTING OFF OF THE TOWLINE

Christy Passford had been through this channel at least half a dozen
times in the Bellevite, and knew all the courses and bearings, though
the latter did not count in the dense fog which had settled down on the
vicinity of the fort. The lights in the binnacle of the West Wind had
not been put out, though they could not be noticed outside of the
schooner. The great fortress could not be seen, and it was as silent as
a tomb.

"How does she head, Christy?" asked Graines, as they met at the
wheel.

"South a quarter west," replied the lieutenant, "which is the correct
course. The fog is very dense just now. I think we have passed the
obstructions by this time, though I do not know precisely where they are
placed."

"I should call it mighty ticklish navigation just here," added the
engineer.

"It is all of that, or will be in five or ten minutes
115
more. Sand Island Lighthouse is not more than a quarter of a mile from
the middle of the channel, and at that point the course changes. Perhaps
the pilot can make out the lighthouse in the fog. If he don't he will
run into five or six feet of water in a few minutes, out of eight
fathoms or more."

"I suppose you are prepared to let go the towline if anything goes
wrong, Mr. Passford?" added the engineer, perhaps as a suggestion rather
than as a question.

"I hope it will not come to that, for the schooner might get aground
on the Knoll before we could make sail," replied Christy.

"The steamer has shifted her helm," said Graines, to the great relief
of the lieutenant. "The fog is lifting again, and the pilot must have
seen the lighthouse. We are headed more to the eastward now."

"The course is south by west, three-quarters west, when the
lighthouse bears west by south. We are out of the woods now, and there
will be no trouble at all till some blockader stirs up the waters," said
Christy.

"I wonder where the Bellevite is just now,"
116
added Graines, as he looked all about him as the fog lifted a little
more, though it was still too thick to make out any vessel, if there
were any near.

"If my messenger reached the ship in time, she will be found
somewhere near the channel," replied Christy. "Call Lines, if you
please, Mr. Graines."

The seaman presently appeared; and the lieutenant directed him to
take the wheel, French instructing him how to keep the vessel in line
with the steamer.

"I believe you have sailed a schooner, French," said Christy, when he
had taken the man to the quarter.

"Yes, sir; I was mate of a coaster for three years, and I should have
become master of her if the war had not come, and I felt that I ought to
go into the navy, though I haven't got ahead much yet, as I expected I
should; but I am satisfied to fight for my country where I am."

"That is patriotic; and I hope a higher position will be found for
you. But we have not time to talk about that now," continued Christy.
"It may be necessary or advisable for Mr. Graines and myself
117
to leave the West Wind at any moment now. In that case I shall place
this vessel in your charge, and you will take her off where the
Bellevite was moored last night, and come to anchor."

"Thank you, sir; and I will endeavor to do my duty faithfully,"
replied French, touching his cap.

"Now call the men aft, and I will explain the matter to them."

The lieutenant explained the situation, and directed the other five
seamen to respect and obey the man he had selected as captain. Then he
directed French to cast off the stops from the foresail and mainsail,
and have the jib and flying-jib ready to set at a moment's notice.

"I don't think Captain Sullendine can get out of his stateroom, where
he has been confined, or Bokes out of the deck-house; but if either of
them should do so, you must secure them as you think best," continued
Christy. "Do you fully understand your orders, French?"

"Perfectly, Mr. Passford; and I will do my duty as well as I know
how," answered the able seaman, who, like many others in the service,
deserved a better position.

118
The new officer and crew went to work on the sails, and in a few minutes
they were ready to be set. Another bank of fog was rolling up, in which
the two vessels would soon be involved. But the Tallahatchie was in a
position where it was plain sailing now, and her future troubles would
all come from the blockaders.

"There you are!" exclaimed the engineer, as the peal of a gun boomed
over the water from the westward. "The steamer has been seen by a
blockader, and she will catch it now."

"I don't believe that was one of the Bellevite's guns," added
Christy. "Captain Breaker would not take a position over to the
westward, for that would give him the outside track, and he always goes
at anything by the shortest way."

"We have the fog again for the next ten or fifteen minutes. The
blockader that fired that shot must have got a sight at the steamer, and
she is still pegging away at her. We may get knocked over by our own
guns," continued Graines.

"There is no danger at present. She can't hit anything in this fog
except by a chance shot."

"And one of them sometimes does the most mischief. The fog is heavier
just now than it has
119
been at any time during the night. I can't see the Tallahatchie just
now."

"It is blacker than a stack of blackbirds," added Christy. "I am
confident that we are at least a mile south of the lighthouse, and we
will take advantage of the gloom to hoist the mainsail, and then the
foresail if it holds as it is now;" and he gave the order to French, who
was assisted by the engineer in the work.

The lieutenant took the wheel, and sent Lines to assist the others.
The blockader to the westward continued to discharge her guns; but her
people could see nothing, and her solid shot began to fall astern of the
West Wind, and the Tallahatchie took no notice of her or her guns.
Christy saw that the fog was lifting again, and this would reveal to the
steamer ahead what he had been doing. Besides, he had gone in tow as
long as he intended. Graines reported the two sails as set.

"Stand by to hoist the jib!" he shouted, deeming it no longer
necessary to conceal his movements.

"What are you doing there?" demanded the officer, who seemed to be in
charge of the after part of the steamer; and his tones, with the flood
of
120
profanity he poured out, indicated that he was in a violent fit of
anger.

"I reckon we won't tow any farther," replied Christy, who was still
at the wheel, and the officer yelled loud enough for him to hear at the
helm; but French repeated his answer.

"All ready to hoist the jib," Graines reported.

"Cast off the towline!" shouted Christy at the top of his lungs.
"Hoist the jib!"

"Towline all clear!" called the engineer a moment later, and the jib
went up in a hurry.

The jib filled on the starboard tack, and the West Wind went off to
the south-east as Christy put up the helm. The fog lifted just enough to
enable the officer at the stern of the steamer to see the West Wind as
she went off on her new course. No one on the former could have
suspected that the latter had changed hands; for French had answered for
Captain Sullendine every time a call was made, and his voice was not
unlike that of the master of the schooner.

Christy could not understand why the officer who used so many
expletives should be dissatisfied, for the Tallahatchie could certainly
make better time when no longer encumbered by the towing of
121
the West Wind. But it must look to him just as though the schooner would
be captured by the steamer to the westward, which had been uselessly
firing at the blockade-runners in the densest of the fog. He could not
help seeing that the vessel in tow had set her sails, and therefore the
casting off of the wire rope could not have been caused by an
accident.

The action of the captain of the schooner, for they had no reason to
suppose the change on board of the schooner was not made by him, must
have bewildered the officers of the Tallahatchie. But the fog was
lifting, the steamer to windward was now under way, though moving very
slowly, and her solid shot fell very near to the Confederate vessel.

By this time the sails of the West Wind were all drawing full, and
the craft was making very good headway through the water. The fog bank
had scattered, and appeared now to be in a dozen smaller masses,
floating off in the direction of Mobile Point. Christy still retained
the wheel, while Graines was putting everything in order forward and in
the waist, after setting the sails.

"Send French aft to take the wheel, Mr. Graines,"
122
called Christy, as the engineer came aft to see the main sheet.

This man, who was the captain of the forecastle, one of the most
important and best-paid of the petty officers, hastened aft to relieve
the chief of the expedition, who went to work with his own hands when
the exigency of the service required.

"Make the course south-west, French," said Christy, as he abandoned
the wheel to the petty officer.

"South-west, sir," repeated the seaman.

"Can you make out the Bellevite, Mr. Graines?" asked he, as he met
the engineer on the quarterdeck.

"I have kept a sharp lookout for her, Mr. Passford, but I have not
seen her yet," replied Graines, as he looked earnestly in the direction
in which the schooner was headed.

"If Captain Breaker received my message sent by Weeks, the ship must
have taken a position somewhere below the entrance to the channel, and
that is about four miles south of the fort, and out of the reach of any
of its guns," added the lieutenant.

"There are half a dozen of those fog banks
123
floating about near the water in that direction, and she may be there,"
replied Graines, as he took a spy-glass from the brackets in the
companion. "Very likely she is down that way somewhere, and the
Tallahatchie may run right into her."

"I don't think Captain Breaker would place his ship where anything of
this kind would be likely to happen," replied Christy. "It is still as
dark as Egypt ahead, and I think we shall see the Bellevite very
soon."

The Confederate steamer had sensibly increased her speed, and gave no
attention whatever to the schooner or the blockader to the westward of
her. Captain Rombold seemed to be possessed of a supreme confidence in
the speed of his steamer, and a complete assurance that he should escape
unscathed from all pursuers, if any attempted to follow him. He was not
aware that the Bellevite had recently had her bottom cleaned, and her
engine put in thoroughly good condition, so that she could make as many
knots in an hour as ever before; and that was saying more than could be
said of any other craft in the navy.

"I would give my month's pay to know what the Tallahatchie has for a
midship gun," said
124
Christy, still gazing at the Confederate vessel as she continued to
increase her speed.

Suddenly, without saying anything, Graines, who had been at his side,
left him, and hastened to the companion, where he stooped down and gazed
into the cabin. Christy had heard nothing to attract his attention, but
he concluded that Captain Sullendine had escaped from his prison, and he
called the two men who had been stationed in the waist to the
quarter-deck to render such assistance as the engineer might need; but
this officer remained at the entrance to the cabin, and made no further
movement.

CHAPTER XI

A HAPPY RETURN TO THE BELLEVITE

Although he anticipated a disagreeable scene with the captain of the
West Wind, who, he supposed, had slept off the fumes of the inordinate
quantity of liquor he had drunk, he did not consider that there was any
peril in the situation, for he had plenty of force to handle him easily.
His curiosity was excited, and he walked over to the companion, where
Graines appeared to be gazing into the darkness of the cabin; but he did
not interfere with the proceedings of his fellow-officer.

"We don't need the men you have called from the waist," said the
engineer in a low tone.

Christy sent the two men back to their former station. As he was
returning to his chosen position abaft the companion, he saw a glimmer
of light in the gloom of the cabin. Graines invited him to take a place
at his side, chuckling perceptibly as he made room for him. The
lieutenant stooped down so that he could see into the cabin, and
discovered
126
a man with a lighted match in his hand, fumbling at the door of the
closet where Captain Sullendine kept his whiskey.

"Is that the captain?" whispered Christy, who could not make out the
man, though he was not as tall as the master of the West Wind.

"No; it is Bokes," replied Graines. "He must have got out of the
deck-house through one of the windows. He found the bottle French gave
him was empty, and I have no doubt his nerves are in a very shaky
condition."

Both of the officers had leaned back, so that their whispers did not
disturb the operator in the cabin. His first match had gone out, and he
lighted another. Captain Sullendine had been too much overcome by his
potations to take his usual precautions for the safety of his
spirit-room, and the observers saw that the key was in the door. Bokes
took one of the bottles, and carried it to the table. His match went
out, and he poked about for some time in the cabin.

Presently he was seen again, coming out of the pantry with a lighted
lantern in his hand, which he placed on the table. He had a corkscrew in
the other hand, with which he proceeded, as hurriedly
127
as his trembling hands would permit, to open the bottle, for the master
had drained the last one. Then he poured out a tumblerful of whiskey, as
the observers judged it was from its color, and drank it off. At this
point Graines descended to the cabin and confronted the fellow.

Christy, after taking a long look to the south-east, followed the
engineer into the cabin, for it was possible that his companion intended
to look into the condition of Captain Sullendine, and he desired to be
present at the interview.

"Good-morning, Bokes," said Graines, as he placed himself in front of
the seaman.

"Mornin', Mr. Balker," replied Bokes; and the heavy drink he had just
taken appeared to have done nothing more than steady his nerves, for he
seemed to have the full use of his faculties.

"How do you feel this morning, my friend?" continued the engineer;
and Christy thought he was making himself very familiar with the boozing
seaman, who was at least fifty years old.

"Fine's a fiddle-string," replied Bokes. "We done got out all right,
I reckon;" and it was plain that he had not taken notice that the
schooner was no longer in tow of the steamer.

128
"All right," replied Graines, as he placed himself on a stool, and
pushed another towards the sailor, who seated himself. "By the way,
friend Bokes, I suppose you have been on board of the Tallahatchie?"

"More'n a dozen times, here 'n' up in Mobile. My fust cousin's an
'iler aboard on her," replied Bokes.

"How many guns does she carry?" asked the engineer in a very quiet
tone, though the man did not seem to be at all suspicious that he was in
the act of being used for a purpose.

"I don't jest know how many guns she kerries; but she's got a big
A'mstrong barker 'midships that'll knock any Yankee ship inter the
middle o' next year 'n less time 'n it'll take you to swaller a tot o'
Kaintuck whiskey. It's good for five-mile shots."

"This is her midship gun, you say?"

"Midship gun, sir; 'n I heard 'em say it flung a shot nigh on to a
hundred pounds," added Bokes.

Both Christy and Graines asked the man other questions; but he had
not made good use of his opportunities, and knew very little about the
armament of the Tallahatchie; yet he remembered
129
what he had heard others say about her principal gun. The lieutenant
knew all about the Armstrong piece, for he had in his stateroom the
volume on "Ordinance and Gunnery," by Simpson, and he had diligently
studied it.

"Mr. Passford," said one of the hands at the head of the companion
ladder.

"On deck," replied Christy.

"Steamer on the port bow," added the seaman.

"That must be the Bellevite," said the lieutenant.

"Now you may go on deck, Bokes," added Graines, as he drove the
boozer ahead of him, and followed his superior.

He instructed the men in the waist to keep an eye on Bokes, and sent
him forward. Then he took the precaution to lock the doors at the
companion-way, and joined Christy on the quarterdeck.

"That's the Bellevite without a doubt," said Christy, as he directed
the spy-glass he had taken from the brackets, and was still looking
through it. "But she is farther to the eastward than I expected to find
her."

"I suppose her commander knows what he is about," replied
Graines.

130
"Certainly he does; and I do not criticise his action."

All the steamers on the blockade except the Bellevite and the one in
the west had been sent away on other duty, for it was believed that the
former would be enough to overhaul anything that was likely to come out
of Mobile Bay at this stage of the war. Sure of the steamer of which he
was the executive officer, Christy directed his glass towards the one on
the other side of the channel. She had received no notice of the
approach of a powerful blockade-runner, and she had not a full head of
steam when she discovered the Tallahatchie. Besides, she was one of the
slowest vessels in the service.

The black smoke was pouring out of her smokestack as though she was
using something besides anthracite coal in her furnaces, and she was
doing her best to intercept the Confederate. She was still firing her
heaviest gun, though it could be seen that her shots fell far short of
the swift steamer.

"They have seen the Bellevite on board of the Tallahatchie, and she
has changed her course," said Graines, while Christy was still watching
the
131
movements of the blockader in the west. "Probably Captain Rombold knows
all about the Bellevite, and he is not anxious to get too near her."

"She has pointed her head to the south-west, and the Bellevite is
changing her course. I hope we shall not miss her," added Christy.

When the fog bank blew over and revealed her presence on board of the
West Wind, the Bellevite was not more than half a mile to the southward,
but she was at least two miles to the eastward of her.

"Can we get any more sail on this craft, Mr. Graines?" asked the
lieutenant.

"We can set her two gaff-topsails."

"Do so as speedily as possible."

Christy went to the wheel, and Graines, with three men at each sail,
assisting himself, soon had shaken out and set the gaff-topsails. The
effect was immediately apparent in the improved sailing of the schooner.
A Confederate flag was found in the signal chest, and it was set at the
main topmast head, with the American ensign over it, so that it could be
easily seen on board of the Bellevite. The lieutenant was now very
confident that he should intercept his ship.

132
"Now clear away that quarter-boat, so that we can drop it into the water
without any delay," continued Christy, as he gave up the wheel to Lines
again.

Graines hastened to obey the order, for the Bellevite was rushing
through the water at her best speed, and it was evident enough by this
time that Weeks had faithfully performed the duty assigned to him.

"A small pull on the fore-sheet, Londall," called Christy to one of
the men on the forecastle. "Another on the main sheet," he added to
Fallon in the waist.

The bow of the West Wind was thus pointed closer into the wind; and
the gaff-topsails enabled her to hold her speed after this change. Paul
Vapoor, the chief engineer of the Bellevite, was plainly doing his best
in the engine-room, and if the lieutenant had been a sporting man, he
would have been willing to wager that his ship would overhaul the
Tallahatchie; for on an emergency she had actually steamed twenty-two
knots an hour, and Christy believed she could do it now, being in
first-rate condition, if the occasion required.

133
"What time is it now, Mr. Graines?" asked Christy.

"Quarter-past four," replied the engineer, when he had lighted a
match and looked at his watch.

"I thought it was later than that, and I have been looking for some
signs of daylight," replied the lieutenant.

"It is just breaking a little in the east."

"I suppose Captain Sullendine is still asleep."

"No doubt of it; he has not had two hours yet in his berth, and he is
good for two hours more at least."

"I think we shall be on board of the Bellevite in ten minutes more,"
continued Christy, as he noted the position of the ship. "Have you
instructed French what to do with Captain Sullendine if he should
attempt to make trouble?"

"I told him to keep him in his stateroom, and I feel pretty sure he
can't get out. If Bokes, who must have an idea of what is going on by
this time, is troublesome, I told French to tie his hands behind him,
and make him fast to the fore-rigging."

"The fog is settling down again on the Tallahatchie; but Captain
Breaker knows where she is, and he will not let up till he has got his
paw on
134
her," said Graines. "The blockader in the west isn't anywhere now. She
could not do a thing with such a steamer as that Confederate."

The West Wind was now directly in the path of the Bellevite, and in
five minutes more she stopped her screw. Possibly her commander was
bewildered at the sight of the schooner, whose flag indicated that she
was already a prize, though he could hardly understand to what vessel;
for nothing was known on board of her in regard to the cotton vessel the
Tallahatchie was to tow to sea.

"Stand by to lower the boat on the quarter!" shouted Christy, perhaps
a little excited at the prospect of soon being on the deck of his own
ship, as he and Graines took their places in the craft.

The four men at the falls lowered the boat into the water in the
twinkling of an eye, and the two officers dropped the oars into the
water as soon as it was afloat. They pulled like men before the mast,
and went astern of the schooner, whose head had been thrown up into the
wind to enable the officers to embark in safety. French was now in
command of the schooner, and he filled away as soon as the boat pulled
off from her side.

The Bellevite had stopped her screw a little distance
135
from the West Wind, and, as the boat approached her, she backed her
propeller. Her gangway had been lowered, and the two officers leaped
upon the landing. They had hardly done so before the great gong in the
engine-room was heard, and the steamer went ahead again. The boat was
allowed to go adrift; but Christy shouted to French to pick it up. The
lieutenant's heart beat a lively tattoo as he mounted the steps, and
ascended to the deck.

CHAPTER XII

A LIVELY CHASE TO THE SOUTH-WEST

Captain Breaker had been in the main rigging with his night-glass,
watching the movements of the chase; but he recognized the voice of
Christy when he shouted to French to pick up the quarter-boat of the
schooner, as he could no longer make out the Tallahatchie in the
fog.

"Good-morning, Mr. Passford," said he, as he met Christy when he
descended from the rail. "I am glad to see you again."

"Good-morning, Captain Breaker," replied the lieutenant, as he took
the offered hand of the commander. "I hope all is well on board,
sir."

"Entirely well, and your messenger came on board in good time, so
that we were in position to get the first sight of the Trafalgar when
she showed herself off Sand Island Lighthouse," replied the captain, as
he led the way to his cabin. "Mr. Ballard, keep a sharp lookout for the
chase," he added to the acting executive officer.

137
"Will you allow me to put on my uniform, Captain?" asked Christy. "I
don't feel quite at home on board the ship in the rigout I have worn all
night."

"Certainly; for I do not wish you to show yourself to the ship's
company while you look so little like a naval officer," replied the
captain, as he went to take another look at the darkness ahead.

The lieutenant hastened to his stateroom, and in a very short time he
had washed off the smut from his face and hands, and dressed himself in
his uniform, so that he looked like quite another person, Graines had
gone to his room in the steerage for the same purpose, for neither of
them desired to show himself as he had appeared before Captain
Sullendine.

Christy hurried to the deck as soon as he had made the change, and
met the commander on the quarter-deck. Lookouts were stationed aloft and
on the top-gallant forecastle, and all hands were in a state of healthy
excitement in view of the stirring event which was likely to transpire
before the lapse of many hours; and doubtless some of the men were moved
by the prospect of prize-money, not only from the proceeds of the sale
of the steamer
138
they were chasing, but from the full freight of cotton on board of the
schooner, the deck load of which had been noted by some of the crew.

The schooner which had come so close aboard of the Bellevite was a
mystery to all, from the captain down to the humblest seaman; but the
American ensign over the Confederate flag had been observed by a few,
and this settled her status. Not more than half of the seamen were aware
that an expedition had left the ship at ten o'clock the evening before,
and they had had no opportunity to notice the absence of the executive
officer during the night; and even yet all hands had not been called,
for the regular watch was enough to get the ship under way.

The commander conducted the executive officer to his own cabin, again
reminding Mr. Ballard to keep a sharp lookout for the chase. Christy
felt like himself again in his neat uniform, and his vigorous and well
knit, as well as graceful form, did more to show off the dress than the
dress did to adorn his person.

"I am very glad to see you again, Christy," said Captain Breaker,
seating himself and pointing to an arm-chair for the lieutenant, while
he came down
139
from the stately dignity of the commander of a man-of-war to the
familiarity with which he treated his chief officer when they were
alone. "I had no doubt that you would give a good account of yourself,
as you always do. You were going on the enemy's territory, and you were
in peril all the time. Now you come off in a schooner, which appears to
be loaded with cotton, and how or where you picked her up is a mystery
to me;" and the commander indulged in a laugh at the oddity of the young
officer's reappearance. "Your messenger reported that the Trafalgar
would sail at three o'clock in the morning, and I judge that she left at
about that hour."

"Within ten minutes of it, and probably made an arrangement with the
commandant of the fort to that effect," added Christy. "But they do not
call her the Trafalgar now; though Weeks was not aware of the fact when
I sent him on board. She is now the Tallahatchie, though I noticed that
some in the vicinity of the fort still called her by her old name."

"Never mind the name; she will answer our purpose as well under one
appellation as another. When I asked your messenger about you and the
140
other six men of your party, he was unable to give me any information in
regard to your movements; and he could not tell me how you had
ascertained the hour at which the steamer was to sail," continued the
captain.

"Graines and myself separated from the party as soon as we landed on
the point; and we had obtained our information before we joined them
again on the shore of Mobile Bay, sir. At the same time we had learned
all about the West Wind"—

"The what?" interposed the commander.

"I mean the schooner West Wind, the one from which we came on board
of the Bellevite, which was to be towed out by the Tallahatchie, and
which was towed out by her till we on board of her cast off the
towline."

"Perhaps you had better narrate the events of your expedition
seriatim, for all you say in this disconnected manner only
thickens the mystery," said the commander: and he knew that his officer
had an excellent command of the English language, and could make a
verbal report in a very attractive and telling style, though perhaps his
fatherly interest in the young man had something to do with the
matter.

141
Christy began his narrative with the departure from the ship, passing
lightly over the minor details till he came to the meeting with the
deserters from the West Wind, bivouacking in the hollow. He described
the drinking bout which followed, in which he and Graines had pretended
to join, stating the information he had obtained from them. He rehearsed
a portion of Captain Sullendine's speech, adding that most of his
auditors were the seamen from the Bellevite, though he had sent four of
them back to the ship before he reached the shore.

He detailed his interview with the master of the West Wind,
explaining how he had shipped the new crew with him. The scenes in the
cabin were described in full; in fact, every incident of any importance
which had transpired during the night was related. The commander was
deeply interested, and listened without comment to the narrative up to
the moment when the narrator had come on board of the Bellevite. He was
not sparing in his praise of the engineer, and separated what he had
said and done as far as he could from his own words and actions.

The commander then questioned him in regard
142
to the armament of the Tallahatchie, and he repeated the meagre
information he had obtained from Bokes. Some conversation concerning
Armstrong guns followed; but both of them were well posted in regard to
this long-range piece. Christy read the satisfaction with which the
captain heard his statements on his face.

A knock at the door of the cabin disturbed the conference, and the
lieutenant was directed to open the door. The shaking and straining of
the ship had for some time indicated that Paul Vapoor was fully alive to
the importance of getting the Bellevite's best speed out of her on the
present occasion; and he did not intrust the duty to his subordinates.
Christy opened the cabin door, and Midshipman Walters asked for the
commander, and was admitted.

"Mr. Ballard directs me to inform you, sir, that we are gaining on
the chase," said the young officer. "The fog has lifted again, and we
can make her out very clearly. The Holyoke has abandoned the chase, and
appears to be headed for the schooner that came to on the starboard of
the ship."

"Tell Mr. Ballard to keep the ship as she is, headed for the
Tallahatchie," replied Captain Breaker.

143
"The Tallahatchie, sir?" queried the midshipman.

"Formerly the Trafalgar," added the commander.

The young officer touched his cap and retired.

"This Captain Sullendine is still secured in his stateroom on board
of the West Wind, is he?" asked the captain, rising from his
arm-chair.

"He was when I left the schooner, sir," replied Christy. "French, the
captain of the forecastle, is in charge of the vessel, with orders to
anchor her a couple of miles to the eastward of the lighthouse. I have
already commended French to your attention, Captain, as a faithful and
reliable man, and I think he deserves promotion."

"Your recommendation will go a great way to procure it for him,"
added the commander with a significant smile.

"He is a thorough seaman, has been the mate of a large coaster, and
would have become master of her if his patriotic duty had not led him to
ship in the navy."

"He is a resolute and brave fellow in action, as I have had occasion
to observe, and I shall remember him. When you are writing to your
father it
144
would be well for you to mention him; and the thing will be done at your
request if not at mine."

"It certainly would not be done without your indorsement, for my
father will not indulge in any favoritism aside from real merit,"
protested the lieutenant, with some warmth.

"You are quite right, Christy. We must go on deck now," added Captain
Breaker, as he moved towards the door. "You have been up all night, my
boy; it will be some hours before we come within reach of the chase, and
you can turn in and get a little sleep before anything stirring takes
place on board."

The excitement which had animated the young officer during the night
had subsided with the rendering of his report, and the responsibility of
a command no longer rested upon him, and for the first time since he
embarked in the whaleboat, he began to feel tired and sleepy. He went on
deck with the commander, and took a survey, first of the chase, then of
the Holyoke, and finally of the West Wind.

Captain Breaker thought the Tallahatchie was about five miles
distant. Seen through the glass, for the fog had all blown away, and the
daylight
145
had begun to obscure the stars, the steamer seemed to be doing her best.
The Holyoke was headed to the eastward, evidently intending to chase the
West Wind, for she could not yet make out her flags, indicating that she
was already a prize. She need not have troubled herself to pursue the
schooner if she had known the facts in regard to her, for she was
entitled to a share of the prize as a member of the blockading fleet at
the time of her capture. But she could prevent her from being retaken by
any boat expedition sent from the shore, as her lonely position where
the Bellevite had been for several days might tempt some enterprising
Confederate officer to do.

Although the last heaving of the log showed twenty knots, it was a
quiet time of the deck of the Bellevite, and all the excitement on board
was confined to the engine and fire rooms. With sundry gapes Christy had
taken in the situation, and then he concluded to avail himself of the
commander's permission to retire to his stateroom, where he was soon in
a sound slumber.

Just before, Captain Breaker had retired to his cabin, where he had a
chart of the Gulf of Mexico spread out on his table. Assuming the point
146
where the Tallahatchie had changed her course to the south-west, he drew
a line in that direction, and realized that the chase could not go clear
of the Passes of the Mississippi River; and she was likely to sight some
Federal steamer in that locality.

As the daylight increased the weather improved so far as the fog was
concerned and it promised to be a clear day, for the stars had not been
obscured at any time during the night. The only alternative the
commander could see for the chase, as he studied the chart, was to go to
the southward before he could sight the Pass à l'Outre. He was so
confident that this must be his course, that he decided to take
advantage of the situation, and he went on deck at once, where he
ordered the officer of the deck to make the course south south-west.

CHAPTER XIII

THE FIRST SHOT OF BLUMENHOFF

Captain Breaker watched the Tallahatchie with the most earnest
attention; and it was not five minutes after he had given out the new
course before she changed her direction, though not to the south, but
enough to carry her clear of the Passes of the Mississippi. Paul Vapoor
was still crowding the engine to the utmost that could be done with
safety, and he spent no little of his time in the fire room, personally
directing the men in the work of feeding the furnaces.

It was evident to the commander that his ship was gaining on the
Tallahatchie, at least a knot an hour, as he estimated it, and the chase
could not now be more than four miles distant. This was within the range
of her Armstrong gun, if it was of the calibre reported by Bokes, whose
information was mere hearsay, and was open to many doubts.

"She is changing her course again, Captain
148
Breaker," said Mr. Ballard, who had been observing the chase with the
best glass on board.

"Probably she has discovered a man-of-war in the distance," added the
captain.

"I cannot make out anything to the westward of her," said Mr.
Ballard, who had directed his glass that way.

"She knows very well that she is liable to encounter a Federal ship
on the course she is running. How does she head now?"

"As nearly south as I can make it out."

"Then we have made something on her by going to the south south-west
in good season; and I am sorry I did not do it sooner," replied the
commander, as he went into a fine calculation, estimating sundry angles,
and figuring on the gain he was confident he had already made.

"I think she is headed due south now, Captain," said Mr. Ballard.

"So I should say, and we are headed a little too much to the
westward. Make the course south by west half west, Mr. Ballard."

This course was given to the quartermaster conning the wheel. For
another hour the two steamers kept on the course taken, at the end of
which
149
time the captain believed they were within three miles of each other;
and the appearance, as viewed by skilful and experienced officers,
verified his estimate of the relative speed of both—that the
Bellevite was gaining about a knot an hour on the chase.

They had hardly agreed upon the situation before a cloud of smoke was
seen to rise from the waist of the Tallahatchie, followed by the report
of a heavy gun. The projectile struck the water at least a quarter of a
mile ahead of the Bellevite, at which the watch on deck gave a
half-suppressed cheer.

"They must have better gunners than that indicates on board of that
steamer, for she has been fitted out as a cruiser," said the commander
with a quiet smile.

Twenty minutes later another puff of smoke, followed by a second
report, excited the attention of an officer on the deck of the loyal
ship. The shot struck the water only a little less ahead of the ship
than the former, and the crew gave a more vigorous cheer: but it was
observed that it hit the sea a little on the starboard bow, so that if
it had been better aimed it would not have reached the ship.

150
"She is wasting her ammunition," said the captain. "She seems to be
jesting, or else she is trying to frighten us."

"I think it is some thing worse than that, Captain Breaker," replied
Mr. Ballard.

"What could be worse?"

"I am inclined to the opinion that she cannot swing the gun around so
as to make it bear on an object so far astern of her as this ship is at
the present moment." said the lieutenant.

"He has an all sufficient remedy for that," added the captain. "He
can swing his ship's head around so his gun will bear on us."

"But that would cause him to lose a quarter of a mile or more of his
advantage; and she seems to be more inclined to run away from the
Bellevite than to fight her," suggested the lieutenant.

"Call all hands, Mr. Ballard," said the commander; and in a few
minutes all the officers and seamen were at their stations.

The call awoke Christy from his slumber, which the report of the gun
and the cheering of the men had failed to do. But he understood the
summons, and thought the action was about to begin. He adjusted his
dress and hastened to the quarter deck,
151
where he reported in due form to the captain. Mr. Ballard was relieved
of his duties as acting executive officer, and went to his proper
station to take command of his division. Christy took a careful survey
of the situation, and saw that the Bellevite had gained at least two
knots on the chase. The Holyoke and the West Wind were no longer in
sight, though the fog seemed to be still hanging about the entrance to
Mobile Bay.

"The Tallahatchie has fired two shots at us, Mr. Passford; but she
wasted her ammunition," said the commander. "I am inclined to agree with
Mr. Ballard that she cannot swing her Armstrong gun so as to cover the
Bellevite."

"She has stopped her screw, sir!" exclaimed the first lieutenant, who
was looking at the chase through the best glass.

"Make the course west, Mr. Passford!" said the captain with
energy.

"Quartermaster, make it west!" shouted Christy.

"West, sir!" repeated the quartermaster, as he caused the helmsmen to
heave over the wheel.

Directing his glass to the chase again, Christy saw the Tallahatchie
swing around so that she was broadside to the Bellevite. Almost at the
same
152
moment the smoke rose from her deck, and the sound of the gun reached
the ears of the officers and crew. The shot passed with a mighty whiz
between the fore and main mast of the ship, cutting away one of the fore
topsail braces, but doing no other damage. The seamen cheered as they
had before. The Tallahatchie started her screw as soon as she had
discharged her gun, and resumed her former course, the Bellevite doing
the same.

If the loyal ship had not promptly altered her course, the projectile
would have raked her, and must have inflicted much greater injury in the
spars and rigging. But both vessels promptly resumed their former
relative positions, though the Tallahatchie had lost some of her
advantage by coming to, while her pursuer had only made a small circuit
without stopping her engine for a moment.

"If she does that again, Mr. Passford, we must be ready to return her
fire," said the captain. "Have the pivot gun ready, and aim for her
Armstrong, which seems to be sufficiently prominent on her deck to make
a good target."

Christy hastened forward, and gave the order to Mr. Ballard, in whose
division the great Parrot
153
was included. The signal was promptly given for manning the gun, and
seventeen men immediately sprang to their stations. The men were armed
with cutlasses, muskets, battle-axes, pistols, and pikes, which were so
disposed as to be in readiness for boarding the enemy, or repelling
boarders.

"A solid shot, and aim at the pivot gun of the enemy," said Christy
in a low tone to the second lieutenant, who had the reputation of being
an expert in the handling of guns of the largest calibre.

There were two captains to the pivot gun, one on each side, stationed
nearest to the base of the breech. Seventeen men were required to work
the pivot gun, whose duties were defined in the names applied to them,
the powderman being the odd one. The first and second captains were
numbers one and two; the odd numbers being on the right, and the even on
the left of the piece: number three was the first loader, four the first
sponger, five the second loader, six the second sponger, seven the first
shellman, eight the second shellman, nine the first handspikeman, ten
the second handspikeman, eleven the first train tackleman, twelve the
second train tackleman (the last two at the breech, next to the
captains), thirteen first side
154
tackleman, fourteen second side tackleman, fifteen first port tackleman,
sixteen second port tackleman.

The gun crew had been frequently drilled in the management of the
piece, and the men were entirely at home in their stations. Other hands
had been trained in serving the gun, so that the places of any disabled
in action could be replaced. The service at the Parrot was not all that
was required of the men forming the gun crew, for each was also a first
or second boarder, a pumpman, or something else, and to each number one
or two weapons were assigned, as musket and pike, sword and pistol,
battle-axe. When the order to board the enemy was given, every man knew
his station and his proper officer.

"Silence, men!" commanded the second lieutenant, "Cast loose and
provide!"

These orders were repeated by the first captain of the gun. It is his
duty to see the piece cleared and cast loose, and everything made ready
for action. He and the second captain "provide" themselves with waist
belts and primers, and the first with some other implements. But the
handling of one of these great guns is about as technical as a surgical
operation would be, and it would
155
be quite impossible for the uninitiated to understand it, though it is
every-day work to the ordinary man-of-war's-man.

Prompted by the executive officer, who had been further instructed by
the captain, all the series of steps had been taken which put the piece
in readiness to be discharged, and all that remained to be done was to
adjust the aim, which is done by the first captain. At this time the
distance between the two ships had been considerably reduced. The
captain and the first lieutenant were closely watching the chase with
glasses.

The crew of the Tallahatchie could be seen at work at the long gun,
and another shot from it was momentarily expected. The instant the bow
of the enemy began to swerve to port, the captain of the Bellevite gave
the order to put the helm to starboard. Almost at the same instant the
enemy stopped her screw, swung round and fired her long gun. The
projectile crashed through the bulwarks between the foremast and
top-gallant forecastle, wounding two men with the splinters which flew
in every direction.

Dr. Linscott and his mates had established themselves in the cockpit,
to which the wounded
156
are conveyed, in action, for treatment. The two men who had been injured
by the splinters were not disabled, and they were ordered to report to
the surgeon. Before the enemy could resume her course, the captain of
the pivot gun had caught his aim, and discharged the Parrot. All hands
watched for the result of the shot, and the glasses of the captain and
the first lieutenant were directed to the chase.

She was near enough now to be observed with the naked eye with
tolerable accuracy, and a shout went up from the men at the pivot gun,
in which the rest of the crew on deck joined, as they saw that the shot
had struck the midship gun of the enemy, or very near it; and this was
the point where old Blumenhoff, the captain of the gun, had been
directed to aim. He was a German, but he had served for twenty-one years
in the British navy, and had won a brilliant reputation in his present
position.

It could not be immediately determined whether or not the Armstrong
had been disabled. The Tallahatchie had swung round again and resumed
her flight; but her commander must have realized by this time that he
was getting the worst of it.
157
Paul Vapoor had not left his post in the engine and fire room, to
ascertain how the battle was going, but still plied all his energies in
driving the Bellevite to the utmost speed she could possibly attain. The
log was frequently heaved, and the last result had been sent down to him
by Midshipman Walters, and it was twenty-one knots.

During the next hour the long gun of the enemy was not again
discharged, and the officers of the loyal ship were assured that it had
been rendered useless by Blumenhoff's only shot.

CHAPTER XIV

THE PROGRESS OF THE ACTION

The tremendous speed of the Bellevite had been telling with
prodigious effect upon the distance between the two steamers, which was
now reduced to not more than a mile and a half. Captain Rombold could
not help realizing by this time that the American-built vessel outsailed
the English-built. If the Trafalgar was good for twenty knots an hour,
as represented, she had hardly attained that speed, as Captain Breaker
judged by comparison with that of his own ship.

The Armstrong gun was still silent and it was pretty well settled
that it had been disabled. In this connection Christy recalled something
he had read in Simpson about the "inability of the Armstrong gun to
resist impact," and he sent Midshipman Walters to bring the volume from
his state-room. When it came he found the place, and read that three
shots had been fired into one of them from a nine-pounder, either of
which would
159
have been fatal to the piece; and the section described the effect of
each upon it.

He showed the book open at the place to Captain Breaker; but he had
read it, and carried the whole matter in his mind. The gun quoted was
weak, though the one on the deck of the Tallahatchie was vastly larger;
but a correspondingly heavy force had been brought to bear
upon it.

"I am satisfied that the enemy's long gun has been disabled; and
while she continues the attempt to run away from us, she is unable to
use her broadside guns to advantage, for she cannot bring them to bear
upon us without coming to," said the commander. "But we are gaining at
least a knot and a half an hour on her, and she must soon change her
tactics."

"That is evident enough, sir," added Christy.

"The captain of that ship is a brave fellow, and I am confident he
will fight as long as there is anything left of him," continued the
captain as he occasionally directed his glass at the chase.

"He certainly will, sir, for I have seen his ship knocked out from
under him, when he had abundant excuse for hauling down his flag before
he did so; and we had hardly time on board of the Chateaugay
160
to save his people before his vessel went to the bottom," continued
Christy. "More than that, he is a gentleman and a scholar."

"You have told me about him, Christy; and I believe you suggested to
Captain Chantor his best plan of action."

"I simply indicated what I should do in his place, and he adopted the
method I mentioned," added Christy modestly.

"We may find it advisable to resort to the same plan, though I must
add that it is by no means original with you. It was adopted in the war
of 1812 with England."

"I did not claim the method as original, and knew very well that it
was not so," replied the lieutenant.

"The conditions on both sides must be favorable to the method or it
cannot be adopted. One of the ships must have heavier metal than the
other, so that she can knock her enemy to pieces at her leisure, and at
the same time greater speed, so that she can keep out of the reach of
guns of shorter range."

"I am sorry I could not obtain more definite information in regard to
the broadside guns of the
161
Tallahatchie," added Christy. "Bokes was a stupid fellow, drunk whenever
he could obtain liquor, and could remember very little of what he heard
on board of the steamer. But you have the long range Parrot, and I have
no doubt you can knock her to pieces in your own time, since it has been
demonstrated that we can outsail her."

But at this moment the conversation was disturbed by the movement of
the chase, which appeared to be again preparing to come about. The
commander ordered the helm to be put to starboard to avoid being raked,
and directed that the pivot gun should be discharged at the enemy. The
enemy fired a broadside of three guns in quick succession, the solid
shots from all them striking the Bellevite between wind and water. The
carpenter's gang was hurried below to plug the shot holes.

Blumenhoff secured his aim and fired; but this time he was less happy
than on the former occasion, and though the shot went between the masts,
no great damage appeared to be done. The enemy started her screw
immediately, and swung around so as to present her starboard broadside
before the Parrot could be made ready for another shot. The
162
Tallahatchie delivered another three shots, two of which went wide of
the mark. The third struck the carriage of the pivot gun, but
fortunately it was not disabled, for it had been built to resist a
heavier ball than the one which had struck it.

The captain of the Bellevite gave the order to Christy to swing to
the ship, and give the enemy a broadside. The order was promptly
executed as the enemy came about and resumed her course to the
southward, which was certainly a very bad movement on her part. The four
guns on the port side, two sixties and two thirties, sent their solid
shots over the stern of the Tallahatchie.

A moment later, as the fresh breeze carried away the smoke to the
north-east, the crew set up a lively cheer, for the mizzen mast of the
chase toppled over into the water, and the pilot house seemed to have
been knocked into splinters.

"Well done!" exclaimed Captain Breaker, clapping his hands as he
faced the guns' crews on the port side, and Christy joined him in the
demonstration.

The men of the division gave another lusty cheer in response to the
approval of the two chief officers. The captain had already ordered the
ship to be put
163
about so as to deliver the starboard broadside, and the other division
of guns were impatient to have their chance at the enemy.

Christy had clapped his hands with his spy-glass under his arm; and
when he had rendered his tribute of applause, he directed the instrument
to the enemy. A squad of men were at work over the ruins of the pilot
house, which was still forward, as the vessel had been built for a
pleasure yacht, and another gang were getting the extra wheel at the
stern ready for use.

The Bellevite came about in obedience to the order Christy had given
to the quartermaster conning the wheel, and the guns on the starboard
side were all ready to deliver their messengers of death and
destruction.

"Aim at that extra wheel," said the captain; and Christy delivered
the order to the officers of the division.

The broadside was of the same metal as on the port side, and the
result was looked for with even more interest than before. The
appearance was that all three shots had struck at or near the wheel at
the stern, and Christy promptly directed his glass to that part of the
steamer, the captain doing the same thing.

164
"There is nothing of the wheel left in sight," said the lieutenant. "The
taffrail is knocked away, and at least one of those shots must have
knocked the captain's cabin into utter confusion."

"Go ahead at full speed, Mr. Passford," said Captain Breaker, after
he had fully measured with his eye the damage done to the enemy.

"Her steering gear seems to be entirely disabled, sir," continued
Christy, after he had given the order to the chief engineer. "She does
not appear to be able to come about, as no doubt she would if she could,
so as to bring her broadside guns to bear upon us."

The order had been given before to load the broadside and pivot guns
with shells. The enemy had not started her screw for the reason that the
ship was unmanageable with her steering gear disabled. The action had
certainly gone against her; but she gave no indication that she was
ready to surrender for the Confederate flag, which had been hoisted at
the mainmast head when the mizzen was shot away, still floated in the
breeze.

A gang of men were still at work where the extra wheel had been, and
the commander evidently expected he should be able to repair the
165
damage in some manner so that he could steer his ship. Captain Breaker
gave the command to stop the screw, and a mighty hissing and roaring of
steam followed when Christy transmitted it to the engine room. The order
to come about on the headway that remained succeeded, and the three
shells immediately exploded on the deck or in the hull of the enemy; but
the extent of the damage could not be estimated.

The three from the starboard guns were next sent on their mission;
but so far as could be seen no damage was done. The big Parrot was next
discharged; but the expert captain of the gun was unfortunate this time,
for the projectile dropped into the water beyond the steamer, though it
seemed to pass very near the stern. For the next half hour the midship
piece was kept busy, and its shots made destructive work about the deck
of the Tallahatchie.

"I think we had better finish this business at once, and before the
enemy has time to rig a new steering apparatus, Mr. Passford," said
Captain Breaker, as they came together on the quarter-deck.

"I think we can knock her all to pieces with the Parrot gun, sir,"
replied Christy.

166
"But it might take all day to do that; and the Tallahatchie exhibits an
astonishing power of resistance. Besides, she will soon repair her extra
wheel, and have it ready for use. I am inclined to believe that we are
wasting time, which will make it all the worse for us in the end,"
reasoned the commander. "I am prepared to board her, for I think she
must have lost a great many men."

"No doubt of it, sir," added the lieutenant.

"Lay her aboard on the port side, and have everything ready,"
continued Captain Breaker.

Christy gave the necessary orders for this decided action, and the
officers and the crew seemed to be delighted with the prospect of a
hand-to-hand fight with the enemy. The lieutenant was not wholly
confident that the commander was right in his reasoning, but like a
loyal officer and a true sailor who knows no duty but obedience, he
heartily supported his superior. He walked the deck in the discharge of
his duty; but he was thinking of something since the order to board had
been given.

"Is there anything like a flank movement in boarding, Captain
Breaker?" he asked, as he halted at the side of the commander.

"Of course the officers do their best to flank the
167
enemy after they reach the deck," replied the captain, looking with some
astonishment at the lieutenant.

"I have reference to another sort of flanking," added the
inquirer.

"Of course in a squadron some of the ships may be ordered to operate
in that manner; but a single ship acting against another can hardly do
any flanking."

"But I mean in boarding."

"You had better explain yourself a little more definitely, for I do
not understand you," replied the commander with a puzzled expression on
his face.

"We have one hundred and twenty men, with six absent on other duty,"
continued the lieutenant. "Judging by what I learned from Bokes, I
believe the Tallahatchie has less than a hundred, for he said she
expected to recruit twenty or thirty men at Nassau. She has lost more
men so far than we have, sir."

"Grant all that you say, and where does the flanking come in?"

"Your order is to board on the port side of the enemy, which will
bring the starboard side of the
168
Bellevite alongside of her. Suppose you put twenty men or more into the
launch, on the port side of the ship, where it cannot be seen by the
enemy, just before the order to board is given. At the right time let
this boat hurry to the starboard side of the Tallahatchie, where the
twenty men or more will board, and take the enemy in the rear."

The commander took off his cap and rubbed his bald head as if to
stimulate his ideas; but he made no answer then to the suggestion.

Paul Vapoor was driving the engine to its utmost, and the ship was
rapidly approaching the enemy.

CHAPTER XV

A FLANK MOVEMENT UNDERTAKEN

The commander of the enemy's ship could not know that the Bellevite
intended to board; but he could hardly help regarding with anxiety the
rapid progress she was making through the water. The loyal ship was
getting nearer to him, and Captain Rombold could not avoid seeing that
his situation was becoming desperate. It was absolutely necessary for
him to do something, unless he was ready to haul down his flag, which
Christy, for one, having been present at a battle with him, did not
expect him to do yet.

The executive officer kept a close watch upon the enemy, frequently
using his glass, even while he was discussing his suggestion with the
captain. There was great activity on deck near the stern of the
Tallahatchie, and her commander must have been at least hopeful that the
steering apparatus could be restored to some degree of efficiency. In
the meantime he could not bring his broadside
170
guns to bear on the Bellevite for he was unable to come about. The
Federal ship was headed directly for the enemy, and as Captain Breaker
was impatient to board, he could not fire the Parrot or the broadside
battery without losing time to put his vessel in position for throwing
shot or shell.

"She is starting her screw again!" exclaimed Christy suddenly, as he
discovered the stirring up of the water astern of the enemy.

"I see she is," added the commander. "She has not got her extra wheel
in position yet, and probably she has pried her tiller over, or hauled
it over with a purchase. Make the course west, Mr. Passford."

Christy gave the order to the quartermaster, and without checking her
speed, the Bellevite described a quarter of a circle and came to the
desired course. The three guns of her port battery were immediately
discharged, loaded with shell as on the last occasion. One of them was
seen to explode in the midst of the gang of men who were at work on the
extra wheel. The other two burst in the air, too far off to do any
serious damage.

Very slowly, and apparently with great difficulty,
171
the Tallahatchie swung around, so that her port guns could be brought to
bear upon the Bellevite, and the two ships were abreast of each other so
that neither could rake the other. The loyal ship continued on her
course to the westward, and in ten minutes she had made three miles and
a half, which placed her out of the reach of the broadside guns of the
Tallahatchie.

Christy did not abate his watchfulness over the movements of the
enemy. The shot from the sixty-pounder which had struck on the quarter
of the Confederate, had evidently created a great deal of confusion in
that part of the vessel. She had intended to describe a quarter of a
circle in order to render her port broadside guns available, but she had
not made more than the eighth of the circuit before she appeared to be
going ahead, and her direction was diagonal to that of the
Bellevite.

"What does that mean?" asked Christy of the commander who stood near
him, though he had a very decided opinion of his own on the subject.

"It simply means that the last shot which struck her deranged
whatever expedient her captain had adopted for controlling the rudder,"
replied
172
the commander. "It failed when she was half round, and then she went
ahead."

"She has stopped her screw again, sir," added the first
lieutenant.

"It is time for her to haul down her flag; but she does not seem to
be disposed to do it," continued Captain Breaker. "It is certainly a
hopeless case, and he ought to spare his men if not himself."

"Captain Rombold is not one of that sort. Though he is a Briton, he
is a 'last ditch' man."

"Probably a very large majority of his ship's company are English, or
anything but Southern Americans, and he ought to have a proper regard
for them."

"I think he must see some chance of redeeming himself and his ship,
for I never met a more high-toned and gentlemanly man in all my life,
and I don't believe he would sacrifice his people unless with a hope
that he considers a reasonable one."

"Come about, Mr. Passford, and bear down on the enemy. Unless he
works his steering gear, we have her where she is utterly helpless,"
said the commander.

"I wonder she does not get a couple of her heaviest guns in position
on her quarter-deck, and
173
use them as stern chasers," said Christy, after he had obeyed the
captain's order, and the Bellevite was again headed directly for the
enemy.

"She appears to require all the space there for the work on her
steering appliances," replied Captain Breaker. "In ten minutes more I
hope we shall be able to board her; and I think we can then make very
short work of this business. About the flanking movement you propose,
Mr. Passford, I have never seen anything of the kind done, for most of
my fighting experience with blockade-runners has been at long range,
though I was in the navy during the Mexican war, where our operations
were mostly against fortifications and batteries."

"I do not consider the plan practicable except under peculiar
circumstances, like the present," returned Christy. "I am confident that
we outnumber the enemy, and the men for the flank movement are
available."

"If we were boarding in boats we should naturally attack both on the
starboard and port sides. But, Mr. Passford, the executive officer
cannot be spared to command the launch and its crew."

"I was not thinking of commanding the flanking party myself,
sir."

174
"Neither can the officers of divisions be spared."

"I think I can find a volunteer, not in the sailing department, who
would conduct the movement to a successful issue, Captain," added
Christy, very confidently.

"Mr. Vapoor? But we cannot spare him from the engine room for a
minute," protested the commander, who was well aware that the chief
engineer was the lieutenant's especial crony. "That would not do at
all."

"I was not thinking of Mr. Vapoor, sir," interposed Christy.

"Who, then?" demanded the commander, lowering his spy-glass to look
into the young man's face.

"My associate in the expedition to Mobile Point, who did quite as
much as I did, if not more, to make it a success. I mean Mr. Graines,
the third assistant engineer. I know that he is a brave man and an
officer of excellent judgment," replied the lieutenant, with more
enthusiasm than he usually manifested when not in actual combat.

"Very well, Mr. Passford; I give you the order to carry out your
plan, and I hope it will work to your satisfaction. But you must not
take more
175
than twenty men," said the commander in conclusion of the whole
matter.

"Mr. Walbrook," called Christy without losing a moment in the
preparations for carrying out his scheme, which neither the captain nor
himself could say was an original idea.

The station of the second lieutenant at quarters is on the
forecastle, and of the third in the waist, or the middle of the ship.
The third lieutenant stepped forward at the call of the executive
officer, touched his cap, for "the honors due the quarter-deck cannot be
dispensed with," even at exciting times.

Christy gave him the order to cast loose the launch, and have it in
readiness to lower into the water at a moment's notice; and Mr. Walbrook
proceeded to obey it without delay. The first lieutenant then called Mr.
Walters, a midshipman, and directed him to give his compliments to Mr.
Vapoor, and ask him if he could spare the third assistant engineer for
special duty for a couple of hours, more or less.

The messenger returned with the reply that the chief engineer would
be happy to detail Mr. Graines for special duty at once. In five minutes
more
176
the assistant engineer appeared upon the quarter-deck in uniform, and
touched his cap to the executive officer.

"I am directed to report to you, Mr. Passford, for special duty,"
added Graines.

"I wish you to assume this duty, Mr. Graines, as a volunteer, if at
all," replied Christy. "All the officers on deck are required at their
stations, and the commander has authorized what I call a flanking
movement, which I purpose to send out under your orders."

"I am very much obliged to you, Mr. Passford, for the honor you do me
in selecting me for this duty; and I accept the position with pleasure,"
answered the engineer, touching his cap again.

"But this is a fighting position, Mr. Graines," added Christy with a
smile.

"So much the better, sir; and if my education permitted, I should
prefer to be in the thickest of the fight rather than shut up in the
engine room," returned the engineer; and this was just the estimate the
lieutenant had made of him.

He had been well educated; but he had learned the trade of a
machinist, and the want of any naval training rather than his own
inclination had driven
177
him into the engine room. But he had been three years at sea as a
sailor, and came home as second mate of an Indiaman.

Christy explained to him very fully the plan he had suggested, and
Graines readily grasped the idea. He provided himself with a cutlass and
revolver, and became very enthusiastic in the discharge of his special
duty. With the aid of the first lieutenant he selected the men for the
movement, though Christy would not permit the detail to consist of all
the best men, for that would not be fair or generous to the officers of
divisions. They were a fair average of the quality of the seamen.

The Tallahatchie made an attempt to come about in order to make her
guns available; but for some unknown reason it appeared to be a failure,
for she presently stopped her screw again. The Bellevite was rapidly
approaching her, and her commander evidently realized that the loyal
ship intended to board, for he made his preparations to meet the
onslaught.

Captain Rombold, in spite of his misfortune in the Dornoch the year
before, was inclined to disparage the bravery and skill of the officers
of the
178
United States Navy, and to regard the seamen as inferior to those of his
own country, though he was too gentlemanly to express himself directly
to this effect. Christy had drawn this inference from what he said in
the conversations with him when Colonel Passford and he were prisoners
on board of the Chateaugay.

Holding this view, as Christy was confident he did, it was plain from
his action that he expected, or at least hoped, to win a victory in the
hand-to-hand encounter which was impending. Of course it was possible
that he might do so, and come into possession of the Bellevite, winch
had outsailed him, and disabled his ship for a combat at longer
range.

As the Federal steamer drew near to the enemy a volley of musketry
was poured into her, which was promptly returned, and several of the
crew on both sides dropped to the deck, and were borne to the cockpit,
though the relative strength of each remained about as before, as nearly
as the officers on the quarter-deck of the Bellevite could judge.

The speed of the attacking ship had been greatly reduced as she
neared the Tallahatchie, and the launch was already in the water with
its crew of
179
twenty men on board. The crew of the latter were armed with all the
boarding weapons in use, and before the hands on deck had fastened to
the enemy, the flanking party were working their heavy craft around the
stern of the steamer.

The loyal ship came in contact with the side of the Confederate. The
grappling irons were cast, and in an incredibly short space of time the
two vessels were firmly attached to each other. The supreme moment had
come, as all thought, but for some reason not apparent, the command to
board was withheld. Captain Breaker who stood on the quarter deck with
Christy, appeared to be perplexed. He saw that the seamen of the enemy
were drawn up on the starboard side, instead of at the port
bulwarks.

CHAPTER XVI

THE LIEUTENANT'S DARING EXPLOIT

Captain Breaker was perplexed when his ship came alongside the enemy
and was made fast to her, for things were not working according to the
usual rules made and provided for such occasions, and Captain Rombold
was evidently resorting to some unusual tactics. The two steamers were
of about the same height above water, so their decks were very nearly on
a level.

The men with muskets on both sides were reloading their weapons, and
those with navy revolvers were discharging them at the enemy; but the
officers of divisions concealed their men behind the bulwarks when the
order to board did not come.

Christy saw the perplexity of the commander at his side, and it was
evident to both of them that some unusual strategy was to be adopted,
and Captain Breaker did not intend to fall into a trap if he could avoid
it. They could see nothing that
181
looked suspicious except the position of the enemy's force on the
starboard side of the ship.

Before the captain could stop him, the first lieutenant had leaped
into the mizzen rigging, and ascended far enough to obtain a view of the
quarter deck over the bulwarks, while the commander walked aft far
enough to accomplish the same purpose by looking through the aperture
made by the shot which had carried away the wheel of the enemy, without
exposing himself to the fire of the seamen on board of her.

Christy's action occupied but the fraction of a minute; but several
muskets and revolvers were discharged at him in this brief time. Letting
go his hold of the rigging, he dropped to the deck before the captain
could see what he was doing; and it was supposed that the daring officer
had been brought down by the shots fired at him.

"Second division, follow me!" he cried, as he picked up the cutlass
he had dropped.

About thirty men rushed to the quarter-deck, hurried on by Mr.
Walbrook. Christy leaped upon the rail, with the cutlass in his right
hand, and the revolver in his left, and dropped down upon the quarter
deck of the Tallahatchie, upon a squad of
182
seamen who were lying low behind a thirty-pounder, whose carriage was
close to the bulwark, the piece pointed forward.

The first lieutenant had seen from his position in the mizzen rigging
the trap which had been set for the crew of the Bellevite. They were
expected to leap to the rail, and cut away the boarding
nettings—not always used, but were on this occasion—and then
drop down to the deck. The first command would naturally have been to
"Repel boarders;" but this was not given, and no fighting was to be done
till the boarders reached the ship, when the thirty-pounder, doubtless
loaded with grape or shrapnel, was to mow down the invaders of the
deck.

Christy's men poured down after him, and before the crew of the gun,
who had no doubt been ordered to conceal themselves, could get upon
their feet they were cut down by the impetuous tars from the Bellevite.
It was the work of but a moment. Christy had taken some pains to have
the opinion of Captain Rombold that American seamen were inferior to
British circulated, and the men evidently intended to prove that they
were the equals of any sailors afloat.

183
"Swing the muzzle of the gun to starboard!" shouted Christy, as he took
hold with his own hands to point the piece, which was in position in a
moment.

Captain Rombold stood but a short distance from the stump of the
mizzen mast with a cutlass in his hand. He rushed forward to rally his
crew; and he seemed to be rendered desperate by the failure of the
scheme to which he had resorted. At this moment Christy heard Captain
Breaker shout the order to board, and the men were springing to the
rail, and tearing away the boarding netting.

"Stand by the lanyard!" cried the first lieutenant on the
quarter-deck of the enemy, and he had sighted the piece himself in the
absence of any regular gun crew. "Fire!"

The cloud of smoke concealed all of the deck forward of the mizzen
mast, and Christy could not see what effect had been produced by the
charge of grape, or whatever it was. At any rate the men the commander
had rallied for a charge did not appear.

The smoke was blown away in a minute or so, and the Bellevite's
sailors had made a lodgment on the deck of the enemy. They were led by
the
184
officers of the divisions, and were rushing over to the starboard, where
the enemy's men had been concentrated. They were brave men, whether
English or not, and the moment they could see the boarders, they rushed
at them by command of their officers; but they pushed forward, as it
were, out of a heap of killed and wounded, those who had fallen by the
grape-shot intended to decimate the ranks of the loyal band.

Christy rallied his men as soon as they had done their work in the
vicinity of the thirty-pounder, and ordered them to join their division
under the command of the third lieutenant. But the seamen on the part of
the Confederates seemed to be dispirited to some extent by the bad
beginning they had made, and by the heap of slain near them. Captain
Rombold lay upon the deck, propped up against the mizzen mast. He looked
as pale as death itself; but he was still directing the action, giving
orders to his first lieutenant. Two of his officers were near him, but
both of them appeared to be severely wounded.

The battle was raging with fearful energy on the part of the loyal
tars, and with hardly less vigor on the part of the enemy, though the
latter
185
fought in a sort of desperate silence. The wounded commander was doing
his best to reinspire them; but his speech was becoming feeble, and
perhaps did more to discourage than to strengthen them.

At this stage of the action Graines, closely followed by his twenty
men, sprang over the starboard bulwarks, and fell upon the enemy in the
rear. Finding themselves between an enemy in front and rear, they could
do no more; for it was sure death to remain where they were, and they
fled precipitately to the forecastle.

"Quarter!" shouted these men, and the same cry came from the other
parts of the deck.

"Haul down the flag, Mr. Brookfield!" said the commander in a feeble
tone.

The first lieutenant of the Tallahatchie, with his handkerchief tied
around his leg, directed a wounded quartermaster to strike the colors,
and three tremendous cheers from the victorious crew of the Bellevite
rent the air. Captain Breaker had come on board of the enemy, sword in
hand, and had conducted himself as bravely as the unfortunate commander
of the prize.

The moment he saw Christy he rushed to him with both hands extended,
and with a smile upon
186
his face. The four hands were interlocked, but not a word was spoken for
the feelings of both were too big for utterance. A loyal quartermaster
was ordered to hoist the American ensign over the Confederate flag which
had just been hauled down.

The situation on board of the prize was so terrible that there was no
danger of an attempt to recapture the vessel, and immediate attention
was given to the care of the wounded, the survivors in each vessel
performing this duty under its own officers.

Mr. Brookfield, the executive officer of the Tallahatchie, was
wounded in the leg below the knee, but he did not regard himself as
disabled, and superintended the work of caring for the sufferers. Mr.
Hungerford, the second lieutenant, appeared to be the only principal
officer who had escaped uninjured; while Mr. Lenwold, the third
lieutenant, had his arm in a sling in consequence of a wound received
from a splinter in the early part of the action. These gentlemen, who
had seemed like demons only a few minutes before, so earnest were they
in the discharge of their duties, were now as tender and devoted as so
many women.

Captain Breaker directed his own officers to return
187
to the deck of the Bellevite and provide for the wounded there; but they
were few in number compared with those strewed about the deck of the
prize. While the Confederate ship had been unable to discharge her guns,
and the officers were using their utmost exertions to repair the
disabled steering apparatus, the Bellevite had had a brief intermission
of the din of battle, during which the wounded had been carried below
where the surgeon and his mates had attended to their injuries.

It was ascertained that only six men had been killed during the
action, and their silent forms had been laid out in the waist. Seventeen
men were in their berths in the hospital or on the tables of the
surgeon, eight of whom had been wounded by the muskets and revolvers of
the enemy as the ship came alongside the prize. Four others had just
been borne to the cockpit with wounds from pikes and cutlasses.

The loss of the enemy was at least triple that of the Bellevite, a
large number of whom had fallen before the murderous discharge of the
thirty-pounder on the quarter-deck, which had been intended to decimate
the ranks of the loyal boarders;
188
and, raking the column as the men poured into the ship, it would
probably have laid low more than one in ten of the number. This was an
original scheme of Captain Rombold; and but for the coolness and
deliberation of Captain Breaker, and the daring of his chief officer, it
must have been a terrible success. As it was, the Confederate commander,
who was the only foreign officer on board, "had been hoisted by his own
petard."

Christy had done all that required his attention on board of the
Bellevite, and he paid another visit to the deck of the Tallahatchie,
where he desired to obtain some information which would enable him the
better to understand the action which had just been fought. He was
especially anxious to ascertain the condition of the Armstrong gun which
had been disabled by the first shot of Blumenhoff with the midship
Parrot. As he went on deck, he saw Captain Rombold, seated in an
arm-chair his cabin steward had brought up for him, with his right leg
resting on a camp stool.

"Good-morning, Mr. Passford," said the wounded commander, with a
slight smile on his pale face. "Comment allez-vous ce matin?"
(How do you do this morning?)

189
"Très bien, Monsieur le capitaine. Je suis bien
fâché que vous êtes blessé. (Very well,
Captain. I am very sorry that you are wounded.) You need the attention
of the surgeon, sir," replied the loyal officer.

"I take my turn with my men, Mr. Passford, and my officers do the
same. The fortune of war is with you again, and I congratulate you on
the success which has attended you. I saw that it was you who upset my
plan for receiving your boarders. I was confident, with that device of
mine, I should be able to beat off your boarders, and I intended to
carry your deck by boarding you in turn. I think your commander can give
you the credit of winning the victory for the Bellevite in his
despatches; for I should have killed more of your men with that
thirty-pounder than you did of mine, for I should have raked the column.
You saved the day for the United States when you ran up the mizzen
rigging and unmasked my battery. You are a gentleman and a magnanimous
enemy, Mr. Passford, and I congratulate you on your promotion, which is
sure to come. But you look pale this morning."

"One of your revolvers had very nearly pinked
190
me when I was in the rigging; for the ball passed between my arm and my
side, and took out a piece of the former, Captain Rombold," replied
Christy, who was beginning to feel languid from the loss of blood, for
the drops of red fluid were dropping from the ends of his fingers. "But
you exaggerate the service I rendered; for Captain Breaker, suspecting
something from the position in which your men were drawn up, had dropped
a hawser port, and intended to look through the aperture made by one of
our solid shots. He would have discovered your trap."

"He could not have seen the gun or the men." At that moment Christy
sank down upon the deck.

CHAPTER XVII

A MAGNANIMOUS ENEMY

It had not occurred to Christy Passford before Captain Rombold
mentioned it that his daring exploit had in any especial manner assisted
in the final and glorious result of the action. He was confident that,
if he had not unmasked the plan of the Confederate commander, Captain
Breaker would have discovered it, and perhaps had already done so when,
without any order, he had impetuously leaped over the rail, followed by
a portion of the second division, urged forward by lieutenant Walbrook,
to capture the gun before it could be discharged.

He realized, as the thought flashed through his brain like a bolt of
lightning, that the Confederate commander's scheme must be counteracted
on the instant, or Captain Breaker might give the command to board, for
which the impatient seamen on his deck were waiting. He had accomplished
his purpose in a few seconds; and the enemy's force,
192
huddled together on the starboard side, were suddenly piled up in a heap
on the planks, weltering in their gore, and a large proportion of them
killed.

Captain Rombold was standing abreast of the stump of his mizzen mast
observing the whole affair, and he had a better opportunity to observe
it than any other person on the deck of either ship. He had ordered up
his men to receive the boarders on the quarter-deck when the gun was
discharged, and before he believed it could be done. Christy had only to
reverse the direction of the carriage, hastily sight the piece, and pull
the lanyard. The missiles with which the thirty-pounder was loaded cut
down the advancing column, rushing to obey their commander's order, and
then carried death and destruction into the crowd of seamen in their
rear.

"Good Heavens, Mr. Passford!" exclaimed the Confederate commander,
rising with difficulty from his seat. "You are badly wounded!"

"Not badly, Captain Rombold," replied the young officer, gathering up
his remaining strength, and resting his right arm upon the planks.

"But my dear fellow, you are bleeding to death, and the blood is
running in a stream from the ends
193
of the fingers on your left hand!" continued the Confederate commander,
apparently as full of sympathy and kindness as though the sufferer had
been one of his own officers. "Gill!" he called to his steward, who was
assisting in the removal of the injured seamen. "My compliments to Dr.
Davidson, and ask him to come on deck instantly."

Christy had hardly noticed the ball which passed through the fleshy
part of his arm above the elbow at the time it struck him. While he kept
the wounded member raised the blood was absorbed by his clothing. It had
been painful from the first; but the degree of fortitude with which a
wounded person in battle endures suffering amounting to agony is almost
incredible. So many had been killed, and so many had lost legs and arms
on both sides, that it seemed weak and pusillanimous to complain, or
even mention what he regarded as only a slight wound.

"This is the executive officer of the Bellevite, Dr. Davidson," said
Captain Rombold when the surgeon appeared, not three minutes after he
had been sent for. "But he is a gentleman in every sense of the word,
and the bravest of the brave.
194
It was he who defeated my scheme; but I admire and respect him. Attend
to him at once, doctor."

"If he saved the day for the Yankees, it is a pity that his wound had
not killed him," added the surgeon, with a pleasant smile on his
handsome face. "But that is taking the patriotic rather than the humane
view of his case."

"It would have been better for us, and especially for me, if he had
been killed; but I am sincerely glad that he was not," added the
commander.

"Thank you, Captain Rombold," said Christy. "You are the most
magnanimous of enemies, and it is a pleasure to fight such men as you
are."

"Good-morning, Mr. Passford," continued Dr. Davidson, as he took the
right hand of the patient. "I like to serve a brave man, on whichever
side he fights, when the action is finished."

"You are very kind, doctor," added Christy faintly.

With the assistance of Gill, the surgeon removed the coat of the
lieutenant, and tore off the shirt from the wounded arm.

"Not a bad wound at all, Mr. Passford," said Dr. Davidson, after he
had examined
it. "But it has been too long neglected, and it would not have
195
given you half the trouble if you had taken it to your surgeon as soon
as the action was decided. You have lost some blood, and that makes you
faint. You will have to lie in your berth a few days, which might have
been spared to you if you had had it attended to sooner."

The doctor sent for needed articles; and as soon as Gill brought them
he dressed the wound, after giving the patient a restorative which made
him feel much better. While the surgeon was still at work on his arm,
Captain Breaker rushed in desperate haste to the scene of operations,
for some one had informed him that the surgeon of the Tallahatchie was
dressing a wound on his executive officer.

"Merciful Heaven, Mr. Passford!" exclaimed the loyal commander. "Are
you wounded?"

"Nothing but a scratch in the arm, Captain. Don't bother about me,"
replied Christy, whose spirits had been built up by the medicine Dr.
Davidson had given him; but he did not know that it was half brandy, the
odor of which was disguised by the mixture of some other ingredient.

"I did not know that you were wounded, my dear boy," said his
commander tenderly; so tenderly
196
that the patient could hardly restrain the tears which were struggling
for an outflow.

"Mr. Watts," called Captain Breaker to the chief steward of the
Bellevite, who happened to be the first person he saw on the deck of his
own ship.

"On deck, Captain," replied the steward, touching his cap to the
commander.

"My compliments to Dr. Linscott, and ask him to come to the deck of
the prize without any delay," added the captain.

Such a message implied an emergency; and the surgeon of the
Bellevite, who was a man well along in years, hastened with all the
speed he could command to the place indicated. The captain, who had
heard the name of the Confederate medical officer, introduced his own
surgeon, with an apology for summoning him.

"My executive officer, the patient in your hands, is the son of my
best friend on earth, for whom I sailed for years before the war, and I
hope you will pardon my great anxiety for your patient, Dr. Davidson,"
said he.

"The most natural thing in the world, Captain Breaker, and no apology
or explanation is necessary," politely added the Confederate surgeon, as
197
he and Dr. Linscott shook hands. "My patient is not severely wounded;
but I should be happy to have you examine his injury. It was too long
neglected, and he is rather weak from the loss of blood."

"Mr. Passford was too proud a young man to mention his wound or to
call upon the surgeon of his ship; but I was determined that he should
no longer be neglected," interposed Captain Rombold.

Christy was aware that the two commanders had never met before, and
he introduced them while Dr. Linscott was examining his arm. They were
both brave and noble men, and each received the other in the politest
and most gentlemanly manner. It was evident to all who witnessed the
interview that they met with mutual respect, though half an hour before
they had been engaged in a desperate fight the one against the other.
But enemies can be magnanimous to each other without any sacrifice of
their principles on either side.

"I thank you most heartily, Captain Rombold, for your kindness to my
principal officer; and if the opportunity is ever presented to me, I
shall reciprocate to the extent of my ability," continued Captain
Breaker. "You have been more than
198
magnanimous; you have been a self-sacrificing Christian, for you have
required your surgeon to bind up the wound of an enemy before he
assuaged your own. This is Christianity in war; and I shall strive to
emulate your noble example."

"You are extremely considerate, Captain; and we are friends till the
demands of duty require us to become technical enemies on the
quarter-deck each of his own ship," said Captain Rombold, as he grasped
the hand of the loyal commander.

"I heartily approve of the treatment of my friend Dr. Davidson, and
fully indorse his opinion that the wound of Mr. Passford is not a
dangerous or very severe one," interposed Dr. Linscott. "I agree with
him that the patient had better spend a couple of days or more in his
berth."

The Confederate surgeon had finished the dressing of Christy's wound,
and he was in a hurry to return to his duty in the cockpit. He shook
hands with Dr. Linscott, and both of them hastened to their posts. The
patient had been seated on a bench, and Captain Rombold had returned to
his former position. He had tied his handkerchief around his thigh, and
both of them appeared to be very comfortable.

199
"Well, Mr. Passford, if you are ready to return to the Bellevite, I will
assist you to the ward room," said Captain Breaker.

"Excuse me, Captain, if I detain you a few minutes, for I desire to
settle a point in dispute between Mr. Passford and myself, though it is
doubtless his extreme modesty which creates this difference between us,"
interposed the Confederate commander.

He proceeded to state his view of the exploit of Christy, by which he
had rendered inutile the scheme to slaughter the loyal boarders.

"I was absolutely delighted, Captain Breaker, when I realized that
you intended to board the Tallahatchie." he continued. "I was confident
that I should defeat your boarders, and board and carry your deck in my
turn. I have not yet changed my view of the situation. You can judge of
my consternation when I saw Mr. Passford leap into the mizzen rigging
with the agility of a cat, and especially when the order to board my
ship was withheld."

"Mr. Passford acted without orders, for I should hardly have sent him
into the rigging while we were alongside, for it was almost sure death,
for
200
your men, armed with muskets and revolvers, were all looking for the
firing of the thirty-pounder," added Captain Breaker.

"He was as nimble as a cat, and it seemed to me that he was twice as
quick. But all he needed to unearth my scheme was a single glance at the
gun and its crew on the quarter-deck. In the twinkling of an eye he
dropped to the deck, called his boarders, and leaped over the rail into
our midst. It was the most daring and quickly executed manœuvre I
ever observed," continued the Confederate commander with enthusiasm.

"I quite agree with you, Captain Rombold," replied Captain Breaker,
as he looked with an affectionate expression upon the pale face of the
patient.

"Now, Mr. Passford chooses to regard his brilliant exploit as a
matter of little consequence, for he declares that you had discovered,
or would have discovered, my plan to annihilate your boarders."

"Mr. Passford is entirely in the wrong so far as I am concerned,"
protested Captain Breaker with a good deal of earnestness. "To make the
matter clear, I will explain my own actions. When the Bellevite ranged
alongside the Tallahatchie, everything
201
was in readiness for boarding. I was about to give the order to do this
when I discovered that the crew of your ship were drawn up on the
starboard side, instead of the port, and it suggested to me that
something was wrong, and I withheld the command. In order to obtain more
information, I went further aft, where I hoped to get a view of a
portion of the deck of your ship. I had raised a hawser port with the
assistance of a quartermaster; but I could see only the wreck of your
spare wheel. At this moment Mr. Passford was in the mizzen rigging. He
did all; I did nothing."

"I hope your report of the action will do him full justice, for he
deserves promotion," added Captain Rombold.

"My admiration of the conduct of Mr. Passford is equal to yours."

They separated after some further conversation, and her commander and
Christy returned to the Bellevite.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE REIGN OF CHRISTIANITY

Captain Breaker took Christy by his right arm to support him as they
returned to the deck of the Bellevite, and to assist him over the
bulwarks. The wounded had all been cared for, and the crew were swabbing
up the deck; but the moment they discovered the captain and the
executive officer on the rail, they suspended their labor and all eyes
were fixed upon the latter.

"Three cheers for Mr. Passford!" shouted the quartermaster who had
been at the wheel when Christy sprang into the mizzen rigging.

Three heartier cheers were never given on the deck of any ship than
those which greeted the hero of the action as he appeared on the rail.
Not satisfied with this demonstration, they all swung their caps, and
then gave two volleys more. There was not a man that did not take part
in this triple salute, and even the officers joined with the seamen in
this tribute.

203
"I hope Mr. Passford is not badly wounded, sir," said Quartermaster
Thompson, touching his cap most respectfully. "And I speak for the whole
ship's company, sir."

"Mr. Passford is not very severely wounded, Thompson," replied the
commander, while Christy was acknowledging the salute. "He did not
mention the fact that he was hurt, and lost more blood than was
necessary, so that he is very weak."

The quartermaster reported the answer of the captain to the ship's
company, whereupon they gave three more cheers, as Christy and his
supporter descended to the deck; and the hero acknowledged the salute.
At the companion they encountered Dr. Linscott, who had just come on
deck from the cockpit. Graines was standing near, waiting for an
opportunity to speak to his late associate in the expedition.

"You gave us a bad fright, Mr. Passford," said the surgeon, as he
took the right hand of the wounded officer. "But you will do very well
now. I have something here which will keep you comfortable;" and he
proceeded to place the left arm in a sling, which he adjusted with great
care, passing a band from it around his body so as to prevent
204
the member from swinging, or otherwise getting out of position.

"Is it necessary that I should take to my berth, Dr. Linscott?" asked
the patient. "I am feeling very nicely now; and since my arm was dressed
it gives me very little pain."

"Dr. Davidson ordered you to your berth because you were so weak you
could not stand," replied the surgeon.

"But I have got over that, and I feel stronger now."

"We will see about that later, Mr. Passford. Captain Breaker, all our
wounded except a few light cases, which my mates can treat as well as I
can, are disposed of," added the doctor.

"I am very glad to hear it," replied the captain.

"May I stay on deck, doctor?" asked Christy, who did not like the
idea of being shut up in his stateroom while the arrangements for the
disposal of the prize were in progress.

"You may for the present if you feel able to do so," answered the
surgeon. "But you must have a berth-sack or an easy chair on deck, and
keep very quiet."

"Punch!" called the commander; and this was
205
the name of the cabin steward, who was not, however, as bibulous as his
surname indicated. "Pass the word for Punch."

The steward, like everybody else on board able to be there, was on
deck, and immediately presented himself.

"Bring up the large easy-chair at my desk, and place it abreast of
the mizzen mast," added the commander.

Something else called off the attention of Captain Breaker at this
moment, and the surgeon remained in conversation till Punch reported the
chair in position. Dr. Linscott conducted Christy to it, and adjusted
him comfortably, sending for a blanket to cover his lower limbs. The
captain soon returned, and saw that the patient was easy in a position
where he could see all that transpired on the deck.

"As you have finished your duties on board of the Bellevite, I desire
to reciprocate the kindness of Captain Rombold in attending to Mr.
Passford when perhaps he needed the attention of his own surgeon more
than our patient, and I desire to have you dress the Confederate
commander's wound," said Captain Breaker.

206
"With all my heart!" exclaimed the surgeon earnestly. "I will be with
you in a moment, as soon as I procure my material;" and he hurried
below.

"You will find me with Captain Rombold," added the commander, as he
hastened to the deck of the prize.

"I am glad to see you again, Captain Breaker," said the Confederate
chief very politely.

"I have come to tender the services of our surgeon, who has disposed
of all our seriously injured men, to dress your wound, in the first
instance, for I fear you were more in need of such assistance than my
officer when you so magnanimously called Dr. Davidson to dress Mr.
Passford's wound. He will be here in a few minutes," returned Captain
Breaker, proceeding to business at once.

"I am exceedingly obliged to you, Captain, for I am beginning to feel
the necessity of attending to my wound. The thirty-pounder, which was to
have reduced the ranks of your crew by one-half, as I am assured it
would have done, made terrible havoc among my own men. In addition to
the dead who have already been committed to the deep, we have a great
number wounded," replied Captain
207
Rombold. "The cockpit is full, and I have given up my cabin to the
surgeon, who is extremely busy. I accept the services of Dr. Linscott
very gratefully."

"He is extremely happy to serve you."

By this time the surgeon of the Bellevite appeared with one of his
mates, and some pleasant words passed between him and his new
patient.

"Now, where is your wound, Captain Rombold?" asked Dr. Linscott.

"In the right thigh," replied the patient; and the bullet hole in his
trousers indicated the precise spot.

"It will be necessary to remove your clothing, Captain," continued
the surgeon.

"My cabin is already turned into a hospital, and Dr. Davidson is hard
at work there," replied the patient. "I shall have to send for a
berth-sack, and let you operate on deck, for"—

"My cabin is entirely at your service, Captain Rombold," interposed
the commander of the Bellevite. "It will afford me the very greatest
pleasure in the world to give it up to you."

"Oh, no, Captain!" exclaimed the sufferer, as he really was by this
time. "That is too great a sacrifice."

208
"Not at all; do me the very great favor to accept the use of my cabin,"
persisted Captain Breaker. "How shall we move him, doctor?"

"Call four of your men; we will carry him to your cabin in his chair,
just as he sits; and we can do it without incommoding him at all,"
answered Dr. Linscott, as he sent his mate to call the men required.

"Really, Captain,"—the sufferer began, but rather faintly.

"The surgeon thinks you had better not talk any more, Captain
Rombold," interposed the commander. "Here are the men, and we will
handle you as tenderly as an infant."

"You are as kind as the mother of the infant," added the sufferer
with a slight smile; but he made no further opposition.

The four men lifted the chair, and the doctor instructed them how to
carry it. The Bellevite had been moved aft a little so as to bring the
gangways of the two ships abreast of each other. The commander was so
interested and so full of sympathy for his injured enemy, now a friend,
that he could not refrain from assisting with his own hands, and he
directed the operations of the
209
seamen when they came to the steps. They lifted the chair down to the
deck of the ship, and then it was borne to the captain's cabin.

The wounded commander was placed in the broad berth of the cabin, and
the seamen sent on deck. Dr. Linscott, with the assistance of his mate,
proceeded to remove the clothing of the patient, Captain Breaker aiding
as he would hardly have thought of doing if the sufferer had been one of
his own officers. The injury proved to be of about the same character as
that of Christy; it was a flesh wound, but the ball had ploughed deeper
than in his case, and was therefore severe. A stimulating remedy was
given to the patient, and the doctor dressed the wound with the utmost
care, as he always did, whether the patient was a commander or a
coal-heaver from the bunkers.

The sufferer had revived somewhat under the influence of the medicine
administered; and after taking the hand of Captain Rombold, with a
hearty wish for his early recovery, the captain of the Bellevite took
his leave, and went on deck.

He proceeded first to the chair of the wounded lieutenant, reporting
to him the condition of the
210
Confederate commander. Christy was extremely glad to hear so favorable a
report of the condition of the patient, and so expressed himself in the
heartiest terms. "Federal" and "Confederate" seemed to be words without
any meaning at the present time, for all had become friends. The
officers were vying with each other in rendering kindly offices to the
vanquished, and even the seamen were doing what they could to fraternize
with the crew of the Tallahatchie, while both were engaged in removing
the evidences of the hard-fought action.

It was now only nine o'clock in the morning, and six hours had
elapsed since the prize, with the West Wind in tow, had sailed from
Mobile Point on what had proved to be her last voyage in the service of
the Confederacy. Events had succeeded each other with great rapidity, as
it may require a whole volume to report in detail a naval battle begun
and ended in the short space of an hour.

The men were piped to breakfast; and during the meal there was an
interchange of good feeling when it was found that the crew of the
Tallahatchie had only a short supply of coffee and bread,
211
intending to supply these articles at Nassau. The loyal tars were as
magnanimous as the officers of both ships had proved themselves to be;
and they passed the needed articles over the rails, till they exhausted
their own supply, hungry as they were after six hours of active duty.
The commander discovered what his men were doing; and he ordered the
rations to be doubled, besides sending a quantity of ship bread and
coffee on board of the prize. War had mantled his savage front, and
Christianity was presiding over the conduct of those who had so recently
been the most determined enemies.

There was something forward of the foremast to remind all who
approached of the battle which had been fought. It was a spare sail
which covered the silent and motionless forms of those whose loyalty to
their country had led them through the gates of death to "the
undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveller returns," but whose
fadeless record is inscribed in the hearts of a grateful nation.

During or after a severe action on board a ship of war, the dead are
usually disposed of with but little or no ceremony, as the exigency of
the hour
212
may require, as had been done on board of the prize. But Captain Breaker
was more considerate, as the conditions permitted him to be; and the
killed had been sewed up in hammocks, properly weighted.

"All hands to bury the dead;" piped the boatswain of the Bellevite,
when breakfast was finished.

By this time the deck had been cleaned up, and dried off under the
warm sun which had dissipated the fog and the morning mists. The bodies
of the slain had been previously placed at the port gangway, covered
with the American flag. The seamen removed their caps, the commander
read the service, and the bodies were committed to the deep. The
officers and seamen witnessed the ceremony with uncovered heads, and in
reverent silence.

CHAPTER XIX

COLONEL HOMER PASSFORD OF GLENFIELD

As soon as the battle on the deck of the Tallahatchie had been
decided, Graines, in command of the flanking party, had returned to the
engine room of the Bellevite. He and his men had fought bravely and
effectively in the action, though the full effect of the movement under
his charge could not be realized in the change of circumstances. The
engine of the ship had now cooled off, and Paul Vapoor hastened to the
deck to see his friend and crony, the news of whose wound had been
conveyed to the engine room in due time.

He was heartily rejoiced to find that it was no worse, and he had
news for the patient. Just before the burial of the dead he had been
sent by the commander to examine and report upon the condition of the
engine of the prize. Captain Rombold had protected it with chain cables
dropped over the side, so that it remained uninjured, and
214
the British engineers declared that it was in perfect working order.

"But whom do you suppose I saw on board the prize, Christy?" asked
the chief engineer, after he had incidentally stated the condition of
the engine.

"I cannot guess; but it may have been my cousin Corny Passford,
though he has always been in the military service of the Confederacy,"
replied the wounded lieutenant.

"It was not Corny, but his father," added Paul.

"His father!" exclaimed Christy. "Uncle Homer Passford?"

"It was he; I know him well, for I used to meet him at Glenfield in
other days. I am as familiar with his face as with that of your father,
though I have not seen either of them for over three years."

"Where was he? What was he doing?" asked Christy curiously.

"He was just coming up from below; and Mr. Hungerford, the second
lieutenant, told me he had been turned out of the captain's cabin, which
had been made into a hospital for the wounded," added Paul. "I had no
opportunity to speak to him, for
215
he averted his gaze and moved off in another direction as soon as he saw
me. He looked pale and thin, as though he had recently been very
sick."

"Poor Uncle Homer!" exclaimed the lieutenant. "He has been very
unfortunate. The last time I saw him, I conducted him to my father's
place at Bonnydale, after he had been a prisoner on board of the
Chateaugay. He was on parole then, and I suppose he and Captain Rombold
were both exchanged."

"Doubtless he will tell you all about it when you see him, as you
will soon."

"He had his eyes opened when he passed through New York City with me,
for he did not find the grass growing in the streets, as he had
expected, in spite of all I had said to him at sea. He was astonished
and confounded when he found business more lively than ever before
there; but he remained as virulent a rebel as ever; and I am sure he
regards it as a pious duty to stand by the Southern Confederacy as long
as there is anything left of it. I know no man more sincerely religious
than Uncle Homer."

"He is as good a man as ever walked the earth," added Paul
heartily.

216
"For his sake, if for no other reason, I shall rejoice when this war is
over," said Christy, with a very sad expression on his pale face.

"Was Mr. Graines of any use to you on deck, Christy?" asked the chief
engineer, as he turned to take his leave.

"He behaved himself like a loyal officer, and fought like a tiger on
the deck of the Tallahatchie. I shall give a very good report of him to
the captain for his conduct in the action, and for his valuable services
in the expedition last night. I did not over-estimate him when I
selected him for both of the positions to which he was appointed."

"He wants to see you, and I told him he should come on deck when I
returned," added Paul, as he took the hand of Christy and retired.

"How do you feel now, Mr. Passford?" asked Captain Breaker, coming to
his side the moment the chief engineer left him.

"I feel quite weak, but my arm does not bother me much. The
Confederate surgeon did a good job when he dressed it," replied Christy
with a smile.

"I will get him to send you a second dose of the restorative that
strengthened you before," said the commander, as he pencilled a note,
which he tore
217
out of his memorandum book, and sent it by Punch to Dr. Davidson.

"Mr. Vapoor brought me a piece of news, Captain," continued Christy.
"Uncle Homer Passford is on board of the Tallahatchie."

"Your uncle!" exclaimed the commander. "I supposed he was still on
parole at the house of your father."

"I did not know to the contrary myself, for I have had no letter from
my father for a long time. He and Captain Rombold must have been
exchanged some time ago. Mr. Vapoor says my uncle looks pale and thin,
as though he had recently been very sick."

"I am very sorry for him, for he was the equal of your father in
every respect, except his loyalty to his true country," added the
captain.

"Poor Uncle Homer!" exclaimed Christy, as he wiped a tear from his
eye. "He was the guest of Captain Rombold; but he has been turned out of
his cabin to make room for the wounded."

"Dr. Linscott with his two mates has gone to the assistance of Dr.
Davidson, whose hands are more than full, and perhaps he will see your
uncle. Where is he now?" inquired the captain.

218
"Mr. Vapoor saw him on the deck, but he did not speak to him, for Uncle
Homer avoided him. The ward room of the prize has at least two wounded
officers in it, and I don't know how many more, so that my poor uncle
has no place to lay his head if he is sick," said Christy, full of
sympathy for his father's brother.

"That will never do!" exclaimed the commander bruskly. "He shall
have a place to lay his head, sick or well. Captain Rombold occupies one
of the staterooms in my cabin, and your uncle shall have the other."

"But where will you berth, captain?" demanded Christy.

"No matter where! I will go and find your uncle at once;" and Christy
saw him next mounting the gangway steps.

The commander had no difficulty in finding the gentleman he sought;
for he was wandering about the deck of the prize, and no one seemed to
take any notice of him. He had been the honored guest of Captain
Rombold, though he had hardly shown himself on deck since the steamer
left Mobile, and few of the ship's company seemed to know who he
was.

219
"Good-morning, Colonel Passford," said Captain Breaker, as he confronted
him in the midst of the ruins of the spare wheel, the wrecks of the
mizzen mast, and the bulwarks on the quarterdeck.

"Good-morning, Captain Breaker," replied the planter, taking the
offered hand of the commander, with a feeble effort to smile. "Of course
I knew that you were near, for you have given abundant proofs of your
presence on board of this vessel."

"But we meet now as friends, and not as enemies. I know that you have
done your duty to your country as you understand it, and I have done the
same," continued the commander, still holding the hand of the
colonel.

"You have been very kind to Captain Rombold, Gill informs me,
and"—

"He set the example for me, and I have striven to follow it,"
interposed the captain. "But his generosity was first exercised in
behalf of your nephew, Christy."

"The steward informed me that Christy had been wounded; and Captain
Rombold assured me that the Tallahatchie was captured in consequence of
a very daring act on the part of my nephew," added the planter.

220
"I should not state it quite so strongly as that, though his action
certainly enabled us to capture the ship sooner, and with less loss on
our part than would otherwise have been the case. As to the ultimate
result of the battle, Captain Rombold and myself would disagree. But
with your assent, Colonel Passford, I think we had better cease to
discuss the action, which is now an event of the past. I am informed
that you have been compelled to leave the captain's cabin."

"And I cannot find a resting place in the ward room or steerage,"
added the planter.

"I have come on board of the prize to invite you to share my cabin
with Captain Rombold, for I have two staterooms," said Captain Breaker,
suddenly changing the subject of conversation.

"You are very kind, my dear sir; but your arrangement would incommode
yourself," suggested the colonel.

"My cabin is quite large, and I shall be able to make ample
accommodations for myself," persisted the commander, as he took the arm
of the planter. "Permit me to conduct you to your new quarters."

"As I am once more a prisoner"—

"Hardly," interposed the captain, as he led the
221
planter to the gangway, "I shall regard you as a non-combatant, at least
for the present; and I desire only to make you comfortable. The
flag-officer must decide upon your status."

Colonel Passford allowed himself to be conducted to the deck of the
Bellevite; and he was no stranger on board of the ship, for when she was
a yacht he had made several excursions in her in company with his
family. The first person he observed was his nephew, seated in his
arm-chair where he could overlook all that took place on the deck. He
hastened to him, detaching his arm from the hand of the captain, and
gave him an affectionate greeting.

"I was very sorry to learn that you were wounded, Christy," said he,
holding the right hand of the young officer.

"Not badly wounded, Uncle Homer," replied Christy. "I hope you are
well."

"I am not very well, though I do not call myself sick. Have you heard
from your father lately, Christy?" asked his uncle.

"Not for a long time, for no store-ship or other vessel has come to
our squadron for several months, though we are waiting for a vessel at
the present time. You look very pale and thin, Uncle Homer."

222
"Perhaps I look worse than I feel," replied the planter with a faint
smile. "But I have suffered a great deal of anxiety lately."

"Excuse me, Colonel Passford, but if you will allow me to install you
in your stateroom, you will have abundance of time to talk with your
nephew afterwards," interposed Captain Breaker, who was very busy.

"Certainly, Captain; pardon me for detaining you. I am a prisoner,
and I shall need my trunk, which is in my stateroom on board of the
Tallahatchie. Gill will bring it on board if you send word to him to do
so," replied the colonel.

He followed the captain to his cabin. The door of the Confederate
commander's room was open, and the planter exchanged a few words with
him. He was shown to the other stateroom, and Punch was ordered to do
all that he could for the comfort of the passenger. Captain Breaker
spoke a few pleasant words with the wounded commander, and then hastened
on deck.

Mr. Ballard, the second lieutenant, had again been duly installed as
temporary executive officer; Mr. Walbrook had been moved up, and Mr.
Bostwick, master, had become third lieutenant. As
223
usual, the engineers were Englishmen, who had come over in the
Trafalgar, as well as the greater part of the crew, though the other
officers were Southern gentlemen who had "retired" from the United
States Navy. The foreigners were willing to remain in the engine room,
and promised to do their duty faithfully as long as their wages were
paid; but Leon Bolter, the first assistant engineer of the Bellevite,
was sent on board of the prize to insure their fidelity.

Ensigns Palmer Drake and Richard Leyton, who were serving on board of
the steamer while waiting for positions, were sent to the Tallahatchie,
the first named as prizemaster, and the other as his first officer, with
a prize crew of twenty men, and the two steamers got under way.

CHAPTER XX

A VERY MELANCHOLY CONFEDERATE

Notwithstanding his military title, Colonel Homer Passford was not a
soldier, though he had once been a sort of honorary head of a regiment
of militia. His brother, Captain Horatio Passford, Christy's father, was
a millionaire in the tenth degree. More than twenty years before the war
he had assisted Homer to all the money he required to buy a plantation
in Alabama, near Mobile, where he had prospered exceedingly, though his
possessions had never been a tenth part of those of his wealthy
brother.

Homer had married in the South, and was the father of a son and
daughter, now approaching their maturity, and Corny, the son, was a
soldier in the Confederate army. The most affectionate relations had
always subsisted between the two families; and before the war the
Bellevite had always visited Glenfield, the plantation of the colonel,
at least twice a year.

225
Florry Passford, the captain's daughter, being somewhat out of health,
had passed the winter before the beginning of the war at Glenfield, and
was there when the enemy's guns opened upon Fort Sumter. Captain
Passford had not supposed that his brother in Alabama would take part
with the South in the Rebellion, and with great difficulty and risk he
had gone to Glenfield in the Bellevite, for the purpose of conveying his
daughter to his home at Bonnydale on the Hudson, not doubting that Homer
and his family would be his passengers on the return to the North.

He was entirely mistaken in regard to the political sentiments of the
colonel, and found that he was one of the most devoted and determined
advocates of the Southern cause. The southern brother did not conceal
his opinions, and it was plain enough to the captain that he was
entirely sincere, and believed with all his mind, heart, and soul, that
it was his religious, moral, and social duty to espouse what he called
his country's cause; and he had done so with all his influence and his
fortune. He had even gone so far in his devotion to his duty as he
understood it, as to attempt to hand over the Bellevite, though she was
not in
226
Mobile Bay on a warlike mission, to the new government of the South, and
had taken part personally in an expedition extended to capture her.

The steam-yacht had been armed at the Bermudas, and fought her way
out of the bay; and on her return to New York her owner presented her to
the Government of the United States. She had done good service, and
Christy had begun his brilliant career as a naval officer in the
capacity of a midshipman on board of her. In spite of the hostile
political attitude of the brothers to each other, the same affectionate
relations had continued between the two families, for each of them
believed that social and family ties should not interfere with his
patriotic duty to his country.

The commander of the Confederate forces at Hilton Head—one of
the highest-toned and most estimable gentlemen one could find in the
North or the South—informed the author that his own brother was in
command of one of the Federal ships that were bombarding his works.
While Commodore Wilkes, of Mason and Slidell memory, was capturing the
Southern representatives who had to be given up, his son was in the
Confederate navy, and then or later was casting guns
227
at Charlotte for the use of the South: and the writer never met a more
reasonable and kindly man. Fortunately our two brothers were not called
upon to confront each other as foes on the battlefield or on the sea,
though both of them would have done their duty in such positions.

The last time Christy had seen his Uncle Homer was when he was
captured on board of the Dornoch with Captain Rombold, as he was
endeavoring to obtain a passage to England as a Confederate agent for
the purchase of suitable vessels to prey upon the mercantile marine of
the United States. He and the commander of the Tallahatchie had been
exchanged at about the same time; and they had proceeded to Nassau,
where they embarked for England in a cotton steamer. There they had
purchased and fitted out the Trafalgar; for the agent's drafts, in which
the last of his fortune had been absorbed, could not be made available
to his captors. Colonel Passford had an interview with Captain Rombold
after Gill had brought his trunk on board; and it was a very sad
occasion to the planter, if not to the naval officer. They had not had
an opportunity to consider the disaster that had overtaken the
Confederate steamer, which had
228
promised such favorable results for their cause; for the commander had
been entirely occupied till he received his wound, and even then he had
attended to his duties, for, as before suggested, he was a "last ditch"
man. He was not fighting for the South as a mere hireling; for he had
married a Southern wife, and she had enlisted all his sympathies in the
cause of her people.

"I suppose we have nothing more to hope for, Captain Rombold; and we
can only put our trust in the All-Wise and the All-Powerful, who never
forsakes his children when they are fighting for right and justice,"
said Colonel Passford, after he had condoled with the commander on his
wounded condition.

"We shall come out all right in the end, Colonel; don't be so cast
down," replied the captain.

"I raised the money by mortgaging my plantation and what other
property I had left for all the money I could get upon it to a wealthy
Englishman, the one who came to Mobile with us from Nassau, to obtain
the cargoes for this steamer. I had borrowed all I could before that for
the purchase of the Trafalgar; and if the current does not
229
change in our favor soon, I shall be a beggar," added the colonel
bitterly.

"The tide will turn, my good friend; and it would have turned before
now if all the planters had been as self-sacrificing as you have," said
the captain.

"Cotton and gold are about the same thing just now; and with the
large cargo on board of the West Wind, which I induced my friends to
contribute to the good cause, and that in the hold of the Tallahatchie,
I was confident that I could purchase the Kilmarnock, which you say is
good for eighteen knots an hour. Now the West Wind and the Tallahatchie
are both prizes of the enemy, and there is no present hope for us,"
continued the colonel; and there was no wonder that he had become pale
and thin.

"We are in a bad situation, Colonel Passford, I admit, for both of us
are prisoners of war, so that we can do nothing, even if we had the
means; but everything will come out right in the end," replied the
wounded officer, though he could not explain in what manner this result
was to be achieved.

"Well, Captain Rombold, how are you feeling?" asked Dr. Linscott,
darkening the door
230
when the conversation had reached this gloomy point.

"Very comfortable, Doctor," replied the commander. "My friend is
Colonel Passford."

"Bless me!" exclaimed the surgeon, as he extended his hand to the
visitor. "I am very glad to see you, and I hope you are very well. I am
happy to inform you that your nephew, who was wounded in the engagement,
is doing very well."

"Yes; I met him on deck," replied the planter very gloomily.

"What is the matter, Colonel Passford? You look quite pale, and you
have lost flesh since I met you last. Can I do anything for you?"

"Nothing, Doctor; I am not very well, though nothing in particular
ails me. With your permission I will retire to my stateroom," said the
colonel, as he rose from his seat.

"By the way, Colonel Passford, the captain wished me to ascertain if
you have been to breakfast," added the surgeon, following him out into
the cabin.

"I have not, Doctor; but it was because I wanted none, for I do not
feel like eating," replied the pale planter.

231
"Punch, go to the galley, get a beefsteak, a plate of toast, and a cup
of coffee. Set out the captain's table, and call this gentleman when it
is ready."

"Yes, sir," replied Punch, who was a very genteel colored person.

The colonel attempted to protest, but the surgeon would not hear him.
He remained with the planter, whom he already regarded as a patient, and
though he could not say anything to comfort him, he talked him into a
pleasanter frame of mind. Punch set the table, and in due time brought
the breakfast. The doctor sat down opposite to him at the table, and
actually compelled him to eat a tolerably hearty meal. He was decidedly
less gloomy when he had finished, and it was plain to his companion that
his empty stomach was responsible for a portion of his depression of
spirits.

The surgeon had remained on board of the prize till the order to get
under way was given, and then Captain Breaker sent for him; but the two
medical gentlemen had disposed of most of the wounds among the
Confederate crew. As the English engineer had reported, the machinery
and boilers of the Tallahatchie were in good condition, and
232
the two steamers went on their course towards the entrance to Mobile
Bay, where French had been ordered to anchor the West Wind, at full
speed, though neither was driven; but the log showed that they were
making about eighteen knots.

After the brief talk with his uncle, Christy had waited for him to
return to the deck, as he supposed he would after what the captain had
said to him; but he did not appear. In fact, Colonel Passford was too
much cast down by the capture of the two vessels, and the loss of his
fortune thereby, that he was not disposed to see any person if he could
avoid it.

"Don't you think you had better turn in, Mr. Passford?" asked the
commander, as he halted in his walk at the side of the lieutenant.

"I have been waiting here to see my uncle; for I thought, after what
you said to him, that he would come back," added Christy.

"I sent Dr. Linscott down to see him, for he looks so pale and feeble
that I thought he must be sick. The surgeon reported to me half an hour
ago that he had made him eat his breakfast against his will, and he was
feeling better and more cheerful. He thinks your Uncle Homer's trouble
is
233
entirely mental, and he does not feel like seeing any person," answered
the commander.

"What mental trouble can he have?" asked Christy, as he gazed into
the face of the captain, wondering if his father's brother was
insane.

"The colonel has shipped a vast amount of cotton intending to use the
proceeds of its sale to purchase ships for the Confederacy; and he has
lost most of them, for you captured quite a number of them when you were
in command of the Bronx. I have no doubt he was interested in the
cargoes of the prize and the West Wind; and the capture of these two
vessels involves a fearful loss. I believe that is all that ails him,"
the captain explained. "Doubtless he feels as kindly towards his nephew
as ever before in his life; but he does not care to see him just
now."

Early in the afternoon the Bellevite and her prize came in sight of
the West Wind, anchored in accordance with French's orders, with the
Holyoke almost within hail of her; for the captain of the steamer had
doubtless considered the possibility of a recapture of the schooner by
boats from the shore, if she was left unprotected.

In due time the Bellevite let go her anchor at
234
about a cable's length from the West Wind, and the prize-master of the
Tallahatchie had done the same at an equal distance from the ship. Mr.
Graines, who had not met his late associate on shore since he was
wounded, came to his side as soon as the steamer had anchored; for both
Christy and he were anxious to hear the report of French in regard to
the prisoners left in his care.

The anchor of the Bellevite had hardly caught in the sand before a
boat put off from the West Wind containing four persons. Two of the
ship's seamen were at the oars, French was in the stern sheets, and the
engineer soon recognized Captain Sullendine as the fourth person.

CHAPTER XXI

CAPTAIN SULLENDINE BECOMES VIOLENT

French ascended the gangway followed by Captain Sullendine. The
seaman who had acted as prize-master of the West Wind touched his cap
very respectfully to the first officer he met when he came on board.
Christy had asked the chief engineer to send Mr. Graines to him, and he
was talking to him about the prize and the chief prisoner when French
presented himself before them.

"I have come on board to report, sir," said the prize-master of the
West Wind.

"Is all well on board, French?" asked the wounded lieutenant.

"All well now, sir," replied the seaman, with a suggestive emphasis
on the last word. "I am very sorry to learn that you have been wounded,
Mr. Passford."

"Not severely, French," replied Christy. "I am ready to hear your
report."

"I have something to say about this business,
236
Jerry Sandman," interposed the captain of the West Wind, whose wrath had
suddenly got the better of his judgment, interlarding his brief remark
with a couple of ringing oaths.

"I will hear the prize-master first," replied Christy very
quietly.

The discomfited master of the schooner called down a shocking
malediction upon the prize-master just as Captain Breaker presented
himself before the group assembled at the arm-chair of the lieutenant,
and had heard the last oaths of the angry man.

"Who is this man, Mr. Passford?" asked the commander.

"I'll let you know who I am!" exclaimed Captain Sullendine, with
another couplet of oaths.

"I do not permit any profane language on the deck of this ship," said
Captain Breaker. "Pass the word for the master-at-arms," he added to the
nearest officer.

"Oh, you are the cap'n of this hooker," added the master of the West
Wind, this time without any expletives. "I have somethin' to say to you,
Cap'n, and I want to complain of your officers."

"When you have learned how to behave yourself,
237
I will hear you," replied the commander, as the master-at-arms, who is
the chief of police on board a ship of war, presented himself, touching
his cap to the supreme authority of the steamer. "What is the trouble
here, Mr. Passford?" asked Captain Breaker in a very gentle tone, in
contrast with the quiet sternness with which he had spoken to Captain
Sullendine.

"No trouble at all, sir; I was about to hear the report of French,
the prize-master of the schooner, when the captain of her interfered,"
replied Christy.

"My story comes in before the prize-master's, as you call him, though
he ain't nothin' but a common sailor," interposed Captain Sullendine
again.

"Will you be silent?" demanded the commander.

"No, I will not! This is an outrage!" stormed the captain of the West
Wind, with a liberal spicing of oaths in his speech.

"Put this man in irons, master-at-arms, and commit him to the brig,"
added Captain Breaker.

The petty officer called upon the ship's corporal, whom he had
brought with him, and placed his hand on the arm of the rebellious
master, who
238
showed fight. A couple of seamen were called to assist the police force,
and Captain Sullendine was dragged below with his wrists ironed behind
him.

"Now you can proceed, French," said the captain.

"When I left you, all was quiet on board of the West Wind," added
Christy, beginning to make a slight explanation for the benefit of the
commander. "Captain Sullendine was very drunk, asleep in his berth, with
the door of his stateroom securely fastened upon him. Bokes the seaman
and Sopsy the cook were in the same condition. Go on, French."

"I picked up the boat you set adrift, Mr. Passford, and then headed
for the eastward of Sand Island lighthouse, where you ordered me to
anchor. The Holyoke followed the schooner, and came to anchor near the
West Wind. She sent a boat on board, and I told my story to the second
lieutenant. We did not need any assistance, and he left us.

"Captain Sullendine was dragged below."
Page 238.

"About four bells in the forenoon watch I heard a tremendous racket
in the cabin, and I went below. Captain Sullendine was doing his best to
break down the door of his stateroom, cursing hard enough to make the
blood of a Christian run cold. But he had nothing to work with, and I
let him
239
kick and pound till he got tired of it. I put Vogel in the cabin to keep
watch of him, and went on deck.

"He kept it up for half an hour or more, and then he seemed to have
enough of it. Vogel came on deck and told me the prisoner was very
humble then, and wanted to come out. I knew you did not mean that I
should starve him, and I made Sopsy put his breakfast on the table in
the cabin; but I did not do so till I had locked the liquor closet and
put the key in my pocket.

"I let him out then, and his first move was to get at his whiskey;
but the door was locked. He begged like a child for a drink; but I did
not give him a drop. Sopsy and Bokes, who were tied up forward, did the
same; but they did not get any. Captain Sullendine ate his breakfast,
and I told him his vessel was a prize to the United States steamer
Bellevite. Then he was so furious that we had to shut him up in his
stateroom again.

"After a while he promised to behave himself, and I let him out
again. He declared that his vessel was not a legal prize, and got off a
lot of stuff that I did not take any notice of. He wanted to make a
protest to the commander of the Bellevite,
240
and when he promised to behave like a gentleman, I let him come on board
with me."

"You acted with very good judgment, French, and Mr. Passford has
already commended your good conduct in the expedition last night," said
the commander.

"Thank you, sir," replied the prize-master, touching his cap, and
backing away without another word.

"Loring," called the captain to the master-at-arms, who had just
returned to the quarter-deck, or as near it as etiquette permitted him
to go. "How is your prisoner?"

"He broke down completely after he had been in the brig a few
minutes, and promised to behave like a gentleman if the commander would
hear him."

"Bring him to the quarter-deck," added the captain.

In a few minutes, the ship's corporal conducted him into the presence
of the commander. He began with a very lame apology for his previous
conduct, and then declared that he was the victim of a "Yankee trick,"
and that the West Wind had not been fairly captured.

241
"Your officers imposed upon me," he continued. "Mr. Balker and Jerry
Sandman"—

"Who are they?" inquired Captain Breaker, interrupting him.

"I was Mr. Balker, engaged as mate of the West Wind, selected for
that position by Mr. Passford, while the lieutenant was Jerry Sandman,
second mate, which he chose to be himself so that he could be with the
men," interposed Mr. Graines.

"I did not know what their names was, and I reckoned all was honest
and square. These men, whoever they were, got me drunk, and got drunk
themselves; and while I was taking a nap, waiting for the steamer to get
under way, they fastened me into my stateroom so I couldn't get
out."

"I went through the forms, but I did not take a drop of liquor into
my mouth," said Christy.

"I did not take more than a tablespoonful both on board and at the
camp of the runaways," added Mr. Graines.

"Then you cheated me more'n I thought."

"Is this all the complaint you have to make, Captain Sullendine?"
asked Captain Breaker, turning to the master of the West Wind.

"I reckon that's enough!" protested the complainant.
242
"I say it was not a fair capture, and you ought to send my vessel back
to Mobile Point, where your officers found her."

"I shall not do that, but I will compromise the matter by sending you
to Mobile Point, as I have no further use for you," replied the
commander. "You are a non-combatant, and not a prisoner of war."

French was ordered to leave Captain Sullendine, Bokes, and Sopsy at
the shore where the whaleboat had made a landing, as soon as it was
dark. For some reason not apparent, the master of the West Wind
protested against this sentence; but no attention was given to his
protest. The commander was confident that he had evidence enough to
secure the condemnation of the prize, and he regarded such an
unreasonable fellow as her late captain as a nuisance. That night the
order in regard to him and his companions were carried out.

Captain Breaker asked some questions in regard to French, which
Christy and Mr. Graines were able to answer. He was one of those men, of
whom there were thousands in the army and navy who had become soldiers
and sailors purely from patriotic duty, and at the sacrifice of brighter
present
243
prospects. French had been the mate of a large coaster, whose captain
had become an ensign in the navy, and he might have had the command of
her if he had not shipped as an able seaman in the same service.

He understood navigation, and had been the second mate of an
Indiaman. The commander said nothing when he had learned all he could
about the prize-master; but it was evident that he had something in view
which might be of interest to the subject of his inquiries. He turned
his attention to the condition of his first lieutenant then, asking
about his arm.

"It does not feel quite so easy as it did," replied Christy, who had
been suffering some pain from his wound for the last two hours, though
he was so interested in the proceedings on board, and especially in the
report from the West Wind, that he had not been willing to retire to his
stateroom.

"Then you must turn in at once, Mr. Passford," said the commander,
with more energy than he had spoken to the lieutenant before. "I am
afraid you have delayed it too long."

"I think not, sir." replied the wounded officer.

"Mr. Graines shall go with you and assist you,"
244
added the captain. "I will send Dr. Linscott to you as soon as you get
into your berth."

Christy had been sitting so long that he was quite stiff when he
attempted to get out of his chair, and the engineer assisted him. He was
still very weak, and Mr. Graines supported him, though he presently
recovered himself. The ship's company, by this time relieved of all
heavy work, had been observing him with affectionate admiration, and
rehearsing the daring exploit in which he had received his wound, gave
three rousing cheers as he rose to leave the quarter-deck.

Christy turned his pale face towards them, raised his cap, and bowed
to them. Another cheer followed, and then another. The men knew that his
prompt action in mounting the mizzen rigging, boarding the Tallahatchie,
and firing the thirty-pounder after he had reversed its position, had
saved the lives or limbs of a great number of them, and they were
extremely grateful to him.

With the assistance of his friend the engineer, Christy was soon
between the sheets in his berth. Dr. Linscott came in as soon as he was
in his bed, spoke very tenderly to him, and then proceeded to dress his
injured arm. He found the member was
245
somewhat swollen, and the patient's pulse indicated some fever.

"I must send you home, Mr. Passford," said the surgeon. "You are the
hero of the day, you have earned a vacation, and you will need your
mother's care for the next three weeks."

In spite of Christy's protest, the doctor insisted, and left him.

CHAPTER XXII

THE DISPOSITION OF THE TWO PRIZES

The surgeon reported the condition of the first lieutenant to the
commander at once, and a long conversation between them followed.
Devoted as Captain Breaker was to his executive officer, and filled with
admiration as he was for the gallant exploit of that day, he was not
willing to do anything that could be fairly interpreted as favoritism
towards the son of Captain Passford. The summer weather of the South was
coming on, and the heat was already oppressive, even on board of the
ships of war at anchor so much of the time on the blockade, and this was
the strong point of the doctor in caring for his patient.

Dr. Linscott was very earnest in insisting upon his point; and the
commander yielded, for he could hardly do otherwise in the face of the
surgeon's recommendation, for the latter was the responsible person. The
next morning, after the wounded officer had passed a feverish night,
Captain Breaker
247
visited him in his stateroom, and announced the decision. Christy began
to fight against it.

"I am not so badly off as many officers who have been treated in the
hospital down here; and if I am sent home it will be regarded as
favoritism to the son of my father," protested the lieutenant.

"You are too sensitive, my dear boy, as you have always been; and you
are entirely mistaken. You have earned a furlough if you choose to ask
for it, and every officer and seaman who has served with you would say
so," argued the captain. "I shall insert in my report, with other matter
concerning you, Christy, that you were sent home on the certificate of
the surgeon; and even an unreasonable person cannot call it
favoritism."

"I don't know," added Christy, shaking his head.

"I know, my boy. Merciful Heaven!" exclaimed Captain Breaker. "You
did enough yesterday to entitle you to any favor it is possible for the
department to extend to you. You saved the lives of a quarter or a third
of the ship's company. But it was not simply a brave and daring exploit,
my boy, though even that would entitle you to the fullest commendation;
but it included sound judgment on the instant, lightning invention, and
consummately
248
skilful action;" and the commander became positively eloquent as he
proceeded.

"Come, come, Captain Breaker! You are piling it on altogether too
thick," cried Christy, overwhelmed by the torrent of praise. "I only did
what I could not help doing."

"No matter if you did; it was the right thing to do, and it was done
at precisely the right instant. A moment's delay would have brought the
whole force of the enemy down upon you. It was absolutely wonderful how
you got that gun off in such a short space of time. I report Captain
Rombold's words to you."

"He is a magnanimous gentleman," said Christy.

"He says, too, that a dozen muskets and revolvers were discharged at
you, and it is a miracle that only one bullet struck you."

"I found a bullet-hole in my cap, and two more in the skirt of my
coat," added the patient with a smile, as he pointed to his coat and
cap.

"But we are off the subject; and I was only trying to show that you
are entitled to a furlough," said the commander; but the discussion was
continued for some time longer, though Christy consented to be sent home
in the end.

249
The thought of going to Bonnydale was exceedingly pleasant to him, and
he allowed his mind to dwell upon each member of the family, and to
picture in his imagination the greeting they would all give him. Not to
the members of his family alone did he confine his thoughts; for they
included the beautiful Bertha Pembroke, whom, with her father, he had
taken from the cabin of a cotton steamer he had captured. He concluded
that the surgeon's certificate would shield him from adverse criticism,
after he had fully considered the matter.

The flag-officer of the Eastern Gulf Squadron was not off Mobile
Point; and Captain Breaker, as the senior officer present, was obliged
to dispose of his prizes himself. Some necessary repairs had to be made
upon both ships before anything could be done; and the carpenter and his
gang, with all the other seamen who could handle an axe or an adze, were
hurrying forward the work. The prize had lost her mizzen mast, her
steering gear had been knocked to pieces both forward and aft, she had
been riddled in a dozen places, and shot-holes in the hull had been
hastily plugged during the action.

Her Armstrong gun amidships had been disabled
250
by Blumenhoff at his first fire. Christy had not found the opportunity
to examine this piece, as he desired; but Mr. Graines had done so for
him; and it was found that the gun carriage had been knocked into a
shapeless mass so that it could not be put in condition for use. The
machinists from the engine room of both vessels, for those of the
Tallahatchie had no feeling on the subject, were restoring the steering
apparatus, and were likely to have the work completed the next day.

Captain Breaker was in great doubt as to what he ought to do with
Colonel Passford. He was certainly a non-combatant; and it could not be
shown that he had any mission to Nassau or elsewhere in the service of
the Confederacy, though it would have been otherwise if the steamer and
the West Wind had not been captures, for he was to sell the cotton in
England, and purchase a steamer with the proceeds; but his mission ended
with the loss of the vessels. He finally decided to send him to Fort
Morgan under a flag of truce.

Before he left he called upon his nephew. He was still in a state of
despondency over his own losses, and his failures to benefit the
Confederacy, whose loss he counted as greater than his own.
251
He stated that the commander had announced his intention to send him on
shore. Christy had seen him but for a moment, for his uncle had not
desired to meet him again.

"We will not talk about the war, Uncle Homer," said Christy. "How are
Aunt Lydia, Corny, and Gerty? I hope they are all very well."

"Your aunt is not very well, for the hardships of the war have worn
upon her. Except Uncle Jerry and Aunty Chloe, the cook, all our negroes
have left us, or been taken by the government to work on fortifications,
and my wife and Gerty have to do most of the housework," replied Uncle
Homer very gloomily; and it was plain to Christy that the mansion at
Glenfield was not what it had been in former years.

"How is Corny? I have not heard from him lately."

"Corny is now a captain in the Army of Virginia, and is doing his
duty like a man," answered the colonel proudly; and this fact seemed to
be almost the only pleasant feature of his experience. "We have been
called upon to endure a great many hardships; but we still feel that the
God of justice will give us the victory in the end, and we
252
try to bear our burdens with resignation. The captain informs me that
you are going home, Christy."

"The surgeon has ordered me to the North on account of the heat in
this locality."

"I learned in Nassau as well as when I was at Bonnydale, that your
father holds a very prominent and influential position among your
people, and your advancement seems to be made sure," added the
planter.

"He has never held any office under the United States government, and
I hope I do not owe my advancement to him; and he has often assured me
that he never asked for my promotion or appointment," said Christy.

"You have been of very great service to your government, as I know to
my sorrow, and I have no doubt you deserved whatever promotion you have
obtained," added the colonel, observing that he had touched his nephew
in a very tender spot. "But I suppose the boat is waiting for me, and I
must bid you good-by. Remember me in the kindliest manner to your father
and mother, and to Miss Florry. They were all as good to me when I was
on parole at Bonnydale as though no war had ever divided us."

253
The colonel took Christy by the hand, and betrayed no little emotion as
they parted. The lieutenant realized that his uncle was suffering
severely under the hardships and anxieties of the war, and he was
profoundly sorry for him, though he uttered no complaint. Both on his
own account and on that of the Confederacy, he had shipped several
cargoes of cotton to Nassau to be sent from there to England; but every
one of them had been captured, most of them by his nephew while in
command of the Bronx. But he was still confident that the Confederacy
would triumph.

Colonel Passford had been sent to the fort under a flag of truce, and
had been received by the commandant. In a couple of days the repairs of
both ships had been completed. Captain Rombold, though his wound was
quite severe, was getting along very well. Captain Breaker had completed
his arrangements for the disposal of the prizes and prisoners; and it
became necessary to remove the wounded commander to the cabin of the
Tallahatchie, to which he did not object, for the wounded in his cabin
had been placed in a temporary hospital between decks. He was permitted
to occupy the stateroom he had used while in command,
254
while the other was reserved for the prize-master.

Ensign Palmer Drake, the senior of the two officers waiting
appointments, was made prize-master of the Tallahatchie, for he had
proved to be an able and brave man in the recent action. Mr. Ballard
became executive officer of the Bellevite, and Mr. Walbrook the second
lieutenant, while the place of the third was filled by Mr. Bostwick, who
had been master. French was appointed prize-master of the West Wind,
with a crew of five men, as she was to be towed by the prize
steamer.

It was found that the Tallahatchie had gone into the action with
ninety-five men, including the forward officers. More than one-third of
them had been killed or disabled, without counting those who were still
able to keep the deck and sleep in their hammocks. Fifty of them were in
condition to do duty; and Captain Breaker did not consider it prudent to
send so many prisoners to the North in the prize. He therefore sent
forty of them to Key West in the Holyoke, assured that the Bellevite was
abundantly able to maintain the blockade, even with her reduced ship's
company, during the absence of his consort.

255
The engineers of the prize were willing to continue their services at
the expense of their new employer, or even to accept permanent
appointments; for they did not belong to the upper classes in England
who favored the cause of the Confederacy, and were only looking for the
highest wages. Weeks, the oiler, and Bingham, a boatswain's mate, were
appointed first and second officers of the Tallahatchie, and twenty
seamen were detailed as a prize crew. To insure the fidelity of the four
foreign engineers Mr. Graines was sent as a sort of supervisor, with the
knowledge and assent of those in actual charge of the machinery.

When all was ready for her departure, Christy went on board of the
Tallahatchie in the same boat with the engineer, after a rather sad
parting with the captain and his fellow-officers, and amid the cheers of
the seamen, who had mounted the rail and the rigging to see him off. Mr.
Drake conducted him to the captain's cabin when he went on board of the
prize, where he met Captain Rombold, with whom he exchanged friendly
greetings.

"Fellow passengers again, Mr. Passford; but you are going to your
reward, and I to my punishment," said the late commander very
cheerfully.

256
"Hardly to my reward, for I neither desire nor expect any further
promotion," replied Christy. "I am not yet twenty years old."

"But God makes some fully-developed men before they are twenty-one,
and you are one of them."

"Thank you, Captain."

"I am willing to wager the salary I have lost that you will be
promoted whether you desire it or not."

"I hope not," replied the lieutenant, as he went to the temporary
stateroom which had been prepared for him.

The apartment was much larger than the permanent ones, and it was
provided with everything that could contribute to his comfort. While Mr.
Graines was assisting him to arrange his baggage, the steamer got under
way.

CHAPTER XXIII

THE WELCOME HOME AT BONNYDALE

Even with the West Wind in tow, the Tallahatchie could make fifteen
knots an hour; for the sea was smooth, with every prospect of continued
fine weather. Dr. Davidson was a prisoner of war, but he remained on
board in charge of the wounded of both sides. He was very devoted to
Christy, and dressed his wound every morning as tenderly as his mother
could have done it. He was a gentleman in the highest sense of the word,
and belonged to one of the best families in the South.

Captain Rombold was a very agreeable person; and most of the
conversation in the cabin was carried on in French, for the commander
was delighted when he could obtain an opportunity to practise the
language, and Dr. Davidson spoke it as fluently as a Frenchman, though
Captain Drake was unable to understand a word of it. If one had looked
in upon them he would have supposed
258
they were enjoying a yachting excursion, and could not have told who
were prisoners and who were not.

The two wounded officers passed a portion of every day on deck, and
the time slipped away very pleasantly. Mr. Graines spent much of his
days and some of his nights in the engine-room, and was on the best of
terms with the English engineers; but he could discover no signs of
treachery on their part. The prisoners forward were well treated and
well cared for, and they made no trouble.

The ship made a quick passage to New York, and went into the harbor
with the American flag flying over the Confederate; but this was not an
uncommon sight, and it did not attract much attention. The pilot brought
a file of newspapers, and the lieutenant learned that Grant was still
"hammering away" at the Confederate forces in Virginia, though without
any decided success. The ship came to anchor at the navy yard, and
Captain Drake reported to the commandant.

Lieutenant Passford was well known there, though the intelligence of
his latest achievement had not yet reached there. Christy had written
out his report of the expedition to Mobile Point,
259
and Captain Drake brought that of Captain Breaker of the action with the
Tallahatchie. The lieutenant had no official duty to perform, and he was
at liberty to go where he pleased. He procured leave of absence for Mr.
Graines; for he was himself still on fever diet, and was rather weak so
that he needed his assistance.

"Home again, Charley!" exclaimed Christy, when they had landed at the
navy yard.

"That's so, and my folks at home will not expect to see me," replied
the engineer.

"Neither will any one at Bonnydale anticipate a visit from me," added
Christy. "We know all about the sharp action of the Bellevite with the
Tallahatchie; but no one in these parts can have heard a word about it.
Now, Charley, see if you can find a carriage for me;" and the wounded
officer went into an office to wait for it.

The uniform of the messenger carried him past all sentinels; and in
half an hour he returned in a carriage, which was permitted to enter the
yard on Mr. Graines's statement of its intended use. Christy was
assisted into it. "Wall Street Ferry," said the lieutenant to the
driver.

"Why do you go there?" asked the engineer.
260
"You wish to go to the railroad station, do you not?"

"I want to find my father if I can, and I think he must be in the
city," replied Christy, as he gave his companion the location of the
office where he did his business with the government, though he made
frequent visits to Washington for consultation with the officials of the
Navy Department.

The carriage was retained, and in another hour they reached the
office. Captain Passford was not there; he had gone to Washington three
days before, and no one knew when he would return. Christy was prepared
for this disappointment, and he had arranged in his mind the wording of
a telegraphic message to his father. While he was writing it out a
gentleman came out of the office whom the lieutenant had met before.

"I am delighted to see you, Mr. Passford!" exclaimed the gentleman,
who was in the uniform of a naval officer, as he extended his hand to
the visitor. "One of our people informed me that the son of Captain
Passford was at the door, and I hastened out to see you. Won't you come
into the office?"

"No, I thank you; I am not very well, for I
261
was wounded in the left arm in our last action, and I am sent home by
the surgeon on a furlough," replied Christy. "Permit me, Captain
Bentwick, to introduce my friend, Mr. Graines, third assistant engineer
of the Bellevite."

"I am very happy to know you, Mr. Graines," added Captain Bentwick,
taking his hand. "I am very sorry you are wounded, Mr. Passford. What
can I do for you?"

"Nothing, I thank you, at present. I am writing a message to send to
my father. I was just finishing it when you came," replied Christy, as
he added the finishing words, and passed it to the official.

"'Sent home on furlough, slightly wounded. Wish paroles for Captain
George Rombold and Dr. Pierre Davidson,'" Captain Bentwick read from the
paper. "I will have it sent at once from this office. But, Mr. Passford,
I can parole these officers, and it is not necessary for you to trouble
your father with such a matter. Who and what are the officers?"

"Captain Rombold was the commander of the Tallahatchie, prize to the
Bellevite," answered Christy. "When I was in danger of fainting
262
after the action on the deck of his ship, he sent for his surgeon, Dr.
Davidson, though his own wound had not been dressed. Both he and the
surgeon were extremely kind to me, and I desire to reciprocate their
good offices by inviting them to my father's house."

"Where are these gentlemen now, Mr. Passford?"

"I left them on board of the prize at the navy yard, sir. I am not
sure that they will accept parole, for I have not spoken to them about
it; but I am very anxious to serve them."

"I know what your father would say if he were here, and I will send
an officer authorized to take their parole to the navy yard at once. I
will instruct him to represent your desire to them in the strongest
terms, and if they accept, to conduct them to Bonnydale, for I know you
must be in a hurry to get there," continued Captain Bentwick, as he
shook the hands of both officers, and returned to the office.

"That shows what it is to have powerful friends," said Mr. Graines,
when his companion had directed the driver to the railroad station.

"Mrs. Passford rushed down the steps."
Page 264.