The Blue and the Gray Series

TAKEN BY THE ENEMY

BY

OLIVER OPTIC

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

"THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES" "THE WOODVILLE STORIES"

"THE STARRY-FLAG SERIES" "THE BOAT-CLUB STORIES"

"THE ONWARD AND UPWARD SERIES" "THE YACHT-

CLUB SERIES" "THE LAKE-SHORE SERIES"

"THE RIVERDALE SERIES" "THE

BOAT-BUILDER SERIES" ETC.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

BOSTON

LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers

Copyright, 1888, by Lee and Shepard

All rights reserved.

Taken by the Enemy.

TO

MY NEPHEW,

HERBERT W. ADAMS,

This Book

IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.

PREFACE

"Taken by the Enemy" is the first of
a new series of six volumes which are to be associated under the general
title of "The Blue and the Gray Series," which sufficiently indicates
the character of the books. At the conclusion of the war of the
Rebellion, and before the writer had completed "The Army and Navy
Series," over twenty years ago, some of his friends advised him to make
all possible haste to bring his war stories to a conclusion, declaring
that there could be no demand for such works when the war had come to an
end. But the volumes of the series mentioned are as much in demand
to-day as any of his other stories, though from their nature the field
of their circulation is more limited. Surprising as this may appear, it
is still the fact; and certainly the author has received more
commendatory letters from young people in regard to the
6
books of this series than concerning those of any other.

Among these letters there has occasionally been one, though rarely,
in which the writer objected to this series for the reason that he was
"on the other side" of the great issue which shook the nation to the
centre of its being for four years. Doubtless the writers of these
letters, and many who wrote no letters, will be surprised and grieved at
the announcement of another series by the author on war topics. The
writer had little inclination to undertake this task; for he has
believed for twenty years that the war is over, and he has not been
disposed to keep alive old issues which had better remain buried. He has
spent some time in the South, and has always found himself among friends
there. He became personally acquainted with those who fought on the
Confederate side, from generals to privates, and he still values their
friendship. He certainly is not disposed to write any thing that would
cause him to forfeit his title to the kind feeling that was extended
to him.

It is not, therefore, with the desire or intention to rekindle the
fires of sectional animosity, now
7
happily subdued, that the writer begins another series relating to the
war. The call upon him to use the topics of the war has been so urgent,
and its ample field of stirring events has been so inviting, that he
could not resist; but, while his own opinions in regard to the great
question of five-and-twenty years ago remain unchanged, he hopes to do
more ample justice than perhaps was done before to those "who fought on
the other side."

The present volume introduces those which are to follow it, and
presents many of the characters that are to figure in them. Though
written from the Union standpoint, the author hopes that it will not be
found unfair or unjust to those who looked from the opposite point of
view.

Dorchester, June 12, 1888.

"Three Cheers for Captain Passford"
(Page 75)

CONTENTS

TAKEN BY THE ENEMY

CHAPTER I

ASTOUNDING NEWS FROM THE SHORE

"This is most astounding news!"
exclaimed Captain Horatio Passford.

It was on the deck of the magnificent steam-yacht Bellevite, of which
he was the owner; and with the newspaper, in which he had read only a
few of the many head-lines, still in his hand, he rushed furiously
across the deck, in a state of the most intense agitation.

It would take more than one figure to indicate the number of millions
by which his vast wealth was measured, in the estimation of those who
knew most about his affairs; and he was just returning from a winter
cruise in his yacht.

His wife and son were on board; but his daughter had spent the winter
at the South with her
14
uncle, preferring this to a voyage at sea, being in rather delicate
health, and the doctors thought a quiet residence in a genial climate
was better for her.

The Bellevite had been among the islands of the Atlantic, visiting
the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and was now coming from
Bermuda. She had just taken a pilot fifty miles from Sandy Hook, and was
bound to New York, for the captain's beautiful estate, Bonnydale, was
located on the Hudson.

As usual, the pilot had brought on board with him the latest New-York
papers, and one of them contained the startling news which appeared to
have thrown the owner of the Bellevite entirely off his balance; and it
was quite astounding enough to produce this effect upon any
American.

"What is it, sir?" demanded Christopher Passford, his son, a
remarkably bright-looking young fellow of sixteen, as he followed his
father across the deck.

"What is it, Horatio?" inquired Mrs. Passford, who had been seated
with a book on the deck, as she also followed her husband.

The captain was usually very cool and self-possessed,
15
and neither the wife nor the son had ever before seen him so shaken by
agitation. He seemed to be unable to speak a word for the time, and took
no notice whatever of his wife and son when they addressed him.

For several minutes he continued to rush back and forth across the
deck of the steamer, like a vessel which had suddenly caught a heavy
flaw of wind, and had not yet come to her bearings.

"What is the matter, Horatio?" asked Mrs. Passford, when he came near
her. "What in the world has happened to overcome you in this manner, for
I never saw you so moved before?"

But her husband did not reply even to this earnest interrogatory, but
again darted across the deck, and his lips moved as though he were
muttering something to himself. He did not look at the paper in his
hands again; and whatever the startling intelligence it contained, he
seemed to have taken it all in at a glance.

Christy, as the remarkably good-looking young man was called by all
in the family and on board of the Bellevite, appeared to be even more
astonished than his mother at the singular conduct of his father; but he
saw how intense was
16
his agitation, and he did not follow him in his impulsive flights across
the deck.

Though his father had always treated him with great consideration,
and seldom if ever had occasion to exercise any of his paternal
authority over him, the young man never took advantage of the
familiarity existing between them. His father was certainly in a most
extraordinary mood for him, and he could not venture to speak a word
to him.

He stood near the companion way, not far from his mother, and he
observed the movements of his father with the utmost interest, not
unmingled with anxiety; and Mrs. Passford fully shared with him the
solicitude of the moment.

The steamer was going at full speed in the direction of Sandy Hook.
Captain Passford gave no heed to the movement of the vessel, but for
several minutes planked the deck as though he were unable to realize the
truth or the force of the news he had hastily gathered from the
head-lines of the newspaper.

At last he halted in the waist, at some distance from the other
members of his family, raised his paper, and fixed his gaze upon the
staring
17
announcement at the head of one of its columns. No one ventured to
approach him; for he was the magnate of the vessel, and, whatever his
humor, he was entitled to the full benefit of it.

He only glanced at the head-lines as he had done before, and then
dropped the paper, as though the announcement he had read was all he
desired to know.

"Beeks," said he, as a quartermaster passed near him.

The man addressed promptly halted, raised his hand to his cap, and
waited the pleasure of the owner of the steamer.

"Tell Captain Breaker that I wish to see him, if you please," added
Captain Passford.

The man repeated the name of the person he was to call, and hastened
away to obey the order. The owner resumed his march across the deck,
though it was evident to the anxious observers that he had in a great
measure recovered his self-possession, for his movements were less
nervous, and the usual placid calm was restored to his face.

In another minute, Captain Breaker, who was the actual commander of
the vessel, appeared in the waist, and walked up to his owner.
18
Though not more than forty-five years old, his hair and full beard were
heavily tinted with gray; and an artist who wished for an ideal
shipmaster, who was both a gentleman and a sailor, could not have found
a better representative of this type in the merchant or naval service,
or on the deck of the finest steam-yacht in the world.

"You sent for me, Captain Passford," said the commander, in
respectful but not subservient tones.

"You will take the steamer to some point off Fire Island, and come to
anchor there," replied the owner, as, without any explanation, he walked
away from the spot.

"Off Fire Island," added Captain Breaker, simply repeating the name
of the locality to which his order related, but not in a tone that
required an exclamation-point to express his surprise.

Whatever the captain of the Bellevite thought or felt, it was an
extraordinary order which he received. It was in the month of April, and
the vessel had been absent about five months on her winter pleasure
cruise.

In a few hours more the yacht could easily be at her moorings off
Bonnydale on the Hudson;
19
but when almost in sight of New York, the captain had been ordered to
anchor, as though the owner had no intention of returning to his elegant
home.

If he was surprised, as doubtless he was, he did not manifest it in
the slightest degree; for he was a sailor, and it was a part of his
gospel to obey the orders of his owner without asking any questions.

No doubt he thought of his wife and children as he walked forward to
the pilot-house to execute his order, for he had been away from them for
a long time. The three papers brought on board by the pilot had all been
given to the owner, and he had no hint of the startling news they
contained.

The course of the Bellevite was promptly changed more to the
northward; and if the pilot wished to be informed in regard to this
strange alteration in the immediate destination of the vessel, Captain
Breaker was unable to give him any explanation.

Captain Passford was evidently himself again; and he did not rush
across the deck as he had done before, but seated himself in an armchair
he
20
had occupied before the pilot came on board, and proceeded to read
something more than the headlines in the paper.

He hardly moved or looked up for half an hour, so intensely was he
absorbed in the narrative before him. Mrs. Passford and Christy, though
even more excited by the singular conduct of the owner, and the change
in the course of the steamer, did not venture to interrupt him.

The owner took the other two papers from his pocket, and had soon
possessed himself of all the details of the astounding news; and it was
plain enough to those who so eagerly observed his expression as he read,
that he was impressed as he had never been before in his life.

Before the owner had finished the reading of the papers, the
Bellevite had reached the anchorage chosen by the pilot, and the vessel
was soon fast to the bottom in a quiet sea.

"The tide is just right for going up to the city," said the pilot,
who had left his place in the pilot-house, and addressed himself to the
owner in the waist.

"But we shall not go up to the city," replied Captain Passford, in a
very decided tone. "But
21
that shall make no difference in your pilot's fees.—Captain
Breaker."

The captain of the steamer, who had also come out of the pilot-house,
had stationed himself within call of the owner to receive the next
order, which might throw some light on the reason for anchoring the
steamer so near her destination on a full sea. He presented himself
before the magnate of the yacht, and indicated that he was ready to take
his further orders.

"You will see that the pilot is paid his full fee for taking the
vessel to a wharf," continued Captain Passford.

The captain bowed, and started towards the companionway; but the
owner called him back.

"I see what looks like a tug to the westward of us. You will set the
signal to bring her alongside," the magnate proceeded.

This order was even more strange than that under which the vessel had
come to anchor so near home after her long cruise; but the captain asked
no questions, and made no sign. Calling Beeks, he went aft with the
pilot, and paid him his fees.

When the American flag was displayed in the
22
fore-rigging for the tug, Captain Passford, with his gaze fixed on the
planks of the deck, walked slowly to the place where his wife was
seated, and halted in front of her without speaking a word. But there
was a quivering of the lip which assured the lady and her son that he
was still struggling to suppress his agitation.

"What is the matter, Horatio?" asked the wife, in the tenderest of
tones, while her expression assured those who saw her face that the
anxiety of the husband had been communicated to the wife.

"I need hardly tell you, Julia, that I am disturbed as I never was
before in all my life," replied he, maintaining his calmness only with a
struggle.

"I can see that something momentous has happened in our country," she
added, hardly able to contain herself, for she felt that she was in the
presence of an unexplained calamity.

"Something has happened, my dear; something terrible,—something
that I did not expect, though many others were sure that it would come,"
he continued, seating himself at the side of his wife.

"But you do not tell me what it is," said the
23
lady, with a look which indicated that her worst fears were confirmed.
"Is Florry worse? Is she"—

"So far as I know, Florry is as well as usual," interposed the
husband. "But a state of war exists at the present moment between the
North and the South."

CHAPTER II

THE BROTHER AT THE SOUTH

Even five months before, when the Bellevite had sailed on her cruise,
the rumble of coming events had been heard in the United States; and it
had been an open question whether or not war would grow out of the
complications between the North and the South.

Only a few letters, and fewer newspapers, had reached the owner of
the yacht; and he and his family on board had been very indifferently
informed in regard to the progress of political events at home. Captain
Passford was one of those who confidently believed that no very serious
difficulty would result from the entanglements into which the country
had been plunged by the secession of the most of the Southern
States.

He would not admit even to himself that war
25
was possible; and before his departure he had scouted the idea of a
conflict with arms between the brothers of the North and the brothers of
the South, as he styled them.

Captain Passford had been the master of a ship in former times,
though he had accumulated his vast fortune after he abandoned the sea.
His father was an Englishman, who had come to the United States as a
young man, had married, raised his two sons, and died in the city of New
York.

These two sons, Horatio and Homer, were respectively forty-five and
forty years of age. Both of them were married, and each of them had only
a son and a daughter. While Horatio had been remarkably successful in
his pursuit of wealth in the metropolis, he had kept himself clean and
honest, like so many of the wealthy men of the great city. When he
retired from active business, he settled at Bonnydale on the Hudson.

His brother had been less successful as a business-man, and soon
after his marriage to a Northern lady he had purchased a plantation in
Alabama, where both of his children had been born, and where he was a
man of high standing,
26
with wealth enough to maintain his position in luxury, though his
fortune was insignificant compared with that of his brother.

Between the two brothers and their families the most kindly relations
had always existed; and each made occasional visits to the other, though
the distance which separated them was too great to permit of very
frequent exchanges personally of brotherly love and kindness.

Possibly the fraternal feeling which subsisted between the two
brothers had some influence upon the opinions of Horatio, for to him
hostilities meant making war upon his only brother, whom he cherished as
warmly as if they had not been separated by a distance of over a
thousand miles.

He measured the feelings of others by his own; and if all had felt as
he felt, war would have been an impossibility, however critical and
momentous the relations between the two sections.

Though his father had been born and bred in England, Horatio was more
intensely American than thousands who came out of Plymouth Rock stock;
and he believed in the union of the States, unable to believe that any
true citizen
27
could tolerate the idea of a separation of any kind.

The first paper which Captain Passford read on the deck of the
Bellevite contained the details of the bombardment and capture of Fort
Sumter; and the others, a record of the events which had transpired in
the few succeeding days after the news of actual war reached the
North.

This terrible intelligence was unexpected to the owner of the yacht,
believing, as he had, in the impossibility of war; and it seemed to him
just as though he and his cherished brother were already arrayed against
each other on the battle-field.

The commotion between the two sections had begun before his departure
from home on the yacht cruise, but his brother, perhaps because he was
fully instructed in regard to the Union sentiment of Horatio, was
strangely reticent, and expressed no opinions of his own.

But Captain Passford, measuring his brother according to his own
standard, was fully persuaded that Homer was as sound on the great
question as he was himself, though the excitement and violence around
him might have caused him to maintain a neutral position.

28
Certainly if the Northern brother had anticipated that a terrible war
was impending, he would not have permitted his daughter Florence, a
beautiful young lady of seventeen, to reside during the winter in a
hot-bed of secession and disunion. The papers informed him what had been
done at the North and at the South to initiate the war; and the thought
that Florry was now in the midst of the enemies of her country was
agonizing to him.

Though he felt that his country demanded his best energies, and
though he was ready and willing to give himself and his son to her in
her hour of need, he felt that his first duty was to his own family,
within reasonable limits; and his earliest thoughts were directed to the
safety of his daughter, and then to the welfare of his brother and his
family.

"War!" exclaimed Mrs. Passford, when her husband had announced so
briefly the situation which had caused such intense agitation in his
soul. "What do you mean by war, Horatio?"

"I mean all that terrible word can convey of destruction and death,
and, worse yet, of hate and revenge between brothers of the same
household!"
29
replied the husband impressively. "Both the North and the South are
sounding the notes of preparation. Men are gathering by thousands on
both sides, soon to meet on fields which must be drenched in the gore of
brothers."

"But don't you think the trouble will be settled in some way,
Horatio?" asked the anxious wife and mother; and her thoughts, like
those of her husband, reverted to the loving daughter then in the
enemy's camp.

"I do not think so; that is impossible now. I did not believe that
war was possible: now I do not believe it will be over till one side or
the other shall be exhausted," replied Captain Passford, wiping from his
brow the perspiration which the intensity of his emotion produced. "A
civil war is the most bitter and terrible of all wars."

"I cannot understand it," added the lady.

"Is it really war, sir?" asked Christy, who had been an interested
listener to all that had been said.

"It is really war, my son," replied the father earnestly. "It will be
a war which cannot be carried to a conclusion by hirelings; but father,
30
son, and brother must take part in it, against father, son, and
brother."

"It is terrible to think of," added Mrs. Passford with something like
a shudder, though she was a strong-minded woman in the highest sense of
the words.

Captain Passford then proceeded to inform his wife and son in regard
to all the events which had transpired since he had received his latest
papers at Bermuda. They listened with the most intense interest, and the
trio were as solemn as though they had met to consider the dangerous
illness of the absent member of the family.

The owner did not look upon the impending war as a sort of frolic, as
did many of the people at the North and the South, and he could not
regard it as a trivial conflict which would be ended in a few weeks or a
few months. To him it was the most terrible reality which his
imagination could picture; and more clearly than many eminent statesmen,
he foresaw that it would be a long and fierce encounter.

"From what you say, Horatio, I judge that the South is already arming
for the conflict," said Mrs. Passford, after she had heard her
31
husband's account of what had occurred on shore.

"The South has been preparing for war for months, and the North began
to make serious preparation for coming events as soon as Fort Sumter
fell. Doubtless the South is better prepared for the event to-day than
the North, though the greater population and vast resources of the
latter will soon make up for lost time," replied the captain.

"And Florry is right in the midst of the gathering armies of the
South," added the fond mother, wiping a tear from her eyes.

"She is; and, unless something is done at once to restore her to her
home, she may have to remain in the enemy's country for months, if not
for years," answered the father, with a slight trembling of the
lips.

"But what can be done?" asked the mother anxiously.

"The answer to that question has agitated me more than any thing else
which has come to my mind for years, for I cannot endure the thought of
leaving her even a single month at any point which is as likely as any
other to become a
32
battle-field in a few days or a few weeks," continued Captain Passford,
with some return of the agitation which had before shaken him so
terribly.

"Of course your brother Homer will take care of her," said the
terrified mother, as she gazed earnestly into the expressive face of the
stout-hearted man before her.

"Certainly he will do all for Florry that he would do for his own
children, but he may not long be able to save his own family from the
horrors of war."

"Do you think she will be in any actual danger, Horatio?"

"I have no doubt she will be as safe at Glenfield, if the conflict
were raging there, as she would be at Bonnydale under the same
circumstances. From the nature of the case, the burden of the fighting,
the havoc and desolation, will be within the Southern States, and few,
if any, of the battle-fields will be on Northern soil, or at least as
far north as our home."

"From what I have seen of the people near the residence of your
brother, they are neither brutes nor savages," added the lady.

33
"No more than the people of the North; but war rouses the brute nature
of most men, and there will be brutes and savages on both sides, from
the very nature of the case."

"In his recent letters, I mean those that came before we sailed from
home, Homer did not seem to take part with either side in the political
conflict; and in those which came to us at the Azores and Bermuda, he
did not say a single word to indicate whether he is a secessionist, or
in favor of the Union. Do you know how he stands, Horatio?"

"My means of knowing are the same as yours, and I can be no wiser
than you are on this point, though I have my opinion," replied Captain
Passford.

"What is your opinion?"

"That he is as truly a Union man as I am."

"I am glad that he is."

"I do not say that he is a Union man; but judging from his silence,
and what I know of him, I think he is. And it is as much a part of my
desire and intention to bring him and his family out of the enemy's
country as it is to recover Florry."

34
"Then we shall have them all at Bonnydale this summer?" suggested Mrs.
Passford. "Nothing could suit me better."

"Though I am fully persuaded in my own mind that Homer will be true
to his country in this emergency, I may be mistaken. He has lived for
many years at the South, and has been identified with the institutions
of that locality, as I have been with those of the North. Though we both
love the land of our fathers on the other side of the ocean, we have
both been strongly American. As he always believed in the whole country
as a unit, I shall expect him to be more than willing to stand by his
country as it was, and as it should be."

"I hope you will find him so, but I am grievously sorry that Florry
is not with us."

"Tug-boat alongside, Captain Passford," said the commander.

The owner of the Bellevite wished the tug to wait his orders.

CHAPTER III

DANGEROUS AND SOMEWHAT IRREGULAR

In various parts of the deck of the Bellevite, the officers, seamen,
engineers, and coal-passers of the steamer were gathered in knots,
evidently discussing the situation; for the news brought on board by the
pilot had been spread through the ship.

Captain Passford hardly noticed the announcement made to him by the
commander, that the tug was alongside, for he was not yet ready to make
use of it. Even the wife and the son of the owner wondered what the
mission of the little vessel was to be; but the husband and father had
not yet disclosed his purpose in coming to anchor almost in sight of his
own mansion.

"Why have you come to anchor here, Horatio?" asked Mrs. Passford,
taking advantage of the momentary pause in the interesting, and even
36
exciting, conversation, to put this leading question.

"I was about to tell you. I have already adopted my plan to recover
Florry, and bring my brother and his family out of the enemy's country,"
replied the owner, looking with some solicitude into the face of his
wife, as though he anticipated some objection to his plan.

"You have adopted it so quick?" inquired the lady. "You have not had
much time to think of it."

"I have had all the time I need to enable me to reach the decision to
rescue my child from peril, and save my brother and his family from
privation and trouble in the enemy's country. But I have only decided
what to do, and I have yet to mature the details of the scheme."

"I hope you are not going into any danger," added the wife
anxiously.

"Danger!" exclaimed Captain Passford, straightening up his manly
form. "War with all its perils and hardships is before us. Am I a
villain, a poltroon, who will desert his country in the hour of her
greatest need? I do not so understand myself."

37
"Of course I meant any needless exposure," added Mrs. Passford,
impressed by the patriotic bearing of her husband.

"You may be assured, Julia, that I will incur no needless peril, and
I think I am even more careful than the average of men. But, when I have
a duty to perform, I feel that I ought to do it without regard to the
danger which may surround it."

"I know you well enough to understand that, Horatio," said the
lady.

"I believe there will be danger in my undertaking, though to what
extent I am unable to say."

"But you do not tell me how you intend to recover Florry."

"I intend to go for her and my brother's family in the
Bellevite."

"In the Bellevite!" exclaimed the lady.

"Of course; there is no other possible way to reach Glenfield," which
was the name that Homer Passford had given to his plantation.

"But Fort Morgan, at the entrance of Mobile Bay, is in the hands of
the Confederates, and has been for three or four months," said Christy,
38
who had kept himself as thoroughly posted in regard to events at home as
the sources of information would permit.

"I am well aware of it; and I have no doubt, that, by this time, the
fort is strongly garrisoned, to say nothing of other forts which have
probably been built in the vicinity," replied Captain Passford.

"It says in this paper that the ports of the South have been
blockaded," said Christy, glancing at the journal in his hand.

"The President has issued a proclamation to this effect, but there
has hardly been time to enforce it to any great extent yet. But of these
matters I have nothing to say yet. The important point now is that I
shall go in the Bellevite to Mobile Bay, and by force or strategy I
shall bring off my daughter and the family of my brother."

"Then I suppose Christy and I are to be sent on shore in the tug
alongside," suggested Mrs. Passford.

"That is precisely what I wanted the tug for," added the husband.

"I should be willing to go with you, and share
39
whatever dangers you may incur," said the lady, who had by this time
come to a full realization of what war meant.

"I should be a heathen to allow you to do so. A woman would be more
of a burden than a help to us. You had better return to Bonnydale,
Julia, where I am sure you can render more service to your country than
you could on board of the steamer. All that I am, all that I have, shall
be at the service of the Union; and I wish you to act for me according
to your own good judgment."

"I shall do whatever you wish me to do, Horatio," added the lady.

"My mission will be a dangerous one at best, and the deck of the
steamer will be no place for you, Julia."

"Very well; Christy and I will take the tug as soon as you are ready
to have us leave you."

"Am I to go on shore, father?" demanded Christy, with a look of
chagrin on his handsome face, browned by exposure to the sun on the
ocean. "I want to go with you; and I am sure I can do my share of the
duty, whatever it may be."

40
"You are rather young to engage in such an enterprise as that before me,
Christy," added his father, as he gazed with pride at the face and form
of his son, who had thrown back his head as though he felt the
inspiration of all the manliness in his being.

"If there is to be a war for the Union, I am a Union man, or boy, as
you like; and it would be as mean and cowardly for me to turn my back to
the enemy as it would be for you to do so, sir," replied Christy, his
chest heaving with patriotic emotion.

"I am willing you should go with me," added Captain Passford, turning
from the young man to his mother.

There was a tear in the eyes of the lady as she looked upon her son.
It was hard enough to have her husband leave her on such a mission: it
was doubly so to have Christy go with him.

"Christy might be of great service to me," said his father. "I look
upon this war as a very solemn event; and when a man's country calls
upon him to render his time, his comfort, even his life, he has no moral
right to put himself, his father, his brother, or his son in a safe
place, and
41
leave mere hirelings, the thoughtless, reckless adventurers, to fight
his battle for him."

"I am ready to go, sir," added Christy.

"He may go with you, if you think it best," said the mother with a
quivering lip. "I shall miss him, but I am sure you would miss him
more."

"My first mission is hardly in the service of my country; at least,
it is not directly so, though I hope to be of some use to her during my
absence. As I said before, I think my first duty—a duty committed
to me by the Almighty, which takes precedence over all other
duties—is, within reasonable limits, to my own family. I will not
spare myself or my son, but I must save Florry and my brother's
family."

"I think you are right, Horatio."

"On my return I shall present the Bellevite to the Government, which
is in sore need of suitable vessels at the present time, and offer my
services in any capacity in which I can be useful," continued Captain
Passford. "Captain Breaker," he called to the commander.

"Here, sir."

"Pipe the entire ship's company on the forecastle,
42
and see that no one from the tug is near enough to hear what is said
there."

Captain Breaker had formerly been a lieutenant in the navy, and the
forms and discipline of a man-of-war prevailed on board of the
steam-yacht. In a minute more the pipe of the boatswain rang through the
vessel, and all hands were mustered on the forecastle. The tug was made
fast on the quarter of the steamer, and no one from her had come on
board.

Captain Passford and Christy walked forward, leaving the lady with
her own thoughts. She was a daughter of a distinguished officer in the
navy, and she had been fully schooled in the lesson of patriotism for
such an emergency as the present. She was sad, and many a tear dropped
from her still handsome face; but she was brave enough to feel proud
that she had a husband and a son whom she was willing to give to her
country.

The ship's company gathered on the forecastle; and every one of them
seemed to be deeply impressed with the solemnity of the occasion, for
not a light word was spoken, not a laugh played on any face. They had
just learned that the country was in a state of war; and the present
43
occasion indicated that the owner had some serious question in his mind,
which was now to be presented to them.

The Bellevite was heavily manned for a yacht; but every person had
been selected for his position, from the highest to the lowest, with the
utmost care by Captain Breaker, assisted by the owner. Every one of them
had been attached to the steamer for at least a year, and some of them
for a longer period. All of them were personally known to the owner and
the members of the family, who had taken the greatest pleasure in
improving and assisting them and their families, if they
had any.

They were all devoted to the owner and the members of his family, who
had taken such a strong personal interest in them and theirs. Many
instances of the kindness of the lady in times of sickness and death, as
well as in the brighter days of prosperity and happiness, could be
related; and in return for all this generous and considerate treatment,
there was not a man on board who would not have laid down his life for
the family.

It was certainly a model ship's company; and
44
if there had ever been another owner and captain like those of the
Bellevite, there might also have been such another collection of
officers and seamen. But every one of them had been selected for his
moral character, not less than for his nautical skill and knowledge. In
fact, the personal history of any one of them would have been
interesting to the general reader.

These men composed the audience of Captain Passford when he took his
place at the bowsprit bitts; and, if the occasion had been less solemn,
they would have cheered him, as they were in the habit of doing on every
suitable opportunity, and even when it was not suitable.

The owner prefaced his remarks with a statement of the events which
had occurred in the country since the last dates they had received, and
then proceeded to describe his mission as indicated to his wife and son.
He fully stated the perils of the enterprise, with the fact that his
operations would be somewhat irregular; though he intended to make an
immediate tender of the vessel to the Government, with his own services
in any capacity in which he might be needed.

In spite of the solemnity of the occasion, the
45
men broke out into cheers, and not a few of the sailors shouted out
their readiness to go with him wherever he might go, without regard to
danger or hardship. One old sheet-anchor man declared that he was ready
to die for Miss Florry; and he was so lustily cheered that it was
evident this was the sentiment of all.

"I have called the tug at the quarter alongside to convey Mrs.
Passford to the shore, though Christy will go with me," added the
owner.

At this point he was interrupted by a volley of cheers, for Christy
was a universal favorite on board, as Florry had always been; and the
ship's company regarded her as a sort of mundane divinity, upon whom
they could look only with the most profound reverence.

"In view of the danger and the irregularity of the enterprise, I
shall not persuade or urge any person on board to accompany me; and the
tug will take on shore all who prefer to leave the vessel, with my best
wishes for their future. Those who prefer to go on shore will go aft to
the mainmast," continued Captain Passford.

46
Officers and seamen looked from one to the other; but not one of them
took a step from his place on the forecastle, to which all seemed to be
nailed.

CHAPTER IV

THE FIRST MISSION OF THE BELLEVITE

Captain Passford looked over his audience with no little interest,
and perhaps with considerable anxiety; for he felt that the success of
his enterprise must depend, in a great measure, upon the fidelity and
skill of the individual members of the ship's company.

"My remarks are addressed to every person in the ship's company, from
Captain Breaker to the stewards and coal-passers; and any one has a
perfect right to decline to go with me, without prejudice to his present
or future interests," continued the owner.

More earnestly than before the officers and men gazed at each other;
and it looked as though not one of them dared to move a single inch,
lest a step should be interpreted as an impeachment of his fidelity to
one who had been a Christian and a trusty friend in all his relations
with him.

48
"I know that some of you have families, mothers, brothers, and sisters
on shore; and I assure you that I shall not regard it as a disgrace or a
stigma upon any man who does his duty as he understands it, without
regard to me or mine," the owner proceeded.

Still not a man moved, and all seemed to be more averse than before
to change their positions a particle; and possibly any one who was
tempted to do so expected to be hooted by his shipmates, if he took the
treacherous step.

"I sincerely hope that every man of you will be guided by his own
sense of duty, without regard to what others may think of his action. I
will not allow any man to suffer from any reproach or indignity on
account of what he does in this matter, if by any means I can prevent
it," continued Captain Passford, looking over his audience again, to
discover, if he could, any evidence of faltering on the part of a
single one.

Still officers and men were as immovable as a group of statuary; and
not a face betrayed an expression indicating a desire to leave the
vessel, or to falter in what all regarded as the allegiance they owed to
the owner and his family.

49
"We will all go with you to the end of the world, or the end of the
war!" shouted the old sheet-anchor man, who was the spokesman of the
crew when they had any thing to say. "If any man offers to
leave"—

"He shall go with my best wishes," interposed Captain Passford. "None
of that, Boxie; you have heard what I said, and I mean every word of it.
There shall be no persuasion or intimidation."

"Beg pardon, Captain Passford; but there isn't a man here that would
go to the mainmast if he knew that the forecastle would drop out from
under him, and let him down into Davy Jones's locker the next minute if
he staid here," responded Boxie, with a complaisant grin on his face, as
if he was entirely conscious that he knew what he was talking about.

"Every man must act on his own free will," added the owner.

"That's just what we are all doing, your honor; and every one of us
would rather go than have his wages doubled. If any dumper here has a
free will to go to the mainmast, he'd better put his head in soak,
and"—

"Avast heaving, Boxie!" interposed the owner,
50
smiling in spite of himself at the earnestness of the old sailor.

"I hain't got a word more to say, your honor; only"—

"Only nothing, Boxie! I see that not one of you is inclined to leave
the vessel, and I appreciate in the highest degree this devotion on your
part to me and my family. I have some writing to do now; and, while I am
engaged upon it, Mr. Watts shall take the name and residence of every
man on board. I shall give this list to my wife, and charge her to see
that those dependent upon you need nothing in your absence. She will
visit the friends of every one of you, if she has to go five hundred
miles to do so. I have nothing more to say at present."

The men cheered lustily for the owner, and then separated, as the
captain went aft to draw up his papers to send on shore by Mrs.
Passford. He was followed by Captain Breaker, while little groups formed
in various parts of the deck to discuss the situation.

"I intended to have some talk with you, Breaker, before I said any
thing to the ship's company; but, you know, it is very seldom that I
ever say any
51
thing directly to them," said Captain Passford, as the commander came up
with him.

"This was an extraordinary occasion; and I am very glad that you did
the business directly, instead of committing it to me," replied Captain
Breaker; "and I have not the slightest objection to make. But I have a
word to say in regard to myself personally. As you are aware, I was
formerly an officer of the navy, with the rank of lieutenant. I wish to
apply to the department to be restored to my former rank, or to any rank
which will enable me to serve my country the most acceptably. I hope my
purpose will not interfere with your enterprise."

"Not at all, I think, except in the matter of some delay. I shall
tender the Bellevite as a free gift to the Government in a letter I
shall send on shore by my wife," replied Captain Passford. "But I shall
offer to do this only on my return from a trip I feel obliged to make in
her. I shall also offer my own services in any capacity in which I can
be useful; though, as I am not a naval officer like yourself, I cannot
expect a prominent position."

"Your ability fits you for almost any position;
52
and, after a little study of merely routine matters, you will be
competent for almost any command," added Captain Breaker.

"I do not expect that, and I am willing to do my duty in a humble
position," said the owner. "All that I am and all that I have shall be
for my country's use."

"I knew very well where we should find you if the troubles ended in
a war."

"My present enterprise will be rather irregular, as I have already
said; but the delay it would cause alone prevents me from giving the
vessel to the Government at once."

"As a man-of-war, the Bellevite could not be used for the purpose you
have in mind. The plan you have chosen is the only
practicable one."

"Very well, Breaker. You had better pass the word through the ship's
company that the Bellevite will sail in an hour or two,—as soon as
I can finish my business; and if officer or seaman wishes to leave the
vessel, let him do so," added the owner, as he moved towards the
companionway.

"Not one of them will leave her under any
53
circumstances," replied the commander, as he went forward.

The word was passed, as suggested by the owner, and the result was to
set the greater part of the officers and men to writing letters for
their friends, to be sent on shore by the tug; but the captain warned
them not to say a word in regard to the destination of the steamer.

In another hour Captain Passford had completed his letters and
papers, including letters to the Secretary of the Navy, a power of
attorney to his wife which placed his entire fortune at her command, and
other documents which the hurried movements of the writer rendered
necessary.

The owner and his son bade adieu to the wife and mother in the cabin;
and it is not necessary to penetrate the sacred privacy of such an
occasion, for it was a tender, sad, and trying ordeal to all of
them.

All the letters were gathered together and committed to the care of
the lady as she went over the side to leave the floating home in which
she had lived for several months, for the family did not often desert
their palatial cabin for the poorer accommodations of a hotel on
shore.

54
The pilot departed in the tug, and he was no wiser than when he came on
board in regard to the intentions of the owner of the steam-yacht. There
was an abundant supply of coal and provisions on board, for the vessel
was hardly three days from Bermuda when she came up with Sandy Hook; and
the commander gave the order to weigh anchor as soon as the tug cast off
her fasts.

"I suppose we are bound somewhere, Captain Passford," said Captain
Breaker, as soon as the vessel was fully under way. "But you have not
yet indicated to me our destination."

"Bermuda. The fact is that I have been so absorbed in the tremendous
news that came to us with the pilot, that I have not yet come to my
bearings," replied the owner with a smile. "My first duty now will be to
discuss our future movements with you; and when you have given out the
course, we will attend to that matter."

Captain Breaker called Mr. Joel Dashington, the first officer, to
him, and gave him the course of the ship, as indicated by the owner. He
was six feet and one inch in height, and as thin as a rail; but he was a
very wiry man, and it was said that he could stand more hunger, thirst,
exposure,
55
and hardship than any other living man. He was a gentleman in his
manners, and had formerly been in command of a ship in the employ of
Captain Passford. He was not quite fifty years old, and he had seen
service in all parts of the world, and in his younger days had been a
master's mate in the navy.

The second officer was superintending the crew as they put things to
rights for the voyage. His person was in striking contrast with his
superior officer; for he weighed over two hundred pounds, and looked as
though he were better fitted for the occupancy of an alderman's chair
than for a position on the deck of a sea-going vessel. He was under
forty years of age, but he had also been in command of a bark in the
employ of his present owner.

"Of course we cannot undertake the difficult enterprise before us,
Breaker, without an armament of some sort," said Captain Passford, as
they halted at the companionway.

"I should say not, and I was wondering how you intended to manage in
this matter," replied the commander.

"I will tell you, for our first mission renders
56
it necessary to give some further orders before we go below," continued
the owner. "We have not a day or an hour to waste."

"The sooner we get at the main object of the expedition, the better
will be our chances of success."

"You remember that English brig which was wrecked on Mills Breaker,
while we were at Hamilton?"

"Very well indeed; and she was said to be loaded with a cargo of
improved guns, with the ammunition for them, which some enterprising
Britisher had brought over on speculation, for the use of the
Confederate army and navy,—if they ever have any navy," added
Captain Breaker.

"That is precisely the cargo to which I allude. The brig had a hole
in her bottom, but only a part of her was under water. The officers of
the vessel were confident that the entire cargo would be saved, with not
much of it in a damaged condition," added the owner.

"There has been no violent storm since we left St. George, hardly
three days ago," said the commander.

57
"I wish to obtain as much of this cargo as will be necessary to arm the
Bellevite properly for the expedition; and I have a double object in
obtaining it, even if I have to throw half of it into the Atlantic
Ocean."

"The fact that we need the guns and ammunition is reason enough for
trying to obtain the cargo."

"But I have the additional inducement of keeping it out of the hands
of the enemy, so that the guns shall be turned against the foes of the
Union instead of its friends. We must make a quick passage, so that, if
we lose this opportunity, it will not be our fault."

"I understand. Pass the word for Mr. Vapoor," added the commander to
a quartermaster who was taking in the ensign at the peak.

Mr. Vapoor was the chief engineer; though he was the youngest officer
on board, and really looked younger than Christy Passford.

CHAPTER V

THE BELLEVITE AND THOSE ON BOARD OF HER

Paul Vapoor was a genius, and that accounted for his position as
chief engineer at the age of twenty-two. He was born a machinist, and
his taste in that direction had made him a very hard student. His days
and a large portion of his nights, while in his teens, had been spent in
studying physics, chemistry, and, in fact, all the sciences which had
any bearing upon the life-work which nature rather than choice had given
him to do.

His father had been in easy circumstances formerly, so that there had
been nothing to interfere with his studies before he was of age. Up to
this period, he had spent much of his time in a large machine-shop,
working for nothing as though his daily bread depended upon his
exertions; and he was better qualified to run an
59
engine than most men who had served for years at the business, for he
was a natural scientist.

There was scarcely a part of an engine at which he had not worked
with his own hands as a volunteer, and he was as skilful with his hands
as he was deep with his head. Paul's father was an intimate friend of
Captain Passford; and when a sudden reverse of fortune swept away all
the former had, the latter gave the prodigy a place as assistant
engineer on board of his steam-yacht, from which, at the death of the
former incumbent of the position, he had been promoted to the head of
the department. While his talent and ability were of the highest order,
of course his rapid promotion was due to the favor of the owner of the
Bellevite.

Captain Breaker, who had rather reluctantly assented to the placing
in charge of the engineer department a young man of only twenty-one, had
no occasion to regret that he had yielded his opinion to that of his
owner. Paul Vapoor had been found equal to all the requirements of the
situation, for the judgment of the young chief was almost as marvellous
as his genius.

Paul was gentle in his manners, and possessed a
60
very lovable disposition; in fact, he was almost a woman in all the
tender susceptibilities of his nature; and those who knew him best knew
not which to admire most, his genius or his magnetic character. Mr. Leon
Bolter, the first assistant engineer, was thirty-six years old; and Mr.
Fred Faggs, the second, was twenty-six. But there was neither envy,
jealousy, nor other ill-feeling in the soul of either in respect to his
superior; and they recognized the God-given genius of the chief more
fully than others could, for their education enabled them to understand
it better.

Paul Vapoor and Christy Passford were fast friends almost from the
first time they met; and they had been students together in the same
institution, though they were widely apart in their studies. They were
cronies in the strongest sense of the word, and the chief engineer would
have given up his very life for the son of his present employer. The
owner favored this intimacy, for he felt that he could not find in all
the world a better moral and intellectual model for his son.

Mr. Vapoor, as he was always called when on duty, even by the members
of the owner's family
61
in spite of the fact that he seemed to be only a boy, appeared on the
quarter-deck of the steamer in answer to the summons of the commander.
He was neatly dressed in a suit of blue, with brass buttons, though some
of the oil and grime of the engine defaced his uniform. He bowed, and
touched his cap to the commander, in the most respectful manner as he
presented himself before him.

"For reasons which you will understand better, Mr. Vapoor, at a later
period, Captain Passford is in a great hurry to reach Bermuda, where we
are bound, at the earliest possible moment," the captain began. "Our
ordinary rate of speed is fourteen knots when we don't
hurry her."

"That is what I make her do when not otherwise instructed," replied
the chief engineer.

"You assisted as a volunteer in building the engine of the Bellevite,
and you were in the engine-room during the whole of the trial trip,
three years ago," continued Captain Breaker with a smile on his face;
and a smile seemed to be a necessity in the presence of the
young man.

"That is all very true, captain; and I was more interested in this
engine than I have ever been in
62
any other, and it has fully realized my strongest hopes."

"What speed did you get out of her on the trial trip?"

"Eighteen knots; but her machinery was new then. The order of Captain
Passford included the requirement that the engine of the vessel should
give her the greatest speed ever produced in a sea-going steamer, and
the Bellevite was built strong enough to bear such an engine. I believe
the company that built it fully met the requirement."

"What do you believe to be her best speed, Mr. Vapoor?"

"I have never had the opportunity to test it, but I believe that she
can make more than twenty knots, possibly twenty-two. You remember that
Captain Passford was in a desperate hurry to get from Messina to
Marseilles a year ago this month, and the Bellevite logged twenty knots
during nearly the whole of the trip," replied the engineer, with a
gentle smile of triumph on his handsome face, for he looked upon the
feat of the engine as he would upon a noble deed of his father.

"You made her shake on that trip, Mr. Vapoor."

63
"Not very much, sir. All the owner's family, including Miss Florry, were
on board then, and, if any thing had happened, I should have charged
myself with murder. I do not know what the Bellevite could do if the
occasion warranted me in taking any risk."

"I do not wish you to be reckless on the present emergency; but it is
of the utmost importance to save every hour we can, and the success or
failure of the expedition may depend upon a single hour. I will say no
more, though an accident to the engine would be a disaster to the
enterprise. I leave the matter with you, Mr. Vapoor," added the
commander, as he moved off.

"I understand you perfectly, Captain Breaker, and there shall be no
failure in the engine department to meet your wishes," replied the
chief, as he touched his cap and retired to the engine-room.

"I am waiting for you, Breaker," said Captain Passford, who was
standing near the companionway with Christy.

"Excuse me for a few minutes more, for there seems to be a strong
breeze coming up from the north-east, and I want to take a look
64
at the situation," replied the commander, and he hastened forward.

It had been bright sunshine when the pilot came on board: but
suddenly the wind had veered to an ugly quarter, and had just begun to
pipe up into something like half a gale. Captain Breaker went to the
pilot-house, looked at the barometer, and then directed Mr. Dashington
to crowd on all sail, for he intended to drive the vessel to her utmost
capacity.

The Bellevite was rigged as a barkantine; that is, she was
square-rigged on her foremast, like a ship, while her main and mizzen
masts carried only fore-and-aft sails, including gaff-topsails. The
shrill pipe of the boatswain immediately sounded through the vessel, and
twenty-four able seamen dashed to their stations. In a few minutes,
every rag of canvas which the steamer could carry was set. But the
commander did not wait for this to be done, but hastened to join the
owner.

"I suppose you don't want me, sir," said Christy, as his father led
the way into the cabin.

"On the contrary, I do want you, Christy," replied Captain Passford,
as he halted, and the
65
commander passed him on his way to the cabin. "I wish you to understand
as well as I do myself what we are going to do."

"I shall be very glad to know more about it," added Christy, pleased
with the confidence his father reposed in him in connection with the
serious undertaking before him.

"In the work I have to do, you stand nearer to me than any other
person on board," continued Captain Passford. "I know what you are, and
you are older than your sixteen years make you. It was at your age that
Charles XII. took command of the armies of Sweden, and he was more than
a figure-head in his forces."

"Sometimes I feel older than I am," suggested the boy.

"I believe in keeping a boy young as long as possible, and I have
never hurried you by putting you in an important place, though at one
time I thought of having a third officer, and assigning you to the
position, for the practice it would give you in real life; but I
concluded that you had better not be driven forward."

"I think I know something about handling a steamer, father."

66
"I know you do; though I have never told you so, for I did not care to
have you think too much of yourself. Now, in common with all the rest of
us, you are hurled into the presence of mighty events; and in a single
day from a boy you must become a man. You are my nearest representative
on board; and if any thing should happen to me, in the midst of the
perils of this expedition, a responsibility would fall upon you which
you cannot understand now. I wish to prepare you for it," said Captain
Passford, as he went down into the cabin.

The commander was already seated at the table, waiting for the owner;
and Captain Passford and Christy took places near him. The cabin was as
elegant and luxurious as money and taste could make it. In the large
state-room of the owner there was every thing to make a sea-voyage
comfortable and pleasant to one who had a liking for the ocean.

Leading from the main cabin were the state-rooms of Florence and
Christy. One of the four others was occupied by Dr. Linscott, the
surgeon of the ship, who had had abundant experience in his profession,
who had been an army surgeon
67
in the Mexican war, though his health did not permit him to practise on
shore.

Another was occupied by the chief steward, who was a person of no
little consequence on board; while the others were appropriated to
guests when there were any, as was often the case when the Bellevite
made short voyages.

The trio at the table began the discussion of the subject before them
without delay; but it is not necessary to enter into its details, since,
whatever plans were made, they must still be subject to whatever
contingencies were presented when the time for action came.

Forward of the main cabin was what is called in naval parlance the
ward-room, and it was called by this name on board of the Bellevite. In
this apartment the officers next in rank below the commander took their
meals; and from it opened the state-rooms of the first and second
officers on the starboard-side, with one for the chief engineer on the
port-side, and another for his two assistants next abaft it.

The commander was an old friend of the owner, and messed with him in
the main cabin, though his state-room was a large apartment
68
between the cabin and the ward-room; the space on the opposite side of
the ship being used for the pantries and the bath-room.

Before the conference in the cabin had proceeded far, the motion of
the steamer, and the creaking of the timbers within her, indicated that
Mr. Vapoor was doing all that could be required of him in the matter of
speed, though the pressure of canvas steadied the vessel in the heavy
sea which the increasing breeze had suddenly produced. Before night, the
wind was blowing a full gale, and some reduction of sail became
necessary.

The Bellevite had the wind fair, and the most that was possible was
made of this accessory to her speed. At one time she actually logged the
twenty-two knots which the chief engineer had suggested as her limit,
and inside of two days she reached her destination. Christy had suddenly
become the active agent of his father, and he was the first to be sent
on shore to obtain information in regard to the guns and ammunition, for
it was thought that he would excite less suspicion than any other on
board.

CHAPTER VI

MR. PERCY PIERSON INTRODUCES HIMSELF

Christy procured the desired information on shore; and being but a
boy, he obtained no credit for the head he carried on his shoulders, so
that no attention was given to him when he made his investigation. At
the proper time Captain Passford appeared; but, as the guns and other
war material were intended for the other side in the conflict, he was
obliged to resort to a little strategy to obtain them.

But they were obtained, and the Bellevite was as fully armed and
prepared for an emergency as though she had been in the employ of the
Government, as it was intended that she should be when her present
mission was accomplished. During her stay at St. George, such changes as
were necessary to adapt the vessel to her enterprise—such as the
fitting up of a magazine—were completed, and the steamer
sailed.

70
After a quick passage, the Bellevite arrived at New Providence, Nassau,
where she put in to obtain some needed supplies, as it was directly on
her course. Already there was not a little activity at the principal
foreign ports nearest to the Southern States, created by the hurried
operations of speculators anxious to profit by the war that was to come;
and later these harbors were the refuge of the blockade-runners.

The arrival of the Bellevite at New Providence created not a little
excitement among the Confederate sympathizers who had hastened there to
take advantage of the maritime situation, and to procure vessels for the
use of the South in the struggle. The steamer was painted black, and, as
she had been built after plans suggested by her owner, she was peculiar
in her construction to some extent, and her appearance baffled the
curiosity of the active Confederate patriots and speculators alike; for
both classes were represented there, though not yet in large
numbers.

Captain Passford had instructed the commander to conceal all the
facts in regard to her, and no flag or any thing else which could betray
her nationality or character was allowed to be seen.
71
The business of obtaining the needed stores required many of the
officers and men to go on shore, but all of them were instructed to
answer no questions. No one was allowed to come on board.

"Good-morning, my friend," said a young man to Christy, as he landed
on the day after the arrival.

"Good-morning," replied the owner's son, civilly enough, as he looked
over the person addressing him, who appeared to be a young man not more
than eighteen years old.

"What steamer is that?" continued the stranger, pointing to the
steam-yacht.

Christy looked at his interlocutor, who was a pleasant-looking young
man, though there was something which did not appear to be quite natural
in his expression; and he suspected that he had been placed at the
landing to interrogate him or some other person from the steamer, in
regard to her character and nationality. Possibly he derived this idea
from the fact that he had himself been employed on a similar duty at St.
George.

"Do you mean that schooner?" asked Christy
72
carelessly, as he pointed at a vessel much nearer the shore than the
Bellevite.

"No, not at all," replied the stranger. "I mean that steamer, off to
the north-east," replied the young man, pointing out into
the bay.

"North-east?" added the owner's son. "That is this way;" and he
turned about, and directed his finger towards the interior of the
island. "That would put the craft you mean on the shore,
wouldn't it?"

"Not a bit of it! I don't mean that way. Don't you know the points of
the compass?"

"I learned them when I was young, but I forget them now."

"Pray how old are you, my friend?" asked the stranger, who thought
his companion was stupid enough to answer any question he might put
to him.

"I was forty-two yesterday; and in a year from yesterday, I shall be
forty-three, if I don't die of old age before that time," replied
Christy, looking the other full in the face, and with as serious an
expression as he could command.

"Forty-two! You are chaffing me. Didn't you come from that steamer
over there?"
73
demanded the young man, pointing at the Bellevite again.

"No, sir. I came from China, from a place they call
Shensibangerwhang. Were you ever there?"

"I never was there, and I question if you were ever there."

"Do you mean to question my veracity?" demanded Christy, knitting his
brow.

"Oh, no, not at all!"

"Very well; and when you go to Shensibangerwhang, I shall be glad to
see you; and then I will endeavor to answer all the questions you desire
to ask."

"I thought you came from that steamer over there."

"Thought made a world, but it wasn't your thought that
did it."

"Of course you know the name of that steamer."

"Oh, now I think of her name! That is the Chicherwitherwing, and she
belongs to the Chinese navy. She is sent out on a voyage of discovery to
find the north pole, which she expects to reach here in the West Indies.
When she finds it, I
74
will let you know by mail, if you will give me your address," rattled
Christy with abundant self-possession.

"No, no, now! You are chaffing me."

"Do you know, brother mortal of mine, that I suspect you are a
Yankee; for they say they live on baked beans, and earn the money to buy
the pork for them by asking questions."

"I am not a Yankee; I am a long way from that."

"Then perhaps you sympathize with the meridonial section of the
nation on the other side of the Gulf Stream."

"Which section?" asked the stranger, looking a little puzzled.

"The meridonial section."

"Which is that? I don't know which meridian you mean."

"I mean no meridian. Perhaps the word is a little irregular; I
studied French when I was in the Bangerwhangerlang College in China, and
I am sometimes apt to get that language mixed up with some other. Let me
see, we were speaking just now, were we not?"

"I was."

75
"Sometimes I can't speak any English, and I had forgotten about it. If
you prefer to carry on this conversation in Hebrew or Hindostanee, I
shall not object," added Christy gravely.

"I think I can do better with English."

"Have your own way about it; but 'meridonial' in French means
'southern,' if you will excuse me for making the suggestion."

"Then I am meridonial," replied the stranger, and he seemed to make
the admission under the influence of a sudden impulse.

"Your hand on that!" promptly added Christy, extending
his own.

"All right!" exclaimed the other. "My name is Percy Pierson. What is
yours?"

"Percy Pierson!" exclaimed Christy, starting back with astonishment,
as though his companion had fired a pistol in his face.

"What is the matter now?" demanded Percy Pierson, surprised at the
demonstration of the other.

"What did you say your name was? Did I understand you aright?"

"I said my name was Percy Pierson. Is there any thing surprising
about that?" asked Percy, puzzled at the demeanor of Christy.

76
"See here, my jolly high-flyer, who told you my name?" demanded the son
of the owner of the Bellevite, with a certain amount of indignation in
his manner.

"You did not, to be sure, though I asked you what it was."

"What sort of a game are you trying to play off on me? I am an
innocent young fellow of sixteen, and I don't like to have others
playing tricks on me. Who told you my name, if you please?"

"No one told me your name; and I don't know yet what it is, though I
have asked it of you."

"Oh, get away with you! You are playing off something on me which I
don't understand, and I think I had better bid you good-morning," added
Christy, as he started to move off.

"Then you won't tell me your name. Stay a minute."

"You know my name as well as I do, and you are up to some trick with
me," protested Christy, halting.

77
"If you are a Southern gentleman, I must believe you, for I did not come
from as far north as I might have come. My name is Percy Pierson," added
Christy seriously; for he felt that this was actually war, and that the
strategy that does not always or often speak the truth was
justifiable.

"Percy Pierson!" exclaimed the real owner of the name. "Didn't I just
tell you that was my name?"

"Undoubtedly you did, and that is the reason why I thought you were
making game of me."

"But how can that be when my name is Percy Pierson?"

"Give it up; but I suggest that in London, where I came from, there
are acres of King Streets, almost as many Queens; and, though you may
not be aware of the fact, there are seven thousand two hundred and
twenty-seven native and foreign born citizens of the name of John Smith.
Possibly you and I are the only two Percy Piersons in the country, or in
the world."

"Now you say you are from London, and a little while ago you said you
were from farther north than I am. Which is it?"

78
"Isn't London farther north than any Southern State?"

"Enough of this," continued Percy impatiently.

"Quite enough of it," assented Christy.

"Will you tell me what steamer that is, where she is bound, and what
she is here for?"

"My dear Mr. Pierson, it would take me forty-eight hours to tell you
all that," replied the representative of the Bellevite, taking out his
watch. "If you will meet me here to-morrow night at sundown, I will make
a beginning of the yarn, and I think I can finish it in two days. But
really you must excuse me now; for I have to dine with the Chinese
admiral at noon, and I must go at once."

"I can put the owner of that craft in the way of making a fortune for
himself, if he is willing to part with her," added Percy, as his
companion began to move off.

"That is just what the owner of that steamer wants to do: he desires
to part with her, and he is determined to get rid of her. I have the
means of knowing that he will let her go just as soon as he can possibly
get rid of her."

"Then he is the man my father wants to see;
79
that is, if the vessel is what she appears to be, for no one is allowed
to go on board of her."

"I am sorry to tear myself away from you, but positively I must go
now; for the Chinese admiral will get very impatient if I am not on
time, and I have some important business with him before dinner," said
Christy, as he increased his pace and got away from Mr. Percy Pierson,
though he was afraid he would follow him.

But he did not; instead of doing so, he began to talk with a boatman
who had some kind of a craft at the landing. Christy was not in so much
of a hurry as he had appeared to be, and he waited in the vicinity till
he saw his Southern friend embark in a boat which headed for the
Bellevite. He concluded that his communicative friend meant to go on
board of her, thinking the vessel was for sale.

CHAPTER VII

A COMPLICATION AT GLENFIELD

The boat in which Christy had come on shore carried off to the
steamer the last load of supplies, and she sailed in the middle of the
afternoon. Captain Passford and Christy were standing on the quarter
deck together; and, as the latter had not had time to tell his father
his adventure before, he was now relating it.

The captain was amused with the story, and told his son that he had
been approached by a gentleman who said his name was Pierson, and he was
probably the father of the enterprising young man who had been so
zealous to assist in the purchase of a suitable vessel for the service
of the Confederates.

"Let me alone! Take you hands off of me!" shouted a voice that
sounded rather familiar to Christy, as he and his father were still
talking
81
on the deck. "Let me alone! I am a Southern gentleman!"

"I know you are," replied Mr. Dashington, as he appeared on deck,
coming up from the companionway that led to the cabin and ward-room,
holding by the collar a young man who was struggling to escape from his
strong grasp. "Don't make a fuss, my hearty: I want to introduce you to
the captain."

"What have you got there, Mr. Dashington?" asked Captain Breaker, who
was standing near the owner.

"I have got a young cub who says he is a Southern gentleman; and I
suppose he is," replied the first officer. "But he is a stowaway, and
was hid away under my berth in the ward-room.—Here you are, my
jolly frisker: and that gentleman is the captain of the steamer."

As he spoke, the officer set his victim down rather heavily on the
deck, and he sprawled out at full length on the planks. But he was
sputtering with rage at the treatment he had received; and he sprang to
his feet, rushing towards Mr. Dashington as though he intended to
annihilate him. But, before he reached his
82
intended victim, he stopped short, and eyed the tall and wiry first
officer from head to foot.

He concluded not to execute his purpose upon him, for he could hardly
have reached his chin if he resorted to violence. But he turned his back
to the captain, so that the owner and his son did not get a look at his
face. Captain Breaker walked up to him and began to
question him.

"If you are a Southern gentleman, as I heard you say you were, don't
you think it is a little irregular to be hid in the ward-room of this
vessel?" was the first question the commander asked.

"I am what I said I was, and I am proud to say it; and I don't allow
any man to put his hands on me," blustered the prisoner.

"But I think you did allow Mr. Dashington to put his hands on you,"
replied the captain.

"Of course I did not know that he was a Southern gentleman when I
snaked him out from under the berth," added the first officer.

"I accept your apology," said the prisoner, coming down from his high
horse with sudden energy; possibly because he felt that he had a mission
on board of the steamer.

83
All present laughed heartily at the apology of the giant mate, and
Christy changed his position so that he could see the front of the
stowaway.

"Why, that is the gentleman I met on shore,—Mr. Percy Pierson!"
exclaimed the owner's son, as soon as he saw the face of his late
companion at the landing.

"I am glad to see you again, Mr. Percy Pierson," said the original of
that name, as he extended his hand to Christy.

"I did not expect to meet you again so soon, and under such
circumstances," replied he, taking the offered hand; for his father had
proclaimed his own principle on board, that, though the war was not to
be conducted on peace principles, it was to be carried on in an
enlightened, and even gentlemanly manner, so far as he was
concerned.

"I am right glad to see you, Mr. Percy Pierson, for I think you can
assist me in the object I have in view," said the first officer's
victim, looking now as though he was entirely satisfied with
himself.

"What do you mean by calling each other by the same name?" inquired
Captain Breaker, somewhat astonished at this phase of the
conversation.

84
"That is the most astonishing thing in the world, that my friend here
should have the same name I have; and he even thought I was playing a
game upon him when I told him what my name was," replied Percy,
laughing, and apparently somewhat inflated to find a friend on
board.

"Precisely so," interposed Captain Passford, before the commander had
time to say any thing more about the name. "But, as you both have the
same name, it will be necessary to distinguish you in some manner, or it
may make confusion while you remain on board."

"I see the point, sir, though I do not expect to remain on board for
any great length of time; or possibly you may not," answered Percy.

"Then, I suggest that you be called simply Percy, for that is a noble
name; and the other young man shall be addressed as Pierson. By doing
this we shall not sacrifice either of you," continued the owner, who did
not understand what his son had been doing.

"I have not the slightest objection. My friend Pierson gave me some
information in regard to this steamer which made me very desirous to get
on board of her. That must explain why I was
85
found here under circumstances somewhat irregular, though a true
gentleman can sacrifice himself to the needs of his suffering
country."

"To what country do you allude, Mr. Percy?" asked Captain
Passford.

"To our country," replied Percy with strong and significant
emphasis, as though he were sure that this would cause him to be fully
understood.

"Exactly so," added the owner.

"But I see that you are sailing away from Nassau as fast as you can,
and I think I had better explain my business as soon as possible,"
continued Percy, who seemed to be as confident as though he had already
accomplished his purpose as hinted at in his conversation with
Christy.

"I shall have to ask you to excuse me for a few minutes, for I have a
little business with the captain of the steamer and this young man,"
said Captain Passford. "The tall gentleman who so gracefully apologized
for his seeming rudeness to you will entertain you while I am
absent."

The owner presented the tall first officer by name to his late
victim, and at the same time gave him a look which Mr. Dashington
understood to the effect that he was to keep the young man
86
where he was. With a signal to his son and to the captain, he went
below.

"I do not understand this masquerade, Christy," said he, as he seated
himself at the cabin table. "What have you been telling this young
fellow?"

Christy had only informed his father that he had been approached by
Percy, and that he had, as well as he could, evaded his questions, and
he had fooled the young man. He then gave the substance of the
conversation at the landing, which amused both the owner and the
commander very much; though he could not recall the Chinese names,
invented on the spot, which he had used.

"All right, Christy. This young man is evidently the son of the
gentleman by the name of Pierson who approached me for the purpose of
purchasing the Bellevite. I went so far as to tell him that the vessel
was for service in Southern waters. At any rate, he inferred that she
was intended for the navy of the Confederate States, and I did not think
it necessary to undeceive him. With this belief, he sought no further to
buy the vessel, and I had no difficulty in shaking him off. It seems
that the same mission absorbs the attention
87
of the son, and that he has come on board to purchase the steamer."

"Let Me alone, I am a Southern
Gentleman" (Page 81)

"I told him that you wanted to get rid of her, and that you would do
so soon, by which, of course, I meant that she was to go into the
service of the Government," added Christy.

"I should not have taken this young man on board; but, as he is here,
he may be of use to us. But it is necessary to conceal from him the real
character of the Bellevite, and we will keep up the farce as long as we
please. So far as he is concerned, Christy, you may be my nephew instead
of my son."

Captain Passford led the way back to the deck, where they found the
first officer evidently on the best of terms with his prisoner. But Mr.
Dashington had been as discreet as a man could be, and Percy had not
obtained a particle of information from him.

"Now, Mr. Percy, I am at your service," said the owner, when he
reached the deck. "I think you said you had some business
with me."

"I have not the pleasure of knowing who or what you are, sir; and Mr.
Dashington and my
88
friend Mr. Pierson are all I know on board by name," added Percy.

"Then you must be made better acquainted before any thing can be
done," replied the owner, pointing to the captain of the steamer. "Mr.
Percy, this is Captain Breaker, the commander of the steamer."

"And this," added Captain Breaker, pointing at the owner, "is Captain
Passford, who is the fortunate owner of this vessel, though she is soon
to pass into other hands."

"Captain Passford!" exclaimed Percy, bowing to both gentlemen as he
was presented to them. "That is a familiar name to me; and upon my word,
I thought it was Colonel Passford of Glenfield when I first looked
at him."

"He is my brother; but I never heard him called 'colonel' before,"
added the owner, laughing at the odd-sounding title, as it was
to him.

"Colonel Homer Passford is the name by which he is often called near
his residence," Percy explained. "He is the nearest neighbor of my
father, Colonel Richard Pierson."

"Indeed! then you probably know my brother,"
89
said Captain Passford, interested in spite of himself.

"As well as I know any gentleman in the State of Alabama," replied
Percy. "By the great palmetto! you are Colonel Passford's brother; and I
think you must know Miss Florence Passford, who has been staying all
winter with her uncle."

"She is my daughter," replied the owner with some emotion, which he
could not wholly conceal when he thought of his mission in the
South.

"I have met her several times, though not often, for I have been away
from home at school. But my brother, Major Lindley Pierson, I learn from
my letters, is a frequent visitor at your brother's house: and they even
say"—

But Percy did not repeat what they said, though he had gone far
enough to give the father of Florry something like a shock.

"What were you about to say, Mr. Percy?" he asked.

"I think I had better not say it, for it may have been a mere idle
rumor," answered Percy, who was now beginning to disclose some of his
better traits of character.

90
"Does it relate to my daughter, sir?" asked the captain rather sternly;
for, in the present condition of the country, he was more than
ordinarily anxious about his daughter.

"I ought not to have said any thing, sir; but what I was about to
say, but did not say, does relate to Miss Florence," replied Percy, not
a little embarrassed by the situation. "But I assure you, sir, that it
was nothing that reflects in the slightest degree upon her. As I have
said so much, I may as well say the rest of it, or you will think more
than was intended was meant."

"That is the proper view to take of it, Mr. Percy."

"It was simply said that my brother Lindley was strongly attracted to
your brother's house by the presence of your daughter. That
is all."

But the fond father was very anxious. Of course the major was a
Confederate.

CHAPTER VIII

A DISCONSOLATE PURCHASER OF VESSELS

The information in regard to Florry was very meagre and very
indefinite. She was a very beautiful young lady of eighteen; and it was
not at all strange that a young Confederate officer should be attracted
to her, though the thought of it was exceedingly disagreeable to her
father, under present circumstances.

Percy evidently was not satisfied with the situation; and after he
had given the information which had so disturbed the owner of the
steamer, he desired to change the subject of the conversation, to which
Captain Passford only assented after he realized that nothing could be
ascertained from him in regard to his daughter.

"I don't think I quite understand the situation on board of this
steamer," said Percy, when he had told all he knew about the visits of
his brother at Glenfield.

92
"What further do you desire to know in regard to her?" asked Captain
Passford; for the commander, when he saw that there was a family matter
involved in the conversation, was disposed to be very reticent.

"I did not come on board of this vessel in the manner I did—I
do not even know her name yet," continued Percy; and when he found that
he was talking to a brother of Colonel Passford, he dropped all his
rather magnificent airs, and became quite sensible.

"The steamer is called the Bellevite," replied the owner.

"The Bellevite. It is an odd name, but I think I can remember it. I
was about to say that I did not come on board of her, as I did, without
an object; for I assure you that I am high-toned enough not to do any
thing in an irregular manner unless for the most weighty reasons," said
Percy, with an anxious look directed towards the island, which was now
almost out of sight.

"I do not ask your reasons; but, if you wish to give them, I will
hear all you have to say, Mr. Percy," replied the owner.

"I talked with Mr. Pierson on shore; and
93
though he was disposed at first to chaff me, and avoid giving me any
information in regard to this steamer, he afterwards informed me that
the gentleman who owned her intended to get rid of her as soon as he
could."

"And you came on board for the purpose of buying her?" suggested
Captain Passford.

"I did not expect to buy her myself, of course; but my father is
exceedingly anxious to obtain a steamer like this one, and he asked me
to do what I could to obtain any information in regard to her. That was
the object which brought me on board of her in a clandestine
manner."

"You were very zealous in meeting the wishes of your father."

"More than that, I was at work in a good cause; and I think I have
patriotism enough to do my duty to my country in the hour of her need,"
added the young man, with a swell of the chest.

"After his family, a man's first duty is to his country," said the
owner.

"I wanted to go into the army, for I am eighteen years old; but my
father insisted that I could be of more service to the Confederacy as
his assistant in obtaining vessels for its use."

94
"I understand your motives."

"From what I learned from Mr. Pierson,—though I do not yet know
who or what he is," said Percy, bestowing a smiling glance upon
Christy.

"You may look upon him as my nephew," added Captain Passford,
glancing at his son, who gave a slight bow for the benefit of the guest
on board.

"From what I could learn from your nephew, sir, I concluded that this
steamer could be bought, if I could only obtain an interview with the
owner," continued Percy, with an inquiring glance at all who were
present "I understand you are the owner of the vessel, Captain
Passford."

"You are quite right: she has been my yacht since she was built, and
a stronger and more able vessel was never put into the water."

"Mr. Pierson gave me to understand that he was in sympathy with the
Confederacy; and since I came on board, and learned that you were a
brother of our nearest neighbor, I have no difficulty in arriving at the
conclusion that you are a devoted friend of the Southern cause."

"What I am, for the present, I do not feel at
95
liberty to say," replied Captain Passford, who was certainly reluctant
to play a double part before the young man, though he felt that the
necessities of the occasion required him to do so.

"Quite right, sir; one cannot be too cautious in these times. But it
is time for me to say that I did not intend to take passage in the
Bellevite, and I am sure my father will be very anxious in my
absence."

"May I ask how you did intend to proceed?"

"I can hardly tell myself, sir; but my object was to see the owner as
soon as I could discover who he was. But I have found you now, Captain
Passford, and I am glad to find in you a friend of our holy cause."

The owner only bowed; and it was as true as it could be that the
representative of the intended purchaser of vessels jumped at nearly all
of his conclusions, giving the captain but little occasion to say any
thing that was not literally true; though the deception was just as real
as though it had been carried on with actual falsehood.

"May I ask you for a few minutes in private, Captain Passford?"
continued Percy.

96
"Certainly;" and the owner retired with him to the weather-rail.

"I have seen this vessel, and I have heard what you say of her. Now I
am better informed in regard to her than my father is. I am not
authorized to name a price, but I am very sure that he will
buy her."

"So he said to me himself, Mr. Percy," added the owner with a
smile.

"He said so to you, sir!" exclaimed the young man, starting back; for
he believed that he had accomplished all that had been done towards
buying the vessel.

"I had an interview with him, and stated most explicitly that the
Bellevite could not be purchased by any person at any price; and when I
hinted very guardedly to him, as I do to you, in the strictest
confidence, that I am hound for Mobile Bay, he did not urge the matter.
He was satisfied that the steamer was to be used in a good cause; and I
can give you the same assurance, Mr. Percy."

The young man looked positively humble after he had listened to the
remark of the owner, for he felt that his father had "taken all the wind
out
97
of his sails." He looked in the direction of the receding island of
Nassau, and realized that he had been wasting his time, to say nothing
of the wasted strategy he had bestowed on his enterprise.

"You have stated that you are bound for Mobile Bay, sir," said he.
"That is a long distance from New Providence, as I have learned from
experience."

"But this trip will give you the satisfaction of being restored to
your own home in a very short time, for there is no faster vessel afloat
than the Bellevite," added Captain Passford.

"It will put me into the army," said Mr. Percy; but he felt at once
that he had made a slip of the tongue, and he hastened to correct the
effect of his involuntary speech. "Of course, I wanted to go into the
army of my country, as every patriotic fellow in the South does; but my
father objects simply because I can be of more service to the good cause
in another field of action, and I had to yield the point."

The owner thought he had not been guilty of a very savage yielding of
his own inclination, but he said nothing. He was evidently the youngest
child of the family, and doubtless the pet of his
98
parents; and it was hard for them to put him in a position to be shot,
or to endure the hardships of the camp.

"I see now that my mission is a failure, though with no detriment to
the good cause. I wish I was in New Providence again," continued Mr.
Percy, looking very much discontented with himself.

"I am sorry you did not speak to me on shore as your father did, and
that would have saved you from all annoyance."

"But I must beg you to do me the favor to put me ashore again, for my
father will suffer untold agonies when he misses me to-night."

"Put you on shore!" exclaimed Captain Passford. "You are a sensible
and reasonable young gentleman, and you will readily see that this is
quite impossible."

"We have not been out above two hours, sir," suggested Percy.

"But we have made thirty-six miles, at least, in that time; and to
return would delay me about four or five hours,—long enough,
perhaps, to defeat the object of my voyage. I assure you that it is
wholly impossible for us to return."

99
"Do you think so, sir?" asked the enterprising purchaser of vessels,
looking very disconsolate indeed.

"I not only think so, but I am perfectly sure on this point. You can
see for yourself that I cannot sacrifice the object of my
voyage—for the vessel has a special mission at her
destination—by a delay of some hours. I am not responsible for
your being on board, and I am sorry that I cannot do any thing
for you."

"But you can put me ashore at Key West, and I may find some vessel
bound to Nassau," suggested Percy, becoming more and more disconsolate,
as he realized the difficulties of his situation, for he was plainly
very much averse to returning to his home.

"But, my dear Mr. Percy, the Bellevite will not go within fifty miles
of Key West; and if she did, I should not dare to put in there, for the
port is a naval station of the United States, and my vessel might be
taken from me in the absence of any regular papers to explain her
character."

"I suppose you are right," added Percy gloomily.

Captain Passford was really more afraid of falling in with any naval
vessel of the nation than of
100
meeting any of the Confederate tugs or other vessels which had been
hurriedly fitted out, even at this early period of the war; for he knew
that his mission, however justifiable under the circumstances, was quite
irregular. He had decided to keep at least fifty miles from Key West,
and the usual course of vessels bound into the Gulf of Mexico.

"We may meet some vessel, and you could put me on board of her," the
disconsolate young man proposed.

"My mission compels me to give every vessel a wide berth, and I can
incur no risks. But it cannot be a great hardship for you to be conveyed
back to your own home."

"But my father needs me with him, and he will suffer terrible anxiety
when he fails to find me. He will even think I am dead."

"I know he must be anxious, but I think some way will be found to
send a letter to him."

"But I shall be compelled to go into the army, and my father is
utterly opposed to that."

"But you have a brother who is a major in the army, and I should say
that he will be able to save you."

101
"My brother is the one who insists that I shall go into one of the
regiments forming in the State. He called me a coward because I yielded
to my father and mother."

"All that is your own family affair, and I am sorry that I can do
nothing for you, Mr, Percy.—Mr. Watts," he called to the chief
steward, who was planking the lee-side of the deck.

"Here, sir," replied the official.

"Give Mr. Percy the best stateroom available, and see that he is made
as comfortable and happy as possible," added the owner.

The involuntary guest on board was conducted to the cabin.

CHAPTER IX

CHRISTY MATURES A PROMISING SCHEME

However interesting the voyage of the Bellevite might prove to be,
the purpose of this story does not admit of its details. Mr. Vapoor was
instructed to the effect that a quick run was desirable, and he governed
himself accordingly. At daylight on a bright May morning, the lofty
light tower of Sand Island, off the entrance to Mobile Bay, was reported
by the lookout, and the captain was called.

On the passage from Nassau, the guns of the steamer had been mounted;
for, as a measure of prudence, they had been put in the hold. Though the
owner hoped to avoid any close scrutiny of his outfit, and had succeeded
in doing so, he was not inclined to tempt fate by any carelessness. But
when the first watch was called, the night
103
before her arrival off the bay, every thing was in condition for active
service.

Captain Passford had not a particle of the foam generated by the
excitement of the times, and he sincerely hoped he should have no
occasion to use the guns which it had cost him so much trouble to
procure. Fort Morgan was on one side of the entrance to the bay, and
Fort Gaines on the other side.

He had seen a paragraph in one of his papers, to the effect that one
or both of these works had been garrisoned by Confederate troops, and it
was not likely to be an easy matter to get into the bay. As it looked to
the owner and the commander, the only way to accomplish this feat was by
running the gauntlet of both forts, which were just three nautical miles
apart.

A shot from either of them might go through the boiler or engine of
the Bellevite, which would render her utterly helpless, and subject all
on board to the fate of prisoners-of-war. It looked like a terrible
alternative to the owner, so overburdened with anxiety for the safety of
his daughter; but he was prepared to run even this risk for her
sake.

104
The method of getting into the bay had been fully considered by the
owner and the captain; and as soon as the latter came on deck, he
ordered the course of the vessel to be changed to the westward, as they
had decided to enter the bay by the Middle Channel. For the danger from
Fort Gaines was believed to be less than that from Fort Morgan, though
either of them doubtless had the means of sinking the steamer with a
single shot.

The water was shoal in the Middle Channel, and it was not prudent to
attempt to go into the bay at any other time than high tide; though
Captain Breaker was thoroughly acquainted with the channel, having once
been engaged in a survey of the shifting shoals in this locality, and he
had once before taken the Bellevite by this passage on a trip to New
Orleans.

As he could not foresee the time of the steamer's arrival off the
bay, he was obliged to consult his almanac, and make his calculations in
regard to the tide, which rises and falls less than three feet at this
point. It would not be safe to attempt the passage before nine o'clock
in the forenoon, and he headed the vessel away from the land.

105
Percy had tried to make the best of his situation, annoying as it was;
and Christy amused him with more Chinese reminiscences. Both of them
came on deck at an unusually early hour on the morning that the Sand
Island light was made out; for there was more commotion than usual on
board, and even in the cabin, where the owner and commander discussed
the situation.

"Here we are, my Chinese friend," said Percy, as he joined Christy on
deck, and made out the tall tower in the distance. "I wish I was on the
Island of Nassau, instead of here."

"Why, Mr. Percy, this is your own, your native land; and in China we
always used to have a warm affection for our own country," replied
Christy.

"You didn't have to go into the army there," said Percy with a
sigh.

"But don't you want to go into the army?"

"Certainly I do; that is the dearest wish of my heart. But my father
would not let me, and what could I do?"

"If you were bent on it, like a patriot, as you must be, you could
run away and enlist. I don't
106
know but I shall do that when I get back to China."

"I don't like to do any thing to make my poor father unhappy. I am
afraid my absence now, without his knowing where I am, or whether I am
dead or alive, will bring on a fit of sickness."

"But I am sure he would be very proud of you if you should run away
and join the army."

"Perhaps he would; but I should not feel very proud of myself if I
did a thing like that. I am only afraid I shall meet my brother, Major
Pierson, and that he will make me go into some regiment against the
wishes of my father and mother. He is not willing to hear a word from
either of them," replied Percy, disgusted with the prospect
before him.

"He is very patriotic," suggested Christy.

"He is altogether too patriotic for me. But don't misunderstand me: I
am really very anxious to go into the army, and fight the enemies of my
country."

"I see that you are, and perhaps you and I had better run away and
enlist."

"My conscience would not let me do that
107
contrary to the wishes of my parents," replied Percy, shaking his head
vigorously.

"But you may not see your brother the major; for probably he has been
ordered away with his regiment before this time," said his companion in
comforting tones, though he was not as sincere as he
generally was.

"I am afraid I shall; and I fear, that, in the absence of my father,
he would put me into the ranks in spite of all I could do."

"But your mother is at home."

"Lindley don't care a rush for what she says in this matter, for he
insists that a boy of eighteen ought not to be tied to his mother's
apron-strings when his country needs his services, I may see my brother
before we get fairly into the bay."

"Where in the world are you going to see him before you get on
shore?" asked Christy, becoming more interested in the conversation.

"I believe he is in command of the garrison at Fort Gaines, though I
am not sure," replied Percy, suddenly looking more disconsolate than
ever at the prospect of meeting his patriotic brother.

"What makes you think he is?" asked Christy,
108
with the feeling that he might be on the point of obtaining some useful
information.

"They talked of sending him there before father and I left for New
Providence."

"I supposed your brother was a young fellow like yourself."

"I believe he is twenty-six years old; but he has been two years in a
military school in North Carolina, and they say he is a good soldier,
and knows all about guns and forts and such things."

"Where do you think we are likely to overhaul him?"

"I don't know much about this business; but don't a boat have to come
out from the fort and see that this vessel is all right before she can
go into the bay?" asked Percy.

"I don't know about that. We may run into the bay without waiting for
any boat."

"Then they fire on you from the fort," suggested the
disconsolate.

"We rather expect that," added Christy quietly.

"You do?"

"Of course, a shot from the fort may blow us out of the water; but we
can't help that, and we must take our chances of being hit."

109
"But that is terribly risky business, and the whole of us may be killed
before we get by the fort."

"Of course: that may be the case; but we have no papers, and we have
to take things as they come."

"It isn't pleasant to take cannon-balls as they come, for they are
apt to hit hard. But they won't fire at us if a boat comes off to
examine the vessel."

"But in that case you will have the pleasure of meeting your brother
the major."

"And whatever he may do with the steamer, he will take me to the fort
with him, and put me into the ranks."

"Perhaps we can save you from such a fate in some way," suggested
Christy, who was already doing some heavy thinking on his own
account.

"I wish you would!" exclaimed Percy, catching at the straw held out
to him.

"There is time enough, and I will see you again," added Christy, as
he joined his father on the forecastle, where lie was taking a
survey.

The owner's son had an idea, and he thought it was a good one.
Without losing any time, he
110
laid it before his father, explaining it in detail. He was even ready to
remove objections to the scheme, and was confident that it would
succeed. Captain Passford called the commander, and informed him what
his son had suggested. Captain Breaker heartily approved it; for, if it
failed, it would leave the steamer in no worse position than before,
with all her chances of running the gauntlet successfully still open
to her.

Christy was the best person on board to manage the details, for he
was the most intimate with the son of the purchaser of vessels. He
returned to that part of the deck where he had left his companion. He
found that Percy was very anxious to see him again, for he had founded a
hope on what had been said before.

"I think we can manage it, Mr. Percy, if you will do just what you
are told to do," Christy began.

"I will do all that to the letter," protested Percy; and a smile
actually lighted up his face at the prospect of escaping the fate to
which his father and mother objected so strongly.

"You see the trouble with the Bellevite is that she has no papers;
not even a letter from the
111
Confederate agent who is picking up vessels for the navy. But I think we
can manage it if you will learn your part correctly."

"I will do that. Do you think you can really keep my brother from
taking me to the fort?" asked Percy, his tones and manner burdened with
anxiety.

"I feel almost sure of it."

"Good for you!"

"You must go into the cabin now with me. They are just starting up
the steamer again, and she will soon reach the channel where she is
going into the bay."

The owner and the commander were busy in instructing the ship's
company in regard to what would be expected of them as soon as the
Bellevite was in motion again. All the men spoken to smiled as they
heard what was said to them, and they evidently regarded the whole
affair as a decided pleasantry. But they all promised to be very
discreet, and to say only what they had been told to say if they were
called on for any information by Confederate officials.

In the mean time Christy was very busy with his pupil, who entered
heartily into the plan
112
which promised to save him from shouldering a musket in one of the
companies of his brother's regiment. He had been quite enthusiastic from
the first; and, as he was deeply interested in the result of the
adventure, he was a very apt pupil.

As the Bellevite approached the Middle Channel, a tug-boat was
discovered off Fort Gaines, which immediately began to move towards the
approaching steamer. Examined with the glass, a heavy gun was seen on
her forecastle.

CHAPTER X

THE ATTEMPT TO PASS INTO MOBILE BAY

The tug appeared to be one of the craft which had been hastily
prepared for service, and she did not look like a formidable vessel.
Captain Breaker was sure he could blow her out of the water with his
heavy guns, on an emergency; but this would be bad policy, and he did
not propose to do any thing of this kind.

He was not as confident as Captain Passford and his son were that the
plan adopted would be an entire success, with the assistance of Percy;
but there could be no harm in trying it. He intended to pass as near
Fort Gaines as possible, for it was not probable that the works were yet
in the best condition; and two miles from Fort Morgan, which was
doubtless much stronger, would afford a better chance of escaping any
shots fired from it.

114
As the Bellevite approached the channel, where there could not be more
than a foot of water under her keel, Christie came on deck, followed by
Percy. The latter wore a sort of naval uniform, which his instructor had
borrowed for him from his own stock. It fitted him well; for he was no
larger than the owner's son, though he was two years older.

Percy was to be on duty, on board of the steamer, as a Confederate
agent taking the vessel into the bay for service. He was not a little
inflated by the position which had been assigned to him, though he had
no powers whatever, except in appearance. He had been instructed to
conduct himself boldly, and to insist that the vessel was in his charge,
when she was boarded by officers from the tug or from the fort. His very
nature inclined him to play this part to the best advantage.

The blockade had been established at some of the northern ports of
the seceded States, but not yet at the cities on the Gulf of Mexico; and
the only real obstacle to the passage of the Bellevite into the bay
consisted of the two forts, for the tug-boats were not regarded as of
any consequence
115
to an armed steamer of great speed like the Bellevite,

"We are approaching the shoal water now," said Captain Breaker to Mr.
Vapoor, as the steamer came near the south-eastern end of Pelican
Island. "We may take the ground, for the shoals have an ugly trick of
changing their position. Let her go at about half speed."

"Half speed, sir," replied the chief engineer, as he descended to the
engine-room.

"Is it fully high tide now, Breaker?" asked Captain Passford, who was
watching the movements of the vessel with the most intense interest, for
it seemed to him that the critical moment in his enterprise had
come.

"Not quite; it will not be full sea for about half an hour," replied
the commander. "If we take the ground, we shall have some small chance
of getting off.—Mr. Dashington."

"On duty, sir," responded the first officer.

"Beeks has the wheel, I believe?"

"Yes; and Thayer is with him."

"They are both reliable men; but I wish you would stand by the helm,
and see that the steamer is headed directly towards the eastern end of
116
Dauphine Island. That will give us the deepest water till we get to the
spit. Have a man in the port and starboard chains with directions to
sound as fast as possible."

"Mr. Blowitt," called the first officer, "let a hand sound in the
port and starboard chains, and look out for it yourself, if you
please."

The second officer went forward and the first officer aft, each to
perform the duties assigned to him by the captain. The speed of the
Bellevite had been reduced, and she was going along at a very easy rate.
The tug was some distance beyond Fort Gaines when she was first seen,
and she seemed to be incapable of making more than six knots an
hour.

The steamer had taken on board all the coal it was possible for her
to stow away in her bunkers, and a large supply had been put into the
hold; but she had used a considerable portion of it in her rapid
passage, though she had still an abundant supply for her return voyage.
The reduction in the quantity had made her draught somewhat less, and
the owner and captain hoped she would get through the channel.

But the thought had hardly passed through
117
their minds before the Bellevite came to a sudden stop, and her keel was
heard grinding on the bottom. Mr. Vapoor heard the sound in the
engine-room, and felt the jar; and before any bell came to him, he had
stopped the machine, and reversed it so as to check the steamer's
headway.

"Run her back with all the steam you can crowd on, Mr. Vapoor," said
Captain Breaker, as he hastened to the door of the engine-room.

"I don't think she hit the ground very hard, captain," added the
chief engineer.

"No; she will come off. The ground has shifted since I was here
last," said the captain of the vessel.

But it was half an hour before she yielded to the pressure brought to
bear upon her, and then only because a few inches had been added by the
tide to the depth of water. She went back, and came into depth enough to
give her a foot under her keel.

"It don't look very hopeful," said Captain Passford, as he joined the
commander at the door of the engine-room.

"Oh, I think we shall be all right now!" replied Captain Breaker very
cheerfully. "I
118
have found where the shoal is now, and I know where to find deeper
water.—Keep her going astern, Mr. Vapoor."

"A boat from the fort, sir," reported a messenger, who had been sent
aft by the second officer on the forecastle.

"That looks like an inquiry into our business here," added the
owner.

"Now we are all right," said the commander, who was watching the
position of the vessel very carefully. "I must go to the wheel, and look
out for the course myself."

Again the Bellevite went ahead; and she soon reached a point half way
between the two forts, and her speed was reduced to not more than three
knots. But the tug was approaching, and the worst part of the channel
was still to be attempted. The two men in the chains reported the depth
as rapidly as they could heave the lead, and it was soon evident that
the steamer could not pass the extensive bar to the westward of the
ship-channel.

"Steamer ahoy!" shouted the captain of the tug, as he stopped his
screw within hailing-distance of the Bellevite.

119
"Reply to that hail, Mr. Percy," said the commander to the young
gentleman in uniform. "You must do all the talking."

"I shall be very happy to do it, and I think I can do it to your
satisfaction," replied Percy confidently.

"Jump up on the rail nearest to the tug, where you can see and
hear."

"I am not much of a sailor, Captain Breaker, and I don't pretend to
be one," added Percy. "What shall I say to the captain of that
boat?"

"On board of the tug!" shouted the agent of his father, after the
commander had instructed him in regard to his speech.

"What steamer is that?" demanded the master of the tug.

Captain Breaker instructed him in what manner to make his reply,
though he did not tell him what to say. The young man was to explain the
character of the vessel as he understood it; and neither the commander
nor the owner was disposed to indulge in any unnecessary strategetical falsehood,
though they felt that they could do so in the service of the Union.

"The Bellevite from Nassau," replied Percy.

120
"Is she a Federal vessel?" inquired the captain of the tug with the
greatest simplicity.

"A Federal vessel!" exclaimed Percy, evidently expressing by his
manner some of the indignation he felt. "Do you mean to insult
me, sir?"

"No, I do not mean to insult you; but it becomes necessary for me to
ascertain something more in regard to the steamer," returned the other.
"Where are you from?"

"I told you the vessel was from Nassau."

"But she don't hail from Nassau. Where did she come from before
that?"

"From Bermuda," answered Percy, as instructed.

"But she don't belong to Bermuda."

The volunteer agent of the Confederate cause was not able to answer
any questions in this direction, and the commander did not tell him what
more to say.

"Can you tell me who is in command of Fort Gaines at the present
time?" demanded Percy, branching out on his own account.

"I can; but I want you to tell me something more about the steamer,
before I answer any questions. Is the steamer armed?"

121
"She is armed; and she could blow your tug into ten thousand pieces in
four minutes if she should open upon you," added Percy; and the
listeners were of the opinion that he was beginning to use strong
speech.

"That may be; but with a fort on each side of you, I don't think you
will get into the bay in broad daylight," said the captain of the tug.
"The commander of Fort Gaines is in that boat, and I suppose he is
coming off to examine the steamer. As you are not disposed to answer my
questions, you can wait for him; but if you try to get into the bay, you
will find that a shot from both forts can reach you."

"I am an agent of the Confederate government, and my father has been
sent to Nassau to obtain vessels for our navy," continued Percy, as he
saw that the boat from the fort was still some distance from the
vessel.

"Why didn't you say so before?" demanded the captain of the tug
rather impatiently. "Of course you have some papers from the agent at
Nassau, to show what the vessel is."

"Not a single paper; he had no time to give me any."

122
"Who is the agent?"

The question was evidently put as a test; for if the young agent, as
the captain could see that he was, gave a known name, it would be some
evidence that he told the truth.

"Colonel Richard Pierson; and he is my father."

"Your father!" exclaimed the other, evidently impressed with the
fact, and his tone was more respectful.

"You can come on board and see her for yourself," suggested Percy,
prompted by the commander; for there was nothing on board to betray her
true character, the guns having been concealed.

"I will not do that, as the commander of the fort will soon be here,
and he may make the examination for himself. But perhaps you will be
willing to give me your name?" added the captain.

"My name is Percy Pierson; and, as I told you, I am the son of
Colonel Richard Pierson."

"Then you are the brother of Major Pierson, who is in command of Fort
Gaines. I think it must be all right."

123
"Of course it is all right. Do you think I would bring a vessel into
this bay if she were not all right?" inquired Percy with becoming
indignation.

"I suppose you have heard there is going to be a war, and it is
necessary to find out what vessels go into the bay," said the captain of
the tug, when he had brought his craft quite near the steamer. "That is
a very fine vessel."

"It is the fastest and strongest steamer that floats, and she will
give a good account of herself when the trouble begins in earnest."

"Here comes the boat from the fort, and I see that Major Pierson is
in the stern sheets. I have no doubt he will find you all right," said
the captain.

The boat came alongside of the Bellevite, and the major went on
board.

CHAPTER XI

THE MAJOR IN COMMAND OF FORT GAINES

Percy Pierson retained his position on the rail when his brother the
major came up the gangway steps, which had been put over for him. As the
latter went up, he could not help seeing him; and his astonishment
evidently mounted to the highest degree, as manifested in his
expression. The owner and the commander stood near the rail, to give the
visitor a pleasant reception.

But the major took no notice of them; for his attention was plainly
absorbed in his surprise at seeing his brother, dressed in uniform, on
the rail of the steamer. He halted as soon as he had mounted the rail,
over which he must pass to reach the deck. He looked at Percy for some
time, without being able to say a word, and seemed to be not quite sure
that it was he.

The younger brother was as silent as the older
125
one; for he had had some rather exciting times with him in the matter of
enlisting, and he was not very confident of his reception at the hands
of the commander of Fort Gaines. He looked at him with interest, not
unmingled with some painful solicitude for the future.

"Percy!" exclaimed Major Pierson at last, when he was entirely
satisfied that the young man was his brother, in spite of the uniform of
blue he wore, though the gray had not yet come into
extensive use.

"Lindley!" added the younger, evidently desiring to go no faster than
the occasion might require of him.

"I am glad to see you back again," continued the major, without
offering to take his hand. "You deserted like a coward, and I have been
ashamed of you ever since. A young fellow like you, eighteen years old,
who will not fight for his country, ought to lose the respect of even
his own brother."

"That is a pleasant greeting," replied Percy, with the suspicion of a
sneer on his face.

"It is all that a coward deserves," replied Lindley severely.

126
"I am no coward, any more than you are," protested Percy. "You know that
father did not wish me to join the army, though I wished to
do so."

"I know that you wished to do so just as any other coward
does,—over the left."

"What could I do when father told me not to go to the war?"

"What could you do? You could have gone! If you had not been a
poltroon, you would have joined the first regiment that came in
your way."

"I never was in the habit of disobeying my father," pleaded the young
agent.

"You were not? You ran away to New Orleans last winter when your
father told you not to go. You came home from the academy when he told
you to remain there. You have spent the evening in Mobile when he told
you not to go there. I could tell you instances all day in which you
disobeyed him, and mother too," continued the soldier warmly.

"That was different."

"It was different; and you could obey your father in a bad cause, but
not in a good one. I
127
am heartily ashamed of you, and I don't feel willing to own you as a
brother of mine."

"But my father told me that I could better serve the good cause by
going with him than I could by joining the army."

"And you were willing to go with him, for then you could keep out of
danger. Father is getting old, and he is not fit to serve in the army;
and you have been his pet since you were born. But that is no excuse for
you; and if I can get you back into the army, I mean to do so."

Percy was afraid he might succeed, and he did not feel as confident
as he had been; and he lost, for the time, some of his self-possession.
He was confronting the fate he had dreaded when he found the steamer was
leaving Nassau.

"What are you doing here?" demanded the major, looking down upon the
deck of the vessel for the first time.

"I am taking this steamer into the bay, where she is to go into the
service of the Confederate States," answered Percy, plucking a little
more confidence from the nature of his present occupation.

128
"You are taking her into the bay!" exclaimed the older brother.

"That is what I said, and that is what I mean," added Percy, glad to
see that his mission had produced an impression.

"Taking this steamer into the bay!" repeated the major, evidently
unable to comprehend the mission of his brother. "Do you mean to say
that you are taking her in, Percy?"

"That is what I mean to say, and do say."

"Are you the pilot of the steamer? I should think you might have
been, for she was aground just now," sneered the commander of the
fort.

"I am not the pilot, and I don't pretend to be a sailor; but the
steamer is in my charge," replied Percy, elevating his head to the need
of the occasion.

"In charge of the steamer! I would not trust a coward like you in
charge of a sick monkey," added Lindley, with his contempt fully
expressed in his face.

"See here, Lindley, I don't mean to be insulted on board of this
steamer by my own brother. If you can't be decent, I have nothing more
to say
129
to you!" cried Percy, his wrath breaking out quite violently.

"If you give me an impudent word, I will take you into the boat and
put you into the fort," added the major, as he stepped down upon the
deck.

"No, you won't. I will jump overboard before I will be carried to the
fort. I have done just what my father told me to do, to say nothing of
my mother; and I won't be insulted by you. It is you who are the coward
and the poltroon, to do so," continued Percy, boiling over with
rage.

Whatever provocation the major had had for his savage treatment of
his brother, the owner of the Bellevite thought his conduct was
unjustifiable. The young man was under age; and whether or not his
father was less a patriot than his older son, the latter was certainly
unkind, ungenerous, and even brutal. Without being a "milk-and-water
man," Captain Passford was full of kindness, courtesy, and justice. He
did not like the behavior of the major towards his brother.

It looked like a family quarrel of the two brothers on board of the
steamer; for Percy was evidently "a weak chicken," after all, though he
130
had become desperate under the stings and reproaches of the major. Under
present circumstances, it did not appear that Percy could be of any
service on board of the Bellevite, for his brother would not hear a word
he said. Captain Passford directed the commander to have every thing
ready for a hurried movement at once, for there was but little hope of
satisfying a man as unreasonable as the commander of the fort had proved
himself to be in his dealing with his brother.

The captain of the steamer went to Mr. Vapoor, who was standing near
the door of the engine-room, and said something to him, which soon
produced a lively effect among the coal-passers below.

"I will attend to your case in a few minutes, Percy, for I do not
allow any one to be impudent to me," growled the major.

"Nor I either. If you put a finger on me, I will put a bullet through
your head, if you are my brother!" yelled Percy, as he took a small
revolver from his hip-pocket.

This demonstration increased the anger of Lindley; and he ran up the
steps to the rail
131
again, where he called upon two soldiers to come on deck. At the same
moment, Captain Breaker, as instructed by the owner, rang the bell on
the quarter, and the engine began to move again. Before the men from the
boat could leave it, the steamer was moving, and it was no longer
possible for them to obey the order.

"What are you about, sir?" demanded Major Pierson, rushing to the
commander, not a little excited by what had been done.

"I think this thing has gone about far enough, sir," replied Captain
Breaker, as calmly as though there had not been a ripple on the surface
of affairs.

"But I came on board of this steamer to make an examination of the
character of the vessel," protested the major, who evidently did not
like the present aspect of the situation.

"I have waited for you to do so; but I do not care to lose the tide
while you are quarrelling with your brother, sir," added the
commander.

"But I order you to stop, sir!" continued the major.

"What am I to do, Mr. Percy?" asked Captain Breaker, addressing the
young man with a revolver in his hand.

132
There was something on the part of the commander which indicated that he
was playing a part, as were all on board, though he seemed to be a
little amused to find that he was taking his orders from a boy of
eighteen. At the same time he nodded his head slightly, though very
significantly, to the young agent.

"Go ahead just as fast as you can make the steamer travel, Captain
Breaker," said Percy, with as much energy as though he had been in
command of a Confederate fleet.

"Certainly, Mr. Percy; I shall obey your order, as you have charge of
the vessel," added the commander.

This passage between the authority of the steamer and his brother
absolutely confounded the major, and for a couple of minutes he was
unable to say any thing at all. But Captain Breaker, who was the only
pilot on board, was obliged to leave the ship's guest in order to look
out for the course of the steamer.

It seemed to be useless to attempt to get over the bar where he had
tried to do so; and he directed the vessel towards the main
ship-channel, finding plenty of water to enable him to
133
reach it. But he would have to run the gauntlet of Fort Morgan, and the
chances of a shot were against him.

"Do you mean to say that Percy is in charge of this steamer, Captain
Breaker?" demanded Major Pierson, who had by this time recovered some
portion of his self-possession.

"That is what both he and I said to you," replied Captain
Breaker.

"And the vessel is to be in the service of the Confederate States,"
added Percy, with more pluck than he had displayed before. "If my
brother will not let her pass into the bay, I will go on shore at Fort
Morgan, and explain the situation to the officer in command," blustered
Percy; and perhaps he would have done just as much under the
circumstances if he had known the vessel was on the other side in the
coming conflict.

"Where are your papers, sir?" asked the major.

"We have no papers; and that is why I am come in charge of the
steamer," replied the agent, who seemed to be quite able to strain a
point when necessary.

"We met Colonel Richard Pierson in Nassau,
134
and I believe he is your father and Mr. Percy's," answered Captain
Breaker.

"He is; but I can hardly understand how he happened to send my
brother home in charge of this fine steamer," said the major, glancing
at his brother.

"Going into the army is not all the duty a man has to do for his
country," said Percy warmly.

"May I ask where this vessel came from?" inquired the commander of
the fort.

"From New York before she went to Bermuda and Nassau; before that,
from England," replied the commander evasively.

"If you are really in charge of the steamer, Percy, I have nothing
more to say," continued Major Pierson. "Now may I ask who
owns her?"

"Captain Horatio Passford, who stands there?"

The officer in command of the fort started back as though he had
received another surprise, greater than before.

CHAPTER XII

HOW THE BELLEVITE PASSED FORT MORGAN

Major Lindley Pierson was plainly very much disturbed when the owner
of the Bellevite was pointed out to him by the commander. He had
practically retreated from the position he had taken with his brother,
and had apparently given up the idea of sending him to the fort to be
made a soldier.

From the point which the steamer had reached, just north of Little
Pelican Island, Captain Breaker had directed Mr. Dashington to head the
vessel to the eastward, through Sand Island Channel; and she was now
moving towards the main ship-channel, which passed under the very guns
of Fort Morgan.

The tug had picked up the boat from the fort on the other side of the
bay, and was following the Bellevite, though she had fallen a long way
136
behind her in a very short time. It was about two miles to the more
formidable fort, and the steamer was going at full speed, so that it
could not be long before a shot would interrupt the harmony of her
movements.

In the mean time the commander of Fort Gaines was really a prisoner
on board of the Bellevite, for Captain Breaker had started her screw
before he could get any of his force on board. But the major was not
half so much disturbed by this fact as he was by the consciousness that
he had behaved in a very rude, brutal, and tyrannical manner in the
presence of Colonel Passford's brother, who had thus far spoken not a
word to him.

"Captain Breaker, may I ask you to present me to the owner of the
steamer?" said Major Pierson, after he had looked about him for a time,
and perhaps considered how he should atone for his rudeness.

"Certainly, if you desire it," replied the commander, who was as
polite as though he had been brought up in Paris, though he was hardly
an exception to all naval officers.

"Will you excuse me if I say that you are
137
running at great speed, sir, and a shot from Fort Morgan cannot be much
longer postponed," added the major, as he glanced at the fort on the
right.

"I did not willingly start the steamer, sir; but it was my duty to
protect the agent in whose charge the steamer comes into port. If you
say that he shall suffer no further annoyance, either on your own part
or that of your people, I will stop the screw and wait your pleasure,"
said the commander.

"I have had some difficulty with my brother, and it looked incredible
to me that he had come into Mobile Bay in charge of this fine vessel. I
apologize to you and the owner for my rudeness, and assure you that I
will not trouble Percy again while he remains on board," continued Major
Pierson, with no little embarrassment in his manner.

"I accept the apology, and your explanation is entirely sufficient.
What happens to Mr. Percy after he leaves the steamer does not concern
me," answered Captain Breaker with a polite bow, as he went to the
quarter and rang the bell to stop her.

When he had done this, he conducted Major
138
Pierson to the quarter-deck, where Captain Passford and Christy were
seated, and formally presented him to both of them.

"I am most happy to make your acquaintance, Captain Passford," said
the commander of Fort Gaines, as he extended his hand to the owner,
which was taken, though the expression of the gentleman from the North
did not indicate that he was very well pleased with him.

To Christy he was as polite as to his father, and to both he was
almost obsequious. It was rather difficult for father or son to realize
that this was the man who had threatened to send his own brother to the
fort as a soldier, to say nothing of the abusive language he had
used.

"I am very glad to see you in the State of Alabama, Captain Passford,
and especially at this time," the major began; and it looked as though
the cordiality of his welcome was to compensate for former rudeness.

"I am not a total stranger here," added the owner rather coldly.

"It affords me a degree of pleasure I cannot express to see you come
here, as events are getting big all around us, and with such a fine
139
steamer. I am sure the Government will regard you as one of its greatest
and truest benefactors," continued Major Pierson.

"It is my intention to serve the good cause with whatever measure of
ability I may possess; but I do not care to say any thing at all about
my purpose till I have talked with my brother. I hope I shall find my
brother Homer in full sympathy with me in my views," added the owner,
though it was not a pleasure to him even to deceive an enemy.

"Colonel Passford!" exclaimed the major. "Have you any doubt
about him?"

"Hardly any, though I prefer to talk with him before I say much on my
own account."

"Colonel Passford is not a very demonstrative man, but no one in the
vicinity of Glenfield has any doubt as to how he stands on the great
question."

"I think no one will have any doubt as to how I stand, as soon as I
take my position."

"Certainly, sir, you will give no doubtful sound."

"I hope not."

"I came on board to examine this steamer
140
before we permitted her to pass the forts," continued Major Pierson. "I
find her in charge of my brother, in the absence of any letter from my
father or other Confederate agent. I humbly apologize for the rudeness
of which I was guilty, though I assure you I have had abundant
provocation for it."

"That is a family affair with which we have nothing to do beyond the
proper protection of the young agent in charge of the steamer."

"I wish to say that I am entirely satisfied, Captain Passford, and I
am heartily delighted to learn that you are about to make your residence
in this section of the country," said the major, who seemed to have
assured himself on this point without much assistance from those most
deeply concerned.

The owner looked at him, and tried to ascertain what was passing in
his mind; and it was not a very difficult enterprise to accomplish his
purpose. The hint he had received about the frequent visits of Major
Pierson at Glenfield seemed to explain the present operations of his
mind. Florry Passford was a beautiful young lady of eighteen, and any
young man of twenty-six could easily have
141
been excused for making his visits very often at the mansion in which
she resided.

Though the fond father was not disposed to interfere unnecessarily
with the choice of his daughter, even the hint that she might be
entangled more than a thousand miles from her home had given him a
positive shock. Now that he had seen the young man, and observed his
conduct on
board of the Bellevite, he most earnestly hoped that she was not in any
degree committed to him. He had an additional inducement to get her away
from the home of his brother, and the thought of it nerved him to
increased exertion. What he had seen of the commander of Fort Gaines,
though he appeared to be a faithful, patriotic, and energetic young man,
as he understood his duty to his country, assuredly he was not the
person he would have chosen for Florry. But his brother could tell him
more about it, and how far the matter had gone, when he
saw him.

By the time Captain Passford had settled his conclusions as far as he
could, the tug came up to the steamer, towing the boat from the fort,
Percy felt that he had won a victory over his brother, and a Bantam
rooster could not have
142
made a wider spread on the deck. He seemed to feel that he was in
command of the steamer, though he did not venture to interfere with any
thing on board.

"I am very sorry to have given you any annoyance, Captain Passford,"
said the major, as the tug came up to the gangway. "I think we should
have understood each other better if your steamer had not got
aground."

"We have suffered little or no inconvenience, sir."

"Whether you have or not, you shall suffer no more. The tug has come
alongside, and I will see that you are not delayed a moment after I can
get to Fort Morgan, which will certainly fire upon you if I do not
interfere; and I will go to it in the tug," continued the major, who was
still struggling to make all the atonement in his power for his former
conduct.

"You are very kind, Major Pierson, and I am under obligations to you.
I have not seen my daughter for nearly six months, or my brother; and
the sooner I meet them, the better I shall like it," replied the
owner.

"I have had the pleasure of meeting your
143
daughter several times, as your brother's plantation is next to my
father's. It is possible that, if the exigencies of the coming war
permit, I may desire to address a communication to you at no distant
day," said Major Pierson, with considerable embarrassment in his
manner.

Captain Passford made no reply to this remark; for he thought it was
entirely out of place under present circumstances, and hoped matters had
not gone far enough even to think of future formalities. The major shook
hands with the owner and his son, and then with the commander, and went
over the side. As he did so, he requested Captain Breaker not to advance
till he reached the fort, or at least not to attempt to
pass it.

The tug-boat went off on its course, but it was nearly half an hour
before it got near enough to the fort to allow the Bellevite to start
her screw. As there was nowhere less than three fathoms of water, and
Captain Breaker knew every inch of bottom, he directed Mr. Vapoor to
hurry the engine, so that no one should have time to change his mind.
The steamer shot by the fort as though she did not like the looks of
144
it, and in another half an hour she was out of the reach of its
guns.

The commander had piloted the steamer to her present destination
before; and there was plenty of water till she nearly reached the wharf,
where the planter could load small vessels with cotton. It was not
within the city of Mobile, though it was not far from it; and it was a
sort of low-ground paradise, which money and taste had made very
beautiful.

"What am I to do now, Mr. Pierson?" asked Percy, when the steamer had
come to her moorings alongside the wharf.

"That will be for you to decide, Mr. Percy: but you had better take
that uniform off before you live any longer, for I am afraid some one
will mistake your character if you wear it on shore," replied
Christy.

"I don't know that I shall go on shore," replied the agent
doubtfully. "I got by my brother very nicely, thanks to Captain Breaker;
for I should have been sent to the fort if he had not started the
screw."

"Do you think you are in any danger here?" asked Christy.

145
"I know I am. My father's house is over in that direction about half a
mile. My brother can leave the fort any time he likes; and he will
either do so, or send some of his men up here in the fast tug to
catch me."

"Why don't you go into the army, if your brother is so anxious about
it, Percy?"

"That is just what I want to do, but my father positively forbid my
doing so," replied the volunteer agent. "I should like to get back to
Nassau; for I know I shall be forced into the army, in spite of my
father, if I stay here."

"My boy," called his father, "I am going on shore now, and I should
like to have you go with me to see your uncle."

Christy was glad to do so; and he departed with the owner, leaving
Percy in charge of the commander.

CHAPTER XIII

A DECIDED DIFFERENCE OF OPINION

If Homer Passford was not a rich man in the sense that his brother
was, he was still a wealthy man, and lived in a style as elegant as that
of any nabob in the South. More than this, and of vastly more
consequence, he was a good and true man. He was a member of his church,
and his brother believed that he was a genuine and true religious man.
The same principles of justice, humanity, and fairness had been born
into both of the brothers, and inherited from the same father.

This was the brother whom he from the North was about to visit on the
most solemn and momentous questions which could unite or separate the
only two sons of the same father. Though Horatio had reasoned himself
into the belief that Homer was as strongly a Union man
147
as he was himself, he had argued without any adequate premises; and now,
when he was almost on the threshold of his door, he did not feel sure of
the position of his brother, though his hope was very strong.

It was with no little trepidation on this account that he rang the
bell at the front door of Glenfield. A few minutes or an hour or two
would settle the momentous question, and decide whether or not all the
family, as well as Florry, would take passage in the Bellevite for a
more Northern clime.

"De Lo'd!" exclaimed the venerable colored man
that came to the door. "De hull family done be wery glad to see you,
Massa 'Ratio."

"I hope you are very well, Pedro," replied Captain Passford, as he
gave his hand to the old servant. "Here is Christy."

"De Lo'd bless Massa Christy!" And he shook hands with the son as he
had with the father.

"Is your master at home, Pedro?" asked the visitor, in haste to see
his brother.

"Yes, sar; all de folks to home; jes' gwine to lunch. I spects dey
all wery glad to see Massa
148
'Ratio and Massa Christy. Walk in, sar; took a seat in de parlor; and I
done reckon we call Massa Homer and de rest ob de folks afore you gits
to sleep in yer char, thar," said Pedro, as he scurried out of the room
where he had shown the visitors.

It was Florry who caught the first sound of the visitors who had
arrived, and she rushed into the drawing-room before the others could be
called from up-stairs. She bounded into the room like a fawn, with her
eyes swimming with tears, and threw herself into her father's arms. She
could not speak a word, and the captain was as dumb as she was.

For a moment she remained folded in his arms, and then she gently
disengaged herself, to render the same wealth of affection in its
manifestation to her brother, who was standing by her father when she
darted into the room. But Christy was a boy, and not as demonstrative as
his father, though he discharged the duties of the affecting occasion
with becoming fidelity, so that the loving girl was sure that his heart
was where it had always been.

"Why, papa, I had no idea of seeing you
149
to-day!" exclaimed Florry, when she had wiped away her abundant tears.
"I did not know that I should ever see you again, for they say that all
the roads to the North have been closed to travel."

"We did not come by land, either by railroad or otherwise; and the
Bellevite lies at the wharf near this house," the captain explained.

"I was terribly afraid I should never see you again, and that I
should have to stay here till this war is ended, papa; but they say it
will soon be over," said the fair girl.

"I am afraid it will not be over for a long time, for each side is
firmly united in its own cause. But I could not leave you here. Do you
want to go back to Bonnydale, Florry?"

"Do I want to go back? What a funny question, papa!"
exclaimed she.

"Why is it a funny question?" asked the anxious father, recalling the
rather presumptuous suggestion the gallant major from Fort Gaines had
made.

"Don't you think I want to see mamma? You have not told me a word
about her; and it is a long time now since I have heard any thing.
150
I do want to go home, and especially I want to see mamma."

"Then you shall see her."

"Is she here, papa?" exclaimed Florry, leaping out of the chair in
which she had seated herself.

"She is not here, my child. She is at home, but it will not take many
days to bear you to her," replied the devoted father, embracing her
again, while she kissed him over and over again.

"Can I see her before the war is over, papa?" she asked.

"Certainly you can, if no accident interferes with my plans. You
really want to go home?"

"To be sure I do. How cruel it is of you to ask me such a
question!"

"Then I won't ask it again. But perhaps you will not be able to come
to Glenfield again for years," added Captain Passford, looking earnestly
into her face.

"What makes you look at me so, papa? What have I done? You look just
as you did when I was little and pulled the kitten's tail."

"It is a long time since I have seen you, Florry and I want to look
at you all I can."

"She was Clasped in her Father's Arms"
(Page 148)

151
"Then you may look at me as much as you wish; and I shall be thankful it
is not that Major Pierson who comes here, for he has stared me out of
countenance every time he came," replied she, blushing a little.

"Then you don't like him, do you?" asked her father, with more
interest than he cared to display.

"I like him well enough, but I wish he would not stare at me all the
time. He seems to think I am good for nothing but to look at," replied
Florry smartly.

But the entrance of Mr. and Mrs. Passford turned aside the inquiries
the captain was making before he had satisfied himself, though he had
obtained enough to afford him some hope. The greeting extended to the
brother and nephew was all that could be expected or desired; and if the
country had not been riven into two bitterly hostile sections, the
interview could not have been more brotherly and affectionate. A full
hour was used in talking about the trip of the Bellevite, so anxious
were the family, including Florry, to hear the particulars of the
voyage.

"But how in the world did you get here,
152
Horatio, when every public conveyance that leads into the South has been
discontinued?" asked Homer.

"I came as I came before," replied Horatio.

"You came in the Bellevite!" exclaimed Homer.

"I did."

"But how did you get by the forts? Both of them have been garrisoned,
and they have been ordered to allow no vessel to pass unless she give a
good account of herself," continued the planter.

"In other words, it is war now," added Horatio.

"Undoubtedly it is war; and, in my judgment, it will be a terrible
conflict before it is finished."

"I fully agree with you, Homer."

"But you did not tell me in what manner you passed the two forts,
which are already strong enough to blow your steamer into a thousand
pieces," suggested Homer.

"I did not tell you, and I think we had better understand each other
a little better before I say any thing at all about the passage of the
forts; though I can assure you that not a single shot
153
was fired at the Bellevite," said Horatio, somewhat embarrassed by the
situation.

"De lunch am ready, saw," said a darky at the door at this moment;
and perhaps the summons saved the owner of the Bellevite from some
further annoyance.

An hour was spent at the table, for there was enough to talk about
without meddling with delicate subjects. When the repast was over,
Florry invited her brother to look at the flower-garden, which was in
the height of its glory, and she was followed by Gerty her cousin, and
by Mrs. Passford. As in the Northern family, there were only two
children; but Cornelius, or Corny as he was generally called, was not at
home, though nothing at all was said about him.

Horatio was invited into the library by his brother, and they seated
themselves for a long talk. The owner of the Bellevite was confident
that he should soon know on which side the planter belonged, though he
was still confident in his former views.

"I suppose there is no other way for you to get here at the present
time except in your yacht, and not many men can command so elegant and
154
substantial a vessel as the Bellevite," said Homer, when they were
seated. "But what in the world do you expect to do with her down
here?"

"I intend to return to my home in her, and to take my daughter back
to her mother," replied Horatio, as unmoved as though he had uttered a
commonplace expression.

"Take Florry back to her mother!" exclaimed Homer, springing out of
his armchair as though his five-and-forty years counted for nothing. "I
hope that nothing at all is the matter with your brain, Horatio."

"Nothing at all, so far as I am aware, Homer. You seem to think it is
a great undertaking to take my daughter home," added Horatio.

"But it is war in this country, and all along the coast. You will
certainly be captured, and your daughter sent to a prison, at least till
she can be sent home. You have not more than one chance in ten to get to
New York."

"Do you think so?" asked Horatio, smiling.

"If you don't know it, I do, my dear brother, that the Southern
Confederacy has sent out agents to buy up all the suitable vessels they
can find, to do duty as cruisers and privateers. You are almost
155
sure to be captured, and think what Florry would suffer in such an
event."

"You seem to think that the North is going to hold still, and let you
do all this, Homer," added the owner of the Bellevite.

"I don't see how the North can help itself."

"My information is rather meagre; but I am informed that the
Government of the United States has proclaimed the blockade, and even
that it is enforced farther north, as I am sure it will be on the
south."

"That is all nonsense, Horatio, and you know it."

"I don't understand it so."

"How is it possible for the Yankee Government to station ships-of-war
on the coast of the Southern States? It is simply impossible," said
Homer, warming up with the argument. "The business of fitting out
vessels is already begun, I read in the newspapers; and it will be
pushed to the utmost."

"I am confident that every Confederate port in the United States will
be invested by one or more vessels within a reasonable time."

"But your steamer will be captured before
156
you can get home, even if you get out of Mobile Bay."

"I don't apprehend any difficulty on that account. If the Bellevite
can't keep out of the way of any thing that floats, she deserves to be
captured. She will belong to the Government within a few weeks," added
Horatio quietly.

"The Bellevite!" exclaimed Homer.

"The Bellevite, certainly. I should be ashamed to retain her a month
after I knew that the Union needs her, and the Union shall have her as a
free gift," added Horatio, quite as warmly as his brother had
spoken.

"You will give your steamer to the Yankee Government!" gasped Homer,
rising from his chair again, and darting across the room, as though he
was both shocked and disgusted at the conduct of Horatio. "You will
allow her to be used in subduing a free people? I am sorry."

Homer was very deeply grieved, and Horatio hardly less so.

CHAPTER XIV

THE BLUE AND THE GRAY

To Captain Passford the question seemed to be settled; and he could
no longer doubt that his brother fully sympathized with the leaders of
the rebellion, if he was not one of them himself. He was certainly the
most enthusiastic person he had yet seen on that side of the question.
But Homer was thoroughly sincere, for he never was any thing else on any
subject.

Horatio was unable to understand how his brother could reason himself
into the belief that secession was right, when the duty of saving the
Union was to him paramount; and certainly Homer was equally puzzled over
the political faith of Horatio. Until the darkness of evening began to
gather, they argued the tremendous question; and they discussed it ably,
for both of them were thinking and reasoning men.

But, when the darkness gathered, they were not
158
one hair's-breadth nearer an agreement; and probably if they had
continued to argue till morning, or even till the end of the year, they
would have come no nearer together. Each had a sort of horror of the
views of the other, though they had lived in peace and harmony all the
days of their lives.

"Homer, you are my brother; and I am sure that an unpleasant word
never passed between us," said Horatio, when the sun had gone down on
the fruitless discussion.

"Certainly not, brother; and it grieves me sorely to find that you
are upon one side, while I am on the other," replied Homer with a strong
manifestation of feeling. "I did not expect to see you at Glenfield; but
I felt sure that you would not be found, actually or constructively, in
the ranks of the enemies of the South."

"And I was equally sure that you would be found on the side of your
country,—the whole country, and not a miserable fraction of it,"
added Horatio, with quite as much warmth as his brother. "I came here in
the Bellevite as much to convey you to a place of safety, as to restore
Florry to her mother."

159
"My country is here in the South. I have no other country; and I shall
stand by it to the last ditch, wherein I am ready to cast all that I
have and all that I am. If you thought it possible for me to desert the
cause of the South, you strangely misjudged me; and I do not feel at all
complimented by the formation of your opinion of me," said Homer, with a
trifle more of bitterness in his tone and manner than he had used
before.

"I see how it is with you, Homer; and I realize that it is worse than
folly for us to discuss this important question. Your mind is made up,
and so is mine; and I fear that we might quarrel if we should continue
to bandy words on the subject. We had better drop it entirely, once
for all."

"Perhaps we had; but it grieves me sorely, even to think of my only
brother taking part with the hirelings of the North in an attempt to
subdue the free, untamed, and untamable South. It would not hurt my
feelings more to know that you were a buccaneer, roving on the ocean for
the plunder of all nations."

"You should also consider my feelings when
160
I think of you in armed rebellion against the best government God ever
allowed to exist; that my own brother is a rebel and a traitor, who is
liable to be shot or hung for his armed treason."

This was too much for Homer, and he gave vent to his emotion in a
laugh at the picture his brother had drawn. He walked the library, and
chuckled as though he were actually amused at the remarks of the other;
and perhaps he was.

"I am really and heartily sorry for you, Horatio. Your future, I
fear, will be terribly dark. Of course, all business will cease at the
North: the grass will grow in the streets of New York and other large
cities. You have an immense fortune, which I do not believe you can
retain a single year; for the war is not to be confined to Southern
soil, but will be carried into the North, where the expenses of our men
will be paid by the enemy."

"I think we had better confine our attention to the present, and let
the future take care of itself," said Horatio, with a smile at the
prophetic croakings of his brother.

"Be that as it may, though I feel confident that all I predict will
come to pass, I desire to
161
have one thing understood: when you have lost your fortune, or wasted it
on the hireling armies of the North, or on ships for its navy, you may
always be sure of a home at Glenfield for yourself and all your
family."

"If you do not lose or waste all that you have on the army of the
other side," added Horatio with a smile. "But I am ready to drop this
subject."

"It seems to be useless to continue it; though, if there were any
possible way to convert you from the error of your way of thinking, I
would struggle all night with you," said Homer.

"You cannot make a traitor of me, brother. But I must tell Florry to
pack her trunk at once."

"Pack her trunk? Why are you in such a hurry?" demanded Homer.

"Because this is not a safe place for me and mine; and I have my two
children with me."

"You ought to have left Christy at home."

"I think not. Though he is only sixteen, he has seen so much of the
world, and is so bright, that he is almost a man. He will go into the
navy within a few weeks, and I shall expect him to give a good account
of himself."

162
"He is rather young. Corny is eighteen, and he has already enlisted with
his mother's blessing and mine. But I think you need not be in such a
hurry, Horatio, to get away from here; for it is a long time since
we met."

"I have expressed my political sentiments very freely to you, Homer,
and you know as well as I do, that, if they were known, I should not be
safe a single day."

"Not quite so bad as that, for I think I should have sufficient
influence to save you from arrest," added Homer.

"The Bellevite cost me over half a million dollars, and she is worth
all she cost. If I were safe a single day, the steamer and ship's
company on board of her would not be. I brought them down here, and I
intend to take them back."

"And then you present this fine vessel to the Yankee Government, and
doubtless the men on board of her will go into the service of the
navy."

"I certainly expect as much as that of them."

"Then I question whether I ought to allow such a prize to pass out of
the bay for such a purpose," said Homer.

163
"Then, with such a doubt as that in your mind, I ought not to remain
here another hour," added Horatio quietly. "If you have gone far enough
in treason to betray your own brother, coming here to your home for no
warlike purpose, into the hands of the enemy, why, all I can do is to
look out for myself."

"I did not say that I should betray you, Horatio. It is simply a
question with me whether my duty to my country will allow me to let your
steamer leave these waters. I have not settled the question in my own
mind."

"I hope you will settle it soon. If I am to take my first step in
this fratricidal war by defending myself against my own brother, let him
speak, and I am ready," replied Horatio, shaken by an emotion deeper
than he had ever experienced before.

"Horatio, whatever you may do, whatever I may do, each in the
discharge of his duty to his country, his country as he understands it,
let us have no unfraternal feeling," continued Homer, almost as much
disturbed in his feelings as his brother.

"In other words, if you hand me and my vessel
164
over to your leaders, and consequently take from me the means of bearing
my daughter to a place of safety, I am to put my hand on my heart, and
say that my brother has done right, for I will not use any stronger
terms," said Horatio, struggling with his emotion.

"I must do my duty as I understand it," protested Homer. "The
question I put to myself is this: can I justify myself, before God and
my country, if I permit the finest steamer in the world, as you state
it, to be transferred to the Yankee navy, to be used in killing,
ravaging, and destroying within the free South? The steamer is here, and
within my reach. After all you have said, she would be the lawful prize
of any tug-boat in the bay that could capture her. I begin to realize
that I should be guilty of treason to my country in letting
her go."

"You must be your own judge in regard to that," replied Horatio
bitterly, as he rose from his chair and walked towards the door.

"One word more, Horatio. I look upon the Bellevite as already
belonging to the Southern Confederacy. Of course, being a private yacht,
she is not armed?"

165
Homer paused and looked at his brother as though he expected an answer
to this question; but the owner of the steamer made no reply.

"Do you say that the Bellevite is armed, Horatio?" repeated
Homer.

"I do not say any thing about it. I find that I am in the presence of
an enemy, though he is my own brother."

"Do not assume that tone to me, Horatio: it wounds me to the heart,"
said Homer, in a deprecatory tone. "If we are enemies because you choose
to oppress our people, I cannot help it; but we will still be
brothers."

"The attack upon Fort Sumter was made by the South; and thus far, at
least to the extent that I have been informed, the South has been the
assailant; and you say that I choose to oppress your people. They have
taken the sword, and they will perish by the sword."

Captain Passford could not trust his feelings any longer to remain
with his brother, and he left the room. In the hall he met Florry, who
had been lying in wait for him for over an hour. She threw herself on
his neck as she had done before; but she found her father full of
energy, and he
166
was not even willing to use his minutes to caress her.

"What is the matter, papa?" asked the fair girl, astonished at the
manner of her father, for she had never before seen him so agitated.

"Do not ask me any questions, Florry, for I have not time to answer
them now," said he hastily. "Go to your room and pack all your things as
quick as you possibly can, and without saying a word to
any one."

"Why, papa!"

"Not a word, my dear child," he added, kissing her.

"It will not take me five minutes, papa; for I have been packing my
trunk this afternoon, when I had nothing else to do."

"Where is your room, Florry?"

"It is on the lower floor, next to the library."

"I will be there in a few minutes. Dress yourself, and be ready to
leave at a minute's notice," continued Captain Passford. "Where is
Christy?"

"He went out about an hour ago, when he saw from the window a young
man I did not know," replied Florry, as she passed into her room.

Captain Passford wondered who the young man
167
was whom his son had gone out to meet; for no one was allowed to leave
the deck of the Bellevite who belonged to her, and he was not aware that
Christy had any friend in the vicinity. He was annoyed at his absence,
for he wanted him at that very moment.

Mrs. Passford and Gerty were up-stairs, where nimble fingers were
busily at work for the soldiers of the Southern Confederacy, as they
were also in the North for the Union. The captain looked all about the
house, but he could not see or hear of his son.

CHAPTER XV

BROTHER AT WAR WITH BROTHER

Captain Passford was very much annoyed at the absence of Christy at
that particular moment, for it seemed to be heavily laden with momentous
events to him and his family; though Christy could not possibly know
what had transpired in the library between the two brothers. He waited
very uneasily in the hall, after his return from his search.

Homer Passford did not come out of his library, and he sat brooding
over the remarkable interview which had taken place between the
brothers. No doubt he would have been glad to believe that he had been
wrong; for he had nothing but the kindest feelings in the world towards
his brother, and had never had in all his life. He was five years older
than Horatio; and, in their earlier life, he had been to some extent his
guardian and
169
protector, and he had never lost the feeling of boyhood.

But he had proved himself to be a patriot of the severest type, and
proposed to rob his brother of his steamer, his only means of conveying
his daughter to his home, for the benefit of the fraction of the nation
which he called his country, and more to prevent her from being
transferred to the navy of the Union.

While the captain was waiting in the hall, the library door opened,
and Homer presented himself. He invited his brother to return to the
apartment, for he had something to say to him; but Horatio positively
declined to do so, fearful that they might come to an open rupture if
the exciting discussion was continued.

"But you will hear me a moment or two, will you not, Horatio?" asked
Homer; and his lips quivered under the influence of his active
thought.

"I will as long as that," replied Horatio.

"I have been thinking of the subject of our conversation in relation
to the Bellevite; and I have something to propose to you, which I hope
will satisfy you, and at the same time will not rob our Government of
what now belongs to it."

170
"I am listening," added Horatio, as Homer paused to note the effect of
his proposal.

"You did not tell me how you got by the forts in your steamer, and
perhaps you are ready to do so now."

"I am not ready now; and I am not likely to be ready at any future
time to do so, Homer. You have indicated that we are enemies, and each
should keep his own counsels."

"Of course you will do as you think proper. I cannot reconcile myself
to the idea of permitting a fine steamer like the Bellevite, now
virtually in possession of the Confederacy, to sail away out of the bay.
I feel that I should be guilty of treason to my country to
do so."

"And you propose to steal her from your own brother, if you can. You
have done a large business in stealing forts, and one ought not to be
surprised when you propose to steal a ship," replied Horatio mildly but
sternly.

"I pass over the injustice and unkindness on your part of that
remark, and I hope you will accept my offer."

"Let me hear it as soon as possible."

"In spite of your present, unfortunate position,
171
Horatio, I believe you are still a man of truth, honor, and
integrity."

"Thank you, Homer."

"I do not wish to keep Florry here when her mother desires so much to
see her, and I have hit upon a plan by which you can do this without
making me a traitor to my country."

"It must have been a happy thought," added Horatio, somewhat
interested in what the other was saying.

"I think it was a happy thought, and I sincerely hope you will be
able to accept the plan. I have some little influence in this section,
and I have no doubt I can procure a pass for your steamer to go to sea,"
continued Homer, pausing to study the expression of his brother.

"Do I understand that you propose to do this, Homer?" asked Captain
Passford, not a little astonished at the apparent change his brother had
made in his position.

"On a certain condition, which you can easily meet."

"It looks as though you were becoming more reasonable. What is the
condition on which you will do this? For I should certainly prefer to
172
have no shots fired at the Bellevite while Florry is on board
of her."

"As I have said, your word is as good as your bond; and I am willing
to accept the consequences of the step I propose to take, since the
Confederacy will not suffer any loss or detriment on account
of it."

"It will not!" exclaimed the captain, beginning to see that he could
not accept the conditions.

"It will not. I could not injure or cheat my country, even to serve
my only brother, greatly as I desire to do all I can for him."

"But what is the condition, Homer?" asked Captain Passford, who had
by this time lost all hope of the plan.

"You shall take Florry to some point,—Bermuda, for
instance,—from which she can obtain passage to New York. Before
you go, you shall give me your simple word that you will return to
Mobile Bay with the Bellevite, and surrender her to the Confederate
authorities. I am entirely willing to accept your promise to do this,
without any bond or other writing."

"Is that all?" asked Horatio, hardly able to contain himself.

173
"That is all; what more do you desire?"

"Nothing; that is enough. I have already tendered my steamer to the
Government of the United States; do you think me capable of surrendering
my vessel to rebels and traitors, under any possible circumstances? I
would blow her up with all on board of her, before I would do such a
thing. You insult me by proposing such treachery to me. Not another word
about it, if you please!"

Homer returned to his library, and closed the door after him; for the
last remark of the owner of the Bellevite had excited him, and he could
not trust himself to remain any longer in the presence of his Union
brother.

"I am all ready, papa," said Florry, who had opened the door once
before, and found that her father was engaged.

"I cannot find Christy, but I hope he is not far off," added Captain
Passford, as he went into the room, and, to the astonishment of his
daughter, bolted the door after him.

"I did not know the young man he went out to see, but I noticed that
he looked something like Major Pierson," said Florry.

174
"Then it was the major's brother, and he came from Nassau with us on
board of the steamer. I hope neither of them will get into any trouble,
for all this country is in a very excited condition," said the captain,
as he carefully opened the window at the side of the apartment.

This was quite as singular a movement as bolting the door; and the
fair girl, who had heard some of the energetic conversation in the hall,
began to think that something strange was about to transpire in the
mansion. Her father spent some time in looking out the window; for it
was now quite dark, and he could not make out objects outdoors very
readily.

The window opened upon a lawn covered with orange, magnolia, and
other ornamental trees. The house was low on the ground, and it was not
more than three feet from the window-sill to the lawn. Without
explaining any thing, Captain Passford took his daughter's trunk,
carried it to the window, and then dropped it upon the lawn beneath.

"Now, Florry, I want you to get out at this window; and you can
easily step down upon the trunk," continued the owner of the
Bellevite.

175
"Get out of the window, papa?" demanded the maiden, with a look of
intense astonishment at her father.

"Do just as I tell you, my child, and don't ask any questions now;
for all will be explained to your satisfaction," replied he, as he
assisted her to a chair, by which she mounted to the window-stool.

She dropped lightly down upon the trunk, which had been placed in a
convenient position for her, and then to the ground. Her father followed
her; though he stopped long enough to close the window after him, and
leave every thing as it had been before.

"I think I can understand something about it, papa," said Florry, as
the captain joined her. "But am I to leave this house, where I have been
for six months, without saying good-by to uncle or aunt?"

"Not a word to any one, my child. I am sorry it must be so; but this
is a time of war, and I have no time to stand on ceremonies," replied
her father, as he picked up the trunk, and tossed it on his shoulder as
though he had done that kind of work before.

176
He walked off with a firm step, in spite of his burden, taking the
nearest way to the wharf where he had left the Bellevite. The distance
was considerable, and the millionnaire was obliged to stop and rest two
or three times; and, though Florry insisted upon helping him, he would
not allow her to do so. It was nearly ten o'clock at night when the
wanderers reached their destination, and were hailed by the vigilant
watch on the deck.

"Florence!" called the owner of the steamer when he was challenged,
and gave the word that had been agreed upon.

"Pass, Florence," replied the sentinel.

All the officers were still upon board, and Florry received a very
respectful greeting from all of them. Her trunk was carried to her
stateroom; and she soon followed it, for the excitement of the afternoon
and evening was rather too much for her.

"Is Percy still on board, Breaker?" asked the owner.

"He is not: he lounged about the deck till nearly night, and then he
said he would go up and see his mother, to which I had not the least
objection," replied the commander.

177
"I have no objection to his going where he pleases now, but the worst of
it is that Christy appears to have gone with him. They must have been
gone three hours, and I begin to be worried about my son. But no matter
for that now: we are ready to sail, and it is necessary to get out into
the bay, at least without any loss of time, Breaker. The tide is
right now."

Captain Breaker had not expected to leave so soon, and thought it
probable that the vessel would remain where she was for several days or
a week. But he had caused the fires to be banked, so as to be ready for
any emergency, though he did not anticipate any; for he reasoned that
the powerful influence of the owner's brother would be enough to protect
the steamer from interference.

The commander called all hands, and the owner requested that the work
be done with as little noise as possible. In less than an hour the
Bellevite was floating in the deep waters of the bay. But the owner was
far from easy; though, in spite of all his brother had said, he felt
that the steamer was safe for the present: he was not a little alarmed
at the continued absence of Christy.

178
Captain Passford had formed a very decided opinion in regard to Major
Pierson, and he did not believe that Percy had seen the end of his
troubles in the matter of joining the army. It was not over a three
hours' run in a reasonably fast steamer from the forts to the city, and
at least ten hours had elapsed since the Bellevite came up. Possibly the
major might wonder whether or not the coming of Captain Passford would
disturb the residence of Miss Florence at the mansion of her uncle. It
was not improbable that he had, or might, come up to look out for his
interests.

If he came across his brother Percy after he left the steamer, he was
likely to make a soldier of him; and it was unfortunate that Christy had
been his companion when last seen.

CHAPTER XVI

CHRISTY FINDS HIMSELF A PRISONER

Christy Passford had not gone out of his uncle's house for any
particular purpose; though he saw Percy, and joined him as he left the
mansion. He had visited Glenfield before, and he had some curiosity to
see familiar objects again. It was nearly dark, and he wondered where
the major's brother was going at that hour.

"Where are you going now, Mr. Percy," he asked, as he approached the
agent.

"I thought I would go up to the house and see my mother," replied
Percy. "Won't you go over with me? It is only a short distance."

"No, I think not: I don't care to go a great way from the house."

"It isn't above half a mile, and I am coming directly back
again."

180
"I will not go as far as you are going, but I will take a little stroll
as far as the gate. Where is your brother now?"

"I suppose he is at the fort. If I thought he were about here, I
should not leave the steamer. He has got it into his head that I must
join the army, and he will never be satisfied till I am there."

"He is certainly very much in earnest, judging by his conduct on
board of the Bellevite," added Christy.

"He pretends to believe that my not joining the army will be a
disgrace to the family; but, if my father don't think so, Lindley need
not worry his head about the matter."

"Your brother seems to have a very strong will of his own," suggested
Christy.

"He will send me into the army in spite of my father and mother; and,
for that reason, I don't mean to go where he can put his finger on me.
Of course, the Bellevite is going into the Confederate navy."

Percy looked his companion in the face, as though he had been
thinking of something which would benefit his own case.

181
"You will have to ask my uncle about that," replied Christy, not willing
to say any more than was necessary on this subject.

"There can be no doubt of it, and I would rather be in the navy than
in the army. I hope your uncle will be able to do something
for me."

"I don't know whether he can or not. For aught I know, the steamer
may be sent to England, or to some other country," replied Christy, as
they approached the gate, which was to be the end in that direction of
his walk.

"At any rate, I mean to stay on board of the Bellevite; and I shall
take my chances of getting a position of some kind on board
of her."

"What kind of a position do you desire?"

"I am willing to be one of the lieutenants, or something of that
kind," replied Percy with becoming condescension.

"One of the lieutenants!" exclaimed Christy. "Of course you know all
about handling a ship or a steamer."

"I can't say I do. In fact, I never went on the sea till I went to
Nassau with my father," replied Percy candidly. "But I can soon learn
all about it."

182
"A nice lieutenant you will make! Why don't you apply for the position
of commander of her?"

"I am willing to take a subordinate position till I learn something
about the business."

"That's right! Be humble at first, and you will be great
afterwards."

"I should have been willing to go into the army as a captain, or even
as a lieutenant; but I couldn't quite stand it to go in as a common
soldier, while my brother made a beginning as a major."

"I think I will not go any farther, Mr. Percy," said Christy, as he
halted near the gate.

"Oh, don't leave me now, Mr. Pierson! We are half way to my father's
house," Percy objected.

"I can't go any farther, for I may be wanted."

"You will be safe enough, Mr. Pierson, My mother is at home, and she
will be glad to see you."

"I think I will not see your mother to-night," added Christy, as he
turned, and began to retrace his steps towards the mansion of his
uncle.

Four Men Sprang in Front of Him (Page
183)

They had halted in the road near the gate, and on both sides of it
was a thick undergrowth of
183
small trees and bushes; and in the shade of this foliage it had become
quite dark. Christy had not taken three steps before four men sprang out
of the thicket in front of him, all of them armed with muskets, and
wearing a uniform of gray. Two placed themselves in front of Christy;
while the other two rushed after Percy, who took to his heels as soon as
he saw them.

The gate was an impediment to the latter; and before he could get
over or through it, the two soldiers had laid violent hands on him. He
could offer no effectual resistance, and it was evident that he was
frightened out of his wits; for he looked and acted like the ghost of
despair itself. The two men immediately tied his hands behind him; and,
though they did not use any undue harshness, they did their work
thoroughly.

Christy was even more astonished than his companion at this sharp
discipline. He did not regard himself as a fit subject for such
treatment, and he could not understand why he had been subjected to it.
He was not liable to do military duty, and Major Pierson could hardly
think of pressing him into the service of the Confederacy. His two
captors were as prompt in their action
184
as the two who had taken Percy, and his hands were also tied
behind him.

"Good-evening, gentlemen," said Christy, as soon as the soldiers had
bound him, and then stood in front to take a look at him. "Don't it
strike you that you are indulging in rather sharp practice?"

"We haven't any thing to do with the practice: all we have to do is
to obey orders," replied one of the men.

"But I think you have mistaken your orders," suggested the
prisoner.

"I think not: if we have, we will set things to rights at once,"
replied the man, who appeared to be the sergeant in command of the
party. "But our business is not so much with you as with the other young
fellow."

Upon this, Christy was conducted to the gate, where Percy had not yet
recovered any of his self-possession. For his own part, he felt that a
mistake had been made, which must soon be corrected. He knew nothing of
the wide difference of opinion which had suddenly become apparent
between his father and his uncle, and he was sure that the latter could
soon effect his release.

185
"This is an outrage!" exclaimed Percy, who perhaps felt that it was
necessary for him to say something, now that Christy had come within
hearing distance.

"Perhaps it is, Mr. Pierson," replied the sergeant. "But that isn't
any of my business."

"You will be held responsible for it, sir!" protested Percy.

"Perhaps I shall; but I shall obey my orders," replied the soldier
doggedly.

"Who gave you your orders?" demanded Percy imperatively.

"Well, I don't belong to the class in catechism, and I don't answer
all the questions that are put to me."

"My father will have something to say about this business."

"He can say all he likes, but he need not say it to me; for I only
obey my orders, and I have nothing to do with giving them."

"What are you going to do with me?" asked Percy, when he found he
could make nothing of the sergeant.

"I don't know what they will do with you; but I reckon they won't
shoot you, as they might a
186
fellow whose father was not a man of some consequence," replied the
sergeant, as he ordered one of his men to open the gate.

"Shoot me!" exclaimed Percy, evidently appalled at the bare
possibility of such an event.

"I reckon they won't do that," added the soldier.

"This is my father's plantation, and my mother is in the house,"
continued Percy.

"She can stay there: we shall not meddle with her."

"But you are going to take me away from her."

"You look like a stout young fellow, and you ought to be able to get
along for a while without your mother," chuckled the sergeant. "You
belong in the army; and I reckon you will have to go back to it, in
spite of your mother."

"I don't belong to the army," protested Percy.

"Well, they call you a deserter, anyhow."

Percy seemed to be overcome by this statement, and Christy thought
there was something more of his story than he had told on board of the
Bellevite. It was possible, after all, that Major Pierson was not as
much of a brute as be had appeared to be. But, if his companion was a
187
deserter, he certainly did not come under that head himself, and he
could not understand why he had been arrested.

"I suppose you don't claim me as a deserter, do you?" asked Christy
good-naturedly.

"I don't think they do," replied the sergeant, as pleasantly as he
had spoken himself.

"Then, why do you arrest me?"

"My orders were to arrest any person with Mr. Pierson; and that is
all I know about your case, and I am very sorry to give you any
annoyance. Things are a little mixed, and I hope they will soon get them
levelled down. If you don't object, we will march."

"I suppose you will march all the same, if I do object," added
Christy. "I was not aware that it was a crime here to be in the company
of that young man."

"I reckon I was ordered to arrest you as a matter of precaution; and
I dare say they will let you return as soon as we report to the major,"
said the sergeant, leading his prisoner through the gateway.

The other men took Percy by the arm; and, after they had closed the
gate, they followed the road for a considerable distance, and then
struck
188
across the fields. Not far ahead, Christy saw many lights; and he
concluded that this must be the location of the mansion of Colonel
Pierson, the father of Percy, and for some reason best known to himself,
the sergeant desired to avoid going very near it.

A march of a short distance farther across the field brought them to
a road, which they followed till they came to a wagon drawn by two
horses. The animals were hitched at the side of the road, and no one
seemed to be in charge of the team. But the sergeant halted his party at
this point; and, leaving the prisoners in charge of his men, he went to
the wagon.

"Major Pierson," said he; but no answer came to his question, and he
repeated it with no better success.

Then he mounted the seat in front of the wagon, and looked over into
the body of it. Then he reached over; and a moment later the form of a
man was seen to rise from a quantity of hay which filled the body.

"Is that you, Spottswood?" demanded the rising form.

"Yes, sir, I am here; and I have two prisoners.
189
One of them is your brother, and I don't know who the other is," replied
the sergeant.

"Are you sure that one of them is my brother?" asked the major.

"I am as sure as I can be, for I heard the other fellow call him
Percy two or three times before I stepped in front of them."

"Don't you know who the other one is?"

"I haven't the least idea. I arrested him as you told me, but I did
not question him."

The major ordered him to put his prisoners into the wagon.

CHAPTER XVII

MAJOR PIERSON IS PUZZLED

Two of the soldiers were placed at the rear of the wagon, one took
his place on the hay with Percy, while the major and the sergeant seated
themselves on the cushion in front. Spottswood took the reins; and the
officer told him to drive on, without saying a word to the
prisoners.

It was quite dark; and Christy had not the least idea where he was,
or where he was going. He could see that Major Pierson had sent this
party to arrest his brother, as Percy seemed to fear that he would do,
and had remained and slept away the time in the wagon himself. He had
been introduced to the major, and had been treated with "distinguished
consideration" by him. In view of the possible relations between him and
Florry, he did not feel much concerned about his own safety, though he
was sorry to have his father and sister worry over his absence.

191
"Then, it seems you have been in the army, after all," said he to his
fellow-prisoner, after they had gone some distance.

"I never belonged to the army," he replied decidedly.

"Did you put your name down?"

"Yes, I did; but I supposed I was to be a captain, or something of
that sort. When I found I must go as a common soldier, mixed up with all
sorts of people, I couldn't stand it. I applied for my discharge; but
they would not give it to me, and I went home without it."

"That looks very much like desertion," added Christy, and the major
went up somewhat in his estimation.

"But it was not desertion; for I applied for my discharge, and all
they had to do was to give it to me. They understood it so, for they did
not come to the house after me," argued Percy. "Then, when my father
went to Nassau, he took me with him. But the surgeon said I was not fit
for the army, for I had indications of varicose veins. My father sent
the certificate to the authorities, and applied for my discharge."

"Was it ever granted?"

192
"I suppose it was, but I don't know."

"If it had been, your brother would know about it."

"Will your uncle make you join the army, Mr. Pierson?"

"No: my uncle has no authority over me, and he cannot make me join
the army," replied Christy.

"Where is your father?"

"He was at my uncle's plantation. I think we have kept up this farce
long enough, Percy," said Christy, laughing. "My father is the owner of
the Bellevite."

"What did you tell me your name was Percy Pierson for?" demanded the
other prisoner.

"For the same reason that I told you the steamer belonged to the
Chinese government, and a dozen other things of the same sort."

"What is your name, then?"

"Christopher Passford; but I am commonly called Christy."

"Then, you have been fooling me?"

"You knew very well that I had been fooling you."

"Then, you are the son of the owner of the Bellevite."

193
"I am."

"Then, you can get me a place on board of her."

"Perhaps I can. We will see about that."

Christy doubted if their political opinions would permit them to
serve on the deck of the same vessel, but he did not suggest any thing
of this kind. He had been introduced to Major Pierson under his real
name, and he was certain to be identified by him as soon as the light
permitted him to see his face; and he had made the best of it by telling
Percy the truth before he found it out himself.

"You haven't told me who the other prisoner is, Spottswood," said the
major, when they had ridden some distance in silence.

"I don't know who he is," replied the sergeant. "I never saw him
before in my life, so far as I know."

"Didn't he tell you who he was?"

"He did not, and I did not ask him any questions."

That was all that was said about it; and the major relapsed into
silence, and Christy concluded that he had gone to sleep again. The
wagon continued on the journey, though at a very slow
194
pace, for the road could hardly have been any worse. At the end of about
two hours more, the vehicle halted near a sheet of water which looked as
though it might be a river, or an arm of Mobile Bay.

The road appeared to end at a rude sort of wharf; but there was no
person in the vicinity, no house, and no craft of any kind in the water,
so far as Christy could see when he was helped out of the wagon. Percy
was assisted to the ground also; and the two soldiers at the rear of the
wagon, who had gone to sleep, were waked, and ordered to
get out.

"We shall not want the wagon any more," said the major. "You can send
Boyce back to the house with it."

"It is five miles from here, and he will not get back till nearly
morning."

"We can wait for him. The Leopard will not be here for some
time."

"I think we ought to send two men, major," suggested the
sergeant.

"Why two?"

"For company: one of them may get asleep, and two will get back
sooner than one."

195
"They might as well all of them go, for they can do nothing here," added
the major with a terrific yawn.

Two men were sent away with the wagon. The most of the hay in it was
taken out; and with it the superior officer made a bed for himself, and
was soon asleep again. The sergeant and the remaining soldier took their
knapsacks from a tree where they had put them before, and it was decided
that one of them might sleep while the other kept guard over the
prisoners. Spottswood was the first to take his turn, and his companion
stretched himself on the planks of the wharf.

The sergeant brought out the knapsacks of the two absent soldiers,
and gave the blankets to Christy and Percy, both of whom were sleepy
enough to follow the example of the others. Spottswood assisted them
very kindly, spreading out the blankets for them, and covering them
afterwards; for, as their hands were tied behind them, they were almost
helpless.

The two prisoners soon dropped asleep; and they knew nothing more
till after daylight, when Christy was waked by the hissing of steam at
the
196
rude wharf. The two soldiers who had been sent away with the wagon were
asleep on the planks, though neither had a blanket. The major had not
been disturbed by the noise, for he was farther from it than the
others.

With some difficulty Christy got upon his feet, and looked about him.
A tug-boat lay at the wharf, with the steam escaping from her pipe.
There was nothing else to be seen in the vicinity. The sheet of water,
which was apparently half a mile wide, had a bend some distance from the
wharf, so that he could not see any farther; but he had no difficulty in
coming to the conclusion that the water was an arm of the bay.

On board of the Leopard, for the name was on the front of the
pilot-house, he could see only two men, one of whom came out of the
engine-room; and he judged that they were the pilot and engineer.
Doubtless the former was also the captain of the craft.

While one of the two men seated himself on the rail, the other came
on shore. He was a man of very small stature, and looked as though his
health was very poor. Indeed, his step was quite feeble, and he seemed
to have hardly strength
197
enough to handle his frame. As the tug had just come in, doubtless he
had been on duty the whole or a portion of the night, which may have
explained his exhausted condition.

"Good-morning, Captain Pecklar," said the sentinel on duty at the
wharf.

"Good morning, Tubbs. Where is Major Pierson?" asked the captain of
the Leopard, in a very faint voice.

"He is still asleep, and he has his bed at the foot of that tree
yonder," replied the sentinel, pointing at it. "How do you find yourself
this morning? Any better?"

"About the same; I am about used up for this world," replied Captain
Pecklar, continuing his painful walk towards the tree indicated.

"Is that the captain of the Leopard?" asked Christy.

"Yes, poor fellow! He came down here two years ago from somewhere
North, almost gone in consumption. He got a little better; but he is
worse again, and I don't believe he will last much longer," replied the
sentry.

"Has he been out all night on the steamer?" inquired Christy, who
felt that it was his duty to
198
obtain all the information he could in regard to this steamer, as it was
in the service of the commander of Fort Gaines.

"I don't know where he has been; but I suppose he has been on duty
all night, and that don't agree with him at all. We came up here
yesterday afternoon—Well, never mind what we have been about. I
forgot that you were a prisoner; and you may be a Yankee, for aught I
know."

Before Christy had time to make any reply, the sentinel walked away,
and the major was seen coming from his bed with Captain Pecklar. They
went to the wharf together, where they seated themselves on a box which
lay there. The prisoner turned away from them; and the major took no
notice of him, and did not appear to see him, or he would certainly have
identified him.

Christy's bed was just behind them, when they had seated themselves;
and he dropped down on his blanket, rolled it about him as well as he
could, and then pretended to be asleep, as Percy was still, in spite of
the noise of the escaping steam on board of the boat.

"What have you done with your men, Captain Pecklar?" asked the
major.

199
"I have just told you that the steamer had changed her position,"
replied the captain.

"I did not understand you," returned the major. "Do you mean that she
has left the wharf?"

"I do: she was out at least two miles from the shore," added Captain
Pecklar.

"Two miles from the shore!" exclaimed Major Pierson. "What does that
mean?"

"I don't know, sir. Lieutenant Dallberg did not know what to make of
it; and he decided to take his two men to the shore, and investigate the
matter. He directed me to report this to you."

"But when did the Bellevite leave the wharf?" asked the major,
evidently very much puzzled at what he regarded as the singular conduct
of the owner of the steamer.

"I don't know, sir. It was after ten o'clock in the evening when we
first saw her out in the bay."

"Was she at anchor?"

"I think not. I was ordered not to go very near her, and I could not
tell."

"Do you know whether or not Captain Passford is on board
of her?"

"Of course I do not. In fact, I know nothing at all about her, except
that she has left the
200
wharf and come out into the bay. I think I heard her screw in motion,
though I am not sure; and that makes me think that she is not at anchor.
Mr. Dallberg thought he ought to go on shore, visit Colonel Passford,
and obtain further information if he could."

The major ordered the captain to embark the party at once.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE MORNING TRIP OF THE LEOPARD

If Major Pierson had had any curiosity at all in regard to the person
captured by the soldiers with his brother, he appeared to have forgotten
all about him. He took no notice of him after he left his bed of hay,
but then he was evidently very much disturbed by the fact that the
Bellevite had left the wharf.

Christy Passford was quite as much astonished as the major when he
learned that the steamer had left her berth at the wharf, and he was
utterly unable to account for the change of position. The movement had
been made since he left his uncle's mansion; for at that time the two
brothers were still in the library, and he had no knowledge whatever of
what was passing between them.

The major ordered all his men on board the Leopard, and directed the
sergeant to conduct the
202
prisoners to the deck of the tug. Percy was waked when he was wanted,
and he had slept soundly till that time. With their hands still tied
behind them, they were conducted to the after-deck of the tug, where
there was a small space from which opened the stateroom of the
captain.

"I might as well jump overboard first as last," said Percy bitterly,
as he seated himself in the place assigned to him by Spottswood.

"It is hardly worth your while to do that, Percy. I don't think your
brother is likely to do you any harm," replied Christy.

"I would rather be drowned in deep water than be sent into the army
as a common soldier," said the victim, as he went to the rail and looked
over into the water.

But his companion was perfectly confident that he would not jump
overboard while his hands were tied behind him; for the chances were all
against him, though he might be willing to punish his brother by making
a demonstration in the direction indicated.

"The water is too cold at this time in the morning, Percy," said
Christy with a smile. "I think you ought to give your brother the credit
of having
203
the reputation of your family at heart. If I had a brother, I had about
as lief have him drown himself as desert from the army."

"I don't call it deserting," replied Percy rather warmly.

"You can call it what you like, but that is what it was."

"It is no use to talk with you about it. Where are we going now?"
demanded Percy impatiently.

"We are going to look out for the Bellevite, and perhaps you can get
on board her again," suggested Christy.

"Do you think I can?" asked the deserter with renewed interest.

"I am afraid your brother will look out too sharply for you. He has
you now, and he will hold on this time."

Christy had little sympathy for his companion. He was an able-bodied
young man of eighteen, with influence enough behind him to give him a
good show in the ranks if he did his duty. But he was the youngest child
of his father and mother; and he had evidently been spoiled by
indulgence, so that he was not fit for the stern duties of the present
emergency.

204
The steamer seemed to be very short handed, and doubtless part of the
work on board was done by the soldiers, for the tug seemed to be in the
employ of the fort. There was no crew, so far as Christy could judge,
except the captain and engineer; and both of these seemed to be
invalids, for the latter was so lame he could hardly go. The soldiers
hauled in the fasts, and seemed to be at home with this sort of
work.

The Leopard backed out from the wharf, came about, and headed down
the inlet, or whatever it was. She had hardly left the pier before Major
Pierson appeared on the quarter-deck, which had been assigned for the
use of the prisoners. His gaze was first fixed on Percy; for the other
prisoner was looking astern, in order to obtain some idea of where he
was, if he could, for he thought such information might be of some use
to him in the future.

"Well, Percy, how goes it now?" asked the major.

Christy heard the voice, which was the first he knew of the presence
of a third person, and he turned about. The major started back as
205
though he had seen his father with his hands tied behind him by his
order.

"Good Heaven! Mr. Passford!" exclaimed the major; and Christy was
satisfied that his astonishment was sincere.

"That is certainly my name: I haven't forgotten it, if I am a
prisoner with my hands tied behind me," replied Christy, as
good-naturedly as though he had had no grievance.

"This is all a mistake!" ejaculated Major Pierson, evidently greatly
disturbed by the discovery he had just made, as he rushed upon the
prisoner, turned him around, and proceeded to untie the line which
bound him.

"I thought it must be a mistake," added Christy.

"You must have been with this brother of mine. I told Spottswood to
arrest Percy, for be has disgraced himself and his family; and I told
him to capture whoever might be with him, for I did not care to leave
behind an informant of what had been done, for it would only have made
my mother feel badly. That is really the whole of it. I am very sorry
indeed that you were subjected to this annoyance, Mr. Passford;
206
and I assure you I will do all in my power to atone for my offence."

"I am satisfied, Major Pierson; and the only thing that disturbs me
is the fact that my father and sister will worry about my absence,"
replied Christy.

"You are no longer a prisoner, Mr. Passford, and you are at liberty
to go where you please."

"But my limits are rather circumscribed on board this tug."

"But I will soon put you on board your father's steamer."

"Thank you, sir; that is all I can desire."

"Can't you do as much as that for me, Lindy?" asked Percy, when he
saw that his brother was about to leave him.

"If you say that you will return to your place in your regiment, I
will release you at once," replied the brother.

"I won't do that," answered Percy without any hesitation. "But I want
to go into the navy. I am better fitted for a sailor than I am for a
soldier."

"The first thing is to wipe out the disgrace you have cast upon
yourself and your family,"
207
added the major warmly. "I induced your officers to look upon it as a
freak of a boy, and by returning to your duty you can soon wipe out the
stigma."

"I shall not become a common soldier if I can help it. My father and
mother will stand by me, if the rest of you do not," said Percy.

"That's enough; and you will go back to the army, whether or not you
are willing," added the major, as he turned on his heel.

Christy followed him to the forecastle of the tug, where a rather
heavy gun was mounted, which took up most of the space.

"Take a seat, Mr. Passford," said the major, giving him a stool,
while he took another himself. "It looks as though your father changed
his plans rather suddenly last evening."

"I was not aware of it," replied Christy.

"The Bellevite was taken from the wharf where you landed some time in
the evening, and came out into the bay, where she seems to be waiting
for something, I don't know what. As I understand the matter, your
father has sold the steamer to the Confederacy."

"Where did you learn that, Major Pierson?"
208
asked Christy, who had not heard any such story.

"You certainly came from Nassau?"

"We did."

"And you met my father there?"

"I did not meet him, but my father did."

"I understood that my father bought this steamer, or that he
bargained for her in some manner, for the use of the Confederacy."

"I was not present at the interview between your father and mine, and
I do not know just what passed between them."

"And I understood that he sent Percy to act as a sort of agent for
the delivery of the vessel; though it still puzzles me to comprehend how
my father should do such a thing, especially when he knew that the boy
would be arrested as a deserter if he showed his face anywhere near
Mobile."

Christy felt that his tongue might be a dangerous member, and he was
not disposed to talk about the matter at all. All the information which
the major had derived from Captain Passford and others had been accepted
from inference; for the owner of the Bellevite certainly had not said
that the steamer was for the use of the Confederacy,
209
and he would have blown her up rather than admit any thing of the
sort.

"It looked to me as though every thing was all right about the
steamer, or I would not have let her pass the fort; and the commander at
Fort Morgan was as well satisfied as I was, after I had explained the
situation to him."

Major Pierson looked at Christy as though he expected him to talk on
the subject before them; but the latter would not say any thing, for he
saw that he was in an extremely delicate position. He made some sort of
answers, but they amounted to nothing.

"I cannot understand why Captain Passford has moved the Bellevite
from the wharf," continued the major.

"I am as much in the dark as you are, sir. I spent the afternoon with
my sister, and my uncle Homer and my father were in the library together
all this time," replied Christy. "I have no idea what they were talking
about. Just at dark, I saw Percy pass the window; and I went out for a
little walk. I was arrested by your men soon after. Not a word had been
said in my hearing about moving the steamer. That is all I know about
the
210
matter, and I am as much surprised as you can be at the change which has
been made."

"I have no doubt that every thing connected with the steamer is all
right. I know that your father is a Northern man, but I am confident
that he will be on the right side in this conflict," added the
major.

"He will certainly be on the right side," said Christy; but he had
gone far enough to know that there were two right sides to the question,
and one seemed to him to be as honest, earnest, and resolute as the
other.

"We shall soon know something more about it," added the major,
evidently disappointed at not being able to obtain any information from
the owner's son.

The tug went out into the bay, and then changed her course to the
eastward. One of the soldiers went to the galley, and breakfast was
served to the major and his guest in the captain's room; and Percy was
released long enough to take the meal with them. But he was sullen, and
even morose, in view of the fate that awaited him.

"Boat just come round that point," said the
211
captain from the pilot-house, when the party had returned to the
forecastle.

Captain Pecklar seemed to be hardly able to speak; he was so
exhausted by his night watch, and by constant fits of coughing, that he
could hardly make himself heard.

"What boat is it, Pecklar?" asked the major, straining his eyes to
discover it. "I don't see it."

"Take my glass, and you can see it," added the captain, more faintly
than before. "I don't think I can stand it any longer, Major
Pierson."

"But we can't get along without you, Pecklar. We haven't another hand
that knows how to steer," replied the major, as he hastened up to the
pilot-house, followed by Christy.

Captain Pecklar had fainted and fallen from the wheel.

CHAPTER XIX

THE REPORT OF THE SCOUT FROM THE SHORE

Captain Pecklar had held out as long as it was possible for him to
stand it, and he had only given up when his senses deserted him. Major
Pierson raised him from his position on the floor of the pilot-house,
and, with Christy's assistance, bore him out into the air.

The wheel had gone over when the sick man could no longer hold it,
and the tug was beginning to whirl about in an erratic manner, when the
major rang the bell to stop the engine. The captain was carried down to
his room, and put into his berth, where one of the soldiers was detailed
to act as his nurse.

"I haven't a man on board that knows the first thing about handling a
steamboat; and I am not a bit wiser myself," said the major, when the
sick man had been disposed of. "Every man
213
that is fit to be made into a soldier is sent to the army; and we have
nothing but the lame, and the halt, and the blind to handle these
boats."

"It does not look like good policy," added Christy.

"Dallberg and his two men are soldiers, and they know no more about a
steamboat than the rest of us," continued Major Pierson. "It looks as
though we should have to stay here till some other boat comes along; and
that may be in three days or a week, for steamers have no occasion to
come up here now."

"Perhaps you may find a pilot among the men in that boat," suggested
Christy, as he looked about the pilot-house, where the conversation took
place.

The captain's glass was lying on a shelf in front of the wheel, and
he took a look through it in order to find the boat. After searching in
every direction, he discovered the boat, which was pulled by two men,
with a third in the stern-sheets. He indicated the position of it to the
major, and gave him the glass.

"That's Dallberg, without any doubt; but he must be five miles off.
He can't reach the
214
steamer for a long time," said the major, when he had examined the boat.
"But we shall be no better off than we are now when she gets here, for
not one of those in it is a sailor."

Christy was not a little interested in the situation; for he thought
his father must have gone on board of the Bellevite, or she would not
have changed her position. It was all a mystery to him as well as to the
commandant of Fort Gaines, and the boat in the distance had been to the
shore for the purpose of investigating it.

He had an idea in his head, and he continued to examine the interior
of the pilot-house till he found a number of paper rolls in a drawer,
which looked very much like local charts of the bay. He examined several
of them, and found one which covered the portion of the waters around
him. He had noted the direction taken by the Bellevite the day before,
and he had no difficulty in placing the inlet where she had moored at
the wharf.

"What have you got there, Mr. Passford?" asked the major, who had
been looking on the floor, thinking what he should do in his present
dilemma.

"You a Sailor?" (Page 215)

215
"It is a chart of these waters, which appears to have been considerably
improved with a pen and ink," replied Christy, still
examining it.

"That is the work of Captain Pecklar. They call him the best pilot
for Mobile Bay there is about here, though he has been here but two
years."

"Here is the inlet, or river, where we passed the night; and the
captain has marked the wharf on it."

"What good is the chart without a man that knows how to steer a
steamer?" asked the major, who was becoming very impatient in the
presence of the delay that confronted him; for the illness of Captain
Pecklar deprived him of the ability to do any thing, even to return to
the fort.

"You forget that I am a sailor, Major Pierson," said Christy.

"You a sailor? I thought you were the son of a millionnaire, who
could not possibly know any thing except how to eat and sleep," replied
the soldier, laughing.

"I have steered the Bellevite for a great many hundred miles, and my
father says I am competent to do duty as a quartermaster."

216
"You astonish me; and, as we are both engaged in the same good cause, I
am heartily delighted to find that you are a sailor."

"Probably I shall astonish you still more before we have got through.
With this chart before me, I have no doubt I can find my way about here
in the Leopard," said Christy.

"Then I give you the command of the steamer in the absence of Captain
Pecklar," continued the major. "This boat and another are in the service
of the forts; and if you don't want to join the army with Percy, perhaps
I can obtain the appointment for you, especially as you are hardly old
enough to go into the ranks. We will see about that."

"We will leave all that open for future action, if you please, Major
Pierson," replied Christy, as he rang the bell for the steamer to go
ahead.

The major watched him with the most intense interest, as though he
feared that the young man would prove to be a failure as a steamboat
captain. But the steamer went ahead at the sound of the bell, and in a
minute or two Christy had her on her course in the direction of the
approaching boat. He examined the chart very carefully, and
217
satisfied himself that there was water enough for the tug anywhere
outside the headlands which projected into the hay.

The Leopard held her course as steadily as though the sick captain
were still at the wheel; and the major was entirely satisfied with the
qualifications of the new master, after he had watched him for a
while.

"Spottswood, how is the captain?" called the major from the
pilot-house.

"Just the same: he don't seem to be any better," replied the
sergeant.

"He ought to have a doctor; for the poor fellow may die here, away
from any proper attendance," said the major, with more feeling than the
new captain supposed he possessed.

"There is a very skilful surgeon on board of the Bellevite,"
suggested Christy. "Dr. Linscott served in the army in Mexico, and had a
large practice in New York."

"Then he shall see Pecklar. Dr. Linscott is just the sort of a
surgeon we want in our army; and I suppose he would not be on board of
the Bellevite if he was not of our way of thinking," added the
major.

218
Christy knew he was nothing but a Union man, and not of the way of
thinking which the soldier suggested: so he said nothing. The Leopard
was a faster tug than the one which had come off from Fort Gaines, and
she came up with the boat which contained Lieutenant Dallberg and his
two men, the latter of whom were nearly exhausted with the long pull
they had taken; for, as they were not sailors, they did not row to the
best advantage.

The new captain rang the bell to stop her, as soon as the boat came
near, and the party came on board. The two men seated themselves on the
rail as though they never intended to do another stroke of work, for
they had been using the oars most of the time since the evening
before.

"Come up here, Dallberg," called the major from the pilot-house.

The lieutenant looked as though he had just been through one war; for
he had slept none the night before, and had been on duty without
intermission. He came to the hurricane-deck, and entered the
pilot-house, where he dropped on the sofa abaft the wheel as though he
were not in much better condition than the captain when he fell at his
post.

219
"You have made a night of it, Dallberg," the major began, seating
himself by the side of the lieutenant.

"I am about used up, major. I believe I walked ten miles on shore;
and I am not as strong as I wish I was," replied Mr. Dallberg. "But I
found out all I wanted to know, and I expected the Leopard would be
somewhere near the creek."

"I beg your pardon, Major Pierson," said Christy, who was standing at
the wheel. "What am I to do now?"

"I will tell you in a moment.—Can you tell me, Dallberg, where
the Bellevite is at the present time?" asked the major, turning to the
lieutenant.

"She seems to be running up and down across the head of the bay. She
is beyond that point now, and you will see her when you go within a mile
of the land," replied the lieutenant.

"Have you been near her?"

"Not within a mile of her, I should say."

"All right, you may head her within a mile of that point, Captain
Passford," added the major; and Christy rang to go ahead.

When the major applied this high-sounding
220
title to the new captain, the lieutenant opened his eyes a little; but
he asked no questions, for he had learned as he came on board that
Captain Pecklar had fainted at his post.

"Well, what have you been about, Dallberg?" asked the major rather
impatiently, as soon as the boat was under way again.

"Walking, talking, and rowing most of the time. As the poet says,
'Things are not what they seem,'" replied the scout; for such appeared
to be the duty in which he had been engaged.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Major Pierson, opening his eyes
very wide.

"We discovered that the steamer had left the wharf last night, and
you sent me to investigate when you started off in that wagon."

"That's so; and Pecklar reported to me early this morning that the
steamer had left the wharf, and was standing off and on in
the bay."

"I went ashore in the evening, leaving Pecklar to watch the steamer.
I don't know any thing about his movements."

"He reported to me this morning about daylight. It is all right as
far as he is concerned. What have you done?"

221
"I landed at the wharf where the Bellevite had been moored, about eleven
o'clock, I should say, for I could not see my watch. I went up to
Colonel Passford's house, and found it all in commotion."

"What was the matter?"

"Colonel Passford was not there: he had gone off to procure
assistance."

"Assistance for what?" demanded the major. "You are sleepy, Dallberg,
and you are mixing your story."

"I am sleepy and exhausted, but I will try to do better. I saw Mrs.
Passford. She told me that her brother-in-law, Captain Horatio Passford,
had come to the house that day, with his son; and you are aware, I
believe, that his daughter, Miss Florence, has been there all
winter."

"I know all about that. Go ahead, Dallberg."

"The two brothers had been shut up in the library all the afternoon,
engaged in an earnest discussion; though the colonel's wife did not know
what it was about. Captain Horatio left Colonel Homer in the library
some time in the evening, and the colonel remained there till after ten.
Then it was found that the captain had left the
222
house secretly, with his daughter and his son; though some of the
servants had seen the young man going up the road with Percy
Pierson."

"Exactly so; never mind the young man now. The captain had left the
house, and his daughter went with him?" repeated the major, beginning to
be a good deal excited.

"The house was searched, but they could not be found; and the young
lady's trunk had been removed from her room. Then the colonel went down
to the wharf, and found that the Bellevite had left."

Major Pierson sprang to his feet, hardly able to contain himself.

CHAPTER XX

A REBELLION IN THE PILOT-HOUSE

Captain Passford had obtained the idea, from the fact that Florry did
not like to have the major gaze at her all the time, that she was not
very deeply interested in him; and the conclusion afforded him a great
deal of satisfaction. She did not like to leave her uncle and aunt and
her two cousins without saying good-by to them; but she had not said a
word about the military gentleman who was supposed to have made frequent
visits at the mansion on her account.

When Lieutenant Dallberg informed Major Pierson that Miss Florry had
left the house, and that her trunk had been removed, indicating that she
did not intend to return, the effect upon him was very decided. However
it may have been with the young lady, it was plain enough
224
that he was stirred to the very centre of his being.

"Then Captain Passford has left the mansion?" said the Major, after
he had strode several times across the little pilot-house, as he halted
in front of the lieutenant.

"No doubt of that; the family and the servants hunted the house all
over in search of him and his daughter," replied Mr. Dallberg with a
yawn.

"Well, what did Colonel Passford say about him?" demanded the
major.

"He was not at the house when I got there. As I said, he had gone for
assistance. I could do nothing till I had seen him. I sent my men on
ahead to look for him, and then I went myself. We did not find him till
one o'clock in the morning. He had given up all his horses for the
service, and we had to go on foot," continued the lieutenant.

"But you saw Colonel Passford?"

"I did; but he had been unable to find the persons of whom he had
been in search, and he could procure no such assistance as he wished. I
walked back to his mansion with him. At first he was not inclined to say
any thing to me; but
225
when I told him that you were over here in the Leopard to look out for
the steamer, he had more confidence in me."

"Well, what did he say?" asked the major impatiently.

"He would not say any thing till I had told him all I knew, including
the manner in which the steamer had passed the forts. By this time we
had reached his house, and we seated ourselves in the library."

"You need not stop to describe the chairs or the sofa," interposed
the excited commandant of the fort.

"I will not; but, if I omit any thing, it will not be my fault," said
the younger officer with a long gape. "He told me he and his brother had
been discussing the great question, as he called it, for over six hours;
and they understood each other perfectly in the end."

"Six hours! It is a wonder they did not talk each other to death!"
exclaimed the major.

"At any rate, they talked enough to enable them to come to a perfect
understanding. Colonel Passford is as true to the Confederacy as we all
know him to be, but Captain Passford
226
is a Yankee to the marrow of his bones; and the two brothers could not
agree at all on the political question, though they profess still to be
friends."

"Then the owner of the Bellevite is on the other side?"

"No doubt of that; and the steamer did not come down here to go into
the service of the Confederacy," added the lieutenant.

"But she will go into it, all the same," said the major, glancing at
the new captain of the Leopard.

Christy was quite as much excited over the conversation to which he
could not help being a listener, even if he had wished not to be so. It
was clear enough to him that the whole object of the voyage to Mobile
Bay had come out, and the major needed no further information to enable
him to act with promptness and decision. The fact that Miss Florry must
be on board of the Bellevite was doubtless an additional incentive to
make him do his entire duty to the Confederacy.

"I think I have told you the whole story, Major Pierson," said
Lieutenant Dallberg with another prodigious yawn.

227
"Then Captain Passford and his daughter are now on board of the
steamer," added the major; though he seemed to be musing on the fact,
rather than saying it to his companion.

"There can be no doubt of that," replied the other.

"As Captain Passford is a Yankee at heart, of course he don't intend
to remain in these waters much longer," continued the major, giving
utterance to his reflections.

"There is something more than that, which I forgot to tell you; for
you hurried me so that I could not keep my thoughts about me,"
interposed the lieutenant.

"What more is there? You said you had told me the whole," said the
major, with a sneer on his lips.

"The Bellevite is intended for the Yankee navy, and she has already
been tendered to the Government for that purpose. More yet, Captain
Passford and the commander of the steamer have offered their services.
The owner is sure that all hands will be volunteers for the service as
soon as she returns from this trip," continued Dallberg, who had
suddenly roused his energies to the requirements of the situation.

228
"I had no doubt that Captain Passford would be with his brother in this
war," mused the major.

"He could not be any farther from him. He came down here after his
daughter, and his brother says he expected to remove him and his family
to the North at the same time."

"His mission will be a failure in every sense," added Major Pierson,
as though he regarded it as a matter of course.

"The colonel said his duty to his country and her cause would not
allow him to suffer his brother to take the steamer back to the North to
be handed over to the Yankee navy."

"That is where he was quite right."

"But the colonel does not like to do any thing to injure his brother
and his two children who are with him; and he wished to find Colonel
Dalheath, who could manage the business without loss to the Confederacy,
while he could favor the captain's escape. But he was satisfied that you
would feel an interest to prevent the departure of the steamer; while
you would not be willing to do her owner or his family any injury in
their persons, however it might be in their property."

229
"I think I understand the situation perfectly now," said the major, as
he went to the front windows of the pilot-house. "Spottswood!" he called
to the sergeant.

"Here, sir."

"How is Captain Pecklar?"

"He has come to himself, but he is no better. I am afraid he is going
to die." replied Spottswood, coming near the bulkhead, and speaking in a
low tone.

"That's bad," added the major, shaking his head.

"There's the steamer, sir!" called one of the soldiers.

The Leopard had just passed a point of land beyond which the
Bellevite was discovered, apparently going at full speed, and headed to
the south-west. Christy brought his glass to bear upon her, but he could
see nothing which afforded him any information in regard to her
movements or intentions.

"I suppose it is not difficult to determine what your father's
steamer is waiting in the bay for, Mr. Passford," said Major Pierson, as
he looked into the face of his pilot.

230
"I am sure I don't know what he is waiting for," replied Christy.

"Don't you, indeed?" added the major, laughing.

"I am sure I do not."

"Then, it has not occurred to you that he misses you, and don't like
to leave without you?" chuckled the major. "I did not intend to have you
captured by my men, and I gave them no definite orders to that effect;
but, as things look just now, it is rather fortunate that I have you on
board of the Leopard, not only for the sake of your father's waiting for
you, but you are a good pilot, and are of great service to me."

Christy rang the bell with a sudden impulse, which made it look as
though he had not fully taken in the situation before. The engineer,
though he was one of the army of the disabled in whole or in part,
obeyed the summons of the bell, and the propeller ceased to revolve.

"What's that for, Captain Passford?" asked the major
good-naturedly.

"With your permission, Major Pierson, I will resign my office as
captain of the Leopard,"
231
replied Christy, as he stepped back from the wheel.

"But I cannot give you my permission," laughed the major.

"I am sorry to disoblige you, Major Pierson; but then I am compelled
to resign the position without your permission," replied Christy without
an instant's hesitation; for he clearly understood what he was doing
now, and neither really nor constructively was he willing to do any
thing in the service of the enemies of the Union.

"But you can't resign in the face of the enemy, Captain Passford; and
you accepted the position which I assigned to you," said the major,
beginning to look a little more serious.

"In the face of the enemy!" exclaimed Christy, glancing at the
Bellevite, as she dashed furiously over the waves at a distance of not
more than a mile from the tug. "May I ask what you mean by the enemy,
Major Pierson?"

"Yon must have heard all the information which was brought to me by
Lieutenant Dallberg; and by this time you are aware that the steamer
yonder is an enemy of the Confederate States," continued the major.

232
"She did not come into these waters as an enemy, or with any warlike
intentions, sir. She came on a peaceful mission; and now it appears that
my uncle is guilty of treachery towards my father," replied Christy with
deep emotion.

"Do you think it would be right or proper for your uncle to allow
that fine steamer, which I am told is one of the strongest and fastest
ever built, to be handed over to the Yankee navy?" demanded the major,
with energy enough to assure his auditor that he meant all he said.

"I happen to know that my father had several hundred dollars about
him in gold; and my uncle would have done no worse to rob him of that,
than to have his steamer taken from him when it was not engaged in acts
of war. In either case, Homer Passford is a thief and a robber!"

"That's plain speech, young man," said the major, biting his
lips.

"I meant it should be plain, sir," said Christy, gasping for breath
in his deep emotion. "I am ashamed of my uncle, and I know that my
father would not be guilty of such treachery."

"I see that it is useless to reason with you, Passford."

233
"You have come to a correct conclusion. When you call my father's
steamer an enemy, you define my duty for me; and I have nothing further
to do on board of this tug," replied Christy. "I am in your power, and
of course you can do with me as you please."

Major Pierson was certainly very much embarrassed. The events of the
night, and the information obtained on shore, to say nothing of the
specific request from Colonel Passford to "manage the business," imposed
upon him the duty of capturing the Bellevite; and he was all ready to do
it. But the Leopard might as well have been without an engine as without
a pilot; for all the men on board were from the interior of the country,
and not one of them, not even the officers, knew how to steer the
boat.

The marks and figures on the chart of the bay, which Christy had put
on the shelf in front of the wheel, were all Greek to them. Possibly
they might get the tug to the shore, or aground on the way to it; but
the steamer was practically disabled.

CHAPTER XXI

THE SICK CAPTAIN OF THE LEOPARD

Christy Passford now realized, for the first time, that he had been
taken by the enemy. War had actually been declared against the
Bellevite, and Major Pierson would undertake to perform the duty
assigned to him by Colonel Passford. The young man was determined to be
true to his colors under all possible circumstances; and therefore he
could do nothing, directly or indirectly, to assist in the capture of
the steamer.

Captain Passford, while he recognized the irregularity of his
mission, had come into the waters of Mobile Bay with no intention of
committing any depredations on the persons, property, or vessels of the
Confederacy. The Bellevite had not fired a shot, or landed a force, in
the enemy's country.

Indeed, the owner of the steamer had taken especial pains to conceal
any appearance of using
235
force on coming into the bay; and all the guns on the deck of the
vessel, that could not be easily lowered into the hold, had been covered
up and concealed. Though Major Pierson had spent some time on board of
the Bellevite, he did not know whether or not she was armed. He was no
wiser than the owner's brother.

The major went to the lower deck of the Leopard, where Christy saw
him questioning the soldiers there, though he could not hear any thing
that was said. Of course he was inquiring for some hand who had steered
a steamer; but he soon returned alone, and it looked as though he had
not found the person he sought.

"It looks like bad weather, Mr. Passford, since you decline to be
called captain any longer," said the major, as he came into the
pilot-house, and looked at the sky in all directions.

Christy had noticed the weather signs before; and the wind was
beginning to pipe up a rather fresh blast, though the sun had been out
for an hour or more earlier in the morning. It came from the southward,
and it was already knocking up a considerable sea, as it had the range
of the whole length of the bay.

236
"I was thinking that we should have a storm before long when I looked at
the signs this morning," replied Christy rather indifferently.

"How many men does your father have on board of his steamer, Mr.
Passford?" asked the major, in a careless sort of way.

"Not as many, I should say, as you have in Fort Gaines. By the way,
how many have you under your command there?" returned Christy with a
twinkle of the eye.

"We have two thousand four hundred and twenty-six, including myself,"
replied the major.

"That is quite a force; my father has only seven hundred and
forty-two, without counting me."

"Where do you put them all?"

"We stow them away in the hold, after the manner of packing sardines
in a box. We only let them out one at a time, when we feed them with
salt fish and baked beans."

"That makes a good many men to a gun," suggested the major.

"Lots of them," answered Christy.

"How many guns does the steamer carry?"

"Only two hundred; of course I mean heavy guns,—sixty and
eighty-four pounders. I think
237
there must be small arms enough to supply all your men in the fort."

"I was on board of the Bellevite for half an hour or more, and I
really did not see a single heavy gun," added the major, biting
his lip.

"Didn't you notice the one hundred and twenty pounder in the waist?
It is big enough for you to have seen it."

It was plain enough to the young Unionist that the major really
desired to know something about the force and metal of the Bellevite,
and that he was disappointed when he found that the son of the owner was
on his guard. No information was to be obtained from him.

"I think you said there was a doctor on board of the steamer,"
continued Major Pierson, changing the subject of the conversation.

"Yes, sir; and a very skilful surgeon he is,—Dr. Linscott,"
replied Christy.

"I went in to see Captain Pecklar when I was below, and I found him
in a very bad condition. I am afraid he will die before we can get him
to the shore; and he is suffering terribly," added the major, looking
earnestly into the face of the young man.

238
"I am sorry for him," replied Christy; and his pity and sympathy were
apparent in his face.

He had noticed the captain of the tug in the morning, and one of the
soldiers had told him he was a Northern man who had come to this region
for his health. He appeared to have no scruples at doing the duty
assigned to him, though he had been only two years at the South. But he
seemed to be of no use to either side in the contest, for he was too
sick to work any longer.

Christy was filled with pity for the sufferings of the captain of the
tug, and he thought the major's questions suggested that something was
to be required of him in connection with the sick man. He was willing to
do any thing he could for the aid of the captain, if he could do it
without sacrificing his principles.

"It was a part of my purpose to obtain assistance from the surgeon of
the steamer for poor Pecklar," continued the major. "But you have moored
us all here by refusing to steer the boat, and the captain will die
without our being able to do a single thing for him. There is not even a
drop of brandy on board of this boat to restore him."

239
"What do you propose to do, Major Pierson?" asked Christy.

"Just now, all I desire is to procure assistance for poor Pecklar,"
replied the major. "But we are as helpless as though we were all babies,
for we can't handle the steamer, and cannot run down to the Bellevite. I
hope you will not have the death of this poor fellow on your
conscience."

"I will not. I will take the Leopard alongside of the Bellevite, if
you like," replied Christy; and he regarded this as a mission of
humanity which he had no right to decline.

"The steamer has turned about!" shouted one of the soldiers on the
forecastle.

Christy had noticed that the Bellevite was coming about before the
announcement came from below, for his nautical eye enabled him to see
her first movement. He did not feel that the service he was about to
render would benefit the enemy, on the one hand; and he hoped that his
father or some other person on board of the Bellevite would see him in
the pilot-house, on the other hand. If he could only let his father know
where he was, he felt that he should
240
remove a heavy burden from his mind and that of his sister.

What else might come from getting near to the steamer, he did not
venture to consider. But he could not help figuring up the number of
soldiers on board of the tug; the force which had captured him and Percy
consisted of four men, and two men were with the lieutenant. Two
officers and six men was the available force of the enemy on board of
the little steamer, for neither the captain nor the engineer was fit for
duty.

"I accept your offer, Captain Passford; and we have no time to spare,
or the sick man may die," said the major.

Christy made no reply, but went to the wheel, and rang the bell to go
ahead. Heading the Leopard for the Bellevite, he gave himself up to a
consideration of the situation. Major Pierson immediately left the
pilot-house, and did not return. No stipulations of any kind had been
made, and no terms had been imposed upon Christy. All that he desired
was that his father should see him, and know where he was.

No one but himself on board could handle the steamer; and he could
not be sent out of the
241
pilot-house, or concealed so that he should not be seen. On the other
hand, it did not seem to him that the officer could do any thing towards
capturing the Bellevite. The major desired to ascertain what force she
had, and had asked some questions calculated to throw light on the
subject.

If the steamer had come into the bay on a peaceful errand, as Christy
insisted that she had, the major might easily believe that she was not
armed, and that she had only men enough to man her. But Christy could
not tell what his captor was thinking about, and he could not yet
enlarge his plans for the future; but he was very certain in his own
mind, that he should not let pass any opportunity to escape, even at
great risk, from his present situation.

As the Leopard went off on her course, considerably shaken by the
fresh breeze which had stirred up a smart sea, the acting captain of the
tug saw that all the men who had been on the forecastle had disappeared,
with a single exception. The major was not to be seen, and doubtless he
was taking care of the sick captain, or arranging his plan for the
interview with the
242
people of the Bellevite. In a few minutes more, this last man
disappeared, and Percy Pierson took his place on the forecastle.

"So you are a Yank, are you, Mr. Pierson?" said he of that name,
looking up to the window at which Christy stood.

"Whatever I am, I am in command of a Confederate steamer," replied
Christy, laughing. "What is your brother doing, Mr. Percy?"

"I am sure I don't know: he is only talking to the men," answered the
young man, who had evidently been put there to act as a lookout.

At that moment a voice was heard from farther aft, and Percy went
towards the stern of the boat. A few minutes later he ascended to the
pilot-house. On the sofa abaft the wheel was Lieutenant Dallberg, where
he had dropped asleep as he finished his report of what he had learned
on shore.

"Mr. Dallberg!" shouted Percy; but the lieutenant did not show any
signs of life till the messenger had shaken him smartly. "Major Pierson
wants you down below."

The officer rubbed his eyes for a moment, and then rose from the
sofa, and left the apartment.
243
The summons for the lieutenant made it look to Christy as though
something was in progress below. There was only one thing which the
major could think of doing; and that was to capture the Bellevite,
either by force or by strategy. He would have given a good deal to know
what the plan was, but it seemed to him to be quite impossible to leave
the wheel.

"How is the sick man, Percy?" asked Christy, when he found that the
messenger was not disposed to leave the pilot-house.

"He is a good deal better: they have just given him another glass of
brandy," replied Percy.

This statement did not agree with that of the major, who had told him
the captain was likely to die, and that there was not a drop of brandy
on board of the boat. The commandant of the fort had evidently been
acting in the pilot-house with a purpose.

"Didn't your brother order you to stay on the forecastle, Mr. Percy?"
asked Christy, when his companion came to the wheel on the opposite side
from the helmsman.

"No: he said if I would help him, he would
244
do what he could for me; and he told me to keep a lookout at this end of
the tug. I can see ahead better here than I can down below," replied
Percy, as he tried to turn the wheel. "I believe I could steer this
thing."

"I know you could, Percy. Do you see the Bellevite?"

"Of course I do: I'm not blind."

"She has stopped her screw, and is not going ahead now," added
Christy, as he let go the spokes of the wheel, and proceeded to instruct
his pupil.

A few minutes later, Christy left the pilot-house to take a look
below.

CHAPTER XXII

THE PROCEEDINGS ON THE LOWER DECK

Christy Passford did not consider Percy Pierson a competent helmsman,
for he had spent but a few minutes in instructing him in handling the
wheel; in fact, only long enough to induce him to "steer small." For the
moment, Percy was interested in the occupation, and gave his whole mind
to it; and Christy intended to remain where he could reach the wheel in
a moment if occasion should require. His companion in the pilot-house
did not seem to care what he did.

The Bellevite, as the new captain had observed before, had stopped
her screw: and she appeared to be waiting for the tug to come up, as it
was headed towards her. Christy had examined her with the glass, but he
could see nothing which gave him any idea of what was going on upon
246
her decks. As Florry was now on board of her, he was satisfied that his
father could only be waiting for him; and he intended to do his best to
report on board some time during the day.

Major Pierson and his little force were gathered under the
hurricane-deck, in the space from which opened the door of the captain's
little cabin. Christy could not see a single one of them from the upper
deck; but he had gone but a few steps aft before he heard the voice of
the major who seemed to be "laying down the law" in a forcible manner to
his men.

"Do you understand me, Spikeley?" demanded the major slowly and
loudly, as though he were talking to a deaf man.

Christy had not heard the name of Spikeley before; but he concluded
that he must be one of the soldiers, probably one of the two who had
come on board with Lieutenant Dallberg.

"I don't think I do," replied the man addressed, in a tone quite as
loud as that of the military officer.

"You are not to start the engine under any circumstances," continued
the major, in a louder tone than before, as if the man had failed to
hear him.

247
The man addressed as Spikeley must be the engineer then, and not a
soldier, Christy realized at once.

"Don't I mind the bells, Major Pierson?" asked the engineer, whose
tones indicated that he was not a little astonished at the positive
order he had received.

"You will not mind the bells. You will take no notice of them after
this present moment. When I tell you to stop the engine, you will stop
it, not without, no matter how many times the bells ring," said the
major with emphasis.

"I hear you, and I understand now what I am to do," replied
Spikeley.

"All right, so far; but do you understand what you are not to do?"
demanded the officer sharply, as though he fully comprehended the
obtuseness of the engineer.

"I reckon I do: I am not to start the engine till you tell me to
start it," answered the dull engineer.

"Not if you don't start it for a month!" added the major sternly.

"But you are going off, Major Pierson," suggested Spikeley. "If that
steamer over yonder
248
looks like she was going to run over the Leopard, I am not to start the
engine to keep her from being sent to the bottom of the bay?"

"No!" exclaimed the officer.

"All right, major; then you may find me on the bottom when you come
back."

"You will not be lost as long as I know where you are," added the major
with a chuckle.

"Are you coming back to-day, major?"

"I don't know when I shall return. All you have to do is to obey
orders, and leave all the rest to me."

"Shall I be all alone on board?"

"That young fellow at the wheel will remain on board; but you are not
to mind what he says to you. Do you understand that?"

"I reckon I do," replied Spikeley.

"My brother, who was down here a little while ago, will also remain
on board; and Captain Pecklar will be in his room, for he cannot leave
it. That is all that will be on board. But no one will bother you,
unless it should be the fellow now at the wheel; and he can't do any
harm as long as you don't start the engine for him."

"I reckon I won't start the engine for him, or
249
anybody else but you, major. You can bet your commission on that," added
the engineer, with more vim in his speech than he had used before.

"All right, Spikeley; and I will see that you don't lose any thing,
if you are faithful to your duty. You must keep a sharp lookout for
Passford: that's the young fellow at the wheel. He is the only one that
can do any mischief, and I would not have him go near that steamer for a
thousand dollars."

Christy thought he understood what was in progress; at any rate, he
dared not remain any longer away from the wheel, and he returned to the
pilot-house. Percy was still interested in his occupation. He was
steering the tug very well for a beginner, and his brother was too busy
organizing his expedition to notice that the steering was a little wild;
for the waves caused the boat to yaw somewhat in the absence of a
skilled hand at the helm.