Notwithstanding his military title, Colonel Homer Passford was not a soldier, though he had once been a sort of honorary head of a regiment of militia. His brother, Captain Horatio Passford, Christy's father, was a millionaire in the tenth degree. More than twenty years before the war he had assisted Homer to all the money he required to buy a plantation in Alabama, near Mobile, where he had prospered exceedingly, though his possessions had never been a tenth part of those of his wealthy brother.
Homer had married in the South, and was the father of a son and daughter, now approaching their maturity, and Corny, the son, was a soldier in the Confederate army. The most affectionate relations had always subsisted between the two families; and before the war the Bellevite had always visited Glenfield, the plantation of the colonel, at least twice a year.
Florry Passford, the captain's daughter, being somewhat out of health, had passed the winter before the beginning of the war at Glenfield, and was there when the enemy's guns opened upon Fort Sumter. Captain Passford had not supposed that his brother in Alabama would take part with the South in the Rebellion, and with great difficulty and risk he had gone to Glenfield in the Bellevite, for the purpose of conveying his daughter to his home at Bonnydale on the Hudson, not doubting that Homer and his family would be his passengers on the return to the North.
He was entirely mistaken in regard to the political sentiments of the colonel, and found that he was one of the most devoted and determined advocates of the Southern cause. The southern brother did not conceal his opinions, and it was plain enough to the captain that he was entirely sincere, and believed with all his mind, heart, and soul, that it was his religious, moral, and social duty to espouse what he called his country's cause; and he had done so with all his influence and his fortune. He had even gone so far in his devotion to his duty as he understood it, as to attempt to hand over the Bellevite, though she was not inMobile Bay on a warlike mission, to the new government of the South, and had taken part personally in an expedition extended to capture her.
The steam-yacht had been armed at the Bermudas, and fought her way out of the bay; and on her return to New York her owner presented her to the Government of the United States. She had done good service, and Christy had begun his brilliant career as a naval officer in the capacity of a midshipman on board of her. In spite of the hostile political attitude of the brothers to each other, the same affectionate relations had continued between the two families, for each of them believed that social and family ties should not interfere with his patriotic duty to his country.
The commander of the Confederate forces at Hilton Head—one of the highest-toned and most estimable gentlemen one could find in the North or the South—informed the author that his own brother was in command of one of the Federal ships that were bombarding his works. While Commodore Wilkes, of Mason and Slidell memory, was capturing the Southern representatives who had to be given up, his son was in the Confederate navy, and then or later was casting gunsat Charlotte for the use of the South: and the writer never met a more reasonable and kindly man. Fortunately our two brothers were not called upon to confront each other as foes on the battlefield or on the sea, though both of them would have done their duty in such positions.
The last time Christy had seen his Uncle Homer was when he was captured on board of the Dornoch with Captain Rombold, as he was endeavoring to obtain a passage to England as a Confederate agent for the purchase of suitable vessels to prey upon the mercantile marine of the United States. He and the commander of the Tallahatchie had been exchanged at about the same time; and they had proceeded to Nassau, where they embarked for England in a cotton steamer. There they had purchased and fitted out the Trafalgar; for the agent's drafts, in which the last of his fortune had been absorbed, could not be made available to his captors. Colonel Passford had an interview with Captain Rombold after Gill had brought his trunk on board; and it was a very sad occasion to the planter, if not to the naval officer. They had not had an opportunity to consider the disaster that had overtaken the Confederate steamer, which hadpromised such favorable results for their cause; for the commander had been entirely occupied till he received his wound, and even then he had attended to his duties, for, as before suggested, he was a "last ditch" man. He was not fighting for the South as a mere hireling; for he had married a Southern wife, and she had enlisted all his sympathies in the cause of her people.
"I suppose we have nothing more to hope for, Captain Rombold; and we can only put our trust in the All-Wise and the All-Powerful, who never forsakes his children when they are fighting for right and justice," said Colonel Passford, after he had condoled with the commander on his wounded condition.
"We shall come out all right in the end, Colonel; don't be so cast down," replied the captain.
"I raised the money by mortgaging my plantation and what other property I had left for all the money I could get upon it to a wealthy Englishman, the one who came to Mobile with us from Nassau, to obtain the cargoes for this steamer. I had borrowed all I could before that for the purchase of the Trafalgar; and if the current does notchange in our favor soon, I shall be a beggar," added the colonel bitterly.
"The tide will turn, my good friend; and it would have turned before now if all the planters had been as self-sacrificing as you have," said the captain.
"Cotton and gold are about the same thing just now; and with the large cargo on board of the West Wind, which I induced my friends to contribute to the good cause, and that in the hold of the Tallahatchie, I was confident that I could purchase the Kilmarnock, which you say is good for eighteen knots an hour. Now the West Wind and the Tallahatchie are both prizes of the enemy, and there is no present hope for us," continued the colonel; and there was no wonder that he had become pale and thin.
"We are in a bad situation, Colonel Passford, I admit, for both of us are prisoners of war, so that we can do nothing, even if we had the means; but everything will come out right in the end," replied the wounded officer, though he could not explain in what manner this result was to be achieved.
"Well, Captain Rombold, how are you feeling?" asked Dr. Linscott, darkening the doorwhen the conversation had reached this gloomy point.
"Very comfortable, Doctor," replied the commander. "My friend is Colonel Passford."
"Bless me!" exclaimed the surgeon, as he extended his hand to the visitor. "I am very glad to see you, and I hope you are very well. I am happy to inform you that your nephew, who was wounded in the engagement, is doing very well."
"Yes; I met him on deck," replied the planter very gloomily.
"What is the matter, Colonel Passford? You look quite pale, and you have lost flesh since I met you last. Can I do anything for you?"
"Nothing, Doctor; I am not very well, though nothing in particular ails me. With your permission I will retire to my stateroom," said the colonel, as he rose from his seat.
"By the way, Colonel Passford, the captain wished me to ascertain if you have been to breakfast," added the surgeon, following him out into the cabin.
"I have not, Doctor; but it was because I wanted none, for I do not feel like eating," replied the pale planter.
"Punch, go to the galley, get a beefsteak, a plate of toast, and a cup of coffee. Set out the captain's table, and call this gentleman when it is ready."
"Yes, sir," replied Punch, who was a very genteel colored person.
The colonel attempted to protest, but the surgeon would not hear him. He remained with the planter, whom he already regarded as a patient, and though he could not say anything to comfort him, he talked him into a pleasanter frame of mind. Punch set the table, and in due time brought the breakfast. The doctor sat down opposite to him at the table, and actually compelled him to eat a tolerably hearty meal. He was decidedly less gloomy when he had finished, and it was plain to his companion that his empty stomach was responsible for a portion of his depression of spirits.
The surgeon had remained on board of the prize till the order to get under way was given, and then Captain Breaker sent for him; but the two medical gentlemen had disposed of most of the wounds among the Confederate crew. As the English engineer had reported, the machinery and boilers of the Tallahatchie were in good condition, andthe two steamers went on their course towards the entrance to Mobile Bay, where French had been ordered to anchor the West Wind, at full speed, though neither was driven; but the log showed that they were making about eighteen knots.
After the brief talk with his uncle, Christy had waited for him to return to the deck, as he supposed he would after what the captain had said to him; but he did not appear. In fact, Colonel Passford was too much cast down by the capture of the two vessels, and the loss of his fortune thereby, that he was not disposed to see any person if he could avoid it.
"Don't you think you had better turn in, Mr. Passford?" asked the commander, as he halted in his walk at the side of the lieutenant.
"I have been waiting here to see my uncle; for I thought, after what you said to him, that he would come back," added Christy.
"I sent Dr. Linscott down to see him, for he looks so pale and feeble that I thought he must be sick. The surgeon reported to me half an hour ago that he had made him eat his breakfast against his will, and he was feeling better and more cheerful. He thinks your Uncle Homer's trouble isentirely mental, and he does not feel like seeing any person," answered the commander.
"What mental trouble can he have?" asked Christy, as he gazed into the face of the captain, wondering if his father's brother was insane.
"The colonel has shipped a vast amount of cotton intending to use the proceeds of its sale to purchase ships for the Confederacy; and he has lost most of them, for you captured quite a number of them when you were in command of the Bronx. I have no doubt he was interested in the cargoes of the prize and the West Wind; and the capture of these two vessels involves a fearful loss. I believe that is all that ails him," the captain explained. "Doubtless he feels as kindly towards his nephew as ever before in his life; but he does not care to see him just now."
Early in the afternoon the Bellevite and her prize came in sight of the West Wind, anchored in accordance with French's orders, with the Holyoke almost within hail of her; for the captain of the steamer had doubtless considered the possibility of a recapture of the schooner by boats from the shore, if she was left unprotected.
In due time the Bellevite let go her anchor atabout a cable's length from the West Wind, and the prize-master of the Tallahatchie had done the same at an equal distance from the ship. Mr. Graines, who had not met his late associate on shore since he was wounded, came to his side as soon as the steamer had anchored; for both Christy and he were anxious to hear the report of French in regard to the prisoners left in his care.
The anchor of the Bellevite had hardly caught in the sand before a boat put off from the West Wind containing four persons. Two of the ship's seamen were at the oars, French was in the stern sheets, and the engineer soon recognized Captain Sullendine as the fourth person.
French ascended the gangway followed by Captain Sullendine. The seaman who had acted as prize-master of the West Wind touched his cap very respectfully to the first officer he met when he came on board. Christy had asked the chief engineer to send Mr. Graines to him, and he was talking to him about the prize and the chief prisoner when French presented himself before them.
"I have come on board to report, sir," said the prize-master of the West Wind.
"Is all well on board, French?" asked the wounded lieutenant.
"All well now, sir," replied the seaman, with a suggestive emphasis on the last word. "I am very sorry to learn that you have been wounded, Mr. Passford."
"Not severely, French," replied Christy. "I am ready to hear your report."
"I have something to say about this business,Jerry Sandman," interposed the captain of the West Wind, whose wrath had suddenly got the better of his judgment, interlarding his brief remark with a couple of ringing oaths.
"I will hear the prize-master first," replied Christy very quietly.
The discomfited master of the schooner called down a shocking malediction upon the prize-master just as Captain Breaker presented himself before the group assembled at the arm-chair of the lieutenant, and had heard the last oaths of the angry man.
"Who is this man, Mr. Passford?" asked the commander.
"I'll let you know who I am!" exclaimed Captain Sullendine, with another couplet of oaths.
"I do not permit any profane language on the deck of this ship," said Captain Breaker. "Pass the word for the master-at-arms," he added to the nearest officer.
"Oh, you are the cap'n of this hooker," added the master of the West Wind, this time without any expletives. "I have somethin' to say to you, Cap'n, and I want to complain of your officers."
"When you have learned how to behave yourself,I will hear you," replied the commander, as the master-at-arms, who is the chief of police on board a ship of war, presented himself, touching his cap to the supreme authority of the steamer. "What is the trouble here, Mr. Passford?" asked Captain Breaker in a very gentle tone, in contrast with the quiet sternness with which he had spoken to Captain Sullendine.
"No trouble at all, sir; I was about to hear the report of French, the prize-master of the schooner, when the captain of her interfered," replied Christy.
"My story comes in before the prize-master's, as you call him, though he ain't nothin' but a common sailor," interposed Captain Sullendine again.
"Will you be silent?" demanded the commander.
"No, I will not! This is an outrage!" stormed the captain of the West Wind, with a liberal spicing of oaths in his speech.
"Put this man in irons, master-at-arms, and commit him to the brig," added Captain Breaker.
The petty officer called upon the ship's corporal, whom he had brought with him, and placed his hand on the arm of the rebellious master, whoshowed fight. A couple of seamen were called to assist the police force, and Captain Sullendine was dragged below with his wrists ironed behind him.
"Now you can proceed, French," said the captain.
"When I left you, all was quiet on board of the West Wind," added Christy, beginning to make a slight explanation for the benefit of the commander. "Captain Sullendine was very drunk, asleep in his berth, with the door of his stateroom securely fastened upon him. Bokes the seaman and Sopsy the cook were in the same condition. Go on, French."
"I picked up the boat you set adrift, Mr. Passford, and then headed for the eastward of Sand Island lighthouse, where you ordered me to anchor. The Holyoke followed the schooner, and came to anchor near the West Wind. She sent a boat on board, and I told my story to the second lieutenant. We did not need any assistance, and he left us.
illustration of quoted scene"Captain Sullendine was dragged below." Page 238.
"About four bells in the forenoon watch I heard a tremendous racket in the cabin, and I went below. Captain Sullendine was doing his best to break down the door of his stateroom, cursing hard enough to make the blood of a Christian run cold. But he had nothing to work with, and I let himkick and pound till he got tired of it. I put Vogel in the cabin to keep watch of him, and went on deck.
"He kept it up for half an hour or more, and then he seemed to have enough of it. Vogel came on deck and told me the prisoner was very humble then, and wanted to come out. I knew you did not mean that I should starve him, and I made Sopsy put his breakfast on the table in the cabin; but I did not do so till I had locked the liquor closet and put the key in my pocket.
"I let him out then, and his first move was to get at his whiskey; but the door was locked. He begged like a child for a drink; but I did not give him a drop. Sopsy and Bokes, who were tied up forward, did the same; but they did not get any. Captain Sullendine ate his breakfast, and I told him his vessel was a prize to the United States steamer Bellevite. Then he was so furious that we had to shut him up in his stateroom again.
"After a while he promised to behave himself, and I let him out again. He declared that his vessel was not a legal prize, and got off a lot of stuff that I did not take any notice of. He wanted to make a protest to the commander of the Bellevite,and when he promised to behave like a gentleman, I let him come on board with me."
"You acted with very good judgment, French, and Mr. Passford has already commended your good conduct in the expedition last night," said the commander.
"Thank you, sir," replied the prize-master, touching his cap, and backing away without another word.
"Loring," called the captain to the master-at-arms, who had just returned to the quarter-deck, or as near it as etiquette permitted him to go. "How is your prisoner?"
"He broke down completely after he had been in the brig a few minutes, and promised to behave like a gentleman if the commander would hear him."
"Bring him to the quarter-deck," added the captain.
In a few minutes, the ship's corporal conducted him into the presence of the commander. He began with a very lame apology for his previous conduct, and then declared that he was the victim of a "Yankee trick," and that the West Wind had not been fairly captured.
"Your officers imposed upon me," he continued. "Mr. Balker and Jerry Sandman"—
"Who are they?" inquired Captain Breaker, interrupting him.
"I was Mr. Balker, engaged as mate of the West Wind, selected for that position by Mr. Passford, while the lieutenant was Jerry Sandman, second mate, which he chose to be himself so that he could be with the men," interposed Mr. Graines.
"I did not know what their names was, and I reckoned all was honest and square. These men, whoever they were, got me drunk, and got drunk themselves; and while I was taking a nap, waiting for the steamer to get under way, they fastened me into my stateroom so I couldn't get out."
"I went through the forms, but I did not take a drop of liquor into my mouth," said Christy.
"I did not take more than a tablespoonful both on board and at the camp of the runaways," added Mr. Graines.
"Then you cheated me more'n I thought."
"Is this all the complaint you have to make, Captain Sullendine?" asked Captain Breaker, turning to the master of the West Wind.
"I reckon that's enough!" protested the complainant."I say it was not a fair capture, and you ought to send my vessel back to Mobile Point, where your officers found her."
"I shall not do that, but I will compromise the matter by sending you to Mobile Point, as I have no further use for you," replied the commander. "You are a non-combatant, and not a prisoner of war."
French was ordered to leave Captain Sullendine, Bokes, and Sopsy at the shore where the whaleboat had made a landing, as soon as it was dark. For some reason not apparent, the master of the West Wind protested against this sentence; but no attention was given to his protest. The commander was confident that he had evidence enough to secure the condemnation of the prize, and he regarded such an unreasonable fellow as her late captain as a nuisance. That night the order in regard to him and his companions were carried out.
Captain Breaker asked some questions in regard to French, which Christy and Mr. Graines were able to answer. He was one of those men, of whom there were thousands in the army and navy who had become soldiers and sailors purely from patriotic duty, and at the sacrifice of brighter presentprospects. French had been the mate of a large coaster, whose captain had become an ensign in the navy, and he might have had the command of her if he had not shipped as an able seaman in the same service.
He understood navigation, and had been the second mate of an Indiaman. The commander said nothing when he had learned all he could about the prize-master; but it was evident that he had something in view which might be of interest to the subject of his inquiries. He turned his attention to the condition of his first lieutenant then, asking about his arm.
"It does not feel quite so easy as it did," replied Christy, who had been suffering some pain from his wound for the last two hours, though he was so interested in the proceedings on board, and especially in the report from the West Wind, that he had not been willing to retire to his stateroom.
"Then you must turn in at once, Mr. Passford," said the commander, with more energy than he had spoken to the lieutenant before. "I am afraid you have delayed it too long."
"I think not, sir." replied the wounded officer.
"Mr. Graines shall go with you and assist you,"added the captain. "I will send Dr. Linscott to you as soon as you get into your berth."
Christy had been sitting so long that he was quite stiff when he attempted to get out of his chair, and the engineer assisted him. He was still very weak, and Mr. Graines supported him, though he presently recovered himself. The ship's company, by this time relieved of all heavy work, had been observing him with affectionate admiration, and rehearsing the daring exploit in which he had received his wound, gave three rousing cheers as he rose to leave the quarter-deck.
Christy turned his pale face towards them, raised his cap, and bowed to them. Another cheer followed, and then another. The men knew that his prompt action in mounting the mizzen rigging, boarding the Tallahatchie, and firing the thirty-pounder after he had reversed its position, had saved the lives or limbs of a great number of them, and they were extremely grateful to him.
With the assistance of his friend the engineer, Christy was soon between the sheets in his berth. Dr. Linscott came in as soon as he was in his bed, spoke very tenderly to him, and then proceeded to dress his injured arm. He found the member wassomewhat swollen, and the patient's pulse indicated some fever.
"I must send you home, Mr. Passford," said the surgeon. "You are the hero of the day, you have earned a vacation, and you will need your mother's care for the next three weeks."
In spite of Christy's protest, the doctor insisted, and left him.
The surgeon reported the condition of the first lieutenant to the commander at once, and a long conversation between them followed. Devoted as Captain Breaker was to his executive officer, and filled with admiration as he was for the gallant exploit of that day, he was not willing to do anything that could be fairly interpreted as favoritism towards the son of Captain Passford. The summer weather of the South was coming on, and the heat was already oppressive, even on board of the ships of war at anchor so much of the time on the blockade, and this was the strong point of the doctor in caring for his patient.
Dr. Linscott was very earnest in insisting upon his point; and the commander yielded, for he could hardly do otherwise in the face of the surgeon's recommendation, for the latter was the responsible person. The next morning, after the wounded officer had passed a feverish night, Captain Breakervisited him in his stateroom, and announced the decision. Christy began to fight against it.
"I am not so badly off as many officers who have been treated in the hospital down here; and if I am sent home it will be regarded as favoritism to the son of my father," protested the lieutenant.
"You are too sensitive, my dear boy, as you have always been; and you are entirely mistaken. You have earned a furlough if you choose to ask for it, and every officer and seaman who has served with you would say so," argued the captain. "I shall insert in my report, with other matter concerning you, Christy, that you were sent home on the certificate of the surgeon; and even an unreasonable person cannot call it favoritism."
"I don't know," added Christy, shaking his head.
"I know, my boy. Merciful Heaven!" exclaimed Captain Breaker. "You did enough yesterday to entitle you to any favor it is possible for the department to extend to you. You saved the lives of a quarter or a third of the ship's company. But it was not simply a brave and daring exploit, my boy, though even that would entitle you to the fullest commendation; but it included sound judgment on the instant, lightning invention, and consummatelyskilful action;" and the commander became positively eloquent as he proceeded.
"Come, come, Captain Breaker! You are piling it on altogether too thick," cried Christy, overwhelmed by the torrent of praise. "I only did what I could not help doing."
"No matter if you did; it was the right thing to do, and it was done at precisely the right instant. A moment's delay would have brought the whole force of the enemy down upon you. It was absolutely wonderful how you got that gun off in such a short space of time. I report Captain Rombold's words to you."
"He is a magnanimous gentleman," said Christy.
"He says, too, that a dozen muskets and revolvers were discharged at you, and it is a miracle that only one bullet struck you."
"I found a bullet-hole in my cap, and two more in the skirt of my coat," added the patient with a smile, as he pointed to his coat and cap.
"But we are off the subject; and I was only trying to show that you are entitled to a furlough," said the commander; but the discussion was continued for some time longer, though Christy consented to be sent home in the end.
The thought of going to Bonnydale was exceedingly pleasant to him, and he allowed his mind to dwell upon each member of the family, and to picture in his imagination the greeting they would all give him. Not to the members of his family alone did he confine his thoughts; for they included the beautiful Bertha Pembroke, whom, with her father, he had taken from the cabin of a cotton steamer he had captured. He concluded that the surgeon's certificate would shield him from adverse criticism, after he had fully considered the matter.
The flag-officer of the Eastern Gulf Squadron was not off Mobile Point; and Captain Breaker, as the senior officer present, was obliged to dispose of his prizes himself. Some necessary repairs had to be made upon both ships before anything could be done; and the carpenter and his gang, with all the other seamen who could handle an axe or an adze, were hurrying forward the work. The prize had lost her mizzen mast, her steering gear had been knocked to pieces both forward and aft, she had been riddled in a dozen places, and shot-holes in the hull had been hastily plugged during the action.
Her Armstrong gun amidships had been disabledby Blumenhoff at his first fire. Christy had not found the opportunity to examine this piece, as he desired; but Mr. Graines had done so for him; and it was found that the gun carriage had been knocked into a shapeless mass so that it could not be put in condition for use. The machinists from the engine room of both vessels, for those of the Tallahatchie had no feeling on the subject, were restoring the steering apparatus, and were likely to have the work completed the next day.
Captain Breaker was in great doubt as to what he ought to do with Colonel Passford. He was certainly a non-combatant; and it could not be shown that he had any mission to Nassau or elsewhere in the service of the Confederacy, though it would have been otherwise if the steamer and the West Wind had not been captures, for he was to sell the cotton in England, and purchase a steamer with the proceeds; but his mission ended with the loss of the vessels. He finally decided to send him to Fort Morgan under a flag of truce.
Before he left he called upon his nephew. He was still in a state of despondency over his own losses, and his failures to benefit the Confederacy, whose loss he counted as greater than his own.He stated that the commander had announced his intention to send him on shore. Christy had seen him but for a moment, for his uncle had not desired to meet him again.
"We will not talk about the war, Uncle Homer," said Christy. "How are Aunt Lydia, Corny, and Gerty? I hope they are all very well."
"Your aunt is not very well, for the hardships of the war have worn upon her. Except Uncle Jerry and Aunty Chloe, the cook, all our negroes have left us, or been taken by the government to work on fortifications, and my wife and Gerty have to do most of the housework," replied Uncle Homer very gloomily; and it was plain to Christy that the mansion at Glenfield was not what it had been in former years.
"How is Corny? I have not heard from him lately."
"Corny is now a captain in the Army of Virginia, and is doing his duty like a man," answered the colonel proudly; and this fact seemed to be almost the only pleasant feature of his experience. "We have been called upon to endure a great many hardships; but we still feel that the God of justice will give us the victory in the end, and wetry to bear our burdens with resignation. The captain informs me that you are going home, Christy."
"The surgeon has ordered me to the North on account of the heat in this locality."
"I learned in Nassau as well as when I was at Bonnydale, that your father holds a very prominent and influential position among your people, and your advancement seems to be made sure," added the planter.
"He has never held any office under the United States government, and I hope I do not owe my advancement to him; and he has often assured me that he never asked for my promotion or appointment," said Christy.
"You have been of very great service to your government, as I know to my sorrow, and I have no doubt you deserved whatever promotion you have obtained," added the colonel, observing that he had touched his nephew in a very tender spot. "But I suppose the boat is waiting for me, and I must bid you good-by. Remember me in the kindliest manner to your father and mother, and to Miss Florry. They were all as good to me when I was on parole at Bonnydale as though no war had ever divided us."
The colonel took Christy by the hand, and betrayed no little emotion as they parted. The lieutenant realized that his uncle was suffering severely under the hardships and anxieties of the war, and he was profoundly sorry for him, though he uttered no complaint. Both on his own account and on that of the Confederacy, he had shipped several cargoes of cotton to Nassau to be sent from there to England; but every one of them had been captured, most of them by his nephew while in command of the Bronx. But he was still confident that the Confederacy would triumph.
Colonel Passford had been sent to the fort under a flag of truce, and had been received by the commandant. In a couple of days the repairs of both ships had been completed. Captain Rombold, though his wound was quite severe, was getting along very well. Captain Breaker had completed his arrangements for the disposal of the prizes and prisoners; and it became necessary to remove the wounded commander to the cabin of the Tallahatchie, to which he did not object, for the wounded in his cabin had been placed in a temporary hospital between decks. He was permitted to occupy the stateroom he had used while in command,while the other was reserved for the prize-master.
Ensign Palmer Drake, the senior of the two officers waiting appointments, was made prize-master of the Tallahatchie, for he had proved to be an able and brave man in the recent action. Mr. Ballard became executive officer of the Bellevite, and Mr. Walbrook the second lieutenant, while the place of the third was filled by Mr. Bostwick, who had been master. French was appointed prize-master of the West Wind, with a crew of five men, as she was to be towed by the prize steamer.
It was found that the Tallahatchie had gone into the action with ninety-five men, including the forward officers. More than one-third of them had been killed or disabled, without counting those who were still able to keep the deck and sleep in their hammocks. Fifty of them were in condition to do duty; and Captain Breaker did not consider it prudent to send so many prisoners to the North in the prize. He therefore sent forty of them to Key West in the Holyoke, assured that the Bellevite was abundantly able to maintain the blockade, even with her reduced ship's company, during the absence of his consort.
The engineers of the prize were willing to continue their services at the expense of their new employer, or even to accept permanent appointments; for they did not belong to the upper classes in England who favored the cause of the Confederacy, and were only looking for the highest wages. Weeks, the oiler, and Bingham, a boatswain's mate, were appointed first and second officers of the Tallahatchie, and twenty seamen were detailed as a prize crew. To insure the fidelity of the four foreign engineers Mr. Graines was sent as a sort of supervisor, with the knowledge and assent of those in actual charge of the machinery.
When all was ready for her departure, Christy went on board of the Tallahatchie in the same boat with the engineer, after a rather sad parting with the captain and his fellow-officers, and amid the cheers of the seamen, who had mounted the rail and the rigging to see him off. Mr. Drake conducted him to the captain's cabin when he went on board of the prize, where he met Captain Rombold, with whom he exchanged friendly greetings.
"Fellow passengers again, Mr. Passford; but you are going to your reward, and I to my punishment," said the late commander very cheerfully.
"Hardly to my reward, for I neither desire nor expect any further promotion," replied Christy. "I am not yet twenty years old."
"But God makes some fully-developed men before they are twenty-one, and you are one of them."
"Thank you, Captain."
"I am willing to wager the salary I have lost that you will be promoted whether you desire it or not."
"I hope not," replied the lieutenant, as he went to the temporary stateroom which had been prepared for him.
The apartment was much larger than the permanent ones, and it was provided with everything that could contribute to his comfort. While Mr. Graines was assisting him to arrange his baggage, the steamer got under way.
Even with the West Wind in tow, the Tallahatchie could make fifteen knots an hour; for the sea was smooth, with every prospect of continued fine weather. Dr. Davidson was a prisoner of war, but he remained on board in charge of the wounded of both sides. He was very devoted to Christy, and dressed his wound every morning as tenderly as his mother could have done it. He was a gentleman in the highest sense of the word, and belonged to one of the best families in the South.
Captain Rombold was a very agreeable person; and most of the conversation in the cabin was carried on in French, for the commander was delighted when he could obtain an opportunity to practise the language, and Dr. Davidson spoke it as fluently as a Frenchman, though Captain Drake was unable to understand a word of it. If one had looked in upon them he would have supposedthey were enjoying a yachting excursion, and could not have told who were prisoners and who were not.
The two wounded officers passed a portion of every day on deck, and the time slipped away very pleasantly. Mr. Graines spent much of his days and some of his nights in the engine-room, and was on the best of terms with the English engineers; but he could discover no signs of treachery on their part. The prisoners forward were well treated and well cared for, and they made no trouble.
The ship made a quick passage to New York, and went into the harbor with the American flag flying over the Confederate; but this was not an uncommon sight, and it did not attract much attention. The pilot brought a file of newspapers, and the lieutenant learned that Grant was still "hammering away" at the Confederate forces in Virginia, though without any decided success. The ship came to anchor at the navy yard, and Captain Drake reported to the commandant.
Lieutenant Passford was well known there, though the intelligence of his latest achievement had not yet reached there. Christy had written out his report of the expedition to Mobile Point,and Captain Drake brought that of Captain Breaker of the action with the Tallahatchie. The lieutenant had no official duty to perform, and he was at liberty to go where he pleased. He procured leave of absence for Mr. Graines; for he was himself still on fever diet, and was rather weak so that he needed his assistance.
"Home again, Charley!" exclaimed Christy, when they had landed at the navy yard.
"That's so, and my folks at home will not expect to see me," replied the engineer.
"Neither will any one at Bonnydale anticipate a visit from me," added Christy. "We know all about the sharp action of the Bellevite with the Tallahatchie; but no one in these parts can have heard a word about it. Now, Charley, see if you can find a carriage for me;" and the wounded officer went into an office to wait for it.
The uniform of the messenger carried him past all sentinels; and in half an hour he returned in a carriage, which was permitted to enter the yard on Mr. Graines's statement of its intended use. Christy was assisted into it. "Wall Street Ferry," said the lieutenant to the driver.
"Why do you go there?" asked the engineer."You wish to go to the railroad station, do you not?"
"I want to find my father if I can, and I think he must be in the city," replied Christy, as he gave his companion the location of the office where he did his business with the government, though he made frequent visits to Washington for consultation with the officials of the Navy Department.
The carriage was retained, and in another hour they reached the office. Captain Passford was not there; he had gone to Washington three days before, and no one knew when he would return. Christy was prepared for this disappointment, and he had arranged in his mind the wording of a telegraphic message to his father. While he was writing it out a gentleman came out of the office whom the lieutenant had met before.
"I am delighted to see you, Mr. Passford!" exclaimed the gentleman, who was in the uniform of a naval officer, as he extended his hand to the visitor. "One of our people informed me that the son of Captain Passford was at the door, and I hastened out to see you. Won't you come into the office?"
"No, I thank you; I am not very well, for Iwas wounded in the left arm in our last action, and I am sent home by the surgeon on a furlough," replied Christy. "Permit me, Captain Bentwick, to introduce my friend, Mr. Graines, third assistant engineer of the Bellevite."
"I am very happy to know you, Mr. Graines," added Captain Bentwick, taking his hand. "I am very sorry you are wounded, Mr. Passford. What can I do for you?"
"Nothing, I thank you, at present. I am writing a message to send to my father. I was just finishing it when you came," replied Christy, as he added the finishing words, and passed it to the official.
"'Sent home on furlough, slightly wounded. Wish paroles for Captain George Rombold and Dr. Pierre Davidson,'" Captain Bentwick read from the paper. "I will have it sent at once from this office. But, Mr. Passford, I can parole these officers, and it is not necessary for you to trouble your father with such a matter. Who and what are the officers?"
"Captain Rombold was the commander of the Tallahatchie, prize to the Bellevite," answered Christy. "When I was in danger of faintingafter the action on the deck of his ship, he sent for his surgeon, Dr. Davidson, though his own wound had not been dressed. Both he and the surgeon were extremely kind to me, and I desire to reciprocate their good offices by inviting them to my father's house."
"Where are these gentlemen now, Mr. Passford?"
"I left them on board of the prize at the navy yard, sir. I am not sure that they will accept parole, for I have not spoken to them about it; but I am very anxious to serve them."
"I know what your father would say if he were here, and I will send an officer authorized to take their parole to the navy yard at once. I will instruct him to represent your desire to them in the strongest terms, and if they accept, to conduct them to Bonnydale, for I know you must be in a hurry to get there," continued Captain Bentwick, as he shook the hands of both officers, and returned to the office.
"That shows what it is to have powerful friends," said Mr. Graines, when his companion had directed the driver to the railroad station.
illustration of quoted scene"Mrs. Passford rushed down the steps." Page 264.
"I have not asked anything unreasonable,Charley," replied Christy, sensitive as usual in regard to influential assistance.
"Certainly not; but if I had asked to have your Confederate friends paroled, a thousand yards of red tape would have to be expended before it could be done," added the engineer with a laugh.
They reached the station, and discharged the carriage; but they found they had to wait two hours for a train to Bonnydale. As it was after noon, they went to a hotel for dinner, and passed the time very impatiently in waiting for the train. Both of them were burning with the desire to see their friends at home; but the train started in due time, and they left it at the nearest station to Bonnydale, proceeding there in a carriage.
Christy gave the bell a very vigorous pull, and the servant that came to the door was a stranger to him. He wished to see Mrs. Passford; and the man was about to conduct him to the reception room, when he bolted from him.
"Mrs. Passford is engaged just now, sir; but she will be down in a few minutes," said the servant, laying his hand on his arm for the purpose of detaining him.
"But I cannot wait," returned the lieutenant very decidedly, and he shook off the man, and began to ascend the stairs.
An instant later there was a double scream on the floor above, and Mrs. Passford rushed down the steps, followed by Florry. Christy retreated to the hall, and a moment later he was folded in the arms of his mother and sister, both of whom were kissing him at the same time.
"But, my son, your arm is in a sling!" exclaimed Mrs. Passford, falling back with an expression of consternation on her face.
"You are wounded, Christy!" cried Florry, as a flood of tears came into her eyes.
"Only a scratch, mother; don't be alarmed," protested the lieutenant. "It was all nonsense to send me home on a furlough; but it was the commander's order, at the recommendation of Dr. Linscott."
"But you are wounded, my son," persisted his mother.
"You have been shot in the arm, Christy," added Florry.
"But I was not shot through the head or the heart; it is not a bit of use to make a fuss aboutit; and Paul Vapoor was not wounded, for he had to stay in the engine room during the action, and he is as hearty as a buck," rattled the lieutenant, and making his pretty sister blush like a fresh rose.
"I am really worried about it, my son. Where is the wound?" asked his mother.
"Here, Charley, tell them all about it," called Christy to his companion, who had been forgotten in the excitement of the moment.
"Why, Charley Graines!" exclaimed Florry, rushing to him with an extended hand. "I did not know you were here."
"I am glad to see you, Charley, especially as you have been a friend and associate of my son, as you were before the war," added Mrs. Passford.
"I am very glad to see you, Mrs. Passford and Miss Passford," said he, bowing to both of them. "I have been on duty recently with Christy, and I have been looking out for him on the voyage home."
"Charley has been a brother to me, and done everything under the canopy for me. I am somewhat fatigued just now," added the lieutenant, as he seated himself on a sofa in the hall. "He willanswer your questions now, and tell you that I am not killed."
"But come into the sitting-room, my son, for we can make you more comfortable there," said his mother, taking him by the right arm, and assisting him to rise.
"I don't need any help, mamma," added Christy playfully, as he rose from the sofa. "I have not been butchered, and I haven't anything but a little bullet-hole through the fleshy part of my left arm. Don't make a baby of me; for a commander in the Confederate navy told me that God made some fully-developed men before they were twenty-one, and that I was one of them. Don't make me fall from my high estate to that of an overgrown infant, mother."
"I will not do anything of the kind, my son," replied Mrs. Passford, as she arranged the cushions on the sofa for him. "Now, Florry, get a wrap for him."
Christy stretched himself out on the sofa, for he was really fatigued by the movements of the forenoon and the excitement of his return to the scenes of his childhood.
"Tell them what the doctors said about mywound, Charley," he continued, as he arranged himself for the enjoyment of a period of silence.
"Mr. Passford has had two surgeons," Mr. Graines began.
"Then he must have been very badly wounded!" ejaculated Florry, leaping to a very hasty conclusion.
"Not at all," protested the engineer. "Both of them said he was not severely wounded."
"Why was he sent home on a furlough?" asked Mrs. Passford.
"Because the weather was getting very hot in the Gulf of Mexico, and it was believed that he would do better at home. He has been somewhat feverish; but he is improving every day, and in a couple of weeks he will be as well as ever."
"Thank God, it is no worse!" exclaimed Mrs. Passford.
Then she insisted that he should be quiet, and they all retired to the library.