"I am sorry to disturb you, gentlemen, but I feel obliged to ask you to retire to my cabin until this affair is settled," said Captain Chantor, addressing Colonel Passford and Captain Rombold.
"I beg your pardon, Captain Chantor, but do you consider that you have a right to capture that steamer?" asked the late commander of the Dornoch, who seemed to be very much disturbed at the proceedings of his captor.
"Undoubtedly; and I have no doubt I shall be able to procure her condemnation on the ground that she is loaded for a Confederate port, no other than Wilmington, and has the 'guilty intention' to run the blockade."
"I don't see where you could have obtained the information that enables you to make sure of her condemnation at the very first sight of her," replied the Confederate officer.
"Well, Captain Rombold, if I succeed in proving my position before the court, out of the mouth of Captain Vickers, her commander, would that satisfy you?" asked the commander with a cheerful smile. "But you must excuse me from discussing the matter to any greater length, for I have a duty to perform at the present time."
The Chateaugay was going ahead at full speed when the two gentlemen retired from the quarter-deck. She stopped her screw within hail of the Cadet. Her crew were clearing away the wreck of the pilot-house; but the destruction of her steering gear forward did not permit her to keep under way, though hands were at work on the quarter-deck putting her extra wheel in order for use. Of course it was plain enough to the captain of the Cadet that the Chateaugay, after the mischief she had done with a single shot, could knock the steamer all to pieces in a few minutes.
The first cutter, in charge of Mr. Birdwing, the executive officer, was sent on board of the disabled steamer, and Christy was invited to take a place in the boat. Captain Vickers was a broken-hearted man when he realized that his vessel was actually captured by a United States man-of-war.
"Do you surrender, Captain Vickers?" said Mr. Birdwing, as he saluted the disconsolate commander.
"How did you know my name?" demanded he gruffly.
"That is of no consequence, Captain Vickers. You will oblige me by answering my question. Do you surrender?" continued the lieutenant.
"I don't know that I can help myself, for this steamer is not armed, and I can make no resistance," replied the captain. "I had no idea that ship was a Yankee gunboat."
"But we had an idea that this was a blockade-runner," added Mr. Birdwing, as he proceeded to take formal possession of the vessel, and called for her papers.
An examination was made into the character of the cargo, which consisted largely of arms and ammunition. The extra wheel was soon in working order. Before noon a prize crew was put on board, and both vessels were headed for New York. In three days more the Chateaugay was at anchor off the Navy Yard, with the Cadet near her. The return of the ship caused a great deal of surprise, and one of the first persons to come on board ofher was Captain Passford. He gave his son his usual warm welcome.
Christy gave his father the narrative of the brief voyage, and astounded him with the information that his brother was on board. The two brothers had not met since they parted at the plantation near Mobile, and the meeting was as tender as it was sad; but both of them refrained from saying anything unpleasant in regard to the war. The prisoners were taken from the Chateaugay by a tender, and conveyed to Fort Lafayette; but Captain Passford soon obtained a parole for his brother, which he consented to give for a limited period.
"I suppose the Chateaugay will sail again by to-morrow, Christy; but you will have time to go home and see your mother and sister. I am so busy that I cannot go, and you must take Uncle Homer with you," said his father.
They landed on the New York side, and took a carriage for the station. Perhaps the streets of the great city were never more crowded with all kinds of vehicles, and especially with wagons loaded with merchandise of all kinds. They passed up Broadway, and Colonel Passford was silent as he witnessed the marvellous activity of the city in the midst of a great war.
"I think you will not be able to find any grass growing in the streets of New York, Uncle Homer," said Christy, as they passed the Park, where the crowd seemed to be greater than elsewhere.
"There is certainly no grass here, and I am surprised to see that the city is as busy as ever," replied the commissioner in a subdued tone. "We have been told at the South that business was paralyzed in the cities of the North, except what little was created by the war."
"The war makes a vast amount of business, Uncle Homer," added Christy.
But the gentleman from the South was not disposed to talk, and he soon relapsed into silence. Mrs. Passford and Florry were very much astonished to see Christy again so soon, and even more so to meet Uncle Homer; but his welcome was cordial, and nothing was said about the exciting topic of the day. The visitor was treated like a friend, and not an enemy, and everything was done to make him forget that he was not in his own home.
Early the next morning the young lieutenant hastened to report on board of the Chateaugay, where Mr. Gilfleur had remained, though he haddivested himself of his disguise as soon as Captain Rombold was conveyed to other quarters. They were kept very busy that day giving their depositions in regard to the character of the Cadet, and of the admissions of Captain Vickers in regard to his intention to run the blockade. The ship had been coaled, and the next day she sailed again. She gave the Bermudas a wide berth, for she had another mission now, though she could probably have picked up one or two more of the blockade-runners Christy and his companion had seen in the harbor of St. George's.
Four days from Sandy Hook, very early in the morning, Abaco light was seen; and about fifty miles south of it was Nassau, on the island of New Providence, a favorite resort for blockade-runners at that time. The mission of the detective was at this port. Christy had again volunteered to be his companion, and they desired to get into the place as they had done in the Bermudas, without attracting the attention of any one, and especially not of those engaged in loading or fitting out vessels for the ports of the South.
As soon as the light was discovered, Captain Chantor ordered the course of the ship to bechanged to east; and till eight bells in the afternoon watch she continued to steam away from the Great Abaco Island. It was his intention to avoid being seen, though there was a chance to fall in with a blockade-runner. Standing to the south-west the last part of the day, the light at the Hole in the Wall, the southern point of Great Abaco Island, was made out in the evening. South-east of this point is the northern end of Eleuthera Island, where the Egg Island light could be seen. This was the locality where Mr. Gilfleur had decided to begin upon his mission.
His boat had been repaired by the carpenter after the shot from the Dornoch struck it, and it was now in as good condition as it had ever been. At eleven o'clock in the evening the Eleuthera was lowered into the water, with a supply of provisions and water, and such clothing and other articles as might be needed, on board. The weather was as favorable as it could be, with a good breeze from the north-west.
"Now, Mr. Gilfleur, I hope you will bring back as important information as you did from the Bermudas," said the captain, when the adventurers were ready to go on board of the boat.
"I hope so myself; but I don't know," replied the Frenchman. "I expect to find the Ovidio at Nassau; and, like the Dornoch, she is intended for a man-of-war. Mr. Passford and I will do the best we can."
"How long do you mean to be absent on this business?"
"About three days, as well as I can judge, though I have not had a chance to look over the ground. I have no doubt there are blockade-runners there, and we shall ascertain what we can in regard to them."
"I shall expect to pick you up to the eastward of the Hole in the Wall, and on the fourth night from the present time," added the captain. "You know that the navigation of this region is very dangerous."
"I am aware of it; but I have been here before, and I provided myself with a good chart in New York. I have studied it very attentively, and I have the feeling that I can make my way without any difficulty," replied Mr. Gilfleur confidently.
Christy had already taken his place in the boat, and the detective soon followed him. It seemed something like an old story, after his experience inthe Bermudas. The Eleuthera was cast off, the captain wished them a safe and prosperous voyage to their destination. The mainsail had been set, and the breeze soon wafted the boat away from the ship. The Chateaugay started her screw, and headed off to the eastward again, on the lookout for blockade-runners.
"Here is a light ahead," said Christy, after his companion had set the jib, and taken the helm.
"That is Egg Island light, about forty miles from Nassau. Our course is south-west, which gives us a fair wind," replied the skipper. "Now, Mr. Passford, you can do as you did on our former voyage in the Eleuthera: turn in and sleep till morning."
"That would not be fair. I will take my trick at the helm, as it seems to be plain sailing, and you can have your nap first," suggested Christy.
"No; I slept all the afternoon in anticipation of to-night, and I could not sleep if I tried," the skipper insisted. "By the way, Mr. Passford, I am somewhat afraid that the name of our boat may get us into trouble."
"Why so?" asked the other curiously.
"The island on our port hand is Eleuthera,about forty miles long. Of course it is well known at Nassau, and it may cause people to ask us some hard questions. We may even stumble upon the boat's former owner, who would claim her."
"We could buy her, or another like her, in that case," suggested Christy. "The name is painted on the stern board, and we might remove it, if necessary."
Mr. Gilfleur said so much about it that Christy finally turned in, and was soon fast asleep. He did not wake till daylight in the morning. He found that the boat was headed towards an island, while in the distance he saw the light on Hog Island, with a portion of the town of Nassau, and a fort. The skipper had his chart spread out on the seat at his side, and he was watching it very closely.
"Good-morning, Mr. Gilfleur. I suppose that must be Nassau ahead of us."
"Yes; that is Nassau. I expected to get here earlier in the morning than this, and I am not a little afraid to sail into the harbor at seven o'clock in the morning, as it will be before we can get there. The wind died out in the middle of the night, though I got it again very early this morning. I must get to the town in some other way.The land on the port is Rose Island, and Douglas Channel is just this side of it. I am going through that, and shall make my way to the back side of the island, where we can conceal the boat."
"I should say that would be a good idea," added Christy, as he took in the plan. "The water is as clear as crystal here, and you can see the bottom as plainly as though nothing came between your eye and the rock."
The skipper stationed his companion on the bow of the boat to watch for rocks; but none interfered with the progress of the Eleuthera. She sailed to the back side of the island of New Providence, where they found a secluded nook, in which they moored the craft.
The water was so clear that the bottom could be seen at all times, the white coral rock greatly assisting the transparency. From Douglas Channel, through which the boat had passed, the chart indicated that it was twenty miles to the point where the skipper desired to land, and it was nearly eleven o'clock when the Eleuthera ran into the little bay, extending over a mile into the island, and nearly landlocked. The shore was covered with tropical vegetation, including cocoa-nut palms, loaded with fruit, with palmettoes, wild palms, and many plants of which Christy did not even know the names.
"We could not have anything better than this," said Mr. Gilfleur, as he ran the boat into a tangle of mangroves and other plants.
"This bay appears to be about five miles from the town of Nassau, and I should say that noperson is likely to see the boat if it should stay here for a month," replied Christy, as he measured the distance across the island with the scale his companion had prepared.
"It will not take us long to walk that distance. There are all sorts of people in Nassau at the present time, as there were in St. George's and Hamilton; and we shall pass without exciting any particular attention."
"I think we had better look out for a cleaner place to land than this, for the mud seems to be about knee-deep," suggested Christy, as he tested the consistency of the shore with an oar.
"But there is hard ground within four feet of the water. I have a board in the bottom of the boat with which we can bridge the mud," replied the skipper. "But I think we had better have our lunch before we walk five miles."
"I am in condition to lunch," added Christy.
The sails had been furled, and everything put in order on board of the boat. The basket containing the provisions was brought out of the cuddy, and seated in the stern sheets they did ample justice to the meal. The detective had put on his suit of blue, and his companion dressedhimself as he had done in Bermuda, though he was not to act the part of a servant on this occasion.
"It will not do to acknowledge that we are Americans, and it would not be prudent to claim that we are Englishmen," said Mr. Gilfleur.
"Why not? We speak English; and you can pronounce it as well as I can," argued Christy.
"Because we may be catechised; though I know London almost as well as I do Paris, I am afraid you might be caught."
"I have been in London twice, though I don't know enough about it to answer all the questions that may be put to me," added Christy.
"In that case we had better be Frenchmen, as we were before. We are not likely to find many people here who speak French, for the visiting portion of the population must be people who are engaged in blockade-running. Probably there are some Southern magnates here, attending to the business of the Confederacy."
"They were here two years ago, when I was in Nassau for a few hours, on the lookout for steamers for their navy. I remember Colonel Richard Pierson, who was extremely anxious to purchasethe Bellevite, which anchored outside the light, for there was not water enough to allow her to cross the bar," said Christy, recalling some of the events of his first voyage in the steamer his father had presented to the government.
"Perhaps he is still in Nassau," suggested Mr. Gilfleur, with a shade of anxiety on his face.
"He would not recognize me now, for I have grown a good deal, and I hardly saw him. He employed his son, a young fellow of eighteen, to act for him in obtaining information in regard to the Bellevite. The son's name was Percy Pierson, and when he tried to pump me in regard to the Bellevite, I chaffed him till he lost all patience. Then he proposed to put the owner of our steamer, for she had not then been transferred to the government, in the way of making a fortune. I told him that the owner was determined to get rid of the ship, though I only meant to say that he intended to pass her over to the government. At any rate, Percy believed she was for sale, and he smuggled himself on board of her. He was not discovered till we were under way; and we had to take him with us."
"What became of this Percy Pierson?" asked the detective.
"We brought him off with us when we fought our way out of Mobile Bay. Off Carisfort Reef light we put him on board of a schooner belonging to Nassau; and that was the last I know about him."
"But I hope he is not in Nassau now," said Mr. Gilfleur.
"I don't believe he is, for his brother was doing his best to get him into the Confederate army."
"You must keep your eyes wide open for this fellow, Mr. Passford," added the skipper earnestly. "If he should recognize you, our enterprise would be ruined."
"I don't believe there is the least danger of that, for I am a different-looking fellow from what I was two years ago. But I will look out sharply for him, and for his father."
"We had better speak nothing but French between ourselves, and break up our English when we are obliged to use it," Mr. Gilfleur concluded, as he returned the basket of provisions to the cuddy, and locked the door.
The board was put down on the mud, and they walked ashore, dry-shod. The temporary bridge was taken up, and concealed in a mass of mangroves.The Eleuthera was so well covered up with trees and bushes that she was not likely to be discovered, unless some wanderer penetrated the thicket that surrounded her. A gentle elevation was directly before them, so that they could not see the town.
"We must not walk ten miles in making five," said the detective, as he produced a pocket compass. "Our course, as I took it from the chart, is due north, though it may bring us in at the western end of the town."
"Then we can bear a little to the east, though if we get to the town it will not make much difference where we strike it," added Christy.
The land showed the remains of plantations which had flourished there in the palmy days of the island. The ruins of several mansions and many small huts were seen. Cocoa-nut palms and orange-trees were abundant. After they had walked about a mile, they came upon what had been a road in former days, and was evidently used to some extent still. Taking this road, they followed it till they were satisfied that it would take them to Nassau.
The appearance of the island soon began toimprove. The trees showed that some care had been bestowed upon them, and an occasional mansion was noticed. Then the street began to be flanked with small houses, hardly better than huts, which were inhabited by the blacks. All the people they met were negroes, and they were as polite as though they had been brought up in Paris, for every one of the men either touched his hat or took it off to the strangers. The women bowed also; and both of the travellers returned the salutes in every instance.
As they proceeded, the houses became better, and many of them were used in part as shops, in which a variety of articles, including beer, was sold. Christy had seen the negroes of the Southern States, and he thought the Nassau colored people presented a much better appearance. At one of these little shops a carriage of the victoria pattern was standing. Doubtless the driver had gone in to refresh himself after a long course, for the vehicle was headed towards the town.
"I think we had better ride the rest of the way, if this carriage is not engaged," said M. Rubempré, for they had agreed to use the names they had adopted in the Bermudas. "What do you say, Christophe?"
"I like the idea; I am beginning to be a little tired, for I have not walked much lately," replied Christy.
At this moment the driver, a negro wearing a straw hat with a very broad brim, came out of the shop, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his coat. He bowed with even more deference than the generality of the people. The strangers were not elegantly or genteelly dressed, but they wore good clothes, and would have passed for masters of vessels, so far as their costumes were concerned.
"Is this your carriage?" demanded M. Rubempré.
"Yes, sir," replied the man in good English.
"How far you must go to get into Nassau?" inquired the detective, mangling his English enough to suit the occasion.
"Two miles, sir."
"How much you make pay to go to Nassau in ze carriage?"
"Fifty cents."
"Feefty cents; how much money was zat?"
"Arn't you Americans?"
"Non!" replied M. Rubempré with energy. "We have come from ze France; but I was beenin London, and I comprehend ze money of Eengland."
"Two shillings then," replied the driver, laughing.
"We go wiz you to ze Nassau," added the Frenchman, seating himself in the carriage, his companion taking a place at his side.
"Where do you want to go, sir?" asked the negro, as he closed the door of the victoria.
"We must go to Nassau," replied the detective, mangling his pronunciation even more than his grammar.
"Yes, I know; but where in Nassau do you wish to go? Shall I drive you to a hotel? The Royal Victoria is the best in the place."
"You shall take us to zat hotel."
For the sake of appearances, rather than for any other reason, each of the visitors to Nassau had brought with him a small hand-bag, containing such articles as might be useful to them. Having these evidences that they were travellers, it would be prudent to go to a hotel, though the want of more luggage had made the landlord in Hamilton suspicious of their ability to pay their bills.
Christy found enough to do during the ride toobserve the strange sights presented to his gaze, even in the outskirts of the town. The people were full of interest to him, and he wondered that his father had never made a winter trip in the West Indies in former years, instead of confining his visits to the more northern islands of the ocean.
The carriage arrived at the Royal Victoria Hotel, located on a ridge which has been dignified as a hill, a short distance in the rear of the business portion of the town. M. Rubempré produced his purse, which was well stuffed with sovereigns, more for the enlightenment of the clerk who came out when the vehicle stopped, than for the information of the driver, to whom he paid four florins, which was just double his fare.
"Do you speak French?" asked the guest in that language.
"No, sir; not a word of it," though he understood the question.
"We must have two chambers for one, two, t'ree day."
"All right; we have two that were vacated this morning," replied the clerk, as he led the way to the office, where the Frenchman registered his name, and his residence as in Paris.
Christy wrote the name of Christophe Poireau, also from Paris. Then they chatted together in French for a moment, in order to impress the clerk and others who were standing near with the fact that they spoke the polite language. They were shown to two small chambers, well up in the air, for the hotel seemed to be as full as the clerk had suggested that it was. The blockade business made the town and the hotel very lively.
The newly arrived guests did not waste any time in their rooms, but entered at once upon the work of their mission. On the piazza they halted to size up the other visitors at the hotel. From this high point of view they could see the harbor, crowded with vessels.
Christy's first care was to look about among the guests of the hotel gathered on the piazza, in order to ascertain if there was any person there whom he had ever met before. Very few of them were what could be classed as genteel people, and some of them were such people as one would not expect to see at a first-class hotel. They were dressed in seaman's garments for the most part, though not as common sailors; and doubtless many of them were commanders or officers of the vessels in the harbor.
Putting on an indifferent air he walked about the veranda, observing every person he encountered, as well as those who were seated in groups, engaged in rather noisy conversation, intermixed with a great deal of profanity. He breathed easier when he had made the circuit of the piazzas on the first floor, though there were two others onthe stories above it, for he found no one he could identify as a person he had seen before.
There were quite a number of steamers in the harbor, or in that part of it which lies inside of the bar and in front of the town, with at least three times as many sailing craft. No doubt many of the latter, as well as the former, had brought cargoes of cotton from Confederate ports; for though the blockade was regarded as effective, and treated as such by foreign nations, many small vessels contrived to escape from obscure harbors on the Southern coast. Christy had been concerned in the capture of a considerable number of such. On the wharves were stacks of cotton which had been landed from these vessels, and several of them were engaged in transferring it to small steamers, for large ones were unable to cross the bar. But the visitors had no business with the vessels thus engaged, for they had completed their voyages, and were exempt from capture.
"I have taken not a few prisoners in or off Southern ports, and it would not greatly surprise me if I should meet some one I had met before," said Christy, in French, as he resumed his seat by the side of the detective.
"Then I fear that your coming with me was a mistake," replied M. Rubempré. "You must be extremely cautious, not only for your own protection, but because you may compromise me, and cause me to fail in the accomplishment of my mission here."
"I should be sorry to interfere with your work, and I think we had better separate," replied Christy, very much disturbed at the suggestion of his friend. "If I can do no good, I certainly do not wish to do any harm."
"No, my friend; I cannot desert you, especially if you are in peril," protested the detective. "How could I ever look your father in the face if I permitted you to get into trouble here?"
"I don't think I shall get into trouble, even if I am recognized by some person. This is not Confederate territory, though it looks very much like it; for all the people around us are talking secession, and the inhabitants sympathize with the South to the fullest extent. I could not be captured and sent to a Confederate State, or be subjected to any violence, for the authorities would not permit anything of the kind," Christy argued with energy.
"I am not so sure of that."
"I have no doubt in regard to my own safety; but if you appear to be connected with me in any manner, and I were identified as a United States naval officer, of course it would ruin your enterprise. For this reason I insist that we separate, and I will take a room at another hotel."
Christy was determined, and in the end the detective had to yield in substance to him, though it was agreed, for reasons that seemed to be good, that M. Rubempré should change his hotel. They arranged to meet after dark in the grounds in the rear of the Royal Victoria, to consult in regard to the future.
"In the mean time I will do what I can to obtain information in regard to steamers bound to Confederate ports. I will still claim to be a Frenchman, and talk pigeon English," continued Christy.
"If any misfortune happens to you, Christophe, I shall blame myself for it," added the Frenchman.
"You cannot fairly do that, for it will not be through any fault of yours. If I fail to meet you as agreed, you can look for me. If you cannot find me, you must leave at the time agreed uponwith Captain Chantor, whether I go with you or not. But I have no idea that anything will happen to prevent me from returning to the ship with you."
"I could not leave without you," said the detective moodily.
"If you do not, you will be likely to get the Chateaugay into trouble; for if we did not return to her, she would probably come into this port after us."
"I will consider the matter before I assent to it," returned M. Rubempré, rising from his chair.
Christy was fully resolved not to endanger the mission of his companion, and he left the hotel. He walked slowly down Parliament to Bay Street, which is the principal business avenue of the town, running parallel to the shore. It was lined with shops, saloons, and small hotels on one side, and with the market and wharves on the other. He desired to see what he could of the place, and pick up all the information that would be serviceable to an officer of the navy.
illustration of quoted scene"His blood was boiling with indignation at the unprovoked assault."(Page 207)
As he passed a drinking-saloon a torrent of loud talk, spiced with oaths, flowed out from the place. Before he had fairly passed the door a violent handwas laid upon him, seizing him by the collar with no gentle grasp. The ruffian had fallen upon him from the rear, and he could not see who it was that assaulted him. The man attempted to drag him into the saloon; but he was evidently considerably affected by his potations in the place, and his legs were somewhat tangled up by the condition of his brain.
Christy attempted, by a vigorous movement, to shake off his assailant; but the fellow held on, and he found it impossible to detach his grasp. His blood was boiling with indignation at the unprovoked assault, and his two fists were clinched so tight that iron could hardly have been harder and tougher. He levelled a blow at the head of the ruffian, who still kept in his rear, and delivered it with all the power of his strong arm.
The assailant reeled, and released his hold, for his head must have whirled around like a top under the crashing blow it had sustained. Christy turned so that he could see the ruffian. He was a stalwart fellow, at least fifty pounds heavier than the young lieutenant. His nose was terribly disfigured, not by the blow of the young officer, for, twisted as it was, there was no sign of a freshwound upon it. One glance was enough to satisfy Christy as to the identity of the ruffian.
It was Captain Flanger, whose steamer Christy had captured, with a boat expedition sent out from the Bronx, in St. Andrew's Bay. He was a prisoner, but had escaped, and invaded the cabin of the Bronx, where he attempted to make Christy sign an order which would have resulted in delivering the steamer to the enemy. The heroic young commander, preferring death to dishonor, had refused to sign the order. The affair had culminated in a sort of duel in the cabin, in which Christy, aided by his faithful steward, had hit Flanger in the nose with his revolver.
The ruffian had sworn to be revenged at the time, and he seemed to have chosen the present occasion to wreak his vengeance upon the destroyer of his nasal member. The blow his victim had struck was a set-back to him; but he presently recovered the balance of his head which the shock had upset. It was plain enough that he had not given up the battle, for he had drawn back with the evident intention of using his clinched fists upon his adversary.
"Hit him again, Flanger!" shouted one of thebrutal occupants of the saloon, who now filled the doorway.
The affair was rapidly becoming serious, and Christy was debating with himself whether or not he should draw a revolver he carried in his pocket; but he was cool enough to realize that he was on neutral ground, and that it would be very imprudent to be the first to resort to deadly weapons. He could not run away, for his self-respect would not permit him to do so. He braced himself up to meet the onslaught of the ruffian.
Flanger charged upon him, and attempted to plant a blow with his fist in the face of his intended victim; but the young officer parried it, and was about to follow up the movement with a blow, when Monsieur Rubempré rushed in between them, struck the assailant such a blow that he went over backwards. In fact, the man was too much intoxicated to stand without considerable difficulty.
At this moment a couple of colored policemen rushed in between the combatants. The tipplers in the saloon picked up their comrade, and stood him on his feet. The Nassau officers doubtless had a great deal of this sort of quarrelling, fordrinking strong liquors was the principal occupation of the officers and crews of the blockade-runners while in port and on shore.
"What is all this about? Who began this quarrel?" demanded one of them, as he looked from one party to the other in the battle.
"I was passing the door of this saloon, and did not even look into it, when that man rushed upon me, and seized me by the collar," replied Christy. "I tried to shake him off, but I could not, and then I struck him in the side of the head."
"Look here, you nigger!" shouted Captain Flanger. "It's none of your business who began it."
"I shall arrest you for a breach of the peace," said the policeman.
"I don't reckon you will. Do you see my nose? Look at it! Don't you see that it is knocked into a cocked hat?" said Flanger fiercely.
"I see it is; but what has that to do with this matter?" asked the negro officer.
"That man shot my nose off!" roared Flanger. "I am going to kill him for it, if it costs me my head!"
"You shall not kill him here," protested theguardian of the peace. "You have been drinking too much, sir, and you must go with me and get sobered off."
The two policemen walked up to him with the intention of arresting him; but he showed fight. He was too tipsy to make an effectual resistance. His companions in the saloon huddled around him, and endeavored to compel the policemen to let go their hold of him; but they held on to their prisoner till two more officers came, and Flanger was dragged out into the street, and then marched to the jail.
Christy was very much surprised that nothing was said to him by the officers about the affair in which he had been one of the principal actors. He had expected to be summoned as a witness against the prisoner they had taken, but not a word was said to him. He looked about to see if the detective was in sight, but he had disappeared.
"That was an ugly-looking man," said a gentleman in the street, after the carousers had returned to the saloon. "I hope he has not injured you."
"Not at all, sir; he was too drunk to do all he could have done if he had been in full possession of his faculties, for he is a much heavier personthan I am," replied Christy. "Why was I not summoned as a witness at his examination?"
"Oh, bless you, sir! they will not examine or try him; they will sober him off, and then discharge him. He is the captain of that little steamer near the public wharf. She is called the Snapper, and will sail for the States on the high tide at five o'clock."
"Do you know to what port she is bound?" asked Christy.
"Mobile."
The young officer walked down to the public wharf to see the Snapper.
The Snapper was quite a small craft, and looked like an old vessel; for she was a side-wheeler, though she had evidently been built for a sea-going craft. Whether Flanger had escaped from the Bellevite after being transferred to her from the Bronx, or had been regularly exchanged as a prisoner of war, Christy had no means of knowing. It made little difference; he was in Nassau, and he was thirsting for revenge against him.
The young officer did not feel that the brutal wretch had any reasonable cause to complain of him, and especially no right to revenge himself for an injury received while his assailant was the aggressor. He had done his duty to his country. He had been compelled to act promptly; and he had not aimed his revolver particularly at the nose of his dangerous assailant. Flanger was engaged in a foolhardy enterprise; and the mutilation ofhis nasal member had resulted very naturally from his folly.
His enemy was probably a good sailor, and he was a bold ruffian. Christy had captured the steamer loaded with cotton, in which he was all ready to sail from St. Andrew's Bay; and doubtless this was his first reason for hating the young officer. But no soldier or sailor of character would ever think of such a thing as revenging himself for an injury received in the strife, especially if it was fairly inflicted. The business of war is to kill, wound, and capture, as well as for each side to injure the other in person and property to the extent of its ability.
"Want a boat, sir?" asked a negro, who saw that Christy was gazing at the Snapper, even while he was thinking about his quarrel with Captain Flanger.
"Where is your boat?" asked the officer.
"Right here, sir," replied the boatman, pointing to the steps at the landing-place. "The best sailboat in the harbor, sir."
"I want to sail about this bay for a couple of hours," added Christy, as he stopped on the upper step to examine the craft.
It was built exactly like the Eleuthera, though not quite so large.
"I saw you looking at the steamer there," said the boatman, pointing to the vessel in which Christy was interested. "Do you wish to go on board of her, sir?"
"No; I desire only to sail about the harbor, and perhaps go outside the bar. Can you cross it in this boat?"
"Yes, sir; no trouble at all about crossing it in the Dinah. Take you over to Eleuthera, if you like."
"No; I only want to sail about the harbor, and look at the vessels in port," replied Christy.
While he was looking at the boat, he became conscious that a young man, who was standing on the capsill of the wharf, was looking at him very earnestly. He only glanced at him, but did not recognize him. He had taken the first step in the descent of the stairs, when this person put his hand upon his shoulder to attract his attention. Christy looked at him, and was sure that he had seen him before, though he failed to identify him.
"How are you, Christy?" said the stranger. "Don't you know me?"
"Your face has a familiar look to me, but I am unable to make you out at first sight," replied the young officer, more puzzled as he examined the features of the young man, who appeared to be about twenty years old.
"You and I both have grown a great deal in the last two years, since we first met on this very wharf; but I am Percy Pierson, and you and I were fellow-voyagers in the Bellevite."
"I think you have changed in that time more than I have, or I should have recognized you," answered Christy very coldly, for he was not at all pleased to be identified by any person.
"You are a good deal larger than when I saw you last time, but you look just the same. I am glad to see you, Christy, for you and I ran a big rig over in Mobile Bay," continued Percy, as he extended his hand to the other.
Christy realized that it would be useless as well as foolish to deny his identity to one who knew him so well. A moment's reflection assured him that he must make the best of the circumstances; but he wished with all his might that he had not come to Nassau. He was particularly glad that he had insisted upon separating from Mr. Gilfleur,for the present encounter would have ruined his mission. The young man's father was Colonel Richard Pierson, a neighbor of Homer Passford; and he was a Confederate commissioner for the purchase of vessels for the rebel navy, for running the blockade. Doubtless the son was his father's assistant, as he had been at the time of Christy's first visit.
Percy was not a person of very heavy brain calibre, as his companion had learned from an association of several weeks with him. Christy believed that he might obtain some useful information from him; and he decided, since it was impossible to escape the interview, to make the best of it, and he accepted the offered hand. He did not consider the young Southerner as much of a rebel, for he had refused to shoulder a musket and fight for the cause.
"I begin to see your former looks, and particularly your expression," said Christy. "I am very glad to see you, and I hope you have been very well since we met last."
"Very well indeed."
"Do you live here, Percy?"
"I have lived here most of the time since weparted on board of the Bellevite, and you put me on board of a schooner bound to Nassau. That was a very good turn you did me, for I believed you would take me to New York, and pitch me into a Yankee prison. I was very grateful to you, for I know it was your influence that saved me."
This remark seemed to put a new face upon the meeting. Christy had done nothing to cause him to be set free; for the Bellevite, though she had beaten off several steamers that attempted to capture her, was not in the regular service at the time, her mission in the South being simply to bring home the daughter of her owner, who had passed the winter with her uncle at Glenfield.
"I am very glad I was able to do you a good turn," replied Christy, who considered it his duty to take advantage of the circumstances. "I am just going out to take a sail; won't you join me?"
"Thank you; I shall be very glad to do so. I suppose you are a Yankee still, engaged in the business of subjugating the free South, as I am still a rebel to the backbone," replied Percy, laughing very pleasantly.
"But you are not in the rebel army now, anymore than you were at that time," added Christy in equally good humor.
"I am not. You know all about my army experience. My brother, the major, sends me a letter by every chance he can get, and has offered to have my indiscretion, as he called it, in leaving the camp, passed over, if I will save the honor of the family by returning to the army; but my father insists that I can render better service to the cause as his assistant."
Christy led the way down the steps, and the two seated themselves in the bow of the boat. The skipper shoved off after he had set his sails, and the boat stood out towards the Snapper, for he could hardly avoid passing quite near to her.
"What are you doing in Nassau, Christy?" asked Percy.
This was a hard question, and it was utterly impossible to make a truthful reply without upsetting the plan of Mr. Gilfleur, and rendering useless the voyage of the Chateaugay to the Bahamas.
"I am in just as bad a scrape as you were when you were caught on board of the Bellevite," replied Christy after a moment's reflection.
"Are you a prisoner of war?"
"How could I be a prisoner in a neutral port like Nassau? No; I do not regard myself as a prisoner just now," answered Christy very good-humoredly.
"But you have been a prisoner, and you have escaped in some vessel that run the blockade. I see it all; and you need not stop to explain it," said Percy, who flattered himself on his brilliant perception.
"The less I say about it the better it will be for me," added Christy, willing to accept the situation as his companion had marked it out.
"But you must not let my father see you."
"I never met Colonel Pierson, though I saw him once, and he would not know me if we should meet."
"Then don't let him know who you are."
"He will not know, unless you tell him."
"You may be very sure that I will not mention you to him, or to anybody else, for that matter," replied Percy very earnestly.
But Christy did not put any confidence in his assertion. Percy was really a deserter from the Confederate army, and he knew that he had in several instances acted the traitor's part. He hadmore respect for an out-and-out rebel than for one who shirked his duty to his country as he understood it.
"I have been afraid some one might identify me here," suggested Christy, determined not to over-act his part.
"I might help you out of the scrape," said Percy, who appeared to be reflecting upon something that had come to his mind. "I suppose you are aware that most of the vessels in this harbor, and those outside the bar, are directly or indirectly interested in blockade-running."
"I supposed so, but I know nothing about it."
"Some of them have brought in cotton, with which others are loading for England. My business as my father's clerk takes me on board of most of them, and I know the captains and other officers very well. This little steamer we have just passed was bought for a Mobile man by my father. She carried a full cargo of goods into Mobile, and came out again full of cotton. She is called the Snapper, and she is a regular snapper at her business. She is now all loaded, and will sail on the next tide. I am well acquainted with her captain."
"What sort of a man is he?" asked Christy in an indifferent tone.
"He is a very good fellow; bold as an eagle, and brave as a lion. He drinks too much whiskey for his own good; but he knows all the ports on the Gulf of Mexico, and he gets in or out in face of the blockaders every time," answered Percy with enthusiasm.
"Did he never lose a vessel?"
"Never but one; that was the Floridian, and I reckon you know as much about that affair as any other person, Christy," replied Percy, laughing as though it had been a good joke on Captain Flanger.
"I know something about it."
"Your uncle, Colonel Passford, lost several vessels, and you had a hand in their capture. But never mind that; you did me a good turn, and I never go back on a friend. Now, my dear fellow, I do not think it will be safe for you to remain here. You are looked upon as a dangerous fellow along the Gulf coast, as Colonel Passford writes to my father; and if my governor should get a hint that you were here, he would make a business of getting you inside a Confederate prison."
"I am under the flag of England just now, and that is supposed to protect neutrals."
"That's all very well, my dear fellow; but mygovernor could manage your affair in some way. I can make a trade with the captain of the Snapper to put you ashore at Key West."
"You are very kind, Percy."
"It will be necessary for you to buy a boat here, one with a sail, which can be carried on the deck of the steamer," continued Percy, evidently much interested in the scheme he was maturing.
At this moment the Dinah was passing under the stern of a steamer, on which Christy read the name "Ovidio."