Captain Battleton spoke to Christy as though he had met him before, and needed no introduction. He was glad to see that the young officer was better, which indicated that he had been sick. He was confounded by the situation, for he had not been sick an hour, and he had never seen the commander of the Vernon in his life. The petty officer had told him that he appeared to be quite sick when he came on board the night before.
What he had learned within the last few moments was even more perplexing than the mysterious visitation at Bonnydale. Then the appearance of Walsh on board, and his denial of his identity, were still in his mind, and he wondered whether or not all these strange circumstances had any connection. But he was standing in the presence of the commander ofthe steamer, and he had no time to reach a conclusion of any kind, satisfactory or otherwise.
Christy took the offered hand of Captain Battleton, and looked earnestly into his face to determine whether he had ever seen him before; but the face was entirely new to him. He was quite confident that he had never seen the commander before. There was something rather ludicrous in the situation, and he felt as though he was taking part in a farce; at any rate, there was nothing serious or compromising in it, and in spite of the confusion in his mind, he could not help smiling.
"I thank you, Captain Battleton, for your very kind interest in the state of my health, but with the exception of the first signs of a cold in the head, I never was better in my life," said Christy in reply to the salutation of the commander, still holding his hand.
"Then you have improved wonderfully since last evening," added Captain Battleton.
"I am glad to be informed of the fact, for I am not conscious of any such improvement as you describe. In fact, I am not in quite so good condition in a sanitary point of view as I waslast evening, for I took my cold about midnight, or a little later, last night," added Christy, his smile becoming a little more pronounced.
It was now the turn of Captain Battleton to be puzzled, if not mystified, by the statement of his passenger, and he looked inquiringly into his face as if to ascertain if he was not the victim of a practical joke. But naval officers on duty are not given to pleasantries; and if he had any such suspicion, he banished it at once, for there was nothing in the appearance of the lieutenant to warrant it.
"Pardon me, Mr. Passford, but were you not sick when you came on board of the Vernon last evening?" asked the commander, with something like a frown upon his brow as the situation became more bewildering.
"If you will excuse me for making an indirect reply, captain, I did not come on board of the Vernon last evening," answered Christy, his smile becoming still more decided; and if he had not been on the quarter-deck of a vessel in service, he might have suspected that he was himself the victim of a practical joke.
"You did not come on board of the Vernonlast evening!" exclaimed Captain Battleton, gazing very earnestly into the face of his passenger.
"I did not, captain," replied Christy quietly, though he was amused rather than disquieted by the earnestness of the commander.
"You did not?"
"Certainly not; and if my simple affirmation is not enough, I could prove that I slept in my father's house at Bonnydale last night, took my breakfast there this morning, and was in the city of New York at ten o'clock this forenoon," answered Christy, in the best of humor.
"This is very strange," said Captain Battleton, fixing his gaze upon the planks on which he stood, possibly considering whether he or his passenger was dreaming or out of his head.
"If I were still at Brooklyn doubtless I could find the boatman who put me on board of the Vernon not more than an hour ago," continued Christy, willing to convince his auditor that he was entirely in earnest in his statement.
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Passford, but I did not intend to question the truth of your reply to my question," said the commander, fearing that he had overstated his doubts. "I amsimply bewildered, confused, confounded by this interview."
"So am I, captain," added the lieutenant, laughing outright at the perplexity in which both of them were involved. "I have told you the simple truth in regard to my movements."
"And you did not come on board of the Vernon last evening?"
"Emphatically I did not."
"You were not sick last evening?"
"I was not; not even as sick as I am at this moment," replied Christy, using his handkerchief.
"I don't understand it," said Captain Battleton, shaking his head.
"Now, captain, will you permit me ask what you do not understand, for I assure you I am profoundly ignorant of the situation which perplexes you. I was ordered to be on board of the Vernon at one o'clock, and I found her under way at eleven. I happened to find a boatman before I left the ferry-boat, who put me on board, or I should have missed my passage. That is simply all I know about the matter."
"When I called upon you in your stateroom this morning, you told me that"—
"I beg your pardon, Captain Battleton, but I have not been in any stateroom, sick or well, on board of the Vernon, and I respectfully suggest that it was quite impossible for you to have called upon me this morning, or at any other time," Christy interposed, very pleasantly, though quite as perplexed as the commander.
"Of course I shall not raise an issue as to your veracity, Mr. Passford, but after the statement you have made to me, I must change the form of my phraseology," continued the commander, using a smile to cover any possible doubts or suspicions in his mind. "When I called at the stateroom of the officer who reported on board last evening as Lieutenant Christopher Passford, he told me that I was expected to get under way and proceed to my destination as soon as the officer and the seamen were on board."
"Did he bring you an order to this effect?" asked Christy more seriously.
"He did not, and perhaps I have made a mistake, though my superior officer told me at the yard that it would be safe for me to obey the verbal order," replied Captain Battleton, looking somewhat troubled.
"I have no intention to meddle with what does not concern me, captain. It appears that Lieutenant Passford has already reported to you," said Christy; and this was the astounding fact to him of the situation.
He was absolutely confident that he was himself Lieutenant Christopher Passford, and as absolutely confident that the other officer could not be that person, whoever else he might be. The commander appeared to be considering what Christy had suggested to him in regard to his orders, and the passenger had a minute or two to think of the situation in which he found himself placed. But what was the use to think of it? He was at the end of a blind alley, where there was no light from any direction except that by which he had entered it. He had no premises from which to reason, and it was useless to consider the matter.
"Mr. Passford, I find myself placed in a very unpleasant position," said the commander, after he had deliberated a few minutes. "I have stated the facts to you; and the deduction I have to draw from them is, that I have two persons by the name of Lieutenant Passford on board."
"That seems to me to be a correct deduction," added Christy.
"The brilliant officer who bears this name is too well known to hide his light under a bushel. I have not the honor to be personally acquainted with him, and therefore I am unable to decide which of the gentlemen who report to me under that name is the real one."
"Precisely so."
"You will pardon me if I add that I think one or the other of them must be an impostor," added Captain Battleton with some diffidence.
"That is a perfectly justifiable conclusion; and it rests with you to decide which is the genuine Lieutenant Passford, and which is the impostor," replied Christy frankly. "You will be perfectly justified in calling upon both for all the evidence they are able to present. I suggest that each of them must carry his commission about him, as well as his orders from the department; and it seems to me that these documents will enable you to decide without any delay;" and Christy involuntarily put his hand upon his breast pocket, where he carried these valuable papers.
He could feel the envelope that contained them, and he was satisfied of the triumph which awaited him when the evidence should be required of thetwo claimants of the name. At the same time he felt that he was moving in a cloud of mystery, which had begun to enfold him in the middle of the preceding night.
"I thank you for the suggestion, Mr. Passford, and I must say that you seem to be entirely fair," said the commander.
"If I am the impostor, I do not know myself; but I have no desire to forestall your decision. You saw the sick officer when he came on board last evening, and you have visited him in his stateroom to-day. Do I look enough like him to be taken for him?" asked Christy with a smile, as he placed himself in an attitude to be scrutinized by the commander.
"I am sure that you do, sir; and when I saw you on the quarter-deck for the first time, I had no doubt you were the officer who came on board sick last evening," replied Captain Battleton.
"That makes it all the more remarkable, for I was not aware that there was any officer in the navy who resembled me so closely," added Christy more bewildered than before, and beginning to scent a plot of some kind against him or his country.
"I must say that any man who will take upon himself the position and reputation of the real Lieutenant Passford is a bold man, and even, if he succeeds in taking his place, he will fail in playing therôle."
"I should thank you, Captain Battleton, for the compliment, if I were not under suspicion of being some other person. May I ask when it will be convenient for you to settle the question, for it is not pleasant for me to feel that I am looked upon as even a possible impostor?"
"I shall not regard you as an impostor, Mr. Passford, for I mean to be entirely impartial, and I shall not brand you even in thought until the evidence warrants me in doing so," replied the commander, as he called the surgeon who was just coming on deck. "How do you find your patient, Dr. Connelly?"
"I find him—I thought I found him; but he appears to be on deck," replied the surgeon, as he fixed his gaze upon Christy, preluded by a start, dramatic enough to prove that he was astonished to find his patient was not in his room below. "I left him not five minutes ago, for I have not yet been able to discover what ails him. Hecomplained of a severe headache and pains in his bones; but he has not a particle of fever, or any symptom of anything that I can discover. I am glad to see you on deck, Mr. Passford. How is your headache?"
"If I have had any headache, I have entirely recovered from it," replied Christy, laughing heartily. "I came on board only an hour ago, doctor, and I have had no headache, thank you."
"Looking at you more closely, I see that you are not my patient, and you will excuse me for giving you a headache. But you resemble my patient very closely," added the doctor.
"I did not answer your question, Mr. Passford," interposed Captain Battleton. "In an hour we will settle the question."
Christy seated himself and began to consider the strange situation.
The Vernon continued on her course, and in another hour the pilot had been discharged. Christy had puzzled his brains over the events of the day and the night before without being able to arrive at any satisfactory conclusion. He was extremely anxious to see the officer who had taken his name and assumed his character, as he was to obtain all the information within his reach. His reflections assured him that some one had chosen therôleof an impostor for the purpose of accomplishing some treasonable object, and he was anxious to fathom the mystery for his country's sake rather than his own.
Captain Battleton would soon begin his investigation, and Christy was confident that the sick officer would be proved to be the impostor. He was not at all worried or even disturbed in regardto the result, for he felt that "truth is mighty and must prevail." His only solicitude was to unravel the plot. Bands of Confederates had been put on board of several steamers for the purpose of capturing them; and it was possible that this plan had been adopted to obtain possession of the Vernon, for she was a good vessel, and was fitted out as a man-of-war.
It was plain enough to Christy that the remarkable attempt of one or the other of the officers on board as passengers to personate the other had been explained to those on the quarter-deck, for he observed that they all regarded him with curiosity, and were interested in the matter. As the surgeon passed near him he spoke to him.
"Does your patient below seem to be improving, doctor?" he asked.
"He still complains that his head and his bones ache, so that I cannot say he is improving," replied Dr. Connelly.
"How old a man does he appear to be?"
"I should take him for a young man of twenty or twenty-one, but he says he is only eighteen. He is a very young officer to be put in charge of a steamer, for I understand that he is orderedto the command of the Bronx. But then he has made a reputation as the commander of that vessel, which doubtless justifies his appointment."
"Does he talk at all?"
"Oh, yes; he has told me about some of his exploits; and as he seems to forget his aches when he speaks of them, I have encouraged him to talk as much as possible."
"Is he really sick, doctor?" asked Christy, with a smile which meant something.
"He says he is, and I have to take his word for it," replied the surgeon, with a corresponding smile.
"I heard you tell the captain that you could not make out the nature of his malady."
"I cannot so far, though that does not prove that he is not sick; but I will venture to say he could not get his discharge from the navy on his present symptoms. He may have drunk too much wine or whiskey recently, though he certainly was not in liquor when he came on board."
"How is your patient, Dr. Connelly?" asked Captain Battleton, joining them at this moment.
"About the same the last time I saw him. Heate all the toast I sent to him, and seemed to enjoy it. I don't think he is in a dangerous condition," replied the surgeon.
"I am glad to hear it. Have you informed him that we have another lieutenant on board of the Vernon?" continued the commander.
"No, captain: I have not. That is not my affair, and I don't meddle with what does not concern me."
"An excellent rule. Is he aware of the fact that there is another Richmond in the field?"
"If he is, he has said nothing to me about the matter."
"Do you think he could go out into the cabin, doctor?" asked the captain. "I wish to see him on a matter of the utmost importance. Is he dressed?"
"He is; he dressed himself this morning, and sits up part of the time."
"Then you will oblige me by getting him into the cabin; I mean my cabin. I will be there in ten minutes."
The surgeon went below, leaving the commander and Christy together.
"Can you make anything of this affair yet, Mr. Passford?" asked Captain Battleton.
"I can come to no conclusion in regard to it, though I may be able to do so when I have seen my double," replied Christy, whose curiosity in regard to the sick officer was strongly excited. "It looks like a conspiracy of some kind, but I can go no farther in the direction of a solution."
The commander looked at his watch after they had conversed a little while longer, and then invited Christy to visit his cabin with him. The other Lieutenant Passford was seated in an arm-chair at the table. Christy looked at him with the deepest interest, but the back of the other was turned to him, and he did not get a full view of his face. The sick man was dressed in the naval uniform with the shoulder straps of a lieutenant.
"I wish to introduce a gentleman to you; Lieutenant Passford, let me make you acquainted with Lieutenant Passford," said the commander as he led the way into the captain's cabin.
"Thank you, Captain Battleton; I shall be very happy to make the acquaintance of Lieutenant Passford," said the occupant of the cabin,rising as he spoke, and approaching Christy. "Corny Passford!" exclaimed the sick officer. "I did not expect to see you here. This gentleman is my own cousin, Captain Battleton, though I am sorry to say that he is a rebel; but for all that he is one of the finest fellows in the known world, and you will appreciate everything about him except his politics, which I do not admire myself."
Christy was not stunned or overwhelmed by this impudent speech. He looked at the speaker, and promptly recognized his cousin Corny. He was astonished at the brazen assurance of the other, for he had always seemed to him to be a fairly modest young man. Corny extended his hand to Christy, and it was accepted.
"I am very glad to see you, Corny," said he of the South, "and not the less glad because the meeting is so unexpected."
"It is certainly very unexpected on my part, Corny," replied Christy, who began to comprehend the object of his cousin; but there was something so ludicrous in the situation that he was more disposed to laugh than to look upon it seriously.
"I am very glad to see you, Corny," continuedhe who bore that name in reality. "I did not expect to find you on board of the Vernon. How are uncle Homer, aunt Lydia, and Gerty?"
"I have not seenmyuncle Homer for several months; but I had not the remotest idea that you had an uncle Homer," replied Christy, laughing heartily, for the situation seemed so amusing to him that the serious part of his cousin's obvious plan had so far hardly dawned upon him. "I should like to inquire of you, as one good turn deserves another, in regard to the health of your father and mother and Gerty."
"My father is quite well, but he left Bonnydale last Tuesday to go to Washington, and had not returned when I left home. My mother is quite well, and so is Florry," replied the sick officer, who did not appear to be suffering from a very severe headache just then, for he was quite cheerful and animated.
"This appears to be a family party," interposed Captain Battleton, who was very much amused to hear each of the young officers call the other by the same name, and both of them appeared to be Corny Passford.
"It is a family party, captain," replied the sick officer, smiling as cheerfully as though he had never had any practical knowledge of headache and pains in the bones, which was the description of his malady given to the surgeon. "As I have hinted before, my cousin Corny is a rebel of the first order; and you can imagine my astonishment at finding him in the uniform of a lieutenant on board a United States naval vessel."
"Good, Corny!" exclaimed Christy, dropping upon the divan of the cabin and laughing heartily.
"I can easily imagine your astonishment, Mr. Passford, for it seems to me to be a very remarkable state of things," added the captain, as he looked from one to the other of the claimants. "One thing seems to be admitted by both of you, that you are both Passfords, and that you are cousins."
"So far we do not disagree by the breadth of a hair. My cousin Corny wasraisedin the South, while I was raised in the North," continued the sick passenger.
"I don't like to contradict my cousin, but I wasbrought upin the North," said Christy, hoping Captain Battleton would notice the difference in the phraseology.
"Then you were both brought up in the North," suggested the captain.
"Not at all, for, as I said, my cousin Corny was brought up in the South, at Glenfield, near Mobile," protested the ailing officer, who was careful this time not to use the word "raised."
"Where were you yesterday, Corny?" asked Christy, suddenly suppressing his mirth.
"I was in New York, preparing to come on board of the Vernon."
"Then you were not at Bonnydale?" demanded Christy sharply.
"Of course I was there; but it was a pretty day, and I went to the city to attend to some affairs of mine," replied the sick man, with the first signs of embarrassment he had exhibited.
"In spite of the fact that it was a pretty day, I should think you would have spent your last day on shore with your mother and sister as I did," replied Christy.
"I was sick, and I wished to be as near the Vernon as possible. I felt better in the afternoon and attended to my affairs; but I got bad again in the afternoon, and I came on board in the evening, for I was afraid I should not be able todo so in the morning," answered the invalid, becoming as lively as before.
"Gentlemen, this seems to be a strange muddle," said the captain, who was not disposed to listen any longer to the sparring between the cousins. "At the suggestion of the lieutenant who came on board this forenoon, I have taken the earliest opportunity to settle the question as to which is the original and genuine Mr. Passford who was ordered on board of the Vernon as a passenger for the Gulf, and who, I am informed, is appointed to the command of the Bronx. I have not much time to spare, and if you do not object, I shall call in the first lieutenant and the surgeon to take part in this conference. I am perplexed, and I desire witnesses if not assistants in these proceedings."
"I have not the slightest objection to the presence of as many officers as you may choose to call in," added the invalid.
"I shall be equally reasonable," said Christy. "The more witnesses there are the better it will suit me."
Captain Battleton struck a bell on his table, and sent the steward who answered it to procure theattendance of the officers indicated, and they soon presented themselves.
"Gentlemen, Lieutenant Salisbury, the executive officer of the Vernon," said the captain. "Both of these gentlemen are Lieutenant Christopher Passford," he added, with a twinkle of the eye. "Dr. Connelly, you have both met."
"Are we to understand that one of these officers is the double of the other?" asked the first lieutenant, who seemed to be disposed to take in the situation as a pleasantry of the commander.
"Hardly; both of them claim to be the same officer, and I have invited you to assist me in deciding which is the real Mr. Passford."
The entire party then seated themselves at the table.
Captain Horatio Passford lived at Bonnydale on the Hudson. He was rich in several millions of dollars, but he was richer in the possession of a noble character, one of the most prominent traits of which was his patriotism. He had presented his large and fast-sailing steam yacht to the government of the nation at the beginning of the struggle. His motto was, "Stand by the Union," and from the first he had done everything in his power to sustain his country against the assaults of dissolution.
illustration of quoted sceneThe Conference in the Captain's Cabin.—Page 70.
He had a wife, a daughter, and a son, and his family were as patriotic as he was himself. At sixteen Christy, the son, had gone into the navy. He had learned to be a sailor and an engineer in his repeated cruises in the Bellevite, his father's large steam yacht, now a man-of-war in the navy. In two years the young man had worked his way upto the rank of lieutenant. He was very large for his age, and his nautical and mechanical education had prepared him for service to a degree which made him almost a prodigy, though his courage and skill had been fully equalled, if not surpassed, by other naval officers not older than himself.
Homer Passford, the only brother of his father, had early in life settled in Alabama, and become a planter, where he had made a respectable fortune, though he was a poor man compared with the northern brother. He had a wife, a son, and a daughter. At the beginning of the war of the Rebellion he had promptly espoused the cause of the South, and from his point of view, he was fully as patriotic as his brother on the other side. He was ready to give himself, his son, and his fortune to the independence of the South. His character was quite as noble as that of his brother, and he had done all he could in person and with his wealth to insure the success of the Southern cause.
His son Cornelius followed the lead of his father, and was faithful to the teachings given him in his southern home. He had enlisted as a soldier; but when it was found that he could be more serviceableto the Confederacy in certain irregularenterprizes, he was detached for this service. He had been engaged in an attempt to capture the Bellevite in connection with older and more skilful persons. The plan had failed, Corny had been severely wounded, and while on parole had lived at Bonnydale. From there he had been sent to a military prison, and had been exchanged. From that time, Christy knew nothing about him until he met him on board of the Vernon.
Corny was two years older than Christy; but the latter looked even more mature than the former. The resemblance between them had hardly been noticed by the two families, though Christy had spent several months at different times at the plantation of his uncle. But the resemblance was noted and often spoken of by persons outside of the families, the members of which, being in the habit of seeing them often together, did not notice the similarity of features and expression. Both of them resembled their fathers, who were often mistaken the one for the other in their early years.
After he found that the sick officer was his cousin Corny Passford, Christy began to apprehendthe object of his southern relative in presenting himself as the bearer of his name and rank in the navy, though he had no time to consider the subject. Corny had given him no opportunity to look the matter over, for he had talked most of the time as opportunity was presented.
Captain Battleton seated himself in the armchair which Corny had abandoned, and placed a quire of paper before him as though he intended to take notes of the proceedings. Christy was not at all disturbed by the formal aspect the affair was assuming, for he felt entirely confident that poor Corny would be a prisoner of war at its conclusion. He had his commission and his orders in his pocket, and he was positive that they would vindicate him.
"I reported to the department that I had only a single vacant stateroom in the ward room of the Vernon, and I was ordered to receive Lieutenant Christopher Passford as a passenger, as I could not take another officer," said the captain. "It is not a serious question compared with others at issue, but the occupation of the single room, now in possession of the gentleman who came on board last evening, depends upon the result of our present inquiry."
"I should say there would be no difficulty in settling this question," said Mr. Salisbury.
"These gentlemen are cousins, and both of them bear the name of Passford," added the captain, as he raised his finger, pointing to Corny. "Will you give us your name in full, if you please?"
"Christopher Passford," replied the invalid officer, with the most unblushing effrontery.
"Your father's name?"
"Horatio Passford."
"Where does he live?"
"At Bonnydale, on the Hudson," replied Corny confidently.
"Excuse me, Captain Battleton; may I ask a question?" interposed the first lieutenant.
"Certainly, Mr. Salisbury. This is not a court-martial, but an informal investigation, and I shall be glad to have you and Dr. Connelly entirely free to ask any questions you please," replied the captain, who was anything but a martinet.
"Where did you say your father lived, Mr. Passford?" asked the executive officer.
"At Bonnydale, on the Hudson," answered Corny, as we may call him now that the reader knows who he is.
"Is Bonnydale the name of the town or city in which your father lives?"
"It is the name of my father's place," replied Corny; and Christy, who was observing him very closely, saw that he was a little disturbed.
"Bonnydale sounds like a fancy name, such as any gentleman might give to his estate, as Sunnyside was the home of Washington Irving. Is this the fact?" asked Mr. Salisbury.
"I suppose it is," answered Corny, with increasing confusion.
"Don't you know?"
"We always called it Bonnydale; and I know no other name for it."
"But Bonnydale is not an incorporated town. In what city or town is your father's place situated?"
"I know no name but Bonnydale," replied Corny; and the flush of fever or something else was on his cheeks now.
"Nothing more, captain," said the first lieutenant; and the stock of the other claimant mounted a little.
"Mr. Passford," continued the captain, indicating Christy with his finger, "your father's name, if you please."
"Horatio Passford," replied Christy with a smile.
"Where does he live?"
"At Bonnydale, on the Hudson."
"Permit me, Captain Battleton," interposed Mr. Salisbury; and the commander nodded his acquiescence. "Is Bonnydale the name of the town or city in which your father lives, Mr. Passford?"
"It is the name of my father's place," answered Christy, using the same words that Corny had.
"Bonnydale sounds like a fancy name, such as any gentleman might give to his estate," continued Mr. Salisbury, smiling, as he repeated the phrases he had used before. "Is this the fact?"
"It is; the name was given to the estate by my mother," replied Christy, unable to follow Corny any farther.
"In what town or city is your father's estate situated?"
"It is within the limits of the town of Montgomery."
"Nothing further, captain," said the executive officer; and the stock of this particular Lieutenant Passford mounted another trifle.
"Your cousin, who, according to your statement,was raised in the South, seems to be better informed in regard to the geography of Bonnydale than you do," added Captain Battleton.
"He is always inquiring into things that I don't care a straw about," replied Corny, vexed that he had been tripped up in a matter so simple.
The commander was disposed to carry the investigation a little farther in the same direction, and he sent Christy into the ward room, where he was instructed to remain until he was sent for. Captain Passford, senior, was well known to all the officers present by reputation, and he had assisted Dr. Connelly in procuring his appointment, so that the latter had had occasion to visit Bonnydale three times.
The captain asked Corny a hundred questions in regard to the estate, making memoranda of his answers. Once he suggested to the surgeon that he had better examine the pulse of his patient, for he did not wish to overtask him in the investigation. The subject of the inquiry declared that his headache had almost disappeared, and he needed no indulgence on account of his health.
After half an hour of questioning, Corny was sent to the ward room, and Christy was called tothe captain's cabin. About the same questions were put to him as to his cousin; but both of them were prompt in their answers. In the last two years, Corny had been more at Bonnydale than Christy, and he was quite as much at home there, so that there was no reason why he should not be able to describe the mansion and its surroundings as accurately as the genuine Lieutenant Passford.
So far, Corny, with the single exception of his failure to give the geography of the estate, stood quite as well as his cousin. Then the first lieutenant questioned them both, as they were seated at the table, in a very general way. In their answers, Corny used the word "raised," while Christy was "brought up." Several phrases in more common use at the South than at the North were noted in his answers, which did not appear in the diction of Christy.
When the questioning was finished, the leaning of the trio of officers was in favor of Christy; but not one of them said anything in the presence of the two Passfords. The captain declared that he had already used up too much time in the inquiry, and he must close the conference very soon.Then he asked if either of the gentlemen had any papers they wished to present in support of his identity.
"I have my commission as a lieutenant, and my orders to take passage in the Vernon, and to take command of the Bronx on my arrival at the station of the Eastern Gulf squadron," said Corny, as he pulled a huge envelope from his breast pocket; and Christy could not but notice the perfect confidence with which he spoke.
"I have precisely the same papers," added Christy, with as much assurance as his cousin.
"I had nearly forgotten the most important evidence that can be presented in this matter," said the captain with a smile. "I dare say that each of the gentlemen will produce his commission, his orders, and his appointment to the command of the Bronx; and I don't know how we can decide between the papers. It looks as though the Bronx was likely to have two commanders."
"Here are my papers, captain," added Corny, as he passed his envelope across the table to the commander.
"This is not an official envelope," said the captain,as he took the package, and then fixed his gaze on the owner of the documents.
"No, sir; it is not. I had the misfortune to leave it on the table at Bonnydale, and Walsh, the man-servant, supposing it to be of no value, threw it into the fire," replied Corny promptly.
The commission and other papers were all right in every respect. Christy handed his envelope to the commander, and he broke it open. It contained nothing but a lot of blank paper.
When Captain Battleton took from the envelope the blank papers, no one seemed to be inquisitive as to the result, for, as the commander had suggested, they all expected to find the commission and other papers regularly and properly made out and signed. Several sheets were unfolded and spread out upon the table, and Christy was hardly more surprised than the others at the table.
"Your papers do not seem to be altogether regular, Mr. Passford," said the captain, as he held up one of them so that all could see it.
"I see they are not," answered Christy blankly.
"But they are enclosed in an official envelope," added the captain, as he held up the cover of the papers. "In this respect they have the advantage of those presented by the other gentleman.You appear to be as much surprised as any of the rest of us, Mr. Passford. Can you explain the fact that you present nothing but blank papers instead of your commission and orders?"
"At present I cannot; after I have had an opportunity for reflection I may be able to do so," replied Christy, from whom a more decided demonstration than he made was expected.
"It is evident from what we have heard, and from the documents submitted to me that one of these gentlemen is Lieutenant Christopher Passford," said Captain Battleton; "but we have no means of identifying the officer. In what vessels have you served, Mr. Passford?"
"My first service was in the Bellevite, and my last in the Bronx, of which I was acting commander on her voyage from New York to the Gulf," answered Christy, to whom the question was addressed.
"Is there any officer on board with whom you have served?"
"So far as I have seen, there is not."
"Any seaman?"
"I have not noticed any seaman whose face was familiar to me."
"If I am correctly informed, you came home as prize master of the Vixen, convoying quite a fleet of steamers and schooners," continued Captain Battleton, looking about the cabin as though the inquiry had become wearisome to him.
"I did; you were correctly informed," answered Corny, as the wandering gaze of the commander rested upon him.
"Both of you were in command of the Vixen, I suppose," added the captain with a smile.
"I was, captain; but I cannot speak for my cousin Corny," replied the possessor of the commission.
"I can say with entire confidence that I was in command of the Vixen," added Christy.
"A considerable number of officers and seamen must have come with you in the Vixen and the other vessels," said the captain, raising his finger to indicate that the question was addressed to Christy.
"Yes, sir; the Vixen was fully armed and manned to protect the fleet of prize vessels she convoyed."
"Do you remember the names of the officers who served with you in the Vixen?" asked the captain.
"I could not very well forget them in so short a time," replied Corny, upon whom the gaze of the commander had again rested as he looked about him.
"Very well; perhaps you had better answer the question;" and the captain pointed at Corny. "Who was your first lieutenant?"
"Ensign Gordon Fillbrook," replied Corny promptly.
This was a correct answer, and Christy saw that his cousin had fully armed himself for his daring scheme, whatever it was.
"Your second lieutenant?"
"Ensign Frederick Jones," answered Corny, with some hesitation.
"Now will you inform me, Mr. Passford, who your officers were?" The commander pointed at Christy. "Your executive officer?"
"My cousin gave his name and rank correctly."
"And the second lieutenant?"
"Ensign Philip Bangs."
"Here you differ. Did you make a report of your voyage home, Lieutenant Passford?" continued the captain, pointing at Corny.
"I did, sir; for we captured a privateer on the voyage," answered Corny.
"Did you keep a copy of that report?"
"I did, captain; I keep copies of all my reports. I have them in my valise," answered he of the South in a matter-of-fact manner.
Christy laughed in spite of the importance of the investigation at the coolness and self-possession of his cousin; but he could not understand how Corny would be able to produce a copy of his report, which was in his valise with several such papers.
"I must trouble you to produce it, Lieutenant Passford," added the commander.
"Perhaps I ought to say in the beginning that it is not in my own handwriting, for after I had written it, Mr. Jones copied it for me," Corny explained, and, perhaps, thought he might be called upon to give a specimen of his chirography.
"That is immaterial," added Captain Battleton, as Corny left the cabin to procure the document. "Have you a copy of your report, Lieutenant Passford?" He pointed to Christy.
"I have, captain; and it is in my own handwriting," replied the officer addressed.
"Produce it, if you please."
He had placed his valise in the gangway, andhe had not far to go to procure the report, his first draft of the document, which he had revised and copied at Bonnydale.
"I don't think we are getting ahead at all, Mr. Salisbury," said the captain, while the cousins were looking for their reports.
"I confess that I am as much in the dark as I was in the beginning," replied the executive officer.
"I can make nothing of it," added the surgeon. "It looks to me as though the commission alone would have to settle this matter."
"I don't see how I can go behind the official documents," replied the commander as Corny presented himself at the door.
A minute later Christy appeared with his report in his hand, and both of them were presented to the captain. The handwriting was as different as possible in the two papers. Corny's was in a large, coarse hand, but it was a fair copy, while Christy's contained several corrections and inter-lineations. No one could recognize the writing of either of the claimants, and the documents proved nothing at all. The captain was evidently weary of the investigation, and nothing but the commissionseemed to throw any reliable light upon the claim of either one or the other.
"Any further questions, Mr. Salisbury?" asked the captain, bestowing a bored look upon the executive officer.
"Nothing more, Captain Battleton."
"Dr. Connelly?"
"Nothing, captain."
"Now, gentlemen, I will thank you to retire to the ward room, and I will send for you to hear my decision," continued the commander, and the cousins retired together, and both of them appeared to be as good-natured as though they were in perfect accord on the question in dispute.
"What is your opinion, Mr. Salisbury?" asked the captain, when the claimants had retired, careful not to indicate his own conclusion.
"While I acknowledge that I am somewhat prepossessed in favor of the Lieutenant Passford who came on board this morning, I do not think he has established his claim to be the true Lieutenant Christopher Passford. The other uses some peculiarly Southern phrases, as though he had been 'raised' in the South, and he is not perfect in the geography of Bonnydale. I thinkthe commission is the only evidence upon which you can properly rely," replied the first lieutenant.
"Your views, if you please, Dr. Connelly."
"One of these officers is evidently a Confederate, and the other a loyal citizen. The commission, as Mr. Salisbury suggests, outweighs all the rest of the evidence. One or the other of the two men is an impostor, and without the commission, I should decide that my patient was the false Lieutenant Passford," answered the surgeon.
"We appear to agree, gentlemen, for you have expressed my own views as well as I could state them myself," added the captain. "But when I decide that the holder of the commission, which I am satisfied is a genuine document, is the loyal officer, and entitled to be received as the future commander of the Bronx, I must declare that the other is a Confederate; and not only that, but also that he is acting as a spy; that he is on board of the Vernon with mischievous intentions. It will be my duty to regard him as a prisoner of war, at least. What do you think of it, Mr. Salisbury?"
"I do not see how you can escape that conclusion," replied the first lieutenant.
"I am a sort of peace officer," added Dr. Connelly, when the captain glanced at him, "and I will express no opinion as to the status of the officer, though it appears to be as you describe it."
"This is an informal conference, doctor, and I hope you will express your views freely," said the captain.
"There is something in the situation which I cannot explain. I will only say that it is just possible there is a conspiracy at the bottom of the whole affair; and I should think it would be well to keep a close watch upon both of these officers. Why, on the voyage of the Bronx to the Gulf, Ensign Passford, as he was then, discovered two Confederate officers in his crew, and squarely defeated their efforts to capture his ship in the action with the Scotian, I believe it was."
"I have heard of it; and in quite a number of instances, Confederates have been put on board of steamers for the purpose of taking them from their officers," added the captain. "At the same time, I do not see that I can decide this questionon any other evidence than that of the commission and other official documents."
Both of the other officers assented to this view, and the captain sent for the two claimants. Neither of them had spoken a word to the other during their stay in the ward room. Christy looked upon his cousin as a Confederate who was serving what he called his country, and he had not the slightest disposition to quarrel with him, and especially not to lead him to utter any unnecessary falsehoods. Possibly Corny was somewhat diffident about playing his assumed character before his cousin when they were alone, for they had always been the best of friends.
"Gentlemen, I have come to a decision in this matter," said the captain, when the two claimants had placed themselves before him in a standing position. "I cannot go behind the commission presented by the officer who came on board last evening, and I consider it my duty to regard him as the real Lieutenant Passford, recently promoted to his present rank. There is nothing more to be said."
"Of course I expected that would be your decision," replied Corny, as he took the paperswhich the captain returned to him, including his commission and report.
"You may retire now, if you please, Mr. Passford," added the commander.
Corny bowed politely to the officers at the table, and left the cabin. He did not even glance at Christy, and his face did not look like that of one who had just won a decided victory. Christy remained standing where he had placed himself; and he began to wonder what disposition would be made of him under present circumstances.