Major Lindley Pierson was plainly very much disturbed when the owner of the Bellevite was pointed out to him by the commander. He had practically retreated from the position he had taken with his brother, and had apparently given up the idea of sending him to the fort to be made a soldier.
From the point which the steamer had reached, just north of Little Pelican Island, Captain Breaker had directed Mr. Dashington to head the vessel to the eastward, through Sand Island Channel; and she was now moving towards the main ship-channel, which passed under the very guns of Fort Morgan.
The tug had picked up the boat from the fort on the other side of the bay, and was following the Bellevite, though she had fallen a long waybehind her in a very short time. It was about two miles to the more formidable fort, and the steamer was going at full speed, so that it could not be long before a shot would interrupt the harmony of her movements.
In the mean time the commander of Fort Gaines was really a prisoner on board of the Bellevite, for Captain Breaker had started her screw before he could get any of his force on board. But the major was not half so much disturbed by this fact as he was by the consciousness that he had behaved in a very rude, brutal, and tyrannical manner in the presence of Colonel Passford's brother, who had thus far spoken not a word to him.
"Captain Breaker, may I ask you to present me to the owner of the steamer?" said Major Pierson, after he had looked about him for a time, and perhaps considered how he should atone for his rudeness.
"Certainly, if you desire it," replied the commander, who was as polite as though he had been brought up in Paris, though he was hardly an exception to all naval officers.
"Will you excuse me if I say that you arerunning at great speed, sir, and a shot from Fort Morgan cannot be much longer postponed," added the major, as he glanced at the fort on the right.
"I did not willingly start the steamer, sir; but it was my duty to protect the agent in whose charge the steamer comes into port. If you say that he shall suffer no further annoyance, either on your own part or that of your people, I will stop the screw and wait your pleasure," said the commander.
"I have had some difficulty with my brother, and it looked incredible to me that he had come into Mobile Bay in charge of this fine vessel. I apologize to you and the owner for my rudeness, and assure you that I will not trouble Percy again while he remains on board," continued Major Pierson, with no little embarrassment in his manner.
"I accept the apology, and your explanation is entirely sufficient. What happens to Mr. Percy after he leaves the steamer does not concern me," answered Captain Breaker with a polite bow, as he went to the quarter and rang the bell to stop her.
When he had done this, he conducted MajorPierson to the quarter-deck, where Captain Passford and Christy were seated, and formally presented him to both of them.
"I am most happy to make your acquaintance, Captain Passford," said the commander of Fort Gaines, as he extended his hand to the owner, which was taken, though the expression of the gentleman from the North did not indicate that he was very well pleased with him.
To Christy he was as polite as to his father, and to both he was almost obsequious. It was rather difficult for father or son to realize that this was the man who had threatened to send his own brother to the fort as a soldier, to say nothing of the abusive language he had used.
"I am very glad to see you in the State of Alabama, Captain Passford, and especially at this time," the major began; and it looked as though the cordiality of his welcome was to compensate for former rudeness.
"I am not a total stranger here," added the owner rather coldly.
"It affords me a degree of pleasure I cannot express to see you come here, as events are getting big all around us, and with such a finesteamer. I am sure the Government will regard you as one of its greatest and truest benefactors," continued Major Pierson.
"It is my intention to serve the good cause with whatever measure of ability I may possess; but I do not care to say any thing at all about my purpose till I have talked with my brother. I hope I shall find my brother Homer in full sympathy with me in my views," added the owner, though it was not a pleasure to him even to deceive an enemy.
"Colonel Passford!" exclaimed the major. "Have you any doubt about him?"
"Hardly any, though I prefer to talk with him before I say much on my own account."
"Colonel Passford is not a very demonstrative man, but no one in the vicinity of Glenfield has any doubt as to how he stands on the great question."
"I think no one will have any doubt as to how I stand, as soon as I take my position."
"Certainly, sir, you will give no doubtful sound."
"I hope not."
"I came on board to examine this steamerbefore we permitted her to pass the forts," continued Major Pierson. "I find her in charge of my brother, in the absence of any letter from my father or other Confederate agent. I humbly apologize for the rudeness of which I was guilty, though I assure you I have had abundant provocation for it."
"That is a family affair with which we have nothing to do beyond the proper protection of the young agent in charge of the steamer."
"I wish to say that I am entirely satisfied, Captain Passford, and I am heartily delighted to learn that you are about to make your residence in this section of the country," said the major, who seemed to have assured himself on this point without much assistance from those most deeply concerned.
The owner looked at him, and tried to ascertain what was passing in his mind; and it was not a very difficult enterprise to accomplish his purpose. The hint he had received about the frequent visits of Major Pierson at Glenfield seemed to explain the present operations of his mind. Florry Passford was a beautiful young lady of eighteen, and any young man of twenty-six could easily havebeen excused for making his visits very often at the mansion in which she resided.
Though the fond father was not disposed to interfere unnecessarily with the choice of his daughter, even the hint that she might be entangled more than a thousand miles from her home had given him a positive shock. Now that he had seen the young man, and observed his conductonboard of the Bellevite, he most earnestly hoped that she was not in any degree committed to him. He had an additional inducement to get her away from the home of his brother, and the thought of it nerved him to increased exertion. What he had seen of the commander of Fort Gaines, though he appeared to be a faithful, patriotic, and energetic young man, as he understood his duty to his country, assuredly he was not the person he would have chosen for Florry. But his brother could tell him more about it, and how far the matter had gone, when he saw him.
By the time Captain Passford had settled his conclusions as far as he could, the tug came up to the steamer, towing the boat from the fort, Percy felt that he had won a victory over his brother, and a Bantam rooster could not havemade a wider spread on the deck. He seemed to feel that he was in command of the steamer, though he did not venture to interfere with any thing on board.
"I am very sorry to have given you any annoyance, Captain Passford," said the major, as the tug came up to the gangway. "I think we should have understood each other better if your steamer had not got aground."
"We have suffered little or no inconvenience, sir."
"Whether you have or not, you shall suffer no more. The tug has come alongside, and I will see that you are not delayed a moment after I can get to Fort Morgan, which will certainly fire upon you if I do not interfere; and I will go to it in the tug," continued the major, who was still struggling to make all the atonement in his power for his former conduct.
"You are very kind, Major Pierson, and I am under obligations to you. I have not seen my daughter for nearly six months, or my brother; and the sooner I meet them, the better I shall like it," replied the owner.
"I have had the pleasure of meeting yourdaughter several times, as your brother's plantation is next to my father's. It is possible that, if the exigencies of the coming war permit, I may desire to address a communication to you at no distant day," said Major Pierson, with considerable embarrassment in his manner.
Captain Passford made no reply to this remark; for he thought it was entirely out of place under present circumstances, and hoped matters had not gone far enough even to think of future formalities. The major shook hands with the owner and his son, and then with the commander, and went over the side. As he did so, he requested Captain Breaker not to advance till he reached the fort, or at least not to attempt to pass it.
The tug-boat went off on its course, but it was nearly half an hour before it got near enough to the fort to allow the Bellevite to start her screw. As there was nowhere less than three fathoms of water, and Captain Breaker knew every inch of bottom, he directed Mr. Vapoor to hurry the engine, so that no one should have time to change his mind. The steamer shot by the fort as though she did not like the looks ofit, and in another half an hour she was out of the reach of its guns.
The commander had piloted the steamer to her present destination before; and there was plenty of water till she nearly reached the wharf, where the planter could load small vessels with cotton. It was not within the city of Mobile, though it was not far from it; and it was a sort of low-ground paradise, which money and taste had made very beautiful.
"What am I to do now, Mr. Pierson?" asked Percy, when the steamer had come to her moorings alongside the wharf.
"That will be for you to decide, Mr. Percy: but you had better take that uniform off before you live any longer, for I am afraid some one will mistake your character if you wear it on shore," replied Christy.
"I don't know that I shall go on shore," replied the agent doubtfully. "I got by my brother very nicely, thanks to Captain Breaker; for I should have been sent to the fort if he had not started the screw."
"Do you think you are in any danger here?" asked Christy.
"I know I am. My father's house is over in that direction about half a mile. My brother can leave the fort any time he likes; and he will either do so, or send some of his men up here in the fast tug to catch me."
"Why don't you go into the army, if your brother is so anxious about it, Percy?"
"That is just what I want to do, but my father positively forbid my doing so," replied the volunteer agent. "I should like to get back to Nassau; for I know I shall be forced into the army, in spite of my father, if I stay here."
"My boy," called his father, "I am going on shore now, and I should like to have you go with me to see your uncle."
Christy was glad to do so; and he departed with the owner, leaving Percy in charge of the commander.
If Homer Passford was not a rich man in the sense that his brother was, he was still a wealthy man, and lived in a style as elegant as that of any nabob in the South. More than this, and of vastly more consequence, he was a good and true man. He was a member of his church, and his brother believed that he was a genuine and true religious man. The same principles of justice, humanity, and fairness had been born into both of the brothers, and inherited from the same father.
This was the brother whom he from the North was about to visit on the most solemn and momentous questions which could unite or separate the only two sons of the same father. Though Horatio had reasoned himself into the belief that Homer was as strongly a Union manas he was himself, he had argued without any adequate premises; and now, when he was almost on the threshold of his door, he did not feel sure of the position of his brother, though his hope was very strong.
It was with no little trepidation on this account that he rang the bell at the front door of Glenfield. A few minutes or an hour or two would settle the momentous question, and decide whether or not all the family, as well as Florry, would take passage in the Bellevite for a more Northern clime.
"DeLo'd!" exclaimed the venerable colored man that came to the door. "De hull family done be wery glad to see you, Massa 'Ratio."
"I hope you are very well, Pedro," replied Captain Passford, as he gave his hand to the old servant. "Here is Christy."
"De Lo'd bless Massa Christy!" And he shook hands with the son as he had with the father.
"Is your master at home, Pedro?" asked the visitor, in haste to see his brother.
"Yes, sar; all de folks to home; jes' gwine to lunch. I spects dey all wery glad to see Massa'Ratio and Massa Christy. Walk in, sar; took a seat in de parlor; and I done reckon we call Massa Homer and de rest ob de folks afore you gits to sleep in yer char, thar," said Pedro, as he scurried out of the room where he had shown the visitors.
It was Florry who caught the first sound of the visitors who had arrived, and she rushed into the drawing-room before the others could be called from up-stairs. She bounded into the room like a fawn, with her eyes swimming with tears, and threw herself into her father's arms. She could not speak a word, and the captain was as dumb as she was.
For a moment she remained folded in his arms, and then she gently disengaged herself, to render the same wealth of affection in its manifestation to her brother, who was standing by her father when she darted into the room. But Christy was a boy, and not as demonstrative as his father, though he discharged the duties of the affecting occasion with becoming fidelity, so that the loving girl was sure that his heart was where it had always been.
"Why, papa, I had no idea of seeing youto-day!" exclaimed Florry, when she had wiped away her abundant tears. "I did not know that I should ever see you again, for they say that all the roads to the North have been closed to travel."
"We did not come by land, either by railroad or otherwise; and the Bellevite lies at the wharf near this house," the captain explained.
"I was terribly afraid I should never see you again, and that I should have to stay here till this war is ended, papa; but they say it will soon be over," said the fair girl.
"I am afraid it will not be over for a long time, for each side is firmly united in its own cause. But I could not leave you here. Do you want to go back to Bonnydale, Florry?"
"Do I want to go back? What a funny question, papa!" exclaimed she.
"Why is it a funny question?" asked the anxious father, recalling the rather presumptuous suggestion the gallant major from Fort Gaines had made.
"Don't you think I want to see mamma? You have not told me a word about her; and it is a long time now since I have heard any thing.I do want to go home, and especially I want to see mamma."
"Then you shall see her."
"Is she here, papa?" exclaimed Florry, leaping out of the chair in which she had seated herself.
"She is not here, my child. She is at home, but it will not take many days to bear you to her," replied the devoted father, embracing her again, while she kissed him over and over again.
"Can I see her before the war is over, papa?" she asked.
"Certainly you can, if no accident interferes with my plans. You really want to go home?"
"To be sure I do. How cruel it is of you to ask me such a question!"
"Then I won't ask it again. But perhaps you will not be able to come to Glenfield again for years," added Captain Passford, looking earnestly into her face.
"What makes you look at me so, papa? What have I done? You look just as you did when I was little and pulled the kitten's tail."
"It is a long time since I have seen you, Florry and I want to look at you all I can."
illustration of quoted scene"She was Clasped in her Father's Arms" (Page 148)
"Then you may look at me as much as you wish; and I shall be thankful it is not that Major Pierson who comes here, for he has stared me out of countenance every time he came," replied she, blushing a little.
"Then you don't like him, do you?" asked her father, with more interest than he cared to display.
"I like him well enough, but I wish he would not stare at me all the time. He seems to think I am good for nothing but to look at," replied Florry smartly.
But the entrance of Mr. and Mrs. Passford turned aside the inquiries the captain was making before he had satisfied himself, though he had obtained enough to afford him some hope. The greeting extended to the brother and nephew was all that could be expected or desired; and if the country had not been riven into two bitterly hostile sections, the interview could not have been more brotherly and affectionate. A full hour was used in talking about the trip of the Bellevite, so anxious were the family, including Florry, to hear the particulars of the voyage.
"But how in the world did you get here,Horatio, when every public conveyance that leads into the South has been discontinued?" asked Homer.
"I came as I came before," replied Horatio.
"You came in the Bellevite!" exclaimed Homer.
"I did."
"But how did you get by the forts? Both of them have been garrisoned, and they have been ordered to allow no vessel to pass unless she give a good account of herself," continued the planter.
"In other words, it is war now," added Horatio.
"Undoubtedly it is war; and, in my judgment, it will be a terrible conflict before it is finished."
"I fully agree with you, Homer."
"But you did not tell me in what manner you passed the two forts, which are already strong enough to blow your steamer into a thousand pieces," suggested Homer.
"I did not tell you, and I think we had better understand each other a little better before I say any thing at all about the passage of the forts; though I can assure you that not a single shotwas fired at the Bellevite," said Horatio, somewhat embarrassed by the situation.
"De lunch am ready, saw," said a darky at the door at this moment; and perhaps the summons saved the owner of the Bellevite from some further annoyance.
An hour was spent at the table, for there was enough to talk about without meddling with delicate subjects. When the repast was over, Florry invited her brother to look at the flower-garden, which was in the height of its glory, and she was followed by Gerty her cousin, and by Mrs. Passford. As in the Northern family, there were only two children; but Cornelius, or Corny as he was generally called, was not at home, though nothing at all was said about him.
Horatio was invited into the library by his brother, and they seated themselves for a long talk. The owner of the Bellevite was confident that he should soon know on which side the planter belonged, though he was still confident in his former views.
"I suppose there is no other way for you to get here at the present time except in your yacht, and not many men can command so elegant andsubstantial a vessel as the Bellevite," said Homer, when they were seated. "But what in the world do you expect to do with her down here?"
"I intend to return to my home in her, and to take my daughter back to her mother," replied Horatio, as unmoved as though he had uttered a commonplace expression.
"Take Florry back to her mother!" exclaimed Homer, springing out of his armchair as though his five-and-forty years counted for nothing. "I hope that nothing at all is the matter with your brain, Horatio."
"Nothing at all, so far as I am aware, Homer. You seem to think it is a great undertaking to take my daughter home," added Horatio.
"But it is war in this country, and all along the coast. You will certainly be captured, and your daughter sent to a prison, at least till she can be sent home. You have not more than one chance in ten to get to New York."
"Do you think so?" asked Horatio, smiling.
"If you don't know it, I do, my dear brother, that the Southern Confederacy has sent out agents to buy up all the suitable vessels they can find, to do duty as cruisers and privateers. You are almostsure to be captured, and think what Florry would suffer in such an event."
"You seem to think that the North is going to hold still, and let you do all this, Homer," added the owner of the Bellevite.
"I don't see how the North can help itself."
"My information is rather meagre; but I am informed that the Government of the United States has proclaimed the blockade, and even that it is enforced farther north, as I am sure it will be on the south."
"That is all nonsense, Horatio, and you know it."
"I don't understand it so."
"How is it possible for the Yankee Government to station ships-of-war on the coast of the Southern States? It is simply impossible," said Homer, warming up with the argument. "The business of fitting out vessels is already begun, I read in the newspapers; and it will be pushed to the utmost."
"I am confident that every Confederate port in the United States will be invested by one or more vessels within a reasonable time."
"But your steamer will be captured beforeyou can get home, even if you get out of Mobile Bay."
"I don't apprehend any difficulty on that account. If the Bellevite can't keep out of the way of any thing that floats, she deserves to be captured. She will belong to the Government within a few weeks," added Horatio quietly.
"The Bellevite!" exclaimed Homer.
"The Bellevite, certainly. I should be ashamed to retain her a month after I knew that the Union needs her, and the Union shall have her as a free gift," added Horatio, quite as warmly as his brother had spoken.
"You will give your steamer to the Yankee Government!" gasped Homer, rising from his chair again, and darting across the room, as though he was both shocked and disgusted at the conduct of Horatio. "You will allow her to be used in subduing a free people? I am sorry."
Homer was very deeply grieved, and Horatio hardly less so.
To Captain Passford the question seemed to be settled; and he could no longer doubt that his brother fully sympathized with the leaders of the rebellion, if he was not one of them himself. He was certainly the most enthusiastic person he had yet seen on that side of the question. But Homer was thoroughly sincere, for he never was any thing else on any subject.
Horatio was unable to understand how his brother could reason himself into the belief that secession was right, when the duty of saving the Union was to him paramount; and certainly Homer was equally puzzled over the political faith of Horatio. Until the darkness of evening began to gather, they argued the tremendous question; and they discussed it ably, for both of them were thinking and reasoning men.
But, when the darkness gathered, they were notone hair's-breadth nearer an agreement; and probably if they had continued to argue till morning, or even till the end of the year, they would have come no nearer together. Each had a sort of horror of the views of the other, though they had lived in peace and harmony all the days of their lives.
"Homer, you are my brother; and I am sure that an unpleasant word never passed between us," said Horatio, when the sun had gone down on the fruitless discussion.
"Certainly not, brother; and it grieves me sorely to find that you are upon one side, while I am on the other," replied Homer with a strong manifestation of feeling. "I did not expect to see you at Glenfield; but I felt sure that you would not be found, actually or constructively, in the ranks of the enemies of the South."
"And I was equally sure that you would be found on the side of your country,—the whole country, and not a miserable fraction of it," added Horatio, with quite as much warmth as his brother. "I came here in the Bellevite as much to convey you to a place of safety, as to restore Florry to her mother."
"My country is here in the South. I have no other country; and I shall stand by it to the last ditch, wherein I am ready to cast all that I have and all that I am. If you thought it possible for me to desert the cause of the South, you strangely misjudged me; and I do not feel at all complimented by the formation of your opinion of me," said Homer, with a trifle more of bitterness in his tone and manner than he had used before.
"I see how it is with you, Homer; and I realize that it is worse than folly for us to discuss this important question. Your mind is made up, and so is mine; and I fear that we might quarrel if we should continue to bandy words on the subject. We had better drop it entirely, once for all."
"Perhaps we had; but it grieves me sorely, even to think of my only brother taking part with the hirelings of the North in an attempt to subdue the free, untamed, and untamable South. It would not hurt my feelings more to know that you were a buccaneer, roving on the ocean for the plunder of all nations."
"You should also consider my feelings whenI think of you in armed rebellion against the best government God ever allowed to exist; that my own brother is a rebel and a traitor, who is liable to be shot or hung for his armed treason."
This was too much for Homer, and he gave vent to his emotion in a laugh at the picture his brother had drawn. He walked the library, and chuckled as though he were actually amused at the remarks of the other; and perhaps he was.
"I am really and heartily sorry for you, Horatio. Your future, I fear, will be terribly dark. Of course, all business will cease at the North: the grass will grow in the streets of New York and other large cities. You have an immense fortune, which I do not believe you can retain a single year; for the war is not to be confined to Southern soil, but will be carried into the North, where the expenses of our men will be paid by the enemy."
"I think we had better confine our attention to the present, and let the future take care of itself," said Horatio, with a smile at the prophetic croakings of his brother.
"Be that as it may, though I feel confident that all I predict will come to pass, I desire tohave one thing understood: when you have lost your fortune, or wasted it on the hireling armies of the North, or on ships for its navy, you may always be sure of a home at Glenfield for yourself and all your family."
"If you do not lose or waste all that you have on the army of the other side," added Horatio with a smile. "But I am ready to drop this subject."
"It seems to be useless to continue it; though, if there were any possible way to convert you from the error of your way of thinking, I would struggle all night with you," said Homer.
"You cannot make a traitor of me, brother. But I must tell Florry to pack her trunk at once."
"Pack her trunk? Why are you in such a hurry?" demanded Homer.
"Because this is not a safe place for me and mine; and I have my two children with me."
"You ought to have left Christy at home."
"I think not. Though he is only sixteen, he has seen so much of the world, and is so bright, that he is almost a man. He will go into the navy within a few weeks, and I shall expect him to give a good account of himself."
"He is rather young. Corny is eighteen, and he has already enlisted with his mother's blessing and mine. But I think you need not be in such a hurry, Horatio, to get away from here; for it is a long time since we met."
"I have expressed my political sentiments very freely to you, Homer, and you know as well as I do, that, if they were known, I should not be safe a single day."
"Not quite so bad as that, for I think I should have sufficient influence to save you from arrest," added Homer.
"The Bellevite cost me over half a million dollars, and she is worth all she cost. If I were safe a single day, the steamer and ship's company on board of her would not be. I brought them down here, and I intend to take them back."
"And then you present this fine vessel to the Yankee Government, and doubtless the men on board of her will go into the service of the navy."
"I certainly expect as much as that of them."
"Then I question whether I ought to allow such a prize to pass out of the bay for such a purpose," said Homer.
"Then, with such a doubt as that in your mind, I ought not to remain here another hour," added Horatio quietly. "If you have gone far enough in treason to betray your own brother, coming here to your home for no warlike purpose, into the hands of the enemy, why, all I can do is to look out for myself."
"I did not say that I should betray you, Horatio. It is simply a question with me whether my duty to my country will allow me to let your steamer leave these waters. I have not settled the question in my own mind."
"I hope you will settle it soon. If I am to take my first step in this fratricidal war by defending myself against my own brother, let him speak, and I am ready," replied Horatio, shaken by an emotion deeper than he had ever experienced before.
"Horatio, whatever you may do, whatever I may do, each in the discharge of his duty to his country, his country as he understands it, let us have no unfraternal feeling," continued Homer, almost as much disturbed in his feelings as his brother.
"In other words, if you hand me and my vesselover to your leaders, and consequently take from me the means of bearing my daughter to a place of safety, I am to put my hand on my heart, and say that my brother has done right, for I will not use any stronger terms," said Horatio, struggling with his emotion.
"I must do my duty as I understand it," protested Homer. "The question I put to myself is this: can I justify myself, before God and my country, if I permit the finest steamer in the world, as you state it, to be transferred to the Yankee navy, to be used in killing, ravaging, and destroying within the free South? The steamer is here, and within my reach. After all you have said, she would be the lawful prize of any tug-boat in the bay that could capture her. I begin to realize that I should be guilty of treason to my country in letting her go."
"You must be your own judge in regard to that," replied Horatio bitterly, as he rose from his chair and walked towards the door.
"One word more, Horatio. I look upon the Bellevite as already belonging to the Southern Confederacy. Of course, being a private yacht, she is not armed?"
Homer paused and looked at his brother as though he expected an answer to this question; but the owner of the steamer made no reply.
"Do you say that the Bellevite is armed, Horatio?" repeated Homer.
"I do not say any thing about it. I find that I am in the presence of an enemy, though he is my own brother."
"Do not assume that tone to me, Horatio: it wounds me to the heart," said Homer, in a deprecatory tone. "If we are enemies because you choose to oppress our people, I cannot help it; but we will still be brothers."
"The attack upon Fort Sumter was made by the South; and thus far, at least to the extent that I have been informed, the South has been the assailant; and you say that I choose to oppress your people. They have taken the sword, and they will perish by the sword."
Captain Passford could not trust his feelings any longer to remain with his brother, and he left the room. In the hall he met Florry, who had been lying in wait for him for over an hour. She threw herself on his neck as she had done before; but she found her father full of energy, and hewas not even willing to use his minutes to caress her.
"What is the matter, papa?" asked the fair girl, astonished at the manner of her father, for she had never before seen him so agitated.
"Do not ask me any questions, Florry, for I have not time to answer them now," said he hastily. "Go to your room and pack all your things as quick as you possibly can, and without saying a word to any one."
"Why, papa!"
"Not a word, my dear child," he added, kissing her.
"It will not take me five minutes, papa; for I have been packing my trunk this afternoon, when I had nothing else to do."
"Where is your room, Florry?"
"It is on the lower floor, next to the library."
"I will be there in a few minutes. Dress yourself, and be ready to leave at a minute's notice," continued Captain Passford. "Where is Christy?"
"He went out about an hour ago, when he saw from the window a young man I did not know," replied Florry, as she passed into her room.
Captain Passford wondered who the young manwas whom his son had gone out to meet; for no one was allowed to leave the deck of the Bellevite who belonged to her, and he was not aware that Christy had any friend in the vicinity. He was annoyed at his absence, for he wanted him at that very moment.
Mrs. Passford and Gerty were up-stairs, where nimble fingers were busily at work for the soldiers of the Southern Confederacy, as they were also in the North for the Union. The captain looked all about the house, but he could not see or hear of his son.
Captain Passford was very much annoyed at the absence of Christy at that particular moment, for it seemed to be heavily laden with momentous events to him and his family; though Christy could not possibly know what had transpired in the library between the two brothers. He waited very uneasily in the hall, after his return from his search.
Homer Passford did not come out of his library, and he sat brooding over the remarkable interview which had taken place between the brothers. No doubt he would have been glad to believe that he had been wrong; for he had nothing but the kindest feelings in the world towards his brother, and had never had in all his life. He was five years older than Horatio; and, in their earlier life, he had been to some extent his guardian andprotector, and he had never lost the feeling of boyhood.
But he had proved himself to be a patriot of the severest type, and proposed to rob his brother of his steamer, his only means of conveying his daughter to his home, for the benefit of the fraction of the nation which he called his country, and more to prevent her from being transferred to the navy of the Union.
While the captain was waiting in the hall, the library door opened, and Homer presented himself. He invited his brother to return to the apartment, for he had something to say to him; but Horatio positively declined to do so, fearful that they might come to an open rupture if the exciting discussion was continued.
"But you will hear me a moment or two, will you not, Horatio?" asked Homer; and his lips quivered under the influence of his active thought.
"I will as long as that," replied Horatio.
"I have been thinking of the subject of our conversation in relation to the Bellevite; and I have something to propose to you, which I hope will satisfy you, and at the same time will not rob our Government of what now belongs to it."
"I am listening," added Horatio, as Homer paused to note the effect of his proposal.
"You did not tell me how you got by the forts in your steamer, and perhaps you are ready to do so now."
"I am not ready now; and I am not likely to be ready at any future time to do so, Homer. You have indicated that we are enemies, and each should keep his own counsels."
"Of course you will do as you think proper. I cannot reconcile myself to the idea of permitting a fine steamer like the Bellevite, now virtually in possession of the Confederacy, to sail away out of the bay. I feel that I should be guilty of treason to my country to do so."
"And you propose to steal her from your own brother, if you can. You have done a large business in stealing forts, and one ought not to be surprised when you propose to steal a ship," replied Horatio mildly but sternly.
"I pass over the injustice and unkindness on your part of that remark, and I hope you will accept my offer."
"Let me hear it as soon as possible."
"In spite of your present, unfortunate position,Horatio, I believe you are still a man of truth, honor, and integrity."
"Thank you, Homer."
"I do not wish to keep Florry here when her mother desires so much to see her, and I have hit upon a plan by which you can do this without making me a traitor to my country."
"It must have been a happy thought," added Horatio, somewhat interested in what the other was saying.
"I think it was a happy thought, and I sincerely hope you will be able to accept the plan. I have some little influence in this section, and I have no doubt I can procure a pass for your steamer to go to sea," continued Homer, pausing to study the expression of his brother.
"Do I understand that you propose to do this, Homer?" asked Captain Passford, not a little astonished at the apparent change his brother had made in his position.
"On a certain condition, which you can easily meet."
"It looks as though you were becoming more reasonable. What is the condition on which you will do this? For I should certainly prefer tohave no shots fired at the Bellevite while Florry is on board of her."
"As I have said, your word is as good as your bond; and I am willing to accept the consequences of the step I propose to take, since the Confederacy will not suffer any loss or detriment on account of it."
"It will not!" exclaimed the captain, beginning to see that he could not accept the conditions.
"It will not. I could not injure or cheat my country, even to serve my only brother, greatly as I desire to do all I can for him."
"But what is the condition, Homer?" asked Captain Passford, who had by this time lost all hope of the plan.
"You shall take Florry to some point,—Bermuda, for instance,—from which she can obtain passage to New York. Before you go, you shall give me your simple word that you will return to Mobile Bay with the Bellevite, and surrender her to the Confederate authorities. I am entirely willing to accept your promise to do this, without any bond or other writing."
"Is that all?" asked Horatio, hardly able to contain himself.
"That is all; what more do you desire?"
"Nothing; that is enough. I have already tendered my steamer to the Government of the United States; do you think me capable of surrendering my vessel to rebels and traitors, under any possible circumstances? I would blow her up with all on board of her, before I would do such a thing. You insult me by proposing such treachery to me. Not another word about it, if you please!"
Homer returned to his library, and closed the door after him; for the last remark of the owner of the Bellevite had excited him, and he could not trust himself to remain any longer in the presence of his Union brother.
"I am all ready, papa," said Florry, who had opened the door once before, and found that her father was engaged.
"I cannot find Christy, but I hope he is not far off," added Captain Passford, as he went into the room, and, to the astonishment of his daughter, bolted the door after him.
"I did not know the young man he went out to see, but I noticed that he looked something like Major Pierson," said Florry.
"Then it was the major's brother, and he came from Nassau with us on board of the steamer. I hope neither of them will get into any trouble, for all this country is in a very excited condition," said the captain, as he carefully opened the window at the side of the apartment.
This was quite as singular a movement as bolting the door; and the fair girl, who had heard some of the energetic conversation in the hall, began to think that something strange was about to transpire in the mansion. Her father spent some time in looking out the window; for it was now quite dark, and he could not make out objects outdoors very readily.
The window opened upon a lawn covered with orange, magnolia, and other ornamental trees. The house was low on the ground, and it was not more than three feet from the window-sill to the lawn. Without explaining any thing, Captain Passford took his daughter's trunk, carried it to the window, and then dropped it upon the lawn beneath.
"Now, Florry, I want you to get out at this window; and you can easily step down upon the trunk," continued the owner of the Bellevite.
"Get out of the window, papa?" demanded the maiden, with a look of intense astonishment at her father.
"Do just as I tell you, my child, and don't ask any questions now; for all will be explained to your satisfaction," replied he, as he assisted her to a chair, by which she mounted to the window-stool.
She dropped lightly down upon the trunk, which had been placed in a convenient position for her, and then to the ground. Her father followed her; though he stopped long enough to close the window after him, and leave every thing as it had been before.
"I think I can understand something about it, papa," said Florry, as the captain joined her. "But am I to leave this house, where I have been for six months, without saying good-by to uncle or aunt?"
"Not a word to any one, my child. I am sorry it must be so; but this is a time of war, and I have no time to stand on ceremonies," replied her father, as he picked up the trunk, and tossed it on his shoulder as though he had done that kind of work before.
He walked off with a firm step, in spite of his burden, taking the nearest way to the wharf where he had left the Bellevite. The distance was considerable, and the millionnaire was obliged to stop and rest two or three times; and, though Florry insisted upon helping him, he would not allow her to do so. It was nearly ten o'clock at night when the wanderers reached their destination, and were hailed by the vigilant watch on the deck.
"Florence!" called the owner of the steamer when he was challenged, and gave the word that had been agreed upon.
"Pass, Florence," replied the sentinel.
All the officers were still upon board, and Florry received a very respectful greeting from all of them. Her trunk was carried to her stateroom; and she soon followed it, for the excitement of the afternoon and evening was rather too much for her.
"Is Percy still on board, Breaker?" asked the owner.
"He is not: he lounged about the deck till nearly night, and then he said he would go up and see his mother, to which I had not the least objection," replied the commander.
"I have no objection to his going where he pleases now, but the worst of it is that Christy appears to have gone with him. They must have been gone three hours, and I begin to be worried about my son. But no matter for that now: we are ready to sail, and it is necessary to get out into the bay, at least without any loss of time, Breaker. The tide is right now."
Captain Breaker had not expected to leave so soon, and thought it probable that the vessel would remain where she was for several days or a week. But he had caused the fires to be banked, so as to be ready for any emergency, though he did not anticipate any; for he reasoned that the powerful influence of the owner's brother would be enough to protect the steamer from interference.
The commander called all hands, and the owner requested that the work be done with as little noise as possible. In less than an hour the Bellevite was floating in the deep waters of the bay. But the owner was far from easy; though, in spite of all his brother had said, he felt that the steamer was safe for the present: he was not a little alarmed at the continued absence of Christy.
Captain Passford had formed a very decided opinion in regard to Major Pierson, and he did not believe that Percy had seen the end of his troubles in the matter of joining the army. It was not over a three hours' run in a reasonably fast steamer from the forts to the city, and at least ten hours had elapsed since the Bellevite came up. Possibly the major might wonder whether or not the coming of Captain Passford would disturb the residence of Miss Florence at the mansion of her uncle. It was not improbable that he had, or might, come up to look out for his interests.
If he came across his brother Percy after he left the steamer, he was likely to make a soldier of him; and it was unfortunate that Christy had been his companion when last seen.