"I suppose I need not ask you what is to be done with me, for that is sufficiently apparent now," said Christy, more to engage the attention of the mate than for any other reason.

"You can form your own conclusion," replied Mr. Dawbin.

"You intend to leave me on that reef ahead, and doubtless you expect me to be washed off and drowned, or starved to death there," added the prisoner. "I can't see why you take all this trouble when you could more conveniently blow my brains out."

"The captain has promised not to harm you, Mr. Passford, and he will keep his word," replied the mate with very ill grace.

"I consider it worse than murder to leave me on that reef, or any of these rocks, Mr. Dawbin. Since I understand your intention, I might as well put a bullet through my own head, and save myself from all the suffering in store for me," said Christy, assuming the manner of one rendered desperate by his situation. "Have you a revolver in your pocket?"

"I have not a revolver in my pocket; and if I had I should not lend it to you to shoot yourself," replied the mate.

Mr. Dawbin had no revolver in his pocket, and that was all the prisoner had been driving at. He was equally confident that neither of the sailors was armed, for he had looked them over to see if there was any appearance of pistols in their pockets.

"You are making altogether too much fuss over this little matter, Mr. Passford. The captain desires you to remain on one of these rocks till he gets through his business with the commander of that steamer in the channel, which is now headed for the Snapper," the mate explained. "When that is finished we will take you off and proceed on our voyage."

"You had better put a bullet through my head."

"I don't think so. It is no great hardship for you to stay a few hours on that rock. You have had your dinner, and you will not starve to death. I don't think you will have to stay there long, for that steamer draws too much water to come in among these reefs, and she will be hard and fast on one of the shoals before she goes much farther."

"Possibly her captain knows what he is about as well as you do," suggested Christy.

"I don't believe he does. There isn't a fathom of water on some of these shoals."

But the Chateaugay kept on her course, though she proceeded very slowly. When she was off the Gingerbread Cay she stopped her screw, and she was near enough for the observer to see that she was lowering at least two boats into the water. In a few minutes more they were seen pulling towards the Snapper, whose boat was now very near the reef which had been selected as the prisoner's abiding-place. A few minutes later the keel ground on the coral rock.

"Jump ashore, both of you, and take the painter with you, my men," said the mate, when the boat stuck about six feet from the top of the ledge.

The two sailors waded to the highest part of the reef, and began to haul in on the painter; but they could not get it anything less than three feet from the rock.

"We can't get the boat any nearer, Mr. Passford; but you are a vigorous young man, and you can easily leap to the rock," said Mr. Dawbin.

"Do you think you could leap to the ledge?" asked Christy, looking him sharp in the eye.

"I know I could."

"Let me see you try it, Mr. Dawbin," replied Christy, with his right hand on his revolver.

"Come, come! Mr. Passford. No fooling. I have no time to spare," growled the mate.

"I am not fooling. As you consider it no hardship to pass a few hours on that rock, I am going to trouble you to take my place there."

"No nonsense! I am not to be trifled with!"

"Neither am I," added the prisoner, as he drew out his weapon, and aimed it at the head of the mate. "You can take your choice between the rock and a ball from my revolver, Mr. Dawbin."

"Do you mean to murder me?" demanded the mate.

"I hope you will not compel me to do so harsh a thing as that. But no fooling! I have no time to spare. Jump on the rock, or I will fire before you are ten seconds older!" said Christy resolutely.

"Come back into the boat, men!" shouted the officer.

"The first one that comes any nearer the boat is a dead man!" added the prisoner, "Five seconds gone, Mr. Dawbin."

The mate did not wait for anything more, but made the leap to the rock. He accomplished it so hastily that he fell when he struck the ledge; but the impetus he had given the boat forced it from the rock, and sent it a considerable distance. Christy restored the revolver to his pocket, and, taking one of the oars, he sculled towards the Chateaugay, which was now much nearer than the Snapper. The two boats from the man-of-war took no notice of him, and perhaps did not see him.

Taking out his white handkerchief he attached it to the blade of one of the oars, and waved it with all his might in the direction of the steamer. He set it up in the mast-hole through the forward thwart, and then continued to scull. But his signal was soon seen, and a boat came off from the steamer.



"Boat ahoy!" shouted the officer in charge of the cutter.

"In the boat!" replied Christy, turning around as he suspended his labor with the oar.

"Lieutenant Passford!" exclaimed Mr. Hackling, the second lieutenant of the Chateaugay. "Is it possible that it is you?"

"I haven't any doubt of it, Mr. Hackling, if you have," replied the late prisoner, heartily rejoiced to find himself in good company again.

"But what does this mean? How do you happen to be here?" demanded the astonished lieutenant of the ship.

"I happen to be here because I have just played a sharp game. I was a prisoner on that steamer yonder, on my way to a rebel prison. But I think it is necessary that I should report immediately to Captain Chantor in regard to the character of the Snapper, which is the name of the vessel you have been chasing."

The Snapper's boat was taken in tow, and the crew of the cutter gave way with a will. In due time Christy was received with the most unbounded astonishment by the commander on the deck of the Chateaugay.

"Where is Mr. Gilfleur? I hope that no accident has happened to him," said the captain with deep anxiety on his face.

"None that I am aware of; but if you will excuse me from explanations for the present, I will state that the steamer on the bank is the Snapper, Captain Flanger, bound for Mobile; and the captain told me that he intended to run the blockade."

"Mr. Hackling, take charge of the second cutter, and give Mr. Birdwing my order to make a prize of that steamer, and bring her off to the deep water."

It was quite dark when this order was executed.



CHAPTER XXV

CAPTAIN FLANGER IN IRONS

Christy Passford related to Captain Chantor all that had occurred to the detective and himself from the time of their departure from the ship to their parting on the shore; and he did not fail to mention the fact that Mr. Gilfleur had come to his assistance when he was assaulted by the ruffian in front of the saloon.

"You have had a narrow escape, Mr. Passford," said the commander, when he had concluded. "The idea of avenging an injury received in that way is something I never happened to hear of before, though my experience is not unlimited. Mr. Birdwing," he continued, after the first lieutenant had reported to him, "had you any difficulty in effecting the capture of the Snapper?"

"Only with the captain; for my force was sufficient to have taken her if she had been fully armed and manned. There was no fighting; but I was obliged to put the captain in irons, for he was about the ugliest and most unreasonable man I ever encountered," replied the chief of the boat expedition. "I was not at all satisfied that the steamer was a fit subject for capture till your order came to me, brought by Mr. Hackling. Then Captain Flanger not only protested, with more bad language than I ever before heard in the same time, but he absolutely refused to yield. I could not give him the reasons that induced you to send me the order, and I referred the matter to you."

The Snapper had been anchored within a cable's length of the Chateaugay, and Mr. Birdwing had brought Captain Flanger on board of the ship, with Percy Pierson, that the question of prize might be definitely settled by the commander, for he was not quite satisfied himself. The captain of the Snapper was still in irons, and he and his companion had been put under guard in the waist. The man with the mutilated nose had not yet seen Christy, and possibly he was still wondering what had become of his chief officer and the two men who had been ordered to put the prisoner on the ledge.

Christy had informed Captain Chantor, in his narrative, of the manner in which he had turned the tables on his custodians, and he had not forgotten that the party were still where he had left them. He reminded the commander of the latter fact, and a quartermaster was sent in the third cutter to bring them off, and put them on board of the Snapper; where a considerable force still remained under the charge of Mr. Carlin, the third lieutenant.

"Now we will settle this matter with the captain of the Snapper, and I hope to convince him that his vessel is a lawful prize, so far as she can be so declared in advance of the decision of the court," said Captain Chantor. "Come with me, if you please, Mr. Birdwing. For the present, Mr. Passford, will you oblige me by keeping in the shade till I send for you?"

"Certainly, Captain Chantor, though I should like to hear what Captain Flanger has to say in defence of his steamer," replied the passenger. "But I will take care not to show myself to him till you are ready for me."

"I do not object to that arrangement. I do not quite understand who this Percy Pierson is, though you mentioned him in your report of what had occurred during your absence," added the commander.

"He is the son of Colonel Richard Pierson, a Confederate commissioner, who represents his government at Nassau, purchasing vessels as opportunity to do so is found. His son is the person who tried to induce me to take passage in the Snapper, with the promise that I should be permitted to land at Key West. It was only a trick to get me on board of the steamer; and when it failed, for I declined to fall into the trap, I was captured by a gang of four or five ruffians, Captain Flanger being one of them, and conveyed to the vessel, where I was locked up in a stateroom till after she had sailed."

"That is a proper question for the British government to deal with, and I hope it will be put in the way of adjustment by the proper officials, though I am inclined to regard it as an act of war, which will justify me in holding the men engaged in the outrage as prisoners. Do you know who they are, Mr. Passford?"

"I can designate only three of them,—the captain, Mr. Dawbin, the mate, who is now on the ledge, and Percy Pierson. I am sure they were all in the carriage that conveyed me to the beach where I was put into the boat. The others were sailors, and I could not identify them."

"I will hold the three you name as prisoners," added Captain Chantor, as he moved forward, followed by the executive officer.

It was getting dark, and Christy made his way to the shadow of the mainmast, where he obtained a position that enabled him to hear all that passed without being seen himself. Captain Flanger seemed to be more subdued than he had been reported to be on board of the Snapper, and the commander ordered the irons to be taken from his wrists.

"Captain Flanger, I have concluded to make a prize of the Snapper; but I am willing to hear anything you may wish to offer," Captain Chantor began.

"I protest; you have no more right to make a prize of my vessel than you have to capture a British man-of-war, if you were able to do such a thing," replied the commander of the Snapper.

"Do you claim that the Snapper is a British vessel?"

"Yes, I do!" blustered Captain Flanger recklessly.

"Are you a British subject?"

"No, I am not; but I am not attempting to run the blockade."

"For what port are you bound?"

"Havana."

"Have you a clearance for that port?"

"For Havana, and a market."

"But you have no more idea of going to Havana than you have of going to China," added the captain of the Chateaugay. "You are bound to Mobile, and you intend to run the blockade; and that intention proved, you are liable to capture."

"You seem to know my business better than I know it myself," said Captain Flanger, with a sneer in his tones.

"Perhaps I know it quite as well as you do, at least so far as the voyage of the Snapper is concerned," replied the commander of the Chateaugay, who proceeded to explain international law in relation to the intention to run the blockade. "I shall be able to prove in the court which sits upon your case that you left Nassau for the purpose of running the blockade established at the entrance of Mobile Bay. I presume that will be enough to satisfy both you and the court. In Nassau you did not hesitate to announce your intention to run the blockade, and get into Mobile."

"I should like to see you prove it," growled the captain of the Snapper, in his sneering tones.

"I don't think you would like to see me do it; but I will take you at your word, and prove it now. I have an excellent witness, to whom you made your announcement;" and at this remark Christy stepped out from behind the mainmast, and placed himself in front of the astounded ruffian. "Lieutenant Passford, a naval officer in excellent repute, is all ready to make oath to your assertions."

Captain Flanger and Percy Pierson gazed in silence at the witness, for they supposed he was on the ledge to which he had been transported by the boat. Christy repeated what he had said before, and stated in what manner he had been made a prisoner on board of the Snapper.

"For this outrage in a neutral port I shall hold you and Mr. Pierson as prisoners, leaving the government to determine what steps shall be taken in regard to you; but I trust you will be handed over to the authorities at Nassau, to be properly punished for the outrage."

Of course this decision did not suit Captain Flanger; and Percy Pierson appeared to be intensely alarmed at the prospect before him. Captain Chantor, after consulting with his naval passenger, determined to send the Snapper to Key West, from which she could readily be despatched to New York if occasion should require. Mr. Carlin was appointed prize-master, with a sufficient crew; and at daylight the next morning he sailed for his destination.

The boat which had been sent for the mate and two men belonging to the Snapper put them on board of the steamer; but the captain and the passenger were retained on board of the Chateaugay. The man with the mutilated nose was so disgusted at the loss of his vessel, and with the decision of his captor, that he could not contain himself; and it became necessary not only to restore his irons, but also to commit him to the "brig," which is the ship's prison.

"What is to become of me, Christy?" asked Percy in the evening, overcome with terror at the prospect before him.

"That is more than I can inform you," replied Christy coldly.

"But we had no intention of doing you any harm; and we treated you well after you went on board of the Snapper."

"You committed a dastardly outrage upon me; but your punishment will be left to others."

"But I had no intention to do you any harm," pleaded Percy.

"No more lies! You have told me enough since I met you."

"But I am speaking the truth now," protested the frightened Southerner.

"No, you are not; the truth is not in you! Did you mean me no harm when you attempted to entice me on board of the Snapper? Did you mean me no harm when you engaged Flanger and his ruffians to make me a prisoner, and put me on board of his steamer? It was a flagrant outrage from beginning to end; for I had the same rights in Nassau that you and your father had, and both of you abused the hospitality of the place when you assaulted me."

"You were a prisoner of the Confederacy, and had escaped in a blockade-runner; and I thought it was no more than right that you should be returned to your prison," Percy explained.

"I had the right to escape if I could, and was willing to take the risk; and my capture in Nassau was a cowardly trick. But I did not escape from a Confederate prison."

"You told me you did."

"I did not; that was a conclusion to which you jumped with very little help from me."

"I thought I was doing my duty to my country."

"Then you were an idiot. You have done your best to compromise your country, as you call it, with the British government. If your father is not sent out of Nassau, I shall lose my guess as a Yankee."

"But my father would not allow Captain Flanger to do you any harm; for he was bent upon hanging you as soon as he got out of sight of land, and he sent me with you to see my mother in order to prevent him from carrying out his threat."

"You would have been a powerful preventive in the face of such a brutal ruffian as Captain Flanger," said Christy with a sneer. "You have lied to me before about your father, and I cannot believe anything you say."

"I am speaking the truth now; my father saved your life. I heard him tell Flanger that he would lose the command of the Snapper if any harm came to you."

"If he did so, he did it from the fear of the British authorities. I have nothing more to say about it."

"But as my father saved your life, you ought to stand by me in this scrape," pleaded Percy.

"Whatever was done by you or your father for me, was done from the fear of consequences; and you were the originator of the outrage against me," added Christy, as he descended to the ward room.

The next morning the Snapper was on her voyage to Key West, and the Chateaugay headed for the Hole in the Wall, though she gave it a wide berth, and stood off to the eastward. The next night, being the fourth since the Eleuthera left the ship, the boat containing Mr. Gilfleur was picked up about twenty miles east of the lights. The detective came on board, and was welcomed by the captain, who had been called by his own order.



CHAPTER XXVI

A VISIT TO TAMPA BAY

As soon as Mr. Gilfleur had been welcomed back to the Chateaugay the commander gave the order to the officer of the deck to have the Bahama boat hoisted to the deck, and disposed of as before.

"I beg your pardon, Captain Chantor; but be so kind as to allow the boat to remain alongside, for I must return to Nassau," interposed the detective.

"Return to Nassau!" exclaimed the captain.

"Yes, sir; it is really necessary that I should do so, for you see that I have come back without Mr. Passford," replied the Frenchman. "He was attacked by a cowardly ruffian in front of a saloon in the town, and I lost sight of him after that. I have been terribly distressed about him, for the ruffian threatened to kill him, and I fear he has executed his threat."

"Don't distress yourself for another instant, Mr. Gilfleur, for Mr. Passford is on board of the ship at this moment, and doubtless asleep in his stateroom," said the captain, cutting short the narrative of the detective.

"On board of the ship!" exclaimed the Frenchman, retreating a few paces in his great surprise. "Impossible! Quite impossible! I found our boat just where we had left it at the back side of the island."

"But what I say is entirely true; and Mr. Passford wished me to have him called when you came on board," added the commander, as he sent a quartermaster to summon Christy to the captain's cabin.

"I don't understand how Mr. Passford can be on board of the ship," continued the bewildered Frenchman. "Ah, he might have hired a boat like the Eleuthera to bring him off."

"He might have done so, but he did not," replied Captain Chantor, as he directed the officer of the deck to go ahead, making the course east, as soon as he had secured the detective's boat. "Now, if you will come to my cabin, Mr. Gilfleur, Mr. Passford shall inform you himself that he is on board of the ship; and he has quite an exciting story to tell."

The commander and the Frenchman went below, and seated themselves in the cabin of the former.

"Mr. Passford has already informed me that the Ovidio is at Nassau, but that she has been seized by a British gunboat for violation of the neutrality laws," said the captain.

"That is quite true, and it is not probable that the case will be settled for a month to come," replied Mr. Gilfleur. "But I ascertained by great good luck that her armament was waiting for her at Green Cay, if you know where that is: I do not."

"It is on the Tongue of the Ocean, as it is called, nearly a hundred miles to the southward of Nassau. I supposed it would be managed in some such way as that," added the commander. "But do you think it will be a month before her case will be settled?"

"Of course I know nothing about it myself; but I found a court official who was very desirous of talking French, and he invited me to dine with him at his house. I began to ask him questions about the blockade, and the vessels in the harbor; and finally he gave me his opinion that a decision in the case of the Ovidio could not be reached in less than a month, and it might be two mouths."

At this moment there was a knock at the door of the cabin, and the captain called to the person to come in. Christy, who had taken the time to dress himself fully, opened the door and entered the cabin. The Frenchman leaped from his seat, and embraced the young officer as though he had been his wife or sweetheart, from whom he had been separated for years. Christy, who was not very demonstrative in this direction, submitted to the hugging with the best possible grace, for he knew that the detective was sincere, and had actually grown to love him, perhaps as much for his father's sake as for his own.

"Oh, my dear Mr. Passford, you are to me like one who has come out of his grave, for I have believed for nearly three days that you had been killed by the ruffian that attacked you in the street!" exclaimed Mr. Gilfleur, still pressing both of his late companion's hands in his own. "I was never so rejoiced in all my life, not even when I had unearthed a murderer."

"Perhaps you expected to unearth another murderer," said Christy with a smile.

"That was just what I intended to do. I heard the villanous ruffian swear that he would kill you, and I was almost sure he had done so when you failed to meet me in the rear of the hotel."

At the request of the commander, Christy repeated the story of his adventure in Nassau as briefly as possible, up to the time he had been picked up by the Chateaugay's cutter, and conveyed on board of the ship. The detective was deeply interested, and listened to the narration with the closest attention. At the end of it, he pressed the hand of the young officer again, and warmly congratulated him upon his escape from the enemy.

Mr. Gilfleur then reported more in detail than he had done before, the result of his mission. He gave the names of all the intending blockade-runners in the harbor of Nassau; but the captain declared that he could not capture them on any such evidence as the detective had been able to obtain, for it would not prove the intention.

"The Ovidio may not come out of Nassau for two months to come, and then she will proceed to Green Cay," said Captain Chantor. "I do not think I should be justified in waiting so long for her, especially as she is to run her cargo into Mobile. The blockaders will probably be able to pick her up. I think my mission in the Bahama Islands is finished, and the Chateaugay must proceed to more fruitful fields."

"But you have not made a bad voyage of it so far, Captain Chantor," added Christy. "You sent in the Ionian, sunk the Dornoch, and captured the Cadet and the Snapper, to say nothing of bagging a Confederate commissioner, and the son of another. I should have been glad if you had sent in Colonel Pierson, for he has already done our commerce a great deal of mischief."

"I am entirely satisfied, and doubtless the information obtained here and at the Bermudas will enable our fleet to pick up some more of the steamers you have spotted," added the captain, as he rose from his seat, and dismissed his guests.

The Frenchman was so exhausted by his labors, and the want of sleep, that he retired at once to his room, while Christy went on deck with the commander. The ship had been working to the eastward for over an hour; but the order was given for her to come about, and the course was laid for the light at the Hole in the Wall.

"Now, Mr. Passford, we are bound for the Gulf of Mexico, putting in at Key West for the purpose of attending to the affair of the Snapper," said Captain Chantor. "In a few days more no doubt you will be able to report for duty on board of the Bellevite."

"I shall not be sorry to be on duty again, and especially in the Bellevite," replied Christy, as he went to his stateroom to finish his night's sleep.

The next day the Chateaugay overhauled the Snapper; but all was well on board of her, and the ship proceeded on her course. On the third day she went into the harbor of Key West. Christy and the captain went to work at once on the legal questions relating to the prize last taken. The evidence was deemed sufficient to warrant the sending of her to New York, and on her arrival the prize-master was directed to proceed to that port. Captain Flanger and Percy Pierson were transferred to her, and she sailed the next day; but she encountered a tremendous storm on the Atlantic coast, and was totally wrecked on Hetzel Spit, near Cape Canaveral. The prisoners were put into one boat, which upset, and all in it were drowned, while the other boat, in charge of Lieutenant Carlin, succeeded in reaching the shore of Florida.

The Snapper's case was settled, therefore, outside of the courts. Captain Flanger perished in his wickedness, and Percy Pierson never reached his mother in Mobile. But it was weeks before the news of the disaster reached the Chateaugay and the Bellevite. Christy did not mourn the loss of his great enemy, and he was sorry only that the young man had not lived long enough to become a better man.

The Chateaugay proceeded on her voyage, and reported to the flag-officer of the Eastern Gulf Squadron; by whom she was assigned to a place in the fleet off Appalachicola, while Christy was sent in a tender to the Bellevite, then on duty off the entrance to Mobile Bay.

At this point it became necessary for Christy and Mr. Gilfleur to separate, for the latter was to proceed to New York by a store-ship about to sail. The detective insisted upon hugging him again, and the young officer submitted with better grace than usual to such demonstrations. He had become much attached to his companion in the late enterprises in which they had been engaged, and he respected him very highly for his honesty and earnestness, and admired his skill in his profession. On the voyage from Key West, Christy had written letters to all the members of his family, as well as to Bertha Pembroke, which he committed to the care of Mr. Gilfleur when they parted, not to meet again till the end of the war.

When Christy went on board of the Bellevite he was warmly welcomed by Captain Breaker, who happened to be on deck. Mr. Blowitt was the next to grasp his hand, and before he had done with him, Paul Vapoor, the chief engineer, the young lieutenant's particular crony, hugged him as though he were a brother.

Most of the old officers were still in the ship, and Christy found himself entirely at home where-ever he went on board. He was duly presented to Mr. Walbrook, the third lieutenant, the acting second lieutenant having returned to the flag-ship in the tender.

For all the rest of the year the Bellevite remained on duty as a blockader off Fort Morgan. It was an idle life for the most part, and Christy began to regret that he had caused himself to be transferred from the command of the Bronx. The steamer occasionally had an opportunity to chase a blockade-runner, going in or coming out of the bay. She was the fastest vessel on the station, and she never failed to give a good account of herself.

Late in the year the Bellevite and Bronx were ordered to operate at Tampa Bay, where it was believed that several vessels were loading with cotton. On the arrival of the ships off the bay, a boat expedition was organized to ascertain what vessels were in the vicinity. But the entrance was protected by a battery, and it was supposed that there were field-works in several places on the shores. One of these was discovered just inside of Palm Key, and the Bellevite opened upon it with her big midship gun. Two or three such massive balls were enough for the garrison, and they beat a precipitate retreat, abandoning their pieces. There was water enough to permit the steamer to go into the bay nearly to the town at the head of it.

No other batteries were to be seen, and the Bronx proceeded up the bay, followed by the Bellevite. When the latter had proceeded as far as the depth of water rendered it prudent for her to go at that time of tide, the Bronx went ahead some ten miles farther. The boat expedition, consisting of three cutters from the Bellevite and one from the Bronx, moved towards the head of the bay. Christy, in the second cutter of the Bellevite, was at least two miles from any other boat, when a punt containing a negro put out from the shore near him.

"Are you a frien' ob de colored man?" demanded the negro as soon as he came within speaking-distance of the cutter.

"Within reasonable limits, I am the friend of the colored man," replied Christy, amused at the form of the question.

"What you gwine to do up dis bay, massa?" asked the colored man.

"That will depend upon what we find up this bay."

"You don't 'spect you find no steamers up dis bay, does you, massa?"

"Do you know of any steamers up this bay, my man?" asked Christy. "Do you know of any vessels up here loading with cotton?" asked Christy.

"P'raps I do, massa; and den, again, p'raps I don't know anyt'ing about any vessels," replied the negro, very indefinitely.

Christy was provoked at the manner in which the negro replied to his questions. Ordering his boat's crew to give way with all their might, he directed the cockswain to run for the punt of the negro. The cutter struck it on the broadside, and broke it into two pieces. The boatman was fished up, and hauled on board of the boat.





CHAPTER XXVII

AMONG THE KEYS OF TAMPA

Christy Passford did not intend to cut the negro's punt into two pieces, though perhaps there was some mischief in the purpose of the cockswain. The boatman gave him an evasive answer to his question, which provoked the young officer. The punt was a very old affair, reduced almost to punk by the decay of the boards of which it was built, or the bow of the cutter would not have gone through it so readily. The lieutenant had simply desired to get alongside the negro's shaky craft in order to question him, for he was satisfied from the fellow's manner that he knew more than he pretended to know.

The boatman had come off from the shore of his own accord; he had not been solicited to give any information, and his movements had been entirely voluntary on his own part. Yet Christy was sorry that his punt had been stove, valueless as the craft had been; for, as a rule, the colored people were friendly to the Union soldiers, and he was not disposed to do them any injury.

As soon as the officer in charge of the boat saw that the bow was likely to strike the punt, he directed the cockswain to stop and back her, which was done, but too late to save the flimsy box from destruction. The two bowmen drew in the negro without any difficulty; and so expeditiously had he been rescued that he was not wet above the hips. He had been caught up just as the bow of the cutter cut into the punt.

"That was well done, bowmen," said Christy, as the boatman was placed upon his feet in the fore sheets.

The negro was rather small in stature, and black enough to save all doubts in regard to his parentage; but there was an expression of cunning in his face not often noticed in persons of his race. The coast of Florida, south of the entrance to Tampa Bay, as in many other portions, is fringed with keys, or cays as they are called in the West Indies, which are small islands, though many of them are ten miles in length. This fringe of keys extended up Tampa Bay for over twenty miles; and it was from behind one of them that the punt had put out when Christy's boat approached. The negro had been obliged to paddle at least half a mile to come within speaking-distance of the cutter.

"You done broke my boat in two pieces!" exclaimed the boatman, gazing at the two parts of the floating wreck. "Don't t'ink you is a frien' ob de colored man widin no limits at all, or you don't smash his boat like dat."

"That was an accident, my friend," replied Christy. "How much was the punt worth?"

"Dat boat wan't no punk, massa, and it was wuf two dollars in good money," replied the colored man, his eyes brightening, and his expression of cunning becoming more intense, when he realized the possibility of being paid for his loss.

"If you give me the information I desire, I will pay for the boat," added Christy, who proposed to do so out of his own pocket, for his father was a millionaire of several degrees, and the son had very nearly made a fortune out of the prizes, from which he had received an officer's share.

"Tank you, massa; I'm a poor man, and I git my livin' gwine fishin' in dat boat you done stove."

"What is your name, my man?"

"Quimp, sar; and dat's de short for Quimple," replied the colored person of this name.

"Where do you live?"

"Ober on de shor dar, in de woods."

"How deep is the water inside of these keys, Quimp?" asked Christy, pointing to the long, narrow islands which lined the south-easterly side of the bay.

"Not much water inside dem keys dar, sar," replied the boatman, looking off in the other direction.

"But there are deep places in there, I am very sure."

"Yes, sar; ten feet in some places," replied Quimp, suddenly becoming more communicative. "When de wind blow from de west or de norf-west, dar's twelve foot inside de long key."

"Do you know of any vessels, any schooners, or steamers, inside the bay, Quimp?" asked Christy, pushing his inquiries a point farther.

"Couldn't told you, massa," replied the boatman, shaking his head.

"Do you mean that you don't know, my man?"

"Dis nigger done got but one head, and it's wuf more to him dan it is to any oder feller, massa; and it don't do for him to tell no stories about vessels and steamers," replied Quimp, shaking his head more vigorously.

"I suppose you have a family, Quimp?"

"No, sar; done got no family. De ole woman done gone to glory more'n ten years ago, and de boys done growed up and gone off. No, sar; dis nigger got no family."

"Then you don't care to stay here, where you have to work hard for little money?" suggested Christy.

"Money! Don't see no money. Nobody but white folks got any money; and dey has next to noffin in dese times."

"I will pay you well for any information that may be of importance to me, and I will take you on board of a man-of-war farther down the bay, if you are afraid of losing your head."

"If dis nigger told some stories he lose his head for sartin," added Quimp, shaking his head, as if to make sure that it safely rested on his shoulders.

"If you tell me the truth, you shall be protected."

"Wot you want to know, massa?" demanded Quimp, as though he was weakening in his resolution.

Christy could not help wondering why the boatman had come out from behind the key, if he was not willing to impart his knowledge to the officer of the boat, for he could not help understanding the object of the gunboats in visiting the bay; and the Bellevite lay not half a mile below the northern end of what Quimp called the long key.

"I want to know if there are any steamers or other vessels in the bay," replied Christy, coming directly to the point. "If there are any, we shall find them; but you can save us the trouble of looking for them."

"How much you gwine to gib me, massa, if I told you?" asked the negro, as he walked between the men on the thwarts to the stern sheets, in order to be nearer to the officer.

"I will give you ten dollars if you will be sure and tell me the truth."

"Dis nigger don't never told no lies, massa," protested Quimp. "If you pay me five dollars for de boat you done stove, and"—

"But you said the boat was worth only two dollars," interposed the officer.

"Dat's de gospel truf, massa; but it costs me five dollars to get a new boat, to say noffin about de time. I mought starve to def afore I can get a boat."

The negro's argument was logical, and Christy admitted its force, and expressed his willingness to pay the price demanded.

"Five dollars for de boat, massa, and ten dollars for tellin' de whole truf," added Quimp.

"All right, my man," added the lieutenant.

"Yes, sar; but I want de money now, sar," said Quimp, extending his hand to receive it; and Christy thought he was very sharp for one in his position.

"I will pay you when you have imparted the information," he replied; and, for some reason he could not explain, he was not satisfied with the conduct of the negro.

He was altogether too shrewd for one who appeared to be so stupid. The expression of cunning in his face told against him, and perhaps it was this more than anything else that prejudiced the officer. He took it for granted that he should have to take the boatman off to the Bellevite with him, and that it would be time enough to pay him on board of the ship.

"Dat won't do, massa!" protested Quimp earnestly. "What you tink? Suppose dar is a steamer in de bay loaded wid cotton, all ready to quit for somewhar. Do you tink, massa, I can go on bord of her wid you? No, sar! Dis nigger lose his head for sartin if dem uns knows I pilot you to dat steamer. You done got two eyes, massa, and you can see it for shore."

"But I can protect you, Quimp," suggested Christy.

"No, sar! All de sojers in de Yankee camp could not save me, sar. De first man dat sees me will knive me in de heart, or cut my froat from one ear to de oder!" protested Quimp more earnestly than before, though he manifested no terror in his words or manner.

"Very well, Quimp; I will pay you the money as soon as we see the steamer or other vessel, and then assist you to make your escape," replied Christy. "I will go a step farther, and pay you for the boat now; but I will not pay you the ten dollars till you show us a vessel."

While the negro was scratching his head to stimulate his ideas, the officer handed him a gold sovereign and a shilling of English money, provided for his visit to Bermuda and Nassau, which made a little more than five dollars.

"I don't reckon a gemman like you would cheat a poor nigger," said Quimp, while his eyes were still glowing with delight at the sight of the money in his hand.

"Certainly not, my man," replied Christy, laughing at the idea. "Just as soon as I get my eye on the steamer of which you speak, I will pay you the ten dollars in gold and silver."

"I don't know much about dis yere money, massa," said the boatman, still studying the coin.

"The gold piece is an English sovereign, worth about four dollars and eighty-five cents; and the silver coin is a shilling, worth very nearly a quarter of a dollar; so that I have paid you over five dollars."

"Yes, sar, tank you, sar. Cap'n Stopfoot fotched over some ob de money like dat from Nassau, and I done seen it."

"But I can't stop to talk all day, Quimp," continued Christy impatiently. "If you are going to do anything to earn your ten dollars, it is time for you to be about it."

"Yes, sar; I will told you all about it, massa."

"No long yarns, my man!" protested the officer, as Quimp seated himself in the stern sheets as though he intended to tell a long story.

"Yes, massa; told you all about it in a bref. De wind done blow fresh from de norf-west for t'ree days; dat's what Massa Cap'n Stopfoot say," Quimp began.

"No matter what Captain Stopfoot says!" Christy interposed. "Tell me where the steamer is, if there is any steamer in the bay. We will stop the foot and the mouth of Captain Stopfoot when we come to him."

"Well, sar, if you don't want to har dis nigger's yarn, he'll shet up all to onct," replied Quimp, standing on his dignity.

"Go on, then; but make it short," added Christy, finding it would take less time to get what he wanted out of the negro by letting him have his own way. "Wind fresh from the north-west for three days."

"Yes, sar; and dat pile up de water so de tide rise six or eight inches higher," continued Quimp, picking up the clew given him. "High tide in one hour from now, and de Reindeer was gwine out den for shore. Dat's de whole story, massa, and not bery long."

"All right, Quimp. Now where is the Reindeer?"

"Ober de oder side ob long key, massa. Dar's more'n four fadoms ob water under dis boat now, and twelve feet 'tween de two keys," added the boatman, whose tongue was fully unlocked by this time.

The crew of the cutter were directed to give way, and the negro pointed out the channel which led inside the keys.



CHAPTER XXVIII

THE SURRENDER OF THE REINDEER

Christy looked over the side of the boat, and saw that the water was quite clear. The channel, which lay in the middle of the bay, had four and a quarter fathoms of water at mean low tide, according to the chart the officer had with him. He had brought several copies of the large chart with him from New York, and he had cut them up into convenient squares, so that they could be easily handled when he was on boat service. But his authority gave no depth of water on the shoal sands.

In a short time the boat came to the verge of the channel, and Christy directed the bowman to stand by with the lead, with which the boat was provided. The first heaving gave three and a half fathoms, and it gradually decreased at each report, till only two fathoms and a quarter was indicated, when the boat was between the two keys, the southern of which Quimp called the long key, simply because that was the longest in the bay, and not because it was a proper name.

"Now, Massa Ossifer, look sharp ober on de starboard side," said the negro.

"I don't see anything," replied Christy.

"No, sar, not yet; but look ober dat way, and you see somet'ing fo' yore t'ree minutes older, massa."

Christy fixed his gaze on the point of the long key, beyond which Quimp intimated that the steamer would be seen.

"Now, Massa Ossifer, fo' yore two minutes nearer glory, you'll see de end ob de bowsprit ob de Reindeer," added Quimp, who was beginning to be somewhat excited, possibly in expectation of receiving his ten dollars; and perhaps he was regretting that he had not demanded twenty.

"How big is that steamer, Quimp?" asked the officer of the cutter.

"Fo' hund'ed tons, massa; dat's what Cap'n Stopfoot done say, kase I never done measure her. He done say she is very flat on her bottom, and don't draw much water for her size," replied the negro. "Dar's de end ob de bowsprit, massa!" he exclaimed at this moment.

"Way enough, cockswain!" said Christy sharply. "Stern all!"

The headway of the cutter was promptly checked, and she was set back a couple of lengths, when the order was given to the crew to lay on their oars.

"W'at's the matter, Massa Ossifer? Arn't you gwine no furder?" asked Quimp.

"I have seen enough of the Reindeer to satisfy me that she is there; and I have stopped the boat to give you a chance to make your escape," replied Christy. "I don't want you to lose your head for the service you have rendered to me."

"Dis nigger can't get away from here, massa," replied the boatman, looking about him. "A feller can't swim a mile when de water's full ob alligators. Dem varmints like niggers to eat jus' as well as dey do white men."

Christy had his doubts about there being alligators of a dangerous size in the bay, though he had seen small ones in other bays of the coast; but he was willing to admit that Quimp knew better about the matter than he did. It was a hard swim to any other key than the long one, to which the cutter was quite near. He could land the negro on that key, but he would reveal the presence of the boat to the people on board of the Reindeer, and they would burn her rather than have her fall into the hands of the Union navy.

"I can land you on the long key, Quimp," suggested the officer.

"No, sar! Can't go there; for Cap'n Stopfoot sartainly cotch me dar," protested the negro.

"I don't think so, Quimp."

"De ossifers and men ob de Reindeer will go asho' when you done took de steamer; don't you see dat, massa?"

"What shall I do with you then?" asked Christy, as he handed him two sovereigns and two shillings.

"T'ank you, sar; dat's a pile ob money!" exclaimed Quimp, as he looked with admiration upon the coins.

"It is what I agreed to give you. But what shall I do with you now? That is the question I want answered," continued the officer impatiently.

"You can't do not'ing wid me, Massa Ossifer, and I must tooken my chance to go up in de boat. Better hab my froat cut 'n be chawed up by a big alligator. Was you ever bit by an alligator, Massa Ossifer?"

"I never was."

"I knows about dat, massa," added Quimp, as he bared his leg, and showed an ugly scar.

Christy would not wait to hear any more, but ordered the cockswain to go ahead again. It looked to him that Quimp, now that he had received his money, and made fifteen dollars out of his morning's work, was intentionally delaying the object of the expedition, for what reason he could form no clear idea.

"I spose, if Captain Stopfoot kill me for w'at I done do, you'll bury me side de old woman dat done gone to glory ten year ago?" continued the negro, who did not look old enough to have buried a wife ten years before.

"I am not in the burying business, my friend, and after you are dead, you had better send for your sons to do the job, for they will know where to find the grave of the departed companion of your joys and sorrows," replied Christy, as the boat came in sight of the bowsprit of the Reindeer again.

"My sons done gone away to Alabamy, sar, and"—

"That's enough about that. There are no alligators about here, and you can swim ashore if you are so disposed; but you must shut up your wide mouth and keep still if you stay in the boat. Heave the lead, bowman!"

"Mark under water two, sir," reported the leadsman.

In a few moments more the cutter had gained a position where the steamer could be fully seen. She was a side-wheeler, and appeared to be a very handsome vessel. She had a considerable deck-load of cotton, and doubtless her hold was filled with the same valuable commodity.

"Is that steamer armed, Quimp?" asked Christy, who could see no signs of life on board of her.

"She don't got no arms, but she hab two field-pieces on her for'ad deck," replied the negro.

"How many men has she on board?"

"L'em me see: the cap'n and de mate is two, two ingineers, two firemen; dat makes six; and den she hab two deck-hands."

"But that makes only eight in all," replied Christy. "Are you sure that is all?"

"Dead shoar dat's all, Massa Ossifer."

"But that is not enough to handle the steamer on a voyage to a foreign port, for I dare say she is going to Nassau," added Christy, who was on the lookout for some piece of strategy by which his boat and its crew might be destroyed.

"I don't know not'ing about dat, sar; but Cap'n Stopfoot is a pow'ful smart man; and he's Yankee too. I done hear him say he gwine to j'in de Yankee navy."

What Quimp said was rather suspicious; but Christy could see nothing to justify his doubts. He directed the cockswain to steer the cutter as closely to the side of the Reindeer as the movement of the oars would permit, so that the field-pieces could not be brought to bear upon it. The steamer lay at a sort of temporary pier, which had evidently been erected for her accommodation, and the cotton had doubtless been brought to the key by river steamers by the Suwanee and other streams from cotton regions.

There was no habitation or other building on the shore, but a gangway was stretched to the land, over which a couple of men were hastening on board when the cutter reached the stern of the Reindeer. From appearances Christy judged that the water had been deepened by dredges, for a considerable quantity of sand and mud was disposed in heaps in the shallow water a hundred feet or more from the rude wharf.

"Boat ahoy!" shouted a person on board, near the starboard accommodation ladder, which the officer of the boat had noticed was in place.

"On board the steamer!" replied Christy.

"What is your business here?" inquired the person on the deck of the Reindeer, though he could not be seen from the cutter.

"I will go on board and inform you," replied Christy.

As there were no signs of resistance on board of the vessel, the officer of the cutter directed his men to make a dash for the accommodation ladder, which had the appearance of having been left to make things convenient for a boarding-party. The crew were all armed with a cutlass and revolver in the belt.

"Lay her aboard!" said Christy, quietly enough, as he led the way himself, for he was a bold leader, and was not content to follow his men. As he leaped down from the bulwarks to the deck, he confronted the person who had hailed him in the boat.

"What is your business on board of the Reindeer?" demanded, in a very tame tone, the man in front of him.

"I am an officer of the United States navy, and my business is to make a prize of this steamer and her cargo," replied Christy.

"Is that so? You did not give me your name, sir," added the man.

"Lieutenant Passford, attached to the United States steamer Bellevite. Do me the favor to explain who you are, sir," returned Christy.

"I am Captain Solomon Stopfoot, in command of the Reindeer, at your service, born and brought up on Long Island," answered the commander of the steamer.

"Then what are you doing here?" demanded the naval officer. "Where were you born on Long Island?"

"In Babylon, on the south shore."

"Then Babylon is fallen!" exclaimed Christy, indignant to find a man born so near his own home doing the dirty work of the Confederate government.

"Perhaps not; and perhaps you may change your view of me when you have heard my story," added Captain Stopfoot.

"Well, Captain, there is only one story that I care to hear just now, and its title is simply 'Surrender,'" replied Christy rather impatiently. "You understand my business on board of the Reindeer; and if you propose to make any resistance, it is time for you to begin."

"It would be folly for me to make any resistance, and I shall not make any. I have only two engineers, two firemen, foreigners, hired in Nassau, who would not fight if I wished them to do so, and two deck-hands. I could do nothing against the eight well-armed men you have brought on board. I surrender."

"I should say that was a wise step on your part, Captain Stopfoot," replied Christy. "When you are more at leisure, I hope you will indulge me in an explanation of the manner in which a Long Islander happens to be engaged in blockade-running."

"I am an American citizen now, as I have always been; I shall be only too happy to get back under the old flag. As an evidence of my sincerity, I will assist you in getting the Reindeer out of this place. The tide is high at this moment; and half an hour from now it will be too late to move the vessel," said Captain Stopfoot, with every appearance of sincerity in his manner.

"I will see you, Captain, as soon as I have looked the steamer over," replied Christy, as he left the commander of the Reindeer at the door of his cabin, and went forward to examine the vessel.

He found the steam up; and the engineer bowed to him as he looked into his room. There was nothing to be seen but cotton, piled high on the deck, and stuffed into the hold; and he returned to the cabin.



CHAPTER XXIX

BRINGING OUT THE PRIZE

It seemed to Christy, after he had completed his examination of the Reindeer, that she carried an enormous deck-load for a steamer of her size, and that the bales were piled altogether too high for a vessel that was liable to encounter a heavy sea. But the cotton was where it could be readily thrown overboard if the safety of the steamer was threatened by its presence. He found only the six men mentioned by Stopfoot, though he had looked in every part of the vessel, even to the fire-room and the quarters of the crew and firemen.

"I find everything as you stated, Captain Stopfoot; but I should say that you were proposing to go to sea short-handed. I did not even see a person whom I took for the mate. Is it possible that you could get along without one?" said Christy, when he met the commander at the door of the cabin.

"The truth is, that my men deserted me when they saw the two men-of-war come into the bay, for they knew I had no adequate means of making a defence. In fact, the Reindeer was as good as captured as soon as your two steamers came into the bay, for you were morally sure to find her," replied the captain.

"But where are your men? How could they get away?" asked Christy.

"They have not got away a great distance. You could see the gangway to the shore; and all they had to do was to land, without even the trouble of taking to a boat. They are all on the long key; and without some sort of a craft they will not be able to leave it. If you desire to spend your time in hunting them down, I have no doubt you could find them all."

"How many of them are there on the island, Captain Stopfoot?"

"The mate, four deck-hands, and two firemen. It would not be a difficult task for you to capture them all, for I did not look upon them as fighting material; they have crowded about all the men of that sort into the army."

"I have no desire to find them, and they may stay on the key till doomsday, so far as I am concerned," replied Christy. "We don't regard the men employed on blockade-runners as of much account. But it is time to get under way, Captain; I have men enough to do all the work, and I think I have learned the channel well enough to find the way out into the deep water of the bay."

"As I said before, Lieutenant Passford, I am willing to assist you, for I am anxious to get back among my own people, and to find a position in the old navy. I have been master of a vessel for the last ten years, and I know the Southern coast better than most of your officers."

"No doubt you will find a place when you want one, for all competent men are taken," replied Christy, as he went to the quarter to see if the Bellevite's cutter was in condition to be towed by the Reindeer.

He had left the boat in charge of Quimp, or rather he had left him in it without assigning any particular duty to him. He was no longer in the cutter, and the officer concluded that he had taken to the long key, and was fraternizing with the renegades who had deserted the Reindeer. The long painter of the boat was taken to the stern and made fast in a suitable place, and Christy hastened to the forward part of the vessel with six of his men, leaving a quartermaster, who was the cockswain of the cutter, with two others, in charge of the after part.

On his way he went into the engine-room, which opened from the main deck, where he had before seen the two engineers, the chief of whom had received him very politely. He suggested to the captain that he had made no arrangement with these officers, and he was not quite sure that they would be willing to do duty now that the steamer was a prize.

"There will be no trouble about them, for they are Englishmen, engaged at Nassau, and they will do duty as long as they are paid for it, as they have no interest in the quarrel between the North and the South," said Captain Stopfoot; and Christy could not help seeing that he was making everything very comfortable for him.

"We are willing to work for whoever will pay us," added the chief engineer, "and without asking any hard questions."

"I will see that you are paid," returned Christy. "You will attend to the bells as usual, will you?"

"Yes, sir; we will do our duty faithfully," answered the chief.

Christy and the captain proceeded to the pilot-house, which appeared to have been recently added to the vessel to suit the taste of her American owners. The naval officer stationed one of his own men at the wheel, and then took a careful survey of the position of the steamer. He directed his crew to cast off the fasts.

"Is there a United States flag on board of this craft, Captain Stopfoot?" asked Christy.

"To be sure there is, Lieutenant," said the captain with a laugh; "but I do not get much chance to get under its folds."

"Of course you have Confederate flags in abundance?"

"Enough of them," replied the commander, as he drew forth from a signal-box the flags required. "What do you intend to do with these?"

"I intend to hoist the United States flag over the Confederate to show that this steamer is a prize, otherwise the Bellevite might put a shot through her as soon as she shows herself outside of the key," replied Christy.

"A wise precaution," added Captain Stopfoot.

The naval officer rang one bell as one of his men reported to him that the fasts had been cast off, and that all was clear. The grating sound of the engine was immediately heard, with the splash of the paddle wheels. Very slowly the Reindeer began to move forward. Christy had very carefully noted the bearings of the channel by which the steamer must pass out into the deep water of the bay, and the instructions which the captain volunteered to give him were not necessary.

"I suppose I am as really a Northern man in principle as you are, Mr. Passford," said the captain, as the steamer crept very cautiously through the pass between the keys.

"If you are, you have taken a different way to show it," replied Christy, glancing at the speaker.

"But the circumstances have compelled me to remain in the service of my Southern employer until the present time, and this promises to be the first favorable opportunity to escape from it that has been presented to me," Captain Stopfoot explained.

"You have been to Nassau a number of times, I judge; and it was possible for you to abandon your employment any time you pleased," suggested the naval officer.

"It was not so easy a matter as you seem to think; for there were no Northern vessels there in which I could take passage to New York, or any other loyal port.

"Mr. Groomer, the mate of the Reindeer, is part owner of her, though he is not competent to navigate a vessel at sea, and he kept close watch of me all the time, on shore as well as on board."

"But I understand that Mr. Groomer, the mate, has deserted you, and gone on shore with the others of your ship's company," added Christy, rather perplexed at the situation indicated by the captain.

"What else could he do?"

"What else could you do? and why did you not abandon the steamer when he did so? If one of the owners would not stand by the vessel, why did you do so?"

"I have told you before why I did not: because I wish to get back to my friends in the North, and find a place in the old navy, which would be more congenial to me than selling cotton for the benefit of the Confederacy," replied Captain Stopfoot with considerable energy.

The explanation seemed to be a reasonable one, and Christy could not gainsay it, though he was not entirely satisfied with the declarations of the commander. He admitted that he regarded the Reindeer as good as captured when he saw the Bellevite and Bronx come into the bay; and he could easily have escaped in a boat to one of the gunboats after the watchful mate "took to the woods," as he had literally done, for the key was partly covered with small trees.

"And a quarter two!" reported the leadsman who had been stationed on the forecastle.

"The water don't seem to vary here," added Christy.

"No, for the owners had done some dredging in this channel; in fact, there was hardly anything like a channel here when they began the work," replied Captain Stopfoot. "To which of the steamers do you belong, Mr. Passford?"

"To the Bellevite, the one which lies below the long key. The other has gone up the bay."

"She has gone on a fruitless errand, for there is not another vessel loading in these waters," said the captain. "I suppose you will report on board of the Bellevite, Mr. Passford?"

"Of course I shall not leave the Reindeer without an order from the commander of the ship," replied the lieutenant.

"And a half two!" shouted the leadsman.

"The channel deepens," said Christy.

"You will be in deep water in five minutes."

On this report Christy rang four bells, and the Reindeer went ahead at full speed.

"By the mark three!" called the man at the lead.

The water was deepening rapidly, and presently the report of three and a half fathoms came from the forecastle. It was soon followed by "And a half four," upon which the lieutenant directed the wheelman to steer directly for the Bellevite. He had hardly given the order before the report of heavy firing from the upper waters of the bay came to his ear.

"What can that be?" he asked, looking at Captain Stopfoot.

"I don't know; but I suppose that the gunboat which went up the bay is firing at some battery she has discovered. They have strengthened the works in that direction which defend the town, since the only one there was silenced by one of your gunboats," the captain explained.

The guns were heard on board of the Bellevite, and she began to move up the bay as though she intended to proceed to the assistance of her consort. Mr. Blowitt in the first cutter had followed the Bronx, and the third cutter, in charge of Mr. Lobscott, had gone over to Piney Point, to which there was a channel with from three to five fathoms of water, and which seemed to be a favorable place to load a vessel with cotton.

As the Reindeer approached the Bellevite, the latter stopped her screw, and Christy directed the wheelman to run the steamer alongside, and within twenty or thirty feet of her. There was no sea in the bay, and there was no danger in doing so. As the Reindeer approached the position indicated, two bells were struck to stop her. The flags that had been hoisted on board, informed Captain Breaker of the capture of the steamer, so that no report was necessary.

"I have to report the capture of the Reindeer, loaded with cotton, and ready to sail for Nassau," said Christy, mounting one of the high piles of cotton bales, and saluting the commander of the Bellevite, who had taken his place on the rail to see the prize.

"Do you know the cause of the firing up the bay, Mr. Passford?" asked Captain Breaker.

"I do not, Captain; but I learn that the battery below the town has been strengthened, and I should judge that the Bronx had engaged it."

"Have you men enough to hold your prize, Mr. Passford?"

"I think I have, Captain."

"You will go down the bay, and anchor outside of Egmont Key."

Christy rang one bell, and then four.



CHAPTER XXX

A VERY IMPORTANT SERVICE

The Reindeer went ahead at full speed, while the Bellevite stood up the bay, picking up the crew of Mr. Blowitt's boat on the way, evidently with the intention of taking part in the action which the Bronx had initiated. The loud reports at intervals indicated that the Bronx was using her big midship gun, while the feebler sounds proved that the metal of the battery was much lighter. The prize was not a fast steamer, and she was over an hour in making the dozen miles to Egmont Island, on which was the tower of a lighthouse forty feet high, but no use was made of it at that time.

The Bellevite proceeded very slowly, sounding all the time; but at the end of half an hour the Reindeer was at least ten miles from her, which was practically out of sight and hearing. About this time Christy observed that Captain Stopfoot left the pilot-house, where he had remained from the first; but he paid no attention to him. He had three men on the quarter-deck of the steamer, one in the pilot-house with him, and five more in other parts of the vessel.

Christy knew the channel to the south of the lighthouse, and piloted the steamer to a point about half a mile to the westward of the island. He was looking through one of the forward windows of the pilot-house, selecting a proper place to come to anchor, in accordance with the orders of Captain Breaker. While he was so engaged he heard some sort of a disturbance in the after part of the steamer.

"On deck there!" he called sharply; and the five men who had been stationed in this part of the steamer stood up before him, jumping up from the beds they had made for themselves on the cotton bales, or rushing out from behind them. "Hopkins and White, go aft and ascertain the cause of that disturbance," he added.

The two men promptly obeyed the order, and the naval officer directed the other three to stand by to anchor the steamer. In a few minutes the anchor was ready to let go. Perhaps a quarter of an hour had elapsed, when Christy began to wonder what had become of the two men he had sent aft to report on the disturbance.

"Linman," he called to one of the three men on the forecastle, "go aft and see what has become of Hopkins and White."

Linman proceeded to obey the order, but had not been gone twenty seconds, before the noise of another disturbance came to Christy's ears, and this time it sounded very much like a scuffle. Up to this moment, and even since Captain Stopfoot had left the pilot-house, Christy had not suspected that anything on board was wrong. The sounds that came from the after part of the vessel excited his suspicions, though they did not assure him that the ship's company of the steamer were engaged in anything like a revolt.

"Follow me, Bench and Kingman!" he shouted to the two men that remained on the forecastle. "Strike two bells, Landers," he added to the wheelman.

Christy had drawn the cutlass he carried in his belt, and was ready, with the assistance of the two men he had called, to put down any insubordination that might have been manifested by the ship's company of the prize. He would have been willing to admit, if he had given the matter any attention at that moment, that it was the natural right of the captured captain and his men to regain possession of their persons and property by force and violence; but he was determined to make it dangerous for them to do so.

"On the forecastle, sir!" exclaimed Landers, the wheelman.

Christy had put his hand upon the door of the pilot-house to open it as the two men were moving aft; but he looked out the window at the exclamation of the wheelman. The cotton bales seemed to have become alive all at once, for half a dozen of them rolled over like a spaniel just out of the water, and four men leaped out from under them, or from apertures which had been formed beneath them.



Bench and Kingman seemed to be bewildered, and both of them were thrown down by the movement of the bales. The four men who had so suddenly appeared sprang upon them, and almost in the twinkling of an eye had tied their hands behind them. Christy drew one of the revolvers from his belt; but he did not fire, for he was as likely to hit his own men as their assailants. The victors in the struggle dragged the two men into the forecastle, and disappeared themselves.

Christy was almost confounded by the suddenness of the attack; but he did not give up the battle, for he had at least six men in the after part of the steamer. Bidding Landers draw his cutlass and follow him, he rushed out at the door he had before opened. He could not see anything aft but the walls of cotton bales, with a narrow passage between them and the bulwarks. He moved aft with his eyes wide open; but he had not gone ten feet before a man dropped down upon him from the top of the deck-load with so much force as to carry him down to the planks.

His assailant put his arms around him and hugged him like a bear, so that he could neither use his cutlass nor his revolvers. At the same moment another man dropped down on Landers in like manner. It was impossible to resist an attack made from overhead, where it was least expected, and when they were taken by surprise. Christy was a prisoner, and his hands were bound behind him.

At this moment Captain Stopfoot presented himself before the prize-master, his face covered with smiles, and nervous from the excess of his joy at the recapture of the Reindeer. Christy could not see what had become of the rest of his men. He knew that three of them had been secured, but he did not know what had become of the other six, and he had some hope that they had escaped their assailants, and were in condition to render him needed assistance, for it seemed impossible that all of them could have been overcome.

In spite of his chagrin and mortification, Christy could not help seeing that the affair on the part of Captain Stopfoot had been well managed, and that the author of the plot was smart enough to be a Yankee, whether he was one or not. It was evident enough now that the mate and the rest of the crew had not "taken to the woods," but had been concealed in such dens as could be easily made among the cotton bales.

"I hope you are not very uncomfortable, Mr. Passford," said Captain Stopfoot, as he presented his smiling face before his late captor.

"Physically, I am not very uncomfortable, in spite of these bonds; but otherwise, I must say that I am. I am willing to acknowledge that it is a bad scrape for me," replied Christy as good-naturedly as possible, for his pride would not allow him to let the enemy triumph over him.

"That would not be at all unnatural, and I think it is a very bad scrape for a naval officer of your high reputation to get into," added the captain. "But I desire to say, Mr. Passford, that I have no ill-will towards you, and it will not be convenient for me to send you to a Confederate prison, important as such a service would be to our cause."

"I judge that you are not as anxious as you were to get into the old navy," added Christy.

"I confess that I am not, and that I should very much prefer to obtain a good position in the Confederate navy. I hope you will excuse the little fictions in which I indulged for your amusement. I was born in the very heart of the State of Alabama, and never saw Long Island in all my life," continued the captain. "By the way, my mate is not part owner of the Reindeer, though he is just as faithful to her interests as though he owned the whole of her; and it was he that pounced down upon you at the right moment. I assure you he is a very good fellow, and I hope you will not have any grudge against him."

"Not the least in the world, Captain Stopfoot," replied Christy.

"I hope I shall not be obliged to detain you long, Mr. Passford; and I shall not unless one of your gunboats chases me. I shall endeavor to put you and your men on shore at the Gasparilla Pass, where you can hail one of the gunboats as it comes along in pursuit of the Reindeer, though I hope they will not sail for this purpose before night."

"The Bellevite is not likely to discover the absence of the prize at present, for she will have to remain up the bay over one tide," said the mate.

"That is what I was calculating upon," added the captain. "Now, Mr. Passford, I shall be compelled to take my leave of you, for we have to stow the cotton over again before we go to sea. I am exceedingly obliged to you for the very valuable service you have rendered me."

"I was not aware that I had rendered you any service," replied Christy, wondering what he could mean.

"You are not? Then your perception is not as clear as I supposed it was. When it was reported to me that two gunboats were coming into the bay I considered the Reindeer as good as captured, as I have hinted to you before. My cargo will bring a fortune in Nassau, and I am half owner of the steamer and her cargo, if Mr. Groomer, the mate, is not. I was almost in despair, for I could not afford to lose my vessel and her valuable cargo. I considered myself utterly ruined. But just then I got an idea, and I came to a prompt decision;" and the captain paused.

"And what was that decision?" asked Christy curiously.

"When I saw your boat coming, for I was on the long key, I determined that you should bring the Reindeer out into the Gulf, and save me all trouble and anxiety in regard to her, and I knew that you could do it a great deal better than I could. Wherefore I am extremely grateful to you for this very important service," said Captain Stopfoot, bowing very politely. "But I am compelled to leave you now to your own pleasant reflections. Mr. Passford, I shall ask you and your men to take possession of the cabin, and not show yourselves on deck; and you will pardon me if I lock the door upon you."

The captive officer followed the captain aft to the door of the cabin. On a bale of cotton he saw the cutlasses and revolvers which had been taken from him and his men, which had apparently been thrown in a heap where they happened to hit, and had been forgotten. Seated on the cotton he found all his men, with their hands tied behind them. Captain Stopfoot opened the cabin door, and directed his prisoners to enter.

"Excuse me for leaving you so abruptly, Mr. Passford," continued the captain while he was feeling in his pocket for the key of the door. "It looks as though it were going to blow before night, and I must get ready for it. Besides, the Bellevite may return on the present tide, and I am informed that she is a very fast sailer, as the Reindeer is not, and I must make the most of my opportunity; but when my fortune is made out of my present cargo, I shall owe it largely to you. Adieu for the present."

Captain Stopfoot left the cabin, locking the door behind him. The hands of the prisoners, ten in number, were tied behind them with ropes, for probably the steamer was not provided with handcuffs. Christy examined his men in regard to the manner in which they had been overcome. The three men who had been left near the cabin door had been overthrown by those who jumped down upon them when they were separated, one at the stern, one on the bales, watching the Bellevite in the distance, and the third asleep on a cotton bale. The lieutenant had seen the rest of the enterprise.

"This thing is not going to last long, my men," said Christy, who realized that he should never be able to stand up under the obloquy of having brought out a blockade-runner for the enemy.

He caused the hands to march in front of him till he found one who had been carelessly bound. He backed this one up in the rear of Calwood, the quartermaster, and made him untie the line, which he could do with his fingers, though his wrists were bound. It was not the work of three minutes to unbind the rest of them.

Christy broke a pane of glass in the door, and unlocked it with the key the captain had left in the keyhole.



CHAPTER XXXI

AN UNDESIRED PROMOTION

As Christy unlocked the cabin door, he discovered a negro lying on the deck, as close as he could get to the threshold. The man attempted to spring to his feet, but the officer seized him by the hair of the head, and pulled him into the cabin.

"Here, Calwood, put your hand over this fellow's mouth!" said Christy to the quartermaster, who laid violent hands on him, assisted by Norlock.

The latter produced a handkerchief, which he thrust into the mouth of the negro, so that he could not give the alarm. All the men were alert and eager to wipe out the shame, as they regarded it, of the disaster; and those who had been stationed near the cabin had certainly been wanting in vigilance. Two of them seized a couple of the lines with which they had been bound, and tied the arms of the negro behind him.

A second look at the negro assured Christy that it was Quimp, and he was more mortified than before at the trick which had been played upon him. Thrusting his hand into the pocket of the fellow, he drew from it the three sovereigns and the three shillings he had paid him for his boat and his information. It was evident enough now that he belonged to the Reindeer, and that he had been sent out by Captain Stopfoot to do precisely what he had done, taking advantage of the general good feeling which prevailed between the negroes and the Union forces.

Christy thought that Captain Stopfoot had been over-confident to leave his prisoners without a guard; but it appeared now that Quimp had been employed in this capacity, though it was probable that he had been instructed not to show himself to them, and for that reason had crept to his station and lain down on the deck.

"Now, my men, take your arms from that bale of cotton; but don't make any noise," said Christy in a low tone, as he took his revolvers and cutlass from the heap of weapons; and the seamen promptly obeyed the order. "The captain of this steamer managed his affair very well indeed, and I intend to adopt his tactics."

The steamer was under way, and had been for some time. Christy climbed upon the bales of cotton far enough to see what the crew of the vessel were doing. The hatches appeared to have been taken off in the waist and forward, and the crew were lowering cargo into the hold. A portion of the cotton had either been hoisted out of the hold, or had been left on deck, to form the hiding-places for the men. The captain must have had early notice of the approach of the Bellevite and Bronx; but there had been time enough after the former began to fire at the battery to enable him to make all his preparations.

Captain Stopfoot was not to be seen, and was probably in the pilot-house. The officer concluded that there must be as many as four men in the hold attending to the stowage of the bales, and four more could be seen tumbling the cargo through the hatches. This accounted for eight men; and this was the number Christy had figured out as the crew of the Reindeer, though there was doubtless a man at the wheel. The force was about equal to his own, not counting the engineers and the firemen.

Christy stationed his men as he believed Captain Stopfoot had arranged his force. The cabin was in a deck-house; between the door of it and the piles of cotton was a vacant space of about six feet fore and aft, which could not be overlooked from the forward part of the vessel. It was here that the first movement had been made. Calwood, who had been on duty here, said that two men had dropped down upon them; and when the third man came to learn the cause of the disturbance, he had been secured by two more.

This was the noise that Christy had heard when he sent two hands from the forecastle to ascertain the occasion of it. The three prisoners had been disarmed, bound, and concealed in the cabin. They were threatened with instant death if they made any outcry, and one of their own revolvers was pointed at them. Linman, who had been sent to learn what had become of Hopkins and White, was treated in the same manner. Then he went himself, and the mate had dropped upon him, while those from under the bales secured Bench and Kingman.

Every sailor was fully instructed in regard to the part he was to have in the programme, and Christy had crawled forward to the point where he found the aperture in which Groomer, the mate, had been concealed. He was followed by Norlock, a very powerful man, who was to "make the drop" on Captain Stopfoot, and stuff a handkerchief into his mouth before he could call for assistance. Christy believed that the commander would be the first one to come aft when the men by the cabin fired their revolvers, as they had been instructed to do.

Two hands had been placed where they could fall upon the two who were rolling the cotton into the hold at the hatch in the waist; and two more were instructed to rush forward and fall upon the two men at work at the fore-hatch. The four men in the space in front of the cabin were to leap upon the bales and rush forward, revolvers in hand, and secure those at work in the hold. If there was any failure of the plan to work as arranged, the sailors were to rally at the side of their officer, ready for a stand-up fight.

Christy gave the signal for the two revolvers to be discharged. The captain did not appear at the report of the arms as expected; but he ordered the two hands at work at the after-hatch to go aft and look out for the prisoners. The two seamen on that side of the steamer dropped upon them, gagged them, and secured them so quickly that they could hardly have known what had happened to them. The enterprise had been inaugurated without much noise; but the captain had heard it, and called one of the men at the fore-hatch to take the wheel, from which it appeared that he had been steering the steamer himself.

The naval officer saw this man enter the pilot-house, from which Captain Stopfoot had come out. He moved aft quite briskly with a revolver in his hand; but as soon as he had reached the point where the mate had dropped upon him, Christy leaped upon his head and shoulders, and he sank to the deck, borne down by the weight of his assailant. He was surprised, as the first victim of the movement had been, and a handkerchief was stuffed into his mouth. He had dropped his weapon, which Christy picked up and discharged while his knees were placed on the chest of the prostrate commander, and his left hand grappled his throat. He was conquered as quickly as the first victim had been.

The shots had been the signal for all not engaged to rally at the side of the lieutenant, and the men rushed forward. All of them had removed their neck handkerchiefs to serve as gags, and they brought with them the lines with which they had been bound. The captain was rolled over, and his arms tied behind him. He was sent aft to the cabin, while Christy led six of his crew forward. The hands in the hold had attempted to come on deck, but the two sailors at each hatch dropped upon them.

In less than five minutes every one of the crew of the Reindeer had been "jumped upon," as the sailors put it, bound, and marched to the cabin. The battle was fought and the victory won. Christy was quite as happy as Captain Stopfoot had been when he had taken possession of the steamer. The man at the wheel had been the last to be secured, and Calwood was put in his place, with directions to come about and steer for Egmont Key.

Christy determined not to make the mistake Captain Stopfoot had committed in leaving his prisoners insufficiently guarded. He selected four of his best men, ordered them to hold the cutlass in the right hand and the revolver in the left, and to keep their eyes on the prisoners all the time. He then went to those who had been gagged, and removed the handkerchiefs from their mouths.

"I am as grateful to you, Captain Stopfoot, as you were to me less than an hour ago," said Christy, and he removed the gag from his mouth. "I am happy to be able to reciprocate your complimentary speeches."

"I am not aware that I have done anything to merit your gratitude, Mr. Passford," said the chief prisoner.

"You are not? Why, my dear Captain, you could not have arranged everything better than you did for the recapture of the Reindeer," replied Christy.

"I did not think that ten men with their hands tied behind them could do anything to help themselves; but you Yankees are very ingenious, and it seems that you found a way to liberate yourselves. Besides, I had a hand here to watch you, with instructions to call me if there was any trouble," added the captain, in an apologetic tone.

"When the trouble came he was not in condition to call you," the lieutenant explained.

"No, sar! Dem beggars gagged me, and den robbed me of all my money!" howled Quimp, whose greatest grievance was the loss of his fifteen dollars.

"That was hardly justifiable, Mr. Passford," added the captain shaking his head.

"It would not have been justifiable if the rogue had not first swindled me out of the money," replied the naval officer.

"How was that?" asked the chief prisoner.

Christy explained the manner in which he had encountered Quimp, saying that he had paid him five dollars for the loss of his boat, and ten for the information that a steamer was loaded with cotton and ready to sail behind the long key.

"Quimp is as smart as a Yankee," said Captain Stopfoot, laughing in spite of his misfortune. "The flatboat was one we picked up on one of the keys; and the information was precisely what I instructed Quimp to give you, without money and without price. I promised to give him ten dollars if he would pretend to be an honest nigger, and do the job properly. I have no fault to find with him; but under present circumstances I have not ten dollars to give him. I have lost the steamer and the cotton, and it seems to be all up with me."

"I hope you will get into a safer business, Captain. I will suggest to the commander of the Bellevite that you and your party be landed at Gasparilla Pass; and I shall thus be able to reciprocate your good intentions towards me."

Christy had sent some of his men forward, and he now followed them himself. The engineers had remained in their room, and kept the machinery in motion. As the Reindeer approached Egmont Key, the Bellevite, followed by the Bronx towing a schooner, were discovered coming out of the bay.

It was evident that the second lieutenant's capture had not been the only one during the day, and he concluded that Mr. Lobscott had brought out the schooner that had been supposed to be at Piney Point.

The Reindeer was about two miles south of Egmont Key when the Bellevite came out of the bay, and the latter stopped her screw as soon as she had reached a favorable position a mile from the island. Christy brought his prize as near to her as it was prudent to go in the open sea. The lieutenant went to the cabin to look out for the prisoners there, and found that the four men who had been detailed a guard were marching up and down the cabin in front of their charge, plainly determined that the steamer should not be captured again.

"Boat from the Bellevite, sir," said one of the men on the quarter.

"Where is the Bronx and her prize now, Kingman?" asked Christy.

"Just coming by the island, sir."

In a few minutes more the third cutter of the Bellevite came alongside. Mr. Walbrook, the third lieutenant of the ship, came on board of the Reindeer, and touched his cap to his superior officer.

"Captain Breaker requests you to report on board of the ship, and I am directed to take charge of the prize you have captured, Mr. Passford."

"I will go on board at once, Mr. Walbrook," replied Christy. "It is necessary for me to inform you before I leave that this steamer has changed hands twice to-day, and her ship's company have given me a great deal of trouble. The prisoners are in the cabin under guard, and I must caution you to be vigilant. Calwood will inform you in regard to the particulars."

"I am sorry to inform you that Mr. Blowitt was severely, if not dangerously wounded in the action with the battery up the bay, where we had some sharp work," added Mr. Walbrook.

"That is very bad news to me," replied Christy, who had known the wounded man as second officer of the Bellevite when she was his father's yacht, and had served under him when she became a man-of-war, and as his first lieutenant in the Bronx.

The intelligence filled him with anxiety and sorrow; but while he was fighting for the right, as he had been for three years, he could not give way to his feelings. Without asking for the result of the action up the bay, he went over the side into the cutter, and ordered the crew to pull for the ship. Mr. Blowitt had been more than his superior officer, he had been his friend, and the young lieutenant was very sad while he thought of the wounded officer.

He found Captain Breaker on the quarter-deck; and he could see from his expression that he was greatly affected by the condition of his executive officer. Mr. Dashington, his first officer in the yacht, had been killed in action the year before, and now another of his intimate associates might soon be registered in the Valhalla of the nation's dead who had perished while fighting for the right.

"We have sad news for you, Mr. Passford," said the commander, who seemed to be struggling with his emotions.

"But I hope there is a chance for Mr. Blowitt's recovery, Captain Breaker," added Christy.

"I am afraid there is not. Dr. Linscott has very little hope that he will live. But we have no time to mourn even for our best friends. You have captured a steamer and brought her out; but I saw that you were coming up from the southward when I first discovered the steamer. What does that mean, Mr. Passford?"

"I hardly know, Captain, whether I brought her out, or she brought me out," replied Christy, who felt very tender over the Southern Yankee trick which had been played upon him. "The steamer is the Reindeer, Captain Stopfoot. My boat's crew were overpowered by her ship's company, and we were all made prisoners; but we rebelled against the humiliating circumstances, and recaptured the steamer."

"Then you have redeemed yourself," added the captain.

Christy gave a detailed report of all the events that had occurred during his absence from the ship. The commander listened to him with the deepest interest; for the young officer was in some sense his protege, and had sometimes been his instructor in navigation and seamanship. In spite of the sadness of the hour, there was a smile on his face when he comprehended the scheme of the captain of the Reindeer to get his vessel out of the bay in the face of two men-of-war.

While Christy was still on the quarter-deck, Mr. Lobscott came on board, and reported the capture of the schooner Sylphide, full of cotton. Her ship's company, consisting of six men, were on board of the Bronx. Captain Breaker planked the deck for some time, evidently making up his mind what to do with the prizes and with their crews, for he did not regard these men as prisoners of war. He asked the second lieutenant some questions in regard to the character of the Reindeer. She was an old-fashioned craft, but a good vessel.