"If they did they probably learned that the Teaser went out with the assistance of the garrison at the fort," suggested Mr. Blowitt.

"I am confident that the officer of the guard-boat would have no means of knowing that fact," argued Christy. "Of course, he heard the firing in the neighborhood of the fort, and he would naturally conclude that they were firing upon the steamer to prevent her from running out."

"That may be; but, to tell you the truth, Mr. Passford, I am afraid we shall not find these men," added the second lieutenant. "From the firing we hear, I should judge that a movement of some kind is in progress, and our men may be better informed than you expect."

"Of course, they may be; but I expect to find these men at some point along the shore," replied Christy, who thought the second lieutenant was just a little obstinate in not accepting his theory in full.

The steamer continued on her course to the eastward, and nothing more passed between the two principal officers in regard to the crew from Pensacola. But Flint was quite as confident as the third lieutenant that the forty men, more or less, would be captured. The noise of the firing could no longer be heard, and then Christy suggested that the whistle be sounded as a signal to the men if they were in the vicinity.

The depth of water was three or four fathoms close up to this part of the island. The soundings indicated that the steamer was as near as it was prudent to go in the dense fog. Christy was sure that the privateer's crew could not have gone any farther to the eastward by this time, and the screw was stopped, while all hands made an anxious use of their ears to detect any sounds that came from the shore. But nothing could be heard at first, and Mr. Blowitt again intimated that they were engaged in a "wild-goose chase." But he had hardly uttered this cooling reflection before Beeks came aft to report that a number of pistol shots, as he thought they were, had been heard in the distance.

"Nobody can tell what they mean," said the sceptical Mr. Blowitt. "They may be a part of the affair we heard going on soon after we left the ship."

"In what direction were the shots, Beeks?" asked Christy.

"They sounded as though they were about half a mile or less to the westward of us," replied the quartermaster.

"Blow the whistle in short blasts, Beeks," added Mr. Blowitt, who seemed to have gathered a little faith from the report of the quartermaster.

The order was obeyed, and Beeks again reported that pistol shots had been heard from the westward. The third lieutenant was in a hurry to have the business finished, for he felt confident that the Bellevite would soon be engaged in an affair of more importance than picking up a couple of score of prisoners. He ordered the steamer to come about, and move to the westward; but after she had been under way about five minutes, he rang to stop her, and then sounded the whistles again. Several pistol shots responded to this signal. Again he started the screw, and pointed the bow of the Teaser squarely to the north.

The steamer moved very slowly, and two men sounded all the time till they reported "by the mark two," when there could not have been more than three feet of water under the keel of the vessel. The screw was stopped and backed so that she might not run upon any shoal place ahead of her, and the officers waited with interest and anxiety for further action on the part of the party on shore. By this time no one doubted that there were men on this part of the island; but whether they were the crew of the privateer or not was yet to be proved.

"Steamer, ahoy!" shouted some one on the shore.

"On the island!" replied Christy, as he was instructed to do by his superior.

"What steamer is that?" demanded the speaker on the island.

Whoever he was, he could not help knowing that a steamer was there, for the engineer had begun to blow off steam as soon as the screw stopped, though neither party could see the other in the fog and darkness.

"The Teaser," replied Christy. "Who are you?"

"We are the ship's company of the Teaser, and we want to get on board," replied the speaker. "Is Captain Folkner on board?"

"He is on board—of the Bellevite," the third lieutenant would have finished the sentence if he had told the whole truth, for he uttered only the first part of the sentence.

"All right. The first and second lieutenants are with us. Is Gilder on board?"

"He is; and he wants to get back to the other side of the inland," answered Christy, who considered it his duty to make his replies as suitable to the occasion as possible. "Who is speaking?"

"Lieutenant Lonley," replied the man; and Christy knew him, though he did not know his rank before. "He wants to see Gilder before he goes on board. Tell him to come on shore in his canoe."

"What is that for?" demanded Christy, rather surprised at the unexpected request.

"I want to see him on particular business; I have a message for him, which I cannot deliver in presence of any other person," replied Lonley.

"All right; you shall see him soon," answered Christy.

"Get out the boats to take us on board," continued Lonley. "Send them about a mile to the eastward, where we have left our bags."

"All right," repeated Christy.

But he said what he did not believe, for everything did not look right to him. He could not understand why the bags of the men should be a mile to the eastward. He could not imagine what business Lonley could have with Gilder or his representative; and if he had any, why it should be necessary to meet him on the island.

"Of course you don't expect me to carry on the programme that fellow has marked out," said Mr. Blowitt. "I don't quite like the looks of the things that we can't see, Mr. Passford."

"Neither do I, Mr. Blowitt," replied the third lieutenant frankly.

"I shall not send a boat from the steamer till I understand this matter a great deal better than I do now, and especially I shall not send the boats a mile to the eastward," added the second lieutenant.

"Of course it is possible that my plan has miscarried already," added Christy.

"I shall do everything I can to carry out your plan, as I am instructed to do by the captain; but I have the feeling, in spite of myself, that we are crawling into a hornet's nest," added Mr. Blowitt, with some anxiety in his tones. "You will call all hands quietly, and be ready to repel boarders. It is well to be prepared for whatever may come. The firing at the west end of the island indicated that something was going on, and perhaps these men on the shore know about it."

Christy obeyed the order promptly, and the next minute, every seaman on board was ready with his cutlass and revolver to meet an attack. But no sound came from the shore just then, and the officers were in a state of uncertainty in regard to the situation which allowed them to do nothing. They waited for half an hour, when the leadsman reported that the water was shoaling, which indicated that the Teaser was drifting towards the island.

"On board the Teaser!" shouted Lonley, so distinctly that he could hardly have been more than three hundred feet from the steamer.

"On shore," replied Christy, prompted by Mr. Blowitt.

"I am waiting for Gilder! Why don't he come on shore?" shouted Lonley, his impatience apparent in his tones.

"Where are all the men?" demanded Christy, as requested by the second lieutenant.

"They have gone a mile to the eastward where they left their bags."

"We will run down in the steamer for them," added Mr. Blowitt, talking through Christy.

"Don't do that!" protested the speaker on shore. "There is a Yankee steamer off in that direction. We heard her steam an hour ago."

"All right!" replied Christy.

"That settles the matter in my mind," said Mr. Blowitt. "They are trying to play what they call a Yankee trick upon us. When we send our boats to the eastward, we shall send them into a trap. If the boats are to bring off forty men, they will expect them to go with only men enough to pull the oars; and when they get possession of them, they expect to retake the Teaser."

"I think you are right, Mr. Blowitt," replied Christy, who began to believe that his scheme was rapidly approaching a failure, though he did not give it up just yet.

"This Lonley is still on the shore near us," said Mr. Blowitt. "I should very much like to know what has been going on to-night on the island, and it may be that he knows all about it. As you are the representative of Gilder, Mr. Passford, you may take the canoe that is astern, and have a talk with Lonley at close quarters, if you don't object."

"I should have proposed it myself if I had not feared that the idea would be charged to my audacity," replied Christy. "I will take only Flint with me, as he was with me before."

The canoe was brought up to the gangway, and Flint took his place at the oars. Mr. Blowitt charged the young officer in the most serious manner not to run any risks, and the boat was shoved off. It required but a few strokes of the oars to bring it into shoal water by the beach. Only a single man could be seen on the shore, and this one must be Lonley. There seemed to be no risk, and Christy landed.



CHAPTER XXV

CHRISTY BECOMES A VICTIM

Everything was perfectly still on the island, and only a single man was in sight; but Christy put his hand upon his revolver as he went on shore. Though he had never been a fighting young man, he had the impression that he should not tamely submit to the assault of an enemy, or run away from any single man that stood up in front of him. He had always been prudent, even while he had been daring, and he hardly needed the solemn admonition of the second lieutenant to be extremely cautious.

"Is that you, Captain Gilder?" asked the man on the shore, who stood a little way from the waterside.

"Yes; and I take it for granted that you are Lonley," replied Christy, advancing towards the other. "You have done all the talking this night, and I ought to know you."

"All the talking except what you have done, and I ought to know you," replied Lonley. "I am Lieutenant Lonley, of the Teaser, and our men are all ready to go on board."

"And Captain Folkner is all ready to have them go on board," returned Christy, who had no doubt of the truth of what he said, though he understood that he was telling a "story" all the same.

"I have no doubt he is. But I don't quite understand how you happen to be on this side of the island, and so far to the westward at this time in the morning. We expected to find the Teaser burrowing through the sound, and we had about made up our minds to take possession of her and run the blockade, as other Christians do. We did not believe she would get through the sound in a week, if she ever did."

"I succeeded in persuading Captain Folkner that he had better come out by the main channel; and that is the way we did come out, and that explains how we happen to be here at this time in the morning," replied Christy, very cheerfully.

"You must have very strong powers of persuasion, Captain Gilder," said Lonley, laughing.

"I have in a case such as this was," added the lieutenant, with a chuckle, as he thought of the particular kind of persuasion he had used upon the captain of the privateer.

"I would give a good deal if I had just such powers, for they are sometimes of very great service to an officer."

"You are quite right, Mr. Lonley. I suppose you are the first lieutenant of the Teaser."

"No, I am not; kissing goes by favor, and the captain's brother is the first; and he is no more fit for his position than the captain is for his duty. I was in hope that the government would take possession of the steamer, and send her to sea properly officered," added Lonley, very good-naturedly.

"Good officers are quite necessary in the service," suggested Christy. "I have no doubt you will fill the bill, and be all that could be possibly desired."

"Thank you, Captain Gilder. Did you have any trouble in getting out of the bay?"

"No, none at all. By the way, Mr. Lonley, we have been hearing firing at the west end of the island to-night. Do you know what it means?"

"The first thing was to clean out that regiment of Zouaves; and I have no doubt that has been done before now; and our boys may get a hack at Pickens. A big force was landed in the fog, and the Yankees will not stay on this island much longer," replied Lonley.

His information was entirely correct, though his prediction was not equally reliable.

"I was sure there was fighting going on over there," added Christy. "You seem to be all alone, Mr. Lonley. Where are all your men?"

"I told you before you came ashore that I had sent them all over to the place where they had left their bags, about a mile to the eastward of us. I suppose Captain Folkner has sent the boats over there for them before this time?"

"He was inclined to run over in the steamer," added Christy.

"I hope he did not do that," said the privateersman, with a good deal more energy than the other thought the occasion warranted. "I warned you that there was a Yankee gunboat over that way."

"The Teaser has not gone over that way," replied Christy.

"If she has, she will be gobbled up by that gunboat, and all my men with her."

"I persuaded Captain Folkner not to do it," added the Bellevite's officer, very quietly.

"He ought to have done just what I asked him to do; and that was to send his boats over to the place named for the men."

"And I persuaded him to do that also," continued Christy, as unblushingly as though he had not been strictly in the habit of telling the truth all his lifetime.

"Good for you, Captain Gilder!" exclaimed Lonley, grasping the hand of his companion as though he had been his brother. "You beat all the men I ever knew on power of persuasion; and when I get the command of the Teaser, as I expect to have before this year ends, I shall want you to serve as my first lieutenant."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Lonley; you are very kind; and if I ever go into the privateering service, I shall certainly go in with you," replied Christy.

"An officer with your power of persuasion will be invaluable to me," replied Lonley, still holding the hand of the other. "If I were gifted in this respect as you are, Captain Gilder, do you know what I would do?"

"I am sure I have not the least idea, unless it would be to persuade Jeff Davis to send you a commission as a captain in the regular navy," said Christy, laughing at the idea.

"I am afraid I should have too little cheek to attempt to do that, for the president is a rather obstinate man, and I fear he would not see the point. Besides, I am a very modest man, though you may not have observed this shining trait in my character. No; I am too diffident to ask for a place I have not won by service."

"Then what would you do in the way of persuasion?" asked Christy, though he wondered why he was prolonging the interview.

"I should use my powers of persuasion upon you, Captain Gilder, in the first place."

"I don't think it would be of any use, for I am too well posted in that way of doing it to be influenced," replied Christy, trying to withdraw his hand from the grasp of the privateersman. "I must go on board of the Teaser again when you have delivered your message to me, as that was what you wished to see me for."

"I did say I had a message for you, didn't I? Well, upon my life, I have quite forgot what it was, but it was from President Jefferson Davis, and he was particular that I should deliver it to you to-night or this morning. Isn't it very strange that I should forget a message of so much importance that it could not be trusted to writing?"

"Passing strange, I should say," answered Christy, who began to understand that he had fallen into a trap of some sort. "While you are thinking of it, I will go on board, and persuade Captain Folkner not to run the Teaser to the eastward if he should take it into his head to do so. I had no idea there was a Yankee gunboat in that direction, and I don't believe the captain had. Besides, he don't know where he is in this fog, and he needs me."

As he spoke, Christy tried to withdraw his hand from the grasp of Lonley, as he had not succeeded in doing before when he tried. But the privateersman suddenly fell upon him, and both of them went down. A tremendous struggle followed, but before it was decided, two men rushed out of the gloom, and took part in the affair; and they soon settled the matter in favor of the Confederacy, much to the chagrin of the second lieutenant of the Bellevite.



Flint had remained in the canoe, which had been partly drawn up on the beach; but the moment he sprang out upon the sand to go to the assistance of his officer, he was set upon by two men and secured. Both of them were deprived of their weapons, and their hands tied behind them. Beyond a doubt the lieutenant and the master's mate were prisoners before they had any clear idea of the situation.

"Are you there, Mr. Folkner?" called Lonley, as soon as the prisoners were secured, speaking now in an energetic tone, as he had not before.

"I am here," replied a man who seemed to be in a boat not far from the spot. "You have kept me a long time waiting for you!"

"I wanted to give the Yankee boats time to get at least a mile from the Teaser before anything was done. Shove off now, and make things as lively as you can," said Lonley. "Go to your places in the boats," he continued to four men who had assisted in the capture of the two officers.

By this time Christy had a chance to see that he was a victim of a trick which was to eventuate in the recapture of the Teaser; and he was sorry that he was not the only victim, as he looked at Flint. He realized too that the scheme had been very well planned, though he was really happy in the belief that it would be a failure in the end. Lonley seemed to be the leading spirit in the affair, and managed the details. He had intended that the boats should be sent from the Teaser to a point at least a mile off.

He had taken it for granted that the steamer would come to pick them up, or in other words, to capture the forty prisoners. If he was weak in accepting as the truth Christy's statement that the boats had been actually sent away, as desired, he could see no reason why the Yankee officer should try to deceive him. It appeared now that the privateersmen had two boats, which had been brought across the island for the purpose. Lonley had naturally wished that only a few men should be on board, and concluded that it would be an easy matter to capture the steamer, and then to secure the men in the boats when they returned from the eastward.

The four men on shore, who had been put in a place where they could assist Lonley, hastened to the boats, and they shoved off, pulling as silently as though the oars had been muffled, as probably they had been. In a moment more they disappeared in the darkness and fog.

"I think I have improved a great deal in the art of persuasion," said Lonley, as the boats disappeared. "I suppose I persuaded you as effectually as you did Captain Folkner."

"You have done very well, Mr. Lonley," replied Christy, in a patronizing tone, for he was determined that his companion should derive no satisfaction from seeing him cast down by his misfortune.

"You informed me a little while ago that Captain Folkner was on board of the Teaser; and I wish to ask if you are uniformly in the habit of speaking the truth?" continued Lonley.

"Well, that depends upon circumstances. If I have not done so, you cannot expect me to contradict myself."

"You claimed that you were Captain Gilder."

"Hardly, my excellent friend: when Captain Folkner addressed me by that name, I did not object to it."

"That was just as much a lie as though you had claimed it in so many words," protested Lonley.

"I admit it; and I hardly expect a true patriot to tell the truth to the enemy. If I remember rightly, you told me yourself that your men had gone to the eastward where they had left their bags. I don't believe that your conscience reproached you when they showed themselves in the boats."

At this moment pistol shots were heard on the water.



CHAPTER XXVI

THE ACTION ON THE DECK OF THE TEASER

As the Teaser was but a short distance from the shore, Christy had no doubt that the attempt to board her had been made by this time. Mr. Blowitt had quite as many men on board of the steamer as could have been contained in the two boats, and he was not much concerned about the result of the attack, especially as he knew that the second lieutenant was fully prepared and on the lookout for it. The only thing that Christy regretted was that he was not on board of the Teaser to take part in the affair of repelling boarders.

"There seems to be some music in the air," said Lonley, after he had listened for a few moments to the sounds that came from the direction of the steamer.

"To return to the subject of the morality of telling stories, your men do not seem to be a mile to the eastward, where their bags were left," added Christy good-naturedly.

"You had a glance at them in the boats, though the darkness and fog were rather too thick for you to count them," replied Lonley, chuckling over the deception he had practised upon the lieutenant of the Bellevite.

"Yes, I saw them, and I concluded that they could not be where their bags were."

"All is fair in war."

"That seems to be the generally received maxim, and he is the smartest man who the most thoroughly deceives the enemy," added Christy, who found himself tolerably well satisfied with the situation, though he was a prisoner.

"That is so, and of course I can find no fault with you for deceiving me," returned Lonley, chuckling as though he was even better satisfied with the situation than his companion.

"Thank you, Mr. Lonley; you are magnanimous, and with equal sincerity I can say that I have no fault to find with you," replied the Union officer. "But I have my doubts whether, after this, either of us will be likely to believe what the other says. But, for my part, I wish to say that I don't believe in telling anything but necessary and patriotic lies."

"That is my view of the matter exactly; and if there is any man that despises a liar, I am that man," said Lonley warmly. "But it seems to me they are making a good deal of a racket off there," he added, as the noise of pistol shots and the clash of cutlasses came over the smooth waters of the gulf.

"They seem to be at it quite earnestly," replied Christy.

"By the way, how many men did you leave on board of the Teaser?" asked the privateersman, whose manner seemed to have suddenly become considerably changed.

"How many men?" repeated the lieutenant of the Bellevite.

"That is the question I asked," replied the lieutenant of the Teaser.

"I suppose you would not believe me if I should tell you," answered Christy.

"I judge that you can speak the truth if you try," added Lonley, with more asperity than the occasion seemed to require.

"I know that I could," said Christy, very decidedly; "and I may add that I was in the habit of doing so on all occasions before this cruel war began."

"Then suppose you try to do so just now, and tell me how many men your people had on board of the Teaser."

"You must excuse me for the present, for I do not like to make statements to one who will not believe what I say," answered Christy, rather facetiously.

"You are a prisoner now."

"I am painfully aware of the fact, but I doubt if the government service will suffer very much in my absence from duty."

"You are too modest by half, Mr.—but I have not even the pleasure of knowing your name, and conversation is annoying under such circumstances."

"I am simply Midshipman Passford, at your service."

"Only a midshipman!" exclaimed Lonley. "Upon my word, you ought to be a commodore. Passford? Possibly you are a cousin of Colonel Passford of Glenfield."

"Colonel Passford is my uncle. Do you know him?" asked Christy.

"I do know him; and there is not a finer man or a truer patriot in the South than Colonel Passford. He is loading a schooner with cotton, and he offered me the command of it. Then you are his nephew, I have heard of you."

"I hope my uncle is quite well, for I have not heard from him for several weeks, or since I left New York."

"I saw him ten days ago, and he was very well then. I am very happy to have made a prisoner of his enterprising nephew, who appears to be capable of doing our cause a great deal of mischief," replied Lonley, looking earnestly in the direction of the Teaser.

"Thank you, Mr. Lonley; I certainly intend to do it all the mischief I can in a legitimate way. I am speaking the truth now," said Christy.

"But you have not answered my question in regard to the number of men on board of the Teaser when you left her."

"And you will excuse me for the present if I do not answer it," added the Union lieutenant.

"Very well, Mr. Passford; I cannot compel you to answer it, though doing so would do no harm to your cause, for I should judge that the question of the hour is settled."

"What is the question of the hour, Mr. Lonley?"

"The question is which side is in possession of the Teaser, yours or mine," replied the privateersman, still gazing out into the gloom.

"Is that question settled?" asked Christy, with interest.

"Of course I don't know, but I should think that it was. We hear no more pistol shots and no more clashing of cutlasses," replied Lonley, uneasily. "But I expected to hear the triumphal shout of our men when they had carried the deck of the Teaser."

"I have not heard anything like a triumphal shout," added Christy, very quietly. "It is barely possible that your men have not carried the deck of the Teaser."

"Of course, it is possible they have not; but I don't believe they have failed," replied Lonley.

The privateersman listened for a few minutes in silence. He appeared to be entirely confident that the victory must be with his men. He evidently believed that the captors of the Teaser had sent her two boats off to a distance of a mile, and thus weakened whatever force she had on board of her. He did not seem to have any idea that the party he had met in Pensacola Bay had been increased in numbers, or that the officer in command had reported to the ship to which they belonged. Christy realized what Lonley was thinking about, and he clearly believed that the Teaser had been left in charge of not more than a dozen or fifteen men, reduced by at least six then on boat duty.

"Help! help!" shouted a man in the water at no great distance from the shore.

"What does that mean?" said Lonley, springing to his feet.

"It is a call for help, and, as my hands are tied behind me, I cannot respond to it, as I would gladly do, be the man who needs it friend or enemy," replied Christy. "There is the canoe in which we came ashore, Lieutenant Lonley, and you can use that."

The privateersman sprang into the boat, shoved it off, and pulled in the direction from which the appeal came. He disappeared in the fog in a moment; but a little later was seen again approaching the shore. He had not taken the sufferer into the boat, but he had clung to it. As he got upon his feet, Christy saw that there were two of them, for one helped the other up the beach.

"What does this mean?" demanded Lonley, very much excited. "Have you run away from the others?"

"No, sir; but we were beaten in the fight, our boats captured, and all hands taken prisoners except us two," replied the uninjured of the two men.

Lieutenant Lonley, whatever his views of the morality of lying to the enemy, uttered an exclamation which grated very harshly on the ears of Lieutenant Passford. The result, as stated by the man who had swum to the shore, was as unwelcome as it was unexpected. He had not deemed a defeat even possible. He learned from the guard-boat that the steamer had been captured. He had spent the time after he was landed with his companions at Town Point, and organized his force for the recapture of the Teaser. The failure of the final attack was as severe upon him as the loss of his vessel had been upon Captain Folkner.

"Who are you?" demanded Lonley, when he had in some measure recovered from the shock which the failure gave him.

"I am Levick, the boatswain; and this is Lieutenant Folkner, who was wounded in the shoulder in the first of it," replied the man. "He was knocked from the rail into the water when we boarded, and he held on to an oar. When the fight was over, and we had lost it, I slipped into the water, and helped the lieutenant along on his oar, till I was about used up, and then I called for help."

"Are you much hurt, Mr. Folkner?" asked Lonley of the injured officer.

"I don't know; my shoulder feels numb, and I can't use my arm," replied Folkner. "But I can use my legs, and I think that is what we had better be doing."

"I don't understand it," protested Lonley, very much dissatisfied with the result of the action, as may well be supposed. "I was sure you would carry her deck at once."

"I was as sure as you were, Lonley; but I believe they had fifty men all ready for us. They let us leap on deck without much opposition, and then they surrounded us, and took us by surprise, for I did not suppose, after what you said, that they had a dozen men," replied the wounded lieutenant.

"I did not suppose they had even a dozen men left on board," Lonley explained, with humiliation in his tones.

"I staid in the boat till I had seen all my men on deck," continued Mr. Folkner. "They surrounded our force, and tumbled them into the hold as though they had been pigs, slashing them with their cutlasses if they tried to get out. I saw the fat officer in command of the enemy; he was very active, and I leaped on deck, determined to cross weapons with him. But he hit me in the shoulder with his cutlass, and I lost my hold on the rail."

"You ought to have led your men, not followed them," said Lonley bitterly.

"That is easy enough for you to say; but I wanted to be where I could see my men," retorted the first lieutenant, of whom the second had a very mean opinion, perhaps because he got his position on account of being the captain's brother.

"Whether I did right or not, I can tell you all one thing; and that is, that we shall be prisoners if we stay here any longer. They have got our men under the hatches, and they have ordered out a boat to look for an officer they sent ashore."

"We can do nothing here, and we may as well put ourselves in safer quarters, for we have two prisoners to lose," said Lonley. "Mr. Passford, I shall have to trouble you to march to the other side of the island."

"I am your prisoner, Mr. Lonley, and I must obey your orders, though I am sorry to be away from my ship in the hour of victory," replied Christy submissively.

But he felt that his plan had been fully carried out.



CHAPTER XXVII

A VISIT FROM COLONEL HOMER PASSFORD

With his arms securely tied behind him, Christy realized that he could make no resistance to his captors. Flint was in the same unfortunate situation, and both of them had been deprived of their revolvers. But in spite of his unpleasant surroundings, the young lieutenant felt that the balance of advantage was on the side of the Union. If the government was deprived of the services of a midshipman and a master's mate, a dangerous privateer had been captured, and about forty prisoners had been taken from the employ of the Confederacy. In the face of this decided gain, Christy felt that he had no right to complain.

By this time the light of day had begun to have some effect on the darkness and fog, though the gloom seemed to be hardly less. Lonley directed his two prisoners to walk side by side behind the wounded lieutenant, while he and Levick took their places in the rear. The second lieutenant of the Teaser was duly impressed by what the first had said about a probable visit to the island in search of the missing midshipman, and he directed Folkner to march as rapidly as he could. He took the control of the party out of the hands of his superior, and very likely he wished he had done so sooner.

Folkner, as he had before suggested, still had the use of his legs, and he certainly used them well, for he travelled like a man who was in a hurry; but both Christy and Flint were in excellent condition, though they had been on active duty all night, and they had no difficulty in keeping up with their leader.

Lonley and Levick were both armed, and they kept their weapons in readiness for immediate use, for the former recognized the enterprising character of the young officer in front of him, and knew that he would escape if he could. But Christy did not feel called to take any desperate chances in order to restore himself at once to the service of his country, and he and his companion in captivity marched along very quietly. The two armed men soon dropped several paces to the rear, so that the lieutenant could listen to the details of the action on the deck of the Teaser. The prisoners could not hear what was said, and they started a conversation on their own account.

"We are in a bad box," said Flint. "I did not expect to come out of the little end of the horn in this way."

"You must take a broader view of the situation than that," replied Christy. "The Teaser is certainly a prize of the Bellevite, with as many as forty prisoners. That is the result of our night's work, though we are counted out just now in the business of crowing over the success of our side. That is the way to look at it; and this view makes me quite satisfied with the night's work."

"I did not see it in that light, and I suppose you are right, Mr. Passford," replied Flint.

"And you will not lose your share of the prize-money for the Yazoo or the Teaser," added Christy, though, as the son of a millionnaire, he felt no interest at all in the spoils of war.

"What do you suppose will be done with us, sir?" asked the master's mate.

"I have not the least idea, any more than you have; but I have no doubt we shall be kept in close confinement, and I don't believe we shall live as well in our prison, wherever it may be, as we do on board of the Bellevite. But I am rather fond of johnny-cake, and I don't expect to starve on bacon."

"Don't you think it was a mistake to send us ashore in the canoe on the part of Mr. Blowitt?" asked Flint, rather timidly.

"If it was, it was as much my mistake as it was his. But I don't think it was a mistake. I cannot say that we did not succeed in the action on the deck of the steamer because we were sent ashore," replied Christy.

"I don't see how that can be," replied Flint.

"In the first place, Lonley wanted me to come on shore, and asked that I should do so. On the strength of what I said to him, he believed that our boats had been sent to the eastward, and that induced him to make the advance he did. After he had told us where to find the men, he had good reason to believe that the boats would be sent for them. We did not fall into the trap he set for us. I think it is all right as it is; but whether it is or not, it's no use to grumble about it."

"I did not mean to grumble; and I am willing to believe that everything has been for the best," replied Flint, apparently resolved to be satisfied, as his superior officer was, whether he felt so or not.

Folkner led the way in a northwesterly direction, and evidently knew where he was going. When they had been marching about half an hour, the party heard the report of fire-arms in the rear of them; but the discharges were at regular intervals, and did not sound as though they came from a battle. A little later, they heard loud shouts.

"That is the party who are out in search of us," said Christy.

"That is so, Mr. Passford; the sounds are only signals, and they are intended to notify you that your friends are in search of you," added Lonley, hastening up to the advance of the party. "I should be very sorry to do such a thing, but if you shout, or do anything to inform that party where you are, it will be my duty to shoot you."

"I am not disposed to be rash, Mr. Lonley. If our friends overtake your party, it will not be my fault," replied Christy.

"You do not expect me to shoot you in that case, I hope?" added the privateersman.

"I did not know but that your revolver might go off by accident."

"You may be assured that it will not; I claim to be a gentleman and a Christian, and I intend to be fair even to my enemies."

"I beg your pardon for my thoughtless remark. I have no occasion to complain of you. I shall endeavor to be a gentleman and a Christian also, though I intend to do my best in fighting my country's battles; and I am not disposed to talk politics with you under present circumstances."

The march was continued for some time longer, and the signals in the rear were repeated till increasing light enabled the prisoners to see that they were approaching Pensacola Bay. Not a little to their astonishment, the shore seemed to be alive with soldiers, and they learned that a battle, or something like one, had been fought on the island. The Confederate forces had been sent to attack Wilson's Zouaves, in camp to the eastward of the fort. Some very severe fighting had been done in the darkness and fog, with heavy losses on both sides.

The Zouaves had been re-enforced from the fort, and with marines from the ships. Though the Confederates claimed the victory, it was clear enough to the two prisoners from the south side of the island that the Southern troops were retreating from the field. A soldier who fought with them wrote to a paper in Georgia: "I scarcely know whether we achieved a victory, or suffered a defeat." He also said that in the fog and darkness: "We shot down our friends in numbers."

A few prisoners had been captured by the enemy, including two officers. But Folkner led the way to a point on the bay not very near the steamers which had brought over the expedition from the mainland. The Confederate troops embarked in the steamers and launches by which they had come; but the Union troops followed them to the end. Their steamers were aground, and a merciless fire was poured into them by the pursuing companies.

"They are having hot work of it over there," said Lonley, as they came to a boat on the shore. "But that is not our affair, and it is quite proper for us to keep out of the way of the flying bullets."

Christy and Flint were directed to take seats in the boat, and the lieutenant and boatswain manned the oars. They were not out of the reach of the bullets of the Federal troops, and the oarsmen pulled with all their might for a time. It was five miles to Pensacola, but the privateersmen landed their prisoners there. They were committed to a sort of guard-house; but in the afternoon they were sent to Mobile with about twenty others, who had been captured in the battle of the night before.

There was not a great number of prisoners in the city, and it was intended to remove them to other quarters arranged for their accommodation.

Christy and Flint were confined in an unoccupied warehouse, and were fed tolerably well, and they were supplied with some kind of dried grass for beds. It was not at all like the luxurious stateroom of the lieutenant on board of the Bellevite, or even the quarters of Flint; but they were determined to make the best of it. Flint had become reconciled to his situation, and Christy was even cheerful.

After he had been in the warehouse a few days, Christy was not a little surprised to receive a visit from his uncle, Colonel Passford. He was not surprised at the kindness of the planter in making the visit, but that he should know so soon that he was a prisoner of war, for he had fully decided not to make any appeal to his uncle; and he could not imagine how he had discovered his situation.

"I am glad to see you, Christy," said Colonel Passford, extending his hand, which Christy took without any hesitation.

"And I suppose you are glad to see me here," added the nephew, with a smile.

"While I am glad to see you deprived of the power to injure the cause I love, and to which I have pledged all that I have and all that I am, I am sorry that you should be in trouble, Christy. I hope I have Christian feeling enough to keep me from rejoicing at the misfortunes of any person, and especially of my brother's son. I can say sincerely that I am sorry you are in trouble," said the colonel solemnly.

"Oh, I am not in trouble, Uncle Homer!" exclaimed Christy, laughing. "I have done my duty to my country, my conscience is clean, and I am not to be upset by an accident like this. I am really happy in the consciousness that I have been faithful to the cause of my country."



"I wish you had been; but we will not talk about that, for I suppose you and your father have the same views," replied the planter, looking very sad.

"I don't believe we should agree if we talked about it for a year, and we had better give the subject the go-by. But how are Aunt Lydia and Gerty?"

"Both are very well. I hope your father is in good health, as well as your mother and sister."

"All very well."

"I have not heard a word from any of you for about five months," continued Colonel Passford. "In fact, not since you were here in May."

"We got home all right, and the Bellevite is a man-of-war now. She captured one valuable prize off the coast of Carolina, and another at Pensacola," replied Christy cheerfully.

"She ought never to have been allowed to leave Mobile Bay," added the colonel.

"Your people certainly did everything they could to prevent her from leaving, and I hope you don't blame yourselves for letting her go. What about Corny, sir?" asked Christy.

"Major Pierson was very much to blame for permitting the Bellevite to pass the forts when she came in, and he lost his command. But he has devoted all his life to redeem his fault by her recapture. He took Corny with him, and a naval officer; I only know that the attempt to recapture her failed from the fact that the Bellevite is now on the blockade."

Finding that his uncle knew nothing of the events which had transpired at Bonnydale, Christy told him all about them, informing him at the end that Corny was a prisoner of war on parole at his father's house, recovering from his wound.



CHAPTER XXVIII

AN ENTERPRISE FOR A DARK NIGHT

"Corny wounded!" exclaimed Colonel Passford, rising with no little emotion from the box on which he had seated himself.

"Not seriously, Uncle Homer," added Christy.

"But how was he wounded? I have heard of no battle in the vicinity of New York till now, though our papers contain some news from outside," continued the planter.

"It was hardly a battle," replied Christy. "Captain Carboneer had brought a crew for a steamer through Canada, I believe, for the purpose of capturing the Bellevite as she lay at Bonnydale. Major Pierson and Corny were to assist him; and the major wished Captain Carboneer to take Florry on board of her, and convey her to the South, when he had taken possession of the steamer; but the naval officer was too high-toned to do anything of the kind."

"I did not suppose Major Pierson could do such a thing," added the planter, biting his lips.

"But the major insisted that he did not mean to take her against her own will. Captain Carboneer bought an old steamer, put his men on board of her, and started up the river to make the capture. I knew they were coming, and was ready for them. We fired only one shot at the old steamer, which smashed her walking-beam, and disabled her. A piece of the machinery struck Corny, and injured him in the shoulder. The doctor says he is not permanently injured, though it will be months before he is able to use his arm. He was paroled, and mother is taking as good care of him as though I had been wounded."

"I am thankful it is not worse," added the colonel, with a sigh of relief. "What became of Major Pierson?"

"I don't know, but I suppose he is a prisoner in Fort Lafayette. He refused to give his parole when he found he could not be a guest at Bonnydale. Captain Carboneer obtained the command of a steamer, but it was captured by the Bellevite, and probably he is with the major in the fort."

The planter asked a great many questions in regard to the affair on the Hudson, and Christy answered them. He gave some of the particulars of the capture of the Teaser, and mentioned the name of Lonley, who had told him that Colonel Passford had offered him the command of a schooner he had loaded with cotton to run the blockade; but the planter said nothing to indicate that he had ever heard of the privateersman.

"The Bellevite has been very fortunate so far, and she seems to have a charmed existence," added the colonel.

"That is only because she is well handled," replied Christy, laughing.

"And you seem to be equally fortunate, Christy, for you have twice been the means of saving your father's steamer. Corny has done nothing, is wounded, and practically a prisoner. But, Christy, the tide will turn, for Heaven is always on the side of a just cause," added the planter solemnly.

"I believe it, uncle; and that will be the reason why the Union will prevail in the end. Besides, Napoleon believed that Heaven was always on the side of the stronger battalions."

"That was an impious remark; and Heaven, by its own mysterious ways, will conduct the just cause of the South to a successful ending, and the Confederate States of America will be an honored member of the family of nations."

"I think we had better not talk politics, even though we mix in a little religion," suggested Christy.

"As your father has been kind to my boy, wounded and a prisoner in the midst of enemies, I ought to do something for you, Christy," continued Colonel Passford, looking on the floor.

"Not at all, Uncle Homer; I am not wounded as Corny is, and there is no need of doing anything for me," interposed Christy, laughing in the serious face of the planter.

"I can get you paroled, and then I shall be glad to have you remain at Glenfield until you are exchanged," said the planter.

"I shall not accept a parole, Uncle Homer," replied Christy promptly.

"Not accept a parole!" exclaimed the colonel. "Corny did so."

"If I were wounded, as Corny is, I would accept it."

"I hope you don't mean to try to escape, Christy," added his uncle, with a look of deep concern on his dignified face, as he looked about the apartment in which his nephew was confined.

"I don't say that I shall; if I did say so, you would have our guard doubled, and ready to shoot me if they saw my head at a window," answered Christy with earnestness.

"You seem to think I am a heathen; but you forget that you are an active enemy of my country," added the planter, with a pained expression.

"I don't forget it, uncle; but I am not half as active as I hope to be before this thing ends. I believe you would see me shot or hung by the neck till I was dead if it were for the benefit of what you call your country."

"I hope and pray that I may never be placed in a situation to see anything of that kind."

"I know you are earnest, honest, and sincere, Uncle Homer, and no partiality to your own kindred would permit you to shirk what you consider to be your duty. I find no fault with you; and I believe my father would be equally firm," said Christy warmly.

"I think you understand me, my boy; but do not attempt any rash project. I cannot prevent the guard from shooting you if you attempt to escape."

"I prefer to keep my own counsels in a matter of this kind, Uncle Homer. Give my love to Aunt Lydia and Gerty, for I suppose I am not likely to see them, as I am liable to be sent away any day."

"Oh, yes, you will see them, for they shall call upon you here as soon as they return from Montgomery, where they have gone for a few days."

"It will be very kind of them to do so," added Christy, though he did not believe he should be "at home" when they came.

"I do not wish you were wounded, my dear boy, but if you were, we would do all that your father and mother are doing for poor Corny," replied Colonel Passford fervently, "Now, promise me, Christy, that you will not attempt to escape."

"I can't make any promises, uncle."

"I will do the best I can to have your condition improved, and see that you have a better diet, if I send your food from a hotel."

"You are very kind, uncle, and I know that you will do all that your duty will permit you to do for me."

"But I shall live in fear and trembling if I leave you without your promise to refrain from daring exploits. Just consider, my dear boy; you are in the fourth story of this warehouse, and the guard-room is below you. You have really no chance at all of success, and a fall or a shot may kill or disable you for life."

"I do not say that I shall try to escape, uncle."

"And you do not say that you will not try to escape."

For half an hour longer Colonel Passford endeavored to induce his nephew to give the desired promise; but he remained obstinate to the end; and his uncle was compelled to leave him, to enter upon the fear and trembling in which he was to live while his enterprising nephew remained a prisoner. But he promised to call upon him every day, and to write to his wife and daughter to return at once.

"I think I shall not wait for him to call," said Christy to Flint, as soon as he had gone.

"Do you expect to get out of this place, Mr. Passford?" asked the master's mate, with lively interest.

"This very night!" replied Christy, in an energetic whisper, as he put his finger on his lips to indicate that nothing more was to be said on the subject.

The second lieutenant of the Bellevite had not been confined in the warehouse three days without considering his chances of escape, and the means of accomplishing such a purpose. He had looked the building over with the greatest care. The room the prisoners occupied was next to the roof. The rear windows opened upon a narrow alley, and he had ascertained by looking out at them that the warehouse was one of a long block. He had been in Mobile a great deal while the family were visiting at Glenfield, and he had been careful to notice the location when he was conducted to it with the others.

At the end of the loft next to the main street were thirty or forty other prisoners, with whom Christy and Flint had been on good terms, though they belonged to the army, and seemed to be inclined to keep by themselves. They had been exhausted by hard service, and they had nothing to do but eat and sleep, though the former occupation did not occupy any great amount of their spare time. But as soon as it was fairly dark, they stretched themselves on their beds of vines and weeds, and most of them were soon asleep.

The evening that followed the day on which Colonel Passford visited his nephew was dark, foggy, rainy, and as gloomy as even a blockade runner might ask. Christy seated himself under one of the rear windows of the loft, which appeared to have been intended only for storage, and was only from seven to eight feet between studs. Flint placed himself at the side of his companion, as he was requested to do.

"This is just the kind of a night we want," said Christy, in a whisper, for he could hear the tramp of a sentinel outside the door of the loft.

"I should as soon think of getting out if we were buried a hundred feet under ground as to think of getting out of this place," replied Flint, who was hardly as enterprising as his officer, though he was always ready to follow when he was well led. "There is a guard at the door, Mr. Passford."

"He may stay there; we don't want anything of him," replied Christy.

"I see no other way out of this den, unless we jump down into the street; but I will follow you, sir, if I fall a hundred feet in doing it," protested the master's mate.

"You shall not fall six inches, and you will have no opportunity to do so. But if you are all ready to follow my lead, we may as well begin at once," added Christy, who had expected that it would require some persuasion to induce his companion to join him.

The first thing the midshipman did was to take off his shoes, and to require Flint to do the same. With these in their hands, Christy paced off twenty steps, which brought him, according to a calculation he had made in the daylight, under a scuttle that led to the roof of the warehouse. Stationing the master's mate as a mark, he laid off five paces at right angles with the first line from the party-wall. It was as dark as Egypt, and the scuttle could not be seen; but the operator had located it mathematically, and was confident as to its position. Flint was planted under the opening, with the shoes of both at his side.

The master's mate was nearly six feet in his stocking feet as he stood, and Christy whispered to him the next thing in his scheme. With the aid of his willing assistant, the midshipman was mounted on the shoulders of the former, where he stood up like an athlete in the gloom, though he almost instantly obtained a hold above with his hands. He unfastened the scuttle, and slid it off the aperture with the greatest care. Then he drew himself up with his strong hands, and was on the roof. Then Flint passed up the shoes, as he reached down for them. Seating himself on one side of the frame, he braced his feet against the other side, and grasped the hands of the mate. It did not work.



CHAPTER XXIX

THE NEW MATE OF THE COTTON SCHOONER

Christy had given himself credit for more physical strength, or Flint for less weight, than the circumstances warranted, and found that he could not draw up his companion as he intended. He made several efforts to accomplish his purpose, but he failed every time. The fear of making a noise cramped his efforts to some extent.

"Let go, Mr. Passford," whispered Flint, when he realized that his avoirdupois was too much for the young officer. "I will get that box, and then I can manage it myself."

"All right; but don't make a particle of noise," added Christy.

It required some time for the mate to find the box in the darkness, but he had it in position at last, standing upon one end. Mounting it, he found that his head was on a level with the roof, and he could easily draw himself up; but he did not do so at once.

"What are you waiting for, Flint?" asked Christy, rather impatiently.

"If I leave the box where it is, the guard will see where we have gone when they inspect the prison at ten o'clock," replied Flint.

"That's so; I did not have the box in my plan, and that would tell the guard where to look for us," replied Christy. "We must make a line, and haul it up after you."

"Here are two big handkerchiefs," added Flint, as he removed his neck-cloth, and passed up his pocket handkerchief with it.

Christy tied the handkerchiefs together with great care, adding two more of his own to the length, which he thought would reach the box, Flint made it fast to the broken end of a board on the side, and then, without the least difficulty or noise, sprang lightly to the roof of the warehouse. With the aid of his companion, Christy drew up the box, careful that it should not strike against the frame of the scuttle. The door was closed, though of course they were unable to hook it on the inside, as they had found it; but the guard were not likely to notice that it was not fastened before morning.

"What next, Mr. Passford?" asked the master's mate, after they had rested for a few minutes from their labors, though they had not been very arduous.

"The next thing is to get down into the street, where we shall be as safe as though we were as patriotic, over the left, as my Uncle Homer. The burden of the work is done, but I hope we shall be able to kill two birds with one stone," replied Christy, though his meaning was mysterious to his companion.

"It don't seem to me that we are much better off than we were in the loft," suggested the mate.

"I believe we are, though I don't think we had better indulge in any long speeches just now. We have a favorable night, and we must make the best of it. I don't intend to be seen in this town in the morning, but we have the whole night before us."

"There will be a lively time looking for us to-morrow, for I don't think they will be willing that you should get off, though it won't make much difference to them about me."

"They would not be willing to part with you, my friend."

"But you made yourself rather noted in helping the Bellevite out last May, and they will have a history of the loss of the Teaser in the newspapers in due time, if they have not had it already; and they will not like it a bit when they find that you have stepped out."

"They are welcome to their own reflections," replied the lieutenant.

"And they will send a searching party out to your uncle's estate at Glenfield; but of course we shall not go near there," said Flint.

"That is just where I am going," replied Christy, decidedly, "for that is where I expect to kill one of the birds with the stone I fire. But we had better be moving, for we have a long tramp before us."

The midshipman led the way, and though the roof, which was nearly flat, was wet with the falling rain, they walked, still in their stockinged feet, to the farther end of the block. Neither of them wore his uniform, as they remained as they had dressed for the duty they were to do on board of the Teaser. This was a point in their favor in the course they were to pursue, for their uniform would have betrayed them as soon as they were seen.

Before they reached the end of the block of warehouses, they had found and tried all the scuttles on the roof, but they had not discovered one which had been left unfastened. At the last one this became a serious question. The scuttle at the end warehouse was securely hooked on the inside; but neither of the pair felt discouraged at this circumstance. Looking about them they found a piece of joist about ten feet long, which might have been left there when the building was finished. Christy examined the scuttle with the greatest care, to determine on which side the hooks were placed.

While he was doing this, Flint detached a couple of bricks from the party-wall, which were used as a fulcrum for the lever, made of the joist. The building was not inhabited, and there was little to be feared at that height above the street from any noise they might make. Flint sat down on the end of the lever, and the scuttle flew up at once, the staple drawn out of the wood.

The master's mate was the first to enter; and he "hung off" to the floor below. Then he assisted Christy to descend, and to close the scuttle after him. Acting upon their belief that all the warehouses were constructed on the same plan, they easily found the door by which they reached the staircase. On the lower floor, they opened a window and passed out into the alley in the rear of the building. They were on the ground, and Christy soon ascertained where he was. He made his way to a wharf where he was fortunate enough to find a boat.

This locality seemed to be entirely deserted, and there was no one to challenge them, and no one appeared to take any notice of them on the way. It was not yet nine o'clock, and many stores were open, one of which they entered and bought a cooked ham and a large supply of bread. The woman in charge asked no questions, though Christy talked about a fishing trip to blind her. The boat they found was a very good one, and as it was the property of the enemy, Christy had no scruples in regard to confiscating it. He had money enough in his pocket to pay for it, but as the owner did not appear to dispute his taking possession of it, he dispensed with this ceremony.

Taking the oars which they found in the boat, they pulled away from the wharf without interruption from any source. Christy took his bearings as well as he could, and they passed out into the fog and darkness, to which experience within a few days had accustomed them both. They crossed the Alabama River, and then followed the land to the southward. Striking across an inlet they reached the land again, and by midnight they reached a point of land where Christy felt entirely at home. He recognized it by the dilapidated wharf, from which he had embarked in the Leopard.

It was still a long pull to Glenfield, and they went ashore to partake of a little refreshment. Flint was a smoker, and he had some dry matches which enabled them to make a fire, more for its light than its heat. The ham was good and so was the bread to hungry men like the fugitives. At the end of an hour by the midshipman's watch, they felt like new men, and they resumed their places in the boat, and pulled two hours longer, which brought them to the inlet at Glenfield. At the rude pier where the Bellevite had been moored lay a topsail schooner.

"I don't find any fault, Mr. Passford, but it seems to me that it is rather dangerous for you to come here," said Flint, in a low tone, as soon as they had made out the schooner at the wharf. "I can't see what you are to make by it; and your uncle would hand you over to the rebel officers as readily as he would eat his breakfast."

"I have no doubt he would do so; but I don't intend to give him the chance to do so," replied Christy, resting on his oar. "You see this schooner. She is loaded with cotton, and she is going to run the blockade about this time. I intend to take passage in her."

"Then you knew about this vessel?" asked Flint curiously.

"I did; and that is the particular reason why I came here. Lonley told me that my uncle had offered him the command of the schooner; and now that he has lost his position on board of the Teaser, I have no doubt he has already applied for the berth that was offered to him. I am confident that he has seen my uncle, and it must have been he who told him that I was a prisoner."

"I begin to understand you now, Mr. Passford," added Flint.

"If you do, we will say no more about it just now, for there may be some one within earshot of us," replied Christy.

Nothing more was said, and the boat cautiously approached the schooner. No one appeared to be on board of her, and the fugitives found that she was loaded with cotton, even carrying a deck-load of this staple of the South, the price of which had bounded up to an enormous figure in the markets of the world. In the early morning the clouds and the fog were swept away, and the sun came out. Christy found a hiding-place on the other side of the creek, in a dense mass of bushes, where the boat was drawn out of the water.

A spot which commanded a full view of the schooner had been selected, the boat was turned upside down so as to afford a shelter, and the weary Unionists went to sleep, for they were not likely to be disturbed on this side of the creek. It was noon when they woke, and it looked as though something was going on at the vessel. About half a dozen negroes were to be seen on the deck-load of cotton; and a little later in the day, Colonel Passford and Lonley were observed talking together. But nothing was done that day, and the night came on. Christy was not satisfied with his information, and as soon as it was dark, the boat was launched, and the fugitives pulled over to the schooner.

"Who's in dat boat?" shouted a negro, showing himself at the rail of the vessel.

"I am," replied Christy, rather indefinitely.

"Be you de new mate, sar?" demanded the man.

"I am," answered Christy, at a venture.

"We done wait free days for you, an' Massa Lonley be mighty glad to see you."

"Where is Captain Lonley now?" asked the lieutenant.

"Stoppin' wid Massa colonel. He done tole me to call him if de mate come. Dis nigger gwine to do dat," added the man.

"Stop a little," added Christy, as he climbed on board of the vessel, followed by Flint. "How many men have you on board?"

"Six men wid de cook."

"Are these men sailors?"

"Dey all done work aboard a vessel, but dey ain't much sailors."

"All free niggers?"

"No, sar; wish dey was."

"Where are the rest of the men?"

"In de fo'castle, sar. De capin specks de mate come to-night, an' I reckon we's gwine down de bay right off den."

"Go and call the captain then," added Christy, as confidently as though he had stood on his own ground.

The negro hastened away as fast as his legs would carry him, and in a few minutes Colonel Passford and Captain Lonley came on board. The latter seemed to be hung on wires, he was so active; and even before he saluted the new mate, he called all hands and directed them to hoist the mainsail.

"I am glad to see you, Fetters," said the captain, extending his hand to him. "I expected you yesterday."

"My business was such that I could not leave," replied Christy.

It was very dark, and the captain did not recognize him.



CHAPTER XXX

THE PRIZE-MASTER OF THE JUDITH

The weather had been clear all day, with quite a fresh breeze, and the same conditions prevailed after dark. Colonel Passford seemed to have a great deal to say to Captain Lonley, now that the time for sailing had come, and he occupied the attention of the latter so that neither of them could observe the new mate, if he were disposed to do so. As soon as Christy perceived the role which circumstances had laid out for him, he put his hand into a slush-tub he found in the waist, and anointed his face with the filthy stuff. There was just color enough in the compound of grease and dirt to change his complexion, if it had been light enough to observe his physiognomy. Flint did the same thing.

"You will have to take your chances when you come to the entrance of the bay," said Colonel Passford, nervously. "This cargo is worth a fortune, and we are in sore need of the supplies which its value will purchase for us."

"I think I understand the matter perfectly, colonel," replied Lonley, who did not seem to take kindly to any advice from a landsman.

"Do not take any unnecessary risks, Captain Lonley, for more than the value of the cotton is at stake," continued the planter.

"I have a plan of my own which I am confident will take me through the blockade all right," added the captain.

"You must remember that my brother's steamer is on the blockade, and that she makes over twenty knots an hour."

"I shall pretend to be a prize of the Bellevite long enough to distract the attention of the fleet," added Lonley, impatiently.

"I don't understand these things, and I shall leave you to manage the affair as you think best; but I beg you will use all proper caution," continued Colonel Passford. "Here are the ship's papers. You will give the one on the top to the officer from the fort, and he will cause you no delay."

Lonley took the papers, and thrust them into his pocket without any reply. Christy had taken charge of the hoisting of the mainsail without waiting for any special orders, and Flint was doing his best to assist him. The negroes, though not expert seamen, knew the ropes of a schooner, and they did very well with Flint in their midst.

"We are going to have a fresh breeze, Fetters," said Captain Lonley, as the new mate came near him.

"It looks like it now," added Christy, changing his voice as much as he could, and as he had done before when he spoke to the captain.

"If things are not favorable when you get to the forte, I think you had better anchor inside of the point," suggested the planter, who could not be blamed for being deeply interested in the fate of his cotton, and the fortune which was locked up in it.

"Of course, I shall have to do that if necessary; but I don't like to do that, for every blockader will watch her all the time if I do," replied Captain Lonley, still maintaining his respectful demeanor, though it seemed to be hard work.

By this time the mainsail was set, and was banging in the lively breeze. The negro sailors seemed to have become weary with wasting the day in the sailing of the schooner, and they worked with a good deal of enthusiasm.

"Now set the foresail, Fetters. I don't think we can carry the topsails," said the captain. "Isn't that a white man with the hands?" asked he, as the men went to the foremast.

"That's a man I brought along with me," replied Christy. "He is an able seaman, and he is very anxious to get to some port outside where he can obtain a berth as mate."

"All right; I thought the work was going on exceedingly well, and his presence explains it," added the captain.

"He owns the boat in which we came over here, and I think we had better hoist it on deck," said the mate.

"All right; do so, Fetters. I suppose you have nothing on your hands?"

"Nothing very particular," replied Christy.

"I am instructed to buy a fast steamer if I can find one, even if I have to go to England to obtain her. What do you say to taking the berth of first officer in her, Fetters, for I know that you are a sailor, and that you have pluck enough to fire a gun?"

"Such a position would suit me first rate," replied Christy, with proper enthusiasm.

Still Lonley did not recognize his voice, and he took especial pains that he should not. But this state of things could not long continue. If the Unionist went into the cabin where there was a light, he could not help betraying himself. It was necessary to provide against this or any similar emergency very soon. He had already arranged his plan, and it was his purpose to carry it into execution as soon as the vessel was fully clear of the creek.

The boat was hoisted on the deck; the fore and main sail were set, and everything was in readiness for a departure. Colonel Passford, after repeating some of his admonition to the captain, shook hands with him, and stepped down upon the wharf. Lonley gave the order to stand by the jib, and cast off the fasts. The two principal sails filled on the starboard tack, the jib went up in the twinkling of an eye under the direction of Flint, and the schooner began to gather headway. The captain was at the helm, for he would trust no other there, and Christy went forward.

"Set the fore topmast staysail," said the mate; but he was willing the crew should execute the order in their own way, for he called the master's mate to him. "The biggest job is yet to be done," he added, in a low tone.

"What is that?" asked Flint.

"To get possession of the vessel," replied Christy, impressively.

"That will be an easy matter, with nothing but niggers on board," added Flint.

They talked together for a few minutes, and the plan was arranged. Flint saw that the fore topmast staysail was properly set and trimmed. The two Unionists on board did not even know the name of the schooner, but she gathered headway as she approached the mouth of the creek, and went along at a very satisfactory rate. The mate of the vessel and his fellow fugitive then went aft to be ready for the decisive action in which they were to engage. But they had hardly reached the quarter-deck before the schooner was hailed by a boat.

"Schooner, ahoy! On board the Judith!" shouted a man.

"In the boat!" replied the captain. "Who's there?"

"Fetters!" responded the boatman.

"Fetters!" exclaimed Captain Lonley, apparently bewildered by the reply. "It seems to me that Fetterses are plenty to-night."

But this was all he was permitted to say, for the stroke of a handspike, in the hands of Flint, fell upon his head at this instant, and he dropped upon the quarter-deck like a log. At the same moment, Christy sprang to the wheel, and the schooner was not allowed to broach to. She dashed on her course, increasing her speed every moment, without heeding the boat that had hailed her. In the darkness, the genuine Fetters, as doubtless he was in the boat, could not have seen in what manner Captain Lonley had been disposed of, and all the crew were forward, so that they were no wiser.

"Judith, ahoy!" repeated the genuine and only true Fetters, at the top of his lungs, as the schooner hurried off on her course. "I am Fetters, the mate!"

"All right!" replied Christy. "I will see you in the morning. Come on board at six o'clock."

Mr. Fetters said no more, and probably he concluded that the Judith had gone to get firewood for the galley, to fill her water-casks, or for some similar purpose. The fictitious Mr. Fetters kept his place at the wheel. The binnacle had been lighted by the cook, and he knew the exact course for the entrance to the bay. He felt that he was in possession of the Judith and her valuable cargo; and he had become so hardened in his patriotic duty that he felt no compunction of conscience because the vessel and cotton had been wrested from his uncle.

As Colonel Passford had not scrupled to attempt to capture the magnificent steamer of his own brother, it would be a poor rule that would not work both ways. Besides, the proceeds of the sale of the cargo were to be expended in the purchase of supplies, and a steamer to carry them, for the use of the Confederacy. His uncle, from his elevated standpoint of duty, would have an opportunity to consider the application of his stringent views on the other side of the question.

"I hope he is not dead," said Christy, as Flint bent over the prostrate form of the captain.

"I don't know; but I am going to take him below, and lock him up in his stateroom, where the crew will not see him," replied Flint.

"That is right; and I would help you if I could leave the wheel long enough," replied Christy.

"I can handle him alone; but see that none of the sailors come aft while I am about it," added the master's mate, as he dragged the form to the companion-way.

In such a work as he had on his hands, he had the strength of two men. Without any great difficulty, he dragged the body to the cabin, and then into one of the two staterooms he found, which was lighted. It was a more difficult task, for Lonley was a heavy man, but he placed the form in the berth. His first duty was to examine very carefully the pockets of the captain. He secured the file of papers first, and then drew a large naval revolver from each of his hip pockets. Then he took his papers from his pocket-book, but left his money, watch, and other valuables where he found them.

After a careful examination of the insensible form, he was satisfied that he was not dead, though he might yet die from the blow he had received. He locked the door of the room, and went on deck. He gave one of the revolvers to Christy, and retained the other, handing over to him also all the papers he had taken.

"This is the biggest venture we have undertaken yet," said Flint, as he seated himself by Christy.

"But everything has gone well so far," replied the lieutenant. "If you are not promoted for this and the Teaser affair, Flint, it shall not be for the want of any recommendation on my part."

"Thank you, Mr. Passford; you are very kind. I hope your services will be recognized in the same manner," returned the master's mate.

"I don't care so much for myself, and I should not cry if I were never to become anything more than a midshipman."

"All I have done has been to obey your orders, and follow your lead; and if anybody is promoted for the two affairs in which we have been engaged, you are surely the one who is entitled to it."

"Well, we will do our duty, whether we are promoted or not," added Christy.

It was not more than nine o'clock in the evening when the Judith came out of the creek, and in about four hours she was approaching Fort Morgan. She was still within the enemy's lines, and her acting captain was disposed to do everything in a regular manner, especially as he had the means of doing so. He had not the same risk to run in getting through the blockading fleet that Captain Lonley would have had, and he promptly decided to take his chances without waiting for a dark and foggy night. A boat came off from the inner side of the fort, and Christy ordered Flint to bring her to.

The permit to pass the forts was in due form, and signed by the proper officials. The officer in the boat examined it carefully by the light of a lantern, and declared that he was satisfied with it. Then he asked some questions, which the acting commander of the Judith answered. The toughest inquiry he made was as to how he expected to get through the blockaders in a clear night like that. Christy assured him that he had a plan which he was confident would carry him through without difficulty.

The schooner filled away again, and passed through the main channel; and in another hour she was in the midst of the Union fleet. There was a rattling of drums, a hissing of steam, and energetic commands heard as soon as the Judith was made out in the darkness, and doubtless a vision of prize-money flitted through the brains of officers and seamen. But Christy soon impaired the vividness of these fancies by ordering the foresail of the schooner to be taken in, and then the fore topmast staysail. The expectant ships' companies were not willing to believe that the vessel had come out for the purpose of surrendering.

"Schooner, ahoy!" shouted the officer of a boat sent off by the nearest blockader. "What vessel is that?"

"The Judith, prize to the United States steamer Bellevite," replied Christy, "Kindly inform me where the Bellevite lies."

In another half-hour, Christy had dropped his anchor a cable's length from the Bellevite. Instructing Flint to ascertain the condition of Lonley, the lieutenant went on board of her to make his report, using the boat they had captured at Mobile, pulled by two of the negroes.

"I have come on board, Captain Breaker," said Christy, as he met the commander, who had come on deck at the alarm.

"I see you have," replied the captain, grasping him by the hand. "I have been terribly worried about you, Christy."

"I am all right, sir; and so is Mr. Flint, who was with me. We have brought off a schooner of two hundred tons, loaded with cotton," continued Christy, as modestly as the circumstances would permit.

"I am very anxious to hear your report, Mr. Passford," said the commander.

"Excuse me, sir, but the captain of that schooner is badly wounded, and needs Dr. Linscott as soon as possible."

The surgeon was sent on board of the Judith. As Paul Vapoor caught a sight of the returned third lieutenant, he hugged him as though he had been separated from him for years instead of a few days. His welcome was quite as cordial, though not as demonstrative, from the rest of the officers. Then he went to the cabin with the captain, where he reported all that had transpired since he had been separated from his companions on board of the Teaser. He was warmly commended for his bravery and skill, and Captain Breaker assured him that he should be remembered in the reports to the department.

Captain Lonley was conveyed on board of the Bellevite, where he was committed to the sick bay. He had recovered his senses, but it was likely, the surgeon said, that it would be a month before his health was restored. The Teaser had not yet been sent away; but the next day the third lieutenant was appointed prize-master of the steamer, and Flint of the schooner, for he had been the master of a coaster, and was competent for the position.

A considerable crew was put on board of the Teaser, and both vessels were sent to New York instead of Key West. The steamer was expected to tow the Judith when necessary, and defend her if she was attacked. But both arrived at their destination without any mishap, and both were condemned; the Teaser was purchased by the government, for she was likely to be a very useful vessel on account of her speed and light draught.

Christy had a brief leave of absence after he had served as a witness against the captured vessels. He had seen his father, mother, and sister on his arrival, and they were as proud of him as though he had been made a rear-admiral. Captain Breaker had written to his father of his disappearance on Santa Rosa Island, and had no doubt he had been made a prisoner within the enemy's lines. Christy brought the news of his escape himself, which made him even doubly welcome at Bonnydale. Certainly the young lieutenant had never been so happy before in his life.

Captain Passford was a man of great influence, though he held no position in authority. At the first opportunity he obtained to talk with him, Christy made a strong plea in favor of the promotion of Flint. The late owner of the Bellevite knew him well. The master's mate had been a schoolmaster, and was very well educated; but he had a taste for the sea. He had made several foreign voyages, and had bought a schooner then, of which he went as master. But he had sold his vessel to great advantage, and, having nothing to do, he shipped as third officer of the Bellevite.

Sampson, who had come home as chief engineer of the Teaser, was also remembered by Christy, who interceded for his promotion, or rather appointment. The government promptly obtained possession from the court of the prize-steamer, and the repairs and alterations upon her were begun at once. She had proved herself to be a fast sailer, and had logged sixteen knots, so that much was expected of her.

Captain Passford, after his son had pleaded so earnestly for the promotion of the master's mate and the fireman, asked Christy what he expected in the way of promotion for himself. The young officer did not ask for any promotion, he was abundantly satisfied with his present rank, and he rather preferred to retain it. His father laughed, and declared that he was very glad of it, for he had some delicacy in asking favors for a member of his own family.

Corny still remained at the house of his uncle; and he was as thoroughbred a rebel as his father, though he said next to nothing about his "cause." At a later period both he and Major Pierson were duly exchanged; but the gallant officer had come to the conclusion that Miss Florry Passford was very far from being infatuated with him.

As the Bronx, which was the name given to the Teaser at the suggestion of Captain Passford, was to be ready about as soon as the legal proceedings would permit of the departure of the officers and seamen of the Bellevite, they were ordered to return to their ship in her. Flint's commission as a master, and Sampson's as an assistant engineer, were received. Christy's companion in the night expeditions had not expected to be anything more than a midshipman, and he was immeasurably delighted at his good fortune. Then it appeared that other influences than that of Captain Passford had been employed, for Christy, almost in spite of himself, was promoted to the rank of master, his commission antedating that of Flint.

Mr. Blowitt was appointed to the command of the Bronx, with Master Passford as first lieutenant, and Master Flint as second; and Christy was to take her to the Gulf. She was to be used at the discretion of the flag officer after she had delivered her passengers on board of the Bellevite, and received her new commander.

The Bronx was soon ready for sea with her new ship's company, and sailed for her destination, where Christy was to make some further inquiries into operations ON THE BLOCKADE.



OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS.

THE BLUE AND THE GRAY

SERIES

Illustrated. With Emblematic Dies. Each volume bound in Blue and Gray. Per volume, $1.50.

TAKEN BY THE ENEMY.

WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES.

The opening of a new series of books from the pen of Oliver Optic is bound to arouse the highest anticipation in the minds of boy and girl readers. There never has been a more interesting writer in the field of juvenile literature than Mr. W. T. Adams, who, under his well-known pseudonym, is known and admired by every boy and girl in the country, and by thousands who have long since passed the boundaries of youth, yet who remember with pleasure the genial, interesting pen that did so much to interest, instruct and entertain their younger years. The present volume opens "The Blue and the Gray Series," a title that is sufficiently indicative of the nature and spirit of the series, of which the first volume is now presented, while the name of Oliver Optic is sufficient warrant of the absorbing style of narrative. "Taken by the Enemy," the first book of the series, is as bright and entertaining as any work that Mr. Adams has yet put forth, and will be as eagerly perused as any that has borne his name. It would not be fair to the prospective reader to deprive him of the zest which comes from the unexpected, by entering into a synopsis of the story. A word, however, should be said in regard to the beauty and appropriateness of the binding, which makes it a most attractive volume.—Boston Budget.

"Taken by the Enemy" has just come from the press, an announcement that cannot but appeal to every healthy boy from ten to fifteen years of age in the country. "No writer of the present day." says the Boston Commonwealth, "whose aim has been to hit the boyish heart, has been as successful as Oliver Optic. There is a period in the life of every youth, just about the time that he is collecting postage-stamps, and before his legs are long enough for a bicycle, when he has the Oliver Optic fever. He catches it by reading a few stray pages somewhere, and then there is nothing for it but to let the matter take its course. Relief comes only when the last page of the last book is read; and then there are relapses whenever a new book appears until one is safely on through the teens. The boys will be delighted to know, therefore, that 'Taken by the Enemy' is but the first of six books to come out in rapid succession, all based on the thrilling incidents of the late war."—Literary News.

OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS.

THE BOAT-BUILDER SERIES

Completed in Six Volumes. Illustrated. Per Vol., $1.25.

1. ALL ADRIFT; Or, The Goldwing Club. 2. SNUG HARBOR; Or, The Champlain Mechanics. 3. SQUARE AND COMPASS; Or, Building the House. 4. STEM TO STERN; Or, Building the Boat. 5. ALL TAUT; Or, Rigging the Boat. 6. READY ABOUT; Or, Sailing the Boat.

The series includes in six successive volumes the whole art of boat-building, boat-rigging, boat-managing, and practical hints to make the ownership of a boat pay. A great deal of useful information will be given in this Boat-Building series, and in each book a very interesting story is sure to be interwoven with the information. Every reader will be interested at once in "Dory," the hero of "All Adrift," and one of the characters to be retained in the future volumes of the series, at least there are already several of his recently made friends who do not want to lose sight of him, and this will be the case of pretty much every boy who makes his acquaintance in "All Adrift."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Errata Noted by Transcriber:

En Reconnaissance de la Bonte de son Pere, text reads "Pere" (with acute accent for grave) and to be above any such villainy text reads "villany" "He is on board—of the Bellevite," the third lieutenant text reads "lientenant"

THE END