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THE BLUE AND THE GRAY--AFLOAT
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TAKEN BY THE ENEMY
WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES
ON THE BLOCKADE
STAND BY THE UNION
FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHT
A VICTORIOUS UNION
THE BLUE AND THE GRAY--ON LAND
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BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER
IN THE SADDLE
A LIEUTENANT AT EIGHTEEN
(Other volumes in preparation)
Any Volume Sold Separately.
Lee and Shepard Publishers Boston
[Illustration: "Three Cheers for Captain Passford" (Page 75)]
The
BLUE AND THE GRAY
Series
[Illustration]
By Oliver Optic
TAKEN by the ENEMY
_The Blue and the Gray Series_
TAKEN BY THE ENEMY
by
OLIVER OPTIC
Author of
"The Army and Navy Series" "Young America Abroad"
"The Great Western Series" "The Woodville Stories"
"The Starry-Flag Series" "The Boat-Club Stories"
"The Onward and Upward Series" "The Yacht-Club Series"
"The Lake-Shore Series" "The Riverdale Series"
"The Boat-Builder Series" etc.
_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_
BOSTON
LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers
Copyright, 1888, by Lee and Shepard
_All rights reserved._
Taken by the Enemy.
To
My Nephew,
HERBERT W. ADAMS,
This Book
is Affectionately Dedicated.
PREFACE
"TAKEN BY THE ENEMY" is the first of a new series of six volumes which
are to be associated under the general title of "The Blue and the Gray
Series," which sufficiently indicates the character of the books. At the
conclusion of the war of the Rebellion, and before the writer had
completed "The Army and Navy Series," over twenty years ago, some of his
friends advised him to make all possible haste to bring his war stories
to a conclusion, declaring that there could be no demand for such works
when the war had come to an end. But the volumes of the series mentioned
are as much in demand to-day as any of his other stories, though from
their nature the field of their circulation is more limited. Surprising
as this may appear, it is still the fact; and certainly the author has
received more commendatory letters from young people in regard to the
books of this series than concerning those of any other.
Among these letters there has occasionally been one, though rarely, in
which the writer objected to this series for the reason that he was "on
the other side" of the great issue which shook the nation to the centre
of its being for four years. Doubtless the writers of these letters, and
many who wrote no letters, will be surprised and grieved at the
announcement of another series by the author on war topics. The writer
had little inclination to undertake this task; for he has believed for
twenty years that the war is over, and he has not been disposed to keep
alive old issues which had better remain buried. He has spent some time
in the South, and has always found himself among friends there. He
became personally acquainted with those who fought on the Confederate
side, from generals to privates, and he still values their friendship.
He certainly is not disposed to write any thing that would cause him to
forfeit his title to the kind feeling that was extended to him.
It is not, therefore, with the desire or intention to rekindle the fires
of sectional animosity, now happily subdued, that the writer begins
another series relating to the war. The call upon him to use the topics
of the war has been so urgent, and its ample field of stirring events
has been so inviting, that he could not resist; but, while his own
opinions in regard to the great question of five-and-twenty years ago
remain unchanged, he hopes to do more ample justice than perhaps was
done before to those "who fought on the other side."
The present volume introduces those which are to follow it, and presents
many of the characters that are to figure in them. Though written from
the Union standpoint, the author hopes that it will not be found unfair
or unjust to those who looked from the opposite point of view.
Dorchester, June 12, 1888.
CONTENTS
Page
CHAPTER I.
Astounding News from the Shore 13
CHAPTER II.
The Brother at the South 24
CHAPTER III.
Dangerous and Somewhat Irregular 35
CHAPTER IV.
The First Mission of the Bellevite 47
CHAPTER V.
The Bellevite and those on Board of her 58
CHAPTER VI.
Mr. Percy Pierson introduces himself 69
CHAPTER VII.
A Complication at Glenfield 80
CHAPTER VIII.
A Disconsolate Purchaser of Vessels 91
CHAPTER IX.
Christy matures a Promising Scheme 102
CHAPTER X.
The Attempt to pass into Mobile Bay 113
CHAPTER XI.
The Major in Command of Fort Gaines 124
CHAPTER XII.
How the Bellevite passed Fort Morgan 135
CHAPTER XIII.
A Decided Difference of Opinion 146
CHAPTER XIV.
The Blue and the Gray 157
CHAPTER XV.
Brother at War with Brother 168
CHAPTER XVI.
Christy finds himself a Prisoner 179
CHAPTER XVII.
Major Pierson is puzzled 190
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Morning Trip of the Leopard 201
CHAPTER XIX.
The Report of the Scout from the Shore 212
CHAPTER XX.
A Rebellion in the Pilot-House 223
CHAPTER XXI.
The Sick Captain of the Leopard 234
CHAPTER XXII.
The Proceedings on the Lower Deck 245
CHAPTER XXIII.
The Expedition from the Leopard 256
CHAPTER XXIV.
The Engineer goes into the Forecastle 267
CHAPTER XXV.
The First Lesson for a Sailor 278
CHAPTER XXVI.
The Post of Duty and of Danger 289
CHAPTER XXVII.
A Cannon-Ball through the Leopard 300
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The American Flag at the Fore 311
CHAPTER XXIX.
On Board of the Bellevite 322
CHAPTER XXX.
Running the Gantlet 333
TAKEN BY THE ENEMY
CHAPTER I
ASTOUNDING NEWS FROM THE SHORE
"This is most astounding news!" exclaimed Captain Horatio Passford.
It was on the deck of the magnificent steam-yacht Bellevite, of which he
was the owner; and with the newspaper, in which he had read only a few
of the many head-lines, still in his hand, he rushed furiously across
the deck, in a state of the most intense agitation.
It would take more than one figure to indicate the number of millions by
which his vast wealth was measured, in the estimation of those who knew
most about his affairs; and he was just returning from a winter cruise
in his yacht.
His wife and son were on board; but his daughter had spent the winter at
the South with her uncle, preferring this to a voyage at sea, being in
rather delicate health, and the doctors thought a quiet residence in a
genial climate was better for her.
The Bellevite had been among the islands of the Atlantic, visiting the
Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and was now coming from Bermuda.
She had just taken a pilot fifty miles from Sandy Hook, and was bound to
New York, for the captain's beautiful estate, Bonnydale, was located on
the Hudson.
As usual, the pilot had brought on board with him the latest New-York
papers, and one of them contained the startling news which appeared to
have thrown the owner of the Bellevite entirely off his balance; and it
was quite astounding enough to produce this effect upon any American.
"What is it, sir?" demanded Christopher Passford, his son, a remarkably
bright-looking young fellow of sixteen, as he followed his father across
the deck.
"What is it, Horatio?" inquired Mrs. Passford, who had been seated with
a book on the deck, as she also followed her husband.
The captain was usually very cool and self-possessed, and neither the
wife nor the son had ever before seen him so shaken by agitation. He
seemed to be unable to speak a word for the time, and took no notice
whatever of his wife and son when they addressed him.
For several minutes he continued to rush back and forth across the deck
of the steamer, like a vessel which had suddenly caught a heavy flaw of
wind, and had not yet come to her bearings.
"What is the matter, Horatio?" asked Mrs. Passford, when he came near
her. "What in the world has happened to overcome you in this manner, for
I never saw you so moved before?"
But her husband did not reply even to this earnest interrogatory, but
again darted across the deck, and his lips moved as though he were
muttering something to himself. He did not look at the paper in his
hands again; and whatever the startling intelligence it contained, he
seemed to have taken it all in at a glance.
Christy, as the remarkably good-looking young man was called by all in
the family and on board of the Bellevite, appeared to be even more
astonished than his mother at the singular conduct of his father; but
he saw how intense was his agitation, and he did not follow him in his
impulsive flights across the deck.
Though his father had always treated him with great consideration, and
seldom if ever had occasion to exercise any of his paternal authority
over him, the young man never took advantage of the familiarity existing
between them. His father was certainly in a most extraordinary mood for
him, and he could not venture to speak a word to him.
He stood near the companion way, not far from his mother, and he
observed the movements of his father with the utmost interest, not
unmingled with anxiety; and Mrs. Passford fully shared with him the
solicitude of the moment.
The steamer was going at full speed in the direction of Sandy Hook.
Captain Passford gave no heed to the movement of the vessel, but for
several minutes planked the deck as though he were unable to realize
the truth or the force of the news he had hastily gathered from the
head-lines of the newspaper.
At last he halted in the waist, at some distance from the other members
of his family, raised his paper, and fixed his gaze upon the staring
announcement at the head of one of its columns. No one ventured to
approach him; for he was the magnate of the vessel, and, whatever his
humor, he was entitled to the full benefit of it.
He only glanced at the head-lines as he had done before, and then
dropped the paper, as though the announcement he had read was all he
desired to know.
"Beeks," said he, as a quartermaster passed near him.
The man addressed promptly halted, raised his hand to his cap, and
waited the pleasure of the owner of the steamer.
"Tell Captain Breaker that I wish to see him, if you please," added
Captain Passford.
The man repeated the name of the person he was to call, and hastened
away to obey the order. The owner resumed his march across the deck,
though it was evident to the anxious observers that he had in a great
measure recovered his self-possession, for his movements were less
nervous, and the usual placid calm was restored to his face.
In another minute, Captain Breaker, who was the actual commander of the
vessel, appeared in the waist, and walked up to his owner. Though not
more than forty-five years old, his hair and full beard were heavily
tinted with gray; and an artist who wished for an ideal shipmaster,
who was both a gentleman and a sailor, could not have found a better
representative of this type in the merchant or naval service, or on the
deck of the finest steam-yacht in the world.
"You sent for me, Captain Passford," said the commander, in respectful
but not subservient tones.
"You will take the steamer to some point off Fire Island, and come to
anchor there," replied the owner, as, without any explanation, he walked
away from the spot.
"Off Fire Island," added Captain Breaker, simply repeating the name of
the locality to which his order related, but not in a tone that required
an exclamation-point to express his surprise.
Whatever the captain of the Bellevite thought or felt, it was an
extraordinary order which he received. It was in the month of April,
and the vessel had been absent about five months on her winter pleasure
cruise.
In a few hours more the yacht could easily be at her moorings off
Bonnydale on the Hudson; but when almost in sight of New York, the
captain had been ordered to anchor, as though the owner had no intention
of returning to his elegant home.
If he was surprised, as doubtless he was, he did not manifest it in the
slightest degree; for he was a sailor, and it was a part of his gospel
to obey the orders of his owner without asking any questions.
No doubt he thought of his wife and children as he walked forward to the
pilot-house to execute his order, for he had been away from them for a
long time. The three papers brought on board by the pilot had all been
given to the owner, and he had no hint of the startling news they
contained.
The course of the Bellevite was promptly changed more to the northward;
and if the pilot wished to be informed in regard to this strange
alteration in the immediate destination of the vessel, Captain Breaker
was unable to give him any explanation.
Captain Passford was evidently himself again; and he did not rush across
the deck as he had done before, but seated himself in an armchair he had
occupied before the pilot came on board, and proceeded to read something
more than the headlines in the paper.
He hardly moved or looked up for half an hour, so intensely was he
absorbed in the narrative before him. Mrs. Passford and Christy, though
even more excited by the singular conduct of the owner, and the change
in the course of the steamer, did not venture to interrupt him.
The owner took the other two papers from his pocket, and had soon
possessed himself of all the details of the astounding news; and it
was plain enough to those who so eagerly observed his expression as he
read, that he was impressed as he had never been before in his life.
Before the owner had finished the reading of the papers, the Bellevite
had reached the anchorage chosen by the pilot, and the vessel was soon
fast to the bottom in a quiet sea.
"The tide is just right for going up to the city," said the pilot, who
had left his place in the pilot-house, and addressed himself to the
owner in the waist.
"But we shall not go up to the city," replied Captain Passford, in a
very decided tone. "But that shall make no difference in your pilot's
fees.--Captain Breaker."
The captain of the steamer, who had also come out of the pilot-house,
had stationed himself within call of the owner to receive the next
order, which might throw some light on the reason for anchoring the
steamer so near her destination on a full sea. He presented himself
before the magnate of the yacht, and indicated that he was ready to
take his further orders.
"You will see that the pilot is paid his full fee for taking the vessel
to a wharf," continued Captain Passford.
The captain bowed, and started towards the companionway; but the owner
called him back.
"I see what looks like a tug to the westward of us. You will set the
signal to bring her alongside," the magnate proceeded.
This order was even more strange than that under which the vessel had
come to anchor so near home after her long cruise; but the captain asked
no questions, and made no sign. Calling Beeks, he went aft with the
pilot, and paid him his fees.
When the American flag was displayed in the fore-rigging for the tug,
Captain Passford, with his gaze fixed on the planks of the deck, walked
slowly to the place where his wife was seated, and halted in front of
her without speaking a word. But there was a quivering of the lip which
assured the lady and her son that he was still struggling to suppress
his agitation.
"What is the matter, Horatio?" asked the wife, in the tenderest of
tones, while her expression assured those who saw her face that the
anxiety of the husband had been communicated to the wife.
"I need hardly tell you, Julia, that I am disturbed as I never was
before in all my life," replied he, maintaining his calmness only with
a struggle.
"I can see that something momentous has happened in our country," she
added, hardly able to contain herself, for she felt that she was in the
presence of an unexplained calamity.
"Something has happened, my dear; something terrible,--something that
I did not expect, though many others were sure that it would come," he
continued, seating himself at the side of his wife.
"But you do not tell me what it is," said the lady, with a look which
indicated that her worst fears were confirmed. "Is Florry worse? Is
she"--
"So far as I know, Florry is as well as usual," interposed the husband.
"But a state of war exists at the present moment between the North and
the South."