A DISCONSOLATE PURCHASER OF VESSELS
The information in regard to Florry was very meagre and very indefinite.
She was a very beautiful young lady of eighteen; and it was not at all
strange that a young Confederate officer should be attracted to her,
though the thought of it was exceedingly disagreeable to her father,
under present circumstances.
Percy evidently was not satisfied with the situation; and after he had
given the information which had so disturbed the owner of the steamer,
he desired to change the subject of the conversation, to which Captain
Passford only assented after he realized that nothing could be
ascertained from him in regard to his daughter.
"I don't think I quite understand the situation on board of this
steamer," said Percy, when he had told all he knew about the visits of
his brother at Glenfield.
"What further do you desire to know in regard to her?" asked Captain
Passford; for the commander, when he saw that there was a family matter
involved in the conversation, was disposed to be very reticent.
"I did not come on board of this vessel in the manner I did--I do not
even know her name yet," continued Percy; and when he found that he was
talking to a brother of Colonel Passford, he dropped all his rather
magnificent airs, and became quite sensible.
"The steamer is called the Bellevite," replied the owner.
"The Bellevite. It is an odd name, but I think I can remember it. I was
about to say that I did not come on board of her, as I did, without an
object; for I assure you that I am high-toned enough not to do any thing
in an irregular manner unless for the most weighty reasons," said Percy,
with an anxious look directed towards the island, which was now almost
out of sight.
"I do not ask your reasons; but, if you wish to give them, I will hear
all you have to say, Mr. Percy," replied the owner.
"I talked with Mr. Pierson on shore; and though he was disposed at first
to chaff me, and avoid giving me any information in regard to this
steamer, he afterwards informed me that the gentleman who owned her
intended to get rid of her as soon as he could."
"And you came on board for the purpose of buying her?" suggested Captain
Passford.
"I did not expect to buy her myself, of course; but my father is
exceedingly anxious to obtain a steamer like this one, and he asked me
to do what I could to obtain any information in regard to her. That was
the object which brought me on board of her in a clandestine manner."
"You were very zealous in meeting the wishes of your father."
"More than that, I was at work in a good cause; and I think I have
patriotism enough to do my duty to my country in the hour of her need,"
added the young man, with a swell of the chest.
"After his family, a man's first duty is to his country," said the
owner.
"I wanted to go into the army, for I am eighteen years old; but my
father insisted that I could be of more service to the Confederacy as
his assistant in obtaining vessels for its use."
"I understand your motives."
"From what I learned from Mr. Pierson,--though I do not yet know who or
what he is," said Percy, bestowing a smiling glance upon Christy.
"You may look upon him as my nephew," added Captain Passford, glancing
at his son, who gave a slight bow for the benefit of the guest on board.
"From what I could learn from your nephew, sir, I concluded that this
steamer could be bought, if I could only obtain an interview with the
owner," continued Percy, with an inquiring glance at all who were
present "I understand you are the owner of the vessel, Captain
Passford."
"You are quite right: she has been my yacht since she was built, and a
stronger and more able vessel was never put into the water."
"Mr. Pierson gave me to understand that he was in sympathy with the
Confederacy; and since I came on board, and learned that you were a
brother of our nearest neighbor, I have no difficulty in arriving at the
conclusion that you are a devoted friend of the Southern cause."
"What I am, for the present, I do not feel at liberty to say," replied
Captain Passford, who was certainly reluctant to play a double part
before the young man, though he felt that the necessities of the
occasion required him to do so.
"Quite right, sir; one cannot be too cautious in these times. But it
is time for me to say that I did not intend to take passage in the
Bellevite, and I am sure my father will be very anxious in my absence."
"May I ask how you did intend to proceed?"
"I can hardly tell myself, sir; but my object was to see the owner as
soon as I could discover who he was. But I have found you now, Captain
Passford, and I am glad to find in you a friend of our holy cause."
The owner only bowed; and it was as true as it could be that the
representative of the intended purchaser of vessels jumped at nearly all
of his conclusions, giving the captain but little occasion to say any
thing that was not literally true; though the deception was just as real
as though it had been carried on with actual falsehood.
"May I ask you for a few minutes in private, Captain Passford?"
continued Percy.
"Certainly;" and the owner retired with him to the weather-rail.
"I have seen this vessel, and I have heard what you say of her. Now I am
better informed in regard to her than my father is. I am not authorized
to name a price, but I am very sure that he will buy her."
"So he said to me himself, Mr. Percy," added the owner with a smile.
"He said so to you, sir!" exclaimed the young man, starting back; for he
believed that he had accomplished all that had been done towards buying
the vessel.
"I had an interview with him, and stated most explicitly that the
Bellevite could not be purchased by any person at any price; and when
I hinted very guardedly to him, as I do to you, in the strictest
confidence, that I am hound for Mobile Bay, he did not urge the matter.
He was satisfied that the steamer was to be used in a good cause; and I
can give you the same assurance, Mr. Percy."
The young man looked positively humble after he had listened to the
remark of the owner, for he felt that his father had "taken all the wind
out of his sails." He looked in the direction of the receding island of
Nassau, and realized that he had been wasting his time, to say nothing
of the wasted strategy he had bestowed on his enterprise.
"You have stated that you are bound for Mobile Bay, sir," said he.
"That is a long distance from New Providence, as I have learned from
experience."
"But this trip will give you the satisfaction of being restored to your
own home in a very short time, for there is no faster vessel afloat than
the Bellevite," added Captain Passford.
"It will put me into the army," said Mr. Percy; but he felt at once that
he had made a slip of the tongue, and he hastened to correct the effect
of his involuntary speech. "Of course, I wanted to go into the army of
my country, as every patriotic fellow in the South does; but my father
objects simply because I can be of more service to the good cause in
another field of action, and I had to yield the point."
The owner thought he had not been guilty of a very savage yielding of
his own inclination, but he said nothing. He was evidently the youngest
child of the family, and doubtless the pet of his parents; and it was
hard for them to put him in a position to be shot, or to endure the
hardships of the camp.
"I see now that my mission is a failure, though with no detriment to the
good cause. I wish I was in New Providence again," continued Mr. Percy,
looking very much discontented with himself.
"I am sorry you did not speak to me on shore as your father did, and
that would have saved you from all annoyance."
"But I must beg you to do me the favor to put me ashore again, for my
father will suffer untold agonies when he misses me to-night."
"Put you on shore!" exclaimed Captain Passford. "You are a sensible and
reasonable young gentleman, and you will readily see that this is quite
impossible."
"We have not been out above two hours, sir," suggested Percy.
"But we have made thirty-six miles, at least, in that time; and to
return would delay me about four or five hours,--long enough, perhaps,
to defeat the object of my voyage. I assure you that it is wholly
impossible for us to return."
"Do you think so, sir?" asked the enterprising purchaser of vessels,
looking very disconsolate indeed.
"I not only think so, but I am perfectly sure on this point. You can see
for yourself that I cannot sacrifice the object of my voyage--for the
vessel has a special mission at her destination--by a delay of some
hours. I am not responsible for your being on board, and I am sorry that
I cannot do any thing for you."
"But you can put me ashore at Key West, and I may find some vessel bound
to Nassau," suggested Percy, becoming more and more disconsolate, as he
realized the difficulties of his situation, for he was plainly very much
averse to returning to his home.
"But, my dear Mr. Percy, the Bellevite will not go within fifty miles
of Key West; and if she did, I should not dare to put in there, for the
port is a naval station of the United States, and my vessel might be
taken from me in the absence of any regular papers to explain her
character."
"I suppose you are right," added Percy gloomily.
Captain Passford was really more afraid of falling in with any naval
vessel of the nation than of meeting any of the Confederate tugs or
other vessels which had been hurriedly fitted out, even at this early
period of the war; for he knew that his mission, however justifiable
under the circumstances, was quite irregular. He had decided to keep at
least fifty miles from Key West, and the usual course of vessels bound
into the Gulf of Mexico.
"We may meet some vessel, and you could put me on board of her," the
disconsolate young man proposed.
"My mission compels me to give every vessel a wide berth, and I can
incur no risks. But it cannot be a great hardship for you to be conveyed
back to your own home."
"But my father needs me with him, and he will suffer terrible anxiety
when he fails to find me. He will even think I am dead."
"I know he must be anxious, but I think some way will be found to send a
letter to him."
"But I shall be compelled to go into the army, and my father is utterly
opposed to that."
"But you have a brother who is a major in the army, and I should say
that he will be able to save you."
"My brother is the one who insists that I shall go into one of the
regiments forming in the State. He called me a coward because I yielded
to my father and mother."
"All that is your own family affair, and I am sorry that I can do
nothing for you, Mr, Percy.--Mr. Watts," he called to the chief steward,
who was planking the lee-side of the deck.
"Here, sir," replied the official.
"Give Mr. Percy the best stateroom available, and see that he is made as
comfortable and happy as possible," added the owner.
The involuntary guest on board was conducted to the cabin.