A REBELLION IN THE PILOT-HOUSE
Captain Passford had obtained the idea, from the fact that Florry did
not like to have the major gaze at her all the time, that she was not
very deeply interested in him; and the conclusion afforded him a great
deal of satisfaction. She did not like to leave her uncle and aunt and
her two cousins without saying good-by to them; but she had not said a
word about the military gentleman who was supposed to have made frequent
visits at the mansion on her account.
When Lieutenant Dallberg informed Major Pierson that Miss Florry had
left the house, and that her trunk had been removed, indicating that she
did not intend to return, the effect upon him was very decided. However
it may have been with the young lady, it was plain enough that he was
stirred to the very centre of his being.
"Then Captain Passford has left the mansion?" said the Major, after he
had strode several times across the little pilot-house, as he halted in
front of the lieutenant.
"No doubt of that; the family and the servants hunted the house all over
in search of him and his daughter," replied Mr. Dallberg with a yawn.
"Well, what did Colonel Passford say about him?" demanded the major.
"He was not at the house when I got there. As I said, he had gone for
assistance. I could do nothing till I had seen him. I sent my men on
ahead to look for him, and then I went myself. We did not find him till
one o'clock in the morning. He had given up all his horses for the
service, and we had to go on foot," continued the lieutenant.
"But you saw Colonel Passford?"
"I did; but he had been unable to find the persons of whom he had
been in search, and he could procure no such assistance as he wished.
I walked back to his mansion with him. At first he was not inclined to
say any thing to me; but when I told him that you were over here in the
Leopard to look out for the steamer, he had more confidence in me."
"Well, what did he say?" asked the major impatiently.
"He would not say any thing till I had told him all I knew, including
the manner in which the steamer had passed the forts. By this time we
had reached his house, and we seated ourselves in the library."
"You need not stop to describe the chairs or the sofa," interposed the
excited commandant of the fort.
"I will not; but, if I omit any thing, it will not be my fault," said
the younger officer with a long gape. "He told me he and his brother had
been discussing the great question, as he called it, for over six hours;
and they understood each other perfectly in the end."
"Six hours! It is a wonder they did not talk each other to death!"
exclaimed the major.
"At any rate, they talked enough to enable them to come to a perfect
understanding. Colonel Passford is as true to the Confederacy as we all
know him to be, but Captain Passford is a Yankee to the marrow of his
bones; and the two brothers could not agree at all on the political
question, though they profess still to be friends."
"Then the owner of the Bellevite is on the other side?"
"No doubt of that; and the steamer did not come down here to go into the
service of the Confederacy," added the lieutenant.
"But she will go into it, all the same," said the major, glancing at the
new captain of the Leopard.
Christy was quite as much excited over the conversation to which he
could not help being a listener, even if he had wished not to be so. It
was clear enough to him that the whole object of the voyage to Mobile
Bay had come out, and the major needed no further information to enable
him to act with promptness and decision. The fact that Miss Florry must
be on board of the Bellevite was doubtless an additional incentive to
make him do his entire duty to the Confederacy.
"I think I have told you the whole story, Major Pierson," said
Lieutenant Dallberg with another prodigious yawn.
"Then Captain Passford and his daughter are now on board of the
steamer," added the major; though he seemed to be musing on the fact,
rather than saying it to his companion.
"There can be no doubt of that," replied the other.
"As Captain Passford is a Yankee at heart, of course he don't intend
to remain in these waters much longer," continued the major, giving
utterance to his reflections.
"There is something more than that, which I forgot to tell you; for you
hurried me so that I could not keep my thoughts about me," interposed
the lieutenant.
"What more is there? You said you had told me the whole," said the
major, with a sneer on his lips.
"The Bellevite is intended for the Yankee navy, and she has already been
tendered to the Government for that purpose. More yet, Captain Passford
and the commander of the steamer have offered their services. The owner
is sure that all hands will be volunteers for the service as soon as she
returns from this trip," continued Dallberg, who had suddenly roused his
energies to the requirements of the situation.
"I had no doubt that Captain Passford would be with his brother in this
war," mused the major.
"He could not be any farther from him. He came down here after his
daughter, and his brother says he expected to remove him and his family
to the North at the same time."
"His mission will be a failure in every sense," added Major Pierson, as
though he regarded it as a matter of course.
"The colonel said his duty to his country and her cause would not allow
him to suffer his brother to take the steamer back to the North to be
handed over to the Yankee navy."
"That is where he was quite right."
"But the colonel does not like to do any thing to injure his brother
and his two children who are with him; and he wished to find Colonel
Dalheath, who could manage the business without loss to the Confederacy,
while he could favor the captain's escape. But he was satisfied that you
would feel an interest to prevent the departure of the steamer; while
you would not be willing to do her owner or his family any injury in
their persons, however it might be in their property."
"I think I understand the situation perfectly now," said the major, as
he went to the front windows of the pilot-house. "Spottswood!" he called
to the sergeant.
"Here, sir."
"How is Captain Pecklar?"
"He has come to himself, but he is no better. I am afraid he is going to
die." replied Spottswood, coming near the bulkhead, and speaking in a
low tone.
"That's bad," added the major, shaking his head.
"There's the steamer, sir!" called one of the soldiers.
The Leopard had just passed a point of land beyond which the Bellevite
was discovered, apparently going at full speed, and headed to the
south-west. Christy brought his glass to bear upon her, but he could see
nothing which afforded him any information in regard to her movements or
intentions.
"I suppose it is not difficult to determine what your father's steamer
is waiting in the bay for, Mr. Passford," said Major Pierson, as he
looked into the face of his pilot.
"I am sure I don't know what he is waiting for," replied Christy.
"Don't you, indeed?" added the major, laughing.
"I am sure I do not."
"Then, it has not occurred to you that he misses you, and don't like to
leave without you?" chuckled the major. "I did not intend to have you
captured by my men, and I gave them no definite orders to that effect;
but, as things look just now, it is rather fortunate that I have you on
board of the Leopard, not only for the sake of your father's waiting for
you, but you are a good pilot, and are of great service to me."
Christy rang the bell with a sudden impulse, which made it look as
though he had not fully taken in the situation before. The engineer,
though he was one of the army of the disabled in whole or in part,
obeyed the summons of the bell, and the propeller ceased to revolve.
"What's that for, Captain Passford?" asked the major good-naturedly.
"With your permission, Major Pierson, I will resign my office as captain
of the Leopard," replied Christy, as he stepped back from the wheel.
"But I cannot give you my permission," laughed the major.
"I am sorry to disoblige you, Major Pierson; but then I am compelled to
resign the position without your permission," replied Christy without an
instant's hesitation; for he clearly understood what he was doing now,
and neither really nor constructively was he willing to do any thing in
the service of the enemies of the Union.
"But you can't resign in the face of the enemy, Captain Passford; and
you accepted the position which I assigned to you," said the major,
beginning to look a little more serious.
"In the face of the enemy!" exclaimed Christy, glancing at the
Bellevite, as she dashed furiously over the waves at a distance of not
more than a mile from the tug. "May I ask what you mean by the enemy,
Major Pierson?"
"Yon must have heard all the information which was brought to me by
Lieutenant Dallberg; and by this time you are aware that the steamer
yonder is an enemy of the Confederate States," continued the major.
"She did not come into these waters as an enemy, or with any warlike
intentions, sir. She came on a peaceful mission; and now it appears that
my uncle is guilty of treachery towards my father," replied Christy with
deep emotion.
"Do you think it would be right or proper for your uncle to allow that
fine steamer, which I am told is one of the strongest and fastest ever
built, to be handed over to the Yankee navy?" demanded the major, with
energy enough to assure his auditor that he meant all he said.
"I happen to know that my father had several hundred dollars about him
in gold; and my uncle would have done no worse to rob him of that, than
to have his steamer taken from him when it was not engaged in acts of
war. In either case, Homer Passford is a thief and a robber!"
"That's plain speech, young man," said the major, biting his lips.
"I meant it should be plain, sir," said Christy, gasping for breath in
his deep emotion. "I am ashamed of my uncle, and I know that my father
would not be guilty of such treachery."
"I see that it is useless to reason with you, Passford."
"You have come to a correct conclusion. When you call my father's
steamer an enemy, you define my duty for me; and I have nothing further
to do on board of this tug," replied Christy. "I am in your power, and
of course you can do with me as you please."
Major Pierson was certainly very much embarrassed. The events of the
night, and the information obtained on shore, to say nothing of the
specific request from Colonel Passford to "manage the business," imposed
upon him the duty of capturing the Bellevite; and he was all ready to do
it. But the Leopard might as well have been without an engine as without
a pilot; for all the men on board were from the interior of the country,
and not one of them, not even the officers, knew how to steer the boat.
The marks and figures on the chart of the bay, which Christy had put on
the shelf in front of the wheel, were all Greek to them. Possibly they
might get the tug to the shore, or aground on the way to it; but the
steamer was practically disabled.