A REBELLIOUS AND PREJUDICED PRISONER
"Well, Mr. Flint, we have been more successful than I feared we might
be," said Christy, after the prisoners except Corny had been put in
irons, though they consisted of only five officers and seamen.
"As usual, you are the hero of the adventure," replied the new first
lieutenant, laughing. "But I must say it was the stupidest enterprise in
which rational men ever engaged."
"I decline to be regarded as the hero of the adventure, as you call it;
and it was not so stupid as you suggest," replied Christy, with the
greatest good-nature.
"Perhaps you builded better than you knew; but if you had not escaped
from the Vernon, and managed the whole affair, it would have been a
success," added Mr. Flint.
"Then the scheme cannot be considered so stupid as you represent it."
"But it had not one chance in ten of success. Your cousin looks more
like you than he did the last time I saw him."
"He fixed himself up to pass for me, and that helped his case very
greatly. He put on a uniform like mine, such a one as you have never
seen him wear."
"He did not look quite natural to me; but I could not make out what
made the change in his looks," continued Mr. Flint. "You can see for
yourself, that the plot would have been a success if you had not been on
board of the Bronx to tell me what had happened. Whatever passed between
the flag-officer and Captain Battleton, nothing at all was said among
the officers about the decision the commander of the Vernon had been
obliged to make when he accepted your cousin as the genuine Christopher
Passford, ordered to the command of the Bronx. While I thought you were
somewhat altered in appearance, and that your greeting to me was rather
cold and formal when you came on board, I did not suspect that the
officer who represented you was an impostor."
"Do you think you should have let these conspirators run into Pensacola
Bay without meddling with the matter?" asked Christy.
"I am sure I should, for I could not have helped myself. The captain had
his orders, to be opened about this time; and I should have supposed you
were going into the bay to shell out Fort Barrancas."
"You could hardly have supposed that a little gunboat like the Bronx was
sent all alone on such a mission."
"I obey my orders without question, and I should not have suspected
anything was out of the way. I was rather cut up when I found that
Galvinne had been appointed executive officer; and that, with the cold
greeting you gave me, led me to ask in what manner I had lost your good
opinion."
"Of course Corny asked for his appointment, for Mr. Galvinne was the
real leader of the enterprise. I think you and some of the rest of us
have narrowly escaped a Confederate prison."
"That is plain enough; and we only escaped it because you took it into
your head to leave the Vernon at the time you left her. I think the
Bronx would have gone into Pensacola Bay without the least trouble, for
I have no doubt Galvinne knew just what signals to make to Fort McRae,
and just as well what ones to make to Fort Pickens. The ship would have
been there by midnight, and up to that time I should have been asleep in
my stateroom; and they would not have taken the trouble to call the
watch below at that hour."
"No matter; we have the Bronx again, and she is not yet to become
a Confederate cruiser. But Corny had the sealed orders of the
flag-officer, and I heard Mr. Galvinne read them. The Bronx is ordered
to St. Andrew's to attend to the case of a steamer loading there to run
the blockade. Shall I obey the orders, or return to the flag-ship?"
"The commodore hurried us off, for he feared any delay might allow the
steamer to escape."
"We have five prisoners on board; and we can take care of them well
enough," replied Christy; "but the principal difficulty is that we have
no officers."
"But we have plenty of good men, and some of them will make good
officers," suggested the first lieutenant.
"We have no surgeon, I believe, for Dr. Spokeley is sick, and was to be
sent home before I left in the Vixen for New York," added the commander,
now restored to his own right on board.
"Oh, yes; we have a surgeon, for Dr. Spokeley is to go to New York in
the Vernon, and the doctor of the store-ship is appointed to the Bronx."
"Dr. Connelly!" exclaimed Christy.
"Just so; and I dare say he is asleep in his stateroom at this moment."
"Then we had better obey the sealed orders of the flag-officer; we will
come about, and head her for St. Andrew's. Fortunately I have been there
myself in the Bellevite, and I have been up the harbor and bay in boats,
for the yacht, as she was at the time, drew too much water to go into
the bay, for it is shoal inside. Come about, Mr. Flint, and make the
course due east."
"I hope we shall do as well as we did at Cedar Keys," replied the first
lieutenant, when he had given the order to come about to the
quartermaster.
"Look up the log slate, for I suppose they have made the entries, and
when we have run eighty knots from the station, keep a sharp lookout for
the land. Now I will go to my cabin, and find the envelope that contains
the orders, and look them over."
Christy went below, and found Dave in the stateroom, apparently
unwilling to take his eyes off the prisoner who still lay in the berth.
He went to the table in the cabin, and found upon it the sheet upon
which the orders had been written. They were of no use to Galvinne, and
he had thrown them down as soon as he had read them. He sat down at the
table and read the paper; but the order was very simple, and left all
the details to the discretion of the commander, for it was understood
that Captain Passford was well acquainted with the coast as far as St.
Mark's.
Christy was still clothed in the frock and cap of a common sailor, and
he realized that it was time for him to put on his uniform. He went to
the quarters of the men where he had concealed his valise, and carried
it back to the cabin, where he proceeded to make the change. In a short
time he had put himself in proper condition to take his place on the
quarter-deck in command when his presence was required. He had nothing
to do at present, and he concluded to write his report of the remarkable
proceedings on board since the Bronx left the station. He wanted his
desk, and he went to the stateroom.
"Well, Dave, how is your prisoner?" he asked, halting at the door.
"I got him safe, Massa Cap'n," replied the steward, exhibiting most of
the teeth in his mouth, for he was pleased with himself after he had
executed the commission assigned to him, and did not feel as much like a
contraband as he might.
"I am in command, Dave, and there must be no more 'massa' now," added
Christy.
"I done forget all about my talk, Captain Passford," replied Dave.
"That is bad grammar," said the commander, laughing, for he was in an
exceedingly pleasant humor, as may well be supposed. "You know what is
right, and you must not talk like a contraband."
"I won't do so any more, Captain Passford," protested the steward,
showing his ivory, though he was not a very black man, and the contrast
was not as great as in many instances.
"How do you find yourself, Corny?" asked the captain, turning to the
berth.
"I am all right, Corny; but I should like to have you or some one tell
me what has been going on in this steamer, for this black rascal will
not say a word to me," replied the prisoner.
"I don't blame him, if you call him a black rascal," added Christy. "But
you need not call me by your own name any longer, cousin, for it will
not help your case any more. Your game is played out, and you have been
beaten with your own weapons. When you want to play another Yankee
trick, you had better remember that you are not a Yankee, and you are
not skilled in the art of doing it."
"What do you mean by that, Corny?" asked the prisoner, disregarding the
advice of his cousin.
"Corny again!" exclaimed the captain.
"I am the commander of this steamer, and I have been assaulted in my
berth!" replied the sufferer, warming up a little.
"Whew! Then you are still the commander of the Bronx?" repeated Christy,
laughing at his cousin's persistence.
"You know that I am. Wasn't the commission decided to be mine?"
"But we have concluded to reverse the decision of the commander of the
Vernon, and submit the case to the flag-officer for final adjustment. In
the mean time, I have taken possession of the steamer, and put all your
confederates in irons. For the present, at least, I am in command of the
Bronx, and I want my stateroom. With Dave's assistance, I must ask you
to turn out of that berth."
"I decline to give up my stateroom, or my command of the steamer,"
replied Corny in a sulky manner. "I should like to know how you happen
to be on board of the Bronx, Corny."
"Did you believe that I intended to let you take possession of this
steamer, and run her into a Confederate port, Corny? My name is Passford
as well as yours, and I am not a traitor, and don't believe I am a
coward. At a time which suited my convenience, I left the Vernon and
came on board of the Bronx."
"Where did you hide, for the vessel has been searched in every part of
her for you?"
"I have been under the berth in this stateroom, a hiding-place which was
suggested to me by one of your people who used it as such, and was
caught, as I was not."
"No one thought you would hide in the captain's cabin."
"That is the very reason why I chose this place. I have had the pleasure
of listening to all your conversations with Mr. Galvinne, and I knew
your plans from beginning to end."
"You have been under this berth since the steamer left the flag-ship!"
exclaimed Corny, apparently amazed at the fact.
"I have; but I have no more time to enlighten you. I can only say that
with the assistance of the only loyal officer left on board, and the
loyal seamen, I have recaptured the vessel, and now we are on our way to
St. Andrew's to obey the orders which the flag-officer delivered to you
when you were a rebel in disguise. Now Dave will help you out of the
berth."
"No, he won't! If I was to be captured at all, Corny, you insulted me
when you set a nigger to do the job," said the prisoner angrily.
"You are playing a farce now, cousin; but I cannot stay to fool with
you. Take him out of the berth, Dave."
"Will you set a nigger upon me again, Christy?" using the commander's
proper name for the first time.
"If you will get out of the berth yourself, I will allow you to do so,"
added Christy.
"I will," replied the prisoner.
He made the attempt to do so, but he would have fallen to the floor,
with his hands fastened behind him, if Christy and Dave had not received
him in their arms. The steward hugged him like a brother, perhaps
maliciously, and carried him to a divan in the cabin. Corny had
apparently abandoned his cause, and his cousin gave him a berth in
the ward room for the rest of the night.