THE SECOND AND THIRD LIEUTENANTS
The surgeon went on deck with Christy, where he was presented in due
form to Mr. Flint, though he had been introduced to him before in his
former position as second lieutenant. The commander went forward to the
bridge and pilot-house, and consulting the log slate, found that the
last entry gave seventy-eight knots from the station. But it was foggy,
as Mr. Galvinne had predicted that it would be, and the quartermaster
conning the wheel said it was as "dark as a stack of black cats."
Nothing could be seen in any direction, and the commander decided that
it was not prudent to proceed any farther.
The leadsman was ordered to sound, as the screw was stopped, and he
reported sixteen fathoms with the deep-sea lead. Christy ordered the
quartermaster to go ahead again, and keep the hand-line going all the
time. Mr. Flint came forward, and took his place on the bridge, where
the officer of the deck was usually stationed on board of the Bronx.
The reports of the leadsman were satisfactory, and the steamer went
ahead for an hour. Then they began to give a diminution of the depth of
water, indicating, as Christy stated it, that the vessel was approaching
the land. He looked over the log slate, and found that the course had
been due east till the order had been given to head her in the opposite
direction. She had sailed rather more than an hour on that tack, during
which the recapture of the steamer had been made.
"Mark under water twelve!" shouted the man with the hand lead.
"We are coming up with the shore," said Mr. Flint, as Christy joined him
on the bridge.
"Yes; but you will get four or five fathoms almost up to the beaches.
When I was here, the Bellevite was anchored outside, and we went gunning
and fishing in St. Andrew's Bay. The bay is about thirty miles long; but
it is as crooked as a ram's horn, and there is no town on it, though
there are some scattered houses," added Christy. "We shot fat ducks, and
caught plenty of red snappers and pompana there."
"And a half ten!" shouted the leadsman, as though he meant to have his
figures understood, as they indicated the shoaling of the depth.
But Christy gave no order to reduce the speed of the vessel, and seemed
to feel so thoroughly at home that Mr. Flint began to be a little
nervous. The young commander had carefully studied the chart of the
coast with the practical knowledge he had of the locality.
"Can you form any idea where we are, Captain Passford?" asked the
lieutenant.
"I figured up the course a while ago, and I think we are off St.
Andrew's Bay. If they had not put her about and run for an hour or more
to the westward, I should be satisfied in regard to my position; as it
is, I am not quite clear in regard to it," replied the commander.
"Quarter less ten!" shouted the leadsman, with even more vigor than
before.
"That will do; stop her and anchor, Mr. Flint," said Christy, as he
looked about him in an endeavor to penetrate the fog in which the vessel
was buried.
Then he listened for any sounds that might come to him from the
direction of the shore; but all was as still as the tomb itself. The
screw stopped in obedience to the order of the executive officer, who
went down to the deck to supervise the anchoring of the steamer, as he
had no inferior officer to attend to this duty.
"Mr. Flint, drop a drift lead, and station a hand to observe it," said
Christy, hailing the first lieutenant.
"A drift lead, sir," replied Mr. Flint.
This was a lead weighing twenty pounds, which is dropped on the bottom
by men-of-war to determine if the anchor holds, or if the vessel is
drifting.
"Station a strong lookout, Mr. Flint, and send a man aloft on the
foremast and another on the mainmast," continued Christy when the other
orders had been obeyed.
This completed the preparation for the night. The captain consulted his
repeater, and ascertained that it was twenty minutes past twelve. The
Bronx was in position to learn the fact if any vessel attempted to run
out of St. Andrew's Bay, provided his calculations in regard to the
locality of the Bronx were correct. Christy went down to the deck, and
walked aft with Mr. Flint.
"I think some of us need a little sleep to-night," said the commander.
"Then you had better turn in, Captain Passford," said the executive
officer. "We can do nothing more to-night except to keep a sharp
lookout."
"You are the only officer on board except myself," replied Christy. "We
are still in the dark as to what we have to do here. We may have to send
off a boat expedition, as we did at Cedar Keys, and we are in absolute
need of more officers."
"We have plenty of material out of which to make them, and we can do
as we did after the fight with the Scotian and the Arran, when we made
them," replied Mr. Flint. "We have men of good education in the crew,
who have either commanded coasters, or been mates on steamers."
"If you will name one, I will name another," added Christy.
"Quartermaster Camden. He commanded a three-masted schooner in the coal
trade. He is not college educated, but he is a remarkably well-informed
man who shipped in the navy to learn the details of duty on board of a
man-of-war."
"I appoint him acting second lieutenant," added Christy.
"I am sure he will get a commission as soon as he applies for it,
captain," added the first lieutenant, pleased with the prompt decision.
"Now, who is your man?"
"Ralph Pennant. I had my eye on him while I was aboard of the Vernon,
where he became a sort of oracle among the seamen on account of his
abundant information on general subjects. He talks like a man with a
good education, and he has been mate of a steamer of good size. But I
know very little concerning him, and am afraid he has one out."
"What is that, captain?"
"I am afraid he is fond of whiskey, though I do not know that he is."
"He can't get any whiskey here unless it is served out to him; so that
habit, if it is his habit, will do him no harm," argued Mr. Flint.
"I appoint him third lieutenant temporarily."
"That will amount to their being made ensigns when you go north again if
they prove to be worthy of promotion," added the executive officer, with
a chuckle. "That was what happened to Baskirk and Amden."
"If they are worthy, I shall certainly do the best I can for them,"
added Christy, gaping.
Camden was called aft and formally appointed second lieutenant, but
Ralph was in the watch below, and was in his hammock. The commander
retired to his stateroom, and, letting his report wait till another day,
he was soon sound asleep.
In accordance with the directions he had left with the first lieutenant,
Christy was called with the watch at four o'clock in the morning. Though
the first lieutenant is not a watch officer, he may be required to do
duty as such when the number of commissioned officers is reduced below
three, and Mr. Flint had remained in charge of the mid-watch, which had
been called to the deck at midnight. The captain relieved him and
Camden, and both of them went below, the new appointee taking the
stateroom of the second lieutenant.
"Pass the word for Ralph Pennant," said Christy, as soon as he reached
the quarter-deck.
"I have had considerable talk with Camden, and I am satisfied that he
will make a capital officer," said the executive officer, as he moved
towards the companion-way. "I suppose you have sent for Pennant with the
intention of appointing him third lieutenant."
"That is my purpose; and here he comes."
"On deck, sir," reported Ralph, touching his cap to the commander,
as Mr. Flint descended the steps to the ward room.
"I think you told me that you had had some experience on board of
steamers, Pennant," replied Christy.
"I told you that I had been the mate of a steamer," answered the seaman.
"What is your age?"
"Twenty-eight years."
"Then you are older than you appear to be," continued Christy; and he
proceeded to question the seaman in regard to his education and
experience as a seaman.
He had not been mistaken in his estimate of the man, so far as he could
judge from his answers. Pennant had taken a steamer home to New York
from Havana after the captain had died there of yellow fever. He had
expected to be given the command of the vessel; and when he failed to
obtain the position he resigned his place as mate, but secured the same
position in another and larger steamer.
"Do you ever drink whiskey, Pennant?" asked Christy abruptly.
"At present, no, sir," replied the seaman decidedly. "I learned a few
months ago that I failed to obtain the command of the steamer I brought
home from Havana because it was said I took too much whiskey. I knocked
off then, and have not drank a drop since."
"That was a sensible thing to do. You are aware that we are short of
officers, I suppose," said the commander.
"Yes, sir; and since I came on deck, I heard that Phil Camden had been
appointed acting second lieutenant," replied Pennant.
"That is true; and now I am going to appoint you acting third
lieutenant. You will call the watch aft."
"I am very much obliged to you, Captain Passford, for this favor; and I
know you would not give me the place if you did not think me worthy of
it," replied the seaman as he went forward and called the watch to the
mainmast.
"My men, I have just appointed Ralph Pennant acting third lieutenant;
and you will obey and respect him as such," said Christy, addressing the
watch, and then dismissing them.
The men gave three hearty cheers as they were dismissed, proving to
the commander that Pennant was a popular man among them, as Camden had
also been proved to be when his appointment had been announced to the
starboard watch. As in politics, legislation, war, and business, the
masses of the people soon ascertain who are their natural leaders, the
crew of the Bronx, or that portion who had come from New York in the
Vernon, had been prompt in discovering the abilities of the two men now
promoted.
"Now, Mr. Pennant, you may remove your bag to the ward room, and the
third stateroom on the starboard side, counting from the forward one,
is yours for the present," continued Christy.
"But I have no uniform, Captain Passford," suggested the appointee.
"I have one in my stateroom; but it is altogether too small for you,"
replied the commander, glancing in the gloom of the night at the
stalwart form of the third lieutenant, lacking not more than an inch of
six feet, and his weight could not have been less than one hundred and
eighty. "We will see what can be done in the morning."
"The crew all know me, and I dare say I can get along without a uniform
till we get back to the station, where I could get one from the
store-ship; but it is not likely that I shall need one then."
"I cannot say as to that. When you go forward take a look at the
prisoners, and report to me," added Christy, as Mr. Pennant went below.
In a few minutes he reported that the prisoners were all fast asleep.
Boxie had been relieved as guard, and another seaman was marching back
and forth by their couches. It was still dark and foggy, and a hail came
from the mast-head forward.