CAPTAIN PASSFORD'S FINAL ORDERS
A tolerable state of order and regularity had been brought out of the
confusion that prevailed on board of the Ocklockonee, and the newly
appointed officers went to the stations where they belonged. Sampson
reported the engine of the steamer as in good order, and ready for
service.
"Who is the chief engineer of the Ocklockonee, Mr. Sampson?" asked
Captain Passford, after he had listened to the report.
"His name is Bockburn; he is a Scotchman, and appears to be a very good
fellow," replied the engineer of the Bronx.
"Does he talk at all about what has just happened on board of his
steamer?" asked the captain, deeply interested, for he had some
difficulty in arranging the engineer's department on board of the
prize, as he considered the new order of things.
"Yes, sir; he talks at the rate of twenty knots an hour, and if his
steamer can get ahead as well as his tongue, she is a fast one," replied
Sampson, laughing.
"Well, what does he say? I want to know how he stands affected by the
present condition of affairs," continued the captain rather impatiently,
for he was too busy to enjoy the humor of the engineer.
"He is a thrifty Scotchman; and I don't believe he has any interest in
anything under the sun except his wages; and he is a little sour on that
account to find that his cruise is finished, as he puts it."
"Send for him and his assistants, Mr. Sampson."
The engineer went to the engine hatch, and called the men below.
"Now send for Mr. Gawl," added the captain. "He is your first assistant;
is he a competent man to run an engine?"
"As competent as I am myself; and the engine of this steamer is exactly
like that of the Bronx, so that he can have no trouble with it, if you
think of retaining him on board of the Ocklockonee," replied Sampson.
"I propose to make him chief engineer of her."
"You could not find a better man," said Sampson, as he went to summon
Gawl.
The three engineers of the prize came on deck, and the captain took the
chief aside.
"Mr. Bockburn, I believe, the chief engineer of the Ocklockonee?" said
Christy.
"Of the Scotian, sir; for I know nothing of the jaw-cracking names
that the officers in the cabin have given her," replied the engineer,
shrugging his shoulders, and presenting a dissatisfied air.
"Are you an engineer in the Confederate Navy, sir?" asked Christy,
bringing the business to a head at once.
"No, sir, I am not," answered the engineer very decidedly. "You see,
captain, that the Scotian was sold to come across the water, and I was
out of a job, with a family to support. They did not say anything about
the service in which the Scotian was to be engaged, but I understood it.
When they spoke to me about it, I was glad to keep my place as long as
she did not make war on the United Kingdom. In truth, I may say that I
did not care a fig about the quarrel in the States, and was as ready to
run an engine on one side as the other as long as I got my wages, and
was able to support my family handsomely, as, thank God, I have always
done. I am not a student of politics, and I only read enough in the
newspapers to know what is going on in the world. I always find that I
get ahead better when I mind my own business, and it can't be said that
Andy Bockburn ever--"
"Precisely so, Mr. Bockburn; but I will hear the rest of your story at
another time," interposed the captain when he found that the man was
faithful to the description Sampson had given of his talking powers.
"You understand perfectly what has transpired on board of the Scotian
as you choose still to call her; in a word, that she is a prize to the
United States steamer Bronx?"
"I understand it all as clearly as though I read it in a book; and it
was all on account of the want of a bolt that I was sure I put on board
of the vessel before she sailed; and I am just as sure of it now as I
ever was. But then, you see, captain, a man can't always be sure of the
men under him, though he may be sure of himself. I have no doubt--"
"Short yarns, if you please, Mr. Bockburn. You understand the situation,
and I will add that I intend to use this vessel as well as the Bronx in
the service of my government. Are you willing to do duty on board of her
in any capacity in which I may place you in the engineer department,
provided you receive the same wages as before?"
"I am, sir; and I was paid a month in advance, so that I shall not lose
anything," chuckled the careful Scotchman.
"If you are regularly appointed, though I can only give you a temporary
position, in addition to your wages, you will be entitled to your share
in any prize we may hereafter capture."
"Then I will take any position you will please to give me," answered the
engineer, apparently delighted with the prospect thus held out to him.
"I shall appoint you first assistant engineer of the Bronx," continued
the captain, not a little to the astonishment of Flint, who wondered
that he was not assigned to the Ocklockonee.
"I am quite satisfied, captain," replied Bockburn, bowing and smiling,
for wages were more than rank to him. "I will bring up my kit at once,
sir. You see, captain, when a man has a family he--"
"Precisely as you say, Mr. Bockburn," interrupted the captain. "You
will report to Mr. Sampson in the engine room of the Bronx for further
orders."
"Thank you, sir; I supposed I was out of a job from this out, and I was
feeling--"
"Feel your way to the engine room of the Bronx. Mr. Gawl," the captain
proceeded.
"On duty, sir," replied the first assistant engineer of the Bronx,
touching his cap as respectfully as though the commander had been forty
years old.
"You are appointed temporarily as chief engineer of the Ocklockonee, and
you will take your place in the engine room as soon as possible," said
the captain, as brusquely as though favors cost nothing.
Mr. Gawl was taken to the engine room and introduced to the first and
second assistants, Rowe and Leeds, and was kindly received by them,
for, like their late chief, the question of wages was the only one that
affected them. They promised to be faithful to the government they were
to serve, and to discharge their duties faithfully under the direction
of the new chief. The two officers on the quarter deck had watched all
these proceedings with interest. They were the only persons remaining on
board who had not been disposed of in some manner.
Christy approached them while Captain Flint, as he was now to be called
by courtesy, was making his final arrangements with the crew that had
been assigned to the prize. Both of the officers bowed civilly to the
commander as he presented himself on the quarter deck. They were older
men than Captain Dinsmore, though neither was over forty-five. Christy
suspected that they were not Confederate officers as soon as he had a
chance to look them over.
"May I ask, gentlemen, if you are officers of the Confederate Navy?"
asked Christy, as he looked from one to the other of the men.
"We are not, sir," replied the senior of them.
"Of course you are aware that you are serving in a Confederate
man-of-war?" added Christy.
"I should say that was hardly true up to date. The captain holds a
commission in the Confederate Navy, but the ship has never been into a
Confederate port, Captain Passford," replied the senior, who had learned
the commander's name.
"As you call me by name, perhaps you will enable me to do as much with
you," added Christy.
"My name is Farley Lippard; I shipped as first officer of the Scotian,"
replied the senior.
"And mine is Edward Sangston; and I shipped as second officer of the
steamer."
"We shipped only for the voyage, and were told that we could not retain
our situations after the ship's company was fully organized," added Mr.
Lippard.
"Then I hope you were paid in advance, as the engineers were," said
Christy with a smile.
"We were, sir, thank you," added the first officer. "Though we were told
that we could not obtain any rank in the navy because there were more
officers than ships, the agent said we should find plenty of employment
on board of blockade runners coming out with cotton."
"I suppose you are Englishmen?" said the captain.
"Scotchmen, sir, but British subjects."
"I cannot put you on shore and I may not have an opportunity to ship
you to your homes by another vessel. I shall leave you on board of the
Ocklockonee, and the acting commander will assign to you such quarters
in the cabin as may be at his command," continued Christy. "It is only
necessary that I should say I expect you to remain neutral, whatever
occurs on board of the steamer."
"That is understood," replied Mr. Lippard.
"You will be regarded as passengers; but of course if you commit any act
hostile to the government of the United States, you will be considered
as enemies, and treated as prisoners of war," Christy proceeded. "I hope
the situation is clearly understood."
"Certainly, sir; we have no interest in the quarrel in the States, and
we are not in the pay of the Confederacy, as they call it," replied Mr.
Lippard.
"Then there will be no trouble. Captain Flint," called the commander.
Flint, who had been very busy appointing petty officers and organizing
the new crew, came at the call and was introduced to the late officers
of the prize. The understanding which had just been reached in regard to
them was repeated for the benefit of the new captain. He was quite as
pliable as his superior had always been, and there was no indication
that any friction would result from their presence on board of the
prize, now temporarily put into the service of the navy.
"Have you made all your arrangements, Captain Flint?" asked Christy when
he was all ready to return to the Bronx.
"I have very nearly completed them, Captain Passford; and I can easily
finish them after we get under way," replied Flint. "All I need before
we part is my orders."
"From all that I can learn, the Arran must be to the eastward of the
Ocklockonee," said Christy, who had given this subject all the thought
his time would permit. "The officers of the prize hailed the Bronx
coming from that direction, and that indicates that she was expected
from that quarter. Our coming from that way seems to have made Captain
Dinsmore confident that the Bronx was the Arran. I shall lay the course
of my ship to the northeast, while you will proceed to the southwest.
After you have gone fifty miles in that direction, you will make a
course due east, as I shall also after I have made the same distance.
Having run due east twenty miles, you will run to the northeast, as I
shall to the southwest. If you discover the Arran fire your midship gun,
and I will do the same."
Christy shook hands with Flint, and went on board of the Bronx. The
order was given on board of both vessels to cast off the grapnels; the
gong bell sounded in each engine room, and both vessels went ahead, the
Bronx coming about to her new course.