THE BATTLE WITH THE SOLDIERS
Mr. Amblen went to the pilot house, and rang two bells. Dolly responded
properly by starting the engine on the reverse, and the schooner
alongside began to move away from the wharf, for the stern of the Havana
pointed out into the bay.
"Stop, there! What are you about?" shouted the fat man on the deck of
the schooner.
"About going," replied Christy.
"These vessels are the property of a citizen of the Confederate States,
and I command you to stop," yelled the fat man with all the voice he
could muster.
"All right," replied Christy, as the gong sounded to stop her. "Now, Mr.
Flint, cast off the fasts, and let the schooner go astern," he added to
the second lieutenant.
"All clear, sir," replied Flint a moment later, and after the steamer
lost her headway, the vessel continued to back, though the Havana was
checked by the engine.
The fat man went adrift in the schooner, but Christy gave no further
attention to him. The steamer was started ahead again; her bow was run
alongside of the other vessel at the wharf, and Flint proceeded in the
same manner as with the first one.
"Orderly!" shouted the fat man, evidently addressing the man who had
come to the schooner with him, and had retreated to the wharf when the
vessel began to move.
"Captain Rowly!" replied the man, who was doubtless the orderly sergeant
of the company.
"Go to the barracks and have the men haul the four field pieces over to
the wharf," yelled the fat captain.
"All right, little one! Have them hauled over by all means," said
Christy, as the men made fast to the other schooner, and cast off the
fasts.
But it was soon evident that the sleepy soldiers had been roused from
their slumbers by some other agency than the orderly, though it was not
quite possible for them to haul over the four guns, as they happened
to be on the forward deck of the Havana. But the men were armed with
muskets, and were capable of doing a great deal of mischief with them.
Christy hurried up the men at the fasts, but they had about finished
their task.
"All clear, Mr. Passford," called Mr. Flint, as the soldiers
double-quicked across the railroad to the wharf, upon which there was
still a huge pile of bales of cotton.
"Back her, Mr. Amblen," said Christy, as he hastened aft to avoid a
collision with the other schooner.
But the tide had begun to recede, and had carried the first vessel to a
safe distance from the wharf.
The soldiers reached the edge of the wharf, and were probably under the
command of the orderly by this time. At any rate they marched farther
down the pier, where they could be nearer to the Havana as she backed
away. Then the troops fired a volley at the steamer; but in the darkness
they did no serious injury to the party, though two seamen were slightly
wounded.
"Cast off the fasts!" shouted Christy, when he realized that some of his
men were in a fair way to be shot down before they could get the two
schooners alongside and properly secured for the trip to the Bronx, and
the order was promptly obeyed. "Now, check her, Mr. Amblen;" and two
bells were sounded on the gong, after one to stop her.
The second schooner kept on her course out into the bay to join the
first one cast loose; but Christy feared that they might get aground,
and give them trouble. The seventeen soldiers whom he had counted in
their bunks appeared to have been reinforced either by the return of the
absent party, or by the civilians in the place, for they presented a
more formidable front than the smaller number could make. Whatever the
number of the defenders of the place, they could harass the expedition
while the men were preparing for the final departure.
"With what were those two guns charged, Mr. Flint?" asked Christy.
"With solid shot, sir," replied the second lieutenant.
"Open fire on the wharf, and then load with the shrapnel," added
Christy.
The two guns, which had been placed in proper position for use on the
top-gallant forecastle, were aimed by Flint himself, and discharged. The
report shook the steamer, and Christy, who retained his position on the
quarter deck, heard a scream of terror, coming from a female, issue from
the companion way, at the head of which a seaman had been placed as a
sentinel over the officers below.
"What was that, Neal?" asked the commander of the expedition.
"It was the scream of a lady, sir, and that is all I know about it,"
replied the man. "I haven't seen any lady, sir, and I think she must
have been asleep so far. The captain tried to come on deck a while ago,
but I sent him back, sir."
By this time the two field pieces had been loaded again, and they were
discharged. Christy watched the effect, and he had the pleasure of
seeing the whole troop on the wharf retire behind the great pile of
bales of cotton. A random fire was kept up from this defence, but the
soldiers were safe behind their impenetrable breastwork. Flint continued
to fire into it.
At the report of the guns, nearly together, which made the Havana shake,
and everything on board of her rattle, for she was not built to carry
a battery of guns, another scream came forth from the companion way.
A moment later, Christy saw a female form ascending the stairs. The
sentinel placed his cutlass across the passage; but the lieutenant told
him to let her come on deck if she desired to do so.
It was light enough for the gallant young officer to see that she was
young and fair, though she had evidently dressed herself in great haste.
She looked around her with astonishment, perhaps to find that the
steamer was no longer at the wharf. The guns on the forecastle were
again discharged, and she shrunk back at the sound.
"Do not be alarmed, miss," said Christy, in his gentlest tones. "But I
must say that you will be safer in the cabin than on deck."
"Will you please to tell me what has happened, sir, or what is going to
happen?" asked the lady; and the listener thought he had never heard a
sweeter voice, though he might not have thought so if he had heard it at
Bonnydale, or anywhere else except in the midst of the din of pealing
guns and the rattling of musketry.
"I can tell you what has happened; but as I am not a prophet, I cannot
so accurately inform you in regard to what is going to happen," he
replied.
"But what has occurred on board of the Havana?" she interposed, rather
impatiently.
"The Havana has been captured by an expedition, of which I have the
honor to be in command, from the United States gunboat Bronx. Just now
we are defending ourselves from an attack of the soldiers in the place.
As to the future, miss, I have no reasonable doubt that we shall be able
to get the steamer and two schooners we have also captured alongside
the Bronx, where all the prizes will be subject to the order of her
commander. Permit me to advise you to retire to the cabin, miss, and
later, I shall be happy to give you all the information in my power,"
said Christy, touching his cap to her, and pointing to the companion
way.
She accepted the advice, and went down the steps. The young officer had
no time then to wonder who and what she was, for he realized that there
was little hope of stopping the desultory firing from behind the cotton
pile; and perhaps by this time the soldiers realized what had become of
their four field pieces, for they knew that the Havana had not been
armed when they loaded her with cotton.
Christy went forward to set the officers at work in picking up the two
prizes, and as he stopped to look down into the engine room, he felt
his cap knocked off his head, and heard the whizzing of a bullet
unpleasantly near his ears. He picked up his cap, and found a bullet
hole through the top of it. If it had gone an inch or two lower, Mr.
Flint would have succeeded to the command of the expedition without any
ceremonies. Though there was no reason for it, this incident seemed to
provoke him, for it assured him that he could not pick up his prizes
without exposing his men to this nasty firing for some time longer.
It was now light enough for him to make out the situation of the
breastwork of cotton, and he saw that it was a long and narrow pile,
probably near a siding of the railroad where the bales had been unloaded
from the cars. Another glance at the surroundings in regard to the point
enabled him to make up his mind what to do, and he did not lose a moment
in putting his plan into execution. The firing of shot and shrapnel at
the cotton pile seemed to produce no adequate effect, and he ordered
Flint to cease his operations.
"Back her, Mr. Amblen," he added to the pilot. "Back her at full speed."
The schooners were doing very well; instead of wandering off into the
bay, they had fallen into the channel, and were drifting with the tide.
Several persons appeared on the deck of each of them, and it was plain
that a portion of the crews had been asleep on board of them. While he
was observing them, he discovered two boats coming out from behind the
point, and making for the two vessels. This movement indicated an
attempt to recapture the prizes.
"Port the helm, Mr. Amblen, and circle around till the bow points in
the direction of those boats coming out from beyond the point," said
Christy. "Mr. Flint, man your guns again at once, and drop some solid
shot into those boats."
The Havana continued to back till the guns would bear on the boats, and
then Flint delivered his fire. The headmost of the boats was smashed,
and was a wreck on the bay. The other hastened to pick up the crew, and
then pulled for the shore with all possible speed, though not till two
other boats, apparently filled with soldiers, were discovered
approaching the retreating boat.
Christy did not wait to dispose of these, but mounted the top-gallant
forecastle, and ordered the guns to be loaded with shells. Then he
waited till the steamer reached a point off the end of the peninsula,
when he gave the order to stop and back her. Sighting the first gun
himself, he directed the man at the lockstring to fire. He waited a
moment for the smoke to clear away, and then, with his glass, he saw
several forms lying on the wharf by the side of the cotton pile. He had
fired so as to rake the rear of this breastwork, and before the soldiers
there understood what he was doing. Those who had not dropped before the
fire were picking up their wounded companions, and retreating with all
practicable haste.
It was not necessary to discharge the other gun, and it was swung round
and brought to bear on the two boats advancing towards the prizes, the
men in which were pulling with the most desperate haste. Flint took
careful aim this time, and the gun was discharged. The shrapnel with
which it was charged did not knock the boat to pieces as a solid shot
might have done, but two of the oars were seen to drop into the water,
and both boats began to retreat, which was quite a proper thing for them
to do in face of such a destructive fire.
There was nothing more to detain the expedition at the place, and the
two prizes were picked up, made fast, one on each side of the Havana,
and then the bell to go ahead was sounded. The pilot then informed
Christy that he had made out the Bronx approaching at a distance of not
more than three miles beyond the Seahorse Key. Probably Captain Blowitt
had heard the guns, and was coming in to assist in the fight.