THE BEN LEDI.
The Firefly had been strengthened and otherwise improved for the purpose
to which she was to be applied. Her armament had been changed, to adapt
it to the standard of the United States navy. She now carried a hundred
pounder rifle amidships, a rifled thirty on her forecastle, four
twenty-four pounders on the broadsides, and two howitzers on the quarter
deck. The cabin, ward-room, and steerage remained as before.
It was a pleasant November day--in the full reign of the Indian
summer--when she went down the harbor. Somers stood on the quarter deck,
as dignified as the commander of a man-of-war should be, but he could
hardly repress the feeling of pride and exultation with which he
regarded his position. He was hardly twenty-one, though he was mature
enough in appearance and in judgment for twenty-five. He had realized
the warmest hope he had permitted himself to cherish. He was in command
of a beautiful vessel, with a hundred officers and men under his
charge. He was the supreme authority; every man on board touched his cap
to him.
Below was a cabin, appropriated wholly to his use, where he could live
as luxuriously as a lord. He had no watch to keep, no work to perform.
As he contemplated his position, he was absolutely amazed. He had hoped,
but not expected, to reach this pinnacle of his ambition. But there was
another side to the question. A fearful responsibility was imposed upon
him. The lives of his hundred men depended upon him. This valuable
steamer, with her armament and stores, was intrusted to him, and he must
account for all loss or waste on board of her. More than this, the honor
of the flag under which he sailed had been committed to him. If he lost
his ship by bad management, it would be his ruin. If he permitted the
ensign which floated at his peak to be disgraced, it would be infamy to
him.
In the public service he might have occasion to run into foreign ports,
or to visit neutral waters. His want of knowledge, or his want of
judgment, might entangle his country in perplexing broils with other
nations, or even involve her in another war. As he thought of his
delicate and difficult duties, he felt like shrinking from them, and
avoiding the immense responsibility. Being "captain," in this view, was
quite a different thing from what he had anticipated.
With a smile he recalled his own reflections, when, as an ordinary
seaman, he had observed the captain of his ship walk the deck. Then he
had thought the commander had the easiest and jolliest time of all the
men on board, with his fine cabin all to himself, and no watch to keep,
and apparently no work to do. From his present stand-point, the captain
occupied the most difficult and trying place in the ship, and he almost
wished he had declined the command offered to him.
Outside the bay, the sealed orders were opened. As he had anticipated,
he was ordered to cruise in search of rebel steamers, whose depredations
on the coast had severely tried the patience of the nation. He was
directed to proceed first to the eastward, and then to use his own
judgment. There were several rebel privateers, or naval vessels
belonging to the Confederacy. The Tallahassee, the Chickamauga, and the
Olustee had been the most mischievous; and it was believed that there
were others at Wilmington, and the _neutral_ ports of New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia, and the West Indies.
Having learned where he was to go, and what he was to do, he went on
deck and gave his orders to Mr. Gamage, the first lieutenant. The
Firefly was headed to the north-east, and all sail set to help her
along. Before Somers went below, she logged fifteen knots, which was
splendid for a ship with her bunkers full of coal.
In the evening the young commander invited Tom Longstone to visit his
cabin. The veteran was in his happiest frame of mind. All the
aspirations of his earlier years seemed to have been rekindled in his
soul; he had abandoned the use of slang, and conducted himself so much
like a gentleman, outwardly, that no one could have suspected he had
spent thirty odd years of his life before the mast; but as he had always
been a gentleman at heart, it was comparatively easy for him to assume
the externals of his new profession.
The old man had donned a new uniform; and though his hair and beard were
iron gray, he looked as "spruce" as a dry goods clerk. No change of
dress, however, could make him any other than an "old salt." He walked
with a rolling gait, and had all the airs of a veteran seaman. It is
true that in the transposition from the forecastle to the ward-room he
had discarded "pigtail," and confined himself to "fine cut," taken from
a silver box; but he still used as much of the "weed" as an old
sheet-anchor man.
"You sent for me, Captain Somers," said the second lieutenant, as he
touched his fore-top, from the force of habit.
"Sit down, Mr. Longstone," said the captain. "It is one of the blessings
of my present position that I have a place to sit down and talk with old
friends. I suppose you know we are bound to the eastward in search of
rebel privateers."
"So Mr. Gamage told me, sir. I hope we shall catch some of them."
"So do I; but I'm afraid we are on a wild-goose chase."
"Perhaps not--at least, I hope not. If there is a rebel ship in these
waters, we'll have her, if we have to dive after her."
"The ocean is very broad. None of our ships have had much luck in
catching these rebel pirates. I would rather have gone down on the
blockade, where there is some show for us."
"Don't give it up, Captain Somers."
"I don't give it up; but I do not see any reason why I should be more
fortunate than others. A score of our ships have cruised for months
without catching a single one of them."
"They didn't look where they were," laughed Tom.
"If I knew where they were, I would look there."
"You will certainly catch one of the pirates, Captain Somers."
"Why do you say so?"
"Because you are smart, and you are lucky. I know you will make a
capture on this cruise. I feel it in my bones."
"I hope I shall. Wouldn't it be glorious, if I could send such a
despatch as Captain Winslow did, after he had sunk the Alabama?"
Somers's eyes glistened as he thought of it, but it was only an
air-castle; and after he had contemplated it for a moment, his common
sense obliged him to come down from the clouds.
The cruise of the Firefly would supply matter enough for a whole volume,
but we have only space for a mere outline of the voyage. The steamer lay
off and on for a week without meeting with anything that looked like a
rebel privateer, when her commander decided to run into Halifax, where
he hoped to obtain some information. The city was a nest of "secesh
sympathizers," and the captain of the Firefly was not received with much
enthusiasm outside of the American consulate. He had not been in the
habit of hearing his country and her rulers vilified, and as he sat in
the parlor of the hotel, and listened to hostile remarks, evidently
intended for his ear, nothing but prudence prevented him from indulging
in the luxury of pulling the noses of the speakers. He preserved his
dignity in spite of his inclination.
"Upon my word, this is a very unexpected pleasure," said a familiar
voice.
He looked up from the newspaper he was reading. Before him stood Mr.
Pillgrim!
"Quite as unexpected to me as to you, Mr. Pillgrim!" replied Somers,
with abundant self-possession.
"I dare say, Mr. Somers," laughed Pillgrim. "Of course you did not
expect to see me. Will you take a glass of wine with me, Mr. Somers?"
"No, I thank you; I never indulge--as you are aware."
"I didn't know but your rapid advancement had changed your tastes."
"No, sir."
"You command the Ben Lomond now, Mr. Somers, I learn from the papers."
"The Firefly is her present name."
"Bah! What an ugly name for a fine steamer like her. The Tallapoosa is
much better. Be that as it may, I congratulate you on your promotion and
your appointment; and you know how sincere I am!
"I do know; and, therefore, cannot even thank you for your good wishes."
"Don't be savage, Mr. Somers. You can afford to be very good-natured."
"I am."
"You don't seem to be very glad to see me."
"On the contrary, I am. I hope, with your usual candor, that you will
tell me what you are going to do next, and give me an opportunity to cut
out your vessel. I am up here for that purpose."
Pillgrim bit his lip.
"At present, Mr. Somers, I must be silent; but we shall yet meet and
settle up old accounts. Let us not be ill-natured. If we meet as
enemies, we will fight it out."
"We can never meet in any other way."
"That isn't friendly. How is Miss Portington?"
"She was well, last time I saw her;" and Somers blushed, and looked
disconcerted--as he really was.
"I am glad to hear it, Mr. Somers," said Pillgrim, significantly.
Somers changed the topic at once, and finally contrived to ask the
traitor how he happened to be in Halifax, instead of Fortress Monroe.
Pillgrim laughed exultingly, and declared there were no irons, bolts, or
bars that could keep him a prisoner; and the facts seemed to justify the
assertion.
"Mr. Somers, not more than one half of the people of the North are in
favor of this cruel war. I have friends in Washington and other cities
whom no one suspects of favoring the South. I am indebted to them for my
liberation. I shall yet carry out my original purpose. I have lost three
vessels. I was paid for two by the Confederacy; and I have your bond for
half the value of the third. I am a commander in the Confederate navy.
In one week I shall be at sea. I shall sink, burn, and destroy! You
can't help yourself."
"Is your ship here?"
"Yes--no."
Pillgrim laughed, turned on his heel, and walked away. Somers was
excited. He wanted to know more. He went to the American consul. A
"blue-nose" sailor of the Firefly was sent on shore, who found Pillgrim,
and without much difficulty shipped in the "Sunny South" for a voyage on
the coast. This was all the information that could be obtained. There
was no such craft as the Sunny South in port. Somers examined all the
vessels in the harbor, and found a steamer called the Ben Ledi--another
Scottish mountain. She was Clyde-built, and similar to the Ben Nevis and
the Ben Lomond. The name alone satisfied the inquirer that she belonged
to the same family as the two vessels he had already captured.
Things began to look a little more hopeful, and the young commander
carefully read his books on international law. He attempted to place the
Firefly where he could watch the suspected steamer; but the authorities,
on various pretences, prevented him from doing so. The next morning the
Ben Ledi was gone. Somers was exceedingly mortified, for he might as
well look for a needle in a haymow as try to find the vessel on the
ocean. He put to sea at once. A "blue-nose" official laughed at him as
his gig pulled off to the ship, and everybody on shore was in high glee
because the Confederate had eluded the Yankee.
Somers kept cool in spite of his chagrin; and believing the Ben Ledi
would run for Wilmington, where she would probably be fitted out as a
cruiser, he headed the Firefly in that direction, and gave chase.