A POWERFUL ALLY OF THE BELLEVITERS
The seamen of the Bellevite had listened with intense interest to the
conversation between the commander of the West Wind and the lieutenant;
and there was not a single one of them who did not comprehend the
purpose of the chief of the expedition. They were greatly amused at the
manner in which Christy conducted himself, and especially at the mongrel
dialect he had used. It was a little difficult for them to realize that
the awkward fellow who was in conversation with the skipper of the
schooner was the gentlemanly, well-spoken officer they had been
accustomed to see on the quarter-deck of the Bellevite.
They separated as they had been instructed to do; but they were careful
not to go to any great distance from the spot, for they understood that
they should be wanted in a few minutes. Graines had not spoken a word on
this occasion, though he had done most of the talking at the bivouac.
He was ready to do his part; but the skipper had addressed his companion
first, introducing the subject, and he had no opportunity to get in a
single word.
"I suppose you understand it all, Charley," said Christy as soon as they
were alone.
"I could not very well have helped doing so if I had tried. The only
thing that bothered me was when you appeared to be betraying yourself
by alluding to the mate," replied Graines.
"I did not do that by accident; but I desired to get the whole attention
of the captain, and I got it. The rest all followed in due course. Now
tell all the men to go down to the shore, and wait a little distance
from the two boats till you and I join them. Tell them all to be hungry.
Your name is Mr. Balker, the mate of the Rattler, the blockade-runner
from which we escaped in a whaleboat. My name is Jerry Sandman, the
second mate, for the want of a better. Tell them not to forget any of
these names," continued Christy.
"They heard the whole story, and they were deeply interested in it, for
they could not help seeing what was coming," added the engineer, as he
went to carry out the order he had just received.
The seamen still kept together in pairs, and Graines instructed them by
twos, impressing them with the necessity of remembering the names they
had heard in the lieutenant's story, which was a "story" in the double
sense of the word. As each couple received their lesson, they sauntered
in the direction of the shore.
"What's going to be done, Mr. Graines?" asked French, who was one of the
second pair the engineer instructed.
"That is none of your business, French. You are to remember the names I
have given you, and then obey orders," replied Graines rather sharply,
for it was a very unusual thing for a seaman, or even an officer, to ask
such a question of his superior; and the discipline of the Bellevite was
as exacting as it was kind and fatherly.
"Excuse me, Mr. Graines; I only wanted to be ready for whatever was
coming," pleaded French.
"Excused; but don't ask such questions. You listened to the conversation
between your officer and the captain of the schooner; and if you cannot
comprehend the meaning of it, ask Lines, and he will explain it," added
the engineer, "Where are Londall and Vogel?"
"Right by that pile of rubbish, sir," replied French, as he led the way
to the shore.
The last pair were instructed and sent with the others, and they asked
no questions. Graines joined the lieutenant, who had seated himself on a
log, and reported that all was going on right.
"As I said before, Charley, you will be the mate of the Rattler, and
will no doubt be engaged for the same position on board of the West
Wind. I will ship as second mate, if one of the two men now on board of
the vessel is not shipped as such, for I wish to be among the men," said
Christy, after looking about him to see that no one was within hearing
distance of them.
"I take it I shall not make a long voyage as mate," replied Graines.
"Probably not, though I cannot tell how long you will have to serve in
that capacity. I purpose to have the Tallahatchie tow the schooner as
far down as practicable; but we shall doubtless have business on our
hands before it is time to cut the towline. Now we will wait upon the
captain."
They found him walking up and down the shore, apparently somewhat
excited; and doubtless he had not entire confidence in the promises of
"Jerry Sandman." The six seamen had not joined Captain Sullendine on the
shore, but had placed themselves behind a coal shanty quite near the
water.
"I've brought the mate down, Cap'n Sull'dine," Christy began, as he and
the engineer halted in front of the master of the schooner. "Here he is,
an' I reckon there ain't no better sailor in the great Confed'racy. This
yere is Mr. Balker."
"How are ye, Mr. Balker? You are just the man I want more'n I want my
supper. Now tell me something about yourself."
Graines invented a story suited to the occasion. Then the conversation
was about wages; and the candidate haggled for form's sake, but finally
accepted the lay the captain offered.
"By the way, Captain Sullendine, do you happen to have a second mate?"
asked the engineer when the terms were arranged.
"I had one; but he run away with Bird Riley. He wa'n't good for nothin',
and I'm glad he's gone," replied the skipper.
"The man you talked with is Jerry Sandman, and he was the other mate of
the Rattler. He isn't a showy fellow, but he was a first-class second
mate," continued Graines.
"Then I ship him as second mate;" and they arranged the wages without
much difficulty.
The six seamen were promptly shipped. The whole party then embarked in
the two boats, Captain Sullendine dividing them into two parties for the
purpose. The fog had settled down very densely upon the shore; but the
West Wind was easily found, and they went on board, where one boat was
hoisted up to the stern davits, and the other on the port quarter.
"Here you be, Mr. Balker," said Captain Sullendine when the party
reached the quarter-deck; and he was so lively in his movements, and
so glib in his speech, as to provoke the suspicion that he had imbibed
again at the conclusion of his oration on shore. "Here, you, Sopsy!"
he continued in a loud voice.
A lantern was burning on the companion, which enabled the party to see
that the waist of the vessel was compactly packed with bales of cotton.
The schooner seemed to be of considerable size, and Christy thought she
must be loaded with a very large cargo of the precious merchandise. In
answer to the captain's call, Sopsy, who proved to be the negro cook of
the vessel, presented himself.
"All these people want something to eat, Sopsy. Let the crew eat in
the deck-house for'ad, and bring a lunch into the cabin right off,"
continued Captain Sullendine.
"Yis, sar," replied the cook with emphasis. "Git 'em quicker'n a man kin
swaller his own head. Libes dar a man wid soul so dead"--
"Never mind the varse, Sopsy," interposed the captain.
"--As never to hisself have said"--
"Hurry up, Sopsy!"
"He don't say dat, Massa Cap'n," added the cook, as he shuffled off over
the bales of cotton.
"Hullo there, Bokes! Where are you, Bokes?" called the captain again.
"On deck, Cap'n," replied a white man, crawling out from a small opening
in the bales.
"Wake up, Bokes! You ain't dead yet."
"No, sir; wide awake's a coon in a hencoop," added the man, who appeared
to be one of the two left on board by the deserters, the cook being the
other.
"Be alive, Bokes! Here, wait a minute!" and the captain ran down the
companion ladder to the cabin, from which he presently appeared with
a bottle in each hand. "Do you see them men on the cotton, Bokes?" he
asked, pointing with one of them at the six Belleviters, who stood where
they had taken their stations after hoisting up the quarter-boat.
"I see sunthin over thar," replied the seaman, who seemed to be hardly
awake yet.
"Them's the new crew I shipped to-night--six on 'em, or seven with the
second mate," added the captain. "Show 'em over to the deck-house, and
let 'em pick out their bunks."
"Seven on 'em; the cook and me makes nine, and they ain't but eight
berths in the deck-house, Cap'n," replied Bokes, who seemed to be afraid
of losing his own sleeping quarters.
"You can sleep on the deck, then. These are all good men, and they must
have good berths," added the captain. "You can sleep as well in the
scuppers as anywhere else, Bokes; and you ain't more'n half awake any
time."
"Must have my berth, Cap'n, or I go ashore," persisted the seaman.
"Small loss anyhow," growled the captain.
"How is the cabin, Captain Sullendine?" interposed Graines.
"Two staterooms and four berths," replied the master.
"Then why can't the second mate take one of the berths in the cabin?"
suggested the new mate. "He is a first-rate fellow, and I reckon he's a
better sailor than I am, for he's been to sea about all his life."
"'Tain't reg'lar to have the second mate in the cabin. He'll have t'eat
with us if he bunks there," argued the master.
"He'll have to keep his watch on deck when we eat, and I reckon he'll
have to take his grub alone," reasoned the mate.
"I'd ruther live in the deck-house with the crew," said Christy.
"But there ain't no room thar," added Graines, who thought his superior
had made the remark simply to keep up his character.
"Let him come into the cabin, then," said Captain Sullendine, in order
to settle the question. "Now, Bokes, take this apple-jack, and show the
other six to the deck-house. Give 'em one or two drinks all round. It'll
do 'em good."
Bokes obeyed the order, after the master had lighted another lantern for
his use, and he went over the bales of cotton to the seamen.
Captain Sullendine remarked with great complacency that he always
treated his men well, gave them enough to eat and drink, and he thought
the apple-jack he had sent them would do them good. He liked to be
liberal with his crew, for he believed a tot of grog would go further
with them than "cussin' 'em;" and the two mates did not gainsay him,
though they believed in neither grog nor "cussin'."
Though Christy never drank a drop of intoxicating fluid under any
circumstances, and Graines almost never, both of them believed that
"apple-jack" had been a very serviceable ally during the night so far.
Rut they considered it useful only in the hands of the enemy, and they
were sorry to see the bottles sent forward for the use of Belleviters;
for they were afraid some of them might muddle and tangle their brains
with the fiery liquor.
"Come, mates, let's go down into the cabin now," continued the captain,
descending the ladder without waiting for them.
"I will go forward for a few minutes, Charley," whispered Christy in the
ear of the engineer, who followed the captain below.
When the lieutenant reached the deck-house he found the men there, with
Bokes in the act of taking a long pull at one of the bottles, while
French was holding the other.
"Here's the second mate," said the seaman with the bottle.
"You can keep the bottle you have, Bokes," said Christy. "Now go aft
with it." The sleepy sailor was willing enough to obey such a welcome
order, and the lieutenant took the other bottle to the side and emptied
it into the water. The men did not object, and the new second mate
joined the master in the cabin.