AMONG THE BAHAMAS
"I am sorry to disturb you, gentlemen, but I feel obliged to ask you to
retire to my cabin until this affair is settled," said Captain Chantor,
addressing Colonel Passford and Captain Rombold.
"I beg your pardon, Captain Chantor, but do you consider that you have a
right to capture that steamer?" asked the late commander of the Dornoch,
who seemed to be very much disturbed at the proceedings of his captor.
"Undoubtedly; and I have no doubt I shall be able to procure her
condemnation on the ground that she is loaded for a Confederate port,
no other than Wilmington, and has the 'guilty intention' to run the
blockade."
"I don't see where you could have obtained the information that enables
you to make sure of her condemnation at the very first sight of her,"
replied the Confederate officer.
"Well, Captain Rombold, if I succeed in proving my position before the
court, out of the mouth of Captain Vickers, her commander, would that
satisfy you?" asked the commander with a cheerful smile. "But you must
excuse me from discussing the matter to any greater length, for I have a
duty to perform at the present time."
The Chateaugay was going ahead at full speed when the two gentlemen
retired from the quarter-deck. She stopped her screw within hail of the
Cadet. Her crew were clearing away the wreck of the pilot-house; but the
destruction of her steering gear forward did not permit her to keep
under way, though hands were at work on the quarter-deck putting her
extra wheel in order for use. Of course it was plain enough to the
captain of the Cadet that the Chateaugay, after the mischief she had
done with a single shot, could knock the steamer all to pieces in a few
minutes.
The first cutter, in charge of Mr. Birdwing, the executive officer, was
sent on board of the disabled steamer, and Christy was invited to take a
place in the boat. Captain Vickers was a broken-hearted man when he
realized that his vessel was actually captured by a United States
man-of-war.
"Do you surrender, Captain Vickers?" said Mr. Birdwing, as he saluted
the disconsolate commander.
"How did you know my name?" demanded he gruffly.
"That is of no consequence, Captain Vickers. You will oblige me by
answering my question. Do you surrender?" continued the lieutenant.
"I don't know that I can help myself, for this steamer is not armed, and
I can make no resistance," replied the captain. "I had no idea that ship
was a Yankee gunboat."
"But we had an idea that this was a blockade-runner," added Mr.
Birdwing, as he proceeded to take formal possession of the vessel, and
called for her papers.
An examination was made into the character of the cargo, which consisted
largely of arms and ammunition. The extra wheel was soon in working
order. Before noon a prize crew was put on board, and both vessels were
headed for New York. In three days more the Chateaugay was at anchor off
the Navy Yard, with the Cadet near her. The return of the ship caused a
great deal of surprise, and one of the first persons to come on board of
her was Captain Passford. He gave his son his usual warm welcome.
Christy gave his father the narrative of the brief voyage, and astounded
him with the information that his brother was on board. The two brothers
had not met since they parted at the plantation near Mobile, and the
meeting was as tender as it was sad; but both of them refrained from
saying anything unpleasant in regard to the war. The prisoners were
taken from the Chateaugay by a tender, and conveyed to Fort Lafayette;
but Captain Passford soon obtained a parole for his brother, which he
consented to give for a limited period.
"I suppose the Chateaugay will sail again by to-morrow, Christy; but you
will have time to go home and see your mother and sister. I am so busy
that I cannot go, and you must take Uncle Homer with you," said his
father.
They landed on the New York side, and took a carriage for the station.
Perhaps the streets of the great city were never more crowded with all
kinds of vehicles, and especially with wagons loaded with merchandise of
all kinds. They passed up Broadway, and Colonel Passford was silent as
he witnessed the marvellous activity of the city in the midst of a great
war.
"I think you will not be able to find any grass growing in the streets
of New York, Uncle Homer," said Christy, as they passed the Park, where
the crowd seemed to be greater than elsewhere.
"There is certainly no grass here, and I am surprised to see that the
city is as busy as ever," replied the commissioner in a subdued tone.
"We have been told at the South that business was paralyzed in the
cities of the North, except what little was created by the war."
"The war makes a vast amount of business, Uncle Homer," added Christy.
But the gentleman from the South was not disposed to talk, and he soon
relapsed into silence. Mrs. Passford and Florry were very much
astonished to see Christy again so soon, and even more so to meet Uncle
Homer; but his welcome was cordial, and nothing was said about the
exciting topic of the day. The visitor was treated like a friend, and
not an enemy, and everything was done to make him forget that he was not
in his own home.
Early the next morning the young lieutenant hastened to report on board
of the Chateaugay, where Mr. Gilfleur had remained, though he had
divested himself of his disguise as soon as Captain Rombold was conveyed
to other quarters. They were kept very busy that day giving their
depositions in regard to the character of the Cadet, and of the
admissions of Captain Vickers in regard to his intention to run the
blockade. The ship had been coaled, and the next day she sailed again.
She gave the Bermudas a wide berth, for she had another mission now,
though she could probably have picked up one or two more of the
blockade-runners Christy and his companion had seen in the harbor of St.
George's.
Four days from Sandy Hook, very early in the morning, Abaco light was
seen; and about fifty miles south of it was Nassau, on the island of New
Providence, a favorite resort for blockade-runners at that time. The
mission of the detective was at this port. Christy had again volunteered
to be his companion, and they desired to get into the place as they had
done in the Bermudas, without attracting the attention of any one, and
especially not of those engaged in loading or fitting out vessels for
the ports of the South.
As soon as the light was discovered, Captain Chantor ordered the course
of the ship to be changed to east; and till eight bells in the afternoon
watch she continued to steam away from the Great Abaco Island. It was
his intention to avoid being seen, though there was a chance to fall in
with a blockade-runner. Standing to the south-west the last part of the
day, the light at the Hole in the Wall, the southern point of Great
Abaco Island, was made out in the evening. South-east of this point is
the northern end of Eleuthera Island, where the Egg Island light could
be seen. This was the locality where Mr. Gilfleur had decided to begin
upon his mission.
His boat had been repaired by the carpenter after the shot from the
Dornoch struck it, and it was now in as good condition as it had ever
been. At eleven o'clock in the evening the Eleuthera was lowered into
the water, with a supply of provisions and water, and such clothing and
other articles as might be needed, on board. The weather was as
favorable as it could be, with a good breeze from the north-west.
"Now, Mr. Gilfleur, I hope you will bring back as important information
as you did from the Bermudas," said the captain, when the adventurers
were ready to go on board of the boat.
"I hope so myself; but I don't know," replied the Frenchman. "I expect
to find the Ovidio at Nassau; and, like the Dornoch, she is intended for
a man-of-war. Mr. Passford and I will do the best we can."
"How long do you mean to be absent on this business?"
"About three days, as well as I can judge, though I have not had a
chance to look over the ground. I have no doubt there are
blockade-runners there, and we shall ascertain what we can in regard to
them."
"I shall expect to pick you up to the eastward of the Hole in the Wall,
and on the fourth night from the present time," added the captain. "You
know that the navigation of this region is very dangerous."
"I am aware of it; but I have been here before, and I provided myself
with a good chart in New York. I have studied it very attentively, and I
have the feeling that I can make my way without any difficulty," replied
Mr. Gilfleur confidently.
Christy had already taken his place in the boat, and the detective soon
followed him. It seemed something like an old story, after his
experience in the Bermudas. The Eleuthera was cast off, the captain
wished them a safe and prosperous voyage to their destination. The
mainsail had been set, and the breeze soon wafted the boat away from the
ship. The Chateaugay started her screw, and headed off to the eastward
again, on the lookout for blockade-runners.
"Here is a light ahead," said Christy, after his companion had set the
jib, and taken the helm.
"That is Egg Island light, about forty miles from Nassau. Our course is
south-west, which gives us a fair wind," replied the skipper. "Now, Mr.
Passford, you can do as you did on our former voyage in the Eleuthera:
turn in and sleep till morning."
"That would not be fair. I will take my trick at the helm, as it seems
to be plain sailing, and you can have your nap first," suggested
Christy.
"No; I slept all the afternoon in anticipation of to-night, and I could
not sleep if I tried," the skipper insisted. "By the way, Mr. Passford,
I am somewhat afraid that the name of our boat may get us into trouble."
"Why so?" asked the other curiously.
"The island on our port hand is Eleuthera, about forty miles long. Of
course it is well known at Nassau, and it may cause people to ask us
some hard questions. We may even stumble upon the boat's former owner,
who would claim her."
"We could buy her, or another like her, in that case," suggested
Christy. "The name is painted on the stern board, and we might remove
it, if necessary."
Mr. Gilfleur said so much about it that Christy finally turned in, and
was soon fast asleep. He did not wake till daylight in the morning. He
found that the boat was headed towards an island, while in the distance
he saw the light on Hog Island, with a portion of the town of Nassau,
and a fort. The skipper had his chart spread out on the seat at his
side, and he was watching it very closely.
"Good-morning, Mr. Gilfleur. I suppose that must be Nassau ahead of us."
"Yes; that is Nassau. I expected to get here earlier in the morning than
this, and I am not a little afraid to sail into the harbor at seven
o'clock in the morning, as it will be before we can get there. The wind
died out in the middle of the night, though I got it again very early
this morning. I must get to the town in some other way. The land on the
port is Rose Island, and Douglas Channel is just this side of it. I am
going through that, and shall make my way to the back side of the
island, where we can conceal the boat."
"I should say that would be a good idea," added Christy, as he took in
the plan. "The water is as clear as crystal here, and you can see the
bottom as plainly as though nothing came between your eye and the rock."
The skipper stationed his companion on the bow of the boat to watch for
rocks; but none interfered with the progress of the Eleuthera. She
sailed to the back side of the island of New Providence, where they
found a secluded nook, in which they moored the craft.