THE LANDING AT NEW PROVIDENCE
The water was so clear that the bottom could be seen at all times, the
white coral rock greatly assisting the transparency. From Douglas
Channel, through which the boat had passed, the chart indicated that it
was twenty miles to the point where the skipper desired to land, and it
was nearly eleven o'clock when the Eleuthera ran into the little bay,
extending over a mile into the island, and nearly landlocked. The shore
was covered with tropical vegetation, including cocoa-nut palms, loaded
with fruit, with palmettoes, wild palms, and many plants of which
Christy did not even know the names.
"We could not have anything better than this," said Mr. Gilfleur, as he
ran the boat into a tangle of mangroves and other plants.
"This bay appears to be about five miles from the town of Nassau, and I
should say that no person is likely to see the boat if it should stay
here for a month," replied Christy, as he measured the distance across
the island with the scale his companion had prepared.
"It will not take us long to walk that distance. There are all sorts of
people in Nassau at the present time, as there were in St. George's and
Hamilton; and we shall pass without exciting any particular attention."
"I think we had better look out for a cleaner place to land than this,
for the mud seems to be about knee-deep," suggested Christy, as he
tested the consistency of the shore with an oar.
"But there is hard ground within four feet of the water. I have a board
in the bottom of the boat with which we can bridge the mud," replied the
skipper. "But I think we had better have our lunch before we walk five
miles."
"I am in condition to lunch," added Christy.
The sails had been furled, and everything put in order on board of the
boat. The basket containing the provisions was brought out of the cuddy,
and seated in the stern sheets they did ample justice to the meal. The
detective had put on his suit of blue, and his companion dressed himself
as he had done in Bermuda, though he was not to act the part of a
servant on this occasion.
"It will not do to acknowledge that we are Americans, and it would not
be prudent to claim that we are Englishmen," said Mr. Gilfleur.
"Why not? We speak English; and you can pronounce it as well as I can,"
argued Christy.
"Because we may be catechised; though I know London almost as well as I
do Paris, I am afraid you might be caught."
"I have been in London twice, though I don't know enough about it to
answer all the questions that may be put to me," added Christy.
"In that case we had better be Frenchmen, as we were before. We are not
likely to find many people here who speak French, for the visiting
portion of the population must be people who are engaged in
blockade-running. Probably there are some Southern magnates here,
attending to the business of the Confederacy."
"They were here two years ago, when I was in Nassau for a few hours,
on the lookout for steamers for their navy. I remember Colonel Richard
Pierson, who was extremely anxious to purchase the Bellevite, which
anchored outside the light, for there was not water enough to allow her
to cross the bar," said Christy, recalling some of the events of his
first voyage in the steamer his father had presented to the government.
"Perhaps he is still in Nassau," suggested Mr. Gilfleur, with a shade of
anxiety on his face.
"He would not recognize me now, for I have grown a good deal, and I
hardly saw him. He employed his son, a young fellow of eighteen, to act
for him in obtaining information in regard to the Bellevite. The son's
name was Percy Pierson, and when he tried to pump me in regard to the
Bellevite, I chaffed him till he lost all patience. Then he proposed to
put the owner of our steamer, for she had not then been transferred to
the government, in the way of making a fortune. I told him that the
owner was determined to get rid of the ship, though I only meant to say
that he intended to pass her over to the government. At any rate, Percy
believed she was for sale, and he smuggled himself on board of her. He
was not discovered till we were under way; and we had to take him with
us."
"What became of this Percy Pierson?" asked the detective.
"We brought him off with us when we fought our way out of Mobile Bay.
Off Carisfort Reef light we put him on board of a schooner belonging to
Nassau; and that was the last I know about him."
"But I hope he is not in Nassau now," said Mr. Gilfleur.
"I don't believe he is, for his brother was doing his best to get him
into the Confederate army."
"You must keep your eyes wide open for this fellow, Mr. Passford," added
the skipper earnestly. "If he should recognize you, our enterprise would
be ruined."
"I don't believe there is the least danger of that, for I am a
different-looking fellow from what I was two years ago. But I will look
out sharply for him, and for his father."
"We had better speak nothing but French between ourselves, and break up
our English when we are obliged to use it," Mr. Gilfleur concluded, as
he returned the basket of provisions to the cuddy, and locked the door.
The board was put down on the mud, and they walked ashore, dry-shod. The
temporary bridge was taken up, and concealed in a mass of mangroves. The
Eleuthera was so well covered up with trees and bushes that she was not
likely to be discovered, unless some wanderer penetrated the thicket
that surrounded her. A gentle elevation was directly before them, so
that they could not see the town.
"We must not walk ten miles in making five," said the detective, as he
produced a pocket compass. "Our course, as I took it from the chart, is
due north, though it may bring us in at the western end of the town."
"Then we can bear a little to the east, though if we get to the town it
will not make much difference where we strike it," added Christy.
The land showed the remains of plantations which had flourished there in
the palmy days of the island. The ruins of several mansions and many
small huts were seen. Cocoa-nut palms and orange-trees were abundant.
After they had walked about a mile, they came upon what had been a road
in former days, and was evidently used to some extent still. Taking this
road, they followed it till they were satisfied that it would take them
to Nassau.
The appearance of the island soon began to improve. The trees showed
that some care had been bestowed upon them, and an occasional mansion
was noticed. Then the street began to be flanked with small houses,
hardly better than huts, which were inhabited by the blacks. All the
people they met were negroes, and they were as polite as though they had
been brought up in Paris, for every one of the men either touched his
hat or took it off to the strangers. The women bowed also; and both of
the travellers returned the salutes in every instance.
As they proceeded, the houses became better, and many of them were used
in part as shops, in which a variety of articles, including beer, was
sold. Christy had seen the negroes of the Southern States, and he
thought the Nassau colored people presented a much better appearance.
At one of these little shops a carriage of the victoria pattern was
standing. Doubtless the driver had gone in to refresh himself after a
long course, for the vehicle was headed towards the town.
"I think we had better ride the rest of the way, if this carriage is not
engaged," said M. Rubempré, for they had agreed to use the names they
had adopted in the Bermudas. "What do you say, Christophe?"
"I like the idea; I am beginning to be a little tired, for I have not
walked much lately," replied Christy.
At this moment the driver, a negro wearing a straw hat with a very broad
brim, came out of the shop, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his
coat. He bowed with even more deference than the generality of the
people. The strangers were not elegantly or genteelly dressed, but they
wore good clothes, and would have passed for masters of vessels, so far
as their costumes were concerned.
"Is this your carriage?" demanded M. Rubempré.
"Yes, sir," replied the man in good English.
"How far you must go to get into Nassau?" inquired the detective,
mangling his English enough to suit the occasion.
"Two miles, sir."
"How much you make pay to go to Nassau in ze carriage?"
"Fifty cents."
"Feefty cents; how much money was zat?"
"Arn't you Americans?"
"_Non!_" replied M. Rubempré with energy. "We have come from ze France;
but I was been in London, and I comprehend ze money of Eengland."
"Two shillings then," replied the driver, laughing.
"We go wiz you to ze Nassau," added the Frenchman, seating himself in
the carriage, his companion taking a place at his side.
"Where do you want to go, sir?" asked the negro, as he closed the door
of the victoria.
"We must go to Nassau," replied the detective, mangling his
pronunciation even more than his grammar.
"Yes, I know; but where in Nassau do you wish to go? Shall I drive you
to a hotel? The Royal Victoria is the best in the place."
"You shall take us to zat hotel."
For the sake of appearances, rather than for any other reason, each of
the visitors to Nassau had brought with him a small hand-bag, containing
such articles as might be useful to them. Having these evidences that
they were travellers, it would be prudent to go to a hotel, though the
want of more luggage had made the landlord in Hamilton suspicious of
their ability to pay their bills.
Christy found enough to do during the ride to observe the strange sights
presented to his gaze, even in the outskirts of the town. The people
were full of interest to him, and he wondered that his father had never
made a winter trip in the West Indies in former years, instead of
confining his visits to the more northern islands of the ocean.
The carriage arrived at the Royal Victoria Hotel, located on a ridge
which has been dignified as a hill, a short distance in the rear of the
business portion of the town. M. Rubempré produced his purse, which was
well stuffed with sovereigns, more for the enlightenment of the clerk
who came out when the vehicle stopped, than for the information of the
driver, to whom he paid four florins, which was just double his fare.
"Do you speak French?" asked the guest in that language.
"No, sir; not a word of it," though he understood the question.
"We must have two chambers for one, two, t'ree day."
"All right; we have two that were vacated this morning," replied the
clerk, as he led the way to the office, where the Frenchman registered
his name, and his residence as in Paris.
Christy wrote the name of Christophe Poireau, also from Paris. Then they
chatted together in French for a moment, in order to impress the clerk
and others who were standing near with the fact that they spoke the
polite language. They were shown to two small chambers, well up in the
air, for the hotel seemed to be as full as the clerk had suggested that
it was. The blockade business made the town and the hotel very lively.
The newly arrived guests did not waste any time in their rooms, but
entered at once upon the work of their mission. On the piazza they
halted to size up the other visitors at the hotel. From this high point
of view they could see the harbor, crowded with vessels.