A QUESTION OF NEUTRALITY
Even before he heard the voice of his savage enemy, Christy Passford
realized that he had fallen into the hands of the commander of the
Snapper. He was placed on the back seat of the carriage, with a pair of
handcuffs on his wrists, and a handkerchief in his mouth to do duty as a
gag. Captain Flanger was at his side, with two other men on the front
seat, and one on the box with the driver. Against these four men he was
powerless to make any resistance while he was in irons.
The carriage was drawn by two horses, and was considerably larger than
the ordinary victoria used in the town. It was quite dark, and though
the streets were flanked with many houses, hardly a person appeared to
be stirring at this hour. But a vehicle loaded down with the rough
visitors of the place could not be an unusual sight, for they were the
kind of people who were disposed to make the night hideous, as well as
the day.
Christy had struggled with all his might to shake off the ruffians who
beset him, and two more had come out from their concealment when he
thought he was making some progress in freeing himself from their grasp.
As soon as his wrists were ironed he realized that resistance was
useless, and that it could only increase his discomfort. It was a
terrible calamity to have fallen into the power of a man so brutal and
unscrupulous as Captain Flanger, bent upon revenging himself for the
mutilation of his most prominent facial member. He was certainly
disfigured for life, though the wound made by the ball from the revolver
had healed; but it was an ill-looking member, and he appeared to be
conscious of his facial deformity all the time.
The men in the carriage said nothing, and Christy was unable to speak.
They seemed to be afraid of attracting the attention of the few
passers-by in the streets, and of betraying the nature of the outrage in
which they were engaged. The streets in the more frequented parts of the
town were crowded with men, as the victim had been able to see, and he
hoped that they would come across some large collection of people. In
that case he decided to make a demonstration that would attract the
attention of the police, if nothing more.
He had no idea of the location of Fort Montague, to which the man on the
box had been ordered to drive them. The direction was to a beach near
the fort; and he had no doubt there would be a boat there in readiness
to convey him to the Snapper. But the farther the carriage proceeded,
the less frequented the streets became. He found no opportunity to make
his intended demonstration. His only hope now was that Mr. Gilfleur, who
must have been in the vicinity of the hotel, had witnessed the outrage,
and would interfere, as he had done on Bay Street, and save him from the
fate that was in store for him.
In a rather lonely place Christy discovered the outline in the darkness
of what looked like a fort. At the same moment he heard the distant
stroke of some public clock, striking nine o'clock. This was the time
appointed for the meeting with the detective, and he had been at the
place a quarter of an hour before, which fully explained why the
detective had not been there; and probably he had been in his room. This
conclusion seemed to cut off all hope that he had witnessed the attack
upon him.
The carriage stopped at the beach below the fort. It was the
bathing-place for the town, and at this hour it was entirely deserted.
The person on the box with the driver was the first to alight, and he
ran down to the water. He returned in a few minutes to the carriage, the
other ruffians retaining their places.
"The boat is not here yet, but it is coming," said this man, reporting
to the captain.
"All right; I told the mate to be here at nine o'clock, and it has just
struck that hour," replied Flanger. "Go down to the water, driver."
The vehicle moved down to the water's edge and stopped again. At the
same time the boat grated on the sand, and came to a halt a few feet
from the dry ground.
"We are all right now," said the person who had been with the driver on
the box; and this time Christy recognized his voice as that of Percy
Pierson.
He had not mistaken or misjudged him. He had not been able to understand
why the young man should befriend him, and it was clear enough now,
if it had not been before, that his gratitude towards him was a mere
pretence. Captain Passford, senior desired to get rid of him, and had
put him on board of the schooner for this reason only.
"Captain Passford, we meet again, as I was sure we should when we parted
in Nassau to-day," said the commander of the Snapper. "Now, if you will
take the trouble to get out of the carriage, we shall be able to make
you comfortable before we have done with you."
Christy attempted to speak; but the gag prevented him from articulating,
and he could not breathe as freely as usual. The captain drew the
handkerchief from his mouth, for there was no one within a long distance
of the spot to aid the prisoner if he had called for help. The victim
had fully determined to resign himself to his fate, and make the best of
the situation until an opportunity offered to effect his escape, though
he greatly feared that such an opportunity would not be presented.
"Thank you, Captain Flanger; I am much obliged to you for giving me a
better chance to breathe, though I suppose you are not very anxious that
I should continue to breathe," replied Christy, assuming a degree of
good nature which had no substantial foundation in reality. "On the
contrary, I dare say you intend to stop my breathing altogether as soon
as you find it convenient to do so."
"Not so; you can do all the breathing you want to, and I won't interfere
as long as you behave yourself," replied Captain Flanger in a more
civilized tone than his victim had heard him use before.
"But to-day noon you swore that you would kill me," added the prisoner,
much surprised at the change in the manner of the ruffian since they had
met on the sidewalk.
"I have altered my mind," replied the captain, leaving Christy in the
hands of his companions, and walking down to the boat, where the two men
in it seemed to be trying to find deeper water, so as to bring it nearer
to the shore.
"Well, how do you find yourself, Christy?" asked Percy, placing himself
in front of him.
"I haven't lost myself so far, and I am as comfortable as could be
expected under the circumstances," answered Christy, whose pride would
not permit him to show that he was overcome or cast down by the
misfortune which had overtaken him.
"You did not come to the public wharf as you promised to do at half-past
four o'clock this afternoon," Percy proceeded.
"I did not; David sailed me off to the sea-gardens, and we did not get
back to the town in season for me to keep the appointment."
"Then you intended to keep it?"
"I did not say so."
"I had the idea you were a fellow that kept all the promises he made,
even if it hurt him to do so."
"Do you think you would have kept your promise to have Captain Flanger
land me at Key West, if I had been weak enough to go on board of his
steamer?" demanded Christy.
"You are fighting on one side, and I am fighting on the other, Christy;
and I suppose either of us is justified in lying and breaking his
promises in the service of his country."
"You are fighting on your side at a very convenient distance from the
battle-ground, Percy."
"I am fighting here because I can render the best service to my country
in this particular place," replied the young Southerner with spirit.
"I am sure I could not do anything better for my country than send you
back to the Confederate prison from which you escaped."
"Even if you violate the neutrality of the place," suggested Christy.
"The British government was ready to declare war against the United
States when a couple of Confederate commissioners were taken out of an
English steamer by a man-of-war. Do you suppose that when this outrage
is known, England will not demand reparation, even to the restoring of
the victim to his original position on this island? I hope you have
considered the consequences of this violation of the neutrality of the
place."
"I don't bother my head about matters of that sort. I have talked about
it with my father, and I think he understands himself," replied Percy
very flippantly.
"I don't think he does. I have the same rights in Nassau that you and
your father possess. You are carrying on the war on neutral ground; and
no nation would permit that."
"I am no lawyer, Christy. I only know that you have done a great deal of
mischief to our cause in the Gulf, as set forth in the letters of your
uncle to my father."
"But I have fought my battles in the enemy's country, or on the open
sea; and I have not done it while skulking under a neutral flag,"
replied the naval officer, with quite as much spirit as his adversary in
the debate. "You and Captain Flanger, with the co-operation of your
father, it appears, are engaged in a flagrant outrage against the
sovereignty of England."
"My father has nothing to do with it; I will take back what I said about
him," added Percy, evidently alarmed at the strength of the argument
against him.
"You told me that you had talked with your father about the case."
"But I withdraw that statement; he knows nothing about it."
"You make two diametrically opposite statements; and I am justified in
accepting the one that suits me best as the truth. If Captain Flanger
does not hang me to the yard-arm as soon as he gets me into blue water,
I shall make my complaint to the United States government as soon as I
have an opportunity to do so; and I have no doubt you and your father
will have permission to leave Nassau, never to return."
Percy was silent, and appeared to be in deep thought. Captain Flanger
had returned to the spot from the boat, and had listened to the last
part of the discussion.
"Captain Flanger understands enough of international law to see that I
am right," continued Christy, when Percy made no reply.
"The people here treat us very handsomely, my little larky," said
Captain Flanger, with a coarse laugh. "I am not to be scared out of my
game by any such bugbears as you talk about. But I am willing to say
this, my little rooster: I have no intention to hang you to the
yard-arm, as you hinted that I might."
"At noon to-day you swore that you would kill me."
"I have altered my mind, as I told you before," growled the commander of
the Snapper, with very ill grace, as though he was ashamed because he
had abandoned his purpose to commit a murder. "I am not what you call a
temperance man; and when I get ashore, and in good company, I sometimes
take a little more good whiskey than it is prudent; but I don't drink
anything on board of my ship. To cut it short, I was a little too much
in the wind when I said I was going to kill you. I am sober now."
"I think you must be able to see what the consequences of murdering a
person captured on British soil would be, Captain Flanger," suggested
Christy.
"As I have told you twice before, I do not intend to murder you," said
the captain angrily. "I am going to put you back in the prison from
which you escaped; that's all. No more talk; take him to the boat."
The two men at Christy's side marched him down to the boat, and seated
him in the stern. The rest of the party took places, and shoved off. In
half an hour the boat was alongside the Snapper.