CORNY PASSFORD PLAYS ANOTHER PART
Captain Carboneer brought the Florence about, and headed her across the
river. The Bellevite was moored a short distance from the estate down
the stream.
"I have been up here before to-day," said the naval officer, as the boat
moved away from the shore, assuring him that no one could be near enough
to hear what he said.
"We only reached New York yesterday, and I don't see how you can have
picked up a ship's company in that time," replied Mulgate.
"I sent the men before I came myself. I have stationed them in various
places on the river, where I can get them when I want them; and I shall
want them before the sun rises to-morrow morning," replied the captain.
"To-night!" exclaimed Mulgate, who seemed to be astounded at the
revelation.
"Yes, to-night; in a few hours from now. I have obtained all the
information I could in regard to the steamer, and what we do must be
done at once. The Bellevite, as they call her now, has not yet been
handed over to the government, though she has been accepted. They are
waiting for something, though I don't know what, and she may be sent
to the navy yard to-morrow; and then it will be too late for us to do
anything."
"But to-night--that is rather hurried," added Mulgate, musing.
Very likely he was thinking of the beautiful Miss Florry in the elegant
mansion a short distance up the river. Without a doubt he was Major
Pierson, since the naval officer had addressed him by this name and
title. He had often met the young lady at Glenfield Plantation, and
possibly his sudden visit to the North had not been without some thought
of her. However it may have been with her, he was at least very much
interested in Miss Florry.
The fact that she was a "Yankee" did not make her less beautiful, and it
did not make her any the less the daughter of a millionnaire. No one
could say that he was mercenary, however, and no one could say why he
was not as deeply interested in the daughter of the planter, for she
was hardly less beautiful, though her father was not considered a
millionnaire, to say nothing of a ten-millionnaire. Major Pierson did
not tell what he was thinking about; but he was certainly astounded and
badly set back when the naval officer intimated that the capture of the
Bellevite might be undertaken that night.
"You can see for yourself that we must strike at once, or there may be
nothing to strike at," replied Captain Carboneer.
"But we shall have no time to work up the case," suggested the major.
"The case is all worked up, and there is nothing more to work up,"
replied the captain, as he headed the boat for the steamer.
Major Pierson said no more, but he was as much dissatisfied with the
promptness of the naval officer as though he had said it in so many
words. It would be difficult to imagine how he expected to manage his
case with Miss Florry, since he could not enter the house without
betraying his identity. Perhaps he intended to lie in wait for her in
the grounds of the estate, and trust that her interest in him would
induce her to keep his secret.
"Is that you, Christy?" called a voice from the steamer, as the Florence
approached the Bellevite.
"Answer him, Corny," said Captain Carboneer, in a low voice. "Say 'yes,'
and ask who it is that speaks."
"Yes," repeated Corny. "Who are you?"
"Sampson," replied the man on board of the steamer.
"And who is with him," added the captain.
"Are you alone on board?" demanded Corny, varying his speech a little
from his instructions.
"No; Warping is on board, but he has gone to sleep in the pilot-house.
Do you want him?"
"No; but you wish to take a couple of friends on board to obtain the
measure of a gun-carriage," continued Captain Carboneer.
"No; I don't want Warping; I only wanted to know if he was on board,"
repeated Corny. "I have a couple of friends here who want to measure a
gun-carriage to-night, for they have to leave in the morning."
"Very well, young man; you understand yourself very well," said the
captain, in tones of approval.
By this time Captain Carboneer had brought the boat alongside the
accommodation steps, the lower part of which were hoisted up to prevent
any water tramps from coming on board without permission. But when Corny
had delivered the last message, the steps were lowered, and the Florence
made fast to them. Corny was told to lead the way, and act as though he
were Christy Passford, and owned the ship in his own right.
The planter's son went up the steps, and the other two followed him,
though the naval officer had really ascertained all he wished to know.
There were only two ship-keepers on board, and they would be no obstacle
in the way of the ship's company to which the captain had alluded. But
the leader of the enterprise had another object in view, though it was
only secondary in its nature. He was afraid to overburden the mind of
Corny, and he said nothing more.
"Is everything all right on board, Sampson?" asked Corny, as he stepped
down upon the deck of the vessel.
"All right, Christy," replied the man.
"I am glad to hear it. Is there anything new?"
"Nothing at all, Christy. I have been overhauling the boilers a little
to-day for the want of something to do, and they are in first-rate
condition. As you told me to-day that we might expect the order to
report at the navy yard at any minute, I thought I would have everything
as nearly ready as it could be."
"You have done very well, Sampson," added Corny, approvingly. "We are
to get under way early in the morning, and if father gets home he will
start the steamer as soon as he comes. He went to the city this evening,
and probably he will bring the order with him," continued Corny, making
use of the information he had obtained in the house.
"Where is this long gun, my man?" asked Captain Carboneer, taking a
measure from his pocket.
"Forward, sir," replied Sampson, as he led the way.
The captain kept some distance behind the ship-keeper, and took Corny by
the arm to detain him.
"Tell him to get up steam at once," whispered the leader of the party,
as he hastened forward to the long midship gun, where he proceeded to
take his measurements as though he were in real earnest, though it was
so dark that he could not possibly see the marks on his tape, even if he
tried to do so.
"You say that everything is ready to start the fires, Sampson?" said
Corny, as soon as he had a chance to speak to the ship-keeper.
"Everything is ready, Christy, and I have only to touch the match to the
shavings to make a beginning," replied Sampson. "Is there any news about
my appointment in the engine-room, Christy?"
"Not yet, Sampson; but the papers will soon come, and I am almost
willing to guarantee your appointment."
"Mr. Vapoor has already spoken a good word for me."
"All right, Sampson; then you are sure of the position. I am very sure
that we shall get the order before morning to move the steamer over
to the navy yard, and I think you had better start the fires at once,
Sampson," continued Corny, making himself as much at home on board of
the steamer as though he had really been the person he was supposed
to be.
"All right, Christy; and if the order don't come as soon as you expect
it, we can bank the fires, and no harm will be done," replied the oiler,
for such was his position on board, though he was evidently expecting
something better.
By this time Captain Carboneer had finished taking the measure of the
gun-carriage, though he had not been able to see anything. But he had
been through all the forms, and that answered his purpose just as well.
He declared that he had no further business on board, and the trio went
to the accommodation ladder. Sampson had called his sleeping companion,
and already the black smoke began to pour out of the smokestack.
"That was all very handsomely done," said Major Pierson, as they stepped
on board of the Florence.
"Everything worked very well; but it was all owing to the fact that the
ship-keeper thought that Corny was some other person," replied the
captain.
"I know that he took him for Christy Passford, and I have had some
experience with Christy," replied the major, recalling his attempts to
prevent the Bellevite from escaping from Mobile Bay. "He is a smart
fellow, as the Yankees would say, and it is fortunate that he is not
here at the present time."
"He can't be very far off," suggested Corny. "He was expected back to
supper, and I wanted to see him, for he is my cousin. He must be about
here somewhere."
"Never mind whether he is or not; we have finished our business here,
and the harvest is ripe for the sickle. We will leave this boat just
where we found it, for I have a rowboat a little farther down the
river," continued Captain Carboneer.
"I suppose I ought to return to my uncle's house," suggested Corny.
"If they miss me they will be looking about here to ascertain what has
become of me."
"I think you had better not try to relieve their anxiety to-night.
If they are worried about you, they will get over it in the morning
when they find the steamer is missing," said Captain Carboneer, with
something like a chuckle in his tones when he pictured the surprise of
the "Yankees" in making the discovery that the Bellevite had taken to
herself wings, and sped on her way to the South.
"I don't think they will worry about me," added Corny, laughing. "I was
afraid they might think I was here to capture the city of New York, or
something of that sort."
"I think you had better not undeceive them to-night," replied the
captain, as he ran the yacht upon the beach near where he had found her.
"Everything looks exceedingly well for our enterprise."
"If you get that steamer into Mobile Bay"--
"I don't intend to get her into the bay; that would be folly, and I
shall run no risks among the blockaders, for a single shot might give
her back to her present owners."
"No matter; if you only get her, and she is under the flag of the
Confederacy, it will put me back where I was when she went into the
bay by a Yankee trick," added Major Pierson.
"After the war, if you wish to see the young lady, you will have more
time to attend to the affair, and I shall wish you every success then,"
said the captain lightly.
"How long do you think the war will last, Captain Carboneer?" asked the
major, in this connection.
"Possibly it may last a year, though if we can break up that blockade,
it will not last six months longer."
The trio landed on the beach, and the naval officer made sure that the
Florence was securely fixed in the gravel. The party walked down stream,
embarked in the boat of which the captain had spoken. It was pulled by
two men, and after they had gone about a mile, the captain began to blow
a boatswain's whistle which he took from his pocket.
But they had hardly jumped down on the beach before Christy Passford
opened the cabin door of the yacht, and crept out with the utmost care.