A SHOT FROM THE LONG GUN
Christy Passford, as soon as he found that all the other preparations
for the decisive event had been made, turned his attention to the aiming
of the long gun. He had practised with it somewhat before; and in the
ambitious spirit of a boy, he had often amused himself by sighting over
the top of the piece.
There was no sort of duty on board of a vessel, even a war steamer, in
which he had not done his best to make himself a proficient. He had done
duty as an engineer, and even as a fireman. He had taken his trick at
the wheel as a quartermaster, and there was nothing he had not done,
unless it was to command a vessel, and he had done that on a small
scale. Doubtless he had no inconsiderable portion of a boy's vanity,
and he believed that he could do anything that anybody else could do;
or if he was satisfied that he could not, he studied and practised till
he did believe it.
Be it vanity or pride, Christy certainly believed in himself to a very
liberal extent, though his character was fortunately leavened with a
large lump of modesty. What he believed, he believed for himself, and
acted upon it for himself; so that he was not inclined to boast of his
accomplishments, and permitted others to find out what he was rather
than made it known in words himself. But his father had found it
necessary to restrain him to some extent, and he had not pushed him
forward as rapidly as he might have done till the dread notes of war
were heard on the land and the sea; and then he thought it would be
wrong to hold him back.
When Christy sighted along the great gun, he believed he could hit the
Vampire almost to a certainty; but he was not self-sufficient, and did
not often believe that he knew a thing better than any other person, and
he was not above taking the advice and instruction of others. It was
dark, but Christy had fixed upon an object at the bend below, of which
he intended to make use in firing the gun. It was a tree which painted
its outline on the horizon, and the decisive moment was to come when
the Vampire was in range with this tree. He adjusted the gun just as he
wanted it, and he was satisfied it would do just what he required of it.
He was not inclined to act on his own judgment and skill alone, and he
called Boxie, the old sheet-anchorman, who had been the captain of a gun
years before the midshipman was born, and pointed out the tree to him,
asking him to sight along the gun. He explained his plan to the old
salt, and then asked his opinion.
"You have aimed it too high, Mr. Passford," said the veteran, after he
had squinted a long time along the piece.
"How is it otherwise?" asked Christy.
"It is all right, sir; but the shot will pass over the steamer. Drop the
muzzle a trifle, and the shot will hull her, if you pull the lockstring
at the right time."
"I shall see that the string is pulled at the right time; thank you,
Boxie," added Christy, without depressing the gun as the old man
suggested, for he had a theory of his own which he intended to carry
out.
"But the ship may change her position a trifle," added Boxie.
"Of course, I mean to sight the gun again at the very moment we fire,"
replied Christy, looking at his watch, though he was obliged to go into
the engine-room to see what time it was.
It was after two, and the Vampire had had time enough to make the bend.
Christy wondered if Captain Carboneer was not looking for the four men
he had promised to put on board of the old steamer; but some promises
are better broken than kept, and the midshipman thought this was one of
them, though he did not consider the present occasion as any excuse for
lies, or the failure to keep his word, in the indefinite future.
The acting commander of the Bellevite--for such the middy was, and
no one disputed his authority--began to be very nervous at the
non-appearance of the enemy. He was afraid that some mishap had befallen
the Vampire; either that she had gone to the bottom or got aground,
though he had heard Captain Carboneer say that he was a pilot for this
part of the river.
Christy had mounted the gun carriage ready to take his final aim, and he
had been there at least half an hour. He was watching the point where
the Roman candles had been planted, and he had perfect confidence in
the judgment and fidelity of Mr. Watts. Boxie was stationed at the
lock-string, and held it in his hand, ready to speed the great shot
on its errand of destruction; but he hoped the midshipman would depress
the muzzle of the gun before he was called upon to pull the string. The
other sailors who had served on board of the Bellevite, and had been
drilled in handling the guns, were all in their stations, ready to load
the piece again as quickly as possible after it had been discharged.
The silence had become intense and painful to all, for apart from
the messenger of death and devastation which was about to be hurled at
the Vampire, the Bellevite was in danger of being captured, and had a
resolute enemy in front of her. The safety of the pet steamer depended
upon the skill and judgment of a mere boy, though everybody on board had
entire confidence in him. But the supreme moment came soon enough.
[Illustration: "Christy sprang to the Gun."--Page 119.]
A hardly perceptible light at the point he was so closely watching,
first attracted the attention of Christy,--perhaps the lighting of the
steward's match. An instant later, the fireworks blazed up, and lighted
up the smooth surface of the sleeping river. No doubt the conspirators,
who had chosen darkness because their deeds were evil, were astounded to
see so much light suddenly thrown upon their enterprise.
Christy sprang to the gun, took a hasty sight, which satisfied him that
the position of the gun had not changed a particle. As the dark outline
of the Vampire passed in range of the selected tree, the midshipman
sprang down from the gun-carriage.
"Fire!" shouted he, in a determined though not very loud tone.
It was a tremendous explosion, and the echoes rolled out from the hills
as though they were armed with heavy guns, and were taking part in the
conflict. Probably the rattling windows and the shaking frames of the
houses roused all the sleepers within a mile of the ship.
The Bellevite was enveloped in the smoke from the discharge, and though
Christy mounted the carriage again to obtain a better view, he could see
nothing, for there was not wind enough to sweep it away at once. But the
young commander watched, with almost as much interest and anxiety as
before, the signal station he had established. But there was no occasion
for desperate haste, for the gun was ready for use a second time if the
first shot had failed to do its work. On the other hand, if the Vampire
was disabled, she would stay where she was, or drift down the river with
the turn of the tide, and it was just about "full sea" at this time.
The smoke was very aggravating to the midshipman, but he could not help
himself. The light air swept it away in time, and, with his strained
eyes, Christy discovered that two Roman candles were burning at the
signal station.
"Did you hit her, Christy?" asked Paul Vapoor, leaping on the
gun-carriage.
"I did," replied the midshipman, trying to control a certain feeling of
exultation that took possession of his mind, for he did not consider
that some of the party below might have been killed by the shot.
"I suppose you don't know anything about the effect of the shot yet?"
added Paul.
"I only know that the Vampire is disabled."
"How do you know that, for I can't see anything?"
"Do you see those two blue lights burning at the side of the river?"
asked Christy, as he pointed to the place.
"I see them, and they light up the river like a flash of lightning."
"They mean that the steamer is disabled; and for that reason she can't
come any nearer than she is now."
"But those villains will make their way to the shore, and there are
boats enough about here to enable them to get alongside, and lay us
aboard. This is not the end of the affair," said the engineer, very
seriously.
"Decidedly not; but I hope to have further information in the course of
a few minutes," replied Christy.
"Bellevite, ahoy!" shouted some one on shore.
"That is Mr. Watts; send Sampson on shore after him, and we shall
soon know the condition of affairs on board of the Vampire," added the
midshipman. "I told the steward to ride up as fast as he could after he
had satisfied himself that the steamer was disabled."
Sampson was gone but a few minutes, during which time Christy and
Paul consulted in regard to the next step to be taken, and the question
was promptly decided. The boat in which Sampson had gone to the shore
returned not only with the steward, but also with Mrs. Passford and Miss
Florry.
"What does this mean, mother?" asked Christy, astonished to see his
mother and sister come on board.
"It means that we were alarmed, and could not stay in the house any
longer," said Florry, taking it upon herself to answer.
"Your father has not come home yet, Christy, and I don't think he will
come to-night, for he said he might not be able to return in the last
train," added Mrs. Passford. "We came down to the shore with two of the
men, and saw Mr. Watts when he arrived on the horse."
"And I shall take the responsibility of having advised the ladies to go
on board of the Bellevite," interposed the steward.
"But you have not reported upon the condition of the enemy after the
shot hit the Vampire, Mr. Watts," said Christy, impatiently.
"The shot struck her walking-beam, smashed it all to pieces, and cleaned
it off completely. Of course, that disabled her. Very likely some of the
party on board of the Vampire are hurt, for the pieces did not all drop
into the water."
"Now, in regard to the ladies?" suggested the midshipman.
"It is for you to decide, Mr. Passford, whether or not the enemy are
likely to renew the attempt to capture the steamer. But it seemed to me,
whether they do anything more or not, it is not quite safe for the
ladies to be alone in the house with the servants, for these fellows
will be prowling about here in either case."
"I would not stay in the house for all the world!" protested Miss
Florry; and probably she thought that one of the prowlers would be Major
Pierson.
"You are quite right, Mr. Watts; I was not as thoughtful as you were,"
replied Christy, who took in the situation with this suggestion. "What
were they doing on board of the Vampire, Mr. Watts?"
"I did not wait to observe their movements, but the boat began to drift
down the river."
"Beg pardon, Mr. Passford, but the ship is swinging around, and you will
not be able to use that gun as it points now," said Boxie, touching his
hat to the young commander.
"Stand by your engine, Paul; we will get under way at once. Boxie, cast
off the cable, and let it run out. You buoyed it, did you not?" said
Christy, with a sudden renewal of energy, as he hastened to the
pilot-house, where Beeks and Thayer had been sent before.
"I buoyed the cable, sir," replied the sheet-anchorman.
"Then cast it off. Sampson, open the cabin for the ladies," added
Christy, as he disappeared in the pilot-house.
But the ladies preferred to go into the engine-room.