by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XXII
A NIGHT EXPEDITION IN THE BOATS
During the evening Captain Blowitt had consulted his officers, andarranged his plans for operations, or at least for obtaining informationin regard to the situation inside of North Key, where the landing placeis situated. He had already arranged to give the command of the boatexpedition to Christy, with the second lieutenant in another boat, Mr.Amblen being with the executive officer in the first.
"Now, Mr. Passford, I do not expect you to capture the whole State ofFlorida, and if you should return without accomplishing anything atall, I shall not be disappointed, but I shall feel that you have doneeverything that could be done," said the captain, with a very cheerfulsmile, when all had been arranged.
"I shall endeavor to obey my orders, Captain Blowitt, if I can do so inthe exercise of a reasonable prudence," replied Christy, who took in allthat his superior looked, as well as all that he said.
"A reasonable prudence is decidedly good, coming from you, Mr.Passford," said the captain, laughing outright.
"Why is it decidedly good from me rather than from anybody else?" askedChristy, somewhat nettled by the remark.
"You objected once on board of the Bellevite when I mildly hinted thatyou might sometimes, under some circumstances, with a strong temptationbefore you, be just a little audacious," said the captain, stilllaughing, as though he were engaged in a mere joke.
"That statement is certainly qualified in almost all directions, if youwill excuse me for saying so, captain," replied Christy, who was fullydetermined not to take offence at anything his superior might say, forhe had always regarded him as one of his best friends. "If I rememberrightly the mild suggestion of a criticism which you gently and tenderlyapplied to me was after we had brought out the Teaser from PensacolaBay."
"That was the time. Captain Breaker sent you to ascertain, if you could,where the Teaser was, and you reported by bringing her out, whichcertainly no one expected you would do, and I believe this part of theprogramme carried out on that excursion was not mentioned in yourorders."
"It was not; but if I had a good chance to capture the steamer, was itmy duty to pass over that chance, and run the risk of letting the vesselget out?"
"On the contrary, it was your duty, if you got a good chance, to capturethe steamer."
"And that is precisely what I did. I did not lose a man, or have onewounded in the expedition; and I have only to be penitent for beingaudacious," laughed Christy; and he was laughing very earnestly, asthough the extra cachinnation was assumed for a purpose. "I supposeI ought to dress myself in ash cloth and sashes, shut myself up in mystate room always when off duty, and shed penitential tears from therising of the sun to the going down of the same, and during the lonewatches of the night, and in fortifying my soul against the monstroussin of audacity. I will think of it."
"I hope you have no feeling about this matter, Mr. Passford," said thecaptain, rising from his chair and taking Christy by the hand.
"Not a particle, Captain Blowitt. I am absolutely sure that you wouldhave done precisely what I did, if you had been in my situation,"protested Christy. "About the last thing my father talked about to mewhen we parted in this cabin in New York Harbor was the necessity ofprudence and discretion in the discharge of my duties; and I am sure hisadvice saved me from falling into the traps set for me by Hungerford andPawcett, and enabled me to capture two of the enemy's crack steamers."
"I will never use the word audacity or the adjective audacious to youagain, Christy. I see that it nettles you, to say the least," added thecaptain, pressing his hand with more earnestness.
"I am perfectly willing you should apply both words to me when Ideserve it. Audacity means boldness, impudence, according to Stormonth.Audacious means very bold, daring, impudent. It may have been bold torun out the Teaser, and the enemy would even call it impudent, for themeaning of a word sometimes depends upon which side you belong to. Myfather was quite as impudent as I was when he ran the Bellevite out ofMobile Bay, under the guns of Fort Morgan. He was audacious, wasn't he?"
"We should hardly apply that word to him."
"Why not? Simply because my father was forty-five years old when he toldCaptain Breaker to do it. If I were only thirty years old I should notbe audacious. I am a boy, and therefore anything that I do is daring,audacious, impudent, imprudent."
"I rather think you are right, Mr. Passford, and it is your age morethan the results of your actions that is the basis of our judgment,"said Captain Blowitt.
"I wish to add seriously, captain, as a friend and not as an officer,I do not claim that the command of this expedition should be given tome because I am first lieutenant of the Bronx, or for any other reason,"added Christy with an earnest expression. "Perhaps it would be better togive the command to the second lieutenant; and if you do so, I assureyou, upon my honor, that it will not produce a particle of feeling in mymind. I shall honor, respect, and love you as I have always, CaptainBlowitt."
"My dear fellow, you are entirely misunderstanding me," protested thecommander, as earnestly as his subordinate had spoken. "I give you thecommand of this expedition because I honestly and sincerely believe youare the very best person on board to whom I can commit such aresponsibility."
"That is enough, captain, and a great deal more than you were underany obligations to say to me; and I shall obey my orders with all theprudence and discretion I can bring to bear upon them," said Christy,taking the captain's offered hand. "If I fail it will not be because Ido not try to be prudent."
"There is such a thing as being too prudent, and I hope that nothingwhich has been said to you by your father or by me will drive you to theother extreme."
Though this conversation had at times been very animated, Christy wasglad that it had taken place, for it gave him a better insight into hisown standing than he had before. He did not look upon it as a very greataffair to command a couple of boats, in a night expedition, for he hadrecently commanded two steamers, and brought them off victorious. Hehad it in mind to ask the captain to send Flint in command of theexpedition, though it would compel him, on account of his rank, toremain inactive on board of the Bronx; but he could not do this,after what had been said, without leaving some evidence that he wasdisaffected by what the commander had said to him about audacity.
It was found after a calculation of the run very carefully made that theBronx would arrive too soon at her destination, and she was slowed downas the evening came on. In the ward room, of which Christy was now theoccupant of the forward berth on the starboard side, he studied thechart with Amblen a good part of the waiting hours, and the executiveofficer obtained all the information he could from the third lieutenant.There were three principal keys, or cays, one of which, called the NorthKey, was the nearest to the mainland, and was set in the mouth of a bay.This was the nearest to the peninsula at the end of which the railroadterminates. About southwest of it is the Seahorse Key, on which there isa light in peaceful times. To the south of the point is the Snake Key,and between the last two is the main channel to the port, which twistsabout like the track of a snake. There is a town, or rather a village,near the landing.
Six bells struck on deck, and all the officers, including the captain,adjourned to the bridge, which was a useful institution on suchoccasions as the present. A sharp watch had been kept by LieutenantFlint in charge; but though the night was clear, nothing had been madeout in the direction of the shore. All lights on board had been put out,and the Bronx went along in the smooth sea as quietly as a lady on afashionable promenade, and it was not believed that anything could beseen of her from the shore.
About midnight the lookout man aloft reported that he could see atwinkling light. It was promptly investigated by Mr. Amblen, who wentaloft for the purpose. He was satisfied that it was a light in somehouse in the village, probably in the upper story. It soon disappeared,and it was thought to be occasioned by the late retiring of some person.
"I should say, Captain Blowitt, that
we are not more than five milesoutside of Seahorse Key," said Mr. Amblen, after he had interpreted themeaning of the light. "It is after midnight, and these people are not inthe habit of sitting up so late."
"If they are shipping much cotton from this port, it is not improbablethat there is a force here to protect the vessels, whatever they are,"added the commander.
"Of that, of course, I can know nothing; but I shall expect to find aConfederate battery somewhere on the point, and I know about where tolook for it."
"The place has never been of any great importance, and you can hardlyexpect to find a very strong force in it," added the captain.
It has since become a place of more note, both as a resort for invalidsand pleasure-seekers, and as the termination of the railroad fromFernandina and Jacksonville, and steamers have run regularly from theport to Havana and New Orleans.
"If you will excuse me, Captain Blowitt, I should say that it was notadvisable to take the Bronx nearer than within about four miles of theSeahorse Key," suggested Mr. Amblen.
"I was just thinking that we had gone as far as it is prudent to go.Do you think you could take the Bronx up to the landing?" added thecaptain.
"I am very sure that I could, for I have been in many a time on a darkernight than this."
"We will not go in to-night, but perhaps we may have occasion to do soto-morrow. We shall know better what to do when we get a report of thestate of things in the place," replied the captain, as he gave the wordthrough the speaking tube to stop the steamer.
Christy had been given full powers to make all preparations for the boatexpedition, and was allowed ten men to each of the quarter boats. He hadselected the ones for his own boat, and had required Flint to pick hisown crew for the other. The oars had been carefully muffled by thecoxswains, for it was desirable that no alarm should be given in theplace. The starboard quarter boat was the first cutter, pulled by sixoars, and this was for Christy and Mr. Amblen, with the regular coxswainand three hands in the bow. The second cutter was in charge of Mr.Flint, and followed the other boat, keeping near enough to obtain hercourse in the twists of the channel.
It was a long pull to the Seahorse Key, and a moderate stroke was takenas well not to tire the men as to avoid all possible noise. When thefirst cutter was abreast of the Key, the pilot pointed out the darkoutline of the peninsula, which was less than a mile distant. No vesselcould be seen; but the pilot thought they might be concealed by therailroad buildings on the point. Christy asked where the battery waswhich the pilot thought he could locate, and the spot was indicated tohim. Christy wanted a nearer view of it, and the cutter was headed inthat direction.