by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XXIII
THE VISIT TO A SHORE BATTERY
The first cutter reached the Seahorse Key closely followed by thesecond. It was within an hour of high tide, the ordinary rise and fallof which was two and a half feet. On the Key was a light house, and acottage for the keeper of it; but the former was no longer illuminated,and the house was as dark as the head of the tower. So far as could bediscovered there was no one on the Key, though the boats did not stop toinvestigate this matter. The crews still pulled a moderate stroke withtheir muffled oars, the men were not allowed to talk, and everything wasas silent as the inside of a tomb.
The pilot stood up in the stern sheets of the cutter, gazing intentlyin the direction of the point nearly a mile ahead. The outlines of thebuildings could be discerned, and Amblen soon declared that he couldmake out the tops of the masts of several vessels to the westward ofthe point with which the peninsula terminated. This looked hopeful, andindicated that the information upon which the expedition had been sentout was correct. Christy began to think he should have a busy nightbefore him when Amblen said there were at least three vessels at theport.
The battery was first to be visited and cared for if there was one,and it was not probable that a place so open to the operations ofthe blockading force would be without one, especially if the peoplewere actually engaged in loading cotton, as the masts of the vesselsindicated, though the hulls could not yet be seen. As the first cutterapproached nearer to the place the outlines became more distinct, andsoon embodied themselves into definite objects. Both officers in thestern sheets watched with the most anxious vigilance for any movingobject denoting the presence of life and intelligence.
As the boats came nearer to the shore, a breeze sprang up, and cooledthe air, for early as it was in the season, the weather was very warm,and it was not uncommon for the thermometer to rise above ninety. Thesebreezes were usually present to cool the nights, and doubtless theinhabitants slept the sounder for the one which had just begun to fanthe cheeks of the officers and seamen of the expedition.
"There is a battery there, Mr. Passford," said the pilot in a very lowtone. "I can make it out now, and it is just where I supposed it wouldbe."
"I can see something that seems like an earthwork at the right of thebuildings," added Christy. "Can you make out anything that looks like asentinel?"
"I can see nothing that denotes the presence of a man. If there werea sentinel there, he would be on the top of the earthwork, or on thehighest ground about it, so that he could see out into the bay, forthere can be no danger from the land side of the place," added Amblen.
"I can hardly imagine such a thing as a battery without a sentinel togive warning if anybody should try to carry it off. There must be asentry somewhere in the vicinity."
"I can't say there isn't, though I can't make out a man, or anythingthat looks like one," replied the pilot.
"Very likely we shall soon wake him up, Mr. Amblen; and in that case itwill be necessary for us to find a safer place than in front of the gunsof the battery, for I do not feel at liberty to expose the men to thefire of the works, whatever they are."
"All you have to do is to pull around to the other side of the pointinto the bay, where the vessels are. I am confident there is no batteryon that side, and there can hardly be any need of one, for this onecommands the channel, the only approach to the place for a vessel largerthan a cutter."
"I fancy this battery does not amount to much, and is probably nothingmore than an earthwork, with a few field guns behind it. Suppose weshould wake it up, and have to make for the bay, can we get out of itwithout putting the boats under the guns of the battery?"
"Without any difficulty at all, sir. We have only to pull around theNorth Key, and pass out to the Gulf, beyond the reach of any field gunthat can be brought to bear on us," replied Mr. Amblen.
"If they have one or two field batteries here, they may hitch on thehorses, and follow us," suggested Christy, who, in spite of the audacitywith which he had been mildly charged, was not inclined to run into anytrap from which he could not readily withdraw his force.
"We shall have the short line, and if they pursue us with the guns, wecan retire by the way of the channel, which they will leave uncovered."
"We are getting quite near the shore," continued Christy. "How is thewater under us?"
"The bottom is sandy, and we shall take the ground before we reach theshore if we don't manage properly. But we can tell something by themangroves that fringe the land," replied the pilot; "and I will go intothe bow of the cutter and look out for them."
Mr. Amblen made his way to the fore sheets, and asked Boxie, who wasthere, for the boathook, with which he proceeded to sound. When he haddone so, he raised both his hands to a level with his shoulders, whichwas the signal to go ahead, and the men pulled a very slow stroke. Hecontinued to sound, after he had selected the point for landing.
When the first cutter was within three lengths of the shore, he elevatedboth his hands above his head, which was the signal to cease rowing,though the two bow oarsmen kept their oars in the water instead ofboating them as the others did. Mr. Amblen continued to feel the way,and in a few minutes more, aided by the shoving of the two bow oarsmen,he brought the boat to the shore.
Then he gave his attention to the second cutter, bringing it to theland alongside of the first. Stepping out on the sand himself, hewas followed by all the crew, with cutlass in hand, and revolvers inreadiness for use. The men were placed in order for an advance, and thenrequired to lie down on the sand, so that they could not readily be seenif any stroller appeared on the ground.
Leaving the force in charge of Mr. Flint, Christy and Amblen walkedtowards the battery, crouching behind such objects as they couldfind that would conceal them in whole or in part. The earthwork wassemicircular in form, and was hardly more than a rifle pit. No sentinelcould be discovered, and getting down upon the sand, the two officerscrept cautiously towards the heaps of sand which formed the fort.
Christy climbed up the slope with some difficulty, for the dry sandafforded a very weak foothold. On the top of it, which was about sixfeet wide, they found a solid path which had evidently been a promenadefor sentinels or other persons. Behind it, on a wooden platform, werefour field guns, with depressions in the earthwork in front of themuzzles.
Christy led the way down the slope on the inside to the pieces, whichwere twelve-pounders. At a little distance from the platform was a sortof casemate, which might have been constructed for a magazine, or for aplace of resort for the gunners if the fort should be bombarded. Not aman could be seen, and if there was any garrison for the place, theywere certainly taking things very comfortably, for they must have beenasleep at this unseemly hour for any ordinary occupation.
Not far from the battery was a rude structure, hardly better than ashanty, which Christy concluded must be the barracks of the soldiers ifthere were any there. He walked over to it; but there was not a humanbeing to be seen in the vicinity. It was half past one at night, whenhonest people ought to be abed and asleep, and the first lieutenant ofthe Bronx concluded that the garrison, if this shanty was theirquarters, must be honest people.
Christy walked very cautiously to the side of the building, for theentrance was at the end nearest to the fort, and found several windowsthere, from which the sashes seemed to have been removed, if there hadever been any. The bottom of each opening was no higher than his head,and he went to one of them and looked in.
Extending along the middle of the interior was a row of berths. It wasvery dark inside, and he could not make out whether or not these bunkswere occupied. The windows on the other side of the shanty enabled himto see that there were two rows of berths, each backing against theother. There were two in each tier, and he judged that the barrack wouldaccommodate forty-eight men.
He retained his place at the window in order to discover any movementmade by a sleeper that would inform him whether or not the berths wereoccupied. If there were any soldiers t
here, they were as quiet asstatues; but while he was watching for a movement, he heard a decidedsnore. There was at least one man there, and he continued to hear hissonorous breathing as long as he remained at the window, which was thefirst on the side of the shanty.
Christy walked the whole length of the shanty.]
Christy decided to push the investigation still farther, and he wentto a window in the middle of the building. He regarded the berths withattention for a few minutes, but he could perceive no movement. He couldhear two snorers who seemed to be competing with each other to see whocould make the most noise.
If the berths were all occupied, three snorers were not a very greatproportion in forty-eight. He was very anxious to ascertain if this wasthe number of soldiers in the place, but it was too dark in the shantyfor him to determine whether or not the bunks were all in use. It wastoo many for him to encounter with his force of twenty men and threeofficers in the open field.
Christy returned to the end of the building, and tried the door. It wasnot locked, and he decided to make use of a little of the audacity ofwhich he was accused of having a good deal. Taking off his shoes, andpassing his sword to Mr. Amblen, he entered the barrack on tiptoe.
The boards of the floor began to creak under his weight; he stooped downand felt till he found the nail holes; then he knew that he was on atimber, and he walked the whole length of the shanty, returning on theopposite side, counting the occupied berths, for he passed within threefeet of all of them. The count gave seventeen men as the number ofsleepers, though this might not be all the force at the place.
He had ascertained all he wished to know, and he walked back to theshore where the men were concealed. Apart from the men, he had aconference with Flint and Amblen, giving them the details of what he haddiscovered. Then he stated his plan, and the men were marched silentlyto the battery, and were posted behind the breastwork. Not a man wasallowed to move, and Christy and Flint went to the casemate, whichlooked like a mound of sand.
It was locked, but taking a bar of iron they found with some tools fordigging, they tore off the padlock. A lantern had been brought fromthe steamer, which was lighted. The structure was found to be for theprotection of the artillerists in the first instance; but the apartmentwas connected with the magazine, the lock of which was removed.
Amblen was sent for ten men, and all the ammunition they could carry wasremoved. The rest of it was thrown into a pool of water made by recentrains. The powder, solid shot, and shells were carried to the boats. Therest of the men drew the four guns to the shore, where one was placed,with its carriage, in each of the cutters, and the other two put wherethey could be carried to the Bronx, or thrown overboard in deep water,as occasion might require.
The seventeen soldiers, reinforced by any that might be in the town,were thus deprived of the power to do any mischief except in ahand-to-hand fight. If the place was not actually captured, it waspractically lost to the enemy. The next business of the expedition wasto examine the bay, and ascertain what vessels were at the landingplace. The boats shoved off, and pulled around the point.