by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XXVI
THE BATTLE WITH THE SOLDIERS
Mr. Amblen went to the pilot house, and rang two bells. Dolly respondedproperly by starting the engine on the reverse, and the schooneralongside began to move away from the wharf, for the stern of the Havanapointed out into the bay.
"Stop, there! What are you about?" shouted the fat man on the deck ofthe schooner.
"About going," replied Christy.
"These vessels are the property of a citizen of the Confederate States,and I command you to stop," yelled the fat man with all the voice hecould muster.
"All right," replied Christy, as the gong sounded to stop her. "Now, Mr.Flint, cast off the fasts, and let the schooner go astern," he added tothe second lieutenant.
"All clear, sir," replied Flint a moment later, and after the steamerlost her headway, the vessel continued to back, though the Havana waschecked by the engine.
The fat man went adrift in the schooner, but Christy gave no furtherattention to him. The steamer was started ahead again; her bow was runalongside of the other vessel at the wharf, and Flint proceeded in thesame manner as with the first one.
"Orderly!" shouted the fat man, evidently addressing the man who hadcome to the schooner with him, and had retreated to the wharf when thevessel began to move.
"Captain Rowly!" replied the man, who was doubtless the orderly sergeantof the company.
"Go to the barracks and have the men haul the four field pieces over tothe wharf," yelled the fat captain.
"All right, little one! Have them hauled over by all means," saidChristy, as the men made fast to the other schooner, and cast off thefasts.
But it was soon evident that the sleepy soldiers had been roused fromtheir slumbers by some other agency than the orderly, though it was notquite possible for them to haul over the four guns, as they happenedto be on the forward deck of the Havana. But the men were armed withmuskets, and were capable of doing a great deal of mischief with them.Christy hurried up the men at the fasts, but they had about finishedtheir task.
"All clear, Mr. Passford," called Mr. Flint, as the soldiersdouble-quicked across the railroad to the wharf, upon which there wasstill a huge pile of bales of cotton.
"Back her, Mr. Amblen," said Christy, as he hastened aft to avoid acollision with the other schooner.
But the tide had begun to recede, and had carried the first vessel to asafe distance from the wharf.
The soldiers reached the edge of the wharf, and were probably under thecommand of the orderly by this time. At any rate they marched fartherdown the pier, where they could be nearer to the Havana as she backedaway. Then the troops fired a volley at the steamer; but in the darknessthey did no serious injury to the party, though two seamen were slightlywounded.
"Cast off the fasts!" shouted Christy, when he realized that some of hismen were in a fair way to be shot down before they could get the twoschooners alongside and properly secured for the trip to the Bronx, andthe order was promptly obeyed. "Now, check her, Mr. Amblen;" and twobells were sounded on the gong, after one to stop her.
The second schooner kept on her course out into the bay to join thefirst one cast loose; but Christy feared that they might get aground,and give them trouble. The seventeen soldiers whom he had counted intheir bunks appeared to have been reinforced either by the return of theabsent party, or by the civilians in the place, for they presented amore formidable front than the smaller number could make. Whatever thenumber of the defenders of the place, they could harass the expeditionwhile the men were preparing for the final departure.
"With what were those two guns charged, Mr. Flint?" asked Christy.
"With solid shot, sir," replied the second lieutenant.
"Open fire on the wharf, and then load with the shrapnel," addedChristy.
The two guns, which had been placed in proper position for use on thetop-gallant forecastle, were aimed by Flint himself, and discharged. Thereport shook the steamer, and Christy, who retained his position on thequarter deck, heard a scream of terror, coming from a female, issue fromthe companion way, at the head of which a seaman had been placed as asentinel over the officers below.
"What was that, Neal?" asked the commander of the expedition.
"It was the scream of a lady, sir, and that is all I know about it,"replied the man. "I haven't seen any lady, sir, and I think she musthave been asleep so far. The captain tried to come on deck a while ago,but I sent him back, sir."
By this time the two field pieces had been loaded again, and they weredischarged. Christy watched the effect, and he had the pleasure ofseeing the whole troop on the wharf retire behind the great pile ofbales of cotton. A random fire was kept up from this defence, but thesoldiers were safe behind their impenetrable breastwork. Flint continuedto fire into it.
At the report of the guns, nearly together, which made the Havana shake,and everything on board of her rattle, for she was not built to carrya battery of guns, another scream came forth from the companion way.A moment later, Christy saw a female form ascending the stairs. Thesentinel placed his cutlass across the passage; but the lieutenant toldhim to let her come on deck if she desired to do so.
It was light enough for the gallant young officer to see that she wasyoung and fair, though she had evidently dressed herself in great haste.She looked around her with astonishment, perhaps to find that thesteamer was no longer at the wharf. The guns on the forecastle wereagain discharged, and she shrunk back at the sound.
"Do not be alarmed, miss," said Christy, in his gentlest tones. "But Imust say that you will be safer in the cabin than on deck."
"Will you please to tell me what has happened, sir, or what is going tohappen?" asked the lady; and the listener thought he had never heard asweeter voice, though he might not have thought so if he had heard it atBonnydale, or anywhere else except in the midst of the din of pealingguns and the rattling of musketry.
"I can tell you what has happened; but as I am not a prophet, I cannotso accurately inform you in regard to what is going to happen," hereplied.
"But what has occurred on board of the Havana?" she interposed, ratherimpatiently.
"The Havana has been captured by an expedition, of which I have thehonor to be in command, from the United States gunboat Bronx. Just nowwe are defending ourselves from an attack of the soldiers in the place.As to the future, miss, I have no reasonable doubt that we shall be ableto get the steamer and two schooners we have also captured alongsidethe Bronx, where all the prizes will be subject to the order of hercommander. Permit me to advise you to retire to the cabin, miss, andlater, I shall be happy to give you all the information in my power,"said Christy, touching his cap to her, and pointing to the companionway.
She accepted the advice, and went down the steps. The young officer hadno time then to wonder who and what she was, for he realized that therewas little hope of stopping the desultory firing from behind the cottonpile; and perhaps by this time the soldiers realized what had become oftheir four field pieces, for they knew that the Havana had not beenarmed when they loaded her with cotton.
Christy went forward to set the officers at work in picking up the twoprizes, and as he stopped to look down into the engine room, he felthis cap knocked off his head, and heard the whizzing of a bulletunpleasantly near his ears. He picked up his cap, and found a bullethole through the top of it. If it had gone an inch or two lower, Mr.Flint would have succeeded to the command of the expedition without anyceremonies. Though there was no reason for it, this incident seemed toprovoke him, for it assured him that he could not pick up his prizeswithout exposing his men to this nasty firing for some time longer.
It was now light enough for him to make out the situation of thebreastwork of cotton, and he saw that it was a long and narrow pile,probably near a siding of the railroad where the bales had been unloadedfrom the cars. Another glance at the surroundings in regard to the pointenabled him to make up his mind what to do, and he did not lose a momentin putting his plan into execution. The
firing of shot and shrapnel atthe cotton pile seemed to produce no adequate effect, and he orderedFlint to cease his operations.
"Back her, Mr. Amblen," he added to the pilot. "Back her at full speed."
The schooners were doing very well; instead of wandering off into thebay, they had fallen into the channel, and were drifting with the tide.Several persons appeared on the deck of each of them, and it was plainthat a portion of the crews had been asleep on board of them. While hewas observing them, he discovered two boats coming out from behind thepoint, and making for the two vessels. This movement indicated anattempt to recapture the prizes.
"Port the helm, Mr. Amblen, and circle around till the bow points inthe direction of those boats coming out from beyond the point," saidChristy. "Mr. Flint, man your guns again at once, and drop some solidshot into those boats."
The Havana continued to back till the guns would bear on the boats, andthen Flint delivered his fire. The headmost of the boats was smashed,and was a wreck on the bay. The other hastened to pick up the crew, andthen pulled for the shore with all possible speed, though not till twoother boats, apparently filled with soldiers, were discoveredapproaching the retreating boat.
Christy did not wait to dispose of these, but mounted the top-gallantforecastle, and ordered the guns to be loaded with shells. Then hewaited till the steamer reached a point off the end of the peninsula,when he gave the order to stop and back her. Sighting the first gunhimself, he directed the man at the lockstring to fire. He waited amoment for the smoke to clear away, and then, with his glass, he sawseveral forms lying on the wharf by the side of the cotton pile. He hadfired so as to rake the rear of this breastwork, and before the soldiersthere understood what he was doing. Those who had not dropped before thefire were picking up their wounded companions, and retreating with allpracticable haste.
It was not necessary to discharge the other gun, and it was swung roundand brought to bear on the two boats advancing towards the prizes, themen in which were pulling with the most desperate haste. Flint tookcareful aim this time, and the gun was discharged. The shrapnel withwhich it was charged did not knock the boat to pieces as a solid shotmight have done, but two of the oars were seen to drop into the water,and both boats began to retreat, which was quite a proper thing for themto do in face of such a destructive fire.
There was nothing more to detain the expedition at the place, and thetwo prizes were picked up, made fast, one on each side of the Havana,and then the bell to go ahead was sounded. The pilot then informedChristy that he had made out the Bronx approaching at a distance of notmore than three miles beyond the Seahorse Key. Probably Captain Blowitthad heard the guns, and was coming in to assist in the fight.