by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER VII
THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DECISION
When Captain Battleton took from the envelope the blank papers, no oneseemed to be inquisitive as to the result, for, as the commander hadsuggested, they all expected to find the commission and other papersregularly and properly made out and signed. Several sheets were unfoldedand spread out upon the table, and Christy was hardly more surprisedthan the others at the table.
"Your papers do not seem to be altogether regular, Mr. Passford," saidthe captain, as he held up one of them so that all could see it.
"I see they are not," answered Christy blankly.
"But they are enclosed in an official envelope," added the captain,as he held up the cover of the papers. "In this respect they have theadvantage of those presented by the other gentleman. You appear to be asmuch surprised as any of the rest of us, Mr. Passford. Can you explainthe fact that you present nothing but blank papers instead of yourcommission and orders?"
"At present I cannot; after I have had an opportunity for reflectionI may be able to do so," replied Christy, from whom a more decideddemonstration than he made was expected.
"It is evident from what we have heard, and from the documents submittedto me that one of these gentlemen is Lieutenant Christopher Passford,"said Captain Battleton; "but we have no means of identifying theofficer. In what vessels have you served, Mr. Passford?"
"My first service was in the Bellevite, and my last in the Bronx, ofwhich I was acting commander on her voyage from New York to the Gulf,"answered Christy, to whom the question was addressed.
"Is there any officer on board with whom you have served?"
"So far as I have seen, there is not."
"Any seaman?"
"I have not noticed any seaman whose face was familiar to me."
"If I am correctly informed, you came home as prize master of the Vixen,convoying quite a fleet of steamers and schooners," continued CaptainBattleton, looking about the cabin as though the inquiry had becomewearisome to him.
"I did; you were correctly informed," answered Corny, as the wanderinggaze of the commander rested upon him.
"Both of you were in command of the Vixen, I suppose," added the captainwith a smile.
"I was, captain; but I cannot speak for my cousin Corny," replied thepossessor of the commission.
"I can say with entire confidence that I was in command of the Vixen,"added Christy.
"A considerable number of officers and seamen must have come with you inthe Vixen and the other vessels," said the captain, raising his fingerto indicate that the question was addressed to Christy.
"Yes, sir; the Vixen was fully armed and manned to protect the fleet ofprize vessels she convoyed."
"Do you remember the names of the officers who served with you in theVixen?" asked the captain.
"I could not very well forget them in so short a time," replied Corny,upon whom the gaze of the commander had again rested as he looked abouthim.
"Very well; perhaps you had better answer the question;" and the captainpointed at Corny. "Who was your first lieutenant?"
"Ensign Gordon Fillbrook," replied Corny promptly.
This was a correct answer, and Christy saw that his cousin had fullyarmed himself for his daring scheme, whatever it was.
"Your second lieutenant?"
"Ensign Frederick Jones," answered Corny, with some hesitation.
"Now will you inform me, Mr. Passford, who your officers were?" Thecommander pointed at Christy. "Your executive officer?"
"My cousin gave his name and rank correctly."
"And the second lieutenant?"
"Ensign Philip Bangs."
"Here you differ. Did you make a report of your voyage home, LieutenantPassford?" continued the captain, pointing at Corny.
"I did, sir; for we captured a privateer on the voyage," answered Corny.
"Did you keep a copy of that report?"
"I did, captain; I keep copies of all my reports. I have them in myvalise," answered he of the South in a matter-of-fact manner.
Christy laughed in spite of the importance of the investigation at thecoolness and self-possession of his cousin; but he could not understandhow Corny would be able to produce a copy of his report, which was inhis valise with several such papers.
"I must trouble you to produce it, Lieutenant Passford," added thecommander.
"Perhaps I ought to say in the beginning that it is not in my ownhandwriting, for after I had written it, Mr. Jones copied it for me,"Corny explained, and, perhaps, thought he might be called upon to give aspecimen of his chirography.
"That is immaterial," added Captain Battleton, as Corny left the cabinto procure the document. "Have you a copy of your report, LieutenantPassford?" He pointed to Christy.
"I have, captain; and it is in my own handwriting," replied the officeraddressed.
"Produce it, if you please."
He had placed his valise in the gangway, and he had not far to go toprocure the report, his first draft of the document, which he hadrevised and copied at Bonnydale.
"I don't think we are getting ahead at all, Mr. Salisbury," said thecaptain, while the cousins were looking for their reports.
"I confess that I am as much in the dark as I was in the beginning,"replied the executive officer.
"I can make nothing of it," added the surgeon. "It looks to me as thoughthe commission alone would have to settle this matter."
"I don't see how I can go behind the official documents," replied thecommander as Corny presented himself at the door.
A minute later Christy appeared with his report in his hand, and bothof them were presented to the captain. The handwriting was as differentas possible in the two papers. Corny's was in a large, coarse hand, butit was a fair copy, while Christy's contained several corrections andinter-lineations. No one could recognize the writing of either of theclaimants, and the documents proved nothing at all. The captain wasevidently weary of the investigation, and nothing but the commissionseemed to throw any reliable light upon the claim of either one or theother.
"Any further questions, Mr. Salisbury?" asked the captain, bestowing abored look upon the executive officer.
"Nothing more, Captain Battleton."
"Dr. Connelly?"
"Nothing, captain."
"Now, gentlemen, I will thank you to retire to the ward room, and Iwill send for you to hear my decision," continued the commander, andthe cousins retired together, and both of them appeared to be asgood-natured as though they were in perfect accord on the questionin dispute.
"What is your opinion, Mr. Salisbury?" asked the captain, when theclaimants had retired, careful not to indicate his own conclusion.
"While I acknowledge that I am somewhat prepossessed in favor of theLieutenant Passford who came on board this morning, I do not thinkhe has established his claim to be the true Lieutenant ChristopherPassford. The other uses some peculiarly Southern phrases, as though hehad been 'raised' in the South, and he is not perfect in the geographyof Bonnydale. I think the commission is the only evidence upon which youcan properly rely," replied the first lieutenant.
"Your views, if you please, Dr. Connelly."
"One of these officers is evidently a Confederate, and the other a loyalcitizen. The commission, as Mr. Salisbury suggests, outweighs all therest of the evidence. One or the other of the two men is an impostor,and without the commission, I should decide that my patient was thefalse Lieutenant Passford," answered the surgeon.
"We appear to agree, gentlemen, for you have expressed my own viewsas well as I could state them myself," added the captain. "But when Idecide that the holder of the commission, which I am satisfied is agenuine document, is the loyal officer, and entitled to be received asthe future commander of the Bronx, I must declare that the other is aConfederate; and not only that, but also that he is acting as a spy;that he is on board of the Vernon with mischievous intentions. It willbe my duty to regard him as a prisoner of war, at least. What do youthink of it
, Mr. Salisbury?"
"I do not see how you can escape that conclusion," replied the firstlieutenant.
"I am a sort of peace officer," added Dr. Connelly, when the captainglanced at him, "and I will express no opinion as to the status of theofficer, though it appears to be as you describe it."
"This is an informal conference, doctor, and I hope you will expressyour views freely," said the captain.
"There is something in the situation which I cannot explain. I will onlysay that it is just possible there is a conspiracy at the bottom of thewhole affair; and I should think it would be well to keep a close watchupon both of these officers. Why, on the voyage of the Bronx to theGulf, Ensign Passford, as he was then, discovered two Confederateofficers in his crew, and squarely defeated their efforts to capturehis ship in the action with the Scotian, I believe it was."
"I have heard of it; and in quite a number of instances, Confederateshave been put on board of steamers for the purpose of taking them fromtheir officers," added the captain. "At the same time, I do not see thatI can decide this question on any other evidence than that of thecommission and other official documents."
Both of the other officers assented to this view, and the captain sentfor the two claimants. Neither of them had spoken a word to the otherduring their stay in the ward room. Christy looked upon his cousin as aConfederate who was serving what he called his country, and he had notthe slightest disposition to quarrel with him, and especially not tolead him to utter any unnecessary falsehoods. Possibly Corny wassomewhat diffident about playing his assumed character before his cousinwhen they were alone, for they had always been the best of friends.
"Gentlemen, I have come to a decision in this matter," said the captain,when the two claimants had placed themselves before him in a standingposition. "I cannot go behind the commission presented by the officerwho came on board last evening, and I consider it my duty to regard himas the real Lieutenant Passford, recently promoted to his present rank.There is nothing more to be said."
"Of course I expected that would be your decision," replied Corny, ashe took the papers which the captain returned to him, including hiscommission and report.
"You may retire now, if you please, Mr. Passford," added the commander.
Corny bowed politely to the officers at the table, and left the cabin.He did not even glance at Christy, and his face did not look like thatof one who had just won a decided victory. Christy remained standingwhere he had placed himself; and he began to wonder what dispositionwould be made of him under present circumstances.