by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER VIII
THE PRISONER OF WAR
After rendering his decision it was evident that Captain Battleton hadsomething to say to Christy, for he waited in silence till Corny hadclosed the door behind him before he even looked at the officer standingbefore him. The lieutenant from the moment the envelopes were opened andtheir contents exposed to the view of all present, had fully expectedthe result just announced. Whatever he thought, suspected, or surmisedwhen he saw the blank papers taken from his official envelope, he keptto himself.
"You have heard the decision I have just given, Mr. Passford, for I haveno doubt that is your real name," said the captain, when the cabin doorwas closed.
"I have, captain," replied Christy, bowing respectfully.
"Have you anything to say in regard to it?"
"Nothing at all," replied Christy, bowing again, and bearing himselfwith the dignity of a veteran officer; and in the matter of demeanor,the Confederate Captain Carboneer had presented to him one of the bestmodels he had seen, both in action and as a prisoner.
"You do not wish to make any explanation of the remarkable situation inwhich you find yourself placed at the present moment?"
"At present, I do not, captain."
"You certainly could not have been aware that your official envelopecontained only blank paper. I cannot believe that one more simple-mindedthan I believe you to be would have had the effrontery to present suchmatter as evidence that he was an officer of the United States Navy,"continued Captain Battleton, with a look of greater severity than he hadbefore assumed, possibly because he realized that the real LieutenantPassford was higher in rank than he was himself.
"I supposed the official envelope contained my commission and orders."
"You believe that your papers were taken from you, and the blankssubstituted for them?"
"I cannot explain the matter at present, and you must excuse me fromoffering merely vague suspicions and conjectures."
"Do you realize your present situation, Mr. Passford?" asked thecaptain, apparently disappointed at the unwillingness of the young manto attempt an explanation.
"I think I do, captain, and I submit to your authority as the commanderof the ship," answered Christy, with a dignified bow.
"As I said before, I have no doubt you are a Passford; and I have beencompelled to decide that you are not the son of Captain HoratioPassford, the distinguished gentleman who has done so much for hiscountry in the present war."
"With the evidence before you, I do not see how you could have decidedotherwise."
"Whether the decision be just or not, I am obliged to regard you as sonof the Homer Passford who supports the government of the Confederacy.You and the other Mr. Passford have recognized each other as cousins."
"We are cousins."
"Then it follows that one of the two must be a Confederate who is onboard of a United States ship for some purpose not yet explained, butfairly supposed to be hostile."
"I admit the correctness of your conclusion."
"I have already recognized the Union officer, and therefore you must bethe Confederate."
"Without reflecting upon your decision, I must deny that I am aConfederate, and proclaim that my motto is 'Stand by the Union!'"
"In spite of your denial and your motto, I shall have to regard you asa prisoner of war, and treat you as such," said the captain, rising fromhis chair, the others following his example.
"I submit to your authority, Captain Battleton," replied Christy, bowingto the commander.
"But I do not wish to subject you to any unnecessary restraint, and Ishall be willing to accept your parole that you will engage in nohostile movement on board of the Vernon," continued the captain, inmilder tones.
"I cannot accept a parole, captain, for that would be equivalent to anadmission that I am a Confederate; and I claim to be a loyal officer."
"If you are, I am sorry that you are unable to prove your claim. I haveonly one officer on board as a passenger, for the reason that I had onlyone spare stateroom. There is no place for you in the ward room, and itdoes not appear that you are an officer."
"I shall find no fault with my accommodations, whatever they are,"replied Christy.
"I must object to your wearing the shoulder straps of a lieutenant onboard of the Vernon," added Captain Battleton.
"I have a plain frock in my valise which I wore when the Teaser wascaptured," added Christy with a smile. "I will remove my coat and wearthat."
"Now I will see where I can find a place for you to berth," said thecaptain as he left the cabin.
"I am sorry you did not explain the blank paper in your envelope, Mr.Passford," said the surgeon, as they were leaving the cabin.
"I cannot explain it--how can I?" replied Christy. "Whoever took out mypapers and put the blanks in their place, did not make me his confidantin the operation."
"But can you not recall some event or circumstance which will throw somelight on the mystery?" persisted Dr. Connelly.
"I can; but I have not had time to consider any events or circumstances,and it would not be treating Captain Battleton with proper respect tosubmit a string of crude conjectures to him."
At this moment the captain appeared in the gangway, and interrupted theconversation. He informed the prisoner of war, as he chose to regardhim, that he had directed the carpenter to put up a temporary berth forhim. Christy opened his valise, and took from it his frock, which he puton after he had disposed of his coat. Then he looked like a commonsailor. He was informed that his berth was just forward of the steerage,in that part of the steamer where the men slung their hammocks. Thethird lieutenant was directed to show him to the place indicated.
The carpenter and his assistants were still at work on the berth, andChristy, placing his valise near it, seated himself by it. For the firsttime since he came on board of the Vernon he had an opportunity toreflect upon the events of the day. Corny Passford was the presentmaster of the situation. He had not been aware till he met him in thecaptain's cabin, that his cousin was even in the vicinity of New York.With an amount of assurance for which he had not given him credit, Cornyhad undertaken to personate his nautical relative, and was now actuallyon his way to the Gulf to take command of the Bronx.
The little gunboat had certainly done a great deal of mischief tothe Confederate interests, for she had captured two valuable vesselsintended for the southern navy, to say nothing of half a dozen othersloaded with cotton, and ready to sail. From the Confederate point ofview, it was exceedingly desirable that she should be prevented fromdoing any further injury to the maritime interests of the South. But itseemed almost incredible that Corny Passford should be employed to bringabout her capture by stratagem. His cousin was not a sailor; at least,he had not been one the last time he had met him, and it was hardlypossible that he had learned seamanship, navigation, and naval tacticsin so short a time, and so far as Christy knew, with little practicalexperience.
He had seen the commission which Corny presented to the captain of theVernon, and recognized it as his own. In spite of the statements hiscousin had made, Christy saw that the handwriting of the report hesubmitted as a copy of the genuine document was in Corny's usualhandwriting. Where had he obtained the commission, and where theoriginal report? These were not hard questions, now that thepreliminaries of the plot had been fully developed.
Walsh, the man-servant at Bonnydale, was now a seaman on board of theVernon, under the real or assumed name of Byron. He denied his identity,as he would naturally do under the circumstances; but Christy had nota doubt that he was the man who had suddenly disappeared after themysterious visitation of the night before. Doubtless, Corny had been thevisitor at the mansion, and had procured the contents of the officialenvelope on this occasion.
He appeared to have been unwilling to trust Byron, as the seamanpreferred to be called, and had attended to the business in person withthe assistance of his confederate. The report was lying on the table inhis chamber, and Byron could have
borrowed it for any length of time toenable Corny to make a copy. Whoever had visited his chamber in thenight, whether Corny or the man-servant, he must have taken the officialenvelope to the library, or some other part of the house, for it hadbeen carefully opened, and restored to its former condition after thegenuine documents in it had been replaced by the blank paper.
It was now all as clear to Christy as though he had observed theproceedings of the conspirators, and taken notes of all they had done.The purpose of all these operations was quite as obvious as the detailsof the scheme. Either the Vernon or the Bronx was to be captured,perhaps both, for of course Christy could not determine in what mannerthe mischief was to be accomplished. Prisoner of war as he was, he neverfelt burdened with a greater responsibility than when he realized theactual situation.
This responsibility was not of a personal nature. He did not have thefeeling that he had been vanquished in the contest before the captain,and the fact that he was a prisoner hardly disturbed him. It was theprospective injury to the cause of his country which occasioned hissolicitude. His object was to save the Vernon, the Bronx, or both, frombeing handed over to the enemy without a struggle to save them, one orboth.
He had no fault to find with the captain for his decision againsthim, which seemed to be natural and warrantable. He had no ill-feelingagainst his cousin, for he was trying to serve the cause he hadespoused. He was even willing to believe that he would have done thesame thing himself under like circumstances.
After he had considered the subject for a couple of hours he went backto one of his first points, relating to the fitness and capacity ofCorny to accomplish the task he had undertaken. It was evident enoughon the face of it that his cousin, even if he had been a veteran navalofficer, could not carry out the plan alone. He must have confederates,in the double sense, on board of the Vernon. In the early stages of thewar, men who had served in the navy as officers were coming home fromall parts of the world to take part on one side or the other in thestruggle. Those even who were disloyal could obtain commissions inthe loyal navy if their consciences would let them take the oath ofallegiance with a mental reservation. Christy had encountered severalof this kind.
Many of the seamen were foreigners who cared little on which side theyserved, and one or more of the four officers in the ward room might beat work for the Confederacy. Christy thought he was in an excellentposition to investigate the matter, and he decided that this should behis first duty. Among the crew there must be some who were to take partin the plot of Corny, whatever it was.
Before the close of the conference the Atlantic had begun to be quite"sloppy," and the Vernon was now laboring in an ugly cross sea, whichcaused her to roll heavily.