by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XXI
A NON-COMBATANT ON BOARD THE BRONX
Colonel Passford was reclining on the divan when the commander enteredthe cabin; but he rose to his feet as soon as he saw his nephew. Christythought he looked thinner and paler than when he had last seen him.He was now only forty-two years old, but he looked like a man of fifty.
"I have been wanting to see you, Christy," said the planter, as heapproached his nephew. "I learn, with no little astonishment, that youare the commander of this steamer."
"I am, uncle Homer," replied the young man.
"Then you can tell me better than any one else in regard to my statuson board of the Bronx," added the colonel, who had won this title yearsbefore in the militia. "Am I considered a prisoner of war?"
"I do not so consider you, uncle Homer; but I cannot say how my superiorofficer will look at the matter when I report to him. You were taken ina sloop that fired upon the first cutter of the Bronx, wounding one ofthe crew and the officer in command."
"That was the folly of Captain Flanger; and I protested the moment Idiscovered what had been done," added the planter, who seemed to beanxious to relieve himself of all responsibility for the discharge ofthe muskets.
"Were you in charge of the sloop, uncle Homer?"
"I was not; I had nothing to do with the sloop. She belonged to CaptainFlanger."
"Who is Captain Flanger?" asked Christy.
"You have him on board, and perhaps he had better answer the questionhimself," replied Colonel Passford with a smile.
"It was a superfluous question, for I know all about him. He is thecaptain of the Floridian, though that would not make him a combatantunless he fights his ship; and that is what he did on board of theMagnolia. I regard him and his companions, except the skipper of thesloop, as prisoners of war. You proved by your words and conduct thatyou were not a combatant, and you are at liberty to depart when youplease."
The young commander did not feel entirely sure that his ruling wascorrect, for a naval officer must be learned in a great variety ofsubjects which he had not had time to study; but he was willing to takethe responsibility in the present instance.
"It is easy enough to say that I may depart; but how shall I do it?"added the planter with a smile. "I cannot swim ashore."
"I will put you ashore in a boat at the nearest land when the fog clearsoff," replied Christy.
"The nearest land is an island, and there is hardly anything like avillage on the entire Bay of St. Andrew's. The region is deserted now,and I might wander about there for a month, till I starved to death,before I could get to a settled region."
"I shall not compel you to land, and you can remain on board till Ireport to the flag-officer of the Eastern Gulf squadron, off Pensacola,if you desire to do so; but you will be subject to his decision and notmine then."
"I prefer that to starving to death in this region," replied thecolonel.
"Very well, uncle Homer, that is settled," added Christy. "Now, how areaunt Lydia and Gerty? I hope they are well."
"Very well the last time I saw them, which was three weeks ago. They arebusy making garments for the soldiers," answered the planter.
"When did you last hear from Corny, uncle Homer?"
"It is all of two months since I had any news in regard to him. He isstill a soldier and has not yet been promoted. His company is still atFort Gaines; but he has been sent away once or twice on detached duty.He is not given to writing many letters; but the last time I was inMobile I was told that he had again been sent off on some sort of secretservice with a naval officer by the name of Galvinne. I do not knowwhether the report was true or not."
"It was quite true, uncle Homer; and he has been quite as unfortunateas he was in his former expedition to the North," added Christy veryquietly.
"What do you know about him, Christy?" asked the colonel with thedeepest interest.
"I can assure you first that he is alive and well. I am not informed howhe got to New York, but he did get there, and in company with two navalofficers, one by the name of Byron, as well as Galvinne."
"Byron was an actor in Mobile; he had been the mate of a cotton ship,and he obtained a commission in the navy; but for the want of a steamerboth of them were unemployed," the planter explained.
"In New York they got up a plan to obtain a small steamer, about thesize of the Bronx," continued Christy. "Galvinne had been in the navy,and he readily obtained an appointment as second lieutenant of thestore-ship Vernon. Byron shipped as a seaman. Corny was appointed by thetwo officers to take the place of a regular officer, who came down inthe Vernon. He looked something like the officer whom he personated, whowas to command a small steamer in the gulf."
"It was a hazardous plan," suggested Colonel Passford, "and I shouldsuppose that Corny was hardly competent to play such a _role_. I hopethe scheme was successful, for, as you know very well, all my prayersand all my aspirations are for the triumph of the Confederate cause."
"The scheme was successful up to a certain point, and Corny obtainedthe command of the steamer, passing for the genuine officer before thecommodore, and even on board of the vessel where the commander was wellknown."
"That sounds like a story for a novel," added the planter, smiling.
"If there had been no setback, Corny would have gone into Pensacola Bayin a few hours more, in nominal command of the steamer, though of courseGalvinne was the real commander."
"It is a strange story, and I cannot see how Corny succeeded in passinghimself off as the officer he personated."
"He stole that officer's commission and other papers while he wassleeping in his own home," added Christy.
"But where did you learn this history of Corny's operations?" askedhis uncle, knitting his brow as though he did not quite believe thenarrative.
"Oh, I am the officer whom Corny personated," replied the commander witha quiet smile. "The story is not a second-handed one, uncle Homer."
"Corny pretended to be Christy, did he? Then you must have seen him ifhe took your commission."
"He did not do that in person; but employed Byron to do it for him; andfor several weeks this actor was a house-servant at Bonnydale," answeredChristy, as he proceeded to narrate the adventure more in detail. "It isnot an old story, for the last event occurred on board of the Bronx atabout eight o'clock last evening."
"The plan was not finally successful, more is the pity," added theSouthern gentleman.
"It was not; for I had concealed myself on board when I realized whatGalvinne was about, and, with the aid of the officers who knew me,captured the vessel. I am now in command of her, and I am likely tohave a prize to assist in establishing my identity when I report to theflag-officer."
"But what became of Corny?" asked Colonel Passford, with no littleanxiety on his face.
"He is quite safe; he is a prisoner of war below, with a pair ofhandcuffs on his wrists," replied Christy. "You and he together made thenest for him, and he must sleep in it. I cannot say what the commodorewill do with you."
"Corny on board of this steamer!" exclaimed the father. "In irons too!"
"I consider the naval officers as dangerous men, and I had to treatCorny in the same manner that I did his associates. If you wish to seehim, I will send for him."
"Of course I should like to see my son."
Christy struck his bell, and the steward promptly appeared at the door.
"Dave, go to the quarters, and conduct the prisoner, Mr. Passford,to this cabin. You may take off his handcuffs; here is the key," saidChristy, and steward took the key and departed.
"How high is the grass in the streets of New York, Christy?" asked thecolonel, with a twinkle of the eye, and a smile.
"Grass! They don't raise it in the city; and there isn't as much of itin all the streets as I saw in the principal one in Mobile when I wasthere, on my way from the prison to the bay," replied the commandercheerfully. "I don't believe that business was ever so lively in NewYork and the other cities of the North
as it is at this time; and I leftthere ten days ago."
"Do the people there really expect to put down the Rebellion, as theycall it, nephew?" asked Colonel Passford, in a tone which indicated hisconfidence in the final success of his cause.
"They have no doubt whatever that the Rebellion will be crushed out.The last time we met you did not believe that a blockade could beestablished; but it has been done, and the government is strengtheningit every day. It is effective, too; and I have been concerned in thecapture of nearly a dozen vessels that were trying to break through."
"You have been very fortunate, nephew; but it will be impossible toconquer the South. We shall be the victors in the end as sure as thereis a God in heaven who watches over the affairs of men."
"One who can believe that would swallow Baron Munchausen withoutblinking. But I think we had better not talk politics, uncle Homer, forwe don't get ahead at all. I shall continue to stand by the Union, andthe South will raise the same cry after a few years more," said Christy,as Dave opened the door, and ushered the prisoner into the cabin.
Father and son shook hands, but they were not so demonstrative asthey might have been. Christy was not disposed to burden them withhis presence, but he insisted that Dave should stay there during theinterview. He left them together for two hours, and then sent Mr.Pennant and a seaman to remove Corny to the quarters. Dave said theyhad talked only of family matters, though the son had explained to hisfather the plan to obtain possession of the Bronx.
When the commander went on deck, the fog had disappeared, and the shorewas to be seen at the distance of about six miles from the steamer. Ateight bells, or noon, a steamer was discovered coming out of the bay bya channel between two islands. She carried the American flag over theConfederate, and no one doubted that she was the Floridian. In half anhour she was alongside, and she looked like a fine vessel, for she hadcome from the other side of the ocean as a blockade-runner.
Mr. Flint reported that she had been captured without any resistance onthe part of the crew. There was no incident worth relating in connectionwith the capture, though she was full of cotton, and brought overseventy thousand dollars when the vessel and cargo were sold. The twocutters were brought alongside, and hoisted up to the davits.
"I suppose the steamer has a supply of coal on board, Mr. Flint."
"Enough to take her to Liverpool," replied the first lieutenant.
"There are several vessels in Appalachicola Bay, and I thought ofattending to them; but I think we have too much on our hands now, andI shall sail at once for the station. You will take charge of theFloridian, Mr. Flint, with such crew as you need," said Christy.
In less than half an hour the two vessels were under way, and just atdark they were within hail of the flag-ship.