by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER II
A COMPLICATED CASE
Captain Passford looked over his papers for a moment; but it was soonevident from his manner that he had secrets which he would not intrusteven to his son, unless it was necessary to do so. He seemed to be armedwith documentary evidence upon which to act, but he did not read any ofhis papers, and soon returned them to his pocket.
"The American goods of which I speak are certain pieces of machinery tobe used in the manufacture of arms," continued the captain. "They cannotbe obtained in England, and the traitors have decided to send themdirect, rather than across the ocean in the first instance. These willform the principal and most important part of the cargo of a steamer nowloaded, though she will carry other goods, such as the enemy need mostat the present time."
"I did not suppose any Americans were wicked enough to engage in such anenterprise for the sake of making money," said Christy indignantly.
"The steamer of which you speak is already loaded, is she?" askedCaptain Chantor.
"She is; and now I wish both of you to go with me, and I will point outthe vessel to you, and you must mark her so well that you can identifyher when occasion requires."
The trio left the house and took the train together. They went to NewYork, and in an out-of-the-way locality they went down to a wharf; butthere was no steamer or vessel of any kind there, and the pier wasfalling to pieces from decay. Captain Passford stopped short, and seemedto be confounded when he found the dock was not occupied.
"I am afraid we are too late, and that the steamer has sailed on hermission of destruction," said he, almost overcome by the discovery. "Shewas here last night, and was watched till this morning. She has alreadycleared, bound to Wilmington, Delaware, with a cargo of old iron."
"Do you know her name, Captain Passford?" asked the commander of theChateaugay.
"She was a screw steamer of about six hundred tons, and was called theIonian, but she is American."
It was useless to remain there any longer, for the steamer certainly wasnot there. Captain Passford hailed a passing-tug-boat, and they weretaken on board. The master of the boat was instructed to steam down theEast River, and the party examined every steamer at anchor or under way.The tug had nearly reached the Battery before the leader of the trio sawany vessel that looked like the Ionian. The tug went around this craft,for she resembled the one which had been in the dock, and the nameindicated was found on her stern.
"I breathe easier, for I was afraid she had given us the slip," saidCaptain Passford. "She is evidently all ready to sail."
"The Chateaugay is in commission, and ready to sail at a moment'snotice," added her commander.
"But you are not ready to leave at once, Christy," suggested CaptainPassford, with some anxiety in his expression.
"Yes, I am, father; I put my valises on board yesterday, and when motherand Florry went down to Mr. Pembroke's I bade them both good-by, forafter I have waited so long for my passage, I felt that the call wouldcome in a hurry," replied Christy. "I am all ready to go on board of theChateaugay at this moment."
"And so am I," added Captain Chantor.
"But I am not ready with your orders in full, though they are dulysigned," said Captain Passford. "I will put you on shore at the foot ofAtlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, Captain Chantor, and you will hasten toyour ship, get up steam, and move down to this vicinity. I will put myson on board as soon as I can have your papers completed."
The order necessary to carry out this procedure was given to the captainof the tug, and the commander of the Chateaugay was landed at the placeindicated. The tug started for the other side of the river.
"It seems to me this is very strange business, father," said Christy,as he and his father seated themselves at the stern of the boat.
"Traitors do not work in the daylight, my son, as you have learnedbefore this time," replied Captain Passford.
"If you know the men who are engaged in supplying the enemy withmachinery, why do you not have them arrested and put in Fort Lafayette?"asked Christy, in a very low tone, after he had assured himself that noperson was within possible hearing distance. "It looks as though thecase might be settled here, without going to sea to do it."
"We have not sufficient evidence to convict them; and to make arrestswithout the means of conviction would be worse than doing nothing. TheIonian has cleared for Wilmington with a cargo of old iron. Everythinglooks regular in regard to her, and I have no doubt there is some partywho would claim the castings if occasion required. The first thing to beascertained is whether or not the steamer goes to Wilmington."
"Then we can make short work of her."
"My information in regard to this treason comes from Warnock--you knowwho he is?"
"Captain Barnes," replied Christy promptly, for the names of all theagents of his father in England and Scotland had been given to him on aformer occasion, when the information received from one of the three hadresulted in the capture of the Scotian and the Arran.
"Barnes is a very shrewd man. He does not inform me yet in what mannerhe obtained the information that the Ovidio was to carry this machineryfrom Nassau into a rebel port; but I shall get it later in a letter. Hegave me the name of the party who was to furnish the machinery; and oneof his agents obtained this from the direction of a letter to New York.I placed four skilful detectives around this man, who stands well in thecommunity. They have worked the case admirably, and spotted the Ionian.I have aided them in all possible ways; but the evidence is notcomplete. If this steamer proceeds beyond Wilmington, Captain Chantorwill be instructed to capture her and send her back to New York."
"Then this business will soon be settled," added Christy.
"Perhaps not; the government official, with authority to act, is in NewYork. I shall see him at once. I have no doubt the detectives havealready reported that the Ionian has moved down the river," said CaptainPassford, as the tug came up to a pier, where father and son landed.
They went to an office in Battery Place, where the captain was informedthat a special messenger had been sent to Bonnydale to acquaint him withthe fact that the Ionian had moved down the river. Files of documents,containing reports of detectives and other papers, were examined andcompared, and then the government official proceeded to finish thefilling out of Captain Chantor's orders. The paper was given to Christy,with an order to deliver it to the commander of the Chateaugay. The tughad been detained for them, and they hastened on board of her.
They found the suspected steamer at her moorings still; but it wasevident that she was preparing to weigh her anchor. The tug continued onher course towards the Navy Yard, and the Chateaugay was discovered inthe berth she had occupied for the last two weeks. Everything lookedlively on board of her, as though she were getting ready to heave up heranchor.
"Christy, you will find on board of your steamer a man by the name ofGilfleur," said Captain Passford, as the tug approached the man-of-war.
"That sounds like a French name," interposed Christy.
"It is a French name, and the owner of it is a Frenchman who has been adetective in Paris. He has accomplished more in this matter than all theothers put together, and he will go with you, for you will find in thecommander's instructions that you have more than one thing to do on yourway to the Gulf. I gave him a letter to you."
"I shall be glad to see him."
"Now, my son, we must part, for I have business on shore, and you mayhave to sail at any moment," said Captain Passford, as he took the twohands of his son. "I have no advice to give you except to be prudent,and on this duty to be especially discreet. That's all--good-by."
They parted, after wringing each other's hands, as they had partedseveral times before. They might never meet again in this world, butboth of them subdued their emotion, for they were obeying the high andsolemn call of duty; both of them were fighting for the right, and thecivilian as well as the naval officer felt that it was his duty to laydown his life for his suffering country. Christy mounted the gangwa
y,and was received by Captain Chantor on the quarter-deck. He had been onboard before, and had taken possession of his stateroom.
The passenger took from his pocket the files of papers given him by theofficial on shore; and then he noticed for the first time an envelopeaddressed to him. The commander retired to his cabin to read hisinstructions, and Christy went to his stateroom in the ward room to openthe envelope directed to him. As soon as he broke the seal he realizedthat his father had done a great deal of writing, and he had no doubtthe paper contained full instructions for him, as well as a history ofthe difficult case in which he was to take a part. A paper signed by theofficial informed him that he was expected to occupy a sort of advisoryposition near the commander of the Chateaugay, though of course he wasin no manner to control him in regard to the management of the ship.
Christy read his father's letter through. The government was exceedinglyanxious to obtain accurate information in regard to the state of affairsat Nassau, that hot-bed for blockade-runners. The Chateaugay was to lookout for the Ovidio, whose ultimate destination was Mobile, where she wasto convey the gun-making machinery, and such other merchandise as thetraitorous merchant of New York wished to send into the Confederacy. Thename of this man was given to him, and it was believed that paperssigned by him would be found on board of the Ionian.
A knock at the door of his room disturbed his examination of thedocuments, and he found the commander of the steamer there. Afterlooking about the ward room, and into the adjoining staterooms, he camein without ceremony.
"Here is my hand, Mr. Passford," said he, suiting the action to theword. "I find after reading my instructions that I am expected toconsult with you, and as I have the very highest respect and regard foryou after the brilliant record you have made"--
"Don't you believe that I won my promotion to my present rank throughthe influence of my father?" demanded Christy, laughing pleasantly, ashe took the offered hand and warmly pressed it.
"If you did, your father did the very best thing in the world for hiscountry, and has given it one of the bravest and best officers in theservice," replied Captain Chantor, still wringing the hand of hispassenger. "But I don't believe anything of the kind; and no officer whoknows you, even if he is thirsting for promotion, believes it. I haveheard a great many of higher rank than either of us speak of you, and ifyou had been present your ears would have tingled; but I never heard asingle officer of any rank suggest that you owed your rapid advancementto anything but your professional skill and your unflinching bravery, aswell as to your absolute and hearty devotion to your country. I rank youin date, Mr. Passford, but I would give a great deal to have your recordwritten against my name."
"Your praise is exceedingly profuse, Captain Chantor, but I must believeyou are honest, however unworthy I may be of your unstinted laudation,"said Christy with his eyes fixed on the floor, and blushing like aschool-girl.
"I hope and believe there will be no discount on our fellowship. A mancame on board this afternoon, and gives me a letter from the properauthority, referring me to you in regard to his mission."
Christy decided to see this person at once.