by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER X
A SHOT FROM THE LONG GUN
Christy Passford, as soon as he found that all the other preparationsfor the decisive event had been made, turned his attention to the aimingof the long gun. He had practised with it somewhat before; and in theambitious spirit of a boy, he had often amused himself by sighting overthe top of the piece.
There was no sort of duty on board of a vessel, even a war steamer, inwhich he had not done his best to make himself a proficient. He had doneduty as an engineer, and even as a fireman. He had taken his trick atthe wheel as a quartermaster, and there was nothing he had not done,unless it was to command a vessel, and he had done that on a smallscale. Doubtless he had no inconsiderable portion of a boy's vanity,and he believed that he could do anything that anybody else could do;or if he was satisfied that he could not, he studied and practised tillhe did believe it.
Be it vanity or pride, Christy certainly believed in himself to a veryliberal extent, though his character was fortunately leavened with alarge lump of modesty. What he believed, he believed for himself, andacted upon it for himself; so that he was not inclined to boast of hisaccomplishments, and permitted others to find out what he was ratherthan made it known in words himself. But his father had found itnecessary to restrain him to some extent, and he had not pushed himforward as rapidly as he might have done till the dread notes of warwere heard on the land and the sea; and then he thought it would bewrong to hold him back.
When Christy sighted along the great gun, he believed he could hit theVampire almost to a certainty; but he was not self-sufficient, and didnot often believe that he knew a thing better than any other person, andhe was not above taking the advice and instruction of others. It wasdark, but Christy had fixed upon an object at the bend below, of whichhe intended to make use in firing the gun. It was a tree which paintedits outline on the horizon, and the decisive moment was to come whenthe Vampire was in range with this tree. He adjusted the gun just as hewanted it, and he was satisfied it would do just what he required of it.
He was not inclined to act on his own judgment and skill alone, and hecalled Boxie, the old sheet-anchorman, who had been the captain of a gunyears before the midshipman was born, and pointed out the tree to him,asking him to sight along the gun. He explained his plan to the oldsalt, and then asked his opinion.
"You have aimed it too high, Mr. Passford," said the veteran, after hehad squinted a long time along the piece.
"How is it otherwise?" asked Christy.
"It is all right, sir; but the shot will pass over the steamer. Drop themuzzle a trifle, and the shot will hull her, if you pull the lockstringat the right time."
"I shall see that the string is pulled at the right time; thank you,Boxie," added Christy, without depressing the gun as the old mansuggested, for he had a theory of his own which he intended to carryout.
"But the ship may change her position a trifle," added Boxie.
"Of course, I mean to sight the gun again at the very moment we fire,"replied Christy, looking at his watch, though he was obliged to go intothe engine-room to see what time it was.
It was after two, and the Vampire had had time enough to make the bend.Christy wondered if Captain Carboneer was not looking for the four menhe had promised to put on board of the old steamer; but some promisesare better broken than kept, and the midshipman thought this was one ofthem, though he did not consider the present occasion as any excuse forlies, or the failure to keep his word, in the indefinite future.
The acting commander of the Bellevite--for such the middy was, andno one disputed his authority--began to be very nervous at thenon-appearance of the enemy. He was afraid that some mishap had befallenthe Vampire; either that she had gone to the bottom or got aground,though he had heard Captain Carboneer say that he was a pilot for thispart of the river.
Christy had mounted the gun carriage ready to take his final aim, and hehad been there at least half an hour. He was watching the point wherethe Roman candles had been planted, and he had perfect confidence inthe judgment and fidelity of Mr. Watts. Boxie was stationed at thelock-string, and held it in his hand, ready to speed the great shoton its errand of destruction; but he hoped the midshipman would depressthe muzzle of the gun before he was called upon to pull the string. Theother sailors who had served on board of the Bellevite, and had beendrilled in handling the guns, were all in their stations, ready to loadthe piece again as quickly as possible after it had been discharged.
The silence had become intense and painful to all, for apart fromthe messenger of death and devastation which was about to be hurled atthe Vampire, the Bellevite was in danger of being captured, and had aresolute enemy in front of her. The safety of the pet steamer dependedupon the skill and judgment of a mere boy, though everybody on board hadentire confidence in him. But the supreme moment came soon enough.
"Christy sprang to the Gun."--Page 119.]
A hardly perceptible light at the point he was so closely watching,first attracted the attention of Christy,--perhaps the lighting of thesteward's match. An instant later, the fireworks blazed up, and lightedup the smooth surface of the sleeping river. No doubt the conspirators,who had chosen darkness because their deeds were evil, were astounded tosee so much light suddenly thrown upon their enterprise.
Christy sprang to the gun, took a hasty sight, which satisfied him thatthe position of the gun had not changed a particle. As the dark outlineof the Vampire passed in range of the selected tree, the midshipmansprang down from the gun-carriage.
"Fire!" shouted he, in a determined though not very loud tone.
It was a tremendous explosion, and the echoes rolled out from the hillsas though they were armed with heavy guns, and were taking part in theconflict. Probably the rattling windows and the shaking frames of thehouses roused all the sleepers within a mile of the ship.
The Bellevite was enveloped in the smoke from the discharge, and thoughChristy mounted the carriage again to obtain a better view, he could seenothing, for there was not wind enough to sweep it away at once. But theyoung commander watched, with almost as much interest and anxiety asbefore, the signal station he had established. But there was no occasionfor desperate haste, for the gun was ready for use a second time if thefirst shot had failed to do its work. On the other hand, if the Vampirewas disabled, she would stay where she was, or drift down the river withthe turn of the tide, and it was just about "full sea" at this time.
The smoke was very aggravating to the midshipman, but he could not helphimself. The light air swept it away in time, and, with his strainedeyes, Christy discovered that two Roman candles were burning at thesignal station.
"Did you hit her, Christy?" asked Paul Vapoor, leaping on thegun-carriage.
"I did," replied the midshipman, trying to control a certain feeling ofexultation that took possession of his mind, for he did not considerthat some of the party below might have been killed by the shot.
"I suppose you don't know anything about the effect of the shot yet?"added Paul.
"I only know that the Vampire is disabled."
"How do you know that, for I can't see anything?"
"Do you see those two blue lights burning at the side of the river?"asked Christy, as he pointed to the place.
"I see them, and they light up the river like a flash of lightning."
"They mean that the steamer is disabled; and for that reason she can'tcome any nearer than she is now."
"But those villains will make their way to the shore, and there areboats enough about here to enable them to get alongside, and lay usaboard. This is not the end of the affair," said the engineer, veryseriously.
"Decidedly not; but I hope to have further information in the course ofa few minutes," replied Christy.
"Bellevite, ahoy!" shouted some one on shore.
"That is Mr. Watts; send Sampson on shore after him, and we shallsoon know the condition of affairs on board of the Vampire," added themidshipman. "I told the steward to ride up as fast as he could
after hehad satisfied himself that the steamer was disabled."
Sampson was gone but a few minutes, during which time Christy andPaul consulted in regard to the next step to be taken, and the questionwas promptly decided. The boat in which Sampson had gone to the shorereturned not only with the steward, but also with Mrs. Passford and MissFlorry.
"What does this mean, mother?" asked Christy, astonished to see hismother and sister come on board.
"It means that we were alarmed, and could not stay in the house anylonger," said Florry, taking it upon herself to answer.
"Your father has not come home yet, Christy, and I don't think he willcome to-night, for he said he might not be able to return in the lasttrain," added Mrs. Passford. "We came down to the shore with two of themen, and saw Mr. Watts when he arrived on the horse."
"And I shall take the responsibility of having advised the ladies to goon board of the Bellevite," interposed the steward.
"But you have not reported upon the condition of the enemy after theshot hit the Vampire, Mr. Watts," said Christy, impatiently.
"The shot struck her walking-beam, smashed it all to pieces, and cleanedit off completely. Of course, that disabled her. Very likely some of theparty on board of the Vampire are hurt, for the pieces did not all dropinto the water."
"Now, in regard to the ladies?" suggested the midshipman.
"It is for you to decide, Mr. Passford, whether or not the enemy arelikely to renew the attempt to capture the steamer. But it seemed to me,whether they do anything more or not, it is not quite safe for theladies to be alone in the house with the servants, for these fellowswill be prowling about here in either case."
"I would not stay in the house for all the world!" protested MissFlorry; and probably she thought that one of the prowlers would be MajorPierson.
"You are quite right, Mr. Watts; I was not as thoughtful as you were,"replied Christy, who took in the situation with this suggestion. "Whatwere they doing on board of the Vampire, Mr. Watts?"
"I did not wait to observe their movements, but the boat began to driftdown the river."
"Beg pardon, Mr. Passford, but the ship is swinging around, and you willnot be able to use that gun as it points now," said Boxie, touching hishat to the young commander.
"Stand by your engine, Paul; we will get under way at once. Boxie, castoff the cable, and let it run out. You buoyed it, did you not?" saidChristy, with a sudden renewal of energy, as he hastened to thepilot-house, where Beeks and Thayer had been sent before.
"I buoyed the cable, sir," replied the sheet-anchorman.
"Then cast it off. Sampson, open the cabin for the ladies," addedChristy, as he disappeared in the pilot-house.
But the ladies preferred to go into the engine-room.