by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XVI.
ACROSS THE GULF OF MEXICO.
We had arrived at only a partial solution of the mystery, though we haddone enough to relieve Captain Blastblow from any evil intentions inthe premises. What Cornwood's connection with the affair was did notyet appear. He could not have known that Nick Boomsby was on board ofthe Islander, for he had gone to St. Augustine, where we had put in onaccount of stress of weather. He could not have known that we intendedto put into St. Augustine, for we had no intention to do so when weleft Jacksonville.
Possibly Cornwood had put one thing and another together until hebelieved Nick had taken the four thousand dollars, and had made hisescape in the Islander. It looked as though Cornwood had someconnection with the robbery, for the Islander had hurried on her way toNew Orleans, if she was bound there, as soon as the Sylvania came insight. If he had delivered the letter to Captain Blastblow, the latterwould have remained in Key West until the arrival of her owner, asinstructed by the written message.
"Cornwood and Nick did a good deal of talking, it appears, while theIslander was here," said Washburn, "though we don't know what it wasall about."
"I have no doubt Cornwood took the management of the case at thispoint," I replied. "Nick must have forged one letter to induce CaptainBlastblow to start the Islander without her owner and his family; and Ihave no doubt Cornwood forged another to make him continue the voyage."
"I hope we shall know all about the matter in a few hours more," saidWashburn.
"You understand the entire situation now, Captain Cayo, and see why wewant to overhaul the Islander," I continued.
"I see the whole of it, and I will do the best I can to outsail theother steamer; but that depends more on your vessel than on me,"replied the pilot. "Will you let your men heave the log?"
We had been driving the Sylvania to her utmost, and Ben Bowman reportedthat we were making eleven and a half knots, which was doingexceedingly well in the teeth of a fresh north-west wind. Captain Cayowent to the westward of the bar-buoy, while the Islander had gone tothe eastward of it more than a mile. I saw that we had gained a mile bythis course, and the Islander was not more than four miles ahead of us.
I gave the pilot my views of the relative speed of the two vessels,though I told him that Captain Blastblow might get a higher rate ofspeed out of her than any one had done before.
"We shall soon see which sails fastest," said Captain Cayo. "TheIslander has laid her course for the South-west Pass of theMississippi. All you have to do is to follow her. There is ourpilot-boat; and this is as far as we usually take vessels."
"But I don't care to have you leave us here, Captain Cayo," I replied."It is clear enough that the Islander intends to keep out of our way.She may run in among the Dry Tortugas, and having a pilot on board, shecould easily elude us."
"She might do that when she finds you are gaining on her, as I see youare, for we have made half a knot on her since we came out of thechannel. But if we leave the pilot-boat behind, I can't get off thesteamer when you don't want me any longer. Besides, it looks like achange of weather, and pilots are in demand when it is foggy or blows,at this season of the year."
"What sort of weather do you expect next?" I asked.
"The wind will work round to the south-west, and then it will befoggy," replied the pilot, scanning the horizon.
"Can't you go to New Orleans, or remain on board till we meet a steamerfor Key West?" I suggested.
"I should be very happy to go to New Orleans with you, for there willbe no steamer for Key West for several days. But I am not a pilot forthe Mississippi River, and you will have to pay another just the sameas though I were not on board."
He named his price, besides expenses; and as it was reasonable, Iaccepted it at once. My experience the night before, when I found theSylvania was ten miles from where I supposed she was, made me extremelycautious. I felt entirely competent to take the steamer to theSouth-east Pass of the Mississippi; but it was evident that Cornwoodhad obtained control of the Islander, acting as the agent of ColonelShepard, and that he would not permit the Sylvania to come near her ifhe could avoid it. Probably the Conch who had acted as her pilot so farwould understand the channels of the Tortugas, and could easily takethe Islander where I should not care to follow her.
The pilot-boat lay very nearly in our course, and a boat put off fromher as we approached. Captain Cayo stopped the steamer when the boatwas abreast of her. He jumped upon the rail, and told the oarsmen thathe was going to New Orleans.
"Now start her, Mr. Mate," said he to Washburn, as he crawled over therail to the deck.
"Now Cornwood will believe the pilot has left you," said Captain Cayo."The Islander is still two miles off, and I don't think her peoplecould see me when I crawled back over the rail."
It was a dead calm on the Gulf of Mexico, and the Sylvania was stillmaking eleven and a half knots an hour. I calculated that we had gainedtwo knots on the Islander, one by taking the shorter course, and one byoutsailing her.
"I think we had better keep her more to the southward," said CaptainCayo, after he had taken a survey of the horizon, especially in thesouthwest, where a pile of clouds seemed to be gathering.
"Why to the southward?" I asked.
"I think the captain of the Islander must see by this time that we aregaining on him, and that it is only a question of three or four hourswhen we shall overhaul her," replied the pilot. "If I were in hisplace, I should steer for the Tortugas, and leave you five or ten milesbehind by dodging into some shallow channel. By keeping to thesouthward, we shall be in a better position to head her off."
"I see; and we are almost up with the Tortugas. If we keep to thesouthward, we shall be right in her course if she attempts to run forthose islands."
"Right you are, Captain Alick," added the pilot, as he changed thecourse to due west. "There is a breeze coming up from the southward,which is quite a regular thing towards night. It will blow fresh forsome hours, just about a whole sail breeze. I think you had better getyour sails set, for the one that uses the wind first will make themost."
I told the mate to call all hands, and put on every rag of canvas wecould set. Before he had the foretopsail shaken out, the breeze came,though it was very light. By the time the rest of the sails were set,it was blowing lively. It was five o'clock in the afternoon, and wewere fairly up with the Tortugas, and at least a mile to the southwardof the Islander. If she attempted to get in among the islands, she mustrun across our course, and less than a mile ahead of the Sylvania. Wecould easily cut her off.
"She can't get in among those islands now without running into us," Isaid, after I had carefully surveyed the situation.
"That is as true as preaching," added Captain Cayo, laughing, when hesaw that the other steamer was checkmated if she had intended to resortto any stratagem to avoid us. "We may as well put the steamer on hercourse for the South-east Pass."
He suited his action to the words. The wind was freshening, and the logindicated that we were making twelve knots strong. Moses was stillcrowding on all the steam the boiler would bear, and I am sure theyacht never sailed any faster.
At six I estimated that the Islander was not more than a mile ahead ofus, and another hour would wipe out all the difference.
"This wind is good for us in one way, and bad in another," said CaptainCayo, shaking his head after a searching gaze to windward.
"You mean that we are likely to have some fog," I added.
"Not only likely to have a fog, but sure of it. It is miles deep to thesouthward and westward."
"Of course the Islander will be able to keep out of the way in a fog;and we can't help ourselves," I replied, trying to yield as gracefullyas possible to the necessity of giving up our point.
I had hardly uttered the words before the fog swept down upon us. Itwas very dense, and we could not see a ship's length ahead of us; atabout the same time the wind suddenly subsided. We could see nothing ofthe Islander, and I had no doubt she had already
shifted her course tothe north or the south.
"The game is all up, Captain Cayo," I said, very mournfully.
"Up for the present," replied the pilot, as he called through thespeaking-tube for the engineer to stop the steamer.
Captain Cayo put his head out of one of the front windows of thepilot-house, and listened attentively for several minutes. I understoodthat he had used the speaking-tube instead of ringing the gong, so thatthose on board of the Islander should not hear the sound, as theymight, it was now so still.
"Go ahead," continued the pilot through the tube. "She has headed tothe northward, and we will see what we can do on the same tack."
The pilot headed the Sylvania to the north. I hoped the wind wouldbreeze up again and carry off the fog; but there was no indication ofit. Our sails made so much noise, flapping and pounding against thespars, that I was obliged to order all sail taken in. When we had gonean hour on the present course, the pilot ordered the engineer to stopher, as before. Washburn and Ben Bowman were on the top-gallantforecastle, and they listened with all their might. We all did thesame, but we could not catch a sound of any kind. If the Islander hadbeen within a mile of us we could have heard the clang of her screw.She had either stopped her engine, or gone off on some other course. Wewent ahead again, headed to the north-west.
"We might keep this up all night, and not find her," said Captain Cayo,disgusted with the situation.
"What had we better do?" I asked.
"We can't do anything. We can't fight against the fog. Are you sure theIslander will go to New Orleans if we let her alone?"
"I feel reasonably sure of it," I replied. "Captain Blastblow evidentlyis not engaged in the conspiracy; and I don't believe Cornwood couldinduce him to disregard the instructions of his owner. His courseindicates that he intends to go there, only he seems to be determinedto keep out of the way of the Sylvania."
"I have no doubt Cornwood and Nick Boomsby want to go to New Orleans,"added the pilot. "I don't see why it won't be just as well to pick themup there as it will be here."
"But they will not allow themselves to be picked up," I answered. "Theywill get ashore as soon as the Islander reaches New Orleans, whetherthey get there before or after we do."
"If I wanted to make sure of the rogues, I should get to New Orleans asquickly as I could."
"We should be sure to get there before the Islander," I added.
"So much the better. When you get there, procure a couple of officers,and run back down the river till you meet the other steamer. Throw yourofficers on board of her, and they will then have no chance to escape.If we wait here all night, the Islander will make the best of her wayto her destination, while we are waiting for the fog to clear off, andof course the rogues will put themselves out of sight," said CaptainCayo.
"I think it is the surer way to run for New Orleans. I don't know thatwe need any officers," I replied. "We can run into the Mississippi,find some place of concealment, and pounce on the Islander when theyleast suspect our presence."
"I like that plan still better," replied the pilot.
We agreed upon this course, and the Sylvania was headed for theSouth-east Pass of the Mississippi. We gave her full speed, and onTuesday afternoon we were off the pass. It was a dull passage. We tooka pilot, and as we had no difficulty in crossing the bar, we were soonin the river. The whole region was swamps and lagoons, about asuninteresting as we could expect to find.