the vampire, as the steward had no doubt it was, could not be less than a mile distant from the spot where the two horsemen had halted in the road. christy was very familiar with this portion of the river, and after he had listened a few moments, he was satisfied from the direction of the sound he heard, that a mile was very nearly the exact distance. the approaching steamer had to come around a small bend, the arc of which made just a mile.
"i don't wish to blow up a dozen or twenty loyal citizens, and i must make sure in some way that captain carboneer's party is on board of that steamer," said christy, as he led his horse into a field, and tied him to a tree, the steward following his example.
"that would be a very bad thing to do," added mr. watts, as they walked back to the river. 104 "but i don't see why it is necessary to blow up even any rebels on the present occasion. if that naval officer has forty men, as you think he has, a shot from that long gun would make terrible havoc among them if you succeeded in hitting her. you might kill half of them."
"if we do they, and not we, will be responsible for it," added christy, somewhat appalled by the suggestion of his companion.
"if you have steam up on board of the bellevite, why not get under way and run down the river," continued mr. watts.
"perhaps i am a coward, but i am afraid to do that," replied the midshipman, thoughtfully.
"we all know that you are no coward, christy, and if you don't send a shot into the vampire, it will not be because you are afraid."
"although i know the river as well as any pilot in this vicinity, i should not dare to run the bellevite at full speed around such a bend as the one off this spot," christy explained. "we have not above half a dozen trained sailors who know how to handle a cutlass on board, and all the others will be needed in working the steamer. the coal-passers would be good for nothing in repelling boarders."
105 "you think captain carboneer would board the steamer, do you?"
"i have no doubt he would. he is a naval officer, and he knows what he is about. there are several ways that he might get a hold on the bellevite, and, if he got alongside of her, i am afraid it would be all up with us, and we should have a fair chance to see the inside of a confederate prison. i am afraid to run the risk you suggest, mr. watts."
"you know best, and i don't mean to interfere; i only thought i would suggest the idea," added the steward, as they reached the bank of the river again.
after he had secured his horse, christy had lighted a match and looked at his watch. it was a quarter of one, and still the puffing of the vampire came from the same direction. it was plain enough to him that the old tub was not a racer. but she showed herself beyond the bend in about a quarter of an hour, indicating that her rate of speed, or rather of slowness, was not more than four statute miles an hour. but this was simply confirmation of what the steward had said on the subject. yet she was coming, though it was too 106 dark on the river to see her in detail. though he strained his eyes to the utmost, christy could not discover any men on her forward deck.
"i think you had better move back where you cannot be seen," said the midshipman, in a low tone, to his companion.
"do you wish me to leave you alone, christy?" asked the steward, surprised at the request.
"that is just what i wish, for i don't care to have any one on board of the vampire see more than one person at this point," replied christy, still gazing through the gloom at the approaching steamer.
"excuse me, christy; but what are you going to do? i prefer to be within supporting distance of you."
"i don't think i shall need any support. i am going to hail the vampire, and ask if captain carboneer is on board," replied the midshipman, quietly.
"you are going to hail her!" exclaimed mr. watts. "are you mad, christy? i should say that you were."
"you shall be your own judge on that point."
"but the moment you use the name of captain 107 carboneer, they will take the alarm, and the next thing will be a bullet through your head."
"i will take the risk of that," answered christy. "but you need not go far from the river on this dark night. there is a clump of bushes this side of the road, and you may get behind it."
the steward was not at all satisfied with the situation, but he complied with the request of the midshipman, and concealed himself behind the bushes. christy took a position on the very verge of the water. the progress of the vampire was made at the expense of a hideous noise, and she was a craft not at all adapted to the purpose of the conspirators. the middy watched her with the most intense interest as she approached the point where he was stationed. there was no light to be seen on board, and there appeared to be no men on her lower deck; but she had a cabin and other rooms, in which a force as large as that of the captain could be concealed.
"steamer, ahoy!" shouted christy, as soon as the vampire was abreast of the spot he occupied.
no answer came to this hail, and the midshipman repeated it, louder than before.
"on shore!" replied a voice from the forward deck.
108 "come up to the shore, and take me on board, will you?" continued christy, disguising his voice to some extent the better to answer his purpose.
"who is it?" demanded the person on board who acted as speaker; and christy could see his form very distinctly, as he stood at an open gangway, and was the only person in sight on the lower deck.
"brigster," replied christy, chewing up the word he coined so that the man could not possibly make it out.
"are you alone, brewster?" demanded the speaker from the steamer.
this was a hard question, and with less information than he had obtained while in his cabin on board of the florence, he would not have dared to reply to it. but he knew something of the plan of the conspirators, and he felt competent to answer.
"three more back in the road," replied christy, promptly; and he said three so as to give the idea that the force on board might be increased by this number. "is captain carboneer on board of that steamer?" asked the midshipman, coming to his main point.
illustration of quoted scene
"steamer, ahoy!" shouted christy.—page 107.
109 "he is, and we are all here but four," replied the speaker on the deck; and christy was satisfied that the captain was the person by this time, for his language and his voice indicated that he was an educated man.
"we had no boat, and we could not get across the river to the creek," added christy, to increase the confidence of the leader of the expedition. "but we saw a boat half at mile up the river, and we will come off there, if you say so."
"all right; come on board as soon as you can," added captain carboneer, as he walked away from the gangway.
mindful of the peril of the situation, christy walked leisurely back from the river, and soon joined mr. watts, who had been near enough to hear the conversation between the captain and the midshipman.
"that was done very handsomely, christy," said the steward.
"there was no great difficulty in handling such a matter when one knew all about the plot as i did. the fault on the other side was that they did not examine the cabin of the florence before they discussed their plans in the standing-room," replied 110 christy, as he unfastened his horse, and sprang upon his back. "i have no time to spare now."
"there is nothing more to be done here, i believe," added mr. watts.
"not a thing. you can ride back to the place where the roman candles are planted, and you need not hurry about it, for the vampire don't make more than four miles an hour. now be particular to carry out my instructions to the letter, mr. watts; and you can see that a great deal depends upon which signal you may have occasion to give," added the midshipman.
"i understand what i am to do perfectly, and i will do my duty faithfully, you may be sure," replied the steward, as he mounted his horse.
christy did not wait for him, but put his steed into a dead run on the moment. the road was only a cart-path, and it was so soft that the horse's hoofs made no noise to betray his movements to the enemy. he urged the willing beast to his utmost speed, for he was as much at home in the saddle as he was in the rigging of a ship. before the vampire had made another eighth of a mile, he had reached the place where 111 the boat had been left for his use. what to do with his horse was a question, for the report of the big gun would set him crazy. but he knew that the men must be at the house, and he turned the animal loose, satisfied that he would go to the stable without any guidance.
springing into the boat, he pulled to the bellevite. at the accommodation steps, he was challenged by sampson, who demanded like one in authority who and what he was, for the experience of the evening had greatly sharpened his wits.
"who is it?" he demanded, in a tone which implied his intention to have a satisfactory answer. "advance and give the word."
"give the word!" exclaimed christy. "i have no word to give."
"then you can't come on board," replied sampson dogmatically.
"i am christy passford, and i have not heard about any word," protested the midshipman.
"you can't pour molasses down my back again," replied sampson, with a self-satisfied air.
"don't be a fool, sampson," added christy, as he climbed upon the steps, the lower part of which had been hoisted up.
112 "i have been a fool once, and i don't mean to be again," replied the sentinel. "on deck, there! bring a lantern out of the engine-room!"
"don't bring a lantern in sight!" protested christy impatiently.
"what's the row there, sampson?" called paul vapoor, mounting the rail, and looking through the darkness at the steps, down which the vigilant sentinel had descended more than half way to the water.
"this fellow says he is christy passford; and i don't know whether it is christy or not," replied sampson.
"is that you, christy?" asked paul.
"of course it is," replied the middy. "we are wasting time."
"he hasn't the word," added the sentinel.
"pass him, sampson; he is all right," said the engineer; and christy rushed up the steps, and leaped down upon the deck of the steamer.
"i gave out a word for all who had to leave the ship for any purpose during the evening," paul explained.
"never mind that now," interposed the midshipman in command. "have you plenty of steam on?"
113 "enough to give her fifteen knots," replied the engineer. "the cable is buoyed, and the long gun loaded. i believe everything is in perfect order to carry out your instructions, though we did not point the gun when we loaded it, for i thought you would prefer to do that yourself," the engineer reported.
"all right, paul," added christy. "the steamer, whose name is the vampire, is on her way up the river, and i should say she would reach the bend in about half an hour. mr. watts is down there, and i have arranged certain signals with him."
the midshipman made a careful examination for himself of the ship.
