the affray on the quarter-deck of the bronx
christy was satisfied that all was going well in regard to the capture of the bronx, and he went to sleep after he had disposed of his dinner, and arranged the final details of the enterprise with the second lieutenant. mr. flint was somewhat impatient to carry out his plan; but christy insisted that nothing should be done till the orders of the flag-officer had been actually disobeyed. it was decided that coming about, and heading the bronx to the westward would constitute disobedience.
when christy awoke it was dark, or at least dusky, as far as he could judge in his concealment. he heard the rattle of dishes, knives and forks in the cabin, and he understood that the captain was taking his dinner. a conversation was in progress, and christy concluded from the 159 voices he heard that corny had invited his first lieutenant to dine with him.
"i think we shall be in pensacola bay by daylight," said mr. galvinne; "and we have just the right kind of weather for our enterprise. it is cloudy, and it looks as though we might have a fog, for they often come up after dark when the wind is as it is now."
"what time shall you come about?" asked corny, apparently from curiosity rather than any especial interest in the navigation of the steamer.
"about nine o'clock; perhaps sooner. byron will have the deck from eight bells for the first watch; i hope and expect flint will turn in at that time, for he will have the mid-watch. it might be a little awkward if he happens to be on deck when we change our course from east to west."
christy did not believe that the second lieutenant would turn in at the time indicated, though he might make a pretence of doing so, and shut himself up in his stateroom. mr. galvinne proceeded to say that he should have rockton and warton ready to make mr. flint a prisoner in case he became too inquisitive. nichols and sayles would 160 be available near the quarter-deck in case any demonstration was made by any portion of the crew.
"but there will be no trouble of any kind," added the first lieutenant. "we are not carrying sail, and i shall quietly give the word to the quartermaster to make the course west instead of east. flint is the only man on board who is at all likely to question the regularity of the proceedings on board; and i do not see how he can do it, for he knows nothing at all about the orders under which we are sailing. in fact, we shall be on the other tack before the time comes to open the sealed envelope."
"i hope it will all come out right," added corny.
"you may depend upon it that we shall be under the guns of fort barrancas, or farther up the bay, before daylight," replied the actual commander.
"what am i to do, mr. galvinne?" asked corny.
"nothing at all; you can turn in as soon as you like and sleep through the whole, for there will be nothing at all to disturb you. as i said, 161 flint is the only person on board who is likely to make the least trouble, and he will be asleep in his berth. if he asks hard questions when he comes on deck at eight bells for the mid-watch, our men will secure him. that is the whole of it. i must go on deck now, for i can smell the fog."
"how are you going to get to the entrance of the bay in a fog?" inquired corny.
"if we keep her due west we shall be all right; and i know this coast as well as i do my father's plantation," replied mr. galvinne; and christy heard him open the door.
"i think i shall go on deck and see the fun, if there is any, and turn in if there is none," added christy.
the dishes rattled for a moment, and then the fugitive heard the step and the voice of dave in the stateroom.
"i done bring you something more to eat, massa christy," said the steward, who appeared to have suffered some lapse in his grammar and pronunciation during the absence at the north of his instructor; and as he spoke he handed in a piece of pie and a large slice of cake.
162 christy was not very hungry after his late dinner, but he ate the dainties brought to him, and found that the cook of the bronx had lost none of his skill. he might not have an opportunity to eat again very soon, for he did not lose sight of the fact that failure was possible, and he might soon be an occupant of a confederate prison with flint, as he had been once before.
dave busied himself in clearing the cabin table, and christy impatiently waited the time for the decided action which had been planned. about half an hour later, when he realized from the condition of the stateroom that it was quite dark, the sounds coming to him assured him that the course of the bronx had been changed as indicated by mr. galvinne. no noise or confusion on deck followed it, and the naval officer's prediction seemed to be in a fair way to be realized.
another half hour elapsed, and except the monotonous plaint of the screw, no sound was to be heard. a footstep came from the cabin, where dave was at work, or appeared to be, for he had been stationed there for his part of the programme which was presently to be carried out.
"steward, light the lamp in my stateroom," 163 said corny; and christy was glad to find that he intended to retire for the night, for he had no duties to perform unless there was a disturbance on the quarter-deck.
the lamp on gimbols was lighted, and corny took possession of the room, and had not a suspicion that he was not its only occupant. he lay down in his berth after he had removed his coat and shoes, and in a few minutes christy judged that he was asleep from the sound of his breathing, which soon degenerated into a mild snore. mr. flint was to make a beginning in the project, or, as dave called it, "open the ball."
in less than another half hour, christy heard a knock on the cabin door, which was the signal from the second lieutenant that it was time to begin operations. he crawled to the front of the space beneath the berth at the sound, and at the same moment dave came in at the door of the stateroom, which had been left open.
the steward lost no time in acting his part, the first step of which was to jam a handkerchief into the half-open mouth of corny passford; but he had been counselled to use no more force than was necessary to subdue him. dave then turned 164 him over on his back in spite of his aimless struggles, for, as he was roused from his sound slumber, he was too much bewildered to accomplish anything like an effective resistance. the strap which christy had provided for the purpose was used in fastening his hands behind him, and so far as corny was concerned, the battle was fought and the victory won.
christy had crawled out of his narrow quarters under the berth as soon as dave began to operate on the sleeper above him, and he stood ready to assist the steward if his services were required; but there was hardly anything like a struggle, for corny had been so completely surprised that he was incapable of doing anything in self-defence. with his hands strapped behind him, and with the gag still in his mouth, he was permitted to remain in the berth under the guard of dave.
not a particle of noise had been made in the stateroom; at least, none that could be heard on the deck above. christy hastened from the little apartment through the cabin to the gangway, where he found mr. flint at the head of the stairs prepared to execute the part of the work assigned to him, which was to fall upon mr. galvinne; 165 but he did not appear to be in a favorable position for the attack.
"what are you waiting for, mr. flint?" asked christy in a whisper, as he joined the second lieutenant.
"he has gone into the waist," replied the officer in waiting. "he will be back in a moment."
christy had looked into the ward room as he passed the door, for the captain's cabin was not provided with a separate companion-way, as is usual on men-of-war, for the space could not be spared in so small a vessel. all was still there, but two men stood near the door waiting for the signal to rush to the deck.
"what are those men doing aft, mr. byron?" demanded the first lieutenant, with some excitement in his manner. "they were very nearly on the quarter-deck, and they seemed to be very reluctant to go forward."
"i am sure i don't know, mr. galvinne; i did not order them there," replied the third lieutenant, who was in charge of the deck.
"i suppose they have seen that the course of the ship has been changed, and i thought they might have come aft to ask some questions, 166 though the men ought to be better trained than that," added mr. galvinne, as he came quite near the companion-way where the second lieutenant was waiting for him, with christy behind him, and ready to support him.
mr. flint sprang upon the quarter-deck and threw himself upon mr. galvinne, closely followed by christy. at the same time, and as soon as the gangway was clear, the two men who had been stationed in the ward room leaped upon the deck, and threw themselves upon the third lieutenant. at the same moment, the six men who had been lurking in the waist, and who had attracted the attention of the executive officer, hastened to the scene of the conflict. rockton, who had been made a quartermaster, and the helmsman, warton, went to the assistance of the first and third lieutenants.
neither of the two disloyal officers of the bronx was an infant, and each struggled like a brave man against the force that attacked them. mr. flint had fallen upon mr. galvinne from behind, and had thrown him down at the first onslaught. he fought like a tiger, but with the aid of christy and two of the men from the 167 waist, he was subdued, and christy had a strap ready to confine his hands behind him. then he was drawn over to the rail and made fast to a belaying pin.
byron was not less energetic than his superior in his own defence, but the two stout sailors who had been selected to capture him were more than doubly a match for him, and he was carefully secured. at the same time there was a free fight between rockton and warton on the one side, and the sailors who had come aft, but the disloyal tars were conquered in the end. the prisoners were all bound and made fast to the rail. the entire watch had come aft while the battle was in progress, and those who had been instructed in the situation and had taken part in the recovery of the ship explained to their loyal companions the meaning of the affair which had just been brought to a conclusion. involuntarily they gave three tremendous cheers, and then three more for the genuine commander.
not a few of them who had served with christy in the gulf declared they had not believed that the person who was the nominal captain was their old first lieutenant; they knew that something 168 was wrong, they said, though they could not tell what. perhaps they found the captain less active than formerly, and considered him somewhat changed after his visit to the north; but doubtless they were as much blinded by the resemblance as others had been.
"mr. flint, i appoint you acting first lieutenant of the bronx," said christy, as soon as the affray was over. "you will restore order on board."
the new executive officer sent the men forward, called out one of the old quartermasters to con the wheel, and placed a loyal seaman under his charge as helmsman. order was almost instantly restored under his direction, and the men had enough to talk about to last them the entire night. mr. flint had his doubts in regard to the security of the prisoners; their bonds of straps and rope were removed, and their places supplied by iron handcuffs.
