captain passford was very much annoyed at the absence of christy at that particular moment, for it seemed to be heavily laden with momentous events to him and his family; though christy could not possibly know what had transpired in the library between the two brothers. he waited very uneasily in the hall, after his return from his search.
homer passford did not come out of his library, and he sat brooding over the remarkable interview which had taken place between the brothers. no doubt he would have been glad to believe that he had been wrong; for he had nothing but the kindest feelings in the world towards his brother, and had never had in all his life. he was five years older than horatio; and, in their earlier life, he had been to some extent his guardian and 169 protector, and he had never lost the feeling of boyhood.
but he had proved himself to be a patriot of the severest type, and proposed to rob his brother of his steamer, his only means of conveying his daughter to his home, for the benefit of the fraction of the nation which he called his country, and more to prevent her from being transferred to the navy of the union.
while the captain was waiting in the hall, the library door opened, and homer presented himself. he invited his brother to return to the apartment, for he had something to say to him; but horatio positively declined to do so, fearful that they might come to an open rupture if the exciting discussion was continued.
"but you will hear me a moment or two, will you not, horatio?" asked homer; and his lips quivered under the influence of his active thought.
"i will as long as that," replied horatio.
"i have been thinking of the subject of our conversation in relation to the bellevite; and i have something to propose to you, which i hope will satisfy you, and at the same time will not rob our government of what now belongs to it."
170 "i am listening," added horatio, as homer paused to note the effect of his proposal.
"you did not tell me how you got by the forts in your steamer, and perhaps you are ready to do so now."
"i am not ready now; and i am not likely to be ready at any future time to do so, homer. you have indicated that we are enemies, and each should keep his own counsels."
"of course you will do as you think proper. i cannot reconcile myself to the idea of permitting a fine steamer like the bellevite, now virtually in possession of the confederacy, to sail away out of the bay. i feel that i should be guilty of treason to my country to do so."
"and you propose to steal her from your own brother, if you can. you have done a large business in stealing forts, and one ought not to be surprised when you propose to steal a ship," replied horatio mildly but sternly.
"i pass over the injustice and unkindness on your part of that remark, and i hope you will accept my offer."
"let me hear it as soon as possible."
"in spite of your present, unfortunate position, 171 horatio, i believe you are still a man of truth, honor, and integrity."
"thank you, homer."
"i do not wish to keep florry here when her mother desires so much to see her, and i have hit upon a plan by which you can do this without making me a traitor to my country."
"it must have been a happy thought," added horatio, somewhat interested in what the other was saying.
"i think it was a happy thought, and i sincerely hope you will be able to accept the plan. i have some little influence in this section, and i have no doubt i can procure a pass for your steamer to go to sea," continued homer, pausing to study the expression of his brother.
"do i understand that you propose to do this, homer?" asked captain passford, not a little astonished at the apparent change his brother had made in his position.
"on a certain condition, which you can easily meet."
"it looks as though you were becoming more reasonable. what is the condition on which you will do this? for i should certainly prefer to 172 have no shots fired at the bellevite while florry is on board of her."
"as i have said, your word is as good as your bond; and i am willing to accept the consequences of the step i propose to take, since the confederacy will not suffer any loss or detriment on account of it."
"it will not!" exclaimed the captain, beginning to see that he could not accept the conditions.
"it will not. i could not injure or cheat my country, even to serve my only brother, greatly as i desire to do all i can for him."
"but what is the condition, homer?" asked captain passford, who had by this time lost all hope of the plan.
"you shall take florry to some point,—bermuda, for instance,—from which she can obtain passage to new york. before you go, you shall give me your simple word that you will return to mobile bay with the bellevite, and surrender her to the confederate authorities. i am entirely willing to accept your promise to do this, without any bond or other writing."
"is that all?" asked horatio, hardly able to contain himself.
173 "that is all; what more do you desire?"
"nothing; that is enough. i have already tendered my steamer to the government of the united states; do you think me capable of surrendering my vessel to rebels and traitors, under any possible circumstances? i would blow her up with all on board of her, before i would do such a thing. you insult me by proposing such treachery to me. not another word about it, if you please!"
homer returned to his library, and closed the door after him; for the last remark of the owner of the bellevite had excited him, and he could not trust himself to remain any longer in the presence of his union brother.
"i am all ready, papa," said florry, who had opened the door once before, and found that her father was engaged.
"i cannot find christy, but i hope he is not far off," added captain passford, as he went into the room, and, to the astonishment of his daughter, bolted the door after him.
"i did not know the young man he went out to see, but i noticed that he looked something like major pierson," said florry.
174 "then it was the major's brother, and he came from nassau with us on board of the steamer. i hope neither of them will get into any trouble, for all this country is in a very excited condition," said the captain, as he carefully opened the window at the side of the apartment.
this was quite as singular a movement as bolting the door; and the fair girl, who had heard some of the energetic conversation in the hall, began to think that something strange was about to transpire in the mansion. her father spent some time in looking out the window; for it was now quite dark, and he could not make out objects outdoors very readily.
the window opened upon a lawn covered with orange, magnolia, and other ornamental trees. the house was low on the ground, and it was not more than three feet from the window-sill to the lawn. without explaining any thing, captain passford took his daughter's trunk, carried it to the window, and then dropped it upon the lawn beneath.
"now, florry, i want you to get out at this window; and you can easily step down upon the trunk," continued the owner of the bellevite.
175 "get out of the window, papa?" demanded the maiden, with a look of intense astonishment at her father.
"do just as i tell you, my child, and don't ask any questions now; for all will be explained to your satisfaction," replied he, as he assisted her to a chair, by which she mounted to the window-stool.
she dropped lightly down upon the trunk, which had been placed in a convenient position for her, and then to the ground. her father followed her; though he stopped long enough to close the window after him, and leave every thing as it had been before.
"i think i can understand something about it, papa," said florry, as the captain joined her. "but am i to leave this house, where i have been for six months, without saying good-by to uncle or aunt?"
"not a word to any one, my child. i am sorry it must be so; but this is a time of war, and i have no time to stand on ceremonies," replied her father, as he picked up the trunk, and tossed it on his shoulder as though he had done that kind of work before.
176 he walked off with a firm step, in spite of his burden, taking the nearest way to the wharf where he had left the bellevite. the distance was considerable, and the millionnaire was obliged to stop and rest two or three times; and, though florry insisted upon helping him, he would not allow her to do so. it was nearly ten o'clock at night when the wanderers reached their destination, and were hailed by the vigilant watch on the deck.
"florence!" called the owner of the steamer when he was challenged, and gave the word that had been agreed upon.
"pass, florence," replied the sentinel.
all the officers were still upon board, and florry received a very respectful greeting from all of them. her trunk was carried to her stateroom; and she soon followed it, for the excitement of the afternoon and evening was rather too much for her.
"is percy still on board, breaker?" asked the owner.
"he is not: he lounged about the deck till nearly night, and then he said he would go up and see his mother, to which i had not the least objection," replied the commander.
177 "i have no objection to his going where he pleases now, but the worst of it is that christy appears to have gone with him. they must have been gone three hours, and i begin to be worried about my son. but no matter for that now: we are ready to sail, and it is necessary to get out into the bay, at least without any loss of time, breaker. the tide is right now."
captain breaker had not expected to leave so soon, and thought it probable that the vessel would remain where she was for several days or a week. but he had caused the fires to be banked, so as to be ready for any emergency, though he did not anticipate any; for he reasoned that the powerful influence of the owner's brother would be enough to protect the steamer from interference.
the commander called all hands, and the owner requested that the work be done with as little noise as possible. in less than an hour the bellevite was floating in the deep waters of the bay. but the owner was far from easy; though, in spite of all his brother had said, he felt that the steamer was safe for the present: he was not a little alarmed at the continued absence of christy.
178 captain passford had formed a very decided opinion in regard to major pierson, and he did not believe that percy had seen the end of his troubles in the matter of joining the army. it was not over a three hours' run in a reasonably fast steamer from the forts to the city, and at least ten hours had elapsed since the bellevite came up. possibly the major might wonder whether or not the coming of captain passford would disturb the residence of miss florence at the mansion of her uncle. it was not improbable that he had, or might, come up to look out for his interests.
if he came across his brother percy after he left the steamer, he was likely to make a soldier of him; and it was unfortunate that christy had been his companion when last seen.
