captain passford had obtained the idea, from the fact that florry did not like to have the major gaze at her all the time, that she was not very deeply interested in him; and the conclusion afforded him a great deal of satisfaction. she did not like to leave her uncle and aunt and her two cousins without saying good-by to them; but she had not said a word about the military gentleman who was supposed to have made frequent visits at the mansion on her account.
when lieutenant dallberg informed major pierson that miss florry had left the house, and that her trunk had been removed, indicating that she did not intend to return, the effect upon him was very decided. however it may have been with the young lady, it was plain enough 224 that he was stirred to the very centre of his being.
"then captain passford has left the mansion?" said the major, after he had strode several times across the little pilot-house, as he halted in front of the lieutenant.
"no doubt of that; the family and the servants hunted the house all over in search of him and his daughter," replied mr. dallberg with a yawn.
"well, what did colonel passford say about him?" demanded the major.
"he was not at the house when i got there. as i said, he had gone for assistance. i could do nothing till i had seen him. i sent my men on ahead to look for him, and then i went myself. we did not find him till one o'clock in the morning. he had given up all his horses for the service, and we had to go on foot," continued the lieutenant.
"but you saw colonel passford?"
"i did; but he had been unable to find the persons of whom he had been in search, and he could procure no such assistance as he wished. i walked back to his mansion with him. at first he was not inclined to say any thing to me; but 225 when i told him that you were over here in the leopard to look out for the steamer, he had more confidence in me."
"well, what did he say?" asked the major impatiently.
"he would not say any thing till i had told him all i knew, including the manner in which the steamer had passed the forts. by this time we had reached his house, and we seated ourselves in the library."
"you need not stop to describe the chairs or the sofa," interposed the excited commandant of the fort.
"i will not; but, if i omit any thing, it will not be my fault," said the younger officer with a long gape. "he told me he and his brother had been discussing the great question, as he called it, for over six hours; and they understood each other perfectly in the end."
"six hours! it is a wonder they did not talk each other to death!" exclaimed the major.
"at any rate, they talked enough to enable them to come to a perfect understanding. colonel passford is as true to the confederacy as we all know him to be, but captain passford 226 is a yankee to the marrow of his bones; and the two brothers could not agree at all on the political question, though they profess still to be friends."
"then the owner of the bellevite is on the other side?"
"no doubt of that; and the steamer did not come down here to go into the service of the confederacy," added the lieutenant.
"but she will go into it, all the same," said the major, glancing at the new captain of the leopard.
christy was quite as much excited over the conversation to which he could not help being a listener, even if he had wished not to be so. it was clear enough to him that the whole object of the voyage to mobile bay had come out, and the major needed no further information to enable him to act with promptness and decision. the fact that miss florry must be on board of the bellevite was doubtless an additional incentive to make him do his entire duty to the confederacy.
"i think i have told you the whole story, major pierson," said lieutenant dallberg with another prodigious yawn.
227 "then captain passford and his daughter are now on board of the steamer," added the major; though he seemed to be musing on the fact, rather than saying it to his companion.
"there can be no doubt of that," replied the other.
"as captain passford is a yankee at heart, of course he don't intend to remain in these waters much longer," continued the major, giving utterance to his reflections.
"there is something more than that, which i forgot to tell you; for you hurried me so that i could not keep my thoughts about me," interposed the lieutenant.
"what more is there? you said you had told me the whole," said the major, with a sneer on his lips.
"the bellevite is intended for the yankee navy, and she has already been tendered to the government for that purpose. more yet, captain passford and the commander of the steamer have offered their services. the owner is sure that all hands will be volunteers for the service as soon as she returns from this trip," continued dallberg, who had suddenly roused his energies to the requirements of the situation.
228 "i had no doubt that captain passford would be with his brother in this war," mused the major.
"he could not be any farther from him. he came down here after his daughter, and his brother says he expected to remove him and his family to the north at the same time."
"his mission will be a failure in every sense," added major pierson, as though he regarded it as a matter of course.
"the colonel said his duty to his country and her cause would not allow him to suffer his brother to take the steamer back to the north to be handed over to the yankee navy."
"that is where he was quite right."
"but the colonel does not like to do any thing to injure his brother and his two children who are with him; and he wished to find colonel dalheath, who could manage the business without loss to the confederacy, while he could favor the captain's escape. but he was satisfied that you would feel an interest to prevent the departure of the steamer; while you would not be willing to do her owner or his family any injury in their persons, however it might be in their property."
229 "i think i understand the situation perfectly now," said the major, as he went to the front windows of the pilot-house. "spottswood!" he called to the sergeant.
"here, sir."
"how is captain pecklar?"
"he has come to himself, but he is no better. i am afraid he is going to die." replied spottswood, coming near the bulkhead, and speaking in a low tone.
"that's bad," added the major, shaking his head.
"there's the steamer, sir!" called one of the soldiers.
the leopard had just passed a point of land beyond which the bellevite was discovered, apparently going at full speed, and headed to the south-west. christy brought his glass to bear upon her, but he could see nothing which afforded him any information in regard to her movements or intentions.
"i suppose it is not difficult to determine what your father's steamer is waiting in the bay for, mr. passford," said major pierson, as he looked into the face of his pilot.
230 "i am sure i don't know what he is waiting for," replied christy.
"don't you, indeed?" added the major, laughing.
"i am sure i do not."
"then, it has not occurred to you that he misses you, and don't like to leave without you?" chuckled the major. "i did not intend to have you captured by my men, and i gave them no definite orders to that effect; but, as things look just now, it is rather fortunate that i have you on board of the leopard, not only for the sake of your father's waiting for you, but you are a good pilot, and are of great service to me."
christy rang the bell with a sudden impulse, which made it look as though he had not fully taken in the situation before. the engineer, though he was one of the army of the disabled in whole or in part, obeyed the summons of the bell, and the propeller ceased to revolve.
"what's that for, captain passford?" asked the major good-naturedly.
"with your permission, major pierson, i will resign my office as captain of the leopard," 231 replied christy, as he stepped back from the wheel.
"but i cannot give you my permission," laughed the major.
"i am sorry to disoblige you, major pierson; but then i am compelled to resign the position without your permission," replied christy without an instant's hesitation; for he clearly understood what he was doing now, and neither really nor constructively was he willing to do any thing in the service of the enemies of the union.
"but you can't resign in the face of the enemy, captain passford; and you accepted the position which i assigned to you," said the major, beginning to look a little more serious.
"in the face of the enemy!" exclaimed christy, glancing at the bellevite, as she dashed furiously over the waves at a distance of not more than a mile from the tug. "may i ask what you mean by the enemy, major pierson?"
"yon must have heard all the information which was brought to me by lieutenant dallberg; and by this time you are aware that the steamer yonder is an enemy of the confederate states," continued the major.
232 "she did not come into these waters as an enemy, or with any warlike intentions, sir. she came on a peaceful mission; and now it appears that my uncle is guilty of treachery towards my father," replied christy with deep emotion.
"do you think it would be right or proper for your uncle to allow that fine steamer, which i am told is one of the strongest and fastest ever built, to be handed over to the yankee navy?" demanded the major, with energy enough to assure his auditor that he meant all he said.
"i happen to know that my father had several hundred dollars about him in gold; and my uncle would have done no worse to rob him of that, than to have his steamer taken from him when it was not engaged in acts of war. in either case, homer passford is a thief and a robber!"
"that's plain speech, young man," said the major, biting his lips.
"i meant it should be plain, sir," said christy, gasping for breath in his deep emotion. "i am ashamed of my uncle, and i know that my father would not be guilty of such treachery."
"i see that it is useless to reason with you, passford."
233 "you have come to a correct conclusion. when you call my father's steamer an enemy, you define my duty for me; and i have nothing further to do on board of this tug," replied christy. "i am in your power, and of course you can do with me as you please."
major pierson was certainly very much embarrassed. the events of the night, and the information obtained on shore, to say nothing of the specific request from colonel passford to "manage the business," imposed upon him the duty of capturing the bellevite; and he was all ready to do it. but the leopard might as well have been without an engine as without a pilot; for all the men on board were from the interior of the country, and not one of them, not even the officers, knew how to steer the boat.
the marks and figures on the chart of the bay, which christy had put on the shelf in front of the wheel, were all greek to them. possibly they might get the tug to the shore, or aground on the way to it; but the steamer was practically disabled.
