mr. gilfleur estimated that the eleuthera was at least fifteen miles from the light, and the whistles were not loud enough to be heard at that distance. neither of the voyagers had any doubt that the dark mass ahead was the chateaugay, and the skipper headed the boat for her. if it were not the ship that was expecting to pick up the visitors to the island, she would not be whistling in mid-ocean; and any other vessel would carry a head and side lights.
in half an hour more, for the chateaugay appeared to have stopped her screw, the boat was within speaking distance, and the hail of christy was answered. when she came alongside the steamer, the accommodation ladder was rigged out, several seamen came on board, and the voyagers hastened to the deck of the ship. captain chantor grasped the hand of the lieutenant, and then of the detective.
148 "i had some doubts whether or not i should ever see you again," said the commander. "if they had discovered that one of you was a united states naval officer, they would have mobbed you."
"as they did the american consul while we were there," added mr. gilfleur.
"you will tell me of that later," replied the captain, as he directed the officer of the watch to hoist in the boat and secure it as it had been before. "now, come down into my cabin, and tell me your news, if you have seen something, even if you have not done anything," he added.
"we were not expected to capture the islands, or make any demonstration; and we have been in only one fight," replied christy, to whom the commander turned as soon as they were seated at the table.
"then you have been in a fight?" queried the captain.
"only with the fists. we defended the united states consul when he was hard pressed, and we got him safely into his office by the time the police came upon the scene," continued christy. "but we have important information. mr. gilfleur will give it to you in full."
149 "pardon; but i very much prefer that mr. passford should be the historian of the expedition," interposed the detective.
"but my friend and companion has been the principal actor; and i am sure i could not have done anything to obtain the information without him," protested the lieutenant.
"then it is all the more proper that you should tell the story, mr. passford, and spare mr. gilfleur's modesty," said the captain.
it was agreed that christy should be the narrator of the results of the expedition, and he first described the trip to hamilton in the boat. then he told about the assault on the consul, and in what manner they had defended him.
"i ought to inform you at once that the dornoch was at st. george's harbor, and that she was to sail yesterday afternoon at five o'clock," said christy. "but she is bound to the southward, and her first mission is to intercept an english or french steamer, and put a confederate commissioner, wishing to get to england, on board of her. this agent of the south happens to be my uncle."
"the brother of captain passford?"
"yes, captain; and he is provided with funds 150 to purchase two vessels—steamers, to be fitted up as men-of-war."
"then if he is your father's brother, you think, perhaps, that we ought not to molest him," suggested the captain.
"why, his graceless nephew even considered a scheme to entice him on board of our boat, under pretence of finding a passage to england for him," interposed mr. gilfleur, laughing heartily at the suggestion of the commander.
"i believe in treating him like a christian and a gentleman, for he is both of these; but i do not believe in letting him fill up the confederate navy with foreign-built steamers, to ruin the commerce of my country," replied the young officer with spirit. "my father would no more believe in it than i do. you should treat him, captain chantor, exactly as though he was nobody's brother or uncle."
the commander clapped his hands as though he was of the same opinion as his passenger, and christy proceeded with his narrative, describing their visit to the dornoch and the blockade-runners at st. george's and hamilton. the captain was very much amused at his interview in 151 french with captain rombold, and his conversations with officers of other vessels they had boarded. the detective took his papers from the belt, and read the names of the steamers, and the ports for which they were bound.
"they were a very obliging lot of blockade-runners," said the captain, laughing heartily at the freedom with which they had spoken.
"i don't suppose there is an american in the bermudas at the present time besides mr. alwayn, the consul," added the detective. "the blockade-runners have the islands all to themselves, or at least the two towns on them. they have plenty of money, and they spend it without stint or measure. they make business good, and the inhabitants take excellent care of them. it is no place for americans; for everybody's sympathy is with the south. it seems to me that there is no danger of talking about their business anywhere in the islands."
"they were speaking all the time to a frenchman, who had considerable difficulty in using the english language," said christy. "all the talk with captain rombold was in french."
the narrative was finished, and discussed at 152 great length. the order had been given to the officer of the deck to go ahead at full speed, making the course south-east, after the eleuthera had been hoisted on board and secured.
"it looks decidedly like a battle some time to-morrow," said the commander thoughtfully.
"no doubt of it," added christy.
"if the dornoch sailed at five o'clock yesterday afternoon, according to the arrangement, she must be over a hundred miles from the islands at this moment," continued captain chantor thoughtfully, as he consulted his watch. "we can only conjecture his course, and that is the important thing for us to know. his first objective point is to intercept a steamer bound to england or france. if he runs directly to the southward he may miss the first one."
"if i were in his place i should run to the eastward, so as not to fall astern of any possible steamer bound to england," added christy.
"that was the thought that first came to my mind," replied the commander, as he brought out a chart and spread it on the table. "for that reason i gave out the course to the south-east."
a careful examination of the chart and an extended 153 calculation followed. it was agreed between the two naval officers that the dornoch would go to the eastward till she fell into the track of vessels bound to the north-east from jamaica, cuban ports, or mexico, and then put her head to the south-west. it was four o'clock in the morning, the cruiser had been out nine hours, and the captain dotted the chart where he believed she was at that moment.
"she has made all the easting necessary, and by this time she has laid her course about south-west," continued the commander. "captain rombold will not hurry his ship, for he has no occasion to do so, and he will naturally save his coal. if our calculations are correct, we shall see the dornoch about noon to-day;" and he pointed to the conjunction of the two courses as he had drawn them on a diagram. "that is all; and we had better turn in."
a sharp lookout was maintained during the hours of the morning watch, for the conjectures and calculations of the captain might prove to be all wrong. it was possible that the dornoch had proceeded directly to the southward, after making less easting than was anticipated. nothing was 154 seen of any steamer. but in the middle of the forenoon watch a long and rather faint streak of black was discovered in the east. the dornoch was not exactly a blockade-runner, and doubtless she used soft coal, though anthracite was beginning to come into use in other than american steamers, for its smoke was less likely to betray them.
"i think we have figured this matter out correctly, mr. passford," said captain chantor, as they gazed at the attenuated streak of black.
"captain rombold is a very competent officer, and you and he seem to have agreed in your calculations," added christy.
the steamer to the eastward soon came in sight; she and the chateaugay were headed for the same point, and by noon they were in plain sight of each other. in another hour they were within hailing distance.
"that is not the dornoch," said christy decidedly.
"no; she is much larger than the dornoch," added mr. gilfleur.
"i am disappointed," replied the captain.
the steamer showed the british flag, and went on her way to the south-west. the chateaugay 155 continued on her course without change till eight bells in the afternoon watch, when a heavier volume of smoke was descried in the north-east. no change was made in the course, and at the beginning of the second dog watch the craft from which the smoke issued could be seen with the naked eye. she was headed to the south-west, and it was evident that her course would carry her to the westward of the chateaugay. the darkness soon settled down upon the ocean, and the port light of the stranger showed itself over the starboard quarter of the ship, proving that it crossed the wake of the other.
the action, if the steamer proved to be the dornoch, must be deferred till the next morning. it was impossible to determine what she was in the darkness, and captain chantor ordered the course to be changed to correspond with that of the stranger, which manifested no disposition to get away from her. all night the two vessels maintained the same relative position, and both were making about ten knots an hour. at daylight in the morning the commander and christy were on the quarter-deck, anxiously observing the stranger. she was carefully examined with the glasses.
156 "that is the dornoch!" exclaimed mr. gilfleur, after a long inspection with the glass.
"no doubt of it," added christy.
"you are sure of it?" inquired the commander.
"we have both been on board of her, and i am perfectly sure of it," replied christy, who proceeded to explain the details by which he identified her; and the captain was entirely satisfied.
the dornoch was not more than two miles distant from the chateaugay, for in the early morning hours the course had been changed a couple of points, to bring her nearer for examination. it was now a chase, and the chief engineer was instructed to give the ship her best speed. it was soon evident that the dornoch was hurrying her pace, for her smoke-stacks were vomiting forth immense inky clouds.
"i doubt if captain rombold cares to fight with my uncle on board," said christy. "he can see that the chateaugay is of heavier metal than the dornoch."
"i should suppose that it would be his first care, as perhaps he regards it as his first duty, to put his passenger on board of a steamer bound to 157 england," added the commander. "it appears to be a question of speed just now."
the chateaugay was driven to her utmost, and it was soon clear that she was too much for her antagonist. at two bells in the forenoon watch she was about a mile abreast of the chase, which had not yet shown her colors. the flag of the united states floated at the peak, and the commander ordered a shot to be fired across the forefoot of the dornoch.
this was an order for her to come to; but, instead of doing so, she flung out the confederate flag, and fired a shotted gun, the ball from which whizzed over the heads of the chateaugay's officers on the quarter-deck.
