the water was so clear that the bottom could be seen at all times, the white coral rock greatly assisting the transparency. from douglas channel, through which the boat had passed, the chart indicated that it was twenty miles to the point where the skipper desired to land, and it was nearly eleven o'clock when the eleuthera ran into the little bay, extending over a mile into the island, and nearly landlocked. the shore was covered with tropical vegetation, including cocoa-nut palms, loaded with fruit, with palmettoes, wild palms, and many plants of which christy did not even know the names.
"we could not have anything better than this," said mr. gilfleur, as he ran the boat into a tangle of mangroves and other plants.
"this bay appears to be about five miles from the town of nassau, and i should say that no 192 person is likely to see the boat if it should stay here for a month," replied christy, as he measured the distance across the island with the scale his companion had prepared.
"it will not take us long to walk that distance. there are all sorts of people in nassau at the present time, as there were in st. george's and hamilton; and we shall pass without exciting any particular attention."
"i think we had better look out for a cleaner place to land than this, for the mud seems to be about knee-deep," suggested christy, as he tested the consistency of the shore with an oar.
"but there is hard ground within four feet of the water. i have a board in the bottom of the boat with which we can bridge the mud," replied the skipper. "but i think we had better have our lunch before we walk five miles."
"i am in condition to lunch," added christy.
the sails had been furled, and everything put in order on board of the boat. the basket containing the provisions was brought out of the cuddy, and seated in the stern sheets they did ample justice to the meal. the detective had put on his suit of blue, and his companion dressed 193 himself as he had done in bermuda, though he was not to act the part of a servant on this occasion.
"it will not do to acknowledge that we are americans, and it would not be prudent to claim that we are englishmen," said mr. gilfleur.
"why not? we speak english; and you can pronounce it as well as i can," argued christy.
"because we may be catechised; though i know london almost as well as i do paris, i am afraid you might be caught."
"i have been in london twice, though i don't know enough about it to answer all the questions that may be put to me," added christy.
"in that case we had better be frenchmen, as we were before. we are not likely to find many people here who speak french, for the visiting portion of the population must be people who are engaged in blockade-running. probably there are some southern magnates here, attending to the business of the confederacy."
"they were here two years ago, when i was in nassau for a few hours, on the lookout for steamers for their navy. i remember colonel richard pierson, who was extremely anxious to purchase 194 the bellevite, which anchored outside the light, for there was not water enough to allow her to cross the bar," said christy, recalling some of the events of his first voyage in the steamer his father had presented to the government.
"perhaps he is still in nassau," suggested mr. gilfleur, with a shade of anxiety on his face.
"he would not recognize me now, for i have grown a good deal, and i hardly saw him. he employed his son, a young fellow of eighteen, to act for him in obtaining information in regard to the bellevite. the son's name was percy pierson, and when he tried to pump me in regard to the bellevite, i chaffed him till he lost all patience. then he proposed to put the owner of our steamer, for she had not then been transferred to the government, in the way of making a fortune. i told him that the owner was determined to get rid of the ship, though i only meant to say that he intended to pass her over to the government. at any rate, percy believed she was for sale, and he smuggled himself on board of her. he was not discovered till we were under way; and we had to take him with us."
"what became of this percy pierson?" asked the detective.
195 "we brought him off with us when we fought our way out of mobile bay. off carisfort reef light we put him on board of a schooner belonging to nassau; and that was the last i know about him."
"but i hope he is not in nassau now," said mr. gilfleur.
"i don't believe he is, for his brother was doing his best to get him into the confederate army."
"you must keep your eyes wide open for this fellow, mr. passford," added the skipper earnestly. "if he should recognize you, our enterprise would be ruined."
"i don't believe there is the least danger of that, for i am a different-looking fellow from what i was two years ago. but i will look out sharply for him, and for his father."
"we had better speak nothing but french between ourselves, and break up our english when we are obliged to use it," mr. gilfleur concluded, as he returned the basket of provisions to the cuddy, and locked the door.
the board was put down on the mud, and they walked ashore, dry-shod. the temporary bridge was taken up, and concealed in a mass of mangroves. 196 the eleuthera was so well covered up with trees and bushes that she was not likely to be discovered, unless some wanderer penetrated the thicket that surrounded her. a gentle elevation was directly before them, so that they could not see the town.
"we must not walk ten miles in making five," said the detective, as he produced a pocket compass. "our course, as i took it from the chart, is due north, though it may bring us in at the western end of the town."
"then we can bear a little to the east, though if we get to the town it will not make much difference where we strike it," added christy.
the land showed the remains of plantations which had flourished there in the palmy days of the island. the ruins of several mansions and many small huts were seen. cocoa-nut palms and orange-trees were abundant. after they had walked about a mile, they came upon what had been a road in former days, and was evidently used to some extent still. taking this road, they followed it till they were satisfied that it would take them to nassau.
the appearance of the island soon began to 197 improve. the trees showed that some care had been bestowed upon them, and an occasional mansion was noticed. then the street began to be flanked with small houses, hardly better than huts, which were inhabited by the blacks. all the people they met were negroes, and they were as polite as though they had been brought up in paris, for every one of the men either touched his hat or took it off to the strangers. the women bowed also; and both of the travellers returned the salutes in every instance.
as they proceeded, the houses became better, and many of them were used in part as shops, in which a variety of articles, including beer, was sold. christy had seen the negroes of the southern states, and he thought the nassau colored people presented a much better appearance. at one of these little shops a carriage of the victoria pattern was standing. doubtless the driver had gone in to refresh himself after a long course, for the vehicle was headed towards the town.
"i think we had better ride the rest of the way, if this carriage is not engaged," said m. rubempré, for they had agreed to use the names they had adopted in the bermudas. "what do you say, christophe?"
198 "i like the idea; i am beginning to be a little tired, for i have not walked much lately," replied christy.
at this moment the driver, a negro wearing a straw hat with a very broad brim, came out of the shop, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his coat. he bowed with even more deference than the generality of the people. the strangers were not elegantly or genteelly dressed, but they wore good clothes, and would have passed for masters of vessels, so far as their costumes were concerned.
"is this your carriage?" demanded m. rubempré.
"yes, sir," replied the man in good english.
"how far you must go to get into nassau?" inquired the detective, mangling his english enough to suit the occasion.
"two miles, sir."
"how much you make pay to go to nassau in ze carriage?"
"fifty cents."
"feefty cents; how much money was zat?"
"arn't you americans?"
"non!" replied m. rubempré with energy. "we have come from ze france; but i was been 199 in london, and i comprehend ze money of eengland."
"two shillings then," replied the driver, laughing.
"we go wiz you to ze nassau," added the frenchman, seating himself in the carriage, his companion taking a place at his side.
"where do you want to go, sir?" asked the negro, as he closed the door of the victoria.
"we must go to nassau," replied the detective, mangling his pronunciation even more than his grammar.
"yes, i know; but where in nassau do you wish to go? shall i drive you to a hotel? the royal victoria is the best in the place."
"you shall take us to zat hotel."
for the sake of appearances, rather than for any other reason, each of the visitors to nassau had brought with him a small hand-bag, containing such articles as might be useful to them. having these evidences that they were travellers, it would be prudent to go to a hotel, though the want of more luggage had made the landlord in hamilton suspicious of their ability to pay their bills.
christy found enough to do during the ride to 200 observe the strange sights presented to his gaze, even in the outskirts of the town. the people were full of interest to him, and he wondered that his father had never made a winter trip in the west indies in former years, instead of confining his visits to the more northern islands of the ocean.
the carriage arrived at the royal victoria hotel, located on a ridge which has been dignified as a hill, a short distance in the rear of the business portion of the town. m. rubempré produced his purse, which was well stuffed with sovereigns, more for the enlightenment of the clerk who came out when the vehicle stopped, than for the information of the driver, to whom he paid four florins, which was just double his fare.
"do you speak french?" asked the guest in that language.
"no, sir; not a word of it," though he understood the question.
"we must have two chambers for one, two, t'ree day."
"all right; we have two that were vacated this morning," replied the clerk, as he led the way to the office, where the frenchman registered his name, and his residence as in paris.
201 christy wrote the name of christophe poireau, also from paris. then they chatted together in french for a moment, in order to impress the clerk and others who were standing near with the fact that they spoke the polite language. they were shown to two small chambers, well up in the air, for the hotel seemed to be as full as the clerk had suggested that it was. the blockade business made the town and the hotel very lively.
the newly arrived guests did not waste any time in their rooms, but entered at once upon the work of their mission. on the piazza they halted to size up the other visitors at the hotel. from this high point of view they could see the harbor, crowded with vessels.
