christy looked over the side of the boat, and saw that the water was quite clear. the channel, which lay in the middle of the bay, had four and a quarter fathoms of water at mean low tide, according to the chart the officer had with him. he had brought several copies of the large chart with him from new york, and he had cut them up into convenient squares, so that they could be easily handled when he was on boat service. but his authority gave no depth of water on the shoal sands.
in a short time the boat came to the verge of the channel, and christy directed the bowman to stand by with the lead, with which the boat was provided. the first heaving gave three and a half fathoms, and it gradually decreased at each report, till only two fathoms and a quarter was indicated, when the boat was between the two keys, the 314 southern of which quimp called the long key, simply because that was the longest in the bay, and not because it was a proper name.
"now, massa ossifer, look sharp ober on de starboard side," said the negro.
"i don't see anything," replied christy.
"no, sar, not yet; but look ober dat way, and you see somet'ing fo' yore t'ree minutes older, massa."
christy fixed his gaze on the point of the long key, beyond which quimp intimated that the steamer would be seen.
"now, massa ossifer, fo' yore two minutes nearer glory, you'll see de end ob de bowsprit ob de reindeer," added quimp, who was beginning to be somewhat excited, possibly in expectation of receiving his ten dollars; and perhaps he was regretting that he had not demanded twenty.
"how big is that steamer, quimp?" asked the officer of the cutter.
"fo' hund'ed tons, massa; dat's what cap'n stopfoot done say, kase i never done measure her. he done say she is very flat on her bottom, and don't draw much water for her size," replied the negro. "dar's de end ob de bowsprit, massa!" he exclaimed at this moment.
315 "way enough, cockswain!" said christy sharply. "stern all!"
the headway of the cutter was promptly checked, and she was set back a couple of lengths, when the order was given to the crew to lay on their oars.
"w'at's the matter, massa ossifer? arn't you gwine no furder?" asked quimp.
"i have seen enough of the reindeer to satisfy me that she is there; and i have stopped the boat to give you a chance to make your escape," replied christy. "i don't want you to lose your head for the service you have rendered to me."
"dis nigger can't get away from here, massa," replied the boatman, looking about him. "a feller can't swim a mile when de water's full ob alligators. dem varmints like niggers to eat jus' as well as dey do white men."
christy had his doubts about there being alligators of a dangerous size in the bay, though he had seen small ones in other bays of the coast; but he was willing to admit that quimp knew better about the matter than he did. it was a hard swim to any other key than the long one, to which the cutter was quite near. he could land the negro on that key, but he would reveal the presence of the boat 316 to the people on board of the reindeer, and they would burn her rather than have her fall into the hands of the union navy.
"i can land you on the long key, quimp," suggested the officer.
"no, sar! can't go there; for cap'n stopfoot sartainly cotch me dar," protested the negro.
"i don't think so, quimp."
"de ossifers and men ob de reindeer will go asho' when you done took de steamer; don't you see dat, massa?"
"what shall i do with you then?" asked christy, as he handed him two sovereigns and two shillings.
"t'ank you, sar; dat's a pile ob money!" exclaimed quimp, as he looked with admiration upon the coins.
"it is what i agreed to give you. but what shall i do with you now? that is the question i want answered," continued the officer impatiently.
"you can't do not'ing wid me, massa ossifer, and i must tooken my chance to go up in de boat. better hab my froat cut 'n be chawed up by a big alligator. was you ever bit by an alligator, massa ossifer?"
317 "i never was."
"i knows about dat, massa," added quimp, as he bared his leg, and showed an ugly scar.
christy would not wait to hear any more, but ordered the cockswain to go ahead again. it looked to him that quimp, now that he had received his money, and made fifteen dollars out of his morning's work, was intentionally delaying the object of the expedition, for what reason he could form no clear idea.
"i spose, if captain stopfoot kill me for w'at i done do, you'll bury me side de old woman dat done gone to glory ten year ago?" continued the negro, who did not look old enough to have buried a wife ten years before.
"i am not in the burying business, my friend, and after you are dead, you had better send for your sons to do the job, for they will know where to find the grave of the departed companion of your joys and sorrows," replied christy, as the boat came in sight of the bowsprit of the reindeer again.
"my sons done gone away to alabamy, sar, and"—
"that's enough about that. there are no alligators 318 about here, and you can swim ashore if you are so disposed; but you must shut up your wide mouth and keep still if you stay in the boat. heave the lead, bowman!"
"mark under water two, sir," reported the leadsman.
in a few moments more the cutter had gained a position where the steamer could be fully seen. she was a side-wheeler, and appeared to be a very handsome vessel. she had a considerable deck-load of cotton, and doubtless her hold was filled with the same valuable commodity.
"is that steamer armed, quimp?" asked christy, who could see no signs of life on board of her.
"she don't got no arms, but she hab two field-pieces on her for'ad deck," replied the negro.
"how many men has she on board?"
"l'em me see: the cap'n and de mate is two, two ingineers, two firemen; dat makes six; and den she hab two deck-hands."
"but that makes only eight in all," replied christy. "are you sure that is all?"
"dead shoar dat's all, massa ossifer."
"but that is not enough to handle the steamer on a voyage to a foreign port, for i dare say she is 319 going to nassau," added christy, who was on the lookout for some piece of strategy by which his boat and its crew might be destroyed.
"i don't know not'ing about dat, sar; but cap'n stopfoot is a pow'ful smart man; and he's yankee too. i done hear him say he gwine to j'in de yankee navy."
what quimp said was rather suspicious; but christy could see nothing to justify his doubts. he directed the cockswain to steer the cutter as closely to the side of the reindeer as the movement of the oars would permit, so that the field-pieces could not be brought to bear upon it. the steamer lay at a sort of temporary pier, which had evidently been erected for her accommodation, and the cotton had doubtless been brought to the key by river steamers by the suwanee and other streams from cotton regions.
there was no habitation or other building on the shore, but a gangway was stretched to the land, over which a couple of men were hastening on board when the cutter reached the stern of the reindeer. from appearances christy judged that the water had been deepened by dredges, for a considerable quantity of sand and mud was disposed 320 in heaps in the shallow water a hundred feet or more from the rude wharf.
"boat ahoy!" shouted a person on board, near the starboard accommodation ladder, which the officer of the boat had noticed was in place.
"on board the steamer!" replied christy.
"what is your business here?" inquired the person on the deck of the reindeer, though he could not be seen from the cutter.
"i will go on board and inform you," replied christy.
as there were no signs of resistance on board of the vessel, the officer of the cutter directed his men to make a dash for the accommodation ladder, which had the appearance of having been left to make things convenient for a boarding-party. the crew were all armed with a cutlass and revolver in the belt.
"lay her aboard!" said christy, quietly enough, as he led the way himself, for he was a bold leader, and was not content to follow his men. as he leaped down from the bulwarks to the deck, he confronted the person who had hailed him in the boat.
"what is your business on board of the reindeer?" 321 demanded, in a very tame tone, the man in front of him.
"i am an officer of the united states navy, and my business is to make a prize of this steamer and her cargo," replied christy.
"is that so? you did not give me your name, sir," added the man.
"lieutenant passford, attached to the united states steamer bellevite. do me the favor to explain who you are, sir," returned christy.
"i am captain solomon stopfoot, in command of the reindeer, at your service, born and brought up on long island," answered the commander of the steamer.
"then what are you doing here?" demanded the naval officer. "where were you born on long island?"
"in babylon, on the south shore."
"then babylon is fallen!" exclaimed christy, indignant to find a man born so near his own home doing the dirty work of the confederate government.
"perhaps not; and perhaps you may change your view of me when you have heard my story," added captain stopfoot.
322 "well, captain, there is only one story that i care to hear just now, and its title is simply 'surrender,'" replied christy rather impatiently. "you understand my business on board of the reindeer; and if you propose to make any resistance, it is time for you to begin."
"it would be folly for me to make any resistance, and i shall not make any. i have only two engineers, two firemen, foreigners, hired in nassau, who would not fight if i wished them to do so, and two deck-hands. i could do nothing against the eight well-armed men you have brought on board. i surrender."
"i should say that was a wise step on your part, captain stopfoot," replied christy. "when you are more at leisure, i hope you will indulge me in an explanation of the manner in which a long islander happens to be engaged in blockade-running."
"i am an american citizen now, as i have always been; i shall be only too happy to get back under the old flag. as an evidence of my sincerity, i will assist you in getting the reindeer out of this place. the tide is high at this moment; and half an hour from now it will be 323 too late to move the vessel," said captain stopfoot, with every appearance of sincerity in his manner.
"i will see you, captain, as soon as i have looked the steamer over," replied christy, as he left the commander of the reindeer at the door of his cabin, and went forward to examine the vessel.
he found the steam up; and the engineer bowed to him as he looked into his room. there was nothing to be seen but cotton, piled high on the deck, and stuffed into the hold; and he returned to the cabin.
