he proceeded.
Applause.
"I am a fighting man."
More applause.
"That Yankee fleet will not stop me!" added Somers, with enthusiasm.
"That"s so!" shouted one of the first-cla.s.s firemen, who had a high appreciation of a good joke; and his remark was followed by a storm of applause.
"I repeat, my lads, the Yankee fleet will not stop me. I shall pay my respects to the Yankee admiral down there before the sun rises."
Tumultuous applause.
"Now, my lads, I mean just what I say, and I say just what I mean. I command this ship, and every man on board obeys me. I am going through the Yankee fleet; will you go with me?"
"Ay, ay, sir!" roared the crew; and the voices of the Chatauqua"s people were prominent in the reply.
"Will you go where I lead you?"
"Ay, ay, sir."
"Very likely I shall send you upon the deck of the heaviest man-of-war in the Yankee squadron; but I will go with you."
"Bully for the captain!" shouted the enthusiastic first-cla.s.s fireman, which remark was indorsed and approved by the crew in general.
"What an awful fellow he is!--a regular fire-eater," whispered Mr.
Swayne to Tom Longstone.
"He will do all he says he will," replied the boatswain.
"Will he board a Yankee frigate?"
"It"s like him; but he is as prudent as he is brave."
"Now, my lads, to your duty. We shall get under way at once, and I want every man to be true to G.o.d and his country," continued Somers.
"Three cheers for the captain!" shouted the fireman; and they were given with a will, as Somers walked aft.
CHAPTER XXII.
RUNNING THE BLOCKADE.
"Mr. Swayne, you will get the ship under way at once," said Somers, as he turned from the crew, and walked aft.
The first lieutenant gave his orders, and the crew were soon walking round the capstan. The officers of the Tallapoosa had certainly used their time to advantage, for the crew was well disciplined, though the twenty-four petty officers and seamen from the Chatauqua were the spice of every movement.
"Where is the pilot, Mr. Swayne?" asked Somers.
"We have one on board, sir. He berths in the steerage. Shall I send for him, Captain Pillgrim?"
"If you please, do so."
A master"s mate was ordered to find the pilot.
"Is he up to his business?" continued Somers, to whom the pilotage of the vessel was of the last importance.
"Yes, sir; he is the best pilot in these waters. He has taken out a great many vessels on worse nights than this."
"I could take the vessel out myself, so far as that is concerned," said Somers, nervously. "Does he know how to get through the obstructions?"
"O, yes, sir; he is perfectly familiar with everything about the bay."
"And the channel is full of those infernal torpedoes."
"It is, sir; but the pilot knows exactly where every one of them is located. We are in no danger from them; but they will blow the Yankee fleet sky high when they attempt to come up, as they probably will in a short time."
"So I understand."
"There will be fun here in a few days," added Mr. Swayne, rubbing his hands with delight, as he contemplated the destruction of the naval force gathered on the other side of the bar for the demonstration.
"The admiral down there is no joker," suggested Somers. "He won"t feel his way, and then back out."
"It would be better for him if he did. Admiral Buchanan is his equal in every respect. With his ram he will stave in every wooden ship in the fleet. His monitors will be blown up on the torpedoes."
"I hope the affair will come out right," said Somers, rather indefinitely.
"It will; you may depend upon it, captain. Whoever is here when the thing is done will see the greatest smash-up that has happened since the war began."
"I hope so," replied Somers. "But suppose Admiral Farragut should run by the forts."
"He can"t do it; the thing is utterly impossible. The torpedoes will sink his monitors--they are like lead, and if you shake them up a little, they will plump down on the bottom like a solid shot. His wooden vessels, even if he gets by the fort,--which can"t be done,--would be all chawed up in half an hour by the ram Tennessee."
"Anchor apeak, sir!" shouted Boatswain Longstone, who was doing duty as second lieutenant.
"Captain Column, the pilot, sir," said the first lieutenant, presenting a person who had been waiting a moment at his side.
"I am happy to see you, Captain Column;" and Somers took his hand.
"Thank you, sir," replied the pilot, who was evidently astonished at the degree of intimacy with which the commander condescended to treat him.
Already the new captain had won a hard reputation abaft the mainmast.
His stern and decisive measures with Langdon had been privately discussed among the officers, and it was the unanimous opinion that they had "caught a Tartar."