"But it is mine also. Do you decline to show your papers? You are trifling with me," said Mr. Birdwing impatiently.
At this moment there was a scuffle in the waist of the steamer, which attracted the attention of all on the deck. Mr. Gilfleur had suddenly thrown himself on the first officer of the Ionian; and when his second officer and several sailors had gone to his a.s.sistance, the third lieutenant of the Chateaugay had rushed in to the support of the Frenchman. The man-of-war"s men were all armed with cutla.s.ses and revolvers; but they did not use their weapons, and it looked like a rough-and-tumble fight on the deck.
Mr. Birdwing and Christy rushed over to the starboard side of the steamer; but Mr. Carlin and his men had so effectively sustained the detective that the affray had reached a conclusion before they could interfere. Mr. Gilfleur was crawling out from under two or three men who had thrown themselves upon him when he brought the first officer to the deck by jumping suddenly upon him. The Frenchman had in his hand a tin case about a foot in length, and three inches in diameter, such as are sometimes used to contain charters, or similar valuable papers.
The contest had plainly been for the possession of this case, which the quick eye of the detective had discovered as the mate was carrying it forward; for Mr. Carlin had sent two of his men to the stern at the request of the Frenchman, charged to allow no one to throw anything overboard. The first officer of the Ionian had listened to the conversation between Captain Sawlock and the first lieutenant, and had gone below into the cabin when it began to be a little stormy.
"What does all this mean, Mr. Carlin?" inquired Mr. Birdwing.
"I simply obeyed my orders to support Mr. Gilfleur; and he can explain his action better than I can," replied the third lieutenant.
"I have requested the officers, through Captain Chantor, to see that nothing was thrown overboard, either before or after we boarded the steamer," interposed Christy.
"And the captain"s order has been obeyed," added the first lieutenant.
"Will you explain the cause of this affray, Mr. Gilfleur?"
"With the greatest pleasure," answered the detective with one of his politest bows. "While you were talking with the captain of the Ionian, I saw the first officer of this steamer go into the cabin. I was told by a sailor that he was the mate. In a minute or two he came on deck again, and I saw that he had something under his coat. He moved forward, and was going to the side when I jumped upon him. After a struggle I took this tin case from him."
The detective stepped forward, and handed the tin case to the executive officer as gracefully as though he had been figuring in a ballroom.
Captain Sawlock had followed the officers over from the port side. He appeared to be confounded, and listened in silence to the explanation of Mr. Gilfleur. But he looked decidedly ugly.
"That case is my personal, private property," said he, as soon as it was in the hands of the chief officer of the boarding-party.
"I don"t dispute it, Captain Sawlock; but at the same time I intend to examine its contents," replied Mr. Birdwing mildly, but firmly.
"This is an outrage, Mr. Officer!" exclaimed the discomfited master.
"If it is, I am responsible for it," added the executive officer, as he removed the cover from the end of the case.
"I protest against this outrage! I will not submit to it!" howled Captain Sawlock, carried away by his wrath.
"Perhaps you will," said Mr. Birdwing quietly.
"But I will not!"
With a sudden movement he threw himself upon the officer, and attempted to wrest the tin case from his hands. Christy, who was standing behind him, seized him by the collar with both hands, and hurled him to the deck. A moment later two seamen, by order of Mr. Carlin, took him each by his two arms, and held him like a vice.
"I think we will retire to the cabin to examine these papers, for I see that the case is filled with doc.u.ments, including some sealed letters,"
continued Mr. Birdwing, as he moved towards the cabin door.
"That cabin is mine! You can"t go into it!" howled Captain Sawlock, crazy with anger. "Don"t let them go into the cabin, Withers!"
Withers appeared to be the mate, and he stepped forward as though he intended to do something; but a couple of seamen, by order of the first lieutenant, arrested and held him. He had apparently had enough of it in his encounter with the detective, for he submitted without any resistance. If the captain of the steamer was a fool, the mate was not, for he saw the folly of resisting a United States force.
"Mr. Carlin, you will remain on deck with the men; Mr. Pa.s.sford and Mr.
Gilfleur, may I trouble you to come into the cabin with me?" continued Mr. Birdwing, as he led the way.
The executive officer seated himself at the table in the middle of the cabin, and his companions took places on each side of him. The first paper drawn from the case was the clearance of the Ionian for Wilmington, with a cargo of old iron. The manifest had clearly been trumped up for the occasion. The old iron was specified, and a list of other articles of merchandise.
At this point the executive officer sent for Mr. Carlin, and directed him to take off the hatches and examine the cargo, especially what was under the pieces of machinery. There were several letters to unknown persons, and one in particular to the captain himself, in which he was directed to deliver the machinery to a gentleman with the t.i.tle of "Captain," who was doubtless a Confederate agent, in St. George"s, Bermuda. The papers were abundantly sufficient to convict Davis of treason. The last one found in the case directed Captain Sawlock to deliver the cannon and ammunition in the bottom of the vessel to the steamer Dornoch, on her arrival at St. George"s, or at some convenient place in the Bahama Islands.
CHAPTER VII
A BOLD PROPOSITION
The evidence was sufficient to justify the capture of the Ionian without a particle of doubt, for she was as really a Confederate vessel as though the captain and officers were provided with commissions signed by Mr. Jefferson Davis.
Mr. Birdwing went to the door and directed the third lieutenant to have Captain Sawlock conducted to the cabin; and the two seamen who had held him as a prisoner brought him before the first lieutenant of the Chateaugay. He appeared to have got control of his temper, and offered no further resistance. Mr. Carlin came to the door, and his superior directed him to examine all hands forward, in order to ascertain whether they were Confederates or otherwise. He gave him the shipping-list to a.s.sist him.
"Are you an American citizen, Captain Sawlock?" asked Mr. Birdwing, as soon as the third lieutenant had departed on his mission.
"I am," replied he stiffly.
"Where were you horn?"
"In Pensacola."
"Have you ever taken the oath of allegiance to the United States government?"
"No; and I never will!" protested the captain with an oath.
"I must inform you, Captain Sawlock, that I am directed by the commander of the United States steamer Chateaugay to take possession of the Ionian, on finding sufficient evidence on board that she is engaged in an illegal voyage. I have no doubt in regard to the matter, and I take possession of her accordingly."
"It is an outrage!" howled the captain with a heavy oath.
"You can settle that matter with the courts. I have nothing more to say," replied Mr. Birdwing as he rose and left the cabin, followed by Christy and the detective.
"I found ten heavy guns and a large quant.i.ty of ammunition at the bottom of the hold," reported Mr. Carlin, as his superior appeared on deck, and handed back the shipping-list of the vessel. "The three engineers appear to be Englishmen, and so declare themselves. I find six Americans among the crew, who are provided with protections, and they all desire to enlist in the navy. The rest of the crew are of all nations."
"Let the six men with protections man the first cutter. You will remain on board of the Ionian, Mr. Carlin, till orders come to you from the captain," said the first lieutenant. "I shall now return to the Chateaugay to report."
Christy decided to return to the ship; but the detective wished to remain, though he said there was nothing more for him to do. The six sailors who wished to enter the navy were ordered into the boat, two of the regular crew remaining in it. The recruits were good-looking men, and they pulled their oars as though they had already served in the navy. They supposed the Ionian was really bound to Wilmington; but they could not explain why they had not enlisted at Brooklyn if they desired to do so. The first lieutenant went on board of the ship, and reported to the captain.
Mr. Gwyndale was at once appointed prize-master, with Mr. Tompers as his executive officer, and sent on board with the ten seamen who had been put on board of the Chateaugay expressly for this duty. Several pairs of handcuffs were sent on board of the Ionian, for the first lieutenant apprehended that they would be needed to keep Captain Sawlock and his mate in proper subjection. The papers which had been contained in the tin case were intrusted to the care of Mr. Gwyndale, with the strictest injunction to keep them safely, and deliver them to the government official before any of the Ionian ship"s company were permitted to land.
The cutters returned from the prize with all the hands who had been sent from the ship, including Mr. Gilfleur. The prize-master had a sufficient force with him to handle the steamer, and to control the disaffected, if there were any besides the captain and mate. The engineers and firemen were willing to remain and do duty as long as they were paid. In a couple of hours the Ionian started her screw and headed for New York, where she would arrive the next day.
Captain Chantor directed the quartermaster at the wheel to ring one bell, and the Chateaugay began to move again. The events of the day were discussed; but the first business of the ship had been successfully disposed of, and the future was a more inviting field than the past. The captain requested the presence of the two pa.s.sengers in his cabin, and read to them in full the latest instructions that had been sent off to him.
"Our next duty is to look for the Dornoch, with her six guns and fifty men, and we are not likely to have so soft a time of it as we had with the Ionian," said Captain Chantor, when he had read the letter.
"The Chateaugay is reasonably fast, though she could not hold her own with the Bellevite, or even the Bronx; and you have a pivot gun amidships, and six broadside guns," added Christy.
"Oh, I shall be happy to meet her!" exclaimed the commander. "I don"t object to her six guns and fifty men; the only difficulty I can see is in finding her. I am afraid she has already gone into St. George"s harbor, and she may not come out for a month."