THE ATTEMPT TO Pa.s.s INTO MOBILE BAY
The tug appeared to be one of the craft which had been hastily prepared for service, and she did not look like a formidable vessel. Captain Breaker was sure he could blow her out of the water with his heavy guns, on an emergency; but this would be bad policy, and he did not propose to do any thing of this kind.
He was not as confident as Captain Pa.s.sford and his son were that the plan adopted would be an entire success, with the a.s.sistance of Percy; but there could be no harm in trying it. He intended to pa.s.s as near Fort Gaines as possible, for it was not probable that the works were yet in the best condition; and two miles from Fort Morgan, which was doubtless much stronger, would afford a better chance of escaping any shots fired from it.
As the Bellevite approached the channel, where there could not be more than a foot of water under her keel, Christie came on deck, followed by Percy. The latter wore a sort of naval uniform, which his instructor had borrowed for him from his own stock. It fitted him well; for he was no larger than the owner"s son, though he was two years older.
Percy was to be on duty, on board of the steamer, as a Confederate agent taking the vessel into the bay for service. He was not a little inflated by the position which had been a.s.signed to him, though he had no powers whatever, except in appearance. He had been instructed to conduct himself boldly, and to insist that the vessel was in his charge, when she was boarded by officers from the tug or from the fort. His very nature inclined him to play this part to the best advantage.
The blockade had been established at some of the northern ports of the seceded States, but not yet at the cities on the Gulf of Mexico; and the only real obstacle to the pa.s.sage of the Bellevite into the bay consisted of the two forts, for the tug-boats were not regarded as of any consequence to an armed steamer of great speed like the Bellevite,
"We are approaching the shoal water now," said Captain Breaker to Mr.
Vapoor, as the steamer came near the south-eastern end of Pelican Island. "We may take the ground, for the shoals have an ugly trick of changing their position. Let her go at about half speed."
"Half speed, sir," replied the chief engineer, as he descended to the engine-room.
"Is it fully high tide now, Breaker?" asked Captain Pa.s.sford, who was watching the movements of the vessel with the most intense interest, for it seemed to him that the critical moment in his enterprise had come.
"Not quite; it will not be full sea for about half an hour," replied the commander. "If we take the ground, we shall have some small chance of getting off.--Mr. Dashington."
"On duty, sir," responded the first officer.
"Beeks has the wheel, I believe?"
"Yes; and Thayer is with him."
"They are both reliable men; but I wish you would stand by the helm, and see that the steamer is headed directly towards the eastern end of Dauphine Island. That will give us the deepest water till we get to the spit. Have a man in the port and starboard chains with directions to sound as fast as possible."
"Mr. Blowitt," called the first officer, "let a hand sound in the port and starboard chains, and look out for it yourself, if you please."
The second officer went forward and the first officer aft, each to perform the duties a.s.signed to him by the captain. The speed of the Bellevite had been reduced, and she was going along at a very easy rate.
The tug was some distance beyond Fort Gaines when she was first seen, and she seemed to be incapable of making more than six knots an hour.
The steamer had taken on board all the coal it was possible for her to stow away in her bunkers, and a large supply had been put into the hold; but she had used a considerable portion of it in her rapid pa.s.sage, though she had still an abundant supply for her return voyage. The reduction in the quant.i.ty had made her draught somewhat less, and the owner and captain hoped she would get through the channel.
But the thought had hardly pa.s.sed through their minds before the Bellevite came to a sudden stop, and her keel was heard grinding on the bottom. Mr. Vapoor heard the sound in the engine-room, and felt the jar; and before any bell came to him, he had stopped the machine, and reversed it so as to check the steamer"s headway.
"Run her back with all the steam you can crowd on, Mr. Vapoor," said Captain Breaker, as he hastened to the door of the engine-room.
"I don"t think she hit the ground very hard, captain," added the chief engineer.
"No; she will come off. The ground has shifted since I was here last,"
said the captain of the vessel.
But it was half an hour before she yielded to the pressure brought to bear upon her, and then only because a few inches had been added by the tide to the depth of water. She went back, and came into depth enough to give her a foot under her keel.
"It don"t look very hopeful," said Captain Pa.s.sford, as he joined the commander at the door of the engine-room.
"Oh, I think we shall be all right now!" replied Captain Breaker very cheerfully. "I have found where the shoal is now, and I know where to find deeper water.--Keep her going astern, Mr. Vapoor."
"A boat from the fort, sir," reported a messenger, who had been sent aft by the second officer on the forecastle.
"That looks like an inquiry into our business here," added the owner.
"Now we are all right," said the commander, who was watching the position of the vessel very carefully. "I must go to the wheel, and look out for the course myself."
Again the Bellevite went ahead; and she soon reached a point half way between the two forts, and her speed was reduced to not more than three knots. But the tug was approaching, and the worst part of the channel was still to be attempted. The two men in the chains reported the depth as rapidly as they could heave the lead, and it was soon evident that the steamer could not pa.s.s the extensive bar to the westward of the ship-channel.
"Steamer ahoy!" shouted the captain of the tug, as he stopped his screw within hailing-distance of the Bellevite.
"Reply to that hail, Mr. Percy," said the commander to the young gentleman in uniform. "You must do all the talking."
"I shall be very happy to do it, and I think I can do it to your satisfaction," replied Percy confidently.
"Jump up on the rail nearest to the tug, where you can see and hear."
"I am not much of a sailor, Captain Breaker, and I don"t pretend to be one," added Percy. "What shall I say to the captain of that boat?"
"On board of the tug!" shouted the agent of his father, after the commander had instructed him in regard to his speech.
"What steamer is that?" demanded the master of the tug.
Captain Breaker instructed him in what manner to make his reply, though he did not tell him what to say. The young man was to explain the character of the vessel as he understood it; and neither the commander nor the owner was disposed to indulge in any unnecessary strategetical falsehood, though they felt that they could do so in the service of the Union.
"The Bellevite from Na.s.sau," replied Percy.
"Is she a Federal vessel?" inquired the captain of the tug with the greatest simplicity.
"A Federal vessel!" exclaimed Percy, evidently expressing by his manner some of the indignation he felt. "Do you mean to insult me, sir?"
"No, I do not mean to insult you; but it becomes necessary for me to ascertain something more in regard to the steamer," returned the other.
"Where are you from?"
"I told you the vessel was from Na.s.sau."
"But she don"t hail from Na.s.sau. Where did she come from before that?"
"From Bermuda," answered Percy, as instructed.
"But she don"t belong to Bermuda."
The volunteer agent of the Confederate cause was not able to answer any questions in this direction, and the commander did not tell him what more to say.
"Can you tell me who is in command of Fort Gaines at the present time?"
demanded Percy, branching out on his own account.
"I can; but I want you to tell me something more about the steamer, before I answer any questions. Is the steamer armed?"