"He says he has a prisoner on board," added the captain.
"And who do you think that prisoner is, Horatio?" asked Mrs. Pa.s.sford.
"Is it Jeff Davis?" he inquired, with a smile.
"Not exactly; but it is Major Lindley Pierson."
"Indeed? Then I begin to see through the matter," replied Captain Pa.s.sford. "He failed to obtain the steamer in Mobile Bay, and he came up here after her. But I should like to hear the particulars of this affair."
"And poor Corny Pa.s.sford was wounded in the shoulder," said Florry, who had hardly spoken before.
"You don"t mean that you had a fight, Christy?" demanded the captain, looking quite serious.
"Not much of a fight, father; we fired the long gun once, and disabled an old steamer, and we sunk a boat that was trying to lay us aboard."
"Then it was a more serious affair than I had supposed."
"But, father, I think we had better be going on board; and I can tell you the story on the way just as well as here," suggested Christy.
"But you must have your breakfast before you go, for there is nothing to eat on board of the steamer," replied Captain Pa.s.sford, as he led the way down into the restaurant.
While they were waiting for the meal to be served, the captain went to the house of a military officer, with whom he was intimately acquainted, and requested him to take the prisoner off his hands. After the meagre details of the affair he gave, the officer offered to put a company on board of the steamer for her protection; but the captain thought this was unnecessary.
After the breakfast, the party took a carriage for the pier. On the way the captain ordered a supply of cooked provisions to be sent down to the boat for the use of the men on board of the Bellevite. With this supply the party went on board. On the way Christy had told his story, and by the time they went on board Captain Pa.s.sford had learned all about the affair.
He had received the order to deliver the steamer at the Navy Yard on the following Monday, and he decided to return to Bonnydale in her. Enough of the former members of the ship"s company could be obtained in a few hours to hold the vessel against any enemy that was likely to appear in the river. As the owner was now on board, the engineer put on full steam, and she reached her anchorage, as indicated by the buoy of the cable which had been slipped. It was hauled in, and the Bellevite was replaced in her former position.
The tremendous report of the great gun in the small hours of the morning had startled all the people in the vicinity, though it was not till they left their beds that the news was conveyed to them. A party in the town just below the scene of the disaster to the Vampire had been collected, and they had taken a steamer to explore the river in search of the bold actors in the affair, as soon as the facts were known in the vicinity.
The steamer had been running up and down the river since six in the morning.
When the Bellevite pa.s.sed up the river, she was promptly recognized by the investigating party on board of the Alert, which followed the steamer up to her anchorage. She came alongside some time after the crew had fished up the cable; but Captain Pa.s.sford warned her to keep off as soon as he discovered her intention to come alongside. She was a small steamer, and had at least twenty men on her deck, so that the captain thought it necessary to learn her object before she came any nearer.
A boat with two men was sent from the Alert, and one of them was permitted to come on board. This one proved to be Captain Mainhill, with whom the owner of the Bellevite was well acquainted. He was a wealthy and patriotic man, though rather too old to be engaged in active service for his country.
"I thought you might be representatives of the Southern Confederacy, and I was rather shy of you," said Captain Pa.s.sford, as he took the hand of his neighbor. "I should not have been so cautious if I had met you last evening."
"We have been looking for the gentlemen who were engaged in this attempt to capture the Bellevite," added Captain Mainhill.
"I hope you have found them, or some of them," replied the owner.
"Only a single one of them; and he is badly wounded. We have scoured the river for miles without finding any trace of the enemy. I think they landed on the east sh.o.r.e, and went over to the railroad, where they probably took the first train that came along," replied Captain Mainhill.
"Of course, they saw the Bellevite going down the river, and perhaps they have gone down to New York to finish the job they begun here,"
suggested Captain Pa.s.sford. "Do you know if the enemy lost any of their number when the boat was smashed?"
But Captain Mainhill knew nothing about the affair on the river beyond the fact that an attempt had been made to capture the Bellevite, and he had not ascertained that more than one was injured.
"We found the Vampire aground half a mile below where the shot disabled her," continued the leader of the expedition. "Her machinery was badly smashed. She never was good for much, and she is good for nothing now."
"Did the enemy carry off the one who was wounded?" asked Captain Pa.s.sford, prompted by his wife.
"No; he seems to have been too badly damaged for that; they left him at the house of a workingman near the river, and I suppose he is there now," replied Captain Mainhill. "I don"t know that there is anything more that we can do, and we may as well go home to breakfast."
"Do you know where the wounded person is to be found?" asked Captain Pa.s.sford.
"I do; and I have seen him. He is suffering a good deal of pain; but he is as plucky as a mad snake, and he would not say a word in answer to my questions."
"I shall be greatly obliged to you, Captain Mainhill, if you will land me as near as you can to the house where this wounded man is, and show me where it is. Mrs. Pa.s.sford will go with me," said the owner.
"Very glad indeed to do it," replied the leader of the searching party.
Captain Pa.s.sford instructed some of the men on board to summon all the former ship"s company of the Bellevite on board at once that could be found, and then went on board of the Alert with his wife. They were landed in a boat just below the bend, and Captain Mainhill conducted them to the house where Corny was said to be.
They found him there, and the poor fellow was glad enough to see them.
No doctor had been called, and nothing had been done to alleviate his pain; but he was immediately removed to the mansion at Bonnydale, with his own consent, and Dr. Linscott was sent for.
CHAPTER XIV
THE BEGINNING OF A CHASE
Major Pierson still remained on board of the Bellevite, for no officer had been sent on board for him, as expected; and he was under the efficient care of Sampson. He was subjected to no restraint, and he took his breakfast with the engineer. But he was not a welcome visitor on board, and Captain Pa.s.sford would have been very glad to get rid of him.
The owner sought him the next time he came on board, when he was not so busy as he had been before. But he said nothing to him about his mission at the North, and treated him as a guest rather than a prisoner. For reasons of his own, though not difficult to conjecture, he was very anxious to make a good appearance before the father of Miss Florry, and he was a gentleman in his manners.
"Major Pierson, I am sorry to do anything that may be unpleasant to you, but I have not the means of holding you as a prisoner," said the captain, after they had been talking of indifferent subjects for a time.
"I realize that I am a prisoner of war, subject to such restraint as my captors impose upon me," replied the major.
"If you will allow yourself to be paroled, it will settle your status for the present," added Captain Pa.s.sford.
"As a guest at your house?" asked the major, his face suddenly brightening up. "I shall be very happy to give my parole."
"Not at my house, if you please, Major Pierson; it would not be convenient at the present time," replied the owner, astonished at the suggestion,
"Then you will excuse me if I decline to accept a parole," replied the prisoner, biting his lip as though he was not pleased with the reply.
"As a guest in your house, I should not wish you to have any solicitude in regard to me."
"Very well, major; I cannot object to your decision," added the captain, as he touched his hat and left the prisoner to the attentions of Sampson.
He was kept on board of the Bellevite, now re-enforced by the return of about twenty of her former crew, so that regular watches were kept, and there was no chance for the prisoner to escape, and none for Captain Carboneer to capture the steamer. Dr. Linscott soon relieved Corny of his pain, but it was many weeks before he was fit to leave the house, and then he was paroled. Captain Pa.s.sford could never ascertain what had become of the crew intended for the Bellevite, though it was supposed, as they separated, that they found their way to some port where they could ship for their chosen service.
On the Monday following the attempt to capture her, the Bellevite was taken to the Navy Yard, and she was prepared for service. It was understood that her former officers and crew would be appointed to her, for they were accustomed to the vessel, and could do better with her than any other. Paul Vapoor and Christy Pa.s.sford had already received their commissions and orders. Captain Breaker had been restored to his former rank, and was to be the commander of the Bellevite.
It was two months before the ship was ready to go into commission.