"I don"t know; that depends; but, Captain Carboneer, I hope you will be my friend in this little matter," added Mulgate.
"I don"t know any thing about the little matter; but I am not willing to jeopardize the enterprise that brings us here to help you out with a love affair," replied the older gentleman. "There will be time enough for you to look for a wife after the war is over, and you have more time to attend to the affair."
"Mr. Mulgate, I should like to know something more about your intentions before we go any farther," interposed Corny, in a tone so decided that Mulgate had to listen to him, especially as he had obtained so little sympathy from the elderly gentleman.
"Speak quick then, for we have no time to spare," added Mulgate.
"Do I understand from what you have said that you intend to take Florry Pa.s.sford back to the South with you?" asked Corny, with his teeth closely pressed together, so that it was rather difficult for him to speak intelligibly.
"I answer, as I did before, that I don"t know what I shall do; that depends," replied Mulgate evasively.
"Depends upon what?"
"I have no time to discuss that matter now," added Mulgate, turning to his companion.
"But I have time to say that I will ruin the whole enterprise if you mean to commit an outrage such as you appear to have in your mind,"
replied Corny, as vigorously as though he had been the military equal of the one he had called "major" by accident.
"Do you mean to be a traitor to your country, Neal?" demanded Mulgate angrily.
"Neither to my country nor to my uncle."
"Your uncle is a Yankee, and is doing all he can to subjugate the free South. He has no rights which we are bound to respect," said Mulgate fiercely.
"This will never do," interposed Captain Carboneer; and this may or may not have been his real name. "We are getting into a disagreement at the very first step of our enterprise."
"I don"t know you, Captain Carboneer, but I wish to be understood as meaning every word I have said; and I will wreck this enterprise, if I am shot for it, rather than allow my cousin to be carried off in connection with it," protested Corny stoutly. "I will do my duty faithfully; but I will not a.s.sist in robbing my uncle of his daughter."
"You are quite right, young man; and I would rather be sent to the fort as a prisoner of war than take part in such an enterprise," added Captain Carboneer, in mild but forcible tones.
"You astonish me, captain!" said Mulgate. "Why do you talk about an outrage? I claim to be a gentleman, and to be above any such villainy as you and Corny suggest. I do not propose to rob Captain Pa.s.sford of his daughter. What I may do depends--depends upon the consent of the lady.
If she is willing to go with me"--
"She is not willing to go with you; and she never will be willing to go with you," Corny interposed. "I don"t know what you are thinking about, Mr. Mulgate; but Florry cares no more about you than she does about Uncle Pedro, my father"s house-servant. She saw you both at Glenfield, and I can"t tell which she likes best."
"We had better drop the subject," added Captain Carboneer.
"Drop it, then," replied Mulgate sullenly. "Get over the fence, Corny.
n.o.body is using that sailboat, and we may as well take it for a while."
CHAPTER III
THE DIGNIFIED NAVAL OFFICER
Corny climbed over the high palisade fence, with the a.s.sistance of Mulgate, and the party walked to the sailboat at the beach below. By this time it was dark, though the gloom was not very dense under a clear sky.
"Do you know anything about this boat, Corny?" asked Mulgate, as the trio approached the handsome craft, for such she was beyond a doubt.
The crusty tones of the speaker indicated that he had not yet recovered from the set-back he had plainly received in the late conversation, though he denied that he had any evil intentions in regard to Miss Florry.
"I do; I know all about her," replied Corny.
"Well, why don"t you tell what you know?" demanded Mulgate.
"What do you wish to know about her?" inquired Corny, who was disposed to maintain his equality in spite of the military rank of his companion, which he had incautiously betrayed in the beginning.
"Whose boat is it?" asked Mulgate.
"She belongs to my cousin, Christy Pa.s.sford."
"Where is he now?"
"I don"t know, sir."
"Was he at the house when you were there?"
"He was not; and his mother had become rather anxious because he did not return to supper," replied Corny, becoming a little more pliable.
"This is a rather large boat, Captain Carboneer," added Mulgate, as he surveyed the trim sloop. "She is rather too large for our purpose."
"She will answer very well," replied the captain, as he applied his shoulder to the stem of the craft to ascertain how heavily she rested upon the beach. "Now, do you know whether there is any person on board of that steamer?"
"Of course, I don"t know anything about it," said Mulgate.
"I am sure I don"t," added Corny.
"I sent you up here to ascertain all about the Bellevite," continued Mulgate, rather sharply.
"I have not had time to find out anything," Corny explained, with some indignation in his tones.
"Corny has done as well as he could in the time he has had to do it in,"
interposed Captain Carboneer. "I think you are inclined to stir up bad blood with this young man, Mulgate. It appears now that you have a purpose of your own to accomplish, and that Corny will not allow you to carry it out."
"My first purpose is the same as your own," replied Mulgate.
"You admit that you have a second object; and I cannot tell when you will decide to make it your princ.i.p.al purpose," added Captain Carboneer.
"I am not satisfied with the situation. I have done everything I can to accomplish our patriotic object. You endanger it by your crusty manner to this young man, who seems to be willing to do his duty; and he is in a position to be of great service to our enterprise."
"If you think it is necessary, I will take off my cap to this young man," said Mulgate, with a sneer in his tones.
"Be reasonable, Mulgate."
"What can I do more than I have done?" demanded the military gentleman, as his t.i.tle indicated that he was.
"The first thing to do on your part is to renounce this idea of taking a lady pa.s.senger with you in the steamer," replied Captain Carboneer, in a very decided tone. "Women are not permitted on board of naval vessels, especially in time of war."