"Then I don"t think we shall have much trouble in getting out of the bay," added Christy, as he went to the pilot-house, attended by Dave.
Since the lieutenant had declared as unequivocally as he desired who and what he was, the steward did all he could to a.s.sist his new master. He had served Captain Folkner for two months, for he said the commander had lived on board all this time, and he had heard everything that pa.s.sed between him and his officers and others with whom he had relations.
He was about as well informed as though he had been an officer of the vessel in whom the captain confided all his affairs. He did not wait to have his knowledge dragged out of him, but he volunteered such information as he saw that the occasion required.
He was a mulatto, and had plenty of good blood in his veins, though it was corrupted with that of the hated race. He appeared to be about forty years of age, and his knowledge of the affairs of the locality could hardly have been better if he had been a white man, with a quick perception, a reasoning intellect, and a retentive memory. It was the rule with Union officers, soldiers, and sailors to trust the negroes, making proper allowance for their general ignorance and stupidity, and for particular circ.u.mstances. But some of them, even many of them, were brighter than might be expected from their situation and antecedents.
The binnacle from the whaleboat had been brought into the pilot-house, and Christy compared it with the compa.s.s in the Teaser"s apparatus, after Dave had lighted it. There was no disagreement, and as the tide was still coming in, the head of the steamer was pointed to the westward, which would be her first course down the bay.
The lieutenant felt that everything depended upon the working of the steamer, and he was a total stranger to her peculiarities, if she had any, as most vessels have. Taking Beeks with him, he began at the stem and followed the rail entirely around the steamer, feeling with a boat-hook along the sides. Sundry ropes, fenders, and pieces of lumber were dislodged, and everything put in order about the main deck. Then he visited the engine-room, and learned from Sampson that he had a full head of steam. This careful inspection completed, he ordered the quartermaster to cast off the fast at the buoy.
Taking his place in the pilot-house with Beeks, he rang the bell to go ahead. The Teaser started on quite a different voyage from what she had been intended for. Christy had studied up his courses and distances, and had imprinted the chart of the lower part of the bay on his brain. For the first part of the run, there was no obstacle, and no difficulty in regard to the course.
The fog and the darkness were so dense that not a thing could be seen in any direction; but he rang for full speed as soon as the Teaser was under way. A leadsman had been stationed on each side of the forecastle, though there was no present occasion for their services. Christy thought everything was going extremely well, and he was reasonably confident that he should succeed in his plan.
"Steamer, ahoy!" shouted a voice, coming out of the dense fog.
"That must be the patrol boat," said Dave, in a low tone.
Christy could not make any reply that would be satisfactory to the patrol, and he decided not to answer the hail. He had rather expected to be challenged in this way.
CHAPTER XXII
A VARIETY OF NIGHT SIGNALS
The dip of the oars of the guard-boat could be distinctly heard in the pilot-house, and it was probable that the men in it could see the Teaser. But Christy was not much concerned about the situation, and he was not much disposed to give any attention to the boat.
"Stop her, or we will fire into you!" yelled the officer in charge of the guard-boat.
Even this menace did not induce the lieutenant to ring his bell to stop the engine. The boat was doubtless full of men, and as he could not give straight answers to all the questions that might be put to him, it might provoke a fight to attempt to do so, and he decided not to incur the risk. His prisoners might make trouble if he reduced the guard in charge of them, as he would be obliged to do to beat off the attack of the boat.
"What is this boat here for, Dave?" asked Christy, as he peered through the gloom to obtain a glance at the craft.
"To keep the people at Fort Pickens from sending out any armed force,"
replied the intelligent contraband.
"Do they think a boat full of men could do that?"
"No, sir; but they could give the forts on the other side warning."
The sounds from the boat had come from the starboard bow of the steamer, and it looked as though the guard-boat had intercepted her by accident, since it was impossible that they could have seen the Teaser in the fog and gloom. As the steamer dashed ahead at full speed, the sound of the oars came from a point on the beam. But the boat seemed to be wasting her time, for nothing had been done since the threat to fire into the steamer.
"If a vessel is going to run out she has to satisfy this boat that she is all right," said Dave.
But he had hardly spoken before a volley of musket-b.a.l.l.s pa.s.sed over the Teaser; and perhaps the officer in the boat intended that they should pa.s.s over her. At any rate no harm was done by them. Then a rocket darted from the boat up into the air, which could be dimly seen from the pilot-house.
"What steamer is that?" shouted a hoa.r.s.e voice out of the gloom.
"The Teaser!" yelled Christy, with all the voice he could command.
The boat did not fire again; and if it had done so the steamer was out of its reach. But a minute later the boom of a great gun came across the bay. Fort Barrancas had evidently opened fire in response to the rocket, which had no doubt been sent up as a signal to notify the garrison that a vessel was going out or coming in, and that her movements were not regular. The first shot was followed by others, and a shot dropped into the water near the Teaser.
"Let the leadsmen sound, Beeks," said Christy. The order was repeated, and the reports were made known in the pilot-house. Sampson seemed to be testing the capacity of the engine, for he was doing his best in the matter of speed; but the Teaser behaved under the strain to which he subjected her as though she had been very strongly built.
"By the mark eight," chimed the leadsman on the port side.
That was water enough to float a seventy-four, and there was no let-up in the speed. In fact, it would not have been convenient to reduce the speed while the guard-boat could be at no great distance from the flying steamer. This was the report for the next mile at least, and Christy felt that the enemy was at a safe distance from him.
"And a half six!" shouted the port leadsman, with energy, as though he understood the effect his report would produce.
Christy rang to slow her down. The depth of water was the only directory he had in addition to the distance run, which was very indefinite without a knowledge of the speed of the vessel.
"By the mark six!" shouted the port leadsman, who was on the side nearest to the island of Santa Rosa.
This did not induce the pilot to take any further action, and the Teaser continued on her course at less than half speed. Christy looked at his watch by the light of the binnacle lamps. It was half-past eleven, and the Teaser appeared, as well as he could calculate it, with the necessary allowances, to have made at least sixteen knots on the run from the sound channel.
"And a quarter five!" cried the leadsman of the land side.
Christy spoke to Sampson through the tube, and the result was a further reduction in the speed of the steamer, Beeks, who was at one side of the wheel while the lieutenant was at the other, seemed to be a little nervous as the depth diminished; and if he had spoken his thought, he would have expressed his surprise that his superior officer was running the steamer so near the sh.o.r.e, with the apparent intention of going still nearer.
"Mark under water three!" yelled the leadsman on the port side, while the one on the starboard gave "By the mark four."
"Shoaling fast," said Beeks.
"Yes; but as expected," replied Christy.
"Steamer, ahoy!" shouted a voice on the port side.
"On sh.o.r.e!" replied Christy promptly.
"What steamer is that?" demanded the sh.o.r.e speaker.
"The Teaser, prize to the United States ship Bellevite," answered the lieutenant.
"Boga-hobble-good!" continued the man on sh.o.r.e.
"Rabble-gabble-weed!" responded Christy.
"There"s a Chinaman on sh.o.r.e there; but I am glad you speak his language," said Beeks, trying to repress his laughter.
"You are all right as to position!" shouted the islander.
"The guard-boat must be about a mile astern of me," added Christy.
"We will take care of that," replied the sh.o.r.e speaker.