"I believe it, uncle; and that will be the reason why the Union will prevail in the end. Besides, Napoleon believed that Heaven was always on the side of the stronger battalions."
"That was an impious remark; and Heaven, by its own mysterious ways, will conduct the just cause of the South to a successful ending, and the Confederate States of America will be an honored member of the family of nations."
"I think we had better not talk politics, even though we mix in a little religion," suggested Christy.
"As your father has been kind to my boy, wounded and a prisoner in the midst of enemies, I ought to do something for you, Christy," continued Colonel Pa.s.sford, looking on the floor.
"Not at all, Uncle Homer; I am not wounded as Corny is, and there is no need of doing anything for me," interposed Christy, laughing in the serious face of the planter.
"I can get you paroled, and then I shall be glad to have you remain at Glenfield until you are exchanged," said the planter.
"I shall not accept a parole, Uncle Homer," replied Christy promptly.
"Not accept a parole!" exclaimed the colonel. "Corny did so."
"If I were wounded, as Corny is, I would accept it."
"I hope you don"t mean to try to escape, Christy," added his uncle, with a look of deep concern on his dignified face, as he looked about the apartment in which his nephew was confined.
"I don"t say that I shall; if I did say so, you would have our guard doubled, and ready to shoot me if they saw my head at a window,"
answered Christy with earnestness.
"You seem to think I am a heathen; but you forget that you are an active enemy of my country," added the planter, with a pained expression.
"I don"t forget it, uncle; but I am not half as active as I hope to be before this thing ends. I believe you would see me shot or hung by the neck till I was dead if it were for the benefit of what you call your country."
"I hope and pray that I may never be placed in a situation to see anything of that kind."
"I know you are earnest, honest, and sincere, Uncle Homer, and no partiality to your own kindred would permit you to shirk what you consider to be your duty. I find no fault with you; and I believe my father would be equally firm," said Christy warmly.
"I think you understand me, my boy; but do not attempt any rash project.
I cannot prevent the guard from shooting you if you attempt to escape."
"I prefer to keep my own counsels in a matter of this kind, Uncle Homer.
Give my love to Aunt Lydia and Gerty, for I suppose I am not likely to see them, as I am liable to be sent away any day."
"Oh, yes, you will see them, for they shall call upon you here as soon as they return from Montgomery, where they have gone for a few days."
"It will be very kind of them to do so," added Christy, though he did not believe he should be "at home" when they came.
"I do not wish you were wounded, my dear boy, but if you were, we would do all that your father and mother are doing for poor Corny," replied Colonel Pa.s.sford fervently, "Now, promise me, Christy, that you will not attempt to escape."
"I can"t make any promises, uncle."
"I will do the best I can to have your condition improved, and see that you have a better diet, if I send your food from a hotel."
"You are very kind, uncle, and I know that you will do all that your duty will permit you to do for me."
"But I shall live in fear and trembling if I leave you without your promise to refrain from daring exploits. Just consider, my dear boy; you are in the fourth story of this warehouse, and the guard-room is below you. You have really no chance at all of success, and a fall or a shot may kill or disable you for life."
"I do not say that I shall try to escape, uncle."
"And you do not say that you will not try to escape."
For half an hour longer Colonel Pa.s.sford endeavored to induce his nephew to give the desired promise; but he remained obstinate to the end; and his uncle was compelled to leave him, to enter upon the fear and trembling in which he was to live while his enterprising nephew remained a prisoner. But he promised to call upon him every day, and to write to his wife and daughter to return at once.
"I think I shall not wait for him to call," said Christy to Flint, as soon as he had gone.
"Do you expect to get out of this place, Mr. Pa.s.sford?" asked the master"s mate, with lively interest.
"This very night!" replied Christy, in an energetic whisper, as he put his finger on his lips to indicate that nothing more was to be said on the subject.
The second lieutenant of the Bellevite had not been confined in the warehouse three days without considering his chances of escape, and the means of accomplishing such a purpose. He had looked the building over with the greatest care. The room the prisoners occupied was next to the roof. The rear windows opened upon a narrow alley, and he had ascertained by looking out at them that the warehouse was one of a long block. He had been in Mobile a great deal while the family were visiting at Glenfield, and he had been careful to notice the location when he was conducted to it with the others.
At the end of the loft next to the main street were thirty or forty other prisoners, with whom Christy and Flint had been on good terms, though they belonged to the army, and seemed to be inclined to keep by themselves. They had been exhausted by hard service, and they had nothing to do but eat and sleep, though the former occupation did not occupy any great amount of their spare time. But as soon as it was fairly dark, they stretched themselves on their beds of vines and weeds, and most of them were soon asleep.
The evening that followed the day on which Colonel Pa.s.sford visited his nephew was dark, foggy, rainy, and as gloomy as even a blockade runner might ask. Christy seated himself under one of the rear windows of the loft, which appeared to have been intended only for storage, and was only from seven to eight feet between studs. Flint placed himself at the side of his companion, as he was requested to do.
"This is just the kind of a night we want," said Christy, in a whisper, for he could hear the tramp of a sentinel outside the door of the loft.
"I should as soon think of getting out if we were buried a hundred feet under ground as to think of getting out of this place," replied Flint, who was hardly as enterprising as his officer, though he was always ready to follow when he was well led. "There is a guard at the door, Mr. Pa.s.sford."
"He may stay there; we don"t want anything of him," replied Christy.
"I see no other way out of this den, unless we jump down into the street; but I will follow you, sir, if I fall a hundred feet in doing it," protested the master"s mate.
"You shall not fall six inches, and you will have no opportunity to do so. But if you are all ready to follow my lead, we may as well begin at once," added Christy, who had expected that it would require some persuasion to induce his companion to join him.
The first thing the midshipman did was to take off his shoes, and to require Flint to do the same. With these in their hands, Christy paced off twenty steps, which brought him, according to a calculation he had made in the daylight, under a scuttle that led to the roof of the warehouse. Stationing the master"s mate as a mark, he laid off five paces at right angles with the first line from the party-wall. It was as dark as Egypt, and the scuttle could not be seen; but the operator had located it mathematically, and was confident as to its position. Flint was planted under the opening, with the shoes of both at his side.
The master"s mate was nearly six feet in his stocking feet as he stood, and Christy whispered to him the next thing in his scheme. With the aid of his willing a.s.sistant, the midshipman was mounted on the shoulders of the former, where he stood up like an athlete in the gloom, though he almost instantly obtained a hold above with his hands. He unfastened the scuttle, and slid it off the aperture with the greatest care. Then he drew himself up with his strong hands, and was on the roof. Then Flint pa.s.sed up the shoes, as he reached down for them. Seating himself on one side of the frame, he braced his feet against the other side, and grasped the hands of the mate. It did not work.
CHAPTER XXIX
THE NEW MATE OF THE COTTON SCHOONER
Christy had given himself credit for more physical strength, or Flint for less weight, than the circ.u.mstances warranted, and found that he could not draw up his companion as he intended. He made several efforts to accomplish his purpose, but he failed every time. The fear of making a noise cramped his efforts to some extent.
"Let go, Mr. Pa.s.sford," whispered Flint, when he realized that his avoirdupois was too much for the young officer. "I will get that box, and then I can manage it myself."
"All right; but don"t make a particle of noise," added Christy.
It required some time for the mate to find the box in the darkness, but he had it in position at last, standing upon one end. Mounting it, he found that his head was on a level with the roof, and he could easily draw himself up; but he did not do so at once.
"What are you waiting for, Flint?" asked Christy, rather impatiently.