the bronx was slowly approaching the steamer in the fog, which appeared to have stopped her propeller, and to be resting motionless on the long swells, hardly disturbed by a breath of air. by this time the smokestack of the bronx was vomiting forth dense clouds of black smoke. the steamers of the navy used anthracite coal, which burns without any great volume of smoke, and blockade runners had already begun to lay in whatever stock of it they were able to procure to be used as they approached the coast where they were to steal through the national fleet. the attention of the naval department of the united states had already been given to this subject, and the first steps had been taken to prevent the sale of this comparatively smokeless coal where it could be obtained by the blockade runners.
christy had been on the blockade; and he had 148 been in action with a steamer from the other side of the ocean; and he knew that this black smoke of the soft coal, exclusively used by english steamers, was a telltale in regard to such vessels. it had been an idea of his own to take in a supply of this kind of fuel, for while its smoke betrayed the character of vessels intending to run the blockade, the absence of it betrayed the loyalty of the national steamers to the blockade runners. it was a poor rule that would not work both ways, and the commander of the bronx had determined to adopt the scheme he had now put in force on board of his vessel. although the craft on the starboard bow could hardly be distinguished in the fog, christy had sent a trusty seaman aloft to report on the color of the smoke that issued from her funnel.
this man had reported by swinging his cap in the air, as the captain had instructed him to do if he found that the smoke was that of soft coal. if there was no black smoke, he was to return to the deck without making any sign. the moment therefore that the man had been able to see the quality of the smoke, the commander was made as wise as though he had seen it himself. the information 149 left him no doubt that the steamer was intended to run the blockade; but whether or not she was one of the expected pair, of course he could form no opinion, for already this part of the ocean had begun to swarm with vessels in this service.
"i am beginning to make her out a little better," said flint, who had been straining his eyes to the utmost capacity, as everybody else on board was doing, to obtain the best and earliest information in regard to the stranger on the starboard bow.
"what do you make out, mr. flint?" asked christy, who was too busily employed in watching the movements of the officers and seamen on his own deck to give especial attention to the character of the other steamer.
"i can't see well enough yet to say anything in regard to details," replied the first lieutenant. "i can only make out her form and size; and she seems to be as nearly like the bronx as one pea is like another, though i should say that she was longer."
"is she in motion?" asked the captain with interest.
"she appears to be at rest, though it is possible 150 that she is moving very slowly; but if she has not stopped her screw, she is not going more than four knots."
"you say that she is built like the bronx, mr. flint?" asked christy anxiously.
"just like her; i should say that both hulls came out of the same mould."
"that very nearly settles the question in my mind. probably she was designed by the same naval architect, and constructed by the same builders, as the bronx," replied christy, gazing intently at the dim outlines of the steamer in the fog. "when a designer has made a great reputation for fast ships, men with piles of money, like the former owners of the bronx, the scotian, and the arran, employ him to furnish the plans for their steam yachts. from what we have learned so far, though it is very little indeed, i feel reasonably sure that this steamer ahead of us is the scotian or the arran, and i don't care much which it is. but why has she stopped her screw, or reduced her speed to four knots?"
"that is a question that can only be answered an hour or two hence, if ever," replied the first lieutenant.
151 "but it is a very important question all the same," added christy.
"i doubt if the bronx is making four knots at the present moment," said flint, as he went to the end of the bridge, and looked down into the water.
"in changing the fires in the furnaces, mr. sampson had been obliged to clear them out in part, and that has reduced the pressure of steam; but we shall soon have the usual head," said christy, as he went to the speaking tube and communicated with the chief engineer.
he was informed that his explanation was correct in regard to the coal, and that in a very short time the boilers would have a full head of steam. christy spent the next few minutes in an earnest study of the scarcely perceptible outline of the steamer in the fog. he was hardly wiser when he had finished his examination than before. the hull and lower masts of the vessel could be indistinctly made out, and that was all. sampson informed him that he had not been using all the steam he had, and that the screw was hardly turning at all. he ordered him to stop it entirely.
impatient as he was to follow up the discovery 152 that had been made, he realized that it would be very imprudent to expose his ship to possible danger when he had not steam enough to work her to the best advantage. he could only wait; but he was satisfied that he had done the best possible thing in changing the coal, for the black smoke would effectually blind the officers of the other vessel. they were not engaged in a chase, and the exciting question could be settled a few hours hence as well as at the present time.
"if the steamer ahead is the scotian or the arran, as i fully believe she is, probably her consort is somewhere in these waters," said the commander.
"probably she lost sight of her in this fog," added flint. "but, captain passford, we are in the face of something, though we do not yet know precisely what. i suppose you have your eye on mr. lillyworth?"
"i have kept him in sight all the time. he is on the quarter deck now, as he has been since all hands were called," replied christy, who had not failed to look at him for a full minute since the discovery of the sail on the starboard. "he seems to be perplexed by the situation, and his 153 time for action, if he intends to act, has not yet come."
"i don't see pink mulgrum anywhere about the deck."
"i saw him a few minutes since," added christy. "he passed several times quite near mr. lillyworth, and very likely something was said between them; but they had no long talk."
christy had charged dave to watch mulgrum if he went below, and to follow him up closely; but the deaf mute had been on deck most of the time. there was nothing that he could do, and nothing that the second lieutenant could do, to embarrass the operations of the ship while she remained at rest. the captain then descended to the deck, and personally looked into the condition of everything. in the course of his round he came to the quarter deck where the second lieutenant was stationed. he could see that he was nervous and uneasy about something, and it was not difficult to divine what perplexed him. he could hardly see the black smoke from the funnel of the steamer in the fog, for his place on the deck did not permit him to obtain as good a view of her as could be had from the bridge, and especially from aloft.
154 "do you make out what that vessel is, captain passford?" asked lillyworth, as christy passed near him.
"not yet, mr. lillyworth," replied the captain, not caring to converse with the conspirator.
"the fog does not seem to be very dense, and i should think the vessel might be made out from aloft," added the second lieutenant, evidently very anxious to know more about the sail ahead.
"not very clearly," replied christy, as he went forward to the engine hatch.
he descended to the engine room, and while he was listening to the roar of the flames in the furnaces, so different from the action of anthracite coal, sampson came up from the fire room.
"we shall have a sufficient head of steam in a few minutes to justify you in going ahead, captain passford," said the engineer without waiting to be questioned.
"i am glad to hear it, though we are in no special hurry at present, in spite of our impatience to know what is before us," replied the captain. "do you know the man who passes under the name of mulgrum, mr. sampson?"
"you mean pink, the deaf mute? mr. nawood 155 pointed him out to me, and i have seen him about the deck or in the steerage several times."
"has he been in the engine room at any time since we sailed?" asked christy.
"he may have been; but i have not noticed him anywhere in my department," replied sampson.
"you will not allow him in the engine or fire room," continued the captain. "send him out, drive him out, if necessary, at once."
"being deaf and dumb, i should suppose he were harmless wherever he happened to be. is he—"
"never mind what he is just now, mr. sampson," interposed christy. "be very particular to obey my order in regard to him to the letter; that's all now. inform me at once when you are ready to go ahead, and i shall be on the bridge."
the order which christy had just given to the engineer was the result of his reflection since he came down from the bridge. he had been cudgelling his brains to determine what the conspirators could possibly do when the decisive moment came, if it should happen to come as he neared the steamer in the fog, to derange the operations on board. it seemed to him before that all they 156 could do was to leap on board of the enemy, if it came to boarding her, and reinforce her crew. he had talked over this matter with flint and baskirk, and there were three who would be ready to shoot either of them the instant their treachery should be apparent.
before it would be possible to board, a man as intelligent as mulgrum, who had served as executive officer, could easily disable the engine. this idea had but just come to the commander, who thought before that he had closed every opening against the conspirators. he went on deck as soon as he had settled this matter. the fog seemed to be rather more dense than before, and when he went on the bridge, it was reported that the stranger could no longer be made out.
"i have just received the roster of the 'bronx association,'" said flint, as the captain joined him. "it is signed by every man on board, including the supernumeraries forward, except spoors, blocker, veering, packer, pickford, and runyon. i inquired why these men would not join, but could not learn that they had any reason except that they did not wish to be members. i have seen mr. lillyworth talking to all of these 157 men, and i think we can be certain now who is white and who is black."
"on the bridge!" came from the speaking tube, at this moment, and the captain was near enough to hear it. mr. sampson reported that he had steam enough to make at least ten knots an hour.
the commander then instructed the first lieutenant to see that both divisions of boarders were armed with cutlass and revolver, in readiness for action. the second lieutenant was to attend to the working of the broadside guns, mr. baskirk was to lead the first division of boarders, and mr. giblock, the boatswain, the second. flint went below to the deck to execute his orders, and the captain ordered the quartermaster to ring one bell.
