the fog had been very variable in its density, and had been lifting and settling at times during the day of the capture. by the time the two vessels were ready to get under way, it had become more solid than before. the night had come, and the darkness with it, at about the same time. the lookouts were still in their places; but so far as seeing anything was concerned they might as well have been in the hold. if the arran was still in the vicinity, as no doubt she was, the bronx might run into her. wherever she was, it was well assured that her officers knew nothing of the capture of the ocklockonee, for not a great gun had been discharged, and the combat had been so quickly decided that there had been very little noise of any kind.
everything worked without friction on board of the bronx; and captain passford felt even 192 more elastic than usual. doubtless the capture he had just made afforded him a good deal of inspiration; but the fact that the mystery of the deaf mute and the second lieutenant had been solved, and the unfathomable catastrophe which their presence on board threatened had been escaped was a great source of relief.
the two conspirators were disabled and confined to the sick bay, and they were not likely to make any trouble at present. if they had had any definite plan on which they intended to act, they had certainly lost their opportunities, for the visit of hungerford to the engine room of the bronx, no doubt for the purpose of disabling the machinery, and the effort of pawcett to warn the officers of the prize, had been simply acts of desperation, adopted after they had evidently failed in every other direction.
pawcett was not really a loyal officer, and his expression and manners had attracted the attention of both the captain and the first lieutenant. the deaf mute had been brought on board in order to obtain information, and he had been very diligent in carrying out his part of the programme. as christy thought the matter over, seated at his 193 supper in his cabin, he thought he owed more to the advice of his father at their parting than to anything else. he had kept his own counsel in spite of the difficulties, and had done more to blind the actors in the conspiracy than to enlighten them. he had hoped before he parted with the prize for the present to obtain some information in regard to the arran; but he had too much self-respect to ask the officers of the ocklockonee in regard to such matters.
the seamen who had been spotted as adherents of the late second lieutenant had done nothing, for there had been nothing that they could do under the circumstances. spoors and two others of them had been drafted into the other vessel, while the other three remained on board of the bronx. they were not regarded as very dangerous enemies, and they were not in condition to undertake anything in the absence of their leaders.
christy had inquired in regard to the condition of pawcett and hungerford before he went to his cabin, and dr. spokeley informed him that neither of them would be in condition to do duty on either side for a considerable period. they were in no 194 danger under careful treatment, but both of them were too seriously injured to trouble their heads with any exciting subjects.
"good evening, captain dinsmore," christy said, when he went into his cabin, after he had attended to all the duties that required present attention. "i hope you are feeling better this evening."
"hardly better, captain passford, though i am trying to reconcile myself to my situation," replied the late captain of the ocklockonee.
"supper is all ready, sir," interposed dave, as he passed by the captain, after he had brought in the dishes from the galley.
"take a seat at the table, captain dinsmore," continued christy, placing a chair for him, and looking over the table to see what cheer he had to offer to his guest.
it looked as though the cook, aware that the commander had a guest, or thinking that he deserved a better supper than usual after the capture of a prize, had done his best in honor of the occasion. the broiled chickens looked especially inviting, and other dishes were quite tempting to a man who was two hours late at the meal.
195 "thank you, captain," replied the guest, as he took the seat assigned to him. "i can't say that i have a very fierce appetite after the misfortune that has befallen me; but i am none the less indebted to you for your courtesy and kindness."
"i acknowledge that i am in condition to be very happy this evening, captain dinsmore, and i can hardly expect to be an agreeable companion to one with a burden on his mind; but i can assure you of my personal sympathy."
"you are very kind, captain. i should like to ask if many of the officers of the old navy are young gentlemen like yourself?" inquired the guest, looking at his host very curiously.
"there are a great many young officers in the navy at the present time, for the exigency has pushed forward the older ones, and there are not enough of them to take all the positions. but we shall all of us grow older," replied christy good-naturedly, as he helped the officer to a piece of the chicken, which had just come from the galley fire.
"perhaps you are older than you appear to be," suggested the guest. "i should judge that you were not over twenty, or at least not much more."
196 "i am eighteen, sir, though, unlike a lady, i try to make myself as old as i can."
"eighteen!" exclaimed captain dinsmore.
but christy told something of his experience on board of the bellevite which had prepared him for his duties, and his case was rather exceptional.
"you have physique enough for a man of twenty-five," added the guest. "and you have been more fortunate than i have."
"and i have been as unfortunate as you are, for i have seen the inside of a confederate prison, though i concluded not to remain there for any length of time," added christy, laughing.
"you are a fortunate young man, and i do not belong to that class," said captain dinsmore, shaking his head. "i have lost my steamer, and i suppose that will finish my career."
"perhaps not;" but christy was satisfied that he had lost his vessel by a want of care, and he could not waste any compliments upon him, though he had profited by the other's carelessness.
"i was confident when the bronx approached the ocklockonee that she was another vessel," continued the guest.
"what vessel did you take her to be?"
197 "you will excuse me if i decline to go into particulars. i can only say that i was sure your steamer was another, and i had no suspicion that i was wrong till that man mounted the rail of the bronx, and began to tell us to the contrary," replied captain dinsmore. "a bolt in the engine was broken, and the engineer could not find another on board. we expected to obtain one when the bronx approached us. i was deceived; and that is the reason why i am here instead of in the cabin of my own ship."
the guest seemed to feel a little better after he had made this explanation, though it contained nothing new to the commander of the bronx. possibly the excellent supper, of which he had partaken heartily in spite of his want of appetite, had influenced his mind through the body. he had certainly become more cheerful, though his burden was no lighter than when he came on board of the bronx. christy was also light-hearted, not alone because he had been so successful, but because he felt that he was no longer compelled to watch the conspirators.
"i am sorry to be obliged to impose any restrictions upon you, captain dinsmore," said christy, 198 as he rose from the supper table. "the circumstances compel me to request you to remain in my cabin."
"of course i am subject to your will and pleasure, captain passford," replied the guest.
"you are a gentleman, sir, and if you will simply give me your word to remain here, there will be no occasion for any unpleasantness. it is possible that we may go into action at any time; and in that case you can remain where you please below."
"i give you my word that i will remain below until i notify you of my intention to do otherwise," replied the prisoner, though christy preferred to regard him as his guest.
"i am entirely satisfied. i shall be obliged to berth you in the ward room, and you are at liberty to pass your time as you please in these two apartments. i shall be happy to introduce you to the first lieutenant," added the captain, as he led the way to the ward room.
mr. baskirk received the prisoner very politely, a berth was assigned to him, and christy went on deck. it was as dark as egypt there, but mr. amblen, the new acting second lieutenant, 199 on the bridge, said the wind was hauling to the westward, and he thought there would be a change of weather before morning. mr. baskirk had made all his appointments of petty officers rendered necessary by sending a portion of the seamen to the ocklockonee. everything was in good order on deck, and christy next went down to the sick bay, where hungerford and pawcett were the only occupants. he found dr. spokeley there, and inquired in regard to the condition of the wounded men. the surgeon described the wounds of his patients, and pointed them out to the captain.
"does mr. hungerford talk any now?" asked christy.
"who is mr. hungerford?" asked the doctor.
"he is the deaf mute. he was the first officer of the confederate steamer yazoo when we captured her in the bellevite last year," replied the captain, upon whom the eyes of the wounded man were fixed all the time.
"he has not spoken yet in my hearing, though i have thought that he could hear."
"his duty on board of the bronx was to obtain information, and he procured a good deal of it, 200 though not all of it was as reliable as it might have been."
"indeed! then he was a traitor," added the surgeon.
"he is a gentleman in spite of the role he has been playing, and i am sorry he has been injured, though mr. sampson obeyed my order when he struck him down in the engine room."
"struck me from behind like an assassin," added hungerford feebly.
"did you expect to arrange a duel with him at such a time, mr. hungerford?" asked christy. "you went into the engine room to disable the machine when you found you could do nothing else. if you had returned to the deck when the engineer told you to do so, he would not have disabled you. you crowded past him, and then he did his duty."
"i have been in the habit of serving with men who were square and above board," muttered hungerford.
"was that where you learned to listen at my cabin door, and to conceal yourself under the berth in my state room?" asked christy, rather sharply for him. "is that the reason why mr. 201 pawcett wished to have you do the copying of my papers?"
"i can only say that i tried to do my duty to my country and i have failed," added hungerford, as he turned over in his berth, and showed his back to the captain.
"may i ask, captain passford, who told you my name?" asked the late second lieutenant, who seemed to be confounded by what he had heard.
"you called mr. hungerford by his real name, and he called you by yours, in the interview you had with him the first night out from new york. i have known you from the first," replied christy.
pawcett was as disgusted as the other had been, and he turned his face to the ceiling of his berth. christy was satisfied that these men would give him no more trouble at present.
