"captain flint, the first question to be settled is in regard to the engineer force," said christy, as the three officers seated themselves at the table.
"i think we shall have no difficulty on that score, captain passford, for i have already sounded those on board of the arran, or the escambia, as her officers call her. as long as their wages are paid, they don't care which side they serve. mr. pivotte is the chief, and he is as willing to go one way as the other."
"very well; then he shall retain his present position, and bockburn shall be restored to the ocklockonee. of course the arrangements made after the capture of the first vessel were only temporary, and i propose to report to the flag officer with everything as nearly as possible in the condition in which we left new york," continued christy.
225 "of course i expected to resume my former position on board of the bronx as soon as we had disposed of the two steamers; and i can say that i shall not be sorry to do so," said flint with a pleasant smile, as though he did not intend to grieve over the loss of his command.
"in a few days more, we shall move down a peg, and i shall cease to have a command as well as yourself," added christy.
"and i suppose i shall be relegated to my position as a quartermaster," said baskirk; "but i shall be satisfied. i don't care to wear any spurs that i have not won, though i shall be glad to have a higher rank when i deserve it."
"you deserve it now, mr. baskirk, and if you don't receive it, it will not be on account of any weakness in my report of the events of the last twenty-four hours," added christy heartily.
"thank you, captain; i suppose i could have procured a better position than that of able seaman, but i preferred to work my way up."
"it was wise not to begin too high up, and you have already won your spurs. now, mr. baskirk, i shall ask you to take the deck, relieving mr. amblen," added christy, who wished to talk with flint alone.
226 "i shall be really glad to get back into the bronx, for i feel at home here with you, captain," said flint.
"you will be back to your berth here very soon. now we have to send these two steamers to new york. they are fine vessels, and will be needed. we want two prize masters, and we must have able men. have you any suggestion to make, mr. flint? i first thought of sending you as the principal one; but i cannot spare you, and the service in the gulf needs you."
"i am entirely willing to go where my duty calls me, without regard to personal preferences," replied flint. "i have a suggestion to make: which is that baskirk take one of the steamers."
"that is exactly my own idea; from what i have seen of him, there is no more devoted officer in the service."
"i have known him for many years, and i believe in him. mcspindle is almost as good, and has had a better education than baskirk. i don't think you could find two better men in the navy for this duty."
"very well; then i will appoint them both."
flint was instructed to communicate their appointment 227 to baskirk and mcspindle, and make all the preparations for the departure of the escambia and the ocklockonee. christy went to his state room, and wrote his report of the capture of the two steamers, in which he commended the two officers who were to go as prize masters, and then wrote a letter to his father, with a strong appeal in their favor. then he wrote very careful instructions for the government of the officers to be sent away, in which he directed them to use all necessary precautions in regard to the prisoners. in a couple of hours after the capture of the escambia, the two prizes sailed for new york. captain dinsmore expressed his thanks very warmly to captain passford for his courtesy and kindness at parting.
christy had visited every part of the two steamers, and talked with the officers and men, and especially with the engineers, and he discovered no elements of discord on board of either. hungerford and pawcett were transferred to the escambia, and committed to the care of the surgeon of the ship. both of them were suffering from fever, and they were not likely to give the prize master any trouble during the 228 passage, which could only be three or four days in duration. baskirk and mcspindle were required to make all the speed they could consistent with safety, though christy hardly thought they would encounter any confederate rover on the voyage, for they were not very plenty at this stage of the war.
it seemed a little lonesome on board of the bronx after the two steamers had disappeared in the distance, and the number of the crew had been so largely reduced by the drafts for the prizes. the steamer was hardly in condition to engage an enemy of any considerable force, and sampson was directed to hurry as much as possible. christy had heard of the bellevite twice since he left her off pensacola bay. she had been sent to other stations on duty, and had captured two schooners loaded with cotton as prizes; but at the last accounts she had returned to the station where the bronx had left her.
christy was not so anxious as he had been before the recent captures to fall in with an enemy, for with less than twenty seamen it would not be prudent to attack such a steamer as either of those he had captured, though he would not have objected 229 to chase a blockade runner if he had discovered one pursued by the gunboats.
it was a quiet time on board of the bronx compared with the excitement of the earlier days of the voyage. in the very beginning of the trip, he had discovered the deaf mute at the cabin door, and his thought, his inquiries, and his action in defeating the treachery of the second lieutenant had kept him busy night and day. now the weather was fine most of the time, and he had little to do beyond his routine duties. but he did a great deal of thinking in his cabin, though most of it was in relation to the events which had transpired on board of the bronx.
he had captured two valuable prizes; but he could not feel that he was entitled to any great credit for the achievements of his vessel, since he had been warned in the beginning to look out for the scotian and the arran. he had taken the first by surprise, and the result was due to the carelessness of her commander rather than to any great merit on his own part. the second he had taken with double the force of the enemy in ships and men; and the latter was not precisely the kind of a victory he was ambitious to win.
230 at the same time, his self-respect assured him that he had done his duty faithfully, and that it had been possible for him to throw away his advantage by carelessness. if he had fallen in with both the scotian and the arran at the same time, the result might have been different, though he was sure that he should have fought his ship as long as there was anything left of her. in that case there would have been more room for manœuvring and strategy, for he did not admit to himself that he should have been beaten.
amblen continued to hold his place as second lieutenant, and mclinn was appointed acting third lieutenant. the carpenter repaired the bridge, though christy would not have been very sorry if it had been so thoroughly smashed as to be beyond restoration, for it was hardly a naval institution. the men who had been only slightly wounded in the action with the escambia were progressing finely under the care of dr. spokeley, and when the bronx was off the southern cape of florida, they were able to return to duty. the latest information located the flag officer off pensacola, and in due time christy reported to him. the bellevite was still there, and the commander 231 went on board of her, where he received an ovation from the former officers and seamen with whom he had sailed. he did not take any pains to recite his experience, but it was soon known throughout the fleet.
"christy, i shall hardly dare to sail in command of a ship of which you are the executive officer," said lieutenant blowitt, who was to command the bronx, with a laugh.
"why not? is my reputation so bad as that?" asked christy.
"bad! no, it is so good. the fact of it is, you are such a tremendous fellow, there will be no room for any other officer to shine in the same sky."
"i have been in command for a few days, hardly more than a week, but i assure you that i can and shall obey the orders of my commander to the very letter," added christy.
"but you took two steamers, each of them of nearly twice the tonnage of your own ship, in mid ocean."
"but i took them one at a time. if i had fallen in with both at the same time, the affair might have gone the other way. we captured the first one 232 by accident, as it were, and the second with double the force of the enemy. i don't take much credit to myself for that sort of thing. i don't think it was half as much of an affair as bringing out the teaser, for we had to use some science on that occasion," replied christy quietly.
"science, is it?" laughed mr. blowitt. "perhaps you can assist me to some of your science, when it is required."
"i shall obey my superior officer, and not presume to advise him unless he asks me to do so."
"well, christy, i think you are the most audacious young fellow i ever met," added the future commander of the bronx.
"i haven't anything about me that i call audacity, so far as i understand myself. when i am told to do any duty, i do it if it is possible; and whether it is possible often depends upon whether you think it is or not."
"i should say that it was audacious for you to think of capturing two steamers, fitted out for war purposes, and twice the size of your own ship, with the bronx," added mr. blowitt, still laughing, to take off the edge of his criticism.
"why did the navy department instruct me 233 in my sealed orders to look out for these steamers, if i was to do so in a pickwickian sense?" demanded christy earnestly. "what would you have done, mr. blowitt?"
"perhaps i should have been as audacious as you were, christy, if such had been my orders."
this conversation took place on the deck of the bellevite where christy had come to see his friends; and it was interrupted by a boat from the flag ship which brought a big envelope for mr. blowitt. it instructed him to go on board of the bronx, to the command of which he had been appointed. another order required him to proceed to a point on the western coast of florida, where the enemy were supposed to be loading vessels with cotton, and break up the depot established for the purpose, where it could be supplied by the florida railroad.
the new commander packed his clothing, and he was sent with christy in one of the bellevite's boats to the bronx. they went on board, where the late acting commander had already removed his own property to the ward room, and captain blowitt was conducted to his cabin and state room, of which he took formal possession. he seemed to 234 be very much pleased with his accommodations since the government had put the vessel in order, though he had been on board of her, and fought a battle on her deck, while she was still the teaser.
"i am sure i could not ask for anything better than this cabin," said he, after he had invited his first lieutenant to come in.
"i found it very comfortable," added christy. "flint is second lieutenant, and sampson chief engineer; and that is all there are of those who were in the bellevite. i will introduce you to the acting third lieutenant, mr. amblen, and you can retain him or not as you please."
mr. amblen was called in and presented to the captain, and then flint was ordered to get under way.
