Oliver Optic

“ But the commander was a plucky man, however he regarded the chances for or against him, and his crew proceeded vigorously to repel boarders. Christy had timed the movements of the Bronx very carefully, and the Ocklockonee had hardly fastened to the Arran on one side before he had his steamer grappled on the other.
"Boarders, away!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, and flourishing his sword over his head, not however with the intention of going into the fight himself, but as a demonstration to inspire the men. ”

“ Christy returned to the cabin, and showed the ponderous envelope to his father.
"Sealed orders, as I supposed you would have," said Captain Passford.
"And this is my order to sail immediately on receipt of it," added Christy.
32 "Then I must leave you, my son; and may the blessing of God go with you wherever your duty calls you!" exclaimed the father, not a little shaken by his paternal feelings. "Be brave, be watchful; but be prudent under all circumstances. Bravery and Prudence ought to be twin sisters, and I hope you will always have one of them on each side of you. ”

“ There is as much patriotism in running away from a superior force as there is in fighting an equal, for if the government should lose your vessel and lose you and your ship's company, it would be a disaster of more or less consequence to your country."
22 "I hardly think I shall fall in with the Scotian and the Arran, so I will not consider the question of running away from them," said Christy laughing. ”

“ The other men I happen to think of just now have been sailors on board of my coaster. They are good men, and I can vouch for their loyalty, though not for their education. They are all petty officers."
"I have a mission for your men, to be undertaken at once, and I shall be likely to want the first three you named for important positions, if my orders do not fetter me too closely," said 109 Christy. "As the matter stands just now, Mr. Flint, it would hardly be expedient for us to capture a schooner running the blockade for the want of an officer to act as prize master." ”

“ The guns on the forecastle were again discharged, and she shrunk back at the sound.
"Do not be alarmed, miss," said Christy, in his gentlest tones. "But I must say that you will be safer in the cabin than on deck."
"Will you please to tell me what has happened, sir, or what is going to happen?" asked the lady; and the listener thought he had never heard a sweeter voice, though he might not have thought so if he had heard it at Bonnydale, or anywhere else except in the midst of the din of pealing guns and the rattling of musketry. ”

“ The gong rang again when all these preparations had been made, and the Havana steamed slowly up the channel towards the bay. The oiler appeared to have finished his work for the present. He was a more intelligent man than the others of his color on board, and seemed to understand his duties. Christy spoke to him, for he said nothing unless he was spoken to, and he had learned that the commander of the expedition was doing duty as engineer in the absence of any other competent person. ”

“ In the ship's company were at least two officers on the other side of the great question of the day, both of them doubtless men of great experience in their profession, more mature in years than their opponent on this chess-board of fate, and they had come on board of the steamer to accomplish some important purpose. The game at which they were engaged had already become quite exciting, especially as it looked as if the final result was to be determined by strategy rather than hard fighting, for Pawcett and Hungerford could hardly expect to capture the Bronx with only a force of eight men. ”

“ The captain made a gesture to impose silence upon his companion.
"Mulgrum is all right in every respect," said he in a loud tone, so that if the subject of the examination had stopped at the keyhole of the door, he would not be made any the wiser for what he heard there.
"He knows Cherryfield as well as he knows the deck of the Bronx, and as you say, Captain Passford, he is all right in every respect," added the first lieutenant in the same loud tone. ”

“ By this time the noise on shore had become more pronounced, and he saw the dark forms of several persons on the wharf. Flint and Amblen were making fast to the nearest schooner, and a couple of seamen had been sent on shore to cast off the fasts which held her to the wharf. This was the work of but a moment, and the two men returned to the steamer; but they were closely followed by two men, one of whom stepped on the deck of the schooner.
"What are you about here?" demanded the foremost of the men, in a rude and impertinent manner.
"About our business," replied Christy, with cool indifference. ”

“ If a man desired to enter the army or the navy, the simple wish was regarded as a sufficient guaranty of his patriotism, especially in connection with his oath of allegiance. With the deaf mute's leaf in his hand Christy was thinking over this matter of the motives of officers. He was not satisfied in regard to either Lillyworth or Mulgrum, and besides the regular quota of officers and seamen permanently attached to the Bronx, there were eighteen seamen and petty officers berthed forward, who were really passengers, though they were doing duty. ”

“ For a full hour the long gun of the Vixen continued 344 to pelt the enemy with solid shot, about every one of them hulling her or carrying away some of her spars. Her mainmast had gone by the board, and the resistance she was making was becoming very feeble.
"She is full of men, Captain Passford," said Mr. Fillbrook, when the steamer seemed to be almost a wreck.
"I observed that she had a large crew some time ago, and it is better to knock her to pieces than to board her," replied Christy. "Keep her as far off as she is now." ”

“ 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. ”

“ Not far from the battery was a rude structure, hardly better than a shanty, which Christy concluded must be the barracks of the soldiers if there were any there. He walked over to it; but there was not a human being to be seen in the vicinity. It was half past one at night, when honest people ought to be abed and asleep, and the first lieutenant of the Bronx concluded that the garrison, if this shanty was their quarters, must be honest people. ”

“ ON THE BLOCKADE CHAPTER I THE UNITED STATES STEAMER BRONX
"She is a fine little steamer, father, without the possibility of a doubt," said Lieutenant Passford, who was seated at the table with his father in the captain's cabin on board of the Bronx. "I don't feel quite at home here, and I don't quite like the idea of being taken out of the Bellevite."
"You are not going to sea for the fun of it, my son," replied Captain Passford. "You are not setting out on a yachting excursion, but on the most serious business in the world." ”

“ Mr. Pembroke was not a wealthy man, though he had the means of supporting what was left of his family comfortably. But Christy had to ask to be excused, as the Bronx was but a short distance from the Havana.
He directed Mr. Amblen to stop her, so as to permit the gunboat to come alongside of her. As the Bronx came within hailing distance of the steamer towing the schooners, a hearty cheer burst from the crew on the forecastle of the former, for the prizes alongside of the Havana indicated the success of the expedition. ”

“ 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? ”

“ Even in the darkness they could make out whether the approaching vessel was a river or a sea steamer as soon as she could be seen.
"Whatever she is, we must capture her," said Christy, very decidedly.
"If she is a river steamer, she will be of no use to the government," added Mr. Amblen.
"Of none at all." replied Christy. "In that case I shall burn her, for it would not be safe to send good men in such a craft to a port where she could be condemned. The next question is, shall we take her here, or nearer to the shore."
"The farther from the shore the better, I should say, Mr. Passford. ”

“ If it was a blockade runner, with a cargo of cotton, it meant a small fortune to each officer, seaman, and others on board.
The new commander had a reputation as a daring leader, and the hopes of the officers and men ran high. They waited eagerly to have the steamer headed to the eastward; but no such order was given, and the chins of all hands began to drop down.
Christy had no interest in the money value of a prize, and yet he could understand the feeling of his ship's company. He was an heir of a millionaire, and he had no occasion to trouble his head about the profits of a capture. ”

“ Behind it, on a wooden platform, were four field guns, with depressions in the earthwork in front of the muzzles.
Christy led the way down the slope on the inside to the pieces, which were twelve-pounders. At a little distance from the platform was a sort of casemate, which might have been constructed for a magazine, or for a place of resort for the gunners if the fort should be bombarded. Not a man could be seen, and if there was any garrison for the place, they were certainly taking things very comfortably, for they must have been asleep at this unseemly hour for any ordinary occupation. ”

“ 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." ”

“ But he did not go down, as he had evidently intended to do, and waited till the second lieutenant came over to the lee side of the vessel.
"Perhaps the man at the wheel has been listening to our conversation," said the deaf mute, plainly alarmed at the situation. "I did not think of him."
"I did," replied Mr. Lillyworth; "but it is all right, and the man at the wheel is Spoors, one of our number."
"All right," added Mulgrum, and he descended the steps.
Dave kept his place in the folds of the foresail, and hardly breathed as the scullion passed him. ”

“ We may have to fight for our prizes, but the splinters will fly before she gets them away from us," said Captain Blowitt, who watched the steamer with an anxious look on his face, resolute as he was in the discharge of his duty. "She is considerably larger than the Bronx."
"As I make her out, she looks something like the Ocklockonee and the Escambia, which we sent to New York, though they had but one smokestack each while this one has two. They were about five hundred tons; and I should think this vessel was of very nearly the same size," added Christy. ”

“ The mission I have for you, Dave, is to watch Mulgrum. In a word, I have my doubts in regard to his deafness and his dumbness."
"You don't believe he is deaf and dumb, Captain Passford!" exclaimed the steward, opening his eyes very wide, and looking as though an earthquake had just shaken him up.
"I don't say that, my man. I am in doubt. He may be a deaf mute, as he represents himself to be. I wish you to ascertain whether or not he can speak and hear. You are a shrewd fellow, Dave, I discovered some time ago ”

“ These vessels may be fully armed and manned, in charge of Confederate naval officers; and doubtless they will be as glad to pick up the Bronx as you would be to pick up the Scotian or the Arran. You don't know yet whether they will come as simple blockade runners, or as naval vessels flying the Confederate flag. Whatever your orders, Christy, don't allow yourself to be carried away by any Quixotic enthusiasm. ”

“ These breezes were usually present 259 to cool the nights, and doubtless the inhabitants slept the sounder for the one which had just begun to fan the cheeks of the officers and seamen of the expedition.
"There is a battery there, Mr. Passford," said the pilot in a very low tone. "I can make it out now, and it is just where I supposed it would be."
"I can see something that seems like an earthwork at the right of the buildings," added Christy. "Can you make out anything that looks like a sentinel?"
"I can see nothing that denotes the presence of a man. ”