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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Brave Old Salt, by Oliver Optic
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Brave Old Salt
+       or, Life on the Quarter Deck
+
+Author: Oliver Optic
+
+Release Date: November 2, 2011 [EBook #37907]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BRAVE OLD SALT ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Garcia, Matthew Wheaton and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Kentuckiana Digital Library)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+    [Illustration: Somers and the Admiral.]
+
+
+    [Illustration: BRAVE OLD SALT.
+    OLIVER OPTIC.
+    LEE & SHEPARD. BOSTON.]
+
+
+
+
+    BRAVE OLD SALT;
+
+    OR,
+
+    LIFE ON THE QUARTER DECK.
+
+    A Story of the Great Rebellion.
+
+    BY
+
+    OLIVER OPTIC,
+
+
+    Author of "THE SOLDIER BOY," "THE SAILOR BOY," "THE YOUNG
+    LIEUTENANT," "THE YANKEE MIDDY," "FIGHTING JOE," "THE WOODVILLE
+    STORIES," "THE RIVERDALE STORY BOOKS," ETC., ETC.
+
+    BOSTON:
+    LEE AND SHEPARD,
+    SUCCESSORS TO PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO.
+    1866.
+
+
+    Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by
+    WILLIAM T. ADAMS,
+    In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of
+    Massachusetts.
+
+    ELECTROTYPED AT THE
+    _Boston Stereotype Foundry_,
+    No. 4 Spring Lane.
+
+
+    TO
+
+    SAMUEL C. PERKINS, ESQ.,
+
+    This Book
+
+    IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,
+
+    BY HIS FRIEND
+
+    WILLIAM T. ADAMS.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+This volume, the sixth and last of "THE ARMY AND NAVY STORIES," is a
+record of "Life on the Quarter Deck," mostly in the squadron of Vice
+Admiral Farragut, one of whose familiar appellations, used in the
+ward-room and on the berth deck, has furnished the leading title of the
+book. The terrible war which devastated our country for four years has
+given to history two generals, Grant and Sherman, and one admiral,
+Farragut, whose achievements are unsurpassed, if they are equalled, in
+the annals of military and naval warfare; but while the author, in this
+work, has gratefully rendered his tribute of admiration to the
+distinguished naval commander, he has not attempted to present a
+complete biography of him.
+
+Those who have read the preceding volumes of this series need hardly be
+told that this is a book of adventure--of personal experience in the
+great struggle of the nineteenth century. Jack Somers, "The Sailor Boy,"
+Mr. Somers, "The Yankee Middy," and Captain Somers, Lieutenant
+Commanding, are the same person; though often as he changes his official
+position, he is still the same honest, true, and Christian young man.
+
+In our completed sixth volume we take leave of the Somers family with
+many regrets. If our young friends in the army and navy had been less
+true, noble, and Christian, we could have parted with less sorrow. Yet
+the army and navy, as they crushed the Rebellion, have given us many
+young men just as true, just as noble and Christian. Let us gratefully
+cherish these living heroes, and they will not pass away from us "like a
+tale that is told."
+
+To the readers, young and old, who have perseveringly followed my heroes
+through the two thousand pages of this series, I am even more than
+grateful; for I feel that they have sympathized with me in my desire to
+present a lofty ideal to the young man of to-day--one who will be true
+to God, true to himself, and true to his country, in whatever sphere his
+lot may be cast, whether on the forecastle or the quarter deck; as a
+private or an officer, in the great army which must ever battle with
+life's trials and temptations till the crown immortal be won.
+
+    WILLIAM T. ADAMS.
+
+    HARRISON SQUARE, MASS., March 13, 1866.
+
+
+
+
+    CONTENTS.
+
+
+            CHAPTER
+
+         I. LIEUTENANT PILLGRIM.
+        II. WAITING FOR THE SHIP.
+       III. THE WOUNDED SAILOR.
+        IV. THE FRONT CHAMBER.
+         V. SOMERS COMES TO HIS SENSES.
+        VI. LIEUTENANT WYNKOOP, R. N.
+       VII. LANGDON'S LETTERS.
+      VIII. THE UNITED STATES STEAMER CHATAUQUA.
+        IX. IN THE STATE-ROOM.
+         X. THE CHIEF CONSPIRATOR.
+        XI. AFTER GENERAL QUARTERS.
+       XII. THE BEN NEVIS.
+      XIII. A CONFLICT OF AUTHORITY.
+       XIV. THE PRIZE STEAMER.
+        XV. THE PRISONER IN THE CABIN.
+       XVI. CAPTAIN WALMSLEY.
+      XVII. OFF MOBILE BAY.
+     XVIII. BRAVE OLD SALT.
+       XIX. THE BOAT EXPEDITION.
+        XX. THE PICKET BOAT.
+       XXI. THE BEN LOMOND.
+      XXII. RUNNING THE BLOCKADE.
+     XXIII. A YANKEE TRICK.
+      XXIV. PILLGRIM AND LANGDON.
+       XXV. THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY.
+      XXVI. IN THE HOSPITAL.
+     XXVII. MISS PORTINGTON NOT AT HOME.
+    XXVIII. THE BEN LEDI.
+      XXIX. A LONG CHASE.
+       XXX. THE END OF THE REBELLION.
+
+
+
+
+BRAVE OLD SALT.
+
+
+
+
+BRAVE OLD SALT; OR, LIFE ON THE QUARTER DECK.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+LIEUTENANT PILLGRIM.
+
+
+"Well, Prodigy, I congratulate you on your promotion. I even agree with
+your enthusiastic admirers, who say that no young man better deserves
+his advancement than you," said Miss Kate Portington, standing in the
+entry of her father's house at Newport, holding Mr. Ensign John Somers
+by the hand.
+
+"Thank you, Miss Portington," replied the young officer, with a blush
+caused as much by the excitement of that happy moment, as by the
+handsome compliment paid by the fair girl, who, we are compelled to
+acknowledge, had formed no inconsiderable portion of the young man's
+thoughts, hopes, and aspirations during the preceding year.
+
+John Somers had been examined by the board of naval officers appointed
+for the purpose, had been triumphantly passed, and promoted to the rank
+he now held. A short furlough had been granted to him, and he had just
+come from Pinchbrook, where he had spent a week. A visit to Newport was
+now almost as indispensable as one to the home of his childhood, and on
+his way to join the ship to which he had been ordered, he paused to
+discharge this pleasing duty.
+
+Ensign Somers was dressed in a new uniform, and a certain boyish look,
+for which he was partly indebted to the short jacket he had worn as a
+midshipman, had vanished. Perhaps Miss Portington felt that the
+pertness, not to say impudence, with which she had formerly treated him,
+though allowable, under a liberal toleration, towards a boy, would
+hardly be justifiable in her intercourse with a young man. Though, from
+the force of habit, she called him "Prodigy," there was a certain
+maidenly reserve in her manner, which rather puzzled Somers, and he
+could not help asking himself what he had done to cause this slight
+chill in her tones and actions.
+
+Undoubtedly it was the frock coat which produced this refrigerating
+effect; but it was a very elegant and well-fashioned garment, having the
+shoulder straps on which glistened the "foul anchor," indicating his new
+rank, and each sleeve being adorned with a single gold band on the
+cuff, also indicative of his new position. The cap, which he now held in
+his hand, was decorated with a band of gold lace, and bore on its front
+the appropriate naval emblem. In strict accordance with the traditions
+of the navy, he wore kid gloves, without which a naval officer, on a
+ceremonial occasion, would be as incomplete as a ship without a rudder.
+
+We have no means of knowing what Mr. Ensign Somers thought of himself in
+his "new rig," which certainly fitted with admirable nicety, and gave
+him an appearance of maturity which he did not possess when we last saw
+him on the quarter deck of the Rosalie. We will venture to assert,
+however, that he felt like a man, and fully believed that he was one--a
+commendable sentiment in a person of his years, inasmuch as, if he feels
+like a man, he is the more likely to act like one. As we can hardly
+suppose he soared above all the vanities of his impressible period of
+life, it is more than probable that he regarded himself as a very good
+looking young fellow; which brilliant suggestion was, no doubt, wholly
+or in part due to the new uniform he wore.
+
+If not wholly above the weakness of a young man of twenty, possibly he
+had a great deal of confidence in his own knowledge and ability,
+regarded some of the veterans of the navy as "old fogies," and looked
+upon his own father as "a slow coach." But we must do Mr. Somers the
+justice to say that he tried to be humble in his estimate of himself,
+and to bear the honors he had won with meekness; that he endeavored to
+crush down and mortify that overweening self-sufficiency which distorts
+and disfigures the character of many estimable young men. His native
+bashfulness had, in some measure, been overcome by his intercourse with
+the world, and the humility of his nature, though occasionally assaulted
+by the accident of a new coat and an extra supply of gold lace, or by
+the hearty commendations of his superiors, was genuine, and, in the
+main, saved him from the besetting sin of his years.
+
+Standing in the presence of Miss Kate Portington, after an absence of
+several months, wearing a new coat glittering with the laurels he had
+won on the bloodstained decks of the nation's ships, he would have been
+more than human if he had not felt proud of what he was, and what he had
+done--proud, not vain. He was happy, holding the hand of her who had
+occupied so large a place in his thoughts, and whose image had fringed
+with roseate hues his brightest hopes and strongest aspirations.
+
+Kate was not so free with him as she had been, and her reserve annoyed
+and perplexed him. He had anticipated a much warmer welcome than that
+which greeted him on his arrival. He was slightly disappointed, though
+there was nothing in her manner for which he could have reproached her,
+even if their relations had been more intimate than they were. She was
+less stormy, but still gentle and kind; a little more distant in manner,
+though her looks and words assured him she regarded him with
+undiminished interest. Had he known that the elegant frock coat he wore
+produced the chill in the lady which so vexed and disconcerted him, he
+would willingly have exchanged it for the short jacket in which he had
+won his promotion.
+
+They were standing in the entry. When the servant admitted Mr. Somers,
+Kate had heard his voice, and perhaps from prudential motives--for there
+was a visitor in the parlor--she had preferred to meet him in the hall.
+
+"You have been very fortunate, Mr. Somers," added she, gently releasing
+her hand from that of the ensign.
+
+Mr. Somers, instead of "Prodigy"!
+
+"I have. I don't deserve my promotion, I know; but I could not help
+taking it when it was within my reach," replied Somers; and her words,
+though so slightly chilled that the frigid tone could not have been
+noticed by any one who did not expect an unreasonable warmth, took half
+the conceit out of him, and let him down a long reach from the high
+hopes and brilliant expectations with which he had looked forward to
+this meeting.
+
+"On the contrary, Mr. Somers, I think you deserve even more than you
+have received."
+
+"Thank you, Miss Portington; you were always more lavish of kind words
+than I deserved."
+
+"Why, Prodigy--"
+
+She suddenly checked herself. It was evident to Somers that she intended
+to say something pert or saucy. Perhaps she choked down the impertinent
+words from the fear that the honorable secretary of the navy, if such
+wild and wayward young ladies as herself were permitted to contaminate
+the plushy air of Newport society, would remove the Naval Academy back
+to Annapolis, where it is better to be "proper" than to be loyal.
+
+"You were about to say something, Miss Portington," said Somers.
+
+"I was, but it was saucy."
+
+"I am sorry you did not say it."
+
+"I am glad I did not, for you must know, Mr. Somers, that mother has
+scolded me so much for being saucy, that I have solemnly resolved to be
+proper in all things henceforth and forevermore."
+
+"I am sorry for it," answered Somers, with unaffected earnestness.
+
+"Sorry, you wretch?"
+
+Somers laughed.
+
+"There's another slip. I have done my best to reform my life. I am
+afraid I shall never succeed. Now, Prodigy--"
+
+Somers laughed again.
+
+"Again!" exclaimed Kate.
+
+"I wish to ask one favor of you, Miss Portington."
+
+"It would afford me more pleasure to grant it, than it does you to ask
+it. Name it."
+
+"That you will never call me Prodigy again."
+
+"I had firmly resolved before you came never to do it," laughed she.
+
+"Well, I only asked it in order to help along your good resolutions."
+
+"Then you are making fun of me?"
+
+"Like yourself, I am very serious."
+
+"But I am in earnest, Mr. Somers; I mean to reform. Now, father and
+mother will be very glad to see you, Mr. Somers."
+
+"Your father?"
+
+"He was temporarily relieved to attend a court martial. He is going away
+again to-morrow."
+
+"You have other visitors?"
+
+"Only Lieutenant Pillgrim."
+
+"I have not the pleasure of his acquaintance."
+
+"He is a Virginian, I believe; at any rate he is from the South, and has
+just been restored to his rank in the navy."
+
+Kate led the way into the parlor, where he was first welcomed by her
+mother.
+
+"Mr. Somers, I am glad to see you, and to congratulate you on your
+promotion," said the commodore, as he grasped the hand of the young
+officer.
+
+"Thank you, sir," replied Somers. "The only ungratified wish I had was
+that I might be appointed to your ship."
+
+"My ship!"
+
+"I should have been glad to serve under so able and distinguished a
+commander."
+
+"I wouldn't have you in my ship," promptly returned the commodore,
+shaking his head energetically.
+
+Somers looked abashed, and Kate wore a troubled expression.
+
+"I should endeavor to do my duty," he added.
+
+"I have no doubt of it, but I wouldn't have you in my ship."
+
+"Your remark is not very complimentary," said Somers, his face beginning
+to flush with indignation at what seemed to be an assault upon his
+professional character.
+
+"It is the most complimentary thing I could say to you. And I mean what
+I say: I wouldn't have you in my ship."
+
+"Why not, father?" demanded Kate.
+
+"Because I like the young dog, and because I believe in discipline. I
+never indulge in partiality on board my ship, and it is better to keep
+out of temptation. I am under obligations to you, Mr. Somers; I am happy
+to acknowledge them, but they must not come between me and duty. Mr.
+Somers, Lieutenant Pillgrim," continued Commodore Portington, turning to
+the visitor.
+
+Somers looked at the officer thus indicated, and as his eyes rested
+upon him, he started back with a momentary astonishment, for the face
+had a strange look of familiarity to him.
+
+"Mr. Somers, I am happy to meet and to know you. Your name and
+reputation are already familiar to me."
+
+"I am glad to know you, sir," replied Somers, with some confusion. "Your
+face looks so familiar to me, that I think we must have met before."
+
+"Never, to my knowledge," answered the lieutenant, with easy
+self-possession.
+
+"I was quite sure I had seen you before."
+
+"Possibly; I do not remember it, however."
+
+"If I had met you without the favor of an introduction, I should
+certainly have claimed the honor of your acquaintance."
+
+"I should have been proud to be so claimed, but I must confess you would
+have had the advantage of me."
+
+"Of course, I must be mistaken, as you suggest."
+
+"It is not unlikely that we have met in some ante-room where we were
+dancing attendance on the powers that be, in search of employment; but I
+am quite sure, Mr. Somers, that I should have been proud and happy to
+number you among my friends."
+
+"It is not too late now," said the commodore.
+
+"Certainly not. I should be but too happy to have as my friend one who
+has served his country so faithfully," added Mr. Pillgrim, as he bowed
+gracefully to Somers, "especially as I understand we are appointed to
+the same ship."
+
+"Indeed!"
+
+"I am ordered to the Chatauqua."
+
+"So am I."
+
+"Then, Mr. Pillgrim, you will take care of our Prodigy; you will be
+excellent friends, I trust," said Kate, beginning very impulsively in
+her old way, and suddenly checking herself when her resolution to be
+"proper" interposed itself.
+
+"What is the matter, Kate? Have you and Mr. Somers had a falling out?"
+demanded the commodore.
+
+"O, no, father."
+
+"You talk as though you had had a quarrel, and for a moment had
+forgotten to be savage."
+
+"We have had no quarrel, pa," replied Kate, blushing. "I was going to be
+saucy, but ma says I must not be saucy, and I shall not be saucy any
+more. I only hoped the two gentlemen who are going to live together in
+the same ship would be good friends."
+
+"Of course they will. Officers never quarrel."
+
+"Perhaps they don't; but they are not always as good friends as I hope
+these gentlemen will be," laughed Kate.
+
+"Perhaps he will be my friend for your sake, if he is not for mine,"
+added Pillgrim.
+
+"I do not wish that. I don't like to have anybody do anything for my
+sake, unless it be to take paregoric when I am sick."
+
+"I trust I shall not be paregoric to him," said Pillgrim.
+
+"Then he will not take you for my sake."
+
+"As Lieutenant Pillgrim is my superior officer, I should be likely to
+court his good will, and prize his friendship very highly. If we are not
+friends, I am sure it will not be my fault."
+
+At this moment the dinner bell rang; and although Somers did not feel
+intimate enough with the family to invite himself to dine, he was easily
+prevailed upon to remain, and gallantly gave his arm to Mrs. Portington,
+as Kate, for some wayward reason of her own, had already seized upon
+that of Lieutenant Pillgrim.
+
+At the table Somers sat opposite the lieutenant, and he found it
+impossible to avoid looking upon him with a strange and undefinable
+interest. Since his first glance at the commodore's visitor, who seemed
+to be on the best of terms with the family, he had been perplexed by
+some strange misgivings. He could not banish from his mind an assurance
+that he had seen him before; that he had talked with him, and even been,
+to some extent, intimate with him.
+
+The thought that Kate was somewhat changed in her demeanor towards him
+did not contribute to increase his satisfaction. She had contrived to
+take the lieutenant's arm instead of his own, and perhaps he had come as
+the successor of Phil Kennedy, who had been reputed to be high in her
+good graces. But Mr. Pillgrim was a gentleman of thirty-five, at least,
+and this was not probable, in his view of the matter. Somers, being
+disinterested, was more worried to know when, where, and under what
+circumstances he had met the lieutenant.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+WAITING FOR THE SHIP.
+
+
+Somers was utterly unable to satisfy himself in regard to Lieutenant
+Pillgrim. The face was certainly familiar to him, not as a combination
+of remembered features, but rather as an expression. To him the eye
+seemed to be the whole of the man, and its gaze would haunt him, though
+his memory refused to identify it with any time, place, or
+circumstances. Though his reason compelled him to believe that he was
+mistaken, and that Mr. Pillgrim was actually a stranger, his
+consciousness of having seen, and even of having been intimate with, the
+gentleman, most obstinately refused to be shaken.
+
+"Of course, gentlemen, you have no idea to what point the Chatauqua has
+been ordered?" said the commodore.
+
+"I have not," replied Mr. Pillgrim.
+
+"I have heard it said that she was going to the Gulf," added Somers.
+
+"Very likely; there are two points where extensive naval operations are
+likely to be undertaken--at Mobile and at Wilmington. The rebellion has
+had so many hard knocks that the bottom must drop out before many
+months."
+
+"I am afraid the end is farther off than most people at the North are
+willing to believe," said Mr. Pillgrim.
+
+"Every thing looks hopeful. If we can contrive to batter down Fort
+Fisher, and open Mobile Bay, the rebels may count the months of their
+Confederacy on their fingers."
+
+"I think there is greater power of resistance left in the South, than we
+give it the credit for."
+
+"The rebels have fought well; what of it?" continued the commodore, who
+did not seem to be pleased with the style of the lieutenant's remarks.
+
+"As fighting men, we can hardly fail to respect those who have fought so
+bravely as the people of the South."
+
+"People of the South!" sneered the commodore. "Why don't you call them
+rebels?"
+
+"Of course that is what I mean," answered Mr. Pillgrim, a slight flush
+visible on his cheek.
+
+"If you mean it, why don't you say it? Call things by their right names.
+The people of the South are not all rebels. Why, confound it, Farragut
+is a Southerner; so is General Anderson; so are a hundred men, who have
+distinguished themselves in putting down treason. It's an insult to
+these men to talk about the people of the South as rebels."
+
+"I agree with you, Commodore Portington, and what I said was only a form
+of expression."
+
+"It's a very bad form of expression. Why, man, you are a Southerner
+yourself."
+
+"I am; and I suppose that is what makes me so proud of the good fighting
+the people of the South--I mean the rebels--have done. We can't help
+respecting men who have behaved with so much gallantry."
+
+"Can't we?" exclaimed the commodore, with a sneer so wholesome and
+honest, that Lieutenant Pillgrim withered under it. "I can help it. I
+have no respect for rebels and traitors under any circumstances."
+
+"Nor I, as rebels and traitors," replied Pillgrim, mildly.
+
+"As rebels and traitors! I don't like these fine-spun distinctions. If a
+man is a traitor, call him so, and swing him up on the fore-yard arm,
+where he belongs."
+
+"You are willing to acknowledge that the rebels have fought well in this
+war?" added the lieutenant.
+
+"They have fought well: I don't deny it."
+
+"And you appreciate gallant conduct?"
+
+"That depends on the cause. No, sir! I don't appreciate gallant conduct
+on the part of rebels and traitors. It is not gallant conduct; and the
+better they fight, the more wicked they are."
+
+"I can hardly take your view of the case."
+
+"Can't you? The best fighting I ever saw in my life was on the deck of
+a pirate ship. The black-hearted villains fought like demons. Not a man
+of them would yield the breadth of a hair. We had to cut them down like
+dogs. Is piracy respectable because these men fought well?"
+
+"Certainly not; but the bravery of such men--"
+
+"Nonsense! I know what you are going to say; but you can't separate the
+pirate from his piracy, nor the traitor from his treason," replied the
+commodore, warmly. "The other day I saw a little dirty urchin fighting
+with his mother. The young cub had run away, I suppose, and the woman
+was dragging him back to the house. He was not more than six years old,
+but he displayed a power of resistance which rather astonished me. He
+kicked, bit, scratched, and yelled like a young tiger. He called his
+mother everything but a lady. The poor woman tugged at him with all her
+strength, but the little rascal was almost a match for her. I wanted to
+take him by the nape of the neck, and shake the ugly out of him: nothing
+but my fixed principles of neutrality prevented me from doing so. I
+suppose, Mr. Pillgrim, you would have sympathized with the brat, because
+he fought bravely."
+
+"Hardly," replied the lieutenant, laughing at the simile.
+
+"But he fought like a tiger, and displayed no mean strategy in his
+rebellious warfare. Of course he was worthy of your admiration," sneered
+the commodore.
+
+"That's hardly a fair comparison."
+
+"The fairest in the world. The rebels have insulted their own
+mother--the parent that fostered, protected, and loved them. They
+undertook to run away from her; and when she attempts to bring them back
+to their duty, they kick, and scratch, and bite; and you admire them
+because they fight well."
+
+"I stand convicted, Commodore Portington. I never took this view of the
+matter; I acknowledge that you are right," said Mr. Pillgrim.
+
+Somers, who had been an attentive listener to the conversation, thought
+the lieutenant yielded very gracefully, and much more readily than could
+have been expected; but then the logician was a commodore, and perhaps
+it was prudence and politeness on his part to agree with his powerful
+superior.
+
+After dinner the party took a ride to the beach and to the Glen; and
+after an early tea, Somers and Pillgrim, who were to be
+fellow-passengers to Philadelphia, where the Chatauqua was fitting out,
+began to demonstrate in the direction of their departure. Kate, though
+she had been tolerably playful during the afternoon, had, in the main,
+carried out her good resolution to be proper. She had not been
+impudent--hardly pert; and deprived of this convenient mask for whatever
+kindness she might have entertained towards the young ensign, she seemed
+to be very cold and indifferent to him. She was more thoughtful,
+serious, and earnest than when they had met on former occasions. He
+could not help asking himself what he had done to produce this marked
+change in her conduct.
+
+"Good by, Miss Portington," said he, when he had taken leave of her
+father and mother.
+
+"Good by, Mr. Somers. Shall I hear from you when you reach your
+station?" she asked, presenting her hand.
+
+"If you desire it."
+
+"If I desire it! Why, Mr. Somers, you forget that I am deeply interested
+in your success."
+
+"Perhaps, if I do anything of which you would care to learn, the
+newspapers may inform you of the fact," replied Somers, with a kind of
+grim smile, which seemed actually to alarm poor Kate.
+
+"I would rather hear it from you."
+
+"I judge that you are more interested in my success than you are in me."
+
+"Ah, Mr. Somers, you cannot separate the pirate from his piracy, pa
+said; nor the hero from his heroism, let me add."
+
+"Thank you, Miss Portington."
+
+"I cannot forget how deeply indebted we are to you, Mr. Somers."
+
+"I wish you could."
+
+"Why do you wish so?" demanded the astonished maiden; more astonished at
+his manner than his words.
+
+"I am sorry to have you burdened with such a weight of obligation."
+
+"I think you mean to quarrel with me, Mr. Somers. I beg you will not be
+so savage just as you are going away," laughed Kate, though there was a
+troubled expression on her fair face. "I asked you if I should hear from
+you, Mr. Somers."
+
+"Certainly, if you desire."
+
+"Why do you qualify your words? I should be just as glad to hear from
+you as I ever was."
+
+"Then you shall, at every opportunity."
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Somers. That sounds hearty and honest, as father would
+say."
+
+"I do not wish you to feel an interest in me from a sense of duty. I
+shall not write any letters from a sense of duty, or even because I have
+promised to do so. I shall write to you because--because I can't help
+it," stammered Somers, almost overcome by the violence of his exertions.
+
+"I thank you, Mr. Somers, and I am sure your letters will be all the
+more welcome from my knowledge of the fact."
+
+"Good by," said he, gently pressing the little hand he held.
+
+"Good by," she replied; and to his great satisfaction and delight, the
+pressure was returned--a kind of telegraphic signal, infinitely more
+expressive than all the words in the spelling-book, strung into
+sentences, could have been to a young man in his desperate condition.
+
+Mr. Ensign Somers was now entirely satisfied. That gentle pressure of
+the hand had atoned for all her reserve and coldness, real or imaginary,
+and made the future bright and pleasant to look upon. Undoubtedly Mr.
+Somers was a silly young fellow; but there is some consolation in
+believing that he was just like all young men under similar
+circumstances.
+
+Mr. Pillgrim followed him out of the house, and they hastened down to
+the wharf to take the steamer for New York. On the passage the two
+officers treated each other with courtesy and consideration, but there
+appeared to be no strong sympathy of thought or feeling between them,
+and they were not drawn so closely together as they might have been
+under similar circumstances, if there had been more of opinion and
+sentiment common between them.
+
+On their arrival at Philadelphia, they found the Chatauqua was still in
+the hands of the workmen, and would not go into commission for a week or
+ten days. They reported to the commandant of the navy yard, and took up
+their quarters at the "Continental," where Somers found his old friend
+Mr. Waldron, who had been detached from the Rosalie at his own request,
+and ordered to the Chatauqua, in which he was to serve as executive
+officer. This was splendid news to Somers, for he regarded Mr. Waldron
+as a true and trusty friend, in whom he could with safety confide.
+
+"Do you know Lieutenant Pillgrim?" asked Somers, after they had
+discussed their joint information in regard to the new ship.
+
+"I am not personally acquainted with him, though I have heard his name
+mentioned. He is a Virginian, I think."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"If I mistake not, there were some doubts about his loyalty, though he
+never tendered his resignation; he has been kept in the background."
+
+"He seems to be a loyal and true man."
+
+"No doubt of it, or he would not have been appointed to the Chatauqua."
+
+"He has some respect for the rebels, but no sympathy."
+
+"I think he has frequently applied for employment, but has not obtained
+it until the present time. I have no doubt he is a good fellow and a
+good officer. He ranks next to me. But, Somers, I leave town in half an
+hour," continued Mr. Waldron, consulting his watch. "I am going to run
+home for a few days, till the ship goes into commission. I will see you
+here on my return."
+
+Somers walked to the railroad station with his late commander, and
+parted with him as the train started. During the three succeeding days,
+he visited the museums, libraries, and other places of resort,
+interesting to a young man of his tastes. He went to the navy yard every
+day, and, with his usual zeal, learned what he could of the build, rig,
+and armament of the Chatauqua, and gathered such other information
+relating to his profession as would be useful to him in the future.
+
+Lieutenant Pillgrim passed his time in a different manner. Though he was
+not what the world would call an intemperate or an immoral man, he spent
+many of his hours in bar-rooms, billiard-saloons, and places of public
+amusement. He several times invited Somers to "join" him at the bar, to
+play at billiards, and to visit the theatre, and other places of more
+questionable morality. The young officer was not a prude, but he never
+drank, did not know how to play billiards, and never visited a gambling
+resort. He went to the theatre two or three times; but this was the
+limit of his indulgence.
+
+Mr. Pillgrim was courteous and gentlemanly; he did not press his
+invitations. He treated his brother officer with the utmost kindness and
+consideration; was always ready, and even forward, to serve him; and
+their relations were of the pleasantest character.
+
+One evening, when Somers called at the office for the key of his room,
+after his return from the navy yard, a letter was handed to him. The
+writing was an unfamiliar hand, scrawling and hardly legible. It was
+evidently the production of an illiterate person. On reaching his room
+he opened it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE WOUNDED SAILOR.
+
+
+The curiosity of Somers was not a little excited before he opened the
+uncouth letter in his hand. It was postmarked Philadelphia, which made
+its reception all the more strange, for he had no friends or
+acquaintances residing in the city. He tore open the dirty epistle,
+which was not even enclosed in an envelope, and read as follows:--
+
+    PHILA. June the 19. 1864.
+
+MR. JOHN SOMERS ESQ. Sir. I been wounded in the leg up the Missippi and
+can not do nothing more. I been in your division aboard the Rosalie, and
+I know you was a good man and I know you was a good officer, I hope you
+be in good helth, as I am not at this present writen. my Leg is very
+bad, and don't git no better. This is to inform you that I am the only
+son of a poor widdow, who has no other Son, and she can not do nothing
+for me, nor I can't do nothing for her. I have Fout for my countrey and
+have been woundded in the servis. If you could git a penshin for me. it
+would be a grate help to me Sorrowin condition. I live No -- Front
+Street. If I might make bold to ask you to come and see a old Sailor,
+thrown on the beam ends of missfortune, I would be very thankful to you.
+
+    Yours to command,
+
+    THOMAS BARRON.
+
+N. B. The doctor says he thinks my Leg will have to come off.
+
+Tom Longstone knows me, and you ask him, he will tell you all About me.
+
+"Thomas Barron," mused Somers, as he folded the letter. "I don't
+remember him. There were two or three Toms on board the Rosalie. At any
+rate, I have nothing better to do than call upon him. He is an old
+sailor, and that is enough for me."
+
+It was already after dark; but he decided to visit the sufferer that
+night, and after tea he left the house for this purpose. He was
+sufficiently acquainted with the streets of this systematic city to make
+his way without assistance. Of course he did not expect to find the home
+of the old sailor in a wealthy and aristocratic portion of the city; but
+if he had understood the character of the section to which the direction
+led him, he would probably have deferred his charitable mission till the
+following day. On reaching the vicinity of the place indicated, he
+found himself in a vile locality, surrounded by the lowest and most
+depraved of the population.
+
+With considerable difficulty he found the number mentioned in the
+letter. The lower story of the building was occupied as a liquor shop,
+and a further examination of the premises assured him the place was a
+sailor's boarding-house. As this fact was not inconsistent with the
+character of Tom Barron, he entered the shop. Half a dozen vagabonds had
+possession; and as Somers entered, the attention of the whole group was
+directed to him.
+
+"Is there a sailor by the name of Thomas Barron in this house?" asked
+Somers of the greasy, corpulent woman, who stood behind about four feet
+of counter, forming the bar, on which were displayed several bottles and
+decanters.
+
+"Yes, sir; and very bad he is too," replied the woman, civilly enough,
+though the young officer could hardly help shuddering in her presence.
+
+"Could I see him?"
+
+"I 'spect you can, if you be the officer Tom says is comin' to see him."
+
+"I am the person."
+
+"Tom's very bad."
+
+"So he says in his letter."
+
+"He hain't had a minute's peace or comfort with that leg sence he come
+home from the war. Be you any relation of his?"
+
+"I am not."
+
+"Mebbe you're his friend."
+
+"He served under me in the Rosalie."
+
+"Tom hain't paid no board for two months, which comes hard on a poor
+woman like me, takin' care of him, and his mother too, that come here to
+nuss him."
+
+"Perhaps something can be done for him."
+
+"Well, I hope so. I don't see how I can keep him any longer. He owes me
+forty dollars. If any body'll pay half on't, I'd keep on doin' for him."
+
+"I will see what can be done for him. Why was he not sent to the
+hospital?"
+
+"He's too bad to be sent, and he don't want to go, nuther. He says the
+doctors try speriments on poor fellers like him, and he don't want to be
+cut up afore he's dead."
+
+"Well, I will endeavor to have something done for him. I am entirely
+willing to help him as much as I can."
+
+"Perhaps you'd be willin' to do sunthin' towards payin' my bill, then."
+
+"Perhaps I will; but I wish to see the man before I do anything. Will
+you show me to his room?"
+
+"I don't go up and down stairs none now. Here, Childs, you show this
+gentleman up to the front room," said the landlady to one of the
+vagabonds before her. "Then go and tell Tom his officer has come. I
+suppose they'll want to slick up a little, afore they let you in; but
+Miss Barron will tell you when she is ready."
+
+Somers followed the man up a flight of rickety stairs, and was ushered
+into the front room. It was a bedchamber, supplied with the rudest and
+coarsest furniture. The visitor sat down, after telling Childs that the
+sailor's mother need not stop to "slick up" before he was admitted. He
+did not like the surroundings, even independent of the villainous odors
+that rose from the groggery, and those that were engendered in the
+apartment where he sat. Slush and tar were agreeable perfumes, compared
+with those which assaulted his sense in this chamber; and he hoped Mrs.
+Barron would humiliate her pride to an extent which would permit him to
+make a speedy exit from the house.
+
+Mrs. Barron, however, appeared not to be in a hurry, and Somers waited
+ten minutes by his watch, which seemed to expand into a full hour before
+he heard a sound to disturb the monotony of the chamber's quiet. But
+when it was disturbed, it was in such a manner that he forgot all about
+the place and the odors, the hour and the occasion, and even the poor
+sailor, who had so piteously appealed to him for assistance.
+
+In the rear of the room in which Somers sat, there was a door
+communicating with another apartment. The house was old and out of
+repair; and this door, never very nicely adjusted, was now warped and
+thrown out of place, so that great cracks yawned around the edges, and
+whatever was said or done in one room, of which any knowledge could be
+obtained by the sense of hearing, was immediately patent to the
+occupants of the other. Somers heard footsteps in the rear room, though
+the parties appeared not to have come up the stairs by which he had
+ascended. The rattling of chairs and of glass ware next saluted his
+ears; but as yet Somers had not the slightest interest in the business
+of the adjoining apartment, and only wished that Mrs. Barron would
+speedily complete the preparations for his reception.
+
+"It's dangerous business," said one of the men in the rear room; which
+remark followed a smack of the lips, and a rude depositing of the glass
+on the table, indicating that the speaker had just swallowed his dram.
+
+The man uttered his remark in a loud tone, exhibiting a strange
+carelessness, if the matter in hand was as dangerous as the words
+implied.
+
+"I know it is dangerous, Langdon," said another person, in a voice which
+instantly riveted the attention of the listener.
+
+Somers heard the voice. It startled him, and he had no eye, ear, or
+thought for anything but the individual who had last spoken. If he had
+considered his position at all, it would only have been to wish that
+Mrs. Barron might be as proud as a Chestnut Street belle, in order to
+afford him time to inform himself in relation to the business of the men
+who occupied the other room.
+
+"You have been shut up in Fort Lafayette once," added the first speaker.
+
+"In a good cause I am willing to go again," replied the voice so
+familiar to the ears of Somers. "I lost eighty thousand dollars in a
+venture just like this. I must get my money back."
+
+"If you can, Coles."
+
+Coles! But Somers did not need to have his identity confirmed by the use
+of his name. He knew Coles's voice. At Newport he had lain in the
+fore-sheets of the academy boat, and heard Coles and Phil Kennedy mature
+their plan to place the Snowden on the ocean, as a Confederate cruiser.
+He had listened to the whole conversation on that occasion, and the
+knowledge he had thus obtained enabled the government to capture the
+steamer, and defeat the intentions of the conspirators.
+
+The last Somers had known of Coles, he was a prisoner in Fort Lafayette.
+Probably he had been released by the same influence which set Phil
+Kennedy at liberty, and permitted him to continue his career of treason
+and plunder. Coles had lost eighty thousand dollars by his speculation
+in the Snowden, for one half of which Kennedy was holden to him; but the
+bond had been effectually cancelled by the death of the principal. Coles
+wanted his money back. It was a very natural desire; but Somers could
+not help considering it as a very extravagant one, under present
+circumstances.
+
+The listener could not help regarding it as a most remarkable thing,
+that he should again be within hearing of Coles, engaged in plotting
+treason. Such an event might happen once; but that it should occur a
+second time was absolutely marvellous. If our readers are of the opinion
+that the writer is too severely taxing their credulity in imposing the
+situation just described upon them, he begs they will suspend their
+judgment till the sequel justifies him.
+
+It was so strange to Somers, that he could not help thinking he had been
+brought there by some mysterious power to listen to and defeat the
+intentions of the conspirators. He was not so far wrong as he might have
+been. It was Coles who spoke; it was Coles who had been in Fort
+Lafayette; and it was Coles who had lost eighty thousand dollars by the
+Snowden. All these things were real, and Somers had no suspicion that he
+had inhaled some of the vile compounds in the bar below, which might
+have thrown him into a stupor wherein he dreamed the astounding
+situation in which he was actually placed.
+
+Somers listened, and when Coles had mixed and drank his dram, he spoke
+again.
+
+"I can and will get my money back," said he, with an oath which froze
+the blood of the listener.
+
+"Don't believe it, Coles."
+
+"You know me, Langdon," added the plotter, with a peculiar emphasis.
+
+Langdon acknowledged that he did know him; and as there was, therefore,
+no need of an introduction, Coles proceeded.
+
+"You know me, Langdon; I don't make any mistakes myself."
+
+Perhaps Langdon knew it; but Somers had some doubts, which, however, he
+did not purpose to urge on this occasion.
+
+"Phil Kennedy was a fool," added Coles, with another oath. "He spoiled
+all my plans before, and I was glad when I heard that he was killed,
+though I lost forty thousand dollars when he slipped out. He spilt the
+milk for me."
+
+Somers thought not.
+
+"Phil was smart about some things; but he couldn't keep a hotel. Why,
+that young pup that finally gave him his quietus, twirled him around his
+fingers, like he had been a school girl."
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Coles; but I shall have the pleasure of serving you in
+the same way before many weeks," thought Somers, flattered by this warm
+and disinterested tribute to his strategetic ability.
+
+"You mean Somers?" said Langdon.
+
+"I mean Somers. The young pup isn't twenty-one yet, but he is the
+smartest man in the old navy, by all odds, whether the others be
+admirals, commodores, lieutenants, or what not."
+
+"That's high praise, Coles."
+
+"It's true. If he wasn't an imfernal Yankee, I would drink his health in
+this old Bourbon. Good liquor--isn't it, Langdon?"
+
+"Like the juice of a diamond."
+
+"I would give more for this Somers than I would for any four rear
+admirals. He has just been appointed to the Chatauqua; but he will be in
+command of some small craft down South, before many months, doing more
+mischief to us than any four first-class steamers in the service. He is
+as brave as a young lion; knows a ship from keel to truck, and is as
+familiar with every bolt and pin of an engine as though he had been a
+machinist all his life."
+
+"Big thing, eh, Coles?"
+
+"If I had this Somers, I could make his fortune and mine in a year, and
+have a million surplus besides."
+
+"What would you do with him?"
+
+"I would give him the command of my steamer. I would rather have him in
+that place than all the old grannies in the Confederate navy."
+
+Somers thought Mr. Coles was rather extravagant. He had no idea that Mr.
+Ensign Somers was one tenth part of the man which the amiable and
+patronizing Mr. Coles declared he was; and he was impatient to have the
+speaker announce his intentions, rather than waste any more time in such
+unwarrantable commendation.
+
+But instead of telling what he intended to do, he confined himself most
+provokingly to what he had failed to do, giving Langdon minute details
+of the capture of the Theban and the Snowden, dwelling with peculiar
+emphasis on the agency of Somers in the work. This was not interesting
+to the listener, but something better soon followed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE FRONT CHAMBER.
+
+
+"But I am going to get back the money I lost, and make a pile besides,"
+said Coles, when he had fully detailed the events attending the loss of
+the Snowden.
+
+"If you can," added the sceptical Langdon.
+
+"Of course there is some risk, but my plans are so well laid that a
+failure is hardly possible," continued Coles.
+
+"It was possible before."
+
+"Nothing but an accident could have defeated my plan before. Everything
+worked to my satisfaction, and I was sure of success."
+
+"But you failed."
+
+"I shall not fail again."
+
+"I hope not."
+
+"Then believe I shall not," retorted Coles, apparently irritated by the
+doubts and fears of his companion.
+
+"It is not safe to believe too much," added Langdon, with a kind of
+chuckle, whose force Somers could hardly understand; "you believed too
+much before."
+
+"I have been more cautious this time, and I wouldn't give anybody five
+per cent. to insure the venture."
+
+Somers was becoming very impatient to hear the particulars of the plan,
+for he was in momentary fear of being summoned to the bedside of the
+wounded sailor. Coles was most provokingly deliberate in the discussion
+of his treasonable project; but when the naval officer considered that
+the conversation was not especially intended for him, he did not very
+severely censure the conspirators for their tardiness.
+
+"I don't understand what your plan is," said Langdon.
+
+"Nor I either," was Somers's facetious thought.
+
+"I will tell you all about it. Are there any ears within hail of us?"
+
+"Not an ear."
+
+"Is there anybody in the front room?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Are you sure?"
+
+"The old woman told me the front room was not occupied. She sent in
+there an officer who wanted to see a sick sailor upstairs; but he is
+gone before this time."
+
+"Perhaps not; make sure on this point before I open my mouth. I have no
+idea of being tripped up this time," said the cautious Coles.
+
+"I will look into the front room," added Langdon, "though I know there
+is no one there."
+
+Somers was rather annoyed at this demonstration of prudence; but it was
+quite natural, and he was all the more interested to hear the rest of
+the conference. Dismissing for a moment the dignity of the quarter deck,
+he dropped hastily on the floor, and crawled under the bed, concluding
+that Langdon, who was already fully satisfied the front room was empty,
+would not push his investigations to an unreasonable extent. But he had
+already prepared himself for the worst, and if his presence were
+detected, he resolved to take advantage of the high estimation in which
+he was held, and, for his country's good, proposed to offer his valuable
+services in getting the piratical ship to sea. He could thus obtain the
+secret, and defeat the purposes of the conspirators.
+
+He fortunately avoided the necessity of resorting to this disagreeable
+course, for Langdon only opened the door, and glanced into the chamber
+he occupied.
+
+"The room is empty," he reported to Coles, on his return.
+
+"There are cracks around this door big enough to crawl through. Somebody
+may go into that room without being heard, and listen to all I say."
+
+"There is no danger."
+
+"But there is danger; and I will not leave the ghost of a chance to be
+discovered. Langdon, lock that front room, and put the key in your
+pocket. I must have things perfectly secure before I open my mouth."
+
+Langdon complied with the request of his principal; the door was locked,
+and Somers, without much doubt or distrust, found his retreat cut off
+for the present. But, at last, everything was fixed to the entire
+satisfaction of Coles. The glasses clinked again, indicating that the
+worthies had fortified themselves with another dose from the bottle.
+Somers crawled out from under the bed, and heedless of the dust which
+whitened his new uniform, placed himself in a comfortable position,
+where he could hear all that was said by the confederates.
+
+Coles now told his story in a straightforward, direct manner, and Somers
+made memoranda on the back of a letter of the principal facts in the
+statement. The arch conspirator had just purchased a fine iron
+side-wheel steamer, captured on the blockade, called the Ben Nevis. She
+was about four hundred tons burden, and under favorable circumstances
+had often made sixteen knots an hour. It had already been announced in
+the newspapers that the Ben Nevis would run regularly between New York
+and St. John. Coles intended to clear her properly for her destined
+port, where she could, by an arrangement already made, be supplied with
+guns, ammunition, and a crew. She was to clear regularly for New York,
+but instead of proceeding there was to commence her piratical course on
+the ocean.
+
+This was the plan of the worthy Mr. Coles, which Langdon permitted him
+to develop without a single interruption. But the prudent, or rather
+critical, confederate raised many objections, which were discussed at
+great length--so great that Somers, possessed of the principal facts,
+would have left the room, if the door had not been locked, and escaped
+from the house, so as to avoid the possibility of being discovered. The
+wounded sailor could be attended to on the following day.
+
+"But one thing we lack," continued Coles, after he had removed all the
+objections of his companion.
+
+"More than one, I fear," said the doubtful Langdon.
+
+"Well, one thing more than all others."
+
+"What is that?"
+
+"A naval officer to command her."
+
+"There are plenty of them."
+
+"No doubt of it; but they are not the kind I want. I need a man who will
+play into my hand, as well as grind up the Yankees. I have no idea of
+burning all the property captured by my vessel."
+
+"Why don't you take command yourself?"
+
+"I have other business to do."
+
+"There are scores of Confederate naval officers in Canada and New
+Brunswick," suggested Langdon.
+
+"I know them all, and I wouldn't trust them to command a mud-scow. In a
+word, Langdon, I want this Somers, and I must have him."
+
+"But he is a northern Yankee. He would sooner cut his own throat than
+engage in such an enterprise."
+
+"Thank you for that," said Somers to himself. "If you had known me all
+my lifetime, you couldn't have said a better or a truer thing of me."
+
+"I know he is actually reeking with what he calls loyalty. He will be a
+hard subject, but I think he can be brought over."
+
+"Perhaps he can."
+
+"It must be done; that is the view we must take of the matter."
+
+"It will be easier to believe it than to do it."
+
+"This is to be your share of the enterprise."
+
+"Mine?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well, I think you have given me the biggest job in the work."
+
+"It can be done," said Coles, confidently. "Somers is a mere boy in
+years, though he is smarter and knows more than any man in the navy in
+the prime of life."
+
+"I'm afraid he is too smart, and knows too much to be caught in such a
+scrape."
+
+"No; he is young and ambitious. Offer him a commission as a commander in
+the Confederate navy, to begin with. I have the commission duly signed
+by the president of the Confederacy, countersigned by the secretary of
+the navy, with a blank for the name of the man who receives it, which I
+am authorized to fill up as I think best. Somers must have this
+commission."
+
+"If he will take it."
+
+"He will take it. In the old navy he is nothing but a paltry ensign. He
+has been kept back. His merit has been ignored. He must stand out of the
+way for numskulls and old fogies. Even if the war should last ten years
+longer, he could not reach the rank, in that time, which I now tender
+him. He will at once be offered the command of a fine steamer, and may
+walk the quarter deck like a king. He is ambitious, and if you approach
+him in the right way, you can win him over."
+
+Somers listened with interest to this precious scheme. He did not even
+feel complimented by the exalted opinion which such a man as Coles
+entertained of him. It would be a pleasant thing for a young man like
+him to be a commander, and have a fine steamer; but as he could regard
+only with horror the idea of firing a gun at a vessel bearing the stars
+and stripes, he was not even tempted by the bait; and he turned his
+thoughts from it without the necessity of a "Get thee behind me, Satan,"
+in dismissing it.
+
+"Where is this Somers?" asked Langdon.
+
+"He is at the Continental," replied Coles. "He has been appointed fourth
+lieutenant of the Chatauqua; but what a position for a man of his
+abilities! He is better qualified to command the ship than the numskull
+to whom she has been given. Waldron, the first lieutenant, is smart: he
+ought to be commander; though I think Somers did all the hard work in
+Doboy Sound, for which Waldron got the credit, and for which he was
+promoted. Pillgrim, the second lieutenant, is a renegade Virginian."
+
+"We had some hopes of him, at one time," said Langdon.
+
+"He is worse than a Vermont Yankee now--has been all along, for that
+matter. I tried to do something with him, but he talked about the old
+flag, and other bosh of that sort."
+
+"Let him go," added Langdon, with becoming resignation.
+
+"Let him go! He never went. He has always been a Yankee at heart. If the
+navy department wouldn't trust him, it was their fault, not his, for the
+South has not had a worse enemy than he since the first gun was fired at
+Sumter. He is none the better, and all the more dangerous to us, because
+he gives the South credit for skill and bravery."
+
+Somers was pleased to hear this good account of Lieutenant Pillgrim; not
+because he had any doubt in regard to his loyalty, but because it
+confirmed the good impression he had received of his travelling
+companion. If the conspirators would only have graciously condescended
+to resolve the doubts in his mind in regard to some indefinite previous
+acquaintance he had had with the second lieutenant of the Chatauqua, he
+would have been greatly obliged to them. They did not do this, and
+Somers was still annoyed and puzzled by the belief, patent to his
+consciousness, that he had somewhere been intimate with the "renegade
+Virginian," before they met at the house of Commodore Portington.
+
+"Now, Langdon, you must contrive to meet Somers, sound him, and bring
+him over. You must be cautious with him. He is a young man of good
+morals--never drinks, gambles, or goes to bad places. He is a perfect
+gentleman in his manners, never swears, and is the pet of the
+chaplains."
+
+"I think I can manage him."
+
+"I know you can; I have picked you out of a hundred smart fellows for
+this work."
+
+"How will it do for me to put on a white choker, and approach him as a
+doctor of divinity."
+
+"You can't humbug him."
+
+"If I can't, why should I try?"
+
+"If you should pretend to be a clergyman, and he smelt the whiskey in
+your breath, he would set you down as a hypocrite at once."
+
+"That's so," thought Somers.
+
+"He wouldn't listen to a preacher who drank whiskey. He is a fanatic on
+these points."
+
+Somers could not imagine where Coles had obtained such an intimate
+knowledge of his views and principles; though, if he wanted his services
+in the Confederate navy, it was probable he had made diligent inquiries
+in regard to his opinions and habits.
+
+"I think I could blind him as a D.D., but I am not strenuous."
+
+"You had better get acquainted with him in some other capacity."
+
+"As you please; I will think over the matter, and be ready to make a
+strike to-morrow morning. What time is it?"
+
+"Quarter past ten."
+
+"So late! I must be off at once."
+
+Somers heard the clatter of glass-ware again, as the conspirators took
+the parting libation. He listened to their retreating footsteps, heard
+Langdon return the key, and then began to wonder what had become of Tom
+Barron and his mother. He had waited more than two hours in the front
+room, and no summons had come for him to see the wounded sailor. It was
+very singular, to say the least; but while he was deliberating on the
+point, a hand was placed on the door of the chamber. The key turned, and
+a person entered.
+
+Now, Somers had a very strong objection to being seen after what had
+occurred. If discovered in this room, Coles might see him, and finding
+his plans discovered, might change them so as to defeat the ends of
+justice. And the listener felt that, if detected in this apartment by
+the conspirators, they would not scruple to take his life in order to
+save themselves and their schemes.
+
+For these reasons Somers decided not to be seen. The person who entered
+the room was a rough, seafaring man, and evidently intended to sleep
+there, which Somers was entirely willing he should do, if it could be
+done without imperilling his personal safety. He therefore crawled under
+the bed again, as quietly as possible. Unfortunately it was not quietly
+enough to escape the observation of the lodger, who, not being of the
+timid sort, seized him by the leg, dragged him out, and with a volley of
+marine oaths, began to kick him with his heavy boot.
+
+Somers sprang to his feet, and attempted to explain; but the indignant
+seaman struck him a heavy blow on the head, which felled him senseless
+on the floor.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+SOMERS COMES TO HIS SENSES.
+
+
+When Somers opened his eyes, about half an hour after the striking event
+just narrated, and became conscious that he was still in the land of the
+living, he was lying on the bed in his chamber at the Continental. By
+his side stood Lieutenant Pillgrim and a surgeon.
+
+"Where am I?" asked the young officer, using the original expression
+made and provided for occasions of this kind.
+
+"You are here, my dear fellow," replied the lieutenant.
+
+This valuable information seemed to afford the injured party a great
+deal of consolation, for he looked around the apartment, not wildly, as
+he would have done if this book were a novel, but with a look of
+perplexity and dissatisfaction. As Mr. Ensign Somers was eminently a
+fighting man on all proper occasions, he probably felt displeased with
+himself to think he had given the stalwart seaman so easy a victory; for
+he distinctly remembered the affair in which he had been so rudely
+treated, though there was a great gulf between the past and the present
+in his recollection.
+
+"How do you feel, Mr. Somers?" asked the surgeon.
+
+"The fact that I feel at all is quite enough for me at the present time,
+without going into the question as to how I feel," replied the patient,
+with a sickly smile. "I don't exactly know how I do feel. My ideas are
+rather confused."
+
+"I should think they might be," added the surgeon. "You have had a hard
+rap on the head."
+
+"So I should judge, for my brain is rather muddled."
+
+"Does your head pain you?" asked the medical gentleman, placing his hand
+on the injured part.
+
+"It does not exactly pain me, but it feels rather sore. I think I will
+get up, and see how that affects me."
+
+Somers got up, and immediately came to the conclusion that he was not
+very badly damaged; and the surgeon was happy to corroborate his
+opinion. With the exception of a soreness over the left temple, he felt
+pretty well. The blow from the iron fist of the burly seaman had stunned
+him; and the kicks received from the big boots of the assailant had
+produced sundry black and blue places on his body, which a man not
+accustomed to hard knocks might have looked upon with suspicion, but to
+which Somers paid no attention.
+
+The surgeon had carefully examined him before his consciousness
+returned, and was fully satisfied that he had not been seriously
+injured. Somers walked across the room two or three times, and bathed
+his head with cold water, which in a great measure restored the
+consistency of his ideas. He felt a little sore, but he soon became as
+chipper and as cheerful as an early robin. His first thought was, that
+he had escaped being murdered, and he was devoutly thankful to God for
+the mercy which had again spared his life.
+
+The doctor, after giving him some directions in regard to his head, and
+the black and blue spots on his body, left the room. He was a naval
+surgeon, a guest in the hotel, and promised to see his patient again in
+the morning.
+
+"How do you feel, Somers?" asked Lieutenant Pillgrim, who sat on the
+bed, gazing with interest, not unmixed with anxiety, at his companion.
+
+"I feel pretty well, considering the hard rap I got on the head."
+
+"You have a hard head, Somers."
+
+"Why so?"
+
+"If you had not, you would have been a dead man. The fellow pounded you
+with his fist, which is about as heavy as an anvil, and kicked you with
+his boots, which are large enough and stout enough to make two very
+respectable gunboats."
+
+"Things are rather mixed in my mind," added Somers, rubbing his head
+again, as if to explain how a strong-minded young man like himself
+should be troubled in his upper works.
+
+"I am not surprised at that. You have remained insensible more than half
+an hour. I was afraid, before the surgeon saw you, that your pipe was
+out, and you had become a D.D. without taking orders."
+
+"I think I had a narrow escape. What a tiger the fellow was that pitched
+into me!"
+
+"It was all a mistake on his part."
+
+"Perhaps it was; but that don't make my head feel any better. Who is he,
+and what is he?"
+
+"He is the captain of a coaster. He had considerable money in his
+pocket, and he thought you had concealed yourself in his room for the
+purpose of robbing him. When he saw that you were an officer in the
+navy, he was overwhelmed with confusion, and really felt very bad about
+it."
+
+"I don't know that I blame him for what he did, under the circumstances.
+His conclusion was not a very unnatural one. I don't exactly comprehend
+how I happen to be in the Continental House, after these stunning
+events."
+
+"Don't you?" said Pillgrim, with a smile.
+
+"If I had been in condition to expect anything, I should naturally have
+expected to find myself, on coming to my senses, in the low groggery
+where I received the blows."
+
+"That is very easily accounted for. I happened to be at the house when
+you were struck down. I was in the lower room, and heard the row. With
+others I went up to see what the matter was. I had a carriage in the
+street, and when I recognized you, the captain of the coaster, at my
+request, took you up in his arms like a baby, carried you down into the
+street, and put you into the vehicle, and you were brought here. I
+presume this will fill up the entire gap in your recollection."
+
+"It is all as clear as mud now," laughed Somers. "Mr. Pillgrim, I am
+very grateful to you for the kind offices you rendered me."
+
+"Don't mention it, my dear fellow. I should have been worse than a brute
+if I had done any less than I did."
+
+"That may be; but my gratitude is none the less earnest on that account.
+Those are villainous people in that house, and I might have been
+butchered and cut up, if I had been left there."
+
+"I think not. The captain of the coaster is evidently an honest man; at
+any rate he is very sorry for what he did. But, Somers, my dear
+fellow,--you will pardon me if I seem impertinent,--how did you happen
+to be in such a place?" continued Mr. Pillgrim, with a certain
+affectation of slyness in his look, as though he had caught the
+exemplary young man in a house where he would not have been willing to
+be seen.
+
+"How did _you_ happen to be there?" demanded Somers.
+
+"I don't profess to be a very proper person. I take my whiskey when I
+want it."
+
+"So do I; and the only difference between us is, that I never happen to
+want it."
+
+"I did not go into that house for my whiskey, though. It is rather
+strange that we should both happen into such a place at the same time."
+
+"Rather strange."
+
+"But I will tell you why I was there," added Pillgrim. "I received a
+letter from a wounded sailor, asking me to call upon him, and assist him
+in obtaining a pension."
+
+"Did you, indeed!" exclaimed Somers, amazed at this explanation. "You
+have also told how I happened to be there."
+
+"How was that?"
+
+"I received just such a letter as that you describe," replied Somers,
+taking the dirty epistle from his pocket, which he opened and exhibited
+to his brother officer.
+
+"The handwriting is the same, and the substance of both letters is
+essentially the same. That's odd--isn't it?" continued the lieutenant,
+as he drew the epistle he had received from his pocket. "I got mine when
+I came in, about ten o'clock; and thinking I might go to New York in the
+morning for a couple of days, I thought I would attend to the matter at
+once."
+
+Somers took the letters, and compared them. They were written by the
+same person, on the same kind of paper, and were both mailed on the same
+day.
+
+"This looks rather suspicious to me," added Pillgrim, reflecting on the
+circumstances.
+
+"Why suspicious?"
+
+"Why should both of us have been called? Tom Barron claims to have
+served with me, as he did with you. I don't remember any such person."
+
+"Neither do I."
+
+"Did you find out whether there was any such person at the house as Tom
+Barron?"
+
+"The woman at the bar told me there was a wounded sailor there whose
+description answered to that contained in the letter."
+
+"So she told me. Did you see him?"
+
+"No."
+
+"I did not; and between you and me, I don't believe there is any Tom
+Barron there, or anywhere else. This business must be investigated,"
+said Pillgrim, very decidedly.
+
+Somers did not wish it to be investigated. He was utterly opposed to an
+investigation, for he was fearful, if the matter should be "ventilated,"
+that more would be shown than he was willing to have exhibited at the
+present time; in other words, Coles would find out that his enterprising
+scheme had been exposed to a third person.
+
+"I don't care to be mixed up in any revelations of low life, Mr.
+Pillgrim; and, as I have lost nothing, and the hard knocks I received
+were given under a mistake, I think I would rather let the matter rest
+just where it is."
+
+"Very natural for a young man of your style," laughed the lieutenant.
+"You are afraid the people of Pinchbrook will read in the papers that
+Mr. Somers has been in bad places."
+
+"They might put a wrong construction on the case," replied Somers,
+willing to have his reasons for avoiding an investigation as strong as
+possible.
+
+"I can hand these letters over to the police, and let the officers
+inquire into the matter," added Pillgrim. "They need not call any
+names."
+
+"I would rather not stir up the dirty pool. Besides, Tom Barron and his
+mother may be in the house, after all. There is no evidence to the
+contrary."
+
+"I shall satisfy myself on that point by another visit to the house. If
+I find there is such a person there, I shall be satisfied."
+
+"That will be the better way."
+
+Just then it occurred to Somers that Coles might have seen him while he
+was insensible, and was already aware that his scheme had miscarried. He
+questioned Pillgrim, therefore, in regard to the persons in the bar-room
+when he entered. From the answers received he satisfied himself that
+the conspirators had departed before the "row" in the front room
+occurred.
+
+"Now, Somers, I am going down to that house again before I sleep," said
+the lieutenant. "This time, I shall take my revolver. Will you go with
+me?"
+
+"I don't feel exactly able to go out again to-night. My head doesn't
+feel just right," replied Somers, who, however, had other reasons for
+keeping his room, the principal of which was the fear that he might meet
+Coles there, and that, by some accident, his presence in the front room
+during the conference might be disclosed.
+
+"I think you are right, Somers. You had better keep still to-night,"
+said Pillgrim. "Shall I send you up anything?"
+
+"Thank you; I don't need anything."
+
+"A glass of Bourbon whiskey would do you good. It would quiet your
+nerves, and put you to sleep."
+
+"Perhaps it would, but I shall lie awake on those terms."
+
+"Don't be bigoted, my dear fellow. Of course I prescribe the whiskey as
+a medicine."
+
+"You are no surgeon."
+
+"It would quiet your nerves."
+
+"Let them kick, if nothing but whiskey will quiet them," laughed Somers.
+"Seriously, Mr. Pillgrim, I am very much obliged to you for your
+kindness, and for your interest in me; but I think I shall be better
+without the whiskey than with it."
+
+"As you please, Somers. If you are up when I return, I will tell you
+what I find at the house."
+
+"Thank you; I will leave my door unfastened."
+
+Mr. Pillgrim left the room to make his perilous examination of the
+locality of his friend's misfortunes. Somers walked the apartment,
+nervous and excited, considering the events of the evening. He then
+seated himself, and carefully wrote out the statement of Coles in regard
+to the Ben Nevis, and the method by which he purposed to operate in
+getting her to sea as a Confederate cruiser, with extended memoranda of
+all the conversation to which he had listened. Before he had finished
+this task, Lieutenant Pillgrim returned.
+
+"It is all right," said he, as he entered the room.
+
+"What's all right?"
+
+"There is such a person as Thomas Barron. The facts contained in the
+letters are essentially true."
+
+"Then no investigation is necessary," replied Somers, with a feeling of
+relief.
+
+"None whatever; to-morrow I will see that the poor fellow is sent to the
+hospital, and his mother provided for."
+
+Mr. Pillgrim, after again recommending a glass of whiskey, took his
+leave, and Somers finished his paper. He went to bed, and in spite of
+the fact that he had drank no whiskey, his nerves were quiet, and he
+dropped asleep like a good Christian, with a prayer in his heart for the
+"loved ones at home" and elsewhere.
+
+The next morning, though he was still quite sore, and his head felt
+heavier than usual, he was in much better condition, physically, than
+could have been expected. After breakfast, as he sat in the parlor of
+the hotel, he was accosted by a gentleman in blue clothes, with a very
+small cap on his head.
+
+"An officer of the navy, I perceive," said the stranger, courteously.
+
+"How are you, Langdon?" was the thought, but not the reply, of Somers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+LIEUTENANT WYNKOOP, R. N.
+
+
+The gentlemanly individual who addressed Somers wore the uniform of an
+English naval officer. By easy and gentle approaches, he proceeded to
+make himself very agreeable. He was lavish in his praise of the
+achievements of the "American navy," and was sure that no nation on the
+face of the globe had ever displayed such skill and energy in creating a
+war marine. Somers listened patiently to this eloquent and just tribute
+to the enterprise of his country; and if he had not suspected that the
+enthusiastic speaker was playing an assumed character, he would have
+ventured to suggest that the position of John Bull was rather equivocal;
+that a little less admiration, and a little more genuine sympathy, would
+be more acceptable.
+
+"We sailors belong to the same fraternity all over the world," said the
+pretended Englishman. "There is something in sailors which draws them
+together. I never meet one without desiring to know him better. Allow me
+to present you my card, and beg the favor of yours in return."
+
+He handed his card to Somers, who read upon it the name of "Lieutenant
+Wynkoop, R. N." It was elaborately engraved, and our officer began to
+have some doubts in regard to his new-found acquaintance, for the card
+could hardly have been got up since the interview of the preceding
+evening. This gentleman might not be Langdon, after all; but whether he
+was or not, it was proper to treat him with respect and consideration.
+Somers wrote his name on a blank card, and gave it to him.
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Somers: here is my hand," said Lieutenant Wynkoop, when
+he had read the name. "I am happy to make your acquaintance."
+
+Somers took the offered hand, and made a courteous reply, to the
+salutations of the other.
+
+"May I beg the favor of your company to dinner with me in my private
+parlor to-day?" continued Mr. Wynkoop. "I have a couple of bottles of
+fine old sherry, which have twice made the voyage to India, sent to me
+by an esteemed American friend residing in this city."
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Wynkoop. To the dinner I have not the slightest
+objection; to the wine I have; and I'm afraid you must reserve it for
+some one who will appreciate it more highly than I can. I never drink
+wine."
+
+"Ah, indeed?" said the presumed representative of the royal navy, as he
+adjusted an eye-glass to his left eye, keeping it in position by
+contracting the muscles above and below the visual member, which gave a
+peculiar squint to his expression, very trying to the risibles of his
+auditor.
+
+"I should be happy to dine with you, but I don't drink wine," repeated
+Somers, in good-natured but rather bluff tones, for he did not wish to
+be understood as apologizing for his total abstinence principles.
+
+"I should be glad to meet you in my private parlor, say, at four
+o'clock, whether you drink wine or not, Mr. Somers."
+
+"Four o'clock?"
+
+"It's rar-ther early, I know. If you prefer five, say the word," drawled
+Mr. Wynkoop.
+
+"I should say that would be nearer supper time than four," replied
+Somers, who had lately been in the habit of dining at twelve in
+Pinchbrook.
+
+"Earlier if you please, then."
+
+"Any hour that is convenient for you will suit me."
+
+"Let it be four, then. But I must acknowledge, Mr. Somers, I am not
+entirely unselfish in desiring to make your acquaintance. The operations
+of the American navy have astonished me, and I wish to know more about
+it. I landed in New York only a few days since, and I improve every
+opportunity to make the acquaintance of American naval officers. I have
+not yet visited one of your dock yards."
+
+"I am going over to look at my ship this forenoon, and I should be
+delighted with your company."
+
+"Thank you! thank you!" exclaimed Mr. Wynkoop. "I shall be under great
+obligations to you for the favor."
+
+They went to the navy yard, visited the Chatauqua, and other vessels of
+war fitting out there. Mr. Wynkoop asked a thousand questions about
+ships, engines, and armaments; and one could hardly help regarding him
+as the most enthusiastic admirer of naval architecture. Though the
+gentleman spoke in affected tones, Somers had recognized the voice of
+Langdon. This was the person, without a doubt, who was to lure him into
+the Confederate navy, who was to crown his aspirations with a
+commander's commission, and reward his infidelity with the command of a
+fine steamer.
+
+Somers was very impatient for the inquiring member of the royal navy to
+make his proposition; for, strange as it may seem to the loyal reader,
+he had fully resolved to accept the brilliant offers he expected to
+receive; to permit Coles to place the name of "John Somers" in the blank
+of the commander's commission which he had in his possession; and even
+to take his place on the quarter deck of the Ben Nevis, if it became
+necessary to carry proceedings to that extent.
+
+But Lieutenant Wynkoop did not even allude to the Confederate navy, or
+to the Ben Nevis, and did not even attempt to sound the loyalty of his
+companion. Somers concluded at last that this matter was reserved for
+the after-dinner conversation; and as he could afford to wait, he
+continued to give his friend every facility for prosecuting his
+inquiries into the secret of the marvellous success of the "American
+navy."
+
+After writing out his statement of Coles's plans, he had carefully and
+prayerfully considered his duty in relation to the startling information
+he had thus accidentally obtained. Of course he had no doubt as to what
+he should do. He must be sure that the Ben Nevis was handed over to the
+government; that Coles and Langdon were put in close quarters. He only
+inquired how this should be done. Though the Snowden and the Theban had
+been captured in the former instance, both Kennedy and Coles had escaped
+punishment, and one of them was again engaged in the work of pulling
+down the government.
+
+If he gave information at the present stage of the conspiracy, his plans
+might be defeated. Though Coles had mentioned no names, it was more than
+probable that he was aided and abetted in his treasonable projects by
+other persons. There were traitors in Boston, New York, and
+Philadelphia, men of wealth and influence, occupying high positions in
+society, who were engaged in just such enterprises as that which had
+been revealed to the young naval officer.
+
+Somers felt, therefore, that a premature exposure might ruin himself
+without overthrowing the conspirators. A word from one of these
+influential men might lay him on the shelf, to say the least, and remove
+all suspicion from the guilty ones. He must proceed with the utmost
+caution, both for his own safety and the success of his enterprise.
+
+Besides, he felt that, if he could get "inside of the ring," he should
+find out who the great men were that were striking at the heart of the
+nation in the dark. By obtaining the confidence of the conspirators, he
+could the more easily baffle them, and do the country a greater service
+than he could render on the quarter deck of the Chatauqua.
+
+After an earnest and careful consideration of the whole matter, he
+concluded that his present duty was to pay out rope enough to permit
+Coles and his guilty associates to hang themselves. For this purpose, he
+was prepared to receive Langdon with open arms, to accept the commission
+intended for him, and to enter into the secret councils of his country's
+bitterest enemies.
+
+Somers, pure and patriotic in his motives, did not for a moment consider
+that he exposed himself to any risk in thus entering the councils of the
+wicked, or even in taking a commission in the service of the enemy. He
+did not intend to aid or abet in the treason of the traitors, and he did
+not think what might be the result if a rebel commission were found upon
+his person. He might be killed in battle with this damning document in
+his pocket. If any of the conspirators were caught, they might denounce
+him as one of their number. He did not think of these things. He was
+ambitious to serve his treason-ridden country, and he forgot all about
+himself.
+
+It was half past three when Somers and Wynkoop returned to the hotel
+from their visit to the navy yard. Langdon had evidently been in
+England, for he insisted upon calling it a "dock yard." They separated
+to dress for dinner, as the courtly John Bull expressed it. At four they
+met again in the private parlor, where an elegant dinner was served, and
+where Mr. Wynkoop sipped his sherry "which had twice made the voyage to
+the East Indies," though it probably came from the cellar of the hotel.
+When the coffee had been brought in, and the waiters had retired, the
+representative of the royal navy lighted his cigar, and began, in a very
+moderate way, to express some slight admiration for the skill and
+prowess of the rebels. Somers helped him along until he became a
+thorough rebel.
+
+"With all my admiration for the American navy, Mr. Somers, I find there
+is a great deal of injustice towards the officers, especially the
+younger ones," continued Mr. Wynkoop, after he had sufficiently
+indicated his sympathy for the "noble and gallant people who were
+struggling against such hodds in the South."--The lieutenant
+occasionally pressed an _h_ into use where it was not needed--probably
+to be entirely consistent with himself.
+
+"That's true; and I have suffered from it myself," replied Somers,
+determined that his companion should want no inducement to make his
+proposition as soon as he was ready.
+
+"I don't doubt it, Mr. Somers;" and Mr. Wynkoop stated some instances
+which had come to his knowledge.
+
+Somers then gave a list of his own imaginary grievances, and professed
+to be greatly dissatisfied with his present position and prospects.
+
+"I think you would do better in the Confederate navy," said the
+lieutenant, warmly.
+
+"Perhaps I should."
+
+"Whichever side you fight for, you fight for your own country."
+
+"That's true."
+
+"When the South wins,--as win she will,--all who fought against her,
+will be like prophets in their own country--without honor. In less than
+two months the independence of the Confederate States will be
+acknowledged by England and France. I happen to know this."
+
+"It would not surprise me."
+
+"My uncle, the Earl of--never mind; I won't mention his name--my uncle,
+who is an intimate friend of Palmerston, told me so."
+
+Somers was rather glad to hear it, for it would bring the desolating war
+to a close. Mr. Wynkoop hesitated no longer. He approached the real
+business of the meeting rapidly, and in a few moments the commander's
+commission was on the table. The offer was made, and Somers, with such
+apparent qualms of conscience as a naval officer might be expected to
+exhibit on deserting his flag, accepted the proposition. Mr. Wynkoop
+went into his sleeping apartment, adjoining the parlor, with the
+commission in his hand.
+
+He returned in a moment with the name of "John Somers," filled in the
+blank space left for that purpose, and handed it to his guest.
+
+Somers shuddered when he saw his name written upon such an infernal
+document; for though he was still true to God, his country, and himself,
+the paper had an ugly look. But he regarded it only as evidence against
+the conspirators, rather than against himself; as a necessary formality
+to enable him to frustrate the designs of traitors, rather than as a
+blot against his own name.
+
+"Mr. Somers, I congratulate you. If you could be induced to join me in a
+glass of this old sherry, we would drink to the success of the
+Louisiana--for that is to be the name of your craft when you get to
+sea."
+
+"I thank you, Mr. Wynkoop; you must excuse me."
+
+"As you please. Mr. Somers, though I am an Englishman, and belong to the
+royal navy, it is hardly necessary for me to say now, that I am in the
+service of the South. I go with you in the Louisiana, as a passenger.
+Your first work will be to capture one of the California steamers, which
+I am to transform into a man-of-war, and call the Texas. She will be
+under my command."
+
+"I am satisfied."
+
+"By the way, Captain Somers," added Wynkoop, as he took a paper from his
+pocket, "here is the oath of allegiance to the Confederate States of
+America, which it will be necessary for you to sign."
+
+This was more than Somers had bargained for, and he would have cut off
+his right hand, or permitted his head to be severed from his body,
+rather than put his signature to the detested paper. A cold chill crept
+through his veins, as he glanced at the sheet on which it was printed,
+and he was afraid all he had done would fail because he could not do
+this thing.
+
+Lieutenant Wynkoop brought a pen and ink from his sleeping apartment,
+and placed it by the side of his guest.
+
+"I would rather not sign this just now," said Somers. "It might get me
+into trouble."
+
+"Very well; we will attend to that after you get on board of the Ben
+Nevis," replied Wynkoop, as he took the oath and the commission, with
+the pen and ink, and went into his chamber again.
+
+He was absent several minutes this time, and Somers had an opportunity
+to review his position.
+
+"Here is your commission, Captain Somers," said the lieutenant, as he
+placed the document on the table. "On the whole, I think you had better
+sign the oath now."
+
+"I think it will do just as well when we get off."
+
+"Perhaps it will; here are your orders," said he, handing Somers
+another paper, and placing that containing the oath on the table.
+
+At this moment, Somers heard a step in the direction of the bedroom. He
+turned, with surprise, to see who it was, for he had heard no one enter.
+
+"Ah, Somers, I am glad to see you," said the new arrival, stepping up to
+the table, and glancing at the papers which lay open there.
+
+It was Lieutenant Pillgrim.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+LANGDON'S LETTERS.
+
+
+It had been no part of Somers's purpose to bear the whole responsibility
+of the transactions in which he had so promptly engaged. Mr. Waldron
+would return in a few days, and on his arrival, the overburdened young
+officer intended to confide the momentous secret to him, receiving the
+benefit of his advice and support in the great business he had
+undertaken.
+
+After the kind treatment he had received at the hands of Lieutenant
+Pillgrim, he was rather disposed to make him a confidant; but he knew so
+little about his travelling companion, that though he had no question
+about his fidelity and honor, he was not quite willing to stake
+everything on his judgment and discretion, as he must do, if he opened
+the subject to him.
+
+Somers was not a little surprised to see Mr. Pillgrim enter the parlor
+in that unceremonious way. It indicated a degree of intimacy between the
+two gentleman that gave him an unpleasant impression, which, however, he
+had no time to follow out to its legitimate issue.
+
+"Excuse me, Mr. Wynkoop," said Lieutenant Pillgrim, as he paused at the
+side of the table, "for entering in this abrupt manner. I have been
+knocking at your door for some time, without obtaining a response."
+
+"You went to the wrong door. That's my bedroom."
+
+"So I perceive, now."
+
+"But there is no harm done; on the contrary, I am very glad to see you.
+Sit down and take a glass of wine with me. Mr. Somers does not indulge."
+
+"Mr. Somers is a very proper young man," said the lieutenant, with a
+pleasant smile, as he glanced again at the papers which lay open on the
+table. "I have been looking for you, Somers, but it was only to ask you
+what the prospect is on board the Chatauqua. I have not been on board
+to-day."
+
+"I think we shall be wanted by to-morrow or next day," replied Somers,
+who could not help seeing that the eye of his superior officer was fixed
+on the commander's commission, which lay open before him.
+
+"Indeed! I am glad to know this, for I had made up my mind to go to New
+York in the morning. Of course I shall not go."
+
+"Sit down, Mr.--Really, sir, you must excuse me, but I have forgotten
+your name," said Mr. Wynkoop.
+
+"Lieutenant Pillgrim--at your service. It is not very surprising that
+you should forget it, since we have met but once; not half so
+surprising as that I should force myself into your rooms, on so short an
+acquaintance."
+
+"Don't mention it, my dear fellow. We sailors are brothers all over the
+world. Sit down, and take a glass of sherry with me. It's a capital
+wine--made two voyages to India."
+
+"Excuse me, Mr. Wynkoop; I merely called to invite you to spend the
+evening with me. I have a plan that will use up two or three hours very
+pleasantly."
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Pillgrim. You are a friend in need, and a friend
+indeed."
+
+"I see that you and Mr. Somers have business, and I will take my leave."
+
+"I should be happy to have you remain, but if you will not, I will join
+you in half an hour in the reading-room. Better sit down, and wait
+here."
+
+"I will not interrupt your business with Mr. Somers," replied Lieutenant
+Pillgrim, again glancing curiously at the documents on the table.
+
+Greatly to the relief of Somers, his fellow-officer left the room. This
+visit had been a most unfortunate one, for the lieutenant could not have
+avoided seeing the nature of the papers on the table. But as Somers was
+a true and loyal man, his conscience accused him of no wrong, and he had
+no fears in regard to the result. This revelation simply imposed upon
+him the necessity of making Mr. Pillgrim his confidant, which he
+proposed to do at the first convenient opportunity.
+
+"You think you will not sign the oath to-night, Mr. Somers?" said his
+companion.
+
+"It had better be deferred," replied Somers, as he folded up the
+commission, and put it in his pocket, regarding it as the most important
+evidence in his possession against Coles, and a sufficient confirmation
+of the truth of the statement he had so carefully written out the night
+before.
+
+"Suit yourself, Somers. We shall not differ about these small matters,"
+added Wynkoop, as he folded up the oath, and put it in his pocket. "By
+the way, Somers, what do you think of our friend Pillgrim?"
+
+"He is a fine fellow, and I am told he is a good officer. I was not
+aware that you knew him."
+
+"I have only met him once, just as I met you. How do you think he stands
+affected towards our cause?"
+
+"Not well."
+
+"So I feared."
+
+"He is a loyal man, though a Virginian."
+
+"Do you think I could make anything of him?"
+
+"I am satisfied you could not."
+
+"I did not dare to try him. I gave him a chance to nibble at my bait,
+but he wouldn't bite. Perhaps, when I know him better, he will come
+round; for I don't think there are many of these Yankee officers that
+have any real heart in their work."
+
+"You are utterly mistaken," said Somers; but remembering that he was
+hardly in a position to defend his loyal comrades in the navy, he did
+not seriously combat the proposition of the rebel emissary.
+
+As the business of the interview was now finished, Somers shook hands
+with his agreeable host--though his heart repelled the act,--and took
+leave of him. He hastened to his chamber, agitated and excited by the
+strange and revolting scene through which he had just passed. It was
+some time before he was calm enough to think coherently of what he had
+done, and of the compact he had made. He wished very much to see Mr.
+Waldron now; indeed, he felt the absolute necessity of confiding to some
+trustworthy person the momentous secret he had obtained, which burned in
+his soul like an evil deed.
+
+If Lieutenant Pillgrim had not actually read his commission when it lay
+on the table, he must, at least, have suspected that all was not right
+with his shipmate. He must, therefore, confide in him, and without the
+loss of another moment, he hastened to his room for this purpose; but
+the lieutenant was not there. He searched for him in all the public
+rooms of the hotel, but without success. Remembering that his
+fellow-officer was to meet Mr. Wynkoop in the reading-room half an hour
+from the time they parted, he waited there over an hour, but the
+appointment evidently was not kept by either party.
+
+Somers did not wish to sleep another night without sharing his great
+secret with some one; for if anything should happen to him, he reasoned,
+the commission and the orders might be found in his possession, and
+subject him to very unpleasant suspicions, if they did not expose him to
+the actual charge of complicity with the enemies of his country. He
+waited in the vicinity of the office till midnight, hoping to see Mr.
+Pillgrim; but he did not appear, and he reluctantly retired to his
+chamber.
+
+When he carried his key to the office in the morning, there was a note
+in his box, addressed to him. The ink of the direction was hardly dry,
+and the lap of the envelope was still wet where it had been moistened to
+seal it. Somers opened it. He was surprised and startled at its
+contents; but the writer had evidently made a mistake in the
+superscription. It was as follows:--
+
+     "MY DEAR PILLGRIM: I have just sent a note to Somers, saying
+     that the Ben Nevis has sailed,--which is a fact,--and that he
+     must join her at Mobile, where she will run in a cargo of arms
+     and provisions. Act accordingly. How is this?
+
+    "LANGDON."
+
+Both the name and the import of the letter implied that the note was not
+intended for Somers, though it was directed to him. The writer had
+evidently written two notes, and in his haste had misdirected the
+envelopes.
+
+"My dear Pillgrim!" The note was intended for his fellow-officer. Was
+Pillgrim a confederate of Langdon? It looked so, incredible as it
+seemed.
+
+Somers was bewildered for a moment, but he was too good a strategist to
+be overwhelmed. Restoring the note to its envelope, he readjusted the
+lap, which was still wet, and the letter looked as though it had not
+been opened. He returned it to the box under his key, and perceived that
+there was also a note in Mr. Pillgrim's box. As soon as the mistake was
+discovered, the letters would be changed. He returned to his room to
+await the result.
+
+Somers had made an astounding discovery by the merest accident in the
+world. Things were not what they seemed. Mr. Pillgrim had relations of
+some kind with Langdon, _alias_ Lieutenant Wynkoop. His entering the
+parlor while they were at dinner was not so accidental a circumstance as
+it had appeared. Who and what was Lieutenant Pillgrim? The belief that
+he had met him somewhere before they came together at Newport, still
+haunted Somers; but he was in no better condition now than then to solve
+the mystery.
+
+In half an hour he went down to the office again. The note to Mr.
+Pillgrim was gone; but there was one for himself in the box. He took it
+out; the direction was not in the same handwriting as before. Mr.
+Pillgrim had probably discovered the mistake, and changed the letters,
+without a suspicion that the one addressed to himself had been read.
+Somers opened the note, which contained the information he expected to
+find there in regard to the Ben Nevis, and was signed by Wynkoop.
+
+Beyond the possibility of a doubt now, Lieutenant Pillgrim was a
+confederate of Langdon. Of course, he knew Coles. He was a Virginian,
+and it was now certain to Somers, if to no one else, that his loyalty
+had been justly suspected. He had doubtless entered the navy again for a
+purpose. What that purpose was, remained yet to be exposed. From the
+depths of his heart, Somers thanked God that this discovery had been
+made; and he determined to put it to good use. He was now more anxious
+than before to meet his friend Mr. Waldron, and communicate the
+startling information to him.
+
+From the morning papers he saw that the Ben Nevis, whose name had been
+changed to that of a famous Union general, had actually sailed, as
+Langdon's note informed him. In the forenoon, he went to the navy yard,
+expecting to find the ship ready to go into commission; but he learned
+that the bed-plates of her pivot guns had to be recast, and that she
+would not be ready for another week. He also learned that his friend Mr.
+Waldron had been taken down with typhoid fever at his home, and was then
+in a critical condition.
+
+Somers was not only shocked, but disconcerted by this intelligence, for
+it deprived him of the friend and counsellor whom he needed in this
+emergency. After careful deliberation, he obtained a furlough of a week,
+and went to the home of Mr. Waldron; but the sufferer could not even be
+seen, much less consulted on a matter of business. Left to act for
+himself, he hastened to New York, and then to Boston, to ascertain what
+he could in regard to the Ben Nevis. So far as he could learn,
+everything was all right in regard to her. After a short visit to
+Pinchbrook, he hastened back to Philadelphia, and found the Chatauqua
+hauled out into the stream, and ready to go into commission at once.
+Lieutenant Pillgrim and the other officers had already gone on board.
+Under these circumstances, Somers had not a moment to see Langdon. He
+took possession of his state-room, and at once had all the work he could
+do, in the discharge of his duty.
+
+At meridian the ensign was run up, and the ship went into commission
+under the command of Captain Cascabel. Mr. Pillgrim was doing duty as
+executive officer, though a substitute for Mr. Waldron was expected
+before the ship sailed. Somers was uneasy, and dissatisfied with
+himself. He began to feel that he had left a duty unperformed. He had
+intended to expose the conspiracy before the Chatauqua sailed, and thus
+relieve himself from the heavy responsibility that rested upon him. Yet
+to whom could he speak? Mr. Waldron was still dangerously ill. Mr.
+Pillgrim was evidently a traitor himself.
+
+He could give his information to the United States marshal at
+Philadelphia; but how could he prove his allegations? Langdon and Coles
+he had not seen since his return, and perhaps they were in another part
+of the country by this time. He had the commander's commission and the
+written orders, but in the absence of the principals, he feared these
+would be better evidence against himself than against the conspirators.
+
+The Ben Nevis had sailed, and the worst she could do at present would be
+to run the blockade. The Chatauqua was generally understood to be
+ordered to Mobile, where the Ben Nevis was to run in, and fit out for
+her piratical cruise. After a great deal of serious reflection, Somers
+came to the unsatisfactory conclusion that he must keep his secret. He
+could not denounce Mr. Pillgrim as a rebel, with his present
+information, without exposing himself to greater peril than the real
+criminal. Besides, he was to be with the lieutenant, and he was going to
+Mobile. He could watch the traitor, and await the appearance of the Ben
+Nevis, when she arrived at the station.
+
+Somers was not satisfied with this conclusion, but his judgment assured
+him his intended course of action was the best the circumstances would
+admit. Thus settling the question, he attended to his duty with his
+usual zeal and energy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE UNITED STATES STEAMER CHATAUQUA.
+
+
+Somers had served in several vessels, but never before had he gone on
+board his ship with a heavier responsibility resting upon him, than when
+he took his station on the deck of the Chatauqua. He was now a ward-room
+officer, and as such he would be required to keep a watch, and be in
+command of the deck. But in addition to his professional duties, he had
+in his keeping valuable but dangerous information, of which he must make
+a judicious use.
+
+The young officer was perfectly familiar with the routine of his duties.
+He knew the ship from stem to stern, and from keel to truck. He felt
+entirely at home, therefore, and hoped soon to merit the approbation of
+his superiors. He was formally presented to Captain Cascabel and the
+other officers of the ship. He was kindly and cordially greeted by all.
+Mr. Pillgrim, as acting first lieutenant, proceeded at once to make out
+the watch, quarter, and station bill; and, whatever his political
+principles, it must be confessed that he performed this difficult duty
+with skill and judgment.
+
+Every day, until the ship sailed, the crew were exercised at the guns,
+and in all the evolutions required for carrying on ship's duty, from
+"fire stations" to piping down the hammocks. They made the usual
+proficiency, and were soon in condition to work together--to handle the
+ship in a tornado, or to meet an enemy. On the fourth day, when Mr.
+Pillgrim was superseded by Mr. Hackleford, who was appointed in the
+place of Mr. Waldron, everything was in an advanced stage of progress.
+
+The Chatauqua was a screw steam sloop of war, of the first class. She
+carried ten guns, and was about fourteen hundred tons burden. Her
+complement of officers and men was about two hundred and fifty,
+including forty-two attached to the engineer's department. The ship was
+a two-decker. On the upper or spar deck was placed her armament,
+consisting of two immense pivot guns and eight broadside guns.
+
+Below this was the berth deck, on which all the officers and men ate and
+slept. The after part was appropriated to the officers, and the forward
+part to the men. The former were provided with cabins and state-rooms,
+while the latter swung their hammocks to the deck beams over their
+heads.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+As most of our readers have probably never seen the interior of a ship
+of war, we present on the adjoining page a plan of that portion of the
+vessel occupied by the officers. The round part is the stern of the
+ship, and the diagram includes a little less than one third of the
+whole length of the vessel.
+
+    A. The Captain's cabin, to which are attached the six small
+       apartments on each side of it.
+
+    1. The Companion-way, or stairs, by which the cabin is reached from
+       the deck.
+
+    2, 3. Store-rooms.
+
+    4. Water-closet.
+
+    5. Pantry.
+
+    6, 7. State-rooms.
+
+    B. The Ward-room, in which there is a table, long enough to
+       accommodate the eight officers who occupy this apartment.
+
+    8. First Lieutenant's state-room.
+
+    9. Second     "         "    "
+
+    10. Third     "         "    "
+
+    11. Fourth    "         "    "
+
+    12. Chief Engineer's    "    "
+
+    13. Master's            "    "
+
+    14. Paymaster's         "    "
+
+    15. Surgeon's           "    "
+
+    16. First Assistant Engineers' state-room.
+
+    17. Second Assistant Engineers' room.
+
+    C. The Steerage, occupied by Midshipmen and Masters' Mates.
+
+    D. Third Assistant Engineer's room.
+
+    18. The Armory.
+
+    19. Ward-room pantry, through which passes the mizzen-mast.
+
+    20, 20. Berths.
+
+    21, 21. Mess store-rooms.
+
+In the floor of the ward-room, between the state-room, 8 and 12, there
+are two scuttles leading down to the magazine, so that, during an
+action, all the powder is passed up through this room. Woollen screens
+are hung up on each side of these scuttles, when they are opened, to
+prevent any spark from being carried down to the powder.
+
+There are four other scuttles leading down into the hold from the
+ward-room to the various store-rooms located there, and several in the
+floor abreast of the steerage.
+
+On the forward part of the berth deck, just abaft the foremast, there
+are four state-rooms for the use of the carpenter, gunner, boatswain,
+and sailmaker. All persons except those mentioned sleep in hammocks.
+
+The engine department of the Chatauqua consisted of one chief, two first
+assistant, two second assistant, and one third assistant engineers, with
+eighteen firemen and eighteen coal heavers. The chief engineer is a
+ward-room officer. He has the sole charge of the engine, and all persons
+connected with its management, but he keeps no watch. The other
+engineers obey the orders of their chief, and are divided into watches.
+They attend to the actual working of the engine. The firemen are also
+classified, and receive different grades of pay, a portion of them
+attending to the oiling of the machinery,--called "oilers,"--while
+others superintend or feed the fires, and do other work connected with
+the engine and boilers. The coal-heavers convey the fuel from the coal
+bunkers to the furnaces.
+
+Mr. Ensign Somers was the fourth lieutenant of the Chatauqua, and
+occupied the last state-room on the left, as you enter the ward-room. It
+was a nice little apartment, and the young officer was as happy as a
+lord when he was fully installed in his new quarters. And well might one
+who had commenced his naval career as an ordinary seaman, sleeping in a
+hammock, and who had never before known anything better than the
+confined accommodations of the steerage, have been delighted with his
+present comfortable and commodious quarters.
+
+His state-room was lighted by a bull's eye, or round glass window, which
+could be opened in port, or in pleasant weather at sea. The room
+contained but one berth, which was quite wide for a ship, supplied with
+an excellent mattress; and one who could not sleep well in such a bed
+must be troubled with a rebellious conscience. There was also a bureau,
+the upper drawer of which, when the front was dropped down, became a
+convenient writing desk, supplied with small drawers, shelves, and
+pigeon-holes. The room was carpeted, and contained all that a reasonable
+man could require to make him comfortable and happy.
+
+There was only one drawback upon the happiness of Somers; and that was
+the absence of Mr. Waldron. There was not one among the officers whom he
+could now call by the endearing name of friend, though all of them were
+good officers and gentlemanly men, and he had no reason to anticipate
+any difficulty with any of them, unless it was with Mr. Pillgrim. He
+sighed for the friendly guidance and the genial companionship of the
+late commander of the Rosalie, especially in view of the embarrassing
+circumstances which surrounded him.
+
+But it was some compensation to know that his old shipmate, Tom
+Longstone, had been promoted to the rank of boatswain, and ordered to
+the Chatauqua. The old man's splendid behavior in Doboy Sound had
+enabled Mr. Waldron to secure this favor for him, and to obtain his
+appointment to his own ship. Mr. Longstone, as he must hereafter be
+called, came on board in a uniform of bright blue, and his dress so
+altered his appearance that Somers hardly recognized him. The old salt
+had always been very careful about "putting on airs," when he was a
+common sailor or a petty officer; but he knew how to be a gentleman, and
+his new dignity sat as easily upon him as though he had been brought up
+in the ward-room. Though he looked well, and carried himself like an
+officer, he could not immediately adapt his language to his new
+position. He was a representative sailor, and he could not help being
+"salt."
+
+The boatswain was Somers's only real friend on board, and the distance
+between a ward-room officer and a forward officer was so great that he
+was not likely to realize any especial satisfaction from the friendship;
+but it was pleasant to know that there was even one in the ship who was
+devoted to him, heart and soul.
+
+"All hands, up anchor!" piped the boatswain; and it was a pleasant sound
+to the fourth lieutenant of the Chatauqua, as doubtless it was to all
+hands, for "lying in the stream" is stupid work to an expectant crew.
+
+The ship got under way with all the order and regularity which prevail
+on board a man-of-war, and in a short time was standing down the
+Delaware River. Her great guns pealed the customary salute, and as the
+wind was fair, her top-sails and top-gallant-sails were shaken out as
+soon as she had passed from the narrow river into the broad bay. Off the
+capes the sealed orders were opened; and it proved, as the knowing ones
+had anticipated, that the Chatauqua was bound to the blockading station
+off Mobile Bay.
+
+At eight o'clock in the evening the ship was out of sight of land.
+Everything on board was in regular sea trim. Mr. Garboard, the third
+lieutenant, had the deck, and the other officers were in the ward-room,
+or in their state-rooms. They were discussing the merits of the ship, or
+the probable work before them at Mobile; for a great naval attack in
+that quarter was confidently predicted. The "Old Salamander," "Brave
+Old Salt," as Admiral Farragut was familiarly called, was understood to
+be making preparations for one of his tremendous onslaughts.
+
+Somers was occupied in his state-room, putting his books, papers, and
+clothing in order, which he had not had time to do before to his
+satisfaction. He placed his Testament on the bureau, where it could be
+taken up for a moment without delay, and where it would constantly
+remind him of his duty, and of the loved ones at home, with whom the
+precious volume seemed to be inseparably associated.
+
+Among his papers were the rebel commission, the written orders, and the
+statement he had made of the interview between Coles and Langdon, which
+had been extended so as to contain a full account of his conference with
+"Mr. Wynkoop," and his inquiries into the character of the Ben Nevis, in
+Boston and New York. These documents brought forcibly to his mind his
+relations with Lieutenant Pillgrim, who was still a mystery to him.
+Since Somers had come on board of the Chatauqua, not a syllable had been
+breathed about the dinner with the "officer of the royal navy." As Mr.
+Pillgrim doubtless believed he had changed the letters, and thus
+corrected his confederate's mistake, before the letter intended for him
+had fallen into Somers's hand, the lieutenant had no reason to suppose
+his treasonable position was even suspected.
+
+Somers felt that he had a battle to fight with Mr. Pillgrim, and the
+suspense was intolerable, not to mention the hypocrisy and deceit which
+this double character required of him. Now, more than before, he
+regretted the absence of Mr. Waldron, who would have been a rock of
+safety and strength to him in the trials that beset him. While he was
+moodily overhauling his papers, and thinking of his difficult situation,
+Mr. Pillgrim knocked at the door of his room, and was invited to enter.
+
+"Ah, making stowage, are you, Somers?" said the lieutenant, pleasantly.
+
+"Yes, sir; putting things to rights a little."
+
+"It's a good plan to have everything in its place," added Pillgrim, as
+he took up the little Testament which lay on the bureau. "You are a good
+boy, I see, and read the book."
+
+"That was given me by my mother, and I value it very highly."
+
+"Then I shouldn't think you would want to wear it out."
+
+"She gave it to me to use, and I am afraid, if she saw it was not soiled
+by handling, she would think it had not been well used."
+
+"I am glad you use it. I don't fail to read mine morning and evening."
+
+Somers could not believe him, and he could not see that a traitor to his
+country should have any use for the New Testament.
+
+"By the way, Somers, did you see your friend Wynkoop again before we
+sailed?" added Mr. Pillgrim.
+
+"I did not; I have not seen him since we dined together. I judge that
+you were better acquainted with him than I was."
+
+"My acquaintance with him was very slight. By the papers I saw on the
+table before you, when you were at dinner, I think you made good use of
+the short time you knew each other."
+
+"To what do you allude?" asked Somers, now assured that Mr. Pillgrim
+knew the nature of the papers.
+
+"To your commission as a commander in the Confederate navy. Mr. Somers,
+I could not believe my eyes."
+
+"Were you very much astonished?"
+
+"If I had been told that President Lincoln had gone over to the rebels,
+I should not have been more astonished. Your conduct has severely
+embarrassed me. It was my duty to denounce you as a traitor, in the
+service of the enemy, but--"
+
+At that instant the rattle of the drum, beating to quarters, caused both
+of them to hurry on deck.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+IN THE STATE-ROOM.
+
+
+Somers took his station on the quarter deck, near the mizzen-mast, while
+Mr. Pillgrim went forward to the forecastle. The guns were cast loose,
+and the crew exercised at quarters for a few moments, just as though
+there were an enemy's ship near. This manoeuvre was executed for the
+purpose of perfecting the officers and crew in discipline; and it is not
+an uncommon thing to turn up all hands in the dead of the night for this
+object, for it is easier to correct mistakes at such times than when in
+the presence of the enemy. As there was no Confederate ship in sight,
+all hands were presently piped below, and Somers returned to his
+state-room, where he was soon joined by Mr. Pillgrim, who evidently
+wished to prolong the conversation which had been commenced before the
+ship beat to quarters.
+
+"Mr. Somers you and I have been friends for some little time," the
+lieutenant began, "and I confess that I have been deeply interested in
+you, not only on your own account, but for the sake of our friends at
+Newport."
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Pillgrim," said Somers, as the gentleman paused. "I am
+greatly obliged to you, and I hope I shall always merit your good
+opinion."
+
+"I'm afraid not, my young friend; at least, you have not commenced this
+cruise very well, having first sold yourself to the enemy."
+
+"Do you think I have done that, Mr. Pillgrim?" demanded Somers, not a
+little excited by the charge, from such a source.
+
+"I know you have. I saw your commission on the table."
+
+"I took the commission, I grant, but I have no intention of using it."
+
+"Why did you take it then?"
+
+"For the purpose of gaining information."
+
+"Have you gained it?" demanded Mr. Pillgrim, with a hardly perceptible
+sneer.
+
+"I have."
+
+"You received written orders, also."
+
+"I did; and if I had obtained a foothold on the deck of the vessel to
+which I was ordered, you would have seen how quick I should have passed
+her over to my government."
+
+"That is a very plausible explanation, Mr. Somers," added the
+lieutenant. "But why did you sign the oath of allegiance to the Southern
+Confederacy?"
+
+"I did not."
+
+"I beg your pardon, but I saw the document with your signature affixed
+to it."
+
+"You are mistaken, Mr. Pillgrim."
+
+"Can I refuse to believe the evidence of my own eyes?"
+
+"Nevertheless, I must persist in saying that I did not sign the oath."
+
+"After what you have done, Mr. Somers, I could hardly expect you to
+acknowledge it to a loyal officer. Are you aware that any court martial
+would convict you, on the evidence against you, of treason, and sentence
+you to death?"
+
+"I think not, when it was made to appear that all I did was in the
+service of my country."
+
+Somers shuddered when he thought of a traitor's doom, and for the first
+time realized that he had accumulated more evidence against himself than
+against the conspirators. The commander's commission and the written
+orders were almost, if not quite, enough to hang him.
+
+"You don't believe what you say, Mr. Somers, and of course you cannot
+expect me to believe it," said Pillgrim, when he saw his brother officer
+musing, and looking rather anxious.
+
+"I speak the truth, Mr. Pillgrim," replied Somers, unable to turn his
+attention entirely away from the consequences which might follow some of
+these appearances against him.
+
+"Somers, I have felt a deep interest in you. I have all along desired to
+be your friend. This is the only reason why I did not prefer charges
+against you before the ship sailed. Now, I advise you not to deny what
+is as plain as truth can make it. I am your friend. Own up to me, and I
+promise never to betray you."
+
+"Would your friend Langdon, _alias_ Lieutenant Wynkoop, R. N., be
+equally considerate?" asked Somers, provoked into making this unguarded
+remark by the hypocrisy of Pillgrim.
+
+If the second lieutenant of the Chatauqua had received the bolt from a
+thunder cloud he could not have been more astonished. He started back,
+turned pale, and quivered with emotion.
+
+"Who?" demanded he, with a tremendous effort to recover his
+self-possession.
+
+"Do you think, Mr. Pillgrim, that I am a little lamb, that can be led
+round with a silken string?" replied Somers, with energy. "You are my
+superior officer, and as such I will respect and obey you
+until--until--"
+
+"Until what?"
+
+"Until the day of reckoning comes. When you stand up in my presence and
+charge me with being a traitor to my country, you had better remember
+that such charges, like chickens, will go home to roost."
+
+"I was not brought up in a barn yard, Mr. Somers, and such comparisons
+are beyond my comprehension."
+
+"Wherever you were brought up, I think my language is plain enough to be
+understood by a person of your intelligence."
+
+Perhaps it was fortunate for both parties that a knock at the state-room
+door disturbed the conference at this exciting moment. Somers opened the
+door.
+
+"Mr. Hackleford desires to see Mr. Somers on deck," said a midshipman.
+
+"Excuse me for a few moments, Mr. Pillgrim," said Somers, as he closed
+his desk and locked it.
+
+"Certainly, sir; but I should be happy to see you when you are
+disengaged. I will remain here if you please."
+
+"I will join you as soon as I can."
+
+It was warm below, and both Pillgrim and Somers had thrown off their
+coats, and laid them on the bed. Somers slipped on his own, as he
+supposed, and hastened on deck to meet the first lieutenant. The garment
+seemed rather large for him, and there were several papers in the breast
+pocket which did not belong to him. Then he was aware that he had taken
+the second lieutenant's coat instead of his own.
+
+Mr. Hackleford wished to obtain some information from him in regard to
+one of the petty officers, and when Somers had answered the questions he
+went below again. The papers in the pocket of Pillgrim's coat seemed to
+burn his fingers when he touched them. The owner was a traitor, and
+perhaps these documents might contain valuable intelligence. Under
+ordinary circumstances it would have been the height of perfidy to look
+at one of them; but, in the present instance, he felt justified in
+glancing at them. The state-room of the second assistant engineers was
+open and lighted, but neither of these officers was there. Stepping into
+the room, he opened the papers and glanced at their contents. Only one
+of them contained anything of importance. This was a note from a person
+who signed himself simply "Irvine," but it was in the handwriting of
+Langdon. The only clause in the epistle that was intelligible to Somers
+was this: "Have just heard from B----. The Ben Nevis, he says, will make
+Wilmington after leaving St. John. Plenty of guns there. She will sail
+July 4."
+
+Whether "B----" meant Boston or some person's name, Somers could not
+determine; but the fact in regard to the Ben Nevis was of the utmost
+consequence. Hastily folding up the note, he returned the package of
+papers to the pocket where he had found them. Taking off the coat as he
+entered the ward-room, he went into the state-room, where Mr. Pillgrim
+was still waiting for him, with the garment on his arm. He threw it upon
+the bed as he entered, and his companion was not even aware of the
+mistake which had been made.
+
+"Mr. Somers, you were making some grave charges against me when you were
+called away," said the lieutenant.
+
+"Not half so grave as those you made against me," replied Somers.
+
+"Those can be proved."
+
+"I made no charges. I only mentioned the name of your friend Langdon."
+
+"I don't know him," added Pillgrim, doggedly.
+
+"I beg your pardon, as you did mine, just now."
+
+"Which means that you doubt my word."
+
+"As you did mine."
+
+"Somers, I am not to be trifled with," said Pillgrim, sternly.
+
+"Neither am I."
+
+"Be cautious, or I will denounce you to the captain at once," added the
+lieutenant, in low and threatening tones.
+
+"Proceed, and then I shall be at liberty to take the next step."
+
+"What's that?"
+
+"Do you think I intend to show you my hand?" said Somers, with a meaning
+smile.
+
+Pillgrim bit his lip with vexation. He seemed to be completely cornered.
+He evidently believed that his companion knew more than "the law
+allows."
+
+"Mr. Pillgrim, I am no traitor; you know this as well as I do. Whatever
+papers I took from your friend Langdon, _alias_ Wynkoop, were taken with
+a view to serve my country."
+
+"You signed the oath of allegiance he offered you."
+
+"It is false!" replied Somers, angrily.
+
+"Be calm, Mr. Somers. I am no hypocrite, as you are," added Pillgrim. "I
+have heard that you have a talent for overhearing other people's
+conversation."
+
+"In the service of my country I am willing to do even this," said
+Somers, indignantly.
+
+"No matter about that. You have hinted that I am a traitor."
+
+"If the hint is not sufficient, I declare that such is the fact."
+
+Somers was roused to a high pitch of excitement, and he was not as
+prudent as he was wont to be. He was not playing a part now; he was
+talking and acting as he wanted to talk and act. He was calling treason
+and treachery by their right names.
+
+"Explain, Mr. Somers," said Pillgrim, who grew cooler as his companion
+became hotter.
+
+"You are in league with the enemies of your country. You and others have
+just started a steamer for St. John, which you intend to fit out as a
+Confederate cruiser--the Ben Nevis, of which you and your
+fellow-conspirators did me the honor to give me the command."
+
+Pillgrim smiled blandly.
+
+"And you accepted the command?"
+
+"For a purpose, I did."
+
+"You have not explained why you connect me with this affair. You spoke
+of some one whom you call Langdon. I don't know him."
+
+"You--do!"
+
+"Prove it."
+
+"He addresses a note to you, calling you 'my dear Pillgrim,' and signs
+himself, familiarly, 'Langdon.'"
+
+"Then you have been reading my letters--have you?"
+
+"It was addressed to me, and put in my box at the hotel."
+
+The second lieutenant turned pale, then red. He walked up and down the
+state-room several times in silence. He could not deny the fact alleged.
+While he walked, Somers explained how he had read the note, and then put
+it back in the box. Pillgrim understood it.
+
+"Of course you know Coles," continued Somers, placing a heavy emphasis
+on the name of this worthy.
+
+The lieutenant halted before his companion, and looked earnestly and
+inquiringly into his face. Somers returned his gaze with unflinching
+resolution. There was a smile upon his face, for he believed that he had
+thrown a red-hot shot into the enemy.
+
+"Coles!" said Pillgrim.
+
+"Coles!" repeated Somers.
+
+"Mr. Somers, you are a fool!"
+
+"Pray, where were you when human wisdom was distributed?"
+
+"Do you know Coles?" asked Pillgrim.
+
+"I think I should know Coles if I saw him."
+
+"No, you wouldn't."
+
+"He is the greatest villain that ever went unhung."
+
+"Except yourself. Somers, this is child's play. You have made me your
+enemy, but let us fight it out like men."
+
+"I will do so with pleasure when you take your place on the deck of a
+rebel vessel, where you belong."
+
+"A truce to child's play, I say again. We must settle this matter here
+and now."
+
+"It can't be done."
+
+"It must be done, or I will inform Captain Cascabel who and what you are
+before the first watch is out. Probably he will wish to see your
+Confederate commission and your letter of instructions."
+
+"When he does, I have something else to show him," replied Somers, whose
+answer was sufficiently indefinite to make the traitor look very stormy
+and anxious.
+
+"Can you show him a Confederate oath of allegiance signed by me?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Then he will be more likely to hear me than you," added the lieutenant,
+whose countenance now looked as malignant as that of a demon. "You have
+subscribed to that oath; I have not."
+
+"It is false!"
+
+"So you said before."
+
+"Prove it."
+
+"Here," continued Pillgrim, taking from his pocket the document which
+had been offered to Somers by Wynkoop.
+
+The young officer glanced at it, and on the line for the signature, he
+saw, with horror and indignation, the name of "John Somers," apparently
+in his own handwriting. Undoubtedly it was a forgery, but it was so well
+done that even the owner of the name could hardly distinguish it from
+his usual signature.
+
+"It is a forgery," gasped Somers, appalled at the deadly peril which
+seemed to be in his path.
+
+"Prove it," said the lieutenant, with a mocking smile.
+
+Somers groaned in spirit. It would be impossible for him to prove that
+the signature was a forgery. Even his best friends would acknowledge it,
+so well was it executed.
+
+"I have you, Somers," said Pillgrim, exultingly. "Let us understand each
+other. You are mine, Somers, or you hang! Somers, I am Coles!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+THE CHIEF CONSPIRATOR.
+
+
+Lieutenant Pillgrim rattled off the sentences in which he acknowledged
+his complicity with treason with a smile of malignant triumph on his
+face. He gloated over his victim as the evil one might be supposed to do
+over a soul wrenched from truth and virtue. He believed that he had
+Somers in a position where he could not betray him, or even resent his
+tyranny.
+
+For the first time Somers realized that he had been imprudent in
+exposing himself to the machinations of these evil men. Before he had
+only felt a little uncomfortably, and harbored a vague suspicion that,
+in attempting to overreach others, he had committed himself. He had
+learned in his babyhood that it is dangerous to play with fire, but had
+never believed it so fully as at this moment. He had touched the pitch,
+and felt that he had been defiled by it. Though his conscience kept
+assuring him he was innocent, and protesting against a harsh judgment,
+he could not help regretting that he had not exposed the villains
+before he left Philadelphia, and permitted the consequences to take care
+of themselves.
+
+But stronger than any other impression, at this eventful moment, was the
+feeling that he was no match for men so deeply versed in treason and
+wickedness as Pillgrim and his confederates. He had played at the game
+of strategy, and been beaten. While he thought he was leading them on to
+confusion, they were actually entwining the meshes of the net around
+him.
+
+Mr. Pillgrim had just declared that he was the mysterious Coles. Somers,
+at first, found it very difficult to realize the fact. He had really
+seen Coles but once; but they had spent some hours together. At that
+time Coles wore long, black whiskers, which concealed two thirds of his
+face; Pillgrim wore no beard, not even a mustache. Coles was dressed in
+homely garments; Pillgrim, in an elegant uniform. Coles's hair was short
+and straight; Pillgrim's, long and curly at the ends.
+
+In height, form, and proportions, they were the same; and the difference
+between Coles and Pillgrim was really nothing which might not have been
+produced with a razor, a pair of barber's shears, and the contrast of
+dress. The familiarity of the lieutenant's expression, before
+unexplained, was now accounted for; and before his tyrant spoke again,
+Somers was satisfied that he actually stood in the presence of Coles.
+
+Pillgrim stood with folded arms, gazing at his victim, and enjoying the
+confusion which Somers could not conceal. The persecutor was a confident
+man, and fully believed that he was master of the situation, and that
+Somers would do anything he asked of him, even to going over into the
+rebel ranks. He was mistaken; for Somers, deep as he felt that he was in
+hot water, would have chosen to hang at the fore yard-arm, rather than
+betray his country, or be false to her interests.
+
+"You just now remarked that you should know Coles if you saw him,"
+sneered Pillgrim.
+
+"I know you now," replied Somers, bitterly.
+
+"I see you do; but you will know me better before we part."
+
+"I know you well enough now. You are a rebel and a traitor; and what I
+said of Coles I say of you,--that you are the greatest villain that ever
+went unhung."
+
+"I don't like that kind of language, Mr. Somers," replied Pillgrim, with
+entire coolness and self-possession. "It isn't the kind of language
+which one gentleman should apply to another."
+
+"Gentleman!" said Somers, with curling lip; "I applied it to a rebel and
+a traitor."
+
+"In the present instance it is mutiny. I am your superior officer."
+
+"You are out of place; you don't belong here."
+
+"Your place is on the quarter deck of the Ben Nevis; and perhaps it will
+be when she goes into commission as a Confederate cruiser."
+
+"Never!" exclaimed Somers, with energy.
+
+"My dear Mr. Somers, be prudent. Some of the officers might hear you."
+
+"I don't care if they all hear me."
+
+"You talk and act like a boy, Somers. I beg you to consider that your
+neck and mine are in the same noose. If I hang, you hang with me."
+
+Somers groaned, for he could not see where his vindication was to come
+from.
+
+"You seem to understand your situation, and at the same time you appear
+to be quite willing to throw yourself into the fire. Let me call your
+attention to the fact that fire will burn."
+
+"Better burn or hang, than be a traitor."
+
+"Be reasonable, Somers. I do not propose to ask anything of you which
+will compromise your position in the navy; but I repeat, you are mine."
+
+"I don't understand you."
+
+"I have told you my secret. You know that I am in the Confederate
+service; that I have fitted out a vessel to cruise for Yankee ships. I
+am willing you should know this, for you dare not violate my
+confidence."
+
+"Perhaps I dare."
+
+"If you do, you are a dead man."
+
+"Will you kill me?"
+
+"If necessary."
+
+"I have usually been able to defend myself," replied Somers, with
+dignity.
+
+"I am not an assassin. A court martial will do all I wish done if you
+are not prudent and devoted, as you should be. The Confederate oath of
+allegiance signed by you is good testimony."
+
+"I didn't sign it. The signature is a forgery."
+
+"My dear fellow, what possible difference does that make? It is well
+done--is it not?"
+
+"Perhaps it is. Where did you get it?"
+
+"Langdon gave it to me."
+
+"Did he sign my name to it?"
+
+"Possibly; but even grant that I did it myself--what then?"
+
+"You are a greater villain than I ever gave Coles the credit of being."
+
+"Thank you!"
+
+"Where is Langdon now?"
+
+"In New York--where he can be reached if you make it necessary to
+convene a court martial."
+
+"Is he a naval officer?"
+
+"Yes; he has been a Confederate agent in London for the past two years.
+Since the English have become a little particular about letting steamers
+out for the Confederates, he buys them on this side."
+
+"What do you want of me, Mr.--Pillgrim? if that is your name?"
+
+"That is my name. I don't want much of you."
+
+"What?"
+
+"I am not ready to tell you until you are in a proper frame of mind. You
+are rather childish to-night. After you have thought the matter over,
+you will be a man, and be reasonable. Let me see: Garboard has the
+forenoon watch to-morrow, and we shall both be off duty after general
+quarters. If you please, I will meet you at that time."
+
+Somers considered a moment, and assented to the proposition. Pillgrim
+bade him good night, and retired to his own state-room, apparently
+without a fear that his victim would struggle in the trap into which he
+had fallen.
+
+"And into the counsels of the ungodly enter thou not." This text rang in
+the mind of Somers, as though some mighty prophet were thundering it
+into his ears. He felt that he had already plunged deep enough into the
+pit of treason, and he was anxious to get away from it before he was
+scorched by the fire, and before the smell of fire clung to his
+garments.
+
+For half an hour the fourth lieutenant of the Chatauqua sat at his desk,
+in deep thought. Though in the matter of which he was thinking, he had
+not sinned against his country, or the moral law, he was sorely
+troubled. He could not conceal from himself the fact that he was afraid
+of Pillgrim. The dread of having his name connected with any treasonable
+transaction was hard to overcome. That oath of allegiance, with his
+signature forged upon it, haunted him like an evil demon. He felt more
+timid and fearful than ever before in his life. His faith in Him who
+doeth all things well, seemed to be momentarily shaken, and he was
+hardly willing to do justly, and leave the consequences to themselves.
+
+He felt weak, and being conscious of his weakness, he looked upward for
+strength. Leaning on his desk, he prayed for wisdom to know the right,
+and for the power to do it. He was in earnest; and though his prayer was
+not spoken, it moved his soul down to the depths of his spiritual being.
+
+Three bells struck while he was thus engaged. He rose from the desk, and
+walked up and down the state-room several times. Suddenly he stopped
+short. A great thought struck him. In an instant it became a great
+resolution. Before it had time to grow cold, he put on his coat and cap,
+and went out into the ward-room. Mr. Transit, the master, Mr. Grynbock,
+the paymaster, and Dr. De Plesion, the surgeon, were there, discussing
+the anticipated attacks on Mobile and Wilmington. Somers felt no
+interest in the conversation at this time. He went on deck, where he
+found Captain Cascabel and the first lieutenant, smoking their cigars.
+Waiting till the captain went below, he touched his cap to Mr.
+Hackleford.
+
+"Mr. Somers?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"Not turned in, Mr. Somers? You have the mid-watch."
+
+"If you will excuse me, sir, for coming to you at such a time, I wish to
+have half an hour's conversation with you."
+
+"With me?" said Mr. Hackleford, apparently much surprised at such a
+request at such an hour.
+
+"Yes, sir. It is a matter of the utmost consequence, or I would not have
+mentioned it at this time."
+
+"Very well, Mr. Somers; I am ready to hear you."
+
+"Excuse me, sir; I would rather not introduce the matter on deck."
+
+"Well, come to my state-room."
+
+"To my state-room, if you please, Mr. Hackleford."
+
+"Why not mine?"
+
+"I am afraid the person most deeply concerned will overhear me. His room
+is next to yours."
+
+"Mr. Pillgrim?" exclaimed the first lieutenant.
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"Mr. Somers, I have a high regard for you as an officer and a gentleman,
+and I am not unacquainted with your past history. I hope you have
+nothing to say which will reflect on a brother officer."
+
+"I have, sir."
+
+"Then I advise you to think well before you speak."
+
+"I am entirely prepared to speak, sir."
+
+"Complaints against superior officers, Mr. Somers, are rather
+dangerous."
+
+"It is not personal, sir, though I may be the sufferer for making it."
+
+Mr. Hackleford led the way down to the ward-room. The officers had
+retired to their apartments, and there was no one to see them enter the
+state-room. As it was now nearly ten o'clock, when all officers' lights
+must be extinguished, Somers formally asked and obtained permission to
+burn his lamp till eleven o'clock. The first lieutenant entered the
+room, and Somers closed the door.
+
+"Mr. Hackleford, may I trouble you to read this statement?" said Somers,
+as he handed out the paper he had so carefully prepared.
+
+The first lieutenant adjusted his eye-glass, and read the statement
+through, asking an explanation of two or three points as he proceeded.
+He was deeply absorbed in the narrative, which was drawn up with the
+utmost minuteness.
+
+"This is an infernal scheme, Mr. Somers. I hope you did not permit the
+vessel to sail without giving information of her character."
+
+"The Ben Nevis sailed from New York before I could do anything or say a
+word," said Somers, exhibiting Langdon's letter.
+
+"That was bad. You should have spoken before."
+
+"My paper explains my reasons for keeping still. Perhaps I was wrong,
+sir, but I did the best I knew how."
+
+"And this vessel is bound to Mobile. We may pick her up."
+
+"The note says she is bound to Mobile; but it is not true. That is a
+blind to deceive me."
+
+"Why should they wish to deceive you, after giving you their
+confidence."
+
+"I don't know the reason."
+
+"But what has all this to do with Mr. Pillgrim?" asked Mr. Hackleford.
+
+"Mr. Pillgrim is the person spoken of in that paper as Coles."
+
+"Impossible!" ejaculated Mr. Hackleford, springing to his feet.
+
+"I shall be able to prove it by to-morrow, sir."
+
+Somers then gave him the substance of the conversation between himself
+and Mr. Pillgrim.
+
+"Why, this Coles wants something of you."
+
+"Yes, sir; but I don't know what. He engaged to meet me here at four
+bells in the forenoon watch to-morrow, when he will tell me what he
+wants."
+
+"Very well, Mr. Somers; meet him as agreed. You have played your part
+well. When you come together, you must yield the point; lead him along,
+and you will bag him,--and the vessel, I hope."
+
+"The Ben Nevis will sail from St. John July 4, for Wilmington."
+
+"Ah, then she is about even with the Chatauqua. I would give a year's
+pay for the privilege of catching her."
+
+Until eleven o'clock the two officers consulted charts, and figured up
+the time of the Ben Nevis.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+AFTER GENERAL QUARTERS.
+
+
+At eleven o'clock, when the master-at-arms knocked at the door of the
+fourth lieutenant, to inform him that it was time to put out his light,
+the calculations in regard to the position of the Ben Nevis had been
+made and verified. Mr. Hackleford, after counselling prudence and
+precaution, retired to his state-room. Somers threw himself on his cot,
+and having eased his mind of the heavy burden which had rested upon it,
+he went to sleep. But there was only an hour of rest for him, for at
+twelve o'clock he was to take the deck.
+
+When eight bells struck, he turned out, much refreshed by his short nap,
+to relieve Mr. Garboard. It was a beautiful night, with only a gentle
+breeze from the westward, and the ship was doing her ten knots without
+making any fuss about it. Somers took the trumpet, which the officer of
+the deck always carries as the emblem of his office, and commenced his
+walk on the weather side.
+
+Though he carefully watched the compasses, and saw that the sheets were
+hauled close home, he could not help thinking of the startling events
+which had transpired on the preceding evening. But he was satisfied with
+himself now. He had purged himself of all appearance of complicity with
+the enemies of his country, and he fully expected that Pillgrim would be
+put under arrest within the next forty-eight hours. The consciousness of
+duty done made him happy and contented. The first lieutenant had even
+praised him for the manner in which he had conducted the delicate
+business, and did not lay any stress on the oath of allegiance, or the
+commander's commission.
+
+For his four hours he "planked the deck," thinking of the past and
+hopeful of the future. At eight bells he sent a midshipman down to call
+Mr. Pillgrim. While he was waiting to be relieved, he could not help
+considering what a risk it was to leave that noble ship in the hands of
+a traitor; but Somers had given all the information he had to Mr.
+Hackleford, and the responsibility did not rest upon himself. The first
+lieutenant was an able and discreet officer, and would not permit the
+Chatauqua to be imperilled even for a moment.
+
+"Good morning, Mr. Somers," said Lieutenant Pillgrim, as he came on
+deck.
+
+"Good morning, Mr. Pillgrim," replied Somers, with all the courtesy due
+to the quarter deck.
+
+"A fine morning."
+
+"Beautiful weather."
+
+"You have had a good opportunity to think over our business. How do you
+feel about it?"
+
+"Just right, I hope."
+
+"I am glad to hear it. Have you seen anything of the Ben Nevis?"
+
+"Of the Ben Nevis! No, sir; I don't expect to see her here."
+
+"We may," replied Pillgrim, as he took the trumpet.
+
+"Isn't she going to Mobile?"
+
+"We'll talk of her during the forenoon watch," added the second
+lieutenant, as he turned on his heel and walked forward.
+
+Somers went below. As he entered the ward-room, Mr. Hackleford came out
+of his state-room. This gentleman evidently intended to keep a sharp
+lookout for the officer of the deck during his watch. He asked the
+relieved officer if anything more had transpired, and the unimportant
+conversation which had just taken place was fully reported to him.
+
+"Mr. Somers, I haven't slept an hour during the night. There are one or
+two points in your statement which were a little dark to me," said Mr.
+Hackleford.
+
+"More than that of it is dark to me. I do not profess to understand the
+whole of it. I only state the facts from my own point of view."
+
+"You listened to this talk between Coles and Langdon at the sailors'
+boarding-house in Front Street?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"If you saw Coles there, how could--"
+
+"I didn't see him, sir; I only heard him."
+
+"That accounts for it," said Mr. Hackleford, musing. "Didn't you
+recognize Mr. Pillgrim's voice?"
+
+"No, sir; I think he changed it; though the two tones were so similar
+that I might have recognized it, if I had suspected they were the same
+person."
+
+Mr. Hackleford asked other questions, which Somers answered with strict
+regard to the truth, rather than with the intention of removing the
+first lieutenant's doubts. He wanted only facts himself, and he was
+careful not to distort them, in order to confirm any theory of his own
+or of his superior officer.
+
+Mr. Hackleford went on deck, and Somers turned in. He was in condition
+to sleep now, and he improved his four hours below to the best
+advantage.
+
+After general quarters, when the crew were dismissed, he went down to
+his state-room, prepared to meet Mr. Pillgrim. He was surprised to know
+how little curiosity he felt to learn what the traitor wanted and
+expected of him. Punctual to the appointed time, which exhibited the
+interest he felt in the expected interview, the treacherous second
+lieutenant made his appearance. Somers received him as one officer
+should receive another, though it was hard work for him to disguise the
+contempt and detestation with which he regarded the traitor.
+
+"Well, Somers, now I am to tell you what I want of you. It isn't much,
+as I warned you before; and I am very glad to see that you are in such a
+happy frame of mind."
+
+"I am ready to hear you, and do the best I can," replied Somers,
+carefully following the instructions of Mr. Hackleford with regard to
+matter and manner.
+
+He had been cautioned to be ready enough in listening to the chief
+conspirator, but not too ready, so as to betray his object.
+
+"Good! I think you understand me now."
+
+"I think I do, sir."
+
+"I am sorry to do it, but it is necessary for me to remind you again
+that your fate is in my hands; that a word from me would subject you to
+a trial by court martial for treason, and probably to more hemp rope
+than would feel good about your neck."
+
+"Though I don't think I am in so much danger as you represent, I will
+grant your position."
+
+"Don't grant it, if you think it is not correct;" and Mr. Pillgrim
+minutely detailed the evidence which could be brought to bear against
+him.
+
+Somers appeared to be overwhelmed by this array of testimony. He
+groaned, looked hopeless, and finally granted the traitor's position in
+full.
+
+"I am in your power. Do with me as you will. Of course the moment I put
+my foot on a rebel deck I am ruined."
+
+"You can do as you please about going into the Confederate service. What
+I want of you will not compromise you as a loyal man in the slightest
+degree."
+
+"What do you want of me?"
+
+"Not quite so loud, if you please, Mr. Somers," said the lieutenant,
+glancing at the door. "To me, Somers, you have been a thorn. You lost me
+the Snowden, and the valuable cargo of the Theban."
+
+"I only did my duty," pleaded Somers.
+
+"Bah! don't use that word to me again. Through you a fortune slipped
+through my fingers. I should have got the Snowden into Wilmington, if
+you had not meddled with the matter. I have lost eighty thousand dollars
+by you."
+
+"Of course I had no ill will against you personally."
+
+"Very true; if you had, you would have been a dead man before this time.
+Phil Kennedy was a fool, but he was my best friend. I have his bond for
+forty thousand dollars, which is waste paper just now. Phil fell by your
+hand."
+
+"It was in fair fight."
+
+"Nonsense! What matter is it to me how he fell, whether it was in fair
+fight or foul? He is dead; that is all."
+
+"What has all this to do with me?" asked Somers, with seeming
+impatience.
+
+"Much, my dear fellow. Phil was to marry Kate Portington; was to pocket
+her fortune. You have cut him out. You will marry her, and in due time
+come into possession of a million. The commodore is apoplectic, and will
+not live many years. Do you see my point?"
+
+"I do not," answered Somers, disgusted with this heartless statement.
+
+"As you cheated me out of the Snowden, as you killed Phil Kennedy, as
+you will marry Kate Portington, I propose that you assume and pay Phil's
+bond."
+
+"I?"
+
+"Certainly--you; Mr. Somers; Kate's prodigy," laughed Pillgrim.
+
+"Never!" exclaimed Somers, jumping to his feet.
+
+"You speak too loud, Mr. Somers."
+
+"Am I a dog, or a snake, or a toad, that I should do such an unclean
+thing?"
+
+The traitor took from his pocket the oath of allegiance, opened it, and
+in silence thrust it into his companion's face.
+
+"I have sold myself."
+
+"You have, Somers. Think of it. If I have to make out a case against
+you, of course you will never see Kate again. Let me add, that the
+commodore sets his life by me. We were old friends before the war. You
+may marry his daughter with my consent, but not without it."
+
+"I never thought of such a thing."
+
+"Perhaps not. We waste time. Will you sign the bond?"
+
+"The bond is good for nothing. No court--"
+
+"That is my affair. If you agree to it, I will run all risks. I trouble
+no courts. If you don't pay, I have only to speak, and hang you then."
+
+"I am lost," groaned Somers.
+
+"No, you are not. Sign, and you have found fortune and a friend."
+
+"I dare not sign."
+
+"You dare not refuse."
+
+Somers walked up and down the state-room, apparently in great mental
+agony.
+
+"Shall I sign?" said he, in a loud tone, as though he were speaking to
+the empty air.
+
+"Not so loud, man!" interposed Pillgrim, angrily.
+
+At that instant two light raps were distinctly heard.
+
+"What's that?" demanded the traitor, greatly alarmed.
+
+"I will sign it," promptly added Somers, to whom the two raps seemed to
+be perfectly intelligible.
+
+"What was that noise?" asked Pillgrim, fearfully. "Is there any one in
+Garboard's state-room?"
+
+"I think not."
+
+The second lieutenant was not satisfied. He opened the door and looked
+into the adjoining state-room, but there was no person there, and the
+ward-room was empty. There was no one within hearing, and the
+conspirator recovered his wonted self-possession.
+
+"You will sign?" said he.
+
+"I will."
+
+"I knew you would, and therefore I prepared the document; read it," he
+continued, taking a paper from his pocket.
+
+Somers read. It was simply an agreement to pay forty thousand dollars,
+when he married Kate Portington, in consideration of certain assistance
+rendered the signer, but without any allusion to the circumstances under
+which it was given. As a legal document, of course it was good for
+nothing, as both parties well understood. Somers signed it.
+
+"Now, Mr. Somers, we are friends," said Pillgrim, as he folded up the
+paper, and restored it to his pocket. "You have done me a good turn, and
+I have done you one."
+
+Somers, unwilling to regard Pillgrim as a fool, believed that this paper
+was intended to ruin him in the estimation of the Portington family, and
+that the villain intended to marry her himself when her apparent suitor
+was disposed of.
+
+"Is this all you expect of me?" asked Somers.
+
+"This is the principal thing. I may have occasion to use you again; if
+I do, I shall not hesitate to call upon you. You are in my confidence
+now."
+
+"Will you tell me, then, where the Ben Nevis is bound? I may want to
+find her, for I haven't much taste for the old navy now."
+
+"Ah, you make better progress than I anticipated. She is bound to St.
+Marks."
+
+This was a lie, as Somers well knew.
+
+"Coles and Langdon said she was to make Mobile."
+
+"The plan was changed. You must not lay much stress on what you heard
+that night. It was all a blind,--or most of it was."
+
+"Indeed?"
+
+"The conversation at the house in Front Street was carried on for your
+especial benefit," added Pillgrim, laughing and rubbing his hands.
+"Langdon wrote both letters about the wounded sailor; there was no such
+person. The old woman that kept the house was in my pay. When I spoke so
+warmly in your praise to Langdon, I knew that you were listening to all
+I said; indeed, I said it to you rather than to Langdon."
+
+"Why did you tell me beforehand, if you intended to catch me with the
+treasonable offer?" asked Somers, rather mortified to learn that he had
+been duped from the beginning.
+
+"I knew you would pretend to accept it. All I wanted was to get you to
+take the commission, orders, and oath. As you agreed to sign the
+latter, Langdon did it for you, for I could not wait."
+
+"The Ben Nevis is no humbug?"
+
+"No; I bought her and two other steamers on the Clyde, in Scotland. The
+Ben Nevis was captured, but my friends bought her after she was
+condemned. As there had been a great deal said about her in the
+newspapers, I used her because it was probable you had heard of her."
+
+"I had."
+
+"Everything works as I intended."
+
+"Not exactly," thought Somers.
+
+"The captain of the coaster that pounded you that night was Langdon,"
+laughed Pillgrim.
+
+"Why was that done?"
+
+"That I might take you back to the hotel, and be your friend. We did not
+intend to hurt you much. It was important that you should think well of
+me. You do--don't you?"
+
+"Of course."
+
+"All right now; remember you are mine, Somers," said Pillgrim, as he
+left the room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+THE BEN NEVIS.
+
+
+The Chatauqua rolled along easily on her course during the rest of the
+day, until the dog watch, when Mr. Pillgrim had the deck again. Somers,
+having discharged his whole duty in reference to the conspiracy, was
+content to leave the matter in the hands of Mr. Hackleford, to whom he
+had committed it.
+
+At eight bells, as soon as Somers had been relieved from the afternoon
+watch, he was not a little surprised to receive a message from the
+captain, inviting him to his cabin. He readily came to the conclusion
+that the summons related to the conspiracy. When he entered the cabin,
+he saw Captain Cascabel and Mr. Hackleford seated at the table, on which
+was spread a general chart of the coast of the United States.
+
+"Say what you wish to Mr. Somers," said the captain to the first
+lieutenant.
+
+"Mr. Somers, Captain Cascabel has sent for you in relation to the affair
+of which we talked in your state-room last night," Mr. Hackleford began.
+"All that you have written out in your statement, and all that you told
+me, have been fully confirmed."
+
+"I intended to confine myself strictly to the facts," replied Somers,
+modestly.
+
+"You have been very discreet and very prudent," added Mr. Hackleford.
+
+"I fully concur," said Captain Cascabel. "You have exposed yourself to
+no little peril, in your zeal to serve your country."
+
+Somers bowed and blushed.
+
+"I confess that I had some doubts in regard to the result of your
+operations, Mr. Somers," continued the first lieutenant; "but I am
+entirely satisfied now that Mr. Pillgrim is just what you represent him
+to be."
+
+"All that you affirmed has been fully verified," added the captain.
+
+He did not say that both himself and Mr. Hackleford had listened to the
+entire conversation between Somers and the traitor in the forenoon,
+occupying one of the captain's state-rooms, which adjoined the starboard
+side of the ward-room, having bored a couple of holes through the
+partition, behind the bureau; he did not say this, for it was hardly
+dignified for a captain to play the eavesdropper, even in a good cause.
+Somers knew that Mr. Hackleford was at hand at the time, and had
+arranged a set of signals by which he could advise the young officer, if
+he should be in doubt. One rap meant, "No;" two raps, "Yes;" and three
+raps, "Give no direct answer." When Somers was in doubt respecting the
+bond, he asked the question of the empty air, apparently, but really of
+Mr. Hackleford, who had promptly replied in the affirmative by giving
+the two knocks, which had startled the traitor.
+
+"Mr. Somers, what do you know of the Ben Nevis?" asked the captain.
+
+"She was to sail from St. John on the 4th of July, to run the blockade
+at Wilmington. She is said to make sixteen knots, under favorable
+circumstances."
+
+"She has had a head wind part of the time. If she has made twelve on the
+average, she has done well," said Mr. Hackleford.
+
+"She will be due off Cape Fear some time after meridian to-morrow,"
+added the captain, consulting a paper, on which were several
+arithmetical operations.
+
+The calculations were carefully reviewed, and Somers was questioned at
+considerable length; but he had already given all the information he
+possessed. It was evidently the intention of Captain Cascabel to capture
+the Ben Nevis, though he did not announce his purpose.
+
+"After what has occurred, Mr. Somers, you may be surprised that Mr.
+Pillgrim has not been relieved from duty and placed under arrest,"
+continued Captain Cascabel, after the position of the Ben Nevis had been
+carefully estimated.
+
+"I leave the matter entirely in the hands of my superior officers,"
+replied Somers. "Having cast the responsibility upon them, I am willing
+to obey orders without asking any questions."
+
+"That is a very proper view to take of the subject, and I commend your
+moderation," said the captain, with a pleasant smile. "It has been
+thought best not to disturb Mr. Pillgrim for a day or two, for other
+events may transpire."
+
+Captain Cascabel bowed to Somers, and intimated that he had no further
+need of him at present.
+
+"Ah, Mr. Somers, been visiting the captain," said the second lieutenant,
+as his victim came on deck.
+
+"I was sent for."
+
+"What was the business?"
+
+Fortunately, Mr. Transit, who was planking the deck on the lee side,
+approached near enough to enable Somers to avoid answering the question,
+and he thus escaped the necessity of telling a falsehood. But as soon as
+Mr. Garboard took the deck, Pillgrim repeated the inquiry, and the young
+officer was obliged to narrate an imaginary conversation.
+
+"It's no matter, Somers. You understand that I have a rope round your
+neck, and I am not at all afraid that you will make an improper use of
+your tongue."
+
+"I certainly shall not," answered Somers, with emphasis. "You may depend
+upon me for that."
+
+"The fact is, Somers, I have got a mortgage on you; and I want no better
+security for your good conduct."
+
+"You needn't trouble yourself at all about me."
+
+"I shall not; because, if you wish to betray me, I should rather enjoy
+it. I have been your best friend. Instead of blowing your brains out for
+making an end of poor Phil Kennedy, I have taken you into my confidence.
+You shall marry the prettiest and the richest girl north of the Potomac;
+and when Union officers are proscribed and condemned after the war, you
+will have a friend at court who will speak a good word for you."
+
+"Thank you; but do you really believe that the South will carry the
+day?"
+
+"I'm sure of it. England is our best friend; and Louis Napoleon, in
+order to complete his Mexican scheme, must recognize the Confederacy.
+When France does the job, England will be only one day behind her."
+
+"If I go with you, I shall be on the winning side, then."
+
+"If you do? You have gone with me. Though I don't ask you to help the
+South openly, I expect you to be a friend of the government which must
+soon rule the country. Leave it all to me, Somers, and I will manage the
+business for you and myself. You must confess, Somers, that I am a
+little ahead of you in strategy," said the traitor, with a complacent
+smile.
+
+"You beat me in the game we have been playing; but that only makes us
+even, for I got the better of you in another affair."
+
+"Not of me; it was the stupidity of Phil Kennedy that ruined the Snowden
+business. I pride myself on my strategy, Somers. I have never been
+beaten in anything of this kind yet. The fact of it is, I know whom to
+trust. I never give my confidence to a man who dares to betray it,"
+replied Pillgrim, rubbing his hands with delight at his own cleverness.
+
+Somers was of the opinion that he would think differently before many
+days had elapsed; but he was as prudent as the circumstances required.
+
+At eight bells, the fourth lieutenant took the deck for the first watch;
+and from that time until the following afternoon, he saw but little of
+the conspirator. At this time, the ship was off Cape Fear, though too
+far out to sight the land, or even the outer line of blockaders which
+kept vigilant watch over the entrance to the river. Precisely at the
+moment when one bell struck in the first dog-watch, the engine of the
+Chatauqua, without any order from the officer of the deck, and without
+any apparent reason, suddenly stopped.
+
+It had proved itself to be a very good and well-meaning engine, thus
+far, and all hands began to wonder what had happened, or what was going
+to happen. But Mr. Cranklin, the chief engineer, presently reported that
+there was a "screw loose" somewhere, and that it would be necessary to
+lay to, and make some repairs. Certainly it was a very opportune moment
+for the ship to stop; and those who did not know what had passed between
+the chief engineer and the first lieutenant might have supposed that the
+zealous engine, heretofore so faithful in the discharge of its trying
+duties, had overheard some of the conversation we have related, and was
+waiting for the Ben Nevis to show herself to seaward.
+
+In further confirmation that the stoppage was not entirely owing to the
+obstinacy of the engine, it was observed that extra lookout men had been
+stationed on the fore yard, and on the cross-trees, since meridian of
+that day. The captain and the first lieutenant were often seen in
+confidential communication; and everybody on board seemed to be
+impressed with the idea that something was about to "turn up."
+
+Something did "turn up," about three bells; for the man on the fore
+cross-trees, reported a vessel on the beam. The dense mass of black
+smoke in the wake of her smoke-stack indicated that she was an English
+blockade runner, approaching the coast so as to run in after dark. As
+soon as this agreeable information spread through the Chatauqua, it
+created an intense excitement, not manifested in noisy demonstrations,
+for that would have been in violation of the strict rule of naval
+discipline, but in the expectant eyes and stimulated movements of the
+officers and crew, to whose pockets, as well as to their national
+pride, the prospect of a rich prize appealed with tremendous force.
+
+At this thrilling moment, when everything depended upon the sailing
+qualities of the Chatauqua, either Mr. Cranklin had completed his
+remedial efforts, or the engine had come to a realizing sense of the
+proprieties of the occasion, and was sensible of the appalling
+wickedness of disappointing the two hundred and fifty anxious souls on
+board. The docile machine was reported to be in condition for active
+service. The bells pealed forth the signal to "go ahead slowly," then
+"at full speed," and the Chatauqua darted away.
+
+"Hard a starboard!" said Mr. Somers, now the officer of the deck, to the
+quartermaster, who was conning the wheel.
+
+"Hard a starboard, sir!"
+
+"Steady!"
+
+"Steady, sir!"
+
+"What does this mean, Somers?" demanded Pillgrim, in a low, angry tone,
+as he passed the officer of the deck.
+
+"I don't know, sir. I only obey orders," replied Somers, as he glanced
+ahead at the chase.
+
+"Do you know what steamer that is?" asked Pillgrim.
+
+"How should I?"
+
+"It is the Ben Nevis."
+
+"How do you know?"
+
+"I know; that is sufficient. We must save her," said the second
+lieutenant, in low, but excited tones.
+
+The chase continued for half an hour longer, when it was evident that
+the Ben Nevis--for it was indeed she--had changed her course, and was
+headed to the eastward.
+
+"This will never do, Mr. Somers," said Mr. Hackleford. "We can't sail
+with her. We must change our tactics."
+
+"She gains upon us," replied Somers.
+
+"No doubt of it."
+
+"I am afraid we shall lose her, sir."
+
+"I would give my year's pay to capture her, Mr. Somers, if it were only
+for your sake."
+
+Somers suggested an idea to the first lieutenant, who, after the
+approval of Captain Cascabel, adopted it.
+
+"Clear away the first cutter," said Mr. Hackleford. "Lower away."
+
+The first cutter was soon in the water, the ship having now stopped her
+engine.
+
+"Mr. Pillgrim, you will stand by in the first cutter till that steamer
+comes up. Capture her if her papers are not all right, or if she is
+bound into Wilmington."
+
+A smile of satisfaction lighted up the countenance of the second
+lieutenant, when he found he was to go in the boat. The first cutter
+pulled away.
+
+"Clear away the second cutter!" said the first lieutenant; and while
+the men were eagerly performing this duty, the captain instructed
+Somers, who was to go in her, in regard to the duty he was expected to
+perform.
+
+Somers took his place in the stern-sheets of the second cutter, which
+was armed with a twenty-four pounder howitzer, while the first cutter
+had nothing but small arms. As soon as this boat left the ship's side,
+the Chatauqua came about, as though she had abandoned the chase, and
+stood to the westward.
+
+The Ben Nevis immediately discovered the change which had been made in
+the course of her pursuer. Apparently satisfied that she had outwitted
+the man-of-war, she put about and headed towards the coast again,
+without suspecting the fact that two boats lay in her track.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+A CONFLICT OF AUTHORITY.
+
+
+It was about sunset when the Ben Nevis put about and headed in shore.
+The first cutter was at least half a mile in advance of the second, and
+both, of them lying near the track of the blockade-runner. It was
+useless to pull towards the expected prize; on the contrary, it was
+better policy to keep still, so as not to attract the attention of her
+people.
+
+The Ben Nevis, when she changed her course, might have been about five
+miles distant from the Chatauqua, and the longer the meeting between the
+steamer and the boats was deferred, the more would the darkness favor
+the latter. It was thought that the blockade-runner would approach at
+half speed, so as not to encounter the fleet off the river at too early
+an hour; but her commander did not appear to regard this delay as
+necessary, and came down at full speed. It was not dark, therefore, when
+the first cutter was within hail of her.
+
+As soon as the Ben Nevis discovered the nearest boat, she sheered off,
+though, as the first cutter had no howitzer, she could have everything
+her own way. Somers kept the second cutter just out of hail of the other
+boat; and carefully watched the operations of the second lieutenant.
+
+The steamer sheered off just enough to avoid the boat; but presently she
+resumed her course, as if, making twelve knots, she had nothing to fear
+from an enemy with oars only to urge her forward. It would be impossible
+for the first cutter to board her at full speed, and she seemed disposed
+to run the risk of a shot or two rather than expose herself to falling
+into any other trap which the man-of-war might have set for her.
+
+The Ben Nevis dashed on, therefore, in a direction which placed the
+first cutter on her starboard bow, when Mr. Pillgrim hailed her, and
+ordered her to heave to, accompanying the command with a peculiar wave
+of his cap in the air, which was thrice repeated, very much to the
+astonishment, no doubt, of the loyal blue-jackets in the boat with him.
+
+"Topple my timber-heads! What does all that mean?" exclaimed Boatswain
+Longstone, who, by the especial request of the fourth lieutenant, had a
+place in the stern-sheets of the second cutter.
+
+"Wait, and you will see," replied Mr. Somers.
+
+The Ben Nevis at once stopped her wheels, and the first cutter pulled
+towards her.
+
+"That beats me!" ejaculated the boatswain. "What did she stop for?"
+
+"Probably her captain thinks that is his best course," replied Somers,
+who knew very well why she had stopped.
+
+The commander of the blockade-runner evidently recognized the voice and
+the signal of Pillgrim, and, like an obedient servant, was willing to
+shift the responsibility of the occasion on his owner and employer.
+Honest Tom Longstone was sorely perplexed by the movement of the steamer
+and the conduct of the second lieutenant of the Chatauqua, for a
+suspicion of foul play on the part of one of his officers could not have
+entered his loyal heart.
+
+The first cutter touched the side of the Ben Nevis, and Mr. Pillgrim
+went up the accommodation ladder.
+
+"Clear away the howitzer!" said Somers.
+
+The boatswain looked at him as though he had been mad.
+
+"Man the howitzer!"
+
+The gun was loaded with a solid shot, and made ready for instant use.
+
+"Now give way, boatswain," continued Somers; and the second cutter
+dashed swiftly over the long billows towards the Ben Nevis.
+
+"Are you going to use that gun?" asked Tom Longstone, in a low tone.
+
+"If necessary."
+
+"But Mr. Pillgrim has the steamer. He has boarded her."
+
+"We will wait and see," answered Somers, evasively; for it was expected
+and intended that the second lieutenant should "hang himself," on this
+interesting occasion.
+
+Before the second cutter could reach the steamer, Mr. Pillgrim had
+completed his examination on board of her, and descended to his boat. As
+he gave the order for the cutter to shove off, Somers's boat shot in
+alongside of her.
+
+"She is all right, Mr. Somers," said the second lieutenant.
+
+"All right?" exclaimed Somers; and, in spite of himself, he actually
+trembled with emotion, being conscious that a very trying scene was
+before him--one which would require all his skill and all his energy.
+
+"I say she is all right, Mr. Somers," repeated Pillgrim, sharply, for he
+did not appear to like the tone and manner of the fourth lieutenant.
+
+"What is she?"
+
+"She is an American steamer from Baltimore, bound to Havana."
+
+"What is she doing in here, then?" demanded Somers.
+
+"That's her affair. Don't you see the American flag at her peak?"
+
+"What is her name?"
+
+"The Ben Nevis," replied Pillgrim, with the most expressive emphasis.
+"Sheer off, and return to the ship."
+
+"I think she is a blockade-runner."
+
+"Do you, indeed?" sneered the traitor.
+
+"I am satisfied she is."
+
+"I have boarded her, and my report will be final in this matter."
+
+"My orders were to board her," said Somers.
+
+"Your orders?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"I am your superior officer."
+
+"You are, Mr. Pillgrim."
+
+"Of course your orders were intended to be carried out, in case you
+happened to come up with the steamer before I did."
+
+"I was ordered to board her, Mr. Pillgrim, and I feel compelled to
+obey," replied Somers, with firmness, though he still trembled with
+emotion.
+
+"Steady, Mr. Somers; be careful," said Tom Longstone, bewildered by this
+conflict of authority--a circumstance he had not before observed in his
+long career in the navy. "He is your superior officer."
+
+"I know what I am about, Tom," whispered Somers, compassionating the
+misery his apparently mutinous actions must cause his honest friend.
+
+"If you do, go ahead, my darling."
+
+"Mr. Somers, I order you to return to the ship," said Mr. Pillgrim,
+sternly.
+
+"I must obey the captain's orders, and board this steamer."
+
+"You mistake your orders, and I insist that you obey me."
+
+"You will excuse me if I disregard your command; and I will be
+answerable to the captain for my conduct."
+
+"The captain is not here; I am your superior officer. Disobey me at your
+peril!" continued Pillgrim, in savage tones.
+
+"Is it all right?" shouted the captain of the Ben Nevis, who was
+standing on the starboard paddle-box of the steamer.
+
+"Ay, ay; all right. Start your wheels!" replied Pillgrim.
+
+"Captain, if you move a wheel, I will fire into you!" added Somers; and
+the captain of the howitzer stood, with the lock-string in his hand,
+ready to execute the order when it should be given.
+
+The commander of the Ben Nevis looked down upon the second cutter's gun,
+pointing into the hull of his vessel, so that the twenty-four pound shot
+would pass through her engine-room. He did not give the order to start
+the wheels. Pillgrim was disconcerted: he was foiled in his scheme. By
+this time he realized that the fourth lieutenant of the Chatauqua was
+not the willing, timid tool he had taken him to be.
+
+The men in both boats were astonished and confounded by the startling
+clash of authority between their officers. Such a thing had never been
+known before. They had been surprised when Mr. Pillgrim declared that
+the steamer was all right, for there was not one of them who was not
+perfectly satisfied that the vessel was running in to break the
+blockade. They were still more surprised when Mr. Somers dared to
+dispute the conclusions of his superior officer. Involuntarily they took
+sides with the fourth lieutenant, because his opinion that the Ben Nevis
+was not all right coincided with their own, and because the prize-money
+went with his view of the matter. But they were well disciplined men,
+and each crew, thus far, obeyed the orders of its own officer; and, so
+far as they were concerned, there was no conflict of command, though
+this was likely soon to be the case.
+
+"Mr. Somers, I warn you--beware!" said Pillgrim, with the most
+expressive emphasis.
+
+"I intend to do my duty," replied Somers.
+
+"Bully for the fourth luff!" shouted a seaman in the second cutter, who
+felt disposed to take a part in the dispute.
+
+"Silence!" interposed Somers, sternly, as he perceived that this bad
+example was likely to be followed by others, and he felt that the
+occasion was too serious and solemn to admit of anything like levity.
+
+"Mr. Somers, you know the consequences!" continued the second
+lieutenant.
+
+"I do."
+
+"Remember!"
+
+"I know what I am about," answered Somers, understanding to what
+Pillgrim alluded, though of course it was incomprehensible to others in
+the boats. "I shall board the steamer."
+
+"Do it at your peril!"
+
+"I shall do it."
+
+"This is mutiny!" stormed Pillgrim, with an oath, as he took a revolver
+from his belt.
+
+"I will abide the consequences," replied Somers, drawing his pistol.
+
+"For God's sake, Mr. Somers--"
+
+"Silence, boatswain!"
+
+"You will ruin yourself," whispered Tom, whose bronzed face was ghastly
+pale, and whose lips quivered with the anxiety he felt for his
+_protege_.
+
+"I am perfectly cool, Tom; don't be alarmed about me," replied Somers,
+tenderly, as he glanced at the expression of suffering on the face of
+his faithful friend. "That man is a traitor!" he whispered.
+
+"Once more, Mr. Somers, will you obey me, or will you not?" shouted Mr.
+Pillgrim, angrily.
+
+"If you will capture this steamer, as you should do, I will obey you in
+all things," replied Somers. "I know she is about to run the blockade,
+and so do you."
+
+"I have examined her, and I declare that her papers are all right. My
+decision is final. Return to the ship, Mr. Somers, and there answer for
+your mutinous conduct."
+
+"I shall board this vessel," replied Somers, as he ordered the bowman to
+haul in towards the steamer.
+
+"This is mutiny, and I shall treat it as such. I _will_ be obeyed!"
+
+Mr. Pillgrim raised his pistol, and fired at the rebellious officer; but
+he was too much excited to take good aim, if, indeed, he intended to do
+anything more than intimidate his inferior officer. The ball whistled
+within a few feet of Somers's head, and roused his belligerent spirit.
+He raised his revolver on the instant, before the second lieutenant was
+ready to repeat his experiment, and fired.
+
+The traitor sank down in the stern-sheets of the cutter. The men seemed
+to be paralyzed by this sharp work, and sat like statues on the thwarts.
+
+[Illustration: A Conflict of Authority.]
+
+"Haul in, bowman!" said Somers, in sharp and earnest tones, breaking the
+solemn silence of that awful moment.
+
+The man obeyed mechanically, and the others did the same when required
+to boat their oars; but probably there was not one of the crew of either
+cutter who did not believe that the fourth lieutenant would be hung
+at the yard-arm for his mutinous, murderous conduct.
+
+Somers directed the coxswain of the first cutter to pull in to the
+accommodation ladder of the steamer. He was obeyed, and Boatswain
+Longstone was ordered to take charge of the boat. Eight men, armed with
+cutlasses and revolvers, were sent on board the Ben Nevis, and Somers
+followed them. The captain protested against the capture, but his papers
+were not what they were represented to be by Pillgrim. The character of
+the steamer was evident, and she was taken possession of by the fourth
+lieutenant, and the crews of both cutters were ordered on board.
+
+"How is Mr. Pillgrim?" asked Somers of the boatswain. "Is he dead?"
+
+"No, sir; the ball only glanced along the side of his head. He bleeds
+badly, but he is not severely wounded."
+
+The second lieutenant was soon able to sit up, and was assisted on board
+the Ben Nevis, where he was conducted to a state-room, and two seamen
+placed as guards at the door.
+
+"Somers, you have played me false!" said Pillgrim, with a savage
+expression on his pale face, "but you are a doomed man."
+
+"As you please, Mr. Pillgrim. You will consider yourself under arrest,"
+replied Somers, as the traitor passed into his state-room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE PRIZE STEAMER.
+
+
+It was quite dark when the capture of the Ben Nevis was completed.
+Rockets were thrown up to inform the Chatauqua of her present position,
+and with guards of seamen in the engine and fire-rooms, the wheels of
+the captured steamer were set in motion, and she was headed to the
+north. Somers displayed his usual decision and energy, and perhaps the
+men began to think, by this time, that the young officer knew his duty
+and was competent to perform it.
+
+While the Ben Nevis was making her way towards the Chatauqua, Somers
+paced the deck, thinking of the great event which had just transpired.
+The captain of the Ben Nevis, sullen and discontented, stood by the
+quartermaster at the wheel. He had attempted to enter the state-room of
+the wounded officer, but the seamen in charge of the prisoner had been
+instructed to exclude him, and they carefully obeyed their orders.
+
+The men of the first and second cutters were silent and troubled.
+Perhaps they fully sympathized with Somers, and dreaded the consequence
+of the decisive deed he had performed. However the petty officers and
+seamen felt, it is quite certain that Boatswain Longstone could hardly
+keep from weeping when he thought of the punishment which might be in
+store for his young friend. He was in charge of the lookouts forward,
+and when the Chatauqua was sighted, he went aft to report to Somers.
+
+"Very well; we shall soon see the end of this business," said the young
+officer.
+
+"I would like to see you safe through it," added the boatswain, in tones
+of unaffected sympathy.
+
+"What's the matter, Tom?" asked Somers.
+
+"I feel worse to-night than I have before for twenty odd years," groaned
+Tom.
+
+"Why so?"
+
+"I'm afraid this is bad business. It's no little thing to fire a pistol
+at your superior officer."
+
+"I told you what he was."
+
+"I know you said he was a traitor; but it don't do for an officer in the
+navy to take the law into his own hands."
+
+"This steamer makes sixteen knots an hour, they say," said Somers, with
+a smile.
+
+The boatswain looked at him, and wondered what this had to do with
+shooting the second lieutenant.
+
+"She was going to run the blockade," continued Somers.
+
+"No doubt of that."
+
+"Then they intended to fit her out as a Confederate cruiser."
+
+"Perhaps they did, Mr. Somers; you know best."
+
+"Mr. Pillgrim did not intend to capture her."
+
+"He did not, sartinly."
+
+"Suppose I had permitted this vessel to go on her way, to run the
+blockade, which she could have done as easily as a hundred others have
+done the same thing, at the same place, and then come out as a
+man-of-war."
+
+"But Mr. Pillgrim was your superior officer, and he was responsible, not
+you."
+
+"I carried out my orders to the letter, Tom."
+
+"Did you?"
+
+"To the letter, I said."
+
+"Were you ordered to shoot Mr. Pillgrim?"
+
+"Yes, if necessary."
+
+"Thank'ee, Mr. Somers. You have taken a weight heavier than the best
+bower off my stomach. I'd rather be where Jonah was--in the whale's
+belly--than see any harm come to you. I feel better now."
+
+"You shall know all about it, Tom, in a few days, or perhaps a few
+hours."
+
+"I'm satisfied, Mr. Somers. Shiver my kevel-heads, but I ought to have
+been satisfied with anything you do."
+
+By this time the steamer came up with the Chatauqua, and both vessels
+stopped their engines, as the Ben Nevis rounded to under the stern of
+the man-of-war.
+
+"Chatauqua, ahoy!" shouted Somers.
+
+"On board the prize!" replied the officer of the deck.
+
+"Send the surgeon on board, if you please."
+
+"Ay, ay."
+
+In a few moments the third cutter, in charge of Mr. Transit, the master,
+put off from the ship, with Dr. De Plesion on board.
+
+"Where is Mr. Pillgrim, sir?" asked the master of Somers.
+
+"Wounded, below."
+
+"Mr. Hackleford wishes your report forthwith on board the ship."
+
+"Mr. Transit, Mr. Pillgrim is under arrest. You will permit no one to
+communicate with him except the surgeon."
+
+"Under arrest!" exclaimed Mr. Transit.
+
+"I have no time to explain," replied Somers, as he directed his coxswain
+to pipe down his boat's crew.
+
+When the second cutter was hauled up to the accommodation ladder, Somers
+stepped on board, and a few moments later, touched his hat to the first
+lieutenant on the quarter deck of the Chatauqua.
+
+"I have to report that I have captured the Ben Nevis," said Somers.
+
+"Where is Mr. Pillgrim?" asked Mr. Hackleford, the captain standing by,
+an interested and excited listener.
+
+"He is wounded, and under arrest, sir."
+
+"How wounded?"
+
+"He fired at me, and in self-defence I was obliged to shoot him. I think
+he is not seriously wounded. He boarded the Ben Nevis, and had given the
+captain of her permission to proceed, though the vessel was headed
+towards Cape Fear."
+
+"You have done well, Mr. Somers," said Captain Cascabel. "Beat to
+quarters, Mr. Hackleford."
+
+When the crew were at quarters, Mr. Hackleford explained to them what
+had occurred, and fully justified the course of the fourth lieutenant;
+whereupon an earnest and enthusiastic cheer rang through the ship.
+
+"Are you satisfied, Tom?" asked Somers of the boatswain.
+
+"Bless ye! I was satisfied before, Mr. Somers. There is only one dark
+thing in the whole of it."
+
+"What's that, Tom?"
+
+"If Captain Cascabel and Mr. Hackleford both knew that Mr. Pillgrim was
+a traitor, why did they send him out to capture that steamer? That's
+what I can't see through."
+
+"Can't you? Well, if they had not sent him, we should not have captured
+the Ben Nevis."
+
+"I don't see why."
+
+"Don't you? Well, you are not as sharp as you are sometimes."
+
+"I know I'm dull, Mr. Somers, but splinter my figger head if I can see
+through it."
+
+"The Ben Nevis is good for fifteen knots at least."
+
+"I know that; she did it while we were coming up."
+
+"The Chatauqua can't make more than twelve."
+
+"That's true."
+
+"Then, of course, the Chatauqua could not catch the Ben Nevis."
+
+"That's clear enough. But we were out in the boats, and were close
+aboard of her."
+
+"And just then she sheered off. Could the boats have overhauled her?"
+
+"Sartinly not; but you could have put a shot through her hull."
+
+"Which might, at that distance, have disabled her, and might not. The
+chances were all against us. But the moment Mr. Pillgrim hailed her, and
+swung his cap, she stopped her wheels. They knew very well he would not
+detain her."
+
+"I see now."
+
+"Probably the captain of the Ben Nevis knew the Chatauqua, and knew that
+Pillgrim was on board of her, and they were on the lookout for him. If
+any other officer than myself had been in the second cutter, I am
+satisfied Mr. Pillgrim would not have returned to his boat, but would
+have staid on board the Ben Nevis."
+
+"He's a horrible villain--arn't he?" said the honest boatswain.
+
+This conversation took place while Captain Cascabel was preparing his
+despatches to be sent by the prize steamer to the navy department. When
+they were completed, Somers was sent for, and he repaired at once to the
+captain's cabin.
+
+"Mr. Somers, though I can hardly spare you, I feel compelled to send you
+home as prize master in the Ben Nevis. I have commended you to the
+department," said Captain Cascabel, as he handed him the despatches.
+
+"Thank you, sir."
+
+A prize crew was at once detailed, with two master's mates to act as
+first and second officers, and a corporal and three marines to guard the
+prisoner who was to be sent back in the prize. Somers bade a hasty good
+by to his brother officers, and with his crew was sent on board the Ben
+Nevis, whose deck he was now to tread for a brief period as her
+commander. His orders required him to take the Ben Nevis to Fortress
+Monroe, and there communicate with the navy department.
+
+"Well, doctor, how is your patient?" asked Somers, when he reached the
+deck of the prize.
+
+"He will do very well. If you had put the bullet half an inch nearer his
+brain, you would have finished him. The skin is torn off the side of his
+head, and I suppose the ball stunned him. He is sitting up now, and
+appears to be as well as ever, though in no very amiable frame of mind."
+
+"I suppose not."
+
+"He says you are a rebel and a traitor, and he intends to prove it. I
+told him I thought his wound had affected his brain."
+
+"It would require a long story to explain what he means. Mr. Hackleford
+has the papers, and I doubt not he will tell you all about it, doctor,"
+replied Somers, as he proceeded to arrange for the return voyage.
+
+All who were not going home in the Ben Nevis were sent back to the
+Chatauqua. The firemen and engineers of the prize steamer were willing
+to discharge their duties as before, and under the direction of one of
+the second assistants from the ship, they were set at work. The first
+and third cutters pulled away towards the man-of-war, giving three
+rousing cheers as they departed, and the Ben Nevis steamed away to the
+northward.
+
+By this time it was ten o'clock at night. The watch was set on deck, and
+Somers went below to obtain his supper, for he felt the need of some
+rest and refreshment. The steward, anxious to be on good terms with the
+new commander, had provided the best meal the larder of the Ben Nevis
+afforded, and Somers was hungry enough to do it ample justice.
+
+A marine, with cutlass and revolver, stood at the door of Pillgrim's
+state-room. When Somers had finished his supper, and was about to go on
+deck, the sentinel informed him that the prisoner had knocked several
+times on his door.
+
+"See what he wants."
+
+The marine opened the door.
+
+"Who is the prize master?" asked Pillgrim.
+
+The sentinel looked at Somers for permission before he replied.
+
+"Answer him."
+
+"Mr. Somers," answered the marine.
+
+"Will you present my compliments to Mr. Somers, and say that I beg the
+favor of an interview with him?"
+
+Again the sentinel glanced at Somers.
+
+"With pleasure," replied the prize master, as politely as the request
+was made.
+
+"Ah, Mr. Somers," said the traitor, as the new commander of the Ben
+Nevis stepped forward and showed himself to the prisoner, "I am happy to
+see you."
+
+"Are you, indeed?" added Somers, rather amused at the smooth tones of
+the traitor.
+
+"I am, I assure you. Might I beg the favor of a few moments' private
+conversation with you?"
+
+"Certainly; have you any weapons about you?"
+
+"None, whatever."
+
+Somers directed the marine to seat himself at the farther end of the
+cabin.
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Somers; you are as kind and generous as ever."
+
+"Let me say, Mr. Pillgrim, that flattery and threats are all the same to
+me."
+
+"Somers, you have me on the hip."
+
+"I know it."
+
+"You have won the game."
+
+"I know it."
+
+"I am in your power."
+
+"I know it."
+
+Pillgrim appeared to be hopeless and disconcerted.
+
+"Somers, I have, in a bank in Philadelphia, fifty thousand dollars."
+
+"What bank?"
+
+"Excuse me; the confiscation laws are dangerous to men in my situation."
+
+"No matter; I will inform the proper officers of the fact, and they can
+find out what bank."
+
+Pillgrim bit his lip.
+
+"I will give you this money if you will--"
+
+"Silence, sir! There is not money enough in the whole world to bribe
+me."
+
+"I still have the oath of allegiance--signed by you, and--"
+
+"No, you haven't. Mr. Hackleford has it. You left it in your
+state-room."
+
+"Now listen to reason, Somers."
+
+"I shall. Reason counsels me to do my duty."
+
+"Somers, I will be revenged."
+
+"Good night, Mr. Pillgrim. I see you have nothing of importance to say
+to me;" and Somers went on deck after calling the marine back to his
+post.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+THE PRISONER IN THE CABIN.
+
+
+Mr. Pillgrim's wound, as such injuries are regarded in the army and
+navy, was a mere scratch; but it might have been very sore, and might
+have ached severely. The traitor did not even mention it in his
+interview with Somers, for the sore in his mind was much more serious.
+His victim had now become his tyrant; not implacable or vindictive, but
+firm and unyielding in the discharge of his duty.
+
+Somers went on deck, satisfied himself in regard to the course of the
+steamer, then visited the engine-room, and other parts of the vessel,
+until he had assured himself that everything was right. It was a fine,
+clear night, and when the port watch came on deck, he went below, and
+lay down on the broad sofa, which extended across the after part of the
+cabin. He was tired enough to sleep, and he did sleep till the starboard
+watch was called in the morning.
+
+He was a prudent and zealous commander, and he hastened on deck at once
+to make sure that his charge was still safe. The weather continued fine,
+and every man was at his post. He scrutinized the log slate, and
+questioned the officer of the deck. Everything had been correctly done;
+nothing had happened, and nothing was likely to happen. There was
+nothing for him to do but sleep, and he returned to his couch in the
+cabin, to complete his nap.
+
+The sentinel at the door of the prisoner's state-room was still in
+position. The guard was relieved every two hours, and the door was
+secured on the outside by a padlock, which had been put on by the
+armorer after the vessel was captured. Of course there could be no doubt
+in regard to the safety of the prisoner.
+
+Somers went to sleep again, satisfied that he had neglected no
+precautions to insure the safety of the vessel and the prisoner. The
+movements of the steward in the cabin awoke him at six o'clock. He had
+slept away all his fatigue, and when he looked out through the stern
+lights upon a smooth sea, brightened by the morning sun, all his anxiety
+left him. It was hardly possible that any accident could interfere with
+the safe arrival of the prize at her destined port.
+
+As he rose from the sofa, the corporal of marines relieved the sentry at
+the prisoner's door.
+
+"Marine," said Somers, as the man passed him on his way out of the
+cabin.
+
+The sentinel stopped and touched his cap.
+
+"How is the prisoner?"
+
+"I haven't heard anything of him, sir, during my beat," replied the
+marine.
+
+"Isn't he up yet?"
+
+"I didn't hear him, sir. He's a heavy sleeper, I should say, for I don't
+think he moved while I was on guard."
+
+As Somers had the key of the padlock in his pocket, he was satisfied it
+was all right with the prisoner, and he went on deck. At seven bells,
+when his breakfast was brought down, he directed the steward to give Mr.
+Pillgrim his morning meal, handing the key of the state-room to the
+corporal.
+
+The door was opened, and the marine entered the little room. Somers sat
+down at the table to eat his breakfast. He was blessed with a good
+appetite, and some "'am and heggs," which the steward particularly
+recommended, looked very inviting. But he had hardly satisfied himself
+that the steward had not overrated the quality of his viands, before his
+attention was attracted by an exclamation from the corporal of marines.
+
+"What's the matter?" demanded Somers, rising from the table, and rushing
+to the state-room.
+
+"Mr. Pillgrim is not here, sir," replied the man.
+
+"Not here!"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"He can't be far off."
+
+Somers entered the state-room. Certainly the prisoner was not there; nor
+was there any indication of the means by which he had departed. The
+partitions between this and the adjoining state-rooms were undisturbed.
+The door had been securely locked, and the key was in the pocket of the
+commanding officer. The traitor could not have crawled through the
+bull's eye which lighted the room, for it was not more than nine inches
+in diameter.
+
+The marines who had been on guard during the night were summoned. They
+all told the same story; not a sound had been heard in the room. Both
+the master's mates who had kept the watches on deck were examined, but
+they had no information to communicate.
+
+"This is very remarkable," said Somers to his first officer.
+
+"Very remarkable," replied Mr. Hudson, who seemed to be even more
+bewildered than his commander.
+
+"Where is Captain Walmsley?" asked Somers of the steward.
+
+"I don't know, sir. I 'aven't seen him since 'e hate his supper last
+night."
+
+"See if he is in his state-room, steward."
+
+He was not in his state-room. His bed had not been occupied; no one had
+seen him since the Ben Nevis parted company with the Chatauqua.
+
+"Are there any boats missing, Mr. Hudson?" continued Somers.
+
+"No, sir; the steamer had two quarter-boats, and a life-boat forward.
+They are all in their places."
+
+"Wasn't there a dingy, or a jolly-boat, at the stern?"
+
+"No, sir; I am sure that no boat is missing."
+
+"Then of course the prisoner must be on board."
+
+"No doubt of that, Mr. Somers. In my opinion he has concealed himself in
+the hold, and intends to escape after we go into port."
+
+"But how could he get into the hold?"
+
+"That is more than I know, sir. He isn't in his state-room; he wouldn't
+have jumped overboard forty miles from land."
+
+"He must be found before we make the capes," said Somers, who could not
+help thinking how "cheap" he should feel if compelled to report the
+escape of his prisoner to the department.
+
+He returned to the table and finished his breakfast, as a matter of
+necessity now,--for man must eat,--rather than of inclination. The
+Scotch ham seemed to have lost its fine flavor, and it was really a pity
+that he had not completed his repast before the escape of Pillgrim was
+discovered. But Somers was satisfied that the traitor was still on
+board, and he was determined to find him, even if he had to throw the
+valuable cargo of the Ben Nevis overboard, in order to effect his
+purpose.
+
+When Somers had worried down his breakfast, he went on deck to detail
+parties to engage in the search. The hatches were taken off, and Mr.
+Hudson was directed to examine the hold, while Somers himself, with the
+marines and a couple of seamen, went to the cabin for the purpose of
+tracing the fugitive from his starting-point. This appeared to be no
+easy matter, for as yet there was not the slightest clew to his means of
+egress.
+
+Somers opened the door of the state-room, which had been occupied by the
+prisoner, and there, to his utter astonishment and confusion, he saw
+Pillgrim, sitting on a stool, and looking as composed as though nothing
+had happened. Somers could hardly believe the evidence of his own eyes.
+
+"Good morning, Mr. Somers," said the traitor. "I am happy to see you. I
+was just thinking it was about breakfast time."
+
+"Haven't you had your breakfast yet?" asked Somers, who deemed it best
+to talk at random.
+
+"How should I? You lock the door, and confine me to a very limited
+sphere of observation. I hope you don't intend to starve me."
+
+"O, no, by no means. I thought it likely you had breakfasted while on
+your travels."
+
+"On my travels?" said the prisoner, inquiringly.
+
+"You have been out of your room."
+
+"I?"
+
+Pillgrim opened his eyes, and seemed to be astonished.
+
+"Certainly you have. When we opened the door half an hour since, you
+were not here. Perhaps you will not object to telling me where you have
+been."
+
+"I have not been out of my state-room, as you must be aware."
+
+"But you have," replied Somers, stoutly.
+
+"Am I to infer that you accuse me of lying, Mr. Somers?" demanded the
+traitor, with an exhibition of dignity.
+
+"I accuse you of nothing; I only say you have been out of your
+state-room."
+
+"But I say I have not. I am your prisoner: it is hardly magnanimous to
+insult me in my present situation."
+
+"Are you ready for your breakfast?" asked Somers, unwilling to pursue
+the conversation on that tack.
+
+"A hungry man is always ready for his breakfast. My misfortunes have not
+impaired my appetite. I am ready for my breakfast."
+
+Somers directed the steward to bring the prisoner his morning meal.
+
+"Mr. Somers, may I beg the favor of half an hour's conversation with
+you, when I have done my breakfast?" added Pillgrim.
+
+"It is hardly necessary."
+
+"Excuse me; it is absolutely necessary for your comfort and safety as
+well as mine."
+
+"Under such a threat, I shall certainly decline," replied Somers,
+coldly.
+
+"I intended no threat. Send these people away, and I will speak."
+
+"You may speak or be silent, as you please."
+
+Somers stationed a marine at the door, and sent the others away,
+retiring himself to the farther end of the cabin. He was sorely puzzled
+to know how the prisoner had got out of his state-room, and why he had
+returned. He concluded that the opening of the hold had induced the
+latter step, but the former was still enveloped in mystery. He
+determined to give the prisoner another room, and make a more careful
+search in the one he now occupied.
+
+When Pillgrim had done his breakfast, Somers called a couple of marines,
+and ordered them to put the prisoner in the aftermost room. The hasp and
+padlock were then transferred to the occupied room.
+
+"Mr. Somers," said Pillgrim, as he was about to lock the door, "I should
+like to speak with you."
+
+The tone was gentlemanly, and even supplicating, and Somers entered the
+room, closing the door behind him; but he was careful to cock his
+revolver as he did so, for the prisoner was a desperate man.
+
+"I am ready to hear you."
+
+"It is well you are."
+
+"If you have any threats to make, I will not remain."
+
+"Let me speak only the truth," said Pillgrim, as he looked at his watch.
+"In twenty minutes from now, we shall all be in kingdom come."
+
+There was a malignant smile on the face of the traitor as he spoke, and
+it was plain to Somers that the villain did not speak without a cause.
+
+"Somers, you have beaten me in the last game we played. I shall beat in
+the next one."
+
+"I told you I did not come here to listen to threats."
+
+"You will be a dead man in seventeen minutes, Somers," continued
+Pillgrim, glancing at his watch again. "I could not deny myself the
+satisfaction of informing you of the fact. But, Somers, you will have
+the pleasure of knowing that I shall share your fate."
+
+"What do you mean, you villain?" demanded Somers, horrified by the
+thought suggested by the traitor's words.
+
+"Gently, my dear fellow. Don't use hard words. But I am glad to see you
+are moved. Ah, Somers, I have you now," said the wretch, in mocking
+tones.
+
+"Speak!" roared Somers, drawing his pistol.
+
+"Shoot me, Somers. I will thank you if you will. It is better to be shot
+dead, than to be blown up, mangled, and then, after enduring a moment or
+an hour of agony, to be drowned. Fire, Somers!"
+
+He restored the revolver to his belt, appalled by the terrible picture
+which the villain painted.
+
+"Somers, I did leave my state-room. I was not willing to acknowledge it
+before your crew."
+
+"How?"
+
+"I have not time to explain. There are but ten minutes of life left to
+you and me. We will not waste them in what is of so little consequence
+to either of us. You know of what the cargo of the Ben Nevis is
+composed?"
+
+"I do--of arms, ammunition, and provisions."
+
+"Correct; the ammunition is stowed in the after part of the ship--under
+us, in fact. Captain Walmsley and myself have laid a train by which the
+vessel will be blown up when four bells strike. It wants five minutes of
+the time. Captain Walmsley is in a position where he can hear the bell,"
+continued Pillgrim with perfect coolness.
+
+"Marine," said Somers, opening the door.
+
+"Here, sir," responded the man.
+
+"Pass the word for the quartermaster to strike four bells, instantly,"
+added the young commander. "I am ready, Mr. Pillgrim."
+
+The traitor looked aghast.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+CAPTAIN WALMSLEY.
+
+
+"Mr. Pillgrim, I am not to be intimidated by any such stuff," said
+Somers, when he had ordered the bells to be struck, which would produce
+the explosion.
+
+"Perhaps Captain Walmsley will not think it best to fire the ammunition
+at the moment agreed upon; some discretion on this point was left with
+him; but I assure you, on my word and honor, that the train is laid
+which will blow up the Ben Nevis," said Pillgrim, earnestly.
+
+"If you had not mentioned the name of Captain Walmsley, I might have
+believed you. As it is, I do not. Your word and honor do not weigh much
+with me."
+
+"Don't insult me."
+
+"I simply speak the truth. There! do you hear four bells?"
+
+"I do; and if you are not blown up in half a minute, you may thank
+Captain Walmsley for his moderation."
+
+"He is not villain enough to destroy the lives of forty men, his own
+people as well as mine, to gratify your malice and revenge. I give you
+_my_ word and honor that he will do nothing of the kind."
+
+Pillgrim looked hard at him, and seemed to be slightly disconcerted by
+the obstinacy of Somers.
+
+"If he will not, I will!" said he, fiercely.
+
+"I purpose to put you in irons, when you have said all you have to say."
+
+"In irons, Somers!" exclaimed the traitor, springing to his feet, his
+face flushed with indignation.
+
+"Since you are open enough to announce your intentions, it is plainly my
+duty to defeat them. Acknowledge that your plot to blow up the vessel is
+a mere scare, and I may spare you this indignity."
+
+"You will find that it is a reality."
+
+"Why don't it blow up, then?"
+
+"It will, as soon as Captain Walmsley is ready. The Ben Nevis shall not
+again go into a Yankee port as a prize. Mark my words."
+
+"Captain Somers," called Mr. Hudson.
+
+"What is wanted?"
+
+"The men in the hold report a smell of fire there."
+
+"I will be with you soon," replied Somers, convinced by this message
+that there was some foundation for the threats of the traitor. "Go into
+the hold, Mr. Hudson, and find the fire, if there is any."
+
+He was cool, and did not permit the wretch before him to see a muscle of
+his face move.
+
+"There is fire there, Somers," said Pillgrim. "I know just where it is.
+In a few minutes it will reach the ammunition boxes."
+
+"Corporal," said Somers, opening the door again.
+
+"Here, sir."
+
+"Put the prisoner in irons, hands and feet," continued Somers.
+
+"Do you mean that, Mr. Somers?" asked Pillgrim, quivering with emotion.
+
+"I do mean it, and I shall stand by till it is done."
+
+"Will you leave me in the midst of the fire, ironed hand and foot?"
+
+"I will. You kindled the fire; and if you perish by it, blame yourself."
+
+Pillgrim attempted to resist the execution of the order, but the marines
+were resolute, and he was fully ironed in spite of his struggles.
+
+"Now lock him in," said Somers.
+
+"One word, Mr. Somers."
+
+"Not another word;" and the young commander hastened from the
+state-room, and made his way to the scene of peril in the hold.
+
+He did not believe that even Pillgrim was stupid enough to blow up the
+Ben Nevis for mere revenge; and Captain Walmsley certainly would do
+nothing of the kind, for he could have no strong feeling on the
+subject, at least not enough to sacrifice the lives of himself and his
+crew.
+
+There was a smell of fire in the hold--the hold filled with powder,
+shells, and other combustibles. This fact tended to confirm the
+statement of the wretch; yet Somers was incredulous. When he reached the
+scene of danger he found the officers and the men timid about proceeding
+far into the hold, for if there was fire, there must soon be an
+explosion.
+
+"Follow me, my men!" said he, as he walked aft on the cargo.
+
+"Ay, ay, sir!" cheerfully responded the men,--for the American seaman
+will go anywhere an officer will lead him.
+
+In the after part of the hold there was a dense smoke and a strong smell
+of fire.
+
+"Keep back! You are all dead men!" shouted Captain Walmsley, as Somers
+advanced and discovered the speaker seated on a box.
+
+"What are you doing here?" demanded Somers.
+
+"I am going to blow up the steamer," replied the captain, who held in
+his hand a tin pan filled with burning oakum, chips, and other
+combustible material.
+
+"Well, why don't you do it, then?" said Somers.
+
+"For God's sake, Mr. Somers, don't stay here," pleaded Mr. Hudson.
+
+"You needn't, if you are afraid," replied he, coolly.
+
+"Mr. Somers, in one instant I can blow the Ben Nevis all to pieces,"
+said Captain Walmsley, with a proper exhibition of tragic adjuncts.
+
+"Why don't you do it, then?"
+
+"I am willing to give you one chance to save your lives."
+
+"You are very considerate. Mr. Pillgrim was going to blow her up for my
+special benefit."
+
+"If you think I am not in earnest, you are greatly mistaken," continued
+the captain, as he stirred up the burning substances in the pan.
+
+"I see you are in earnest, and I am waiting for you to blow her up."
+
+"I will give you ten minutes to save your lives; for I have sworn this
+vessel shall never go into port as a prize. You and your people can take
+to the boats and save yourselves."
+
+"Will you blow her up when we are gone?"
+
+"I will."
+
+"I have had quite enough of this, Captain Walmsley," said Somers,
+advancing to the fire king, revolver in hand. "Now go on deck, or I will
+blow your brains out, if you have any."
+
+The captain looked at the revolver, and he might as well have
+acknowledged his defeat, for his face proclaimed it.
+
+"If I should drop this into the cargo, it would blow up the ship."
+
+"No, it wouldn't. There are nothing but solid shot and shell under you,"
+replied Somers; and perhaps his coolness and self-possession were in a
+great measure due to his knowledge of this fact, for he had carefully
+inspected the cargo immediately after the capture of the vessel.
+
+Captain Walmsley, with the blazing censer in his hand, made his way over
+the boxes, bales, and barrels which lay above the heavy articles, to the
+hatchway. The pan and its contents were thrown overboard, and the men
+informed that there was no danger. The captain was ordered into the
+cabin, where he was put in double irons, as his fellow-conspirator had
+been. He protested, at first, against this indignity. Then he begged,
+declaring that Mr. Pillgrim was the author of the plot by which it was
+intended to recapture the steamer. It was fully believed that Somers and
+his crew would abandon the vessel as soon as it was announced that there
+was fire in the hold, knowing that her cargo would readily explode.
+
+Captain Walmsley declared that Pillgrim was a fool; if he had kept still
+till the fire was discovered, instead of declaiming over it beforehand,
+the plan would have succeeded. Somers doubted it; and when the
+humiliated captain was ironed, he was sent into his state-room, and a
+sentinel placed at his door. This business was hardly completed before
+the marine in charge of Pillgrim informed Somers that his prisoner
+wished to speak with him. The request was peremptorily refused.
+
+"There, Mr. Hudson, I think we have fixed those fellows so that we shall
+know where to find them when we want them," said Somers, when the
+conspirators had been disposed of.
+
+"Yes, sir; and if any other man had been in charge of this vessel, he
+would have lost her, Captain Somers. I should have voted for abandoning
+her as soon as I was satisfied that she was on fire."
+
+"Perhaps I should, if I had not known the powder and shells were in the
+fore hold. But I did not believe the villains had pluck enough to blow
+themselves up for the sake of blowing me up. If there had been any real
+danger, they would have been the first to run away."
+
+"Well, sir, I think you have managed them exceedingly well."
+
+Somers was perfectly willing he should think so, and perhaps he thought
+so himself. At any rate, he was heartily rejoiced to get out of the
+scrape so easily, and fully resolved that the conspirators should have
+no further opportunity to exercise their talents at plotting on board
+the Ben Nevis.
+
+There was a mystery still unsolved to the young officer, and with Mr.
+Hudson he repaired to the state-room in which Pillgrim had passed the
+night,--or ought to have passed it,--and commenced a further
+examination. There was nothing supernatural, or even very remarkable, in
+the absence of the prisoner, when the carpet was pulled up, and a square
+aperture, now closed by a pine board, was discovered in the corner of
+the room. In the ceiling there was a similar aperture, which had been
+filled up to correspond with the deck above. It was evident that a
+ventilator, which had been used to convey fresh air to the after hold,
+had been removed at some recent period.
+
+As Captain Walmsley had indicated this state-room for the use of
+Pillgrim, it was probable that he had chosen it on account of this means
+of egress. Some time in the night he must have visited the prisoner,
+entering through this aperture, and conducted him to the hold below.
+
+In the fine weather and smooth sea the Ben Nevis nearly made good the
+claim of the conspirators in regard to her speed, for all day she logged
+fifteen knots, and at three bells in the first dog watch Cape Henry was
+sighted, and at ten o'clock in the evening she anchored off Fortress
+Monroe.
+
+By the first conveyance Mr. Hudson was sent to Washington with the
+despatches of Captain Cascabel, and one from Somers. On the second day
+the messenger returned, with orders from the department. The young
+officer took the bundle of documents into the cabin, and proceeded to
+examine those directed to himself. He was ordered to hand his prisoners
+over to the commandant of the fort, to deliver his vessel into the
+keeping of the senior naval officer on the station, and to rejoin his
+ship forthwith, taking passage in a supply steamer to sail on the
+following day. He was highly commended for the skill and energy with
+which he had discharged his duty on board the Ben Nevis, full
+particulars of which had been communicated by Mr. Hudson.
+
+Another document contained his commission as master, the next rank above
+that of ensign, which had been solicited by Captain Cascabel. This paper
+was full of interest to the recipient of it, and he was obliged to open
+the long letters he had written to his mother and to Kate Portington, in
+order to add, in a postscript, this important intelligence. He was proud
+and happy, and more than ever satisfied that republics are not
+ungrateful, notwithstanding the tradition to the contrary.
+
+At the proper time he proceeded to execute his orders in regard to the
+vessel and the prisoners. Pillgrim and his fellow-conspirator were
+brought on deck. The former looked easy and defiant, as usual, and
+assured his captor that he should be at liberty in a few days.
+
+"Perhaps not," said Somers.
+
+"You shall yet be cheated of your victim, but I shall not be cheated of
+mine," said he, with a malignant smile.
+
+"I bear you no malice, Mr. Pillgrim."
+
+"I do bear you malice; and the heaviest revenge that ever fell on man
+shall fall on you before the end of this year."
+
+"Your threats are idle. I have heard too many of them. Pass into the
+boat, if you please."
+
+Pillgrim and Walmsley went over the side, and the boat pulled away. The
+chivalrous military officer removed the irons from their legs and arms
+as soon as he received them.
+
+The Ben Nevis was to be sent to New York to be condemned, and Somers
+handed her over to the naval officer, according to his orders.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+OFF MOBILE BAY.
+
+
+Somers was now entirely relieved from duty. He had delivered up the
+prize and handed the prisoners over to the proper officers. On the
+following day he went on shore to spend a few hours before the supply
+steamer sailed. On visiting the fortress, he received the astonishing
+intelligence that Mr. Pillgrim had escaped from the officer having him
+in charge, even before he had been placed in the casement appropriated
+to his use. Somers had cautioned the lieutenant to whom he had delivered
+him, of the danger of removing the irons, but his advice had not been
+heeded. The careless officer was now under arrest for his neglect of
+duty.
+
+By none was this unfortunate event more deeply regretted than by him who
+had been the means of foiling the schemes of the traitor and handing him
+over to the custody of the government. Pillgrim had boasted that he
+would soon be at liberty. He was certainly a talented and a daring
+fellow; and to handle him safely, it was necessary to understand him
+thoroughly. Somers had a suspicion that the officer from whom the
+wretch escaped was bribed by his prisoner; but of course there could be
+no evidence on this interesting point.
+
+A careful search had been made by the garrison of the fort, but without
+success. Pillgrim was dressed in the full uniform of a naval lieutenant,
+and in this garb his ingenuity would enable him to pass the military
+lines, if indeed he was not provided with the means of doing so by the
+faithless officer in charge of him. The prisoner had escaped on the
+preceding day, and there was now little hope of recapturing him; but
+Somers gave such information as he possessed in regard to the fugitive.
+Captain Walmsley had been less fortunate, and was still in durance.
+
+The story of the traitor's escape was a very simple one. When the boat
+which had conveyed the prisoners from the steamer to the shore reached
+the pier, and they had landed, Walmsley began to protest against his
+confinement, being a British subject. He insisted upon seeing the
+commandant of the fortress; and while everybody was listening to this
+debate, Pillgrim slipped into the crowd and disappeared, passing the
+sentinels, who had no suspicion that he was a prisoner, without a
+challenge. Immediate search was made for him; but he must have taken to
+the water, since there was no other place of concealment which was not
+examined. A calker's stage was moored to the shore near the pier, and
+it was afterwards surmised that he had crawled under this, securing a
+position so that his head was out of water, and remained there till
+evening.
+
+He was gone, and that was all it was necessary to know. The officer who
+had permitted him to escape would be court-martialed and broken, and
+that would be the end of it. At noon, as Somers was about to embark on
+the supply steamer, a letter was handed to him, which had been brought
+in by a contraband. The negro said it had been handed to him by "a
+gemman wid de anchors on his shoulders," whom he had met on the road to
+Williamsburg, nine miles from the fort.
+
+The epistle was from Pillgrim, as Somers would have known from the
+writing, without the contraband's description of the person who had
+given it to him. He put it in his pocket, and did not open it till he
+had taken possession of his state-room on board the steamer. He was
+confident that it contained nothing but threats and abuse, and he felt
+but little interest in its contents. The writer, chagrined at the
+failure of his plot, was running over with evil thoughts and malicious
+purposes. Somers opened the letter and read as follows:--
+
+    OLD POINT COMFORT, July 14.
+
+SOMERS: You have been promoted. You remind me of the fable. The goat
+went down into the well. The fox sprang upon his horns and leaped out.
+You are the fox; you jumped over my head; you went up; you are a master
+now. I congratulate you. You are the only man in the world I hate.
+
+The Tallahassee is doing a good business for the South. She has captured
+fifty vessels. The Ben Nevis was her sister. You have her. There are
+more of the same family. You believe I am used up. No. I write this
+letter to inform you that I am not even singed yet, say nothing of being
+burned out. I shall be afloat soon. The Ben Lomond, twin sister of the
+Ben Nevis and the Tallahassee, will be at work in a fortnight. She will
+then be called the Tallapoosa. Look out for her.
+
+The Ben Nevis was captured; my agents bought her again. The Ben Lomond
+is now at--you wish you knew where! I shall command her. I could not
+resist the temptation to inform you of my plan. I know you will enjoy my
+prospects!
+
+You would like to make a little arrangement for the capture of the Ben
+Lomond. I wish you might. You will hear of her on the broad ocean in a
+few weeks,--capturing, burning, bonding Yankee ships. It will please you
+to read the papers then! I shall strike for a California steamer. Her
+treasure will make good my losses.
+
+I am so anxious to meet you again that I am tempted to tell you where my
+ship is. I would like to meet you on her quarter deck. You are a
+remarkably enterprising fellow; perhaps we shall meet. If we do, I
+should feel justified in hanging you at the yard-arm. You belong to the
+South. You accepted a commission in her navy. You betrayed your trust. I
+shall _endeavor_ to see you again.
+
+Give my regards to the officers of the Chatauqua. Inform them of my
+present brilliant prospects. Remember me kindly to Kate Portington.
+Possibly she may be a little _chilly_ when you see her again.
+
+If you capture the Ben Lomond, otherwise the Tallapoosa, it would make
+you a lieutenant. Do it by all means.
+
+    PILLGRIM.
+
+Somers read this singular letter three times before he could form an
+opinion whether or not its statements were mere idle boasts, and whether
+or not they had a foundation of truth. Was there any such vessel in
+existence as the Ben Lomond? This was the interesting and important
+question to him. At this time the Tallahassee was making fearful ravages
+among the shipping on the coast, and the success and impunity with which
+she carried on her depredations offered plenty of encouragement for the
+rebels to send forth similar vessels, if they could obtain them.
+
+The Ben Nevis had been named after a mountain in Scotland; Ben Lomond
+was the name of another. The former was a Clyde-built vessel, and it
+would have been natural to give these twin names to twin steamers.
+Pillgrim, in the character of "Coles," had given him a certain amount
+of correct information in respect to the Ben Nevis, though he had
+deceived him in regard to her destination. He had obtained this
+knowledge by accident, and the Ben Nevis had been captured.
+
+To Somers there appeared to be a strong probability that the statements
+contained in the letter were wholly or partially true. There were only
+two rebel ports into which it was possible for the Ben Lomond to have
+run--Mobile and Wilmington. The conspirators had told him that the Ben
+Nevis was bound to Mobile when she was actually going to Wilmington.
+Pillgrim, in his letter, declared that he was to command the Tallapoosa.
+If there was any plan at all, of course it had been laid before the
+Chatauqua sailed from Philadelphia.
+
+Why did Pillgrim start for Mobile in the Chatauqua? Was it not possible
+that he intended, as second lieutenant of a national ship, to obtain the
+means of getting the Ben Lomond, or Tallapoosa, through the blockading
+fleet? Did he not endeavor to involve the fourth lieutenant in the
+meshes of the conspiracy for the purpose of obtaining his assistance in
+this work? It was plausible. Perhaps the recreant wretch had left some
+papers in his state-room on board the Chatauqua, which would be
+intelligible in the light which he could bring to bear upon them.
+
+Bewildered and astonished by the prospect before him, as he read the
+letter again and again, and considered its remarkable statements in
+connection with his previous knowledge, Somers spent the whole afternoon
+in his state-room, and was only aroused from his meditations by the
+supper bell. In the evening he resumed his study of the case, and tried
+to reconcile the theory he had framed with reason and common sense.
+There was nothing to conflict with this theory but the fact that
+Pillgrim himself had given him the information upon which it was based.
+The traitor would not intentionally betray himself. Perhaps he did not
+expect his statements would be credited; or if he did, he had twice
+before been equally reckless.
+
+Then Somers attempted to analyze the mental constitution of Pillgrim.
+The conspirator seemed to be able to endure all misfortunes. The loss of
+the Ben Nevis had not affected him, and he had endangered, defeated his
+plan to recapture her by indulging in idle threats before the match was
+applied. He had been more desirous of mortifying, humiliating, and
+overwhelming Somers, than of recovering his lost steamer. With great
+talents for scheming and plotting, he had displayed the most amazing
+stupidity.
+
+At this point the remark to the letter that Kate Portington would be
+_chilly_ when he saw her again, came up for consideration. Pillgrim
+certainly had some purpose in view which was equal to, or greater than,
+his desire to serve the South, or even himself, in a pecuniary point of
+view. He was the friend of the commodore--had known the family before
+the war. Somers could not help believing that, in spite of his
+thirty-five years, he was an aspirant for the hand of Kate, and that the
+bond he had signed was for her use rather than his own.
+
+Miss Portington might well be _chilly_, if she discovered that Somers
+had pledged a part of her fortune at the present stage of proceedings!
+
+Somers was nervous and uneasy until he had reasoned and coaxed himself
+into a full belief in the theory which he had suggested. He could not
+wait for evidence, if, indeed, any could be obtained. For the present he
+was satisfied, and determined to proceed upon his hypothesis, just as
+though every point in the argument had been fully substantiated.
+
+Our young officer was never idle when it was possible to work. If any of
+our readers believe that Somers was very "smart," very skilful, and very
+fortunate in his previous career, we beg to remind them, and to impress
+it upon their minds in the most forcible manner, that he owed more to
+his industry and perseverance than to the accidents of natural ability
+and favorable circumstances combined. For example, when he captured the
+Ben Nevis, instead of gaping idly about the deck, and thinking what a
+great man he was, he went into the hold, and made a careful examination
+of the steamer's cargo. The knowledge thus gained had prevented him from
+abandoning the vessel when she was believed to be on fire, and thus
+saved the prize and confounded the conspirators.
+
+Somers was not idle now. He procured "Blunt's Coast Pilot," and "A Chart
+of the North Coast of the Gulf of Mexico, from St. Mark's to Galveston,"
+of the captain of the steamer, and diligently studied up, and even
+committed to memory, the bearings, distances, and depths of water in
+Mobile Bay and vicinity. He carefully trained his mind on these matters
+so important to a seaman; and being blessed with a retentive memory, he
+hoped and expected to have this knowledge at command when it should be
+serviceable. It was hard study--the hardest and dryest kind of study;
+but he stuck to it as though it had been a bewitching novel.
+
+To assist his design he drew maps and charts of the coast from memory,
+and was not satisfied till he could make a perfect diagram of the coast,
+shoals, islands, and bars, mark the prominent objects to be sighted from
+a vessel, and lay down the depth of water. He had nothing else to do on
+the passage; and as the steamer glided swiftly over the summer sea, he
+found it a more agreeable occupation than smoking, playing cards, and
+"spinning yarns," which were the employments of his fellow-passengers.
+
+On the eighth day from Fortress Monroe the supply steamer reached the
+blockading fleet off Mobile Bay, and Somers was warmly welcomed by his
+brother officers. Of course he had a long story to tell, which was
+listened to with interest. The escape of the late second lieutenant was
+received with becoming indignation. Somers was now the third lieutenant
+of the Chatauqua, and he moved into the state-room formerly occupied by
+Mr. Garboard, who had also advanced one grade in his relative rank.
+
+"Somers, you are just in time for a big thing," said Mr. Hackleford.
+"Our Brave Old Salt is going to take us up Mobile Bay in a few days."
+
+"Indeed?"
+
+"Yes, the Old Salamander has issued his orders."
+
+"God bless him!" ejaculated Somers, fervently, in much the same spirit
+that a loyal subject speaks of a popular monarch.
+
+"Ay, God bless him!" replied the first lieutenant. "He is the ablest
+naval commander the world has yet produced. In my opinion he is the
+superior of Nelson, Collingwood, Decatur, Porter, Preble, and Hull. By
+the way, Mr. Somers, you were with him on the Mississippi?"
+
+"Yes, sir; I was in the Harrisburg when the fleet passed Forts Jackson
+and St. Philip. But I am rather sorry the attack is to take place so
+soon."
+
+"Why so?"
+
+Then Somers showed him Pillgrim's letter; but as we intend to tell only
+what was done, not what was said, we will not record the conversation.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+BRAVE OLD SALT.
+
+
+The most extensive and careful preparations were in progress for the
+events which, a few days later, astonished the world even more than the
+splendid achievements of the fleet below New Orleans. The squadron off
+the mouth of Mobile Bay had been actively employed for several days in
+sending down top-masts, superfluous spars, and rigging. Chain cables had
+been extended over the sides of the ships where the machinery was
+exposed to injury from the shot and shell of the fort. Chains and sand
+bags were placed on the decks where plunging shot might disable the
+engines. Boats were removed from the starboard to the port sides, for
+the fleet was to go in with Fort Morgan on the right, and close aboard
+of them.
+
+The preparations were advancing when Somers reported on board of the
+Chatauqua, and of course he at once experienced the inspiration of
+coming events. If there was any man in the navy whom he admired and
+reverenced, that man was Admiral Farragut. It is true, he was not
+singular in this respect, for every man in the fleet was equally devoted
+to him. The "Old Salamander," who seemed never to be happier than when
+in the midst of the hottest fire which the engines of modern warfare
+could produce, was the idol of both officers and seamen. He was an
+honest, just, and humane man, one who involuntarily won the respect of
+every person with whom he came into contact.
+
+We were never more thoroughly impressed by the honesty, justice, and
+humanity of a man, than when we took the hand of this "Brave Old Salt."
+His expressive eye, and his gentle, but dignified bearing, spoke more
+truly and forcibly of what he was, than the most elaborate biography
+which the pen of genius could produce. It almost passes belief that men
+can stand up and work and fight as officers and seamen worked and fought
+between Forts Jackson and St. Philip, and at Mobile Bay; but we can
+think of no better inspiration than the leadership of such a man as
+Admiral Farragut.
+
+He was born in Tennessee--a southern state; his home was in Virginia--a
+southern state--at the breaking out of the rebellion. With all the
+motives which actuated Lee and Johnston, Tatnall and Hollins, to induce
+him to abandon the old flag under which he had fought in early youth,
+and served through all his manhood, he remained true to his country in
+the hour of her severest trial. Neither bribes nor threats could move
+him, and not for one instant did he falter in his devotion to the flag
+he had sworn to sustain against all foes. Glory, honor, and immortality
+in the hearts of his countrymen to the noble Admiral!
+
+As a naval commander, he has no rival in the past or the present, in
+this or in any country. He has achieved, once, twice, thrice, what any
+board of naval officers that could have been convened from the boldest
+and most skilful naval heroes of the united nations, would have solemnly
+pronounced impossible. Chance might have given him the Lower
+Mississippi--it did not; but it could not have given him that and Mobile
+Bay, and the brilliant exploits up the Great River. Chance is
+capricious; it never metes out uniform success.
+
+Admiral Farragut is not simply a brave and skilful seaman, for the
+stroke of genius shines out in all his battle plans, in all his
+preparations, and in all his movements, whether on the silent river, as
+his majestic ship leads in the van to the conflict, or under the most
+deadly and destructive fire that ever was rained down on a wooden hull.
+"Brave Old Salt" in the main rigging of the Hartford, as she breasted
+the storm of shot and shell from Fort Morgan, is a spectacle more
+sublime than can be presented in the annals of any other nation. The
+position he chose for himself on that momentous occasion, more truly
+indicates the key to his marvellous success than any other fact in
+connection with the battle. He was not there to expose himself
+needlessly to deadly peril; he was there to see and take advantage of
+the issues of the battle.
+
+His position was a symbol of the intelligence and bravery which won the
+great battle. He saw with his own eyes--not with others; while his
+glorious personal devotion was a type for every other man, which was
+imitated from commodores down to powder-boys. We read of a general who
+could not remember where he was during one of the severest and most
+destructive fights of the war. If he had been in a position
+corresponding to that of the doughty old admiral, it would have been
+difficult for him to forget it. But personal bravery alone does not win
+the battle on the sea or the land. The admiral's victories are due even
+more to his genius--to his persevering industry in the elaboration of
+preparatory details.
+
+"Brave Old Salt," as Somers always called him, was our young officer's
+beau-ideal of a naval commander. "Brave" he certainly was, and "Old
+Salt," to a sailor, means something more than a long experience at sea.
+It conveys to the nautical mind an idea of skill which no "lubber" can
+possess. It was bravery, seamanship, and those peculiar qualities which
+an "old salt" possesses, that made him great on the quarter deck, in
+command of a squadron.
+
+Somers's admiration for the commander-in-chief of the fleet off Mobile
+Bay was of no recent origin. Since he had first known him as "Flag
+Officer Farragut" at Ship Island, before the grade of Rear and Vice
+Admiral had been created in our navy, he had reverenced him as a
+superior man, and looked up to him with an almost superstitious awe. He
+could hardly realize that they were both of the same earthly mould, with
+the like human hopes and aspirations. Though, for a young man of his
+age, Somers regarded his rank of master as very high, it did not permit
+him to abate one jot or tittle of the distance which lay between him and
+the admiral. He did not feel any better entitled to tread the same deck
+with the glorious old hero, as a master, than he did as an ordinary
+seaman.
+
+Somers returned to active duty as soon as he had reported to the first
+lieutenant of the Chatauqua, and he had the deck in the first dog watch
+on the day of his arrival. During the afternoon watch he had had plenty
+of time to report the incidents of his cruise in the Ben Nevis. Mr.
+Hackleford had immediately communicated to the captain the facts
+concerning Pillgrim's letter, and the recreant lieutenant's papers had
+been carefully overhauled in search of anything which would shed a ray
+of light upon the statements of the strange letter.
+
+The only document which looked at all hopeful was a note written in
+cipher, to which there was no key among the papers. If the communication
+had been in Chinese or Chaldaic, there might have been a chance of
+unravelling it; as it was, the note was written in arbitrary characters,
+which were as cabalistic and unintelligible as the Egyptian
+hieroglyphics. Somers was annoyed and discomfited, for he had
+confidently reckoned upon finding some letter which contained a hint to
+guide him. There was nothing but this note in cipher.
+
+To add to his chagrin, Mr. Hackleford was utterly sceptical in regard to
+Pillgrim's letter--did not believe the first word of it--called it
+"gas," and declared that it would be stupid and childish to pay the
+least attention to the document. Captain Cascabel fully concurred with
+him in this opinion, and both of them laughed at Somers for bestowing a
+second thought upon it.
+
+"Nonsense! Mr. Somers!" exclaimed the first lieutenant. "There isn't a
+single scintillation of truth in the story. If there were even a
+glimmering of reality in the thing, I would look into it."
+
+"But Mr. Pillgrim told me some truth in regard to the Ben Nevis," argued
+Somers.
+
+"That is the best reason in the world for believing he has not done so
+in this instance," said Mr. Hackleford.
+
+"I suppose I must give up the idea, then."
+
+"You must, indeed. If you don't, I am afraid your reputation for common
+sense and good judgment will suffer."
+
+"Will you allow me to take this letter in cipher, and keep it till
+to-morrow?" asked Somers.
+
+"Certainly."
+
+Somers took the letter, and put it into his pocket until he had an
+opportunity to study its mystic characters. He was mortified by the
+rebuff he had received, but his faith, though somewhat shaken, was not
+destroyed. He was officer of the deck from four till six. Just before he
+was relieved, he ordered the side to be manned to receive the captain,
+who was just returning from a visit to the flag-ship.
+
+As he touched his cap to Captain Cascabel, he noticed a smile on his
+commander's face, which seemed to relate to him, and he blushed beneath
+the pleasant, but expressive glance bestowed upon him.
+
+"Mr. Somers," said the captain.
+
+The officer of the deck stepped forward, and saluted the commander
+again.
+
+"You are invited to dine with Admiral Farragut to-morrow afternoon."
+
+"I, sir!" exclaimed Somers, completely overwhelmed by this remarkable
+declaration.
+
+"Rear Admiral Farragut presents his compliments to Mr. Somers, and would
+be happy to see him at dinner to-morrow, on board the Hartford."
+
+The captain passed on to the companion-way, leading to his cabin,
+leaving Somers as bewildered as though he had been invited to dine with
+Queen Victoria, Louis Napoleon, and the Emperor of Russia; indeed, he
+regarded it as a much greater honor to dine with "Brave Old Salt," than
+to put his feet under the mahogany of the mightiest crowned head of the
+world. It was evident that somebody had been talking to the admiral
+about him; the captain and the first lieutenant of the Chatauqua
+certainly felt kindly enough towards him to do so.
+
+To dine with Admiral Farragut! That was glory enough for a lifetime; or
+at least to be deemed worthy of such a distinction. Our friend Somers
+was no snob; he "looked up" to great people, especially to those who
+were really great. He pretended to no familiarity with his superiors,
+though some of the officers were dying with envy at the notice taken of
+him by the captain and first lieutenant of the ship. He did not assume
+to be familiar with men who had won a deathless fame in defending their
+country's cause. Perhaps there was not an officer in the fleet who would
+so highly appreciate such a compliment as that of which he was now the
+happy recipient.
+
+When he was relieved from the deck, and went down into the ward-room,
+the news had gone before him, and the "idlers" there congratulated him
+upon his rising fame. But Somers broke away from them as soon as he
+could decently do so, and shut himself up in his state-room. He was
+actually dizzy at the idea of sitting down at the table with "Brave Old
+Salt" in the cabin of the Hartford; and though he took the cabalistic
+note of Mr. Pillgrim from his pocket, at least half an hour was wasted
+before he could apply his mind undividedly to the difficult problem
+before him. Finally, the hope of making a grand revelation to the
+admiral on the morrow fired his zeal to such a pitch that the work
+looked like play to him.
+
+Somers opened the mysterious document and spread it out on the desk, at
+which he seated himself. It looked dark and hopeless, with its dots and
+dashes, its horizontals and perpendiculars, its curves and crosses. We
+present the note in full, that our readers may be able to appreciate the
+difficulty of the task he had undertaken.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+If Somers had been a student of the occult sciences, he might have been
+more hopeful. An hour's hard study brought a gleam of light. He thought
+the note must be signed by Langdon. There were seven letters in the
+signature. This was his first ray of hope. He then placed all the
+letters of the alphabet in a column, and against each made the character
+that represented it in the cipher. Six letters were thus interpreted.
+
+The next step was to place each of the letters thus discovered over its
+sign in the note. The second and third words of the epistle then stood,
+the eights being for undiscovered letters, as follows: 88nxlo8ond.
+
+"Ben Lomond!" exclaimed Somers, as he gave a smart rap on the desk to
+indicate his joy at the discovery.
+
+Three more letters were gained, and the oblique cross was only a mark to
+divide the words. The three letters before Ben Lomond must be, t h e.
+The solution began to be easy, though it required a long time to reach
+it. At midnight, when he was called to take the mid watch, he had it
+written out as follows:--
+
+    _Washington, Twentieth of June._
+
+_The Ben Lomond is at Mobile, fitting out. Mallory gives you the
+command. The forts will be attacked by the first of August. You must get
+her out before that time._
+
+    _LANGDON._
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+THE BOAT EXPEDITION.
+
+
+At general quarters, on the following day, Somers looked somewhat
+care-worn. It was midnight when he had worked out the solution of the
+cipher, and at this hour he had been called to take the mid watch. But
+there was no happier or more exultant man in the fleet. His conquest
+over the cabalistic letter had confirmed his theory. The Ben Lomond was
+not a myth, and she was at Mobile. Pillgrim had expressed a desire to
+see Somers again, and there was a fair prospect that he might yet be
+able to do so.
+
+The important event of this day was the dinner with "Brave Old Salt."
+But the letter and the dinner seemed to be inseparably connected. Somers
+had given the translation to the first lieutenant, who, to the chagrin
+and mortification of the persevering student, did not appear to attach
+much importance to the letter.
+
+"If the Tallapoosa, or Ben Lomond, is in the bay, we shall soon have
+her," said Mr. Hackleford, "for we are going to make the attack on the
+forts within a few days."
+
+"The attack may fail, and thus afford an opportunity for the cruiser to
+come out," suggested Somers.
+
+"Fail?"
+
+The third lieutenant of the Chatauqua stood abashed before the look of
+his superior. He did not believe that any attack made by Admiral
+Farragut could fail, but it was possible for the Confederate steamer to
+run the blockade, as hundreds had done before her, especially as she
+could steam sixteen knots.
+
+"I don't think the attack will fail, sir; but even a victory might
+afford the Ben Lomond a chance to run out."
+
+"I don't think there is much chance; but Captain Cascabel has your
+solution of the letter under consideration. Perhaps the admiral may have
+something to say about it."
+
+Somers was not satisfied with the reception given to his revelation. He
+had already formed a plan for ascertaining where the Ben Lomond was, but
+the cool manner in which his communication was received prevented him
+from even mentioning it.
+
+In the afternoon, the captain's gig came up to the accommodation ladder,
+and the commander, attended by Somers, seated himself in the
+stern-sheets. Captain Cascabel was received with due honors on the
+quarter deck of the Hartford, where the gallant admiral was walking at
+the time.
+
+When his superior had been welcomed with dignified cordiality, Captain
+Cascabel introduced Somers. The admiral bowed, smiled pleasantly, and
+did not look patronizingly upon the young officer, as he might have been
+pardoned for doing. As he stood there on the quarter deck of the
+flag-ship, he was full of genuine dignity and true manliness--a noble
+representative of the American naval commander. He was of medium
+stature, well formed, and of elegant proportions. He seemed to be made
+of nerves and muscles, and when he moved there was an elastic spring to
+his frame, which impressed the observer with the idea of energy and
+vigor. He did not appear to stand on the deck, but to be poised
+independently in the air, resting on the planks beneath him more because
+it was the fashion to do so, than because he had any need of such
+support.
+
+Somers removed his cap, made his best bow, and blushed like a summer
+rose. He was deeply impressed by the glance of the admiral, and the
+atmosphere around him seemed to be full of the man at whom he gazed in
+reverent admiration.
+
+"Mr. Somers, I am happy to see you," said the admiral, in a tone so
+gentle and affable that it seemed to remove the "curse" of greatness far
+from him. "I have heard of you before, and I doubt not we shall be able
+to make you very useful to your country."
+
+"Thank you, sir," replied Somers, not daring to say any more, and with
+the feeling of his childhood, that "boys ought to be seen, not heard."
+
+The admiral, with this judicious commendation, turned to Captain
+Cascabel, and opened conversation with him, evidently determined not to
+spoil the young man by taking too much notice of him. Somers was soon at
+home with the officers of the Hartford, and behaved himself with
+becoming modesty and discretion. He dined with the admiral, several
+other officers of distinction being present. The conversation at the
+table, singularly enough, it may appear to our readers, did not relate
+to the war, or even to the navy. These topics appeared to be carefully
+excluded, though the reserve on this occasion was probably accidental.
+
+Somers found sufficient pleasure in looking at and listening to the
+admiral, and the other distinguished officers, though he was not
+ignored, being kindly encouraged, by an occasional question, to use his
+voice. But he was not forward, and his very nature prevented him from
+indulging in any of that impudent familiarity which is so offensive to
+elderly men, especially if they occupy high positions.
+
+After dinner, a matter of business came up, and it soon appeared that
+Captain Cascabel had given the admiral all the particulars relating to
+the Ben Lomond, including the letter in cipher, which Somers had
+interpreted. The conversation took place in private, with only the three
+persons present who were most intimately concerned. The letter was
+exhibited, and its solution explained.
+
+"Mr. Somers, what is your plan? I am informed that you have one," said
+the admiral.
+
+"I have one, sir, but I hardly hope it will merit your approbation,"
+replied the third lieutenant of the Chatauqua.
+
+"We will hear it, if you please. By the way, our picket boats report
+that a steamer came down the bay this morning, and moored inside the
+Middle Ground. It may be the one mentioned in your letter--the
+Tallapoosa."
+
+"Probably it is, sir. She can now only be waiting the arrival of
+Lieutenant Pillgrim, who is to command her."
+
+"We must capture that man. State your plan, Mr. Somers."
+
+The young officer, with no little trepidation, related the particulars
+of the method he had considered for the capture of the Ben Lomond.
+
+"Very daring and impudent, Mr. Somers," said the admiral, as he glanced
+with a meaning smile at Captain Cascabel.
+
+"Mr. Somers's _forte_ is daring and impudence. But his scheme, besides
+being based on mere theory, is absolutely fool-hardy," added the
+captain, throwing a whole bucket of cold water on the young officer's
+prospects.
+
+"I do not wholly agree with you, captain. By the report of the picket
+boats, there is certainly a sea-going steamer in the bay. That, in a
+measure, confirms Mr. Somers's theory. Now, if the vessel is there, the
+young man may bring her out if he has the ability to do so."
+
+"What force do you require, Mr. Somers?"
+
+"The first cutter of the Chatauqua, and twenty-four men."
+
+"You shall have them, Mr. Somers," said the admiral. "Instead of the
+first cutter, I suggest a whale-boat, which will not be much more than
+half as heavy."
+
+"That would be better, sir," replied Somers, hardly able to conceal the
+joy and exultation he felt at the prospect of being permitted to carry
+out his plan.
+
+"Captain, you will permit Mr. Somers to pick his men, and afford him
+every facility for the execution of his purpose."
+
+"I will, with pleasure, sir."
+
+"When do you wish to begin, Mr. Somers?" asked the admiral.
+
+"To-night, sir."
+
+"Very well. The monitors haven't arrived, captain, and it may be a
+fortnight before we make the attack on the forts. The steamer may run
+out in a fog or storm before that time, and I think we do well to
+prevent another Tuscaloosa from preying on the commerce of the country."
+
+"Undoubtedly, sir, if we can."
+
+"Mr. Somers's scheme may possibly succeed, though I do not think his
+chances of cutting out the steamer are very encouraging."
+
+"I am afraid not, admiral," answered Captain Cascabel, incredulously.
+
+"Mr. Somers, your reputation would be seriously damaged by the failure
+of your enterprise. Your officers would be more unwilling to trust you
+than they are now if you should meet with a disaster."
+
+"I could not complain. I do not intend to meet with any disaster. If I
+do nothing better, I shall bring my men back with me."
+
+The admiral laughed, and seemed to be pleased with this confidence,
+while Captain Cascabel shook his head.
+
+"Mr. Somers, the risk is very great. You and your men may be prisoners
+in Fort Morgan within twenty-four hours. A failure would damage, if not
+ruin you. Are you still ready to undertake the work?" asked the admiral.
+
+"I am, sir."
+
+"Remember that everything depends upon yourself. My best wishes for your
+success go with you."
+
+Somers needed no better inspiration, and his frame seemed to jerk and
+spring like that of Brave Old Salt, when he realized that he was
+actually to undertake his cherished purpose.
+
+The gig pulled back to the Chatauqua, and Somers immediately commenced
+his preparations. The cordial indorsement of the admiral was enough to
+silence all opposition, and to "put a stopper on the jaw-tackle of all
+croakers." He was earnestly seconded by the captain and his officers. In
+a short time a light whale-boat was towed up, and made fast to the boom.
+
+Somers's first duty was to select his crew. He was to engage in a
+desperate enterprise, and everything must depend upon the skill and
+bravery, as well as the silence and discretion, of his force. The first
+person selected was the boatswain, Tom Longstone, who, being better
+acquainted with the qualities of the seamen, was intrusted with the
+selection of the boat's crew. Just as soon as it was discovered that
+some daring enterprise was to be undertaken by the third lieutenant, he
+was beset by eager applicants for a place in the boat. Acting ensigns,
+masters' mates, midshipmen, indeed, all the officers below Somers in
+rank, begged to be appointed.
+
+The young commander of the expedition was prudent and cautious, and he
+accepted the services of none. Tom Longstone was the only officer to
+accompany him. The boatswain would obey his orders without asking any
+questions, or bothering him with any advice.
+
+"There, Mr. Somers, I have picked out the twenty-four best men in the
+ship--men that will work, fight, and hold their tongues," said Boatswain
+Longstone, when he had executed the important trust committed to him.
+
+"Thank you, boatswain. What do you think of the weather?"
+
+"It's going to be a nasty night."
+
+"So much the better. Let every man take his pea-jacket; apply to the
+armorer for revolvers and cutlasses for each of them."
+
+"A howitzer, Mr. Somers?"
+
+"No; we must go as light as possible," replied Somers, as he proceeded
+to instruct the boatswain in regard to certain "slings" and other
+rigging that would be wanted.
+
+Boatswain Longstone did not ask a single question about the nature or
+object of the enterprise; and with the exception of the admiral, and the
+captain and first lieutenant of the Chatauqua, not a man in the fleet
+besides Somers knew "what was up." It was necessary to conduct the
+enterprise with the utmost caution and secrecy.
+
+The boatswain's predictions in regard to the weather proved to be
+entirely correct, for at eight bells, when the first watch was set, it
+was dark, foggy, and rainy. Somers had calculated upon this weather,
+when he had so promptly chosen the time for his venture. It was just the
+night for a difficult and dangerous enterprise, and the fog and the
+darkness were its best friends. While the boatswain was carrying out the
+orders given him, Somers had been engaged at the desk in his state-room,
+preparing for use certain papers, including his commander's commission
+in the Confederate navy, and his letter of instructions, intended for
+the Ben Nevis, or Louisiana. With his knife he scratched, and with his
+pen he wrote, until the documents suited his present purpose; and they
+were placed in his pocket.
+
+At two bells--nine o'clock in the evening--while the rain poured down in
+torrents, Somers embarked with his force, consisting of Tom Longstone
+and twenty-four as athletic and resolute fellows as ever pulled an oar
+or handled a cutlass. The whale-boat was crowded, though it was of the
+largest size, being thirty feet in length. The oars were carefully
+muffled, and the seamen were so disposed that the oarsmen could be
+relieved without noise.
+
+Wrapping his overcoat closely around him, Somers seated himself in the
+stern-sheets of the whale-boat, with the boatswain at his side. Though
+profoundly impressed by the magnitude and danger of the work in which he
+was engaged, he could not help thinking of the changes which had
+checkered his lot, since, two years before, he had sat in the first
+cutter of the Harrisburg, as an ordinary seaman. Now he was a master,
+and in command of the expedition. Tom Longstone had been with him then;
+he was with him now. In low tones, they talked of that eventful night,
+and of the changes which had occurred since that time.
+
+Somers was grateful for his advancement, and thanked God that he had
+been enabled to perform his duty so as to merit the favor of his
+superiors. And in the depths of his heart he asked God to bless his
+present exertions for the good of his country. He leaned on the Good
+Father even in this exciting hour, and his religious faith was the
+strength of his arm.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+THE PICKET BOAT.
+
+
+Through the deep darkness and the dense fog the boat made its way. There
+was not an object to be seen, on ship or shore, to guide its course; and
+in front of Somers there was a patent binnacle, whose lights were
+reflected on the compass, but did not even soften the gloom without,
+into which he continued to gaze with the most anxious solicitude. He had
+carefully estimated the currents the whale-boat would encounter, and
+calculated the force of the wind, so as to determine her lee-way with
+the nicest practicable accuracy.
+
+The young commander of the expedition hoped to strike a certain point of
+the land to the eastward of the fort on Mobile Point, distant five and a
+half miles from the ship. Half a mile east or west of the desired point
+might involve him in serious if not fatal difficulties, and everything
+depended upon the accuracy of his calculations. His early experience as
+a boatman at Pinchbrook Harbor was of incalculable service to him, since
+nothing can supply the place of actual observation in the making of
+such nice estimates as were required for success in the present
+instance.
+
+The rain poured down in torrents, and the sea was rough and uneasy; but
+Somers, never for an instant turned aside from the grand object before
+him by the discomforts of his situation, watched his compass and closely
+observed every motion of the whale-boat. He was fired with zeal, but he
+was not excited, for he knew how much depended upon cool judgment and
+careful execution of the details of his work.
+
+"Breakers ahead!" said the bowman, in a low tone; and the words were
+passed aft to the officer.
+
+Breakers were to be expected; and of course Somers was not appalled by
+the announcement. The boat dashed on till she reached the broken water;
+but the surf on the shore, thrown up by the storm, was absolutely
+fearful. A stunning roar broke upon the ears of the young officer as the
+frail craft approached the foaming billows that shattered themselves on
+the beach.
+
+"That's a heavy surf, Mr. Somers," said Tom Longstone.
+
+"So much the better," replied the officer, cheerfully.
+
+"This whale-boat will not be much better than a cockle-shell in that
+surf."
+
+"She will go through it, if she is well handled."
+
+"Ay, ay, sir; of course she will."
+
+"The rebels will not expect a boat to land in such a surf and on such a
+night. We shall not be expected," replied Somers, in a loud tone, for
+whispers and soft speech could not be heard above the roar of the
+billows.
+
+The commander of the expedition stood up in the stern-sheets, and
+attempted to penetrate the gloom and fog in the direction of the beach;
+but neither sight nor sound of the shore could be obtained. To plunge
+through that boiling surf upon a rebel battery or an artillery company,
+would be a sad conclusion of the night's work; but even this must be
+risked, for it was not possible to obtain a single item of information
+in regard to the surroundings on shore.
+
+"Oars!" shouted Somers, when he had completed his unsatisfactory survey
+shoreward, and there was not the slightest danger of his order being
+heard by an enemy beyond the thundering roll of the sea. "Hold water!"
+
+The onward progress of the boat was stopped.
+
+"Back the starboard, pull the port oars!" added the officer, who had now
+taken the management of the boat out of the hands of the coxswain.
+"Oars!" he continued, when the boat was turned so as to head directly
+from the shore.
+
+"Now, my lads, pull steady, and mind the orders promptly," said the
+confident young officer. "There's a heavy surf; but if you pull strong,
+and mind quick, we shall be through it in a moment."
+
+"Ay, ay, sir!" responded the blue-jackets.
+
+"Stern, all!" continued Somers, when he had carefully observed the sweep
+of the last wave.
+
+The oarsmen backed water, and the boat moved towards the shore, stern
+foremost. In a moment she was lifted up by a great billow and swept
+furiously towards the beach.
+
+"Steady!" said Somers, gazing forward over the heads of the men,
+watching the approach of the next foam-crested wave.
+
+The men were entirely cool, and their iron muscles held the boat under
+perfect control. A huge roller was coming in, fiercely, rapidly, at
+double or triple the speed of the whale-boat, and the first great peril
+of the surf was at hand.
+
+The danger was, as our inexperienced readers may not understand, that
+the stern of the boat, suddenly struck by the swift-flying wave, would
+be lifted high in air, and the bow forced under; or that the boat would
+broach to, and be rolled over in the sea. In either case the boat would
+be swamped, and eventually be stove on the beach. Somers saw one of
+these rushing billows coming down with frightful velocity upon the
+whale-boat.
+
+"Oars!" cried he; and the men ceased backing her.
+
+"Give way!" he added, with an energy which was at once communicated to
+the muscles of the men; and they pulled steadily, as a well-disciplined
+crew always does, but with a firmness and strength which caused the boat
+to dart forward towards the savage roller.
+
+She met the billow; her bow rose upon it; she passed over without being
+ingulfed by it.
+
+"Oars! Hold water! Stern, all!" continued the young officer; and again
+the whale-boat moved towards the shore.
+
+The manoeuvre described was repeated several times, until the boat had
+passed through the surf, and struck heavily on the sandy beach. The men
+in the bow were then ordered to jump into the water; and as the forward
+part was thus lightened, the successive rollers bore the boat farther
+and farther upon the beach, until the whole crew were landed. The first
+step of the expedition had been safely accomplished.
+
+Somers ordered the men to haul up the boat high and dry upon the beach.
+There was not a person to be seen, or a sound to be heard, which
+indicated the presence of an enemy. The young officer had now to prove
+the correctness of his calculations, for as yet he knew not upon what
+portion of the point he had landed. A careful survey of the ground was
+therefore immediately to be made. It was necessary to have assistance in
+this; and Somers selected two first-class firemen, very intelligent men,
+machinists and engineers, who were in training for situations in
+government ships. They had been brought to work the engine of the Ben
+Lomond, if, fortunately, she were captured.
+
+Tom Longstone was left in charge of the boat and crew, and the two
+firemen followed the commander of the expedition, who moved towards the
+north. When he had proceeded a short distance, he explained to his
+companions his object.
+
+"About an eighth of a mile from the beach," said he, "there is a creek,
+which widens into a little bay. I wish to find this creek; it will lead
+us into Mobile Bay. Conant, you will go east, and, Wade, you will go
+west. You must be very careful, or you will lose your way. You will not
+go more than half a mile, as nearly as you can judge, in either
+direction. If you find it, return to the beach, and take notice of the
+best way to reach it."
+
+The firemen parted, and Somers moved forward himself. He did not find
+the creek in the direction he had chosen, and returned to the beach,
+after a search of about an hour. Wade was there before him; but Conant
+had not yet made his appearance, though he did not long delay the
+expedition.
+
+"I have found it, sir," said Conant, when he returned. "It lies in this
+direction:" he pointed to the north-east. "It isn't a quarter of a mile
+distant; but I had some difficulty in finding a good path."
+
+"Did you see anybody, or anything?"
+
+"Nothing, sir."
+
+The whale-boat was then turned over; each man took off his pea-jacket,
+rolled it up, and put it on his shoulder. The boat was then lifted up,
+and placed on the shoulders of the sailors, the garment acting as a
+cushion to support the weight, without injury to the bearers. After a
+great many trials and difficulties incident to the darkness of the night
+and the character of the ground, the creek was reached, and the
+whale-boat launched. Unfortunately, the water was very shallow, and even
+the light draught of the boat was too great for rapid progress, though
+by various expedients this obstacle was overcome, and the expedition
+reached the mouth of the creek at about half past twelve o'clock in the
+morning.
+
+Somers was entirely dependent upon his memory and the compass for
+sailing directions; and the careful study he had made of the navigation
+of the bay enabled him to move with considerable confidence. The creek
+disembogued in a nearly landlocked bay, whose comparatively still waters
+were passed, and the boat began to be tossed by the waves of the broad
+bay.
+
+Heading his craft to the westward, he bade the men give way with a will.
+Encouraged by the manner in which all obstacles had thus far been
+overcome, they were ready and willing subjects. After pulling about
+three miles, the rougher sea and the depth of water which the bowman had
+continually reported, assured Somers that he must have reached the
+Middle Ground, where vessels bound out usually came to anchor when
+subjected to any delay. The Ben Lomond, if she was in the bay, could not
+be far distant; but the fog and darkness prevented him from seeing a
+ship's length ahead.
+
+"Can you see anything, Mr. Longstone?" asked the young commander, who
+felt that he was now in the midst of the greatest obstacles to the
+success of his mission.
+
+"I can't see anything," replied the boatswain; "but I think I hear
+something. There, sir! Two bells just struck in a vessel dead ahead."
+
+"I see her," said the bowman. "It's a rebel iron-clad!"
+
+"She's an ugly customer. I don't want anything of her," said Somers, as
+he ordered the boat to go about, and headed her to the north-east.
+
+"Boat ahead, sir!" reported the bowman.
+
+"Speak out, man!" said the commander. "I am not afraid of being seen
+now. Where away is she?"
+
+"On the port quarter, sir."
+
+"Starboard, coxswain," continued Somers.
+
+In a few moments the dark outline of the boat was seen in the water, and
+the coxswain was directed to steer towards her. Somers was fully
+committed now, and intended to carry himself through by impudence and
+audacity. He was in the midst of the rebel fleet to be used for the
+defence of the bay. He knew that the waters around him were patrolled
+by picket boats, and he doubted not the craft before him was one of
+them. He could not find the Ben Lomond readily, and probably the officer
+of this boat would know her position.
+
+"Boat ahoy!" he shouted.
+
+"In the boat!" was the reply.
+
+"Oars! Hold water!"
+
+"What boat is that?" demanded the officer of the rebel party.
+
+"My boat," replied Somers, rather irregularly.
+
+"Who are you?"
+
+"John Pillgrim, commander in the Confederate navy, appointed to the
+steamer Tallapoosa."
+
+"Ah," responded the officer. "You were expected before."
+
+"Couldn't come before," replied Somers, with perfect assurance. "Where
+is the Tallapoosa? I have been beating about here in the fog these two
+hours, trying to find her."
+
+"She lies about half a mile to the northward and eastward."
+
+"Thank you; I shall find her. Please report me to Admiral Buchanan, and
+say I shall run out immediately."
+
+"It's a good night for it. I beg your pardon, Captain Pillgrim; have you
+a pass?"
+
+"A what?" demanded Somers, as if astonished at the request.
+
+"A pass."
+
+"No; where should I get a pass, or what should I want one for?"
+
+"Excuse me, but my orders are very strict. I cannot let a boat or vessel
+pass me without the proper papers."
+
+"What papers do you want?"
+
+"Simply a pass."
+
+"I have no pass."
+
+"I shall be obliged to detain you, then."
+
+"No, you won't!" answered Somers, indignantly. "Here it is one o'clock
+in the morning. I ought to have been over the bar by this time."
+
+"I can't help it, Captain Pillgrim; my orders are imperative," pleaded
+the picket officer.
+
+"Well, if you can't help it, I can. I may not have such another night as
+this for a month."
+
+"I shall not detain you half an hour. The Tallapoosa has steam up, and
+is only waiting for her commander and the balance of her crew."
+
+"How many men has she on board?" asked Somers, somewhat startled.
+
+"About forty, besides the firemen."
+
+"I have the balance. It is all right."
+
+"Pardon me, if I persist. I must see your papers."
+
+"I have no pass; but I will show you my commission and my orders from
+the secretary of the navy."
+
+"Those will answer."
+
+The boat was laid alongside, and by the light of a lantern the officer
+glanced at Somers's commission and orders. He pronounced them all right,
+and the expedition was permitted to proceed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+THE BEN LOMOND.
+
+
+"That's a bold step, Mr. Somers," said Tom Longstone, as the whale-boat
+dashed on towards the intended prize.
+
+"If it were less bold, it would be more dangerous," replied Somers,
+easily; for he entered so fully into the spirit of the affair, that he
+felt quite at home, and was hardly disturbed by a doubt of final
+success.
+
+"Where is Mr. Pillgrim now?" asked the boatswain.
+
+"I haven't the least idea; but I think he cannot be far off."
+
+"You left him at Fortress Monroe?"
+
+"Yes; he had started for the South then, to take command, I suppose, of
+this vessel. The traitor's plan was to come down on the Chatauqua, and
+then bring out this vessel perhaps, on the pretence of capturing her. At
+any rate, he was going to use his official position in the navy to help
+him get the Tallapoosa out of the bay, and past the blockading squadron.
+If not, he would not have gone in her, and thus wasted so much of his
+valuable time. I wish I knew where he is now."
+
+"Perhaps it don't make much difference."
+
+"I am afraid it will make considerable difference. Suppose the traitor
+has been on board the Ben Lomond?"
+
+"The what?"
+
+"The Tallapoosa; they have changed her name. Keep a sharp lookout
+forward for the ship, bowman."
+
+"Ay, ay, sir! I can't see a thing yet."
+
+"Suppose he has been on board, Mr. Somers?" continued the boatswain.
+
+"If he has, we may have to fight for the vessel."
+
+"Well, we can do that," replied Tom, as he involuntarily grasped his
+cutlass.
+
+"He has forty men aboard of her now, besides the firemen and
+coal-heavers."
+
+"Our boys wouldn't mind forty of them."
+
+"I should not hesitate to attack her, but the noise would wake up the
+rebel iron clads and gunboats. We must get the vessel without fighting.
+I don't believe Pillgrim has been on board of her. If he had, that
+picket officer would have known that I am not the man. I'm not going to
+croak about the business, though. In my opinion it will be all right."
+
+"Of course the Tallapoosa is in charge of some one."
+
+"All her officers are on board, except the commander, we were told."
+
+"Some of them may know Mr. Pillgrim," suggested the boatswain, who had
+more fears for his young commander than the latter had for himself.
+
+"Mr. Pillgrim has been in the North, and in England since the war began.
+I am of the opinion that those on board do not know him."
+
+"Suppose they do?"
+
+"I shall put them under arrest if they refuse to obey my orders."
+
+"You are smart, Mr. Somers," said Tom, who chuckled over the adroitness
+of his _protege_, even while he trembled for his safety and success.
+
+"Steamer ahead, sir!" reported the bowman.
+
+"Where does she lie?"
+
+"On the starboard bow, sir!"
+
+"Port a little," said Somers. "Now, my men, you will obey orders and
+keep silent. Answer no questions which may be put to you."
+
+"Ay, ay, sir," responded the crew, cheerfully; for though they seemed to
+be knocking at the door of a rebel prison, they had full confidence in
+their gallant young leader.
+
+Perhaps some of them "had their doubts," for four and twenty men are
+hardly ever gathered together, among whom there are not more or less who
+are disposed to grumble, and croak, and imagine possible disasters.
+Within the rebel lines, surrounded by Confederate vessels, and on the
+point of confronting superior numbers, it would not have been
+surprising if these men had been rather uncertain of the future.
+Whatever doubts or fears they had, they believed in Somers.
+
+"My lads," continued the commander of the expedition, in a low tone,
+"you are rebel sailors for an hour or so. You will talk and act as such.
+Do you understand me?"
+
+"Ay, ay, sir."
+
+"You will call me Captain Pillgrim."
+
+The men had listened to the conversation between their officer and the
+pickets, and they comprehended enough of the plan to enable them to act
+intelligently.
+
+"Tom," said Somers, "there is nothing to prevent me from acting just as
+Mr. Pillgrim would do, if he were in my place."
+
+"That's so."
+
+"I could go to sea in this steamer, and plunder all the vessels I could
+overhaul."
+
+"So you could," replied the boatswain, who seemed to be amazed even at
+such a suggestion.
+
+"I'm not sure that I am not carrying out the very plan which the traitor
+had in his mind. Perhaps he intended to do just what I have done, when
+he reached the blockading station."
+
+"Very likely."
+
+"Then I shall be Mr. Pillgrim, and carry out his purpose to the letter;
+only, when we get out of the bay I shall do rather differently from what
+he intended."
+
+"Boat ahoy!" shouted a man at the gangway of the Ben Lomond.
+
+"On board the Tallapoosa!" replied Somers.
+
+"Keep off," said the man, who seemed to be the officer of the deck. "Who
+are you?"
+
+"Commander John Pillgrim, Confederate States navy, and captain of this
+ship."
+
+"Man the side, you lubbers!" added the boatswain, rather improving on
+the suggestion of Somers, given him at this moment.
+
+"Captain Pillgrim?" said the officer of the deck.
+
+"I said so. Is the ship ready to sail?"
+
+"She is, sir; we have kept steam up all day, waiting for you."
+
+"Good! You are the right officers for me. I commend you," replied
+Somers, as he mounted the accommodation ladder.
+
+The pretended commander went up the side, closely followed by Longstone
+and a dozen of the sailors, and stepped down upon the deck.
+
+"I have not the pleasure of your acquaintance, I believe," added Somers,
+confronting the officer.
+
+"Mr. Swayne, second lieutenant, sir," replied the officer. "Mr. Langdon
+is below, sir. I will send for him."
+
+Langdon! It was all up with Somers! Langdon knew him, had dined with
+him, had been intimate with him, and of course it would be useless to
+attempt to pass himself off as Mr. Pillgrim.
+
+"Stop, sir!" said Somers, sternly, and with great presence of mind.
+"When did Mr. Langdon come on board?"
+
+"Nearly a week ago, sir, when the rest of us did."
+
+"Indeed!" added Somers, savagely. "Mr. Langdon and myself have a little
+account to settle. He has disobeyed my orders, and I never will go to
+sea with such a man as executive officer. Mr. Swayne, for the present
+you will act as first lieutenant. I shall put Mr. Langdon under arrest
+at once."
+
+"Here he comes, sir."
+
+"Mr. Longstone, you will arrest the first lieutenant at once; put him in
+irons if he resists," said Somers, as he saw Langdon come up the
+companion-way.
+
+The stalwart boatswain confronted the astonished officer, as he
+approached the spot where Somers stood with the second lieutenant.
+
+"By order of Captain Pillgrim, you are placed under arrest," said Tom,
+as, with a couple of seamen, he placed himself in front of the executive
+officer.
+
+"Under arrest?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"What for?"
+
+"For disobedience of orders."
+
+"By whose command?" demanded the bewildered Langdon.
+
+"Captain Pillgrim's, sir?"
+
+"Impossible!"
+
+"I beg your pardon, sir, but the captain told me to lose no time. He is
+going to sea at once."
+
+"Is Captain Pillgrim on board?"
+
+"Of course he is. I just came off with him. He ordered me to arrest
+you."
+
+"Who are you, sir?"
+
+"Blarney, sir!" exclaimed the boatswain, impatiently; "I can't stop--"
+
+"Mr. Blarney, will you do me the favor to ask Captain Pillgrim for a
+moment's conversation with me. There must be some mistake, Mr. Blarney."
+
+"Can't stop, sir," answered Tom, who could not even pause long enough to
+laugh at the rebel's blunder. "My orders are to put you in irons if you
+resist. What do you say, Mr. Langdon?"
+
+"Of course I do not resist; but there is some mistake."
+
+"No mistake, upon my honor. You may take my word for it, the business is
+all straight."
+
+"With what am I charged?"
+
+"With disobedience of orders; and, Mr. Langdon, you'll excuse me, but
+there's a suspicion that you mean to go over to the Yankees."
+
+"I! To the Yankees!"
+
+"Beg pardon, sir; but I can't stop to blarney any longer. My duty is
+plain; and I'll bet a month's pay you will see the captain sooner than
+you want to. Down below if you please, sir, to your state-room."
+
+Langdon obeyed in dogged silence. No doubt he much wondered who the
+rough fellow was that subjected him to this summary treatment. But the
+salutary hint about irons seemed to satisfy him, and when he had gone
+into his room, the door was closed, and a seaman placed before it.
+Longstone returned to the deck, touched his cap politely to Somers, and
+reported his orders executed.
+
+"Mr. Swayne, you will call all hands," said the new commander of the
+Tallapoosa, when his dangerous first lieutenant had been secured.
+
+The boatswain of the steamer piped all hands, among whom the seamen from
+the Chatauqua mingled, and made themselves entirely at home.
+
+"Mr. Swayne, will you do me the favor to read my commission to the
+crew," said Somers, handing him the document which he had carefully
+"tinkered" to suit the present occasion.
+
+Tom Longstone held the lantern, and the acting first lieutenant promptly
+complied with the request of the assumed commander. The document
+proclaimed that John Pillgrim was duly invested with authority as a
+commander in the Confederate navy, and was duly signed by "S. R.
+Mallory," though whether that distinguished rebel functionary had
+actually issued the paper or not, Somers was himself as ignorant as the
+others who listened to the reading.
+
+From his orders Somers then read enough to satisfy any who might be in
+doubt of his appointment to the Tallapoosa, which name he had
+substituted for that of Ben Nevis, as it read on the original document,
+given him by Langdon, _alias_ Lieutenant Wynkoop.
+
+"Are you satisfied, Mr. Swayne?" asked the commander, when he had
+finished the document.
+
+"Entirely so, Captain Pillgrim," replied the first lieutenant.
+
+If he had not been satisfied, probably he would have been put under
+arrest as summarily as his superior had been a few moments before. With
+such an energetic captain, it was lucky for him he was satisfied!
+Perhaps Mr. Swayne was duly and properly impressed by the decided
+character of his commander, and deemed it prudent to raise no
+objections.
+
+"Are you satisfied, gentlemen?" asked Somers, turning to the little
+group of officers.
+
+Fortunately for them, and perhaps for Somers too, they were also
+satisfied.
+
+"My lads," continued the courteous but decisive captain, "you have
+listened to my commission, and you have listened to my orders."
+
+Somers paused, and the two first-class firemen from the Chatauqua
+started a demonstration of applause which was a complete success.
+
+"My lads, I am going out to take a look at the Yankee fleet, to-night,"
+he proceeded.
+
+Applause.
+
+"I am a fighting man."
+
+More applause.
+
+"That Yankee fleet will not stop me!" added Somers, with enthusiasm.
+
+"That's so!" shouted one of the first-class firemen, who had a high
+appreciation of a good joke; and his remark was followed by a storm of
+applause.
+
+"I repeat, my lads, the Yankee fleet will not stop me. I shall pay my
+respects to the Yankee admiral down there before the sun rises."
+
+Tumultuous applause.
+
+"Now, my lads, I mean just what I say, and I say just what I mean. I
+command this ship, and every man on board obeys me. I am going through
+the Yankee fleet; will you go with me?"
+
+"Ay, ay, sir!" roared the crew; and the voices of the Chatauqua's people
+were prominent in the reply.
+
+"Will you go where I lead you?"
+
+"Ay, ay, sir."
+
+"Very likely I shall send you upon the deck of the heaviest man-of-war
+in the Yankee squadron; but I will go with you."
+
+"Bully for the captain!" shouted the enthusiastic first-class fireman,
+which remark was indorsed and approved by the crew in general.
+
+"What an awful fellow he is!--a regular fire-eater," whispered Mr.
+Swayne to Tom Longstone.
+
+"He will do all he says he will," replied the boatswain.
+
+"Will he board a Yankee frigate?"
+
+"It's like him; but he is as prudent as he is brave."
+
+"Now, my lads, to your duty. We shall get under way at once, and I want
+every man to be true to God and his country," continued Somers.
+
+"Three cheers for the captain!" shouted the fireman; and they were given
+with a will, as Somers walked aft.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+RUNNING THE BLOCKADE.
+
+
+"Mr. Swayne, you will get the ship under way at once," said Somers, as
+he turned from the crew, and walked aft.
+
+The first lieutenant gave his orders, and the crew were soon walking
+round the capstan. The officers of the Tallapoosa had certainly used
+their time to advantage, for the crew was well disciplined, though the
+twenty-four petty officers and seamen from the Chatauqua were the spice
+of every movement.
+
+"Where is the pilot, Mr. Swayne?" asked Somers.
+
+"We have one on board, sir. He berths in the steerage. Shall I send for
+him, Captain Pillgrim?"
+
+"If you please, do so."
+
+A master's mate was ordered to find the pilot.
+
+"Is he up to his business?" continued Somers, to whom the pilotage of
+the vessel was of the last importance.
+
+"Yes, sir; he is the best pilot in these waters. He has taken out a
+great many vessels on worse nights than this."
+
+"I could take the vessel out myself, so far as that is concerned," said
+Somers, nervously. "Does he know how to get through the obstructions?"
+
+"O, yes, sir; he is perfectly familiar with everything about the bay."
+
+"And the channel is full of those infernal torpedoes."
+
+"It is, sir; but the pilot knows exactly where every one of them is
+located. We are in no danger from them; but they will blow the Yankee
+fleet sky high when they attempt to come up, as they probably will in a
+short time."
+
+"So I understand."
+
+"There will be fun here in a few days," added Mr. Swayne, rubbing his
+hands with delight, as he contemplated the destruction of the naval
+force gathered on the other side of the bar for the demonstration.
+
+"The admiral down there is no joker," suggested Somers. "He won't feel
+his way, and then back out."
+
+"It would be better for him if he did. Admiral Buchanan is his equal in
+every respect. With his ram he will stave in every wooden ship in the
+fleet. His monitors will be blown up on the torpedoes."
+
+"I hope the affair will come out right," said Somers, rather
+indefinitely.
+
+"It will; you may depend upon it, captain. Whoever is here when the
+thing is done will see the greatest smash-up that has happened since the
+war began."
+
+"I hope so," replied Somers. "But suppose Admiral Farragut should run by
+the forts."
+
+"He can't do it; the thing is utterly impossible. The torpedoes will
+sink his monitors--they are like lead, and if you shake them up a
+little, they will plump down on the bottom like a solid shot. His wooden
+vessels, even if he gets by the fort,--which can't be done,--would be
+all chawed up in half an hour by the ram Tennessee."
+
+"Anchor apeak, sir!" shouted Boatswain Longstone, who was doing duty as
+second lieutenant.
+
+"Captain Column, the pilot, sir," said the first lieutenant, presenting
+a person who had been waiting a moment at his side.
+
+"I am happy to see you, Captain Column;" and Somers took his hand.
+
+"Thank you, sir," replied the pilot, who was evidently astonished at the
+degree of intimacy with which the commander condescended to treat him.
+
+Already the new captain had won a hard reputation abaft the mainmast.
+His stern and decisive measures with Langdon had been privately
+discussed among the officers, and it was the unanimous opinion that they
+had "caught a Tartar."
+
+"Well, Captain Column, have you got your weather eye open? This is a
+dark and foggy night."
+
+"Wide open, sir," replied the pilot, cheerfully; for Somers's cordial
+greeting had already produced a good effect upon him. "The darker and
+foggier the better, captain, for such a job as this. But there are so
+many Yankee ships outside, you can hardly get clear of them without a
+shot or two."
+
+"O, I don't mind that, if you can get us well over the torpedoes, and
+through the obstructions."
+
+"The obstructions are not of much account, and as for the torpedoes, I
+could put my hand on every one of them with my eyes shut."
+
+"Good; but I don't want you to put your hand or my ship on them."
+
+"Certainly not, captain," laughed the pilot. "I know how to keep clear
+of them."
+
+"That will suit me better. The ship is in your hands, Captain Column."
+
+A quartermaster from the Chatauqua was placed at the wheel, and when the
+anchor was heaved up, the Tallapoosa started on her course. Her wheels
+began to turn very slowly at first, and before she had gathered any
+headway, a boat touched at her side.
+
+"Boat alongside, Captain Pillgrim," reported Mr. Swayne.
+
+"What boat?"
+
+"I don't know, sir."
+
+"I have no more time to waste; keep the ship moving."
+
+As the Tallapoosa gathered headway, a gentleman, clothed in naval
+uniform, stepped on the rail from the accommodation ladder. When he had
+reached this point, he stopped and looked down at the boat.
+
+"Stop the steamer!" shouted he, in tones of authority; and to those who
+had heard it before there was no mistaking that voice.
+
+It was Pillgrim, without a doubt! Somers was vexed and disappointed at
+this accident, which threatened to overthrow all his plans; but he
+promptly decided to treat him as he had Langdon.
+
+"See what he wants," said the commander to Swayne, "but don't let the
+ship be delayed a single instant."
+
+"Stop the steamer!" shouted Pillgrim, with a volley of oaths, because
+his first order had not been heeded. "Stop the steamer, or you will
+swamp my gig!"
+
+"Your business, sir, if you please," said Swayne, stepping up to him.
+
+"Don't you hear what I say?" replied Pillgrim, angrily. "Stop the
+steamer."
+
+"It can't be done, sir."
+
+"Can't be done!" gasped the traitor. "It can and shall be done."
+
+"Who are you, sir, that step upon this deck in that overbearing manner?"
+demanded the first lieutenant, roused by the tones and the manner of the
+new comer.
+
+"I'll let you know who I am. Where is Langdon?"
+
+"None of your business where he is," said Swayne, spunkily. "What do you
+want here?"
+
+"You shall soon know what I want here!"
+
+Pillgrim was boiling over with passion at the rough reception given him
+by his officers on board his own ship. He was disposed to be even more
+stern and severe in his discipline than Somers had been.
+
+"Who are you?" demanded Swayne.
+
+"None of your business who I am, if you don't know; but I will soon
+bring you to your senses," roared Pillgrim, as he leaped down upon the
+deck, and with the step of a conqueror moved aft towards the wheel.
+
+"Halt, sir!" said Mr. Swayne, placing himself in front of the stranger;
+for he was roused to a high pitch of anger and excitement by the
+unwarrantable conduct of the interloper. "You can go no farther on this
+deck, sir, till you explain who and what you are."
+
+Somers stood where he could see without being seen; for his presence on
+the deck of the Ben Lomond would have explained to Pillgrim the reason
+for his uncourteous reception. He quietly sent the two firemen and a
+couple of seamen to the assistance of Mr. Swayne.
+
+"I am the captain of this ship," replied Pillgrim, who found it
+necessary to make this statement.
+
+"The man is crazy," muttered Swayne.
+
+"You understand me now," growled Pillgrim. "Stop the ship!"
+
+"I think not, sir," replied Swayne, coolly; and he evidently regarded
+the claim of the stranger in the light of a joke, or as the whim of a
+maniac.
+
+"You think not!" gasped Pillgrim, roused almost to madness by this cool
+disregard of his authority. "I'll have you in irons in three minutes,
+you scoundrel."
+
+"There, sir, I have heard enough of this!" said Swayne. "No man uses
+such language as that to me with impunity."
+
+"I tell you I am the commander of this steamer," added Pillgrim, who
+doubtless felt that the epithet he had used was unbecoming an officer
+and a gentleman.
+
+"I don't care what you are. If your boat is alongside, you will go into
+it, in double quick time."
+
+Pillgrim began to storm again, shouted to the pilot to stop the steamer,
+and behaved in the most violent manner. Mr. Swayne's patience was
+totally exhausted, and he ordered the seamen who stood near him to
+arrest the interloper. A sharp struggle ensued, in which Pillgrim was
+overpowered, and was held fast by the stout tars of the Chatauqua.
+
+The first lieutenant then explained to the captain what had passed, and
+what he had done.
+
+"Put him in irons!" said Somers, decidedly.
+
+"Who is he, captain?"
+
+"It matters not who he is. No man can behave in that manner on board of
+this ship."
+
+Swayne executed his orders to the letter, and the traitor, in spite of
+his struggles, in spite of his explanations and appeals, was put in
+irons on the quarter deck of his own ship. He was carried below, and put
+in a state-room, which was guarded by Conant, who had orders to shoot
+him if he did not keep quiet.
+
+In the mean time, the Ben Lomond,--for Somers, in strict accordance with
+the subsequent "ruling" of Mr. Seward, refused to recognize the vessel
+by any other than her original name, calling her the Tallapoosa only in
+the presence of the rebels,--the Ben Lomond, under the skilful guidance
+of the pilot, was slowly making her way out of the bay. A quartermaster
+had been stationed in the fore-chains when the steamer got under way, to
+take the soundings, which seemed to be the pilot's principal reliance in
+the difficult duty he had undertaken. Captain Column had placed himself
+on the port rail, just abaft the foremast, and the steering directions
+were sent aft through a line of officers to the helmsman.
+
+"By the deep four," sang the quartermaster in the chains.
+
+"Steady!" said the pilot. "Keep her sou'-west by west, half west."
+
+"Steady!" responded the quartermaster at the wheel. "Sou'-west by west,
+half west."
+
+"By the mark five!" said the leadsman, a little later.
+
+"We are getting into deep water," said Somers.
+
+"Yes, sir; we shall deepen till we get seven fathoms."
+
+"And a half five!" came from the chains. "By the deep six."
+
+The pilot went on the bridge, and taking the cord attached to the
+whistle of the engine, made a signal, consisting of several blasts, with
+irregular intervals between them. A heavy bell on shore sounded several
+times in answer to the signal.
+
+"All right," said the pilot. "I know exactly where I am."
+
+"By the deep six!" called the leadsman.
+
+The pilot repeated the signal with the whistle, which was answered from
+the shore by the bell.
+
+"Quarter less seven!"
+
+"It is all going right, captain," said the pilot to Somers, who stood on
+the bridge with him.
+
+"By the mark seven!"
+
+"Hard a port!" shouted the pilot, as he gazed into the binnacle on the
+bridge.
+
+"Hard a port!" repeated the line of officers, till the order was
+returned by the wheelman.
+
+"Steady!" said the pilot.
+
+"Mark under water seven!" cried the quartermaster in the chains.
+
+"Keep her south by west," added the pilot.
+
+"South by west!" returned the wheelman.
+
+"This course will bring us into the midst of the Yankee fleet in about
+twenty minutes," said Captain Column.
+
+"I'm not at all afraid of the Yankee fleet," replied Somers.
+
+"I'm not afraid of anything else," laughed the pilot.
+
+"Where are the torpedoes?"
+
+"Between us and Fort Morgan, which is only about a third of a mile
+distant, on our beam."
+
+"And the obstructions?"
+
+"We have passed them; they are of no account. Captain, I think all your
+troubles are yet to come," said the pilot, as he glanced ahead.
+
+"Why so?"
+
+"If we should happen to plump into one of those monitors, a fifteen inch
+shot would finish this craft in less time than it would take to read a
+man's epitaph."
+
+"I have prepared for all such accidents. The Yankees will not fire on
+me."
+
+"No?" exclaimed the pilot, wonderingly.
+
+"I think you don't know me."
+
+"I heard the first lieutenant say you were coming down here in one of
+the Yankee ships."
+
+"I did."
+
+"Did you, though?"
+
+"We will come to anchor, pilot, when we get within hail of the Yankee
+squadron."
+
+"Come to anchor, sir?"
+
+"Certainly; come to anchor, until the fog clears off, or we can get a
+little daylight. I don't want much."
+
+"Well, that beats me!" ejaculated Captain Column.
+
+"I shall hoist The Yankee flag over the Confederate; then the Yankees
+will think this ship is a prize, and will not fire into her."
+
+"That beats me!" repeated the pilot.
+
+"I came down here in a Yankee man-of-war, and I made the arrangements
+for carrying this thing through before I left her."
+
+"O, yes, I see!" laughed Captain Column. "You are playing them a Yankee
+trick."
+
+"Exactly so!"
+
+"Capital! capital!" exclaimed the pilot.
+
+Fifteen minutes later, the Ben Lomond came to anchor under the lee of
+Sand Island, to wait for a favorable time to continue her voyage.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+A YANKEE TRICK.
+
+
+The rebel officers and crew of the Ben Lomond were greatly astonished
+when the order was given to let go the anchor. They were not in a
+condition to appreciate the policy of stopping the wheels, and waiting
+for daylight within hail of the blockading squadron, reenforced as it
+had been for the attack on the forts; but as the captain had the
+reputation of being a perfect tiger, a fire-eater of the most ravenous
+sort, they did not venture to grumble or make any complaints.
+
+Captain Column, the pilot, chuckled, and declared it was all right; the
+commander knew what he was about, and would get the steamer out of the
+scrape without even a shot from the Yankee men-of-war.
+
+Somers had kept up his dignity and maintained his self-possession in the
+exciting scenes through which he had just passed; but it must not be
+thought that he was as easy in mind as he appeared to be. Every moment
+had been burdened with its own peculiar anxiety. The least slip, the
+slightest accident, would expose him and his brave followers to great
+peril, if not to capture and death. He had won the day thus far by the
+mere force of impudence and self-possession; but it was not without a
+fear of failure, disgrace, and captivity.
+
+But everything, up to this time, had worked admirably. He had met and
+successfully turned aside the obstacles which beset him; and when the
+Ben Lomond came to anchor, the prospect looked more hopeful than at any
+previous hour. It was now about two o'clock in the morning. As there was
+nothing to do, he devoted an hour to an examination of the vessel, which
+had been fitted up at Mobile as a rebel cruiser. She had a heavy rifled
+pivot gun amidships, and four broadside guns, and was in every respect
+well provided for the work in which she was to engage.
+
+She was a vessel of about four hundred tons measurement, long, narrow,
+and very sharp. Her rig was that of a topsail schooner, and her
+smoke-stack raked with her masts. She was a beautiful craft, and no
+labor or expense had been spared to make her the fastest and most
+elegant vessel afloat.
+
+Even in the darkness, Somers could see enough of her shape and fittings
+to excite his admiration. He passed from the spar deck to the berth
+deck, where everything was in keeping with her appearance above. The
+ward-room was small, but it was comfortable and well arranged, and the
+captain's cabin was fitted up like that of a royal yacht. Probably Mr.
+Pillgrim had spent some of his own money on these arrangements before
+she left the Clyde; but what contributed distinctly to make her a war
+steamer had been done after her arrival at Mobile.
+
+Somers was delighted with the arrangements of the prize, and as he
+examined the commander's cabin, he could not help envying the man who
+was permitted to occupy this sumptuous and convenient apartment; that
+is, if the stars and stripes floated at the peak above him, for he would
+rather have been a coal-heaver in a loyal ship, than in command of the
+Ben Lomond under the flag of the Confederacy.
+
+Mr. Swayne had conducted Somers over the vessel, and pointed out to him
+those features which were most worthy of notice.
+
+"She is a splendid vessel," said the young commander, as they paused in
+the ward-room.
+
+"Yes, sir; I am but too happy in being appointed to such a ship. If we
+only get clear of the Yankee squadron, we shall give a good account of
+her."
+
+"We shall have no quarrel with the Yankee ships," replied Somers, as he
+led the way to the spar deck again, for he was not disposed, just yet,
+to let Pillgrim and Langdon, who were confined there, hear his voice.
+
+"Captain Pillgrim, you seem to be more confident on this point than your
+officers," replied Swayne, in a gentle tone, which more than insinuated
+that he would like to know more of the commander's plans.
+
+Somers was very anxious that he should know more of them, so as to
+prevent any suspicions which his subsequent course might excite.
+
+"From what point did you expect me to come, before my arrival?" asked
+Somers.
+
+"I had no idea. Mr. Langdon seemed to be familiar with all your
+movements, but he did not say much about them. He did remark, at one
+time, that you were coming down as second lieutenant of one of the
+Yankee men-of-war."
+
+"Did he, indeed? Well, he was a prudent man, and he will have his reward
+within a few days. Did he really say that?"
+
+"He did."
+
+"I was deceived in him; he was not to be trusted. I placed every
+confidence in him. What else did he tell you?" asked Somers, artfully.
+
+"Nothing else, sir. He said more to me than to any other officer, and
+hardly anything to me."
+
+"He has betrayed me."
+
+"He told only me that you were to come in a Yankee man-of-war."
+
+"Yes, he did; the pilot knew it--spoke to me of it; and very likely
+every man in the ship has the news. But, Mr. Swayne, the statement was
+true."
+
+"Mr. Langdon afterwards contradicted it, and said you were in Richmond,
+and were coming down by land."
+
+"Probably he thought he had made a blunder. I did come down in the
+Yankee ship, the Chatauqua. I am third lieutenant of her, not second. I
+was sent off by the captain, at my own suggestion, of course, to bring
+out this vessel. I have done it--haven't I?"
+
+"You have," laughed Swayne. "Then you are expected by the Yankees?"
+
+"Of course I am."
+
+The first lieutenant of the Ben Lomond indulged in a laugh highly
+complimentary to the skill and cleverness of his commander. Somers
+laughed with him. It was an excellent joke to both parties, though, like
+the Druid shield, it was seen from different points of view.
+
+"Capital!" exclaimed Mr. Swayne, when he had evaporated the foam of his
+mirth.
+
+"If the fog clears off, I shall let up some rockets, which will prevent
+the Yankees from firing at us. You understand?"
+
+"I see, sir: you have the Yankee signals?" chuckled Mr. Swayne.
+
+"Every one of them. No doubt they are on the lookout for me in every
+ship in the squadron."
+
+"Excellent, Captain Pillgrim. This is, by all odds, the best joke of the
+season."
+
+"Now, Mr. Swayne, you will hoist the Yankee flag over the Confederate."
+
+"I don't like to do that, captain," added Mr. Swayne, with a burst of
+patriotic enthusiasm.
+
+"For a purpose, Mr. Swayne. Of course, when the men-of-war see that flag
+over the other, they will not fire. We shall run through the squadron,
+as though we belonged to it; and then--well, you will see what you will
+see."
+
+"Exactly so!" exclaimed Mr. Swayne, who seemed to enjoy the prospect
+exceedingly, even independent of his desire to flatter and "toady" to
+his commander.
+
+The flags were hoisted as Somers directed, and the "captain" for a
+couple of hours planked the deck in silence, impatiently waiting for the
+fog to lift, or for the daylight to come. It was his policy to anchor,
+because he was fearful that the steamer would run by the squadron, in
+the fog and darkness, and it would excite suspicion to return to the
+fleet, after safely passing through it. If Mr. Swayne had suspected any
+treachery, or that everything was not as it appeared to be, it would
+have gone hard with Somers and his men, for he could call in double the
+loyal force to assist him, besides releasing Pillgrim and Langdon.
+
+At four o'clock in the morning, the fog lifted, and Somers directed the
+rockets to be discharged, and the steamer to be got under way. Though
+anxious to keep up appearances, he quietly directed Tom Longstone to
+make as much delay as possible, and by some accident the messenger
+parted when the anchor was apeak, and it was necessary to do the work
+over again.
+
+"Captain Pillgrim, what shall be done with the men who came on board
+with you?" asked Mr. Swayne, while the crew were walking round the
+capstan.
+
+"What shall be done with them?" asked Somers, apparently not
+comprehending the meaning of the question.
+
+"They are Yankees--are they not?"
+
+"They are true men, Mr. Swayne. I selected them for this very duty, and
+I know them."
+
+"Excuse me, sir, I heard one of them singing a Yankee song, just now."
+
+"They have been in the habit of singing such songs lately; but they are
+true men, and will stand by me to the last. If I had wanted them, I
+might have brought off a hundred of the crew of the Chatauqua."
+
+Somers told a great many truths in the course of the night, for the
+purpose of deceiving the enemies of his country, which is a very
+anomalous duty for truth to perform.
+
+The anchor was at the hawse hole, was "catted and fished;" and the Ben
+Lomond moved on again, with the pilot on the bridge. As the fog lifted,
+and the daylight increased, the squadron of "Brave Old Salt" was seen by
+Somers and his companions. As he had promised, not a ship fired on the
+steamer, or offered to molest her. The first lieutenant, pilot, and
+other officers were entirely satisfied that everything was working in
+exact accordance with the plans of their "smart" commander, as they
+already called him.
+
+The exciting moment when all the delusion would be swept away, and the
+rebel officers and seamen find themselves prisoners, and their ship a
+prize, was at hand. Somers had already arranged his final movements with
+the boatswain, and certain of the men were instructed to perform
+particular parts in the closing scene of the drama.
+
+"Now, Captain Column," said Somers to the pilot, "we must run down for
+the Chatauqua. She is the last vessel in the squadron, and if we appear
+to be moving towards her, nothing will be suspected."
+
+"Exactly so, captain," replied the pilot, shaking his fat sides with
+laughter at the Yankee trick which they were playing off upon the
+originators of this species of pleasantry.
+
+"It is quite smooth this morning. The wind has all gone down. Run right
+under the quarter of the Chatauqua."
+
+"I can take her within six feet of the ship, if you like."
+
+"Not too close."
+
+"They will give us three cheers, won't they?" laughed the pilot.
+
+"Very likely."
+
+"Port!" shouted the pilot, as the Ben Lomond approached the Chatauqua.
+
+"Port!" yelled the quartermaster at the helm, at whose side stood Tom
+Longstone.
+
+"Port!" repeated the pilot with greater energy, when he saw that the
+head of the steamer was swinging off from the Chatauqua.
+
+"Port!" again responded the quartermaster.
+
+"Starboard a little more," said Tom, in a low tone.
+
+Captain Column began to storm because the helm did not go to port as he
+ordered.
+
+"Can't help it, sir. The tiller chains are jammed, sir," replied the
+quartermaster.
+
+"Now hard a port!" said Tom Longstone.
+
+"Starboard! Hard a starboard!" screamed the pilot, in tones of fury.
+
+"Helm is jammed, sir!" returned the boatswain.
+
+At this moment the bells were rung to stop, and then to back the engine.
+To all but the half dozen loyal seamen who stood near the helm,
+everything seemed to be in confusion. The Ben Lomond ran up on the lee
+side of the Chatauqua, and stopped within a few feet of her. A stroke of
+the wheels and a turn of the helm brought her alongside, before the
+rebels could clearly apprehend the situation. The twenty-four men, with
+their revolvers and cutlasses, stood ready to check any demonstration on
+the part of officers or crew, but none was made. Their weapons were in
+the armory, and they suspected nothing till an instant before the
+steamer touched the ship's side.
+
+Conant, as instructed, leaped on board the Chatauqua, and reported
+Somers's wish to the officer of the deck. In another moment, the watch
+on deck of the man-of-war poured into the prize, and secured every
+officer and seaman. Then came the three rousing cheers which the pilot
+had expected, and the work was done.
+
+If ever a rebel was disappointed, disheartened, and disgusted, it was
+Mr. Swayne. He had been bewildered by the sudden change in the course of
+the steamer, and actually believed that it was caused by the wheel
+chains being jammed, until the watch from the Chatauqua poured in upon
+her decks.
+
+"Well, Mr. Swayne, I suppose you are satisfied that I spoke the truth.
+The Yankees have not fired upon us; I came down in the Chatauqua; I was
+sent off to bring out this vessel; I have done it," said Somers.
+
+"I had no suspicion you were a Yankee," replied the first lieutenant.
+"Where did you get your commission?"
+
+"It was given me by Mr. Langdon and Mr. Pillgrim, both of whom are under
+guard below."
+
+Swayne used some expletives more forcible than polite, and Somers went
+on board the Chatauqua to report.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+PILLGRIM AND LANGDON.
+
+
+"I have the honor to report the capture of the Ben Lomond, otherwise the
+Tallapoosa," said Somers, as he advanced towards Mr. Hackleford, his
+face red with blushes, and his heart bounding with emotion.
+
+The first lieutenant of the Chatauqua had regarded his enterprise with a
+want of faith, to say the least; and when the young commander of the
+expedition came forward to report its entire success, there was
+something like pride and exultation in his manner, mingling not
+ungracefully with the manifestations of his natural modesty. He had done
+"a big thing;" he felt that he had done "a big thing;" and it would have
+been a ridiculous affectation for him to pretend, by word or manner,
+that he had not done "a big thing."
+
+"I congratulate you upon your success, Mr. Somers," replied Mr.
+Hackleford, warmly. "I was sceptical, I confess; but no man in the fleet
+is happier than I am at your good fortune."
+
+"Thank you, sir," said Somers, blushing more deeply than before, and
+almost wishing that the first lieutenant had done the "big thing"
+instead of himself, because he was so kind and generous in his
+commendation.
+
+"You have managed the affair with skill and energy. For my own part, I
+did not believe you would even get into the bay, let alone capturing the
+vessel. I am astonished at your success, but none the less delighted
+because I am surprised."
+
+"Thank you, sir," was all Somers could say in reply to this praise so
+magnanimously bestowed.
+
+"Captain Cascabel will see you, in his cabin, and we will hear your
+verbal report there."
+
+Mr. Garboard had already gone on board the prize, hauled her off from
+the ship, where she was chafing her sides, and moored her a cable's
+length distant. Somers went below, where he was as warmly and generously
+greeted by the captain as he had been by the first lieutenant. He
+related the story of his night's adventures to them with all necessary
+minuteness. His auditors could not help laughing when he told them what
+he had done with his old friends, the first lieutenant and the commander
+of the rebel craft. He had acted on his theory of Pillgrim's intended
+movements, and thus kept himself above suspicion.
+
+"How does Mr. Pillgrim appear?" asked the captain.
+
+"I haven't seen him, sir; I was very careful not to let him see me. Mr.
+Swayne, the first lieutenant of the Ben Lomond, after I had disposed of
+Langdon, managed him for me."
+
+"It's a very amusing as well as a very exciting affair. But we must see
+these officers. Where are they?"
+
+"Under guard in the state-rooms of the prize, sir."
+
+"Bring them on board, if you please, Mr. Somers. Get your breakfast
+first."
+
+Somers went to the ward-room, where he breakfasted with the officers off
+duty. He was cordially congratulated upon his success, though perhaps
+some of the mess regarded him as rather exclusive in permitting none of
+them to share his laurels.
+
+After breakfast the first cutter was cleared away, and Somers pulled to
+the prize in her. The Ben Lomond was temporarily in charge of the second
+lieutenant of the Chatauqua, who had secured the prisoners, and put
+everything in order on board. Somers went at once to the ward-room,
+where the two most important prisoners were confined. There were now at
+each door a couple of marines with loaded muskets, but no communication
+had been had with the solitary occupant of either.
+
+Pillgrim had several times attempted to obtain some information in
+regard to what was going on, but he was still in darkness. Even the
+bull's eye in his room could not have enlightened him, for it was on the
+starboard side of the steamer, while the Chatauqua lay on the port
+side.
+
+Somers ordered the marines to open the door of Langdon's room first, and
+the late first lieutenant of the Tallapoosa came forth.
+
+"Lieutenant Wynkoop, I believe," said Somers, facetiously.
+
+Langdon looked at him with astonishment.
+
+"Have you any more old sherry that has made two voyages to India?"
+
+"This is hardly magnanimous, Mr. Somers," said Langdon, coldly.
+
+"Perhaps not; but when officers stoop to such tricks as those you have
+practised, there can be no great harm in mentioning them."
+
+"Mr. Somers, I find myself somewhat bewildered."
+
+"I dare say," laughed Somers. "Very likely your friend Pillgrim, or
+Coles, is in the same situation."
+
+"Is he on board?"
+
+"He is."
+
+"I have not seen him since he left Philadelphia in the Chatauqua."
+
+"I have."
+
+"You were in the Chatauqua with him?"
+
+"For a short time."
+
+"I had a letter from him, dated at Richmond, saying that he had changed
+his plans."
+
+"Changed them--did he?" said Somers, who had changed them for him.
+"Perhaps you will inform me how you happened to be on board this
+vessel."
+
+"I don't object; it makes little difference what I say now. After
+obtaining the command of the Tallapoosa for Pillgrim, I went to
+Wilmington, where I was to take command of the Coosa."
+
+"You mean the Ben Nevis."
+
+"I do."
+
+"I thought you were to call her the Louisiana."
+
+"We did not always give you correct information," added Langdon, with a
+sickly smile.
+
+"Go on."
+
+"While at Wilmington I got a letter from Pillgrim, then in Richmond,
+informing me that the Ben Nevis had been captured, and that I was
+appointed first lieutenant of the Tallapoosa, if I chose to take the
+place. I did choose to take it, hoping soon to be in command of one of
+the California steamers. I went to Mobile at once, and attended to the
+fitting out of the ship. Pillgrim wrote me that he should be on board by
+the 22d, and I had steam up to run out the moment he arrived."
+
+"How happened you to tell your officers that Pillgrim was coming down in
+a Yankee man-of-war?" asked Somers.
+
+"That was his original plan. Though he wrote me from Richmond, I did not
+know but that he intended to return to the Chatauqua. He gave me no
+particulars; did not tell me that his plans had failed, only that he
+had changed them. When he wrote that he should be on board by the 22d, I
+knew he was coming down by land, and I corrected my statement. Now, Mr.
+Somers, will you tell me how you happen to be here?"
+
+"Marine, bring out the other prisoner," said Somers, who had been
+instructed by Captain Cascabel to confer with the conspirators, if he
+could obtain any information from them.
+
+The discomfited, crestfallen commander of the Tallapoosa was brought
+from his room by a marine. He saw Somers, and started back with
+astonishment. He was pale and haggard, as though he had been spending
+his time in drinking bad whiskey, and in other debauchery. He had upon
+his face a fortnight's growth of black beard, and looked more like
+"Coles" than when Somers had last met him. His captor concluded that his
+misfortunes on board the Chatauqua had depressed his spirits, in spite
+of the cool look he had before carried, and that he had given way to
+dissipation. He certainly appeared like a person who had just come out
+of a hard "spree."
+
+In the Ben Lomond there was a door opening from the ward-room into the
+captain's cabin. The vessel had evidently been built for a swift
+passenger steamer. The ward-room was a portion of the main cabin, from
+which the steerage and engineers' rooms had been parted off; while the
+captain's cabin was the original "ladies' saloon." Langdon had been
+conducted by the marines through this door to the captain's cabin, where
+the conversation with him had taken place. Pillgrim was in the same
+manner introduced to this apartment.
+
+"Mr. Somers!" exclaimed the traitor.
+
+"Yes, sir. In the letter you sent me from Old Point Comfort,--and I am
+greatly obliged to you for the information contained in that
+letter,--you expressed a hope that you should meet me on board of the
+Ben Lomond. Your wish has been realized," replied Somers, taking the
+original letter, with other papers, from his pocket.
+
+Pillgrim trembled in every fibre of his frame. It was not thus he had
+hoped to meet his enemy.
+
+"'If you capture the Ben Lomond, it will make you a lieutenant. Do it,
+by all means,'" continued Somers, reading the last paragraph of the
+letter. "This was your advice. I have done it."
+
+Pillgrim made no reply. His pale, haggard face, darkened by his
+half-grown beard, was contorted by emotion, and his bloodshot eyes had
+lost their fire.
+
+"You don't seem to enjoy the situation so much as your letter intimated
+that you would."
+
+"Mr. Somers, I am your prisoner," said he, with a desperate struggle.
+
+"You are; you will not have the pleasure of hanging me at the
+yard-arm."
+
+"I am bewildered--overcome."
+
+"So was Langdon."
+
+"I see why you did not join your ship before," said Langdon, with a
+sneer, as he glanced contemptuously at his principal. "You have been
+dissipating."
+
+This remark brought forth an angry retort from Pillgrim, and for a few
+moments each traitor reproached and vilified the other, much to the
+amusement of the marines, and to the disgust of Somers, who was
+compelled to interfere. Langdon's severest charge against his late
+captain was, that he had betrayed their schemes by writing letters, and
+in other stupid ways. Pillgrim denied it.
+
+"Mr. Somers has just thanked you for the information contained in your
+letter," sneered Langdon. "He has good reason to do so."
+
+"I gave him no information that could be of any service to him."
+
+"You gave him the name of the vessel," retorted Langdon.
+
+"But I did not tell him where she was."
+
+"You gave me that information, Mr. Langdon," said Somers, quietly.
+
+"I?"
+
+Somers exhibited the letter in cipher.
+
+"You could not read that without the key," protested the writer of the
+note.
+
+"The first word I made out was 'Langdon:' the next, 'Ben Lomond.' I am
+indebted to both of you. The moral of the whole affair is, that treason
+cannot prosper. I am indebted to both of you for the information which
+enabled me to capture the steamer. Gentlemen, it becomes my duty to
+conduct you on board of the Chatauqua."
+
+"No, Mr. Somers!" groaned Pillgrim, "spare me that."
+
+"I must obey my orders."
+
+The traitor objected strongly to being taken into the presence of the
+officers of the ship in which he had so recently served. He protested
+that he had but a few days to live, and begged to be saved from this
+humiliation. But Somers, though he was not without pity for the degraded
+and disgraced wretch, had no alternative but to obey the orders of
+Captain Cascabel.
+
+Langdon accepted his misfortunes with more resignation. He was quite
+cheerful, and volunteered to tell all he knew, though he was very bitter
+against Pillgrim, who, he declared, had ruined all their hopes by his
+dissipation, his silly pretensions, and his reckless exposure of their
+plans.
+
+Somers was now satisfied that Pillgrim had been intoxicated when he came
+over the side of the Ben Lomond the night before, which accounted for
+his violent conduct, and which was one of the accidents which assisted
+in the easy capture of the vessel.
+
+Both the prisoners were examined on board the Chatauqua; and, with the
+explanations of Somers, their operations were clearly comprehended. They
+were placed in confinement, to await the final decision in regard to
+them. In the forenoon Somers was sent to make his report to the admiral.
+He was warmly received, judiciously commended, and courteously
+dismissed. The young officer's respect and admiration for the "Brave Old
+Salt" were not diminished by his second interview.
+
+In the afternoon the Ben Lomond, in charge of an acting ensign, was sent
+to Pensacola, where she was to remain until further orders. It was
+surmised that the admiral, not wishing to spare any of the best officers
+of the fleet, when on the eve of a mighty event, had decided to let the
+prize remain in port with her prisoners until a more favorable season.
+Be this as it may, the Old Salamander kept everybody busy for the next
+ten days, when, the monitors having arrived, and all the ships intended
+for the attack being in complete readiness, the order was given for the
+battle, which now stands without a parallel in the annals of naval
+warfare.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY.
+
+
+In order to appreciate the importance of the tremendous action in Mobile
+Bay, it is necessary to consider that Mobile and Wilmington were the
+only available ports of the rebels east of the Mississippi. The
+resources of the Confederacy were exhausted by three years of wasting
+war, and it was dependent upon foreign supplies for the means of
+continuing the strife. The earnest attention of the government at
+Washington, therefore, was directed to the shutting up of these ports.
+
+To form a correct idea of the obstacles to the closing of Mobile Bay,
+which had been intrusted to Admiral Farragut, it should be remembered
+that its entrance was guarded by two strongly-built and heavily-armed
+forts; that the only available channel for large vessels, but three
+fourths of a mile in width, ran under the guns of Fort Morgan, the
+stronger of the two forts; that this channel was filled with sunken
+torpedoes, which, experience had demonstrated, were fatal to any vessels
+subjected to the explosion; and that the rebels had a fleet of gunboats
+and iron-clads, which could operate with every advantage against an
+advancing fleet.
+
+"Brave Old Salt" had estimated all these obstacles, and believing that
+"success was a duty," he had resolved to overcome them. All the
+expedients which the ingenuity of a thorough seaman could devise were
+adopted to strengthen and protect the ships. The plan of the battle was
+entirely original, and displayed the genius of its author. The admiral
+modestly declares that he only obeyed the orders of the navy department,
+and disclaims the credit so lavishly awarded to him by his admiring
+fellow-citizens; but the government did not tell him how to do it--and
+in that consisted the doing of it--did not order him to "lash ships" and
+take his elevated position in the main rigging; did not bid him "butt"
+the rebel rams with his wooden prows; and for all these things does the
+whole world sound his praise.
+
+At half past five in the morning the Chatauqua, with the Androscoggin
+lashed to her port side, took her position in the line of battle. The
+Brooklyn was to lead the van, with the "Old Hartford," the flag-ship,
+next in the line, though the doughty old admiral had but tardily acceded
+to the request of his officers in taking this place. The position of the
+Chatauqua was in the centre of the line of battle.
+
+At the signal from the admiral, the fleet moved on. Every officer was
+full of zeal and enthusiasm, though it was certain that some of them
+would never behold the light of another day; that more or less of the
+gallant vessels must soon be overwhelmed by the hidden engines of
+destruction which had been planted in the channel. Somers regarded it as
+the great day of his existence. He had read his Testament and said his
+prayers that morning as though it were the last day he had to live, for
+the most fearful and deadly strife of the whole war was anticipated. A
+man is never so fully prepared to live well and do his duty faithfully
+as when he is ready to die.
+
+While the young officer thought even more tenderly than usual of the
+loved ones in his far-off home, and of that other loved one who was
+never forgotten when home was remembered, he felt that his country was
+theirs, and that every blow struck for the nation was struck for them.
+To die for his country was to die for them--for his own home; and he
+asked no higher duty than to sacrifice his life, if such was the will of
+God. "Thy will be done," he repeated many times, though life was full of
+hopes and joys to him.
+
+The fleet moved on, and the roar of the great guns in the monitors soon
+announced that the action had commenced. The chase guns of the Chatauqua
+opened first, and the ship trembled beneath the concussion.
+
+"The Tecumseh has gone down," passed from mouth to mouth, as a
+tremendous explosion saluted the ears of the seamen.
+
+The monitor had struck upon a torpedo, and in a moment had disappeared
+beneath the tide, carrying down with her nearly all her gallant crew.
+But this incident, appalling as it was even to the battle-scarred
+veterans on the decks of the fleet, was hardly heeded in the terrible
+determination of purpose which animated every heart. The Brooklyn paused
+to dodge some supposed torpedo buoys, and "Brave Old Salt" dashed ahead
+in the Hartford to his proper place in the van of the battle.
+
+The ships in pairs came up abreast of the fort; and according to the
+orders of the admiral, the broadside and other guns opened upon the
+works, not with solid shot, in futile attempts to batter down their
+dense walls, but with grape, which drove the gunners of the fort from
+their stations.
+
+Never were guns fired more rapidly; and the roar was tremendous, shaking
+all earth beneath, and enveloping the scene in dense volumes of smoke,
+above which, as it occasionally rolled away, might be seen the admiral,
+lashed to the main rigging of the Hartford. A glimpse at him never
+failed to call forth the most unbounded enthusiasm, among officers and
+seamen.
+
+With comparatively little injury the fleet passed the fort, and standing
+to the north-west to clear the Middle Ground, was out of the reach of
+its guns. Terrible stories of the torpedoes had been told by deserters
+and refugees, but the admiral's hopes had been realized; they had been
+so long in the water that they had become "innocuous."
+
+But a new and greater danger menaced the fleet. The rebel iron-clad
+Tennessee started out from under the guns of Fort Morgan. She was a
+formidable adversary; and though the monitors were depended upon to
+"neutralize" or destroy her, they moved so slowly and steered so badly,
+that the brunt of the battle was borne by the wooden ships.
+
+"Run her down," was the order from the admiral, which the signal officer
+interpreted on the quarter deck of the Chatauqua.
+
+[Illustration: The Battle of Mobile Bay.]
+
+Captain Cascabel instantly ordered full head of steam to be put on, and
+the ship, gathering headway, dashed down upon the Tennessee, striking
+her at right angles, near the after part of the casemate. The shock of
+the concussion was terrible. The men were thrown from their feet, and
+the ship groaned in bitterness of spirit at the hard usage to which she
+was subjected. Her stem was crushed in to the plank ends, and the water
+began to pour into the forward store-rooms. Expecting such an event, the
+carpenter and his gang were at the threatened point, and prevented any
+disaster from the collision.
+
+The effect upon the iron-clad was hardly perceptible, giving her a
+heavy list, but apparently inflicting no damage upon her. The Chatauqua
+swung round as she struck. Captain Cascabel, who had leaped into the
+mizzen rigging, gave his orders, which were promptly executed by Mr.
+Hackleford. Solid shot and shell were poured into the ram with a fury
+which would have been fatal to a less strongly built craft. As it was,
+one of her port shutters was struck and shattered, the rest of the shot
+bounding off like peas from an oak floor.
+
+"Hah, you bloody villains of Yankees!" shouted the rebels, at their
+ports.
+
+"How are you, Johnny Reb?" replied a fore-top man, as he hurled a
+spittoon in at the port.
+
+Another old salt dashed in a holy-stone, and then the marines opened
+fire upon them with their muskets.
+
+"Ram her again!" shouted the admiral from the main rigging of the
+Hartford, as the flag-ship dashed at the game.
+
+The Chatauqua swept round, and succeeded in striking the Tennessee
+again, but with no better result than before. At the same time she
+poured in shot and shell from every available gun.
+
+At this moment one of the ships struck the Hartford, by accident, in the
+dense smoke, and knocked two of her ports into one. It was believed that
+the flag-ship would go down, for her planking was stove in within two
+feet of the water-line.
+
+"Save the admiral! save the admiral!" shouted the men; and there was
+not one of them who would not have died by fire or water to rescue their
+beloved leader.
+
+Somers sprang upon the rail, to observe the catastrophe, and to be in
+readiness to save the admiral if an opportunity occurred. While he stood
+there, a shot hit the rail diagonally, a splinter struck him in the
+side, and he dropped helpless into the water.
+
+"Mr. Somers is wounded and fallen overboard!" shouted the captain of the
+pivot gun amidships.
+
+The words were hardly out of his mouth, before another man dropped into
+the water from one of the ports. It was Tom Longstone. He found his
+young friend, and bearing him up with his strong arm, both were rescued
+from their perilous position.
+
+"She shows the white flag! She surrenders!" was the cry, as the
+boatswain and Somers reached the deck.
+
+The young officer was borne to the ward-room at the moment of victory,
+while the cheers of the brave tars were ringing through the fleet.
+
+The Tennessee and the Selma had surrendered, the Gaines had been driven
+ashore, and the Morgan was for the present safe under the guns of the
+fort. The victory was complete and decisive.
+
+Somers was severely, if not dangerously, injured. He was borne tenderly
+to his state-room by his brother officers, as the cheers for the great
+victory were sounding through the fleet. There had been seven men killed
+and thirty-five wounded on board the Chatauqua. The surgeon was in the
+cockpit, busily engaged in attending to the wounds of the poor fellows,
+and could not immediately examine the young officer, who, it was
+evident, required no surgical operation.
+
+The ship, though considerably cut up by the shots from the fort and from
+the rebel steamers, was still in condition for active service. The fleet
+anchored in the bay, out of the reach of the guns of Fort Morgan.
+Officers were busy in making the necessary surveys, and the men were
+occupied in repairing damages and restoring order about the decks and
+rigging.
+
+"How do you feel, Mr. Somers?" asked Mr. Hackleford, entering the
+sufferer's room, as soon as he could leave the deck.
+
+"I do not suffer much pain, sir; but I am afraid I am badly damaged in
+the hull," replied Somers, with a languid smile.
+
+He was very pale, and lay very still. He was numb from the effects of
+the shock given him by the splinter, and some of the functions of his
+frame seemed to be suspended. The first lieutenant was alarmed, and sent
+a second messenger for the surgeon, who presently made his appearance,
+having disposed of the severest cases in the cockpit.
+
+"What do you think of him, doctor?" asked Mr. Hackleford.
+
+"I fear he is badly injured," replied Dr. De Plesion, shaking his head.
+
+"Dangerously?" whispered the first lieutenant.
+
+The surgeon shook his head.
+
+"Speak out, doctor," said the patient, faintly. "I am not afraid to die
+for my country. Please tell me the truth."
+
+"I cannot tell yet, Mr. Somers. Three of the ribs are fractured, but if
+he is not injured internally, he will do very well," added the surgeon,
+to Mr. Hackleford.
+
+"I have but little pain," said the patient.
+
+"You will have more, Mr. Somers, by night," continued Dr. De Plesion. "I
+do not discover any internal injury."
+
+"I hope there is none," said the first lieutenant. "You are too good an
+officer to be spared, Mr. Somers,--I mean for even a brief period, of
+course."
+
+The report of the surgeon was anxiously awaited by the captain and all
+the ward-room officers, for the third lieutenant had been a universal
+favorite, and his capture of the Ben Lomond, and his gallant conduct
+during the action with the forts and the Tennessee, had not diminished
+his popularity. Of all who waited the doctor's decision, none took the
+matter so much to heart as the boatswain, who had saved him from
+drowning while he was helpless in the water. Mr. Hackleford noticed him
+at his duty, still wet to the skin, and kindly gave him permission to
+visit his young friend.
+
+"I shall not go by the board, Tom," said Somers. "You and I may yet make
+another cruise together."
+
+"Thank God! I hope so," exclaimed the boatswain, encouraged by these
+cheerful words.
+
+"Tom, I owe my life to you."
+
+"O, never mind that, my darling! What would I have done if you had
+slipped your wind?"
+
+"You would have done your duty, as you always do, my good fellow."
+
+"I dare say I should, Mr. Somers, but I can only thank God that you are
+alive now," replied the boatswain, as the tears flowed down his bronzed
+cheek, and he turned to leave the room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+IN THE HOSPITAL.
+
+
+Under the arrangement made by Admiral Farragut with the commander of
+Fort Morgan, the wounded of both sides were sent in the Metacomet to
+Pensacola. Somers was of the number, and he was borne from his berth in
+the Chatauqua to the steamer, though the removal caused him great pain.
+The numbness of his side was beginning to pass away, and the parts to
+become very sensitive.
+
+"Mr. Somers, I am sorry to see you in this condition," said "Brave Old
+Salt," who was present with a kind word for the suffering heroes of the
+battle. "You behaved nobly during the fight, as I am told you always
+do."
+
+"Thank you, sir. You are very kind," moaned Somers, in his pain and
+weakness.
+
+"I have not forgotten you, my brave fellow," continued the admiral. "The
+capture of the Ben Lomond was a matter of more consequence than you can
+appreciate, perhaps; and your faith and skill in doing this work entitle
+you to the gratitude of your country."
+
+"I am happy in having merited your approbation."
+
+"You have behaved gallantly in the action; and, I repeat, you shall be
+remembered. What can I do for you, Mr. Somers?"
+
+"Nothing more for me, admiral. You have done more for me now than I
+deserve. Mr. Longstone, the boatswain of the Chatauqua, who saved my
+life--"
+
+"I know all about him, Mr. Somers. He was your right-hand man in the
+capture of the Ben Lomond."
+
+"He was, sir."
+
+"He shall not be forgotten."
+
+"I have already been rewarded more than I deserve--"
+
+"No, you haven't. Mr. Pillgrim promised you a lieutenant's commission,
+if you brought out his steamer. I ratify that promise. As to the
+boatswain, it is a pity he is not an educated man; but he shall be cared
+for."
+
+"Thank you, sir."
+
+But Somers was too faint to talk any longer, and the admiral passed to
+other of the noble fellows who had been wounded on that eventful day.
+The sufferer's cot was placed on the ward-room floor, for the
+state-rooms and berths were already full. In one of them lay Admiral
+Buchanan, who had commanded the rebel fleet. He had been wounded in the
+leg in the battle, and he had lost the battle itself, which, to a proud,
+brave spirit, was worse than losing a leg.
+
+Somers was now suffering the most intense pain, which he bore like a
+hero. Tom Longstone bent tenderly over him, his eyes filled with tears,
+and uttered his adieus. With a hand as gentle as a woman's, he pillowed
+his head on the couch, and smoothed back his hair from his eyes. He
+would gladly have gone with his wounded friend, to lave his fevered brow
+and speak words of comfort and encouragement to him; but neither of them
+thought of such a thing, for the admiral's fleet was in the enemy's
+waters, and every man was needed at his post.
+
+The Metacomet, having received her precious freight of mangled heroes,
+cast off her moorings, and, passing the fort, turned her prow to the
+eastward. On her arrival at Pensacola, the sufferers were transferred to
+the hospital, where they received every attention which willing hands
+and generous hearts could bestow.
+
+Fort Morgan surrendered to the combined forces of the army and navy
+before the end of the month, and Mobile Bay was in undisputed possession
+of the government. The work undertaken by the brave admiral had been
+fully completed. Mobile was now a cipher, so far as the Confederacy was
+concerned, though a great bluster was made of defending it to the last.
+
+Somers had been three weeks in the hospital, and doubtless owed his life
+to the skill of the surgeon and the attentions of the nurses. He had
+been injured internally, as Dr. De Plesion feared; but he had begun to
+improve, though he was still unable to sit up. He had endured the
+severest pain, and the doctor had not concealed from him his fears of a
+fatal result, because the patience and firmness, but especially the
+religious faith, of the sufferer warranted him in doing so.
+
+Day after day and night after night Somers struggled with his condition,
+in faith, patience, and resignation. He felt that he was ready to leave
+the world, full of joys and hopes as it was, for the purer hopes and
+brighter joys of the eternal world beyond the grave. He thought of his
+mother, and wished that she might be with him to smooth his dying
+pillow, if he must die; but it was not the will of God, and he did not
+murmur. He thought of Kate Portington. He would like to see her once
+more before he passed away, but this was a vain wish; and from her and
+the loved ones at home he turned to the glorious realities of the
+immortal life--fitting theme for one who was trembling between life and
+death.
+
+In the midst of his pain and earthly loneliness he was happy. He could
+not but recall the scene of Phil Kennedy's death-bed; of the agony of
+remorse which shook him, as he looked back upon his past life; of the
+terrors with which his stricken conscience invested the grave. Then the
+sufferer, in the deepest depths of his heart, thanked God that he had
+been enabled to be true to himself and to duty. He was happy in the
+past, happy in the hope of the future. There was much to regret and to
+repent of; but as he did regret and repent, he felt that he was
+forgiven.
+
+He was happy; and the joy of that hour, when an approving conscience
+triumphs over bodily pain, and decks the waiting tomb with flowers, was
+worth the struggle with the legions of temptations which all must
+encounter.
+
+We are best fitted to live when best prepared to die. Somers waited with
+hope and resignation for the angel of death, but he came not. The very
+calmness with which he regarded the open tomb, assisted in closing its
+portals to him. At the end of two weeks the doctor spoke more of life
+than of death; at the end of three he spoke not at all of the grim
+messenger--grim he was, even when he wore the chaplet of flowers with
+which Faith and Hope ever crown him.
+
+Somers was out of danger. The internal inflammation passed away, and the
+patient began to mend. He thought of life now, of meeting the loved ones
+who, afar off, had sadly spoken farewells to him when he departed from
+their presence, with all the fearful perils of storm and battle hanging
+over him.
+
+On the day after the news of the surrender of Fort Morgan arrived, the
+Chatauqua dropped her anchor off Pensacola. A boat immediately put off
+from her, containing Boatswain Longstone, who landed, and hastened to
+the hospital with all possible speed. Probably there had hardly been an
+hour since the Metacomet left Mobile Bay with the wounded, in which Tom
+had not thought of Somers. The old man was as eager and impatient as a
+child, and could hardly submit to the formalities necessary to procure
+admission to the hospital.
+
+"My darling!" exclaimed the veteran, as he crept up to the bed of his
+young friend.
+
+He walked lightly, and spoke softly and tenderly, for he knew how sick
+Somers had been.
+
+"Ah, Tom, I am glad to see you," replied the patient, as he extended his
+thin hand, which the boatswain eagerly seized, though he handled it as
+tenderly as a bashful youth does the hand of the maiden he loves. "It
+does my eyes good to look upon you, Tom."
+
+"Jack, I've been dying to see you. They told me you were in a bad way,
+and might slip your cable any moment."
+
+"I have not expected to live, until a week ago."
+
+"God bless you, Jack! I was never so happy in my life;" and the
+boatswain actually wept,--great, strong, weather-stained veteran as he
+was, who had breasted the storms of four and thirty years on the ocean.
+
+"I know how you feel, Tom."
+
+"So you may, Jack,--I beg pardon, Mr.--"
+
+"Call me Jack, now," interposed Somers, with a faint smile; "it sounds
+like old times. You have been the making of me, Tom, and we won't stand
+on ceremony, as long as we are not on board the ship."
+
+The boatswain still held the attenuated hand of his sick friend, and
+they talked of the past and of the present; of the battle, and of the
+subsequent events in the bay. But Tom Longstone seemed to be thinking
+all the time of something else.
+
+"What have you got on, Tom?" asked Somers, as he noticed a "foul anchor"
+on his shoulder, and a band of gold lace on his sleeve.
+
+"What have I got on? Why, I always wear my colors, of course," replied
+Tom, with a smile of the deepest satisfaction.
+
+"But those are not the colors of a boatswain in the United States Navy."
+
+"That's a fact, Jack. I'm not a boatswain, just now."
+
+"Indeed!"
+
+"I'm an acting ensign."
+
+"Is it possible?" exclaimed Somers, not less pleased than the veteran.
+
+"It's a fact, my darling; but before we spin any more yarns, here's a
+document for you. Shall I open it?" continued Tom, as he took from his
+breast pocket a huge official envelope, whose appearance was entirely
+familiar to Somers.
+
+"If you please."
+
+It was directed to "Lieutenant John Somers;" and the superscription
+sufficiently indicated the nature of its contents.
+
+"God bless the admiral!" said Somers.
+
+"God bless the admiral!" repeated Tom, glancing reverently upward as he
+spoke.
+
+The commission was dated before the news of the battle in Mobile Bay
+could have reached Washington. It followed the reception of the
+despatches concerning the capture of the Ben Lomond; and Tom Longstone
+had been made an acting ensign, though he still retained his warrant as
+a boatswain, for his conduct in the same affair.
+
+"I congratulate you, Tom, on this promotion," said Somers.
+
+"Thank you, Jack; and I congratulate you as Lieutenant Somers. You are a
+'regular,' but I'm only an 'acting,'" replied the veteran. "When the
+war's over, I shall be a boatswain again."
+
+"I am more rejoiced for you than for myself, Tom."
+
+"Just like you, Jack. If I made you, I'm sure you made me. I got my
+rating as boatswain's mate in the Rosalie through you, and then I was
+made a boatswain for what I did with you. Now I'm an ensign by your
+doings. I suppose you think I'm not up to it, Jack."
+
+"Yes, I do. I know you are. There's nothing about a ship that you don't
+know as well as the admiral himself, except--"
+
+"Except," laughed Tom, as Somers paused, "except what?"
+
+"Navigation."
+
+"I know something about that, Jack--I do, upon my honor."
+
+"I do not doubt it."
+
+"When I first went into the navy, I was a regular sea dandy. I used big
+words, as long as the coach-whip; but I soon found a man must not talk
+above his station. When I was a young man, I wasn't a bad scholar. I
+went to the academy, and learned surveying; I meant to be a surveyor;
+but I got a hitch, and went to sea."
+
+"A hitch?"
+
+"Well, I never mention it now. Squire Kent's daughter didn't treat me as
+handsomely as she did another young fellow, and I drank more liquor than
+was good for me. I got run down; and when I had payed out all the
+respectability I had, I went to sea. That cured me of drinking; in fact,
+I became a temperance man before the grog rations were stopped in the
+navy. As I said, I was pretty well educated, and talked as well as the
+officers on the quarter deck. But my shipmates laughed at me, and I soon
+dropped down into using sea slang."
+
+"I have noticed that your speech has been wonderfully improved since you
+were made a boatswain."
+
+"I've been trying to cure my bad habits. I've been lying round loose in
+the navy for thirty years before the war began. I tried to be honest and
+true, but the war has set me right up. I haven't told you the best of
+the news yet, Jack."
+
+"What more?"
+
+"You are appointed to the Ben Lomond as prize master, and I'm going with
+you as second officer. The admiral says you shall take the prize home,
+if she has to wait two months for you. She is yours, and you shall have
+the command of her."
+
+"He is very kind; but I do not think I shall be able to take command at
+present."
+
+"We are to go as soon as the doctor will let you be carried on board of
+her. Jack, the Ben Lomond is going into the navy; and if I mistake not,
+she will be in command of Lieutenant Somers."
+
+"That would be the height of my ambition. Indeed, I never aspired to
+anything so great as the command of a fine steamer."
+
+"You'll have her; the admiral is your friend. If you do, I shall be in
+the ward-room. Splinter my timber-heads! Only think of that! Tom
+Longstone a ward-room officer!"
+
+"You deserve it, Tom."
+
+In the course of the week, other officers of the Chatauqua visited the
+patient, and at the end of that period the doctor permitted Somers to be
+conveyed on board the Ben Lomond.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+MISS PORTINGTON NOT AT HOME.
+
+
+Pillgrim and Langdon had been in close confinement at Pensacola since
+their capture. They were now placed on board of the Ben Lomond to be
+sent north. An apartment was specially fitted up for their use in the
+steerage, for they were regarded as dangerous men, to whom bolts, bars,
+and other obstacles, were but trifling impediments. A sufficient number
+of marines to guard them were detailed for duty on the passage, and the
+steamer sailed for Boston, where the prize was to be adjusted.
+
+Somers was now improving very rapidly, and before he left the hospital,
+had sat up a small portion of each day. The pleasant intelligence
+brought to him by Tom Longstone had not retarded his recovery; on the
+contrary, the bright hopes of the future which it suggested, rather
+stimulated his feeble frame, and assisted in his restoration to health.
+
+The steamer had fine weather on the passage, with the exception of a
+gale of thirty hours' duration. She put into Hampton Roads, and landed
+her prisoners at Fortress Monroe, in accordance with the orders of her
+commander, and then proceeded to Boston. The Ben Lomond behaved
+remarkably well in the heavy weather she experienced, proving herself to
+be a strongly-built and substantial vessel. Somers sent his despatches
+to Washington from Fortress Monroe.
+
+When the Ben Lomond sailed into Boston Harbor, Somers was able to go on
+deck, for with each day of the voyage his health had continued to
+improve. The steamer was duly handed over to the naval authorities, and
+the young lieutenant was granted a furlough of sixty days.
+
+"Our cruise is up," said Tom Longstone, when the business had been
+completed.
+
+"For the present, we have nothing to do; but I hope we shall soon
+receive our orders," replied Somers. "Now, Tom, you will go down to
+Pinchbrook with me, and spend a couple of months."
+
+"Thank you, Jack; I hardly think I should know how to behave in a house
+on shore, it is so long since I have been in one."
+
+"You will soon learn."
+
+They went to Pinchbrook, and Tom received a welcome almost as cordial as
+that extended to Somers. The veteran was soon made entirely at home by
+his young friend's father, and such a "spinning of yarns" for thirty
+days had never been known before. Tom told a story of the Cumberland;
+then Captain Somers had a West India yarn; and gran'ther Greene was
+indulgently permitted to relate his experience in the "last war," though
+it was observed that the old man, whose memory was much impaired, always
+told the same story.
+
+Never did a happier trio gather around a kitchen fire than that which
+sat around the cook-stove at Pinchbrook on those autumn mornings. Very
+likely Mrs. Somers thought the "men folks" were in the way at times;
+but, she was too much interested in the stories told, and too good
+natured to raise an objection, especially when John joined the party.
+
+In the mean time, Somers was rapidly regaining his health and strength.
+As may be supposed, he was a lion in Pinchbrook, and was invited to
+every party and every merry-making in the place. Captain Barney was with
+him a great deal, and was as fond of him as though he had been his own
+son. Of course the young ladies of Pinchbrook regarded the lieutenant as
+a great man; and if it had not been known in town that he was "paying
+attention" to a commodore's daughter, he might have been absolutely
+persecuted by the fair ones of his native village.
+
+In strict observance of his promise, Somers had written several letters
+to Kate Portington, but had received no answer. These epistles, with the
+exception of an occasional playful remark, were confined to the details
+of his naval operations. The events of his career were faithfully
+recorded, and they were in no sense such productions as many silly young
+men would have written under similar circumstances. No answer to any of
+them had been received.
+
+Since his arrival at Pinchbrook, Somers had written two letters; but at
+the end of the first month of his furlough, he had not heard a word from
+Kate. He was troubled, and no doubt thought Kate was very cold and
+cruel. He knew that Pillgrim had not seen her, and therefore could not
+have prejudiced her against him. It was possible that his letters had
+not reached their destination; Kate might be away from home; and he was
+not willing to believe that anything had occurred to make her less
+friendly to him than formerly.
+
+Somers, as we have so often had occasion to represent him, was always in
+favor of "facing the music." If there was anything the matter, he wanted
+to know it. If the lady wished to discontinue the acquaintance, he
+wanted to know that; and when he could no longer content himself in
+Pinchbrook, with the question unsettled, he started for Newport. On his
+arrival he proceeded at once to the residence of Commodore Portington.
+With a firm hand he rang the bell--in surprising contrast with his first
+visit, for now he was firm and decided.
+
+The servant informed him that Miss Portington was at home, and he sent
+up his card. Somers sat nervously waiting the issue. Presently the
+servant returned and handed him a card, on which was written, "_Miss
+Portington is not at home to Mr. John Somers_."
+
+He was confounded by this cool reply. Though her present conduct was in
+accordance with the unanswered letters, he had not expected to be thus
+rudely repelled. If she had any objection to him, why didn't she tell
+him so? He had done his duty to his country, and kept his promises to
+her. It was the severest blow he had ever received.
+
+He read the card, rose from his chair, and left the house, as dignified
+as though he had been on the quarter deck of the Ben Lomond. He was too
+proud to ask or to offer any explanations. We will not undertake to say
+how bad he felt. Perhaps he wished he had died in the Pensacola
+hospital, when he lay at death's door; perhaps he felt like rushing into
+the hottest of a fight, and laying down his life for the cause he had
+espoused, without thinking that this would be suicide, rather than a
+generous sacrifice to a holy duty.
+
+Mr. Pillgrim had informed him that he would meet with a "chilly"
+reception. It was even worse than that; but as it was evidently caused
+by the traitor's machinations, he was content to suffer. If she chose to
+let the words of the wretched conspirator against his country bias her
+against him, he could not help it; and his only remaining duty was to
+submit with the best possible grace.
+
+Of course he could not leave Newport without calling at the Naval
+Academy. Mr. Revere, the commandant of midshipmen, was his firm friend,
+and it would be treason to him to leave the city without seeing him. He
+was cordially received, and his experience in Mobile Bay was listened to
+with the most friendly interest.
+
+"I need not ask you if you have been to Commodore Portington's," said
+Mr. Revere.
+
+"I have, sir."
+
+"Well, how is Miss Portington?"
+
+"I did not see her," replied Somers, who, conscious that he had done no
+wrong, was not disposed to conceal his misfortune from so good a friend.
+
+"Did not see her!" exclaimed the commandant.
+
+Somers explained.
+
+The story of Pillgrim's treason had been circulated, but the particulars
+by which it had been exposed were known to only a few. Mr. Revere saw at
+once the cause of the rupture.
+
+"The villain has sent her the bond you signed," said he.
+
+"Perhaps he has."
+
+"Probably she knows nothing of the circumstances under which you signed
+it."
+
+"I have had no opportunity to explain."
+
+"But, Somers, you musn't be too stiff. Any lady would be fully justified
+in refusing to see a gentleman who signed a paper like that, which
+contained her name in such a connection."
+
+"I think so myself; and therefore I will not blame her."
+
+"Pillgrim got you to sign that document for this very purpose."
+
+"I surmised as much."
+
+"But it is a wrong to the lady as well as to you, to permit this thing
+to go on."
+
+"I have no remedy."
+
+"Write her a note, explaining your position."
+
+"My motives would be misconstrued."
+
+"Then I shall act for you."
+
+Somers went to his hotel, and Mr. Revere did act it for him. Kate was
+not satisfied. A high-minded man would have died rather than sign such a
+paper. So would Somers, if the bond had any real meaning. The commandant
+was not successful in the negotiation, as mediators seldom are in such
+cases.
+
+"I am satisfied, Mr. Revere," said Somers: but he was as far from
+satisfied as a young man could be.
+
+"There is no help for it; but, Somers, I have invited a few friends to
+my house this evening, and you must be with us."
+
+"Will Miss Portington be there?"
+
+"She has been invited, with her mother."
+
+"I will go," replied he, still carrying out his principle that it is
+always best to "face the music."
+
+He did go. The few friends were about fifty--to celebrate the birthday
+of the commandant's lady. There were music, and dancing, and revelry;
+and Kate Portington was there, with her mother. He saw the fair girl;
+saw her smile as pleasantly and unconcernedly as though nothing had
+happened. He met her face to face; she bowed coldly, and passed on. Mrs.
+Portington was not quite so "chilly," but not at all as she had been in
+former times.
+
+"Mr. Somers, we shall always remember you with gratitude, for the
+service you so kindly rendered us," said she.
+
+"It is hardly worth remembering, madam, much less mentioning," replied
+Somers.
+
+"It shall always be gratefully remembered, and cordially mentioned. You
+cannot yourself regret more than I do, that anything should have
+occurred to disturb the pleasant relations which formerly existed."
+
+"I regret it very much, madam; but as I think I have done my duty to my
+country and to my friends, I must regret it without reproaching myself
+for my conduct in that which has proved so offensive."
+
+"Was it your duty to sign that vile paper?" asked the lady, in excited
+tones.
+
+"I think it was."
+
+"I must take a different view of the matter; but, Mr. Somers, I shall
+still be interested in your success."
+
+"Thank you, madam."
+
+And the lady passed on. Somers looked at Kate. She was dancing with a
+young officer who had greatly distinguished himself in the waters of
+North Carolina. She looked happy. Was she so? She certainly had a
+wonderful command of herself if she was not. Somers retired at an early
+hour.
+
+Did Kate think he was an adventurer? His superior officer had directed
+him to sign the bond, as a "war measure." He had done so with regret and
+disgust. The paper meant nothing to him. Why should it mean anything to
+her and her mother?
+
+The next day, Somers returned to Pinchbrook, where he found certain
+official documents in the post office, directed to him. He was appointed
+to the command of the Firefly, which was the new name given by the
+department to the Ben Lomond. The steamer had been duly condemned, and
+purchased by the government, her great speed admirably adapting her as a
+cruiser for rebel pirates. Somers was generously rewarded for his zeal
+and success in the capture of the twin steamers, which had been intended
+to prey on the commerce of the country.
+
+Acting Ensign Longstone was appointed second lieutenant of the Firefly.
+The third and fourth lieutenants, and the sailing master, were acting
+ensigns, like Tom Longstone.
+
+All was excitement now at the cottage in Pinchbrook, in anticipation of
+Somers's departure. A lieutenant commanding was a higher position than
+he had ever hoped to obtain; but even while he rejoiced over his bright
+future, he could not help being "blue" over his affair at Newport. He
+tried to forget the fair lady, but he found that was not an easy matter.
+He devoted himself to the fitting up of the Firefly, spending part of
+his time at Pinchbrook, till his orders came from Washington. A kind
+word from Kate would have made him the happiest man in the world. As
+that did not come, he went to sea without it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+THE BEN LEDI.
+
+
+The Firefly had been strengthened and otherwise improved for the purpose
+to which she was to be applied. Her armament had been changed, to adapt
+it to the standard of the United States navy. She now carried a hundred
+pounder rifle amidships, a rifled thirty on her forecastle, four
+twenty-four pounders on the broadsides, and two howitzers on the quarter
+deck. The cabin, ward-room, and steerage remained as before.
+
+It was a pleasant November day--in the full reign of the Indian
+summer--when she went down the harbor. Somers stood on the quarter deck,
+as dignified as the commander of a man-of-war should be, but he could
+hardly repress the feeling of pride and exultation with which he
+regarded his position. He was hardly twenty-one, though he was mature
+enough in appearance and in judgment for twenty-five. He had realized
+the warmest hope he had permitted himself to cherish. He was in command
+of a beautiful vessel, with a hundred officers and men under his
+charge. He was the supreme authority; every man on board touched his cap
+to him.
+
+Below was a cabin, appropriated wholly to his use, where he could live
+as luxuriously as a lord. He had no watch to keep, no work to perform.
+As he contemplated his position, he was absolutely amazed. He had hoped,
+but not expected, to reach this pinnacle of his ambition. But there was
+another side to the question. A fearful responsibility was imposed upon
+him. The lives of his hundred men depended upon him. This valuable
+steamer, with her armament and stores, was intrusted to him, and he must
+account for all loss or waste on board of her. More than this, the honor
+of the flag under which he sailed had been committed to him. If he lost
+his ship by bad management, it would be his ruin. If he permitted the
+ensign which floated at his peak to be disgraced, it would be infamy to
+him.
+
+In the public service he might have occasion to run into foreign ports,
+or to visit neutral waters. His want of knowledge, or his want of
+judgment, might entangle his country in perplexing broils with other
+nations, or even involve her in another war. As he thought of his
+delicate and difficult duties, he felt like shrinking from them, and
+avoiding the immense responsibility. Being "captain," in this view, was
+quite a different thing from what he had anticipated.
+
+With a smile he recalled his own reflections, when, as an ordinary
+seaman, he had observed the captain of his ship walk the deck. Then he
+had thought the commander had the easiest and jolliest time of all the
+men on board, with his fine cabin all to himself, and no watch to keep,
+and apparently no work to do. From his present stand-point, the captain
+occupied the most difficult and trying place in the ship, and he almost
+wished he had declined the command offered to him.
+
+Outside the bay, the sealed orders were opened. As he had anticipated,
+he was ordered to cruise in search of rebel steamers, whose depredations
+on the coast had severely tried the patience of the nation. He was
+directed to proceed first to the eastward, and then to use his own
+judgment. There were several rebel privateers, or naval vessels
+belonging to the Confederacy. The Tallahassee, the Chickamauga, and the
+Olustee had been the most mischievous; and it was believed that there
+were others at Wilmington, and the _neutral_ ports of New Brunswick,
+Nova Scotia, and the West Indies.
+
+Having learned where he was to go, and what he was to do, he went on
+deck and gave his orders to Mr. Gamage, the first lieutenant. The
+Firefly was headed to the north-east, and all sail set to help her
+along. Before Somers went below, she logged fifteen knots, which was
+splendid for a ship with her bunkers full of coal.
+
+In the evening the young commander invited Tom Longstone to visit his
+cabin. The veteran was in his happiest frame of mind. All the
+aspirations of his earlier years seemed to have been rekindled in his
+soul; he had abandoned the use of slang, and conducted himself so much
+like a gentleman, outwardly, that no one could have suspected he had
+spent thirty odd years of his life before the mast; but as he had always
+been a gentleman at heart, it was comparatively easy for him to assume
+the externals of his new profession.
+
+The old man had donned a new uniform; and though his hair and beard were
+iron gray, he looked as "spruce" as a dry goods clerk. No change of
+dress, however, could make him any other than an "old salt." He walked
+with a rolling gait, and had all the airs of a veteran seaman. It is
+true that in the transposition from the forecastle to the ward-room he
+had discarded "pigtail," and confined himself to "fine cut," taken from
+a silver box; but he still used as much of the "weed" as an old
+sheet-anchor man.
+
+"You sent for me, Captain Somers," said the second lieutenant, as he
+touched his fore-top, from the force of habit.
+
+"Sit down, Mr. Longstone," said the captain. "It is one of the blessings
+of my present position that I have a place to sit down and talk with old
+friends. I suppose you know we are bound to the eastward in search of
+rebel privateers."
+
+"So Mr. Gamage told me, sir. I hope we shall catch some of them."
+
+"So do I; but I'm afraid we are on a wild-goose chase."
+
+"Perhaps not--at least, I hope not. If there is a rebel ship in these
+waters, we'll have her, if we have to dive after her."
+
+"The ocean is very broad. None of our ships have had much luck in
+catching these rebel pirates. I would rather have gone down on the
+blockade, where there is some show for us."
+
+"Don't give it up, Captain Somers."
+
+"I don't give it up; but I do not see any reason why I should be more
+fortunate than others. A score of our ships have cruised for months
+without catching a single one of them."
+
+"They didn't look where they were," laughed Tom.
+
+"If I knew where they were, I would look there."
+
+"You will certainly catch one of the pirates, Captain Somers."
+
+"Why do you say so?"
+
+"Because you are smart, and you are lucky. I know you will make a
+capture on this cruise. I feel it in my bones."
+
+"I hope I shall. Wouldn't it be glorious, if I could send such a
+despatch as Captain Winslow did, after he had sunk the Alabama?"
+
+Somers's eyes glistened as he thought of it, but it was only an
+air-castle; and after he had contemplated it for a moment, his common
+sense obliged him to come down from the clouds.
+
+The cruise of the Firefly would supply matter enough for a whole volume,
+but we have only space for a mere outline of the voyage. The steamer lay
+off and on for a week without meeting with anything that looked like a
+rebel privateer, when her commander decided to run into Halifax, where
+he hoped to obtain some information. The city was a nest of "secesh
+sympathizers," and the captain of the Firefly was not received with much
+enthusiasm outside of the American consulate. He had not been in the
+habit of hearing his country and her rulers vilified, and as he sat in
+the parlor of the hotel, and listened to hostile remarks, evidently
+intended for his ear, nothing but prudence prevented him from indulging
+in the luxury of pulling the noses of the speakers. He preserved his
+dignity in spite of his inclination.
+
+"Upon my word, this is a very unexpected pleasure," said a familiar
+voice.
+
+He looked up from the newspaper he was reading. Before him stood Mr.
+Pillgrim!
+
+"Quite as unexpected to me as to you, Mr. Pillgrim!" replied Somers,
+with abundant self-possession.
+
+"I dare say, Mr. Somers," laughed Pillgrim. "Of course you did not
+expect to see me. Will you take a glass of wine with me, Mr. Somers?"
+
+"No, I thank you; I never indulge--as you are aware."
+
+"I didn't know but your rapid advancement had changed your tastes."
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"You command the Ben Lomond now, Mr. Somers, I learn from the papers."
+
+"The Firefly is her present name."
+
+"Bah! What an ugly name for a fine steamer like her. The Tallapoosa is
+much better. Be that as it may, I congratulate you on your promotion and
+your appointment; and you know how sincere I am!
+
+"I do know; and, therefore, cannot even thank you for your good wishes."
+
+"Don't be savage, Mr. Somers. You can afford to be very good-natured."
+
+"I am."
+
+"You don't seem to be very glad to see me."
+
+"On the contrary, I am. I hope, with your usual candor, that you will
+tell me what you are going to do next, and give me an opportunity to cut
+out your vessel. I am up here for that purpose."
+
+Pillgrim bit his lip.
+
+"At present, Mr. Somers, I must be silent; but we shall yet meet and
+settle up old accounts. Let us not be ill-natured. If we meet as
+enemies, we will fight it out."
+
+"We can never meet in any other way."
+
+"That isn't friendly. How is Miss Portington?"
+
+"She was well, last time I saw her;" and Somers blushed, and looked
+disconcerted--as he really was.
+
+"I am glad to hear it, Mr. Somers," said Pillgrim, significantly.
+
+Somers changed the topic at once, and finally contrived to ask the
+traitor how he happened to be in Halifax, instead of Fortress Monroe.
+Pillgrim laughed exultingly, and declared there were no irons, bolts, or
+bars that could keep him a prisoner; and the facts seemed to justify the
+assertion.
+
+"Mr. Somers, not more than one half of the people of the North are in
+favor of this cruel war. I have friends in Washington and other cities
+whom no one suspects of favoring the South. I am indebted to them for my
+liberation. I shall yet carry out my original purpose. I have lost three
+vessels. I was paid for two by the Confederacy; and I have your bond for
+half the value of the third. I am a commander in the Confederate navy.
+In one week I shall be at sea. I shall sink, burn, and destroy! You
+can't help yourself."
+
+"Is your ship here?"
+
+"Yes--no."
+
+Pillgrim laughed, turned on his heel, and walked away. Somers was
+excited. He wanted to know more. He went to the American consul. A
+"blue-nose" sailor of the Firefly was sent on shore, who found Pillgrim,
+and without much difficulty shipped in the "Sunny South" for a voyage on
+the coast. This was all the information that could be obtained. There
+was no such craft as the Sunny South in port. Somers examined all the
+vessels in the harbor, and found a steamer called the Ben Ledi--another
+Scottish mountain. She was Clyde-built, and similar to the Ben Nevis and
+the Ben Lomond. The name alone satisfied the inquirer that she belonged
+to the same family as the two vessels he had already captured.
+
+Things began to look a little more hopeful, and the young commander
+carefully read his books on international law. He attempted to place the
+Firefly where he could watch the suspected steamer; but the authorities,
+on various pretences, prevented him from doing so. The next morning the
+Ben Ledi was gone. Somers was exceedingly mortified, for he might as
+well look for a needle in a haymow as try to find the vessel on the
+ocean. He put to sea at once. A "blue-nose" official laughed at him as
+his gig pulled off to the ship, and everybody on shore was in high glee
+because the Confederate had eluded the Yankee.
+
+Somers kept cool in spite of his chagrin; and believing the Ben Ledi
+would run for Wilmington, where she would probably be fitted out as a
+cruiser, he headed the Firefly in that direction, and gave chase.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+A LONG CHASE.
+
+
+Somers was somewhat bewildered by the events which had transpired during
+his brief stay at Halifax. It was almost incredible that Pillgrim had
+again escaped; but the traitor had powerful friends--men who appeared to
+be loyal while they were in full sympathy with the leaders of the
+rebellion. The three "Bens," the last of which was now fleeing before
+him, were certainly an interesting family. Pillgrim, while abroad, and
+operating for the Southern Confederacy, had apparently purchased a whole
+line of Clyde-built steamers. Two of them were now in good hands, and
+doing good service to the loyal cause; but Somers feared that the third
+would escape him.
+
+Pillgrim had learned prudence from the experience of the past. Somers
+hoped he would indulge in his customary reckless boasting; that his
+thirst for revenge would again lead him to betray himself; but he had
+not dropped even a hint that could be of any service. The decoy seaman
+had only learned that he was to sail in the "Sunny South." The sudden
+departure of the Ben Ledi was the only important fact in possession of
+the commander of the Firefly.
+
+When the ship was well out of the bay, and her course laid down, Somers
+went into his cabin to consult his charts, and consider a plan for
+future operations. Unfortunately there was no information on which to
+base a theory in regard to the pirate's course. He could only guess at
+her destination. The Firefly was run at her best speed during the rest
+of the day, but her course for a large portion of the time was through a
+dense Nova Scotia fog, and nothing was seen or heard.
+
+On the following day, the sun shone through a clear air, and at noon
+there was seen, dead ahead, some evidences of black smoke in the
+horizon. This was a hopeful sign, for there was a steamer burning
+English coal in the direction indicated. It might be the Ben Ledi, and
+it might not; but the appearance created a tremendous excitement on
+board the Firefly.
+
+"Captain Somers, you will have her," said Tom Longstone, placing himself
+by the side of the young commander. "It is your luck."
+
+"That may not be the steamer we are after. We haven't seen her yet."
+
+"That's the Ben Ledi; you may depend upon it. I wouldn't give five cents
+to any man to guarantee my share of prize money in her."
+
+"Don't be too confident, Mr. Longstone."
+
+"She is ours, Captain Somers."
+
+"I wish I could believe it."
+
+"You must believe it, and work for it."
+
+"I shall certainly work for it."
+
+And he did work for it. Everything that would add a fraction of a knot
+to the speed of the Firefly was done. The black smoke was visible all
+the rest of the day, but not a sight of the steamer from which it
+proceeded could be obtained. Darkness settled down upon the ocean, and
+nothing could be seen during the night. The next day was cloudy, and
+there was not a sign of encouragement to those on board of the pursuing
+vessel. Then came a gale of twenty hours' duration; but the Firefly held
+her course, and proved herself to be a perfect sea boat.
+
+The fourth day out from Halifax was fine, and shortly after sunrise the
+cloud of black smoke was again discovered, and a thrill of delight
+coursed through the veins of Somers as he discovered it. The steamer was
+on the port bow now, but it was evident that both steamers were bound to
+the same point, though their courses had slightly varied during the
+gale.
+
+"I told you so, Captain Somers!" exclaimed Lieutenant Longstone, as he
+rubbed his hands briskly in view of the bright prospect.
+
+"We haven't caught her yet, Mr. Longstone."
+
+"But you will catch her, just as sure as the sun shines."
+
+"Mr. Pillgrim will not allow himself to be taken."
+
+"He cannot help himself."
+
+"Perhaps he can. That steamer sails as well as the Firefly, and we are
+not a hundred and fifty miles from Cape Fear."
+
+"No matter; we have got ten hours' working time, and we shall use her
+up. Shall we put the helm to starboard, Captain Somers?"
+
+"No; keep her as she is," replied the commander. "If she is going into
+Wilmington we shall be making something on this tack. We have the
+weather-gage of her."
+
+It was soon clearly demonstrated that the chase had "slowed down," so as
+not to approach the coast before night should favor her operations,
+though her great speed gave her every advantage over an ordinary
+pursuer. The Firefly had run down so that the Ben Ledi was on her port
+beam, about eight miles distant. Both steamers had hoisted English
+colors, for Somers had no idea of being cheated out of the game by
+"showing his hand."
+
+The most intense excitement prevailed on board of the Firefly, for it
+was evident that a few hours more would settle the question one way or
+the other. Somers was not disposed to wait until night, which would
+favor the chase more than himself; and he was afraid, if he headed
+towards her, that she would take the alarm and beat him on time. He kept
+quiet for a couple of hours, just as though he were waiting for the
+darkness to cover him in running the blockade.
+
+His plan seemed to be a success, for after a while the Ben Ledi began to
+bear down upon him. It was an anxious hour for Somers. He ordered the
+first lieutenant to beat to quarters, and the chief engineer to have on
+a full head of steam. The guns were loaded with solid shot, and every
+preparation made for an exciting time. Pillgrim did not seem to suspect
+thus far that the steamer under English colors was the one he had left
+in Halifax harbor. It was certain that he did not yet recognize her.
+
+The Firefly reciprocated the attention of the Ben Ledi, and moved slowly
+towards her, for Somers was careful not to excite suspicion by being
+precipitate. The two steamers approached within three miles, and the
+respective captains were busy in examining each other's ship through
+their glasses. The chase now hoisted her number. As Somers had the
+Lloyd's signal book, he read it without difficulty. It was the Ben Ledi.
+To the question, "What ship is that?" he had no answer to give, for it
+was not prudent to hoist the old number of the Ben Lomond.
+
+Our younger readers may not understand how a conversation is carried on
+between ships at sea, several miles distant from each other. There are
+ten small signal flags representing the nine digits and the zero. Any
+number can of course be formed of these figures. Every ship is provided
+with a number, which if it consists of two figures is represented by two
+flags, hoisted together; three figures, three flags; and so on.
+
+The signal book also contains a great number of questions and answers,
+such as, "What ship is that?" "Where bound?" "All well." "Short of
+water," &c. Each sentence has its invariable number, which may be
+indicated by the signal flags. If one vessel shows the number 124, the
+captain of the ship signalized would find this number in his signal
+book; and against it would be printed the question or answer.
+
+Somers was not disposed to reply to the question of Pillgrim; and as he
+did not do so, the traitor immediately took the alarm. The Ben Ledi went
+about, and made off to the eastward under full steam. The Firefly was
+all ready to follow, and then commenced a most exciting chase. It was
+useless to waste shot at that distance, and Somers confined his
+attention to the speed of his vessel. For three hours the pursuit was
+continued, without any perceptible decrease of the distance between the
+two steamers.
+
+But it was soon discovered that Pillgrim was gradually wearing round.
+Somers perceived his intention, but it was not prudent to attempt to
+cut him off all at once, by taking the arc of a smaller circle; but he
+worked his ship slowly round; and when both vessels were headed to the
+west, he had gained a mile. Pillgrim had evidently made up his mind to
+go into Wilmington at any risk, though under ordinary circumstances the
+more prudent course would have been for him to continue at sea, where a
+dark night or a fog might have enabled him to elude his pursuer. Somers
+concluded, therefore, that the Ben Ledi was short of coal, for his own
+supply was nearly exhausted.
+
+The furnaces of the Firefly were now worked to their utmost capacity,
+and every expedient to make steam was resorted to by the excited
+engineers and firemen. There was a stiff breeze from the south-west, and
+both vessels had crowded on every stitch of canvas that could be spread.
+It had already been demonstrated that there was no appreciable
+difference in the speed of the two steamers, and the result of the chase
+was to depend entirely upon the management of each.
+
+When the two vessels had come about so as to make a fair wind, the
+Firefly had been the first to spread her canvas, and the superior
+discipline of her crew was thus made apparent. A slight advantage had
+thus been gained, and it was certain that "the balance of power" lay in
+the sails. At meridian an observation was obtained, and the position of
+the ship was accurately laid down on the chart. The latitude was 33 deg.
+59' 7"; the longitude 76 deg. 29' 23". To make the Swash Channel, which was
+covered by the guns of Fort Fisher, the Ben Ledi would have laid a
+course about half a point south of west; but her present course was
+west-south-west. Somers, after examining his chart, had some doubts
+whether she was going into Wilmington.
+
+Tom Longstone had the deck during the afternoon watch. He was a veteran
+seaman, and his experience had made him more familiar with canvas than
+with steam. With the most anxious solicitude he watched the sails during
+the afternoon, and under his skilful directions they were kept perfectly
+trimmed. On that momentous occasion everything was reduced down to the
+finest point, as well in the handling of the engine as the tacks,
+sheets, and halliards.
+
+The case was hopeful, though the gain could not be perceived in one, or
+two, hours; but at eight bells hardly a mile lay between the contending
+steamers. The first lieutenant wanted to open on the chase with the
+rifled gun on the top-gallant forecastle; but Somers refused permission,
+for while he was gaining on the Ben Ledi only in inches, he could not
+afford to lose feet by the recoil of the gun, until there was a better
+chance of hitting the mark. At two bells in the first dog watch, just as
+the sun was setting, the Ben Ledi doubled Frying Pan Shoals, passing
+close to the breakers. Then, as her people discovered a couple of
+vessels belonging to the blockading squadron, she sheered off, and went
+to the westward.
+
+These changes, with the doubt and uncertainty which prevailed on board
+of the Ben Ledi, had been very favorable to the Firefly, now within half
+a mile of her. Two vessels from the blockading fleet had started to
+engage in the exciting work, but they were too late to help or hinder
+the pursuit. Somers gave the order to fire upon the Ben Ledi, which was
+now endeavoring to work round to the Beach Channel.
+
+Though the darkness had settled down upon the chase, the Firefly
+continued the pursuit with unabated vigor. Her pilot was familiar with
+the channels, bars, and shoals. Shot after shot was fired at the Ben
+Ledi, and it was soon evident that one of them had in some way damaged
+her wheels, for she was rapidly losing ground. But now a battery on Oak
+Island suddenly opened on the Firefly.
+
+"We must end this thing," said Somers, as a shot from the fort whizzed
+over his head.
+
+"Yes, sir," replied the first lieutenant. "We can hardly pass that
+battery."
+
+"Try the hundred pounder."
+
+When the pivot gun was ready, the Firefly swung round, and the heavy
+piece roared out its salutation to the blockade runner. It was aimed by
+Tom Longstone, and the bolt struck the Ben Ledi square in the stern,
+breaking in her counter, and leaving her helpless on the water. The
+Firefly stopped her wheels. A shot from the fort crushed through her
+smoke-stack.
+
+The chase, completely disabled, drifted on the beach and grounded, under
+the guns of the battery. The Firefly now poured shell into her from
+every gun that could be brought to bear. In a few moments a sheet of
+flame rose from her, and lighted up the channel for miles around,
+clearly revealing to the gunners in the fort the exact position of
+Somers's vessel.
+
+The work had been accomplished, the Ben Ledi had been destroyed, and the
+Firefly hastened to escape from her dangerous locality. In coming about
+she poured a parting broadside into the burning steamer. As she swung
+round, a hail from the water was heard, and a boat containing several
+men was discovered. It had been carried by the tide away from the beach.
+The occupants were taken on board, though one of them was wounded and
+utterly helpless. They had no oars, and were in danger of being carried
+out to sea.
+
+"Here's the cap'n; he was hit by a piece of a shell," said one of the
+men.
+
+"Who is he?" asked Somers.
+
+"Cap'n Pillgrim."
+
+The sufferer was taken down into the ward-room, and the surgeon began to
+examine him as the Firefly steamed down the channel under a shower of
+shot and shell from the battery.
+
+"How is he?" asked the young commander, when the ship had passed out of
+the reach of the guns of the fort.
+
+"He is dead!" replied the surgeon.
+
+"Dead! Good Heaven!" exclaimed Somers, impressed by the terrible
+retribution which had at last overtaken the traitor.
+
+"Yes, sir; he died a few moments since. A fragment of a shell tore open
+his breast and penetrated his lungs," added the surgeon.
+
+"That's the last of him," said Lieutenant Longstone. "He will lay no
+more plots."
+
+"He has been a dangerous enemy to his country," continued Somers. "If he
+had succeeded in running in with that vessel, he would have obtained her
+armament, and made terrible havoc among the merchant ships on the coast.
+He was a daring fellow; he was reckless at times. He told me on board of
+the Chatauqua that he had purchased three steamers in Scotland; this is
+the last one."
+
+"Three Bens," added Tom. "Captain Somers, you have had a hand in
+capturing and destroying them all."
+
+"I have; and it is really marvellous, when I think of it."
+
+"I knew you would capture the Ben Ledi," continued the second
+lieutenant, exultingly.
+
+"I did not capture her."
+
+"It is the same thing."
+
+"You will not find it so when your prize money is distributed."
+
+"A fig for the prize money," replied Tom, contemptuously. "We destroyed
+her; and it's all the same thing. I would rather have had that villain
+hanged than killed by an honest shell; but there is no help for it now."
+
+"Peace, Mr. Longstone; he is dead now. We have nothing more to do with
+him."
+
+The body of Mr. Pillgrim was laid out in a proper place, and as the coal
+bunkers of the Firefly were nearly empty, she was headed for Port Royal,
+where she arrived on the afternoon of the following day. On the passage,
+the men from the Ben Ledi, who had been picked up in the boat, were
+examined in regard to their knowledge of her ultimate use. One of the
+party was an intelligent English seaman, who acknowledged that he had
+shipped, for the Confederate navy, in the Sunny South, which was to be
+the new name of the Ben Ledi. She had waited a month at Halifax for
+orders. Langdon was not on board of her, and the seaman had no knowledge
+of any such person.
+
+The Firefly had not been seen on board the Sunny South until both
+steamers were off Wilmington. After passing Frying Pan Shoals, a shot
+from the Firefly had partially crippled her port wheel, which accident
+had caused her to lose ground rapidly. The projectile from the hundred
+pounder had completely shattered her stern, and disabled her rudder, and
+knocked the engine "all in a heap." The port quarter boat was torn to
+pieces by a shell, the same which had given Pillgrim his mortal wound.
+The after tackle of the other quarter boat had been shot away, and when
+it was dropped into the water the oars were gone. Most of the crew had
+saved themselves by swimming ashore. The Ben Ledi had a valuable cargo,
+which the informer declared was totally destroyed by fire or water.
+
+On her arrival at Port Royal, the Firefly coaled without delay; the body
+of Pillgrim was buried, and after forwarding his despatches to the navy
+department by a supply steamer, Somers sailed again on another cruise
+after privateers, Confederate cruisers, and blockade runners. The
+Tallahassee and the Chickamauga were supposed to be at Wilmington, but
+the Olustee was believed to be still afloat. Of this cruise our limits
+do not permit us to record details; but the Firefly captured a valuable
+steamer in December, and sent her into port. This was the only prize she
+obtained; and being short of coal, she ran into Boston, on New Year's
+day, where her prize had arrived before her.
+
+Somers immediately forwarded his despatches, and awaited the orders of
+the department. Of course he hastened down to Pinchbrook as soon as he
+could leave the ship, where he was heartily welcomed and warmly
+congratulated upon his successful cruise.
+
+"Here's something for you, John," said Mrs. Somers, taking a daintily
+made up letter from the mantel-piece, when the welcome had been given,
+kisses bestowed, and hands shaken. "It has been here a fortnight."
+
+Somers knew the handwriting, for it had often gladdened his heart
+before, and a flush came to his cheeks as he tore open the envelope. It
+was from Kate Portington, whom the young commander had not failed to
+think of every day during his absence, though it was with pain and
+sorrow at the rupture which had separated them. The letter healed his
+only wound.
+
+"I shall never forgive myself," she wrote, "for my harsh treatment of
+you; and I am afraid you can never forgive me. I have seen Mr.
+Hackleford, who says that he _ordered_ you to sign that horrible paper.
+Why didn't you tell me so, John?" He would have told her so, if she had
+given him an opportunity. But she was repentant, and Somers was
+rejoiced.
+
+The letter was four pages in length, and among all the pleasant things
+it contained, the pleasantest was that she was spending a month in
+Boston, at the residence of a friend, where she hoped to see him.
+
+She did see him there, on the very day he received the letter. What
+passed between them we are not at liberty to say in a book of this kind,
+except to inform the reader that Kate was herself again; that in the
+joy of meeting him after this painful rupture, she actually forgot to be
+proper, and in spite of her promise, and her mother's lecture, she
+called him "prodigy." The past, the present, and the future, were
+discussed, and Somers went on board the Firefly the happiest of
+mortals.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+THE END OF THE REBELLION.
+
+
+The Firefly, with her energetic young commander, was too serviceable to
+be permitted long to remain in idleness, and she was ordered to join
+Admiral Porter's squadron, which had failed to capture Fort Fisher in
+December; or rather, the military portion of the expedition had failed
+to do it, for the navy had done its part of the work to the satisfaction
+of the nation.
+
+Somers sailed again, and in due time reported to the admiral, who was
+then waiting for the army, in order to make the second attack. A
+tremendous gale delayed the expedition; but on the 13th of January, the
+bombardment of Fort Fisher was commenced, and the military force was
+landed on Federal Point. A detachment of sailors from the Firefly, under
+the command of Lieutenant Longstone, was sent on shore to join the naval
+brigade, and the steamer was variously employed during the action,
+rendering valuable aid with her hundred pounder, as well as performing
+various duties, for which her great speed and light draught peculiarly
+fitted her. The zeal and energy of Somers were warmly commended, though
+he had no opportunity to render any signal service in the attack.
+
+Fort Fisher fell this time; every man and every ship was faithful; and
+though some were distinguished by gallant exploits, the victory was the
+result of the steadiness of the whole line, rather than of the brilliant
+deeds of the few. The last maritime stronghold of the rebellion was
+reduced, and the sinking Confederacy was shut in from all material
+support from abroad. Its days were numbered, and many of its most rabid
+supporters were now crying out for peace.
+
+The flag of the Union floated over Fort Fisher, and the great fleet
+before its shattered ramparts celebrated the victory with clouds of gay
+flags, with flights of rockets, and with salvos of artillery. It was a
+glorious day for that expedition. Admiral Porter and General Terry won a
+glorious fame and an unfading name upon the annals of their country.
+
+Gallant old Tom Longstone was wounded in the arm in an attempt to rally
+the sailors when they broke under the most terrible fire that mortal men
+ever breasted. Lieutenant Longstone did all that any officer could do,
+but the whole garrison seemed to be gathered at the point where the
+naval assault was made. The sailors were repulsed and driven back. They
+had never been disciplined to this kind of work; yet they fought like
+tigers, hand to hand oftentimes, with the foe; and though they were
+forced back, even while the American flag was floating over the other
+side of the works, it was no disgrace to them. Tom stood by to the last,
+though he was severely wounded, and finally had the satisfaction of
+beholding a complete triumph. The soldiers did wonders on that day--the
+sailors hardly less.
+
+With other vessels of light draught the Firefly went up the river,
+fishing up torpedoes, transporting soldiers, and hammering down rebel
+batteries, and continued upon this duty until General Terry marched into
+the deserted city of Wilmington, and raised the national flag where the
+emblem of treason had insulted the free air for four long years.
+
+The Firefly was ordered to the James River, in the vicinity of which the
+last groan of the expiring monster of Rebellion was soon to be heard;
+and on the 20th of March she was on her winding way up the stream. In
+the mean time Charleston had fallen; negro troops patrolled her streets,
+and the people of this foul nest of secession were suffering the agonies
+of actual subjugation. Sherman, with his grand army, was "marching on"
+in his resistless course, with hardly a foe to impede his exultant
+march. Columbia, the proud capital of arrogant South Carolina, yielded,
+and the people repented their folly in the ashes of the burning city.
+Johnston was retreating before his invincible conqueror, and the whole
+military power of the rebellion east of Mississippi was concentrated
+within an area of not more than a hundred and fifty miles.
+
+The movements of General Grant before Petersburg commenced; and his
+great army, now animated by the sure prestige of victory, was hurled
+against the rebel lines. The shock was tremendous; the whole world
+seemed to be shaken by it, for it was the onslaught of freedom, striking
+its last terrible blow at the legions of slavery.
+
+The fleet on the James was busily employed in fishing up torpedoes, in
+guarding the pontoons across the river, and in "neutralizing" the
+enemy's iron-clads which lay above the obstructions. The Firefly found
+abundant occupation, though there was no opportunity for brilliant and
+startling achievements; but she bore her full share in the hard work and
+disagreeable drudgery of the occasion.
+
+Tom Longstone had entirely recovered from his wound; and being a
+practical man himself, he was the life of every working party sent out
+from the ship. The old man was an immense favorite with the sailors;
+for, unlike many who have risen from a low position to a high, he was
+kind and considerate, while he exacted the full measure of duty from
+all. He was no tyrant, and had a heart for every man, whatever his
+degree.
+
+"Well, Mr. Longstone, we have got almost to the end of the rebellion,"
+said Captain Somers, on one of those last days of March, when the roar
+from beyond Petersburg was heavier than usual.
+
+"No doubt of that, captain," replied Tom. "I shall be a boatswain again
+before long."
+
+"Do you dread the time?"
+
+"No, sir; far be it from me. I wouldn't prolong the war a single day, if
+that day would make me an admiral."
+
+"Only one day, Tom?" said Somers, with a smile.
+
+"Not one, sir!" repeated the veteran, with emphasis. "For on that day a
+husband or a father, a brother or a son, might be killed, and I should
+be a murderer before God."
+
+"What do you think of those, then, that began this war?"
+
+"They are murderers! The blood of every man who has been killed in this
+war on both sides rests on their heads. I'd rather be Cain than Jeff
+Davis, or any other man of his crew."
+
+"I think you are right, Tom."
+
+"As for me, it don't make much difference whether I'm a boatswain or an
+admiral. This old hulk won't stand many more storms; and I wouldn't do a
+mean thing for the sake of living twenty years. Well, well," sighed the
+veteran, as he glanced in the direction from which the roar of the
+artillery came, "many a good fellow will lose the number of his mess
+to-day."
+
+"Hundreds of them."
+
+And so the reports of the succeeding days assured them. The rebels had
+stormed and temporarily possessed themselves of Fort Steadman. The
+terrible conflict was opened in earnest; and from that time, swarms of
+prisoners were sent forward to the river, which were guarded by
+detachments of sailors and marines from the fleet.
+
+For three days the storm of war continued to howl in the distance, and
+on the peaceful Sabbath more fiercely than before. Vague rumors were
+flying through the fleet, and everybody felt that the end was at hand.
+Somers retired as usual that night; but in the first watch, Tom
+Longstone came down to him with report of great lights and heavy
+explosions in the direction of Richmond.
+
+The rebels were evacuating the city, blowing up their iron-clads, and
+firing the town. Richmond, which had defied the armies of the Union for
+four years, had fallen. The heroic and persevering Grant had struck a
+blow miles away, which tumbled down the last stronghold of treason. Jeff
+Davis and his cabinet were fugitives now, fleeing from men, while the
+wrath of God pursued where men could not reach them.
+
+The morning came, and with it the glad tidings of victory, which
+foreshadowed peace. The Firefly was ordered to move up the river, and
+she went up into waters where a loyal steamer had not floated for four
+years. The negro troops were even then marching through the streets of
+Richmond. The note of rejoicing, begun in the early morning, was
+continued through the day. The brightest flags and the heaviest guns
+proclaimed the joyful event.
+
+The Firefly went up to Varina, and then returned. This river was clear;
+there was no sign of an enemy upon its waters. At City Point the sounds
+of rejoicing thrilled upon the ear of soldier and sailor. Cheer upon
+cheer rent the air, gun upon gun roared the paean of triumph, and every
+heart beat in unison with the glad acclaim.
+
+"Glory, hallelujah!" shouted Somers, on the quarter deck of the Firefly,
+as she passed through the fleet.
+
+"Glory, hallelujah!" returned all who heard him.
+
+Three rousing cheers, such as Jack only can give, came from the
+flag-ship, as the Firefly ran under her counter.
+
+"What's that?" asked Somers--for there seemed to be something unusual
+going on.
+
+Calling his gig, he went on board the flag-ship to report the result of
+his visit up the river. On the quarter deck he discovered a familiar
+face, which thrilled his heart with delight. It was "Brave Old Salt."
+
+Somers approached the vice admiral, cap in hand, and was immediately
+recognized.
+
+"Mr. Somers, I am delighted to see you!" said the admiral, extending his
+hand.
+
+"Thank you, sir," replied the young commander. "This is an unexpected
+happiness to me."
+
+"There is only one joy to-day, Mr. Somers," continued the admiral.
+"Richmond has fallen, and the rebellion is ended!"
+
+"Glory, hallelujah!" said Somers, waving his cap.
+
+"I came down here to learn what Grant was doing. God bless him! He has
+done everything," added the admiral.
+
+Rear Admiral Porter now ordered the Firefly to be placed at the disposal
+of the Old Salamander, and Somers was happy in the duty assigned to him.
+A twelve-oar barge received the vice admiral, and conveyed him to the
+steamer in which his voyage was to be continued. When he was on board,
+the barge was towed astern for his use farther up the river.
+
+The Firefly steamed up the river with her illustrious passenger, and at
+the invitation of the admiral, Somers accompanied him to Richmond.
+
+A day later came President Lincoln in a barge, attended by Admiral
+Porter, and Somers had the honor of being formally presented to the
+chief magistrate of the nation, who had a pleasant word for him, as he
+had for all who approached him. Somers assisted in the ovation to the
+president, and listened with wonder and delight to the shouts of the
+negroes, as they greeted the author of the Emancipation Proclamation as
+the saviour and redeemer of their race.
+
+Ten days later, that simple, great man fell by the hand of the assassin,
+though not till the news of the surrender of Lee's army had gladdened
+his heart, and assured him that the great work of his lifetime was
+finished.
+
+Somers was shocked, stunned by the fearful news, the more so that he had
+so recently pressed the hand of the illustrious martyr; and though the
+nation was full of mourners, there were none more sincere in their grief
+than the young commander of the Firefly. He wept as he would have wept
+for his own father; and shutting himself up in his cabin, in solemn
+fast, he read his Bible and prayed for the land he loved. How many true
+souls did the same, when they heard of the awful tragedy!
+
+The war was ended. A few days later came the news of Johnston's
+surrender. One by one, the gunboats were ordered north, and in June the
+Firefly dropped her anchor off the navy yard at Charlestown. A few hours
+later Somers was in the arms of the loved ones at home, weeping tears of
+joy that the sound of strife was no more heard in the land.
+
+The Firefly was no longer needed in the navy, and with a hundred others
+she was sold. As soon as she went out of commission, Tom Longstone,
+having been "honorably discharged with the thanks of the department" as
+an ensign, returned to his former rank of boatswain. When he obtained a
+furlough, he paid a visit to Pinchbrook, where he was kindly received by
+all the friends of his _protege_. The old man had money enough to buy
+him a farm and retire from the navy; but he obstinately refused to do so
+while Somers retained his commission. He confidently expected to be
+appointed boatswain of the ship to which Lieutenant Somers might be
+ordered.
+
+During his absence Somers had received occasional letters from Kate
+Portington; and we will not undertake to say how many reams of fine note
+paper he spoiled in saying what can be of interest to none but the
+parties concerned. Of course there was any quantity of liquid moonshine
+spread out on these dainty sheets, and the young man was all the happier
+for writing it, as she was for reading it, for Kate and Somers had come
+to an excellent understanding with each other on these matters.
+
+At the earliest day the public service would admit, he hastened to
+Newport; but on his arrival he found the commodore's house filled with
+grief and lamentation. The husband and the father--the kindest of
+husbands and the tenderest of fathers--had been suddenly stricken down
+in New Orleans, where his ship was stationed. The sad tidings had come
+but a few hours before; and a few hours later it had flashed all over
+the land that one of the nation's truest defenders had fallen at the
+post of duty.
+
+In her grief Kate clung to Somers, who became the tenderest of
+comforters. Then she learned, when earth was dark to her, what a wealth
+of holy hope and pious faith there was in the soul of him she had chosen
+from the whole world to lean upon in joy and in sorrow, in prosperity
+and adversity, till life's fitful dream was over. Fondly she looked up
+to him in her heavy affliction, and through him to the heaven of which
+he spoke. He wept with her for him who was gone, and if she had loved
+him before, she reverenced him now.
+
+Two weeks after the news came a steamer bearing the remains of the
+deceased commodore. Then the tears broke out afresh, and Somers
+continued to perform the holy office he had chosen. With the bereaved
+child--the only one--he stood at the tomb, and helped her to see the
+glory that streamed forth beyond its dark portals. Every day, for weeks
+after, he visited her, never now to speak of his own selfish heart
+yearnings, but to utter words of peace and hope. When he announced his
+intention to return home, she could not restrain her tears, so needful
+had he become to her in the depth of her sorrow.
+
+In the autumn her mother and herself came to Boston to spend the winter.
+Kate was cheerful now, but the affliction through which she had passed
+had given a shade of pensive sadness to her beautiful face, which time
+alone could wear away. They attended the wedding of Major Somers,
+John's brother, and rejoiced with him as he put the cup of bliss to his
+lips. Lilian and Kate became fast friends; they were nearer alike now
+than before the death of Commodore Portington.
+
+The winter passed away, and early in March Lieutenant Somers was
+appointed to a ship bound to the Pacific Ocean. He must be absent two or
+three years. He hastened to Kate with the intelligence; and sad as it
+was to himself, he knew it would be infinitely more so to her. She
+turned pale, and burst into tears. Her mother was hardly less affected.
+
+"You must not go, John! O, no! You will not leave me!"
+
+"I must obey orders."
+
+"You can resign," suggested Mrs. Portington.
+
+"Resign!" exclaimed Somers. "Resign when I am ordered to difficult or
+disagreeable duty."
+
+"You need not make so much of it," added the matron, with a smile.
+"There are twice as many officers in the navy as are required. It is
+certainly no disgrace, in time of peace, to resign. You will only make a
+place for another who wants to visit the Pacific."
+
+"You must resign, John," pleaded Kate, with an eloquence which he could
+not resist.
+
+"On one condition I will do so," replied he, at last. "If there should
+be war, I shall return to my post, if needed."
+
+And thus it was that Somers left the navy. His prize money, which had
+been carefully invested from time to time by Captain Barney, now
+amounted to more than twenty thousand dollars. He was able to retire,
+and he did so.
+
+It is generally understood that they are to be married in the autumn,
+when Mr. Somers will receive half a million with his wife, who is worth
+a million times that sum herself. As the happy event has not yet
+occurred, we have nothing to say about it, but we wish them every joy in
+anticipation. Mrs. Portington speaks hopefully of the occasion, and has
+already selected a location, in the vicinity of Boston, where the happy
+young couple are to reside.
+
+This event has decided Tom Longstone. He has thrown up his warrant, and
+bought a farm in Pinchbrook, on which he intends to "lay up" for the
+rest of his life. A niece, who lost her husband in the war, is his
+housekeeper, and at the time of Somers's last visit, the veteran was at
+the high tide of felicity.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+With many regrets we bid adieu to John Somers, to Thomas his brother,
+and all of the family. We leave them prosperous and happy; but they have
+purchased earth's joys and heaven's hopes by being faithful to
+duty--true to God and themselves.
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+    THE ARMY AND NAVY STORIES.
+
+    In Six Volumes.
+
+    A Library for Young and Old.
+
+    BY OLIVER OPTIC.
+
+
+    I.
+    THE SOLDIER BOY;
+    Or, Tom Somers in the Army.
+
+    II.
+    THE SAILOR BOY;
+    Or, Jack Somers in the Navy.
+
+    III.
+    THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT;
+    Or, The Adventures of an Army Officer.
+    A SEQUEL TO "THE SOLDIER BOY."
+
+    IV.
+    THE YANKEE MIDDY;
+    Or, The Adventures of a Naval Officer.
+    A SEQUEL TO "THE SAILOR BOY."
+
+    V.
+    FIGHTING JOE;
+    Or, The Fortunes of a Staff Officer.
+    A SEQUEL TO "THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT."
+
+    VI.
+    BRAVE OLD SALT;
+    Or, Life on the Quarter Deck.
+    A SEQUEL TO "THE YANKEE MIDDY."
+
+
+    WOODVILLE STORIES.
+
+    BY OLIVER OPTIC.
+
+           *       *       *       *       *
+
+    I.
+    RICH AND HUMBLE;
+    Or, The Mission of Bertha Grant.
+
+    II.
+    IN SCHOOL AND OUT;
+    Or, The Conquest of Richard Grant.
+
+    III.
+    WATCH AND WAIT;
+    Or, the Young Fugitives.
+
+    IV.
+    WORK AND WIN.
+
+    V.
+    HOPE AND HAVE.
+    (In preparation.)
+
+    VI.
+    HASTE AND WASTE.
+    (In preparation.)
+
+           *       *       *       *       *
+
+    LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers.
+
+
+    LIBRARY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.
+
+    BY OLIVER OPTIC.
+
+           *       *       *       *       *
+
+    I.
+    THE BOAT CLUB;
+    OR, THE BUNKERS OF RIPPLETON.
+
+    II.
+    ALL ABOARD;
+    OR, LIFE ON THE LAKE.
+
+    III.
+    LITTLE BY LITTLE;
+    OR, THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY.
+
+    IV.
+    TRY AGAIN;
+    OR, THE TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF HARRY WEST.
+
+    V.
+    NOW OR NEVER;
+    OR, THE ADVENTURES OF BOBBY BRIGHT.
+
+    VI.
+    POOR AND PROUD;
+    OR, THE FORTUNES OF KATY REDBURN.
+
+    Six volumes, put up in a neat box.
+
+           *       *       *       *       *
+
+    LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers.
+
+
+    RIVERDALE STORY BOOKS.
+
+    BY OLIVER OPTIC.
+
+    12 vols., in neat box.
+
+    I.
+    THE LITTLE MERCHANT.
+
+    II.
+    THE YOUNG VOYAGERS.
+
+    III.
+    THE CHRISTMAS GIFT.
+
+    IV.
+    DOLLY AND I.
+
+    V.
+    UNCLE BEN.
+
+    VI.
+    BIRTH-DAY PARTY.
+
+    VII.
+    PROUD AND LAZY.
+
+    VIII.
+    CARELESS KATE.
+
+    IX.
+    ROBINSON CRUSOE, JR.
+
+    X.
+    THE PICNIC PARTY.
+
+    XI.
+    THE GOLD THIMBLE.
+
+    XII.
+    THE DO-SOMETHINGS.
+
+           *       *       *       *       *
+
+    LEE & SHEPARD,... Publishers.
+
+
+    Sophie May's Popular Series.
+
+    LITTLE PRUDY STORIES.
+
+    Six Volumes.
+
+    ILLUSTRATED.
+
+    COMPRISING:
+
+    Little Prudy.
+    Little Prudy's Sister Susie.
+    Little Prudy's Capt. Horace.
+    Little Prudy's Cousin Grace.
+    Little Prudy's Story Book.
+    Little Prudy's Dotty Dimple.
+
+    Price per Volume, 75 cents.
+
+Read the high commendation of the _North American Review_, which places
+this series at the
+
+
+Head of Juvenile Literature.
+
+     "Genius comes in with 'Little Prudy.' Compared with her, all
+     other book-children are cold creations of Literature only; she
+     alone is the real thing. All the quaintness of childhood, its
+     originality, its tenderness and its teasing,--its infinite,
+     unconscious drollery, the serious earnestness of its fun, the
+     fun of its seriousness, the natural religion of its plays, and
+     the delicious oddity of its prayers,--all these waited for dear
+     Little Prudy to embody them. Sam Weller is not more piquant;
+     Hans Andersen's nutcrackers and knitting-needles are not more
+     thoroughly charged with life. Who is our benefactress in the
+     authorship of these books the world knows not. Sophie May must
+     doubtless be a fancy name, by reason of the spelling, and we
+     have only to be grateful that the author did not inflict on us
+     the customary alliteration in her pseudonyme. The rare gift of
+     delineating childhood is hers, and may the line of 'Little
+     Prudy' go out to the end of the earth.... To those
+     oversaturated with transatlantic traditions, we recommend a
+     course of 'Little Prudy.'"
+
+Copies of any of the above books sent by mail on receipt of price.
+
+    LEE AND SHEPARD,
+    PUBLISHERS,
+    149 Washington Street, Boston.
+
+MRS. LESLIE'S JUVENILE SERIES,
+
+FOR BOYS.
+
+Put up in a neat box. Price $6.00 a set, or $1.50 a vol. Comprising
+
+
+THE MOTHERLESS CHILDREN.
+
+A thrilling story of orphanage, illustrating the trials and temptations
+of the young, and the happy results of Christian nurture.
+
+
+HOWARD AND HIS TEACHER;
+
+WITH THE SISTER'S INFLUENCE, AND OTHER STORIES.
+
+An illustration of the different modes of home-government with their
+results.
+
+
+PLAY AND STUDY.
+
+An interesting story of school-days, very suggestive of practical hints
+to parents and teachers, and of the manner in which they may aid their
+children and pupils in the invention of their own amusements, for their
+relief and stimulus in study.
+
+
+JACK THE CHIMNEY-SWEEPER,
+
+AND OTHER STORIES FOR YOUTH.
+
+This charming book is a most happy illustration of the duties enjoined
+in the Commandments, and in other precepts of Scripture, but is entirely
+free from all denominational bias.
+
+Each volume handsomely illustrated, bound in good style and distinct
+from the others.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+LEE & SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS, BOSTON.
+
+
+MRS. LESLIE'S JUVENILE SERIES
+
+FOR GIRLS.
+
+Put up in a neat box. Price $6.00 a set, or $1.50 a vol. Comprising
+
+
+LITTLE AGNES.
+
+This little book is an entertaining and instructive story of a girl
+whose patience, industry, and fidelity raised her to eminence, honor,
+and happiness.
+
+
+TRYING TO BE USEFUL.
+
+A narrative showing the happy results of worthy resolution and endeavor.
+
+
+I'LL TRY.
+
+An exhibition of the successful reward of perseverance to the
+acquisition of fortune and fame.
+
+
+ART AND ARTLESSNESS.
+
+In this admirable volume the virtues which adorn female loveliness
+appear in bold and enviable contrast with the arts of coquetry and
+deception.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The above elegant series have been recently issued, and are written in
+an attractive style, and calculated to interest the young. A sound moral
+tone pervades each volume, and in point of interest and instruction they
+are unsurpassed by any series published. Each volume contains, on an
+average, 260 pages, 16mo, is elegantly illustrated, bound in muslin, and
+entirely distinct from the rest.
+
+
+LEE & SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS, BOSTON.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Brave Old Salt, by Oliver Optic
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