A Victorious Union Part 8

"Let him come into the cabin, then," said Captain Sullendine, in order to settle the question. "Now, Bokes, take this apple-jack, and show the other six to the deck-house. Give 'em one or two drinks all round. It'll do 'em good."

Bokes obeyed the order, after the master had lighted another lantern for his use, and he went over the bales of cotton to the seamen.

Captain Sullendine remarked with great complacency that he always treated his men well, gave them enough to eat and drink, and he thought the apple-jack he had sent them would do them good. He liked to be liberal with his crew, for he believed a tot of grog would go further with them than "cussin' 'em;" and the two mates did not gainsay him, though they believed in neither grog nor "cussin'."

Though Christy never drank a drop of intoxicating fluid under any circ.u.mstances, and Graines almost never, both of them believed that "apple-jack" had been a very serviceable ally during the night so far.

Rut they considered it useful only in the hands of the enemy, and they were sorry to see the bottles sent forward for the use of Belleviters; for they were afraid some of them might muddle and tangle their brains with the fiery liquor.

"Come, mates, let's go down into the cabin now," continued the captain, descending the ladder without waiting for them.

"I will go forward for a few minutes, Charley," whispered Christy in the ear of the engineer, who followed the captain below.

When the lieutenant reached the deck-house he found the men there, with Bokes in the act of taking a long pull at one of the bottles, while French was holding the other.

"Here's the second mate," said the seaman with the bottle.

"You can keep the bottle you have, Bokes," said Christy. "Now go aft with it." The sleepy sailor was willing enough to obey such a welcome order, and the lieutenant took the other bottle to the side and emptied it into the water. The men did not object, and the new second mate joined the master in the cabin.

CHAPTER VIII

ON BOARD OF THE COTTON SCHOONER

Probably some, if not all, of the six men in the deck-house of the West Wind were in the habit of taking intoxicating liquors when they were ash.o.r.e, and when it was served out on board of the ship in conformity with the rules and traditions of the navy. The commander and his executive officer labored for the promotion of total abstinence among the officers and crew. More than the usual proportion of the men commuted their "grog ration" for money, through the influence of the princ.i.p.al officers.

While the commander of the present expedition accepted the aid of the powerful ally, "apple-jack," in the service of his country, drinking freely appeared to him to be about the same thing as going over to the enemy; and he could not permit his men to turn traitors involuntarily, when he knew they would not do so of their own free will and accord.

He had settled the liquor question to his own satisfaction in the deck-house, returning the bottle to French.

When Graines went below, a minute or two later than Captain Sullendine, he saw his new superior in the act of tossing off another gla.s.s of whiskey, as he concluded it was from the label on the bottle which stood on the cabin table. He had been considerably exhilarated before, and he was in a fair way to strengthen the ally of the loyalists by carrying his powerful influence to the head of the commander of the intending blockade-runner. The captain seated himself at the table, and Christy saw that he had a flat bottle in his breast-pocket.

"Now, Mr. Balker, we had better seal up the bargain we've made with forty drops from this bottle," said he, as he poured out a gla.s.s for himself, regardless of the fact that he had just indulged; and at the same time he pushed the bottle and another gla.s.s towards the new mate.

Graines covered the lower part of the gla.s.s with his hand, and poured a few drops into it. Putting some water with it from the pitcher, he raised the tumbler in imitation of the captain.

"Here's success to the right side," added the master, as he drank off the contents of the gla.s.s.

"I drink that toast with all my mind, heart, and soul," added the engineer, with decided emphasis, though he knew that "the right side"

did not always convey the same idea.

"Help yourself, Mr.-- I've forgot your name, Second Mate," he added as he moved towards the companion ladder.

"Jerry Sandman, sir, and I will help myself to what I want," replied Christy.

"That's right, Mr. Sandman; make yourself at home in this cabin. I must go on deck and take a look at the Tallahatchie," added the master as he went up the ladder, followed by Graines.

The lieutenant helped himself to a gla.s.s of water, after rinsing the tumbler, for that was what he wanted. Sopsy the cook immediately appeared, bearing a tray on which were several dishes of eatables, bread and ham being the princ.i.p.al. The bottle was in his way; and after he had drunk off half a tumblerful of its contents, he removed it to the pantry. He proceeded to set the table.

"Oft in der chizzly night, 'fore slumber's yoke hab tooken me," hummed Sopsy as he worked at the table.

"Where is this schooner bound, Sopsy?" asked Christy.

"Bound to dat boon whar no trab'ler returns," replied the cook, pausing in his occupation and staring the second mate full in the face.

"That bourn is Na.s.sau, I reckon," laughed the lieutenant.

"I s'pose she's gwine dar if she don't go to dat boon where no trab'lers come back agin," answered Sopsy seriously. "Be you Meth'dis' o'

Bab'tis', Ma.s.sa Mate?"

"Both, Sopsy."

"Can't be bof, Ma.s.sa."

"Then I'm either one you like."

"That ain't right, Ma.s.sa Secon' Mate, 'cordin' as you was brung up,"

said the cook, shaking his head violently, as though he utterly disapproved of the mate's theology.

"I'm a theosophist, Sopsy."

"A seehossofist!" exclaimed the cook, dropping a plate in his astonishment. "We don't hab none o' dem on sh.o.r.e in de Souf. I reckon dey libs in de water."

"No; they live on the mountains."

"We hain't got no mount'ns down here, and dat's de reason we don't hab none on 'em," added Sopsy as he went to the pantry; but presently returned with a plate of pickles in one hand and the whiskey bottle in the other. "Does dem sea-hosses drink whisker, Ma.s.sa Secon' Mate?"

"They never drink a drop of it."

"Dis colored pusson ain't no sea-hoss, and he do drink whiskey when he kin git it," added the cook; and he half filled a tumbler with the contents of the bottle, and drank it off at a single gulp.

He had hardly placed it on the table in the middle of the dishes before the captain came below. His first step was to take a liberal potation from the bottle. As he raised it to the swinging lamp, he discovered that the fluid had been freely expended in his absence.

"You've punished this bottle all it deserves," said he when he perceived that its level had been considerably lowered, and he did not ask the new officer to join him. "That's all right, Mr. Sandman; but I don't want you to take more than you can manage to-night, for we have a big job on our hands, and we want our heads where we shall be able to find them.

Now go on deck, and learn what you can about the vessel, for we hain't got but half an hour more before the Tallahatchie goes to sea. We may have lots of music after we get outside; but I reckon our steamer can outsail anything the Yankees have got on the blockade. Don't drink no more, Mr. Sandman; and when we git to Na.s.sau you can have a reg'lar blowout."

"I won't touch another drop before we get out of the bay, Cap'n Sullendine," protested Christy, without betraying the misdemeanor of the cook, as doubtless it was.

"That's right, Mr. Sandman; we must all have our heads on our shoulders to-night," said the captain, as he drank off the potion he had prepared.

Christy wished to hold the commander to his own advice; but that would have been fighting on the wrong side for him, and Sopsy escaped a reprimand, if not a kick or two, by his forbearance. By this time the bottle was nearly empty; but the skipper put it under lock and key in a closet, which seemed to be well filled with others like it. Christy went on deck, in obedience to the order he had received, and found the engineer on the quarter-deck buried in the fog, which was just then more dense than at any time before.

"The captain's pretty well set 'up,' isn't he Christy?" said Graines in a low tone.

"About half seas over; but he knows what he is about, though he took another heavy potion just now," replied the lieutenant.

"All right; I think we can manage this craft very well without him,"

added Graines with a smile, which could not be seen in the darkness.