Fighting for the Right Part 26

Christy was not disposed to converse on the subject, and he began to wonder in what manner the Snapper could give her pursuer the slip. The former was the smaller vessel, and probably did not draw over fourteen feet of water, if she did more than twelve. It might be possible for her to run into shoal water where the pursuer could not follow her.

After the dinner table was cleared off, the captain seated himself at it with a chart spread out before him. It was plain enough that he was devising some expedient to escape the three-master. Christy did not deem it prudent to observe him, and he went on deck. It was as clear as the daylight that the pursuer was gaining rapidly upon the Snapper; and the prisoner did not believe that the latter was making over twelve knots.

By this time seven hours had elapsed since the distant sail had come in sight, and she was now near enough for the prisoner to be sure that she was the Chateaugay. She could make sixteen knots when driven at her best, and she must be gaining four or five knots an hour on the chase.

Christy had been through this channel in the Bellevite, and he discovered that the steamer was running near the shoal water. Presently the captain came on deck, and he appeared to be less nervous than before, perhaps because he had arranged his plan to escape his pursuer.

Within an hour Christy recognized the East Isaac, a rock rising ten or twelve feet above the surface of the water, which he identified by its nearness to one over which the sea was breaking. The captain was too much occupied in the study of the surroundings to take any notice of him, and he endeavored to keep out of his sight.

The prisoner consulted his watch, and found it was four o'clock. The tower of the Great Isaac light could just be made out. The Chateaugay was not more than four miles astern of the Snapper, and in another hour she would certainly come up with her, if Captain f.l.a.n.g.er did not put his plan into execution. The course of the chase continued to bring her nearer to the reefs.

"Ring one bell!" shouted the captain to the quartermaster at the wheel.

The effect of one bell was to reduce the speed of the Snapper by one-half. The order to put the helm hard a starboard followed in a short time. The course was made about south, and the steamer went ahead slowly. Two men in the chains were heaving the lead constantly. They were reporting four and five fathoms. After the vessel had gone five or six miles on this course, it was changed to about south-west. She was then moving in a direction directly opposite to that of the Chateaugay, and the anxious prisoner could see the man-of-war across the reefs which lifted their heads above the water, very nearly abreast of the Snapper, though at least ten miles distant from her.

"Do you know what steamer that is, Mr. Pa.s.sford?" asked Captain f.l.a.n.g.er, coming aft, apparently for the purpose of finding him.

"How should I know, Captain?" asked Christy.

"I thought you might know her by sight."

"I could hardly be expected to know all the ships in the United States navy by sight, Captain, for there are a great many of them by this time."

"All right; she looks like a pretty large vessel, and the bigger the better. I hope you won't get up a disappointment for yourself by expecting that you are going to get out of this sc.r.a.pe," said Captain f.l.a.n.g.er, and there was a great deal of bitterness in his tones.

"I am taking things as they come, Captain."

"The Snapper is not a man-of-war, and she is engaged in a peaceful voyage. If that fellow thinks of capturing me, he is reckoning without his host. He has no more right to make a prize of me than he has to murder me," protested the captain, as he gave the order to hoist the British flag.

"Of course you know your business better than I do, Captain f.l.a.n.g.er, and I don't propose to interfere with it," replied Christy.

The commander walked forward again, giving the order to the quartermaster to ring two bells, which presently brought the steamer to a full stop, quite near the rocks which were awash to the northward of her. As the captain moved forward he encountered the first officer in the waist, who addressed him, and they began a conversation, none of which Christy could hear. From the looks and gestures of the mate, he concluded that they were talking about him.

It was not difficult to imagine the subject of the conversation, and it was evident to Christy that the first officer had suggested an idea to his commander. While he was waiting impatiently to ascertain what the Chateaugay would do next, Percy Pierson came on deck looking very pale, for it had been reported at breakfast that he was very sea-sick.

"How are you, Christy?" asked the Southerner.

"I am very well, I thank you."

"Haven't you been sea-sick?" asked the invalid.

"Of course not; I never was sea-sick."

"But what has the steamer stopped for?" asked Percy, looking about him.

"Captain f.l.a.n.g.er seems to think that vessel over there is a United States man-of-war."

"Will she capture the Snapper?" asked the sufferer, looking paler than before.

At this moment a boat was lowered from the davits into the water, and Christy was invited by the mate to take a seat in the stern sheets. He was astounded at this request, and wondered what it meant.

CHAPTER XXIV

THE TABLES TURNED

Christy understood the character of Captain f.l.a.n.g.er well enough to be confident he meant mischief to him in getting him into the boat. He concluded that this movement was the result of the conference with the mate. He had a suspicion that his terrible enemy intended to drown him, or get rid of him in some other manner.

"May I ask where I am to be taken in the boat, Mr. Dawbin?" asked the prisoner, suppressing as much as he could the excitement that disturbed him.

"I give you leave to ask, but I cannot answer you," replied the mate.

"If you intend to put me on board of that steamer, it can do no harm to say so, I think," added Christy.

"If you will excuse me, Mr. Pa.s.sford, I cannot answer any questions.

I ask you again to get into the boat," said Mr. Dawbin.

"Well, sir, suppose I decline to do so?"

"Then I shall be compelled to use force, and tumble you into the boat in the best way I can, with the a.s.sistance of my men."

"If you intend to murder me, why can't you do the deed here on deck?"

demanded the prisoner.

"I don't intend to murder you."

"That is some consolation. That lighthouse on the Great Isaac is the only place to which you can convey me, and that is sixteen miles from this steamer. I can't believe you intend to pull me that distance."

"No fooling there!" shouted the captain. "What are you waiting for, Mr.

Dawbin? Why don't you obey my order?"

"The fellow wants to talk," replied the mate.

"If he won't get into the boat, pitch him into it like a dead dog!"

Christy saw that it was useless to resist, though he had a revolver in his pocket which had not been taken from him, for he had not been searched. The mate and two sailors stood in front of him, and he realized that he could accomplish nothing by resistance under present circ.u.mstances. He thought he could do better in the boat after it was beyond the reach of any reinforcements from the steamer. He went over the side, and took his place in the stern sheets.

The mate followed him, and the two men, one of whom was hardly more than a boy, took their places on the thwarts. The boat was shoved off, and the prisoner had an immediate interest in the course it was about to steer. The mate arranged the tiller lines, and then looked about him.

He directed his gaze towards the north, and seemed to be trying to find some object or point. He satisfied himself in some manner, and then resumed his seat, from which he had risen in order to obtain a better view over the waves. The pa.s.senger had watched him closely, and found that his vision had been directed towards the rocks awash and the East Isaac rock. Towards these objects he steered the boat. The Chateaugay was at least three miles to the eastward of these rocks.

Christy watched the course of the boat long enough to satisfy himself that it was headed for the rocks, which were awash at high tide, though they now looked like a minute island. There could be but one object in visiting this locality: and that must be to leave him on that desolate reef. The wind was still fresh from the north-west, and the spray was dashed over the rocks in a manner which suggested that a human being could not remain long on it after the tide was high without being washed off. It was little better than murder to leave him there, and he knew very well that Captain f.l.a.n.g.er would shed no tears if a.s.sured that his troublesome prisoner was no more.

Christy decided that he would not be left on the reef, or even on the top of the East Isaac, which might be a drier place, though hardly more comfortable. It must have been Mr. Dawbin who had suggested the idea of landing him on the reef, for there was no other place nearer than the Great Isaac light. Captain f.l.a.n.g.er had boasted that he sailed a vessel on a peaceful mission, and that the commander of the Chateaugay had no more right to capture him than he had to murder him. But the prisoner knew that the Snapper was to run the blockade, and was bound to Mobile, for the captain had told him so himself.

The commander could now see the folly of his boast. He had not expected to encounter a United States man-of-war in the Bahamas. His prisoner was a naval officer, and would be a strong witness against him. Upon his testimony, and such other evidence as the cargo and other circ.u.mstances might supply, the captain of the steamer in the channel might feel justified in making a prize of the Snapper. It was necessary, therefore, to remove this witness against him. As Christy had imagined, the captain had not thought of his prisoner as a witness, and the mate had suggested it to him.