Within The Enemy's Lines Part 9

"I don't know, but I think it is about half-past eleven. I am not much of an equestrian," replied the steward, as he mounted the horse, "for I have been to sea all my life; but I think I can stay on if the beast don't run away with me."

"He is perfectly gentle, and he will not run away with you. We have no occasion to ride fast, and we may not have to go more than two or three miles."

They rode along the river for a few minutes, and then Christy reined in his steed and dismounted. He went to the water side, at a point where there was a bend, and carefully examined the surroundings, both above and below. He could not see the Bellevite in the darkness, for he had directed the engineer to allow no light to be shown on board of her.

He had brought a little mathematics into his calculations, and he had pointed the big gun of the steamer so as to cover the craft with the walking-beam when she came in sight around this turn of the stream. By this plan she was sure to come into the range of the piece, no matter on which side of the channel she was moving.

"Now, Mr. Watts, I have a further duty for you to perform," said Christy, as he explained his plan to the steward. "We shall go down the river till we meet this steamer which conveys the enemy. As you are a sailor as well as a caterer, you have a nautical eye, and when you have seen this steamer you will know her again."

"Trust me for that. If it is the old tub I think it is, I know her already," answered the steward.

"What steamer do you think it is?"

"The old Vampire; and if you give her much of a rap, she will go to the bottom without the least difficulty."

"I don't care where she goes to, provided she don't put her pa.s.sengers on board of the Bellevite. But I am taking you down the river with me in order that you may see her and know her."

"I shall know her as soon as I see her."

"As I said before, I shall run my horse back and get aboard of the Bellevite as soon as I am satisfied that the enemy are moving up the river," continued Christy.

"I am afraid I shall not be able to keep up with you if you run your horse," suggested the steward.

"I don't want you to keep up with me. You can come along as leisurely as you please, though you must not let the enemy get ahead of you."

"If the enemy are in the old Vampire, I could keep ahead of her on foot."

"You had better keep ahead of her on your horse about a quarter of a mile, or more; but your main duty will be here. I have brought with me half a dozen Roman candles, and I am going to fix them in the ground on this spot. Here is a bunch of matches," said Christy, handing it to him.

The steward watched the midshipman while he planted the fireworks in the sand, and particularly marked the spot where they were located, for his companion told him he was to fire them, and he must be ready to do so without any delay.

"A boy could do that and like the fun of it," said Mr. Watts, laughing at the simple duty he was to perform.

"But it is the time that you are to do it, and the boy might be skylarking, or become impatient. This signal of the fireworks is to a.s.sure us at the right moment that the Vampire, if it should be she, is in the place where I expect her to be."

"I understand it perfectly."

"After I leave you, another steamer may come along, and get to this point ahead of the Vampire; and I should be very sorry to blow her out of the water, or sink her under it. You are to let us know by this signal that it is the Vampire, and no other, that is coming round the bend. You had better leave your horse a short distance from the river, for that gun will make every pane of gla.s.s within a mile of it shake when it is discharged."

"You may be sure that I will not be on his back at that time."

"Still further: I have planted six candles in the sand. You will light only one of them when the steamer begins to round the bend. That will be enough to inform us of the fact on board of the Bellevite."

"What are the others for?" asked the steward, taking a memorandum-book from his pocket as though he intended to write his instructions.

"It is not necessary to write it. We shall not be able to see what effect the shot produces after we fire. If the Vampire, always supposing she is the one, is not hurt, light a second candle--only one of them. If she should be disabled, you will light two candles."

Christy repeated what he had said, and was careful not to give the steward too much to remember. As soon as the matter was fully understood, the middy mounted his horse, and they proceeded on their mission down the river. After they had ridden about three miles, Mr.

Watts insisted that the steamer was coming, and that it was the Vampire.

"I don't see anything," added Christy.

"Neither do I; but I know that the Vampire is coming up the river. If you listen, you will hear a hoa.r.s.e puffing; and nothing but that old ark could make such a wheezy noise," replied the steward.

The middy heard it and was satisfied.

CHAPTER IX

THE APPROACH OF THE VAMPIRE

The Vampire, as the steward had no doubt it was, could not be less than a mile distant from the spot where the two hors.e.m.e.n had halted in the road. Christy was very familiar with this portion of the river, and after he had listened a few moments, he was satisfied from the direction of the sound he heard, that a mile was very nearly the exact distance.

The approaching steamer had to come around a small bend, the arc of which made just a mile.

"I don't wish to blow up a dozen or twenty loyal citizens, and I must make sure in some way that Captain Carboneer's party is on board of that steamer," said Christy, as he led his horse into a field, and tied him to a tree, the steward following his example.

"That would be a very bad thing to do," added Mr. Watts, as they walked back to the river. "But I don't see why it is necessary to blow up even any rebels on the present occasion. If that naval officer has forty men, as you think he has, a shot from that long gun would make terrible havoc among them if you succeeded in hitting her. You might kill half of them."

"If we do they, and not we, will be responsible for it," added Christy, somewhat appalled by the suggestion of his companion.

"If you have steam up on board of the Bellevite, why not get under way and run down the river," continued Mr. Watts.

"Perhaps I am a coward, but I am afraid to do that," replied the midshipman, thoughtfully.

"We all know that you are no coward, Christy, and if you don't send a shot into the Vampire, it will not be because you are afraid."

"Although I know the river as well as any pilot in this vicinity, I should not dare to run the Bellevite at full speed around such a bend as the one off this spot," Christy explained. "We have not above half a dozen trained sailors who know how to handle a cutla.s.s on board, and all the others will be needed in working the steamer. The coal-pa.s.sers would be good for nothing in repelling boarders."

"You think Captain Carboneer would board the steamer, do you?"

"I have no doubt he would. He is a naval officer, and he knows what he is about. There are several ways that he might get a hold on the Bellevite, and, if he got alongside of her, I am afraid it would be all up with us, and we should have a fair chance to see the inside of a Confederate prison. I am afraid to run the risk you suggest, Mr. Watts."

"You know best, and I don't mean to interfere; I only thought I would suggest the idea," added the steward, as they reached the bank of the river again.

After he had secured his horse, Christy had lighted a match and looked at his watch. It was a quarter of one, and still the puffing of the Vampire came from the same direction. It was plain enough to him that the old tub was not a racer. But she showed herself beyond the bend in about a quarter of an hour, indicating that her rate of speed, or rather of slowness, was not more than four statute miles an hour. But this was simply confirmation of what the steward had said on the subject. Yet she was coming, though it was too dark on the river to see her in detail.

Though he strained his eyes to the utmost, Christy could not discover any men on her forward deck.

"I think you had better move back where you cannot be seen," said the midshipman, in a low tone, to his companion.

"Do you wish me to leave you alone, Christy?" asked the steward, surprised at the request.

"That is just what I wish, for I don't care to have any one on board of the Vampire see more than one person at this point," replied Christy, still gazing through the gloom at the approaching steamer.

"Excuse me, Christy; but what are you going to do? I prefer to be within supporting distance of you."

"I don't think I shall need any support. I am going to hail the Vampire, and ask if Captain Carboneer is on board," replied the midshipman, quietly.