by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XIV
THE AFFRAY ON THE QUARTER-DECK OF THE BRONX
Christy was satisfied that all was going well in regard to the captureof the Bronx, and he went to sleep after he had disposed of his dinner,and arranged the final details of the enterprise with the secondlieutenant. Mr. Flint was somewhat impatient to carry out his plan; butChristy insisted that nothing should be done till the orders of theflag-officer had been actually disobeyed. It was decided that comingabout, and heading the Bronx to the westward would constitutedisobedience.
When Christy awoke it was dark, or at least dusky, as far as he couldjudge in his concealment. He heard the rattle of dishes, knives andforks in the cabin, and he understood that the captain was taking hisdinner. A conversation was in progress, and Christy concluded from thevoices he heard that Corny had invited his first lieutenant to dine withhim.
"I think we shall be in Pensacola Bay by daylight," said Mr. Galvinne;"and we have just the right kind of weather for our enterprise. It iscloudy, and it looks as though we might have a fog, for they often comeup after dark when the wind is as it is now."
"What time shall you come about?" asked Corny, apparently from curiosityrather than any especial interest in the navigation of the steamer.
"About nine o'clock; perhaps sooner. Byron will have the deck from eightbells for the first watch; I hope and expect Flint will turn in at thattime, for he will have the mid-watch. It might be a little awkward if hehappens to be on deck when we change our course from east to west."
Christy did not believe that the second lieutenant would turn in at thetime indicated, though he might make a pretence of doing so, and shuthimself up in his stateroom. Mr. Galvinne proceeded to say that heshould have Rockton and Warton ready to make Mr. Flint a prisoner incase he became too inquisitive. Nichols and Sayles would be availablenear the quarter-deck in case any demonstration was made by any portionof the crew.
"But there will be no trouble of any kind," added the first lieutenant."We are not carrying sail, and I shall quietly give the word to thequartermaster to make the course west instead of east. Flint is the onlyman on board who is at all likely to question the regularity of theproceedings on board; and I do not see how he can do it, for he knowsnothing at all about the orders under which we are sailing. In fact,we shall be on the other tack before the time comes to open the sealedenvelope."
"I hope it will all come out right," added Corny.
"You may depend upon it that we shall be under the guns of FortBarrancas, or farther up the bay, before daylight," replied the actualcommander.
"What am I to do, Mr. Galvinne?" asked Corny.
"Nothing at all; you can turn in as soon as you like and sleep throughthe whole, for there will be nothing at all to disturb you. As I said,Flint is the only person on board who is likely to make the leasttrouble, and he will be asleep in his berth. If he asks hard questionswhen he comes on deck at eight bells for the mid-watch, our men willsecure him. That is the whole of it. I must go on deck now, for I cansmell the fog."
"How are you going to get to the entrance of the bay in a fog?" inquiredCorny.
"If we keep her due west we shall be all right; and I know this coast aswell as I do my father's plantation," replied Mr. Galvinne; and Christyheard him open the door.
"I think I shall go on deck and see the fun, if there is any, and turnin if there is none," added Christy.
The dishes rattled for a moment, and then the fugitive heard the stepand the voice of Dave in the stateroom.
"I done bring you something more to eat, Massa Christy," said thesteward, who appeared to have suffered some lapse in his grammar andpronunciation during the absence at the North of his instructor; and ashe spoke he handed in a piece of pie and a large slice of cake.
Christy was not very hungry after his late dinner, but he ate thedainties brought to him, and found that the cook of the Bronx had lostnone of his skill. He might not have an opportunity to eat again verysoon, for he did not lose sight of the fact that failure was possible,and he might soon be an occupant of a Confederate prison with Flint,as he had been once before.
Dave busied himself in clearing the cabin table, and Christy impatientlywaited the time for the decided action which had been planned. Abouthalf an hour later, when he realized from the condition of the stateroomthat it was quite dark, the sounds coming to him assured him that thecourse of the Bronx had been changed as indicated by Mr. Galvinne.No noise or confusion on deck followed it, and the naval officer'sprediction seemed to be in a fair way to be realized.
Another half hour elapsed, and except the monotonous plaint of thescrew, no sound was to be heard. A footstep came from the cabin, whereDave was at work, or appeared to be, for he had been stationed there forhis part of the programme which was presently to be carried out.
"Steward, light the lamp in my stateroom," said Corny; and Christy wasglad to find that he intended to retire for the night, for he had noduties to perform unless there was a disturbance on the quarter-deck.
The lamp on gimbols was lighted, and Corny took possession of the room,and had not a suspicion that he was not its only occupant. He lay downin his berth after he had removed his coat and shoes, and in a fewminutes Christy judged that he was asleep from the sound of hisbreathing, which soon degenerated into a mild snore. Mr. Flint was tomake a beginning in the project, or, as Dave called it, "open the ball."
In less than another half hour, Christy heard a knock on the cabin door,which was the signal from the second lieutenant that it was time tobegin operations. He crawled to the front of the space beneath the berthat the sound, and at the same moment Dave came in at the door of thestateroom, which had been left open.
The steward lost no time in acting his part, the first step of which wasto jam a handkerchief into the half-open mouth of Corny Passford; but hehad been counselled to use no more force than was necessary to subduehim. Dave then turned him over on his back in spite of his aimlessstruggles, for, as he was roused from his sound slumber, he was too muchbewildered to accomplish anything like an effective resistance. Thestrap which Christy had provided for the purpose was used in fasteninghis hands behind him, and so far as Corny was concerned, the battle wasfought and the victory won.
Christy had crawled out of his narrow quarters under the berth as soonas Dave began to operate on the sleeper above him, and he stood ready toassist the steward if his services were required; but there was hardlyanything like a struggle, for Corny had been so completely surprisedthat he was incapable of doing anything in self-defence. With his handsstrapped behind him, and with the gag still in his mouth, he waspermitted to remain in the berth under the guard of Dave.
Not a particle of noise had been made in the stateroom; at least, nonethat could be heard on the deck above. Christy hastened from the littleapartment through the cabin to the gangway, where he found Mr. Flint atthe head of the stairs prepared to execute the part of the work assignedto him, which was to fall upon Mr. Galvinne; but he did not appear to bein a favorable position for the attack.
"What are you waiting for, Mr. Flint?" asked Christy in a whisper, as hejoined the second lieutenant.
"He has gone into the waist," replied the officer in waiting. "He willbe back in a moment."
Christy had looked into the ward room as he passed the door, for thecaptain's cabin was not provided with a separate companion-way, as isusual on men-of-war, for the space could not be spared in so small avessel. All was still there, but two men stood near the door waiting forthe signal to rush to the deck.
"What are those men doing aft, Mr. Byron?" demanded the firstlieutenant, with some excitement in his manner. "They were verynearly on the quarter-deck, and they seemed to be very reluctant togo forward."
"I am sure I don't know, Mr. Galvinne; I did not order them there,"replied the third lieutenant, who was in charge of the deck.
"I suppose they have seen that the course of the ship has been changed,and I thought they might have come aft to ask some questions, though t
hemen ought to be better trained than that," added Mr. Galvinne, as hecame quite near the companion-way where the second lieutenant waswaiting for him, with Christy behind him, and ready to support him.
Mr. Flint sprang upon the quarter-deck and threw himself upon Mr.Galvinne, closely followed by Christy. At the same time, and as soonas the gangway was clear, the two men who had been stationed in theward room leaped upon the deck, and threw themselves upon the thirdlieutenant. At the same moment, the six men who had been lurking in thewaist, and who had attracted the attention of the executive officer,hastened to the scene of the conflict. Rockton, who had been made aquartermaster, and the helmsman, Warton, went to the assistance of thefirst and third lieutenants.
Neither of the two disloyal officers of the Bronx was an infant, andeach struggled like a brave man against the force that attacked them.Mr. Flint had fallen upon Mr. Galvinne from behind, and had thrown himdown at the first onslaught. He fought like a tiger, but with the aid ofChristy and two of the men from the waist, he was subdued, and Christyhad a strap ready to confine his hands behind him. Then he was drawnover to the rail and made fast to a belaying pin.
Byron was not less energetic than his superior in his own defence, butthe two stout sailors who had been selected to capture him were morethan doubly a match for him, and he was carefully secured. At the sametime there was a free fight between Rockton and Warton on the one side,and the sailors who had come aft, but the disloyal tars were conqueredin the end. The prisoners were all bound and made fast to the rail. Theentire watch had come aft while the battle was in progress, and thosewho had been instructed in the situation and had taken part in therecovery of the ship explained to their loyal companions the meaning ofthe affair which had just been brought to a conclusion. Involuntarilythey gave three tremendous cheers, and then three more for the genuinecommander.
Not a few of them who had served with Christy in the Gulf declared theyhad not believed that the person who was the nominal captain was theirold first lieutenant; they knew that something was wrong, they said,though they could not tell what. Perhaps they found the captain lessactive than formerly, and considered him somewhat changed after hisvisit to the north; but doubtless they were as much blinded by theresemblance as others had been.
"Mr. Flint, I appoint you acting first lieutenant of the Bronx," saidChristy, as soon as the affray was over. "You will restore order onboard."
The new executive officer sent the men forward, called out one of theold quartermasters to con the wheel, and placed a loyal seaman underhis charge as helmsman. Order was almost instantly restored underhis direction, and the men had enough to talk about to last them theentire night. Mr. Flint had his doubts in regard to the security of theprisoners; their bonds of straps and rope were removed, and their placessupplied by iron handcuffs.
