Within The Enemy's Lines

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER XVIII

  LIEUTENANT PASSFORD IN COMMAND

  Christy felt as much honored by the confidence reposed in him by thecaptain as though he had been appointed to the command of a steamer.But he had more than once proved that he could be safely trusted, anddemonstrated that he had judgment, discretion, and skill beyond hisyears. He was not only brave and resolute, but he was faithful andpatriotic.

  He went about among the ship's company and selected the men he desiredto assist him in his enterprise, and requested those chosen to saynothing about the matter, for the lieutenant was aware that he shouldhave more volunteers than he could accommodate in the largest of theboats. All would want to go, and the young officer would be teased andcoaxed, and all sorts of influence brought to bear upon him to permitthis and that one to be of the party. It was easier to be silent thanit was to reply to all the applications.

  Christy selected a large whaleboat for the service in which he was tobe employed, and he had his own reasons for the choice he made. He hadreceived unlimited authority to adopt his own measures. The only pointthat was strongly impressed upon his mind by the captain was that theTeaser must be captured.

  After supper the order was given to the third lieutenant to conveyCaptain Westover back to the fort, or to land him at the usual placenear it. Nothing was thought of the order, though perhaps some ofthe officers considered a dozen seamen, all armed with cutlasses andrevolvers, a large boat's crew for such a service. It was very thickweather, and Captain Westover begged Christy not to land him within theenemy's lines, which he promised not to do.

  The men gave way, and the boat went off into the gloom of the evening.Beeks gave his whole attention to the course of the boat, and LieutenantPassford was engaged in a very earnest conversation with the militarypassenger. The landing-place seemed to be reached too soon, for Christyhad not finished his business. He landed with him, and together theywent to the fort, where the young officer had a conversation with thecommander of the force there.

  "I hope you will not get into hot water, Mr. Passford," said CaptainWestover, as he came to the sallyport with him.

  "I cannot say that I shall not," replied Christy, "but I shall do thebest I can to report on board of the ship with the force intrusted tome; and I hope I shall have the Teaser with me."

  "I hope you will. There are several small steamers up in the bay; but Ihave not the least idea where you will have to look for the Teaser, forwe at the fort have not seen any such steamer lately."

  "There can be no doubt of her existence, Captain Westover, for theBellevite was sent here to look out for her, as her speed is said tobe remarkable. But, good-night, captain."

  "Good-night, lieutenant; success to you, and a safe return," added thecaptain.

  "Thank you," answered Christy, as he hurried down to the landing-place.

  Among those whom the lieutenant had selected was a master's mate by thename of Flint, who had assisted on board of the Bellevite in the affairwith the Vampire. He was a modest, quiet man, who made no especialfigure among his shipmates, though he had strongly attracted theattention of his officer. Next to Christy he was the highest in rank,and the second in command. Beeks was the next man selected, and he haddone all that was necessary in the preparation of the boat, includingputting into it slyly a supply of provisions, and a number of articleswhich the lieutenant had designated.

  On his return to the boat, Christy found his crew in excellent order,for he had instructed Flint to allow no noise or disorder, as sailorsand young men generally are somewhat given to skylarking when not underthe eye of a commissioned officer. Christy took his place with Flintin the stern sheets of the boat, and ordered Beeks, who was acting ascoxswain, to shove off and give way.

  "I have no instructions yet, sir," replied Beeks, as he obeyed theorder, and headed the boat away from the shore.

  "We have to make two miles east by south, and that course will carryus parallel with the shore of Santa Rosa Island, variation included,"replied Christy, who had been a diligent student of the chart, and hadwritten down all that it was important for him to remember, though hehad one of his own charts, or a piece of one, in the boat.

  "East by south, sir," replied Beeks, as he put the whaleboat on therequired course.

  Thus far, Christy had kept his own counsel, and not whispered a wordof his intentions even to the master's mate. He had no motive for suchheroic concealment of his plan, but he had not had the time to discussit with any person. Besides, though he had decided upon his coursein the beginning, he was too much in the dark himself to lay down adefinite plan; and his course must depend largely upon the informationhe obtained from time to time.

  He had examined the charts and the Coast Pilot very carefully; and thefacts he had obtained from the latter rather staggered him in regard tothe idea he had advanced that the Teaser might go out through Santa RosaSound. It was not navigable for vessels with a draught of over fourfeet, and it would have to be a very small man-of-war that could floatin that depth. Though it was now the time of the spring tides, they didnot add more than six inches to the height of the mean tide, which wasbut a couple of inches over two feet.

  Even before he took his place in the boat alongside the ship, he hadcome to the conclusion that the Teaser, if she proved to be anythingmore than a toy boat, could not go to sea through the sound, and shewas not likely to attempt it. He had said as much as this to CaptainBreaker, who reminded him that he was to ascertain if possible what thecraft intended to do, if he succeeded in finding her.

  Flint did not manifest any desire to know more than the law allowed,and he asked no questions in regard to the enterprise in which he wasengaged. In fact, one reason why he was chosen was because he had anexcellent habit of minding his own business. Possibly Christy was moreparticular on this point than an older officer would have been.

  "I think we have made two miles, Mr. Passford," said Beeks, when the menhad pulled about an hour. "Of course, I cannot be sure of the distancerun, for I can only guess at it."

  "Run up to the shore, then, and let us see how far off we are," addedChristy.

  In a few minutes the bottom of the boat struck on the sand, and it wasforced up far enough to permit the lieutenant to go on shore. Like mostof the islands in this part of the gulf, Santa Rosa was nothing butsand, which in the eastern end is of a peculiar reddish hue. It islittle more than a sand spit for its whole length, though in some placesthe wind has piled up mounds, or dunes.

  "Come with me, if you please, Flint," said Christy, as he leaped to theshore.

  Flint followed him, as usual asking no questions, and, if he had anycuriosity in regard to the purposes of his leader, he did not manifestit. The lieutenant glanced at the trend of the shore, and then walked atright angles with it. No part of the island was inhabited, or evenoccupied, except Fort Pickens and a Union camp. It was a dismal place,especially in the fog and darkness.

  A short walk brought the explorers to the waters of Pensacola Bay. Itwas in vain that they tried to penetrate the gloom and the mist, andnothing could be seen. Flint expressed himself to this effect.

  "I did not expect to see anything," replied Christy. "I only came acrosshere to find how wide the island was at this point. I am satisfied thatwe are about where I supposed we were. Half a mile to the westward of usthe island is more than double the breadth it is here."

  "I see, sir; if you had found it much wider than it is, you would haveknown that you had not gone far enough in the boat," replied Flint.

  "Precisely so; I wanted to find where we were before I changed thecourse in going farther to the eastward," added Christy.

  Flint made no further remark, and they returned to the boat, and seatedthemselves in their places. The lieutenant gave the order to shove off.

  "We are in no hurry, Beeks; if the men are tired, you can stop longer torest them," continued the commander of the expedition.

  The men scouted the idea of being tired after a pull of two miles in acomparatively smooth sea.
Christy told them that they might have somevery heavy work to do before they returned to the ship, and he did notwish to use up their strength unnecessarily.

  "Now, keep her east by north for a couple of miles, Beeks," continuedChristy. "That will be as far as we have occasion to go in thisdirection. Don't hurry them; take it easy, for it will not be high tidetill half-past twelve, and we may have more time than we shall know howto use."

  The crew pulled very leisurely, and it was over an hour before Beeksestimated that they had made the two miles. As before, Christy and Flintwere landed, and they walked across the island. But their walk was noteven half the length of the last one; and the spit was so narrow at thisplace that the lieutenant was confident he had struck the point heintended.

  "This is our base of operations," said Christy, as he stood on the shoreof the bay. "We have got along very well so far, for it is not time yetfor the music to begin, if it is to begin at all. What are you about,Flint?"

  The master's mate had lain down on the sand at the water's edge, andhis companion was very much puzzled by his attitude. He wondered if hiscompanion had the stomach-ache, and was not able to stand up.

  "I beg your pardon, Lieutenant Passford, but if you will kindly be quietfor a moment, I hope to be able to answer your question," replied Flint,in a low tone.

  Christy complied with the request, and as he did so, he thought he hearda noise in the distance, though he was not sure of it. He listened withall his ears, and some confused sounds came to him; but he could makenothing of them.

  "I heard some sort of a noise," said Flint, rising from his recumbentposition. "But I can make nothing of what I hear. If there was a freshbreeze, I should say that it was the surf."

  "I heard it, too; but I am bothered to make out what it is. Did you getan idea of any kind?" asked Christy.

  "It sounded as though something of a gang of men were at work off inthis direction," replied Flint, pointing east of north. "I am almostsure I heard the blows of hammers, or something like them."

  "The noise I heard might have been almost anything," added Christy.

  "What is there off in that direction?" asked Flint, pointing again.

  "About north of us is Town Point, and just beyond it is Old Navy Cove,"said the lieutenant, who had been up the bay in the Bellevite on anexcursion, and who had studied up all the localities.

  "Possibly they are repairing a vessel there," suggested Flint.

  "They would not do that over there, and certainly not on a dark night,"argued Christy. "But we will soon find out all about it."

  He led the way back to the boat, which he had ordered Beeks to havecarried on the shore. Then they proceeded to bear it across the islandto the bay, where it was put into the water again.