by J. T. Edson
A good idea, directing the charge where it would do most damage and explode at the right time. However—and here lay the snag—if for any reason the propeller case turned early, there would be a premature explosion.
Slowly she drifted closer to the steam sloop, seeing its bulk looming up ahead. Then she decided that the time had come.
Using the device by which the two men had entered the consulate grounds, Belle, the Kid and Shafto had left unseen by the Yankee observers. They passed through the town to where the Negroes and Shafto’s man waited with the boats. Already the torpedoes lay aboard ‘Cousin Rastus’ ’ boat and they moved into position. With the greater distance to cover, Shafto left first and Belle followed when sure he would be almost in place. The tidal current ran at a good speed, sweeping into the bay in a manner calculated to carry home the torpedoes. Everything went according to plan, without any hitch to delay or endanger its effective working.
Belle released the driftwood, watching it lurch forward and holding down a gulp of concern. No explosion came, so all must still be well beneath the surface. Turning, she started to swim away in the opposite direction and towards the guard boat. At first she went carefully, using a breast stroke and keeping her feet beneath the surface to minimize be noise she made. However, on drawing close to the boat, he struck out and splashed with her arms.
“What’s that?” one of the boat’s crew asked, turning his head her way.
“Another tarpon,” replied his companion on the thwart. For a moment Belle thought that the men would dismiss her as another of the big fish. However the midshipman looked her way and came to his feet.
“Tarpon, hell!” he ejaculated. “It’s a swimmer. After him, men!”
Powerful arms worked the oars, sending the boat leaping in Belle’s direction. She continued to swim, giving the impression that she was seeking to escape. Surging up, the boat ranged alongside her and hands reached down to catch her by the arm.
“Come on, mate,” said a voice. “Don’t struggle or I’ll have to crack your skull. You shouldn’t’ve tried to run, you’d never reach the other side.”
Just as Belle hoped, the men thought of her as a deserter from one of the ships. She intended to alter that as soon as possible. Another set of arms came down to catch her free wrist. Then the two sailors started to haul her upwards. Bracing her feet against the side of the boat, she struggled against the pull. With a growl of annoyance, the man on her left released her wrist with one hand and grabbed at the front of her shirt. She felt his hand close, loosen, feel at her breast then jerk away.
“Hell’s fire! It’s a woman!” the sailor gasped.
“Get your stinking Yankee hands off of me!” Belle hissed, sounding as feminine as she could manage.
Excitement welled up among the boat’s crew and all thought of the fight between the butler and tarpon were forgotten. Then the midshipman’s voice cut through the undisciplined row.
“Belay that bilge!” he barked and waited until silence fell on the crew. “Put a light on her, Torrey. Let’s see what the hell we’ve landed.”
‘Landed’ might be too premature a term, for the two sailors had not yet hauled Belle into the boat. The discovery that their captive was a woman handed them sufficient of a shock that they just sat holding her instead of raising her over the gunwale. Hanging in their hands, both bare feet firmly pressed against the side of the boat. Belle prepared to hand her captors another shock. She felt a slight upwards strain and knew the men had partially recovered from the surprise of their original discovery—and the explosions of the torpedoes still had not come to give the diversion she needed.
“You’ll make ensign at least for this, brass-bounder,” she told the midshipman in a voice throbbing with well-assumed venom. “You’ve just captured Belle Boyd.”
Once again the pull upwards ended and the sailors stared at her.
“The Rebel Spy!” a man announced in an excited voice. Then he and all but Belle’s captors of the crew started to stand up, wishing to take a look at the legendary figure.
Despite all his attempts, Pinkerton, then head of the United States Secret Service, had failed to prevent news of Belle Boyd’s activities from appearing in the Yankee press. So her fame had spread and there could be few members of the Federal armed forces who had not heard of the Rebel Spy. Aware of that fact, Belle used it to buy her a little more time. Once in the boat, escape would be far harder than while still outside.
Even as the sailor with the lantern uncovered its face and directed a beam of light on Belle, showing without any doubt—due to the way the soaking shirt clung to her torso—that she was a woman, the required diversion came.
Carried against the side of the Waterbury, the piece of driftwood hung against the chain armor. Not so the torpedo which dangled at the end of a six foot triangle of rope fastened to the driftwood. Continuing forward, the torpedo passed beneath the hem of the armor and, as the rope drew tight, lifted until the pressure of the water forced it against the bottom of the sloop. Having achieved its purpose in circumventing the chain armor, the torpedo needed only to complete its work. The current beneath the sloop acted on the torpedo’s propellers, causing them to turn, operate the gearing that released the coil-spring. Up slammed the plunger, hurled by the released spring, to strike the detonator. With a dull roar, the powder charge ignited. A gaping hole ripped in the Waterbury’s bottom, allowing the muddy water of the Rio Grande to gush in.
Nor did the effect end there. Still suspended on the side of the guard boat, Belle felt the concussion-spread wave arrive. Unlike the sailors, she expected—or hoped for—the explosion and was ready to take advantage of it. Given time, the guard boat’s crew might have realized why the Rebel Spy had been found so close to a Yankee warship and raised the alarm; but that time was not granted to them. Taken completely by surprise, two of the standing men went over the side as the boat rose and pitched on the wave. The lantern flew from its holder’s hand, struck the gunwale and flopped into the river.
No less startled than their companions, the two men holding Belle relaxed their grip. Ready for that to happen, the girl thrust herself backwards. Using all the strength in her powerful legs, she tore free from her captors’ surprise-loosened hands. She went away from the boat, twisting around and diving beneath the surface of the water. Then she started to swim upstream in search of her companions.
At the same moment that Belle jerked herself free from the sailors, the second torpedo made its presence felt. Caught by the spreading wave from the Waterbury, the keg torpedo crashed into the side of the second ship. Crushed against the side, two of the torpedo’s percussion detonators sparked their fire into the waiting charge. One hundred pounds of gun powder exploded with a roar that far exceeded the water-deadened boom of the drifting torpedo’s detonation. For some reason the ship’s captain had not ordered his chain armor to be spread, so the torpedo exploded against the bare side and blasted open a large hole.
Only by an effort of balance and skilled handling did the midshipman and crew prevent the guard boat capsizing. Horrible oaths ripped the air and gurgling yells rose from the two men in the water. Then the midshipman realized that his prize captive had escaped. Standing up, he glared around him. He saw that the Negro fishing boat was rowing hurriedly away from them, which did not surprise him. No Negro would wish to become involved in the fighting between rebels and Yankees. However there was no sign of the girl.
“Torrey!” he yelled. “Where’s that god-damned lantern?”
“Over the son-of-a-bitching side!” the sailor answered.
Although Torrey would never know it, the loss of the lantern probably saved his life. Upstream, in ‘Cousin Rastus’’ boat, the Ysabel Kid stood holding his Mississippi rifle ready to shoot anybody who used a light in an attempt to locate the swimming girl.
However the attempt could not be made. Nor did the guard boat’s crew try to find Belle by rowing upstream. Rockets rose into the air from both ships, flares glowed to
illuminate the harbor, rattles and drum rolls sounded the alarm. In the flickering glare of artificial light, the midshipman saw his boat’s crew would be needed more urgently than in making a search for their escaped prisoner, even though she claimed to be the Rebel Spy.
Taking in water fast through the gaping hole ripped in her bottom, the Waterbury would need every hand at the pumps or for other work if she was to be saved. Nor did the second ship look to be in any better shape, holed at the waterline and already beginning to list. Desperately concerned with trying to keep their vessels afloat, nobody gave a thought to the second boat even though one of the rockets revealed it held two Negroes and two white men. Before the rocket’s glow died away, Rule Shafto reached the boat and hauled himself aboard.
“Belle—?” he asked.
“Coming now,” the Kid replied, pointing.
A tired Belle reached the boat and once again felt hands taking hold of her. Only this time she knew them to be friendly and did not struggle against their pull. Up she rose, over the boat’s gunwale and flopped exhaustedly on to a thwart.
“You all right, Miss Belle?” the Kid asked anxiously, raping a blanket around her.
“Ye—Yes,” she replied. “Ru—Rule—?”
“Here,” Shafto answered, sounding just as exhausted. “Get going, boys.”
Without needing urging, the Negroes started to row the boat at angle upstream and towards the Mexican shore. Already the explosions and confusion in the Brownsville harbor were attracting attention. However the French did not maintain any naval force in Matamoros harbor, so any danger would come from their army patrols.
“Maybe the Yankees’ll cut loose with their cannons,” the Kid remarked as he and Shafto’s white assistant took up two more oars.
“That’s not likely,” Belle replied. “If they miss, the ball will probably ricochet into Matamoros. They won’t risk that.”
“I’d say they’ve got their hands full right now, without bothering about us,” Shafto went on. “Make straight for the hide-out, boys.”
“We’ve got clean away,” the Kid breathed as the boat pulled alongside a wooden pier.
“Maybe,” Shafto answered. “There’s still the French curfew and Yankee Secret Service to beat. George, you’d best stay down here for the night.”
“Yes, sah, Massa Rule,” replied one of the Negro oarsmen. “We’ll do that.”
“How about Amos and his men?” Belle inquired, meaning the butler.
“They’ll lay up until morning and then come ashore,” Shafto explained. “If possible we want to avoid them being tied in with this raid.”
Belle could understand the reason for the precaution. If the Yankees could prove Garfield knew of the raid, he would be discredited. Even if the French allowed the Confederate consulate to continue, it would be so closely watched that its use as a base for further operations would become negligible.
They landed unseen, leaving the boat at its moorings and with nothing to show they had used it. Then they went to the place from which the expedition had been launched. Ostensibly a warehouse owned by a British trading company, the building served as a base for shipping Texas-grown cotton and other produce, or storing goods run through the blockade until the Ysabels could arrange for their delivery across the Rio Grande.
Leaving the Negroes with the white man, Belle, the Kid and Shafto pushed on through the town’s curfew-emptied streets. Guided and aided, by the Kid’s cat-keen eyes and remarkably keen ears, the trio avoided contact with the French patrols enforcing the curfew. The wisdom of taking an indirect route to the consulate showed on their arrival. Reaching the rear of the grounds, they found the Yankee watchers gone from the street, probably to investigate the disturbance at the river. So they entered the grounds through the rear gate without being detected.
Once inside, however, Belle went ahead with her plan of allowing the Yankees to know that she had taken an active part in the raid. Before going upstairs, she had water tipped over her. Then, in her room, she lit the lantern and felt sure her soaked condition would be noticed. If so, the watchers ought to take the point that she had recently been in the water.
Standing at the foot of the bed, where she knew the men across the street could see her, she steeled herself for a further disrobing. After peeling off the wet garments, she took up a towel and began to dry herself. With that completed she started to dress in the clothing bought for her by Shafto. Pulling the black shirt and trousers on over a change of underwear, she looked around the room. Everything was as she left it. Her trunks stood open, clothing inside. However the money and a few vital items had been unloaded before the trunks came up and were waiting for her down below, packed in a set of saddlebags.
Then, acting as if on an afterthought, she crossed to the window and started to draw down the hanging drapes, but not to the bottom. While the men across the street could still see into the room, their view had been curtailed. For one thing they could no longer see higher than slightly above the girl’s waist as she walked about, although they were still able to look on to the bed.
Leaving the room, she found the Kid waiting in the hall.
He also wore a black shirt and pants, they being the only matching garments Shafto could find of suitable sizes. Belle thought the color distinctive enough for their purpose.
“Reckon I’ll get by?” he asked, with a glance at the room’s door.
“I think I’ve a better shape.” Belle replied with a smile. “But with the curtains drawn down, it’s likely the Yankees won’t notice the difference. You’d best not walk around too much though.”
“That’s for sure,” he answered, also grinning. “I’ll give you ’n’ pappy a day’s head start, more if the Yankees look to be fooled.”
“And then?”
“I’ll come after you.”
“Will you be able to find us?”
“I’m Nemenuh, of The People, the Comanche,” the Kid told her with quiet, reassuring dignity. “I’ll find you.”
“But two days, or even one day’s start—” Belle went on.
“With that pack hoss and all, you’ll be travelling like white folks,” the Kid pointed out. “I’ll be coming after you like an Injun.”
With that he turned and walked into Belle’s room. Crossing to the bed, he lay down on it as if meaning to snatch a short rest before leaving. If all went well, the Yankees would continue watching him, thinking Belle lay on the bed when all the time she made good her escape.
Seven – That’s No Woman Over There
“The Rebel Spy is in Matamoros,” Abner Ffauldes told the woman who called herself Emily Corstin as she entered the dining room of the house facing the Confederate States’ consulate shortly before eight o’clock in the evening.
Halting, Eve Coniston—the other name having been placed on the hotel’s register to hide her true identity—stared at the leader of the United States Secret Service’s Matamoros detachment.
“When did you learn that?” she demanded.
“Early this afternoon,” Ffauldes replied. “I sent a message to you at the hotel. But you’d left and I didn’t know where to find you.”
Annoying though it might be, Eve could not argue on that point. After leaving the hotel, she had accompanied Charlie Kraus to start on part of the business which had brought her to Matamoros.
Events in the Mexican town, ranging from Belle Boyd’s previous undetected arrival and departure to the Ysabel family’s wholesale smuggling activities, had caused serious doubts to be raised in the U.S. Secret Service about the efficiency of Ffauldes’ detachment. So Eve Coniston had received orders to investigate the matter while also trying to bring an end to the smuggling.
Although shrewd, capable, efficient and successful, Eve had received little public acclaim and was hardly known beyond her organization. The lack of recognition sometimes annoyed her, but she also recognized its value. While Pauline Cushman received publicity, being boosted as the North’s answer to Belle Boyd, no mention o
f Eve ever reached the Yankee newspapers. So she went her way unsuspected, achieving far more than the so-called ‘Scout of the Cumberland’s’ often-told exploits.
From the little she had seen since her arrival aboard the steam-launches’ depot ship, Eve knew she faced a formidable task. Guided by Kraus, she rode some five miles upstream on the Rio Grande’s southern bank and talked with a number of unsavory people who made their living along the bloody border between Texas and Mexico. At the end of it, she felt that she was wasting her time. When Kraus brought up the matter of reporting rebel troop movements, for money of course, all agreed; even those who, she suspected, never crossed the river. On the other matter discussed, the results had been far less satisfactory. To be fair to him, Kraus had warned her from the start about that.
When asked to spy on and report the movements of the Ysabel family’s smuggling trains, the border dwellers’ attitudes changed fast. A few refused profanely and point blank. Others seemed unwilling, frightened almost, to talk about it and their eyes took on a far-away look as they evaded even the question of whether they had seen the Ysabels go by in the past. Only two offered to help and they did so with such blatant insincerity that Eve doubted if anything would come of it.
On the way back to town, she thought about the matter. Even with the aid of the steam-launch flotilla, borrowed from the Mississippi Squadron, catching the Ysabels in the act would be anything but a sinecure. So she decided to concentrate her efforts at the source of the supply. The shipments brought into Matamoros could only arrive because some important French officials were looking the other way. If she produced proof against them, their superiors would be forced to make them carry out their duties correctly. Failing that, she could find evidence of Garfield helping the Ysabels and rebel spies. Then the U.S. consul could approach the French and demand that Garfield be ordered from the city for breaches of diplomatic privilege. Causing the Confederate consul’s removal ought to throw the landing organization into confusion long enough for the steam launches to learn the vagaries of the Rio Grande. Skilled veterans of the Mississippi campaign, they should be able to cope with the problems of blockading a smaller river.
