Up the River; or, Yachting on the Mississippi

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER XV.

  A PARTIAL SOLUTION OF THE MYSTERY.

  "What does Captain Blastblow mean? Does he mean to run away with theIslander?" demanded Colonel Shepard, when he realized that hissteam-yacht was again trying to elude him.

  "He must have seen the Sylvania," I replied, very much perplexed by theconduct of the captain of the Islander. "If he stopped at Key West atall, he must have seen us before he started."

  "Is it possible to overtake her, Captain Alick?" asked Colonel Shepard,nervously.

  "As the case now stands, Captain Blastblow is running away from us. Hehas some object in view which we cannot comprehend. I have no doubt wecan overtake her, for she can't run in behind any keys, or dodge intoany unfamiliar channels."

  "But I ought not to ask you to pursue her any farther," continued theowner of the runaway steam-yacht. "I know your party wish to stop here,and I will not compel them to go any farther."

  "I think we can see all we want to of Key West from the deck,"interposed my father. "At any rate, if we wish to spend any time in KeyWest, it will be easy enough to come back here, for we have the wholesummer before us, and the winter, too, if the summer is not longenough."

  "I have no desire to stop here, and Margie would much rather continuewith her friend, Miss Edith, than stop at this place," added Mr.Tiffany. "We are all quite interested in solving the problem of theintentions of the captain of the Islander."

  "We will leave the whole matter to Alick; and whatever he does we willnot complain," said my father.

  "You are very considerate and kind, gentlemen, and I am under verygreat obligations to you and to Captain Alick for all the favors youhave extended to me," replied the colonel.

  "If it is left to me we will chase the Islander," I added. "But we mustland our shipwrecked passengers here, and that will take a little time;and I want a pilot, for I don't like to lose any time in those shoalwaters and crooked channels."

  "Get your boats all ready, Captain Alick, and it won't take fiveminutes to land me and my men, and I will put your steamer where youcan get a pilot in two minutes," interposed Captain Mayfield. "I haveno doubt we should have all perished if you had not come to the wreckat no small peril to your vessel; and I hope the time will come when Ishall have a chance to do something for you."

  "Oh, that's all right," I replied. "I hope I never shall be in asituation to need such help as we had a chance to give you, CaptainMayfield."

  I gave the order to clear away the boats, the davits were swung out,and the falls manned ready to drop them into the water without amoment's delay. The ship's company of the Olive shook hands with me,and thanked me very warmly for what the Sylvania had done for them. Iwas sorry to part with them so hastily, but the anxiety of the colonelseemed to admit of no other course. Captain Mayfield ran the steamerwithin a hundred yards of the shore by Tift's observatory. He rang toback her, and as soon as she had lost her headway, the two boats weredropped into the water, with two hands in each. They were then broughtup to the gangway steps, which had been rigged out for the use of theladies, who were all ready to embark.

  We assisted Mrs. Mayfield and her daughter into the stern-sheets ofone, and the captain joined them. The boat shoved off, when the mateand four of the sailors had stowed themselves away. The captain and theladies waved their adieus as soon as Dyer and Hop began to pull. Beforethe port boat was off the second mate and the rest of the seamen hadpiled into the starboard boat, and both were off at nearly the sametime.

  I saw the seamen in both boats assisting the oarsmen, and the boatswent through the water at a lively rate. Not more than two minutes hadelapsed before the party were all on shore. Several men hastened up toCaptain Mayfield, and I saw him select one of them, who immediatelyjumped into the port boat. It was hardly a minute more before the boatswere under the falls. They were rapidly hoisted up, and swung inboard.The men leaped out of them, and Washburn rang to back the boat intodeeper water. The men secured the boats, and the person sent off wentinto the pilot-house.

  I looked at the clock and found we had lost less than ten minutes inlanding the wrecked party, during which time the Islander had made overa mile. Moses Brickland had been attending to the furnaces while theboats were absent with the two firemen, and I was sure that he had agood head of steam on. The pilot was a swarthy person, with long blackhair, and I had no doubt he was a Conch, as Captain Mayfield haddescribed them to me. He was well dressed in seaman's blue clothes. Irather liked the looks of the man, and began to feel confidence in himas soon as I saw him.

  "I am glad to see you, Mr. Pilot," I said, giving him my hand, when Iwent into the pilot-house after assuring myself that the boats werewell secured.

  "Thank you, Captain Alick," he replied with a smile.

  "As you seem to know my name, it is no more than fair that I shouldknow yours," I replied, as good-naturedly as he had spoken.

  "I am called Captain Cayo, but my name is Cazador, which is the Spanishfor 'Hunter.' But it don't make much difference what you call me. Cayois Spanish for Key, and people here are so used to the word that theyhave given it me for a name. Where are you bound, Captain Alick?"

  "To New Orleans, or rather we are bound to overhaul the little steamer,just like this one, which left here not more than half an hour beforewe arrived," I replied.

  "I should have thought it was the same steamer if I had seen both ofthem at the same time," replied Captain Cayo, who had taken the wheelwhen he first came into the pilot-house, for he had been engaged totake the Sylvania through the North-West Channel, as it is called. "Youwish to overhaul the Islander, do you?"

  "Her owner is on board of this steamer, and he is very anxious to geton board of her," I answered.

  "Very well; if the Sylvania has the speed we will overhaul her, CaptainAlick," added the pilot.

  "Where did you learn my name, Captain Cayo, for you called me by itbefore any one had used it on board; and those who came off in the boatwith you invariably call me Captain Garningham?" I inquired, taking upone of the points which had attracted my attention from the first.

  "I heard you called so by a gentleman who arrived here by the morningsteamer from Cedar Keys."

  "Who was the gentleman?" I asked, with interest.

  "I don't remember his name, if I heard it at all."

  "What time did the Islander get to Key West?"

  "Not more than two hours before the Sylvania. I went on board of her tooffer my services as pilot. The captain did not want a pilot, for hehad a Conch on board who used to live in the city."

  "Then this man is now piloting the Islander through this channel?"

  "I suppose he is; but I don't think he is a pilot, for he is taking thesteamer a long way to the eastward of the bar-buoy. She went prettynear a shoal with only five feet of water on it. I shall make onesea-mile in going five compared with the course of the Islander."

  "I am very glad to hear it. What sort of a looking-person was it thatcame in the morning-boat from Cedar Keys?" I asked.

  The pilot described Cornwood as though he were a novelist. Of course Ihad no difficulty in supposing it was he. In order to get the mostreliable intelligence from the pilot, I told him all about the abruptdeparture of the Islander from Jacksonville without her owner and hisfamily. I stated my belief that Captain Blastblow was avoiding us, andthat he had put to sea as soon as he discovered the Sylvania headed infor Key West. I told him the sudden departure of the other steamer wasa great mystery to her owner and all the rest of us.

  "I am sure I don't know anything about the matter, Captain Alick. Idon't believe the Islander intended to stop at the city, for the manfrom Cedar Keys----"

  "His name is Cornwood," I interposed.

  "Cornwood went off in a boat and hailed the Islander. She would notstop till he flourished a letter. I was out in my boat looking for anycraft that wanted a pilot, and I was close aboard of her. When shestopped I climbed aboard on one side while Cornwood got aboard on theother side. Instead of delivering the letter to the c
aptain, he said itwas for a person supposed to be on board. The captain indulged instrong talk; but Cornwood made some statement I did not hear, whichseemed to satisfy him. The steamer came to anchor just outside of FortTaylor. When the captain told me he did not want a pilot, I left thesteamer. As I pulled away, I saw that a sharp lookout was kept over thestern of the Islander, which I can understand now, if I could notthen."

  "You don't know whether or not Cornwood delivered any letter to thecaptain of the Islander?" I inquired, with deep interest.

  "Very likely he did, but not while I was on board. I pulled up theharbor, and landed the other side of the Lazaretto. Before I reachedthe shore I saw Cornwood and a swellish-looking fellow rowing to thesame landing-place. Cornwood was talking very earnestly to the swell,and continued to do so after they got ashore."

  "What did the swell look like?" I asked, wondering who he could be, forI had seen all the crew of the Islander, and could remember no one thatlooked like a swell.

  Captain Cayo gave a minute description of the person; but it would haveapplied as well to one swell as to another.

  "Did you see anything more of Cornwood and this swell?" I asked,somewhat excited over the narrative, and hoping to get some clue to theconspiracy for running off the Islander.

  "Cornwood and the young fellow took a seat on a bench near thelanding-place, and talked for a full hour. Before they got through Ihad a sight of this steamer coming up by the West Sambo. I passed quitenear them, on my way up the hill to the lighthouse, to see if I couldmake out your steamer. As I did so, I heard Cornwood call the otherfellow Nick."

  "Nick!" I exclaimed, looking at Washburn.

  "That explains it all," added the mate.

  "What does it explain?" asked the pilot, who seemed to be quite as muchinterested in the case as Washburn and myself were.

  "It explains another story I have not told, and which I did not supposehad anything to do with this matter of the running off of theIslander."

  I related the affair of the robbery of the messenger of the bank,giving all the details of the case, including the unexplaineddisappearance of Nick Boomsby. The case looked as plain as day toWashburn and myself. Nick had taken possession of the package of money,and concealed it somewhere under the counter; and doubtless there wereholes and corners enough there where it could be put without its beingseen by his father. He wanted to get out of Jacksonville as soon aspossible after the robbery. He had applied to me, with his patheticstory about being compelled to sell whiskey, and wanted to be taken asa passenger in the Sylvania.

  "Nick had the card written by Colonel Shepard, which he delivered thenight before we sailed," said Washburn.

  "I should like to know what was written on that card," I added.

  "Probably it was nothing more than an intimation from the colonel thathe should be ready to sail the next morning. He had not room enough ona card to go into the particulars," answered Washburn. "You saw himwrite the card, Alick."

  "There was not more than a line or two on it, for it was done in half aminute, signature and all."

  "Captain Blastblow had steam up in the morning, as directed," continuedWashburn. "Nick observed the writing closely, and wrote a letter suchas he wanted for use the next morning. Captain Blastblow is not toblame, unless it is for letting Nick deceive him."

  The case looked plain enough now.