The wheel had gone over when the sick man could no longer hold it, and the tug2 was beginning to whirl about in an erratic3 manner, when the major rang the bell to stop the engine. The captain was carried down to his room, and put into his berth4, where one of the soldiers was detailed5 to act as his nurse.
"I haven't a man on board that knows the first thing about handling a steamboat; and I am not a bit wiser myself," said the major, when the sick man had been disposed of. "Every man 213 that is fit to be made into a soldier is sent to the army; and we have nothing but the lame6, and the halt, and the blind to handle these boats."
"It does not look like good policy," added Christy.
"Dallberg and his two men are soldiers, and they know no more about a steamboat than the rest of us," continued Major Pierson. "It looks as though we should have to stay here till some other boat comes along; and that may be in three days or a week, for steamers have no occasion to come up here now."
"Perhaps you may find a pilot among the men in that boat," suggested Christy, as he looked about the pilot-house, where the conversation took place.
The captain's glass was lying on a shelf in front of the wheel, and he took a look through it in order to find the boat. After searching in every direction, he discovered the boat, which was pulled by two men, with a third in the stern-sheets. He indicated the position of it to the major, and gave him the glass.
"That's Dallberg, without any doubt; but he must be five miles off. He can't reach the 214 steamer for a long time," said the major, when he had examined the boat. "But we shall be no better off than we are now when she gets here, for not one of those in it is a sailor."
Christy was not a little interested in the situation; for he thought his father must have gone on board of the Bellevite, or she would not have changed her position. It was all a mystery to him as well as to the commandant of Fort Gaines, and the boat in the distance had been to the shore for the purpose of investigating it.
He had an idea in his head, and he continued to examine the interior of the pilot-house till he found a number of paper rolls in a drawer, which looked very much like local charts of the bay. He examined several of them, and found one which covered the portion of the waters around him. He had noted7 the direction taken by the Bellevite the day before, and he had no difficulty in placing the inlet where she had moored8 at the wharf9.
"What have you got there, Mr. Passford?" asked the major, who had been looking on the floor, thinking what he should do in his present dilemma10.
illustration of quoted scene
"You a Sailor?" (Page 215)
215 "It is a chart of these waters, which appears to have been considerably11 improved with a pen and ink," replied Christy, still examining it.
"That is the work of Captain Pecklar. They call him the best pilot for Mobile Bay there is about here, though he has been here but two years."
"Here is the inlet, or river, where we passed the night; and the captain has marked the wharf on it."
"What good is the chart without a man that knows how to steer12 a steamer?" asked the major, who was becoming very impatient in the presence of the delay that confronted him; for the illness of Captain Pecklar deprived him of the ability to do any thing, even to return to the fort.
"You forget that I am a sailor, Major Pierson," said Christy.
"You a sailor? I thought you were the son of a millionnaire, who could not possibly know any thing except how to eat and sleep," replied the soldier, laughing.
"I have steered13 the Bellevite for a great many hundred miles, and my father says I am competent to do duty as a quartermaster."
216 "You astonish me; and, as we are both engaged in the same good cause, I am heartily14 delighted to find that you are a sailor."
"Probably I shall astonish you still more before we have got through. With this chart before me, I have no doubt I can find my way about here in the Leopard15," said Christy.
"Then I give you the command of the steamer in the absence of Captain Pecklar," continued the major. "This boat and another are in the service of the forts; and if you don't want to join the army with Percy, perhaps I can obtain the appointment for you, especially as you are hardly old enough to go into the ranks. We will see about that."
"We will leave all that open for future action, if you please, Major Pierson," replied Christy, as he rang the bell for the steamer to go ahead.
The major watched him with the most intense interest, as though he feared that the young man would prove to be a failure as a steamboat captain. But the steamer went ahead at the sound of the bell, and in a minute or two Christy had her on her course in the direction of the approaching boat. He examined the chart very carefully, and 217 satisfied himself that there was water enough for the tug anywhere outside the headlands which projected into the hay.
The Leopard held her course as steadily16 as though the sick captain were still at the wheel; and the major was entirely17 satisfied with the qualifications of the new master, after he had watched him for a while.
"Spottswood, how is the captain?" called the major from the pilot-house.
"He ought to have a doctor; for the poor fellow may die here, away from any proper attendance," said the major, with more feeling than the new captain supposed he possessed19.
"There is a very skilful20 surgeon on board of the Bellevite," suggested Christy. "Dr. Linscott served in the army in Mexico, and had a large practice in New York."
"Then he shall see Pecklar. Dr. Linscott is just the sort of a surgeon we want in our army; and I suppose he would not be on board of the Bellevite if he was not of our way of thinking," added the major.
218 Christy knew he was nothing but a union man, and not of the way of thinking which the soldier suggested: so he said nothing. The Leopard was a faster tug than the one which had come off from Fort Gaines, and she came up with the boat which contained Lieutenant21 Dallberg and his two men, the latter of whom were nearly exhausted22 with the long pull they had taken; for, as they were not sailors, they did not row to the best advantage.
The new captain rang the bell to stop her, as soon as the boat came near, and the party came on board. The two men seated themselves on the rail as though they never intended to do another stroke of work, for they had been using the oars23 most of the time since the evening before.
"Come up here, Dallberg," called the major from the pilot-house.
The lieutenant looked as though he had just been through one war; for he had slept none the night before, and had been on duty without intermission. He came to the hurricane-deck, and entered the pilot-house, where he dropped on the sofa abaft24 the wheel as though he were not in much better condition than the captain when he fell at his post.
219 "You have made a night of it, Dallberg," the major began, seating himself by the side of the lieutenant.
"I am about used up, major. I believe I walked ten miles on shore; and I am not as strong as I wish I was," replied Mr. Dallberg. "But I found out all I wanted to know, and I expected the Leopard would be somewhere near the creek25."
"I beg your pardon, Major Pierson," said Christy, who was standing26 at the wheel. "What am I to do now?"
"I will tell you in a moment.—Can you tell me, Dallberg, where the Bellevite is at the present time?" asked the major, turning to the lieutenant.
"She seems to be running up and down across the head of the bay. She is beyond that point now, and you will see her when you go within a mile of the land," replied the lieutenant.
"Have you been near her?"
"Not within a mile of her, I should say."
"All right, you may head her within a mile of that point, Captain Passford," added the major; and Christy rang to go ahead.
When the major applied27 this high-sounding 220 title to the new captain, the lieutenant opened his eyes a little; but he asked no questions, for he had learned as he came on board that Captain Pecklar had fainted at his post.
"Well, what have you been about, Dallberg?" asked the major rather impatiently, as soon as the boat was under way again.
"Walking, talking, and rowing most of the time. As the poet says, 'Things are not what they seem,'" replied the scout28; for such appeared to be the duty in which he had been engaged.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Major Pierson, opening his eyes very wide.
"We discovered that the steamer had left the wharf last night, and you sent me to investigate when you started off in that wagon29."
"That's so; and Pecklar reported to me early this morning that the steamer had left the wharf, and was standing off and on in the bay."
"I went ashore30 in the evening, leaving Pecklar to watch the steamer. I don't know any thing about his movements."
"He reported to me this morning about daylight. It is all right as far as he is concerned. What have you done?"
221 "I landed at the wharf where the Bellevite had been moored, about eleven o'clock, I should say, for I could not see my watch. I went up to Colonel Passford's house, and found it all in commotion31."
"What was the matter?"
"Assistance for what?" demanded the major. "You are sleepy, Dallberg, and you are mixing your story."
"I am sleepy and exhausted, but I will try to do better. I saw Mrs. Passford. She told me that her brother-in-law, Captain Horatio Passford, had come to the house that day, with his son; and you are aware, I believe, that his daughter, Miss Florence, has been there all winter."
"I know all about that. Go ahead, Dallberg."
"The two brothers had been shut up in the library all the afternoon, engaged in an earnest discussion; though the colonel's wife did not know what it was about. Captain Horatio left Colonel Homer in the library some time in the evening, and the colonel remained there till after ten. Then it was found that the captain had left the 222 house secretly, with his daughter and his son; though some of the servants had seen the young man going up the road with Percy Pierson."
"Exactly so; never mind the young man now. The captain had left the house, and his daughter went with him?" repeated the major, beginning to be a good deal excited.
"The house was searched, but they could not be found; and the young lady's trunk had been removed from her room. Then the colonel went down to the wharf, and found that the Bellevite had left."
Major Pierson sprang to his feet, hardly able to contain himself.
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1
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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2
tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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3
erratic
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| adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的 | |
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4
berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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5
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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6
lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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7
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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8
moored
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| adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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9
wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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10
dilemma
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| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
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11
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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12
steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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13
steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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14
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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15
leopard
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| n.豹 | |
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16
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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17
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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18
sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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19
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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20
skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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21
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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22
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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23
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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24
abaft
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| prep.在…之后；adv.在船尾，向船尾 | |
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25
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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26
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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27
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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28
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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29
wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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30
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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31
commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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32
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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