<pre style="white-space: pre-wrap">xt7z610vr22k https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7z610vr22k/data/mets.xml Optic, Oliver, 1822-1897. 1890  books b92-167-30116714 English Lee and Shepard, : Boston : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Within the enemy's lines  / by Oliver Optic [pseud.] text Within the enemy's lines  / by Oliver Optic [pseud.] 1890 2002 true xt7z610vr22k section xt7z610vr22k 


THE BLUE AND THE GRAY SERIES


   TAKEN BY THE ENEMY

   WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES

   ON THE BLOCKADE IN PRESS


LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS BOSTON

 This page in the original text is blank.


" HE: SAW Two MF.N MAKING THEIRJ W-AY THRtJUlH TFJS
               GROvE. "-Page 28.

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OLIVER


'WXiTHU TRE hIAM.MY S LINES


TI


By


'4' Si'
...in


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ID,
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     The Blue and the Gray Series


               WITHIN


THE ENEMY'S LINES


                       BY

              OLIVER OPTIC


AUTHOR OF "THE ARMY AND NAVY SERIES," " YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD,"
  "THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES," "THE WOODVILLET STORIES," "THE
     STARRY FLAG SERIES," "THE BOAT-CLUB STORIES," "THE
       ONWARD AND UPWARD SERIES," "THE YACHT-CLUB
          SERIEIS," "THE LAKE SHORE SERIES," "THE
            RIVERDALE SERIES," "THE BOAT-
               BUILDER SERIES,  TAKEN
                 BY THE ENEMY, ETC.


               BOSTON i890
    LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS
      10 MILK STREET NEXT  THE OLD SOUTH MEETING HOUSE"
          NEW YORK CHAS. T. DILLINGHAM


718 AND 720 BROADWAY

 
    COPYRIGHT, 1889,
  By LEED AND SHEPARD.

    Ala rights reserved.


WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES.

 
            A MON JEUNE AMI,

  (QUE JE WAX JAMAIS VU, LT QJUE JE NE CONNAIS PAS,)


        Lfonsicur Lucien Bing,
               DE PARIS, FRANCE,

   EN RECONNAISSANCE DE LA BONTf DE SON PiRE,

CETTE HISTORIETTE DE LA GUERRE CIVILE EN AMERIQJUE
          EST AFFECTUEUSEMENT Dimz.

 This page in the original text is blank.

 
PREFACE


  " WITHIN THE ENEMY's LINES" is the second
volume of " The Blue and the Gray Series."  Like
its predecessor, of course, its scenes are connected
with the war of the Rebellion; and perhaps the
writer ought to be thankful that he is not required
in such a work to rise to the dignity of history,
but he believes that all his events were possible,
and that every one of them has had its parallel in
the actual occurrences of the historic period of
which he writes. In fact, some of the experiences
of the actors in the terrible drama of a quarter of
a century ago would pass more readily for fiction
than for reality, and detailed on the pages of a
story would be deemed impossible by the conserva-
tive reader.
  The nation has passed out of its ordeal of fire,
and an excellent spirit on the part of both parties
to the great strife is still growing and strengthen-
                        7

 
PREFACE


ing, in spite of an occasional exhibition of folly on
both sides on the part of those who have not out-
lived the bitterness of the past, and who probably
will not outlive it. The time will certainly come
when the memories of the conflict, the repetition
of the stories of the war, and even the partisan
praise bestowed upon the heroes of both sides, will
excite no more ill feeling than does an allusion to
the War of the Roses in England.
  In this country the advocate of either side will
tell his story, relate his history, and jingle his
verse in his own way, and from his own stand-
point. Those upon the other side will be magnan-
imous enough to tolerate him, at least in silence.
Histories, romances, poems, and plays relating to
the war, are produced in greater numbers as the
gap between the days of battle and the days of
peace widens; but the old fires are not rekindled,
the old bitterness still slumbers, and the Great
United Nation still lives on in perfect peace.
  The author hopes he has done nothing on these
pages to impair the growing harmony between
the two sections which have happily become one,
or to impregnate the minds of those who have
been born since the strife ended with any of its


8

 
                   PREFACE                  9

bitterness. He has endeavored to make as high-
toned men on the one side as the other, with the
same moral sentiment in the one party as the
other, and to exhibit their only difference in
the one great question of Union or Disunion.

  DORCHESTER, May 2, 1889.

 This page in the original text is blank.


CONTENTS


                 CHAPTER I.
AN iUNEXPECTED VISITOR

                CHAPTER II.
A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION .

                CHAPTER ILI.
THE DIGNIFIED NAVAL OFFICER

                CHAPTER IV.


CORBNY PASSFORD PLAYS A.NOTHER PART

                CHAPTER V.
CAPTAIN CARBONEER AND HIS PARTY


    FAGR
.  .  15


, 27


a     a , 37


. 48


. 59


                CHAPTER VI.
THE CABIN OF THE FLORENCE


. 70


                CHAPTER VII.
MIDSHIPMIAN CHRISTY PASSFOID .


. 81


CHAPTER VIII.


ARRANGING THE SIGNALS


aa  a  a 912


                CHAPTER IX.
THE APPROACH OF THEI VAMPIRE.
                     11


I 103

 
12               CONTENTS

                 CHAPTER -X.
A SHOT FROM THE LONG GuN

                CHAPTER XI.
THE BATTLE ALONGSIDE THE BELLEVITE


                CHAPTER XII.
THE PRISONER OF WAR

                CHAPTER XIII.
AFTER THE BATTLE .

                CHAPTER XIV.
THE BEGINNING OF A CHASE.  .

                CHAPTER XV.
A CHASE OFF THE BERNIUDAS

                CHAPTER XVI.
THE CONFEDERATE STEAM1ER YAZOO

               CHAPTER XVII.
A SATISFACTORY ORDER .   .

               CHAPTER XVIII.
LIEUTENANT PASSFORD IN COMNIMAND

               CHAPTER XIX.
SOME TROUBLE ON BOARD THE TEASER

                CHAPTER XX.
CONING TO THE POINT


.  . 136


.  . 146


   . 157


.  . 168


.  . 179


  . 190


.  . 201


. , 212


, 223


    PAGE
    . 114


 . 125

 
CONTENTS


                CHAPTER XXI.
ON A DARK AND Foooy NIGHT .

               CHAPTER XXII.
A VARIETY OF NIGHT SIGNALS  .

               CHAPTER XXIII.
ANOTHER NIGHT EXPEDITION.

               CHAPTER XXIV.
LIEUTENANT PASSFORD ON A MISSION.

               CHAPTER XXV.
CHRISTY BECOMES A VICTIM

               CHAPTER XXVI.
THE ACTION ON THE DECK OF THE TEASER

               CHAPTER XXVII.
A VISIT FROM COLONEL HOMER PASSFORD


              CHAPTER XXVIII.
AN ENTERPRISE FOR A DARK NIGHT .

               CHAPTER XXIX.
THE NEW MATE OF THE COTTON SCHOONER

               CHAPTER XXX.
THE PRIZE-MASTER OF THE JUDITH  .


13


    PAGE
. 234


.  . 245


   . 256


  . 206


. . 278


. 289


. 300


, . 311


   . 322


. 333

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  WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES


                CHAPTER I

           AN TUNEXPECTED VISITOR

  "CORNELIUS ! " exclaimed Captain Passford, as
a young man of nineteen was shown into the
library of the magnificent dwelling of the million-
naive at Bonnydale, on the Hudson.
  "Cornelius Passford, Uncle Horatio," replied
the young man, as the captain rushed to him and
extended his hand.
  ,,I think there can be no mistake about it;
and I should have been no more surprised if Mr.
Jefferson Davis had been ushered into my library
at this moment," continued Captain Passford, still
retaining the hand of his nephew. " I understood
that you were a soldier in the Confederate army."
  "c I was a soldier; but I am not one just now,"
replied the visitor, wNith some embarrassment in
                      1 -

 
WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES


his manner, though the circumstances were strange
enough to account for it.
  " How are your father and mother and Miss
Gerty, Corny" asked the uncle of the visitor,
giving the young man the name by which he was
generally called both at home and in the family of
his uncle.
  " They were all very well when I left them,"
replied Corny, looking on the floor, as though he
was not altogether satisfied with himself.
  "Of course, you brought letters from  your
father and Gerty  "
  "' No, sir; I brought no letters," replied Corny,
and, more than before, he looked as though he was
not enjoying his present visit.
  "No letters! " exclaimed Captain Passford, evi-
dently surprised beyond measure at the apparent
want of kindly feeling on the part of members of
his brother's family in the South.
  "' Not a letter, Uncle Horatio," answered Corny,
bracing himself up, as though he realized that he
was not presenting a demeanor such as he thought
the occasion required of him.
  "' This is veiy strange," added Captain Pass-
ford, with a cloud playing on his fine features.


16

 
AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR


  "It is war between the North and the South,
Uncle Horatio, and I suppose my father did not
feel like writing any letters. Gerty never writes
any letters if she can help it," Corny explained.
  8 But Gerty used to write to Florry about once
a week."
  1, Did she  I didn't know it. She never would
write to me when I was away from home," said
Corny, who seemed to be very anxious not to say
anything that was not consistent with the present
situation, whatever it was.
  " When I parted with my brother on board of
the Bellevite, both of us shed tears as we realized
that war made enemies of us; but each of us
promised to do all lie could for the other in case of
need. I am very sure that there was not the
slightest unkind feeling between us. Of course, I
did not expect him to write me the war news, but
I think he could have written a few lines without
any allusion to the war," said Captain Passford,
pained at this want of filial affection on the part
of his brother.
  At that moment the bell for tea rang, and the
captain invited his nephew to the table with him.
The host was saddened by the ab.;ence of news from


17

 
WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES


his brother, of any kindly expression from one who
was of the same blood as himself. He was not
quite satisfied with Corny's manner, or with the
little he seemed to be willing to say about the rest
of the family. It was certainly very strange that
the young man should be there at all, and his awk-
wardness and confusion made the visit seem still
more singular.
  It was possible that the young man had just
arrived and was fatigued by the trials and perils
of his trip, for he must have come by some round-
about way; and very likely he felt nervous and
uneasy in the midst of people who were loyal to
the government and the Union. Captain Passford
decided to say nothing more to his nephew at
present as to the occasion and the manner of his
visit to Bonnydale, and during the evening meal
he avoided all allusion to the wvar, so far as it was
possible to do so.   Mrs. Passford and Florry
received him very kindly, but following the ex-
ample of the head of the family, they spoke only
of domestic affairs, and of the relations of the two
families as they had been before the war.
  Between the brothers Homer and Horatio Pass-
ford, even from their early boyhood, a remarkably


18

 
AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR


strong fraternal affection had subsisted. Both of
them were high-toned men, and both of them had
always been faithful in the discharge of every
duty to God and man. Each of them had a wife,
.a son and a daughter, and two happier families
could not have been found on the face of the earth.
They were not only devoted to each other, each
within its own circle, but the two families were as
nearly one as it was possible to be.
  Captain Horatio had formerly been a shipmaster,
and had accumulated an immense fortune. Homer
was less fortunate in this respect, aand his tastes
were somewhat different front those of his brother.
He wanted to be a planter, and with the financial
assistance of his brother, lie went into the business
of raising cotton near Mobile, in Alabama. But
years before the war, he had paid off every dollar
of his indebtedness to Horatio, and had made a
comfortable fortune besides.  The two famniles
had visited each other as much as possible, and the
captain, with his little family, had been almost to
the plantation in the Bellevite, the magnificent
steam-yacht of the Northerner.
  During the preceding winter, Captain Passford,
his wife aud son, had visited most of the islands of


19

 
WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES


the Atlantic; but the health of Miss Florry was
considerably impaired, and the doctors would not
permit her to make this sea-voyage, but rec-
ommended her to keep quiet in some southern
locality. She had therefore passed the winter at
Glenfield, which was the name of Homer Pass-
ford's plantation. On his return from this long
cruise, the owner of the Bellevite obtained his first
news that war existed between the North and
the South from the pilot. The three members of
the family on board of the steamer were greatly
distressed over the fact that Florry was still at the
home of her uncle in Alabama, within the enemy's
lines.
  Without going on shore, Captain Passford
decided to arm his yacht, which was large enough
for a man-of-war, and hasten to Mobile Bay to
bring back his daughter. He was in doubt with
regard to the political feeling of Homer, but
believed that he would still adhere to the govern-
ment and the Union. It was a part of his mission
to bring his brother and his family to his own
home at Bonnydale. Mrs. Passford was sent on
shore in a tug, and Christy, the son, was to go with
her; but the young    man, just entering his


20

 
AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR


seventeenth year, protested against being left at
hoine, and as the captain believed that a patriotic
citizen ought to be willing to give his all, even his
sons, to his country, the young man went with his
father. The mother was as devoted to her country
as the father, and terrible as wvas the ordeal, she
consented to part with him for such a duty.
  By an event fortunate for him, Captain Passford
succeeded in obtaining an armament for his vessel,
as well as anl abundant supply of ammunition; and
the vessel was refitted for the perilous service in
which she was to be engaged. At Nassau, Christy
made the acquaintance of a young manl who proved
to be of great service to the expedition, and the
Bellevite reached her destination in safety, though
not without some rather exciting incidents.
  Captain Passford found that his brother was
sincerely and devotedly attached to the Southern
cause. They discussed the great question for
hours upon hours, each striving to convert the
other to his own views, but with no success on the
part of either. Homer Passford was a religious
man, conscientious in the discharge of every duty,
and nothing less could be said of his Northern
brother. In a short time the owner of the Belle-


21

 
WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES


vite found that he had fallen into a "' hornet's nest,"
for the planter did not believe that he ought to
allow the steam-yacht to be taken to New York to
become a part of the navy of the Union. He
declared his convictions to his brother, who was
compelled to regard the planter as an enemy in
spite of the relations subsisting between them.
Both of them placed their duty to their own
country above every other consideration.
  Captain Passford was obliged to get his daughter
out of his brother's house, by stealth, and to make
his escape with the Bellevite as best he could.
  Major Lindley Pierson, in command of Fort
Gaines, at the entrance to Mobile Bay, had per-
mitted the steamer to pass, having been deceived
by his younger brother. He had been a frequent
visitor at the mansion of Homer Passford, attracted
there, it appeared, by the lovely daughter of the
planter's brother, remaining there for the winter.
Perhaps on her account, perhaps with the fear that
the Bellevite was not what she had appeared to be,
he had gone to the vicinity of Glenfield to inquire
into the mission of the steamer.
  Homer Passford, acting upon his convictions,
gave information which resulted in an attempt to


22

 
AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR


capture the Bellevite. Christy, not informed in re-
gard to the plans of his father to depart at once in
the steamer, was " Taken by the Enemy," and had
some very stirring adventures in the bay. But the
steamer escaped from the numerous enemies that
awaited her, and Christy got on board of her at the
last minute. The Bellevite ran the gantlet of
the forts in a dense fog, and brought Miss Florry
in safety to her home at Bonnydale.
  Corny Passford, whose unexpected arrival at
Bonnydale had excited the astonishment of his
uncle, was a year older than Christy, and had en-
listed in the Confederate service at the instance of
Major Pierson. Without knowing anything in par-
ticular about the matter, his uncle believed, at his
visit to Glenfield, that Corny was as earnestly
devoted to the Southern cause as his father, judg-
ing entirely from the fact that he had enlisted as a
soldier.
  Corny had a good appetite, and a good supper
was set before him. He ate like a hungry boy,
and the fact that he was within the enemy's lines
did not seem to have any influence upon him. His
aunt helped him till he seemed to be filled to reple-
tion, for she thought he must have been accus-


23

 
24       WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES


tomed of late only to the most indifferent fare.
After supper, he followed his uncle back to the
library; but he seemed less embarrassed than
before.
  " Where is Christy, Uncle Horatio " asked
Corny, as he seated himself in the library. ,I
have not seen him yet; and as I was away at the
fort when you went to Glenfield, I did not see
him then."
  " I don't know where he is just now, though he
is in or about the house most of the time," replied
the captain.  "Are you    still in the army,
Corny"
  "' No, sir, I am here. I did not like the service
very well, and I thought I should like the navy
better. The reason why I did not like it as well
as at first was because I was no longer in Major
Pierson's battalion," replied Corny, looking at his
uncle as though he expected a question from him.
  "1 Then Major Pierson is no longer in the
army  " added the captain.
  " Oh, yes, he is; but I think he was the maddest
man in the army soon after you left."
  "Indeed! Why was he so mad "
  Because he was removed from command of

 
AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR


Fort Gaines for letting you pass it in your
steamer."
  " Then he is still in the service  " asked Cap-
tain Passford.
  ",Yes, sir; he is a good officer, and he will make
his way, if he was guilty of a blunder in letting
the Bellevite pass the fort."
  " Then you intend to be a sailor, Corny"
  "Yes, sir; in fact, I am a sailor now. I had
been in your yacht so much that I knew something
about the ropes, and I had no difficulty in getting
transferred, as sailors were wanted more than sol-
diers," replied Corny, who seemed to be studying
the figures in the carpet.
  "1 But if you went into the navy, how do you
happen to be in New York  " asked Captain Pass-
ford.
  "1I suppose you remember the Dauphine, which
was fitting out when you were in Mobile Bay"
continued Corny.
  ,, I heard the name, and was told that she was
one of the vessels that tried to prevent the escape
of the Bellevite."
  "I was sent on board of her; but, in coming
out of the bay, she was captured by a Federal


25

 
26       WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES

vessel, and sent to New York. I hid myself when
the crew were taken off, and came in her here,"
replied Corny, still studying the carpet.
  Captain Passford had not heard of the capture
of the Dauphine. He was not quite satisfied with
the story of his nephew. But he was obliged to
go to the city, and he handed the guest over to
his wife and daughter. Corny wanted to see
Christy, and Mrs. Passford had begun to be uneasy
that he did not return at dark. Corny went out
to find him.


A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION


                CHAPTER II

          A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION

  THE Bellevite lay in the river, off the estate of
Captain Passford, though at a little distance below
the mansion, from the windows of which she could
not be seen. Corny walked down the avenue and
over the hill, in the direction of the anchorage of
the steamer. The boat-house was near the man-
sion, and to the float attached to it a variety of
small craft were made fast. But the water was
not deep enough there for the Bellevite. Corny
had been to Bonnydale, and passed many weeks
there, so that he was familiar with the localities.
  As he passed the boat-house, he noticed that the
Florence, which was Christy's favorite sailing
craft, was not at her moorings, and he concluded
that his cousin was away in her on some excur-
sion. When he reached the boundary line of the
estate, he discovered the sailboat with her bow on
the beach, though her mainsail was still set. A


27

 
WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES


gentle breeze was blowing, with which the Flor-
ence could make good headway; but there seemed
to be no one on board of her. Corny watched her
for some time, waiting for the appearance of
Christy. It was not an easy matter to climb the
high fence which bounded the estate, and the
planter's son could hail the boat, and be taken on
board of her as soon as she got under way again.
  But Christy did not appear, and it was getting
darker and darker every minute. Something must
have attracted the attention of the skipper on
shore, and he had doubtless landed. But while
Corny was waiting for his cousin, he saw two men
making their way through the grove on the other
side of the fence towards the river. One of them
he recognized, and gave a peculiar whistle, which
drew the two men in the direction from which it
came.
  "Is that you, major " asked Corny, in a low tone.
  "Hush! You are a simpleton, Corny! " ex-
claimed one of the men, as he came up to the pali-
sades of the fence. " Didn't I tell you not to call
me by name  "
  ";I didn't call you by name," replied Corny,
smartly.


28

 
A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION


  "You called me major, and that is about the
same thing," added the speaker on the other side
of the fence.
  " The woods are full of majors now, both in the
North and the South, and no one knows you espe-
cially by that name. But I will remember in
future, Mr. Mulgate," replied Corny.
  " That sounds better, Neal.  If we lose the
game it will be by your blundering," continued
the major, or Mulgate, as he preferred to be called
on the present occasion.
  "' I suppose you have no talent for blundering,
Mulgate; and that is the reason why you happen
to be here at the present moment," retorted Corny,
not at all pleased with the speech of the other.
  ";None of your impudence, Neal!" said 'Mul-
gate, sharply.
  ", If you lose the game, you say that it will be by
my blundering, Mulgate," continued Corny. "n That
makes it seem as though I was to bear the respon-
siAnility of a failure; and I don't like the looks of
things. If I am to be responsible for a failure, I
ought to have something to say about the manner
of conducting the enterprise."
  "Shut up, Neal! We have no time to talk


29

 
WITHIN THE ENEMYIS LINES


nonsense of that sort. I am to conduct the enter-
prise, and you are to obey niy orders. That is the
whole of it," replied Mulgate, impatient at the
position taken by the young man. " You are still
under my command, and you will obey me or
take the consequences. Now to business: what
have you learned "
  "Nothing at all," answered Corny, rather sul-
lenly.
  "What have you been about Haven't you
discovered anything "
  ",-Nothing at all; I have but just arrived here.
I took supper with my uncle, and told him the fish
story you invented for me."
  "Did he believe it"
  "I don't know whether he did or not; but he
and the rest of the family treated me very hand-
somely, which made me feel meaner than a dead
catfish."
  "Never mind your feelings; you are here to
assist in a great enterprise, and you are expected
to do your duty to your country without regard to
your own notions. Report what you have done."
  "I haven't done anything but introduce myself
into the house, and explain how I happen to be


30

 
A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION


here," replied Corny, as he proceeded to give the
details of his meeting with his uncle.
  "1 Is Miss Florry at home " asked Mulgate, in a
more gentle tone, as though he had a deeper inter-
est in the direction he had indicated.
  "She is at home, and was at the supper table
with us."
  " How does she seem to be  " asked the stranger.
  "First rate; she is as jolly as though no one
ever heard of such a thing as war," replied Corny,
with enthusiasm.
  "' Did she say anything about her stay at Glen-
field " inquired Mulgate, whose interest seemed
to mount to the pitch of anxiety.
  "Not a word; she did not even hint at Glen-
field, or anything connected with it," answered
Corny; and, after the sharp tones of the other, he
seemed to take pleasure in thorning him with neg-
ative answers.
  "Did she say anything about me "
  "Not a word."
  "Didn't she mention my name"
  ",She did not."
  "iDidn't she ask about my health, or want to
know where I was "


31

 
WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES


   "Florry did not allude to you ill any manner.
If she wanted to know where you were, she did
not say a word about it to me," replied Corny, in
the most decided tones.
   It was still light enough to see that there was
something like a frown on the brow of Mr. Mul-
gate. He had evidently believed that the daughter
of the millionnaire of Bonnydale was interested in
him, and his inquiries indicated that he expected
her to ask about him but she had not made the
remotest allusion to him. Besides, she was as
jolly as she had been at Glenfield, when war was a
matter of the future, which few believed would
ever be realized. She had not grown thin and
pale during her absence from him, and she did
not appear to be wasting her sweetness in pining
for him.
  "What in the world are you talking about,
Mulgate " suddenly demanded his companion on
his side of the fence. "I thought wve were here
for business, and you are talking about some
girl."
  "She is the lady of whom I spoke to you; she
spent the last winter with her uncle at the Glen-
field Plantation. I am interested in her," replied


32

 
A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION


Mulgate, as though he had given a sufficient
excuse for the questions he had put to Corny.
  ",Are we to capture her and take her back to
the State of Alabama  " demanded the other, who
seenmed to be a gentleman of forty at least.
  "1 I don't know; that depends; but, Captain
(Carboneer, I hope you will be my friend in this
little matter," added Mulgate.
  iI don't know anything about the little matter;
but I am not willing to jeopardize the enterprise
that brings us here to help you out with a love
affair," replied the older gentleman. " There will
be time enough for you to look for a wife after the
war is over, and you have more time to attend to
the affair."
  " Mr. Mulgate, I should like to know something
more about your intentions before we go any
farther," interposed Corny, in a tone so decided
that Mulgate had to listen to him, especially as he
had obtained so little sympathy from the elderly
gentleman.
  "iSpeak quick then, for we have no time to
spare," added Mulgate.
  "Do I understand from   what you have said
that you intend to take Florry Passford back to


33

 
34       WITHIN THEI ENEMY'S LINES


the South with you " asked Corny, with his teeth
closely pressed together, so that it was rather diffi-
cult for him to speak intelligibly.
  "I answer, as I did before, that I don't know
what I shall do; that depends," replied Mulgate
evasively.
  "' Depends upon what"
  "I hjove no time to discuss that matter now,"
added Mulgate, turning to his companion.
  "1 But I have time to say that I will ruin the
whole enterprise if you mean to commit an outs-
rage such as you appear to have in your mind,"
replied Corny, as vigorously as though he had
been the military equal of the one he had called
"4major " by accident.
  " Do you mean to be a traitor to your country,
Neal " demanded Mulgate angrily.
  "1 Neither to my country nor to my uncle."
  " Your uncle is a Yankee, and is doing all he can
to subjugate the free South. He has no rights which
we are bound to respect," said Mulgate fiercely.
  "1 This will never do," interposed Captain Car-
boneer; and this may or may not have been his
real name. " We are getting into a disagreement
at the very first step of our enterprise."

 
A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION


  "I don't know you, Captain Carboneer, but I
wish to be understood as meaning every wvord I
have said; and I will wreck this enterprise, if I am
shot for it, rather than allow my cousin to be
carried off in connection with it," protested Corny
stoutly. " I will do my duty faithfully; but I will
not assist in robbing my uncle of his daughter."
  "1 You are quite right, young man; and I would
rather be sent to the fort as a prisoner of war than
take part in such an enterprise," added Captain
Carboneer, in mild but forcible tones.
  "1 You astonish me, captain I " said AMulgate.
"Why do you talk about an outrage I -claim to
be a gentleman, and to be above any such villany
as you and Corny suggest. I do not propose to
rob Captain Passford of his daughter. What I
may do depends -depends upon the consent of
the lady. If she is willing to go with me "
  "She is not willing to go with you; and she
never will be willing to go with you," Corny inter-
posed. "I I don't know what you are thinking
about, Mr. Mulgate; but Florry cares no more
about you than she does about Uncle Pedro, my
father's house-servant. She saw you both at Glen-
field, and I can't tell which she likes best."


35

 
86      WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES

  " We had better drop the subject," added Cap-
tain Carboneer.
  "Drop it, then," replied Mulgate sullenly.
"Get over the fence, Corny. Nobody is using
that sailboat, and we may as well take it for a
while."


THE DIGNIFIED NAVAL OFFICER


               CHAPTER III

        THE DIGNIFIED NAVAL OFFICER

  CORNY climbed over the high palisade fence,
with the assistance of Mulgate, and the party
walked to the sailboat at the beach below. By
this time it was dark, though the gloom was not
very dense under a clear sky.
  "Do you know     anything about this boat,
Corny" asked Mulgate, as the trio approached
the handsome craft, for such she was beyond a
doubt.
  The crusty tones of the speaker indicated that
he had not yet recovered from the set-back he had
plainly received in the late conversation, though
he denied that he had any evil intentions in regard
to Miss Florry.
  " I do; I know all about her," replied Corny.
  "Well, why don't you tell what you know"
demanded Vulgate.
  " What do you wish to know about her" in-


37

 
38       WITHIN THE ENEMYIS LINES


quired Corny, who was disposed to maintain his
equality in spite of the military rank of his com-
panion, which he had incautiously betrayed in the
beginning.
  iWhose boat is it" asked Mulgate.
  "She belongs to my cousin, Christy Passford."
  "Where is he now"
  "I don't know, sir."
  "Was he at the house when you were there "
  "He was not; and his mother had become
rather anxious because he did not return to sup-
per," replied Corny, becoming a little more pliable.
  "' This is a rather large boat, Captain Carbo-
neer," added Mulgate, as he surveyed the trim
sloop. "i She is rather too large for our purpose."
  "She will answer very well," replied the cap-
tain, as he applied his shoulder to the stem of the
craft to ascertain how heavily she rested upon the
beach. " Now, do you know whether there is any
person on board of that steamer "
  "'Of course, I don't know anything about it,"
said Mulgate.
  "I am sure I don't," added Corny.
  iI sent you up here to ascertain all about the
Bellevite," continued Mulgate, rather sharply.

 
THE DIGNIFIED NAVAL OFFICER


  "I have not had time to find out anything,"
Corny explained, with some indignation in his
tones.
  "1 Corny has done as well as he could in the time
he has had to do it in," interposed Captain Car-
boneer. "' I think you are inclined to stir up bad
blood with this young man, Mulgate. It appears
now that you have a purpose of your own to
accomplish, and that Corny will not allow you to
carry it o</pre>