The flotilla at Natchez was evidence of the reality of this blockade. As Jimmy and Lincoln wound in and out among the fleet it seemed to them that the army which it represented, all the way down to the line, must overwhelm the Spanish troops if it came to fighting. In fact, the arksmen had little fear of the Spaniards. It was Bonaparte and his General Victor whom they feared.
The Marietta brig was moored among barges and broadhorns, and Jimmy soon picked out a man he knew, who consented to watch their skiff while they went ashore. He expressed a good deal of curiosity as to their errand, but Jimmy deemed it unwise to give any information, and made no mention of the plight in which they had left the rest of the crew and the ark.
The sun was setting as they went up to the fort and applied for admittance. On the parade ground the flag was being lowered, and the recruits who were drilling had been formed to salute it. The notes of a bugle died away. The little gun, on the parapet overlooking the river, leaped forward with a loud report.
“You can’t see the colonel,” said the sentry, in answer to Jimmy’s request. “Come to-morrow morning, after guard mounting.”
“We must see him,” said Jimmy, looking towards the dispersing group about the flagstaff. “It’s important. We’ve got to get back up the river to-night.”
The sentry looked at him stolidly, and returned his musket to his shoulder.
Two figures came towards them: one, whom the boys saw was the commandant; the other a civilian, a slender young gentleman, dressed quietly in black. Without further parley Jimmy started forward to waylay them.
“Halt, you!” said the sentry. “I tell you, you can’t see him.”
“I’ve got to see the commandant,” said Jimmy, loudly, with his eyes fixed on the nearing figures. “I’ve brought the head of Big Harp, and I don’t want to leave the fort with it. Some of the cut-throats around here would be glad to break my head in exchange for it, if I take it away.”
His words reached the commandant, as he had intended that they should, and he and his companion looked up, Both men appeared in rare good humor, which was, doubtless, the reason for the attention which the two arksmen received.