"It is, of course, needless to say that I am overjoyed to see you safe on board the ship again, Mr. Nelson, and that you have returned none the worse for your sojourn among the rebels. I am especially glad, because I wish to make you an explanation. You have been misrepresented to me, and I was very hasty in reprimanding you as I did on the day that you behaved so gallantly in the fight at Cypress Bend. It was on account of the report of Mr. Howe, who assumed command of the expedition after the captain had been killed. His report showed that we had been severely whipped; and when I learned what a slaughter there had been of the men I placed under your command, and which I find, upon inquiry, was caused by the ignorance of your superior officer, and not by any fault of your own—I say, when I heard of this, I was so completely disheartened that I scarcely knew what I was about. It was the first time that ever an expedition that I had planned failed, and also the first time in my life that I ever gave the order to retreat; and as I had every reason to hope for success, you can have some idea of how I felt. After you had gone, many facts came to light, of which no mention was made in Mr. Howe's report, and with which I was, of course, unacquainted, and I find that I have done you a great injustice. If ever a man earned a shoulder-strap, you did at that fight. I have, however, sent in your application for a court of inquiry, and have also represented the case to the admiral. As soon as we arrive at the flag-ship, you will report to him, and he will investigate the case."
Frank, as can easily be imagined, listened to this statement with a much lighter heart than when he had received that unjust reprimand. After the captain had finished questioning him in relation to incidents that had transpired during his captivity, he left the cabin, and went forward into the steerage, where he found his mess just sitting down to dinner.
"Well, Frank," exclaimed Keys, as the former entered and took his place at the table, "was the captain glad to see you?"
"Yes, he appeared to be," replied Frank.
"I thought as much. He has been as uneasy as a fish out of water ever since you were captured. He told the executive officer that if there was any thing he had ever done that he regretted, it was that he had given you that blowing up. He said that he had no right to talk to you as he did, and that he would make amends for it at the very first opportunity."
"Did he?" inquired Mr. French, eagerly. "I was certain that the navy regulations state distinctly that the captain of a vessel has no right to reprimand an officer, and that, if he does do it, he can be made to apologize. He once gave me a blowing up, and said that I was of no more account on this ship than an extra boiler; and, if he has apologized to Mr. Nelson, he must do the same by me. I'll go and see him immediately after dinner."
The effect of this speech on the older members of the mess can be easily imagined. They looked at Mr. French for a moment, to see if he was really in earnest, and then burst into a fit of the most uproarious laughter. The idea of forcing the captain of a gun-boat to apologize to one of his subordinate officers for administering a reprimand that he really deserved, was ludicrous in the extreme. Mr. Keys was the only one who could keep a straight face. He, with his ready wit, at once saw that here was a capital chance to satisfy his love of mischief. He dropped his knife and fork, looked first at one, then at another, and, when the noise had subsided, said, quietly:
"I don't see where the laugh comes in. Perhaps some of you gentlemen think that an officer has no right to demand an apology from a superior! Then I can tell you that you are very much mistaken, for I have got the whole thing in black and white, copied from the navy regulations; and, if I was in Mr. French's place, I would make the captain take back what he said, or I would report him."
We must pause here, for a moment, to say that the result of Mr. French's interview with the captain, when the former had complained that his rank was not respected, had become known. Mr. Keys, who had overheard every word of it, and who was one of those uneasy, mischief-loving fellows who always liked to see some one in hot water, considered the joke as too good to be kept, and had told it, confidentially of course, first to this officer, then to that one, until every person on board the ship had become acquainted with the particulars; and thus far Mr. French had been compelled to bear the jokes of his messmates without any chance of obtaining redress. However, he had discovered it at last. The captain had apologized to Frank, and he must do the same by him, if he wished to keep out of trouble. He was certain that he should succeed this time, for he knew that Keys had been in the service long enough to become well acquainted with its rules and regulations, and there was such apparent truthfulness and sincerity in what he said, that Mr. French was certain of bringing the captain to terms.
"Yes, sir," repeated Keys; "if my superior officer abuses me, I shall seek redress. Because a man wears three or four stripes of gold lace around his arms, he has no right to impose upon me."