"Some of them have brought in cotton, with which others are loading for England. My business as my father's clerk takes me on board of most of them, and I know the captains and other officers very well. This little steamer we have just passed was bought for a Mobile man by my father. She carried a full cargo of goods into Mobile, and came out again full of cotton. She is called the Snapper, and she is a regular snapper at her business. She is now all loaded, and will sail on the next tide. I am well acquainted with her captain."
"What sort of a man is he?" asked Christy in an indifferent tone.
"He is a very good fellow; bold as an eagle, and brave as a lion. He drinks too much whiskey for his own good; but he knows all the ports on the Gulf of Mexico, and he gets in or out in face of the blockaders every time," answered Percy with enthusiasm.
"Did he never lose a vessel?"
"Never but one; that was the Floridian, and I reckon you know as much about that affair as any other person, Christy," replied Percy, laughing as though it had been a good joke on Captain Flanger.
"I know something about it."
"Your uncle, Colonel Passford, lost several vessels, and you had a hand in their capture. But never mind that; you did me a good turn, and I never go back on a friend. Now, my dear fellow, I do not think it will be safe for you to remain here. You are looked upon as a dangerous fellow along the Gulf coast, as Colonel Passford writes to my father; and if my governor should get a hint that you were here, he would make a business of getting you inside a Confederate prison."
"I am under the flag of England just now, and that is supposed to protect neutrals."
"That's all very well, my dear fellow; but my governor could manage your affair in some way. I can make a trade with the captain of the Snapper to put you ashore at Key West."
"You are very kind, Percy."