At this moment Captain Stopfoot presented himself before the prize-master, his face covered with smiles, and nervous from the excess of his joy at the recapture of the Reindeer. Christy could not see what had become of the rest of his men. He knew that three of them had been secured, but he did not know what had become of the other six, and he had some hope that they had escaped their assailants, and were in condition to render him needed assistance, for it seemed impossible that all of them could have been overcome.
In spite of his chagrin and mortification, Christy could not help seeing that the affair on the part of Captain Stopfoot had been well managed, and that the author of the plot was smart enough to be a Yankee, whether he was one or not. It was evident enough now that the mate and the rest of the crew had not "taken to the woods," but had been concealed in such dens as could be easily made among the cotton bales.
"I hope you are not very uncomfortable, Mr. Passford," said Captain Stopfoot, as he presented his smiling face before his late captor.
"Physically, I am not very uncomfortable, in spite of these bonds; but otherwise, I must say that I am. I am willing to acknowledge that it is a bad scrape for me," replied Christy as good-naturedly as possible, for his pride would not allow him to let the enemy triumph over him.
"That would not be at all unnatural, and I think it is a very bad scrape for a naval officer of your high reputation to get into," added the captain. "But I desire to say, Mr. Passford, that I have no ill-will towards you, and it will not be convenient for me to send you to a Confederate prison, important as such a service would be to our cause."
"I judge that you are not as anxious as you were to get into the old navy," added Christy.
"I confess that I am not, and that I should very much prefer to obtain a good position in the Confederate navy. I hope you will excuse the little fictions in which I indulged for your amusement. I was born in the very heart of the State of Alabama, and never saw Long Island in all my life," continued the captain. "By the way, my mate is not part owner of the Reindeer, though he is just as faithful to her interests as though he owned the whole of her; and it was he that pounced down upon you at the right moment. I assure you he is a very good fellow, and I hope you will not have any grudge against him."
"Not the least in the world, Captain Stopfoot," replied Christy.
"I hope I shall not be obliged to detain you long, Mr. Passford; and I shall not unless one of your gunboats chases me. I shall endeavor to put you and your men on shore at the Gasparilla Pass, where you can hail one of the gunboats as it comes along in pursuit of the Reindeer, though I hope they will not sail for this purpose before night."
"The Bellevite is not likely to discover the absence of the prize at present, for she will have to remain up the bay over one tide," said the mate.