"To what hotel shall I carry the valises?" asked Joseph.
"To the Atlantic; that will be the most convenient for us. Do you know anything about these vessels in the harbor, Joseph?"
"Not much, Mounseer Roobump; but they say the two steamers near the island are going to run the blockade into the States; but I don't know. They say a Confederate man-of-war came into St. George's harbor yesterday; but I haven't seen her, and I don't know whether it's true or not."
"What is her name?" asked the detective, who from the beginning had broken up his English, and imparted a strong French accent to it.
"I did not hear any one mention her name, Mounseer. That vessel this side of the island is the mail steamer from New York; she got in yesterday," continued Joseph.
"That is important; if the Dornoch is the Confederate man-of-war that arrived at St. George's yesterday, this steamer brought letters from Davis to her captain," said the Frenchman to Christy, in French.
"But Davis could not have learned that the Ionian had been captured before the mail steamer left New York," added Christy, in the same language.
"No matter for that, Christophe. I did not resign my place at Davis's warehouse till the morning we sailed; and I have his letter to the captain of the Dornoch with my other papers on board of the Chateaugay, and I know that was the only letter written to him. As he has no information in regard to the Ionian, he will not wait for her."
"I remember; you showed me the letter."
Joseph listened with a show of wonder on his face to this conversation which he could not understand. The detective directed him to carry the two valises to the hotel named; but Christy interposed in French, and insisted that it would look better for him to carry his own valise, and the point was yielded. The Atlantic Hotel was on Front Street, the harbor being on one side of it. A couple of rooms were assigned to them, one of them quite small, which was taken by Christy, in order to keep up appearances.