"Will your uncle make you join the army, Mr. Pierson?"
"No: my uncle has no authority over me, and he cannot make me join the army," replied Christy.
"Where is your father?"
"He was at my uncle's plantation. I think we have kept up this farce long enough, Percy," said Christy, laughing. "My father is the owner of the Bellevite."
"What did you tell me your name was Percy Pierson for?" demanded the other prisoner.
"For the same reason that I told you the steamer belonged to the Chinese government, and a dozen other things of the same sort."
"What is your name, then?"
"Christopher Passford; but I am commonly called Christy."
"Then, you have been fooling me?"
"You knew very well that I had been fooling you."