Taken by the Enemy

by Oliver Optic

"Very likely he will if he gets hold of him, but we don't intend to let him get hold of him."

Christy left the pilot-house, and went out on the hurricane deck, where he could better see all that was to be seen, and be alone with his own thoughts. His first care was to ascertain the position of his most active enemy, the long-boat. He could see it a short distance astern of the tug. It had changed its course, and was following the Leopard, which was now gaining rapidly upon it.

Directly ahead of the tug was the Bellevite, not more than a quarter of a mile distant; but while she was going off to the north-west, the Dauphine had kept more to the southward and was now nearer than the steamer of Captain Passford.

The remark which Captain Pecklar had made when he came partly upon the hurricane deck, that the Bellevite had changed her course because Major Pierson had been fool enough to fire at the tug, came up in Christy's mind again. He had thought of it at the time it was uttered, and several times since; but he had not had the time to weigh its meaning.

The owner's son knew very well that every incident connected with the tug, and with the other vessels in sight, had been carefully observed and weighed by his father and Captain Breaker. They had seen the boat leave the Leopard. It looked like a stupid movement to do such a thing, when the approach to the Bellevite could be made so much more rapidly and safely in the tug.

There must be a motive for such a singular step. Of course the passage of the boat had been closely observed, and the starting up of the screw of the Leopard had been duly noted. As the tug came near the long-boat, the latter had fired upon it. This must have been seen; and the question naturally would come up as to why those in the boat fired upon their own people in the Leopard.

It was not likely that they could answer the question in a satisfactory manner on board of the Bellevite; but the firing indicated that an enemy was in possession of the tug. This was enough, in the opinion of Christy, as it had been in that of Captain Pecklar, to produce the change in her course.

The firing from both craft since the first demonstration must have deepened the impression. Those on board of the Leopard must be on the side of the Union, or the party in the boat would not repeatedly fire upon them. Christy was satisfied that his father would know what all the indications meant before he abandoned the investigation.

But the Bellevite did not seem to be making her best speed by a great deal. With his glass he could see that there was a hand in the fore-chains heaving the lead; and probably Captain Breaker feared that the bottom "might be too near the top of the water" for the draught of his vessel, and he was proceeding with caution.

Christy descended the ladder to the main-deck. He found Captain Pecklar in the fire-room, shovelling coal into the furnace. He seemed to be again nearly exhausted by the efforts he had made during the morning; and Christy took the shovel from him, and did the work himself.