"But, my dear Mr. Percy, the Bellevite will not go within fifty miles of Key West; and if she did, I should not dare to put in there, for the port is a naval station of the United States, and my vessel might be taken from me in the absence of any regular papers to explain her character."
"I suppose you are right," added Percy gloomily.
Captain Passford was really more afraid of falling in with any naval vessel of the nation than of meeting any of the Confederate tugs or other vessels which had been hurriedly fitted out, even at this early period of the war; for he knew that his mission, however justifiable under the circumstances, was quite irregular. He had decided to keep at least fifty miles from Key West, and the usual course of vessels bound into the Gulf of Mexico.
"We may meet some vessel, and you could put me on board of her," the disconsolate young man proposed.
"My mission compels me to give every vessel a wide berth, and I can incur no risks. But it cannot be a great hardship for you to be conveyed back to your own home."
"But my father needs me with him, and he will suffer terrible anxiety when he fails to find me. He will even think I am dead."
"I know he must be anxious, but I think some way will be found to send a letter to him."
"But I shall be compelled to go into the army, and my father is utterly opposed to that."
"But you have a brother who is a major in the army, and I should say that he will be able to save you."
"My brother is the one who insists that I shall go into one of the regiments forming in the State. He called me a coward because I yielded to my father and mother."