While he was doing this, Flint detached a couple of bricks from the party-wall, which were used as a fulcrum for the lever, made of the joist. The building was not inhabited, and there was little to be feared at that height above the street from any noise they might make. Flint sat down on the end of the lever, and the scuttle flew up at once, the staple drawn out of the wood.
The master's mate was the first to enter; and he "hung off" to the floor below. Then he assisted Christy to descend, and to close the scuttle after him. Acting upon their belief that all the warehouses were constructed on the same plan, they easily found the door by which they reached the staircase. On the lower floor, they opened a window and passed out into the alley in the rear of the building. They were on the ground, and Christy soon ascertained where he was. He made his way to a wharf where he was fortunate enough to find a boat.
This locality seemed to be entirely deserted, and there was no one to challenge them, and no one appeared to take any notice of them on the way. It was not yet nine o'clock, and many stores were open, one of which they entered and bought a cooked ham and a large supply of bread. The woman in charge asked no questions, though Christy talked about a fishing trip to blind her. The boat they found was a very good one, and as it was the property of the enemy, Christy had no scruples in regard to confiscating it. He had money enough in his pocket to pay for it, but as the owner did not appear to dispute his taking possession of it, he dispensed with this ceremony.
Taking the oars which they found in the boat, they pulled away from the wharf without interruption from any source. Christy took his bearings as well as he could, and they passed out into the fog and darkness, to which experience within a few days had accustomed them both. They crossed the Alabama River, and then followed the land to the southward. Striking across an inlet they reached the land again, and by midnight they reached a point of land where Christy felt entirely at home. He recognized it by the dilapidated wharf, from which he had embarked in the Leopard.
It was still a long pull to Glenfield, and they went ashore to partake of a little refreshment. Flint was a smoker, and he had some dry matches which enabled them to make a fire, more for its light than its heat. The ham was good and so was the bread to hungry men like the fugitives. At the end of an hour by the midshipman's watch, they felt like new men, and they resumed their places in the boat, and pulled two hours longer, which brought them to the inlet at Glenfield. At the rude pier where the Bellevite had been moored lay a topsail schooner.
"I don't find any fault, Mr. Passford, but it seems to me that it is rather dangerous for you to come here," said Flint, in a low tone, as soon as they had made out the schooner at the wharf. "I can't see what you are to make by it; and your uncle would hand you over to the rebel officers as readily as he would eat his breakfast."
"I have no doubt he would do so; but I don't intend to give him the chance to do so," replied Christy, resting on his oar. "You see this schooner. She is loaded with cotton, and she is going to run the blockade about this time. I intend to take passage in her."
"Then you knew about this vessel?" asked Flint curiously.
"I did; and that is the particular reason why I came here. Lonley told me that my uncle had offered him the command of the schooner; and now that he has lost his position on board of the Teaser, I have no doubt he has already applied for the berth that was offered to him. I am confident that he has seen my uncle, and it must have been he who told him that I was a prisoner."
"I begin to understand you now, Mr. Passford," added Flint.