Christy repeated what he had said, and was careful not to give the steward too much to remember. As soon as the matter was fully understood, the middy mounted his horse, and they proceeded on their mission down the river. After they had ridden about three miles, Mr. Watts insisted that the steamer was coming, and that it was the Vampire.
"I don't see anything," added Christy.
"Neither do I; but I know that the Vampire is coming up the river. If you listen, you will hear a hoarse puffing; and nothing but that old ark could make such a wheezy noise," replied the steward.
The middy heard it and was satisfied.
[CHAPTER IX]
THE APPROACH OF THE VAMPIRE
The Vampire, as the steward had no doubt it was, could not be less than a mile distant from the spot where the two horsemen had halted in the road. Christy was very familiar with this portion of the river, and after he had listened a few moments, he was satisfied from the direction of the sound he heard, that a mile was very nearly the exact distance. The approaching steamer had to come around a small bend, the arc of which made just a mile.
"I don't wish to blow up a dozen or twenty loyal citizens, and I must make sure in some way that Captain Carboneer's party is on board of that steamer," said Christy, as he led his horse into a field, and tied him to a tree, the steward following his example.
"That would be a very bad thing to do," added Mr. Watts, as they walked back to the river. "But I don't see why it is necessary to blow up even any rebels on the present occasion. If that naval officer has forty men, as you think he has, a shot from that long gun would make terrible havoc among them if you succeeded in hitting her. You might kill half of them."
"If we do they, and not we, will be responsible for it," added Christy, somewhat appalled by the suggestion of his companion.