"No, sir, I am here. I did not like the service very well, and I thought I should like the navy better. The reason why I did not like it as well as at first was because I was no longer in Major Pierson's battalion," replied Corny, looking at his uncle as though he expected a question from him.
"Then Major Pierson is no longer in the army?" added the captain.
"Oh, yes, he is; but I think he was the maddest man in the army soon after you left."
"Indeed! Why was he so mad?"
"Because he was removed from command of Fort Gaines for letting you pass it in your steamer."
"Then he is still in the service?" asked Captain Passford.
"Yes, sir; he is a good officer, and he will make his way, if he was guilty of a blunder in letting the Bellevite pass the fort."
"Then you intend to be a sailor, Corny?"
"Yes, sir; in fact, I am a sailor now. I had been in your yacht so much that I knew something about the ropes, and I had no difficulty in getting transferred, as sailors were wanted more than soldiers," replied Corny, who seemed to be studying the figures in the carpet.
"But if you went into the navy, how do you happen to be in New York?" asked Captain Passford.