bay."

"You don't 'spect you find no steamers up dis bay, does you, massa?"

"Do you know of any steamers up this bay, my man?" asked Christy. "Do
you know of any vessels up here loading with cotton?" asked Christy.

"P'raps I do, massa; and den, again, p'raps I don't know anyt'ing about
any vessels," replied the negro, very indefinitely.

Christy was provoked at the manner in which the negro replied to his
questions. Ordering his boat's crew to give way with all their might,
he directed the cockswain to run for the punt of the negro. The cutter
struck it on the broadside, and broke it into two pieces. The boatman
was fished up, and hauled on board of the boat.

[Illustration:
"The boatman was fished up and hauled on board the boat." Page 301.]

CHAPTER XXVII

AMONG THE KEYS OF TAMPA

Christy Passford did not intend to cut the negro's punt into two pieces,
though perhaps there was some mischief in the purpose of the cockswain.
The boatman gave him an evasive answer to his question, which provoked
the young officer. The punt was a very old affair, reduced almost to
punk by the decay of the boards of which it was built, or the bow of the
cutter would not have gone through it so readily. The lieutenant had
simply desired to get alongside the negro's shaky craft in order to
question him, for he was satisfied from the fellow's manner that he knew
more than he pretended to know.

The boatman had come off from the shore of his own accord; he had not
been solicited to give any information, and his movements had been
entirely voluntary on his own part. Yet Christy was sorry that his punt
had been stove, valueless as the craft had been; for, as a rule, the
colored people were friendly to the Union soldiers, and he was not
disposed to do them any injury.

As soon as the officer in charge of the boat saw that the bow was likely
to strike the punt, he directed the cockswain to stop and back her,
which was done, but too late to save the flimsy box from destruction.
The two bowmen drew in the negro without any difficulty; and so
expeditiously had he been rescued that he was not wet above the hips.
He had been caught up just as the bow of the cutter cut into the punt.

"That was well done, bowmen," said Christy, as the boatman was placed
upon his feet in the fore sheets.

The negro was rather small in stature, and black enough to save all
doubts in regard to his parentage; but there was an expression of
cunni