e. Two of them seized a couple of the lines with
which they had been bound, and tied the arms of the negro behind him.

A second look at the negro assured Christy that it was Quimp, and he was
more mortified than before at the trick which had been played upon him.
Thrusting his hand into the pocket of the fellow, he drew from it the
three sovereigns and the three shillings he had paid him for his boat
and his information. It was evident enough now that he belonged to the
Reindeer, and that he had been sent out by Captain Stopfoot to do
precisely what he had done, taking advantage of the general good feeling
which prevailed between the negroes and the Union forces.

Christy thought that Captain Stopfoot had been over-confident to leave
his prisoners without a guard; but it appeared now that Quimp had been
employed in this capacity, though it was probable that he had been
instructed not to show himself to them, and for that reason had crept to
his station and lain down on the deck.

"Now, my men, take your arms from that bale of cotton; but don't make
any noise," said Christy in a low tone, as he took his revolvers and
cutlass from the heap of weapons; and the seamen promptly obeyed the
order. "The captain of this steamer managed his affair very well indeed,
and I intend to adopt his tactics."

The steamer was under way, and had been for some time. Christy climbed
upon the bales of cotton far enough to see what the crew of the vessel
were doing. The hatches appeared to have been taken off in the waist and
forward, and the crew were lowering cargo into the hold. A portion of
the cotton had either been hoisted out of the hold, or had been left on
deck, to form the hiding-places for the men. The captain must have had
early notice of the approach of the Bellevite and Bronx; but there had
been time enough after the former began to fire at the battery to enable
him to make all his preparations.

Captain Stopfoot was not to be seen, and was probably in the
pilot-house. The officer concluded that there must be as many as four
men in the hold attending to the stowage of the bales, and four more
could be seen tumbling the cargo through the hatches. This accounted for
eight men; and this was the number Christy had figured out as the crew
of the Reindeer, though there was doubtless a man at the wheel. The
force was about equal to his own, not counting the engineers and the
firemen.

Christy stationed his men as he believed Capt