he stingiest I ever met, and he was as dishonest and
unscrupulous as a Paris thief. I copied all the letters connected with
the case I had in hand, and this enabled me to get to the bottom of the
traitor's plot. He wrote letters himself, not only to England and
Scotland, but to people in the South, sending them to Bermuda and
Nassau. I took copies of all these, and saved one or two originals.
My pay was so small that I resigned my situation," and he flourished a
great file of letters as he finished.

CHAPTER V

AN ABUNDANCE OF EVIDENCE

Captain Passford had certainly kept his own counsel with punctilious
care; for he had never even mentioned the skilful detective in his
family, though the members of it had met the gentleman in Paris and in
Havre. Mr. Gilfleur was in constant communication with him while he was
working up the exposure of the treason of Davis, who might have been a
relative of the distinguished gentleman at the head of the Southern
Confederacy, though there was no evidence to this effect.

"If the captain of this steamer manages his affair well with the Ionian,
I expect to find letters on board of her signed by Davis," continued Mr.
Gilfleur. "From the information I obtained, your father put American
detectives on the scent of Davis, who dogged him day and night till they
found the Ionian, and ascertained in what manner she obtained her cargo;
but she had been partly loaded before they reached a conclusion, and it
is suspected that she has arms under the pieces of machinery, perhaps
cannon and ammunition."

The detective continued to explain his operations at greater length than
it is necessary to report them. Christy listened till nearly midnight,
and then he went on deck to ascertain the position of the chase before
he turned in. He found the captain on the quarter-deck, vigilant and
faithful to his duty, and evidently determined that the Ionian should
not elude him.

"You are up late, Mr. Passford," said the captain, when he recognized
his passenger in the gloom of the night.

"I have been busy, and I came on deck to see where the Ionian was before
I turned in," replied Christy.

"I think the rascal has a suspicion that we have some business with him,
for at four bells he turned his head in for the shore," added the
commander. "If you go forward you will see that we have dowsed every
glim on board, even to our mast-head and side lights."

"You are carrying no starboard and port light