, and the woods seem to be
full of them."

"I have no doubt they are all here," replied Captain Carboneer. "I have
been in this vicinity all day, and I have made good use of my time.
I believe the Bellevite belongs to the Confederacy, and it shall be
no fault of mine if the goods are not delivered in good order and
condition."

"My father was confident that he should obtain her at Nassau, though he
was mistaken," added the major.

"But when she went within our lines, we were all satisfied that she was
ours. I have not yet been able to understand why she was permitted to
escape."

"If you mean by that to cast any blame upon those who did their best
to prevent her escape, Captain Carboneer, you wrong them grossly,"
said Major Pierson. "She came on a friendly visit to the plantation of
Colonel Passford; but this gentleman, though the owner of the steamer
was his own brother, promptly gave information of her presence in the
creek, and did all he could to have her captured. No man could have
sacrificed more to his patriotism than he did."

"I do not reflect on him or on any one; I only wonder how the Bellevite
contrived to escape when several steamers were sent out to capture her,"
added the captain.

"The son of the owner of the Bellevite was a prisoner of mine, for when
I had my brother arrested for desertion, this young man was with him.
The only mistake I made was in not putting him in irons. The captain of
my tug proved to be a traitor to the Confederacy, and this fellow, with
Christy Passford, did the most of the mischief in preventing the capture
of the steamer."

"I was told that he was a smart boy," added the naval officer.

"He is all of that; and I think it was very fortunate that he did not
happen to be at home when we visited the Bellevite just now," said Major
Pierson, who evidently had a proper respect for the abilities of the
millionnaire's son.

"I do not see that his presence in his father's mansion, if he had been
there, could have made any difference," added the captain, as he sounded
his whistle again, and heard a faint response from the shore. "As long
as he was not actually on board of the steamer, he was harmless."

"Perhaps he was, though I have the feeling that it would have been
otherwise. There was a whistle from the shore."

"I heard it, and I understand it. Haslett has done his whole duty,
I judge," replied Captain Carboneer.

"Who is Haslett?" asked the major curiously. "I never