d they were doing more of the latter than of
the former, for the bottle passed very frequently from one to another.

"It looks like a bivouac on the part of those fellows," said Christy in
a low tone.

"But who and what are they?" asked Graines.

"They may be deserters from Fort Morgan, though if they were they would
hardly bivouac so near it," replied Christy, who did not seem to his
companion to be at all disturbed by the discovery of the men. "They are
more likely to be sailors from some intending blockade-runner at anchor
off the point, who have come on shore to make a night of it; and they
appear to have made considerable progress in the debauch."

"They are not soldiers, for you can see by the light of the fire that
they are not dressed in uniform," added the engineer.

"This is the third year of the war, and uniforms for the soldiers are
not particularly abundant in the Confederacy."

"We can't see the waters of the bay till we reach the top of the knoll
yonder, and we don't know whether there are any vessels at anchor there
or not. But we can easily avoid these fellows by keeping behind the
ridge till we get where they cannot see us."

"I don't know that we want to avoid them, for I should like very much
to know who and what they are. They must be tipsy to a greater or less
degree by this time, for they do twice as much drinking as eating,"
answered Christy, as he advanced a little way farther up the hill. "They
have a basket of food, and I do not believe they are mere tramps. They
are more likely to be engaged in some occupation which brought them to
this point, and I think we had better fraternize with them. They may be
able to give us some valuable information; and it looks as though they
were drunk enough to tell all they know without making any difficulty
about it."

"Do you think it is quite prudent, Mr. Passford, to approach them?"
asked the engineer.

"When we come on an excursion of this kind we have to take some risk.
If I were alone I should not hesitate to join them, and take my chances,
for they must know something about affairs in this vicinity," replied
Christy in a quiet tone, so that his answer might not be interpreted as
a boast or a reproach to his companion.

"I am ready to follow you, Mr. Passford, wherever you go, and to depend
upon your judgment for guidance," said Graines very promptly. "If it
comes to a fight with those fellows, I beg you to understand that I will
do my full