Brave Old Salt Part 10

"Excuse me, Mr. Wynkoop," said Lieutenant Pillgrim, as he paused at the side of the table, "for entering in this abrupt manner. I have been knocking at your door for some time, without obtaining a response."

"You went to the wrong door. That's my bedroom."

"So I perceive, now."

"But there is no harm done; on the contrary, I am very glad to see you.

Sit down and take a gla.s.s of wine with me. Mr. Somers does not indulge."

"Mr. Somers is a very proper young man," said the lieutenant, with a pleasant smile, as he glanced again at the papers which lay open on the table. "I have been looking for you, Somers, but it was only to ask you what the prospect is on board the Chatauqua. I have not been on board to-day."

"I think we shall be wanted by to-morrow or next day," replied Somers, who could not help seeing that the eye of his superior officer was fixed on the commander's commission, which lay open before him.

"Indeed! I am glad to know this, for I had made up my mind to go to New York in the morning. Of course I shall not go."

"Sit down, Mr.--Really, sir, you must excuse me, but I have forgotten your name," said Mr. Wynkoop.

"Lieutenant Pillgrim--at your service. It is not very surprising that you should forget it, since we have met but once; not half so surprising as that I should force myself into your rooms, on so short an acquaintance."

"Don't mention it, my dear fellow. We sailors are brothers all over the world. Sit down, and take a gla.s.s of sherry with me. It's a capital wine--made two voyages to India."

"Excuse me, Mr. Wynkoop; I merely called to invite you to spend the evening with me. I have a plan that will use up two or three hours very pleasantly."

"Thank you, Mr. Pillgrim. You are a friend in need, and a friend indeed."

"I see that you and Mr. Somers have business, and I will take my leave."

"I should be happy to have you remain, but if you will not, I will join you in half an hour in the reading-room. Better sit down, and wait here."

"I will not interrupt your business with Mr. Somers," replied Lieutenant Pillgrim, again glancing curiously at the doc.u.ments on the table.

Greatly to the relief of Somers, his fellow-officer left the room. This visit had been a most unfortunate one, for the lieutenant could not have avoided seeing the nature of the papers on the table. But as Somers was a true and loyal man, his conscience accused him of no wrong, and he had no fears in regard to the result. This revelation simply imposed upon him the necessity of making Mr. Pillgrim his confidant, which he proposed to do at the first convenient opportunity.

"You think you will not sign the oath to-night, Mr. Somers?" said his companion.

"It had better be deferred," replied Somers, as he folded up the commission, and put it in his pocket, regarding it as the most important evidence in his possession against Coles, and a sufficient confirmation of the truth of the statement he had so carefully written out the night before.

"Suit yourself, Somers. We shall not differ about these small matters,"

added Wynkoop, as he folded up the oath, and put it in his pocket. "By the way, Somers, what do you think of our friend Pillgrim?"

"He is a fine fellow, and I am told he is a good officer. I was not aware that you knew him."

"I have only met him once, just as I met you. How do you think he stands affected towards our cause?"

"Not well."

"So I feared."

"He is a loyal man, though a Virginian."

"Do you think I could make anything of him?"

"I am satisfied you could not."

"I did not dare to try him. I gave him a chance to nibble at my bait, but he wouldn't bite. Perhaps, when I know him better, he will come round; for I don't think there are many of these Yankee officers that have any real heart in their work."

"You are utterly mistaken," said Somers; but remembering that he was hardly in a position to defend his loyal comrades in the navy, he did not seriously combat the proposition of the rebel emissary.

As the business of the interview was now finished, Somers shook hands with his agreeable host--though his heart repelled the act,--and took leave of him. He hastened to his chamber, agitated and excited by the strange and revolting scene through which he had just pa.s.sed. It was some time before he was calm enough to think coherently of what he had done, and of the compact he had made. He wished very much to see Mr.

Waldron now; indeed, he felt the absolute necessity of confiding to some trustworthy person the momentous secret he had obtained, which burned in his soul like an evil deed.

If Lieutenant Pillgrim had not actually read his commission when it lay on the table, he must, at least, have suspected that all was not right with his s.h.i.+pmate. He must, therefore, confide in him, and without the loss of another moment, he hastened to his room for this purpose; but the lieutenant was not there. He searched for him in all the public rooms of the hotel, but without success. Remembering that his fellow-officer was to meet Mr. Wynkoop in the reading-room half an hour from the time they parted, he waited there over an hour, but the appointment evidently was not kept by either party.

Somers did not wish to sleep another night without sharing his great secret with some one; for if anything should happen to him, he reasoned, the commission and the orders might be found in his possession, and subject him to very unpleasant suspicions, if they did not expose him to the actual charge of complicity with the enemies of his country. He waited in the vicinity of the office till midnight, hoping to see Mr.

Pillgrim; but he did not appear, and he reluctantly retired to his chamber.

When he carried his key to the office in the morning, there was a note in his box, addressed to him. The ink of the direction was hardly dry, and the lap of the envelope was still wet where it had been moistened to seal it. Somers opened it. He was surprised and startled at its contents; but the writer had evidently made a mistake in the superscription. It was as follows:--

"MY DEAR PILLGRIM: I have just sent a note to Somers, saying that the Ben Nevis has sailed,--which is a fact,--and that he must join her at Mobile, where she will run in a cargo of arms and provisions. Act accordingly. How is this?

"LANGDON."

Both the name and the import of the letter implied that the note was not intended for Somers, though it was directed to him. The writer had evidently written two notes, and in his haste had misdirected the envelopes.

"My dear Pillgrim!" The note was intended for his fellow-officer. Was Pillgrim a confederate of Langdon? It looked so, incredible as it seemed.

Somers was bewildered for a moment, but he was too good a strategist to be overwhelmed. Restoring the note to its envelope, he readjusted the lap, which was still wet, and the letter looked as though it had not been opened. He returned it to the box under his key, and perceived that there was also a note in Mr. Pillgrim's box. As soon as the mistake was discovered, the letters would be changed. He returned to his room to await the result.

Somers had made an astounding discovery by the merest accident in the world. Things were not what they seemed. Mr. Pillgrim had relations of some kind with Langdon, _alias_ Lieutenant Wynkoop. His entering the parlor while they were at dinner was not so accidental a circ.u.mstance as it had appeared. Who and what was Lieutenant Pillgrim? The belief that he had met him somewhere before they came together at Newport, still haunted Somers; but he was in no better condition now than then to solve the mystery.

In half an hour he went down to the office again. The note to Mr.

Pillgrim was gone; but there was one for himself in the box. He took it out; the direction was not in the same handwriting as before. Mr.

Pillgrim had probably discovered the mistake, and changed the letters, without a suspicion that the one addressed to himself had been read.

Somers opened the note, which contained the information he expected to find there in regard to the Ben Nevis, and was signed by Wynkoop.

Beyond the possibility of a doubt now, Lieutenant Pillgrim was a confederate of Langdon. Of course, he knew Coles. He was a Virginian, and it was now certain to Somers, if to no one else, that his loyalty had been justly suspected. He had doubtless entered the navy again for a purpose. What that purpose was, remained yet to be exposed. From the depths of his heart, Somers thanked G.o.d that this discovery had been made; and he determined to put it to good use. He was now more anxious than before to meet his friend Mr. Waldron, and communicate the startling information to him.

From the morning papers he saw that the Ben Nevis, whose name had been changed to that of a famous Union general, had actually sailed, as Langdon's note informed him. In the forenoon, he went to the navy yard, expecting to find the s.h.i.+p ready to go into commission; but he learned that the bed-plates of her pivot guns had to be recast, and that she would not be ready for another week. He also learned that his friend Mr.

Waldron had been taken down with typhoid fever at his home, and was then in a critical condition.

Somers was not only shocked, but disconcerted by this intelligence, for it deprived him of the friend and counsellor whom he needed in this emergency. After careful deliberation, he obtained a furlough of a week, and went to the home of Mr. Waldron; but the sufferer could not even be seen, much less consulted on a matter of business. Left to act for himself, he hastened to New York, and then to Boston, to ascertain what he could in regard to the Ben Nevis. So far as he could learn, everything was all right in regard to her. After a short visit to Pinchbrook, he hastened back to Philadelphia, and found the Chatauqua hauled out into the stream, and ready to go into commission at once.

Lieutenant Pillgrim and the other officers had already gone on board.

Under these circ.u.mstances, Somers had not a moment to see Langdon. He took possession of his state-room, and at once had all the work he could do, in the discharge of his duty.

At meridian the ensign was run up, and the s.h.i.+p went into commission under the command of Captain Cascabel. Mr. Pillgrim was doing duty as executive officer, though a subst.i.tute for Mr. Waldron was expected before the s.h.i.+p sailed. Somers was uneasy, and dissatisfied with himself. He began to feel that he had left a duty unperformed. He had intended to expose the conspiracy before the Chatauqua sailed, and thus relieve himself from the heavy responsibility that rested upon him. Yet to whom could he speak? Mr. Waldron was still dangerously ill. Mr.

Pillgrim was evidently a traitor himself.

He could give his information to the United States marshal at Philadelphia; but how could he prove his allegations? Langdon and Coles he had not seen since his return, and perhaps they were in another part of the country by this time. He had the commander's commission and the written orders, but in the absence of the princ.i.p.als, he feared these would be better evidence against himself than against the conspirators.