Within The Enemy's Lines

Oliver Optic

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• Publié par: ludus
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 38
• Langue: English

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The Project Gutenberg EBook of Within The Enemy's Lines, by Oliver Optic This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Within The Enemy's Lines SERIES: The Blue and the Gray--Afloat Author: Oliver Optic Release Date: June 15, 2006 [EBook #18264] Language: English Character set encoding: ASCII *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES *** Produced by Louise Hope, David Garcia, Juliet Sutherland and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Kentuckiana Digital Libra The Frontispiece ("He saw two men...") has been placed between the Preface and the Table of Contents. Invisible punctuation— chiefly quotation marks— has been silently supplied. Other typographical errors are marked in the text with mouse-hover popups. THE BLUE AND THE GRAY SERIES TAKEN BY THE ENEMY WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES ON THE BLOCKADE IN PRESS LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS BOSTON The Blue and the Gray Series WITHIN THE ENEMY’S LINES BY OLIVER OPTIC AUTHOR OF "THE ARMY AND NAVY SERIES," "YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD," "THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES," "THE WOODVILLE STORIES," "THE STARRY FLAG SERIES," "THE BOAT-CLUB STORIES," "THE ONWARD AND UPWARD SERIES," "THE YACHT-CLUB SERIES," "THE LAKE-SHORE SERIES," "THE RIVERDALE SERIES," "THE BOATBUILDER SERIES," "TAKEN BY THE ENEMY," ETC. B L E E O S A T N O D N S 1 H 10 MILK STREET NEXT "THE OLD SOUTH MEETING HOUSE" NEW YORK CHAS. T. DILLINGHAM 718 AND 720 BROADWAY COPYRIGHT, 1889, BY LEE AND SHEPARD. All rights reserved. WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES. A MON JEUNE AMI, (QUE JE N'AI JAMAIS VU, ET QUE JE NE CONNAIS PAS,) Monsieur Lucien Bing, DE PARIS, FRANCE, EN RECONNAISSANCE DE LA BONTÉ DE SON PÈRE, CETTE HISTORIETTE DE LA GUERRE CIVILE EN AMERIQUE EST AFFECTUEUSEMENT DÉDIÉ. 7 PREFACE "WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES" is the second volume of "The Blue and the Gray Series." Like its predecessor, of course, its scenes are connected with the war of the Rebellion; and perhaps the writer ought to be thankful that he is not required in such a work to rise to the dignity of history, but he believes that all his events were possible, and that every one of them has had its parallel in the actual occurrences of the historic period of which he writes. In fact, some of the experiences of the actors in the terrible drama of a quarter of a century ago would pass more readily for fiction than for reality, and detailed on the pages of a story would be deemed impossible by the conservative reader. The nation has passed out of its ordeal of fire, and an excellent spirit on the part of both parties to the great strife is still growing and strengthening, in spite of an occasional exhibition of folly on both sides on the part of those who have not outlived the bitterness of the past, and who probably will not outlive it. The time will certainly come when the memories of the conflict, the repetition of the stories of the war, and even the partisan praise bestowed upon the heroes of both sides, will excite no more ill feeling than does an allusion to the War of the Roses in England. In this country the advocate of either side will tell his story, relate his history, and jingle his verse in his own way, and from his own standpoint. Those upon the other side will be magnanimous enough to tolerate him, at least in silence. 8 the other side will be magnanimous enough to tolerate him, at least in silence. Histories, romances, poems, and plays relating to the war, are produced in greater numbers as the gap between the days of battle and the days of peace widens; but the old fires are not rekindled, the old bitterness still slumbers, and the Great United Nation still lives on in perfect peace. The author hopes he has done nothing on these pages to impair the growing harmony between the two sections which have happily become one, or to impregnate the minds of those who have been born since the strife ended with any of its bitterness. He has endeavored to make as high-toned men on the one side as the other, with the same moral sentiment in the one party as the other, and to exhibit their only difference in the one great question of Union or Disunion. D ORCHESTER, May 2, 1889. 9 "HE SAW T WO M EN MAKING THEIR WAY THROUGH THE GROVE ."—Page 28. 11 CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER I. AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR 15 CHAPTER II. A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION CHAPTER III. 27 37 48 59 70 81 92 103 114 125 136 146 12 THE DIGNIFIED NAVAL OFFICER CHAPTER IV. CORNY PASSFORD PLAYS ANOTHER PART CHAPTER V. CAPTAIN CARBONEER AND HIS PARTY CHAPTER VI. THE CABIN OF THE FLORENCE CHAPTER VII. M IDSHIPMAN CHRISTY PASSFORD CHAPTER VIII. ARRANGING THE SIGNALS CHAPTER IX. THE APPROACH OF THE VAMPIRE CHAPTER X. A SHOT FROM THE LONG GUN CHAPTER XI. THE BATTLE ALONGSIDE THE BELLEVITE CHAPTER XII. THE PRISONER OF WAR CHAPTER XIII. AFTER THE BATTLE CHAPTER XIV. THE BEGINNING OF A CHASE 157 168 179 190 201 212 223 234 13 CHAPTER XV. A CHASE OFF THE BERMUDAS CHAPTER XVI. THE CONFEDERATE STEAMER YAZOO CHAPTER XVII. A SATISFACTORY ORDER CHAPTER XVIII. LIEUTENANT PASSFORD IN COMMAND CHAPTER XIX. SOME TROUBLE ON BOARD THE TEASER CHAPTER XX. COMING TO THE POINT CHAPTER XXI. ON A DARK AND FOGGY NIGHT CHAPTER XXII. A VARIETY OF NIGHT SIGNALS CHAPTER XXIII. 245 256 206 278 289 300 311 322 333 15 ANOTHER NIGHT EXPEDITION CHAPTER XXIV. LIEUTENANT PASSFORD ON A M ISSION CHAPTER XXV. CHRISTY BECOMES A VICTIM CHAPTER XXVI. THE ACTION ON THE DECK OF THE TEASER CHAPTER XXVII. A VISIT FROM COLONEL HOMER PASSFORD CHAPTER XXVIII. AN ENTERPRISE FOR A DARK NIGHT CHAPTER XXIX. THE NEW M ATE OF THE COTTON SCHOONER CHAPTER XXX. THE PRIZE-M ASTER OF THE J UDITH WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES CHAPTER I AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR "C ORNELIUS!" exclaimed Captain Passford, as a young man of nineteen was shown into the library of the magnificent dwelling of the millionnaire at Bonnydale, on the Hudson. "Cornelius Passford, Uncle Horatio," replied the young man, as the captain rushed to him and extended his hand. "I think there can be no mistake about it; and I should have been no more surprised if Mr. Jefferson Davis had been ushered into my library at this moment," continued Captain Passford, still retaining the hand of his nephew. "I understood that you were a soldier in the Confederate army." "I was a soldier; but I am not one just now," replied the visitor, with some embarrassment in his manner, though the circumstances were strange enough to account for it. "How are your father and mother and Miss Gerty, Corny?" asked the uncle of the visitor, giving the young man the name by which he was generally called both at home and in the family of his uncle. 16 "They were all very well when I left them," replied Corny, looking on the floor, as though he was not altogether satisfied with himself. "Of course, you brought letters from your father and Gerty?" "No, sir; I brought no letters," replied Corny, and, more than before, he looked as though he was not enjoying his present visit. "No letters!" exclaimed Captain Passford, evidently surprised beyond measure at the apparent want of kindly feeling on the part of members of his brother's family in the South. "Not a letter, Uncle Horatio," answered Corny, bracing himself up, as though he realized that he was not presenting a demeanor such as he thought the occasion required of him. "This is very strange," added Captain Passford, with a cloud playing on his fine features. "It is war between the North and the South, Uncle Horatio, and I suppose my father did not feel like writing any letters. Gerty never writes any letters if she can help it," Corny explained. "But Gerty used to write to Florry about once a week." "Did she? I didn't know it. She never would write to me when I was away from home," said Corny, who seemed to be very anxious not to say anything that was not consistent with the present situation, whatever it was. "When I parted with my brother on board of the Bellevite, both of us shed tears as we realized that war made enemies of us; but each of us promised to do all he could for the other in case of need. I am very sure that there was not the slightest unkind feeling between us. Of course, I did not expect him to write me the war news, but I think he could have written a few lines without any allusion to the war," said Captain Passford, pained at this want of filial affection on the part of his brother. At that moment the bell for tea rang, and the captain invited his nephew to the table with him. The host was saddened by the absence of news from his brother, of any kindly expression from one who was of the same blood as himself. He was not quite satisfied with Corny's manner, or with the little he seemed to be willing to say about the rest of the family. It was certainly very strange that the young man should be there at all, and his awkwardness and confusion made the visit seem still more singular. It was possible that the young man had just arrived and was fatigued by the trials and perils of his trip, for he must have come by some roundabout way; and very likely he felt nervous and uneasy in the midst of people who were loyal to the government and the Union. Captain Passford decided to say nothing more to his nephew at present as to the occasion and the manner of his visit to Bonnydale, and during the evening meal he avoided all allusion to the war, so far as it was possible to do so. Mrs. Passford and Florry received him very kindly, but following the example of the head of the family, they spoke only of domestic affairs, and of the relations of the two families as they had been before the war. Between the brothers Homer and Horatio Passford, even from their early boyhood, a remarkably