He had been the honored guest of Captain Rombold,
though he had hardly shown himself on deck since the steamer left
Mobile, and few of the ship's company seemed to know who he was.
"Good-morning, Colonel Passford," said Captain Breaker, as he confronted
him in the midst of the ruins of the spare wheel, the wrecks of the
mizzen mast, and the bulwarks on the quarterdeck.
"Good-morning, Captain Breaker," replied the planter, taking the offered
hand of the commander, with a feeble effort to smile. "Of course I knew
that you were near, for you have given abundant proofs of your presence
on board of this vessel."
"But we meet now as friends, and not as enemies. I know that you have
done your duty to your country as you understand it, and I have done the
same," continued the commander, still holding the hand of the colonel.
"You have been very kind to Captain Rombold, Gill informs me, and"--
"He set the example for me, and I have striven to follow it," interposed
the captain. "But his generosity was first exercised in behalf of your
nephew, Christy."
"The steward informed me that Christy had been wounded; and Captain
Rombold assured me that the Tallahatchie was captured in consequence of
a very daring act on the part of my nephew," added the planter.
"I should not state it quite so strongly as that, though his action
certainly enabled us to capture the ship sooner, and with less loss on
our part than would otherwise have been the case.
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