Captain Bristler and his effects were sent back to the Raven, the
grappling irons and the fasts were cast off, and the St. Regis backed
out from her position on the port side of the prize. During all this
time Christy was very busy with his glass. As Mr. Baskirk had
discovered, the leading steamer had three blockaders in chase of her.
She was now headed to the south, having done so as soon as she saw the
four vessels lying in her course.
"Make the course south-west by south, Mr. Baskirk," said the young
commander, after he had brought his trigonometry into use again.
Then it became a very exciting question to ascertain which was the
faster steamer of the two.
CHAPTER XXXI
A VICTORIOUS UNION
The fog was coming and going in the distance, and at times the land
could be just discerned. In spite of the number and vigilance of the
blockading fleet, several hundred blockade-runners had succeeded in
making their way into Cape Fear River, though several hundred also had
been captured, not to mention a very considerable number that had been
run ashore or burned when escape became hopeless.
It was the policy of the Confederacy to send out vessels to prey upon
the commerce of the United States. Some of them began their depredations
without making a port in the South, and a few of the swift steamers that
succeeded in getting into Mobile, Wilmington, and other safe places,
were fitted out for the work of destruction.
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