ones to make to Fort Pickens. The ship would have
been there by midnight, and up to that time I should have been asleep in
my stateroom; and they would not have taken the trouble to call the
watch below at that hour."

"No matter; we have the Bronx again, and she is not yet to become
a Confederate cruiser. But Corny had the sealed orders of the
flag-officer, and I heard Mr. Galvinne read them. The Bronx is ordered
to St. Andrew's to attend to the case of a steamer loading there to run
the blockade. Shall I obey the orders, or return to the flag-ship?"

"The commodore hurried us off, for he feared any delay might allow the
steamer to escape."

"We have five prisoners on board; and we can take care of them well
enough," replied Christy; "but the principal difficulty is that we have
no officers."

"But we have plenty of good men, and some of them will make good
officers," suggested the first lieutenant.

"We have no surgeon, I believe, for Dr. Spokeley is sick, and was to be
sent home before I left in the Vixen for New York," added the commander,
now restored to his own right on board.

"Oh, yes; we have a surgeon, for Dr. Spokeley is to go to New York in
the Vernon, and the doctor of the store-ship is appointed to the Bronx."

"Dr. Connelly!" exclaimed Christy.

"Just so; and I dare say he is asleep in his stateroom at this moment."

"Then we had better obey the sealed orders of the flag-officer; we will
come about, and head her for St. Andrew's. Fortunately I have been there
myself in the Bellevite, and I have been up the harbor and bay in boats,
for the yacht, as she was at the time, drew too much water to go into
the bay, for it is shoal inside. Come about, Mr. Flint, and make the
course due east."

"I hope we shall do as well as we did at Cedar Keys," replied the first
lieutenant, when he had given the order to come about to the
quartermaster.

"Look up the log slate, for I suppose they have made the entries, and
when we have run eighty knots from the station, keep a sharp lookout for
the land. Now I will go to my cabin, and find the envelope that contains
the orders, and look them over."

Christy went below, and found Dave in the stateroom, apparently
unwilling to take his eyes off the prisoner who still lay in the berth.
He went to the table in the cabin, and found upon it the sheet upon
which the orders had been written. They were of no use to Galvinne, and
he had thrown them down as soon as he had r