e to understand that one of these officers is the double of the
other?" asked the first lieutenant, who seemed to be disposed to take in
the situation as a pleasantry of the commander.

"Hardly; both of them claim to be the same officer, and I have invited
you to assist me in deciding which is the real Mr. Passford."

The entire party then seated themselves at the table.

CHAPTER VI

THE CONFERENCE IN THE CAPTAIN'S CABIN

Captain Horatio Passford lived at Bonnydale on the Hudson. He was rich
in several millions of dollars, but he was richer in the possession of
a noble character, one of the most prominent traits of which was his
patriotism. He had presented his large and fast-sailing steam yacht to
the government of the nation at the beginning of the struggle. His motto
was, "Stand by the Union," and from the first he had done everything in
his power to sustain his country against the assaults of dissolution.

[Illustration: The Conference in the Captain's Cabin.--Page 70.]

He had a wife, a daughter, and a son, and his family were as patriotic
as he was himself. At sixteen Christy, the son, had gone into the navy.
He had learned to be a sailor and an engineer in his repeated cruises in
the Bellevite, his father's large steam yacht, now a man-of-war in the
navy. In two years the young man had worked his way up to the rank of
lieutenant. He was very large for his age, and his nautical and
mechanical education had prepared him for service to a degree which
made him almost a prodigy, though his courage and skill had been fully
equalled, if not surpassed, by other naval officers not older than
himself.

Homer Passford, the only brother of his father, had early in life
settled in Alabama, and become a planter, where he had made a
respectable fortune, though he was a poor man compared with the northern
brother. He had a wife, a son, and a daughter. At the beginning of the
war of the Rebellion he had promptly espoused the cause of the South,
and from his point of view, he was fully as patriotic as his brother on
the other side. He was ready to give himself, his son, and his fortune
to the independence of the South. His character was quite as noble as
that of his brother, and he had done all he could in person and with his
wealth to insure the success of the Southern cause.

His son Cornelius followed the lead of his father, and was faithful
to the teachings given him in his southern home. He had enlisted as