orm, and his vigorous and well
knit, as well as graceful form, did more to show off the dress than the
dress did to adorn his person.

"I am very glad to see you again, Christy," said Captain Breaker,
seating himself and pointing to an arm-chair for the lieutenant, while
he came down from the stately dignity of the commander of a man-of-war
to the familiarity with which he treated his chief officer when they
were alone. "I had no doubt that you would give a good account of
yourself, as you always do. You were going on the enemy's territory, and
you were in peril all the time. Now you come off in a schooner, which
appears to be loaded with cotton, and how or where you picked her up is
a mystery to me;" and the commander indulged in a laugh at the oddity of
the young officer's reappearance. "Your messenger reported that the
Trafalgar would sail at three o'clock in the morning, and I judge that
she left at about that hour."

"Within ten minutes of it, and probably made an arrangement with the
commandant of the fort to that effect," added Christy. "But they do not
call her the Trafalgar now; though Weeks was not aware of the fact when
I sent him on board. She is now the Tallahatchie, though I noticed that
some in the vicinity of the fort still called her by her old name."

"Never mind the name; she will answer our purpose as well under one
appellation as another. When I asked your messenger about you and the
other six men of your party, he was unable to give me any information
in regard to your movements; and he could not tell me how you had
ascertained the hour at which the steamer was to sail," continued the
captain.

"Graines and myself separated from the party as soon as we landed on the
point; and we had obtained our information before we joined them again
on the shore of Mobile Bay, sir. At the same time we had learned all
about the West Wind"--

"The what?" interposed the commander.

"I mean the schooner West Wind, the one from which we came on board of
the Bellevite, which was to be towed out by the Tallahatchie, and which
was towed out by her till we on board of her cast off the towline."

"Perhaps you had better narrate the events of your expedition
_seriatim_, for all you say in this disconnected manner only thickens
the mystery," said the commander: and he knew that his officer had an
excellent command of the English language, and could make a verbal
report in a very attractive and telling style, though