Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: May 17, 2025
She had a considerable deck-load of cotton, and doubtless her hold was filled with the same valuable commodity. "Is that steamer armed, Quimp?" asked Christy, who could see no signs of life on board of her. "She don't got no arms, but she hab two field-pieces on her for'ad deck," replied the negro. "How many men has she on board?"
That is the question I want answered," continued the officer impatiently. "You can't do not'ing wid me, Massa Ossifer, and I must tooken my chance to go up in de boat. Better hab my froat cut 'n be chawed up by a big alligator. Was you ever bit by an alligator, Massa Ossifer?" "I never was." "I knows about dat, massa," added Quimp, as he bared his leg, and showed an ugly scar.
"Not much water inside dem keys dar, sar," replied the boatman, looking off in the other direction. "But there are deep places in there, I am very sure." "Yes, sar; ten feet in some places," replied Quimp, suddenly becoming more communicative. "When de wind blow from de west or de norf-west, dar's twelve foot inside de long key."
"Quimp is as smart as a Yankee," said Captain Stopfoot, laughing in spite of his misfortune. "The flatboat was one we picked up on one of the keys; and the information was precisely what I instructed Quimp to give you, without money and without price. I promised to give him ten dollars if he would pretend to be an honest nigger, and do the job properly.
"Wot you want to know, massa?" demanded Quimp, as though he was weakening in his resolution.
Christy had his doubts about there being alligators of a dangerous size in the bay, though he had seen small ones in other bays of the coast; but he was willing to admit that Quimp knew better about the matter than he did. It was a hard swim to any other key than the long one, to which the cutter was quite near.
The first heaving gave three and a half fathoms, and it gradually decreased at each report, till only two fathoms and a quarter was indicated, when the boat was between the two keys, the southern of which Quimp called the long key, simply because that was the longest in the bay, and not because it was a proper name. "Now, Massa Ossifer, look sharp ober on de starboard side," said the negro.
"When the trouble came he was not in condition to call you," the lieutenant explained. "No, sar! Dem beggars gagged me, and den robbed me of all my money!" howled Quimp, whose greatest grievance was the loss of his fifteen dollars. "That was hardly justifiable, Mr. Passford," added the captain shaking his head.
He had left the boat in charge of Quimp, or rather he had left him in it without assigning any particular duty to him. He was no longer in the cutter, and the officer concluded that he had taken to the long key, and was fraternizing with the renegades who had deserted the Reindeer.
Christy thought that Captain Stopfoot had been over-confident to leave his prisoners without a guard; but it appeared now that Quimp had been employed in this capacity, though it was probable that he had been instructed not to show himself to them, and for that reason had crept to his station and lain down on the deck.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking