Within The Enemys Lines | Page 3

he felt nervous and uneasy in the
midst of people who were loyal to the government and the Union.
Captain Passford decided to say nothing more to his nephew at present
as to the occasion and the manner of his visit to Bonnydale, and during

the evening meal he avoided all allusion to the war, so far as it was
possible to do so. Mrs. Passford and Florry received him very kindly,
but following the example of the head of the family, they spoke only of
domestic affairs, and of the relations of the two families as they had
been before the war.
Between the brothers Homer and Horatio Passford, even from their
early boyhood, a remarkably strong fraternal affection had subsisted.
Both of them were high-toned men, and both of them had always been
faithful in the discharge of every duty to God and man. Each of them
had a wife, a son and a daughter, and two happier families could not
have been found on the face of the earth. They were not only devoted to
each other, each within its own circle, but the two families were as
nearly one as it was possible to be.
Captain Horatio had formerly been a shipmaster, and had accumulated
an immense fortune. Homer was less fortunate in this respect, and his
tastes were somewhat different from those of his brother. He wanted to
be a planter, and with the financial assistance of his brother, he went
into the business of raising cotton near Mobile, in Alabama. But years
before the war, he had paid off every dollar of his indebtedness to
Horatio, and had made a comfortable fortune besides. The two families
had visited each other as much an possible, and the captain, with his
little family, had been almost to the plantation in the Bellevite, the
magnificent steam-yacht of the Northerner.
During the preceding winter, Captain Passford, his wife and son, had
visited most of the islands of the Atlantic; but the health of Miss Florry
was considerably impaired, and the doctors would not permit her to
make this sea-voyage, but recommended her to keep quiet in some
southern locality. She had therefore passed the winter at Glenfield,
which was the name of Homer Passford's plantation. On his return from
this long cruise, the owner of the Bellevite obtained his first news that
war existed between the North and the South from the pilot. The three
members of the family on board of the steamer were greatly distressed
over the fact that Florry was still at the home of her uncle in Alabama,
within the enemy's lines.

Without going on shore, Captain Passford decided to arm his yacht,
which was large enough for a man-of-war, and hasten to Mobile Bay to
bring back his daughter. He was in doubt with regard to the political
feeling of Homer, but believed that he would still adhere to the
government and the Union. It was a part of his mission to bring his
brother and his family to his own home at Bonnydale. Mrs. Passford
was sent on shore in a tug, and Christy, the son, was to go with her; but
the young man, just entering his seventeenth year, protested against
being left at home, and as the captain believed that a patriotic citizen
ought to be willing to give his all, even his sons, to his country, the
young man went with his father. The mother was as devoted to her
country as the father, and terrible as was the ordeal, she consented to
part with him for such a duty.
By an event fortunate for him, Captain Passford succeeded in obtaining
an armament for his vessel, as well as an abundant supply of
ammunition; and the vessel was refitted for the perilous service in
which she was to be engaged. At Nassau, Christy made the
acquaintance of a young man who proved to be of great service to the
expedition, and the Bellevite reached her destination in safety, though
not without some rather exciting incidents.
Captain Passford found that his brother was sincerely and devotedly
attached to the Southern cause. They discussed the great question for
hours upon hours, each striving to convert the other to his own views,
but with no success on the part of either. Homer Passford was a
religious man, conscientious in the discharge of every duty, and
nothing less could be said of his Northern brother. In a short time the
owner of the Bellevite found that he had fallen into a "hornet's nest,"
for the planter did not believe that he ought to allow the steam-yacht to
be taken to New York to become a part of the navy of the Union. He
declared his convictions to his brother, who was compelled to regard
the