What Quimp said was rather suspicious; but Christy could see nothing to justify his doubts. He directed the cockswain to steer the cutter as closely to the side of the Reindeer as the movement of the oars would permit, so that the field-pieces could not be brought to bear upon it. The steamer lay at a sort of temporary pier, which had evidently been erected for her accommodation, and the cotton had doubtless been brought to the key by river steamers by the Suwanee and other streams from cotton regions. There was no habitation or other building on the shore, but a gangway was stretched to the land, over which a couple of men were hastening on board when the cutter reached the stern of the Reindeer. From appearances Christy judged that the water had been deepened by dredges, for a considerable quantity of sand and mud was disposed in heaps in the shallow water a hundred feet or more from the rude wharf. "Boat ahoy!" shouted a person on board, near the starboard accommodation ladder, which the officer of the boat had noticed was in place. "On board the steamer!" replied Christy. "What is your business here?" inquired the person on the deck of the Reindeer, though he could not be seen from the cutter. "I will go on board and inform you," replied Christy. As there were no signs of resistance on board of the vessel, the officer of the cutter directed his men to make a dash for the accommodation ladder, which had the appearance of having been left to make things convenient for a boarding-party. The crew were all armed with a cutlass and revolver in the belt. "Lay her aboard!" said Christy, quietly enough, as he led the way himself, for he was a bold leader, and was not content to follow his men. As he leaped down from the bulwarks to the deck, he confronted the person who had hailed him in the boat. "What is your business on board of the Reindeer?" demanded, in a very tame tone, the man in front of him. "I am an officer of the United States navy, and my business is to make a prize of this steamer and her cargo," replied Christy. "Is that so? You did not give me your name, sir," added the man. "Lieutenant Passford, attached to the United States steamer Bellevite. Do me the favor to explain who you are, sir," returned Christy. "I am Captain Solomon Stopfoot, in command of the Reindeer, at your service, born and brought up on Long Island," answered the commander of the steamer. "Then what are you doing here?" demanded the naval officer. "Where were you born on Long Island?" "In Babylon, on the south shore." "Then Babylon is fallen!" exclaimed Christy, indignant to find a man born so near his own home doing the dirty work of the Confederate government. "Perhaps not; and perhaps you may change your view of me when you have heard my story," added Captain Stopfoot.