The visitors looked them over with the greatest interest. They even went on board of a couple of them, the detective pretending that he was looking for a passage to some port in the South from which he could reach Mobile, where his brother was in the Confederate army. No one could doubt that he was a Frenchman, and on one of them the captain spoke French, though very badly. M. Rubempre's good clothes secured the respect and confidence of those he encountered, and most of the officers freely told him where they were bound, and talked with great gusto of the business in which they were engaged. But none of them could guarantee him a safe passage to any port on the blockaded coast. The excursion in the boat was continued, for the visitors had not yet seen the steamer they were the most anxious to examine. The detective would not inquire about this steamer, fearful that it might be reported by the negro at the oars, and excite suspicion. But at last, near the entrance to the harbor, the boatman pointed out the Dornoch, and told them all he knew about her. There were several lighters alongside, discharging coal and other cargo into her. M. Rubempre, in his broken English, asked permission to go on deck, and it was promptly accorded to him. He was very polite to the officers, and they treated him with proper consideration. There were no guns in sight, and the steamer looked like a merchantman; but if she had been searched, her armament would have been found in the hold. The visitor again repeated his desire to obtain a passage to the South; and this request seemed to satisfy the first officer with whom he talked. He was informed that the steamer would sail about five on the afternoon of the next day, and he must be on board at that time, if he wished to go in the vessel. He learned many particulars in regard to her. CHAPTER XI AN UNEXPECTED RENCONTRE It was lunch-time when the visitors landed, and they proceeded to the St. George's Hotel in Market Square, to attend to this mid-day duty. In the coffee-room they found quite a number of guests, and the only spare seat the detective found was at a large table at which a gentleman in uniform was seated. "Wit your permis-si-on, I take one of the places here," said M. Rubempre with his politest flourish. "Certainly," replied the gentleman, as politely as the Frenchman; and he seated himself at the table, Christy remaining standing. "_Demandez un garcon_" (ask for a waiter), "Christophe." Then in French he asked the stranger opposite him if he spoke that language. "A little, sir; but I am not fluent in it," replied the gentleman in the same language. "Ah, my dear sir, you speak very well; and you have the Parisian accent," added the Frenchman, who, like his countrymen, counted upon the effect of a little well-administered flattery.