Christy was very glad to hear this acknowledgment of the speed of the intended cruiser, for it assured him that the Chateaugay could outsail her. The two gentlemen at the other table passed the wine very freely, and both of them seemed to be considerably exhilarated; but he was glad to perceive that his friend allowed the captain to do the most of the talking. The lunch was finished at last, and both of them rose from the table. "I am exceedingly obliged to you, M. Rubempre, for the pleasure I have derived from this interview," said Captain Rombold, as he grasped the hand of his companion. "I have had more practice with my French than for several years, and I take great delight in speaking the language. I hope we shall meet again." "Thanks! Thanks! I am very sure that we shall meet again; and almost as sure that we shall meet fighting for the right," added the Frenchman. "But I hope you will be a passenger on board of the Dornoch, as you suggested to me a little while ago. I will give you a good stateroom, though I cannot absolutely promise to take you to the port of our destination, for accidents may happen in the midst of the blockaders." "If I can go with you, my dear Captain Rombold, I shall be on board of your ship by four to-morrow afternoon," replied the detective, as he took the hand of his new friend for the last time. Christy had finished his lunch, and they left the hotel together. The carriage in which they had come called for them at the appointed time, and they returned to Hamilton. The conversation was continued in French, so that the driver was none the wiser for what he heard. At the Atlantic they went to their rooms, where the information they had obtained was collaborated, and written down in French, the detective concealing it in a belt pocket he wore on his body. "The wonder to me has been that these officers talked so freely," said Christy, as they seated themselves at a window. "They talked to you as plainly as though you had been their friend for life." "Why shouldn't they? They can't help knowing that I am a Frenchman; and I am sorry to say that my countrymen, like so many of the English, sympathize with the South in the great Civil War. They take me for a friend at once. Besides, as they understand the matter here, why should these blockade-runners, or even the Confederate commander, object to telling what they are going to do. There will be no mail steamer to New York till after they have all gone off; and there is no telegraph yet." "Perhaps you are right, M. Rubempre; but I think a good deal more discretion would become them better, as they are likely to ascertain very soon," added Christy. "I suppose none of these people here would consider it possible or practicable to land at these islands and pick up the news, as we have done. This was my plan for Nassau, but I did not think of applying it to the Bermudas, till Captain Chantor told me his difficulty as to waiting for the Dornoch."