"Den I gib you all de answers you want," replied the negro with a cheerful smile. "Whar de gumboat?" "She is off the shore not far from here. Now you will answer my questions. There is a fort here?" "Yes, sar; ober dar," he replied, pointing to the west. "How many men are there at the fort?" "Only twenty, sar; all gone ober to New Orleans, sar." "How many guns has it? I mean big guns, Uncle Job?" "I done count only four ob dem w'en I was dar last time." "Only four!" exclaimed Mr. Pennant. "Are you telling me the truth, Uncle Job?" "I neber spoke noffin but the truf, Massa Ossifer." "Are those four very large,--long as this cabin is wide?" asked the lieutenant with interest. "No, sar!" exclaimed Job with energy. "But they must have had very big guns." "Yes, sar; but dey done tote 'em all ober to de Mis'sip Riber." This seemed to be reasonable to the lieutenant, and in accordance with the belief of his superiors on board of the Bronx, for no Union man-of-war of any size could pass through the water courses to the great river. It looked as though the big guns had been replaced with those of smaller calibre. Mr. Pennant put out the light in his lantern, and the party started to cross the island. CHAPTER XXIX A PROFESSIONAL VISIT TO THE FORT Mr. Pennant had some doubts about the correctness of the important information he had obtained, but he was at a loss to know how to verify it. It was a matter of course that sentinels patrolled the vicinity of the fort, or at least the principal approach to it. He decided to postpone his inquiry into this matter till a later hour of the night or morning. "Whar you gwine, Massa Ossifer?" asked Uncle Job, after they had walked a short distance from the negro village. "Over to the other side of the island," replied the lieutenant. "Wot you gwine to do ober dar, massa?" "I want to see what there is over there." "Dis nigger kin told you wot dar is over dar." "Well, what is there over there?" "Dar's a steamer ober dar, an' I speck de Yankee gumboat's gwine in dar to look arter dat steamer," said Uncle Job, chuckling as though he enjoyed the prospect of such an event. "Say, Massa Ossifer, is Massa Linkum in yore gumboat?" "Not exactly; but she is well filled with his people," replied Mr. Pennant, laughing. "I done wish dat Massa Linkum come down here hisself," added the venerable colored person. "He can hardly spare the time to do that; his business is such that he cannot leave," replied the lieutenant, much amused at the simplicity of the negro. "Now tell me something more about this steamer in the bay. How big is she?" "I can't told you 'zackly, massa; she as big as de fort." "Where did she come from?" asked the lieutenant, who had more confidence in the honesty than in the intelligence of Job.