CHAPTER XVIII. The Morning Trip of the Leopard 201 CHAPTER XIX. The Report of the Scout from the Shore 212 CHAPTER XX. A Rebellion in the Pilot-House 223 CHAPTER XXI. The Sick Captain of the Leopard 234 CHAPTER XXII. The Proceedings on the Lower Deck 245 CHAPTER XXIII. The Expedition from the Leopard 256 CHAPTER XXIV. The Engineer goes into the Forecastle 267 CHAPTER XXV. The First Lesson for a Sailor 278 CHAPTER XXVI. The Post of Duty and of Danger 289 CHAPTER XXVII. A Cannon-Ball through the Leopard 300 CHAPTER XXVIII. The American Flag at the Fore 311 CHAPTER XXIX. On Board of the Bellevite 322 CHAPTER XXX. Running the Gantlet 333 TAKEN BY THE ENEMY CHAPTER I ASTOUNDING NEWS FROM THE SHORE "This is most astounding news!" exclaimed Captain Horatio Passford. It was on the deck of the magnificent steam-yacht Bellevite, of which he was the owner; and with the newspaper, in which he had read only a few of the many head-lines, still in his hand, he rushed furiously across the deck, in a state of the most intense agitation. It would take more than one figure to indicate the number of millions by which his vast wealth was measured, in the estimation of those who knew most about his affairs; and he was just returning from a winter cruise in his yacht. His wife and son were on board; but his daughter had spent the winter at the South with her uncle, preferring this to a voyage at sea, being in rather delicate health, and the doctors thought a quiet residence in a genial climate was better for her. The Bellevite had been among the islands of the Atlantic, visiting the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and was now coming from Bermuda. She had just taken a pilot fifty miles from Sandy Hook, and was bound to New York, for the captain's beautiful estate, Bonnydale, was located on the Hudson. As usual, the pilot had brought on board with him the latest New-York papers, and one of them contained the startling news which appeared to have thrown the owner of the Bellevite entirely off his balance; and it was quite astounding enough to produce this effect upon any American. "What is it, sir?" demanded Christopher Passford, his son, a remarkably bright-looking young fellow of sixteen, as he followed his father across the deck. "What is it, Horatio?" inquired Mrs. Passford, who had been seated with a book on the deck, as she also followed her husband. The captain was usually very cool and self-possessed, and neither the wife nor the son had ever before seen him so shaken by agitation. He seemed to be unable to speak a word for the time, and took no notice whatever of his wife and son when they addressed him.