CHAPTER XXIII.
TROLLING FOR BLACK BASS.
"The idea of fishing for catfish is absurd!" exclaimed Colonel Shepard."It isn't a proper use to put a white man to."
"Don't fish so deep, then," suggested Cornwood. "The catfish live onthe bottom."
I was as much disgusted with the idea of catching catfish as theColonel, for I had seen plenty of them caught by the negroes on thewharves at Jacksonville. I took a good-sized spoon-hook, with threehundred feet of line attached to it, just as I had used it in LakeSuperior, and cast the hook as far out into the water as I could. Itrolled it home, and obtained quite a heavy bite. I tried it again, andthis time hauled in a fish that would weigh six pounds.
"What's that, Mr. Cornwood?" I asked, as I brought the fish inboard.
"That's a black trout," replied the pilot.
"Black trout!" replied the Colonel, who was a great fisherman. "Thatisn't a trout of any sort! It is a black bass."
"We call them black trout on the St. Johns, where they are very plentyat some seasons of the year," added Cornwood.
"He is not quite like our black bass of the lakes of the State of NewYork; his head is larger," added the Colonel, after he had looked thefish over. "Still he is a black bass, and a big one too."
"Do you call that a big one?" demanded Cornwood contemptuously.
"I have fished a great deal in the New York lakes, and I never saw ablack bass that would weigh more than four pounds and a half, though Ihave heard of them that weighed five."
"I have caught them that would weigh twelve," added the pilot.
The Colonel looked at him as though he were a descendant of the fatherof lies. I had three more spoon-hooks, with the necessary lines, two ofwhich I had bought on the northern shore of Lake Superior. It was oddto think of fishing with them here in Florida. I sent Cornwood to thepilot-house, and told Moses to give the steamer about four knots anhour, for this was the way I used to do on Lakes Huron and Superior.
We had not room for more than four lines at the stern for trolling. Ioffered one of them to Mr. Tiffany; but he declined, pleading that hehad no skill in this kind of fishing. The Colonel, Owen, Gus Shepard,and I, handled the lines. Going at four knots, the screw hardly brokethe water, though possibly it astonished the fishes. Our lines hadhardly run out their length before two of us had each a fish on hishook. The Colonel and I brought in a fish apiece, about the size of theone I had caught before. Owen and Gus took their turn while we weregetting our fish off the hook. My cousin lost his, but Gus got his onboard. The sport was quite equal to blue-fishing, which I had tried onthe coast of Maine. In an hour we had twenty of them, all black bass.Miss Margie wished she might fish; I told her to put on her thickgloves and she might try. I baited the spoon-hook with a live littlefish the pilot had procured, and gave her the line. In a few minutesshe was tugging away at a fish. He was unusually gamy, leaping out ofthe water a dozen times on his way to the boat.
"I can't get him any further, captain!" cried she, out of breath withher exertions. I took the line from her, and hauled in the largest basswe had yet seen.
"It would be wicked to catch any more, for we can't use them," said theColonel. "Here, steward, weigh this fish, if you please."
The bass Miss Margie had caught carried the spring scale down to twelveand a quarter.
"Where is Mr. Cornwood?" demanded Colonel Shepard; and he rushedforward to the pilot-house. "Mr. Cornwood, I doubted your statementwhen you said you had seen a black trout, or bass, that would weightwelve pounds. I beg your pardon, for we have one that will weightwelve and a quarter."
"I hope you will yet catch a bigger one, Colonel Shepard," replied thepilot, delighted to be vindicated.
"Now let her out, and run for Green Cove Springs," I interposed.
The deck-hands wound up the lines; we were soon out of the lake, andagain headed up the St. Johns River. All the party were exhilarated bythe fine sport we had had on the lake, and they were devotingthemselves to a particular examination of the fish. Ben Bowman laidaside the dignity of his office as assistant engineer, and proceeded todress the fish, which he was better qualified to do than any otherperson on board. It was about six o'clock in the afternoon when wefinished fishing, and the cabin party were called to supper before wegot out of the lake. As soon as they had sufficiently discussed thefish, they went below.
The mate relieved Cornwood at the wheel while the latter went tosupper, which was ready at the same hour as the cabin meal. I preferredto take my supper with Washburn, and so I waited till half an hourlater. I was talking with him about the fishing, when Chloe came to thedoor of the pilot-house, and with her usual smile said she would liketo see me. I went out on the forecastle with her, for I thought she hadtaken the particular time when Cornwood was at supper to speak with me.
"Captain Garningham, I am willing to leave the Sylvania when the boatgets to Green Cove Springs, for I know that I am making a great deal oftrouble on board," said she, showing her pretty white teeth.
"I was not aware that you had made any trouble on board," I replied."It is your husband who has made all the trouble."
"Well, it is on my account; and if I leave the Sylvania, he will nottrouble you any more," she added.
"I don't think the ladies in the cabin would be willing that you shouldleave."
"I am sure Griffin will be in Green Cove Springs to-night, and he willmake a heap of trouble there as he has done to-day," continued Chloe."I don't want to keep you in hot water all the time on my account."
"We understand the situation better than before, and we shall have nofurther trouble with Griffin. I shall have a hand forward and anotheraft whenever we are at anchor, or at a wharf, so that he can't get onboard of the steamer," I replied. "If you don't want to go with him,all you have to do is to stay on board."
"I don't want to go with him," said she, with a good deal of energy."If I could have found a place in a steamer going north, or anywherethat would take me away from him, I would have left him a year ago;"and her bright eyes snapped as though she meant all she said.
"How long have you been married?"
"Two years; and I was very foolish to have him. Griffin is a bad man,"said she, shaking her head. "He was discharged from the Charlestonsteamer for getting up a fight, and drawing a knife on the steward. Hebeats me and abuses me, and I have been miserable ever since I marriedhim. I have often been afraid of my life, he is so violent, especiallywhen he has been drinking."
"Does he drink hard?"
"Only when he is ashore. If he did it on board any steamer, they woulddischarge him right off. When this trip in the Sylvania is done, Ishall have a little money, and then I shall leave Florida by the firsttrain, if the ladies will give me a recommendation so that I can get aplace. I mean to change my name, and keep out of Griffin's way as longas I live, for he will kill me if I live with him. I had no comfort fora year till I came on board of this vessel."
"You were living in St. Augustine, were you?"
"Lived everywhere; we had been in St. Augustine two months when weengaged on this steamer. Griffin had a place at a hotel, and was turnedoff for getting drunk, and fighting. He must have been very bad, orthey would not have let him go when they were so short of waiters. Hewouldn't let me work anywhere, though I had plenty of chances to waiton table, and one to go in the San Jacinto to Nassau. He was afraid Ishould get some money and leave him, as I told him I would after he hadwhipped and kicked me. I have a mark on my shoulder where he bit me,not a week before we came on board of this vessel."
My sympathies were greatly excited; but in a quarrel between man andwife, I had heard older people say no one should interfere unless theycame to blows, and I said nothing.
"Griffin sailed in some vessel with Mr. Cornwood, I believe," I added.
"Never in this world!" protested Chloe. "He was born and raised inFernandina, as I was; and I can tell where he was every hour of hislife, up to our marriage. He was on the same steamer with me threeyears, and both
of us were at home up to that time."
"Why did you marry him if you knew him so well?" I asked, muchinterested in her story.
"Because I was foolish, and thought I could manage him. Perhaps Icould, if he didn't drink no liquor."
"I was not aware that he was a drinking man."
"If you had got near enough to smell his breath to-day, you would haveknown that he drank liquor. He never seems to be very bad, but whiskeymakes him ugly."
"He seems to be a good friend of Mr. Cornwood," I suggested.
"Well, he ought to be; for Mr. Cornwood got him out of a very badscrape when he nearly killed a man in Jacksonville last January. Idon't think much of Mr. Cornwood, neither. I reckon he uses Griffin asa witness when he wants one, for Griffin will swear to anything."
"Did Mr. Cornwood ever fall overboard, and Griffin save him?"
"Never in this world! He never sailed in the same vessel with him,except this one."
"Do you know Captain Parker Boomsby, Chloe?"
"Never heard of him before."
"You had better go to the cabin now. As long as you remain on board, Iwill see that you are protected," I said, rising from my stool, for itwas about time for the pilot to come on deck.
"Thank you, Captain Garningham. I have told the ladies how I amsituated, and they promise to help me all they can," replied Chloe, asshe tripped lightly to the companion-way aft.
It appeared from the statement of the stewardess that Cornwood had beenlying to me right along in regard to Griffin Leeds. He had no interestin him, except to have him on board to act as a spy and listener uponme. But in spite of this fact--and I had no doubt it was afact--Cornwood was an exceedingly useful person on board of theSylvania. I could not believe that he had been acting as a guide forparties, though it was plain that he was entirely familiar with theState of Florida.
The pilot took his place at the wheel, and Washburn and I went tosupper. We talked freely before Cobbington, who told us that Cornwoodhad offered him five dollars to be a witness in a case of assault hehad not seen; but he would rather starve than commit a crime.