"I have known this man, whose name is Pink Mulgrum, for some time. He is
deaf and dumb, and you must have noticed him."

"Oh, yes; I have seen him, and he had an interview with Mr. Flint in my
presence. I observed that he wrote a good hand, and wrote very rapidly."

"I am very confident that you can trust him with your papers, Captain
Passford. He could not go into the service as a soldier or a sailor
on account of his infirmity; but he desired to do something for his
country. He was determined to go to the war, as he called it, in any
capacity, even if it was as a scullion. He wrote me a letter to this
effect, and Mr. Nawood consented to take him as a man of all work.
If he ever gets into an action, you will find that he is a fighting
character."

"That is the kind of men we want, and at the present time, when we are
hardly in a fighting latitude, perhaps I can use him as a copyist, if he
will agree to make no use whatever of any information he may obtain in
that capacity. I will speak to Mr. Nawood about the matter."

"Thank you, Captain Passford. Mulgrum is a very worthy man, patriotic in
every fibre of his frame, and in every drop of his blood. I should be
glad to obtain some permanent occupation for him in the service of his
country, for nothing else will suit him in the present exciting times.
Perhaps when you have tested his qualifications, this will make an
opening for him."

"I will consider the subject tomorrow," said Christy, as he descended
from the bridge.