with him and the steward, I learned that I had made no
mistake. The captain was not denied the privilege of going in and out of
his cabin as often as he pleased, and that was one place where the
midshipman, who was really a sharp officer, did wrong. Another wrong
move he made was in scattering his men about the deck. If he had kept
them close together, so that they could have helped one another, we
never could have taken the brig."

It was during one of these visits to the cabin that the captain took his
revolver from the place in which he had concealed it when he saw the
prize-crew coming aboard, and put four pairs of hand-cuffs into his
pockets; for when the rebel boarding officer hauled down his colors, he
determined that at sunrise the next morning the Stars and Stripes should
again float at his peak if he had to sacrifice half his crew to get them
there. His next move was to order his steward to dish up supper, and
when it was ready he sent word to the midshipman to come down and have a
bite; but, although the brig was towing at the stern of the _Sumter_ and
there was not the smallest chance for her to escape, the officer would
not trust himself within reach of the skipper and his mates. However, he
was not afraid to go into the cabin alone, and when the steward asked
him, in Jack's hearing, to come below and drink a cup of coffee and eat
an orange, he accepted the invitation; but his actions indicated that he
was very suspicious.

"Sit down here, sir," said the steward, drawing back the chair he had
placed for him.

"Well, hardly," replied the officer, glancing at the door behind him,
which, by the way, opened into the captain's state-room. "Move that
chair and plate to the other side of the table."

"Certainly, sir," said the steward, in his politest tones; and the
command was promptly obeyed.

The first thing the midshipman did after he had taken his seat, was to
draw his revolver from its holster and show it to the steward; and then
he placed it on the chair under his left leg.

"You will observe that I don't put it on the table and give you a chance
to snatch it while I am in the act of drinking my coffee," said he
blandly.

"Certainly, sir," said the steward again.

"You Yankees have the reputation of being pretty sharp people,"
continued the officer, "and I believe you are somewhat famous for the
tricks you play upon unsuspecting strangers; but you will find that
there are smarter men south of Mas