re alert. At the first signal of
alarm, their cautious pull on the ropes was changed to a
vigorous effort which sent the ketch surging through the
water to the side of the frigate, where she was instantly
secured by grappling-irons, hurled by strong hands.

Up to this moment not a movement or whisper had betrayed the
presence of the men crouched on the deck. The ten or twelve
who were visible seemed to constitute the whole crew of the
craft. But now there came a sudden change. The stirring cry
of "Boarders away!" was raised in stentorian tones, and in
an instant the deck of the Intrepid seemed alive. The
astonished Moors gazed with startled eyes at a dense crowd
of men who had appeared as suddenly as if they had come from
the air.

The order to board had been given by an officer who sprang
at the same moment for the frigate's chain-plates. Two
active young men followed him, and in an instant the whole
crew were at their heels, some boarding the frigate by the
ports, others over the rail, swarming upon her deck like so
many bees, while the Moors fell back in panic fright.

The surprise was perfect. The men on the frigate's deck ran
to the starboard side as their assailants poured in on the
larboard, and constant plunges into the water told that they
were hastily leaping overboard in their fright. Hardly a
blow had been struck. The deck was cleared in almost a
minute after the order to board. The only struggle took
place below, but this lasted little longer. In less than ten
minutes from the time of boarding all resistance was at an
end, and the craft was an undisputed prize to the Intrepid's
crew.

And now to learn the meaning of this midnight assault. The
vessel which had been so skilfully captured was the frigate
Philadelphia, of the American navy, which had fallen into
the hands of the Tripolitans some time before. For years the
Moorish powers of Africa had been preying upon the commerce
of the Mediterranean, until the weaker nations of Europe
were obliged to pay an annual tribute for the security of
their commerce. The United States did the same for some
time, but the thing grew so annoying that war was at length
declared against Tripoli, the boldest of these piratical
powers. In 1803 Commodore Preble was sent with a fleet to
the Mediterranean. He forced Morocco to respect American
commerce, and then proceeded to Tripoli, outside whose
harbor his fleet congregated, with a view of blockading the
port.

On