aptured her first prize. She was a
fine ship, the "Golden Rocket" of Maine, six hundred and ninety tons.
With the United States flag fluttering at the peak, she came sailing
proudly towards her unsuspected enemy, from whose peak the red flag of
England was displayed as a snare. When the two vessels came within a
mile of each other, the wondering crew of the merchantman saw the
English flag come tumbling down, while a ball of bunting rose quickly
to the peak of the mysterious stranger, and catching the breeze
floated out, showing a strange flag,--the stars and bars of the
Confederacy. At the same minute a puff of smoke from the "Long Tom"
amidships was followed by a solid shot ricochetting along the water
before the dismayed merchantman, and conveying a forcible, but not at
all polite, invitation to stop. The situation dawned on the astonished
skipper of the ship,--he was in the hands of "the Rebels;" and with a
sigh he brought his vessel up into the wind, and awaited the outcome
of the adventure. And bad enough the outcome was for him; for Capt.
Semmes, unwilling to spare a crew to man the prize, determined to set
her on fire. It was about sunset when the first boat put off from the
"Sumter" to visit the captured ship. The two vessels were lying a
hundred yards apart, rising and falling in unison on the slow rolling
swells of the tropic seas. The day was bright and warm, and in the
west the sun was slowly sinking to the meeting line of sky and ocean.
All was quiet and peaceful, as only a summer afternoon in Southern
seas can be. Yet in the midst of all that peace and quiet, a scene in
the great drama of war was being enacted. Nature was peaceful, man
violent.

For a time nothing was heard save the measured thump of the oars in
the rowlocks, as the boats plied to and fro between the two ships,
transporting the captured crew to the "Sumter." Finally the last trip
was made, and the boat hoisted to the davits. Then all eyes were
turned toward the "Golden Rocket." She lay almost motionless, a dark
mass on the black ocean. The sun had long since sunk beneath the
horizon; and the darkness of the night was only relieved by the
brilliancy of the stars, which in those latitudes shine with wondrous
brightness. Soon the watches on the "Sumter" caught a hasty breath. A
faint gleam was seen about the companionway of the "Rocket." Another
instant, and with a roar and crackle, a great mass of flame shot up
from the hatch, as from the