aking fast to the
vessel's nose, and, finding that we were making no headway, the three
able-bodied men began pushing with poles which are kept aboard for
such purpose, until she slid slowly into deeper water.

Then it was a case of clawing away from the fort, which was not easy,
since the wind that had brought us down so finely, now blew directly
in our teeth, and the pungy was a master-hand for sliding off when you
tried to tack.

As a matter of course it was necessary to stand over toward the
opposite shore, which was not a pleasant piece of business since it
carried us within view of the enemy; but we had no choice in the
matter.

"If we get back as far as Alexandria by sunset we'll be doin' mighty
well, unless you bring her around an' try to slide up," Bill Jepson
said grumblingly; but she did not make any better headway because of
his being disgruntled.

"We'll have to take things as they are, matey," Darius said grimly.
"If the old hooker won't carry us out of harm's way, we can take to
the shore at any time, which is a bit of consolation you'd better keep
pasted in your hat."

"This breeze will fine down within an hour," Captain Hanaford said as
if speaking to himself, "an' then it'll be a case of anchorin', no
matter where we----"

He did not finish the remark, for at that moment it was as if the
earth and sky had come together with one deafening crash; then
followed three or four reports like unto peals of thunder near at
hand, and those of us who chanced to be looking astern, saw the fort
actually leap into the air, while from the mass of earth and stone
came a shower of fragments such as literally obscured the light of the
sun for an instant, after which it fell upon us with a crash that
caused the pungy to rock to and fro like an egg-shell.

While one might have counted fifty I stood dazed, unable to understand
what had happened, and bleeding from a dozen scratches caused by the
fall of fragments which absolutely covered the deck of the pungy to a
depth of two or three inches. Then I understood that the fort had been
blown up, Captain Dyson believing he could not hope, with the small
force under his command, to withstand an assault from the fleet.

As we afterward came to know, his instructions from the War Department
were to the effect that he should destroy the fortification rather
than take the chances of its being captured by the enemy; but what
seemed strange to me then, and does now, was th