“Hurrah!” shouted the men from Charleston. “Now we’ll even up with these cursed pirates for all the damage that they’ve done us. Now, we’ll teach them not to ravage our coasts and catch our merchant ships!”
Cu-whow! barked the rust-caked guns of the barricade. “Go-slow! Go-back! Go-home!”
To this a full broadside roared, and the balls tore the top of the earth-work to shreds.
“Now let thirty men take to the boats!” commanded Captain Walker. “Steer for the beach and rush the barricade with pistols and cutlasses. I don’t believe that there are more than a dozen men inside the earth-work.”
“Huzzah!” was the cheerful answer to this order, and, in a few moments, several boats were racing for the beach, each eager to be the first ashore.
As they approached, the antiquated guns on the sand-spit became strangely silent, and, as the eager raiders rushed valiantly upon the pirate fortress, no shots were fired at them to impede their progress. With a wild yell they leaped over the side of the barricade, only to find it deserted; for whatever had been the force that had fired these cannon, it had taken to the brush as the English seamen drew near. Only a few charges of ammunition were there, so it was plainly evident that the pirates (whatever their strength might have been) could only have held out for a few more rounds.
“Hurrah! Hurrah!” shouted the raiders. “The fort is ours!”
“And it’s a sorry victory,” said one of the crew, “for there’s nothing here worth the having, except the cannon, and they couldn’t stand more than two more shots without blowing up. I call it a pretty hollow success.”
In spite of this the men of Charleston were well pleased. They had dispersed the pirates; taken their fort; and had re-captured a schooner which had recently been taken only a few miles from the harbor-mouth of that fair, southern city.
When they sailed into their home port they received a tremendous ovation. The bells were rung in all the churches; shots were fired; trumpets were blown.