The ship loomed up larger than we had expected. Her sails were cut differently from those of the corsairs. Against the gray of the storm we caught sight of the American flag.
"By all that's holy," the mate cried, "she's a Yankee frigate!"
The frigate, whose commander was shifting her to the shelter of the harbor, caught sight of us as we plunged towards her bow. Willing hands dipped down to help us climb over her side.
The frigate's name was George Washington. Her commander, Captain William Bainbridge, was bearing to the Dey of Algiers certain presents. With great joy I learned that peace had been made between Algiers and the United States, and that Alexander and his comrades were on their way home. Of these things I shall have more to tell later. We were not yet out of danger. The hurricane now seemed to be concentrated over us. The wind's force must have been over a hundred miles an hour. The tremendous gusts struck the heavy vessel with the force of battering rams and drove her forward as if she were a cockle-shell. We could see the shore looming up.
"Rocks!" someone shouted. We were within a hundred yards of them when a miracle happened. The wind shifted its fury. It now blew in a twisting fashion from the shore. Our ship turned with it. On another side of the harbor there was a beach of yielding sand. Beating behind us with the same terrific force, the hurricane sent the nose of the frigate into the sand in a way that held her more firmly than a hundred anchors.
Here we stayed without listing. The first part of the cyclone lasted about two hours. There was a lull and we thought the storm was over. It returned an hour later, however, in all of its fury, and we expected every moment to be torn from our haven and hurled across the harbor to destruction—a fate that we could now see had overtaken many vessels, for the shore was lined with wrecks. Whistling, roaring, devastating, it whirled over us, lashing the waves until they dashed with savage force over our decks. Our only comfort was that the onslaughts gradually decreased in strength, and we saw the barometer rise rapidly from its lowest point.
On shore, storehouses, castles, and residences were unroofed or demolished entirely.
Spars, masts, and parts of wharves floated on top of the waves. I shuddered as my eyes rested on a dead body floating amidst a mass of wreckage. It seemed providential that we were not floating corpses.
A wreck lay near us. She had overturned and the water was washing across her deck. She had a familiar look. Her stern was towards us. I caught a glimpse of her name and read The Rose of Egypt.
Murad had played upon a youth's imagination to lead him into a trap. The rascal's gift at story-telling had been drawn upon to add me to those he hoped to lead into captivity that he might obtain ransoms. He also, no doubt, had it in his mind to revenge himself on the commodore by persecuting one of whom the sailor was fond. As my knowledge of Barbary grew, I saw that it was quite possible for Murad to act as a spy for one or all of these Barbary rulers. America was a new country. The corsair princes desired information as to how rich she was; what they had to fear from her navy, etc. It came out later that secret discussions in Congress upon the subject of the Barbary powers were promptly reported to the Dey of Algiers, so that when our envoys came to negotiate with him he threw their secrets into their faces. But, be that as it may, adventures were crowding upon me so swiftly that I felt disposed to forgive Murad for the sake of the thrills he had sent my way.