I pumped down hard, and a moment later a tug shoved her nose through the mist, a stumpy craft with the typical high pilot house of the American tug boat; we were home at last!
"Where bound, Captain?" came the hail.
"Delaware Breakwater!"
"Want a tow?"
"How far are we?"
"About three miles!"
"All right, give us your line!"
As the tug ranged ahead and took our heaving line, we read her name; she was the Atkins Hughes, of Philadelphia.
Droughing slowly through the heavy fog, we furled sail and toward noon were at anchor behind the Delaware Breakwater. A launch came out and we found the war with Spain was over, the date of our landfall being September 18th, 1898.
We heard of the great battle off Santiago, and that the Hawaiian Islands had been annexed. Peter and I got the surviving Kanakas, Kahemuku and Joe, up on the fo'c'sle head and made them give three cheers for their new country. After several starts they did this very well, much to our amusement.