The doctor reached behind me, as I steered, and placed the staff of the boat flag in its socket, and “Old Glory” streamed out behind us as we flew through the water.
This brought another shell, which passed close astern of the boat, missing us by so little that we all held our breath as it came screaming toward us. But we, meanwhile, were not tarrying. Our light boat was dashing along, and her speed evidently disconcerted the hurried aim of our adversaries, whose next shots were wide of the mark, although quite near enough to make their singing very unpleasant music.
But another and an entirely unexpected danger now confronted us; for as we neared the lower point of the bay, where we expected to be out of range, men were seen launching from the beach a boat somewhat larger than our own, with the evident purpose of cutting us off before we could reach the bar.
Under ordinary circumstances, or single-handed, I should not have objected to this prospective contest, for I felt very sure that, boat for boat, we should be more than a match for them; but if we stopped to fight, the artillerymen, who were now dragging their pieces down the beach, would get us in range, and a single well-directed shot from the gun would easily have put us hors de combat. So that I viewed this new complication as very far from being an agreeable incident.
But before the soldiers got their boat afloat, which they were going about in a very lubberly manner, we were startled by the report of a heavy gun from outside, and a rifle shell came hurtling high above our heads and landed in the sand very near our pursuers. A second shot followed almost immediately, which to our delight exploded in the very midst of the men, capsizing the piece and dispersing the gunners in a very summary manner!
“Hurrah! doctor, the Anderson is talking back! There she is, God bless her!” and as I spoke the dear old barkey appeared in plain sight under topsails, courses, and jibs, right abreast of the entrance to the bay, and much closer in to the bar than she had any business to be, and the Parrott rifle rang out again, landing a shell in such very close proximity to the party who were getting the boat afloat that they at once abandoned their work.
“Give way now, boys; we’ll go through the breakers if we have to go through bottom side up! Our friends will pick us up.” And we dashed into the surf. The boat rose almost on end, then came down and touched bottom, but at the same instant another roller lifted her, the men bent to their oars sturdily, and in a minute more we were through the surf and safe in the quiet water outside the bar.
As we emerged from the rollers the Anderson luffed up in the wind, her main topsail was braced aback, and the crew sprang into the rigging and gave three hearty cheers, which must have been very depressing to our would-be captors.
We were received on board with a warm greeting that set all discipline at defiance for a few minutes, and then the usual calm routine of a well-disciplined ship of war settled down, and all excitement was repressed as we hoisted in the gig and made sail on the other tack for our anchorage.
My honest steward’s welcome, when I went down to my cabin, was none the less hearty because in failing to bring off the coveted bullock I had compelled him to serve me a very meagre dinner; and as I sat down to the simple meal he had provided, I could not but be grateful for my very narrow escape from taking my Christmas dinner that day in a Texas prison pen!