"I could relate many other adventures to you, but, as I have to go on guard at midnight, I must bid you good-night."
So saying, he arose from the ground, where he had been lying, and walked off toward his quarters. One by one the soldiers, who had gathered about to listen to his story, followed his example, and finally Frank and the ensign who had assisted him in managing the battery, were left alone. Although they had been together but two days, they were on excellent terms with each other; and as Frank had learned that his companion had run by the batteries at Vicksburg, he was naturally anxious to hear the details. The ensign, at his urgent solicitation, then told the story of his thrilling adventures, which here follows.
[CHAPTER XIV.]
Running the Batteries.
n obedience to orders from the admiral," began the ensign, "the Concord, with the iron-clads, commenced making preparations to run the batteries, by greasing the casemates to glance shot, and by protecting the machinery with heavy timbers and bales of hay. When every thing was ready, the long-looked-for signal was made. The vessels took their stations in accordance with a general order that had been issued a few days previous—the Concord, with a coal-barge in tow, being the fourth in advance.
"As soon as the anchors were weighed, all hands were called to quarters, the ports closed, and every light on board the ship, except those in the magazine and shell-rooms, was extinguished. I took my station beside my men, who stood at their guns as motionless as so many statues, and in that darkness awaited the issue of events, with feelings that can not be described. The moment I had so long been dreading was fast approaching. Would I survive the experiment?