"Don't you know anything about that, either?" exclaimed the officer, throwing open his coat, and thrusting his hand into an inside pocket. "It was a fight between our fleet and six Confederate steamers—five wooden vessels and one iron-clad. It lasted the better part of two days. At the end of the first day the advantage was all with the Confederates, who captured and burned one of our best ships and sunk another, without any serious damage to themselves. These papers, which I shall be glad to leave with you, tell all about it, and they will also give you a faint idea of the consternation that seized upon everybody up North, when the story got abroad that the rebels had one single vessel that could cope with Uncle Sam's entire navy. Every city along the coast, as well as the capital, was supposed to be at the mercy of that one iron-clad; but when she came out, on the morning of the 9th, to complete her work of destruction, she ran against a snag, in the shape of a little Union iron-clad, not more than half her size, which had come upon the scene during the night."
"And did those two iron-clads fight?" exclaimed Marcy, who was worked up to the highest pitch of excitement. "Which whipped?"
"Of course they fought, for that was what our vessel, the Monitor, went down there for. She came in the night and anchored behind the hull of one of our big ships, so that the rebel boat did not see her until she was close upon her. They had the hardest kind of a fight, and our vessel whipped."
Marcy did not break out into cheers as the captain no doubt thought he would, but settled contentedly back in his chair and drew a long breath of relief.
"Our fellows did not sink the Virginia as they tried to do," continued Captain Burrows, "but they gave her such a pounding that it was all she could do to draw out of the fight and go back to Norfolk. We had the best of the engagement, for the rebel boat failed to accomplish the object she had in view when she came out, which was to sink the three frigates that were aground off Fortress Monroe."
"And you think it was during the excitement consequent upon the first day's victory that our neighbors were led to organize the Home Guards?" said Mrs. Gray.
"I certainly think it had much to do with it," answered Captain Burrows. "You see these 'stay-at-homers,' as I have heard them called, jumped to the conclusion that the Yankees were whipped, and when the war is over they want to be able to say that they helped do it."
"Pardon my curiosity," said Marcy. "But have you seen Ben Hawkins?"
"I don't think there will be any harm in telling you that I had a short talk with him before I came here. I met him on the road, and he volunteered so much information concerning his neighbors that I became suspicious of him. But I have since learned that he told me nothing but the truth. He is a paroled prisoner and, I may add, a warm friend to you and your mother."
"And you do not think it would be unwise to trust him?" said Mrs. Gray, who had listened with surprise to her son's account of the speech he had heard Hawkins deliver in the post-office.