At last, to port, he spied a fleck,
A dancing on the waves,
And there he plainly saw a deck
Bedecked with pirate knaves.
The vessel, with a dark-hued hull,
Bore straightway on its course,
When, "Hard to port! To port! to port!"
Rang out a voice real coarse.
The strange boat glided swiftly on,
Like a ghost on phantom wings,
While the crisp sea breeze went dancing past
And through her rigging sings.
The strange boat slipped along, across
The briny billows white,
And their steamer ploughed and labored hard
Along its renewed flight.
It was a close and dangerous call,
Because the night was dark;
Had they collided there, on the ocean bare,
They'd went down with their bark.