"And there, while thread shall hang to thread,
Oh, let our ensign fly!
The noblest constellation set
Against our northern sky."
The Caroline was one of the best ships in the British merchant service.
She was as strongly built as a man-of-war, and in fact could easily be transformed into a vessel of war.
The Union Jack of England still floated from her peak, and Tempest had deemed it prudent not to lower it until out of sight of the British squadron.
But now that the sun was shining, and no war ship appeared above the horizon, he changed his mind.
"Haul down that flag, boys!" he shouted, and a dozen willing hands were at the halliards.
The flag seemed endowed with life or reason.
For one moment it floated proudly and, as it seemed, defiantly, then fell limp and dejected to the rope, never once fluttering or showing sensibility to the breeze.
It lay on the deck, a prisoner of war, and in its place there gradually arose that ensign of the free—the Stars and Stripes.
The men cheered the rising flag, and Tempest, who was in command of the Caroline, addressed the men most eloquently: