“My men,” he said, “you see that ketch yonder—rightly named the Intrepid, after the glorious use to which our brave Decatur put her. She has on board one hundred barrels of gunpowder, one hundred shells, and all the apparatus for lighting these combustibles; and to-night, if wind and tide serve, she is to be taken into the harbor of Tripoli and exploded among the shipping. I have obtained the honor of taking charge of this expedition, and I wish my boat manned by four men who would rather die than be captured; for the pirates are short of gunpowder, and they can get no more from Europe, so that unless they capture this, it will be easy work to reduce them next spring, when we shall take another and a last whack at them. But—the Intrepid must not be captured! The commodore, on this condition only, gave it me. I do not disguise from you that the enterprise is one full of danger, but fuller of glory. No man shall be ordered to go; but I want four men to volunteer who are ready, if necessary, to die for their country this very night; and let them hold up their right hands and say ‘Ay!’”
Every man in the brig’s company held up his hand, and their deep voices, like the roar of the sea, shouted out, “Ay, sir!”
Somers shook his head and smiled but his eyes shone with pleasure at the readiness of his brave crew.
“Ah,” he cried, “I might have known! My men, I can only take four of you. I shall take the four that are most able-bodied, and who have no wife or family.—You, Moriarity,” he said to the quartermaster, “I know, are alone in the world. I want you.”
“Thankee, sorr,” answered Moriarity, stepping out of the line with a grin.
“And you—and you—and you,” said Somers, walking along the line, as he picked out three more men; and every man smiled, and said, “Thankee, sir.”
“You understand perfectly well, then,” said Somers, addressing the four, “that this is an undertaking of the utmost hazard. We may, in the performance of our solemn duty, have to light the fire that will blow us all into eternity. There will be twelve of us, and it is better that our lives should be sacrificed than that hundreds, perhaps, of valuable and gallant lives be required to subdue the pirates in a longer and severer struggle. So, think well over your engagement; and if you are of the same determined mind, follow my example, and leave all your worldly affairs in order. And then, make your peace with Almighty God, for we may all meet Him face to face before the sun rises on another day.”
Somers’s solemn words had a great effect on the men. While not in the least dampening their enthusiasm, their tone and manner changed from the jaunty gayety with which sailors meet danger to a serious and grave consideration of their situation. Moriarity acted as spokesman:
“We thankee, sorr, for remindin’ us o’ what we has got to face. We’ve done a heap o’ wrong, but maybe the Cap’n up above, if we has to report to him to-night, ’ll say: ‘Them chaps died a-doin’ o’ their duty to their country; mark their shortcoming off the list, master-at-arms!’ And he’ll let us in, bekase we means to do our duty—don’t we, men?”
“We does!” answered the three sailors all together.