Bassett thought he could. He hadn't made any mistake, either. In two shakes we had all the lights aboard turned on, and skyrockets whizzin' up as fast as they could be touched off.
Did we wake up them warships? Well, rather. First we hears a lot of dinner gongs goin' off. Then colored lanterns was sent up, whistles blew, bugles bugled, and inside of three minutes by the watch there was guns bang-bangin' away like it was the Fourth of July.
"Great Scott!" says Pinckney, "I never knew before that the United States navy would turn out in the middle of the night to salute a private yacht."
"It depends on who owns the yacht. Eh, Sadie?" says I.
By the time the guns got through bangin' we had a dozen search-lights turned on us, and a strong lunged gent on the nearest warship was yellin' things at us through a megaphone.
"He wants to know, sir," says Bassett, "if we've got the Secretary of the Navy on board."
"Tell him not guilty," says I, and Bassett did.
That didn't satisfy Mr. Officer though. "Then why in thunder," says he, "do you make such a fuss coming into the harbor at this time of night?"
"Because I've just been gettin' married," says I, in my Bosco voice.
"And who the blazes are you?" says he.