"Shall I send you assistance?"
"No, sir. I can get to sea all right."
As they neared the point they were edified by the sudden appearance of
a serio-comic ally. The _Chancellorville_ at last had been unable to
stand the strain, and had sent in her launch with an ensign, five
seamen and a number of marksmen marines. She swept hot-foot around the
point, bent on terrible slaughter; the one-pounder of her bow presented
a formidable appearance. The _Holy Moses_ and the _Chicken_ laughed
until they brought indignation to the brow of the young ensign. But he
forgot it when with some of his men he boarded the _Chicken_ to do what
was possible for the wounded. The nearest surgeon was aboard the
_Chancellorville_. There was absolute silence on board the cruiser as
the _Holy Moses_ steamed up to report. The blue-jackets listened with
all their ears. The commander of the yacht spoke slowly into his
megaphone: "We have--destroyed--the two--gun-boats--sir." There was a
burst of confused cheering on the forecastle of the _Chancellorville_,
but an officer's cry quelled it.
"Very--good. Will--you--come aboard?"
Two correspondents were already on the deck of the cruiser. Before the
last of the wounded were hoisted aboard the cruiser the _Adolphus_ was
on her way to Key West. When she arrived at that port of desolation
Shackles fled to file the telegrams and the other correspondents fled
to the hotel for clothes, good clothes, clean clothes; and food, good
food, much food; and drink, much drink, any kind of drink.
Days afterward, when the officers of the noble squadron received the
newspapers containing an account of their performance, they looked at
each other somewhat dejectedly: "Heroic assault--grand daring of
Boatswain Pent--superb accuracy of the _Holy Moses'_ fire--gallant
tars of the _Chicken_--their names should be remembered as long as
America stands--terrible losses of the enemy----"
When the Secretary of the Navy ultimately read the report of Commander
Surrey, S.O.P., he had to prick himself with a dagger in order to
remember that anything at all out of the ordinary had occurred.