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Updated: May 22, 2025
William and Ready hoisted up the ensign first, and below it the flag, with the ship's name, Pacific, in large letters upon it. "Now then," said Ready, as he made fast the halyards, "let us strike a light and make a smoke; that will attract their notice." As soon as the cocoa-nut leaves were lighted, Ready and William threw water upon them, so as to damp them and procure a heavy column of smoke.
It was Owen's watch, the raft had been gliding on briskly, when suddenly the sail gave a flap against the mast, and then hung down motionless. "Let go the halyards!" he sang out. Before this could be done the sail was taken aback. Owen sprang forward to assist Mike in lowering it.
To the sails were attached strong bolt ropes, and there still remained enough from which to make the halyards, shrouds, and sheets, etc. The blocks were manufactured by Cyrus Harding under Pencroft's directions by means of the turning lathe. It therefore happened that the rigging was entirely prepared before the vessel was finished.
"I was in that tub, the Grampus, and we contrived to claw off the Scillies; yet you, in your smart Sally, got ashore. What luck!" "Luck be blowed!" cried Hudson, angrily. "Somebody got into the chains to sound, and cut the weather halyards. Next tack the masts went over the side; and I had done my duty." "Lives were lost that time, eh?" said Wylie, gravely.
It was a pretty good sort of a night for a dark night, with a moderate breeze that sang in your ears when you leaned against the halyards and a sea that lapped bucketfuls of spray over her rail forward and that tumbled away in a wide flat hump as our quarter slipped on and left it behind. I found the skipper leaning against the weather rigging and watching a red light coming up on us.
To the right, where a river empties in, were scattered groups of queer, rakish craft, each with four slanting pipes and a tiny flag floating from her halyards; a flag as the binoculars revealed of crimson bars and stars on a field of blue. These were our American destroyers.
The signalman bent over his flag-locker and, in compliance with the order of the commander, bent flags onto the halyards, giving the location of the submarine to the Nicholson, while heliograph flashes from the bridge summoned her to joint attack.
Tomahawks! cut everything that holds!" was heard from the frigate's quarter-deck. Rush came a boarding party on to the merchant ship and hacked away without mercy all her lower rigging that held on to the frigate, signal halyards and all; others boomed her off with capstan bars, &c., and in two minutes the ships were clear.
Bradley, Sr., stood by the brass cannon, blowing gently on his lighted fuse. The Peacemaker took the halyards of the German flag in his two hands, gave a quick, sharp tug, and down came the red, white, and black piece of bunting, and the next moment young Bradley sent the Stars and Stripes up in its place.
'Bout ship, boys, and be smart!" "All hands!" bellowed the mate. In a couple of minutes the small crew were on deck, hauling in the ropes and halyards. The topsail-yards swung round, the helm was put hard down. The sails shivered in the wind as the yacht came about. "Put both the main- and fore-sails on her, Leeks. We must be out of this trap as soon as possible," cried the captain.
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