gradually
tautened until the strain on the anchor checked us, allowing the vessel
to swing around until her top-sails filled. A buoy was then attached to
the rope and the latter let go. Away we went, leaving the anchor behind,
and then came the hard work in earnest---beating off a lee shore in a
heavy gale of wind. When the gale was over we found our brig to the
south-east of Charleston and a considerable distance from our station,
so back we went as fast as the vessel would sail. While passing the
entrance to Charleston Bay we espied a small schooner stranded on the
shoals. Here was a chance to display our valour and zeal for the
service.

Arrants and I were in charge of the second cutter, with the boat's crew
heavily armed. When we got on the shoals we found the "suspicious" craft
to be a small schooner of about fifteen tons. The sails were neatly
furled and the cabin entrance carefully boarded up. There were neither
cargo nor provisions on board, and on the stern, in freshly painted
letters, was the name Old Abe, which we thought was strange for a rebel
craft. There was not a house nor living being in sight in any direction,
so we set fire to the mysterious craft and returned to the brig.

CHAPTER XIX

AFTER BLOCKADE-RUNNERS

On arrival at Murrell Inlet, we sought the wooden buoy, and got it on
board; the line was put through the hawse-pipe, and we all tugged at it
until we got hold of the chain, when that was put around the windlass
and the anchor hove up. Having had enough of that locality, we anchored
farther out to sea in deeper water. In a couple of weeks, our nearest
neighbour, the gun-boat at Georgetown Bay, brought us our mail and some
fresh beef. They had a tale of woe to unfold. It seems they had captured
a small schooner and made use of it as a pleasure yacht. One night it
had broken adrift and stranded on some sand shoals. They had intended,
some pleasant day, to fasten a rope to it and have the gun-boat pull it
off, but they sorrowfully stated that the "--- rebs had burned it up."
We hadn't a word to say. It was the Old Abe.

The enemy was in the habit of making night attacks on our vessels
whenever they had the opportunity. It would have been an easy matter for
them to send small boats and men from Charleston overland and make
things quite lively for us. To prevent any surprise party coming on
board, we put up the "boarding nettings" and kept men on guard in
different parts of the brig. G