I whispered down the tube into the engine-room,
'Full speed ahead!' and away we shot into the darkness.

I don't know what happened; whether the captain of the man-of-war
thought that his boats had taken possession, and thus did not try to
stop us, or whether he stopped to pick up his boats in the rather nasty
sea that was running, some one who reads this may know. All I can say
is, that not a shot was fired, and that in less than a minute the pitch
darkness hid the cruiser from our view. This was a great piece of luck.

All the next day we passed in dodging about, avoiding the cruisers as
best we could, but always approaching our post.

During the day we got good observations with which our soundings agreed;
and at sunset our position was sixty miles due east of the entrance to
Wilmington river, off which place were cruising a strong squadron of
blockading ships. The American blockading squadron, which had undertaken
the almost impossible task of stopping all traffic along 3,000 miles of
coast, consisted of nearly a hundred vessels of different sorts and
sizes--_bona-fide_ men-of-war, captured blockade-runners, unemployed
steam-packets, with many other vessels pressed into government service.
Speed and sufficient strength to carry a long gun were the only
requisites, the Confederate men-of-war being few and far between. These
vessels were generally well commanded and officered, but badly manned.
The inshore squadron off Wilmington consisted of about thirty vessels,
and lay in the form of a crescent facing the entrance to Cape Clear
river, the centre being just out of range of the heavy guns mounted on
Fort Fisher, the horns, as it were, gradually approaching the shore on
each side; the whole line or curve covered about ten miles.

The blockade-runners had been in the habit of trying to get between the
vessel at either extremity; and the coast being quite flat and
dangerous, without any landmark, excepting here and there a tree
somewhat taller than others, the cruisers generally kept at a sufficient
distance to allow of this being done. The runner would then crawl close
along the shore, and when as near as could be judged opposite the
entrance of the river, would show a light on the vessel's inshore side,
which was answered by a very indistinct light being shown on the beach,
close to the water's edge, and another at the background. These two
lights being got into a line was a proof that the opening was arrived
at;