shop. Iron for its
engines was picked up from the scrap heaps of the iron works at
Richmond. Some of the Confederates laughed at it themselves; but they
deserved great credit for building a ship under such difficulties as
these.

It was finished in April, 1864, and nobody laughed at it when they saw
it afloat. It was like the _Merrimac_ in shape, and was covered with
iron four inches thick. They named it the _Albemarle_.

Very soon the _Albemarle_ showed that it was no laughing matter. It sunk
one gunboat and made another run away in great haste. Then it had a
fight with four of them at once and drove one of these lame and limping
away. The others did not come too near. After that it went back to the
town of Plymouth and was tied up at the wharf.

There was another iron-clad being built, and the _Albemarle_ was kept
waiting, so that the two could work together. That was a bad thing for
the _Albemarle_, for she never went out again.

This brings us back to the gallant deed I spoke of, and the gallant
fellow who did the deed. His name was William B. Cushing. He was little
more than a boy, just twenty-one years old, but he did not know what it
meant to be afraid, and he had done so many daring things already that
he had been made a lieutenant.

He wanted to try to destroy the _Albemarle_, and his captain, who knew
how bold a fellow he was, told him to go ahead and do his best.

So on a dark night in October, 1864, brave young Cushing started up the
river in a steam launch, with men and guns. At the bow of this launch
was a long spar, and at the end of this spar was a torpedo holding a
hundred pounds of dynamite. There was a trigger and a cap to set this
off, a string to lower the spar and another to pull the trigger. But it
was a poor affair to send on such an expedition as that.

And this was not the worst. Some of the newspapers had found out what
Cushing was going to do, and printed the whole story. And some of these
newspapers got down South and let out the secret. That is what is called
"newspaper enterprise." It is very good in its right place, but it was a
sort of enterprise that nearly spoiled Cushing's plans.

For the Confederates put lines of sentries along the river, and
stationed a lookout down the stream, and placed a whole regiment of
soldiers near the wharf. And logs were chained fast around the vessel so
that no torpedo spar could reach her. And the men on board were sharply
on the watch. That is w