The night was calm and very still. The hatch covers were thrown back, the tired men thrust their heads into the cool, sweet air, so refreshing8 after the closeness of their badly ventilated vessel9, and wetted their fevered, exhausted10 bodies with the stimulating11 water of the bay. The artillery12 officer took advantage of the opportunity to make a careful reëxamination of the torpedo, and Lacy was greatly relieved when he reported that he had everything in good working order, so far as he was able to judge. The young commander of the expedition was the more anxious for success because of the previous failures of similar endeavors. After a ten-minute rest he gave the order to get under way.
"Men," he said coolly, "you know the history of this boat. There's a chance, ay, more than a chance, that none of us will ever come back from this expedition. You knew all that when you volunteered. If we do get out alive, our country will reward us. If we do not, she will not forget us. Shake hands, now. Good-by, and God bless you. Put every pound of muscle you have into that crank when we get within one hundred yards of the frigate13, and jump the boat into her. I'll give the signal. I want to strike her hard."
"Ay, ay, sir," replied the seamen as cheerfully as if there was only a frolic before them. "We'll do our best. Good-by, and God bless you, sir. We're proud to serve under you whatever comes."
"Thank you. All ready with the torpedo, Captain?"
"Yes, Major Lacy."
"Good! Down everybody, now! Clap to the hatch covers and start the cranks. Easy at first, and when I give the word—hard!"
He seized the spokes14 of the steering16 wheel in his steady hands as he spoke15. Back of him, to relieve him in case of accident, stood Captain Carlson, the artillery officer. The heavy planks18 were drawn19 over the open hatch, locked, and bolted. Silently the men manned the cranks. The little engine of destruction gathered way. It was pitch dark, and very close and hot. There was no sound in the shell save the slight creaking of the cranks and the deep breathing of the crew as they toiled20 over them.
Forward by the wheel there was a glass hood21, which permitted the men who steered22 to direct the course of the boat. As the sinister23 sea demon24 stole through the waters, Lacy caught a sudden glimpse at last of the spars of a heavy ship at anchor before him. The night had cleared somewhat, and although there was no moon, the stars gave sufficient light for him to see the black tracery of masts and yards lifting themselves above the horizon.
How still the looming25 ship lay. There was scarcely sea enough to tremble the top-hamper of the unsuspecting man-of-war. A faint film of smoke falling lazily from her funnel26 in the quiet air, with her riding and side-lights, were the only signs of life about her. No more peaceful-looking object floated over the ocean apparently27.
"It would be a pity," reflected the man at the wheel for an instant, "to strike her so." But the thought vanished so soon as it had been formulated28. His heart leaped in his breast like the hound when he launches himself in that last spring which hurls29 him on his quarry. Another moment—a few more seconds—
"That will be our game," whispered Lacy to the artillery captain, in a voice in which his feelings spoke.
"Yes."
They were slowly approaching nearer. The bearings of the cranks and screws had been well oiled, and the David slipped through the water without a sound. She was so nearly submerged that she scarcely rippled30 the surface of the sea. There was no white line of foam31 to betray her movement through the black water. It was almost impossible for any one to detect the approach of the silent terror. There was nothing showing above water except the flat hatch cover, and that to an unpractised eye looked much like a drifting plank17.
Yet there were sharp eyes on the ship, and no negligent32 watch was kept either. When the David was perhaps two hundred feet away, she was seen. The steadiness of her movement proclaimed a thing intelligently driven.
A sharp, sudden cry from the forecastle ahead of them rang through the night. It was so loud and so fraught33 with alarm that it came in a muffled34 note to the men in the depths of the torpedo boat. A bugle35 call rang out, a drum was beaten. The erstwhile silent ship was filled with tumult36 and clamor.
"They have seen us!" said Lacy. "Ahead!" he cried, hoarsely37. "Hard!"
At the same instant the chain cable of the vessel was slipped, bells jangled in her depths, the mighty38 engines clanked into sudden motion, the screws revolved39, and she began slowly to drive astern. But it was too late, the sea devil was too near to be balked40 of the prey. The men at the cranks of the David, working with superhuman energy, fairly hurled41 the torpedo boat upon the doomed42 ship. Lacy had time for a single upward glance—his last look at anything! The black railing towering above his head was swarming43 with men. Flashes of light punctured44 the darkness. Bullets pattered like rain on the iron. One or two tore through the flimsy shell. A jet of water struck him in the face.
The next second there was a terrific concussion45. The torpedo struck the ship just forward the mainmast and exploded, tearing a great hole in the side, extending far below the water-line. In the blaze of light that followed, the men in the David cheered wildly, and the next moment blackness overwhelmed them.
On the frigate there was the wildest confusion as the sleeping men below came swarming up on deck. Some of them never succeeded in reaching the hatchways and were drowned where they slept. Some were killed by the explosion. The officers, however, quickly restored order, and as a last resort ordered the surviving men into the rigging, for the water where she lay was shallow, and there they could find safety.
The ship was hopelessly lost. Indeed, she began to sink so soon as the torpedo exploded. The water poured into her vitals, and soon the crash of exploding boilers46 and the hiss47 of escaping steam added their quota48 to the confusion.
Some of the cooler among the officers and men lingered on the decks, small arms in hand, searching the sea on every hand, until the decks were awash. They were looking and hoping for a chance at the boat which had caused them such a terrible disaster, but they never saw her. She had disappeared.
Signals had been burned instantly on the shattered ship. Far up and down the line the lights of moving vessels49 burning answering signals showed that they were alert to render assistance. Boats, ships' cutters, dashed alongside to render help, and they, too, sought the torpedo boat, but in vain. She was not to be found.
At the same time the ships of the fleet did not move from their appointed stations, and when the blockade-runners came dashing down through the Swash Channel in the hope that the vessels usually stationed there would be withdrawn51 in the excitement, they were met by a deadly fire from the rifled guns, which rendered it impossible for them to proceed. They turned tail and fled. Two of them succeeded in returning to the harbor. One of them never came back. She was set on fire and burned by the shells of the ships. The monitors and ironclads joined in the battle, the forts returned the fire, and the quiet night was filled with the noise of roaring cannon52 and exploding shell.
Lacy's had been a gallant53 and heroic attempt. It had succeeded as to the blowing up of a Federal warship54, but it had failed otherwise. By a singular freak of fortune the blow had not fallen upon the vessel for which it had been intended. After dark the fine new sloop-of-war Housatonic had replaced the Wabash off the Main Ship Channel, and she had suffered instead of the flagship.
Although when day broke she was sought for again, nothing more was seen of the David. At least not then. With the explosion of the torpedo she had vanished from the face of the waters. For a long time General Beauregard and the people in Charleston waited for tidings of her, but it was not until the war was over and the Housatonic was raised that the mystery was solved. They found the torpedo boat with her nose pointed50 toward the hole she had torn in the side of the ship, about a hundred feet away from the wrecked55 sloop-of-war. She had been riddled56 with bullets and shattered by the explosion of her own torpedo. She was, of course, filled with water, and in her, at their stations, they found the bodies of her devoted crew, Lacy with his hand on the wheel.
Nothing in life had so become Lacy as the ending of it. It is a proverb that the good men do lies buried with them, the evil is long remembered. It was not so in his case, at any rate, for men forgot everything but the dauntless heroism57 with which he had laid down his life for his country, and assured his fame.
And, after all, he was not to be pitied for that he died the death of his choice.
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1
torpedo
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| n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏 | |
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quarry
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| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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stimulating
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| adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的 | |
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artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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frigate
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| n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰 | |
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spokes
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| n.（车轮的）辐条( spoke的名词复数 )；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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looming
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| n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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funnel
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| n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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formulated
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| v.构想出( formulate的过去式和过去分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示 | |
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hurls
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的第三人称单数 )；大声叫骂 | |
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rippled
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| 使泛起涟漪（ripple的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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negligent
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| adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的 | |
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fraught
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| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
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muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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bugle
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| n.军号，号角，喇叭；v.吹号，吹号召集 | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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revolved
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| v.（使）旋转( revolve的过去式和过去分词 )；细想 | |
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balked
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| v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑 | |
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41
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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42
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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43
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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44
punctured
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| v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的过去式和过去分词 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气 | |
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45
concussion
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| n.脑震荡；震动 | |
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46
boilers
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| 锅炉，烧水器，水壶( boiler的名词复数 ) | |
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hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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48
quota
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| n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额 | |
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49
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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50
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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51
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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52
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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53
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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54
warship
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| n.军舰，战舰 | |
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55
wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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56
riddled
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| adj.布满的；充斥的；泛滥的v.解谜，出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式) | |
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heroism
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| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
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