The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1859-03-05
The Last Bullet.


The United States ship.ofwar, conslella-
ton, wa, anchored in the harbor Of .Algiers,
whittier she had proceeded under command
Of Commodore Preble, ha,inB on hoard
among her other officers, Charles Stewart,
then an acting lieutenant aud the man The ola
Commodore looked 10 for assistanec In fight
ing the Agerines.
II was the watch Of young Stewart, and he
was pacing 10 and fro on the deck about half
an hour after sunset, when he saw small
boat, containing a single person, coming of
from the Old Port, as the western part oflhc
town was called, and heading directly for the
ship.
This person was rowing with all his might
and Stewart was not long IN discovering the
cause. Close behind the single boa,man was
seen large sallep rover, filed with men,
whose presence was announced by a contin-
ual firing at him Of whom they were In such
determined pursuit-holding on their way
until they we're under the very guns Of the
ship.
Now, by my soul" cried Stewart Z" may
| be she, II do not teach those fellows a
lesson. Stand by, Mr.. Iiogrs," he added,
addressing fayorite gugoer, ito throw
little grape into that fellow"
An instant later, a wreath Of smoke eurled
up from the shore side Of the yesscl, aud as
the report went booming over the water, the
iron messenger sped on is way, crushing in
to the pursuing boat, severely wounded two
or three Of her crow. She instantly turned
to put back, At the same timo that the fugi.
tive reached his destination. aud came up the
side, into the presence of the officer Of the
deck.
lie was an elderly man, with a stout frame
and brownish features but Il did not re.
quire bat single glance from The lieutenant
to see that he VAS Of English or American
descent, AsEoou az hC-was sufficiently re-.
covered from his over cxcrtion to breathe, he
went on to tell his story, to which Stewart
listened with much excitement and interest.
The new conner was an American citizen
fsaaie4 J.,Haes -Callinz- = native nf New Nnrk
who, with his wife and daughter had been
taken from an American vessel at the same
time as its commander and crew. two wears
before, 10y the Algerhe pirate. His wife had
since died, and he and his daughter had been
enduring, since his cnpture,all the horrors ola
hopeless and aggravated captivity. But the
worst part Of the poor mans story, and that
which moved lieutenant Stewart the most,
was the announcement that his daughter, a
gentle and beautiful girl, was on the very eve
Of being forced into n detesiahle union with
the very wretch who had bought her and her
father as slaves"
My agony at these circumstances culmi-
mated not two hours ago." finished the faith
er, " when struck the pcrsecuter insensible
to my feet, and fled. BY dint Of exer,ion,
managed to reach the water side, and embark
ed before the pursuers could prevent il. But,
though | have succeeded in reaching this
place Of safety, my poor Alice is still in the
power of her tormentor, exposed to his ven
geance, and | am almost crazy at thinking
she may even now be subjected to n fate
worse than death If I could only guide a
good boats crew, under your orders"
"One moment" interrupted Stewart
modore Preble n
One moment the young lieutenant was en-
gagged with the commander in the cabin, and
then he came forth with a stern smile of sat
isfaction on his features Ten minutes more
had not passed ere a cutter with twelve chos-
lieutenant and the stranger in the stern, and
rapidly struck out for the shore.
A." Our owner" said Mr.. Collins, "resides
( in the western part of the city There is
coast guard established, but do not appre-
hend that we shall have any especial trouble
low, go up the streets TO the house, and carry
of my child, end all without losing a man "
The boat landed, after twenty minutes of
rapid progress, at a small wharf near the Gal
eta, in the western part Of the town. The
arrival was certainly Witnessed, bu, not
great deal of attention was bestowed upon it
by the stupid Agerines. Leaving part Of
his men in the cutter, with orders for them
to lie low under the wharf, Lieut.. Stewart
and the remainder Of his force followed the
footsteps of Mr. Collins, who led the way
rapidly up the intervening streets.
On arriving at his late prison, an old and
dingy looking structure, extremely spacious,
having all the oosencss Of the Moorish style,
the party discovered that silence and dark
ness wesn tire principal features OF the scene.
Not a sound was beard nor a word uttered.
The whole buiidiSy seemed deserted. The
agony of the ihther was extreme,
"Oh my child my child " he cried, unable
longer TO control the terrible emotions which