III

All in the sullied hours,

While the pirates stood away

Out of the murk and horror

In a sheer white burst of spray,

Leaving the wreck to settle

Under its winding sheet,

I felt the city shudder

And stir beneath my feet.

Thrilling against the morning,

As audible as song,

I heard the city waken

Out of her night of wrong.

That was a day to cherish

When Rhett and a gallant few

Summoned the best among us;

Called for a daring crew.

New and raw at the business,

To the smithy's roar and clang,

We drove our aching muscles

And as we worked we sang,

Until one blowing morning

With summer on the sea,

The Henry to the windward,

The Sea Nymph down alee,

Flecking the wide Atlantic

With a flaring, lacy track,

We went, as glad as the winds are glad,

To buy our honor back.