A fleet of small gun-boats captured from the Spanish had been doing yeoman service around Samar, in cutting off supplies to Lukban’s forces from the other islands. They had destroyed hundreds of barotes and burned numerous villages. In fact the Island of Samar was completely blockaded, with the exception of the narrow strip of the Gandarra Straits separating the island from Leyte. A spy in the habit of a friar arrived on the vessel in the darkness of the night, with the information that banco after banco loaded with rice was being smuggled across the straits. Volunteers were called for, to ascend this small channel in a steam-launch. Having volunteered for this special duty, we set to work at once, our complement consisting of four midshipmen, four marines, and four sailors. Stripping the canopy off the steam-launch, two one-pounders were mounted fore and aft, while a Colt automatic resting on a tripod occupied the centre of the boat. Each man carried, besides his rifle and revolver, a belt containing three hundred rounds of ammunition and an extra bandoleer. About midnight, with fires secured, we shoved off under cover of darkness for the entrance to the channel. On reaching it we could see, in the distance along its shores, a fire dimly burning; steaming quietly through the stream, closely hugging the shore, about two miles had been covered from the ship, when a cumbersome object was seen drifting across the straits. “Ah! a banco,” was whispered, as if uttered by the voice of a buccaneer. The midshipman in command immediately trained the forward one-pounder as near the water line of the “smuggler” as could be discerned through the gloom. As the coxswain swung the launch to a port side position in a shallow eddy, the aft one-pounder and Colt automatic were trained for operation.