The ship was so badly injured that it rolled about unmanageable, and when the captain died, as he did a few minutes later, the men surrendered, and the _Caroline_ claimed the _Monarch_ as a prize. The ship was too much disabled to take into port, so, under the direction of Scarron, the guns were removed to the _Caroline_, together with a good portion of the ammunition. When this was accomplished and the prisoners transferred, the order was given to blow up the war ship. A terrific report which caused the waters to be troubled as though by an earthquake, and all was over with his majesty's sloop-of-war _Monarch_. "Now to port!" shouted Tempest, obeying the signal of the _Lively Bee_, and the men joyously spread the sails and cheered as they filled out with the wind, for they knew they were bound for home. CHAPTER XXI. HOMEWARD BOUND. "Do not undress; be ready at any moment to go to quarters." Such was the command given the men who were sent below to sleep, after the watch was set for the night. Tempest was not anxious for sleep, although he had been up all the previous night. He had sent word to Bertha that if she liked to walk the deck with him, he should be pleased to have her company. The lady was delighted. She could not sleep, and the air of the little cabin was stifling. She had been too much afraid to go on deck during the day, and had no real knowledge of the great events which had transpired. Flushed as Tempest was with victory, he yet hesitated to tell Bertha all that had transpired, for war is no fit subject for feminine ears. But she was fit to be a soldier's wife. Full of patriotic zeal, the overthrow of the British was a subject she rejoiced to hear spoken of; and when her own lover was the hero, her delight was beyond all computation. The sails of the _Caroline_ filled at the first puff of wind, and she kept at hailing distance with the _Lively Bee_. "Where are we bound now?" asked Bertha as she paced the deck, her hand on Tempest's arm. "Home!" was the answer. "To stay?" Instead of answering, Tempest said: "We are at war with England. That country has destroyed some of our cities and is devastating our land. She has claimed the supremacy of the ocean, as you know. We have disputed her right. Now what is my duty? My great ancestor left England in the _Mayflower_; he founded a family unexcelled for its patriotism. His descendants, by marriage, united the great tribes of the Indians with the white people. My father fought with Greene at Bunker Hill and with Washington at Valley Forge. What is my duty?" Bertha Decatur did not hesitate in her answer. "My brave boy, you must fight--until the end." "I thought you would say so. But do you know what you told me when I asked for this little hand?" asked Tempest, placing his hard hand on her soft one. "I said I would only marry a hero." "And now----" "I say the same." "What constitutes a hero in your estimation?"