But in spite of the utter absurdity of many of the reports, the officers of the First gave much careful consideration to the diagrams in Brassey's "Naval Annual," and Jane's "Fighting Ships," with a view to putting 8-inch shot in the spots where they would do the most good should occasion arise; and nobody was unduly surprised when, shortly after midnight of May 13th, the _Tourist_, the steamer employed by the Engineers in their harbor-mining work, came puffing down from the city, announcing her arrival at the fort by long blasts of her whistle, and bringing word that at last the long-expected fleet had been sighted off Nantucket, steering a course for Boston. Coming by way of the Navy Department, this bit of intelligence seemed worthy of consideration, and so in the early morning the officers of the regular garrison sent their families away from the island and out of danger, while the volunteers uncased the last of the small store of 8-inch projectiles for the guns in their charge, gave a final look to their equipments, and then sat themselves down on the parapets to await the first glimpse of Cervera's armada. Fieldglasses were at a premium that day, and the wide expanse of water towards Boston lightship became an object of much interest; but Cervera failed to appear, and to the disgust of regulars and volunteers alike it became evident, as the hours slipped away, that even official warnings _via_ the Navy Yard must be received with proper and due allowances. For some time now the port had been closed at night. Electric signal lanterns had been rigged upon the flagstaff of the fort, and every evening the officer of the guard was given the code signal for that especial date, by which ships of our navy were to be recognized. The orders of the post directed that any steamer failing to acknowledge signals from the fort, or replying by wrong combinations, should be fired on. But no steamers, either of the navy or of the merchant marine, attempted to make port after dark, and the only firing required was that done by patrol-boat crews, who were obliged at times to use their rifles on the fishermen and coasters which, under cover of darkness, ignorantly or wilfully persisted in blundering in among the mine-fields.