He was not allowed to abandon his ship again, but it is a fact, incredible as it may seem, that even after the _South Carolina_ had come--the _South Carolina_ that, single-handed, was of a force to have destroyed, with one watch in their hammocks, the whole Confederate squadron--even after she had come, Handy, in his haste to get clear, threw overboard all of his guns, and it was done by permission of Pope. So the _Vincennes_ got away in tow of the steamers. On the 14th they were all at anchor outside, but even here, according to Captain Pope’s report, Captain French, of the _Preble_, did not feel safe. He was ordered to blockade Pass à Loutre, but, after starting, came back and asked permission to go to Ship Island for wood for the galley fire. Pope told him there was wood a-plenty at the Northeast Pass, but he “earnestly requested to go to Ship Island,” and Pope “reluctantly consented.” At Ship Island the _Preble_ would be safe, but there was no telling what might happen if she were caught all alone by a Confederate gunboat off Pass à Loutre. And then, in his report, written on the 17th, Pope makes this statement: “My retreat down the pass, although painful to me, was to save the ships by preventing them being sunk and falling into the hands of the enemy; and it was evident to me they had us in their power.” This one other quotation will complete the story: “It having been rumored there was a panic on board this ship at the time she was engaged with the enemy, I state it to be false; both officers and men exhibited the utmost coolness and determination to do their duty.” This chapter shall conclude with the brief story of brave men at Galveston. It was in November. The frigate _Santee_ was blockading Galveston, and a Confederate steamer, the _General Rusk_, was inside, together with a privateer schooner called the _Royal Yacht_. The Confederates were fitting the _Rusk_ for a cruiser, but she could not be shelled without throwing shot into the city. So Lieut. James E. Jouett volunteered to go in and cut her out.