Harper's Young People, June 7, 1881 An Illustrated Weekly

On a moonless night the crew of a small yacht called the Ghost drifts through a silent marsh, the only sound the steady dip of oars in the dark water. Six boys—Tom, Charley, Harry, Joe and their companions—take turns standing watch, their nerves stretched thin as an unseen row‑boat glides ever closer, its occupants murmuring about “the yacht belonging to those boys.” The mist hangs heavy, and every creak of the deck raises the fear that the strangers might be thieves, pirates, or something even more mysterious.

When the mysterious boat finally surfaces, its men claim to be the famed frigate Constitution, demanding the boys’ “catechism” and testing the youngsters’ courage. Charley readies a pistol, the boys huddle in the shadows, and a single pistol shot whistles past Tom’s head, turning the night into a tense standoff. As the firelight flickers and the oars return, the boys must decide whether to fight, flee, or simply survive until sunrise.