The officer carefully examined her, passed a boat hook underneath her and concluded she was harmless.

She was towed to the steamer and the Captain assured that there was nothing suspicious about her.
"She will make a beautiful present for your wife," said the officer.

The Captain responded: "If you are certain, send her aboard." Lines were lowered and hooks fastened to the fairy craft.

As they tightened on the polished brass rings in her bow and stern, a deafening roar told the fate of the Covodonga.

She was cut completely in two and only sixty of her crew were picked up and saved.
The little boat had been made with a thin false bottom in which was placed a quantity of nitro-glycerine.