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For Treasure Bound

<h3>Chapter Ten.</h3> <h4>Chased by Pirates.</h4> The weather now rapidly became finer, and the ocean, no longer lashed into fury by the breath of the tempest, subsided once more into long regular undulations. The wind hauled gradually more round from the northward too, and blew warm and balmy; a most welcome change after the raw and chilly weather we had lately experienced. We once more cracked on sail upon the little Water Lily; and on the morning following that upon which we filled away upon our course, finding by observation that we were well clear of the Cape, and that we had plenty of room even should the wind once more back round from the westward, we hauled close-up, and stood away on a nor’-west-and-by-westerly course. Nothing of importance occurred for more than a week. The weather continued settled, and the glass stood high; the wind was out at about north, and sufficiently moderate to permit of our carrying our jib-headed topsail; and day after day we flew forward upon our course, seldom making less than ten knots in the hour, and occasionally reaching as high as thirteen. We were perfectly jubilant; for having rounded the Cape in safety we now considered our troubles over and our ultimate success as certain. We were fairly in the Pacific, the region of fine weather; and our little barkie had behaved so well in the gale that our confidence in her seaworthiness was thoroughly established; so that all fear of future danger from bad weather was completely taken off our minds. One morning, the wind having fallen considerably lighter during the preceding night, as soon as breakfast was over I roused up our square-headed topsail, with the intention of setting it in the room of the small one. But when I proceeded to take the latter in, I found that the halliards were somehow jammed aloft, and I shinned up to clear them. No sailor, if he really be a seaman, and not a tinker or a tailor, ever goes aloft without taking a good look round him; so after I had cleared the halliards I clung to the slim spar for a minute or two whilst I swept the horizon carefully around. “Sail ho!” shouted I, as I caught a glimpse of the royals of a vessel gleaming snowy white in the brilliant sunshine far away in the south-western board. “Where away?” shouted Bob. “Broad on our lee-bow,” I answered, still clinging to the thin wire topmast shrouds. “What d’ye make her out to be, Harry, my lad?” was the next question. “Either a barque or a brig,” answered I; “the latter I am inclined to believe, though he is still too far away for his mizzen-mast to show, if he has one.” “Why d’ye think it’s a brig, Harry?” queried Bob. “His canvas looks too small for that of a barque,” replied I, as I slid down on deck, having seen all that it was possible to see at present. “Then it’s that murderin’ Albatross again, for a thousand,” ejaculated Bob, in a tone of deep disgust. “That’s just the p’int where he might reasonably be looked for. He made sail long enough afore we did, a’ter the gale had blowed itself out, and consequently got a good long leg to the west’ard of us; but as we’ve been steering perhaps a couple of p’ints higher than he has for most of the time since, we’ve overhauled him; and now he’s come round to go to the nor’ard, and we’ve fallen in with him once more.” I was inclined to take the same view of the matter that Bob did. It is true that when once a ship passes out of sight at sea you can never be sure of her exact position afterwards; yet, under certain circumstances, taking the direction of the wind and the state of the weather as data upon which to base your argument, and, in conjunction with these, the course the vessel was steering when last seen, or the part of the world to which you have reason to believe she is bound, it is astonishing how near a guess may be and is not unfrequently made as to her whereabouts. Now we knew that the Albatross was bound to the Pacific when we last saw her, because she was then hove-to, evidently with the intention of maintaining as weatherly a position as possible. Had she been bound to the eastward, the weather was not so bad at that time as to have prevented her scudding before it, which she undoubtedly would have done under such circumstances, making a fair wind of it. At the same time there was of course a possibility of our being mistaken as to the craft in sight being the pirate-brig, it being by no means an unusual thing for vessels as small as she was, or even smaller, to venture round the Cape. “Well,” said I, “perhaps it will be safest, Bob, to assume for the present that this brig is the Albatross. What, under such circumstances, is your advice?” “Which of us has the weather-gauge, d’ye think?” queried Bob. “It is rather difficult to decide at present,” I replied. “Much depends upon which of us is the fastest. If we are both going at about the same speed, I should say we shall pass extremely close to her.” “How is she heading, Harry?” was the next question. “To the northward, rather edging down towards us, if anything, I thought.” “Ay, ay,” chuckled Bob, “it ain’t every craft as can stick her bowsprit into the wind’s eye like this here little barkie. Now I dare swear he’s jammed hard up upon a taut bowline, and here we are going as close to the wind as he is, and every thread ramping full. Take hold of her a minute, Hal, and let’s see what these old eyes of mine can tell us about the stranger.” I took hold of the tiller, and Bob went aloft with the deliberation of the seaman who is in no particular hurry. Having reached the cross-trees, he stood upon them, with one hand grasping the peak-halliards to steady himself, whilst with the other he shaded his eyes. “I see her, I see her,” he exclaimed; “we’re raising her fast, Harry, my boy; and in another half-hour or so we shall see her from the deck.” He then went as high as the yard of the topsail, and clung there for a good five minutes, reading all the signs which a seaman sees in the almost imperceptible peculiarities of rig, shape of sails, etcetera. Having satisfied himself, he descended deliberately to the deck, evidently ruminating deeply. “Now I’ll tell ye what I think of the matter, Harry,” said he, as he came aft and seated himself beside me. “There’s a familiar sort of a look with that craft away yonder; I seems to recognise her as some’at I’ve seen afore; and I’ve no moral doubt in the world but what it’s that villain Johnson, although we can’t be sartain of it until we gets a nearer look at her. And I’ve an idee that, if anything, it’s we that’s got the weather-gauge; and if so, by all means keep it, even if we has to run the gauntlet of her broadside for a minute or two. Once let’s be to wind’ard, and in such weather as this I wouldn’t fear the smartest square-rigged craft that ever was launched. We could lead ’em no end of a dance, and then give ’em the slip a’terwards when we was tired of the fun. So my advice is to luff up as close as you can; not too close ye know, lad; let her go through it; but spring your luff all as you can get, and let’s try what our friend yonder is made of. As long as we’re to leeward of him the game is his; but let’s get to wind’ard of him and it’s ours to do what we like with it.” I had it in my mind to take in all the canvas and lie perdu until the brig had crossed our course and was well out of our road to the northward; but that would still be leaving him the weather-gauge; and I saw fully as clearly as Bob did the advantage of obtaining this, if possible; so on we stood, boldly, lying a good point higher than we had been before steering, yet keeping every sail a good clean full, and drawing to perfection. The wind, however, was dropping fast; and by the time that the sun was on the meridian we were not going more than five knots. This made me extremely anxious; more particularly as the stranger proved a remarkably fast vessel; so much so, that it still remained a matter of doubt which of us would cross the other. Bob, on the other hand, was delighted beyond measure, stoutly avowing that the falling breeze was little, if anything, short of a divine manifestation in our favour. He declared himself ready to stake all he was possessed of in the world (and if the brig should turn out to be the pirate, he actually was staking his life) on our speed as against that of the stranger in light winds, and was already chuckling in anticipation over that craft’s discomfiture. She was within about five miles of us, still maintaining her relative position of about four points on our lee-bow, when Bob served dinner on deck, as was our custom in fine weather. We were very busy with the viands, keeping one eye always on the brig however, when we noticed something fluttering over her taffrail; and the next moment a flag of some sort floated up to her peak. I was at the tiller; so Bob took the glass, and levelling it at the brig, gave her a more thorough scrutiny than we had bestowed upon her at all hitherto. “The stars and stripes, and a pennant!” exclaimed he, with his eye still at the tube. “Lord bless us for the two pretty innocents he takes us for, Harry; but there, of course he don’t know as we’ve got his character and all about him at our fingers’ ends. Well, anyhow, we won’t be behindhand with him in the matter of politeness;” and therewith Master Bob dived below, returning in a moment with our ensign and club burgee in his hand, which he bent to their respective halliards and ran them up—the one to our gaff-end, and the other to our mast-head. As we had by this time finished our meal, Bob cleared the things away, muttering something about having “plenty to do afore long besides eating and drinking.” Our colours had not been displayed above a minute, when four small balls were seen ascending to the brig’s main royal-mast-head, where they broke abroad and waved lazily out in the failing breeze as a signal. Bob at once assumed the duties of signal-officer, by once more taking a peep through the glass. “Commercial code pennant,” said he; and then he read out the flags beneath it. “Run down and fetch up the signal-book,” said I. He did so; we turned up the signal, and read, “Come under my lee; I wish to speak you.” “Thank ’ee!” ejaculated Bob, “not if we can help it, Mister Johnson. I reckon ’twould be about the most onprofitable conwersation as ever the crew of this here cutter took a part in. We’ve got our own wholesome planks to walk, aboard here, when we wants any of that sort of exercise; and though there’s not much to boast of in the way of room, I dare say there’s more of that than we’d find on the plank you’d, give us for a parade ground. Seems to me, Hal, as we’re bringing him nearer abeam than he was a while ago; ain’t it so?” “You are right, Bob,” I replied, glancing at the compass; “he is more than a point farther aft than he was a quarter of an hour ago; but is it not possible that we are giving ourselves needless uneasiness? That craft certainly has a look of the Albatross; but we are not sure that it is her after all.” “D’ye notice his main-topmast-staysail, Harry?” returned he; “cut like a trysail, and set on a stay that leads down just clear of his fore-top and into the slings of his fore-yard. How many vessels will ye see with a sail shaped like that? Yet I noticed that his was, the other day. And there’s the red ribbon round him too; in fact, it’s the Albatross all over,” concluded he, with the glass once more at his eye. It was but too evident that Bob was right. I had been hoping that the general resemblance of the brig in sight to the Albatross was purely accidental; but she was now within less than three miles of us; and, even without the aid of the telescope, certain features, if I may so term them, were recognisable, which identified her beyond all question as the pirate-brig. “What shall we do about answering his signal, Bob?” said I. “Let it fly as it is, unanswered,” he replied composedly. “Look where we’re dropping him to; in another quarter of an hour we shall have him fairly on our lee-beam, and that too out of gun-shot, unless, as is most likely the case, he’s got a long gun; but if he has, we’re a small mark to fire at, and we’ll soon slip out of range even of that.” It was by this time perfectly manifest that whatever he might be able to do in a breeze, he had no chance with us in a light air like the present; and I entertained strong hopes of being able to slip past him unscathed, when I felt sanguine of our ability to get fairly away from him in a chase dead to windward. But he evidently had no notion of letting us have our own way in this matter, without a pretty vigorous protest on his part; for as we were still watching him, we saw the brig slowly luff into the wind; his fore-sheet was raised for a moment, a flash of flame and a puff of white smoke darted suddenly from his forecastle, and then we saw the jets spouting up where the shot struck the water, as it came ricocheting towards us. He had aimed apparently so as to throw the shot across our fore-foot; but it fell short by about fifty feet. “Do that again, you lubber!” exclaimed Bob, contemptuously apostrophising the brig. “Three more such fool’s tricks as that, and we’ll say good-bye t’ye without ever having been within range. See how long it takes him to pay off ag’in, Harry; very near lost his way altogether, when he’d ’a had to box her off with his headyards; and by the time he’d done that we should be well clear of him. Well, I did think the man had more sense than to do the like of that.” Friend Johnson evidently saw his mistake as clearly as we did, for he fired no more until we had crept up fairly ahead of him. Just as we were crossing his bows, however, and had got his masts in tone—by which time he had drawn considerably nearer us—the brig fell off a little, not to repeat her former error, and again came the flash, the smoke, and the ringing report. “Here it comes straight for us this time, and no mistake,” exclaimed Bob, as the water-jets again marked the course of the shot. “Scaldings! out of the road all of us that’s got thin skulls,” continued he, as the shot came skipping across the water in such long bounds as showed we were within range. “Well missed!” added he, as the shot struck the water close to us, and bounded fairly over the boat, passing close beneath the main-boom and the foot of the mainsail, without injuring so much as a ropeyarn. “That’s his long gun, Bob,” said I; “his broadside guns would never reach so far as this, and though we’re just now in rather warm quarters, we shall be out of range again very soon; and then, I think, we need give ourselves no further trouble concerning him. Any way, you’ve got something very like the fulfilment of the wish you expressed the other day.” “Ay, ay, that’s true, Hal, I have,” answered he, with a quiet laugh; “and I do own it’s a great satisfaction to me that we’re carcumventin’ the chap this a way. I’ll warrant he’s walking the quarter-deck at this minute fit to bite his fingers off wi’ vexation at our slipping past him in this style.” Here another shot from the brig came bounding after us; but we offered him a much smaller mark than before, inasmuch as he was now nearly dead astern of us, and we consequently presented an end instead of a broadside view to him. The shot shaved us pretty close to windward nevertheless, striking the water for the last time just short of our taffrail, and scurrying along and ploughing up the surface close enough to give us a pretty copious shower-bath of spray ere it finally sank just ahead of us. The next shot, which quickly followed, passed almost as close to leeward; and the third came straight enough, but fell just short of us. After this he fired no more. “Very cleverly managed, I call that, Harry,” said Bob, as soon as we found ourselves once more out of range. “We can now take things quietly; and as it’s your watch below, I’d recommend you to turn in and get a bit of a snooze. It’s your eight hours out to-night, my lad, and if the breeze should happen to freshen about sundown, and that chap comes after us—and, by the piper, he means that same, for I’m blest if he isn’t in stays—you’ll need to keep both eyes open all your watch.” This was good advice, and I at once proceeded to adopt it, cautioning Bob to be sure to call me without delay in the event of any further complication arising. I had not been below above two minutes when I heard his voice shouting to me to come on deck again. Wondering what was now in the wind, I sprang up the short companion-ladder, and my eye at once falling upon the brig (which was now dead astern of us, heading in the same direction as ourselves, though not lying so close to the wind), I saw in a moment that our troubles were not yet by any means over. The wind had by this time fallen so light that we were not making above three knots’ way through the water, whilst the pirate appeared barely to have steerage-way—in fact, his canvas was flapping to the mast with every sluggish roll which the vessel took over the long, scarcely perceptible swell. Friend Johnson was evidently greatly nettled at our having slipped so handsomely through his fingers as we had, and seemed determined to have a word or two with us yet, whether we would or no; for he had lowered one of his boats, and she was just leaving the vessel in chase. I took the glass, and counted six men at the oars, besides one or two (I could not be sure which) in the stern-sheets. This was serious indeed; for a light boat, propelled by six good oarsmen, would go about two feet to our one at our then rate of sailing, and must necessarily soon overhaul us. Our case appeared pretty nearly desperate; but a seaman never gives up “whilst there is a shot in the locker,” or a fresh expedient to be tried. So I directed Bob to keep the cutter away about three points, and then lash the tiller, and lend me a hand to get our balloon canvas set. The topsail was shifted in next to no time, and then we got the spinnaker to the bowsprit-end, leading the sheet aft to the main-boom; after which we took in our jib and stopped it along the bowsprit, ready for setting again at a moment’s notice, and hauled down our staysail. This additional spread of canvas, coupled with the fact that we were running far enough off the wind to permit of its drawing well, made a perceptible difference in our speed—quite a knot, I considered, and Bob agreed with me. “Now, what’s the next thing to be done, Harry?” inquired he, as soon as we had completed our task of shifting the sails. “This is all very well as far as it goes, but yon boat is overhauling us at every stroke of the oars, and we’ve only postponed the pleasure of an introduction to the chaps, unless the breeze happens to freshen up a trifle, of which I sees no signs just at present.” “I’ve made up my mind,” I replied. “We must not be taken, Bob. I feel convinced that our lives would not be worth an hour’s purchase if we fell into the hands of that villain; but, even supposing he were to stop short of murder, his malignity would doubtless prompt him to destroy the little Lily; and by such an act all our past efforts would be nullified, and our future success rendered extremely doubtful. We must fight, Robert, my man, now that we can no longer run; so let’s get our gun up and rigged without further delay. By the time that we have it ready, they will be within range; and I think we may persuade them to turn back yet.” “So be it,” replied Bob gleefully. “I’d always rather fight than run away, Harry, lad—at least, when it’s anything like a fair match; so let’s rouse up the pop-gun and have a shy at ’em.” This gun was, as I think I have mentioned before, a four-pound rifled piece, which was specially made to my order by an eminent firm. It was a most beautiful little weapon, exquisitely finished; was a breech-loader, and threw a solid shot about a mile, and a shell nearly half as far again. It was mounted on a swivel or pivot, which we had the means of firmly fixing to the deck. We got it out and upon deck, and soon had it mounted and ready for service. Bob took the tiller, desiring me to work the gun, as I was not only a more practised artillerist than he, but knew also how to handle a breech-loader, and I had the knack somehow of shooting straight. I had it loaded, and was in the act of levelling it, when Bob said, “Suppose we was to let them chaps get a bit nearer, Hal, afore we opens fire. I’ve a notion that if we gets ’em well away from the brig, and well within range of our little barker there, we might give ’em such a peppering afore they could get clear of us ag’in as would sicken ’em of having any more to do with us. Perhaps it mightn’t be quite onpossible to destr’y the boat altogether, and then there’s seven or eight good hands wiped off the chap’s books. This here ain’t like a ordinary enemy, you see, lad—he’s a sort of general enemy to all mankind; and the more harm we can do to him, the more good we’ll be doing the rest of the world.” It sounded rather like cold-blooded barbarity, this proposal of Bob’s to attempt the destruction instead of the repulse of the boat in pursuit of us, but every word he said in support of his proposition was strictly true; and indeed some such idea had been present in my own mind, so I withheld my fire for a time. At length, however, they were within half a mile of us, and I thought we might now fairly commence operations. I carefully levelled the piece accordingly, and desiring Bob to sit well out of the line of fire and steer as steadily as possible, I watched the heave of the cutter, and pulled the trigger-line. The shot sped straight for the boat, but, striking the water just before it reached her, bounded clear over her and into the sea beyond. There was a shout from the people in the boat, and we could see that they stretched to their oars with doubled exertion. “Straight as it could go, Harry, lad, but rather too much elevation; try ’em again, boy, and look smart about it too, for they’re giving way as if the devil was behind ’em.” “Which he probably is, if they did but know it, Bob,” returned I. “Keep cool, old man; there’s no hurry; you attend to the steering of the craft, I’ll undertake to cool their courage for them before they’re very much older.” “Ay, ay,” retorted Bob, “keep cool it is; but it’s getting to be rather ticklish work, lad, ain’t it?” I was too busy with the gun to reply just then, and in another moment I fired once more. This time we saw the splinters fly from the bows of the boat, and one of the oarsmen sprang from his seat and fell back into the arms of the man behind him. There was a moment of confusion with them, and then we saw one of the men in the stern-sheets (there were two of them) step along the thwarts and take the injured man’s place. This looked like a fixed determination to come alongside at any price, so I this time inserted a shell instead of a solid shot, which I had before been firing. Once more, after a very careful aim, the little piece rang out, and again the shot reached its mark; this time with terrible effect, for the shell exploded as it passed through the boat’s thin planking, and the fragments, continuing their flight forward, told so severely among the crew, that it appeared as if they were all more or less hurt. We saw four fall from the thwarts, at all events, and all hands ceased pulling, whilst three of the oars slipped unnoticed overboard. I unrove the spinnaker-sheet from the main-boom before the astonished Bob knew what I was about, let go the halliards, and let the sail down by the run; and then jumped to the jib halliards and hoisted the sail like lightning. “Now,” shouted I, “luff you may, Bob, and let’s heave the craft to, and finish the job for them.” As I said this, Bob put his helm down, whilst I hauled the jib-sheet to windward, and then I sprang aft again to the gun. By this time they had taken to their oars again, but there were only two of them pulling: a sure indication of the extent to which our last shot had told. They were turning the boat round to pull back to the ship, and seeing this I felt some compunction about firing on them again, and said so. “Don’t be such a soft-hearted donkey, Harry, lad,” retorted Bob. “Settle the whole lot if you can, boy; it’ll only be so many skulking cut-throats the less in the world. My idee is that every one of them chaps as we can finish off is one honest man’s life saved; so give ’em another of them shells, my boy. They do seem wonderful persuaders, small as they be.” I accordingly loaded again, and fired; but, probably from excitement, fired too high, and the missile flew harmlessly over the boat. The next time I was more careful, aiming with the utmost deliberation. At length I pulled the trigger-line, and immediately leapt to my feet to watch for the result. The shell struck the boat’s stern fairly amidships, and close to the water-line; there was an explosion, but both the oarsmen appeared to be unhurt. Almost immediately, however, one of them sprang aft and crouched down, doing something that we could not make out. I took the glass, and then saw that a large gap had been made by the explosion of the shell, through which the water was doubtless pouring rapidly. There was a movement among the wounded men; and one man jumped upon a thwart and waved his hat to the brig, evidently as a signal of distress. Her captain had of course been watching us all this time, and seemed to have conjectured that his people were getting the worst of it, for we now saw that he had a second boat in the water; and on taking a look at the brig through the glass, we observed that he had a tackle on his main-yard-arm, with which he was hoisting out a gun to put into the boat. “It is time we were off once more, Bob,” I remarked, as soon as I saw this; “so another shot at our friends here, and then we’ll fill away.” The boat was very much disabled, and appeared to be sinking gradually, notwithstanding their efforts to keep her afloat, for they were now baling rapidly;—but I thought it best to make sure of her, so once more loaded and fired. The shell passed through her stern this time also, and exploded; there was a shrill scream from more than one agonised throat, and the baling and pulling ceased altogether; every man in her was wounded, if not killed outright. Satisfied with our work of destruction, and not particularly caring to expose ourselves to the fire of the gun in the other boat, which was no doubt much heavier than our own toy of a weapon, we filled away; and I once more swayed up the spinnaker forward, desiring Bob to keep just sufficiently away to permit of our balloon canvas fully drawing, but no more. As soon as I had got the spinnaker set, I took the glass and had a good look at the boat we had beaten off. She was nearly full of water, her gunwale being but an inch or two above the surface. I saw three or four figures rouse themselves on board her, and recommence baling feebly; but their efforts were useless; she sank lower and lower, and at length rolled heavily bottom upwards, throwing her wounded crew into the water. Almost immediately there was a furious splashing, and by the aid of the glass I distinctly saw the dorsal fins of several sharks darting here and there among them, whilst over the glassy surface of the water a shriek or two came faintly towards us. In less than a minute all was over with the miserable wretches; the voracious sharks made short work of it with them, tearing living and dead alike to pieces in their eagerness to obtain a share of the prey. At the moment that this tragic scene was enacting, the second boat was about half-way between the brig and those to whose assistance she was hastening; and her crew had a nearer and more distinct view of the horrible details of the catastrophe than we had. They paused for a moment on their oars as though paralysed with horror; and then with a vengeful shout gave way more energetically than before. But I felt little apprehension on their account; the dying breeze had revived somewhat, and the Lily was now stealing along, though with scarcely a ripple at her sharp bows, about five knots; and the water looked rather darker to windward, as though the wind was inclined to come still stronger. The pirates tugged at their oars with might and main, passing within oar’s length of the wreck of the first boat, when they again raised a furious yell, straining away at their stout ash blades until they made them bend like willow wands. They gained on us considerably within the first ten minutes or quarter of an hour; and I saw some of the crew preparing to fire the gun which was mounted in the boat’s bows. Judging that more powder would have to be burned after all, I once more loaded our little piece, charging with shell as before; and whilst I was doing this our pursuers opened fire upon us. They miscalculated their distance, however, or the powers of their gun; for the shot fell considerably short of us, much to Bob’s delight, to which he gave expression by the utterance of a few remarks of such biting sarcasm and raillery that they would infallibly have still further incensed the individuals to whom they were addressed could they but have heard them. I too was very glad to see the shot fall short, for it placed us on somewhat more equal terms than I had dared to hope. The boat was a large one, probably their launch, and pulled ten oars; and there were three men in the bows working the gun, and the coxswain aft steering, making altogether fourteen hands—very heavy odds. But then, on the other hand, the boat was heavy, and her crew, after their already long pull, could not maintain the violent exertions they were now putting forth very much longer; and a very trifling abatement in that direction would enable us to slip away from them after all; and, moreover, as they were now within range of our gun (which, being rifled, threw a shot much farther than their smooth-bore), there was a possibility of our being able so far to disable them as to compel them to give up the chase. I accordingly levelled the breech-loader, and then waited for a favourable opportunity to fire. At length it came. The shell entered the starboard-bow of the pursuing boat, about midway between her gunwale and her water-line; and immediately, to our great surprise, there was a violent explosion on board her. A vivid flash of flame darted upward and outward; the sides of the boat appeared to be violently wrenched apart at their junction with the stem; the gun and its carriage rose heavily in the air about ten feet, and fell with a tremendous splash into the sea; and oars and men were flung wildly about, many of them being blown fairly overboard, whilst a dense cloud of smoke arose, and for a moment hid everything from our view. When it cleared away, there floated the wreck of the boat, just awash; and there too, among the struggling crew in the water, darted to and fro the fins of the terrible sharks, very probably the same monsters who had so recently feasted on their shipmates. Our shell had taken most fearful effect, igniting their ammunition, and thus blowing their boat to pieces at our first discharge. <hr> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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