At last, when the ship was cloven with shot, and peppered with grape, the
channel opened: in five minutes more he could put her dead before the
wind.
No. The pirate, on whose side luck had been from the first, got half a
broadside to bear at long musket shot, killed a midshipman by Dodd's
side, cut away two of the _Agra's_ mizzen shrouds, wounded the gaff: and
cut the jib stay; down fell the powerful sail into the water, and dragged
across the ship's forefoot, stopping her way to the open sea she panted
for, the mates groaned; the crew cheered stoutly, as British tars do in
any great disaster; the pirates yelled with ferocious triumph, like the
devils they looked.
But most human events, even calamities, have two sides. The _Agra_ being
brought almost to a standstill, the pirate forged ahead against his will,
and the combat took a new and terrible form. The elephant gun popped,
and the rifle cracked, in the _Agra's_ mizzen top, and the man at the
pirate's helm jumped into the air and fell dead: both Theorists claimed
him. Then the three carronades peppered him hotly; and he hurled an iron
shower back with fatal effect. Then at last the long 18-pounders on the
gun-deck got a word in.
Pages:
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141