Meantime, Fullalove and Kenealy, aided by Vespasian, who loaded, were
quietly butchering the pirate crew two a minute, and hoped to settle the
question they were fighting for; smooth-bore _v._ rifle: but unluckily
neither fired once without killing; so "there was nothing proven."
The pirate, bold as he was, got sick of fair fighting first; he hoisted
his mainsail and drew rapidly ahead, with a slight bearing to windward,
and dismounted a carronade and stove in the ship's quarter-boat, by way
of a parting kick.
The men hurled a contemptuous cheer after him; they thought they had
beaten him off. But Dodd knew better. He was but retiring a little way
to make a more deadly attack than ever: he would soon wear, and cross the
_Agra's_ defenceless bows, to rake her fore and aft at pistol-shot
distance; or grapple, and board the enfeebled ship two hundred strong.
Dodd flew to the helm, and with his own hands put it hard aweather, to
give the deck guns one more chance, the last, of sinking or disabling the
_Destroyer_. As the ship obeyed, and a deck gun bellowed below him, he
saw a vessel running out from Long Island, and coming swiftly up on his
lee quarter.
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