Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-08-27

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THE English have got the ship!'
came from every side in wild confu-
sion.
This is the Richard"' shouted Jones
at the top Of his voice at the first fire.
Hold your fire! Show, the private sig
nails there" he cried hastily to the
faithful Brooks; but the Alliance pnid
no attention to these and other warn
ing cries. AS the three broadsides
were delivered by the American frig-
ate the men in their perfectly cxcusa-
bic terror at this treacherous blow in
the back actually began to break from
their quarters and leave the guns
That was never to be thought of un!
der any circumstances
| Back. shouted Jones promptly.
| Back to your quarters, every moth
er's son of you. Shoot the first man
that fl;uches from the guns" Dale
and De Weibcrt and the midshipman
CALAMITY seconded his orders, and the
Alliance sailing away toward the Pal
| las and delivering no more shot upon
them. the conflict was resumed. That
the men could he got 10 the guns again
after this frightfuly unscttling at
tack was Il supreme testimony to the
quality of their officers and to their
own rs we'll
Indeed, upon tie part of the Scraps
the battle had never been intermittcd.
The 10 Founders of her main battery
had simply silenced and dismountcd,
Knocked to pieces and put out of action
nearly all the 12 Founders on the main
deck of the Richard. The starboard
side of the American had been beaten
in and the port siHe beaten out by
the heavy fire at cloe q range until the
British We're literally firing through
n hole, the shot hurting through the
air and falling harmlcssly in the wa
ter far on the farther side. The I'M
dcrpinning of the upper decks of the
ship was of course nearly knocked tC
pieces. Why the decks did not fall
in and the whole thing collapse was a
mystery.
There had been no fighting at all
on the berth deck since the bursting of
the three guns, but poor little Payne
had hung grimly to his post. one by
one the men Of the guarding squad
had been picked off by stray shots
until there was none left but he and
The master at arms. Several shot from
the British had entered below the WA
ter line of the Richard. and she was
making water fast. There WAS nearly
four feet of water in the hold then.
and it was rising. The prisoners be
low were in wild state of terror. I'm.
precautions. curses, appeals, had come
up through the gratings over the
hatchway. TO which the young man
had turned deaf ear
TO the other d1ngcrs of the battle.
fire now added its devastating touch.
In fact, both ships were aflamc in sew
eral places. The burning gun wnds
had lodged in the chains and other in
flammable positions, and writhinC
tossing, sorpcntlilie torches threw
their hot light over the scene Of ter
ror. AS the smoke driitcd down the
hatchway the prisoners in the hold
could stand it no longer There was
n sudden rush below toward the open
ing. Tho gratings were splntcred and
broken by the thrust of piece of tim
Der. A head or two appeared in the
clear. Hands clutched at the comb
ings.
Back" shouted Payne, trying to
steady his hoyish voice.
"Now shouted the first prisoner furi-
ously, clutching desperately at the
comhing. while he was being lifted IN
A.
think We'll stay here and be drowned
like rats in hole+'
With white lips ana sinking heart
the boy thrust his pistol full into the
mans face, and with trembling fin
ger pulled the trigger, He did the like
TO the next man with n second pistol
To SEIZE the musket of n dead marine
and point it at the third was the work
of second Awed by this resolution
and the promptitude of his action the
other prisoners fell back for the time
The sweat stood out on the forehead
of the young midshipman. He had
shot a man-two men-in cold blood I.
It seemed like murder. But he had
done his duty. The words of the cap
tain rang in his ear: Keep them
down.
1t was hot on the berth deck. The
smoke poured in flick, suffocatinG
clouds between decks. The wAvcring
reflections from til flames on every
side accentuated the horror. Bands
of men fitted by ghostlike here and
there. with buckets of water, striving
TO fight the flames. Lances of light
leaped across the deck from the pro-
truding mu2Zles of the guns on the
Scraps. piercing the gloomy darkness
with angry flashes. Bullets, grape.
Spllntcrs OF timber, solid shot. bits Of
: torn humanity, whistled past his head.
He was wild, crazy. The hugencss of
the tragedy about him oppressed him
direfully. There was n weight in his
; bosom, a choking in his throat. The
, bitter, acrid taste of the burned pow
der was in his mouth. The sickeninS
: smell of reeking blood pervaded his
being. He longed to throw down his
t weapon and hy-any where, to get a
> respite from the Internal demand upon
him. But he was sailor, the son of
: a race Of fighters. He held on. The
deep roar of the guns above him told
him that the battle was still going on.
= Suddenly out of the smoke appeared
the burly form Of the carpenter