Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1904-01-29
CHAPTER NX.
THE INDOMTABLE EGO.

THE INDOMITABLE EGO.
I" (HE battle had been maintain
ed with the utmost fury for
ENSNNI nearly three-quarters of an
tNEs:Sg1 hour, and both ships had sus-
tanned severe injuries, the Richard being
in much the worse condition. The heavy
shot from the long Is Founders OF
the Scraps had played havoc with her.
Pearson naturally thought that it was
about time for Jones to surrender,
though the hour when Jones thought
1t time to surrender would never strike.
The sudden silence which had fallen
upon the conflict was broken by voice
from the British ship. In high inter-
rogatiOn it rang over the waters in the
moonlight
Have you struck" was the Ques-
ton Of the Scraps. From the shatter-
ed Richard came Jones' immortal an
swer:
II have not yet begun to flghtr'
A roar Of wild exultation, q gigantic
Homeric laugh, broke from the threats
of the crew Of the Richard as the reply
Of the captain was passed from deck
to deck until the whole ship from
truck to keelson quivered with re-
spOnsive joy. 1t was joke the char
acter Of which those blood stained ruff
fans could well appreciate, but the
captain was in no mood for joking.
He was serious, and in the simplicity
Of the answer lay its greatness. Strike!
Not now nor ever! Beaten! The fight
ing is but just begun! The preposter-
GUS possibility Of surrender cannot
even be considered. What manner Of
man this with whom you battle in the
moonlight, brave Pearson? An unfa-
miliar kind to you and to most, such
as has not been before nor shall be
again. Yet all the world shall see and
understand at this time.
II have not yet begun to fightv'
Surprising answer! On q ship shat
tered beyond repair, her best guns ex-
ploded and useless, her crew decimat-
ed, ringed about with dead and dying,
the captain has not yet begun to fight!
But there was no delay after the an
swer. no philosophizing, no heroics.
The man of action was there. He
meant business! Every moment when
the guns were silent was q wasted
one.
The helm was shifted to starboard
and the headsails shivered. The Rich
ard slowly swung of to port and gath
cred Roadway again. The Scraps had
lost an opportunity Of lacking and
raking. In order more quickly to
bring his guns to bear anu perhaps
to prevent raking by the enemy, Cap
tain Pearson threw all aback And
the two ships, one backing and the
other reaching ahead, slowly drew
abreast each other, the batteries speak
ing again as soon as the guns bore.
The wind was very light, and the mo-
ton Of both ships was sluggish in the
extreme. so that they practically lay
side by side, steerage way almost gone,
slowly drifting in for long minutes. un-
til there came q sudden, temporary
breath Of wind.
The position was most advantageous
for the Scraps, as with her heavier
and more numerous guns she could de-
nberately knock the Richard into q
cooked hat" She was much the
speedier and handler ship, and might
reasonably hope to choose her own
distance, and. having selected a point
Of vantage, maintain It to the end.
Parsons game was to fight at long
range until he had sunk his enemy. No
difficult task that last-she was half
sinking now! But what the Richard
lacked in mobility and direction, she
made up in her captain. Jones did
things instinctively. Pearson had to
think about them. Jones' only hope
was in getting to close quarters and
making use Of the disciplined French
soldiery upon his decks.
They had done good service already
In clearing the spar deck Of the Eng
lish. Therefore, as the Richard. gath
ering way, gradually forged ahead, her
helm was shifted to port and the ves-
Gel slowly swung across the bow Of
the Scraps, which had just begun to
all away again as Pearson saw that
he had nearly backed out Of action.
-A'S w" VI IiC S0 OCA LuC
starboard quarter of the Richard, the
lib boom thrusing itself violently
through the mizzen rigging. There
was terrific crash at the moment
Of impact, and a second later the Eng
lish, cheering fran1cally, jumped upon
the heel Of the bowsprit and clambered
upon the rail of their ship.
They were led by a tall, distin-
guished looking officer, who attracted
double attention as he wore the red
uniform Of the English army. As
their heads appeared over the rail the
powerful voice Of Jones could be heard
shouting. "Boarders awayw Not wait
Ing for the men who came springing up
on the quarter deck in obedience to his
summons. the dauntless captain seized
pike from the rack and hurled 1t
through the air at the leader of the
Englishmen. Good fortune guided his