A Victorious Union by Oliver Optic (best way to read an ebook .txt) 📖

of the ship than the former, and the crew gave a more vigorous cheer: but it was observed that it hit the sea a little on the starboard bow, so that if it had been better aimed it would not have reached the ship.

150 "She is wasting her ammunition," said the captain. "She seems to be jesting, or else she is trying to frighten us."

"I think it is some thing worse than that, Captain Breaker," replied Mr. Ballard.

"What could be worse?"

"I am inclined to the opinion that she cannot swing the gun around so as to make it bear on an object so far astern of her as this ship is at the present moment." said the lieutenant.

"He has an all sufficient remedy for that," added the captain. "He can swing his ship's head around so his gun will bear on us."

"But that would cause him to lose a quarter of a mile or more of his advantage; and she seems to be more inclined to run away from the Bellevite than to fight her," suggested the lieutenant.

"Call all hands, Mr. Ballard," said the commander; and in a few minutes all the officers and seamen were at their stations.

The call awoke Christy from his slumber, which the report of the gun and the cheering of the men had failed to do. But he understood the summons, and thought the action was about to begin. He adjusted his dress and hastened to the quarter deck, 151 where he reported in due form to the captain. Mr. Ballard was relieved of his duties as acting executive officer, and went to his proper station to take command of his division. Christy took a careful survey of the situation, and saw that the Bellevite had gained at least two knots on the chase. The Holyoke and the West Wind were no longer in sight, though the fog seemed to be still hanging about the entrance to Mobile Bay.

"The Tallahatchie has fired two shots at us, Mr. Passford; but she wasted her ammunition," said the commander. "I am inclined to agree with Mr. Ballard that she cannot swing her Armstrong gun so as to cover the Bellevite."

"She has stopped her screw, sir!" exclaimed the first lieutenant, who was looking at the chase through the best glass.

"Make the course west, Mr. Passford!" said the captain with energy.

"Quartermaster, make it west!" shouted Christy.

"West, sir!" repeated the quartermaster, as he caused the helmsmen to heave over the wheel.

Directing his glass to the chase again, Christy saw the Tallahatchie swing around so that she was broadside to the Bellevite. Almost at the same 152 moment the smoke rose from her deck, and the sound of the gun reached the ears of the officers and crew. The shot passed with a mighty whiz between the fore and main mast of the ship, cutting away one of the fore topsail braces, but doing no other damage. The seamen cheered as they had before. The Tallahatchie started her screw as soon as she had discharged her gun, and resumed her former course, the Bellevite doing the same.

If the loyal ship had not promptly altered her course, the projectile would have raked her, and must have inflicted much greater injury in the spars and rigging. But both vessels promptly resumed their former relative positions, though the Tallahatchie had lost some of her advantage by coming to, while her pursuer had only made a small circuit without stopping her engine for a moment.

"If she does that again, Mr. Passford, we must be ready to return her fire," said the captain. "Have the pivot gun ready, and aim for her Armstrong, which seems to be sufficiently prominent on her deck to make a good target."

Christy hastened forward, and gave the order to Mr. Ballard, in whose division the great Parrot 153 was included. The signal was promptly given for manning the gun, and seventeen men immediately sprang to their stations. The men were armed with cutlasses, muskets, battle-axes, pistols, and pikes, which were so disposed as to be in readiness for boarding the enemy, or repelling boarders.

"A solid shot, and aim at the pivot gun of the enemy," said Christy in a low tone to the second lieutenant, who had the reputation of being an expert in the handling of guns of the largest calibre.

There were two captains to the pivot gun, one on each side, stationed nearest to the base of the breech. Seventeen men were required to work the pivot gun, whose duties were defined in the names applied to them, the powderman being the odd one. The first and second captains were numbers one and two; the odd numbers being on the right, and the even on the left of the piece: number three was the first loader, four the first sponger, five the second loader, six the second sponger, seven the first shellman, eight the second shellman, nine the first handspikeman, ten the second handspikeman, eleven the first train tackleman, twelve the second train tackleman (the last two at the breech, next to the captains), thirteen first side 154 tackleman, fourteen second side tackleman, fifteen first port tackleman, sixteen second port tackleman.

The gun crew had been frequently drilled in the management of the piece, and the men were entirely at home in their stations. Other hands had been trained in serving the gun, so that the places of any disabled in action could be replaced. The service at the Parrot was not all that was required of the men forming the gun crew, for each was also a first or second boarder, a pumpman, or something else, and to each number one or two weapons were assigned, as musket and pike, sword and pistol, battle-axe. When the order to board the enemy was given, every man knew his station and his proper officer.

"Silence, men!" commanded the second lieutenant, "Cast loose and provide!"

These orders were repeated by the first captain of the gun. It is his duty to see the piece cleared and cast loose, and everything made ready for action. He and the second captain "provide" themselves with waist belts and primers, and the first with some other implements. But the handling of one of these great guns is about as technical as a surgical operation would be, and it would 155 be quite impossible for the uninitiated to understand it, though it is every-day work to the ordinary man-of-war's-man.

Prompted by the executive officer, who had been further instructed by the captain, all the series of steps had been taken which put the piece in readiness to be discharged, and all that remained to be done was to adjust the aim, which is done by the first captain. At this time the distance between the two ships had been considerably reduced. The captain and the first lieutenant were closely watching the chase with glasses.

The crew of the Tallahatchie could be seen at work at the long gun, and another shot from it was momentarily expected. The instant the bow of the enemy began to swerve to port, the captain of the Bellevite gave the order to put the helm to starboard. Almost at the same instant the enemy stopped her screw, swung round and fired her long gun. The projectile crashed through the bulwarks between the foremast and top-gallant forecastle, wounding two men with the splinters which flew in every direction.

Dr. Linscott and his mates had established themselves in the cockpit, to which the wounded 156 are conveyed, in action, for treatment. The two men who had been injured by the splinters were not disabled, and they were ordered to report to the surgeon. Before the enemy could resume her course, the captain of the pivot gun had caught his aim, and discharged the Parrot. All hands watched for the result of the shot, and the glasses of the captain and the first lieutenant were directed to the chase.

She was near enough now to be observed with the naked eye with tolerable accuracy, and a shout went up from the men at the pivot gun, in which the rest of the crew on deck joined, as they saw that the shot had struck the midship gun of the enemy, or very near it; and this was the point where old Blumenhoff, the captain of the gun, had been directed to aim. He was a German, but he had served for twenty-one years in the British navy, and had won a brilliant reputation in his present position.

It could not be immediately determined whether or not the Armstrong had been disabled. The Tallahatchie had swung round again and resumed her flight; but her commander must have realized by this time that he was getting the worst of it. 157 Paul Vapoor had not left his post in the engine and fire room, to ascertain how the battle was going, but still plied all his energies in driving the Bellevite to the utmost speed she could possibly attain. The log was frequently heaved, and the last result had been sent down to him by Midshipman Walters, and it was twenty-one knots.

During the next hour the long gun of the enemy was not again discharged, and the officers of the loyal ship were assured that it had been rendered useless by Blumenhoff's only shot.

158 CHAPTER XIV THE PROGRESS OF THE ACTION

The tremendous speed of the Bellevite had been telling with prodigious effect upon the distance between the two steamers, which was now reduced to not more than a mile and a half. Captain Rombold could not help realizing by this time that the American-built vessel outsailed the English-built. If the Trafalgar was good for twenty knots an hour, as represented, she had hardly attained that speed, as Captain Breaker judged by comparison with that of his own ship.

The Armstrong gun was still silent and it was pretty well settled that it had been disabled. In this connection Christy recalled something he had read in Simpson about the "inability of the Armstrong gun to resist impact," and he sent Midshipman Walters to bring the volume from his state-room. When it came he found the place, and read that three shots had been fired into one of them from a nine-pounder, either of which would 159 have been fatal to the piece; and the section described the effect of each upon it.

He showed the book open at the place to Captain Breaker; but he had read it, and carried the whole matter in his mind. The gun quoted was weak, though the one on the deck of the Tallahatchie was vastly larger; but a correspondingly heavy force had been brought to bear upon it.

"I am satisfied that the enemy's long gun has been disabled; and while she continues the attempt to run away from us, she is unable to use her broadside guns to advantage, for she cannot bring them to bear upon us without coming to," said the commander. "But we are gaining at least a knot and a half an hour on her, and she must soon change her tactics."

"That is evident enough, sir," added Christy.

"The captain of that ship is a brave fellow, and I am confident he will fight as long as there is anything left of him," continued the captain as he occasionally directed his glass at the chase.

"He certainly will, sir, for I have seen his ship knocked out from under him, when he had abundant excuse for hauling down his flag before he did so; and we had hardly time on board of the Chateaugay 160 to save his people before his vessel went to the bottom," continued Christy. "More than that, he is a gentleman and a scholar."

"You have told me about him, Christy; and I believe you suggested to Captain Chantor his best plan of action."

"I simply indicated what I should do in his place, and he adopted the method I mentioned," added Christy modestly.

"We may find it advisable to resort to the same plan, though I must add that it is by no means original with you. It was adopted in the war of 1812 with England."

"I did not claim the method as original, and knew very well that it was not so," replied the lieutenant.

"The conditions on both sides must be favorable to the method or it cannot be adopted. One of the ships must have heavier metal than the other, so that she can knock her enemy to pieces at her leisure, and at the same time greater speed, so that she can keep out of the reach of guns of shorter range."

"I am sorry I could not obtain more definite information in regard to the broadside guns of the 161 Tallahatchie," added Christy. "Bokes was a stupid fellow, drunk whenever he could obtain liquor, and could remember