er, and, with a full head of steam, the corsair of the Southern
Confederacy swept onward. _Crash! Roar!_ she answered with shell, and
the bursting iron shivered the foremast of her doughty opponent.

Captain Winslow was fearful that the enemy would make for the shore,
so he spun over his helm to port in the endeavor to run under the
_Alabama_'s stern and rake her. But she sheered off, kept her
broadside to him, and pounded away like a pugilist. The ships were a
quarter of a mile (440 yards) away from each other. They were circling
around in a wide arc, plugging away as fast as they could load. The
spectators cheered, for it was as good a show as they had ever
witnessed.

"Eet ees fine!" said the veteran of the Crimea. "Eet remin' me of ze
battaile at Balaklava!"

Suddenly a wild cheer rose from the deck of the United States cruiser.
A shot had struck the spanker-gaff on the enemy and her ensign had
come down on the run.

"Hurray!" shouted the seamen. "That means we'll win, sure!"

The fallen ensign re-appeared at the mizzen, while firing from the
_Alabama_ became rapid and wild. The gunners of the _Kearsarge_ had
been cautioned against shooting without direct aim, and had been told
to point their heavy guns below, rather than above the water-line.

Captain Winslow was busy with his orders.

"Clear the enemy's deck with the light guns!" he shouted. "Sink the
Confederate with the heavy iron!"

Cheer succeeded cheer from his sailors. Caps were thrown into the air,
or overboard. Jackets were tossed aside. Now, certain of victory, the
men were shouting wildly, as each projectile took effect.

"That's a good one!"

"Down, boys, down!"

"Give her another like the last!"

"Now--we have her!"

The vessels continued to swing around each other in wide circles,
and--at this moment--a sixty-eight pound Blakely shell passed through
the starboard bulwarks of the _Kearsarge_ below the main rigging,
exploded on the quarter-deck, and wounded three of the crew of the
after pivot-gun. The three unfortunate men were speedily taken below,
but the act was done so quietly, that--at the termination of the
fight--a large number of the crew were unaware that any of their
comrades were injured.

Two shots now crashed through the port-holes occupied by the
thirty-two pounders; one exploded in the hammock-netting; the other
shrieked through the opposite port; yet no one was hurt. Fire blazed
from the deck; the alarm calling for fi