," and at his quick word of command the boat leaped forward
once more after the enemy, and under the increased pressure of steam due
to the stoppage, actually began to gain upon the chase. Douglas put his
hands to his mouth and sent a sharp challenge ringing across the water
toward her. This was immediately followed by a slight commotion aboard
the suspected Peruvian, which showed that the hail had been heard; but
there was no sign of her stopping; indeed, the next second a strong
volume of flame gushed up from her funnel, which proved that her
engineers had shovelled on more coal and turned on the forced draught.

Jim almost groaned in his agony of mind, for it seemed as though the
accident to the launch had doomed the flagship to destruction, and he
was just about to order his men to fire the Gatling gun at the dimly
seen shape, in the hope of hitting her, despite the fact that the smoke
would hide the chase from him, when he saw a long steel-coloured shape
glide past the bows of his own boat.

His heart gave a great thump at the sight, for he knew that he had had a
narrow escape from death. The torpedo-boat was not carrying a spar-
torpedo, but was towing the infernal machine, which she doubtless meant
to drag under the flagship's bows. It was one of the newly invented Lay
torpedoes, and a terrible weapon when effectively used. But alarm at
his own narrow escape was swamped in the feeling of relief for the
safety of the _Blanco Encalada_; for the torpedo-boat would be obliged
to manoeuvre a little to get her torpedo into place, and thus there was
just a chance that he might yet be able to intercept her. In a second
he had whirled the wheel hard over and was off along the Peruvian's
wake, telling the men to keep a bright look-out for the torpedo, and to
commence firing in the direction of the torpedo-boat.

Then the quick, metallic clatter of the Gatling broke out, mingled with
the whip-like crack of the rifles, and the darkness was illuminated by
the vivid flashes of flame. From the Peruvian a series of hoarse
screams, oaths, and yells told plainly enough that the Chilians had made
good practice, and that some at least of the hailing bullets had found
their billets; but the craft was all too surely drawing away, and it
became a question whether, even now, the launch would be in time to save
the _Blanco Encalada_.

Suddenly Jim perceived a speck of fire break out aboard the flagship,
which quickly broke into