's_ new foremast which had been put in at
Valparaiso, before one of the ironclad's 10-inch shells burst in her
hold and blew the bottom clean out of her.

"By George, Terry," exclaimed Jim enthusiastically, "did you ever see
such a plucky fight? Why, the school-ship has given the _Huascar_ a
thoroughly nasty mauling! I expect the Peruvians feel more than a bit
sore at seeing the ship which used to be the pride of their fleet in
Chilian hands. _Caramba_! but the _Maranon_ is sinking lower in the
water every second; she will be gone in less than five minutes. I hope
those brave fellows will be able to get out of her before she goes, for
the bay is simply swarming with sharks! Look at the black dorsal fins
of the beggars playing round the old _Blanco_! It's enough to make a
fellow sick to think of those gallant chaps being torn to pieces by such
monsters as these. Ah! I am glad to see that Condell has ceased firing
to allow those Peruvian launches which are just coming out to pick up
the survivors. Too late! too late!" he groaned, a second or two later;
"there she goes already! Why, the whole bottom must have been blown
clean out of her for her to sink in that short time!"

The launches held back for a few seconds to avoid being caught in the
vortex caused by the sinking ship, and then dashed forward to the
rescue. They saved a good many, but if Jim had but been close enough he
would have seen that his prophecy with regard to the sharks had proved
only too true; for the voracious monsters, darting hither and thither,
snapped up the unfortunate men before the very eyes of the comrades who
were straining every nerve to save them, the fierce fish sometimes
leaping half their length out of the water in their furious efforts to
snatch their prey back even when the man had been hauled up on to the
boat's gunwale.

The two lads were fortunately spared a close view of this harrowing
sight, and their attention was speedily diverted from the catastrophe by
a further commotion behind the mole, when, looking through their
glasses, they saw that the Peruvians, encouraged apparently by the
damage wrought by the _Maranon_, had got a couple of tugs alongside the
old monitors _Manco Capac_ and _Atahualpa_, and were towing them out
close to the _Huascar_; their ironclad sides being more capable of
resisting the latter's shells than the _Maranon's_ wooden hull.

Directly the Chilians perceived this new move, the _Angamos_ and