waterline.

"Splendid!" cried Parrington. "Keep that up and we'll have the villain
in ten shots."

Quickly the 12 pounder was reloaded; the gunners stood quietly beside
their gun, and shot after shot was fired at the Japanese ship, of which
five or six hit her right at the waterline. The stern gun of the
_Mindoro_ devoted itself in the meantime to destroying things on the
enemy's deck. Gaping holes appeared everywhere in the ship's side, and
the funnels received several enormous rents, out of which brown smoke
poured forth. In a quarter of an hour the deck resembled the primeval
chaos, being covered with bent and broken iron rods, iron plates riddled
with shot, and woodwork torn to splinters. Suddenly clouds of white
steam burst out from all the holes in the ship's sides, from the
skylights, and from the remnants of the funnels; the deck in the middle
of the steamer rose slowly, and the exploding boilers tossed broken bits
of engines and deck apparatus high up into the air. The _Kanga Maru_
listed to port and disappeared in the waves, over which a few straggling
American shots swept.

"Cease firing!" commanded Parrington. Then the _Mindoro_ came about and
again steered straight for Manila. The act of retribution had been
accomplished; the treacherous murder of the crew of the _Monadnock_ had
been avenged.

When the _Mindoro_ arrived at the harbor of Manila, the town was in a
tremendous state of excitement. The drums were beating the alarm in the
streets. The spot where only that morning the _Monadnock_ had lain in
idle calm was empty.

* * * * *

The explosion of the _Monadnock_ had at first been regarded as an
accident. In spite of its being the dinner hour, a number of boats
appeared in the roads, all making toward the scene of the accident,
where a broad, thick veil of smoke crept slowly over the surface of the
water. As no one knew what new horrors might be hidden in this cloud,
none of the boats dared go nearer. Only two white naval cutters
belonging to the gunboats lying in the harbor glided into the mist,
driven forward by strong arms; and they actually succeeded in saving a
few of the crew.

One of the rescued men told the following story: About two minutes after
the _Monadnock_ had received a wireless message, which, however, was
never deciphered, a dull concussion was felt throughout the ship,
followed almost immediately by another one. On the starboard side of the
_Mo