emaining
under our modern term forecastle.

The English vessels were then, as mentioned above, shorter by a good
deal than those of their opponents, and so the total length of the three
English ships was covered by that of the two Spanish vessels, which fact
preserved them for the moment from the fire of the other three ships of
the enemy. Roger now saw the reason why Cavendish had reserved his
fire. Immediately his ships came alongside those of the enemy, the
broadsides of all three were simultaneously discharged, with fearful
effect, for amid the crash of falling spars and rending timbers could be
heard the cries and shrieks of the wounded, and the moans of the dying.

A dense cloud of smoke spread over the decks and concealed the
combatants from one another, but the din was terrific; while orders and
shouts, hoarse words of command, and fierce oaths mingled with the
cheers of the English.

The sternmost vessel of the enemy, which was the one that had received
the concentrated broadsides of two of the English ships, was now on fire
somewhere on her lower-deck; three or four of her ports were blown into
one big opening, and her decks were a very shambles of dead and wounded.

The fire below made very rapid headway, and effectually prevented her
men from working the lower-deck guns; it thus happened that with one
discharge from the English guns one of the two Spanish ships engaged was
seriously crippled.

The two craft, however, responded gallantly from their upper decks with
what cannon they were still able to serve, and a perfect hail of arrows
and arquebus bullets swept the English decks, mowing down men in all
directions.

The English had quietly reloaded those of their broadside guns that were
on the side of the enemy, the guns of the port broadside being still
undischarged.

"Now, lads," roared Cavendish above the clamour and din of rending
timber and falling spars, "give them another broadside; and let the
musketeers on the upper decks and the bowmen in the fore and after
castles follow it up with a volley, in order to clear their decks.
Immediately after the discharges the boarders are to follow me!"

At the commencement of the engagement Roger and Harry, seeing what was
likely to happen, had laid aside their light rapiers and armed
themselves with a pair of pistols apiece and the more formidable English
hanger as used by the ordinary seamen; and shoulder to shoulder they
stood by the starboard bulwa